Chapter 44: The Escaped Man
Miss Stark had no knowledge of what Peter was investigating, and even if she did, she had no interest in the "Inner Demon" issue.
As a month swiftly passed, the Disaster Control Company gradually got on track and officially started making a profit.
Even though it was just the beginning, the company already showed a remarkable upward trend, with weekly earnings surpassing a hundred million dollars.
Of course—only the construction contracting sector couldn't have brought the company's revenue to such heights so early on.
The real reason was that the premiums from those insuring with Disaster Control were being invested in other industries by Miss Stark.
She had a good grasp of the future, knowing exactly what to invest in and what carried risks.
With an almost "cheat-like" investment ability, the Disaster Control Company's financial reserves began to grow rapidly.
This growth was also closely related to the venture capital department she had assembled—she set the direction, and the VC team handled the execution.
Thanks to the coordinated efforts of every department in the Disaster Control Company, the company's market value continued to soar.
Though the company belonged to her, it wasn't hers alone. Besides Stark Industries, many other enterprises had invested in Disaster Control.
As the company's value skyrocketed, more investors saw the potential and naturally increased their investments.
Even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Nick Fury approached her privately, wanting to buy more shares from her.
Miss Stark was more than happy to oblige—as she had said before, she hadn't started Disaster Control to monopolize it.
Profiting from Disaster Control was one thing, but the most important goal was to build a strong network of interests for herself.
At the end of a day's work, Miss Stark changed her clothes, preparing to head home from the headquarters of Disaster Control.
But just as she was about to leave her office, someone barged in without even knocking.
She turned around, surprised, to see the figure of a man in an orange prison uniform—a familiar face.
The man who had burst into her office rushed toward her, grabbing her hands and kneeling before her.
"Miss—Miss, I beg you, please save my daughter! Save my daughter, she's dying!"
The man's voice was loud, his emotions on the verge of collapse as he knelt, pleading desperately.
"You're... William, is that you? What happened?"
The man kneeling before her was none other than William Baker, who had voluntarily turned himself in and gone to prison on her advice.
If Miss Stark remembered correctly, thanks to his surrender and the victim's forgiveness, he hadn't been given a long sentence and should have been out soon.
So what had happened now—wait, something was wrong with his body, terribly wrong!
"William, what's wrong with your hands?!"
His hands, his arms… no, his entire body was covered in sand, and sand was falling off him.
William Baker didn't answer her. Instead, he let go of her hands and collapsed powerlessly onto the expensive carpet in her office.
The sand from his body scattered across the carpet as he fell. That hand-made, costly rug was likely ruined.
William said nothing and simply passed out. He seemed to have been enduring intense pain, his expression contorted with agony.
As expected, though the future might change due to certain events, some people's fates were impossible to alter.
Although Miss Stark didn't know exactly what had happened to William Baker, from the way he looked, she already had a guess.
This was a side effect of an awakened ability—after all, not everyone could perfectly integrate with their special powers.
Coincidentally, Miss Stark had just the right solution for such problems, though she wasn't sure if it would work.
When she and Dr. Helen had been tackling the Extremis Virus project in Korea, they had considered the possibility of rejection reactions in some individuals.
Of course, the chance of such rejection was low, but Miss Stark had still researched a solution for it based on that issue.
She glanced back at William Baker. She wasn't sure if her solution would work, but it was better than doing nothing.
With that in mind, Miss Stark dragged the unconscious William over to the couch in her office, though he was incredibly heavy.
Strictly speaking, William Baker's body had already transformed from muscle tissue into sand and water.
Some unknown force allowed him to maintain a human appearance, but in reality, he was no longer human.
If Miss Stark had a Geiger counter, she would have noticed that the radiation levels in the room were increasing dramatically.
Having escaped from a military test site, William had become a walking, human-shaped nuclear reactor.
Unfortunately, Miss Stark didn't have such a device with her—and besides, radiation posed no threat to her.
The cells affected by radiation decay would be instantly consumed and broken down into basic energy by the Extremis Virus, replenishing new cells.
Miss Stark dragged the man, whose weight now far exceeded that of a normal adult, onto the couch in her office.
She then turned and, with a wave of her hand, tore open a space rift that led to her villa in Malibu.
The serum for dealing with rejection reactions was, of course, closely tied to the Extremis Virus.
However, Miss Stark wasn't sure if this drug, designed to combat rejection, could also solve the problem of power fusion.
It was a shot in the dark—she planned to experiment on the already-dangerous William.
Regardless of the outcome, developing drugs to help with the fusion of special abilities was a promising direction.
With that in mind, she immediately took out a silver syringe, snapping the needle into William's neck.
William had become a walking radiation source, meaning his sand-shifting ability hadn't integrated well with his body.
At this point, it was unlikely he'd survive long enough to undergo proper medical testing, especially as he was continuously emitting radiation.
Judging by his tattered prison uniform, he had probably just escaped and made his way back to New York.
Miss Stark didn't know what had happened on his way back, but he had definitely been releasing radiation the entire time.
That high-energy radiation was likely affecting many people, so there was no way she could let him leave.
"Jarvis, prepare the helicopter—and contact New York State University Medical Center, have them ready the ICU."
Miss Stark knew the reason William had escaped—his daughter's illness must have worsened, leaving her with little time.
With current medical technology, it was nearly impossible to reverse the dangers of leukemia, only to prolong her life.
Even prolonging her life would require an extremely expensive treatment.
That was why, after selling his car, his house, and all his assets, William had resorted to robbery.
"Notify the legal team—no, call Matt. Tell him I need him to protect a good man."
As she spoke, she took out her phone again, finding a contact in her phonebook.
It was the personal number of George Stacy, the Deputy Commissioner of the NYPD, which he had given her.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stacy, I hate to disturb you so late—"
Time passed quickly, and a police helicopter circled the Empire State Building, landing on the roof of the university medical center.
When Deputy Commissioner George Stacy entered the ICU, he looked through the window at two people lying in their beds.
The influence behind Miss Stark had forced him to take a police helicopter and rush over here.
He didn't know the identity of the father and daughter in the room, but out of obligation, he had come to show his face.
Seeing Miss Stark in a white protective suit, George Stacy was bewildered, never having witnessed such a scene before.
The ICU was located at the far eastern end of the top floor, sealed off with barriers and marked with radiation warning signs.
"He's the designated head of our company's construction department, though he was recently incarcerated for personal reasons."
"His daughter has a terminal illness. While in prison, he learned that her condition had worsened, and in desperation, he escaped to beg for my help."
Miss Stark looked at the father and daughter lying in the ICU, shaking her head slightly with a look of pity on her face.
George also surveyed the ICU, but soon shifted his gaze back to the woman beside him.
"They're certainly pitiful, but Miss Stark, you know that prison escape… that's a tough situation."
"That's why I need your help, George... if you're willing."
Before Miss Stark could finish speaking, footsteps echoed from the other end of the hallway, outside the barrier.
"You can't go in, the radiation levels are too high—it's dangerous to your health!"
"No one in America can stop me. Move aside—"
There was the sound of an argument, and the medical staff tried to block the person but failed.
The barrier curtain was pulled aside, and when Miss Stark turned her head, she saw an old friend.
A bald head, thick beard, long black coat, and a black eye patch covering his left eye.
It wasn't just Nick Fury. Behind him, Miss Stark spotted several other familiar faces.
Following the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. were Maria Hill, Phil Coulson, and Natasha Romanoff.
At that moment, it seemed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had nearly emptied its ranks, and Miss Stark didn't understand how the information had leaked.
"I heard there's a dangerous man in there, so I brought a few people along."
Nick Fury's one eye coldly fixed on Miss Stark, his expression betraying no emotion.