"What is your name?"
"Happy Hogan, Mr. Stark."
On the top floor of Stark Tower, there was a helipad extending from the main building. Happy Hogan, the Captain of Security, stood there somewhat stiffly, while Tony Stark poured drinks behind the bar inside.
"Happy, I don't want strangers crashing my parties again."
"Sorry, Mr. Stark."
Happy lowered his head to apologize. He felt like he was about to lose his job, but a faint feeling in his heart told him it wouldn't be that simple. Tony Stark had always been aloof; he would never personally handle something like firing a Captain of Security.
"But I have to admit, the guy you let up yesterday... let's just say, I'd pay two hundred million U.S. dollars for all the ideas in his head."
"The AI model he gave me was a semi-finished product, but it's already a groundbreaking creation... the technology is incredibly mature, and I highly suspect he has many more similar ideas."
Tony Stark came to the helipad with two glasses of a brown Water Happy Hogan had never even heard of, and handed one to Happy.
Happy awkwardly took Mr. Tony's glass. He looked at his boss with a bewildered expression. In a daze, Happy remembered what Peter Parker, the one he had let through yesterday, had said:
"...I promise that from today on, you will no longer be just a Captain of Security, because I've brought technology that can double Stark Industries' market value."
Happy felt a faint sense of anticipation. Then, Tony Stark suddenly changed the subject and asked:
"Happy, what did you do before?"
"A professional boxer, sir."
"Can you drive?"
"Yes, sir."
Tony Stark raised his glass, clinked it with Happy's, and then drained it:
"You deserve half the credit for me meeting him, so... congratulations, Happy, from today on, you'll be my bodyguard and driver."
"Of course, if you don't want to, do you see that cabinet? There are bank cards in the drawer; feel free to take a few, the passwords are on the back of the cards."
Happy Hogan didn't take long to choose between a certainly high-paying job and bank cards of unknown value:
"Of course, bodyguard and driver. When do I start, Mr. Tony?"
"Next second."
Happy chuckled, brought the glass to his lips, and drank it all. He immediately felt dizzy, as if everything that had happened from yesterday until now was somewhat unreal.
Yesterday, he should have stopped Peter Parker, but the other party's confidence and words successfully convinced Happy. Although Happy couldn't help but feel some regret afterward, fearing he would be fired.
But the facts proved that the other party's words were true; Happy's fate had changed dramatically just from the small matter of letting him through!
"Jarvis." Tony Stark patted Happy's shoulder and returned inside. "You know what to do."
Happy was momentarily stunned. He didn't know he would have to change his name after becoming a bodyguard, but the voice that rang out in the room quickly made Happy realize that Tony Stark hadn't been talking to him just now.
"Yes, sir, I have updated Happy Hogan's profile to your private bodyguard and driver, and have provided Mr. Happy with a residence in Harlem worth 3.195 million U.S. dollars and a vehicle befitting his status."
"A reminder, sir, you have a guest to meet this afternoon. Would you like me to order a lavish dinner for you both?"
Snap!
Tony Stark snapped his fingers:
"No problem."
Happy didn't understand, but he was greatly shocked.
He didn't pay attention to the guest or the dinner, nor was he surprised by how intelligent this "Jarvis" was. His mind was filled only with the phrase "a residence worth 3.195 million U.S. dollars and a vehicle befitting his status."
Happy knew very well that he, an unprofessional bodyguard, was definitely not worth that price. What was valuable was the technology Peter Parker had brought!
Walking from the helipad to the interior, Happy looked around at this private top-floor area belonging exclusively to Tony Stark. He felt very wise about his correct decision yesterday. As he passed the cabinet, he couldn't help but ask:
"Mr. Tony, how much money is in here?"
After speaking, fearing that Tony might misunderstand, Happy quickly added:
"I'm just curious."
"There are over sixty cards from different banks, totaling... about forty million U.S. dollars," Tony Stark, now seated at his workbench, replied casually without lifting his head. "You missed the chance to get forty million U.S. dollars, Happy."
Happy shook his head and chuckled. He could tell his boss was teasing him:
"I guess it's too late to regret it now, right?"
"Of course," Tony Stark said.
"So... what technology exactly did Peter Parker bring yesterday?" Happy couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Technology that can double Stark Industries' market value," Stark said. "Alright, Happy, go downstairs and prepare to receive Peter Parker. I guess he should be arriving soon."
On the ground floor of Stark Tower, Batman, wearing a plaid shirt, ran into Happy Hogan as he exited the elevator.
"Congratulations."
Batman's first words upon meeting Happy shocked him again:
"You already know? I haven't said anything yet!"
Batman entered the elevator and pointed to the mirror-like elevator wall.
Happy was puzzled. He looked at the elevator wall as if it were a mirror and realized that his lips were curled up in a smile he couldn't suppress. He suddenly understood:
"Do I look that obvious?"
"No, as Mr. Tony's bodyguard and driver, I need to learn emotional management."
Ignoring Happy, who was already fully immersed in his new role and self-absorbed, Batman stepped out once the elevator reached the top floor.
"How long did it take?" Batman asked directly.
"Jarvis?" Tony Stark rose from his workbench.
"Twenty-seven hours and one minute, sir," Jarvis said.
Tony Stark spread his hands:
"You win. But I did spend a pleasant three hours in between with the latest cover girl from Vogue... How much 'consulting fee' do I owe you?"
"That depends on how far you believe this technology can be applied."
Batman didn't answer but instead asked a question. He always had the illusion that Tony Stark was a former version of Bruce Wayne.
Equally handsome and dashing, equally intelligent, equally wealthy, and equally accompanied by various women.
"Fifty million U.S. dollars. I am willing to pay fifty million U.S. dollars for the semi-finished AI model you provided," Tony Stark said. "I can tell your technology is incredibly mature, far beyond this era. You deliberately gave me a semi-finished product yesterday."
"The model itself is useless to me; the real value lies in the underlying ideas. I have already drawn inferences and created a complete artificial intelligence, 'Jarvis.' Stark Industries will, because of this, become a company leading the World's Water by a significant margin..."
Batman interrupted Tony Stark's boasting:
"One hundred million."