Something More [The Avengers: 1]

Motel Accommodations [15]

Pepper and her boyfriend graciously invited me to stay with them until we found Tony, and I was very grateful. After meeting him, I realized that Tony was absolutely correct, the man was incredibly nice. He cared about Pepper, his eyes smiling even when his face remained stoic. Pepper informed me that he was in the military, and after our initial introduction, we hit it off well. Corporal Joshua Dell, Air Force. I could tell just by looking at the way he held himself that he was discharged due to an injury. Most likely on his left side, probably his arm by the way he rarely used his left arm. As well as the fact that he was young. I could tell by the way he looked at Pepper, though, that he loved her, and that thought alone made me smile. I hadn't known Pepper long, but I was glad she had someone as kind and loving as she was.

Since Pepper and Corporal Dell invited me to stay in their home, I offered to drive Maya home, since her car got damaged in the attack. It was silent, my angry thoughts still bubbling as I steered through the dark.

"Why were you at the house tonight?" I broke through the silence, keeping my eyes on the road. "What was so important that you had to speak to Tony?"

Maya stayed quiet for a moment, and I thought she wasn't going to respond, before she sucked in a breath. "I think my boss is working for the Mandarin. So if you still want to talk about it, I suggest we get ourselves someplace safe." Her tone screamed urgency, but I still didn't know whether to trust her or not.

"Your boss works for the Mandarin?" She nodded frantically. "But Tony said you're a botanist." I glanced between her and the road, hoping to catch her in a lie.

She only snorted in response, staring ahead of her. "That figures. What I actually am is a biological DNA coder running a team of forty out of a privately-funded think tank, but sure. You can call me a botanist."

I stared at the road, silent for a minute, thinking it over. She didn't look like she was lying. In fact, she looked disheartened by the fact that I even thought she was lying. It sounded urgent enough, and if she was willing to speak to me about it, then I was willing to bet it was important. "Does this boss of yours have a name?"

"Yeah, Aldrich Killian."

I turned to Maya in shock, swerving slightly, causing Maya to grasp the door handle tightly. I turned my eyes back to the road, glancing at her every chance I got. "I'm sorry, did you say Aldrich Killian?"

"You know him?"

"He came to Pepper about some idea about DNA experimentation. I wasn't paying attention, I don't do all that science talk, but he called it Extremis."

"We need to get this information to someone as soon as possible. Bruce Banner, President Ellis, the Iron Patriot, someone who can look into it." I pulled into Maya's driveway. Before getting out, she handed me a card. "If you have any questions or figure out any clue about the Mandarin, call me." And with that, she got out of the car, disappearing into her house.