Chapter 49 : Greetings!
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The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 49 [August 2010]
–Axle Riddle–
Huh. This was unexpected.
Tony Stark coming to New York was not surprising, what was surprising was the way he came here. In his jet.
In the back of his mind, he knew that Tony would definitely want to meet the person who owned a tenth of his company so this meeting was expected but what he didn't expect was for him to come at this time.
At this point in time, Tony knew he was dying but his actions were not that reckless. The real recklessness would begin from the Grand Prix next month but this was fine as well, he could take the opportunity to see if he could do something about the Palladium in his bloodstream.
If he could, he might just have another billionaire's favour, only this time, the favour would be much more valuable because it would come from Tony freaking Stark.
Although, he could just be here for the Tower that he was presumably going to build sometime in the future.
His doubts were kept unresolved as Tony, after exiting his private Jet, donned a hoodie and track pants, and entered a yellow cab, all clad with sunglasses, even though it was not even a sunny day.
Damn, this was shady and he had a feeling that Tony was going to end up right at his office doors.
"Sarah, I think I'll take a raincheck for now, I'm not really feeling well at the moment. I'll be back tomorrow" He said to Sarah as he donned his suit and exited his office as well.
Since Tony wanted to meet him clandestinely, let him meet in one of the most open areas in the entirety of New York, Central Park.
When Tony first came within his range, he had scanned him from top to bottom, including the Arc Reactor as well but he had thought nothing of it when he couldn't scan the ring of the Arc Reactor, the place with the pure energy.
He had then uploaded, for the lack of a better term, that scan into the Second Mind thing he had going on with his mind and programmed it to alert him once someone with the same scan popped up in the range of his spatial awareness.
That same alert popped up right now so he was on his way to the Central Park now. As soon as he exited the office building, he could see Tony put his finger on the comms that he had placed in his left ear and then tell the driver something.
Well, that seals it. He was coming to meet him. Why in such an attire, he did not know but this could be fun.
This had the potential of spooking Stark. Well, he was a dying man at the moment so he could not do any overt moves but let's see.
____xx___
Tony Stark was not a man who would readily admit his weaknesses. And yet, he had to accept that he was dying now.
The Palladium in the Arc Reactor, the same thing that was keeping him alive at the moment, was also killing him. Slowly but yeah, it was killing him.
Already he could feel the symptoms, and the more he used the Arc Reactor and the Iron Man suit, the faster the poisoning rate. If he stayed away from the suit completely, he could probably stretch it to two or more years.
If he tried to match his normal routine, he would be lucky to survive for 6 more months.
He had tried everything. Every known combination on the periodic table and none of them stuck. Nothing and absolutely nothing could replace palladium in the Arc Reactor.
So, here he was, on his way to meet the guy who owned a tenth of his company, in a hobo disguise. He had to make sure that this Axle person did not pose a threat to Pepper's control of his company once he inevitably passed away.
Yes, he was going to give everything he ever owned to Pepper. She is the only thing he has left in his life.
"Huh, what a sad, lonely life," No Siblings, Parents, nobody. Aunt Peggy's condition had destabilised again, from what he had heard from her retainers.
Maybe, he should meet her before he croaked.
"Did you say something?" The cab driver looked back at him as he must have heard his murmurings.
"Ah, no. Nothing," He said as his mind went to the conversation he was about to have.
Threats would not work because he had nothing to work on here. Sure, the records of those transactions could work as ammunition at the SEC but there was no guarantee that the US government could not be lobbied to drop the case in exchange for phenomenal wealth.
No, he had to talk with him and get his measure. So far, this Axle person has not made a single move in the company. His representatives came and just agreed with everything that he proposed, no questions asked.
In fact, his representatives on the board actually pushed, much more aggressively than others, to expand the Arc Reactor lineup as a commercial product and sell it to everyone on the planet.
They had some good ideas as well. Already, there was the first Arc Reactor powered Cargo ship being built in the Netherlands along with an Arc Reactor powered Subway line in China. Both of them were first-generation products but he could definitely see the potential in them, especially the Cargo Ship part.
That alone would revolutionize the Shipping industry. It would also mint Stark Industries a lot of money but as he was now, he was not really into that so the geeks at Stark Industries were working on it, with Jarvis informing him if something happened that required his attention.
There was also the part of giving powered fusion reactors to a foreign communist government like China in the first place but so far, they had not received a single backlash. So, the folks on the board were optimistic.
"Thanks," He gave the cab driver a crisp 100$ tip and came into Central Park, the one place where it doesn't smell like New York.
Jarvis gave him directions as to where Axle was. That led him to a secluded corner of the Park with a bench under the shade of a large tree.
That was convenient.
"So, you knew I was coming then?"
"Hello, Mr.Stark. What can I do for you today?"
'Don't play coy with me. How did you know that I was coming?"
"Mr. Stark, how did you know I was right here? You have your sources, I have mine,"
"Fine. How much for your shares?"
Axle merely deadpanned at him, "That's your idea? You come here, out of nowhere, spooking me, and then tell me that your great idea to secure your company's shares is to buy them from me?"
"Fine. What do you want then?"
"Let me make this clear to you, Mr.Stark. Me and the people with me mean no harm to you or your close ones. We just want a better world and the Arc Reactor tech alone would make sure that the damage we have done to the planet in the past 100 or so years would be resolved in a couple of decades at most if you worked proactively, that is."
"So, that's it. I am supposed to believe that you invested billions of dollars just for a better world. You don't seem like the altruistic type to me, Mr.Riddle,"
"Well, Mr.Stark, unlike you, I am very young and have a lot to live for. You are an old man in your 40s and as such, might not see the value of growing up in a cleaner world. I do. So, if that is all, I'll take your leave. I am not selling any of my SI shares anytime soon."
He watched as Axle just left after waving at him.
"Jarvis?"
"Voice analysis along with heartbeat monitoring says that there is a 97% chance that it was the truth."
"Alright, good enough," He gulped his coffee in a single gulp and stood up, his eyes falling on the large gathering of people in front of him.
"Uh, Jarvis?"
"That is the daily congregation for the Invisible Man, sir. I believe they are there to ask for help." Jarvis helpfully supplied.
"...Maybe, you should try it as well, sir. Your issue-"
"Hey, J, we are not into that hocus pocus stuff. We are men of SCIENCE!, remember?"
"WHOOOA!" He said, shocked as he was dragged back down on the bench he was sitting on before.
"Jarvis?"
"Sir, I believe it is the Invisible Man,"
"Greetings, Mr.Stark," An electronic voice greeted him as a small phone popped out of nowhere in front of him.
His throat ran dry as he realised that someone who could rip apart buildings was talking to him at the moment. He had never felt so powerless, even if he did technically have the suit on standby outside the city.
"Um, Hi? I am not going to call you that stupid man, by the way," He snorted as he leaned back into the bench, trying to get comfortable.
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