**A/N – I feel I must apologise to some of you for causing you such personal heartache over the roller coaster ride my story is following! It is not my intention to cause emotional trauma (~crosses fingers behind back~) and I do hope you are feeling better soon… (…until the next chapter!)
Chapter 10 – I'm so confused…
'…when she wakes, will she know about the implant?'…Grace looked towards the sleeping Charlotte who was flaked out in a hospital bed. To the untrained eye, the room would look like a regular hospital room, but that was far from the truth….
'No. She won't know it's there. It'll take a few minutes to calibrate the chip via the computer but once it's operational, it'll just be a matter of time before the live feed comes through'…
The man Grace had just spoken to gave a wry smile. He had been waiting for a chance like this for a long, long time. To be able to see inside the Avengers facility via the eyes of the kid of Tony Stark would give his Hydra cell all the information they needed. Weak points, possible entry points, even the chance to see blue prints in Starks laboratory if Charlotte went in there. It was a chance he was willing to take. It could take some time…but they had all the time in the world…
'…and what about anyone else, will that A.I. system know it's there?' Grace sat down elegantly, crossed her legs and lent back slightly.
'No. That's the beauty of it. It has a little jamming chip, the frequency of it is one no-one would ever suspect so we've covered all bases. The thing now, is to get that kid back to her dearest papa, and let the computer do the rest'…
'You know he's going to be hot on my heels, don't you?' Grace gave a smile, Tony Stark didn't worry her, not when she was going to have the plastic surgery undone the minute Charlotte was released back into the streets of London.
'Stark is so set on finding his kid, he won't be worrying about you. Yes, you sent that test message to the kids phone, but by tomorrow, Grace Horwell will no longer exist. You'll be back under the knife and become Susan Greeves once again'…
oOo
Austin Donovan was a tall man, middle aged, with blonde hair beginning to show flecks of grey, especially obvious when under direct light. His history was as dubious as the people he worked with now, dishonourably discharged from the US Navy many years ago, he had soon fallen in with a bunch of small-time crooks who had eventually led him to the leader of a wider underground organisation. Austin had been tested in many ways, to check his loyalty and integrity to 'The Cause'. The leader had been impressed and seven years ago he had been given the lead position in a small Hydra cell based in New York. They weren't there to be spotted, or to be a thorn in the Avengers side, until now. Many cells were often quiet until given the nod by the powers that be, and now the powers that be wanted to strip apart the Avengers from the inside so Austin had set up this little rouse. If it worked, it would be a big bonus for him, as well as a promotion inside the underground organisation itself…
To everyone who knew him on the 'outside', Mr Donovan was a successful businessman whose company dealt in technology. Nothing on the scale of Starks of course, mainly printers and digital cameras. He bought from abroad and shipped them out across the states. The market was good and he did well. His company was on the radar in the city, it needed to be to allow him to mingle with the big names in the techno world, and he had even met Tony a few times at various conferences and meetings. To snag the secrets of the Avengers would be the pinnacle of his underworld career, and he didn't intend on letting that chance slip away…
oOo
'…she is going to be fine Mr Stark. Please, you need to calm down'…
The police inspector who had taken the case once Tony's attack had been reported followed by Charlotte going missing was stood outside the hospital room of where Charlotte had been taken after she had been found wandering the streets of London. She had been drugged up to the eyeballs and found by an elderly couple walking their dog, Tony's daughter was found over eight miles from the theatre they had been in. It was also 12 hours after the event had happened and Tony had gone nuclear. The news had reported the apparent kidnapping, the team were about to leave New York and join in the search if Charlotte was missing another 12 hours.
Now, as Tony was about to burst into the hospital room, face red and anger on a level scale of 100, the inspector laid his hand on Tony's shoulder.
'The doctor said she's highly confused, she doesn't know what went on and…she's been given a cocktail of drugs they are analysing now. You don't want to upset her further by blasting through the door Mr Stark'…
Tony stopped, trying to get a hold of his breathing. These last 12 hours had been stuff of nightmares. No clues, no ideas as to who, or why…someone kidnapped his kid. The police officer was right, Charlotte would only get scared if he burst in demanding answers.
'Sure, you're right, I'm calm….I'm calm!'….another deep breath, then he opened the door quietly and stepped inside the room.
The curtains were closed, the light dim, although it was late afternoon, and a monitor and drip were hooked up next to Charlotte's bed. Her eyes were closed and she looked pale, her long dark hair splayed out on the pillow.
Tony gulped, then took a deep breath before sitting down on the chair next to her bed…
'Hey Shortie, how are you feeling?' he was sure his voice was wobbling, although he was doing his best to keep a lid on his emotions.
Charlotte's eyes shot open, firstly in fear, then the tears started when she saw who it was…
'Daddy?' she wailed….
'Ssssh…I'm here now, it's okay….'…he stood up from the chair, repositioned himself on the edge of her bed and hugged her tightly.
'I told..I told her I couldn't go, but she dragged me out…I..don't remember anything after that!' Her tears increased as her crying got louder, hanging onto him for dear life.
'Shush, we don't need to talk about it now. When you're feeling up to it kiddo'. He kissed the top of his head, vowing a slow and painful death on the supposed Grace Horwell. Ripping her limbs off one by one by Iron Man sounded like a suitable payback at this point in time.
The drug report came back, Charlotte had been heavily sedated and she was also quite battered and bruised (she had put up a good fight once she had seen her father sparked out on the floor) so an examination didn't reveal a tiny surgery scar on her head, as she had several small cuts on her skin already. The police put it down to a botched kidnap attempt, probably someone trying their luck then panicking. Tony didn't enlighten them about 'Grace Horwell', he needed to get his daughter back home to the safety of the tower and do his own investigating from there.
oOo
They left the hospital in the middle of the night and were driven off to the airport as quickly as possible to avoid a press nightmare seeing as the paparazzi were now encamped outside the hospital, hoping for some juicy gossip from the Stark family. The car cut through the London streets and it didn't take long before the private jet was heading back over the Atlantic towards home. Tony slept most of the way with Charlotte bundled up in his arms, she was still wiped out from the drugs in her system and as the plane landed, they had to be woken as the door to the jet was opened. It was Steve who came in, to see Tony sleepily try to stand with Charlotte still out of it in her pyjamas and wrapped in the blanket. Steve stepped forward to take the sleeping kid from Tony but as Tony drew her back protectively Steve spoke…
'Tony, you look wiped out. You don't want to drop her on the tarmac, do you? It's me, Steve, I'll take Charlotte into the limo, its right outside'…
'Yeah, sure thing Cap, but if YOU drop her, I'll rip your head off'.
A slight smile, Steve carefully took the sleeping girl out of Tony's arms and within minutes they were speeding back to the tower, and safety…
Lots of coffee for Tony later, he sat on the couch in the main living area with Peter next to him, Charlotte was in bed.
'I told you one of us should have come with you Mr Stark. I could have stopped them snatching Charlotte' Peter pulled a face. They had all been affected by what had happened.
'I know kiddo but you had stuff to do here' Tony ruffled the teenagers hair affectionately as he often did, he had missed Peter, missed his easy conversations and company. He was so easy to be around…
'Maybe we should have a spider bite Charlotte too! Then she can defend herself!' Peter stuck a chocolate chip cookie into his mouth and turned back to the TV.
'Perish the thought!' replied Tony.
'…now that's not a bad idea' A voice from the kitchen, Clint, who was making himself a coffee. It was now two days before Christmas and he was heading back to his family later that day.
Tony couldn't believe what he just heard and swivelled his head around.
'Are you losing your marbles, Robin Hood? What shall we do, throw my kid in with a bunch of mutant spiders and hope she comes out as Spidergirl?'…
Clint huffed…
'Geez Stark, your brain must be inactive due to lack of sleep. What I meant was, self-defence lessons.'
'Of course' piped up Natasha.
'I know she's small but I started young…'
'Hey, I'm not turning my daughter in an assassin thank you! She's just fine the way she is!'
'…so let her keep getting kidnapped then' Natasha shrugged and went back to reading her tablet, feet up on the coffee table.
'…I'll think about it' he grunted, somehow…he never saw his daughter kicking the asses of the bad guys but now, was it really needed, so she had the chance to escape or defend herself?
'…daddy?' a squeak from the doorway, Charlotte was stood there, ruffled pyjamas, the same blanket…looking worried…
'Hey Shortie! Come and sit with us!'…Tony was relieved she was now awake, the drugs she had been given had really done a number on her.
Peter scooted over and Charlotte climbed between them, Tony wrapped the blanket around her and she lay her head on his legs. Within minutes, she was asleep once again. Absentmindedly, Tony ran his hand over her hair, watching the Disney movie Peter was watching but paying it no attention…his mind was in turmoil. Where did he go from here…?
oOo
'…when will you bring the chip online Mr Donovan?'…the computer operator was busy punching in commands as his boss leaned in behind him to stare at the screen.
'We'll give it a few days. Let the dust settle. The Stark kid will be too sleepy for a while to go off exploring the tower so there's no point in tuning in until she's compos mentis'…Austin grinned evilly, he had no morals when it came to using a 12 year old kid to get the information he so desired.
'Just wait and see, the secrets of the Avengers are just about within our grasp, and they'll have no clue as to just where the leak is…'…