Chapter Twenty: You Know How To Drive?
Phil Coulson watched as several agents combed through the remains of the medical suite in Stark Tower. Thanks to Tony, he had a copy of the video, but they still needed to find that syringe they'd used on Miss Carmichael. With that, they could hopefully identify whatever they'd used to drug her with and countermand it.
The two assailants were currently undergoing treatment at a secure hospital, though he doubted they'd wake up any time soon. At least not soon enough to get them the much needed answers. He hadn't recognized either of them from the captured images, but that didn't mean anything. It didn't help that they weren't on any facial recognition database either. The third man who'd infiltrated one of the guest rooms had used some kind of facial reflecting device, eliminating the possibility of their discovering his identity. All they knew about him was he was a male, about five foot eight, well built, without no fear of heights. He'd jumped from the window and flown off on some kind of hang glider.
Coulson doubted there would be any fingerprints. From what he saw in the video, both assailants had worn gloves. They certainly weren't making this easy on them, he sighed. Hopefully they'd catch a break soon. It didn't help that Tony had run off when the kids had gotten attacked only halfway to the safe house. Chances were good he wouldn't be coming back any time soon. He'd have to coordinate with Hill to be sure.
"Got something," one of the agents called out as he held up a discarded syringe. The plunger seemed to have been partially depressed, though there was still some of the serum inside the plastic tube. the needle was bent.
"Get that to the lab for immediate analysis," Coulson ordered as he put his hands in his pocket. He could have the information relayed to Stark or Romanoff as soon as they figured out what it was. Things could have been worse, he supposed. "Okay, wrap it up here," he instructed the other agents. "I'm heading out to the university."
One team had already been dispatched to check into an incident reported at the dorms at NYU. The room in question belonged to one Kally Carmichael. Her dorm mate had been attacked by an unknown assailant, the room trashed. At least the roommate was only a little worse for wear, with a few stitches for her troubles. But without knowing what all had been in the room, there was no way of telling if anything was missing. The intruders hadn't left much to chance, going so far as to rip the bedding and slashing the mattress. At the very least, he could retrieve some of Miss Carmichael's clothes to be forwarded on to the safe house. If they weren't destroyed as well.
"Keep an eye on things," Coulson requested of the agents he was leaving behind as he left the building. He slipped into the driver's seat of a dark sedan waiting for him, heading for the university. With luck, no one had tampered with Miss Carmichael's experiments. And, at the very least, he could retrieve the data chip the Hamada kid had mentioned.
"I don't know about you guys, but I could totally go for like a cheeseburger or maybe a burrito," Fred spoke up as Tony continued to drive. It was after nine now and he was hungry. And if he was hungry, he felt sure the other two had to be. Kally didn't count as she still was out of it.
Tony had managed to get them as far as Staten Island at this point; taking them away from the craziness they'd experiences near Brooklyn. They all definitely did not want a repeat of that. But at least things were going smoothly so far. "I suppose we could stop by a drive-thru or something," he suggested. "But I can't be the one behind the wheel if we do."
"You're damn right," Natasha said over the headset. "You're face would be plastered all over the internet in no time."
Hiro's stomach grumbled. He'd tried to go back to sleep but hadn't had much success. He assessed the information at hand, realizing Fred, though he had a license, wouldn't be a good pick to act as a decoy driver. He didn't look that great at the moment, still pale from pain and loss of blood. He needed something in him for sure. And even though Tony had given them all bottled water, he knew it wouldn't be enough to replace what Fred had lost. He hesitantly raised his hand. "I could drive," he hazarded. "I do have a learner's permit."
Tony seemed to calculate his offer, muttering to himself in a tone so low neither of his conscious passengers could hear him. "That just might work," he finally stated. "You are sixteen now, right?" He glanced back just to confirm what he already knew. "You know how to drive?"
Hiro gave him a hesitant grin. "Yeah, I mean I've been practicing when Fred or Wasabi will let me. We just find a fast food place, stop maybe a block away, switch out drivers, and have me drive in, get the food, then drive another block or two to a place we can switch back. Easy."
"One problem with that, little dude," Fred spoke up, obviously holding back due to the pain, "someone might see us switching up a block away from whatever place we go to. Probably be wise to switch sooner than later and just hope no cops pull us over. You don't have your license yet, remember? And I don't remember how the permit thing works out here."
How could he forget? Hiro wondered as he smacked himself in the head. If only Fred hadn't been shot, or Tony was less well known, it wouldn't be an issue. But it was an issue. "I don't know," he finally sighed.
"Now hold on there a minute," Tony called back to him. "I didn't say we weren't going to go that route, but Fred does make a valid point. We can't just go switching too close to wherever we're going. I'm going to have to stop for gas soon anyway so we can switch there. Sound like a plan?"
"I sure hope you know what you're doing," Natasha said over the Bluetooth.
Spotting a nearby gas station that could be considered "out of the way", Tony pulled in. He made sure to slide on a pair of dark sunglasses and pull on a baseball cap before he got out to fill the tank. "Fred, you should sit in back," he instructed. "That way I can be up front to make sure nothing happens. That and I look more like I could be his dad than you do."
Hiro opened his door, Fred doing the same. If the mascot was a bit slower about it than usual, no one commented. Hiro had to help him out though as he got out of the front and moved to the back. "You good?" Hiro asked before shutting the back door, glad this was a four-door model.
Fred gave him a thumbs up before trying to settle his arm more comfortably around the seat belt so it didn't cause problems. "Kind of makes me feel like a kid again," he tried to joke.
Hiro slid into the driver's seat as Tony finished filling up the gas. He had to manipulate the seat so he could reach the pedals and see out the front window, which vexed him no end. He was still waiting for that supposed growth spurt to happen. An inch or two didn't count. Short of sitting on a phone book, this was probably the best he was getting, he sighed as the seat refused to move any closer or higher. "Well this should be fun," he mused. He wasn't about to ask for some kind of booster seat.
Tony finished pumping gas, getting a receipt from the pump, glad he hadn't had to inside to pay. That would not have ended well. He slid into the front passenger seat. "Okay, everyone buckled up back there?" He glanced back to make sure.
Kally was mostly upright with the shoulder harness across her chest, her head leaning against Baymax's side. The healthcare robot was buckled in around the middle so he could be partially inflated for added comfort to their unconscious member. Fred was good to go.
Hiro started the engine, his heart pounding a bit. He'd never actually been behind the wheel of a moving vehicle like this before. It wasn't like he was just going around an empty parking lot or anything. He was about to head out onto a real road with real cars. And this car, though not exactly new, had a lot of bells and whistles. "You got this," he told himself, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
"Relax, kid," Tony told him, still wearing the sunglasses and hat. "Driving's just like riding a bike. Think about it too much and you mess up. Just go with the flow and you'll be fine."
The teen genius gave a nervous kind of laugh as he put the car in gear. The fact of the matter was he was about to head into actual traffic, even if it wasn't as heavy as it could be, in an area he didn't know, with Tony freaking Stark in the vehicle. Yeah, no need to be nervous. None at all. He didn't release the pressure of his grip on the wheel as he touched the gas pedal enough to make them crawl forward.
"You're going to have to give her a little more gas," Tony admonished with a slight hint of asperity. Part of him wondered what he'd been thinking to allow this. But what was the alternative? Convenience store food wouldn't cut it, though another part of him wished he'd thought to at least grab some Gatorade or something. That would have helped Fred out, at least for the moment.
Hiro tried to comply, managing a nice ten mile per hour crawl. At least he was still in the parking lot and not out on the street, the billionaire thought. Maybe it would have been better to switch places in a larger one. That way the teen could practice a bit more before getting on the real streets. Well, no time like the present, he supposed. Either Hiro sank or swam. "Okay, let's get back on the road," he instructed.
After a few more nervous moments, Hiro did as instructed, smoothly joining the less crowded street off to the right of the gas station. He felt a bit more comfortable that way. "Um… so where exactly am I going?" he asked.
Tony had his phone out, pulling up a map. "JARVIS," he said to the device, "where's the closest place we can grab a bite to eat without giving Hiro a heart attack since he's the one driving?"
"Are you certain it is wise to allow him behind the wheel? I understand he is not yet licensed." JARVIS replied dryly. But when Tony didn't answer, he rattled off directions to the closest fast food chain in the area. "Do be careful," he intoned as he finished.
Behind his sunglasses, Tony quirked his brows as he rolled his eyes. "Okay," he said, turning his attention back to Hiro, who had at least managed to reach the speed limit, though there were cars still passing him by. "We're going to make a left at the next light so you're going to need to get over a lane. Don't worry, you've got this."
With the guidance of the older man, Hiro managed to evade getting hit, though there were a few horns in protest at his driving skills, or lack thereof. And, after a nerve-wracking ten minutes, they finally pulled into line at a burger joint's drive-thru.
"Relax," Tony reminded. "Someone might get suspicious. I'm going to pretend to be asleep when we pull up to the window so just order me a regular burrito meal with a large coffee. If they ask about cream or sugar, get some on the side. You guys can get whatever you want, within reason. I'm going to give you some cash, but we don't have an unlimited supply at the moment, got it?"
Hiro nodded as he licked his lips. They were coming up on the menu board and the colorful pictures made his stomach growl in anticipation. He was just a normal kid with a normal family just stopping by to get something quick on the way back home from a trip to the big city. Nothing to it. He pulled forward as the car ahead of him moved.
After some dithering, Hiro and Fred decided on what they wanted. And true to his word, Tony was at least pretending to be asleep, his eyes potentially closed behind his shades, head turned to lean against the seat, his arms loosely crossed over his chest. That way he could still keep an eye on Hiro and the cashier/server without seeming to.
When Hiro finally made it to the order window, he fumbled a bit as he told the cashier what they wanted, then handed enough bills to pay for it. He had to undo his seat belt to reach up to the window, but at least there weren't any mishaps and soon he was headed to the second window to pick up their food.
The girl at the front window looked maybe a couple years older than him, a year or two younger than Fred. She gave him a funny look as he waved hesitantly back. "That your dad?" she asked, nodding towards Tony.
"Yeah," Hiro replied, his voice cracking a bit. "Had a long night last night." Well, at least he wasn't outright lying, he supposed. At least not about how long the night had been.
The fast food worker seemed disinterested after that, handing him out bottles of juice and one large coffee, cream and sugar in a small bag. Hiro had to juggle a bit as he passed one bottle back to Fred and put the other between his legs so he could put the coffee in the cup colder, the small bag next to it. By the time he'd gotten things situated, the girl was impatiently waiting for him to take his large bag of food.
"Thanks," Hiro said as he accepted the last bag. He only got an eye roll in reply as the attendant closed the window, her contact with him over.
"Forward," Tony whispered, still pretending to be asleep.
Reminded to put the car back in gear, Hiro almost sped out of the lane, hitting the brakes a bit, causing the car to shudder. He clenched his teeth as he focused on getting them out of the way of the car behind them, trying hard to not hyperventilate. Was this how Wasabi felt when GoGo drove? It was so much more nerve-wracking behind the wheel, he decided.
Once they'd cleared the parking lot, Tony turned to pick up the coffee cup. He opened up the small bag, groaning. "Half and half? Really? What is this world coming to?" But he opened the small containers and emptied them into his cup, along with a couple of packets of sugar. There were some packets of artificial sweetener in there too, but he ignored them. If he was going to have to drink regular coffee, he was not going to adulterate it with fake sweeteners.
Hiro continued to look pensive as he pulled back out onto the main road, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a car whose driver didn't want to go the speed limit. Luckily, the other car swerved around, though the yelled obscenities didn't help the teen's mood. But at least they were back on track. He just hoped they could find another parking lot where it wouldn't matter who saw them so he could switch back with the real driver in the group. Driving under this kind of pressure was for the birds.
Tony sipped his brew, feeling thankful it had come from a fresh pot. There was that at least, though part of him had really wished they'd had an espresso machine so he could have gotten either a cappuccino or at least a latte. He let Hiro drive a few more miles before having him pull over in a shopping center so they could switch places. "Not bad, kid," he said as he clapped Hiro on the back as they walked around the car.
Hiro felt a small glow of pleasure at the praise, though he knew he could have done better. He was all too happy to hand Fred one of the burritos. They'd all decided to go the burrito route as it seemed the least messy of all the choices, though part of him wished he'd gone with the sweet rolls instead. Tony pulled his burrito out and unwrapped half of it before putting the car back in gear.