Tony settled back, getting as comfortable as he could in the helicopter. He hadn't decided yet if he loathed or loved the investigations that took him away from the ship. Getting there was a pain, and he didn't especially enjoy documenting drug runners' shoot-outs in the middle of the damn ocean, but at least it meant he could investigate without the ship's officious XO looking over his shoulder, sometimes literally.
Reaching into the side pocket of his backpack, he pulled out an e-book reader and powered it on.
The device had been a going-away gift from Ducky and Palmer. He'd been particularly touched that Palmer had offered him the reader that he'd ordered for himself, which had fortuitously arrived just hours before Vance had dropped his bombshell. The gremlin had just shrugged, blushing slightly, stammering out an explanation about being able to order a replacement easily enough. And Ducky had loaded it with the entire James Bond series and a couple of best-sellers, as well as an eclectic mix of classics from a website that offered free digitised copies of out-of-copyright books. Considering the limited luggage he'd been allowed to bring, it had been a thoughtful and much appreciated gift.
On a whim, he pulled up a Sherlock Holmes story. He didn't often read detective fiction – it was too much like work. But, as his eyes scanned the text, he heard the story in his mind, narrated in Ducky's soft accent, and was reminded of home.