You know what to do--read, review...thank you to all of those who have! You will all be handsomely rewarded in the near future chapters...
Chapter 11: Revelations
Richard stepped away from the couple at the bar. Walking out of earshot and towards the waterfront, he flipped open his cell phone.
"What do you want?" He barked into the receiver.
The voice on the other end of the phone immediately began talking. "Right, Um…sir, Stark has left the house…I think he is somewhere near you." The voice informed.
"No shit. He's standing right here, talking to my date." Richard turned his eyes back to Stark and Pepper still at the bar. They seemed to be having a hushed conversation.
"Oh. Ok. What do you want us to do?" The voice asked nervously. Richard's patience grew thin.
"Just do what I pay you for, you idiot! Follow him and inform me only when he makes a move indicating the use of his armor—or if there is information regarding activity near the shipping warehouses."Richard heaved a sigh.
"And the girl?" The voice questioned.
Richards' lips curved into a dangerous smile. "I will take care of that matter myself. Just do what I ask, and we will all be handsomely rewarded in the near future." Not waiting for a response, he snapped the cell phone closed and headed back up the walkway to the bar.
The mustached host saw him approaching and informed him his table for two was indeed ready. Making his way back to his date, he caught the tail end of their conversation and was surprised to catch them in a rather intimate gaze.
"AHEM" He warned his approach. "Sorry I took so long…"He apologized, his eyes settling on Tony's hand which was currently wrapped around Pepper's wrist. Stark carefully released his hold on her and, clearing his throat, moved to stand up straight. He observed them for a moment, noticing that they both seemed a bit flustered.
Interesting…he thought, logging away his observation.
He picked up Pepper's wrap and her purse. "I think our table is ready." He said, motioning to where the waiter stood.
"Right…ok."She murmured, standing up. Pepper's skin seemed to have taken on a much rosier tone to it, as if she had been in the sun all afternoon.
Stark mumbled something about someone named…Jarvis, and Richard thought to remind himself to do a check on that name later. He then placed his hand on the small of Pepper's back, and led her away from her boss.
888888888888888888888888888888
The evening progressed without further incident or any other interruptions. For the most part, the evening was quite enjoyable. Dinner was delicious, the music was entertaining, and the conversation was kept light. The spotlight of the evening had pretty much stayed focused on Pepper; a few stories of her youth, her favorite vacation spots, and a very quick summary of her time spent at Stark Industries. Of course, the events of the past year had been edited down quite a bit, but upon a curious question by Richard, Pepper did tell him about the increased need for security both at the house and at the main compound.
The restaurant had started to clear out, and the once warm night developed a cool breeze, requiring Pepper to use her wrap. Finished with dinner, and with the time fast approaching midnight, both Richard and Pepper agreed that should probably call it a night.
"I really am sorry," Pepper said disappointedly, "but I do have some…business to take care of early tomorrow morning."
"Stark makes you work on the weekends too?" Richard replied, pretending to act shocked. "That's just too unfortunate. It sounds to me like you need a vacation."
Pepper waved her hand in the air dismissively. "No, no. It's my own fault, really. I'm the one who said yes…besides, I really didn't have much going on this weekend." Her lashes lowered to the napkin twisting in her hands. The printed pattern on it suddenly becoming far more interesting than it should be. Richard reached his hand across the table and settled it over hers. Pepper glanced up to meet his eyes.
"Well, if it were up to me, you wouldn't be working for Stark, and I would be taking you somewhere far more interesting than a stuffy office and a computer chair." His lips curled up into a devious smile as he leaned closer to her. Pepper felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. A polite smile graced her lips and she felt her head swoon as a result of his obvious attraction to her and also because of the effect of the two martinis she had consumed that evening.
Although she felt flattered by his obvious overture to whisk her away for what might be a romantic getaway, she felt a bit uneasy…It was something about the way he said it that made her re-think his intentions. His looked sincere, but there was bluntness in the tone of his voice that made her stop and digest his words.
Years of working for a man like Tony Stark, whose interests and business ventures were always at risk of being stolen or exposed prematurely, had given Pepper Potts an almost sixth sense when it came to sniffing out people who were scheming or less than truthful with her or her boss. Not only that, but she also had plenty of experience in the realm of stopping tricky reporters from sneaking their way onto Tony's property and into private events. Not that she had any reason to distrust Richard; it was just in her nature to be skeptical--A quality that she had often disliked about herself.
Perhaps it was his mentioning of 'if she wasn't working for Stark' that made her pause. A flash of irritation hit her by him implying that she might be less than thrilled with her job.
She shook her head, clearing it of the nonsense that had seeped its way in, and replied, "Well, as nice as that sounds…it still doesn't change the fact that I still do have to work." She said, sliding her hands out from under his.
Following her lead, Richard stood and moved beside her to pull out her chair. "Why, thank you." Pepper said kindly. "Actually, I'm going to use the ladies room before we leave, would you mind watching my things?"
Richard smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "Of course not." Taking her purse and her wrap from her, he watched as she walked towards the restroom. As soon as she was out of sight, he snapped open the clip to her purse and began rifling through its contents.
Lipstick, wallet, keys, gum…Blackberry.
Snatching up the smart phone, Richard quickly removed the casing that covered the battery. He then reached into his pocket and removed a small electronic device and slid it neatly into the back of the phone. He quickly replaced the backing, put the phone back in her purse, and closed the clip, just as Pepper rounded the corner.
"All set?" He asked, smiling innocently and offering his arm.
"Sure am." She replied, looping her arm around his.
8888888888888888888888888888888
Arriving back her apartment, Richard slid his car into an empty space directly in front of her building. He rounded the back of his car and opened the door for Pepper.
"Well, I had a very nice time tonight." Richard said as they approached the front doors to the complex. Feeling rather confident, he reached forward and caught her hands and held them between them.
Pepper came to a standstill and nervously nodded her agreement. "Yes. It was a very nice dinner. Thank you so much for keeping my mind off of work for a few hours." She responded courteously, allowing a small laugh to escape.
Richards' hold on her hands grew somewhat insistent, and she felt herself being tugged in his direction. Knowing that he was leaning in for a kiss, Pepper felt conflicted about whether or not she wanted it, and at the last second--she turned her head and felt his lips make contact with her cheek. She smiled shyly as he pulled back, disappointment evident on his face.
Richard released her hands. "Well, I will definitely be seeing you again, Pepper." He spoke softly and clearly, his eyes sparkling. "Goodnight." And with that, he turned and walked back to his car.
Pepper let out the breath she had been holding. Relief washed over her as she fished her keys out of her purse. Making her way into her apartment, she tossed her belongings onto the coffee table and flopped onto her couch. She slapped her hand onto her forehead and sighed noisily. "What the hell is wrong with me?!" She said out loud. "He seems like a perfectly nice guy…" She continued talking to no one, trying to convince herself that she was crazy to not kiss him.
"Argh!" She smacked the cushions with her fists several times, trying to relieve her frustration, then settled down quietly into the softness of the couch.
Minutes passed and she was almost at the point of falling asleep when the grandfather clock in her hallway chimed. 12:30am…
Pulling herself out of her comfortable cushions, she descended the hallway to her bedroom, aching for a good night's sleep. She changed quickly, brushed her teeth, and set her alarm for 7am. Not even bothering to remove her make-up, she yanked back the covers to her bed and climbed in.
A restless sleep overcame her that evening. In her mind, thoughts of warm summer evenings, moonlit dinners, and sharing passionate embraces with a mysterious figure, all illuminated her dreams. When she awoke the next morning with her legs tangled in her sheets, a sheen of sweat over her brow, and a familiar warmth spread throughout the lower half of her body, she wasted no time in heading straight for a hot shower.
888888888888888888888888888888888
3:57pm
The morning had come and gone, and now the day was threatening to disappear before Pepper even had a chance to go outside and enjoy the beautiful sunshine on this perfect Saturday afternoon. Finally done with distributing all of the necessary paperwork needed to make it seem like a large shipment of military hardware would be leaving from DOCK 12 next Friday, Pepper picked up her cell phone and dialed a familiar number.
"Rhodes here."
"Hi Rhodey, it's Pepper." She replied, the fatigue clearly apparent in her voice.
"Hey there Pepper, what can I do for you?" He said, then added, "You doin' alright? You sound exhausted."
Pepper heaved a sigh. "Oh, yeah…I'm fine." Pepper rubbed her eyes with her free hand and leaned back in her chair. "I just wanted to touch base with you about the operation."
Outside of Pepper's apartment
"Sir, we have contact." One of the henchmen informed his superior, removing his headset and handing it over to him.
Snatching it out of his hand, he put it on and leaned over the console, turning up the volume.
Rhodes cleared his throat. "Alright, shoot."
"Well, all shipping manifests have been duplicated and sent out to all the normal locations. I informed Dock security that there will be activity at Dock 12 on Friday evening around 11pm, and the weapons depot in Northern California agreed that they will show in their documents that they received the shipment--by boat—Saturday afternoon." She shifted some paperwork around in front of her, then continued,
"I even typed up a press release and a statement for you or Mr. Stark to read, come Monday morning when wind of a sudden impending weapons shipment from Stark Industries spreads across the board." Pepper informed him.
Rhodes moaned into the phone. "Ahh…yeah, well I'm not looking forward to that. But in the end it will all be worth it."
Pepper sighed. "I hope so. Well, that's all--" She was ready to finish the conversation when,
"Hey, when was the last time you spoke to Tony?" Rhodes interrupted.
Pepper blinked a few times, caught off guard by his question. Then, recovering, "Um, yesterday I suppose…why?" She asked, thoughts of her and Stark's last exchange entering her mind. She waited anxiously for Rhodes to get on with his question.
"Ah, no reason really. I went over to the house to speak to him this morning, and found him huddled over his desk in the shop. He barely spoke two words to me, and his music was so loud, I'm pretty sure I lost hearing in my left ear." He snorted into the phone, sounding irritated. "Just thought you might know why he's acting all…juvenile."
Pepper hesitated, and began absently playing with the hem of her shirt. "No, Rhodey…sorry. I have no idea. But you know the way he gets when he is obsessing over something. He won't stop till he works it out…" She said, and then suddenly realized the underlying meaning of her words. Her eyes flew up in alarm, and her mouth slid open—she was grateful this was just a phone conversation, because if Rhodey had seen the look on her face, she's sure he would have thought there was something wrong with her.
What is he obsessing over? She wondered. All other thoughts of paperwork, shipping manifests and secret operations, a distant memory.
"Anyways, gotta go. I'll chat with you again on Thursday, alright?" Rhodes asked.
Pepper's mouth continued to hang open and she was staring off into space. She barely registered Rhodey's goodbye and mumbled into the phone. "Uh huh." Then the phone beeped, indicating he had hung up.
88888888888888888888888888888888
…Back outside the apartment
"I thought Stark was done making weapons?" Henchman One asked, clearly confused.
His boss glared at him. "Well, it seems there might be one last big score. Inform my brother. We move Friday night. Get a team together. I will be leading this one, no more screw-ups like the last time." He growled at the man in front of him, the other two men in the van glanced at each other nervously.
Removing the headset, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the exit of the surveillance van.
"Uh…Sir?" The man called him back.
His boss swung around, waiting impatiently for him to continue. "WHAT?"
"D-d-...do you still want us t-t-to follow the girl?" He stuttered.
"As my brother said before, he will keep an eye on her. Concentrate all your efforts on Stark and watching that warehouse." Not waiting for his men to respond, Vincent Case, exited the van and made his way to the black sedan at the end of the street.
Opening the door, he slid quickly into the leather passenger seat. "I really don't know where you find these guys. Back in the day, the men we got were top-notch former military." He gestured back towards the van. "These guys are morons."
The man sitting next to him took a long drag on his cigarette. The puff of smoke he blew out swirled devilishly around his face. "Relax, brother. They are muscle, and they work for peanuts."
Still tense, Vincent clutched at the door handle and gritted his teeth. "So, you heard? Stark has a shipment leaving Friday from the docks. I'll take point on this one." He looked at the man to his left.
"Just make sure you take all the necessary precautions." He told his brother, the soft click of a cigarette lighter opening emanating from his right hand.
"Oh, don't you worry, I will. This one will be big. And the best part," he smiled wickedly, "we get to do it right under Stark's nose."
His brother glanced over at him and smirked. "That's right. And I might have even found a way to really make him pay for killing our business." He said, his smirk widening to a grin, then a snap of the lighter shutting.
"The girl?" Vincent asked.
Richard smiled back at him. "Yeah." Another inhale of smoke. "The girl." He answered back, exhaling…another curl of smoke escaping his lips.
88888888888888888888888888888888888888
Ch. 12, very soon.