Chapter 12
Tony sat in his lab, drinking his third cup of coffee. He had slept in the lab for a few hours last night, not bothering to go up to his floor. He didn’t want to have a chance encounter with Cap or anyone else really. Tony tried not to think much about the previous day, little bits of guilt creeping in as time passed. In all honesty, he didn’t really have anything against Celia, but this was all happening so fast and he was not one to trust easily. And too many things weren’t adding up.
Jarvis had done more sleuthing and found out that the name change had been legal, but the court records were sealed. Was she in Witness Protection? Did she have some sordid past that she was running from? Until he knew for sure, he had to assume she wasn’t safe.
Natasha had left two hours ago to begin her surveillance, promising updates if anything came up. He hated this part of the job, which is why he let others handle it. Investigating wasn’t his thing, he would rather swoop in as Iron Man and take care of business, not do the work figuring out what business needed to be done.
He briefly glanced at his project from the night before, not in the mood to bang on anything at the moment. His other projects involved too much careful tinkering and he didn’t have the concentration they deserved. He kept running through what Natasha had said to him last night, trying to poke holes in her theory.
Tony Stark didn’t get scared. Tony Stark flew a nuke through a wormhole.
As if some team drama could shake him. Although, if he really let himself think about it, his heart just about leapt into his throat when he got Cap’s call yesterday morning. Rogers was not the type to ask anyone for help, but when Tony heard the sound of his voice, it was like a bucket of ice water rushed through his veins. And the abrupt hang up only made things worse. Those few minutes of suiting up, contacting Shield, getting to the building, and finding out what floor the elevator was stuck on were the longest of his life. He had no idea what he would see when the doors opened, but when he saw Cap was alive and mostly well, he played it off cool and aloof. Once again, he was appreciative of the privacy the Iron Man helmet gave him.
“Sir, there is an incoming call for you from Ms. Romanoff,” Jarvis said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Put her through,” he said quickly, ready for any type of news. “What’ve you got?” Tony asked, as soon as the call connected.
“She’s been busy,” Natasha said cooly, “Hasn’t stopped moving since she left her place an hour ago.”
“Give me a rundown,” Tony demanded, adding on a hasty “please” when Natasha huffed out an annoyed laugh.
“Her first stop was the bank. I obviously couldn’t go in, but I watched through the window and it took a bit longer than a normal transaction, with some paperwork having to be signed. Second stop was a storage unit. In and out pretty quickly, but she came out with a couple duffle bags. Now, I’m following her on the street,” Natasha relayed, the sounds of other people faintly in the background.
“So she’s running,” Tony said, pounding his fist down on the table in front of him. He knew they shouldn’t have let her leave before sending her to Shield. She should be their problem right now, not his.
“Seems like it.”
“Don’t let her out of your sight!”
“Oh, is that how I do my job? I wasn’t sure. Maybe you should come out here and do it yourself,” Natasha suggested, sounding irritated.
“Sorry, I’m just frustrated,” Tony grumbled, not wanting to anger Natasha into abandoning their mission. “I will defer to you from now on, Master Spy.”
“I could get used to being referred to as such,” Natasha said brightly. He could practically hear the smug smile in her voice. “Hold on,” she said abruptly. Tony stopped his restless movements, as if it would help anything.
“What is it?” he whispered, although he wasn’t sure why.
“She just made a buy,” Natasha said, sounding mildly impressed.
“Of what? Are you sure?”
“Oh yeah, it was pretty smooth too. They did the accidental bump, pretty textbook. I couldn’t see what was exchanged, but the guy doesn’t look like a drug dealer. Probably papers.”
“She’s definitely running, shit!” Tony yelled, swiping a pile of paper onto the floor. One of his robots immediately rolled over and started picking them up, forcing Tony to move away from the table. He started pacing, trying to figure out their next moves. Should they call Shield now? Give Celia a chance to explain herself?
“What do you want me to do?” Natasha asked. “I think we have all the info we need to prove there’s something going on.”
“Bring her back to the tower. I want answers and if we turn her over to Shield, I might not get the ones I want,” Tony said, tapping a steady beat on his thigh.
“Alright.” Tony listened as Natasha’s steps picked up, now that she didn’t have to be careful to not be spotted. “Oh my gosh Celia, what a surprise running into you!” Natasha said in an overly cheery voice.
“Fuck,” Celia hissed, blowing out a startled breath. “What do you want?”
“I was hoping we could have a little girl talk, maybe back at the tower,” Natasha suggested in a way that made it clear it wasn’t optional.
“Damn, that sounds like fun, but I’m booked solid for the rest of the day. I think I’ll be able to squeeze you in tomorrow though,” Celia brushed off. Tony hated not being able to watch what was happening, but was glad Natasha hadn’t hung up the phone, so he could listen.
“I insist,” Natasha said, a slight edge to her voice now.
“I’m busy,” Celia ground out.
“Let me talk to her,” Tony cut in, sick of being on the outside of the conversation.
“Are you sure? I think she likes you least of all Tin Man,” Natasha joked.
“Very funny Wicked Witch, just do it,” Tony snarled.
“My associate would like to talk to you,” Natasha said, pulling the phone away from her ear.
“No.”
“She said no,” Natasha relayed, slightly amused.
“I heard her,” Tony snapped. “I thought you were good at this. Threaten her or something, I’m sick of playing games!”
“You can talk to us or you can talk to Shield, your choice,” Natasha said, making Tony smile. Finally, they were getting somewhere.
“Please, I just need a day. I’ll go wherever you want me to tomorrow, I’ll answer all your questions, but I need a day,” Celia said, a bit of desperation leaking into her voice.
“Sorry, but after what I saw today, you are a definite flight risk. So, you can either come with me quietly, or come with me the hard way,” Natasha said, done with the conversation. She whistled loudly, making Tony cringe away from the phone. He heard the sounds of a car door opening and Natasha prattling off the address of the tower. “See you soon.” Natasha cut off the call and Tony sagged down onto a stool. The hard part was over. Now he had to round up the rest of the team for the interrogation.