Chapter 10
Tony sent Tiffany to school with Happy and all he really wanted to do was go and visit Pepper but he knew he couldn’t. He never thought how much three days of not seeing someone could affect him so much. He was afraid that Pepper was going to quit on him. He needed to keep her Happy. Tony needed basic paper and a pen and with all the technology in his house he wasn’t going to use any of it. He thought something handwritten he would give Pepper.
Tiffany waited until Happy drove away and walked back out of the school. She text Wade to see if he would give her a ride and he said he couldn’t so she started to walk. She wasn’t sure if Tony would be home or not so she decided to walk back home and scope it out.
When she got home she saw his car in the front and decided to slip inside quietly. She was praying Jarvis would be working on something for Tony and it was. She saw his keys in plain site on the table. She tiptoed in and grabbed them off the table. She closed the door quietly and hopped into his convertible and sped off down the road. She loved the feeling of the breeze off the water. She turned on her phone and typed in the address for the mall in Beverly Hills. She needed retail therapy.
Tony kept looking at his phone to see if Pepper text him and when he didn’t see any texts from her he was a little sad. It just didn’t feel like home without Pepper there.
“Sir there is a phone call from Malibu high school” Jarvis said.
“Answer it” he said.
“Hello this is Malibu High School calling to let you know your child was not at school today” said a robotic voice.
“Jarvis put me through to Malibu high school” Tony said in a bit of a panic.
“This is the Malibu High School attendance office. How can I help you?”said a female voice.
“I just got a call about my daughter not being in school and it has to be a mistake” Tony said as he started walking up the stairs to get his keys.
“What’s her name?” The woman said.
“Tiffany Stark” he said.
“No it’s correct. She wasn’t present for role call” the woman said.
“What do you mean she’s not in school? My driver dropped her off this morning” Tony said.
“Sir I’m only the secretary. I have no idea” she said.
Tony hung up the phone and he felt a panic wash over him. He called Happy immediately.
Happy said he dropped her off and watched her walk in the door and then he left.
He went to grab his keys off the table and noticed that they were gone along with his car.
God dammit. Not the Audi. If I find a single scratch on that car I’m going to kill her he thought.
He put on the iron man suit and decided he was going to bring her home.
Tony hopped into the suit and had Jarvis try and immediately locate where Tiffany was.
“Jarvis any news on Tiffany’s location” Tony asked as he was flying aimlessly above California not sure which direction he should be heading.
“I’ve located your car sir. It’s at the Beverly Center in Beverly Hills” Jarvis said.
Beverly Hills JESUS CHRIST. I”M GOING TO KILL HER, he thought.
Tony was relieved she wasn’t held hostage in some basement but angry as hell that she stole his car and went to the mall. After about fifteen minutes he touched down in the Beverly Center parking deck next to his car. He decided he was going to go in and find her. He was getting strange looks from everyone around as he walked through the mall in the iron man suit.
Pepper was laying out on her balcony sunbathing in a bikini watching Netflix on her iPad. She paused the show to check her personal email and there was an article on yahoo. It said iron man was spotted at the Beverly Hills mall. Pepper looked at the time and it was only 12:30. She couldn’t imagine what Tony would be doing at the mall at that time. She hoped everything was ok but she figured if he needed her he’d call her and she went back to her Netflix.
“Sir I have a location on your daughter” JARVIS spoke.
“It’s about time. Where is she?” he asked.
“Gucci store second level” he said.
“Sir I recommend that you use the elevator and not fly up” Tony agreed and hit the elevator button. He walked in and flipped the mask open.
“Hello” he said to the family sharing his elevator.
“Are you really Iron Man?” the child asked.
“Billy that’s rude. I’m so sorry” the mother of the boy said.
“It’s ok. Yes I am Iron Man” he said.
“Iron man shops at the same mall that’s so cool” he said.
“My assistant is on vacation” he said and shrugged as the elevator continued up awkwardly. The elevator rang and the door opened.
“Well that’s my stop” he said as he headed out and when he turned left he was facing the Gucci store.
He casually strolled over to the store. He could hear his armor clinking every step of the way and even though he liked that people could hear it and he hoped Tiffany could hear it he made a note to upgrade. It wasn’t exactly good for sneaking up on enemies. He continued to clink all the way to the Gucci store and was getting strange looks from the passersby.
“Mr. Stark how can we help you today? Would you like to look at our new collection of sunglasses?” the sales woman asked.
“No I’m actually looking for someone” he said.
Tiffany was paying her bill and she turned around and her face was white. She nearly dropped her shopping bags.
“Have fun?” he asked.
“Tony-I” she was at a loss for words.
“Party’s over. Let’s go” he said as he grabbed her hand.
“Make me” she said pulling her hand away angrily.
“Why so you can make a scene and try and get me in trouble some how?”
“You can’t make me go with you”
“Ok that’s fine. I’ll leave and call the police and report my car stolen if you’d rather a squad car takes you home” Tony said.
Tiffany looked around and everyone in the store was staring at them. She knew this looked really bad. She didn’t say a word and just followed him to the car.
“Give me the keys” he said.She placed them in his hand and didn’t say a word.
“Where do I even begin? Let’s see. First you cut school. How did you get back to the house from school?” he asked.
“I walked” she said.
“That’s really safe Tiff” he said sarcastically. Tiffany was about to open her mouth.
“Then you stole my car and drove all the way to Beverly Hills when you don’t even have your license yet. You know this could affect you getting your license? I could have called the police but I didn’t. I care about you and I’m trying to protect you. Why are you doing this?” he asked.
“I don’t need you to protect me. I need you to stay out of business and leave me alone. I had a father and he died. I never asked for this” she said. Tony felt the sting of her words but didn’t let on that he was hurt.
“There are still dangerous men out there looking for you. These men killed your mother. Do you not know how serious this is?” he asked as he raised his voice when they pulled up to a traffic light.
“And what have you done about it besides keep me prisoner?” she yelled back at him.
“That’s not fair. I’m searching for a ghost. How can I find someone who I don’t even know? I promised you I would avenge your mother’s death and I will” he said.
“If you really loved her he’d be dead already” Tiffany said angrily.Those words really haunted Tony. He didn’t need a remind that he didn’t do enough to help Rachel.
“That’s it. You’ve forced my hand. When we get back. We’re going on official lock down. If you open your door or a window I will get a notification. Everything you do will be monitored and you are not to leave the house for any reason unless approved by me except for to and from school and Happy will be escorting you to and from every class until it sinks in your head how serious this is” he said as he pulled up in front of his house.Tiffany stormed out of the car and marched up to house.
“I hate you” she screamed and ran inside and ran into her room. Tony was frustrated. He wanted to smash something and thought about having a drink instead. He threw his keys down and went to his bar and opened up his favorite bourbon. He poured a generous glass.Tony downed his drink and the doorbell rang. Finally,he thought. He opened the door and it was Natasha Romanoff.
“Thanks for coming” he said.
“Tony you look...stressed” she said trying to think of a word to describe the man in front of her. He had on a wrinkled t-shirt and his wavy hair was very disheveled. He hadn’t even picked up his mail. She stepped over it and shut the door behind her.
“That’s an understatement. You want something to drink?” he asked trying to be a generous host.
“Sure I’ll have a coke” she said. She had never seen the Stark Mansion in such disarray. There were papers all over the table and dishes in the sink.
“You want ice?” he asked.
“Sure” she said. Tony filled a cup with ice and opened the can of coke and poured it in.
“What did Pepper finally quit on you?”she asked.
“No she took a couple of days off. She will be back Thursday” he said as he shifted uncomfortably.
“So tell me what’s going on?” she asked.
“I need to know that I can trust you. I need to know that you’ll be discreet and this will stay between us. No Shield” he said as he took another swig of his bourbon.
“You can trust me” Natasha said.
“It’s about my daughter” he said.
“Yeah I heard on the news. How come you never told us? We’re a family” she said.
“Well that’s what I’m about to tell you. I had no idea until two weeks ago” he said. Natasha wrinkled her brow. She wasn’t sure what to say. She knew now why Tony looked so crazed. He was raising a teenager daughter and Pepper was on vacation.
“So what happened?” Natasha asked.
“Well I got email from an old girlfriend and she asked me to meet her after the MIT reunion and when I got there I didn’t even recognize her. She had on a wig and a baseball hat. Anyway she gave me a letter and a hotel key and told me that she was in trouble and she had no time. She said there was something very important in her hotel room that she needed me to take care of. She said the letter explained everything and that she needed to go and she took off” Tony said.
He was about to continue when they heard a scream of frustration coming from upstairs and a door slamming and the sound of footsteps.
“You banned me from YouTube? What do you think I’m five years old?” she screamed as she headed towards the kitchen and then stopped abruptly when she saw a red headed woman talking to her Tony.
“I will take you off restricted when you start acting your age”
Natasha could see the anger flare up in the young girls eyes. She stormed into the other room and tried to go outside where she was restricted by Jarvis.
“I can’t even go outside. I want to go swimming” she said.
Tony was wondering why he could see the ties of the bathing suit Pepper had picked out for her.
“You can go swimming if Miss Romanoff doesn’t mind sitting outside with me to finish our conversation” he said.
“That’s fine” Natasha said.
“Is she one of your girlfriends too?” Tiffany said angrily.
“No she’s one of the Avengers and she’s helping me out with something. Natasha this is my daughter Tiffany” Tony explained.
“Nice to meet you” she said.
“Does Pepper know? What do you have a thing for redheads?” Tiffany asked.
“Yes Pepper knows Agent Romanoff and she doesn’t care” Tony said.
Tiffany rolled her eyes and waited by the door for Tony to give them access. Tony typed in his override code and it allowed Tiffany to head out to the pool. Tony and Natasha followed her out and sat at the tables.
“Seriously you don’t need to watch me” Tiffany yelled back.Tony ignored that and turned his attention back to Natasha.
“I’m sorry. Where was I?”he asked.
“Right after she took off” Natasha said as she sipped at her coke.
“I went up to the room and I found Tiffany. She told me her mother said she was coming back with her father and that’s when I put it together. We took the plane home and I read the letter. To make a long story short. I got her pregnant and her mother was first to find out. She called my father for money and he paid them to disappear immediately. Her and her family vanished without a trace. So I didn’t even know Tiffany existed. Turns out she married some guy who got into some money laundering and someone killed him and her and her mother witnessed it. So they were on the run when I intercepted Tiffany and twelve hours later her mother was killed. I need to keep Tiffany safe but I don’t know who I’m looking for” Tony explained.
He was about to continue when his phone pinged. He got a text from Pepper. It was a selfie of her sunbathing in her bikini. He smiled to himself. She looked radiant and sexy.
“HOTTIE” Tony typed back.When he looked up Natasha was staring at him.
“Sorry it was Pepper” he said shyly.
“You guys still haven’t shacked up? I thought you’d be married by now” Natasha said.
“It’s complicated” Tony said. Natasha gave him a sympathetic look. She knew how complicated he was. His own self loathing standing in his way.
“So what did you need from me?” Natasha asked.
“I did some digging on her husband. Here is a list of names of some people he has done business with. They come up clean but I’m not convinced they are. I was wondering if you could do a deeper search and see if you could find anything more out. I would do it myself but I can’t leave Tiffany alone while people are out looking for her” Tony explained.
“Sure no problem” Natasha said taking the list as they stood up.
“Time to go inside” Tony announced to Tiffany.
“Are you serious?”she asked.
“Yeah you can’t be out here alone” he said. Tiffany stormed out of the pool and swung the door open of Tony’s outdoor shower and grabbed a towel from the linens and wrapped it around her and was heading towards Tony.
“What the hell are those?” he asked trying not to look at his daughters breasts.
What she had done was unmistakable and he was not happy about it.
“Nipple piercings Tony. Surely you’ve seen a girl with them before” she said.
“You’re only sixteen. I want to know the name of the place that would pierce a minor’s nipples” he said angrily.
“It’s none of your business” she said as she stormed past him.
“Looks like you have your hands full here. I hope things get better soon” she said.
“It’s a little chaotic but look at how happy Pepper looks on her vacation. She looks radiant” he said showing Natasha the pic Pepper had sent.
“You really care for her don't you?”she asked. She could see Tony squirming inside as he nodded.
“Tony look at us. Thor is in Asgard and Jane is on earth. Bruce can’t be intimate or he’ll Hulk out, Steve’s love is eighty years old dying in a hospital. I’m a spy. Besides Clint you’re the only one with a chance at happiness. Don’t throw it away” she said as she walked out the door.