Major Hardman remained still at attention, watching General Ross. He could tell the general's thoughts were not as present as they usually were. Then he considered a possible reason, the same one that sometimes left Ross seated behind his desk with a reflective expression. It was none other than the various reports on the destruction caused by «Hulk» in several parts of the country, the very same reports for which, even now, General Ross had been reprimanded more than once by his superiors.
Then he saw it.
General Ross's eyes grew firm, filling with a determination that had not been seen in the last three years. He did not know what plans the general had in mind, only that, without question, it would be a major move.
Meanwhile, still at Empire State University, Rilley had finished organizing all the articles, devices, and other equipment inside the laboratory.
When he approached, he saw Dr. Connors and his father shaking hands. Realizing their conversation had ended, he drew closer.
"Father!" he said, drawing the attention of the man in the formal suit, who looked at him with a smile that clearly showed his satisfaction.
Dr. Connors then gave them space to speak.
"That was a good explanation you gave General Ross. I think he may have some plans in mind. Though as far as I'm concerned, he'll receive a refusal. You, on the other hand, are free to work with him. If GIG did not have a reputation to maintain, perhaps we would have worked together. There is certainly benefit in strengthening ties with men like him."
Rilley had always seen his father show goodwill toward General Ross, though he did not understand the reason and did not dare ask out of respect for both men. When it came to his family, Rilley would not be so insensitive as to meddle in such matters. He simply thought that perhaps, in this world, the two of them shared some kind of history.
That thought became even more firmly rooted after what had happened over the past three years, at the same time Ross's reputation collapsed following the disastrous incident that gave birth to this world's «Hulk». That incident had cost him a significant cut in resources and severe reprimands from his military superiors. When many seemed to have turned their backs on Ross, including his only daughter, it was Rilley's father who secretly provided him with a significant amount of technological support and enough funding to keep his operations running normally.
This made Rilley even more curious about the reasons behind those strange actions. In the long term, viewed purely from the perspective of gains and losses, investing so much in General Ross was not truly beneficial.
But Rilley, faithful to his principles of respecting his own family, continued without digging deeper or asking questions. After all, it was not something that concerned him, much less something he had the right to question. Even his mother, with whom his father shared control of the company, did not know the history between his father and General Ross. She simply respected those decisions without the slightest intention of questioning them.
"I think your words will encourage him to form a new plan. Ross is a stubborn man. I'm even surprised he didn't take the initiative to request a collaboration… Although, thinking about it, since we've known each other for so long, he can probably predict what my answer would be," the man said with a sigh. Then he continued with a smile. "Well, one way or another, General Ross will look for a way to negotiate with our family's technology industries."
Rilley and his father left the laboratory, talking as they walked toward the university exit.
"Maybe you're right. From the little I've interacted with General Ross, I realized he's a stubborn man," Rilley said, agreeing with his father.
Relly let out a sincere laugh.
"Now you call him General Ross, but I remember that until a few years ago, you used to call him Uncle Ross."
Rilley fell silent, not knowing how to respond to his father.
He certainly remembered calling General Ross uncle, and it had not been said at random. At first, Rilley had considered establishing ties with General Ross, a man of extensive influence at the time.
It might have been beneficial to work alongside Ross in his experiments and, with some luck, obtain important results. However, situations were sometimes unpredictable. By the time Ross was directing the secret project, he had chosen Bruce Banner. Rilley had no opportunity then, and at that time the «Ultra Plus Rays» technology was still in its early stages.
General Ross, for his part, had not been opposed to being called uncle by Rilley. In fact, until not long ago, both families had still gathered for small year-end family dinners. That meant Rilley knew the Ross family, which consisted only of a small group of three people, including the general, his wife Karen Lee Ross, and their only daughter, Elizabeth Ross.
The latter was not that much older than Rilley, with only four years between them. He could even remember more than once when she had acted as his babysitter at the request of his parents during their outings to special GIG meetings. Their last meeting had been approximately five years ago, when he saw her off during her move to another city to attend university. To this day, neither Rilley nor Elizabeth Ross had spoken to each other again, remaining disconnected despite their years of closeness.
Even now, Rilley wondered whether they could still be considered as close as they had once been.
After the «Hulk» incident, Ross had distanced himself somewhat from the Glass family. Today, during the presentation of the cellular regeneration serum's results, was the first time in three years that they had met again.
Their meeting had been professional despite their good relationship. Everyone knew that in a public setting, they could not simply display that level of closeness. The general was even more reserved, always accustomed to separating the public from the private. Although their closeness was that of an uncle and nephew, before others they were merely a veteran general and a young scientist discussing matters of interest.
"Anyway, putting General Ross aside, why didn't Mom come with you?" Rilley asked, trying to steer the conversation away.
Relly merely smiled, and as his son wished, he set that topic aside.
"She didn't have time to come. She had to attend a general meeting in the cosmetics and beauty branch. It seems one of her researchers created a new skincare formula."
"I see. Hm? What's the name of that researcher?" Rilley asked casually, feeling very little curiosity and mainly using it as a way to keep the conversation going.
His father did not take it as a question of deliberate interest, but simply as casual talk, so he played along and answered.
"She's a student about to complete her doctorate in biochemistry here at Empire State. Her name, I believe, is Anna Maria Marconi. She was the one who submitted her research data, along with a successful test, to the innovative projects contest for the energy branch."
Rilley seemed to remember this person. He remembered her very well, because she was not just anyone, but a scientist of notable intellect and certain importance in one of the stories connected to Spider-Man. Of course, not with Peter Parker, but with Otto Octavius, also known for a time as «Superior Spider-Man».
"The one from the bioluminescent fish gene project?" he asked, trying to confirm his thoughts. In the comics he had read, she had also presented this project. It was a project born to promote green energy, without doubt an interesting ecological biotechnology proposal meant to explore alternative lighting sources or forms of energy with lower environmental impact.
From what Rilley knew through GIG's database, to which he had complete access by order of his father in order to train him to one day take charge of the company, Anna Maria had submitted this project to GIG's energy branch in order to participate in a call for innovative projects, one that would grant finalists funding to continue their research.
Then, after sending her research data along with successful test subjects from Sicily, Italy, all the way to New York in the United States of America, her project was verified through GIG's rigorous filters, which determined the viability of each project. After several months and multiple evaluations, it was finally determined that the project met the requirements to be accepted among the finalists.
It was his father, Relly Glass, who personally reviewed the project and gave it his approval. But it was not only the project itself that caught his interest. More than anything, it was the skill and talent he saw in the researcher herself. Convinced of the value of bringing her into GIG, he prepared an irresistible proposal inviting her to continue her studies at Empire State University. Although Rilley had not paid attention to the details, he knew that in the end she had accepted and moved to New York.
"But I remember you had recruited her to enter the energy branch. Was there some last-minute change of plans?" Rilley asked, this time with genuine curiosity.
Relly's expression stiffened. Little by little, his earlier serene smile disappeared, revealing a gloomy expression.
Rilley seemed to sense that something was wrong, so he looked at his father and waited for him to speak.
"Your mother stole her from me while I was busy handling other matters," Relly Glass said, a bitter smile reflected on his face.
After hearing that, Rilley looked stunned. He was truly dumbfounded. Who would have expected that the researcher his father had recruited after investing so many resources would end up being snatched away by his mother?
Rilley also knew that when Anna Maria arrived in the country, his father had almost immediately integrated her into GIG's energy branch as the official assistant of a moderately famous researcher within the company. After that, he had not paid much attention. Both Rilley and Relly had other matters to handle, so after some time, they never returned to that conversation.
Relly then told his son that he only found out his scientist had been stolen after a full year. At that point, he had been convinced that she had become familiar enough with the energy branch and that he could assign her to an important project.
So deep was his surprise when he learned, directly from the chief researcher to whom he had entrusted the young woman, that less than a week after her arrival, an order had been received transferring her to the cosmetics and beauty branch. An order issued directly by the general director, his own wife.
When Relly went to confront that ruthless woman, he ended up retreating several steps and sleeping on the living-room couch for a month. Of course, that part was not revealed to his son, being entirely omitted for the sake of his reputation as a father.
Rilley then understood what had happened. His mother had promoted Anna Maria directly to lead researcher on an important project, thus preventing his father from returning her to the energy branch. It seemed his mother had also been drawn by the young woman's talent, seeing great developmental potential in her, without caring in the slightest that she was taking talent recruited by her own husband.
Rilley was genuinely surprised.
"I never thought she would work for the cosmetics and beauty branch."
Clearing his throat with a light cough, Relly continued.
"When she presented the green light source project, your mother became interested in her because of her great talent and skill. There is no doubt that great minds think alike," he said, clearly trying to move the conversation elsewhere.
Rilley could only sigh, noticing his father's intention. There was no reason to ignore it and continue pressing.
"I feel like it's a waste to have her in the cosmetics and beauty branch. Maybe you should consider transferring her to the energy branch once she finishes the projects under her management," Rilley said with complete sincerity. After reading her record, he knew without doubt that Anna Maria was a good researcher with great talent.
"You think I didn't try? I really did… Your mother, that night I…"
Relly fell silent, looking even gloomier, embarrassed, and finally resigned. After giving a sigh, he said,
"Forget what I said. Anna Maria Marconi is comfortable working for your mother, so let's leave it at that. You'd better not repeat those words near your mother."
Rilley did not fully understand, but he could not help feeling sympathy for his father, though he did not know exactly why.
Trying to change the subject, Mr. Glass said, "I should also remind you that your mother seems interested in matching the two of you. She told me she invited her to dinner at our house, and that when I saw you, I had to remind you that you should attend, or she'll get angry."
"Dad… let's not go back to this topic again. I've already told both of you that I'm not interested in looking for a partner right now."
Rilley said it with a resigned tone, worn down by his inability to convince them. Despite having repeated those words so many times, his parents—especially his mother—did not seem entirely convinced.
"I understand. But at least try this one time. You know how your mother is… and don't tell her I told you. She wanted to surprise you, so when you meet her, act surprised," his father said as a reminder, patting him on the shoulder.