A/N: There will be some perspective switching in this chapter—I hope it doesn't get too confusing…Enjoy though!

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Previously… 'Then, at fifteen minutes past 2:00am, the unmistakable sound of a motor boat and several jet skis split the silence that had enveloped the night.'

Chapter 15: No Turning Back

Rhodes

Rhodes' earpiece buzzed to life. "Sir, we have incoming." The voice said. Rhodes tightened his grip on the butt of his gun.

Bringing the other hand up to his collar, he pressed a button allowing him to respond, "Alright people look alive. Team One, you're on point. When I give the go ahead, move in…everyone else, follow their lead. Let's keep this quick and clean, just like we've practiced."

He dropped his hand back down to his machine gun and pressed the latch to release the safety. As the suspects drew nearer, Rhodes felt his body tense, and his mind begin to shift into a sharp, military-enhanced instrument. Years of training and a passion for winning have contributed to Rhodes' stellar performance as a soldier. Tonight, as he sat perched on the edge of a metal beam high above the floor of the warehouse, he was ready to add another successful mission to his military career.

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Iron Man

Stark watched anxiously as the boat and the jet skis approached. He had re-engaged his helmet to better see the incoming thieves, and his mind raced as he noticed that they were heavily armed. His confidence in Rhodey has always been at an all-time high, but he couldn't escape the nerves that had begun to creep under his skin. His mind suddenly flashed to Pepper and her question earlier today…'Do you ever get nervous?' she had asked him. He thought how ironic it was that now, as he sat on the rooftop of one of his own buildings, watching an impending robbery of one of his warehouses, his nerves had decided to increase ten-fold. Whereas if he were on any other mission, away from his own property and his city—it would be his adrenaline increasing, not his nerves.

He shook his head, clearing all thoughts unrelated to the mission at hand, took a deep breath, and powered up all systems. As soon as these thieves gave him a reason, he would be down there in an instant making them regret ever stepping foot onto his property.

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Vincent

Vincent Case directed the motorboat that was headed straight to the waterfront entrance of Dock 12. His own mind was focused on his plan of attack and he smiled wickedly at the thought of breaking open the crates of his latest score. Well aware of the fact that the security systems would be taken out momentarily, he knew that the only thing that stood in his way now, was two large hangar doors on the backside of the building.

He pulled back the throttle of his boat, and raised his radio, "Jackson, you and Percy have the security taken care of?"

Three blocks down from the Dock 12 warehouse, two henchmen ran from the electrical box that powered all electrical systems for the waterfront warehouses. The bodies of three unconscious security guards lay motionless next to the Ferry Building. Reaching their truck, they jumped inside and started the engine, racing away. "Yessir!" Jackson replied, his fingers dancing over a remote detonator. He wasted no more time and pressed the small red button.

A small explosion lit up the night much like a bonfire on a deserted beach would. The street lamps and all other exterior lighting flickered twice, then went out.

Moving quickly, Vincent maneuvered his boat right up to the doors of the Dock 12 building. Two more of his men stood to attach several explosive devices to the door and the locking system. He propelled his boat backwards a few feet, then nodded his signal to the man next to him. Three loud pops echoed along the harbor, causing the seals to trumpet and dive back into the dark water. The doors to Dock 12 swung open freely, and Vincent increased his power and moved straight into the docking station inside of the large warehouse.

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Rhodes

Rhodes blinked several times trying to focus on the men entering the warehouse. One of the first tactical procedures to a successful surprise attack was always know how many men you're dealing with; and what kind of firepower they've got. His eyes travelled to the boat first. He counted three men occupying the space of the small military-style watercraft. There also seemed to be a large machine gun mounted on the back end of the boat. All three men carried weapons, and Rhodes had no doubt that they knew how to use them effectively. Then, three more intruders entered from behind the boat riding high-powered jet skis, and all carrying semi-automatic weapons.

Six men, he verified to himself. Six men with enough firepower to cause some serious damage. Rhodes paused, Wait, six? That's it? How in the hell are six men gonna transport a dozen crates of heavy weaponry? And on one boat and some jet skis? There was definitely a piece missing from this puzzle, and it made Rhodes extremely uneasy.

He reached for the button to his radio. "Everyone hold positions. Let's just see what they're planning." He whispered.

His mind assessed the odds of success on this mission. Currently, he had a total of fifteen soldiers—all ready to execute their planned assault on the suspects at hand. Six thugs against fifteen highly trained military soldiers? Not a problem. He had complete faith in his team to ensure this mission to be a complete success.

Moments after his mental reassurance, his radio crackled in his ear. "Sir, we have incoming from the front entrance. Two large storage trucks approaching."

Rhodes felt the panic begin to rise in his chest. "Visual? How many bodies?" He questioned quietly.

There was a moment of silence, then, "Looks like two—just the drivers."

Rhodes exhaled. From six to eight men. That was still ok. This operation was still a win.

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Vincent

Vincent secured his boat to the anchor at the edge of the platform and then surveyed his surroundings. The warehouse was about the length of a football field and the water space inside was large enough for a military boat—or Stark's personal yacht on several occasions. Thanks to his men, everything except some faint emergency lighting was out in the building. He switched on the LED light at the tip of his gun and swept it across the darkness.

The small light only served to expose a fraction of the massive warehouse, and as he swept it around, he saw a few massive shipping containers—similar to those seen on boats sent overseas—and a lot of empty space. But as he brought the light to his right, he was pleased to see about a dozen crates stacked two high, and covered with a green military tarp. His pulse increased as his eyes travelled over the boxes. He signaled for the two men in his boat to follow him, and then told the men on the jet skis to cover the remaining expanse of the warehouse to look for any additional weaponry.

As he drew closer to the crates, he took notice that they were indeed larger than they looked. He pulled the radio from the clip on his belt and pressed the button. "Jackson, you copy?"

"Yes sir?" The radio crackled in response.

"Where are you? We're gonna need the trucks and some more hands to move the package."

"We're at the front entrance."

Vincent turned to the two henchmen on his right and pointed at the smaller one. "You. Get the doors open." He barked.

The man nodded his understanding and immediately ran to the large doors that guarded the front entrance. Moments later, the sound from a small explosion was bouncing off of the walls and the formally secured doors were now freely swinging open.

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Iron Man

OK, that was three times. Three explosions, and still no signal from Rhodes. Stark was really starting to get antsy, and it showed. Sweat beaded at his forehead despite the cool air that circulated through his helmet.

"Jarvis, tell me to wait. Calm down. Something. Cause I'm about to bust a nut here waiting for Rhodey." Stark stood up tall, his iron hands balled into fists.

"Sir, you said yourself that you trust Colonel Rhodes better than most men. I suggest you continue doing so." Jarvis replied in a calm, reasoning tone.

"Yeah. OK. You're right." He nodded his head. Of course he trusted Rhodey. They had worked together for countless years and the man was the probably the only man in the world Stark trusted with his life. He also knew that he would call for him at the first sign of trouble.

But Stark knew himself too. And Tony Stark was a rather impatient man when it came to certain things.

"I'll give him three more minutes." He said aloud.

Jarvis sighed.

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Vincent

The rumblings of the two large storage trucks filled the warehouse as their drivers positioned them inside. Their engines revved and growled as the acrid smell of their exhaust was pumped into the air. The hiss of air breaks signaled their stop, and the men in the driver's seat jumped out of the cabs and moved to the back doors of their trucks.

Latched clicked and clanged and the rolling thunder of the rear doors revealed the contents of the trucks.

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Rhodes

Rhodes watched restlessly as the two trucks entered the building. The drivers had expertly backed them into position near the pile of crates just below him.

The moment was soon. He would give the signal to his team to move in to disarm and apprehend the suspects as they were busy loading the baited containers. The sound of the rear doors of the trucks hit his ears and his hand reached up to depress the button to signal the 'go ahead'. But just as his mouth opened to speak, he froze in horror.

From the inside of each of the big rigs came tumbling out a dozen more heavily armed men clad in military-style gear and weaponry.

Rhodes was frozen on the spot. His mind raced to count the newly increased force of armed men he was about to face.

Twenty eight.

Rhodes mouth went dry and he felt his pulse pounding in his neck. This was not good. He glanced up to the three men next to him in the rafters. He brought his right hand up to his neck and made a cut-off motion several times; signaling a 'no-go'. There was no way he was going to endanger the safety of his men for a bunch of crates filled with bricks. He would wait until they left, then call for back-up and re-acquire them as they made their escape on the waterfront and on the roads.

Rhodes attached his machine gun to his vest, securing it so it doesn't fall, and then positioned himself to wait out the suspects below. Following his lead, the men next to him did the same.

The sound of metal on metal made Rhodes flinch and he immediately looked back at his men. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a glimmer of light reflecting off the blade of a knife as it quickly descended to the ground below.

Rhodes sucked in a breath and began to pray.

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Vincent

With three crates successfully loaded and secured in the first truck, Vincent was pleased and confident that he would be finished earlier than he had anticipated.

He moved to the next crate stamped with the Stark Industries logo."Alright, let's go, let's go! This one next!" He yelled.

Four men came to the crate and positioned themselves around it. "Alright, on three! One! Two! Thre--" His voice was suddenly cut off as an object suddenly appeared and embedded itself into the wood of the crate, inches from his head. His mouth hung open in shock as he stared at the military knife in front of him. The men surrounding the crate had frozen in place as well and watched their boss look up.

"FUCK…IT'S A TRAP!! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" He bellowed, dropping his hands from the crate and reaching for his weapon.

The men near him all scattered and flew to their own weapons they had placed aside. The unmistakable sounds of gunfire split the silence that had previously occupied the space, and it wasn't long until everyone was drawn into the battle.

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Everyone

Acting fast, Rhodes pinched the radio at his collar and screamed, "ALL TEAMS, MOVE IN! MOVE IN!"

As soon as both hands were free, he rolled his body behind the protection of the metal beam he was lying on just as the metallic ping of bullets came in contact with it. With all of their attention and guns trained on them, the suspects had Rhodes and the three soldiers with him effectively trapped in the rafters high above the floor of the warehouse.

Vincent pointed his machine gun at the ceiling of the building and fired freely. The vibrations of the weapon in his hands caused his fingers to go numb, and he gritted his teeth as the sound of several other guns firing made his ears ring.

"We need to move out! Back to the boat!" He began moving towards his own boat, and signaled for his men to retreat.

Suddenly, the side doors of the building flew open and several military men came rushing through shouting for them to put down their weapons and throw up their hands. Unfortunately, Vincent and his team had other ideas. He and his men immediately hid themselves behind the shipping containers, their trucks, and the remaining crates. The exchange of gunfire began soon after.

Rhodes clutched at the rope attached to his harness and then signaled for his men to prepare to descend. "NOW!" He shouted and then flipped his body over the edge of the beam and slid down the length of the rope in his grasp. As he quickly approached the ground, he moved one hand to his own gun and began firing at the nearest enemy targets. He was satisfied when three men below him took a hit and he landed in their recently occupied spot. The men repelling with him landed safely as well and joined in the gun battle.

Rhodes quickly ducked behind the nearest wooden crate and placed a fresh clip into the handle of his machine gun.

Suddenly, a large man came from his left; his arm and fist in full swing, ready to smash his face in. Rhodes' instincts took over and he quickly ducked out of the way just in time to see the man's fist hit the wood of the crate. He grunted in pain and waved his injured hand in the air. Rhodes took the opportunity to smash the barrel of his gun over the top of his head, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Rhodes ran to the side of one of the trucks and hid behind the large wheel. From this vantage point, he was able to see the entire warehouse. He saw groups of men huddled behind crates on his left and storage containers on his right.

He lifted his head and saw on the other side of the building that his own men were pinned down by the gunfire and were unable to advance any further. The only good thing about their position was that there were blocking the escape route from the water's standpoint.

Rhodes pulled out his radio and switched to his secure channel. "Alright! What the hell you waitin' for? An invitation?! Get your ass over here!" He screamed into his mic.

A short pause. "…'bout damn time!" The voice replied.

Vincent hid safely behind a large blue storage container. He had four his men on his right and three on his left; both sets eagerly emptying their guns at the soldiers in front of them. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" He growled out loud. This was not the way this was supposed to go down, he thought bitterly. Richard is going to be pissed.

The sound of footsteps on metal drew his attention upwards and he saw three soldiers on top of the metal bins behind him. He instantly drew two pistols from their holsters and began firing at the men. His own sharpshooting abilities and training allowed him to quickly and efficiently take out the soldiers, and he smiled wickedly to himself as their bodies dropped lifelessly.

He moved to one of his men. "We need to get the HELL out of here! We need to get to the boat!" he shouted.

The man nodded his agreement. "Right! We outnumber them! If we keep advancing, we can take them all out, and make our escape on the water!"

Vincent motioned for the men to spread out and move forward.

Rhodes had since made his way along the perimeter of the warehouse, taking out at least six men on his own along the way. He had also watched, horrified, as Vincent case took out three of his men and then begin to move towards the waterfront. He set his jaw and followed close behind.

Vincent stayed behind his men as they pushed onward. They knew that they were in the clear as they realized there were only about eleven soldiers left versus their twenty-something team. He held his position at the edge of one of the storage bins as the six men with him moved forward. He grinned as he watched his men continue their endless assault on the remaining soldiers. The soldiers hid behind various boxes and crates to protect themselves from the barrage of bullets. Escape was certain.

Suddenly he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he spun around to see a gun pointed directly at him.

"Don't even breathe hard. Hands up." The man said to him, his eyes and his gun trained on him. Vincent slowly brought his hands up.

Rhodes recognized him from his photos, and knew that Vincent Case was a highly trained combat soldier. Rhodes was not about to take any chances with this guy. "On your knees!" He shouted.

With his entire focus on the man in front of him, he only barely registered the voice of one of Case's men shouting, "Grenade!" Then, as the blast of an explosion on his right blinded him momentarily, he felt his body being slammed into the cold metal of the container behind him.

His machine gun slid along the concrete and out of his grasp, and he was about to reach for his knife just as Vincent's fist connected with his jaw. Rhodes shifted into combat mode and ducked as Vincent's second fist came around on his right for a hook.

With Vincent's momentum carrying past his head, Rhodes' lifted his knee and flung it into his abdomen, effectively knocking the air from his lungs. He doubled over and Rhodes wasted no time in bringing his own fist down across the left side of Vincent's face.

But Vincent recovered quickly and rolled out of the way just as Rhodes' foot came down to stomp on his back. He swung his own leg around in swept it under Rhodes, sending him off balance and toppling to the floor. Vincent pulled one of his pistols out quickly and aimed it at Rhodes' head.

"Nice try, asshole." Vincent snarled, smirking at the fallen man in front of him. His finger began to depress the trigger and Rhodes held his breath.

All of a sudden, a bright blue blast of energy came from the sky and Vincent Case was propelled backwards and his body was slammed harshly into the concrete wall of the warehouse.

The attention of everyone in the warehouse was now focused on the red and gold figure hovering above them. Rhodes breathed a sigh of relief and shouted up to his friend. "…Cutting it a bit close, huh?!"

Tony smirked from inside the suit. "Well, you know how I like to make an entrance!" He shouted back, the sound of his voice startling Case's men out of their instilled shock. The wave of gunfire began again, but this time it was trained on the flying form of Iron Man above their heads.

Stark powered up his boosters and maneuvered himself in position with the pinned down soldiers. He landed behind them and quickly instructed them to break up and move in to attack as he would cover them.

Lifting himself into the air once more, he quickly shot to the ceiling of the warehouse and then just as quickly propelled himself straight back down, heading for a group of terrified men. Case's men raised their guns and emptied their clips at the figure racing towards them.

Iron Man raised his right hand up and faced his palm towards them. A beam of light shot out of the flight stabilizer and the group of men were strewn about as it hit the ground in front of them. All six of them were knocked unconscious and three soldiers moved to secure their weapons and bind their hands.

On the other side of the warehouse, another group of men had successfully made it to the boat. One man powered up the powerful machine gun on the rear of the boat and took aim at his enemy.

Iron Man hovered at the edge of the water, his attention focused on a group trying to escape on the jet skis.

"Jarvis, small arms—missiles." He instructed. A small flap on both of his shoulders opened and a miniature set of missiles emerged from the opening. Six lines of smoke trailed the path of the tiny missiles as they blew up the jet skis in the water; sending the men attempting to board them into the cold water.

The sound of heavy artillery filled the warehouse as the machine gun came to life, sending hundreds of bullets in Iron Man's direction. The rapid pinging of metal on iron caused Iron Man to flutter in the air. His arm came up instinctively to cover his face, and he then he angled his legs to take him out of the path of the bullets.

Taking aim once more, the man on the boat followed Iron Man's path as he flew close along the ground. He swept the path of the gun across the warehouse, following his target—never realizing that in the process of doing so, he also managed to take out three of his own men, blow up one of the storage trucks, and pierce a hole in his own boat.

The barrel of the machine gun glowed hot red as it came to a halt, the clicking sounds of an empty chamber echoing in the ears of the man controlling it. He glanced around nervously, his breath coming in rapid bursts. The suddenly quiet warehouse made him aware of the fact that all of the other members of his team were out of commission.

He turned a full turn when suddenly Iron Man filled his vision. He reached for the gun at his hip but Iron Man moved swiftly. Swooping down quickly, he grabbed hold of the vest he wore and, ignoring his screams in the process; he blasted the jets on his boots and drew higher into the air. Then, when he was over the soldiers and their detained suspects, he let the man in his grasp go—allowing him to land unceremoniously on top of a wooden crate, and effectively knocking him out.

Rhodes kicked an empty helmet across the floor of the warehouse. "Shit!" He cursed. Three men killed, and six injured. He was definitely not pleased with the outcome of this mission.

He walked over to where Stark had landed and stood next to him. They watched as the back-up team carted the captured men into the military trucks headed for jail.

"We got all of them, right?" Stark questioned, his synthesized voice ringing out softly.

Rhodes sighed. "Well, out of the twenty-eight men, seven were killed in the crossfire. But, thanks to you, we were able to nab the other twenty. Which leaves one unaccounted for." He huffed.

"Case." Stark grumbled.

"Yeah. After you knocked him out, we both focused on the other guys—I guess he woke up and took off amidst the chaos." Rhodes explained. "Anyways…you'd better get outa here. I don't want to have to answer any questions about the guy in the iron suit when the press gets here."

Stark nodded, then, initializing his boosters, he ascends into the night sky and shoots off like a rocket into the night.

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Two hours later, across town

Vincent Case stumbled as he crossed the threshold of the private residence. His head was pounding and he was bleeding from a gash near his temple; his right arm hung unnaturally at his side.

His struggled to keep his eyes focused as the world spun around him. He reached the door of the house and he lifted his left hand to pound on it.

Moments later, the door flung open and Vincent fell forward into the arms of his brother.

"What the hell happened?!" Richard seethed, catching his brother under the arms.

Vincent grunted, and struggled to remain upright. "It was an ambush. A trap. They were waiting for us." He yelled out in pain as his brother touched his dislocated shoulder. Richard dragged him over to the living room and dropped him in a chair.

Richard glared at his brother. "I can't believe this. How could you have been so stupid!?"

Vincent looked up. "ME? You're the one with a fucking chip on your shoulder! Just cause you hate Tony Stark—who, by the way, showed up and blasted me into a wall like a damn rag doll!"

Richard took hold of his brother's arm and pulled it viciously, snapping it back into place. Vincent screamed out in agony and slumped over in his chair, breathing heavily. Richard handed him a bottle of whiskey, which he promptly took a large guzzle from.

"Stark did this to you?" He asked, in an eerily calm tone.

Vincent swallowed and looked up at his brother, still panting from his exhaustion. "Yeah…" He replied, catching his brother's eyes. Darkness came over them, and his features turned evil.

"It's because of him that our business has plummeted into the sewers. It's because of him that we have forced to take drastic measures. And now—because of him, this defeat will make us the laughing stock of the crime syndicate." Richard began pacing slowly back and forth.

Vincent followed his movements. "So…now what?"

Richard stopped and looked at him; his hands clenched into fists and his lips curving up into a sinister smile. "Now we take the fight to his doorstep. Make him pay for ruining us."

Vincent shared his brother's smile. "If we do this…there's no turning back."

Richard nodded. "No turning back."

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AN: Longer than I thought it would be…but, hey…whatever. I just saw the HULK this weekend—pretty cool! I loved Stark at the end of course, and there were some sightings of the Stark Industries Logo in the movie—but I won't be a spoiler—just go see it!

New chapter soon! I hope…I will be bringing this to a close in the next 4? Chapters…sad when I think about it…but I do have a sequel in mind and some one-shots—but its too early to think about that now!!

Until next time people…read and comment!!