ironmonger | (no subject)

Obadiah has to stop and think for a second, to pull that last conversation up in his memory. A lot has happened since then.

Ah. Right.

"I assume you intend to keep after it until you get the answer you want," he remarks, turning some of his attention to his dinner.

"I at least intend to keep after it until I get an answer."

"I have entirely too much to do for it to be a concern for now," Obadiah says. "There's the fall-out to deal with, and I need a new head of security because the last one was in on it. Plus the people who planned the whole thing got away, so I'll need to track them down all over again."

It doesn't leave him a whole lot of time for terrorizing prostitutes, no matter how much he could use the outlet right now.

Although it is suddenly occurring to him that, just maybe, setting aside some special time for dealing directly with the German bitch might not be out of the question.

Oh, go for all three, Obadiah. Why limit yourself?

"Have Sherlock do it," Sherlock suggests, because he can't read subtext quite that clearly. "If you don't, he will anyway, and he'll get there before you do."

And there goes Obadiah's chance of spending quality time with any of them.

Ah, but he mustn't be greedy.

"Oh, I'm sure he and Jarvis are on it already," he says dismissively. "I'll be asking for an update when I get back."

And putting in a request or two. He's confident that Sherlock will understand the importance of making a clear impression on any would-be future kidnappers.

"As for whether or not he will kill them for you, that depends on exactly what they did to Tony."

"I imagine there's at least one of them not long for this world."

Sherlock isn't the only one who noticed Tony's reaction to the giant's approach.

"I am sorry to hear that."

Not, you understand, because he cares about the person who hurt Tony, but because it implies that Tony got hurt in a way that's worth killing over.

"Would have been a hell of a lot worse if we'd taken much longer to find him," Obadiah says bluntly. "We were coming up on the deadline for the ransom demand."

After which Tony would have been in trouble whether they'd paid up or not.

"And I am glad you found him when you did. But then, so are you, I think."

Obadiah offers a half-smile in acknowledgment.

"It saved some trouble."

Soft, with a hint of affection: "I imagine so."

Obadiah attends to his dinner for a moment, then says,

"I'm given to understand that the ringleader is known in certain circles. Some people are watching very closely to see what happens next."

Obadiah is not without a few unorthodox contacts. He took some time today to get in touch with them, as well.

"What happens next is that the ringleader turns up very dead, along with whichever subordinate has made themselves a target. And perhaps segments of the chain of command in between."

"Not enough," Obadiah says matter-of-factly. "A little bit of murder isn't going to scare these kinds of people away. It's just gonna tell them to be more careful when they decide to try it. I imagine I can get Sherlock to understand that."

"He won't torture them for you," Sherlock returns, equally unperturbed. "Neither will he go out of his way to make the circumstances more intimidating. He will simply ensure that they cease to be alive as immediately and permanently as possible. Are you quite sure that won't be enough?"

Obadiah shakes his head.

"If all that happens is a couple of them turn up dead, the rest of the assholes who are already circling now that it's been proven that Tony can be gotten to are just gonna think, 'Hey, guess we better be more careful than they were.'

"But if they all turn up dead, and the most important ones look like they were glad to finally go, then the vultures back off and find someone a little more vulnerable and less fucking crazy to target. Then maybe Tony will be safe. For a while."

He watches Sherlock as he speaks, because he doesn't often get a chance to practice a speech on someone before he delivers it. Best to take advantage while he can.

Sherlock smiles, a little ruefully, and shakes his head.

"Well, I can't argue with your superior knowledge of the mindset, but he still won't do it."

"I won't ask him to," Obadiah says. "I just need to make sure that he doesn't get in my way. I can bargain a little if necessary."

Sherlock has, he thinks, at least earned the right to dispose of the giant how he sees fit.

"He won't be keen to let you do it, either. The operative question is, what would Tony think?"

"Tony won't be thinking much of anything if the wrong people get hold of him," Obadiah answers. "I can either dissuade them in their own language or keep Tony under lock and key for the rest of his life."

The second option is, of course, not even worth considering.

"Which I am sure is a thought that has never crossed your mind," he says dryly. "But you may take that up with my Tony; no doubt he would love to discuss the matter in detail. As for the one in your world—he needs to be protected, I agree, but I will never countenance torture on his behalf because he would never stand for it. Do you have an alternate suggestion?"

"Someday," Obadiah says reflectively, "Tony will realize that the company whose products he often helps design kills people every day. His designs generally kill them more efficiently. Until he figures that out, I'm afraid I'm not very interested in any moral judgments he might theoretically pass. He doesn't understand how the world works. He's very lucky to be in the care of people who do."

"Torturing someone to death is the opposite of efficient, I cannot help pointing out. At least if death is in fact the goal."

Obadiah shrugs.

"Eventually. Leaving them alive would just be asking for trouble. Efficiency is relative."