Author's Note: Wooo here we go, another chapter pounding out because we are freaking awesome. Sorry, it's late and I really don't know what I'm writing but WHATEVER. So yeah, here I am again, talking to myself (sitting at a red light XD)… Does anyone know that song? The Getaway - Hilary Duff? Maybe not, maybe I'm just crazy, which I am but that's beside the point. Did you all enjoy last chapter written by the lovely Emily? I know you did ;) I know I did! So here's the next chapter for you guys and I must say that the action really starts picking up here so yeah XD Thank you for all of your reviews and time, I love you all!
Playlist: Jericho - Hilary Duff, Robot - Miley Cyrus, Prince of Darkness - Hans Zimmer (The Avengers), Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day, As Long As You're Mine - Wicked Cast, Heffalumps and Woozles - Winnie the Pooh (I know you're jealous XD)
Disclaimer: We do not own Marvel or the Avengers or Iron Man or anything :( emilykay21 and I own the plotline, I own Emerald Maitland and she owns Emily Kay. Get it? Got it? Good.
I have nothing much to say, except enjoy this awesome chapter! :)
Complications
Chapter 3: Inklings
If I had thought anything I had been through before was rough, it had been nothing compared to this night in time. And the only problem was that I was alone in this situation. Telling anyone, including Tony or Pepper or Emily, could risk the safety of the ones I love. I couldn't do that, no matter how hard it was, I would not give up for their sake. If I knew going into the gala what was going to happen, I might have holed myself in my room and refused to go. My limits were about to tested and my life was about to be changed, forever…
"Where's your horse Emily?" Tony questioned as he turned away from Pepper and faced the two of us. I smirked at the billionaire, agreeing with for once. I shook my head, did I really just agree with Tony Stark? Nah, there had to be some mistake.
Emily rolled her eyes and I nudged her playfully. The rustling of keys got my attention and I snapped to like a dog hearing food in its food bowl. My eyes sparkled as I turned to Tony, the question he knew and recognized bubbling on my lips.
"No," he said before I could ask.
I gave him a pouty face and batted my curled eyelashes at him, knowing it was worth a chance even though I knew it was highly probable that he wouldn't change his answer. "Come on Tony," I whined. "Please? I'll be careful I promise."
Emily shoved my shoulder lightheartedly, "Em, just give it up. He's never going to let you drive."
The truth was, I was in love with Tony's cars. I swear, it was some sort of weird obsession… Like the sportier and classier and flashier, the better; Emily never understood it and frankly, I didn't either. I mean, I can't really describe it… Something always just pulled me towards them in a strange fascinating way.
"Actually," Tony piped up. "None of us are driving. Happy picked up the limo for this special - uh thing."
Pepper gave a small smile and corrected her boyfriend, "Gala."
"Whatever," Tony shrugged. Emily turned to me gleefully, it was obvious she was a limo kind of girl. I mean, she probably would have preferred a carriage or horseback or something completely outrageous. I wouldn't be surprised with much anymore. Sighing, I turned away from my friend. I tried to be excited but all I really wanted to do was drive a Lamborghini or BMW that Tony had stored down in his workshop.
Damn.
Happy pulled up in the limo and I flashed him a grin, pushing my bad mood aside for the rest of the night (hopefully). He nodded in my direction and then held open the door for Pepper and Tony to climb in one side.
"Hey Happy," Pepper said quietly. "Thanks for doing this for us."
Happy opened his mouth to reply with something probably actually nice, it would have been nice for a change to have compliments flying around instead of insults, but Tony interrupted him. I rolled my eyes exasperatedly, he was such a jerk and I really didn't know how we dealt with him. Honestly, I had no clue. "Hey Pippy, stop flirting with my girlfriend," he scolded.
Pepper turned her neck around to glare at him in complete shock. Happy just crossed his arms over his chest, he was so used to this and I honestly didn't know why he didn't just quit. I certainly would if I had to deal with that crap day after day.
"Are you serious?" Pepper questioned, her eyebrows skyrocketing to the top of her forehead. "You're really still in that stage?"
"It's not official yet Pep!" Tony protested, throwing her a saddened look. Emily and I exchanged a glance that clearly said that we weren't needed. Tony threw his hands up in the air and glared at Happy like this was his entire fault. Happy barely even said a word, I felt bad for the man.
"Well I'm sorry, Oscar, that your tin trash can tipped over but it's really unnecessary to be having this conversation right now," Happy put in and I sniggered. That man always had the best comebacks, hey I had to learn from someone, right?
Tony ignored Happy's comment and just added onto his earlier statement, "Pepper, this is our first outing as a couple and I don't want to screw things up." He took the red-haired woman's hand and I swooned on the inside, there was something about that man.
Pepper interrupted her boyfriend, "Tony, we've been over this before. I want this, us I mean, to stay between the five of us for now." She turned to us to make sure we heard that statement too and Emily and I nodded vigorously. The couple continued to argue but an idea sparked in my mind and my eyes immediately brightened.
I turned to Emily, making sure Pepper and Tony were still busying themselves with Happy, and darted back into the mansion. Emily rolled her eyes, not quite sure what I was up to but I'm sure had some sort of inkling, and followed me reluctantly. I made it to the kitchen before I realized that Emily was directly behind me.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded as I reached for the objects of interest on the countertop. I turned around, caught red-handed, and gave a sheepish grin.
"Getting a head start," I commented as I held up the keys to Tony's red Mustang. I smirked in my friend's direction and her mouth dropped open. "What?" I demanded. "It's not like I'm a bad driver!" Emily gave me a knowing look and I shrugged it off, Tony would forgive me eventually.
"You're so screwed," was her only reply as she piled into the passenger seat of the car once we headed into the workshop and I smiled, feeling a lighter weight on my shoulders.
As I rolled to a graceful stop in front of the mansion where the gala was being held, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride. The cameras turned to flash at me and Emily and I smiled graciously and nudged my shier friend to do the same. I tossed the keys to the Mustang at the valet and whispered, "Be on my beck and call, orders from Mr. Stark" before heading inside to join the rest of the party.
"Miss Kay?" came the voice of one shouting reporter and I raised my eyebrow. What did this douche bag want? Emily ignored the calling voices and proceeded inside, I jogged to catch up to her and threw her a confused glance.
"You can't believe anything the reporters say these days," she murmured, almost to herself. I wasn't sure if she was talking to me or not so I just stood there. "Everything they say is a lie." I frowned, this wasn't like Emily to get bothered by this. After all, we're used to this by now… or at least, I thought we both were. I sighed and reminded myself to ask Emily what was wrong with her later, she was definitely keeping something from me and I was determined to figure out what it was.
As soon as we entered the premise of the gala and stepped inside, it felt like we were transported in a completely different world. I smiled at the sight and was suddenly glad that I dressed up, Emily on the other hand… Well I hoped she didn't feel out of place, then again she was always out of place in her cowgirl outfits. I smirked to myself at that comment and turned to my friend to say something when the door opened again and I could hear the reporters shouting "Mr. Stark" over and over again. I cringed, hoping my boss wasn't too mad that I basically stole his car. Emily turned around and flung her arms open like she was glad to see them; I, on the other hand, stood facing the other way and was just about to head to get a drink when a strong muscular hand clamped around my arm. I grimaced and turned to face the person and came face to face with the one and only Tony Stark himself. I willed myself not to flinch although I must admit, only to myself of course, that even I got lost in his eyes. We were literally face to face and I was surprised at the close contact, his face didn't look as angry as I would have imagined, though I'm embarrassed to admit, I was staring into his deep brown eyes the entire time. Now I could see what Pepper saw in them… I always thought I'd be the last person to be entranced by the snarky billionaire but now I could see the problem. I understood now and that was kind of a dangerous thing.
"Why did you steal my car?" he growled, though I could detect hints of playfulness in his voice. I desperately wanted to glance around to see who else was monitoring this exchange between us but our eyes were locked and I physically couldn't break the contact.
I shrugged, "You were taking too long."
"That's no excuse," he retorted. "You've always waited before."
"I'm done with waiting."
He didn't seem to have a response for that, I think he was trying to figure out all of my hidden meanings and I honestly didn't want him to. The cameras flashed in our direction and the moment was broken. As he pulled away from me, I broke our intense eye contact and took a deep breath, realizing that I hadn't been breathing that entire time. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and when I collected them enough to face Tony again, he had disappeared into the crowd.
I placed a hand over my chest and made sure my breathing was regular again. What was it about him that affected me so much this time? Something was off with me and I was determined to find out what it was. Emily walked up to me curiously and tilted her head to one side.
"What was that all about?" she questioned honestly.
I quivered in my spot, thinking about the weird exchange between me and my boss. "I truly have no idea whatsoever," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.
Pepper sauntered up to us next, right as we were about to turn away. We froze on the spot, my heart started thrumming again, hoping she hadn't been around to see Tony and me. I wouldn't want her to take it the wrong way, even though it was completely harmless. It was completely harmless… right? I took another deep breath and faced the red-head.
"Tony's speaking in two minutes and I want you girls on either side of the stage," she commented, drumming her fingers on the side of her long silky dress. "I'll be in the back but I wanted someone to be there for him since I actually have to socialize."
"Ouch," I commented with a smirk and Emily placed a hand over her heart claiming, "You wound me Pep." Pepper gave us one last smile before taking up her place in the back of the mansion. I turned to my friend and shrugged once before heading off in the direction of the makeshift stage where Tony would be speaking. We split once we reached the stage and I headed off to the left while Emily took up the right. I leaned against a nearby wall and watched as Tony hopped onto the stage with ease and tapped on the microphone once.
A squealing, almost screeching, noise sounded throughout the mansion and everyone pivoted towards the stage in a mixture of shock, horror and surprise. Even Emily and I clapped our hands over our ears as the murmurs trickled throughout the crowd. Tony flashed an apologetic smile and the crowd instantly simmered down as they realized who was on stage.
I crossed my fingers and sent a quick prayer to whoever was watching, "Please stick to your note cards this time." I turned back to Tony and leaned my body against the wall, already exhausted with today's happenings. I glanced over to the other side of the makeshift stage and saw Emily standing upright with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes fixated on Tony's appearance.
"Welcome everyone!" Tony opened his arms wide and gave his famous "press-worthy" grin as I liked to call it. "Thank you all for coming to my good friend John Royce's event tonight and I am honored to be speaking in front of all of you today."
So far so good, I thought to myself and started to relax a bit. He held up his note cards to eye level and examined them for a moment before lowering them and speaking word for word what was written on there.
"There have been many rumors about me lately involving my two assistants and my CEO but let me be the first to tell you that none of them are true," he began. "I just wanted to clear some things up."
I frowned towards the stage, what rumors were exactly running around? I didn't know there were any! I reminded myself to check into that later. I stared out in the audience until I found Pepper's face staring back at Tony, she glanced in my direction for a moment and gave a swift nod of approval. My shoulders unclenched and I leaned against the wall for support once more.
The billionaire snuck another peek at the cards before continuing, "I know many of you may be surprised by my change in behavior but the truth is I've realized that you don't need to have it all to be happy. For the past couple of months, I've been focusing on Iron Man and the Avengers Initiative that recently saved New York." He broke off as a round of applause drowned him out for a moment. He smiled and shook his head, "And now I'm just relaxing and working on Stark Industries' stocks with the wonderful help of my lovely assistant Emerald Maitland." My head perked up, I wasn't expecting that one! Then again, if Pepper wrote the notecards, I shouldn't be too surprised.
"Other than that, I'm just taking time off by myself with no one else in my life-" he trailed off and shook his head. I guess I should have known what was coming next but I was helpless to stop it. "This is bullshit," I heard him murmur under his breath and then he spoke up again so that the crowd could hear him, "The truth is, I'm in a romantic relationship with Pepper Potts."
"Shit," I swore and darted out onto the stage. The crowd gave a loud collective gasp and I couldn't even meet Pepper's eyes. Tony was in deep shit tonight. I waved my arms around to catch the audience's attention and gave a huge smile.
"Hey hey," I shouted, almost jumping up and down. "Everyone ignore the crazy man over there. Over here everyone!" As soon as I gained almost everyone's attention, I started my frantic speech. "Hello everyone, how's it going?" I joked, still grinning like a mad man. "Remember me? I remember all of you." I pointed to some random person in the crowd to lighten the mood, "I remember you especially." I laughed at his bewildered face and continued, "Anyway, Tony's a little crazy, he's insane and we all know that. He really just can't stick to the cards and actually do what he's told for once. I guess that's why we love him but he's a little delirious right now so I wouldn't believe anything he's saying. I mean, he shouldn't even be speaking anymore. I don't know why he's even allowed to do this, why is he allowed to do this? Mr. Royce, I will find you. So -"
I had just almost successfully calmed down the crowd when another voice spoke up from the back of the crowd, saying, "He's right." As the audience all pivoted on the spot to face the newcomer, I met the eyes of the woman who had spoken and groaned. Pepper Potts took another step forward and locked eyes with Tony, "I am in a relationship with Tony."
"Damn," I swore again and threw my hands up in the air. "I give up. I'm done with trying to help. Enjoy the party." There were many cameras flashing and people shouting as I stalked off the stage in my high heels. I heard Emily running after me and she caught up to me with ease, damn those cowboy boots.
She pulled on my shoulder and spun me around, "What the hell just happened?" I shook my head, "I have no freaking idea." I turned around to leave in whatever direction was in front of me.
"Where are you going?" she called after me and I shrugged.
"Anywhere but here."
As I stalked off in the other direction angrily, I felt bad for snapping at Emily but I was pretty pissed and she should know by now that I just wanted to be alone when I'm pissed. I headed into the throng of the party before I realized that I had no idea where I was going… The bathroom perhaps, excellent now where was it? I spun around myself a couple of times before I got dizzy and had to stop. I held a hand to my head and sighed, today was just not going as well as I had hoped.
"Miss Maitland?" came a voice from behind me and I slowly turned around, the hand still clapped to my head. I lowered it however as I looked the man who was standing in front of me up and down. His brown hair shagged in his eyes and his eyes were a brilliant color blue, they almost looked fake.
I questioned, "Yes?"
"I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done up there," he commented, smiling, and I raised an eyebrow.
"For what?" I said. "My so-called plan didn't work."
He laughed even though what I said wasn't funny, "You did your best and for that I admire you, I mean not many people would have the courage to do what you did."
This time, I gave a genuine smile. "Well thanks," I chuckled. "But sometimes it's still not enough. Working for Tony definitely has its benefits but occasionally I feel like the bad things about being his assistant are worse than the good."
"I understand," the man said honestly and I immediately took a liking to him. "I'm Blake by the way."
"Emerald," I held out my hand and he shook it firmly. "But I think you already know that."
He laughed and I felt a warm sensation flooding through me, something was definitely wrong with me today. First the guy at the restaurant, then Tony and now this Blake character. It was like my mind wasn't even working today. I coughed and looked down at the ground for a moment, not really sure what to say next.
"Would you like to get together sometime?" he wondered out loud and broke me out of my trance. I nodded vigorously.
"Yeah, I'd like that."
He smiled and turned away, leaving me guessing. How was I supposed to contact him? Well if he was at this party, then he probably knew Tony and I would get his number eventually. I smiled and watched him walk away. A piece of white fluttered down into my vision and I saw a small slip of paper fall out from Blake's pocket. I darted down to pick up the piece of paper and instantly stood up, scanning the crowd for any signs of Blake.
"Hey!" I shouted. "Blake, you dropped your -" I trailed off as I realized that he was gone and other people at the gala were giving me funny looks. I took a glance at the sheet of paper and crinkled my forehead.
"Got what I came for," the note read. "Plan is on, do what you have to do."
What the hell? If the message wasn't ominous enough, there was something eerily familiar about this note. I couldn't quite put my finger on it and it was bothering me so much. Suddenly, it dawned on me.
Shit.
I closed my hand around the note and darted away from the crowd, scanning the room for any signs of Emily. Something bad was going to happen and I had to solve this case before it did. My heart pounded in my ear as I craned my neck to look around the room. I could see Tony and Pepper conversing in a corner but I couldn't tell them about this… not yet. I needed Emily.
Another idea struck me and I dropped to my knees and hit the floor rather forcefully. I peered around the mass of people's legs, searching for those famous cowboy boots. I spotted them towards the stage, almost in the same spot where I left her earlier. I shot to my feet and tore off in her direction, purposefully dropping my lipstick in the trash on the way. She saw me coming and grabbed my arm when she saw the look of panic on my face.
"Em!" she shouted worriedly. "What's wrong? Is everything alright?"
I took a deep breath to calm myself down and something inside of me was screaming at me to tell her everything but I knew I couldn't. I would probably put her in danger too if I told her and so I only selected the most obvious and less dangerous of the options. "I'm fine," I whispered. "I was just getting away from some creepy guy trying to hit on me." That was sort of the truth…
"Why are you whispering?" she wondered out loud and I shook my head.
"I don't know," I shrugged, making it seem like everything was just fine. "Listen, I forgot my lipstick at home so I'm just going to take the Mustang and drive home really quick and grab it. I'll be right back."
I started to walk away when Emily's voice stopped me again, "Wait, let me come with you." I plastered a fake smile on my face and spun around again to face her, "No really, it's okay. I'll be right back." She definitely knew something was up, I wasn't that good at faking but I tried my damn hardest and only hoped that it would pay off.
I walked at a fast pace outside and waved down the valet from earlier. I could see Happy standing somewhat close to me, laughing with other drivers and I ducked behind a potted tree, hoping he didn't see me. This was definitely a dangerous mission. The valet seemed to recognize me for it was only a couple of minutes before he pulled up with the red Mustang and placed the keys in the palm of my hand. I smiled and muttered a quick "Thank you" before climbing in the car and tearing off in the direction of Stark Mansion.
When I reached the house, I fumbled with my keys once before tearing open the door and running into my room as fast as I could. I stopped when I entered the premise of my room and slowly pivoted around myself, looking for that one object. I spotted it on my dresser and I grabbed it and ran out of the room yet again. I hurried downstairs to Tony's lab and punched in his security code that almost everyone knew by heart now.
"Good evening Miss Maitland," droned JARVIS, scaring the living crap out of me. "What brings you home so early?"
"JARVIS, I need a favor," I explained, ignoring the AI's probing. "Can you scan these two slips of paper and do fingerprint and handwriting comparisons?"
"Certainly miss."
I stopped for what seemed like the first time in hours and took a deep breath, it had to be a mistake but double checking was always a necessity. I bit my tongue in apprehension while JARVIS scanned the two slips of paper I had placed on a clear spot on Tony's desk. The first one was Blake's, the mysterious one he dropped at the party, but the second one I had used earlier today… The second one was a phone number given to me by Robert, the man from the restaurant earlier. It hadn't dawned on me at first but then after examining Blake's for a moment, I had realized that the handwriting looked almost exactly the same.
"Miss Maitland, I have finished the scanning and I'm putting the results up on the television screen," JARVIS replied after a moment and I spun around to face the TV. "There were only two matches of the same fingerprint and considering one was yours, there is now only one who always matches the handwriting similarity I found between the two objects."
"Wait," I exclaimed before the AI could go on. "Scan these fingerprints too." I reached down the front of my dress and pulled out the silver gem that had smacked into the back of my head earlier. I still hadn't figured out what it was exactly, but something eerie was going on and this might be a cincher to the solution.
"Of course Miss Maitland," JARVIS responded immediately and I sighed again, the tension building up in the room until I felt like I was about to pass out.
After a moment, JARVIS rejoined, "The fingerprints on here are indeed matching the ones on the two slips of paper Miss." My heart thrummed in my chest, this was it…. My hunch had been right… As he displayed the person matching the handwriting and fingerprints, I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth.
"That's impossible," I breathed.
The room suddenly felt a lot less safe and I turned to go when a hand clamped over my mouth and everything went black.