When the Livebearer sub-personality sat the two men properly on chairs and adjusted their posture, Raymond immediately asked in his mind, "Why did you sever their tendons? What now?"
"You really don't understand me well enough as a top-level chef, do you? Hehehe..." Livebearer chuckled darkly in Raymond's mind. "A true master with the knife can handle ingredients without damaging them."
"Their tendons aren't actually cut. I just temporarily disabled them. They'll be back to normal soon." (TL/N: Don't ask, anime logic)
As he explained, he walked to the spot directly beneath the cave's upper exit, looked at Happy, and grinned creepily:
"Take care, little buddy. I'll be back soon..."
Before he even finished speaking, 'Raymond' vanished in a flash—gone in an instant, having exited through the upper passage.
Watching how fast 'Raymond' had come and gone, Happy couldn't help but feel a little dazed, wondering if he'd been hit so hard that he was hallucinating.
But when he glanced at the two unconscious men still seated on the chairs, he knew—it wasn't a dream.
Someone really had come.
About half a minute later, both men woke up at almost the same time.
"That's weird... why did I fall asleep all of a sudden?"
"You fell asleep too? Must be from staying up too late recently. Once this mission's over, I'm definitely catching up on sleep."
They joked and laughed with each other as if nothing strange had ever happened.
Seeing their reactions, Happy felt a chill in his heart.
Because he remembered what he had just witnessed.
That red-robed maniac who had suddenly dropped in from above—after knocking them both out, he had pulled out two soft tubes, stuck one end into his own head, and the other ends onto the temples of those two men.
Happy hadn't understood what the red-robed man was doing at the time, but now, seeing how those two acted like they had amnesia, he realized—
He had been altering their memories.
He used two tubes... to change memories?
If someone had told Happy before that a rubber tube could erase memories, he would've thought they were crazy.
But now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he couldn't deny it.
"Good thing he's on our side," Happy thought with relief.
After confirming that Happy had indeed been captured by Killian, Raymond didn't return to the agency right away. Instead, he called Pepper.
After letting her know he had found Happy's location, he gave her an address and told her to bring tony along.
Less than ten minutes after the call, an Iron Man suit landed in front of him from the sky.
When the helmet opened automatically, it revealed a handsome face.
Raymond knew—the main character had arrived.
"So, you're the detective Pepper told me about—Raymond?" Tony asked, looking at him with a slightly doubtful expression from inside the suit.
"Mr. Stark, you got here fast. Where's Miss Potts?" Raymond looked around but didn't see Pepper.
"She was taking too long, so I didn't wait for her," Tony replied casually, then quickly followed up, "You said you found where Happy is?"
"That's right," Raymond confirmed.
"Where is he?" Tony sounded impatient.
As the head of Stark Industries—and also a billionaire, playboy, superhero, Avenger—Tony usually kept his emotions in check. Even meeting the President wouldn't get much of a reaction out of him.
But Happy was different. He was one of the few people Tony truly cared about—like family.
Over the past few days, he'd been running around like a madman, barely sleeping, desperate to find any leads. He was terrified something terrible had happened to Happy.
Now that someone suddenly said they found him, of course Tony couldn't stay calm.
"Before I tell you where he is, there are some things we need to clear up first..." Raymond said.
But Tony cut him off, already annoyed. "If what you're saying is true, money isn't a problem. Once I get Happy back, I'll pay you whatever you want—not a cent less."
"I'm not in the mood for a long talk right now. Just tell me where he is. Right now."
Clearly, Tony thought Raymond was trying to negotiate for money—or even take advantage of the situation.
Pepper probably told him they hadn't paid Raymond yet.
But to Tony, money wasn't an issue. As long as it wasn't something outrageous, he'd pay anything to get Happy back.
Of course, that only applied if Raymond wasn't trying to scam him.
If Raymond was asking for something ridiculous, like half of Stark Industries, then Tony would never agree—that would be extortion.
Still, Tony believed no one with a working brain would try something that stupid.
Anyone who did would only end up making an enemy out of him. Nothing else.
Raymond could guess what Tony was thinking, so he didn't get angry. He just smiled and shook his head.
"What I want to talk about has nothing to do with money."
Hearing that, Tony clearly misunderstood even more. His expression darkened, and he said in a low voice, "Detective Raymond—or should I say Dr. Raymond? Don't push your luck."
"I believe that with your social status and your ties to S.H.I.E.L.D., you're not foolish enough to try scamming me."
"But there are limits."
"Yes, I'd spend any amount of money to save Happy. But I won't let anyone use that to threaten me—or try to blackmail me. Do you understand?"
Raymond wasn't surprised that Tony already knew so much about him—including that he was a psychology expert and had a special connection with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.
Pepper must have explained how she found Raymond and his detective agency.
And with J.A.R.V.I.S. searching for that info, it would've taken seconds to dig up Raymond's full profile.
Even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s databases weren't really protected against J.A.R.V.I.S.
So aside from things like Project T.A.H.I.T.I.—which weren't officially recorded—Tony most likely already knew everything about him.
That was probably all sorted before Tony even arrived.
Of course, he wouldn't bring it up right away—he didn't want to ruin the mood.
But now, since he thought Raymond was trying to shake him down, Tony had no problem flipping the table.
No one could force him to do anything.
Not Nick Fury. And definitely not Raymond.