Chapter 86: Betrayal and Deception

Tony turned and looked down at his glass, perfunctorily saying:

"Yes, that's right."

He let out a long sigh, took a sip of wine, then said:

"God, you guys really need to change that name of yours!"

Coulson smiled faintly, remembering that even Smith Dole had once complained about how long the name was. Then he replied:

"Yes, everyone says that. Including Smith Dole."

"That's why our organization has officially changed its name to S.H.I.E.L.D."

Hearing that they actually simplified their name just because of people's complaints, Tony was a little surprised and then said:

"S.H.I.E.L.D., huh, that's much better than the old one."

Coulson nodded with a smile and continued:

"As long as everyone likes it. There's something I wanted to ask the two of you about. I never had the chance before, but since you're both here…"

Hearing there was something they wanted to ask both of them about, Smith Dole asked curiously:

"What is it?"

"And it actually needs both of us?"

Tony, however, seemed to have some idea, since Pepper had mentioned it to him before, and said:

"What else could it be? The time you rescued me."

Coulson nodded:

"Yes, we'd like to know the full details of how Mr. Smith rescued Tony. We need to know some of the specifics."

Tony didn't really want to deal with Coulson, and brushed him off:

"This is a banquet. Not really the place to talk about this."

"Agent, you'll need to schedule an appointment with my secretary."

Smith could tell Tony was brushing him off and didn't care. He said casually:

"It's actually very simple. Found Tony, wiped out the militants, then brought him back."

"I'm sure your agency's intelligence capabilities already have some idea of my strength. For me, doing that was no trouble at all."

Tony, standing next to him, said nothing, but looked at Coulson with some surprise. Maybe this so-called S.H.I.E.L.D. was different from CIA or FBI and the like?

Coulson still wore a smile and said:

"Indeed, given Mr. Smith's abilities, rescuing Tony Stark was no problem."

"But what we're more curious about is: how did you find Tony in the vast Afghan desert? After all, the military searched that area for a month and came up empty."

"And as we understand, from the time you took the commission to when you brought Tony back, it wasn't even three days."

Hearing what Coulson was curious about, Smith smiled and, thinking of the soon-to-be-released power level detector, said:

"That has to do with a product we're about to launch. For now, it's not convenient to say."

"But very soon we'll release this kind of product. When the time comes, we'll send S.H.I.E.L.D. an invitation. You'll understand then."

Hearing this, both Tony and Coulson became interested. Coulson said:

"Then I look forward to Mr. Smith's product launch."

"But from the way you speak, Mr. Smith, you seem to know quite a lot about us?"

Smith smiled lightly and said:

"Given the history of our organization, it's not strange we know some things."

"For example, the Strategic Scientific Reserve that was famous in World War II."

Hearing Smith say that name, Coulson was slightly shaken. Even he hadn't heard that name in a long time. Was this the depth that came from a thousand-year-old organization?

As long as you'd existed long enough, nothing seemed surprising anymore?

And next to him, Tony also made a note of the name Strategic Scientific Reserve, planning to have J.A.R.V.I.S. look into it later.

Coulson's expression didn't change in the slightest. He smiled and said:

"That name hasn't been mentioned in a very long time. It seems Mr. Smith really does know quite a bit about us."

Then he turned to Tony and said:

"We've already learned what we needed from Mr. Smith. Tony, would you satisfy my curiosity?"

But before Tony could answer, Coulson continued:

"Since coming back from Afghanistan, you've had what looks like an LED light on your chest. Could you tell us what that is?"

But Tony wasn't as easy to talk to as Smith. He snapped back:

"What I carry on me doesn't seem to be your business, does it? That's my freedom."

"Taxpayer money isn't for you to indulge your curiosity about this."

After saying that, Tony put down his glass. At that moment he saw Pepper Potts in the dance floor, turned to Smith and said:

"Keep enjoying your meal. I see my assistant. I need to have a word with her about who she's letting in here."

With that, Tony left without another word, walking toward Pepper.

Having been brushed off by Tony, Coulson was helpless, but there wasn't much he could do given Tony's status.

Smith also ignored Coulson and continued enjoying the food at the table.

Seeing one leave and the other simply eating, Coulson wasn't discouraged. Today's harvest had already exceeded expectations — plenty to report back on.

As for the fact that Smith Dole knew about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s predecessor, the Strategic Scientific Reserve, that could just be reported truthfully.

Time passed as Smith enjoyed the food, while Tony, after a dance with Pepper, learned that his company hadn't actually stopped international weapons sales as he had announced. On the contrary, it was still selling weapons.

Especially because this news was brought to him by a reporter holding photos of the weapons, mocking him.

When Tony learned this, he was furious. After speaking to the reporter, he immediately ran outside to confront Obadiah.

But what he learned was even more unacceptable: the one who had petitioned the board to block him from working was none other than Obadiah.

This result made Tony furious. And he learned from the reporter that the small town in question was Ethan's hometown. He planned to visit it himself once his armor was finished.

Tony didn't waste any more time at the charity ball. Before leaving, he let Smith know and then drove straight back to his villa.

Smith watched the hurried Tony and guessed that he'd learned of Obadiah's duplicity. After all, Stark Industries had just announced stopping weapons production and sales, yet behind the scenes it was selling heavily in the Middle East — to Ten Rings militants, no less. You could call it an industry scandal.

It looked like Tony was going to destroy the weapons. Smith had no interest in witnessing that himself. After finishing his meal, he simply returned to the Assassins' Guild.

(End of Chapter)

[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/euridome]

[Thank You For Your Support!]