"Can we just get this one over with? I know what's coming," I wince, "and it's not like I wanted anyone to see this, ever, but Crazy Witch girl is forcing us, so can we please just not talk about it and never mention-"

"Taylor." Clint lays a hand on my knee. "We won't say a word if you do not want us to, okay?"

I nod appreciatively, and the screen starts to buzz.

A~A~A

"Hey Jarvis!" Taylor calls up to the ceiling, "It looks like our Jericho sales are rising again, we have more work ahead of us."

"As always, Miss Stark, as always. Would you like me to put on your workaholic playlist?"

"No, Jarvis, don't," another voice calls from the doorway to the living room, and Taylor spins to see Rhodey standing in his combat fatigues. "I need to visit real quick."

"Hey, Rhodey!" Taylor chirps in a bubbly tone. "Did you hear? Stock levels are skyrocketing, this is amazing! They rose like, 40 pints, just last night! This is great for the company, do you think Dad will let me release that new phone I've been working on now? He should, it's really cool, and now that we have risen this much we'll be able to…Rhodey?"

Taylor drops off her rambling streak as she finally takes in her uncle's clenched jaw, wrinkled forehead, scrunched eyebrows, and tense shoulders, back, and posture.

"Rhodey?" Taylor's tone is quieter now, hedged with a shadow of worry. "That's your angry face, Or your business face. That's the face you wear when someone screws up. Did I do something? I double checked the last shipment, I swear I did, did I not make enough-"

"No, Taylor." Rhodey calms her down, "Nobody messed up. I think."

"You think?"

"Taylor," Rhodey groans, rubbing his forehead, "you might want to sit down."

"What? Rhodey-"

"Sit down."

"O-kaaay." Taylor looks at her uncle strangely as she hops up onto one of the barstools. "I'm sitting, now will you please explain why you are acting so…weird?"

"Taylor…" Rhodey starts, pauses, and then tries again. "Have you watched the news lately?"

"No…"

"Good," he nods. "Good. Avoid the news for a while, will you?"

She nods hesitantly. "Rhodey, what don't you want me to see? Or hear?"

Rhodey forces himself to look at his goddaughter. "Taylor, the convoy got attacked yesterday."

"The convoy, Rhodey? His convoy? Please say no."

"Taylor, your father was declared missing this morning."

Taylor makes a strangled, animalistic sound as she grips the granite countertop of the bar with white-knuckled fingers, her eyes blown wide and her face pale. "W-what?"

Rhodey sighs and leans back against the back of a couch, facing Taylor. "The convoy was bombed. My Humvee was further back, out of the way, but Tony's Humvee – he called it the 'fun-vee' - was more near the middle, where the bomb exploded. I tried to get to him, Taylor, I really did, but then a second bomb went off and by the time I got there he was gone."

Taylor stays silent for a while, just staring at Rhodey, before finally croaking "Missing. You said he was missing, right?"

"Yes."

"Not dead?"

"As far as we know, no."

She goes quiet again, seemingly thinking.

"Who's looking for him?"

"The entirety of the United States Army."

"Let me." She blurts.

Rhodey blinks at her. "What?"

"Let me," she repeats, almost in a begging tone. "You have to let me help, at the least help me look."

"Taylor," he frowns, "I don't know…"

"I do. Please, Rhodey. My dad is missing, I have to at least try."

"What about the shipments you're supposed to be working on?"

"They can get pushed to the back burner, or I'll have R&D take a look. I'm sure the public will understand." Taylor promises, the last sentence dripping with sarcasm.

"Okay," Rhodey sighs, "I'll look at getting you clearance."

"I could probably hack it anyways."

"Yeah, yeah." Rhodey waves a hand. "But I wouldn't do that. You're no good to your dad arrested in a Federal prison."

"Fine." Taylor huffs, then she looks up sharply. "You said it's already in the news?"

Rhodey nods. "Vague details, yes, but no specifics."

"So who's going to be giving those specifics?"

"You?" Rhodey raises an eyebrow at Taylor.

"Not a chance, sorry, I'll be busy here."

"Then who?"

"I'll get Obie to say something. He can't resist my puppy eyes."

"Nobody can." Rhodey points out.

Taylor just shrugs.

"Well, I need to get back to base." Rhodey shifts his weight back to his feet. "Good luck, call me if you need anything. I'm really sorry."

"At least I didn't hear about it in the news."

"I guess."

"Bye, Rhodey."

"Bye…oh, and Taylor?"

"Yeah?"

"We will find him."

"We better."

Rhodey walks out and Taylor slumps into the counter. "Jarvis?"

"At your service, ma'am."

"I need you to do two things for me."

"Which are?"

"One: start counting the days that he's been missing. Two: pull up all the news reports in the world about this. I don't care how many there are. I'm also going to need maps of Afghanistan, surrounding areas, locations of major war zones, hostile areas, terrorist cells, and a map of the convoy route."

"Are you sure, ma'am?"

Taylor nods and heads for the elevator. "Oh, quite sure, J. I will find him if it's the last thing I do."

A~A~A

"That was…intense."

"It gets worse," I warn, "much, much worse."

"And you lived through all this?"

"Barely."

"Well…that's frankly terrifying."

"And the worst part?"

"What?"

"You didn't live through it."