Doro —- Sherlock paid no attention to Helen’s teasing.
As far as he was concerned, constructing a house was little more than a beginner-level application of alchemy.
After parking the truck in the garage and waking John, Sherlock left plenty of food and water in the kitchen.
Everyone chose a room, and before long, the entire group had fallen asleep again.
By the time Sherlock woke, the sky had already darkened, and the smell of food was drifting through the house.
After washing up, he followed the aroma into the dining room.
John and Doro were already seated at the table and had clearly been eating for quite some time.
Sherlock nearly started swearing on the spot.
“You bastard, Johnny Wick!
You started dinner without me?” John had not even opened his mouth before Doro swallowed what she was chewing and waved at Sherlock with one greasy little hand.
“Human, come quickly!
There’s lots of tasty food!” Sherlock’s anger immediately lost most of its force.
He glared at John one last time before joining the battle for whatever remained on the table.
…
By the end of the meal, all three of them were slumped in their chairs, rubbing painfully full stomachs with satisfied expressions.
Only then did Sherlock realize someone was missing.
“Where’s Helen?” John rolled his eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into his skull.
Sherlock had not spared a single thought for Helen while fighting him over the last chicken leg, but now that his stomach was full, he had suddenly remembered she existed.
“She’s taking a shower,” John said.
“Relax.
She already ate.” Sherlock nodded, reassured.
When Helen returned and carried Doro away, Sherlock finally began discussing his ideas and the next stage of their plan with John.
Sherlock was not particularly anxious to rescue Tony immediately.
After all, they had to give the man enough time to finish building the Mark I.
Without the remains of that armor, how was someone like Obadiah Stane supposed to reverse-engineer the Iron Monger and provide Sherlock with the entertaining armored showdown he remembered?
Sherlock valued his peaceful life more than almost anything, but he saw no reason to interfere with a spectacle that promised to be genuinely entertaining.
More importantly, this kidnapping was the ordeal that transformed Tony Stark into Iron Man.
Sherlock did not want his intervention to deprive Tony of that experience and alter the future too drastically.
After some discussion, Sherlock and John eventually produced a plan that resembled a leisurely road trip far more than a rescue operation.
Early the next morning, everyone packed their belongings and climbed into the truck.
Sherlock waved one hand, and the villa collapsed back into ordinary sand.
With John navigating, the group continued deeper into the desert.
The outside world had received no reliable information about Tony for two reasons.
First, the Ten Rings had carried out the abduction with impressive discipline and precision.
Second, the valley where they were holding him was buried deep within an almost completely uninhabited stretch of desert.
Sherlock altered the truck’s exterior with alchemy, giving it camouflage better suited to the terrain.
From there, the group divided its time between making progress and enjoying the desert.
During the day, Sherlock and John took full advantage of the Raptor’s off-road capabilities, racing across the dunes and throwing enormous trails of sand into the air.
Even Helen joined in after Sherlock convinced her that lying in sun-warmed sand was a legitimate spa treatment that could improve circulation and help her relax.
Whenever Sherlock and John started competing over who was the better driver, she would simply bury herself comfortably in the sand and enjoy the heat.
Strangely enough, after several days, her skin really did seem healthier, and she had even lost a little weight.
Helen was delighted and decided she would research desert spa treatments properly once they returned home.
Doro had the personality of a small dog despite possessing the head of a chibi girl and the ability to speak.
Since she had never encountered so much sand before, she lost herself completely in the experience.
Even when no one played with her, she remained excited from morning until night.
With nothing but open desert around her, Doro could finally use her speed without restraint.
John was astonished to discover that when she sprinted at full power, she could almost keep up with the truck.
Her endurance was another matter.
No matter how fast she ran, her tiny body could not maintain that pace for long.
After a short burst, she would collapse onto the sand and pant heavily, all four jelly-like limbs spread around her.
Whenever the sun set, Sherlock used alchemy to construct another comfortable house in the middle of the desert.
The four of them would retreat indoors, eat, drink, shower, and enjoy every modern comfort as though they were staying at a luxury resort.
The journey was absurdly relaxing.
Sherlock and Helen occasionally held cooking competitions, although John and Doro were always the true winners.
…
While Sherlock’s group treated the mission like a vacation, Tony’s situation inside the cave was considerably less pleasant.
The attack had left pieces of shrapnel dangerously close to his heart.
To keep him alive, Yinsen had implanted an electromagnet in Tony’s chest, forcing him to carry a car battery around to power it.
Tony later constructed a miniature arc reactor and used it to replace the battery, finally freeing himself from that miserable burden.
Unfortunately, the Ten Rings’ leader was furious.
He had ordered Tony to build weapons and Jericho missiles, not waste time constructing an arc reactor.
Tony argued that he needed the device to stay alive and continue working, but the explanation did not satisfy his captor.
The man responded by brutally torturing Yinsen.
Only when Tony threatened to die rather than cooperate—and insisted that he could not complete the work without Yinsen’s help—did the Ten Rings spare the scientist’s life.
After that, Tony began preparing his escape.
If rescue had truly been coming, someone would have arrived while he was constructing the arc reactor.
Instead, the electromagnet in his chest had already been replaced by a compact reactor, and there was still no sign of soldiers, gunfire, or any operation targeting the camp.
Tony had accepted that he would have to save himself.
What he did not know was that after the door to his cave closed again, Raza returned to his quarters and received a call from someone Tony knew extremely well.
Obadiah Stane.
“The military report says they never recovered Tony’s body,” Obadiah said.
“Are you certain he’s dead?” A vicious smile spread across Raza’s face, though his voice remained light and almost cheerful.
“Of course, my dear Obadiah.
We took Stark’s body with us.
Don’t worry.
When the time is right, Tony Stark’s corpse will be found.
Everything is proceeding in the interest of our greater purpose.” Obadiah clearly did not believe him.
“You had better be telling the truth.
The military and every major intelligence agency are searching for Stark.
If anything goes wrong, Raza, you will never receive another weapon from Stark Industries.” The call ended abruptly.
Raza stared at the silent phone, his expression turning cold as a mocking smile curled across his lips.
“Weapons?” he murmured.
“Arrogant fool.
We possess far more than you realize.”