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Tony Stark picked up the files on the desk and flipped through them rapidly, saying nothing the entire time.

Jack Reacher, as if adding footnotes to his own theory, continued:

"If we don’t use the concept behind the Winter Soldier Program, then we can’t explain why an American MIA soldier never returned home and instead remained in a former World War II Allied nation.

"Nor can we explain why a decorated war hero who once served in the Howling Commandos—someone who should have known Howard Stark personally—would carry out that assassination as if he didn’t recognize him at all.

"I personally went to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington and visited the Captain America exhibit. I confirmed Sergeant ’Bucky Barnes’ appearance and wartime record.

"I find it extremely difficult to believe a brave and honorable war hero like that would murder an old friend.

"And do it in such a disgraceful way—disguising it as a traffic accident."

Only then did Henry finally get a chance to observe Tony Stark’s reaction.

It was very different from the rage Tony showed in Captain America: Civil War, when Baron Zemo exposed the truth.

Back then, Bucky Barnes—already mostly recovered mentally and aware of what he had done—was standing right there.

The feud had been dragged into the open by a third party.

Bucky offered no apology.

Captain America defended him.

Anyone would explode under those circumstances.

Especially someone as emotional as Tony Stark.

But now, there were only files on the table.

No inseparable pair of best friends standing there to irritate him.

That gave Tony room to calmly think through the causes, consequences, and possible hidden factors.

Or perhaps—

He was so furious he literally couldn’t speak.

Henry and Reacher simply weren’t the targets of that fury, so Tony was restraining himself.

Either way—

Timing mattered.

Baron Zemo had orchestrated everything carefully and revealed the truth at the most destructive possible moment.

If the already fractured group of heroes hadn’t completely imploded, it would have been a waste of all his effort.

As for what effect it would have now that Reacher had exposed the truth years earlier—

Henry was genuinely curious.

"Motivation?"

Tony carefully placed the file back onto the table.

The deliberate gentleness made it obvious how hard he was suppressing his anger.

He said:

"First, we can rule out personal revenge.

"That idiot looks like he was brainwashed into being nothing more than a killing machine.

"So there was definitely someone behind this.

"But what was the motive?"

He looked up.

"We all know the Red Empire collapsed only days later.

"Assassinating a capitalist through covert murder wouldn’t save anything.

"And the world treated my father’s death as an accident—not some glorious red victory."

"Regarding that..." Reacher rummaged through the pile and pulled out the bottom-most file.

"This was obtained by chance.

"It may explain some things."

He continued:

"As I mentioned earlier, every capable nation continued super-soldier research after the war.

"There were broadly two directions.

"One: pursue entirely new approaches.

"Two: replicate the successful Captain America model."

"However, Dr. Abraham Erskine—the principal researcher behind the serum—was dead.

"The original formula and serum were lost or destroyed."

"So the only advantages remaining in American hands were:

"Captain America’s blood samples.

"And Howard Stark himself, one of the scientists involved in the original project."

Reacher placed a finger on the file.

"For a long time, recreating the original super-soldier serum used on Captain America was a military task assigned to Howard Stark."

"I heard there were several partial successes over the years.

"I couldn’t access those records due to clearance restrictions."

"But the final successful transport involved Howard Stark personally."

"Officially, he and his wife were driving from a research facility back to their home on Long Island, New York."

"In reality, they were transporting five doses of super-soldier serum to be delivered to someone—or some organization."

"They were intercepted en route.

"The Stark couple died.

"The serum vanished."

Tony picked up the final file.

Inside was a classified transport schedule.

Howard and Maria Stark had been only one segment of the delivery chain.

The document was incomplete, but enough remained for a clear conclusion.

Anyone who obtained that plan and wanted the serum would naturally strike the weakest link.

Howard and Maria Stark.

From that angle—

The Starks had not been the target.

They were collateral damage.

The realization made Tony’s anger surge instantly.

If he could breathe fire, he would have found some unlucky bastard and roasted him alive.

Which idiot designed a plan this flawed?

If the cargo was truly important, why wasn’t it escorted under heavy guard?

Why entrust it to an older married couple?

The result:

They lost the serum—

And lost two lives with it.

Tony did not doubt the file’s authenticity for a second.

It also explained why Bucky Barnes, after forcing the crash, first opened the trunk instead of immediately killing anyone.

Because his primary mission was the serum.

Howard and Maria’s deaths were less assassination than cleanup.

They had to die to conceal the theft.

Tony’s suspicion immediately shifted to another group:

The people who had told him the crash was merely an accident.

If they knew the serum had gone missing—

How could they have concluded it was accidental?

That meant they had lied.

But why?

Did they know the truth?

Or—

Had they helped cover it up?

Maybe even participated?

Tony said none of this aloud.

He knew the difference.

Hiring the U.S. Army Military Police to investigate an old crash was one thing.

Penetrating another organization and investigating internal operations was another entirely.

In the intelligence world, that was nearly equivalent to declaring war.

He could not outsource that.

Nor did he need to.

Jack Reacher had already done enough.

He had uncovered the truth.

And if this were a normal police case, the next step would be arrests and interrogations.

But when Reacher had been loaned out, the military had drawn clear boundaries.

They likely suspected there was more to the Starks’ deaths too.

They just lacked details.

So they lent Tony one of their best investigators—

With limits.

Reacher was not allowed to escalate matters recklessly.

Which meant Tony now needed more intelligence and leverage of his own.

So he asked another question.

"Who got the stolen serum?"

Reacher hesitated.

Then chose honesty.

"I suspect..."

"...that one of the doses may be connected to the man currently on television."

Henry and Tony both turned.

CNN was broadcasting the grand opening ceremony of New York City’s Watchtower Building.

Descending slowly from the sky at the center of the screen was a man in a golden bodysuit, blue-green cape, and black belt bearing a large S symbol.

The media called him the world’s first true superhero.

Known to the public as:

The Golden Guardian

Sentry.

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