Hello, my lovelies! I'm back with a new chapter after *checks calendar* seven months! Sweet cheese on crackers. I'd like to put it all on pandemic stress but we all know I was bad at updating waaaaay before all that so.. let's just move on, shall we?
While writing this chapter, I realized that I was very bad at notifying trigger warnings. I don't think I've done it at all since the beginning of this fic so I'll go back and read my former chapters and see if I can remedy that. I do apologize to anyone who read my work and felt in any way triggered by some of the themes in this story. It was ignorance and not malevolence that led to my omitting them. I promise to be better moving forward with this story or any other I might write.
A little disclaimer before we get on with this one: It deals with American and military interventionism in other countries and the "war on terror" as it's been repeatedly called. I myself come from a country that has a very poor track record in terms of leaving things well alone and sending the military to countries that did not need a foreign nation putting its nose in their business. I believe we can do better but that's only my opinion.
In this chapter, Tony goes back to Afghanistan (with Pepper watching) to destroy the SI weapons that fell into the hands of the Ten Rings. There's a lot of tension and conflicting emotions for Pepper during those scenes, though I don't dwell on them for too long. I'd like to make clear that the character's feelings are NOT my own. I am simply trying to be faithful to the MCU canon and to characterization. There's also the fact that both Pepper and Tony are dealing with PTSD but if you've watched Iron Man and some of the Marvel movies, you know the themes already and you know what to expect from fanfictions such as mine. So please, be mindful.
Also, if you feel triggered by these types of scenes, you can safely jump to the paragraph that starts with "After a very expensive game of cat and mouse..."
With love, Callie xx
TW: War Themes and Battle Scene + Possible death of a child (not depicted)
Chapter 19:
Pepper's decision to watch Tony's live feed is doing nothing for her nerves.
The first five hours of the mission, as Tony keeps calling it, are spent in relative silence. Pepper even suspects he falls asleep on the way there, giving navigation control to JARVIS. They'd woken up early that morning and Tony had spent most of the day tinkering on the suit and studying the terrain via holographic maps.
The data he'd hacked - "borrowed, Pepper, borrowed" - from SHIELD had shown several possible locations for the weapons stolen from SI. JARVIS had spent some time analyzing that data and comparing it to the recent activities in the area observed through several satellites that Tony had also hacked into. ("They basically gave it to us. It's not really breaking and entering if the key's on the door.")
By mid-afternoon, Tony had narrowed it down to two locations and Tony was gone before Pepper could try and make him change his mind. Not that it would have done anything other than to slow him down. And they both knew it was the quickest and most reliable way to make sure all weapons would be destroyed. Not that Pepper would ever admit that out loud.
The previous night had been restless despite Tony holding her until sunrise. She'd felt him leave her side almost immediately to finish up some research on the mission and had elected not to try and get him to stay in bed a little longer. She forlornly remembered their previous morning when he'd been the one to try and stop her getting out of the door and she wondered if there would ever be a return to normality for them. Not that she was completely sure she knew what normal looked like anymore.
Night has almost fallen when she's taken out of her reverie by JARVIS announcing Tony's imminent descent near Gulmira. She stands frozen as she watches the devastation of the small village from far above as the screen shows her what Tony can see. Her heart clenches at the thought of Yinsen, who'd probably been there to see his village being raided by the Ten Rings. The last memories of his home, tainted forever by the madness of men.
"Please be careful," Pepper says in the comms.
"I'd say careful is my middle name but we both know it's not." Trust Tony to try levity in the middle of ruins.
The village itself is far bigger than Pepper imagined when Yinsen had described it to her. The place of worship is in the middle of the plaza and she can see all the former shops that used to surround it. Stalls riddled with bullets when they don't look completely vaporized. Dust and ash where there should have been color and life.
It's the sight of what's left of the houses around the plaza that truly break her heart.
None of the habitations have roofs anymore and the tell-tale marks of explosions are everywhere. Tony walks through what probably was a house when it still had walls and almost steps on a doll that somehow survived the attack. Pepper tries not to think about the little girl who left it there. She hopes she is safe somewhere even though she knows the chances are slim.
JARVIS eventually signals a point on the map: "There are signs of large groups of people being gathered in the eastern part of the town as well as heavy artillery such as tanks, howitzers, and mortars. I'd advise extreme caution."
"Oh J. Surely, you know me better than that," Tony says.
"Quite. That's why I have already ordered a case of Neosporin to be delivered post-haste to the mansion. And Captain America band-aids."
"Low blow, J. Pep, I'm going in."
She tries to keep her voice from shaking.
"Just don't die or I'm going to be really mad at you."
A beat.
"Copy that."
The ensuing fight is surprisingly … anticlimactic. Sure, the explosions are impressive and Pepper can barely believe that Tony's suit can sustain so much damage. And it is very loud. But apart from that, it's over very quickly. Still, she wishes she could do more than just watch.
Tony gets rid of the mortars first then the howitzer. He's shot at by men with Kalashnikovs as well as one man with a bazooka - who misses spectacularly. Tony mostly knocks the men out when they get close enough to him but doesn't show any hesitation to blow up those who use heavier fire on him. Pepper should feel some kind of horror at the scene playing in front of her but she remembers what they did to Tony, to Yinsen, to her. And probably to that little girl.
But it's not rage keeping her from feeling anything other than relief at seeing Tony handle them so easily. She can't quite put her finger on it, really. Maybe a skewered sense of justice, something almost akin to retribution. Acceptance, perhaps. That some things need to be done that way or else none of those people would ever stop hurting others. And she hopes it will bring on some kind of closure for Tony and her.
She sees Tony bring down their last tank and she knows she's not the same woman she was when they first met in Tokyo. And Tony… Well, Tony's always been a wild card. But this is certainly a sobering experience for the two of them.
Tony leaves twenty minutes later, after freeing the prisoners and disposing of all the missiles away from the general population. He goes to the second location on the map but there's only a handful of men keeping an eye on some SI crates. After he ascertains that there are no civilians around, he blows it up from above and changes his course to Malibu.
"Pep, you with me?" Tony asks.
She nods though she knows he can't see her: "I am. How are you? Any damages?"
"Maybe a few bruises. Nothing serious. How's it looking, J?"
JARVIS performs a scan and finds one bruised rib and a possible sprained wrist.
"That'll be the kickback from the magnetic pulses. I'll need to adjust the gauntlets so that they can take the shock a little bit better. But all in all, that went better than expected, no?"
Pepper stays silent for a moment. Yes, they found the Ten Rings and they destroyed their weapons. But she knows this won't stop here. Once Tony's back in Malibu, they'll need to find who sold it to them. And after that…
Pepper isn't a fool. She saw the way Tony handled himself back there. And how at ease he felt in the suit. And his calling this a "mission". This isn't a one-off for Tony. And she needs to know if she can bear seeing Tony put himself in danger again and again. If she's strong enough for the both of them.
But then what's the alternative? Leaving him to fend for himself? That's not an option anymore. She's there for the long haul and she'll have to steel herself if she wants to make sure Tony comes out of this alive. He needs her more than ever.
And she needs him too.
"It did." She finally says. "Now come home, please."
After a very expensive game of cat and mouse with the Air Force on his way back (F22s are not cheap to replace), Tony arrives home just in time as SHIELD agents are standing in front of his main gate.
Pepper opens the gate for them after she urges Tony to take a quick shower.
"You saying I stink?" he asks.
She crunches her nose: "I'm saying that and more. Your suit probably needs a good airing as well."
"The suit can clean itself, you know." He says as he makes his way to the second floor.
"Too bad its inventor didn't add a deodorant feature." She says to herself.
JARVIS announces the agents are at the front door and Pepper goes to greet them.
"Agent Coulson! I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
Coulson smiles. "No, but then I wouldn't be very good at my job if I always went where people expect me to be. It's nice to see you again, may we come in?"
She lets them in and smiles at the other agent, a beautiful redhead with a penetrative gaze.
"Oh, and this is Agent Romanoff, she's my second," Coulson adds.
The woman nods and Pepper leads them to the foyer.
"Is Mr. Stark home?" Coulson asks.
"He is. He's just taking a shower. He should be down in a few-"
Tony comes in wearing a bathrobe after what was probably the quickest shower in history. "Phil! And a gorgeous redhead!" He says as he approaches while drying his hair with a towel. "And some other agent I've never met. Hello." He extends his hand to Agent Romanoff.
She shakes his hand: "Nice to meet you. Did you just come back from a no-fly airspace over Afghanistan?"
Shit.
"That's a very strange question to ask and kinda rude, I barely know you. You could at least ease me in with a drink. Although I should warn you, I'm in a committed relationship."
Sometimes, Pepper truly wishes she could magically shut Tony Stark up with the push of a button.
In any case, Natasha doesn't seem fazed by Tony's very poor attempt at eluding the question.
"So, that's a yes. And you're also the person responsible for the multiple hacks into SHIELD servers and other federal agencies' servers as well as foreign satellites."
Tony frowns. "That wasn't a question."
Natasha smiles ever so slightly. "No, it wasn't."
Coulson would look sheepish if he didn't look so pleased. "Agent Romanoff is very good at her job. I'm more of a "talk things through first" kind of person myself. But I must admit this is quicker. I think we should sit down for the next bit."
What ensues is a series of veiled threats made against Tony about his very illegal trip to Afghanistan and his even more illegal forays into top-secret data. However, SHIELD, in the form of a smiling Agent Coulson and a very intimidating Agent Romanoff, is willing to let it all go if Tony grants them access to SI's data and inventory dating back to the last 20 years. And also maybe show them how to hack into the Russian and Chinese satellites.
"So you're blackmailing me." Tony summits.
"I'd call it an exchange of information," Coulson replies.
Pepper puts her hand on Tony's. "I think this is one of those moments where you let someone else get their way for a change. SHIELD has been an ally so far and we've been... reluctant to share our information."
"I don't like it," Tony says a little pettily.
"You don't have to like it. But we need to find the leak and I think SHIELD could really help us with our search." Pepper reasons.
Tony thinks about it for a few seconds before nodding. Pepper smiles at the agents.
"Of course, we'll need something in writing that all of Tony's alleged illegal activities will be forgiven once he cooperates with you."
"I'm sure that can be arranged."
The agents leave a few minutes after they receive the paperwork from their agency and Pepper had time to look it over. Tony promises to send them the data as soon as they are out of the door.
And indeed, as soon as they reach their car, Coulson's phone pings to indicate an email from Stark.
"What do you think?" Phil asks his colleague.
Natasha starts the car. "That we need an eye inside. Stark's cooperation might have been aided by Ms. Potts's skills of persuasion but I think he knows there's nothing in there already or he wouldn't have given up the data so easily."
Coulson agrees. "We can use that data to get a good picture of what's happening on the forefront of SI. But we'll need someone to see what's happening behind the scenes. Stark's probably trying to handle it himself but I don't think he's equipped to deal with that kind of threat."
Natasha hums. "I think it will be more conducive to do it through Ms. Potts."
He nods. "Agreed. We could send May or Hill."
"Hill is preparing for another mission in the Antarctic. And May…"
Coulson chuckles: "Yeah, maybe not May."
Natasha smiles, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "No, I know exactly who to send."
And just like that, Phil knows who to send as well.
"Absolutely not."
Coulson bites back a smile. "I'm afraid that's an order, Barton."
"We've got the same grade," Clint replies.
Coulson points upward. "Not my order."
Natasha puts a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Clint. Do you remember that last time we were in Dubai when I had to flirt with a sheik and you had to go through an elevator shaft and you complained that I always got the glamorous side of the job?"
"No, I said the champagne drinking part of the job. And this isn't glamorous either. I don't like undercover. And I don't exactly look like a secretary." He gestures at himself.
She laughs. "Don't sell yourself so cheaply. You know you've got a pretty face. And I'm sure Ms. Potts will find it very charming as well."
Clint turns to the other man. "Coulson, please."
Phil shakes his head. "Sorry. It's you or May and I'm not asking May. I'm pretty sure even Fury isn't asking May."
Clint grumbles, defeated. "What's the mission exactly?
Natasha gives him the file. "We need to find who's selling SI weapons to terrorist organizations. And we need to do it before Stark does or we could have another problem on our hands."
A week later, Pepper arrives at work a little early only to learn that her PA abruptly quit after receiving a once-in-a-lifetime job offer in Paris. And although Pepper wishes Clara all the luck for her next career step, she couldn't have left at a less opportune time. Pepper is about to be buried in meetings the whole week and she still has to cooperate with SHIELD in their investigation without alerting anyone.
So Pepper asks one of her VP's assistants to set up a temp while they set up interviews for a new executive assistant.
The temp their usual agency sends is… unusual to say the least.
William Brandt - "Call me Will, please" - is a quiet person who looks like he's more built for outdoor activities than a job behind a desk. However Pepper must admit that the job of an assistant can be pretty physical - just look at the string of assistants Tony has had over the years, all running after him to try and make him sign something. (The man really doesn't like being handed things).
A couple of weeks later with Will on the job and Pepper is almost sold on him. Almost.
It's true that he has invaluable qualities. The first of them being to know exactly when to interrupt a meeting that is about to run over or which calls to send through to her. He's also incredibly observant and thorough in everything he does. And he loves coffee almost as much as she does. He is… almost too perfect.
Not that she's complaining.
But she usually has to train her assistants for a few weeks before they reach that level of efficiency. Her surprise grows even bigger when she has a look at his resume and sees an impressive number of professional experiences - including a tour in Afghanistan as the personal secretary to a five-star general. Well, that explains the body mass, Pepper reasons. And the quiet, near-perfect efficiency.
What it doesn't explain, however, is the feeling Pepper has that something is amiss. As if she's only seeing a handful of pixels to a much, much bigger picture.
It gnaws at her for another week and she still can't put her finger on it. Right now, she's in a meeting for the best strategy to adopt for their next international aid project. Everyone is listening to one of the experts droning on about the number of votes needed at the UN to start sending some help to a war-torn country. So is Will, seemingly. But he's also playing with his pen between his fingers with impressive dexterity while staring ahead.
He must feel her eyes on him because he looks at her almost straight away and gives her a little smile when he meets her gaze. She feels a bit foolish, having been caught staring at her PA, but she hides it immediately and settles her attention back on the expert for the remainder of the meeting.
Twenty minutes later and everyone gathers their notes and heads out of the conference room. Will stays behind with her as she gives him instructions. They're on their way to the elevator when he asks her if she needs anything else.
"Actually, yes. I asked my VP's assistant where she got your resume and she said it was already in her inbox before she even had the time to call the interim agency we usually consult. How did you know there was a vacancy for this job?"
It's a lie. It's a complete fabrication. The agency did send a few resumes of possible candidates but he was the only one that stood out and they asked him to come in immediately.
But Pepper's been thinking about it and the only thing that bothers her is that he's perfect. He's basically her without the ambition of becoming CEO. And that's fine. Or at least it would be if there had been some trial and error with him, or with anyone else really. But there wasn't and it irks her.
If there's one thing she got from Tony since she's started seeing him, it's his caution. A year ago she would probably have called it paranoia but since then she's been kidnapped and mistreated by terrorists. Not to mention frantically looking for Tony and almost have him die on her a couple of times. So now she's on her guard and Will Brandt is setting off alarms she wasn't even aware she had.
Will looks at her with what she surmises to be genuine surprise. "I don't know what to tell you. I just got a call and they told me I was expected here at 9am the next day. I didn't question it. Is there something wrong with my performance?"
Pepper shakes her head. "Not at all. I was just wondering if you knew someone here before we called you. And I've got nothing but praises for your performance so far."
She smiles at him as they exit the room and the subject is dropped. A few moments later, Will gets behind his desk and starts making phone calls to arrange the next meeting as Pepper heads inside her office.
She sits behind her desk and opens a drawer. She takes out a brand new Stark phone that Tony had made for her just in case she needed something. She sends a text to JARVIS that will also be relayed to Tony: "Search for William Henry Brandt, public and private records."
Five minutes later, Natasha receives a notification from SHIELD Headquarters.
"Suspect internet activity found in relation to the following: 'William Henry Brandt'."
She smiles. "Less than a month and he's already getting noticed. Someone's slipping."
Whatever, she thinks. His cover is rock solid and they knew it was going to happen anyway. She just hopes Ms. Potts will be put at ease when the history search on Will Brandt comes back clean. They need Clint to access SI through the Maria Stark Foundation and that won't happen if he's being watched too closely. And Natasha also has the feeling that Pepper Potts could use the extra protection. Coulson's getting closer and closer to the real culprit and something's not right at SI. And it's looking more and more like it's coming right from the top.
She opens the file in front of her and read the subject headline:
Obadiah Stane
As BenderSnatch CookieBatch once said: "We are in the Endgame". Which means it'll probably take me one more year and a half to finish haha *goes to hide under the bed*
I hope you are all okay and keeping safe ❤️
Reviews are my dopamine xx
