I mean, do I really need to explain myself at this point? Buuuuut, I've signed on to NaNoWriMo and added finishing this fic as my project. Will it work? Who knows. Trying to find MCU fanfic writer buddies at the moment so if you're into it... The more the merrier!

We're almost there people. I CAN FEEL IT.

As always, Laurel is m lovely, amazing, life-saving beta. Love you, babe.

And love you too guys for sticking with this story - and me - for so long.

Trigger Warning: Canon-typical violence

Chapter 20:

Christine Everhart had always seen herself as a born journalist. She could smell a story a mile away and would always follow it wherever it may lead.

Most of the time, it meant meeting seedy people in unsavory parts of town, her pepper spray in her handbag, and her rape alarm in her coat pocket. Rarely, it meant having dinner with greedy senators, or up-and-coming CEOs. And one time, one tiny, not-at-all-worth-mentioning-because-frankly-who-cares time, it meant getting drunk with Tony Stark and ending up in bed with him.

It had happened years ago when Stark had been in this weird out-of-control spiral that kept him in the tabloids for weeks on end before disappearing for months and suddenly reappearing in a club somewhere getting drunker than Sue Helen on Dallas. She'd caught him outside a club in New York by sheer luck when she'd been covering a story at the UN.

At the time, her justification for going after Stark was that she was in favor of gun control and also had a bet with some people at the magazine she worked for that Stark wouldn't survive the year - and she really wanted to be the one to get his last interview.

Morbid? Perhaps.

Clever? Debatable.

Had way more fun than planned and completely went in over her head? Hell yes.

Stark had been drunk but was still the smartest person in the room even after an undisclosed amount of alcohol in his system (though she suspected it was a lot) and rather than giving her an interview about himself, he gave her an inside about the way some foreign government tried (and failed with him) to bypass trade laws and international statutes by bribing weapons manufacturers and convincing them to "lose" weapons shipments.

She'd been gathering intel on that story on the down-low for almost two years now because it was absolutely massive. So massive, in fact, that she'd had to pitch her story to the Spotlight team at the Boston Globe because she couldn't follow all the leads herself.

And so now she finds herself in front of his mansion - with a story about to blow up in a lot of people's faces - because she feels it's only fair to Stark that he gets know exactly who his mentor is. Especially when he was the one who unwittingly put her on the path to the story she was certain would get her a Pulitzer.

The fact that she'd slept with him once was inconsequential. She'd gone to bed with Stark not because he'd given her one hell of a story, but because he'd been nothing but a gentleman to her even drunk and when he'd sobered up hours later he had given her a ride home (well, his chauffeur did, technically) and she'd invited him to her hotel room because she'd wanted to. It had been the perfect one early morning stand. Sex for the fun of it and no hard feelings when she'd found him gone later that day.

Two years later, there were still no hard feelings but that didn't mean breaking the news that Obadiah Stane had been financing terrorism and was more than possibly behind Stark and Potts' abduction was an easy task.

So she picks up her courage and her journalistic integrity and rings the bell of his massive iron cast door.

XXXX

For once, Pepper is alone at the mansion when she lets Christine Everhart into her home.

(It is her home now because it is Tony's and Tony is her home just as much as she is his.)

Tony is once again out to see Rhodey at the base. Tony has been trying to win Rhodey back after his "little excursion" to Afghanistan. Pepper thinks they look like a pair of courting swans and finds it very amusing. Tony thinks Rhodey is just playing hard to get because he needs to look tough in front of his superiors. Rhodey just thinks Tony's being a little shit and a pain in the ass.

"I didn't know you and Mr. Stark were an item," Christine says after receiving a glass of sparkling water from Pepper.

"And we'd like to keep that off the record." Pepper phrases it like a request and yet her tone leaves no place for misunderstanding. Nothing will come out of Christine's lips on the subject. She's one to burn bridges with influential people on such a rookie move.

"What brings you here, Ms. Everhart?"

Christine puts down her glass and gets out a file from her bag that she gives to the other woman.

"I have been investigating a ring of arms dealers for about two years now. I joined the Boston Globe and their investigative team when the workload became too important and I needed help to gather more intel. The first lead that I got for this story was given to me by Mr. Stark."

In front of her, Pepper is speed-reading the first draft of a series of articles that will soon be published. Her eyes widen and she gasps at the name on the page. Christine continues.

"I don't think he knew at the time that he involuntarily put light on something that someone very close to him was heavily involved in. That Obadiah Stane is still involved in."

Pepper closes the file in front of her. This is even worse than she'd ever imagined.

"How long? How long have you known?"

Christine hesitates. "I only got the second confirmation a few days ago. Until then, it was just a rumor. But our sources are solid. And we have documents and pictures to back it all up."

Pepper is as white as a sheet but Christine can't stop here. There's something else she needs to know. That Stark needs to know as well.

"It's not in those files yet because we - I - am still writing that story but it is almost entirely certain that Obadiah Stane is behind yours and Mr. Stark's abduction. I don't have all the facts yet but as soon as my source gets back to me, I'll have evidence."

Pepper gets up all of a sudden.

"JARVIS, call Tony please." She says, seemingly to no one.

"Who are you talking to?" Christine asks, visibly confused.

Pepper turns her attention back to Christine.

"Thank you for coming and telling me all this, Ms. Everhart. Mr. Stark and I have no comment at this moment but we'll make sure to get back to you with a statement when we are ready to do so." Pepper says automatically as she almost pushes Christine towards the front door.

She hears a man with a British accent reply "I'm afraid Mr. Stark not answering his phone, Ms. Potts" before she finds herself on the other side of the door.

Christine leaves with a feeling that she just put something in motion with possibly devastating consequences. But whatever happens, the story will be published in two days, with or without Stark and Potts' comments.

XXXX

Natasha is eating an apple and waiting in Clint's apartment - well, in Will Brandt's apartment that was more than covered by the very generous check he received every month as Pepper Potts' personal assistant - when he finally comes back from his run.

"Let me guess, bedroom window?" He says as he heads straight to the fridge after coming through the door.

Natasha scoffs. "Of course not. It's broad daylight. I used the front door."

"Lock wasn't picked." Clint points out.

"And you think I'd leave scuff marks like a first-year trainee?"

"I don't know, would you?" He turns back to her and catches the rest of her apple before it hits him in the head. He takes a bite and sits next to her on the couch. She dangles a copy of his key in front of him.

"When did you - you know what, I don't want to know."

Natasha smiles like the cat that ate the canary. "You made it very easy, Barton. Civilian life is making you soft."

"Isn't."

"Is. And Coulson thinks so, too."

Clint huffs. "Coulson only agrees with you because he's -"

"Very impressed by your Old Hollywood memorabilia," Coulson says coming out of Clint's bedroom. "I didn't know you were such a Rita Hayworth fanboy." He sits down in the armchair opposite them. "Is it the red hair that you find attractive or just because she used to be a military pin-up girl?"

Clint blushes: "One, this is part of my cover. And two, I'm not the one with Captain America collector cards in his wallet, here."

Natasha would love nothing more than to let them both continue but they're actually here for a reason and it cannot wait.

"Coulson, I think maybe we should get Clint up to speed. You can compare collection size later."

"Right," Coulson says. "We have intel that a journalist from the Boston Globe that we've been keeping an eye on just went to visit Stark at his place less than an hour ago. Stark wasn't at home but Ms. Potts was. Whatever conversation they had, it barely lasted ten minutes, and then Everhart - that's the reporter - left. Ten minutes later, Potts left as well and we believe she's headed to Stark Industries."

"Is that where Stark is?" Clint asks.

"No, he's currently at the Los Angeles Air Force Base visiting Major Rhodes," Coulson replies. "Which is why we're worried that whatever transpired between Everhart and Potts might be related to -"

Clint finishes: "Hers and Stark's abduction. You think Everhart knows something?"

Natasha brings out her Stark Pad and starts showing Clint several pictures of Everhart meeting with various people from the Boston Globe and some potential sources:

"We've looked into it and she joined the Spotlight team at the Boston Globe a year and a half ago - which is unusual because she's apparently a bit of a lone wolf when it comes to reporting. She doesn't like to share credit - or bylines."

"So she's onto something big and she needed help." Clint deduces. "Do we know what they're working on?"

"Well, Everhart's phone activity hasn't told us a lot – we're pretty sure she's using burners too – but it's told us that they've been digging around harbors and weapons shipments. And two people on their team - including Everhart - even made a trip to Tripoli about six months ago. We're not exactly certain what it's leading to yet but it's something big and something they can prove – they're going to publish in the next few days." Coulson explains.

Natasha continues. "Our intelligence on the ground says that one of the ports in Tripoli is a pit stop for some containers before they are taken elsewhere either via road or aircraft. And those containers almost never appear on any manifest. Or when they do…"

"They conveniently disappear." Clint surmises. "How did we not see that before?"

Coulson gives Clint a look.

"Oh, I see. They smuggle people too for the right price and we needed a way in. Great, why don't we help them sell those guns on the black market while we're at it?"

"You know nothing is ever black and white in our line of work," Natasha says.

Coulson redirects the conversation before they get into another unhelpful debate about shady dealings in the spy world: "The problem is that Stark recently took matters into his own hands and blew up the last weapons shipment, along with some very unpleasant people. If Stane is indeed behind all that and Potts is there to confront him -"

"She could also just be looking for evidence – she's not the type to accuse anyone without absolute certainty. But she'd still be taking a risk. Either way, this could be bad for both us and her. If he catches her in the act or if he even suspects that she's onto him, he'll probably destroy any evidence that's left..." Clint says.

"Or decide he's got nothing to lose and attempt something even more drastic," Natasha says.

"But do we know for certain that's what she's gonna do? Could Everhart really have found out that Stane is the one behind everything? And do we even know that to be true?"

Coulson shakes his head. "Nothing is certain at the moment. Obadiah Stane is our prime suspect and it's very possible that Everhart found evidence of his crimes. But until we know for sure, we can't risk blowing your cover or scaring Stane into disappearing or destroying evidence. We have someone trying to hack into the Boston Globe servers but if they're clever, everything will be on an air-gapped computer and we won't have access to that."

"Who's on Potts at the moment?" Clint asks as he goes into his room to change.

"May is following her via the traffic cameras but it will be harder to have eyes on her once she's inside SI. Most of their security system is concentrated on the R&D floors but it isn't great on office floors." Natasha replies.

"I'm on it. What's Potts' ETA?" Clint says from the bedroom.

"Fifteen minutes. There's a lot of traffic because of the parade." Natasha replies.

"And Stane?"

"We don't know. He might not be at SI but if he is…"

Clint comes out of the bedroom, his kit, and keys in his hand. " Got it. I'll take the bike. It's not that far from here and I should be able to get there before her. In the meantime, someone needs to find where the hell Stane is."

"On it. You'll have to be careful, she can't see you there or it might bring down the whole operation." Coulson says.

Clint grabs his jacket before going to the front door "Yeah, tell me something I don't know."

They follow him out of his flat and down to the stairs to the parking.

"What about Stark? Does he know what's going on?"

"We don't think so," Natasha says. "Potts has been trying to get him on the line a few times but his phone is off at the moment."

Clint arrives at his bike and puts on his helmet. "Good, we don't want him involved unless it's absolutely necessary. Who knows what he might do when he learns his mentor kidnapped him and his girlfriend. I'll ping you when I'm SI. Keep an eye on Potts and tell me when she arrives."

Coulson nods. "Will do. Good luck, Clint."

Clint shakes his head. "At this point, I think I'll need a fucking miracle." He ignites the engine and drives away from them.

"So," Coulson says. "Who's gonna tell Fury?"

He turns to Natasha but she's already vanished.

"Why am I even surprised?"

A week ago

Stane is at his golf club when someone whispers in his ear that they finally have some footage of what happened to the shipment that was seemingly blown up by an airstrike in Afghanistan. Those idiots had then threatened to expose him if he didn't send a new shipment and Stane had to go there and clean up house himself.

He's sitting at home when he sees it: a man in a metal suit shooting at the Ten Rings while barely sustaining a dent in his armor despite the heavy fire aimed at him.

It doesn't take a genius to know who designed that suit… and who's angry enough to go there himself. But what interests him the most is the arc reactor. So far, he thought it was only keeping the shrapnel away from Tony's heart but now that's he's seen it in action… he finally has the missing part of what they'd found in the wreckage after Tony blew his way out of the caves. It wasn't a drone that was remotely controlled. It was Tony in a suit and the arc reactor was the key to getting it working.

No wonder those idiots in R&D kept running into a wall. They were building the wrong thing.

And they were missing the key element…

Today

Finding an opportunity to get Tony alone proves harder than it used to be. The man is always either at the mansion with Ms. Potts or at the Air Force base with Rhodes.

He finally gets Tony alone when Stane decides to drive to the Air Force base himself and give Tony a ride back to the mansion. He's also had the presence of mind to deactivate Tony's phone with a small portable electromagnetic device hidden in his pocket.

They talk in the car like Obadiah used to talk to Tony's father in the heydays and they even get pizza on the way back. Tony mentions Pepper only likes the pizza with pepperoni on it and gets two extra-large. Stane silently congratulates himself for bringing that paralyzing device the government rejected a few years back. He shouldn't have any problems overpowering Pepper Potts after he's taken care of Tony. His people can come and clean up the scene later. Maybe even make it look like a murder-suicide…

But as fate has it, Ms. Potts is not at the mansion when they finally arrive. JARVIS mentions that Ms. Potts has been trying to reach him but his phone was off.

Tony takes his phone off his pocket.

"That's odd. I thought the battery would last longer. Hey J., reminds me to look into that later. "

In the back, Obadiah puts on some classical music.

"Ah, Antonio Salieri. A forgotten genius if you ask me. Completely overshadowed by Mozart in his time."

Tony shakes his head. That man and his love of classical music...

"Hey, don't eat everything. I need to call Pepper." He picks up the home phone and hits 1 on the speed dial. "She probably needed to go back to the office. I swear the woman never stops, she's worse than-" Something seemingly bites him at the neck and he loses his grip on the phone and his balance. He falls down on the couch and hears Pepper's voice over the phone.

"Tony? Tony, are you there?"

But Obie ends the call and looms over Tony, who's now struggling to breathe.

"Breathe." He maneuvers Tony on the couch so he's sitting up. "Easy, easy."

What happens next are probably the worst five minutes of Tony's life since Pepper was taken away from him in the caves and he didn't know what had happened to her.

Obadiah goes on about him being a golden goose and refusing to do as he was told these past few years.

"I really, really wanted those chemical weapons, Tony. What happened? Why did you refuse me when all you had to do was live up to your father's legacy? The man who helped create the atomic bomb, Tony. Can you imagine what kind of world we'd be living in if he hadn't done that? And here you are, squandering your gift and playing house with that parvenue. What has she be filling your head with, I wonder?"

He finally pulls the arc reactor from Tony's chest, sending him into a world of pain.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Whatever she's done or said, she won't do it for much longer. I'm gonna take care of her personally. It's too bad, really. I'm sure in another life, she could have been such an asset to SI."

Obadiah closes the briefcase with Tony's arc reactor inside of it and leaves without looking back.

XXXX

"You know who I am. Say something clever and I might call you back."

Pepper hangs up before the tone.

Why isn't he picking up? She thought he was with Rhodey but he might have left already. He usually picks up when she calls. Something isn't right but she doesn't have time.

She sends a text to Rhodey asking about Tony not answering his phone and that she needs to talk to Tony ASAP about Afghanistan.

She replays her conversation with Everhart and she just cannot wrap her mind around it. If she's right – and she doesn't think the journalist would lie about a story – then she's on her way to uncover a betrayal that would probably break Tony's heart. But first, she needs evidence.

And then she's going to destroy Obadiah Stane.


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