Chapter Thirteen: Concerns

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"I can't just show up for a board meeting and not know who any of the members are," Tony stated, perfectly reasonable.

"Sure you can," Arno replied calmly, perfectly unreasonable, "trust me, none of them really expect you to know their names, anyway."

"You don't know the names of the people on your own board," Tony questioned incredulously.

"Of course I do. Just don't tell them that," the billionaire replied. "Address any of them by name and their heads start swelling. Fills up the whole board room. It's suffocating. Not the way I want to go out."

"You really expect me to go in there without knowing anybody's names or who they are."

"Look, Pepper will be there. You've met her. And she's used to me, so she'll very helpfully remind you of names and such," Arno told him, tone rational but actual words missing by miles. "The only person I'd be worried about you needing to know for something like this is Obie, but he's on vacation and won't be back until next week. You'll be fine."

"You are abnormally cavalier about this," Tony accused.

The other man smirked. "Now, you're sounding like JARVIS. Come on, Life Model Decoy. Think of it as a test. Sink or swim. For the record, you'll be fine."

Tony wasn't completely sold on the idea, but he did want to see how well he could pull off something as lengthy as a meeting. Thus far, he had only stood in for Arno during a couple brief appearances. Nothing that had required more than just his presence.

A board meeting, however, would be a lot more involved. It would require interacting with the other people in the room. Speaking up and responding in ways that were true to the man he was emulating. Sitting and listening and fidgeting like the man.

Fidgeting realistically might actually be a challenge. His handlers had tried to train it out of him with mixed success. Tony still fidgeted, but he tended to do so as subtly as possible.

"Fine," he relented with a sigh, "but if this blows up in our faces, I get to say I told you so."

"Whatever you say, sugarpop," Arno replied agreeably. "Have a good day at the office."

Rolling his eyes, Tony went upstairs to the bedroom and attached bath Arno had given to him. (Honestly, the man was way too trusting, but that was neither here nor there.) He started with taming his hair and tidying up his scruff (apparently, they were growing out their facial hair, again). After applying aftershave and cologne - neither of which Tony had really bothered with in the past and both the same brand and scents as Arno's - Tony finally put in the colored contacts that completed the appearance.

When he blinked into the mirror, Arno Stark blinked back at him. Changing into a suit and tie finished his transformation. It was uncanny how very similar Tony was to the billionaire. There hadn't even been a need to alter the man's clothes to fit him. Almost as though Tony's physical attributes really had been copied off the other man. If it weren't his life, Tony might believe it to be part of some fantastical fiction.

"Sir, Miss Potts has arrived," JARVIS let him know just as he was fastening his cuff-links. He was sure Arno was being made aware down in the workshop, as well.

"Thanks, J," Tony told the AI, heading down the stairs as the front door opened.

"Arno, I swear to god, if you aren't-" the woman began, breaking off in surprise upon seeing him. "You're ready."

Tony intentionally fought back a grin, looking for all the world like he really was trying to fight back amusement at having surprised her. The entire display was an affectation, of course. Internally, Tony was wincing.

"Morning, Pepper," he told her cheerfully.

"Why are you ready?" Pepper asked bewilderedly.

"You told me to be ready. Last night," Tony quipped, keeping up with the barely-repressed smirking. "You said, 'Arno, you better be ready in the morning or I'll do something horrible and improbable to you.'"

"And you listened?"

If she was really referring to Tony himself, he might have been insulted by her disbelief. As it was, he was wondering just how much trouble Arno really caused his poor assistant. Maybe he'd offer the woman a vacation.

"Shouldn't I have?" Tony inquired, quirking a brow.

"Who are you and what have you done with Arno Stark?" Pepper deadpanned.

Tony's heart stuttered in his chest, but rather than letting that show, he threw back his head and laughed. "Look, I got up a little early-"

"Meaning you spent all night in your workshop," the woman corrected, to which Tony conceded with a tilt of his head.

"-and so, I thought it could be a good idea to get ready for the day. If I had known I was going to be in trouble, anyway," Tony continued.

As he'd anticipated from studying conversations she'd had with Arno, Pepper cut in again with a roll of her eyes, "You're not in trouble, Arno."

"Oh, I'm not?" he queried innocently, coming to a stop in front of her.

It felt a bit strange, to act so familiarly with someone he'd technically never met. Tony was actively lying to her and planned to do so for the foreseeable future. It made him feel a bit regretful.

"Because it seems an awful lot like I'm in trouble," he concluded, not missing a beat despite his wandering thoughts.

"It seems an awful lot like you've been caught being responsible for once, so you're trying to get into trouble," Pepper pointed out dryly.

Tony let his expression break out into a full grin. "I mean, it's still early. I'm sure by the time I have Happy swing by a drive-thru for breakfast and coffee, we'll still be late for the board meeting."

"No," she told him. "For once in your life, I am making sure you're on time for something. Let's go."

"Aw, c'mon, Pepper. Light of my life, mistress of my event calendar," Tony whined even as he followed her out the door. "I can't actually be early. There are old guys on the board. I might give them a heart attack if I'm on time."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

Tony had to bite back a delighted laugh, though he had far less success with his grin. He could see why Arno liked this woman. Pepper was fantastic.

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As it turned out, bluffing his way through the board meeting was every bit as easy as Arno had predicted. Not a single board member seemed surprised when Tony failed to address them by name. Arno had seen to it that he'd been drilled in any business-related concerns Tony might need to know and there was little he hadn't already known about the projects happening in R&D.

Everything else… well, he just let the various board members fill in for themselves, if Pepper didn't oh, so helpfully prompt him.

The whole thing went off without a hitch and Tony allowed himself to feel optimistic about his ability to pull off the ruse. He ended up shaking hands with a couple of the board members, but mostly because he'd been unable to avoid doing so. Exiting the room quickly, Tony attempted his escape, only to be thwarted by Pepper.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, arching a brow at him.

"Oh, well, I was just going to head back home," he told her. "Got a few things to do in the lab. A bit of this, a bit of that. You know how it is."

"Not happening. Now that I've got you here, you aren't leaving until you have completed the paperwork that's been piling up on your desk."

"Seriously? You're going to keep me here over paperwork? Can't you do it for me?" Tony wheedled, already suspecting her response was not going to be in his favor.

She gave him a smile that promised him grave discomfort if he didn't do what he (or rather, Arno) was supposed to do. Tony was starting to think that it was the paperwork Arno was avoiding rather than the board meeting. Nevertheless, he let himself be corralled to the man's office. It was a good thing, too, because Tony was a bit turned around and wasn't entirely sure how to get there.

Escorted and delivered to his destination, Tony offered Pepper a token protest against all things productive and responsible before watching the woman walk away to tend to something at her own desk. Arno definitely needed to give her a raise. Closing the office door, Tony dug the smartphone out of his pocket and dialed the number at the bottom of the speed-dial.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Arno's voice answered after the first ring. "Did you doze off? Sometimes, I doze off. Just don't let Pepper catch you do that."

"You doze off during meetings?" Tony asked, not particularly surprised after knowing the man for several days.

"I can't help it. They're just so boring, my brain shuts off. Clearly, not my fault," the billionaire protested. Tony found himself grinning at the man's antics. "So, what's up, Tom Canty? I assume the meeting must be over. Everyone still in one piece? You headed back, soon?"

Tony had no idea who Tom Canty might be, but he assumed it must be some reference or other. Arno seemed to make a lot of those. He decided he would look it up later.

"Actually, that's the reason I'm calling," he answered as he made an attempt to organize documents on the desk. "See, it seems Pepper expects me to complete the truly massive pile of paperwork you have instead of a desk since she has me here. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line. "Paperwork, you say?" Arno responded innocently, fooling exactly no one. "Ah, yes, she may have mentioned something about that the other day. Did I forget to warn you she was on a bit of a warpath over that?"

"Conveniently, yes, you seem to have forgotten," Tony said dryly. "What do you want me to do with all this? You don't really want me doing your paperwork, do you? I mean, filling in for you is one thing, but this?"

"I'm sure it will be fine," the other man told him. "Just, you know, if you're not sure about something, set it aside for me for later or give me a call. Anything else, feel free to forge my signature. Um, you can do that, right?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I can do that," he said. "Just so you know, you're way too trusting, and I'm just going to sort all this by importance for you to sign later.

"Aw, Tony, come on!" Arno wheedled.

"Seriously? How do you even still own a company?"

"My charming wit and stunning good looks."

Shaking his head, Tony opened his mouth to respond as there was a sharp rapping at the office door. "Hey, I'm going to let you go," he said instead, "I've got someone here."

"Ah," said Arno. "Yeah, sorry about that. I never can be in my office very long before somebody comes along. Good luck. I'm sure you'll do fine."

"I'm sure," drawled Tony before ending the call. "Come in."

The door opened to admit a black man garbed in Air Force dress blues, the name on the lapel identifying him as Rhodes, a colonel judging by the silver eagles on the epaulets of his coat. Tony did recognize the man, of course. James Rhodes, known best friend to Arno Stark and military liaison for Stark Industries. The problem was that the only information Tony knew about Rhodes came from reading about the man. Arno had yet to give him the rundown because he wasn't supposed to be stateside again for about a week.

It seemed he would have to wing it (no pun intended).

"James!" he greeted brightly. "I hadn't expected you back, yet."

The officer paused in the doorway, arching an eyebrow at Tony like he was being an idiot. Which, maybe he was, since Arno hadn't told him about the man, yet. "Nice to see you, too," the man stated a bit wryly, eyes narrowing just a bit.

And crap, was that bad? Was that normal? Hell if Tony knew, he was operating on limited information.

"You busy right now?" Rhodes asked him genially. "It's been awhile and I could go for a good burger."

"Oh, um, I have quite a bit of paperwork," Tony hedged apologetically, "Pep's on a bit of warpath-"

"Aw, come on, man," the other man cajoled. "It can wait a bit, can't it? You can't tell me it won't still be there later."

Which was a good point. Besides, this was Arno's best friend, right? Would he really turn the man down? Knowing what he did of Arno, the man would probably be convinced easily enough.

"You know what? A burger sounds great," Tony agreed. "I'll have Happy bring the car around." He put in the call and the two of them left the office, making small-talk that Tony desperately tried to keep from getting awkward throughout the elevator ride and out to the car.

Rhodes let Tony get into the car first before climbing in after him. "Hey, Happy," he greeted the driver, "I hate to be rude, but do you mind stepping out for a minute? There's something I've got to discuss with Arno in private, real quick."

"Yeah, sure thing," Hogan replied, giving the two of them a curious look. "I'll go hit the head, real quick. Back in a few."

"Thanks, Happ." He waited until Hogan had exited the car and disappeared into the building before turning to Tony with a hard expression. "Alright, just who the hell are you?" the colonel demanded.

Tony did his best to moderate his expressions but internally, he was going into panic-mode. "What do you mean? Is it too late for me to be at work still? Something I-"

"Cut the crap, man, I know you aren't Arno Stark," Rhodes cut in, starting to sound angry. "The real Arno Stark has never referred to me as 'James' a day in his life, nor has he ever tried to turn down an excuse to avoid paperwork. So, you've got about thirty seconds to tell me who you are and why I shouldn't turn you into the closest government agency."

For a moment, Tony sat frozen, staring at the older man. "Shit," he declared, then held his hands out placatingly as Rhodes' expression darkened further. "Arno knows I'm here! He does, you can call him! My name is Tony. He was working on something in his workshop so he asked me to fill in for him at a board meeting, then Pepper tried to get me - well, him - to do paperwork. Even if nobody else noticed, do you really think JARVIS wouldn't realize there was an unauthorized impostor running around?"

Rhodes continued giving him a flinty stare for a long moment, prompting Tony to subconsciously hold his breath. Then the man pulled his phone from his pocket and made a call with a few quick taps without really diverting his gaze. Tony risked breathing out again very, very slowly.

"Platypus!" he heard Arno's voice answer. "I thought you weren't getting back until next week."

"I just caught your goddamn doppelganger rummaging around your office," Rhodes declared. "He claims you not only know about him, but that you sent him to fill in for you."

There was a horribly long moment of silence after his, during which Rhodes gazed straight into Tony's soul and found him wanting. Then, from his workshop on the other end of the line, Arno gave an impassioned, "Shit!"

#

The drive back to the mansion was quiet and tense. Hogan kept glancing at them in the rear-view mirror, though apart from the initial "Everything alright?" when he'd returned to the car, the man remained silent. Once they had come to a stop at the front doors of the abode, Hogan turned around in his seat to address them again.

"Want I should stick around to give you a drive back to town?" he asked Rhodey.

"Nah, that's alright, man," Rhodes told him, reaching forward to clasp the man's shoulder genially, "I'll make Arno give me a drive back."

Tony was pretty sure he ought to have uttered some sort of token protest to keep up his Arno impersonation, but Rhodes intimidated the hell out of him. He figured it was best not to try his luck any more than necessary.

As he followed the Air Force colonel into the house and down the stairs, Tony wondered just what it was about Arno's friends that they all seemed capable of making him feel like some errant schoolchild. Maybe it was a prerequisite. That seemed plausible from what he'd seen. Or maybe they didn't have the same effect on Arno himself? Tony just wasn't sure.

Arno had already began his defense when they entered the workshop. "Now, before you get started, I feel you should know that-"

"Uh uh, nope," Rhodes interrupted, "I get to go first, this time. Arno Howard Stark, just what the hell were you thinking? You don't just send somebody to fill in for you at your company - are you insane?"

"This is hardly the first time I've pulled something like this," Arno argued. "At least this time, the guy looks like me. And he's at least as smart as I am. Honestly, he probably did a better job of paying attention than I ever do, so it was probably an improvement."

Arno was looking at him for some sort of confirmation while Rhodes shot him another dubious look. "Um," Tony offered, "I could type out everything that was discussed?"

"See?" the billionaire waved at Tony for emphasis.

"No!" Rhodes snapped, his tone causing Tony to flinch. He didn't notice, but Arno did. "You are not rationalizing this away, Arno."

Tony straightened as the colonel all but whirled on him. He fought to keep his breathing at a normal level but there was little he could do about the way his pulse rate had jumped. It was fine, though. The man was angry because the whole endeavor was foolhardy - even Tony had argued as much. He wasn't advancing on Tony. At no point had he given any indication that he was going to become violent. It was fine.

Rhodes paused to stare at him again, something around his eyes seeming to soften the slightest bit. "Look, no offense, but do you mind going back upstairs?" he requested. "I'm sure I'll want to talk to you about this whole mess after, but first, Arno and I need to have a serious talk in private."

"Yeah," Tony said, fingers of his right hand fidgeting slightly. "I'll just be up in my, uh, the room I'm staying in." Behind Rhodes' shoulder, Arno looked like he wanted to say something, so Tony turned to flee the workshop as quickly as possible.

It was fine. He just needed a moment to breathe and clear his head. Everything was fine. He understood why Rhodes was upset. Tony would have been upset, too, probably. It was just…

Something about Rhodes' tone and demeanor had felt an awful lot like being dressed down by a handler before getting punished.

#

"You happy, now?" Arno asked as Tony vanished up the stairs.

"Excuse me?" Rhodey demanded, turning to face him. "Which of us has been acting like an idiot, again? I mean, for god's sake, Arn, what do you even know about this guy?"

"Well, I certainly know a lot more than you do," the brunet responded. "For instance, I know that he's had multiple opportunities to try to impersonate me and instead did everything in his power to avoid looking like me, at all. I know that he's brilliant. U, over there? Tony built him. From a few photos of DUM-E in a magazine."

"From a few photos?" his friend echoed dubiously. "You didn't finally draw up his blueprints somewhere he could find them?"

"Nope," Arno declared, popping the 'p.' "And as near as I can tell, there isn't any system he can't hack."

"So, he's a criminal."

"He saved me!"

"What?" Rhodey demanded.

"He saved me, a couple years back," Arno told him. "I was drunk and probably high and some thug came at me in the alley behind the club. It's a bit hazy, but I'm pretty sure the guy had mistook me for Tony? Anyhow, Tony took the guy out, then he wrangled me into my car and brought me home."

"How chivalrous," Rhodey drawled.

"He could have taken anything out of this house. Could have cleared out the place, and I'd have been none the wiser. Hell, he could have come back and demanded a reward or threatened to impersonate me to make me look bad, but he did none of that. Never even tried until I asked him," Arno said.

The other man sighed. "Okay, fine. He's a decent guy," he said, not really conceding so much as moving the discussion along. "So, where did he come from, then? Huh?"

"I don't… I don't know," the brunet admitted, "he doesn't trust me enough, yet. But Rhodey, wherever it was? It wasn't a good place. They have him running scared. He hides it well, but somebody hurt him. You saw it, just now. The way he reacted to your tone. You scared him."

Rhodey slumped a bit, jaw setting unhappily. "Yeah," he agreed, "I noticed that, but damn it, Arno, none of that means you can trust him with your life - with your company! What happens if he decides he doesn't want to be you just part of the time, huh? What then?"

"He won't do that!" Arno insisted, although he had little reason to feel quite so certain. "Look, I get it, you think I'm making a bad call. And if this all blows up in my face, you can be the first one in line to tell me so. You didn't see him, though, when Jarv told me where I could find him. Rhodey, he was alone and falling apart with nobody to put him back together."

"What, he doesn't have his own friends?"

"He's had a couple that I know of but they were gone. It was just him. I couldn't leave him like that."

Rhodey sighed again, but Arno could tell the man was finally relenting, even if he wasn't completely sold yet. "So, you offered to let him fill in for you?"

Arno grinned. "Well, I've always wanted to be two places at once," he declared.

"And I'm going to be the first one in line to say 'I told you so' if this goes south?"

"The very first."

"Fine," the colonel said. "Also, you're telling Pepper and Happy."

"What?" Arno squawked. "No! No, no, no, that is an awful idea."

"It is not negotiable, Arn. Pepper runs your life and Happy is supposed to be your bodyguard - or have you forgotten? How are either of them supposed to properly do their jobs if they don't know there's two of you running around, now?"

Arno grumbled in further protest but didn't have any valid arguments to offer.

"That's what I thought," Rhodey huffed. "Alright, then. How about you introduce me to your body-double?"

"You're gonna love him, honeybear," Arno grinned.

"Jury's still out on that," Rhodey mumbled, but he followed Arno up the stairs, anyway.

Despite his misgivings, he was glad to see that Tony looked calmer than he had before. God, he really did look just like Arno. He might not have believed it possible if he hadn't seen it for himself. Maybe they were related? Arno probably would have led with that if they were.

As Arno officially introduced them, Tony offered Rhodey a shy sort of smile he hadn't seen on Arno's face since he'd been a cocky, loudmouthed kid learning to fit into his own skin. His gaze - now brown; he must have been wearing contacts - steadily held Rhodey's, though there was wariness in those eyes, resignation. Tony didn't expect Rhodey to like him.

It was only then, shaking Tony's hand for the first time, that Rhodey started to think that maybe Arno wasn't being overly optimistic, after all.

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To be continued...