Chapter 19
Tony hated meetings. He hated them, even more, when they took place on Saturday and before Christmas, but it was necessary, whether he liked it or not. Today, all its employees began a company-wide holiday, which lasted until the end of the year. And according to the numbers they were discussing a moment ago, they deserved it just as they did every year. Tony, too, was looking forward to resting for a few days. And Pepper will also benefit some time off.
"Sir, Minister Ross has come to see you," Friday told him as he sat down in Pepper's office so he could go through the documents he needed to sign before returning home and switched to Christmas mode. He had his office, but he preferred his future wife's office.
"I completely forgot about him," Tony sighed wearily. "Could you lead him to me?" he asked her, knowing that no one would be in the building today, and he didn't want to go all the way down to the front desk and back again.
"Sure, sir."
Tony looked at the pile of papers and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It wasn't worth it when Ross came in any minute, but that meant it would take a long time and he wanted to be home with Pep and Peter. He looked forward to settling together on the couch, each with a cup of hot chocolate, and watching a Christmas movie that Peter would choose.
"Come in," he said a little louder when there was a knock on the door.
"Mr. Stark," Everett greeted him, closing the door behind him.
"Nice to see you," he said, greeting him, and stood for a moment so they could shake hands. Then they both settled down.
"I know it's not perfect when the holidays are approaching, but I've talked to the Captain. He decided to sign, so I thought it would be best if we did it before Christmas," he told him the reason for their meeting.
"Really?" Tony blurted out in surprise. "Well, that's good news," he added, still shocked. It seemed strange to him that he was learning this from Everett and not from Steve, but it probably didn't mean anything. After all, he was just their go-between at the beginning of the matter. Now they were communicating together on their own, and they didn't need him to do so.
"It really is," said Everett, who was also pleased and relieved. "I called a press conference for tomorrow to release it as soon as possible and enter the new year with a clear shield. I wanted to tell you in person, I'll just call the others. It would be best if you were all present.“
Tony nodded. He knew Steve was only doing this because he believed Everett would keep his word and take care of canceling the Sokovia Accords, but he had to think about how much easier it would be if he signed it for the first time.
"I can't speak for the others, but I will be there," he confirmed his participation, knowing how important it was. The public must have seen that they held together. He was quite sad that Natasha had nothing like that when Thaddeus Ross pardoned her. But she will definitely show up tomorrow, so it will actually apply to her as well.
"Great. That's all for me, so if you don't have any more questions, I'll see you tomorrow," he ended their conversation, waiting to see if Tony would like to add anything else.
"How did you proceed with the investigation into Ross' murder?" he asked casually. They hadn't made any progress at all, so he hoped he might be able to extract some information from him. Whoever did it was very careful. He erased traces like no one with whom they had the honor. But Tony was convinced it couldn't go on like this indefinitely. Everyone makes a mistake. And they will have to wait until their opponent makes a mistake. At the moment, they had nothing else left.
Everett had to smirk. "You know I can't tell you anything. I'm not even investigating, I'm just helping out.“
"Not officially, but you're definitely doing the research for yourself. Don't tell me the CIA agent disappeared as soon as you took over as minister," Tony said, knowing how hard it was to give up something you've been doing for so long. "So, purely theoretically, you could tell me something off the record."
"I could, but there's really nothing to say," he sighed defeated. It wasn't professional of him, but he was right that he wasn't officially working on it. And maybe that way he can trust him. "It's quite a mystery, Mr. Stark. I have never experienced anything like this. If Quentin Beck weren't dead, I'd say he did it, because he doesn't fit my formula at all. What was he doing there in the first place?“
"Couldn't it have been someone from the inside that he had wiped out the tracks so perfectly?" Tony suggested.
"It must have been someone inside, but I don't think they stayed. And from the list of employees, I was surprised only by Dr. Banner, who was supposed to be missing. Of course, I don't blame him. So to sum it up, we have nothing at all. And now I really should go," he said, rising from his chair.
"Wait," Tony said suddenly, standing up as well. He remembered one more thing he needed to discuss with him quite urgently. "I wonder - Ross recently commissioned us to find Spider-Man. He wanted him to sign the agreement.“
"Oh, sure, I've heard of him," he said but didn't sit down. "I haven't had time to focus on him yet. If you can find him, I won't be angry, but it's not my top priority. So far, he hasn't done anything to endanger the public, so I don't see a problem with that. Of course, he should sign it, but until Ross's murder is solved, no one will deal with it," he developed his answer, and a giant stone fell from Tony's heart.
"I acknowledge. That should be really all now, so I will see you tomorrow," he said goodbye to him and waited for him to leave before sitting back in his chair. Except that they didn't make any progress in investigating Ross' murder, he received pretty good news. He believed that Pepper would be relieved that their son was no longer under the sight of the government, at least for a while. But he certainly wasn't going to tell Peter, because it was clear to him that he would want to go catch the criminals right away. It will be better for everyone if he thinks that he is still expected to sign the Sokovia Accords, which is basically expected of him, so it will not be a complete lie.