Case Statement

After clearing the office, Henry instructed his secretary, "Julianne, bring my guest a drink—" He turned and asked, "What would you like? Coffee? Or tea?"

"Coffee, please."

"Julianne, bring my guest a cup of coffee. Remember to knock before you come in." With that, Henry closed the office door.

Henry closed all the blinds, pulled down a projection screen, turned on the projector, sat back down at his desk, and started using the computer.

Henry said, "Because I didn't expect Tony Stark to throw you at me, I didn't prepare any paper documents beforehand."

"Next, I will give a presentation via projection, telling you what that young master wants you to do. What If...? there are any documents you would like to print out for your records, please let me know at the end."

After thinking for a moment, Henry looked up and asked, "How many people know that you came to see me?"

"In New York, there was only one of Tony Stark's secretaries. After you get here, there's your receptionist, your secretary, and a few other people who just left."

"Okay, that's all." Before proceeding, Henry said to Jack Reacher, "What you hear here today, I won't admit to saying after we leave that door. Don't ask, and don't try to verify it with me. Understand?"

"Can."

Henry operated the system and displayed the first projected image. It was the content of a newspaper clipping.

Jack Reacher didn't sit down, but instead chose the most suitable spot to stand, looking straight at the projection screen so he could see everything at a glance. "This is the news about Howard Stark's car accident."

"Yes. Howard Stark, a brilliant scientist and successful entrepreneur with good relations with the military and even involved in many secret research projects, died in a car accident on the evening of December 16, 1991, along with his wife."

"Does Tony Stark have doubts about this car accident? Doesn't he have anyone around him who can assist in investigating such a matter?"

Henry replied, "Of course, and all the investigation reports confirm that this car accident was indeed an accident. The cause was a faulty braking system."

Although Tony Stark intended for Henry to relay the message, he didn't actually hand over all the information. Henry only had what he had gathered from his own investigation on the West Coast.

At this point, Henry didn't obediently say anything. He directly hacked into Tony Stark's virtual host on the supercomputer "Hollywood Kid" and, sure enough, found the already organized data in a certain folder.

Inside is an investigation report issued by S.H.I.E.L.D.., including the forensic autopsy report and a death certificate signed by the prosecutor.

Henry showed them off one by one, saying, "Because of this poor design, Tony Stark bought the company that designs and manufactures braking systems."

"He personally corrected the design flaws, then sold the company for three times the price. This clearly demonstrates the ugly face of capitalists."

Jack Reacher ignored Henry's teasing of capitalists and turned to ask, "What reason could possibly arouse Tony Stark's suspicion?"

"Did this make him want to reopen the investigation into the car accident and approach the military police for assistance?"

"This all started when he wanted me to be the CEO of Stark Studios, which was actually his way of keeping an eye on the West Coast."

Henry recounted, in chronological order, all the intelligence he had gathered concerning the Stark Family. He provided photographic or synoptic evidence.

It will be displayed on the projection screen. If there are audio files, the audio will also be played.

During this time, Secretary Julianne brought in the coffee Jack Reacher had ordered. Henry simply pressed a button to hide the scene that was playing, preventing the chubby black woman from getting involved in this mess.

Henry mainly spoke of the intelligence he had gathered. As for the information from the East Coast, it was basically based on the categorized and organized data that Tony Stark had pre-placed on the virtual servers he knew he would be hacking.

After a little time, Henry finally finished explaining what he had to say. He said, "That's all we know so far."

"But as you can probably see, not all of this is supported by sufficient evidence. Much of it is just hearsay or private speculation without any supporting evidence."

"And the worst part is that even seemingly credible evidence could be fabricated, intended to mislead or deceive others."

"We don't know which are true and which are false. But you have to be careful when you investigate, lest you trigger someone's alarm, What If...? there really is a conspiracy behind this."

After hearing a bunch of intelligence, the last sentence was "what was said before might all be nonsense." How could Jack Reacher not be dumbfounded? But he didn't let his expression get out of control; instead, he analyzed it very seriously.

Henry said this because he believed that What If...? this Jack Reacher was indeed the bold, meticulous, and insightful fellow he knew, then the more information the better.

Even if it's fake or misleading information, it must contain some clues and hints at the intentions of the person behind it all. Jack Reacher will judge these things himself and won't be fooled.

Jack Reacher asked, "What If...? you believe there's a conspiracy behind this car accident, are there any suspects?"

It was the same old answer again. Henry pointed to the sky and said, "One percent of United States could be."

"That's too vague," Jack Reacher said, frowning for the first time. Henry replied seriously, "Do you know that after Tony Stark took over Stark Industries, he faced a series of poisonings and assassination attempts? These things were not made public."

"Leaving aside those encounters that were merely questionable, the number of times he succeeded was unimaginable to outsiders. Therefore, the guards around that young master were all replaced by people he recruited from the streets."

"In fact, if it weren't for the collapse of the Red Empire in the north a few days after Howard Stark's unexpected death, which caused most of the major players to focus their attention on the revelry in the north..."

"Regardless of whether Obadiah Stane or Tony Stark himself is the true mastermind behind the transformation of Stark Industries, the very existence of Stark Industries amidst a pack of wolves is a major question."

"It's like the Arden Family suddenly lost two leaders today. What If...? you know anything about my situation, you should know what happened to that family."

Jack Reacher asked directly, "Did you do this? The Ardens' affair?"

"Yes. The couple transformed themselves into Vampires, so their deaths leave no trace. Legally, unless there's CCTV footage recording the entire incident as physical evidence, the couple's legal status is simply missing persons."