2.
Stark Expo, 2010
Get in, get the prize, and get out.
Three simple steps. Three steps she lived by.
Get in, get the prize, and get out.
Kass was a thief in general, as well as a hacker, so her prizes usually involved technology, modern treasures, modern relics. Treasures of the future, not yet relics, though one day would be. Or treasures that would fuel the future.
Well, she had certainly come to the right place tonight if she was looking for tech treasures.
There was so much going on at the Expo that it was easy for her to get in - all she had to do was appear like one of the crazy Stark fans. She had even worn a red dress with gold jewelry, just for an added touch. It was those little details that could change everything, for better or for worse.
However, the last thing she wanted was to be mistaken for one of these wild fans screaming with excitement over everything the Expo had to offer. Sure, she was excited, but not that excited. And besides, she had a mission to carry out, that was the only reason why she was here in the first place, so no time for ogling the new, latest and greatest Stark designs.
Stark Industries was kind of the Holy Grail for a tech thief and hacker. She couldn't stand the man himself, Tony Stark, arrogant billionaire, who's ego had only seemed to have sky-rocketed after his 'I am Iron Man' reveal. But she had to hand it to him that his designs were fantastic and his technology advanced. One could do great things with such power.
She wasn't actually here to steal anything tonight - surprisingly. Rarely did she ever conduct or complete a mission where nothing was stolen. Well, first time for everything, right? Tonight, her prize was information. Tonight, she wasn't just a thief, she was an observer. Which was a large part of theft.
The show itself was big, loud and flashy - just like Stark himself. And the man really loved his AC/DC. She was more of a Led Zeppelin fan, herself.
For her search for information, she needed to find a power source - and luckily for her this place was crawling with Stark tech, all stemming from the same power. She just needed to find that source.
Remarkably, the elevator was empty when she stepped on. This didn't last for long, however, as could be expected at such a busy event.
What was unexpected, however, was who entered the elevator next.
The elevator opened and on stepped-
Him.
The man himself.
Fantastic.
It was such a big event and she just had to run into him.
She could think of a few people she would never in hell want to be trapped inside an elevator with, and he was definitely one of those few. But, just her luck, here he was.
He looked her up and down, clearly checking her out. It was all she could do not to punch him right there and then and wipe the stupid, arrogant smirk right off his face, but she held back. Knowing that she would soon rob this man - he had no idea what was coming - was satisfaction enough.
But then he started talking.
Was she really surprised, though? It was clear the man loved to hear himself talk. She had seen many a TV interview with him and all she could think was just shut up!
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked.
"Yes, very much," she said, putting on an American accent, just to add to the fun. "It's all very exciting."
"It is, isn't it? The future, am I right?" He chuckled. "Speaking of the future, I'm actually building a building right here in New York."
"Really?" 'I'm building a building...' He was definitely a little tipsy, that much was obvious. "You're building a building." She just couldn't help but tease him.
"Yeah, I'm calling it 'Stark Tower.'"
"Very appropriate."
"Right? It's genius really."
"Well, you're the genius, right?"
"Sure am! I mean, it just makes sense with work and everything to have an office building closer to where the Expo is, you know? I mean, Malibu is home and all, but..." He shrugged smiling contently. "My personal assistant isn't too thrilled about it, but then again, she never really is about my choices."
"Malibu, huh?"
"Yeah. Good place."
"Love it."
"Yeah, perfect place for a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist to hang out and play around with his tech toys."
She just gave a tight-lipped smile and nodded.
"I keep all my best designs and stuff there, close by, too risky shipping them all over the world. Gotta have a base somewhere."
Hmm, now that actually proved very interesting... She might even have to thank him for that.
"Oh here-" He took the expo brochure out of her hands and took a pen out of his suit pocket, scrawling his signature across the front of the glossy paper. "A little souvenir." He handed it back to her.
"Thank you for that."
"Don't mention it."
I won't.
The elevator lurched to a stop. Kass hoped that this would be Stark's floor and that he would leave. But, lucky her, things only got worse, where she hadn't thought that possible before:
The dancers from the show's opening earlier all stepped onto the elevator, drinks in hand, and still in their crop-tops and short-shorts with knee-high boots in the signature red and gold Iron Man colours.
Kass was suddenly pressed up against Stark as the ladies surrounded him.
"Hi ladies, we meet again."
Kass didn't even stop herself from rolling her eyes.
She didn't care if the elevator opened again not on her floor, she just pushed and shoved her way out of the now hot and crowded elevator.
"Hey!" cried one of the dancers when she elbowed her in the ribs maybe a little too hard.
The elevator doors snapped shut behind her, carrying away Mr. Stark and his fan club. Hopefully far away.
Finally, she was free from that. Now, back to business, time to find some info - or rework her plan.
"Hey, excuse me, Miss!" She turned to see none other than Tony Stark himself chasing after her, waving something over his head. "You dropped this in the elevator." He caught up with her and held out her brochure baring his signature.
"Oh, um... Thank you..."
"Don't mention it."
"How much do you think this is worth?" she asked, only half-joking.
"A Stark Expo brochure signed by me myself and I? Oh, I bet people would pay one grand for that, maybe more."
"Maybe." One grand or more? That sounded pretty nice. "Well, thank you, again, and I guess I'll say goodnight."
"You're leaving already? But the party's only just started."
"I've seen all I wanted to see."
"Very well. Well, I hope you enjoyed the one, the only Stark Expo."
"Very much."
"Here, I'll walk you out to your car, or get you a cab."
"That's really not necessary."
"Sure, I want to."
She suppressed a sigh and rolled her eyes - she just couldn't get rid of him.
He led the way back to the elevator and down to the front entrance of the building.
"Let's go out the side, I'm eager to evade security if possible. They can get rather clingy."
Me too, story of my life.
He found a side door, leading her outside into the New York night.
"So where's your car? Need a cab?"
"I walked, actually. And I'll be fine from here. Thank you, Mr. Stark." She kissed him.
Sure, it seemed sudden and out-of-place, and that was exactly the point.
This shocked him for just long enough, providing enough of a distraction as she slipped away into the shadows and disappeared.
Looked like her next stop was Malibu.
Whew, that chapter took longer than I'd hoped, but here it is, finally! :)
So, just to give you some notice, this story's timeline is going to jump around each chapter, but I'll mark what year it is at the beginning of each chapter so hopefully it won't get too confusing!
Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)
