General Ross and pressure

General Ross was the military's liaison.

After Stark's weapons division shut down, he had placed a huge batch of orders with Hammer Industries.

And those orders seemed to be in danger of falling through.

General Ross had been ready to cancel them.

But an unexpected development had changed his mind.

Hammer Industries had actually been acquired.

And the man who acquired it had invited him over.

"Wick." General Ross sat in the conference room.

His expression was grave, his mind occupied with the information on Wick.

As a general wielding considerable military power, he knew more than most.

Wick might have backing from the United Kingdom.

And there were traces of Wick in Russia as well.

This Underground Alliance, whose influence spanned the globe, had been built by one man.

The government wanted stability among the Underworld Forces, so it maintained a wait-and-see attitude toward the Underground Alliance's existence, even offering some support.

Wick's information was hardly a secret.

Perhaps that was precisely why the man had been able to take his position in the Underground Alliance.

Between an unknown enemy and an enemy whose background they knew inside out-

Everyone would choose the latter.

"You chose from the outset to live in plain sight, putting yourself under the watch of every intelligence agency in the world. Watson Wick, you're a formidable man."

Great men respected one another. General Ross even felt a trace of admiration for what that man had done.

Living in plain sight meant accepting the converging scrutiny of intelligence agencies around the world.

Where he appeared, where he ate, how many times he coughed, how many times he touched his hair.

It was all recorded in intelligence files.

A man living in plain sight would not drive agents away. He would even tacitly accept their presence.

A life without any secrets could drive a normal person mad.

General Ross did not think he could endure such a life.

The conference room door opened.

His thoughts stopped, and he raised his eyes.

His gaze settled on the person coming in.

"John Wick." General Ross gave an inscrutable laugh and looked meaningfully at the newcomer. "You're very confident, squandering your father's company and making foolish decisions."

The moment John entered, he began lecturing him.

"The Expo incident has cost Hammer Industries the military's trust. Right now, Hammer Industries is a sieve riddled with holes. Acquiring it won't do you any good."

General Ross was getting on in years. His white hair and beard made him look stern and rigid.

A man like that would not make a good grandfather or father.

John did not argue. He simply sat down and told Natasha, "I think Whisky would suit a hard-bitten general."

Natasha glanced at John, nodded, and left.

She soon returned with Whisky.

General Ross stopped his endless speech. Frowning, he looked at John, unsure what he was trying to do.

"Someone has to fulfill the military's orders. A defense budget of 708 billion dollars needs to be spent somewhere."

John finally spoke. He picked up a glass and poured liquor into it.

Amber liquid flowed into the glass.

Throughout it all, he was as relaxed as if he were merely stating facts.

"Stark Industries announced the closure of its weapons manufacturing division, and a large number of orders went to Hammer Industries."

"As users of equipment made by Hammer Industries, the military should understand that some things can't be erased by a single failure."

It was not as though the military had never used Hammer Industries' weapons. They might not have been better than Stark's, but at least they were not much worse.

The main issue was the Iron Soldiers.

John walked over to General Ross and set down the glass, chuckling. "You think that was a failure?"

"Wasn't it?" General Ross asked gravely. "New York was attacked by out-of-control Iron Soldiers."

"No, no, no. That was a success." John stood behind Ross. "What you saw was what the Iron Soldiers were capable of."

"They went out of control because their designer deliberately manipulated them." Slowly returning to the seat opposite General Ross, John added meaningfully, "After all, we only have one Iron Man, don't we?"

Yes.

The Iron Soldiers had exploded.

But that had been programmed by Ivan.

What about before the explosions?

They could engage enemies, take flight, and fire missiles.

They could drive Iron Man back, and unmanned robots meant absolute loyalty.

They would not defy the Department of Defense the way Iron Man, Tony Stark, did.

Nor would personal emotions or cowardice cause them to fail a mission.

And what did an army need?

Loyal soldiers who would never betray it.

So, apart from the final part, when Ivan's hidden trap made the Iron Soldiers attack Iron Man, their other capabilities had thoroughly satisfied the military.

General Ross had only agreed to come because John promised he could produce Iron Soldiers again.

Frankly, if Hammer Industries could keep making Iron Soldiers and promise that the previous incident would not happen again, the military would not abandon it.

They wanted an army of Iron Men, but Tony Stark refused to hand over his technology.

Settling for an army of Iron Soldiers was acceptable.

"Yes, we only have one Iron Man." General Ross pushed the glass away, lit a cigar, and put it in his mouth. Exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, he added meaningfully, "But you don't have any other options either."

"Tony Stark is unquestionably a genius," John acknowledged with a nod. "I really can't give you his armor."

"But..." John smiled. "I can give you what you want."

"Such as?"

"Absolutely loyal soldiers."

John's smile remained, but beside him, Natasha's pupils contracted.

Iron Soldiers?

General Ross remained noncommittal and sneered. "As far as I know, Hammer Industries was only able to produce Iron Soldiers thanks to Ivan Vanko."

"That's true." John tapped his fingers intermittently on the table and smiled faintly. "Then what if I told you Ivan Vanko left a backup of the Iron Soldier technology at Hammer Industries before he died?"

"Hmm?" General Ross's smile vanished. He stared at John's young face, trying to determine whether he was joking.

"This isn't funny, Wick," General Ross said with a frown. "Do you think I'll believe that?"

"You will, because it's the truth."

John held up one finger. "One month. We'll deliver Iron Soldiers just like the ones at the Expo. All you have to do is keep those orders on hold for a month."

If they really were Iron Soldiers, waiting a month would be a trivial inconvenience.

General Ross fell into thought.

John continued with another bombshell. "I can promise they'll perform better than the Iron Soldiers you've already seen."

"You know what you're telling me is no small matter." General Ross considered it for a moment, then began bargaining. "I can agree to wait a month, but the price of the orders drops ten percent from the original figure."

General Ross was an old fox too. Cutting ten percent off an Iron Soldier that cost over a hundred million dollars meant they would save a substantial sum if this was true.

If it was false, all they would waste was a month of waiting.

Either way, he would not lose.

Had it been Justin Hammer, he would have agreed without hesitation.

Because this was Hammer Industries' only chance to turn things around. Money did not matter; the Department of Defense's trust did.

But John stopped tapping the table and said flatly, "The price goes up ten percent."

"What did you say?" General Ross almost thought he had misheard.

An increase instead of a discount?

Are you stupid, or am I?

John said meaningfully, "In the future, are you counting on Iron Man to save the day, or the Department of Defense?"

"An equal exchange. Superior Iron Soldiers deserve a superior price."

General Ross sat there thinking for a moment, then picked up the glass with a dark expression and drank the Whisky.

He set the glass down hard.

"Better performance, a ten percent price increase," General Ross said coldly. "Otherwise, I'll have you expelled from the United States on espionage charges."

John raised an eyebrow and said casually, "That's a big order."

General Ross rose, walked over to John, and stopped beside him. Bending down, he threatened him in his ear. "You should understand that this month will decide whether you live or die."

"Do something for me, and you can see results in two weeks." John paid the threat no mind and smiled unconcernedly. "Help me investigate people connected to the gangs in Hell's Kitchen."

A vein throbbed on General Ross's forehead. He took two deep breaths before suppressing the urge to draw his gun.

He left Hammer Industries with a thunderous expression.

John shrugged, walked over, and casually tossed the glass General Ross had used into the trash.

Natasha asked in surprise, "Aren't you afraid he'll just cancel the orders?"

"I'm not the one who needs them," John scoffed. "Thanks to Stark, the entire Department of Defense has a grudge to settle."

Tony had once said that if the Department of Defense wanted to recruit him, it would have to make him secretary of defense, earning himself the undying hatred of those American military men.

Otherwise, even with the ability to manufacture Iron Soldiers, John probably could not have made General Ross swallow his anger.

After all, everyone in the Department of Defense wanted to get some payback.

Natasha was speechless. Then she asked, "What about the Iron Soldiers?"

"Oh, we can make them." John made no attempt to hide it. He sniffed the Whisky, then casually tossed the expensive bottle into the trash as well. "A man should keep his word. Of course I wouldn't lie to him."

He could manufacture Iron Soldiers?

Natasha followed John as he left, continuing to pry information out of him. "Making Iron Soldiers with improved performance in two weeks is impossible."

"Tony Stark built a suit of Iron Man Armor out of scrap in a cave. I have the most advanced equipment in the world and an experienced team here."

John chuckled. "I don't see why it's impossible."

Confidence?

Or did he have some other method?

Natasha understood this man less and less.

John stopped in the lobby of Hammer Industries and turned his head toward the television that was playing.

"Looks like he received my regards."

Natasha looked over in confusion. The television was broadcasting news from a war-torn region.

"An internal rebellion has broken out within the notorious terrorist organization, the Ten Rings. Its leader was targeted in an assassination attempt, and his condition remains unknown. The Ten Rings have evacuated several positions."

After fleeing the Church, Priest's mind was muddled.

He moved as if sleepwalking, with only one sentence in his head.

Kill the leader.

The Police found him and took him toward the Police Station.

On the way, he strangled the officer driving the patrol car, seized the vehicle, and drove to the docks.

He left aboard a yacht.

Then he boarded a plane using a fake passport he had stashed away, finally returning to the leader.

The leader, who had once nearly died because of Iron Man, immediately summoned Priest over when he saw him.

He asked about the mission to assassinate Wick.

Priest answered respectfully, "The mission failed, sir."

"Hmm?" The leader snorted coldly. "It failed, and you still came back?"

Priest smiled faintly and drew a pocket pistol from his priestly clothes.

"Wick sends his regards."

He pulled the trigger.

The bullet struck the stunned leader.

Immediately afterward, members of the Ten Rings who heard the shot killed Priest.

Priest was dead, and his left hand opened.

A Gold Coin rolled out.

The wounded leader of the Ten Rings clutched the left side of his chest where he had been shot. His anatomy was different; his heart sat farther to the right than an ordinary person's.

He picked up the Gold Coin with difficulty and stared at the Underground Alliance's emblem on it, his pupils trembling.

A gunshot rang out.

One of his men was shot through the head, and an assassin dressed in local clothing approached.

The assassin's eyes filled with greed when he saw the leader.

Pandora's Box had been opened, and every consequence would come without end.