The next day, K. Rader woke up in his room at the Continental Hotel. Meanwhile, Eddie and Barton found nothing during their raid on his house, deciding to wait until they could locate his hideout before attempting another capture.
Rader got up, washed up, and then called his boss, only to find the phone turned off. As he suspected, there was trouble at headquarters, but he needed to gather more information.
Leaving his room, Rader walked to a metal door in the basement. He inserted a coin into the slot, and the lock slowly turned, opening the door to reveal a bar filled with assassins, even in the early morning.
Rader approached the bar, placed a coin in front of the bartender, and asked, "What happened to the 13K gang in Hell's Kitchen last night?"
The bartender inspected the coin, then handed Rader a card from beneath the counter, saying, "Take this. Someone will find you soon."
Rader took the card and nodded, then moved to an empty booth and ordered breakfast after paying with another coin.
As he started eating, a burly white man approached, sat down, and pocketed the card on the table.
"K. Rader, the 13K gang's headquarters was hit hard last night. First by superheroes, resulting in heavy casualties, and then by the NYPD. K. Brennan was arrested and will face trial and imprisonment."
"The 13K gang is now in disarray, likely to be swallowed by other gangs if nothing changes."
With that, the burly man left without further ado.
Rader shook his head and muttered, "Looks like I'll need to lay low here for a while or use the Continental's network to leave New York."
"Hopefully, my coins will last."
Not lingering in the bar, Rader turned and headed back to the hotel.
…
On the other side-
Barton returned to SHIELD and began tracking K. Rader using his clearance.
Starting from the vicinity of the warehouse last night, he quickly found footage of Rader on the surveillance cameras. Following his trail through various cameras, Barton saw Rader drive to the Continental Hotel in New York and enter.
Before entering the hotel, Rader had looked at a nearby camera and smiled, indicating he knew someone would track him via surveillance.
The final location posed a problem: the New York Continental Hotel, owned by Charles Doyle. This hotel served assassins and had its own rules, making it a challenging place to confront Rader.
Even Clint Barton, a member of the Avengers, wouldn't fare well trying to apprehend someone inside.
Not that he feared the assassins, but causing trouble with Charles Doyle or the Adjudicator of the High Table would be problematic. He knew several ninjas who still held the title of Adjudicator.
However, Barton saw this as a way to test Eddie Brock. If Eddie was unaware of the Continental Hotel and its rules and attempted to forcefully capture someone or reveal something, it would prove he had no connection to Charles Doyle.
If he backed off or was familiar with the situation, it would indicate Eddie Brock might be involved with Charles Doyle's organization or at least understood its true nature, making him unsuitable for the Avengers or SHIELD.
With this plan in mind, Barton needed to make some preparations before contacting Eddie and informing him of the situation.
…
Elsewhere-
In his seaside villa's underground lab, Tony Stark was installing a micro-sensor on his arm.
"Boss, give me a few more hours, and I'll have it calibrated," said Dum-E, the robot.
"No need," Tony replied, wiping his arm wound with a cotton ball.
"I've prepared a safety briefing for you, though you won't listen."
"Of course not."
"Alright, let's begin the test."
"Dum-E, you big idiot, where'd you get that hat? It suits you," Tony said, noticing the robot wearing a hat labeled "Dumb."
Tony stood up and walked forward a few steps. After hitting the wooden man in front of him a few times, he returned to Dum-E.
"Still hiding in that corner, huh? You know what you did."
Pointing to the spot where he'd just tested, he continued, "Clean up the bloodstains."
Dum-E's arm swiveled towards Tony. "Boss, you haven't slept in seventy-two hours."
Ignoring the reminder, Tony stood in front of his array of armor suits and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen."
"Good evening, welcome to the production base."
"I'm honored to introduce you to a lively new brother."
To the mechanical arm, he said, "Close-up, then wide shot, then put time and date on it."
"Mark 42 Adaptive Navigation Armor, test commence."
"Start the program."
"JARVIS, play some music."
Tony began remotely controlling the suit to assemble around him. The first few parts went smoothly, but then things went awry. The final piece struck him, scattering armor fragments everywhere.
Realizing his seventy-two-hour work marathon might indeed be affecting him, Tony decided to take a break.
Tony stopped working and turned on the TV, only to see a strange broadcast: a propaganda video from the Ten Rings organization led by Mandarin. After the chilling message ended, regular programming resumed.
After seeing what was happening on TV, Tony didn't stay at home, but made an appointment to meet Rhodey at a restaurant.
In response to the hijacked broadcast, the U.S. government quickly acted. They repainted and rebranded Tony's 'War Machine' as Iron Patriot, presenting him as a symbol of safety and assurance to the public, vowing to swiftly eliminate the terrorist threat posed by the Ten Rings group.
…
In the restaurant-
The TV displayed government news and various shows humorously discussing Iron Patriot.
Rhodey chuckled, "Public opinion seems pretty positive, right?"
Tony teased, "Iron Patriot, really? What a lame name."
Rhodey defended, "War Machine sounded too harsh and cold. This name is friendlier."
Tony shifted the conversation. "So, what's the deal with this Mandarin guy? What's really going on?"
Rhodey glanced around before lowering his voice. "It's classified, Tony."
Seeing Tony's disregard for secrecy, Rhodey relented. "Alright, there have been nine bombings."
Tony was shocked. "Nine?"
Rhodey explained, "Nine. The public knows about three. The problem is, no one can find any bomb remnants—no shells."
He added, "Honestly, we're wondering if ninjas are involved. You know, some ninjas could pull this off, and it's not just one or two."
Tony reassured, "You know I can help. Just ask. I've got high-tech gear, adaptive navigation equipment, and bomb disposal tools that can catch explosives mid-air."
"And I have connections in the ninja world. Charles is my friend, I get along well with Jiraiya, and there's that kid from the Sand Village puppet shop."
Rhodey noticed Tony's bloodshot eyes and asked, "When's the last time you had a good night's sleep?"
Tony deflected, "Einstein slept only three hours for a year. Look at his achievements."
Rhodey sighed, "Tony, we're all worried about you. I'm worried about you."
Tony was surprised. "You worry about me?"
Rhodey replied, "I don't want to come off like a jerk..."
At that moment, two children approached. Rhodey quickly changed his tone, avoiding any bad language.
A little girl held up a drawing and asked Tony, "Can you sign this for me?"
Tony replied, "If Rhodey doesn't mind, I have no problem with it."
"Rhodey, do you mind?"
Rhodey smiled, "No, I don't."
Tony took the drawing, which depicted him battling aliens, done in crayon.
"What's your name?"
"Eileen."
###
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