"You have simplified circuits into drawn squabbles on a board." stated Howard calmly while on the inside his mind was spinning at the goldmine he struck from this visit to Price Aviation in Virginia.

He was not happy to be forced out of his factories in California by Colonel Philip and Colonel Hendricks to visit another one of the consultants of SSR. But now that he was here he thanked God he decided to skip work. He never would have thought this trip would be productive but it turned out there was profit to be made and from his short conversation with the youngest Price it would be easy to swindle the guy. At least he hoped he could do so as the 'printed circuits' and 'breadboard' would cut coasts on many of his products.

"It is no easy process, Mr Stark. Even now we are perfecting the method we use and I believe it can be improved in the future." said Nathan Price excitedly and Howard realized the youngster was an enthusiastic inventor, not a businessman. It was only a matter of time before the real world beat down the spirit of the youngster.

Look at that! I am already sounding like an old greedy bastard, Howard thought with some amusement.

"I can think a number of ways that this technology will help in the war. I am yet to perfect it and a lot of skilled personnel are needed to for mass production." commented Nathan. Howard merely hummed distractedly while he was thinking up ways he could use this to make a good profit. He could think of a few ideas off the top of his head. Now he just had to trick this fool to spill more information about this new technology.

"So just what is the process that you employ for production of these printed circuits?" Howard asked as he took in the new cypher machine and its internal relays. When he had learned that a new Cypher Machine was being developed he never expected the thing to be a completed project. Now that he thought about it he distinctly remembered that it was an SSR project that was recently given the go-ahead. He had not jumped in on the project since he was already busy with another one. He was just surprised by the speed by which the prototype Cypher Machine was created and that too using new technology.

"Sorry. I can't pass that kind of information to someone outside the Company. It is company policy and I would need permission from the Board or the CEO of Prince Industries." said Nathan

Howard let out an internal curse at that. He had hoped Nathan would spill some secret so that he could replicate the printed circuits not to mention the other gadgets he could see pinned on the board. There are other ways of prying the information out and he knew how to do that.

"Do you know that I am working on a project that is part of signal intelligence?" asked Howard as he put his hand on Nathan's shoulder and guided the younger fellow out of the working space.

"I did not know. What is the project?" asked Nathan

Howard hid a smile as he took in the youngster's enthusiasm and curiosity that was shining in his eyes. While he felt some guilt in trying to steal the work of someone else for his benefit this was how the business worked. He had to crawl out of deep pits to where he was right now. Compared to that Nathan Price was born with a silver spoon in his mouth as far as he was concerned. Besides he was not going to rip off the Prices completely. He was just going to quietly worm his way in and get what he needs without disturbing anyone or anything.

"How would you like to work on a project that I call Airborne Early Warning and Control System?" asked Howard

When Nathan gave an enthusiastic consent Howard felt that he managed to score a point of victory. But later down the years when he would look back he would see this moment as the greatest turning point in his life.

The steady sound of typewriters clicking and clanking in a recurring pattern filled the hallways outside Price Aviation HQ. Emily disliked that sound as it reminded her of a time when she was confined under underground bunkers with a cypher machine under her fingertips. Those where the days where she feared for her life and that of her family as the Germans bombed London. There were days on end which she was unable to breathe fresh air or get some sun on her skin. Mostly she was hoping in those dark days for three of her brothers to be safe.

She had two elder brothers and a younger brother and all of them were fighting in the war. Her two elder brothers Thomas and Daniel fought in France. Thankfully they managed to leave Dunkirk and safely return back home. Her youngest brother Arthur was too young to enlist but the letter in her hand let her knew that was no longer the case. Her brother is now of an age where he was accepted into the service and he writes that he has joined the RAF. The letter was dated a few weeks back so by now her brother might have already signed up for training.

Her hands shook and her fingers tightened on the letter. She was so wroth with her brother and her mother. She was here in America safe and under the impression that her younger brother might go to some college and finish his education, get a proper job and stay far away from the war. But no! All her efforts were in vain and her brother ended up right in the middle of the war. It was for her brother's benefit that she abandoned her dreams of pursuing a career in literature and was here toiling away as a spy. To learn that all of her efforts amounted to nothing was a blow that she found hard to recover from.

She felt anger bubble up inside her but there was no one she could express her anger but herself. In the end, her eyes took matters into its own hands and began to tear up. Her vision became blurry and she realised she was crying when teardrops began to fall on the words of the letter blurring it with ink.

"Emily! Are you crying?"

She managed not to let out a startled yelp at the concerned voice and managed to rub her eyes before she greeted Nathan.

"Pardon me. It was just dust in my eyes." she managed to steady her voice and even threw in a smile with that.

"I think I know when someone is crying or not. Just come into my office." said Nathan as he held out the door to his office for her. Not to be rude and conscious that some others were looking her way she hopped into the cabin. Nathan was quick to draw the curtains of the cabin giving them a modicum of privacy.

"What's wrong?" asked Nathan and she hesitated. She had never mixed her personal life with her work but being far removed from her family, friends and home she was in desperate need for some emotional support.

So she started talking about her life growing up in a small house outside London with only a mother to provide for her family. She talked about her brothers and her mother and her inspiration to be a writer. Then the horrors of war forcing her to choose a profession that she hated just so that her family could survive and feed itself. She talked and talked and by the end of it, she felt as if a great weight has been lifted off her shoulders at least for the moment.

"I am the last one that should be criticizing your siblings as not too long ago I was on the same boat as your brothers." said Nathan to which Emily just shook her head and tried to control her raging emotions.

"Men! All you know is to make stupid decisions without thinking about what it does to their loved ones." said Emily before she could control herself. As soon as the last word was out she thought that was an inappropriate comment especially when she was working for SSR and as an assistant to Nathan.

But before she could apologize she felt a hand cover her own which she noticed was still curled up tightly on her skirt. Her startled eyes met Nathan's and found it hard to look away from them because of the genuine concern she saw in them.

"I have two brothers in the RAF. I will write to them to keep an eye on your brother. Don't you worry Emily nothing will happen to your brothers. God knows we fight a just war and he will watch over your brothers as he will watch over mine." said Nathan

Emily managed to smile a little for Nathan's sake at the very least. She was hardly in any position to command her brother to return to safety. Many other brothers and sons were fighting in this war. Her brother would have joined even if she was in Britain. And with that knowledge, she set aside her fears and prayed silently to God to keep watch over her family. That was the only things she could do right now.

"Thank you for helping me, Mr Price." she said to Nathan finally giving him a true smile. She was by no means happy about her brother's choice but she no longer felt the crushing weight on her heart.

"Of course and please don't call me Mr Price. I think we are at a stage where we could call each other by our first names." said Nathan and he offered her his hand. "Friends?"

Emily smiled and took the offered and shook it. "Friends."

"Now that we have put this matter behind us I have to ask about any recent developments from Project Storm or Phoenix?" asked Nathan

"Sorry no. But the Navy has increased the orders on P-01 dive bomber." She said remembering the message she was about to deliver before the letter took her attention away. "Oh, there was also a mention of a technical team from the Navy to run some tests on the plane. They want some modifications done to the plane." She quickly added.

"Huh! When are they scheduled to arrive?" asked Nathan

"As soon as you could give them access they are ready to run the tests."

"Huh. I will speak to the production unit and see what they say. Keep me appraised Emily."

"Yes sir."

At his cross look, Emily corrected herself. "Yes, Nathan."

AN:

a guy1013:Misogyny is a word already quite used in English literature since the 1620s in Britain. You might be surprised to know that the (true and sane) feminist movements can be traced all the way back to the 17th century in Britain.

AnimeA55Kicker: I wouldn't shoot the Bureau of Ordnance. The Mark 14 magnetic exploders were created when the US was suffering from the Great Depression. Congress cut the budget of the Navy and this forced them to abandon tests on this secret technology. They couldn't afford to test on a ship. The tests were concluded with the torpedo's ability to strike the ships below a certain depth. It was classified as a hit when this depth was attained by the torpedo. When flaws in torpedos were found in WW2 the tests of the torpedoes never came to light because it was a classified project. Most probably the members in the committee never knew what was going on. Then the checking devices of the Bureau was also flawed creating another headache. It was a combination of favours that culminated to many of the glaring problems. I think that's why the federal government didn't pursue the members of BO and charged them with reason.

Snapesucks: I have read that one. Although I didn't take the inspiration to write this fic from 'But I don't speak German' I admit that I became interested in historic fictional works after reading this story.

Eaglepirate: If the MC survives till the modern age then the MCU world as we know it may not be the same. It is highly possible that Iron Man would cease to exist.