"Love Me Like You Do"
Chapter Eleven
By darthelwig
Thaddeus Ross was not a man to be taken lightly. Vision had known this from the start, but that fact had been drilled into him all over again after the events in Munich. He was still reeling from the idea that a government official would authorize the murder of innocent civilians in order to capture or kill his Wanda. Or anyone. It was just crazy. He could see no justification for it. Where was the concern about loss of life that had brought them to this point in the first place? Where was the justice?
He dwelled on those questions while he flew back to the Avengers compound. The trip took much too long, as his healing had taken longer than expected and he still felt rather unsteady. He arrived shortly before Secretary Ross was scheduled to, much to Tony's relief. They needed to face Ross together, as a united front.
The man entered with soldiers at his back, armed and looking extremely dangerous. This was a change from previous visits, and Vision exchanged a quick look with Tony. This meant nothing good.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Tony asked, leaning back in his chair, looking relaxed and confident. "Not that we don't appreciate the visit, but we're a little busy."
"While you've been dragging your heels on the search for Captain Rogers and the escapees from the Raft, we actually located Wanda Maximoff. A tip came in, and it was verified that she was in Munich," Ross said, his voice frosty.
"Was?" Tony's flippant tone was already getting to Secretary Ross, he could tell.
"We organized a raid. Unfortunately, Maximoff was able to evade capture. She had help, a male, still unidentified."
"Huh. Okay. I'm guessing that's why a sizable chunk of Munich got blown up?"
"Maximoff saw us coming and decided to fight rather than come peacefully. She destroyed an entire block in the process, and took a number of innocent lives." Vision froze at Ross' deliberately misleading wording. Wanda had not been the one to destroy anything or kill anyone, but that had been the end result of them fleeing custody. "The girl is a menace," Ross continued. "The U.N. is in agreement that something more drastic needs to be done. They've organized a joint task force, which I will be heading. We've been given more manpower and greater authority to get the job done."
"So basically she just put a huge target on her back, am I right?" Tony said. "What do you need us to do?"
"I need you to stay out of the way," Ross replied. "You have been...less than effective in the search for these fugitives. I'm here to tell you that you're done. We won't be using you in that capacity anymore. You will wait for further instructions. Unless you have anything to add?"
The man's smug smile grated on Vision's nerves, and he felt sick. Wanda was in even more danger than before, and she was out there all alone. He had to find her.
"Nope. Looks like it's vacation time for us. Yay," Tony said with a sarcastic smile.
"You'll want to watch yourself, Tony," Ross said, eyes narrowed. "I've run out of patience with your games. I've given you the benefit of the doubt so far, let you search for the rogue Avengers on your own, but I have doubts about how serious your efforts have been. You've had precious little to show for all the 'effort' you've put in. For a genius, they're remarkably good at evading you, wouldn't you say?" The venom in Ross' words was unmistakable. "Your loyalty is already under question. You might want to avoid making things worse."
"Never been my strong suit," Tony said, sounding unconcerned, but Vision could detect the tension in his voice. "I'll do my best, as always."
"Just stay out of my way," Ross said.
Tony and Vision were quiet as he left, and Vision was the first to break the silence.
"He lied about Wanda. She did not kill anyone or attack-"
"Doesn't matter," Tony said, cutting him off. "That's the story he fed the U.N. and the media. That's what everyone is gonna believe. Seeing as how you're my robot son, you think you'd be a whole lot more cynical by now."
"I am not your son," Vision said stiffly.
"Sure," Tony scoffed. "Look, I didn't get a chance to tell you before Mr. Sunshine showed up, but I spoke to Nat. She's got Wanda with her. The girl is fine, just like I said she would be, I might add. She said she'd get the coordinates to you after they get where they're going. I'm surprised she's willing to do that, honestly. Giving up info is the exact opposite of her specialty."
"No, that would be Wanda." Vision visibly relaxed at the news, then rose from his chair in a blur of motion. "I need to see her. I should go."
"Yeah, you do that," he said. "At least one of us should be happy," Tony added under his breath, but Vision still heard. His heart ached for this man, who had always been good to him, even if he was a bit distant.
"Perhaps you should come with me," Vision suggested. "It might do you good to get away from here for a while. You have been spending a great deal of time alone as Colonel Rhodes recovers."
"Nah," Tony said, though he smiled at the offer. "Someone's gotta mind the fort. Besides, Rhodey needs me here." Tony sighed and stretched. "You're right, though. I need to get outta here for a while. I think I'll take a drive or something. Go someplace I can stretch my legs a bit. Maybe I'll check on Peter and his super hot Aunt."
"That sounds like a good idea." Vision smiled, pleased that Tony would be taking his advice. So few people really took him seriously.
"Wait a few days before you head out, though, okay? You rush out of here, it's gonna look suspicious to Ross. Give Ross some time to look the other way, then you can fly off to find your lady love. I wouldn't put it past him to have us under surveillance right now. Besides, you don't even know where you're supposed to go yet." Tony grimaced. "I feel like we're the ones under lock and key now. Can't say I'm a fan of it."
"Did you not tell me there are worse places to be locked up?" Vision said, a strange feeling in his chest, some sort of vicious satisfaction. Wanda had been forced to stay here, in this gilded cage. It seemed only fair they be subjected to the same.
"Yeah, I did, didn't I? Well, I guess now I know why your girlfriend bolted, huh?"
"No, not fully," Vision said, peering closely at Tony, "but perhaps you are learning." Vision left Tony there and headed off to prepare for his departure. He would wait for a time, but even his patience could wear thin. He missed her, and he wanted her back. He would be counting the minutes until he could leave.