Raising a Baby (Tony Stark Style)

I Am Iron Man

      Besides the bone crushing grip Pepper held Alex's hand with, she radiated confidence and relaxation as she stepped into Tony's large, empty office  at Stark Industries. "Keep a look out, Sweetie," Pepper instructed. She rushed over to the desktop computer, hoping to get in and out as quickly as possible.

     "I'll just pretend to be looking for something, if I drop a book that means someone's coming. Sound good?" Alex stood near the large bookshelf and cabinets near the door. 

     Pepper stuck the drive into the computer port, and it immediately took her to a ghost drive as Tony predicted. "Sounds good," she agreed. "There's a lot more than just shipping manifests on here," she mumbled.  

     The file after that brought up a number of images of the Mk I with the words "Sector 16" on top of them.

     "Sector 16?" murmured Pepper. "What are you up to, Obadiah?"

     "What's Sector 16?" asked Alex quietly.  

     Pepper shrugged, but then she realized Alex was facing away from her. "I'm not exactly sure. But I'm going to keep snooping around in here."

     But the next file was even more damning. It was a video. Tony was slumped in a chair, glistening with blood and sweat, surrounded by men with the Ten Rings insignia hanging behind them, half a dozen guns trained on him. A voice was speaking, but the words were not in English except for the name "Tony Stark."

     Pepper clicked a box and typed "TRANSLATE" into it.

     "You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark," came the translated words. "As you can see, Obadiah Stane, your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up."

     She covered her mouth with her hand and stopped the video with the other.

     "Pepper what is that?" Alex demanded sharply. She started to walk over, but Pepper wouldn't allow it. 

     "No! Don't come over here!" She closed the video and started to download all the files onto the drive. 

     Thud. A black book landed on the floor by Alex's feet.

     The door swung open. "So!" Boomed Obadiah's voice. "What are we going to do about this?" he asked as Pepper sat in front of the computer, files copying away. "How come Tony's got you coming in on a slow day today?" His hands rested on his hips.

     Alex's heart dropped. She could feel the tension in the room.

      Pepper and Alex watched as Obadiah walked to a small side table on which sat a glass bottle with whiskey in it and a few drinking glasses. He picked one up and poured himself a drink.

     "Oh well, you know. He just wanted me to come in and check on some things for him. And Alex thought she might have lost something last time she was here so she tagged along." Pepper shrugged, her voice thick.

     "What'd you lose?" He questioned Alex. He didn't even bother to hide his contempt for her.

     Alex shoved a book she pretended to flip through back on the shelf. "None of your business," she snapped at him. She couldn't think of anything else to say. Luckily that was something she would say on any given occasion.