In truth, Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar had never intended to kill Tony.
To Raza, Tony Stark was a goose that laid golden eggs.
Now that the idiot Obadiah had delivered such a valuable prize directly into his hands, it was no wonder Raza could barely conceal his contempt whenever they spoke.
What Raza failed to understand was that although Tony might indeed be capable of laying golden eggs, that did not mean he would obediently produce them for his captor.
Far from it.
Rather than building weapons for Raza, Tony was already plotting his escape.
Once he realized that none of the men guarding him possessed enough technical knowledge to understand what he was doing, he immediately put a plan into motion.
He called it the Mark I.
Tony divided the armor’s blueprints into separate sections and disguised each component as part of the Jericho missile Raza had ordered him to build.
He requested piles of seemingly unrelated equipment, burying the pieces he truly needed among enough harmless materials to avoid suspicion.
With Yinsen’s help, Tony began hammering the Mark I into shape inside the cave.
…
While Tony put every ounce of his engineering talent into the armor, Sherlock’s group continued drawing closer to the valley where he was being held.
Perhaps because the region was surrounded by endless dunes, security outside the valley was surprisingly light.
In fact, Sherlock and John had not encountered a single patrol during their approach.
That might also have been because they had crossed the desert rather than following any established road.
The valley’s geography provided nearly perfect natural protection.
Three sides were bordered by vast, seemingly endless desert, while only one side lay relatively close to inhabited territory.
Those dunes formed a natural barrier more effective than any wall.
The terrorists believed no one could cross such an expanse of desert undetected.
They also had allied forces stationed farther out to watch the skies.
As long as they defended the single approach nearest the desert’s edge, they considered the valley untouchable.
That assumption explained why Sherlock’s group had reached the area without seeing a single enemy.
Sometimes, fate had a peculiar sense of humor.
The moment the valley came into view, all four of them set aside their vacation mood and prepared for the operation.
Helen had no combat experience, but she could remain behind with Doro and handle logistical support.
That night, Sherlock used alchemy to construct a concealed bunker in the sand.
Helen and Doro stayed inside while Sherlock and John armed themselves and headed out to scout the valley.
The desert became bitterly cold after sunset.
Sherlock and John reached the ridge overlooking the valley with little difficulty, but when they looked down at the camp below, both men drew in a sharp breath.
The scale of the operation was staggering.
The brief glimpses shown in the film had failed to convey just how enormous the valley truly was.
Beneath vast stretches of camouflage netting stood row after row of crates filled with weapons and ammunition.
Armed men constantly moved between them, carrying rifles, rockets, and artillery shells before settling nearby to file away serial numbers and identifying marks.
The camp even contained its own crude production lines for weapons and ammunition.
Improvised gas-cylinder cannons, barrel mortars, and other makeshift artillery pieces were scattered throughout the compound.
Breaking into the valley with conventional forces would require a serious military operation.
More importantly, the professionally manufactured weapons being stripped and modified below had clearly not been produced by the same men assembling crude artillery from scrap metal.
Through their high-powered binoculars, Sherlock and John could clearly see the Stark Industries logo printed across several of the crates.
John lowered his binoculars and turned toward Sherlock with a deeply furrowed brow.
“Unless I’m seeing things, those crates have Stark Industries logos on them.
Did Tony sell weapons to both sides of the conflict and get kidnapped when one of his customers decided not to pay?” His disgust was obvious.
Even a professional assassin had little respect for someone who profited by arming both sides of a war.
An awkward look briefly crossed Sherlock’s face.
“No.
It’s more complicated than that.
Tony isn’t the only person with authority inside Stark Industries.” Sherlock’s explanation was both truthful and reasonable, but John still rolled his eyes before returning to his binoculars.
After studying the valley for several more minutes, he sighed.
“Sherlock, infiltrating that place would be too dangerous.
They have too many men and too much heavy weaponry.
Even if we get Tony out, escaping while the entire camp is chasing us would be difficult.
If you’re certain he’s here, the safest option is to report the location and let the military—or that S.H.I.E.L.D.
agency—deal with it.” Sherlock did not answer.
He had placed both hands against the ground and kept his eyes closed, concentrating on the flow of alchemical energy beneath the valley.
A short while after John finished speaking, Sherlock finally opened his eyes.
A sly grin spread across his face.
“No, there’s no need to make such a production out of this.
I can bring Tony out directly.” John waited for the rest.
“We’ll need to adjust the timing, though.
We should come back tomorrow morning.
For now, let’s return to the bunker and get some sleep.” Without explaining further, Sherlock grabbed John and started dragging him back across the ridge.
No matter how many questions John asked, Sherlock refused to reveal anything.
He only promised that everything would become clear once they began the operation in the morning.
His reason was simple.
While using alchemy to survey the underground structures, Sherlock had discovered the cave where Tony was being held.
Inside, he had sensed an almost completed suit of armor.
He had also found Tony sitting in front of a bulky computer, wearing protective glasses as he worked rapidly on the armor’s programming.
The Mark I was nearly ready.
As far as Sherlock was concerned, rescuing Tony now would be a waste.
It would be far more entertaining to wait until the armor was finished and arrive after Tony had begun his escape.