Quick note/question: What do you all think of the character pictures I posted? Personally, they make it easier for me to picture who Pepper and Tony are talking to.
I do plan on adding a few more pics to elaborate on future chapters, so if they are enjoyable to you…keep checking them out!
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Previously…
'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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Chapter 18: Falling
Tony reaches the opening to the concrete well in less than a minute and he is already descending the ladder before his breath even catches up with him. Skipping the last three rungs to the ladder, he jumps to the bottom of the well, drops to his hands and knees, and immediately begins his return journey back to the workshop.
As the tunnel comes to an end, he reaches his hand up above him and feels for the latch that will open the floor board above his head. He begins to turn the latch slowly, bringing the trap door up only an inch or so.
As soon as the door is raised, a beam of red light hits his face and he blinks as his head pushes up through the small opening. Making a thorough sweep across the visible area, he is just about to push himself up through the trapdoor when he turns his eyes in the direction of the hotrod. He is just barely able to make out a pair of boots that are visible from the ankle down. Realizing that he is not alone in the room, he halts his movements immediately; reevaluating his situation and his next course of action.
Glancing quickly around the room, he looks for something—anything—to use against the intruder in his house. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpses a cell phone on the ground about a foot away from him—most likely dropped by one of the henchmen during the chaos earlier. Shrugging, he decides that he could use the small device to his advantage, and positions himself to retrieve the object. Pulling the metal pipe out from the crawl space, he slowly inches it
towards the phone—careful not to make any contact with the ground or any other object near him.
He grits his teeth as his arms begin to cramp from suspending the pipe in the air for such a long time. Just as his arms are about to give out, he settles the end of the pipe over the face of the cell phone, and sets it down gently on top of its screen. Tony moves himself so that he is sitting on his knees with the door propped open by the top of his head, and both hands now holding the pipe securely.
He begins sliding the small object towards him, all the while watching the pair of boots shift on the other side of the hotrod. He prays that the owner of the boots doesn't hear the quiet scraping of the phone across the concrete as he pulls harder on the pipe.
The boots walk dangerously close to the front end of the car, and Tony stops, waiting anxiously to make sure the henchman doesn't turn the corner of the car. Seconds tick by and the sweat begins to drip along his temple as he continues to hold his position. Then, just as the boot raises to take another step around the classic car, it shifts, and heads back in the directions it came.
Tony releases the breath that had been trapped in his lungs, and slides the phone the remainder of the distance and into his outstretched hand. He pulls the pipe back through the hole and quietly shuts the hatch above him. Settling into a slouched sitting position, he taps at the cell phone, causing it to light up and illuminate his surroundings. He examines the screen of the phone, looking for the signal strength.
"Thank you cell phone Gods…" he whispers out loud after seeing three bars in the top left corner of the screen.
Quickly dialing Rhodey's number, he presses the phone to his ear and covers the mouthpiece with his other hand.
"Rhodes."
"Rhodey, it's Tony…" he whispers in a hushed voice.
"Tony! What the hell? Where are you? What's going on?"
"Shh...shh...listen, there are men at my house. They tried to get to the armor and now they have my workshop blocked off, and I'm holed in an escape tunnel…and Pepper…she's in the forest, hidden away…I hope." His mind travels back to leaving Pepper at the tree, and his shoulders tense at the thought of not getting back to her in time.
At the other end of the phone, Rhodes breaks it down. "Alright…I get it. You're in trouble. I got the call from Jarvis, but he didn't have much details…I need to know what we are dealing with."
"Eight men--all armed. Vincent Case and his brother--"
"Holy shit, the Dealer? He's there?" Rhodes' panicked voice burst through Tony's explanation; the excitement of having the Dealer within his grasp clearly evident.
"Dude, seriously...you're interrupting me right now?!" Stark reprimands Rhodes through clenched teeth.
"Sorry, alright, so…eight men. That's good. I've got ten with me."
"Ten? That's it?" Tony is shocked by Rhodes' information.
"Yeah, well…after our very public failed attempt to capture Vincent Case last week, the General was only willing to give me a few soldiers tonight…He's still kinda pissed at you…and me."
"Huh…remind me to send him a gift basket or something…"
Rhodes ignores Stark's comment and continues, "We are ten minutes out. Think you can hold on till then?"
Tony frowns at hearing his ETA. "Sure buddy. I'll just sit and wait here patiently."
"I mean it Tony. Don't do anything stupid…"
"Me? …No, never…" Tony smirks into the receiver and then clicks off the phone.
His mind is on overdrive right now and he can't decide what to do. Wait here for Rhodes to show up and take out the armed men on the surface? Or, should he attempt to get to his armor and take them all out himself?
His thoughts turned to Pepper once again, and before he realizes what he is doing, he is tapping another number into the cell phone; his mind already made up.
A familiar, automated voice came over the speaker of the phone. "Stark residence…No one is available right now, but if you--"
Tony cut off the recording by entering his access code. Moments later, the voice returned, only this time, it wasn't a recording. "Sir, it's good to know you're still alive…" Quips Jarvis.
Tony smiles at Jarvis' witty remark. "Your confidence in my abilities is always encouraging, Jarvis. Now listen up…I've got a plan…"
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Richard and his brother re-enter the forest with five of their six armed henchmen. They all stand shoulder to shoulder as they breach the tree line; looking much like a line of FBI agents searching for clues to a crime. Unfortunately, these men were most assuredly not the good guys; and they were not searching for clues—they were searching for the billionaire and his assistant.
Richard pulls the lever of his machine gun and it flies forward with a snap. "Fire at anything that moves. The first person to bring me Stark's dead body gets a bonus of a lifetime." Richard tells his men as they begin their renewed search of the forest.
Vincent walks closer to his brother and speaks quietly, "Are you sure you want to just kill him? What about finding the armor?"
Richard stops and glares down at Vincent. "I don't care about the armor anymore. I just want the bastard taken care of." He snarls, holding his pistol up near Vincent's head. "Understand?"
Vincent swallows impulsively, his eyes on the gun in his brother's hand. "You're the boss..." he replies; then watches as Richard's angry stare is replaced by a mocking smile.
"Good." Richard replies, smacking Vincent on the shoulder and walking off into the night.
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Pepper's heart had not ceased pounding since Tony left. As efficiently as she could, she had balled herself up inside the cover of the large hollow tree; hugging her legs to her chest and pressing her face into her knees, attempting to remain as calm as possible.
He'll be right back.
Everything will be fine.
He'll be fine.
I'll be fine.
Her mind begins to drift as her foot begins to tap nervously, then, realizing that she is hiding, reins in the panicky limb, and takes a deep breath.
She wonders how long it's been since he's left and then presses her head further into the safety of her arms. Her fear begins to border on the edge of paranoia, as she begins to hear noises emerge from the forest around her.
Crickets chirp on her right, the soft hoot of an owl comes from her left; and she's not too sure, but it sounds like there are things scurrying about on the inside of the tree she is sitting in.
Then, another sound…One that does not come from a creature of the forest.
The sounds of boots breaking the sticks beneath their heavy leather soles cause her head to lift from its perch. She squeezes her arms tighter and as she sucks in another breath, preparing to hold it for as long as it takes, and her mind begins to drift once more…
He's coming back for me.
He's coming back to me.
Another stick breaks in the distance.
He'd better hurry the fuck up.
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Tony lifts the panel once more, bringing his eyes up and over the edge of the floor. Seeing that the pair of boots are still on the other side of the hotrod, he removes the panel entirely, and sets it off gently to the side; careful enough not to make a single sound. Then, ever so quietly, he begins to ease his body out of the crawl space and, like a seal emerging from the water, slides onto the concrete floor and onto his belly. Using his hands to pull himself forward, he inches himself closer to the hotrod, gritting his teeth as the hard surface of the ground presses the arc reactor into his chest uncomfortably. Successfully out of the hole, he turns back towards the empty crawl space, picks up his trusty metal pipe, and silently rotates once more to face the backside of the hotrod.
Lifting the pipe up off of the ground and careful not to raise it too high, he then slowly spins himself around so that he is now sitting on his backside with his legs outstretched in front of him. He scoots closer to the rear wheel of the hotrod and brings himself up onto his haunches, raising the pipe next to him in the process. Now he was ready to make a run for it.
He counts down silently in his head, takes a deep breath, then, tightening his grip on the pipe, shouts, "Jarvis, now!"
The henchman jumps at the sound of a voice in the room and immediately raises his rifle in the direction of the noise. But before he can even pull the trigger, the deafening blast of heavy metal music fills the room, sending his arms up reflexively to his ears. Then, the red emergency lights flicker off, bathing the room in darkness.
Tony, prepared for the new circumstances, shuffles quickly out of his hiding spot, ascertains where the henchman was standing, then takes a full swing the general direction. The metal of the pipe makes contact with something, and a sickening thud can be heard over the blast of the music. Tony squats down after his successful swing, waiting for some kind of retaliation. But when it doesn't come, he takes a step forward, running into something large and soft.
"JARVIS! CUT IT!" he shouts over the music. The blast of the speakers immediately stops, and the natural lights of the workshop slowly come back on.
Tony looks down at his feet and sees the result of his swing. The henchman is slumped unnaturally on the ground; a nasty gash bleeding profusely across the backside of his head. Tony grimaces at the sight. "Ouch." Then he turns his head away, bringing his focus back to the launching pad.
Tony releases his hold on the pipe and it drops to the floor with a loud clang. He then makes his way towards the center of the room. "Alright Jarvis, suit me up…" Tony declares, walking quickly to his mark.
"Sir, I have a bit of bad news…It seems that the gunfire has damaged several of the mechanical arms and circuit boards needed to assist you in donning your complete armor." Jarvis spoke quickly, his voice sounding apologetic.
Tony blanches at Jarvis' words; then replays them over in his head. "Wait...what do you mean complete armor?"
"Well, the gears in the floorboards are damaged, making it impossible to access the lower half of the armor." Jarvis reveals.
Tony sighs and runs both hands through his hair. "So, you're saying I'm only able to utilize the top half of the armor?"
"Not exactly…"
"Let's have it Jarvis! I'm kind of running on borrowed time here!" Tony shouts into the air, his frustration level rising.
"You currently only have only your left arm's flight stabilizer and your helmet available for use."
Tony's hands ball up into fists as he processes the scenario before him. He briefly recalls the development of his flight stabilizers, and all of the tests he'd done with them--even before his first flight. Then his mind flashes on all of the other uses he's had for the hand device.
He thinks of Pepper waiting for him back in the dark forest.
Stepping back onto the launching pad, he removes his tuxedo jacket and tosses it off to the side. Then, after rolling the sleeve of his white shirt up, he raises his left arm in the air at the appropriate angle and shouts to Jarvis. "DO IT."
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Pepper felt the pulse in her neck thrum harder and she began to worry that the sound of her heart beating could be heard from where she hid.
She could hear men talking in the distance—most likely at the spot where she and Tony had emerged from the escape hatch.
"This is where the tunnel ends…they couldn't have gotten far. Find them!" The sound of Vincent's voice echoed amongst the trees, and she bit her bottom lip to keep her teeth from chattering.
A few minutes later, she could hear footsteps approaching cautiously, and when the bodies of two of the henchmen came into view, she held her breath once again.
Then, suddenly, a shout from the distance caught their attention, and a flash of blue light momentarily illuminated the darkened forest.
"Go!"
"Move it! He's over there!"
"Look out!"
Chaos erupted for the second time this evening, and Pepper's head flew up from her arms to listen more intently to the sounds coming from beyond the tree line. She watched as the two henchmen abandoned their search and ran off into the forest, seemingly leaving her alone in the hollow tree.
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Tony hid behind the base of a large tree trunk, ducking behind a set of bushes. His left arm and shoulder had been successfully fitted with his armor, allowing him to utilize the Repulsor ray in his left palm. He swallows anxiously as the HUD in his helmet conveniently brought the forest into view using the night vision settings. From beyond his hiding spot, he sees three henchmen crouched together nervously about fifteen feet ahead of him.
Raising his left arm, he takes a deep breath and the crackle of energy precedes another burst of light as the Repulsor ray sends all three men flying into the trees. He smiles vindictively at them as they lay on the forest floor, unmoving.
He thinks to himself, that's four men down…leaving Vincent, Dick, and two more idiots.
"Jarvis, triangulate my position with the exit point of the well." The HUD sparks to life with an indicator on the screen. A blue circle blinks in his field of vision indicating the direction of the well.
"Sir, if you continue twenty meters bearing southeast, you will arrive at your destination."
Jarvis had barely finished speaking before the adrenaline in Tony's veins takes over and he pushes himself off from the tree and begins sprinting towards the well.
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Richard has both of his pistols locked securely in his hands as he presses his back up against a tree. His mind is swimming at the thought of Tony Stark wandering around the forest clad in his armor—and he is suddenly fearful of what he is capable of.
His earpiece crackles, and a voice of one of his remaining men come over the radio. "SIR! I see him! He's heading in your direction…but he's not in his full armor!"
Richard does a double take at hearing the words. He reaches for the button on his collar. "What do you mean…not in his full armor?"
"It looks like he's just got his helmet, and only one of his arms covered." The voice indicates.
Richard smiles to himself. "That definitely makes a difference." Richard says. If this is the case, then the playing field is still on the same level. After all, he was a highly trained mercenary—Tony Stark is just a guy with a fancy gun. Now, all he and his brother need to do is draw him out.
Peeking out from behind his tree, Richard sees his brother taking cover a few feet away from him. Signaling for his attention, he motions for him to head off to the right, while he will circle around to the left. Vincent nods his understanding, and then runs off into the night.
Richard takes a deep breath and is just about to continue on, when, out of the corner of his eye, he spies movement in a nearby tree. Squinting in the darkness, he is just barely able to make out the outline of a slim arm as it emerges from the inside of the hollowed out base.
His mouth curls up into an evil grin as he quickly circles around behind the tree. Holstering one of his guns, he reaches out slowly with his right hand, then, quickly, grabs a handful of strawberry blonde hair—with a yelp of shock coming from the surprised woman in his grasp, he pulls her out completely from the hiding spot, yanking her roughly into his body.
Pepper's hands go up to the top of her head where a strong hand has a concrete grip on her hair.
Her body nearly goes limp when he speaks harshly into her ear. "Hello Pepper…" he snarls evilly, raising his gun and running it along her cheek. She squeezes her eyes shut, thinking this is it; this is how she is going to die.
But instead of hearing the blast of a gun, she hears another sound way off in the distance. Another streak of blue lights up the night sky, and a shout comes from somewhere off to her right. She hears Richard curse behind her, and then she is being pulled backwards by the hand still wrapped up in her hair.
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Tony brings his hand down back to his side after firing off another successful shot at two more of the henchmen. Now, all that remains is Vincent Case and his brother.
He grins at his current situation and then turns back in the direction of the well. His happiness is abruptly cut short by the sound of Richard's voice breaking through the trees.
"STARK!!"
Tony stops in his tracks as he realizes that his voice is coming from the same location he had left Pepper in. His breath catches in his throat as he waits for him to speak again.
"STARK!! SHOW YOURSELF…OR ELSE YOUR PRETTY LITTLE ASSISTANT HERE WILL DIE!"
"Tony NO! Don't do--" Cries Pepper; but her voice is suddenly cut off.
Tony's mouth opens in shock. He drops to his knees as his legs give out on him. He's failed her. He couldn't get back to her in time.
This entire night has been hell, and now, just as he was about to end it, the flames begin anew and he suddenly feels helpless from the constant barrage of violence from these two men.
Jarvis' voice breaks through the fog in his head. "Sir…might I remind you that you still have the advantage here?"
Tony releases an exasperated puff of air. "What? How in the HELL do I have any kind of advantage? They have Pepper, Jarvis!" He hung his head at the realization.
"Yes, sir, but you have me. Not to mention the advantage of having the ability to see in the dark, and the knowledge of the terrain. This is no time to just give up…sir." Jarvis' reasoning struck a chord within Tony, and he raises himself up off of his knees.
Squaring his shoulders and lifting his head, he spoke, "You're right Jarvis…let's go."
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Richard's words cause Pepper to flinch.
He punctuates 'will die' with another cruel yank of her hair, and she grits her teeth at the pain. The darkness surrounds them, and her eyes are wide as she waits for any sign of Tony.
Nothing.
"I guess your boss doesn't care too much for your well-being." Richard breathes into her ear. Pepper feels a curl of anger seep up into her belly and she struggles harder against the grip he has on her.
"You son of a bitch! You don't know anything about him or me!" she bites back; and despite the defiance in her voice, she still has to hold back a sob threatening to bubble up from her chest.
"I know you're both cowards!" he replies, then shouts out into the night, "YOU COWARD!"
He lets go of her hair and wraps his arm across her neck, holding her against his chest. She brings both of her hands up to claw at his forearm as his grip tightens. She sees spots as his arm presses against her windpipe.
Suddenly, a blast of light flies out above their heads, hitting the tree above them, and Richard's eyes move to scan the darkness.
"Pretty bold move considering what you're firing at!!" he says, raising his gun to Pepper's temple. "GET OUT HERE, STARK!" Richard then reaims his gun ahead of him, firing off three shots.
Pepper closes her eyes, praying that somehow, some way, Tony will get them out of this. The cracking of branches causes her eyes to fly open, and she is just barely aware of the fact that Richard has let her go just as a large branch from the tree above swings down to where they are standing.
Pepper dives to the ground, covering her head in the process; the branch swings recklessly, and snaps off of the tree and crashes into the ground; the thick limbs and leaves land on top of Pepper, concealing her.
Richard recovers quickly then raises his gun to the dark forest. Just as he fires off two rounds, another blast from the Repulsor ray sends him reeling back into the same tree where the branch had fallen from. He crashes into it with a thud, and his face contorts in pain as he slumps to the ground.
Tony then reveals himself from the cover of the forest, approaching Richard's fallen body cautiously. When he comes with a few feet of him, he suddenly raises his pistol, firing directly at Tony's head. Acting quickly, Tony raises his forearm to his face and several metal plates spread themselves out from the armor, effectively blocking the spray of bullets from Richard's gun.
Lifting himself off of the ground while still firing his weapon, Richard stands and begins running towards Stark. Then, while Stark is busy deflecting the bullets, he rams his shoulder full force into his abdomen. The force of his attack causes him to drop his gun, but doesn't deter him any less.
The air whooshes from Stark's lungs, and his feet leave the ground as Richard continues his assault and slams him into a fallen tree. Richard lifts his head to look Stark in the face, but is confronted by the Iron Man mask.
"You are a coward…hiding behind a stupid mask!" He punches Stark in the stomach once, then his ribs. "And after I'm done with you…I'm gonna take care of Pepper…" He cackles at Stark, and raises his fist to hit him again.
At the mention of Pepper's name, Tony's anger multiplies and the adrenaline surges through his veins, causing the bright blue glow of his arc reactor to increase intensely. The light is so
blinding that Richard's fist stops in mid air to cover his eyes. Then, out of nowhere, an immense blast of energy bursts from his chest plate, sending Richard off into the trees once again.
Tony hunches to the ground. With his energy drained, he is panting heavily, and he pries his helmet off, gulping in generous amounts of fresh air. The sounds of his heavy breathing is the only thing penetrating the silent night.
A soft moan catches his attention and his eyes travel to a lump of branches that has begun moving off to his left. He stands quickly; making his way over the heap of sticks that is Pepper Potts. Tony reaches down, pulling the branch off of her easily in one tug with his mechanical arm. He then kneels down next to her and reaches over with his other bare hand to help her roll over.
As she turns, a hiss escapes her lips and she sits up tenderly, grasping at her right shoulder. Tony looks her over and sees that her face is streaked with dirt and her hair is mussed and tangled. Her formerly white blouse is smeared with mud and filth, torn in several places, and now, on her shoulder, streaked with blood.
"God…I'm so sorry Pepper," he says, helping her sit up carefully. His eyes darken at the sight of her bloodied shoulder. "Here, let me see…" He reaches for her gingerly, but she pulls away at the last second. Hurt flashes in his eyes, but he pushes it aside, and allows her some space…for now.
Her features are stoic, and she still seems extremely edgy. Slowly, he brings his free hand up to lie on her uninjured shoulder. Her eyes snap to his face, and she is greeted by a pair of familiar eyes.
"Hey…" He says gently.
Her features soften slightly as her eyes truly begin to focus on his face. "Hey." She says, then begins to glance around nervously. "Where is he? Is he…dead?"
Tony scans the area around them and sees Richard's body hanging gruesomely from a nearby tree. The blast from Tony's chest had propelled Richard's body straight into a sharp broken limb of a tree. The end of a single branch was protruding from his chest, and his head hung limply to one side.
Tony clears his throat. "Um…I don't think he'll be much more trouble." His mouth twitches at the corner and he makes sure Pepper doesn't turn around to see the gory mess that was Richard Hansen.
Pepper nods gratefully, then makes a move to stand. Tony, sensing her desire to remove herself from the forest floor, stands first, then helps her up. She stumbles slightly, then leans her weight into Tony unconsciously. On instinct, he wraps his arms around her, still protecting her.
A bright white light interrupts their reunion as it circles above their heads. The thundering sound of a police chopper follows the appearance of the light, and Tony grumbles to himself. "Of course…NOW, Rhodes gets here." He feels Pepper chuckle at his words, and they turn to make their way back to the mansion.
They had taken only a few steps when a piercing sound of a gunshot rings out, and Tony is thrown back onto the ground, leaving a shocked and terrified Pepper standing in his wake.
A maniacal scream springs forth from the mouth of Vincent Case as he races out of the trees, his gun still trained on the fallen body of Tony Stark.
"You BASTARD!! MY BROTHER!! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" Vincent was fast approaching and Tony groans as he shakes his head, trying to get rid of the stars that have suddenly appeared due to his head slamming into the ground.
The bullet had ricocheted off of his arc reactor, and skimmed his bare right forearm, causing a gash to appear and start bleeding. Tony opens his eyes, and finds himself staring into the crazed eyes of the brother of the man he had just killed.
Vincent's chest was heaving as he held his gun on Tony. "Now, you die, Stark." He said in an eerily calm voice as his finger begins to depress the trigger.
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BANG !
BANG!
BANG!
Three shots rang out into the cold dark forest, causing Rhodes' head to fly up from the map in his hands.
"MOVE IN EVERYONE! I WANT TO KNOW WHERE THOSE SHOTS JUST CAME FROM!" Rhodes shouts into his radio, sending several men and police dogs running past their cars and to the rear of the mansion.
His own blood had been pumping now at an unnatural rate ever since receiving the distress call from Tony himself. He knew, as the conversation came to close that Stark wasn't going to wait for backup.
And now, as he races into the dark woods, he hopes desperately that he and Pepper are alive.
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TBC…
a/n: You know…I am not usually this evil with cliffhangers, but I can't seem to help myself. grins
What I can tell you is that I WILL update later tonight (probably midnight, PST) with another chapter…
That is…if you all are willing to tell me your thoughts so far…
Nah, I won't hold it hostage…but I would like to hear from you.
Until then…let's pray for Tony and Pepper.