Sorry for the wait.
The Girl in the Iron Mask
Chapter 6 – On the Town
Upon reaching home, Jasmine immediately stored away both her armor and the painting, desperately hoping that her dad wouldn't come across either. Tonight had been a success, but just barely. Now, all Jasmine really wanted to do was go to bed. After all, she told her dad she'd be sleeping once he got home.
But the following morning, she found herself lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling with her head against her hands.
"Jarvis," she said in a choked, tired voice, "Time."
"Eight a.m. Miss," he replied.
Jasmine let out a soft groan. She tried turning over onto her left, and then to her right. She even tried to lie face-down on her pillow. But it was no use. There was no way she was going to fall back asleep. Choosing not to deny this, she reluctantly pulled back the covers and walked, yawning, to her bathroom. She stretched her arms, and rubbed her eyes, but once she looked at herself in the mirror, it became clear just how much of a bedraggled mess she'd become.
Her eyes, which were partially bloodshot, widened at the sight. Dark circles had begun to form underneath her eyes, her hair looked very unkempt, and she licked her lips once she noticed how dry her mouth felt. She couldn't help but hang her head, not just at her appearance, but more for what she had done the previous night.
In an attempt to get it off her mind, she put her hands to work by washing her face and then brushing her hair down. Then, not bothering to change out of her pj's, she walked downstairs into the living room and decided to make herself some coffee. She needed it now more than ever.
She didn't want, though they were inevitable to see, all the news reports she saw talking – indirectly – about her. As she sipped her coffee, her eyes were locked on the TV. All sorts of headlines popped up.
Mysterious "Iron Girl" robs Museum of Natural History
"New Rival" of Tony Stark steals painting
Woman dressed like Iron Man causes uproar
In addition, she found herself listening to both reporters ("Police are looking for any sort of clue that will lead them to the identity of this woman.") and ordinary people.
One of them had been at the gala. "I don't know how it happened. All I know is that the alarm went off and she apparently flew away."
Another had been where the painting was in the preservation room, with other officers and scientists examining the scene. "We currently do not have any evidence regarding who this person is. But we intend to keep looking."
A third was a boy – pretty cute – probably in his late teens or early twenties. "Yeah, I think she's human. And I know what she did was bad but, I hope she's hot."
Knowing that throwing her coffee at the TV would get her in big trouble – though, admittedly, she was already in big trouble – Jasmine rolled her eyes in disgust instead. She was about to turn the TV off too, when she heard her father's name.
"We are now going to hear live from Mr. Stark himself."
The screen then showed Tony in front of his office building, over a dozen news reporters hoping to catch what he had to say. Jasmine sort of felt sorry for him, but that was quickly replaced by anxiety over what he was going to say. She couldn't help but lean forward in her seat, her eyes focusing solely on her dad.
"Okay," he started, "from here on out, this is a message from me to you, so I hope you're watching. I don't usually deal with these sorts of cases, but by using my art to steal other pieces of art, you've made it personal. I don't know who you are, where you came from, or what you're doing here, but you can bet I'm gonna find you and bring you to justice. In fact, if you're willing to have a showdown, meet me at the Xifeng Museum in Chinatown. You and me, tonight at ten. I'll be waiting."
Once he finished his speech, Jasmine slowly took the remote, and shut the TV off. The emotions that she was feeling right now, she couldn't explain. Her dad had just challenged her, and on live TV. She felt guilt, despite reminding herself that she had done it to protect the people. She felt apprehension at the notion of the police, and her own father, looking for her, and at the idea alone of her father finding out it was her. Yet, she also felt a strange sort of excitement, one that she never recalled feeling before. Her dad was donning his Iron Man suit again and, in a way, she had been offered a position similar to that of an audience member being asked by a magician to participate in his tricks. A close-up, personal experience.
But then, confusion struck her. Why did her dad want to meet her at another museum?
Wanting her question answered immediately, Jasmine called for Jarvis. "J, are there more art pieces that Loki is using?"
"Possibly," Jarvis replied, "There have been rumors regarding them as well. Though I would recommend staying out of it considering how much of a scandal you're already causing."
Jasmine thought of what he said for only a few seconds before asking, "How many are there left?"
"Three," Jarvis reluctantly replied.
Jasmine raised her eyebrows in both surprise and disappointment. As if one night of nearly getting booked wasn't enough. For a while, she found herself seriously considering Jarvis's advice. Surely they'd be more prepared for her if she accepted her dad's challenge – prepared enough to catch her in the act. But how could she not finish what she'd started? Jasmine had made the discovery in the first place. Didn't that technically qualify her to take action? And if she did reveal her secret to her dad, what would happen to him? She was sure she couldn't stand it if anything happened to him because of her.
No. The mission had to come first.
"Jarvis, what's the art piece at the Xifeng Museum?"
"That would be the Lanying necklace Miss."
"Can you send me a picture of it?"
"I shall send one to your laptop Miss."
"Thanks Jarvis." Jasmine then hurried up to her room and headed over to her laptop. She immediately turned it on, logged in, looked at her email, and opened the picture Jarvis had sent her.
Her eyes widened the second she saw it. It was a beautiful necklace, perhaps one she herself could wear. It contained both diamonds and blue quartz, both of which dangled from the main necklace. She could understand why Loki would use such a remarkable piece of art. All the more reason, she decided with great reluctance, to take it.
For the next two hours, Jasmine and Jarvis discussed how she was going to carry out her next grand plan. Since she had never been to this museum before, Jarvis gave her maps. And since there would probably be guards at both the back and front entrances, she decided it would be the best – though arguably the most basic – idea to go through one of the air vents on the side. She was about to figure out how she could enter and navigate them, when she heard her phone ringing.
Though she had an idea of who it was, she still sighed and briefly closed her eyes before reaching for it with shaking hands and answering it.
"Hello?"
"Jasmine?"
"Dad!" Jasmine exclaimed once she heard his voice, "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I've got a few minutes," Tony replied, "Listen, I know this seems kinda sudden but, I've been thinking about what's happening between you and me lately and, I'd like to set aside some time today for just you and me, a little father-daughter bonding. You wanna go to lunch?"
Jasmine didn't know what to think. Was her dad genuinely wanting her to come meet with him, just so they could spend some time together? Or, did he already know that it was her and invite her out to trap her? No, now she was just making things up. She saw her dad challenge her alter-ego on TV. How could he know it was her now? Jasmine wasn't sure. But remembering that Tony was still on the phone, she answered him.
"Um, yeah. I'd like that. But, why are you taking me out again?"
"I told you," Tony replied, "I'd just like to have some time with you, seeing as you're probably lonely and bored."
Jasmine bit her lip at those last few words, but she said, "I appreciate your concern."
"I knew you would," Tony said, the smile clearly evident through his voice, "I'll meet you in an hour. Be out front and ready."
"Cool," Jasmine nodded, "See you then."
They both hung up, and all Jasmine could do was sit back down in her desk chair. She knew that it was unlikely her dad knew her secret, yet that thought remained in the very back of her mind, refusing to go away no matter how much she tried to make it. She only knew that she had to meet with her dad, since that would keep suspicion away. However, she really did mean it when she told him how much she appreciated his thinking of her. He didn't usually make offers like this. Even so, not knowing what else to do, Jasmine simply put her head in her hands, wondering how much longer she could keep her identity secret.
An hour later though, she was waiting outside the front of the house, dressed and ready, just as her dad wanted her to be. He soon pulled up in his car, and Jasmine climbed in and sat in the seat next to him.
"Hey Dad," she forced a smile on her face, "Thanks for inviting me out."
"Hey, can't leave you alone and bored forever," Tony smiled back, making Jasmine briefly bite her lip again.
As they drove on to the restaurant where they planned on going for lunch, Jasmine kept a small smile on her face, trying to think about this great time she'd be having with her dad rather than being stressed about keeping her secret. She even crossed her arms instead of putting her hand to her chest to make her heart stop beating as rapidly as that of a small animal.
Despite her efforts, her dad frowned when he looked at her again.
"You're pretty quiet today," he said.
"Um, thank you for noticing," Jasmine said.
"Hey, I'm your dad. Talk to me. What's the matter?"
Jasmine was thinking over what to say, when she saw the Museum of Natural History coming their way. It seemed closed to the public, as there were six police cars parked in front and a line of tape with the words "Do Not Cross" on it was stretched across the landing in front of the stairs. Taking advantage of the sight, she pointed it out to her dad.
"Man, they're not giving up are they?" she asked.
"Yeah," Tony agreed, "They've been here since last night, after she got away."
Jasmine pressed her lips together at the way he said "she". And once they passed the museum, in spite of trying to distract her dad from focusing on her, he went back to his original question.
"Now tell me. What's wrong with you?"
Jasmine didn't answer immediately. She could only let out a soft sigh and rest her head against her hand at the amount of stress she was feeling. "Nothing I'm just about to keel over," she replied, which was, in a sense, true. She was starting to get a pretty painful headache.
"Did you eat breakfast?" Tony asked.
Jasmine shook her head at remembering. "No."
"Then maybe that's it," Tony concluded, "You probably just need to eat. Lucky for you I'm taking you to a place where you can."
"I look forward to it," Jasmine said, smiling but with an unenthusiastic voice.
Tony then left it at that, allowing Jasmine to continue rubbing her aching head. Though she didn't know it, her eyes began drooping. She only noticed when they were already closed. Though she had the idea of fighting it, she remembered how tired she felt, and surrendered herself to sleep.
The next thing she knew, she felt a hand gently shaking her shoulder and heard her dad saying her name. "Jazz, Jazz."
Jasmine immediately came to her senses and opened her eyes, despite them feeling like stone.
"Oh huh, oh, are we here?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes.
When she looked at her dad again, he was looking at her with great concern. "Hey, you want me to take you home?"
At that question, Jasmine shook her head and sat up straight. "Oh no, I'm fine. Like you said, I need to eat."
She and Tony then got out of the car and began walking over to the restaurant together.
"Okay," Tony said, "but if you fall asleep on me again I'm giving you CPR."
Feeling her dad's usual sarcasm, Jasmine impulsively responded by playfully slapping his shoulder. "That's coming from a guy who had a piece of metal stuck in his chest."
"Hey, you wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for Yinsen."
"Whatever," Jasmine muttered, though she knew her dad was right. She'd heard the story plenty of times. It was practically how her dad decided to become Iron Man: how he was seriously wounded in his chest, and his fellow captive implanted a device that kept the piece of shrapnel from reaching his heart. Though Tony had since gotten both removed, he could very well have died if Yinsen hadn't been there to help him, thus terminating Jasmine's own existence. Though it was somewhat hot outside, she shivered at the idea.
Inside, she and her dad got a table, and once they got their food, Jasmine immediately realized how hungry she was, and she quickly dug in. At one point, she was about to scarf down a piece when her dad asked, "Jazz, are you sure you don't want to take smaller bites?"
Though her mouth was open and about to receive the food, Jasmine took her dad's advice and proceeded to cut the piece in two. But just when she was about to eat again, Tony spoke up.
"Jasmine, I think you and I need to have a little talk."
"Huh?" Jasmine asked, her eyes widening slightly, "What about?"
"About how difficult things are getting between you and me," Tony replied.
If only you knew how difficult, Jasmine wanted to say. But she bit her tongue before the words could escape.
Her dad continued. "Lately I've been seeing a bit of a connection between that argument we had and what happened last night."
Jasmine swallowed silently, though she wasn't eating anything. Did he know? And was he trying to get the truth out of her? Whether the answer was yes or no, Jasmine still played it cool. "You don't say."
Tony nodded. "Did you see me on the news this morning? About how I was gonna go to the Xifeng Museum and, take care of some business?"
"Yeah," Jasmine nodded back, trying as hard as she could to keep any hint of nervousness out of her voice. She then anxiously awaited her dad's response, whatever it may be.
"Well, what would you say if I asked you to come along with me? You could see your old man like he used to be. What do you say?"
Jasmine instantly raised her eyebrows. She'd expected her dad to ask for the truth, which would have been a dead ringer since she never before had the nerve to lie to her parents. But this. Was her dad trying to trap her? No. Her dad wouldn't go so low as to publically humiliate her. He couldn't know. But now, she had to give an answer. If she said yes, then she would automatically make her already difficult plan much harder. If she said no, then she would immediately draw suspicion. Though her dad still hadn't figured out her secret, she knew he wasn't stupid.
After thinking it over thoroughly but quickly, Jasmine nodded. "Yeah. I guess that'd be cool."
"Alright!" Tony held up his hand, indicating that he wanted to do a high-five. Jasmine forced both a smile and her hand to his.
"I hope you have something nice to wear," he then said.
"Why?" Jasmine asked, "Is this another party?"
"Something like that. The two coincidentally planned their galas beside the other. I don't usually go to one of these twice a month let alone a week, but if it's this important, I'll be willing to make an exception."
He then crossed his arms and set his elbows on the table. "I can't wait to see her face when we catch her and unmask her."
Jasmine raised her eyebrows slightly at her dad's determination, and hesitated to bite her lip again. Yeah, and it's gonna be my face unless I can prevent it.
As if her dad's determination was contagious, Jasmine began to feel the same. If her father wanted a showdown, she'd give him one – though hopefully without having to fight him. If he was so set on catching her, she'd be just as set, if not more so, on eluding him again. The people needed her, Loki had to be stopped. She had passed the point of no return.
The moment her dad dropped her off, she walked up to her room and continued where she left off in planning her next heist. She had at least seven hours to make it even more fool-proof now that she was going to be there at the same time with her dad. She knew he and the police would be smart about what they'd do, but she had to be even smarter. She looked over digital maps of the building and the vents and soon had a planned course of action, from when she entered the building to when she exited it with the necklace, and then came back again without it. It wouldn't be easy, but Jasmine had no intention of backing down.
At eight-thirty that evening, she was ready. Ready for the gala, and for the heist. She was looking at her reflection in her mirror, making sure she looked perfect. She had chosen a long, short-sleeved, red Chinese dress her mom had given her last year for her birthday. Luckily, it still fit her, and looked appropriate for the occasion. She wore a red scarf around her elbows and red open-toed heels. Her face was made-up and her hair was done with an artificial red flower on the left. She also had a medium-sized golden colored purse she was going to take with her. It was another one of her mom's birthday presents, and Pepper revealed, just between her and Jasmine, that there was a false bottom inside.
She'd had a busy day, but it wasn't over. However, she was ready.
At the call of her name, Jasmine grabbed her purse and hurried downstairs. Her dad was waiting – in his black tux – for her. Once he saw her, he smiled, and held his arm out.
"Shall we depart my dear?" he asked.
Jasmine smiled back and slipped her arm in his, saying, "I'd be delighted good sir."
They then walked out together, got into the car, and drove off into the city, both anticipating what the night would bring for each of them. After about half an hour they came to Chinatown, where Jasmine had been a few times before. But tonight it looked especially grand. Lit lanterns were hung between buildings, stands selling all sorts of different things from Chinese clothes to food lined the streets, shops and restaurants both large and small were seen, and at one spot, Jasmine saw a musician at the side playing the gu zheng and even briefly heard the melody. No matter how many times she came her, it was always beautiful.
After a while, they soon pulled up in front of the Xifeng Museum, where six police cruisers were parked. A row of both security guards and policemen lined the front entrance. Jasmine only let out a small huff of a sigh. This was going to be a rough night indeed.
"Man, you're all really upping your game," she said as she and Tony got out of the car, "But is all this really necessary?"
"It takes one mastermind to catch another Jazz," Tony replied. He offered his arm again and Jasmine took it. Together they walked over to the base of the stairs, and the police cars. Jasmine felt so nervous going past them she found herself almost skipping every two steps.
"So you really think you're gonna catch her?" she asked her dad, "I mean, no offense but, you're not exactly as young as you used to be."
"Oh like that's gonna stop me," Tony smiled mischievously, "Believe me, she'll never see it coming."
Oh believe me, I already have, Jasmine thought as they traveled up the steps.
Once they reached the top of the stairs, Jasmine and Tony were met by two security guards. But before they could go in, Jasmine was stopped by one of them.
"Excuse me ma'am but I need to search your purse," he said.
Jasmine raised her eyebrows, but she took her purse off her shoulder, and held it open in front of him. The guard took his flashlight and looked inside, Jasmine giving only the smallest hint of a smile, hoping inside that he wouldn't discover the false bottom. But soon, after seeing that the only thing in her purse was her cellphone, the guard turned his flashlight off and nodded. "You're clear."
Jasmine nodded back. "Thank you."
She and her dad then walked inside, and came upon a scene very similar to the one Jasmine had seen the night before. This foyer was slightly smaller than the other one, but she still saw dozens of men and women – many of whom looked Asian – walking around in their tuxedoes and dresses. Some of the women were even carrying fans. The whole room seemed to be a swirl of colors, from lavender to teal, gold to blue, purple to magenta, and so on.
Not long after they entered, Jasmine and Tony were approached by a concerned, older-looking Asian man. He held out his hand to Tony, who immediately shook it.
"Mr. Stark," the man said, "thank you so much for taking the time to lend us a hand."
"Pleasure's all mine," Tony replied, "Catching criminals is no small matter."
The man nodded. "And who may I ask is this lovely young lady?"
"Oh, this is my daughter Jasmine," Tony replied, "Jasmine, this is Mr. Wei. He's one of the museum's top officials."
Wei held his hand out, and Jasmine took it. "Nice to meet you Sir," she smiled.
"And you," Wei smiled back, "I suppose you've come to see your father in action?"
"Pretty much," Jasmine replied.
"Well I can assure you you're in for a real treat."
Jasmine nodded, when suddenly her eyes caught the dessert buffet at one corner of the room. "Speaking of treats…" She then excused herself and walked over to the buffet, hoping to get at least some relaxation before the time came to take the necklace.
For the next half hour or so, Jasmine did her best to try and remain calm. Since she didn't know anybody, she stayed by her dad most of the time, pretending to be interested in the conversations he was having when all she could really think about was the heist.
At one point, Jasmine pulled out her phone and opened it to see what time it was. When she saw it, her heart instantly began to race: nine-thirty-five p.m. Her dad was expecting her in just twenty-five minutes. Despite the heavy weight of nervousness that fell onto her shoulders, Jasmine knew that now was the time to put her grand plan into action.
She walked quickly over to her dad, who was speaking with Wei and immediately noticed her.
"Yes Jazz?"
"Dad, I hope you don't mind but, I need to use the 'you know what'," she said, pointing with her thumb to the hall behind them.
"Oh, yeah," her dad said when he realized what she meant, "Go on ahead."
Jasmine nodded, "Thanks," and then went on her way. But right when she was about to turn to go down the hall, she looked back briefly at her dad, and let out a short but exasperated sigh before continuing. Can't turn back now.
She headed down a long hallway and soon found the women's room. She took the card that said "occupied" on it, and put it over the handle before walking inside, closing the door, and locking it. It was a solitary room, and for that she was grateful. But then, she stopped to take a deep breath – knowing that once she started this, there was no going back – before proceeding with her complicated but carefully thought out plan.
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