Chapter Five - Pepper Finds Out


 "Well, JARVIS," Tony yawned as he sauntered into The Nest. "It's been four days now, how's he doin'?"


"Very well, sir. The damage muscle and bone structures are healing at a remarkable rate. And his overall health has greatly improved.


"That's good." He yawned again, leaning on the work table. He gazed into the Nest, where Armstrong lay tangled up with all the pillows and blankets. "Been making some cool things inspired by him. So cool."


"I've noticed, sir. Have you gotten any sleep?"


"Sleep?" He laughed. "Nah, too busy for . . . sleep."


"You're speech is slurring a bit, sir."


"Hmmm." His eyes drooped. Like a light switch flipping, he slumped over the table, instantly asleep.


"Sir . . . sir?!" 


A few minutes later, Armstrong rolled over and sat up to snatches of loud 80s music vibrating the air around him. Only took a minute of scanning the room to see why. Tony Stark, sound asleep and slowly sinking to the floor. 


In a bound, he'd cleared the net and caught him before he hit the floor. He laid him down, grabbed a pillow from his pile and laid it under his head.

After a moment of silently surveying the room, he clears his throat. "Hey, uh . . . JARVIS?"


"Yes, Mr. Armstrong?"


He grimaced. "Just call me Eagle."


"As you wish, Eagle. Is there something you need?" 


"Guess you know Mr. Stark fell asleep in here?"


"Yes, and I do apologize for awakening you instead of him."


He shrugged. "Ya had to do what ya had to do." 


"That wasn't enough I'm afraid." 


" 'Parently not." He glanced at the floor. "This ain't a comfy place for a rich man to sleep."


"Mr. Stark has the habit of falling asleep wherever he is, when his exhaustion overtakes him."


"He should sleep in his own bed," He declared standing up, "Least I can do when he's been frettin' over me." 


"I don't see how that is possible, seeing as the door is locked and Mr. Stark is asleep."


"Ain't you his AI friend, who has access to all his tech?"


"I can't unlock the door without his permission."


"Sure you can. Yer a talkin' computer who knows all the codes." He nodded, as though affirming himself, "No, the real reason you won't unlock it's cuz you don't trust me. I wouldn't trust me neither."


"Very perceptive Eagle." 


"But Stark's been too kind to me. I owe him." He locked eyes with the screens above him. "If I promise I'll go back to my room afterward, will ya let us out?"


"That would be unwise."


"But not wrong."


A few seconds of silence past. 


"You care 'bout Stark, I bet." He probed, "You know he needs good rest." 


The door unlocked. 


"Thanks." He lifted Tony is his arms, as though he weighed less than a feather, and carried him out of the room.


"I am monitoring every movement you make, so even don't consider escaping." 


"Gotcha." He headed down the hall. "Just tell me where I'm goin'."


JARVIS directed him to the master bedroom. Eagle followed his directions without stopping or deviating, but in silence. 


Walking through the door, he laid Tony down on the bed, eased off his shoes and laid a blanket over him. 


"Thank you, Eagle, that should do." 


"Welcome, JARVIS." He walked out of the room. 


"Do you need directions back to your Nest?"


He shook his head. "I'm good." 


He'd not walked ten steps down the hall when the a voice called out, "Tony, I'm home!"


His jaw tightened. 


"You better get moving." JARVIS prodded.


Eagle stepped into the next hall, glancing to his right. Through the glass doors on the right, he could see her looking around, arms cradling a box "Tony?"


"Too late to be goin' back." Turning, he walked towards her down the hall.


"What are you doing?"


Reaching the door, he tapped on the glass. "Unlock, JARVIS."


During the split second that followed, she spotted him and walked towards the door.


The door unlocked and he opened it, stepping back for her. "M'am." 


"Oh, thank you." She nodded primly as she stepped through. 


He nodded, holding out his hands. "May I?"


"Yes, thank you." She gave him the box. "You must be a friend of Tony's." 


"Somethin' like that."


"Pepper Potts," she held out a hand. "Stark Industries CEO."


Switching the box to his hip, he took her hand and shook it. "Andrew." 


"A pleasure to meet you." She smiled. "I am looking for Tony. Have you seen him?"


"He's crashed in bed M'am. Burnt out." 


 "Aw, Tony. Well," She turned back to him. "That's alright."


"Where do you need me to put this?"


"This way." Turning she lead him down the hall a few doors. Pausing, she tapped a code in on the door, "Just in here." 


He followed her into the room, which was furnished like an office with comfy rolling chairs, and an enormous desk. 


"You can just set it there." She nodded to it, taking off her purse and hanging it up. 


"Yes, M'am." Carefully, he rested on the marble top of the desk. "Bringin' work home?"


"Yes, but I am not dealing with it right now." She turned to him. "While wait for Tony to wake up, shall we go to the patio and have some lemonade?"


"Oh," he shook his head. "I'll just be on my way. 


"There's no need to rush off." She took off her earrings, then walked to the door. "And I would actually enjoy the company."


"I - I don't wanna impose on your time, M'am."


"No, it's completely fine. You're a guest. Least I can do is entertain you until Tony wakes up."
 Opening the door, she strode the way down the hall.

After a moment, he followed after her.
 "Sorry, JARVIS." He muttered. 


A few turns and a few luxurious hallways later, they came out into the deck.

"Have a seat." She gestured to the reclining rotten chairs. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll go get the lemonade." With that, she strode back into the house.


He nodded. With slow steps, he walked to the railing. Resting his hands on it, he stared out over the grounds to the sea. 


The breeze blew easy on his face. The scent of the waves wafted up him with every distant crash on the sand shore below. The scent of damp, green earth mixed with the salt of the sea, flavoring his every breath.


Freedom whispered the wind. 


His grip tightened on the railing. 


"Lovely view, isn' it?"


He started, turning back to her as she set two brimming glasses of sparkling yellow lemonade on the coffee table. 


"Yes, yes it is." Turning away, he sat down in the chair across from her and lifted a glass. "Thank you."


"Of course." 


After a sip, he took a swallow and nodded. "Very good."


"Thank you." She gestured to his outfit. "Causal day in the office?"


He glanced down at his t-shirt and jeans. "I'm not comfy in a suit? Connect better with people when I'm not all stuffed and starched."


"I suppose that's fair."
 After a few sips, she settled back. "So, Andrew, is it alright to talk about the business you have with Tony or is it another one of his top secret Avenger things?"


With a quick swallow and shake of his head, he set his glass down. "Nothing like that. We're working on beefing up his security system here."


She laughed. "Good choice. He needs to work on his security and privacy." She tilted her head as she took another sip. "The project still in the planning stages?"


"Somethin' like that." He stretched his face into a broad grin, that felt less natural than it looked. "Why do you ask?"


"I just haven't heard about it yet. And usually when Tony has an idea for this place or for Stark Industries, I hear about it."


"Well, we're still goin' over the options and everthin'." He took another swallow of his glass. 


"What options are you considering?"


"Addin' some retinal scanners to sensitive work areas or where y'all keep valuables, laser nets in the ventilation system, maybe a few bodies on the grounds? Haven't decided 'bout that yet." 


She nodded, "Sounds good to me. Is there a way I can contract your firm for an upcoming gala Stark Industries is hosting? Our usual guys aren't currently available. And I don't trust any of the sub-ins for the VIP lounge and guests." 


"My apologies, M'am, shoulda clarified that upfront. I'm actually a private contractor. I assess and give recommendations, don't actually have a team."


She clicked her tongue. "No, I should not have assumed. Though it is unfortunate."


"Yeah, sorry."


"It's fine."


"So, how did you get into this business?"


He swallowed the last of his glass and set it aside. "Just wanted to make sure folks and their property are kept safe." He grinned, more natural and a little self-conscious. "Yer wonderin' 

'bout my accent, right?"


"You got me," She held up a hand, "Not to pass any judgement or form any opinion, it is just uncommon to hear someone with your accent in your field."


"None taken, M'am. I understand."


"You can call me Pepper." She informed him, gently but decidedly. 


"Yes m - Pepper." 


"So, where did you get started?"


"Uhh, out east a bit. Montana, Texas, Missouri." He leaned back a bit in his chair. 


For the next half-hour, they chatted about Andrew's career, the weather, and other small talk. She asked most of the question or made remarks, he doing most of the answering or agreeing. But at last, he swallowed and asked a question of his own.


"You mentioned that gala earlier. What's it for?"


"Oh, raising money for the Maria Stark Foundation, one of Stark Industries philanthropic organizations." 

"I see." He glancing out towards the sun, then rose. "Thank you so much for yer hospitality, Miss Pepper, but I really should be going."


She rose and shook his head. "It was my pleasure. I'll let Tony know you stopped by."


"Is there a reason you're out here talking to yourself, dear?" Tony's groggy voice asked from inside.


Eagle froze but Pepper laughed. "Tony? You didn't get much sleep."


He wandered out onto the patio, rubbing his eyes. "Well, ya know I-" He stopped mid sentence as he locked eyes with Eagle. "You-"


"Tony, this is Andrew. . ." She paused. "I'm sorry I didn't get your last name?"


"Uhh, James! His last name is James. Andrew James I remember you now." He stepped forward, to shaking his hand. "Good to see you again."


"Same here." He shook his hand and smiled. "Just having a chat with Miss Potts about our project."


"Project?"


His smile fell a little. "You're security protocols?"


"Oh, yes, that." He laughed, scratching the side of his neck. "Sorry, my brains not fully operational yet. Still working out the bugs, ya know."


"Yeah, I get it." 
 Pepper nodded. "Well, I'll leave you two to it. I have some work of my own to do."


"Oh . . . but I just got here?" Tony pouted. 


"You and I will talk later, ok?" She smiled and pecked his cheek. "Love you." 


He grinned after her as she gathered up the glasses and walked inside. "Love you too." 


Eagle stood there, watching, his fake smile fading away. 


"Well," Tony turned back to him, "Wasn't expecting to find you here." 


"Yeah, sorry. Had to play it out."


"Let's just head back to your room and talk, shall we?" 


He nodded and followed him into the hall. 


"I'm impressed," He continued, "you came up with that all off the top of your head. Good story."

"Reckon."


Tony glanced at him as he punched in the code. "Reckon? What's that supposed to mean?"


Eagle shifted his feet. "Sorry I had to lie to her."


"Don't be like that." He scanned his eye and then door popped open. "What else were you supposed to do? Wait, I'm the dude that smashed your fence down (time) ago and you never found out why?"


"I know," He followed him inside. "Just don't like it."


"Speaking of lies and half-truths," he gestured to the easy chairs in the corner. "We've got some homework to do." Lounging in the chair, he held up the notebook. "Look familiar?"


Eagle eyed it as he sat down stiff, then relaxed and sank back into it. "Should it?" 


"Yeah, you wanna know who's this is?" 


"Yours?"


He scowled. "No. You know, I actually had a nice little chat with it's owner the other day. Actually. he's an old arm buddy of yours. Knox, I think his name was."


He looked up, something brightening his dark eyes. "Shoulda known it was Bookkeeper's."


"Bookkeeper? So scrupulously taking notes was a regular for him?"


He nodded. "Was always writin' things down, either then or later. Somebody in the unit called him that once and we never stopped."


"He sends his love."


"How'd you find him?"


"Well, I actually didn't. Rhodey did." He slid the notebook across the coffee table to him. 


Taking it, he flipped it open. He turned stiff, jaw clenching.


"Yeah," Tony clicked his tongue, "Probably shoulda slapped an R rating on it before just handing it over."

He stared down at the book in silence. His eyes raced over the pages, devouring the date at a horrifying rate. Blood receded from his face, somehow showing up under his tan skin. 


Reaching out, he rested a hand on his shoulder. "You ok?"


Shutting the book, he shoved it back across the table to him. "Yep."


"For somebody who doesn't like lying, you're pretty good at it." He prodded.


He pressed his back against the chair, eye's hard. "Wadda you wanna know?"


Picking up the book, he flipped back to the beginning. "I don't wanna rub salt in the wound, so to speak, but we've got some things we need to discuss. From what your buddy Bookie write here, there is a credible threat from a reborn HDYRA."

In return for his piercing stare, he continued, "In other words, I believe you. Sorry I didn't before."


His cocked an eyebrow. "You do?"


"Yes, so if you're up for it, I'd like to unpack this a little."


"Fire away." 


"Let's start with backstory, how you got there. Mission parameters. Says here - and I quote this wonderful short-hand, "40 clicks W - I guess that means 'west' of base intercepted courier w/ 400 k . . . Kilos?"


He nodded. "Yeah."


"Of missiles by Stark. Assume stolen." 
 


He could see the manifest in his hand, reflecting the blazing sun. "Yeah."

Tony eyed him. He knew that look, that spaced out feeling. He'd felt it. 

Clearing his throat, he continued, "Long story short, you figure out where the missles were being taken, you go there, you get attacked and before you could all get rescued, you and one other officer got yourself captured to protect the rest of the team, right?"

She was screaming in his head. That face. Her voice telling them don't! Gunfire, then blood his leg. His own voice yelling for her to go.

"Yeah, that's right."

"Well, then of course there's the planning of the rescue mission, who's going, yada yada . . . here we go. First they find the cave, everything and everyone inside destroyed-"

He remembered it's ceiling. Rocky and dark behind the floodlights. And the needles in his forearms. After that, it got fuzzy. Blood. Faces. Gunfire. The shearing pain of bullets blazing through his flesh. His fists striking, his arms throwing. But it all snapped into focus as he felt the wings for the first time. Felt their feathers brush his back. Felt the pain of flapping them to fly away.

He tried to speak. But his voice had dried in his throat.

"And then, they found you, a whole thirty clicks west out in the desert. Laying in a heap."

"Almost died of dehydration."

Tony cocked his head at him. "I. . . bet." He scanned the page and then frowned.

"What's this about you rambling about ahh - Gaia??"


That face plastered itself across his vision. Her horribly beautiful face. He sat there, eye blanking out.


"Uhh, says here you quote, "Warned us over and over don't let Mother Goddess Gaia touch them?" He looked up. "The Greek Goddess of Earth Gaia?"


Without a word, he stood up and walked to his nest. 


Tony shut the book. "Guess that means were done here." Standing up, he followed him. "You ok?"


He curled up in the pillows, burying his face in them "Tired." 


"Tired of the sound of my voice I suppose?" He sighed and stowed the book away in a drawer. "I get it. It was a tough time. Get some rest." 


"Thanks."


Nodding, he left the room, instructing JARVIS to kill the lights as he did. 


He'd just punched in the code and turned around, just to see Pepper standing there with hands on her hips.


"TONY, who is he?"


"I can explain."


"You'd better. I don't know what sweet talking he did to get into this house, but if that man told me he was a ballerina from Paris I would've believed it."


He laughed. "Really, it's not what it looks like."


She sighed. "You know, you blew his cover wide open."


"I did?" He pointed to himself. 
 "Yes, he's a much, much better actor." She wrapped her arms around him. "And liar." 


"You know me so well." He replied with a grin, kissing her.


Accepting it, she pushed back after a moment, "So, who is he?"


"Ok, there's somethings I can't tell you about him. But I can tell you is that he's harmless, he's part of a research project I'm working on and well . . . he's name's not Andrew James?"


"I could have guessed that!" She shook her head. "Is there you can actually tell me?"


"No, I can't!" He sighed. "Sorry."


"I just want don't there be aliens invading or government agent swarming around our home because of something you two plotted." 


"There won't be, I promise." He tilted her face up. "Trust me, I promise."


"Ok . . ."

They walked to their suite, arm in arm.

Eagle yelled into his pillow, where only JARVIS could hear.