Serum's Whereabouts
Tony Stark picked up the documents on the table and quickly flipped through them without saying a word.
Jack Reacher, as if adding a few footnotes to his argument, continued, "What If...? it weren't for the concept of ' Winter Soldier Program,' we couldn't explain why our MIA personnel didn't return but remained in the Allied countries during World War II."
"And this war hero, a former member of the Howling Commandos, should have known Mr. Howard Stark. But in the assassination shown on screen, he acted as if he didn't recognize him, brutally killing him."
"I have been to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington., and entered the Captain America Memorial Hall to confirm the appearance and life story of Sergeant Bucky Sergeant Barnes."
"I find it hard to believe that such a brave and fearless war hero would murder an old friend, and in such a dishonorable way, stage his death as a car accident."
Henry now had the opportunity to observe Tony Stark's behavior. Unlike his anger when he was suddenly exposed by Baron Zemo in the movie Captain America: Civil War, in that scene, Bucky Barnes, whose mental state and memory had almost recovered, was right beside him.
Knowing full well what he had done, having this feud exposed by a third party, Bucky not even offering an apology, and Captain America standing by to defend him—anyone would be furious. Let alone someone as emotional as Tony Stark.
But now Tony Stark only has documents in front of him, without his two best buddies in his way. This allows him to calmly consider the causes and consequences, as well as the various factors that could potentially influence the situation.
Or perhaps, this guy is so angry he can't even speak! It's just that neither Henry nor Jack Reacher is the target of his venting, so he's restraining himself.
In short, timing is very important.
Baron Zemo had painstakingly laid the groundwork, then chose the most opportune moment to expose the truth. If the already infighting among the heroes didn't completely break them up, all his long-term planning would have been in vain.
However, Henry was very curious about the future impact of Jack Reacher's premature exposure of this matter.
"Motive?" The young master carefully and gently placed the document back on the table, clearly trying to suppress his anger.
Tony Stark said, "First, we can rule out personal grudges; that idiot seems to have been brainwashed into a murderous moron. So there must be a mastermind behind this, but what is this guy's motive?"
"We all know that the Red Empire will collapse in a few days. Killing a capitalist by assassination won't undo anything. Besides, the world will only see the old man's death as an accident, not a victory for the Reds."
"Regarding this—" Jack Reacher rummaged through the pile of documents, pulled out the bottom document, and placed it on top, saying, "This information was obtained quite by chance, and it might explain some of the situation."
"As I mentioned before, capable countries have been conducting research on super soldiers since the war. There are basically two main directions: one is to explore new topics and conduct new research projects; the other is to try to replicate the successful case of Captain America."
"However, Dr. Abraham Dr. Erskine, the principal researcher of the Super Soldier Serum, has died, and the Super Soldier Serum and its formula have been lost or destroyed."
"So the only remaining advantage the U.S. military has is Captain America's blood sample and Mr. Howard Stark, the scientist who also participated in the creation of Captain America."
"For a long time, restoring the Super-Soldier Serum that Captain America originally used was a task entrusted to Mr. Howard Stark by the U.S. military."
"I heard there were several successes along the way. Due to confidentiality restrictions, I was unable to access these materials. The final delivery of the Super-Soldier Serum was carried out personally by Mr. Howard Stark."
"Nominally, it was a research institution driving back to their residence on Long Island New York. In reality, they were transporting five doses of Super Soldier Serum to deliver to someone or some organization. However, they were intercepted en route, the Stark died, and the serum was lost."
Tony Stark picked up the last document and began reading. It contained a classified transportation plan, in which the Stark were part of a larger operation, transporting a certain segment of the journey.
However, this plan was incomplete, not a complete document. But it was enough to make a judgment: whoever obtained this plan and wanted to seize the Super-Soldier Serum would naturally target the weakest point, namely, the Stark.
From this perspective, the Stark were not the target, but merely collateral damage.
Thinking of this, Tony Stark was instantly enraged. If he could breathe fire, he really wanted to catch some unlucky guy and spray him in the face with flames!
Which idiot came up with such a flawed plan?!
What If...? the items are truly that important, shouldn't they be heavily guarded during transport? Why hire an elderly couple?
The result was that they gave away gifts and also lost lives!
He had no doubt that the incomplete plan was real. This also explained why, in the surveillance footage, Bucky Barnes, who caused the car accident, immediately opened the trunk to check for something, rather than committing murder.
His main objective was the Super-Soldier Serum. The deaths of the old man and mother were less about them being the target and more about them being murdered to cover up the truth about the missing Super-Soldier Serum.
Tony Stark immediately became suspicious of another group of people: those who told him the car accident was merely an accident. How could they have concluded it was an "accident" when they knew the Super Soldier Serum was missing?
This is undoubtedly a lie. But what are their reasons for lying? Do they even know the truth?
Or rather, they were the ones who helped cover it up, or even carried it out!
Tony Stark didn't say these words aloud. He knew that asking the U.S. Army military police to investigate the car accident was one thing, but delving into another organization and investigating its internal affairs was quite another.
In the world of intelligence, this is tantamount to war. He couldn't delegate this task to anyone else, nor did he need to. Jack...
It was enough that Reacher helped him find these truths.
Moreover, at this stage of the investigation, if it were the police, they would probably start making arrests and interrogating witnesses or criminals for more details.
Unfortunately, the military drew a red line when they lent the personnel.
They probably had some idea about the Stark ' situation, but didn't know the details. So, in accordance with Tony Stark's request, they lent out the elite members of the investigation team, but with certain restrictions.
Not wanting to escalate the situation too easily, Tony Stark could only try to obtain more intelligence to find room for maneuver. So he asked another question, "Who has the lost Super Soldier Serum?"
"I suspect—" Jack Reacher hesitated for a moment before finally speaking his mind. "Perhaps one of the things has something to do with that guy on TV."
Henry and Tony Stark turned their heads at the same time. CNN was reporting on the opening ceremony of the New York City Watchtower.
In the very center of the image, slowly descending from the sky is Sentry, the first person to be called a Golden Guardian by the news media, wearing a golden bodysuit, a blue-green cape, and a black Sentry with a large "S" symbol on it!