Obadiah maintained a calm expression and asked skeptically.
"That certainly sounds like a tempting offer. But there's no such thing as a free lunch."
"What exactly do you want? Why help me?"
The leader burst into scornful laughter.
"Our demands are simple!"
"From today onward, Stark Industries will do as we command. You'll cooperate with us to produce the weapons and equipment we need. You'll become one of our organization's external contacts."
Obadiah froze for a moment, then laughed in anger.
Did they even hear themselves?!
I've spent decades working my ass off, and they think they can redefine everything with a few words?
He stood up, planting his hands on his hips.
"Are you kidding me? You'd just be making me your puppet, wouldn't you?"
"I worked my ass off to take control of the company so I could call the shots, not so I could be your dog! Do you really think I'm an idiot?"
"Fuck!!"
Obadiah pointed at the leader.
"And what the hell is this organization you keep talking about? A few nobodies in Halloween masks think they can swallow up Stark Industries?!"
"I'm telling you, that's absolutely impossible. It's not going to happen!!"
"I, Obadiah, will never be a slave!"
The leader sat motionless on the sofa.
Even faced with Obadiah's anger, he paid it no mind.
"You have no choice, Mr. Obadiah."
"We know everything about you. Yes, everything you've done."
"Including the bills for the weapons you secretly sold to Middle Eastern warlords behind everyone's backs, and the transfer records from when you hired someone to murder the Stark brothers. All that evidence is in our hands now. Do you understand what will happen if you refuse us?"
Obadiah's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
Damn it, these people really do know everything.
Ignoring his reaction, the leader continued to apply pressure.
"As for the organization, all I can tell you is that we control the governments and key powers in most countries around the world. Our influence reaches every corner of the globe, and we're more than capable of getting rid of the person in charge of a supercorporation without anyone noticing."
The leader stood up, walked slowly over to Obadiah, and lowered his voice.
"It would be nothing more than a minor change in leadership."
The leader leaned closer, his tone full of menace.
"But if you refuse our offer tonight... I imagine you wouldn't object to the sun rising as usual tomorrow, would you? After all, dead men can't see the sun."
It was a death threat.
Obadiah's face was terrifyingly grim.
His mind raced.
If what the other man said was true, and they possessed that much power and evidence,
then he really had no choice and no room to maneuver.
Damn it! Who the hell are these people?!
When did a secret organization like this appear in the world?!
Obadiah was silent for a long time.
He weighed the pros and cons over and over in his mind.
If he refused, he might die tonight, or go to prison for murder tomorrow.
If he agreed, he would be a puppet, but at least Stark Industries would be his in name.
Fine. To stay alive, some unnecessary principles can apparently be abandoned.
A few minutes later.
Obadiah sat back down on the sofa.
As it turned out, he had given in.
"I have one more question," Obadiah asked, staring at the leader, unwilling to accept it.
"If you have to find a proxy, why choose me instead of the Stark brothers?"
"As everyone knows, both brothers are rare geniuses. The technology in Tony's head is twenty years ahead of the rest of the world. Luca may be a bastard, but his achievements in biology and chemistry are likewise the best in the world. Wouldn't controlling them suit you better and bring you greater benefits?"
The leader seemed to have known all along that Obadiah would ask that.
He sat down as well, his tone growing a little more relaxed.
"We considered that question a long time ago. But you know the Stark brothers' personalities better than we do. They're people who would never submit to control."
"Tony Stark is arrogant and conceited, and Luca Stark is a bastard with no sense of morality. They could never be counted on to obey. So, do you think we need to waste our time on them?"
Obadiah nodded and took a deep breath.
With the other man having put it that way, what else could he say?
He had to admit that the other man had a very thorough grasp of the weaknesses of human nature.
He accepted the reason. Those brothers really were uncontrollable madmen.
And they always had been.
"All right."
Obadiah said no more and chose to accept reality.
"Then what are you planning to do tonight? And what should I do?"
The leader stood up and straightened his suit.
"We'll send professional killers from the organization to take care of them at the hotel. Our killers are highly professional and won't leave a trace."
"All you need to do is stay quietly at home and take over everything at the company once it's done. When the time is right, our people will find you."
With that, he didn't wait for Obadiah to respond.
The masked men turned together and headed for the door.
When they reached it, the leader stopped and glanced back at Obadiah.
"Enjoy your evening, Mr. Obadiah. Remember to open a good bottle of wine to celebrate. Starting tomorrow, you won't have to watch those brothers' faces anymore."
With that, they opened the door and disappeared into the night.
Obadiah sat alone in the living room.
Once they had really left and he had confirmed there was no sound of movement,
he suddenly grabbed the bottle on the table and hurled it against the wall.
The bottle shattered instantly, and red wine ran down the wall like a pool of blood.
"Those damn bastards! How dare they threaten me!"
Obadiah cursed, his face dark.
He hated the feeling of having someone hold something over him.
But after venting his anger, he gradually calmed down.
The image of Tony and Luca acting as though everyone else were beneath them at today's press conference surfaced in his mind.
Obadiah smiled, a very confident smile.
He thought that, actually, this was for the best.
Since someone was willing to do the dirty work for him, why wouldn't he let them?
"Damn Luca, damn Tony."
"So what if you're geniuses? So what if you're billionaires? You were lucky enough to escape Afghanistan and make it back, but tonight, you'll still die in women's beds. Your end has finally come."
Hearing the sound of something breaking, the housekeeper rushed in.
Obadiah waved his hand, telling the housekeeper to hurry up and clean the broken glass off the floor.
He waited for the housekeeper to finish and leave the living room.
He went to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a full glass.
Then he raised it in a toast to the empty air.
"Farewell, Stark brothers."
Obadiah laughed happily.
He downed the liquor in his glass in one gulp and found that it tasted sweeter than usual.
He had already begun imagining taking over the company the next morning.
It would be the most wonderful sight in the world, and of course, one that belonged to him alone.