Tony and Amanda arrived at Pepper's place and as soon as they got in the doorway they found Pepper's overnight bag.
"The letter might be in her bag," Tony said.
Amanda knelt down and began taking things out one at a time until she found a letter. She began to read it out loud.
Hello my name is Tiffany Anderson. I have spent many years trying to find out the truth about my birth parents and that has led me to you. I'm the daughter you gave up for adoption. We're both in California and I would love to meet and maybe ask if you have any information about my father. This is my number 555-4372. I hope to hear from you soon.
They both stared at each other in shock for a moment and Amanda made the sudden connection between her rape and a child she gave up for adoption and her blocking it all out of her mind and she toyed with the idea of telling Tony. She didn't want to invade Ginny's privacy but if it could help find her she wouldn't keep it quiet anymore.
"Pepper had a child? How did I not know this? Why wouldn't she tell me?" Tony said aloud. He was totally dismayed.
"Because I don't think she knew herself," Amanda said quietly.
"I don't understand," Tony said.
"She told me something. She told me that she finally remembered why she left the band and it was a traumatic experience and she said she blocked that night and the year following out of her mind. She said she was experiencing dissociation. So maybe she gave birth to that child the year she blocked out?" Amanda suggested.
"What happened? Why did she leave the band?"he asked.
"She doesn't want you to know but if it could help us find Pepper i have too,"
"What is it? Tell me" he said.
Amanda was about to tell him and she was saved by the bell.
Tony got an alert from Jarvis.
"I've received a distress call from Miss Potts," JARVIS interrupted.
"Trace it," he said.
"The call was received from Sierra Nevada California," the AI responded.
"That's at least a seven hour drive," Amanda said.
"I can probably get there in half the time in my suit. You stay here and stay by the phone in case she calls you or I need to call you," he said as he hurried down to his workshop.
He got into his suit and took off to find Pepper.
When Pepper heard Rick's men's footsteps heading in a different direction. She got up carefully and she put her hand against the smooth stone to balance herself when she felt a sharp pain and burning sensation in her hand. She looked up and saw a spider scurrying away. She only got a quick look but the red markings on its back were unmistakable. It was a black widow.
Shit. I'm going to be dead by the time Tony finds me, she thought.
Pepper forced herself up through the pain and kept going. Her leg was killing her and she kept pushing herself on despite the pain. She didn't know how long she was at it when she began to feel feverish and have the chills. She was sweating and starting to have severe spasms in her hand but she refused to give up. Over the course of the next hour the pain became so severe that Pepper fainted.
Tony was closing the gap between him and Pepper as the location of the bracelet was only fifteen minutes away. He was so nervous. He was not only nervous about whether she might be dead or alive but he was nervous that she might not want to speak to him anymore and he had so many questions about the letter and her having a child and what traumatic event caused Pepper to experience dissociation. And that's when he remembered that Amanda was about to tell him and he had Jarvis get her on the phone.
She picked up and he took a deep breath. He was about to speak when she beat him to it.
"Did you find her?"she asked hastily.
"I'm about fifteen minutes away from the site of the distress call but I want to know what I'm walking into. What did Pepper tell you? What happened to her?" he asked.
"Tony this is really hard for me to say. She entrusted me and I'm going to tell you but only because we need to piece this all together," Amanda said.
"Yes I understand," Tony replied.
"The last time I saw Ginny before our recent band reunion we had a gig and it was a big night. Record execs for big labels we're going to be there and five minutes before show time Ginny bailed. We knocked on her door and something wasn't right and she said she was sorry and she took off and she disappeared after that. We couldn't get in touch with her. She didn't want to be found I guess. So Saturday when she came to visit me she finally told me what happened. A man came into her dressing room and violently raped her and she was a virgin so that was her first time. She didn't know him. She said she never reported it and that she blocked it out and most of that year which would explain her having a child, giving it up for adoption and not remembering any of it," Amanda said.
Tony clenched his jaw at the thought of some man manhandling Pepper and hurting her and violating her. He wanted to rip this man in half and tell Pepper that she was going to be ok and he wanted to help her in any way he could. Half his heart was broken for her and the other half felt a rage like no other.
"I don't know what to say. I need to find her and make sure she's ok. I want to get her the help she needs. Who would do such a thing?" Tony said angrily.
"I don't know but do you think they're connected?"she asked.
"I have no idea. As far as we know her cousin Dawn is missing too maybe it has something to do with her," Tony suggested.
"I don't know. Just promise me you'll find her," Amanda said.
"I promise," he said as he touched down on the ground around the house.
Pepper was awakened by the sound of a dog barking and she opened her eyes quickly and there was a basset hound sitting in front of her barking. Pepper felt a ray of hope that this dog had an owner that could help her. She forced herself in an upright position despite the pain writhing throughout her whole body. She reached over and pet the dog and it licked and sniffed her. Then he ran away barking.
"Good dog," she said as she watched him run back through a thick of trees.
A few minutes later an older man with white hair and a gun came into view and followed the dog up the hill.
"Oh my God what happened to you?"he asked as he accessed her injuries.
"Leg broken and bit by a black widow. I have chills and spasms," she said between forced breaths as she pet the dog who sat next to her to keep her safe and calm.
"What are you doing in these woods alone? This is pretty far off the grid even hunters don't come here," he said.
"It's a long story. Can you get me out of here?"
"Yes my cabin isn't too far away," he said as he helped Pepper steady herself on her good leg.
"My name is Bo by the way and this here is Dougie," he said pointing to his dog.
"I'm Pepper,"
"Let's get you back to my cabin and get you all fixed up," he said.
Tony looked around the house and he saw a broken bathroom window screen and he decided to use that window to enter the house. He melted a little bit of the wood around it with a laser so he could fit inside smoothly and quietly. Once inside he used Jarvis to let him know how many were inside and there were only two people, a female and a male and Jarvis couldn't identify her as Pepper. He was about to reveal himself when a conversation caught his ear.
"You know Dawn, your cousin really messed things up. We would have had the money and been out of here by now," Rick said.
"There is no we. I told you we're through. And how could you do something like this?" Dawn said to him in disgust.
"You told me you don't like your cousin. I'm doing you a favor,"
"That's not true. We don't get along very well but we're the only family each other has and I don't want her hurt. You better hope Tim and Jeff find her and that she's ok,"
"Dawn we could leave right now. And we could live off the grid somewhere and raise our baby. We don't even need the money," Rick said.
"You kidnapped me and my cousin at gunpoint and drove us to a remote cabin in the middle of nowhere because you wanted her to steal money from Tony Stark for us when I told you I want nothing to do with you. I'm having this baby and I don't want you involved in its life," Dawn said.
"You owe me bitch. You cost me millions with your little disappearing act," he said.
"And I would do it again if it meant I never had to see you again," she said defiantly.
Tony had enough and he was going to make his presence known.
Bo helped Pepper onto the couch and immediately got her some water and acetaminophen for her fever. He then grabbed a wet washcloth and some table salt and wrapped her hand.
"This is going to sting but the salt will draw out the venom,"
Pepper would have jumped out of her skin if her leg wasn't broken. She winced in pain as he looked at her splint.
"We need to get you a better splint. This isn't going to hold up," he said as he rummaged through some drawers.
"Shouldn't we call an ambulance?" she asked.
"Don't have a phone," he said.
"Well can't you drive me to the hospital?" she asked, trying to prop herself up.
"I don't have a car. I can either use my two way radio to get a helicopter out here to airlift you to a hospital or use my boat and take it up the river to get to town but there's a storm coming in and it's not safe for either," he said.
"So how long before I can get help?"
"Not sure. Hopefully it passes quickly and I can get you on the boat or in the air," he said, returning back with some rope to improve the splint she made herself.
Pepper squeezed her eyes closed and tears started spilling out.
Tony is never going to find me. This man has no electricity except a radio and I'm not the genius. Tony is. Tony would know how to use the radio to contact Jarvis.
"You're going to be ok. Let me make us some dinner," he said.
Pepper was lying on the couch staring out into the darkness when Bo brought her some fresh veggies and a piece of meat.
"Have you ever had venison?" he asked.
"No," she said quietly as she pinched a piece with her fork.
"I removed the fat before processing to cut down on the gamey taste and I seasoned it a bit with sage," he said.
Pepper ate it gratefully.
"It has great flavor. And these cucumbers are divine. Do you grow them?" Pepper asked.
"I do have a greenhouse out back but the cucumbers I go into town for," he said.
Tony walked into the living room and opened the face plate. He was in no mood for games.
"Where's Pepper?" he asked angrily, startling both Dawn and her ex boyfriend.
"This jerk kidnapped us. Pepper told me to send a signal to JARVIS from the bracelet and she said she was going to find help on foot. She went out the bathroom window and he sent his goons to go find her," Dawn spilled.
Tony took a deep breath.
"You are going to take the car and go to the police," he said pointing to Dawn.
"And you're going to come with me to find Pepper," he said pointing to Rick and grabbing him by the collar.
"So tell me Pepper how did you end up in your current predicament?" Bo asked.
"I came home from a friend's house and there were two men in my apartment holding my cousin at gunpoint. It was her ex boyfriend. He wanted me to steal money from my boyfriend and give it to him and most likely he brought me here to kill me. I escaped out the bathroom window and I slipped and fell down a hill and broke my leg and then I was hiding from her boyfriends goons and that's when the spider bit me and I eventually fainted from the pain and Dougie found me. No one knows where I am but there is a chance they will find my cousin and she can tell them to search for me," Pepper said trying to be optimistic.
"I will use my two-way radio to inform the police immediately. Believe me no one is getting in this house," he said as he called it in.
"They said they will come out as soon as the storm passses,"
They heard a loud crack of thunder and the rain started pouring out buckets. Dougie whimpered and hid under the couch.
"Have you and your boyfriend been together long?"he asked.
"One week actually. I've known him for a lot longer though. I worked for him for ten years as his personal assistant and we kind of danced around our feelings for a long time. It wasn't until recently that we confessed our feelings for each other. What about you? What are you doing out here alone? Do you have any family?" she asked.
"I had a wife but she passed away. After that I moved out here. I wanted peace and quiet. She always loved nature and when I'm out here I can feel her presence everywhere," he said.
"That's really beautiful. How long were you two married?" Pepper asked.
Bo put his hand up to silence her for a moment and he peered outside the blinds. He saw a man with a gun circling his property.
"Don't make a sound," Bo said as he covered Pepper with the blanket and shut off the light.
After about a half an hour of searching Tony began to grow frustrated.
"Call your guys and tell them to call it off," Tony demanded.
Rick grabbed for his cell phone nervously and he was fumbling as he dialled Tim's number. He looked at Tony.
"I can't get a signal," he said nervously.
Tony was livid.
"Well then we're just going to have to keep searching and you better hope nothing happened to her," he threatened.
Bo watched from his window as the man stopped when a streak of lightning came too close for his liking and he backed away. He looked around and he ran back into the woods.
"What's happening?" Pepper asked.
"There was someone with a gun circling my property but they got spooked by a streak of lightning and ran back into the woods," he said.
"I'm sorry to drag you into this mess. But it shouldn't be too much longer. Tony will find me. I know he will," she said as more trickled out of her eyes.
"I'm assuming this Tony guy is your boyfriend?" Bo asked.
"Yeah he's pretty amazing," Pepper said picturing his face in her mind.
The thought of him made her smile and made her heart light.
"I hope he's an experienced hiker. These mountains are very dangerous," Bo said.
"You don't know who I am do you?" she said quietly.
"Should I? Are you famous or something?" he asked.
"No but my boyfriend is. He's in the news a lot but if you don't have a television it would make sense for you not to know,"
"I read the newspaper," he said.
"Have you heard of Iron Man?" she asked quietly.
"No. Who is he?" Bo asked seriously.
Pepper laughed.
"It's going to sound ridiculous if I tell you. You've never heard of Iron Man and you read the newspaper? What part do you read?"
"The comics," Bo said with a laugh and Pepper laughed too.
"The truth is I broke up with him after a week of dating with no explanation because of some secrets from my past I'm ashamed of. What if he isn't even looking for me?" Pepper said unleashing the emotions she's been holding in since Rick took her at gunpoint.
"What if I die and I never get to tell him that I love him and I want him back? And my cat. My poor cat. I hope he doesn't starve to death. I hope the neighbors hear him meowing and then get him out,"
"I'm not going to let any of those things happen even if I have to go and get your cat myself and bring him here," Bo said, trying to comfort her.
He looked at her face again and put it together. Her name was Pepper her boyfriend was named Tony.
"I do recognize you. I read an article about the new woman CEO of Stark Industries and I'll admit I thought it was ridiculous but I'm not much for technology as you can see,"
"You've heard of Stark Industries but not Iron Man?"
"I don't read the paper consistently. I figure the less I know the better,"
"If you could run this place on clean energy would you still be against tech? It could be the difference in saving your life one day," Pepper asked.
"My late wife has been bugging me for years to update this cabin and I've just been avoiding it. But obviously it could have been the difference in getting you the help you need,"
"If you can keep me alive and safe long enough until Tony can find me or I get to a hospital I promise he will update this whole place with clean sustainable energy,"
"Deal,"
Tony and Rick continued on their way when they bumped into Tim who was running towards them. When he looked up and saw Iron Man he knew the jig was up and he tried to run. Tony blasted a large branch from a tree to block his path and he surrendered quickly.
"I didn't find her but I saw a cabin. Maybe she made it inside. It looks abandoned though," Tim said to Rick.
"JARVIS where is this cabin?" Tony asked.
"It's about two miles upstream up a small hill," the AI responded.
He turned to look at the two losers that kidnapped his girl.
"Here's what's going to happen. You guys are going to go back to the cabin where Dawn is waiting for the police and you're going to turn yourself in and you're not going to touch Dawn. And I'm going to find Pepper myself and if you think of doing anything other than what I told you to do I will deploy these missiles," he said opening a pocket in his suit of mini missiles.
"Target scan track and lock," he said.
"And now you're locked in so I can deploy them if you try and do anything else. And the tracking will let me know,"
Neither of them said a word as Tony stared at them.
"You're on the clock starting now. Go," he said as they took off.
Tony continued his trek upstream and silently prayed he would find Pepper in that cabin in one piece. He prayed that she was still alive.