"I hereby announce that Stark Industries is permanently shutting down its weapons manufacturing division."
Tony attended the press conference with a Wilson cheeseburger in one hand and a cast on his other arm. He directly announced the closure of the company's most profitable division, with its workers and researchers to be reassigned to other positions.
The reporters' camera flashes were enough to blind anyone, but Tony was frequently in the papers and had come prepared. He wore a pair of flashy sunglasses.
When reporters pressed him about what he intended to do next, he refused to answer any more questions. His bodyguard Happy shielded him as he slipped into the emergency passageway, while the fat man jammed the door shut and held back the reporters flooding in like brain-eating zombies.
Pepper was waiting for him outside. Tony's personal secretary looked helpless as she walked beside him. "I agree with shutting down the arms division, but I never thought you'd announce it outright. We're going to be in a very passive position for the next few days."
"You mean my Uncle Obadiah? No. As long as I tell him he can make even more money, he'll agree with all four limbs raised." Tony stuffed the burger into his mouth in a few bites, even licking his fingers. After being trapped in the rainforest for a month, his mouth had been desperate for flavor. "When the market opens tomorrow, our stock price should keep plunging, because everyone thinks Stark is an arms company. But I need you to hire traders and prepare in advance. Buy up all the stock everyone else dumps. Use the secret accounts in the Cayman Islands."
"Using our own liquid assets to prop up a market bubble is extremely unwise." Pepper gave her opinion. She thought it was