Natasha looked at the group assembled in the compound operations room. After Karen had sent Peter's suit feeds she had been able to finally identify Zeke. She told Tony earlier so he wouldn't be blindsided with it. She also knew he hadn't had a chance to talk to Peter. Peter, Johnny, and Wyatt had picked up Bobby and Davis. They wanted to make sure that everyone involved had the information in light of what had happened at the reception. No one was sure what the next move would be or how Ross was connected to what had happened Saturday. She waited for everyone to settle into their seats before putting a still from Peter's suit feed on the screen. "After Saturday's incident we have a face to go with the name. And after a lot of digging we have his full name. This is Ezekiel Stane...Zeke. And if you think the name sounds familiar it's because he's the son of Obadiah Stane." Natasha paused and looked over at Tony. She noticed Peter had looked over and locked eyes with Tony before turning back to the screen.
Tony pulled himself away from the credenza he had been leaning against. "Obadiah Stane as in the guy that hired the Ten Rings to kill me and then tried to kill me himself. Nat had to go pretty far down in order to locate Zeke. He was well hidden."
Natasha nodded, "He was never publicly acknowledged by his father although I was able to trace the money forward after Obadiah's death. He left a sizable amount to Zeke which enabled him to become the fixer he is today. Once I had a picture I was able to trace some of what he's been mixed up in over the last ten years. He has connections to the mob, to AIM, he's even done work for Hydra. He has loyalties to none. As far as I can tell, he's never had a home base. He is 100% mobile."
Bucky leaned forwards. "We're thinking he's after Tony and Peter?"
Natasha nodded. "Best guess is use Peter to get retribution for his father's death."
Bucky looked across the table at Peter. "You and Tony need to take Pepper, MJ, and Morgan to Wakanda and stay there until this is over."
Peter shook his head. "I'm not running."
Sam leaned back in his seat next to Bucky. "It's not running. It's being smart. There's enough fire power in this room to take him on. If you and Tony are here it's just a liability."
"We'll talk about this later." Peter looked over at Natasha. "How is he connected to Ross?"
"We think Ross took care of him after his father died. Got him the money, probably explained the situation. Prior to Obadiah's death we don't think Zeke knew about him." Natasha flipped a series of pictures on the screen. "This is some of Zeke's work." There were pictures of various individuals with all sorts of prosthetics and bio enhancements. "He's more than capable of helping Ross figure out Osborn's super soldier formula. And, if Ross is making a move on mutants, Zeke can definitely provide the firepower."
Clint hopped off of the counter he had been sitting on, "Ok, where?"
Steve stood up next to Natasha. "That is the question of the day. Zeke has always been mobile and has proven to be incredibly hard to trace. We started looking at Ross's movements." He pulled a map up on the screen that showed various lines and dots. He pointed to a cluster. "We think he's in New York. We're just not sure where. So, when he comes up for air he'll be tracked. He's scheduled to speak at the UN in a couple days. We'll put a tail on him and follow until he leads us to Zeke." He glanced over at Natasha before looking back at the group. "Until then we're in a holding pattern. We'll use the time to gather our resources."
The meeting broke up. Wyatt, Johnny, Bobby, and Davis looked at Peter. "You need to go to Wakanda."
"I'm not hiding." Peter knew this wasn't going to be the only time he had this conversation today. He figured Nat would corner him at some point. Steve would give him a lecture about sometimes leadership means letting other people handle something. Bucky would be obnoxious about it. He and his dad would probably get into a fight about it. He wasn't looking forward to any of it. "Ross will lead us to Zeke and then it'll be over."
"You know it won't be that simple." Wyatt pushed his chair back. "I'm going to talk to Nat about her putting me on the team that tails Ross."
The other three boys saw Tony walking towards them. "We're going to see what Steve needs by way of resources." Bobby looked down at Peter. "Professor X will want to assist if they're needed. We'll have to start coordinating." All three boys stood up and left Peter sitting at the table.
"Come on, lets go for a walk." Tony looked down at Peter.
Peter sighed and pushed back from the table. Standing up he followed his dad out of room. They walked in silence, side by side, until they got outside. There was a path that led down by the river. "Dad. I'm not running."
Tony sighed. "Pete, staying makes no sense. You know you're a target and you know how much fire power they have. It is blatantly obvious that Zeke is coming after you."
"I held my own at the reception. I can do it again." Peter was frustrated that everyone though he wasn't capable of handling this.
"I'm not saying you can't handle him. No one is. What we're saying is that you don't have to. For once in your life let other people protect you." Tony knew the moment Natasha had told him who Zeke was that he was going to have to convince Peter to leave. And he knew it was an uphill battle.
"Dad, I'm not running."
"That decision is no longer yours alone to make." Tony stopped walking when Peter froze.
"You can't force me to go to Wakanda." Peter crossed his arms and stared at Tony. "I'm not some kid..."
Tony turned to face him. "No, your an almost a 20 year old who has his entire future in front of him. And I wasn't talking about me. The second you let MJ into the boxes meant that she has a say in what happens." Tony softened his expression a little, "That's not a bad thing. What you two have is amazing. You owe it to her to include her in this decision because it affects her too."
Peter frowned and looked over at his dad. "I already know what her decision's going to be. She's going to say go to Wakanda and let everyone else handle it. But what if someone gets hurt."
"If someone gets hurt it's on Ross and Zeke...not you. What if MJ gets hurt because you chose to stay?"
Peter shook his head. "Oh, she's going to Wakanda. As are I assume Pepper and Morgan."
Tony laughed, "Kid, you have a lot to learn about relationships. I think that attitude was what got you into trouble with MJ the first time." He reached over and out a hand on Peter's shoulder. "We're all going to Wakanda. Me included. Sam was right. You and I are just a liability."
Peter looked at his dad skeptically, "You're agreeing to sit this out?"
"If it means keeping you, Pepper, Morgan, and MJ safe...yes." Tony watched the emotions playing across Peter's face. "I want to live long enough to see you and MJ get married, I want to watch Morgan grow up. So, yes...I have no problem sitting this one out." Tony considered taking it a step further and guilting Peter into leaving because if Peter stayed he would too. But, he thought Peter was getting there by himself.
Peter looked past his dad and stared at the river. He didn't like the idea of running from a fight but his dad was making a lot of good points. "I need to think about it."
Tony nodded. "Don't stay out here too long by yourself. You know you're going to end up with a couple of them worried that you'll just take off to deal with Zeke by yourself." Tony included himself in that count. The only thing that was allowing him to let Peter out of his sight and have some time to work though the idea was the fact that they didn't know where Zeke was.
Peter forced a smile. "I'm not going to take him on by myself." He watched his dad retreat back up the path they had walked down. He hated the idea of running and hiding. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called MJ. His dad was right, she needed to be part of the decision.
