A/N: I know I said I would have this up by the end of the weekend…but life got in the way and I fell asleep before I could finish it to my liking—besides…I'm not about to post something that I feel is just 'OK'—after all, you all deserve so much more than just 'ok'.
AND check out my flickr website…I posted a picture of our favorite baddie: Richard W W W . FLICKR . C O M/photos/27767431N05/
Thank you all in advance for your comments—and to all of the new folks I have heard from—keep reading and enjoying…the next few chapters will bring this all to a close—but in a way I will be extremely satisfied with…
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Previously…
'Tony holds her eyes for a moment more, praying she understood what he had meant by the whole movie reference--he was about to look away when he notices the corner of her mouth slide upwards; Her head nods the tiniest of movements, and she shifts her eyes down to the ground.
Tony grins, then directs his attention back to the wires in his hand. Holding them up and away from his face, and into the path of the robotic arm, he looks over to the henchmen and smiles fully.
"Alright, big guy… fire!"
Two attempted clicks later, a flicker of a flame emerges from the tip of the lighter…
…and then all hell breaks loose.'
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Chapter 17, Continued…Heart of the Matter, Part II
Tony closes his eyes moments before a sea of white foam and fire retardant is expelled from the tube of his favorite fire dummy. The pressurized spray is so strong and sudden that the man holding the lighter is thrown backwards and straight into the unsuspecting body of Vincent Case. The two bodies tumble backwards onto the floor of the workshop, with the continuous spray of white fog following their path.
Equally unexpected is the stab of pain in Richard's left foot as Pepper pierces the top of his shoe with her heel. His natural instinct to grab his injured limb sends him off balance and Pepper uses her own body weight to shove him straight in into a pile of boxes on their right.
The other two henchmen, now recovered from their shock at seeing the scene play out before them; begin firing their machine guns into the white haze blocking their vision. The sounds of gunfire and men shouting fill the air as Tony jumps into action.
Knowing he has no time to fully gear up in his armor, he decides to utilize an escape route instead.
"Jarvis! …Floor boards!"
His command is executed and immediately the sounds of clanking metal and gears shifting prelude the opening of a large hatch in the ground of the launching pad. "Lock it down once we're in!" He adds, reaching for a set of keys left behind from one of the fallen henchmen.
Moving quickly, Tony then grabs for Pepper's hands and pulls her hard into his chest. Their eyes lock as he pulls her to the ground and pushes her in the direction of the opening in the floor. The lights suddenly switch off, and Pepper freezes as soon as her body hits the floor; her arms automatically going up to cover her head from the fear of the gunfire. Tony throws himself behind her and the momentum of both of their bodies sends them rolling into the dark space. The hatch closes securely behind them, leaving Richard and his men alone in the workshop above.
The emergency lighting bathes the workshop in a soft red glow, and Richard, still lying in the pile of cardboard, blinks several times before he realizes that his eyes are not playing tricks on him.
As soon as he has pulled himself free from the boxes, his first instinct drives him to kick the nearest one across the room.
"SON OF A BITCH!" he screams, stomping towards the floor space where Stark had just disappeared into. His raises his gun and fires several shots at the ground, hardly making a dent into the reinforced metal.
He turns to his brother who is being helped up by two of the other men. All three of them are covered in a layer of dusty fire retardant that comes off of them in clouds each time they move. Now on his feet, Vincent yanks his arms away from the men at his sides and moves to join his brother in an angry fit of curses.
"What the HELL just happened in here?!" Richard bellows, grabbing his brother's vest and shaking him violently.
Vincent hits his hands away. "Get off me!" he grumbles, then looks to the ground where Stark and Pepper disappeared into. "Where do you think that hatch leads to?"
Richard runs a hand through his hair. "Probably outside." He responds, then turns towards the men next to them. "Get outside and search the perimeter of the house for the exit to this tunnel. Tell the others that Stark is on the loose, and to capture him. I want him alive!"
"What about the girl?" the henchman with the scar asks.
"She's of no use anymore. Do what you want with her." He replies curtly, making his way towards the stairs; loading a new clip into his pistol as he goes.
Vincent begins to follow Richard then stops Scar, "You," he says, grabbing his shoulder, "…you wait here in case either one of them show back up."
'Scar' nods his head in agreement. "Yes, sir."
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The chaos of the last few moments has left both Tony and Pepper breathing heavily as they lay in the darkness of the crawl space.
After rolling unceremoniously into the escape hatch, the momentum of their bodies has left Pepper lying precariously on top of Tony; her cuffed hands tucked securely between their bodies, and her head resting just under his chin. She remains still as her ears adjust to the sudden silence that has enveloped them both.
Tony's arms are wrapped around her securely and the sudden relief at having her safe and next to him only encourages him to hold her tighter. He can feel how tense she is by how stiff her arms are as they lay atop his chest, and even though darkness surrounds them, he can tell her hands are balled into fists.
She shifts slightly and he can feel her breath as she exhales across his neck. His own breath is still coming out in pants, and with her weight on top of his chest, it is getting harder for him to breathe.
He angles his mouth down towards her. "Are you okay?" he whispers.
She doesn't answer, but nods in the affirmative.
"I was worried you didn't get the whole foot reference thing." He says, smiling into her hair.
She lifts her head then, only slightly. "Yeah well, I'm just glad I wore heels this morning." The lightness in her voice surprises even herself, and she feels herself bouncing up and down as Tony chuckles at her words.
Tony shifts slightly to allow them both to roll onto their sides; he on his right, her on her left. It takes a few moments of readjustment and the untangling of legs, but they both manage to get a little bit more comfortable. Tony carefully tugs his arms out from behind her and brings them to rest with hers between their bodies. Pepper, realizing that both of their hands are still bound by handcuffs, begins to question their plan of action.
"What the hell do we do now?" she asks, the sounds of their cuffs clinking together giving emphasis to her inquiry. She blinks in the darkness. "Dammit…I wish I could see something!"
"Here…" Tony says. She feels his arms shift upwards and then hears the sound of fabric being shifted. Moments later, the soft blue glow of the arc reactor illuminates the darkness around them, allowing both of them to gain a visual of their tight quarters. She squints into the sudden
light and then pulls her head back quickly when she realizes how close her face is to his. Tony gives her a crooked smile as soon as she comes into focus and then smiles even bigger when she returns the gesture.
"I knew this thing was good for something." He jokes, tapping lightly on his chest plate.
"Ok, genius," she responds, holding up her bound wrists, "how about this little problem?" She lowers her hands and stares at him soberly.
Tony smirks this time, and produces the small set of keys he grabbed from the floor of the workshop moments before they escaped.
Pepper's mouth opens slightly, and a soft "oh" escapes her lips.
Tony reaches for her cuffs and unlocks them quickly, then carefully hands her the keys and allows her to do the same to his. Wrists free from the unforgiving metal, Pepper wastes no time in rubbing the raw flesh, relieving some of the ache.
Tony frowns as he watches her tend to her injured limbs. "I'm sorry I got you into this, Pepper." He says softly. The tone of his voice brings Pepper's eyes up to his. The emotion is raw and unfiltered, and she can't help but smile tenderly up at him.
She tears her eyes away from his and speaks, "Well, let's just worry about getting out of this little situation alive…then we'll work on the apologies later."
Tony nods his agreement and then tilts his head upwards towards the open space of the tunnel, trying to see what lies ahead of them. He lifts his body up as well, attempting to get some of the light from the arc reactor to illuminate the path. The movement causes his chest and torso to press into Pepper's and he feels her hands come up to his shoulder to brace herself. He looks back down at her sheepishly. "Sorry…I wasn't trying to get fresh or anything…"
"Just get us out of here!" She whispers through clenched teeth.
"Alright…" he takes a deep breath, "…this tunnel leads to the backside of the mansion. The opening at the other end leads directly into the woods behind the house. This small space will widen, and at the end, there is a ladder leading to the surface…we just have to get there." He finishes his explanation and looks back at Pepper. She is biting her bottom lip as if she is assessing his words and whether or not he is telling the truth. His eyes drift to her lips as he awaits her reaction. Then, seconds later, she swallows and nods her head. "Ok, let's go…"
"You first." He tells her, pressing his body back to allow her enough space to shimmy ahead of him.
Pepper uses the sides of the tunnel for leverage and manages to get herself halfway up and away from Tony's body before she runs out of places to put her feet. Sensing her difficulties, Tony grabs at her ankle just before her knee smashes him in the jaw, and pushes her forward.
Now that she is no longer trapped between Tony's body and the metallic wall, Pepper finds that she has enough space to bring herself up onto her hands and knees, and begins to crawl forward into the darkness.
"You should have gone first!" She shouts back to Tony. "I can hardly see where I'm going!"
"Just keep moving forward…the space will open up in a few meters." He replies, following closely behind her. "Meanwhile…I am loving the view back here." His smile is soon wiped off by the jab of a heel into his shoulder. "OUCH! HEY, watch it with those things! You could've poked my eye out!"
"Then stop staring at my ass!" She warns him.
He is grateful she can't see his smile as they continue their way to the end of the tunnel.
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The warm summer day has given way to a chilled evening, and Vincent curses out loud as his fingers grow numb from gripping his gun too tight.
His earpiece buzzes, and his brother's voice comes over the radio. "Any sign of them?"
Each of the six henchmen checks in with a negative answer, and Vincent replies in the same. "Nothing…I'm gonna head towards the rear of the house again."
"I'll meet you there." Richard replies.
With the moon nowhere to be found, the only light source for Tony Starks's hilltop home comes from the stars in the sky. Thanks to Jarvis, all lighting in and around the mansion had been extinguished, drenching everyone and everything in darkness.
Richard scans the area in front of him with his flashlight. Every now and then the path of light will stop on a pair of reflective eyes belonging to a raccoon or a possum; but no Stark. No Pepper.
His level of frustration increases with every passing moment, and he soon finds himself reacting to every little noise around him. The sound of sticks breaking on his right catches his attention, and he whirls around, ready to fire at the source.
The light settles on the form of his brother, and he drops his gun back down to his side. "Shit!" he curses, then walks over to Vincent. "I swear to God…as soon as I find him, I'm gonna beat the shit out him." His jaw is set and his eyes are as black as the night.
"Where the HELL are you Stark!!" he shouts, firing off two rounds into the darkness.
Vincent keeps quiet and turns to scan the wooded area behind them. He nods his head in the direction of the dense trees. "What about in there?" he says to his brother.
Richard, his chest heaving, turns to look where Vincent has indicated. "Take three men and search. I'll take the others and investigate the front and the inside of the house once more." Richard holsters his pistol and unclips the machine gun. "Forget what I said about alive. I just want him dead and done with." his words drip with anger and spite, and Vincent smiles in accord with his brother.
Richard moves off back towards the house and Vincent radios for three of his men to join him at the rear to begin searching the forest.
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At the first sensation of the cool air on her cheek, Pepper dismisses it as her imagination. But as she continues shuffling her way through the dark tunnel, the soft whisper of the chilled wind transforms into an unmistakable breeze, signaling the fact that they were fast approaching the end of their journey.
The narrow tunnel soon gives way to a wider crawl space, and then suddenly it opens up completely, leaving enough room for both of them to stand. Pepper glances around and finds that they are standing in what seems to be a circular concrete well—without the water, of course. A metal ladder is attached to one side of the concrete, showing them that their exit lies twenty feet above their heads.
Tony moves to stand in front of Pepper to get a better view of the opening above their heads. "We've made it this far…let's keep going!" he says, moving towards the end of the ladder.
Pepper steps in front of him, blocking his path. "What happens once we get up there? Run for the hills? We need a plan." Her voice is stern and focused, and Tony vaguely reminds himself to remember this moment for future recall.
He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. "You're right. Sorry…I'm just so used to jumping head first into situations."
"Yeah, I know. I'm your assistant, remember? Only this time, you're not wearing a suit of armor to stop the bullets that will be flying at you…or me." Pepper's lips tighten at the thought of getting shot at, and her poise falters…but only briefly. She shakes her head and steels her gaze once again, waiting for Tony to offer up a new plan.
Tony reaches up and runs a hand across her arm reassuringly. "This is not the worst situation I've ever been in Pepper. Trust me when I say I will get us out of this, ok?" his voice remains light and hopeful, giving Pepper a much needed boost in confidence.
Tony's eyes shift to survey the space they are in and notices a discarded pipe at the edge of the ladder. After moving to pick it up, he gives it a few experimental swings and then turns it over in his hands. Pepper watches him curiously as he examines the lead pipe. "What are you going to do with that?" She questions, then, perking up slightly, adds, "…OH, can you make it into like, some kind of …canon? Or…what? What else can you do?"
Tony stares at her blankly. "Pepper, I'm not MacGyver. I can't just make a gun out of a metal pipe and a…a…bow tie." He replies dryly, removing the black material that was once a bow tie.
Pepper's face drops slightly. "Oh."
"But I can hit them over the head with it." He adds, smacking the pipe into the palm of his hand several times.
The statement seems to satisfy Pepper's nerves and Tony smiles at her. Unfortunately, his smile only makes her feel increasingly uneasy about the whole situation.
"What do you want to do once we get up there? I mean, they have guns and weapons, Tony! And all we have is a …pipe. And Richard! Oh my God…he's insane!" Pepper's voice loses a bit more control as she really begins to take stock of their current situation and begins to ramble. "Do you know what will happen if he or his brother finds us again? I –I …where do we go…what--"
Her eyes shift from the pipe in Tony's hands to the ladder on the wall and she starts twisting her hands together nervously in front of her chest. Tony hesitates for only a split second, then, placing the pipe under his arm, he shifts to cover her hands with his, stilling her movement and her voice. Pepper's eyes turn to his face and her chest begins to ache from the effort of trying to stay calm.
Tony holds her gaze and clutches her hands gently. "Look, once we get up there, we are going to head into the woods. I've already told Jarvis to get a hold of Rhodes; he should be he here within minutes if he's not already." He presses closer to her and she looks away, overcome with emotion. He tightens his grip on her hands, making sure she is listening to his words. "Pepper…" his features harden, and his tone is serious. "You need to trust me when I say we are going to be just fine…alright?"
His question hung in the air, and she could feel the intensity of his gaze even though she was turned away from him. Tony's breath stalled in his chest as he awaits her decision. His own nerves are on overdrive as he attempts to keep himself calm and positive about their predicament. He watches as she inhales deeply, steeling her resolve, and lifts her eyes back to his once more.
"I trust you." She replies simply, squeezing his hands to confirm her statement.
"Then let's get the hell out of here, shall we?" he says, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile. Pepper nods, and allows him to release her hands as he moves towards the ladder.
He stops at the bottom rung and helps her begin climbing. Satisfied that she is secure ahead of him, he begins to ascend the ladder as well, moving closer and closer to the surface.
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Vincent and his three henchmen fan out to cover the small forested area. The evening continues to remain darkened and they must rely on their flashlights for all of their light due to the fact that the trees now block even the starlight.
The soft crunch of leaves and forest debris under their feet mingles with the soft hooting of an owl and the crickets' nighttime songs.
One henchman, now deep into the forest and on his own, pauses beside an old oak tree and lights up a cigarette. He inhales the acrid smoke and fully enjoys the warmth it brings to his chest as he exhales slowly. He takes another drag on the cancer stick and just as he is about to exhale, the sounds of metal being moved and a soft clang of a fence alert his senses.
He flicks the unfinished cigarette to the forest floor and reengages his assault rifle as he inches towards the source of the sound.
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Pepper reaches the top of the ladder and unlatches the tiny metal clip that holds the cover to the hole in place. She swings the fence up and over behind her, and it smacks the side of the concrete well with a soft thud.
Slowly and carefully she pulls herself up and out of the well and is greeted by the brisk night air. Gooseflesh immediately springs up on her arms and neck as she plants her feet on the solid ground. She is silently thankful to be out of the cramped space that was their escape route, but is now just as equally nervous to be out in such a wide open space with the fear of gunmen in the vicinity.
Tony emerges shortly after her, pulling himself out easily from the well and moving to stand just beside her. He glances at her momentarily—the gently blue glow of the arc reactor lights up her features and in the dark night and they share a grateful smile at having made it this far.
Suddenly, the sounds of crunching leaves and a cough interrupt their relief of being out of the tunnel. Tony, realizing that someone was approaching, slips his hand into Pepper's and pulls her out of sight behind a cluster of trees and shrubs.
"What are we going to do if he finds us?" Pepper whispers delicately as they squat behind the safety of the trees.
"He won't if we just stay still and don't move or speak!" he whispers back harshly, alerting her to the fact that she should cease talking.
They both drop to their knees, and huddle closer to the bushes in front of and around them. Pepper looks down to her hands in her lap; her left is still securely held by Tony and her eyes flicker up to his face. He is squinting in the darkness and looking beyond the trees, waiting to see who is approaching.
A sudden realization hits her…
She can see him. The bright glow emanating from his chest is like a spotlight signaling their position to whoever is fast approaching. She begins to panic, then, thinking quickly, she grabs at his shoulders, twisting him around to face her.
"Wha—Pepper..?" His protests are abruptly cut off as she wraps her arms forcefully up and over his shoulders and around his neck.
Tony's mouth is immediately slammed shut as Pepper's shoulder comes to rest directly under his chin and her hands reach around to his back to grab fistfuls of his jacket. She has him trapped in a secure bear hug; her chest running flush up against his, and her arms squeezing tight—effectively blocking any and all blue light that was formerly radiating from his chest.
"Oh." He whispers quietly. He can feel her attempt to steady her own breathing at their extremely close contact, and then he feels her hands grip at his back tighter as they hear another noise off in the distance.
Her quick thinking comes at just the right time. The henchman turns the corner from another bank of trees and takes several extremely cautious steps towards the concrete well that protrudes from the ground. He observes the area quickly, running his flashlight along the perimeter of the trees; his gun following its path.
Pepper squeezes her eyes shut as a sliver of white light penetrates the bushes near her head, and she prays silently that he doesn't see them.
The sounds of footsteps approaching their hiding place send Tony into a panicked alert and his body tenses at the thought of being discovered. He increases his hold on the body in his arms and he feels Pepper do the same. Fortunately for both of them, the henchman walks past their hiding spot and stops just beyond their exit point.
They listen intently as he draws his radio up to his mouth. "This is Donovan. I found an exit point in the woods at the rear of the house. It looks like an empty well—I think this is where they escaped from."
The radio crackled softly and then Richard's voice came over the other end. "Alright. Come back to the house—take note of your position so you can lead us back there. Copy?"
"Copy that." Donovan replies, and then moves off into the distance.
Satisfied that they are now alone and in no danger of being discovered at this moment, Pepper releases her death grip on Tony's back and slowly draws herself back from his chest.
"Quick thinking there Miss Potts…" Tony smirks, his hands lingering on her forearms. Pepper exhales audibly, nodding her head in agreement.
Reluctantly, he lets go of her arms and moves to button his shirt back up, cutting off the blue glow that was their only source of light.
"We need to move." He picks her hand back up, grabs the metal pipe they found at the bottom of the well, and they hurry off into the dense forest.
After walking about twenty feet into the trees, Tony's arm is yanked back by Pepper. He turns and stares at her. "What?" he questions hurriedly.
"You need to go back there." She says, pulling him towards her voice.
His brow furrows in confusion. "What? Why?"
She stumbles slightly from her heels digging into the ground, but Tony reaches up to steady her.
"Look…we both know that we have no chance of fending them off with just our bare hands a metal pipe--"
"But it's a big pipe," he interrupts.
She levels her eyes with his in the dark, making sure he's listening, "Tony…you need that suit…you need to go back there and get into that armor."
Tony is immediately shaking his head. "No. There is no way I'm leaving you here."
"You have to."
"I hate to break it to you Pepper, but I'm your boss. And I don't take orders from you." He says firmly, looking her in the eyes. Then, he turns to continue trudging forward into the trees and down the hill; pulling her along behind him. She is stunned by his response, but not totally deterred. She needs to make him understand, and the only she was going to do that was by clearing his mind of his previous decision and starting over. Based on that logic, she decides her next move entirely on impulse.
Pepper tugs on his arm again.
"Pepper! Really! I told you already--"
His voice is cut short by her lips crashing into his. She holds him there—unmoving. Waiting. Her own breath caught in her throat.
His shock at her sudden action wipes his mind free of all coherent thought; and he briefly registers the fact that both of their eyes are still open…but the feeling of her arms pulling him impossibly closer and her mouth angling over his make him sigh, and his eyes slip shut.
Then, after getting over his initial shock of being assaulted by her lips, he returns the kiss with equal fervor, wrapping his free arm around her waist and pulling her against him. He lifts her slightly, backing her up against a nearby tree. His lips open just barely, and just as he begins to taste her, she pulls her head back abruptly, sucking in a much needed breath of air.
They stare at each other for a few seconds—the silence stretching between them—their breath coming out in pants.
"I—I…I don't know why I did that." The words tumble from her lips unexpectedly. Her eyes are wide and they dart nervously from his mouth to his chin. She has already forgotten her reasoning as to why she kissed him—now she is only thinking of how it felt.
Tony swallows and lick his lips. Good God, he thinks, I can still taste her.
He finally finds his voice. "You sure picked a perfect time to plant one hell of a kiss on me." He says sincerely. His mouth is still barely inches from hers and he has the urge to kiss her again—but the gravity of their situation still looms above them, and he releases his tight hold on her waist and inches his body back slowly—his hands remain on hers, unwilling to break the contact.
Pepper blinks and repeats her request from earlier. "Tony…you need to get to your armor."
Again, he is shaking his head in the negative. Pepper reaches her hands up to the sides of his face, holding his head in place. "I know you don't want to leave me here. But if you don't…they will find us…and they will kill us." She increases the pressure of her hands. "Please."
Her eyes plead with him to agree, and he squeezes his shut, struggling with her request. He can feel her breath on his face and his resolve begins to fade. Against his better judgment, he feels his head nodding in agreement and then the feeling of her forehead being pressed upon his. They stay that way for what seems like hours, but eventually break apart and regain their eye contact.
"Alright…but if I'm going back there, I need to make sure you are safe first." He says, making sure she agrees. She nods her head and he begins to scan the area quickly, looking for options.
Target practice with his flight stabilizers has been one of his favorite games over the past year—despite certain objection from Rhodes and Pepper—but as his eyes settle on a mangled tree a few feet from them, he is suddenly grateful that he never listened to them to stop.
Heading straight for the hollowed tree, he guides her to sit under its distorted body and steps back to make sure she is effectively hidden.
He bends down one last time to talk to her quietly. "Ok—you stay here and do not come out of this spot until I come back for you." He tells her firmly, waiting for her to acknowledge the importance of his instructions.
She nods her head but grabs his arms before he stands back up. Her eyes seek his in the darkness and she digs her nails into the cloth of his jacket. "You just make sure you come back to me." She instructs him—just as seriously, if not more so.
They hold on for moment more, and then with a reassuring smile, he releases her hands and breaks into a run back to the opening of the tunnel.
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TBC…
A/N: Worth the wait?
I hope so…More soon!
And again, thank you to all of my reviewers…you are all like an awesome little fan club! I do hope to hear from more of you out there on the alert list…
Until next time my friends…Comment comment comment...