Note: Yeah we know we said it wouldn't be everyday that we'd update this but... we do have a lot of the chapters already planned and have very little to do but play around with this story. No doubt we'll upoad another chapter today. XD
The TV was continuing to drone on but Tony had ceased listening to it. His mind now raced to examine the possibilities of what had happened and where he should go from here. The bridge would be blocked off no doubt with the rescue effort still underway. Even if he wanted to do so examining the scene was definitely something he couldn't do just yet. The first thing the authorities would do is concern themselves with the disaster and the clean up. All manpower would go into the rescue operation and rightly so. But inevitably when all had been done they would want answers. They would want Iron Man.
Evelyn had acted perfectly at the conference, it gave him the freedom to use whatever cover story he pleased without causing a contradiction. The best cover story to use would normally be the truth but in this case that wasn't an option. If he said that the Iron Man that had destroyed the bridge was an impostor then the police would demand to question the real pilot. That was a problem when he was the real pilot. In addition to that they would demand to see where the armour was usually stored or even demand tech specifications to be used as evidence to prove Iron Man was or wasn't responsible. He could only delay them for a limited time until they went through the channels and obtained a warrant. In a disaster such as this certain people would have no trouble obtaining their warrant needed.
A chill trickled down his spine for the second time. He was thinking as if it would be the police showing up at Stark Industries. No, this wasn't a simple crime this would be treated like an act of terrorism and on top of that one performed by a 'special' individual. The police wouldn't be the ones coming to see him. It would be Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division also known as S.H.I.E.L.D. He could delay the police but delaying S.H.I.E.L.D. was like trying to hold back the tide. No matter what cover story he used they would be banging down the door sooner or later. Knowing Fury's reputation it would be sooner rather than later. Therefore there was only one option to take: he would have to announce Iron Man's disappearance.
Confirming his involvement would be near suicide for the company, stocks would plummet (at least more so than they already would have) and the board would be all but organising a coup. Instead he'd have to play it that he was as clueless as everyone else. After all in essence he was clueless who had committed the act. Iron Man's last public appearance had been several days ago, that worked in his favour. He would say he'd lost contact with Iron Man around four days ago as that would create the suspicion that it hadn't been the real Iron Man in the armour but a thief without Tony actually having to imply it himself. Additionally the story could backfire instead adding evidence Iron Man had gone rogue. He decided sticking to that story was the best course of action, hopefully the citizens of the city would have faith in Iron Man considering what Tony had done for the city while in his armour.
Tony pushed one of the small buttons below the TV screen and leaned in close muttering:
"Jocasta, monitor all channels for the next twenty-four hours and record anything that mentions the words Stark, bridge or Iron Man. Upload the files to the Stark extranet when they're complete but encode them only to be visible under my login. Also lockdown the main elevator, I don't want anyone getting access to the penthouse."
There was no confirmation given by Jocasta to indicate she'd acknowledged his request but that was a result of Evelyn's presence. He'd instructed Jocasta to remain silent if anyone else was also in the penthouse. Satisfied he turned off the water and got out of the shower.
After drying himself and having a quick shave he put back on his vest. Not the most pleasant thing to do considering how he'd wore it during yesterday's antics but it was better than allowing Evelyn to see the arc reactor attached to his chest. The device kept him alive and the shrapnel from his heart but he wasn't too fond on showing it off to people. Opening the door Tony marched out of the bathroom immediately spotting the fresh suit laid out for him.
"I saw the news" he began as he dressed himself. "You did a good job handling the press conference," his tone was now calm and professional the evidence of his drunken evening washed away by the seriousness of the situation.
As he straightened his tie he decided to test drive his cover story:
"I haven't heard from Iron Man in days. We need to get that out to the public. Meanwhile I need to get to the office. Call Rhodey and have him meet us on the roof, I want to avoid the press."
James Rhodes had been Tony's best friend for many years. In addition to being the primary liaison between the military and Stark Industries he also acted as Tony's official pilot on occasion. He knew Rhodey would be at Stark Industries right this moment, waiting for Tony to arrive to ferry him via helicopter to the construction site of the company's newest building. It was intended to be a flashy show-off visit to get some attention onto the construction and build some publicity before the building was complete. With the recent events however Tony considered the visit cancelled. Though with luck Rhodey would still be at the office waiting for the appointment.
-Evelyn's Point Of View-
This was it. He had finally mentioned Iron Man, though it did not give her confidence in her mission that he had not seen him in that amount of days. Whether that was a lie or not she had yet to decide.
"Understood, sir."
The black bag at her side was tied into a knot at the top and placed near to the doors into the apartment. If a cleaner was to enter the penthouse, they could easily locate what she had cleaned up and would dispose of it. Evelyn reached into her pocket and brought out one of the latest models of Stark Industries mobile phones. The initials of the company appeared on the screen as she flipped the cover over. She was not one for personalizing her possessions so she had left it as the production settings. Even the tone on the phone was a simple ringing one. Perhaps one day she'd find time to change it, but for now it would do. She scrolled through the contacts listed on the phone given to her and found the listing of James Rhodey. She raised the phone to her ear while simultaneously pressing the call button. It rung for exactly three times before a voice cut through the tone.
"Hello this is Miss. Stevens. I'm the personal assis-… Oh, you know already. Well Mr. Stark asked me if you'd be willing t-… Oh, I see. Uh yes goodbye." The most worrying thing about that phone call was that he seemed to know the exact reason as to why she called and for whom.
Evelyn watched Tony entered his bedroom and soon after exited with a briefcase in hand.
"Rodney told me to relay to you that he'd be here in ten minutes."
The silence she received meant he both heard her and chose not to not reply or he already knew what the message would be and was fully aware of it. Sometimes she didn't know why she bothered. As she left the penthouse, she made sure to close the door behind her but it seemed he had no need to lock it as Tony had already made his way to a grimy looking door. Obviously the way up to the roof, though she was surprised that she had never noticed such a thing before. Especially by how much it stood out compared to the rest of the hotel.
"We need to take the stairs to the helipad."
Well that would explain why they needed to go to the roof. A helicopter would be their ride and for obvious reasons. No doubt, the usual mass of paparazzi would be standing by at the entrance awaiting an appearance of Mr. Stark. Her head nodded in acknowledgement as he swung open the door and climbed the metal stairs up to another dull door that gave an impression that it was not part of the hotel at all. Evelyn almost felt like he had taken her into a new building far from the glittering building that held his name. She came to a halt as he stopped to punch in a code into a small keypad next to the door. Not many people would know that code, or at least that was what Evelyn came to the conclusion of. It seemed this whole top floor was for him and him only. It almost made her feel lucky that she was privileged enough to visit it daily if she so wished.
The door swung open and she followed him almost as if she was some lost child trying to keep up with the teacher. She hated how he would be one way and then instantly change to become this serious businessperson in front of her. Of course it made her job easier when he switched to this mode, but it didn't make it any simpler to get along with him. The cold wind seemed to smack her in the face as they stepped outside and made her instantly regret wearing a skirt instead of some nice warming trousers. Evelyn's eyes searched the skies to focus on the dark blob approaching them at a fast rate. Must be the famous James Rhodey, well not entirely famous but with how often Tony spoke of him it sure made it feel like he was some sort of celebrity.
"And here comes our ride."
The helicopter was not too far a distance from where they were situated and would take around five minutes to reach them at it's current speed and distance from him. However, that was only an estimate on her part.
"Good thinking, Mr. Stark." She was truly impressed that in the state she had seen him in only a while back that he could think of such an idea of leaving the building via a helicopter.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a small and consistent 'beep' sound coming from her pocket followed by a robotic voice that announced, "you have mail." Inside her pocket was an advanced prototype PDA that could pretty much do everything that she required. A little gift she had been given by Mr. Stark last Christmas. Of course, it was not from him personally just something she had added to his bill.
"That must be my reply for your press conference. If you'll excuse me."
Evelyn removed the high tech PDA from her jacket pocket and tapped the screen with the stylus provided. On the screen was a circle shaped menu options. One for the mail, which was now flashing to indicate that she did indeed have mail and other such options such as calendars of events and meeting times. However, these were unimportant compared to the mail she had been waiting for. The stylus tapped onto the envelope symbol, which opened up her inbox. She found there were in fact two messages waiting for her. One from Stark Industries and another simply labelled 'M'.
The first e-mail depicted that the press conference had been arranged and would require the presence of Mr. Stark or at least a person statement from him that had to be read out to the worldwide press. Her words didn't appear to be enough as they seemed eager to hear what his view was on the destruction caused by his personal bodyguard. The second e-mail was more of an interest to her than the first. Not many had her e-mail address so she was curious as to who was sending her such a mysterious message. Her eyes widened as she read the words of the message. It read:
'Dear Miss Stevens. My name is of no concern to you. In fact, you will soon learn it but now is not the time. However, time is what you have very little of, Miss. Stevens. I know of your ability and what you lost on that bridge. Matt will be sadly missed and your thirst for vengeance shall not go unnoticed. I am very much willing to aid you in taking down Iron Man for what he has caused to you, but there is one condition. You must join forces with me and allow me the use of your unique gift. There is a sniper positioned on a nearby building waiting to take out our beloved Tony Stark. If you agree to my terms, you will save him and stay close to him. If you do not, then he will die and you will never get close to Iron Man. It is up to you. Once you have finished reading this you will have approximately two minutes to make a decision. If you are not quick enough, he will die. Have a nice day. M.'
Trying to stay calm and unshaken as possible, Evelyn replaced the PDA back into her pocket and let her eyes gaze over to where Tony was standing awaiting the arrival of the helicopter. If she did not do something quick, she would lose all chances of getting her vengeance on Iron Man and she would lose the man who signed her checks. Calmly she walked to his side scanning the buildings as she went.
"The company has set up a confer-… Watch out!"
Her sentence was cut short as she saw a flash from the top of a building near to where they were located. The message was not a fake and she knew what she had to. In a flash she had wrapped her arms around Tony's waist and pushed him to the ground with all the force she could muster. Unfortunately, she had not been as quick as she had hoped for. The bullet ripped through the flesh of her arm making a nasty bullet hole what poured out a great deal of blood.