In the end, the brothers resumed discussing their plan to catch the mole.
But as soon as the subject came up, the atmosphere in the cabin turned a little awkward.
They were both smart men, geniuses with minds beyond those of ordinary people.
When they decided to catch the mole earlier, the answer to certain questions had practically been staring them in the face.
Neither of them had been willing to say it out loud, though.
Now that the plan was settled, they had to face a question they couldn't avoid.
"Luca." Tony broke the silence.
"Who do you think sold our itinerary to the terrorists and paid a fortune to have us killed? Which one of the top executives was it?"
Luca turned to look into Tony's bloodshot eyes.
He knew Tony already had an answer in his heart.
In a business empire, the simplest way to find the culprit was to ask who stood to benefit most from the victim's death.
Luca sat up straight and folded his hands on his knees.
"Bro, we can figure it out by process of elimination."
Luca held up one finger.
"First, most of the board members at Stark Industries are useless freeloaders who only know how to collect dividends. They don't have the guts or the ability to bypass the military's encryption system and leak our itinerary to terrorists."
Luca held up a second finger.
"Second, the terrorists wanted a lot of money. There are no more than three people at the company who could move that much money at will and use an encryption key with the highest level of clearance."
Luca stared at Tony, his gaze sharpening.
"Finally, and most importantly, if we'd both died in the desert, Stark Industries' stock price would definitely have plummeted, but one person would soon have taken complete control."
"That person would naturally have become the supreme ruler of Stark Industries, with control over weapons manufacturing and sales."
Luca paused.
The answer was clear.
But the name lodged in the brothers' throats, too heavy to speak.
Clearly, if they died, Obadiah Stane, the uncle who had been with them for so many years, stood to benefit the most.
That was the fact laid out before them.
Yet neither of them wanted to believe that conclusion.
To Luca and Tony, Obadiah was more than just a company executive.
He was Howard Stark's best friend-their father's best friend.
After their parents died in a car accident, Obadiah was the one who stabilized the company.
He was the uncle who had watched the brothers grow up, a true veteran of Stark Industries.
Over the years, no matter how much trouble they caused or how often they threw parties, Obadiah had always been there to clean up after them.
Emotionally, they couldn't bring themselves to believe it.
That Uncle Oba, who always smiled as he patted their shoulders and called them little geniuses, could be the mole who wanted to flay them and tear them apart.
What normal person would suspect that an uncle who watched him grow up wanted him dead? Luca sighed inwardly.
That was also why Luca had made his choice.
Though he usually preferred to act directly, this time he hadn't picked up a blade and headed back to New York to hack someone down. Instead, he had chosen to work with Tony on a trap.
No matter how hard it was to accept emotionally, Obadiah was the most likely suspect.
That was what reason told them.
Tony gripped his glass tightly, his brow furrowed.
At last, he took a deep breath and set the glass on the table.
"I... I still choose to trust Uncle Oba for now."
Tony sounded hesitant as he said it, as though he lacked conviction.
It was more as if he were trying to comfort himself.
"Maybe a hacker broke into the company's system. Maybe another competitor falsified the accounts. Until we have one hundred percent proof, I don't want to suspect him," Tony said, looking down.
Seeing his brother like this, Luca didn't argue.
He knew perfectly well that, despite Tony's usual arrogant, conceited playboy act, he was a man who cared deeply about the people close to him.
Being betrayed by an elder he trusted most felt worse than being shot in the chest.
Luca didn't feel good about it either.
"All right." Luca shrugged and reached for the wineglass on the table.
"Then we'll wait for them to show themselves. If it really is him... Tony, don't try to stop me when the time comes."
Tony said nothing, merely nodding in silence.
The brothers leaned back on the couch and dropped the subject.
The cabin fell quiet again.
They closed their eyes and rested, but each had his own worries, and turmoil churned in both their hearts.
More than a dozen hours later.
The plane landed smoothly on the private apron at Los Angeles Airport.
The cabin door opened.
The long-missed sea breeze blew in.
Waiting on the apron were Tony's personal bodyguard and driver, Happy, and the company's senior assistant, Pepper Potts.
When Pepper saw the brothers descend from the plane one after the other, she hurried toward them in her high heels.
Her eyes were red, and tears welled up in them.
She had been under tremendous pressure these past two months.
Everyone else had thought the Stark brothers had died in the desert. Only she had kept holding on.
"Oh, God... You're finally back. Tony, you look like an old man."
Pepper looked at the haggard Tony, both worried and angry.
Tony reached out and gave Pepper a big hug.
"Potts, your tears got my tank top dirty. But that's all right. To celebrate coming back alive, I made a great decision on the plane just now."
Pepper was taken aback, thinking Tony was about to say something touching. "What decision?"
"Get me two cheeseburgers right away. I could eat a whole cow right now," Tony said solemnly.
"Wait, I want two chicken burgers!" Luca cut in.
Tony gritted his teeth and finally gave in.
"All right, I'm the older brother. I'll let him have his way. Two cheeseburgers and two chicken burgers!"
Pepper was so exasperated that she laughed and rolled her eyes helplessly.
Those two had nearly died, and the first thing they wanted after coming back was hamburgers.
Luca took a deep breath, savoring the air of freedom.
He turned to Happy, whose eyes were also red with emotion.
"Happy!" Luca shouted.
"I'm here, Young Master Luca! I'm so happy to see you're safe and sound!" Happy quickly stood at attention and wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes.
"Save your tears, Happy! I'm giving you an important mission that concerns the survival of Stark Industries," Luca said solemnly.
Happy immediately tensed, thinking it was some kind of secret operation. "Tell me, sir. I guarantee I'll get it done!"
Luca stepped forward, patted Happy's broad shoulder, and spoke loudly.
"Go charter the best luxury yacht in Los Angeles for me right now. Then contact Victoria's Secret."
"Tell the person in charge that Luca Stark is throwing a pool party tonight to celebrate escaping death, with nothing but champagne and models!"
"Remember, no one under one meter seventy-five, and no one whose figure isn't hot enough! I want every media outlet in Los Angeles to know that I, Luca Stark, am back!"
At those words.
Not only was Happy stunned, but Pepper also covered her forehead and let out a despairing sigh.
"Luca, you just escaped! You need a full physical first. How can you want to throw a party the moment you get back?" Pepper protested loudly.
Luca spread his hands, looking utterly justified.
"Potts, it's precisely because I almost died that I need to make the most of my time and enjoy life! There wasn't even a place to take a shower in Afghanistan, and I nearly went blind looking at those hairy terrorists every day. I urgently need some high-quality beauties to cleanse my wounded soul."
"Besides, I'm stimulating consumption and contributing to Los Angeles' economic development. Don't try to talk me out of it. This isn't up for discussion."
Seeing that Luca was utterly shameless and unbothered, Pepper was at a loss for words.
She knew that trying to restrain this guy with morality was a complete waste of effort.
As long as he had no morals, you couldn't use them to guilt-trip him.