riley doesn't trust obadiah

january

two weeks since tony stark's disappearance

i walked into stark industries headquarters. 

i'd gotten happy to drop me off here, because i needed to talk to obadiah. he was acting funny, and i wanted to know what's up. it was better than sulking around at home.

some of the staff did a double-take when they saw me. i didn't come to the factory often, but i knew my way around. 

"excuse me, you need an i.d," one of the newer staff members stopped me.

i looked at him, "no, i don't. riley stark. the heir to the entire 'stark industries' company."

he scuffled away, embarrassed, after i told him that.

i noticed obadiah talking with some of the scientists. i made my way over to him.

"obi!" i called out.

he turned around, shocked to see me. the scientists turned away and went back to their business. 

"riley, what are you doing here?" he asked me.

i shrugged, "i wanna take over." i stated bluntly.

he laughed, then stopped when he realized i didn't join him. he sighed, "let's discuss this in my office." 

he led me towards the office, and i sat on the desk. 

"what's with the sudden change of heart?" he asked. "i thought you wanted to study, and get some degrees before you even thought about taking over the company."

i sighed. time to begin acting.

"that's the thing, obi," i looked down. "it took me the loss of my father to realize that this life thing, it's temporary. 'stark industries' is my future, and i can't deny it. before, i stayed away because i thought i'd have time to learn this later. now, i realize i might not. if my dad is found dead, or doesn't return by the time i'm eighteen, i'm going to get the company. i'm the heir to this business. i gotta start somewhere."

taking a deep breath, i continued, "i want to start learning some of this stuff. i mean, sure, i've built things, checked out the stocks a few times, but i haven't done anything big yet. give me a chance. let me do this with you?" 

he looked up and gave me a forced smile, "fine," he muttered. "go home, right now. i'll send you some papers, go through them. you need to sign whatever deals you think are acceptable, and send those ones on to me. i'll double check."

"thank you," i said to him.

he nodded.

getting back in the car, i wiped my eyes.

that was too easy. just show a grown man some tears, and they completely break down in front of you.

"how'd it go?" happy asked from the driver's seat.

i told him i wanted to begin being more involved in 'stark industries', business wise. i didn't tell him about my doubts with obadiah, just because i didn't want to get him involved with all this.

"obi agreed. he said he's going to send some stuff that i have to read over and sign," i pretended to be excited.

happy thought it was a good thing i was getting my mind off my dad's disappearance. apparently, it was considered 'unhealthy' for me to ask J.A.R.V.I.S. to run different scans every few minutes. 

"where do you want to go now?" he asked looking at me.

"hmmm," i thought about it, "how 'bout we stop for some pizza, then we'll head back home?"

"you're the boss," he chuckled.

i plugged the aux in, and began blasting some music. singing along quietly.

i smiled, and watched the scenery pass. the factory disappeared, and soon familiar palm trees came into view. we stopped quickly to order a pizza, and made our way back to the stark mansion.

we walked in, and i put the pizza on the dining table. 

"sprite, coke, crush? what'd ya want hap?" i asked happy.

"pass me a coke, please!" happy called, grabbing the plates.

"one coke for happy... and a sprite for me," i muttered to myself, grabbing the two drinks.

making my way back to the table, i opened my can of sprite, and passed happy his coke, "here you go."

happy gave me a plate and i took out some pizza and a box of garlic dip. 

i finished eating and was washing my hands when the a.i. interrupted me, "miss stark. mr. stane's packages are here. you can begin to go through them."

"thanks bud,"

i turned to happy, "i'm going to go downstairs. i have some packages to sign."

"okay!" happy called.

i walked into the lab, and pulled up whatever documents obadiah needed me to go over. they were mainly just deals between 'stark industries' and other companies. nothing unusual stuck out to me.

i pursed my lips. school was going to start in a few days, and i'd have less time to work on stuff like this. if i finished these things fast, obadiah could slip up, and give me a different assignment. one that could prove he's guilty (of what, i hadn't decided yet).

i was interrupted by a little shimmer in front of me. i looked up and saw annabeth standing in a rainbow. i dropped my pen, and smiled at her.

"hey, annie. what's up?" i asked her sweetly.

she narrowed her eyes at me, "cut the crap. you're plotting something. what is it? and i want in."

i rolled my eyes. looking out the door, i saw the coast was clear. but just in case, "J, tint the glass wall." i told my a.i.

immediately, the glass door, and wall tinted itself from the outside.

sighing, i leaned forward. "you know obi? obadiah stane?" i clarified.

"the guy who ran 'stark industries' for a while after your grandparents died? the one who's running it right now? yeah, i've heard of him." she said.

sending a glance through the tinted glass doors i told her about my suspicions. "obi's been acting weird lately. i don't think i can trust him. i mean, even before my dad went missing—"

she cut me off, "are you sure? maybe you're just imagining things. you don't really like him."

i shook my head, "it's not that i don't like him. he's fine. he just pushes me too hard sometimes. but i don't hate him or anything. no ill feelings at all."

"ok, fine. tell me about how he's been acting funny."

i began, "well, for starters, today i went to the factory and he was talking with the scientists. i've seen him talk to that particular one at random times for a while now. and besides, today he was supposed to check up on some shipments. not gossip with the scientists."

"okay, anything else. remember what the sheriff said. one's an incidence—"

"two's a coincidence, and three's a pattern." we finished together.

i'd gotten annabeth to watch a little bit of teen wolf with me, and some quotes really stuck out to her.

"okay, um, i mean, i can't — i can't really explain it. he's just been giving odd vibes off, and he seemed really interested in how much 'stark industries' was making a few weeks before my dad went missing. it's almost like he was preparing to become ceo," i muttered the last part more to myself.

annabeth raised her eyebrows, "are you saying your dad's dad figure, who became a dad to him after his real dad died, had a hand in his kidnapping?" she furrowed her brows, "did you get that?" 

"yeah, i understood."

"cool. so are you saying that?" 

it took a few moments for her words to sink in. i shook my head in disbelief, "no. no way. obi's been acting sketchy, but i don't think he has a hand in my dad's kidnapping."

"are you sure? i mean, don't cross out the possibility."

i gulped. "i'll keep it in mind, but i don't know." 

"hey, it's going to be okay. you got me, percy, grover. you even got happy, pepper, oh! and let's not forget J.A.R.V.I.S. i mean, how many kids can say they have their own a.i. system?" she comforted me.

i laughed a little, "yeah. you're right."

"of course i am."

i curled my upper lip at the last document.

it was such a bizarre deal, i don't even know how it came this far. it would put 'stark industries' in profit for about the first three years. after that, our company would lose all it's benefit. it was so stupid.

i crumpled the paper up, like i did with all the other stupid ones, and threw it into the trash, "kobe!" i shouted as i watched it rattle in.

gathering up the few documents whose terms i agreed with, i stapled them together, grouping them by company. 

"alright, J." i told the a.i. "send these out to obi."

"of course, miss stark."

i yawned, and looked up at the holographic screen of J.A.R.V.I.S. rubbing my eyes, i decided, one more scan wouldn't hurt.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., run one more heat scan. search within a thirty-mile radius from the point we last saw him." i told the a.i. system.

"i'll begin the scan miss stark." 

dum-e came up to me, and nudged me. i looked at the a.i. mechanical arm that my dad made. sure, he wasn't the smartest, and he caused many accidents, but he was family. it's weird, sure, but it's true. my dad made dum-e and u over two decades ago as a student at m.i.t. 

i patted the top of the mechanical arm, and poured myself a cup of coffee. it was around one in the morning, but i didn't feel like sleeping.

"there is still no sign of your father, miss stark." J.A.R.V.I.S. informed me.

i sighed, "i'm so gonna regret this." i muttered to myself.

"alright J. do me a favor. what's the percentage of my dad's safe return?" i asked.

"are you—"

"yes, i'm sure. now tell me." i ordered the a.i. taking a sip of my coffee. 

it was silent for a few seconds while the a.i. searched through his findings.

"based on news reports and findings there is a 2.25% of his safe return."

i sighed, and downed my coffee. beckoning dum-e over, i opened a new holographic diagram. "give me the satellite image of where my dad last was," i told the a.i.

i looked at the image, "let's get to work." i muttered.

i fell asleep after the sun began to rise.

i had a dream, which was definitely rare for me.

i was in a cave. there was a smoky smell in the cave. looking further, i noticed giant doors that looked like someone blew them up. there were giant footsteps, along with normal ones scattered around the room. 

it seemed like there was a tunnel network in the cave, but i couldn't be sure. all i knew was that this was a small room — a cell — and the cave itself was much bigger. the floor was vibrating, but it was getting fainter. like the thing that's causing the vibrations was moving further away.

looking around the floor i noticed some metal scraps. i picked one up and i noticed something for the first time. 

it was labelled 'stark industries'.

i dropped it, and took a few steps back. gunshots rang outside, but they sounded like someone was shooting at a wall instead of at people.

there was blast, and the area outside the doors lit up orange. like someone turned on a flamethrower. i looked up, and saw cameras. they covered every inch of the room, except one area. a temporary wall/stand was placed in a certain area, making it hidden from the cameras.

there was a table in the middle of the room. curious, i walked closer, i picked up a blueprint. it looked like it was made for an arm. it was loaded with blasters and parts of different weapons. not just any weapons, 'stark industries' weapons. there was another blueprint underneath that, a chest piece i think.

and something clicked in my brain.

placing the first blueprint back on top, i re-positioned it. i flattened out the blueprints, and saw something i would never forget.

a suit.

made from 'stark industries' weapons.

and it was named 'mark i'.

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