Chapter 15
Being as young as they were, there wasn’t really a lot to learn about most of the boys (Peter’s father being one of the few exceptions and luckily that didn’t come up in their get to know you questions). Brian’s fake leg and Bucky’s fake arm were interesting enough to hold the interest of everyone. Even Peter who knew all about Bucky’s arm, of course, but was just as interested in the prosthetic leg as the others were. Luckily, Brian wasn’t at all abashed about showing the other boys how he put it on and took it off, and then proved that he could get around pretty well even on one leg with some excellent balance and hopping.
He was just putting it back on again – for the third time – when they all heard a deep ringing.
“What’s that?” Ned asked, hopping up onto Peter’s bed to look out one of the two windows in the cabin.
“That’s the bell,” Ross told them, smiling. “It means we need to go down to the gym.” He looked pointedly at Brian but addressed everyone. “Are we ready?”
There were assorted sounds of agreement and Barnes found himself caught up in a rush to the door. They weren’t the only ones heading down the hill, either. Boys were streaming out from the cabins on their side, all chattering, excitedly with their counselors, while girls were doing the same from the other side of the clearing. They all ran by the bell on their way to the gym, eager to see what they were going to be doing.
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“Are you good?”
Stephen Strange nodded, gathering up his small stack of folders and making sure they were in the same order that he’d put them in as the campers checked in.
“Yes.”
“We really appreciate you doing this,” Nor told him.
He’d sent one of the kitchen people out to ring the bell and needed to get to the gym, but he wanted to make sure their doctor was good to go before he did.
Strange raised an eyebrow.
“I didn’t really have a lot of choice,” he reminded the camp director, who made a wry face and shrugged.
“You did,” he disagreed. “It just wouldn’t have been a good one – for any of us.”
“I suppose.”
Nor looked at his watch.
“You’re free to go do whatever you need to take care of until dinner – which is at 6:30.”
Since Strange had been given a copy of the schedule for the entire week (although things were always subject to change) he simply nodded.
“I’ll be in my cabin.”
He was one of the few staff who was allowed to keep his cell phone with him – although he also had a camp one, as well, now, in case anything happened, and someone needed to get in touch with him. This one was to be kept on at all times during the camp week and kept near at hand. Again, just in case something happened and they needed to get in touch with him.
Knowing that Nor needed to get to the gym (and not really wanting to engage in small talk, anyway) the sorcerer supreme headed for the door, more than ready to hide away for a while and try to avoid the kids that he’d been subjected to for the last couple of hours.
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“How’s it going so far?”
Romanoff frowned.
“Are you even home, yet?”
“We’re just pulling in,” Pepper told her, answering for Tony, who was parking the car in front of the house rather than going to the garage. “Is Peter having a good time?”
“He seems to be.”
“You're not watching him?”
“Barnes is watching him, Tony,” she reminded them both. “Not me.”
“But if something happens you’ll know right away, right?”
“You know I will,” Romanoff assured them both. “Right now they’re in the gym playing games designed to wear them out before dinner.”
“He could have played games here,” Tony grumbled, making both women smile.
He wasn’t completely serious, they knew.
“Him and 60 of his best friends?” Pepper asked, pointedly, making him scowl.
“You’re supposed to be on my side, Pep.”
She chuckled, resting a hand on his shoulder but turning her attention to the screen where Romanoff was watching them, also amused.
“We’ll be here all night,” she told the super spy. “If something comes up.”
“So will I,” Natasha promised them. “Good night.”
“Night.”
The video call ended and Pepper patted Tony’s shoulder before letting him go to open her door.
“Come on, Mr. Stark. I’ll make you a meal and we’ll spend some time together. Just the two of us.”
He raised an eyebrow, suddenly interested. It might have had something to do with the inflection in her tone when she’d mentioned just the two of them.
“What kind of time?”
“What do you mean?”
“Naked time?”
Pepper shrugged, pleased that she had a very convenient way to take his mind off their son being away from home for the first time.
“That could be arranged.”
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“Well?”
“Well I haven’t packed up and returned home, have I?”
“Have you had to doctor anyone, yet?”
“Not, yet. Hopefully not at all. I’ll be handing out prescription meds when they are due, but that is all in the morning or before bed, so it isn’t going to be too bad, I suppose.” Strange stretched his feet out, enjoying the fact that his cabin had a porch and that porch had enough room for a chair. Even better that he could put his feet up on the rail that went around the porch. “For now I’m just here in case something comes up.”
“Which it might?”
“Probably not.” He dog-eared the page of the book that he’d been reading before Wong called, clearly looking forward to hearing that he was miserable. “This place is surprisingly well organized and well-staffed. There shouldn’t be any bit surprises or calamities.”
“You hope.”
“I hope.” He agreed. Then he smirked. “Here’s a little bit of interesting trivia,” he told his friend. “One of the kids here is the son of Tony Stark.”
There was a slight hesitation.
“The Tony Stark?” Wong asked. “Of Ironman fame?”
“The one and only. I’m probably not supposed to tell you that,” he added. “So don’t spread it around.”
Wong rolled his eyes, even though Strange couldn’t see it in their regular call.
“Who am I going to tell?”
“True.”
“What’s he like?”
The doctor shrugged.
“He’s a little kid and he’s allergic to horses. That’s literally all I know about him – and hopefully all I’ll need to know. If things go right I won’t see him again until we’re saying goodbye to everyone.”
“True.”
Strange watched as the camp dog ran by with one of the lifeguards holding a stick that she’d clearly thrown for him a couple of times. She wasn’t dressed for the water, so apparently none of the kids were scheduled to swim that day.
“They aren’t worried about someone trying to kidnap him or something?” Wong asked. “Kid like that would be worth a fortune.”
“They have people in place,” Stephen assured him.
“But if something happened…?”
Strange shrugged and reached for the cup of coffee that he had sitting on the rail next to him.
“Then I’d have to take steps, I guess.”
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Steve frowned, looking at Natasha. They were staked out in a small hotel that was in the little town nearest to the camp. It was acting as their command center and there were several pieces of equipment on the desk. Listening equipment and all kinds of monitors and tech that were designed to keep Peter and the other kids at camp safe that week.
“What does that mean?”
She frowned, too.
“No idea.” She picked up her tablet. “Maybe we need to run another search on the good doctor…”
“Think he’s secretly with the mob, or something…?” Steve asked, joking.
It had been a weird conversation, for sure, but it didn’t sound like the mob.
“I think we’ll know in a little while if he is.”
She wasn’t joking, at all.