Why Was Natasha Able to Even Reach Tony?
Iron Man 2 – 2010.
“Your curriculum is very impressive, Ms. Rushman. Well, for a first interview, this went very well.” The middle aged man assured the nervous but still calm redhead sitting in front of him.
He was absently clicking all the recommendation letters when a folder of pictures got his attention.
“Uh… er…just a question.”
“Of course, sir.”
“A year modeling in Tokyo… in underwear?”
Natasha didn’t get where she was unable to read people, the plan was actually having Stark see her very fake résumé, his playboy tendencies were known far and wide, a picture of Natasha’s in her underwear and SHIELD was sure that Stark would come salivating.
Phil did warn her that Stark was showing interest in Potts so better strike now. Howard Stark was known as a womanizer too but for all that the media tried to imply, the older Stark never cheated on Maria Carbonell.
Since it wasn’t Stark interviewing her, Natasha still felt confident enough to bypass this little snafu. He was man after all. But he was either a lot more professional than most she met before or gay since all he showed was disbelief and… a little putout honestly.
Not good.
“Well… it was a good job, I was photographed and headhunted, good way to pay my students loans.”
That was a very nice spin. A little TV show, but still happens in real life enough. And this seems to calm the man that nodded in understanding and Natasha patted herself in the back but he was still talking about it and Natasha made herself pay attention, usually this would be so easy, but if anything, Stark would be up in his eyeballs with court dates if his company was targeted of patent breach every other week.
“I see. Still, Ms. Rushman…this raised some red flags that I’m having some trouble putting down. I could understand mentions and even comments about former employers but a picture is…I don’t want to assume, I don’t want to think the worst, so help me not to think that this,” he motioned to her open curriculum on the table, “is some way to ease your way into the company.”
“I… I’m so sorry, if you…if this was seen as a way to… weasel my way, I can assure you it’s not the case.” the pauses were manipulation but her scrambling was not. Natasha truly didn’t expect this.
Which was stupid of her. She was trying for a spot in legal, a minor spot that would probably mean carrying other people’s mails, that was expected, the plan was for her to get mail to “Mr. Stark” and begin the actual mission, how hard it would be once he got his eyes on her and then, predictably set his eyes on the pictures currently being in the way of her getting a position at all. But here she was, one of the greatest spies in the world, struggling to simply get in.
What was she thinking? What was SHIELD thinking? That the CEO of a multibillion company would interview her himself?
And what if the case that the interviewer was a very much straight woman? They didn’t think this through.
“I… I was simply advised.”
“Advised?”
“Yes…I’m so sorry, this is the first time that I write my resume, a resume that would actually see use. My teachers advised that I put pictures and even notes of coworkers, I didn’t even think…oh, god this is a disaster.” For emphasis, Natasha gently massaged her, genuinely, throbbing temples.
Yet here was her way out, mollified, the man nodded again and scheduled her next interview with a firm note to take her pictures out.
~*~
Aside from a few slides that had everyone, everyone, including the janitor that was emptying the trash cans, staring at her, Natasha made her way around and tried to keep her head down. The way these people are such close knitted group, her usual tact won’t be well received.
After months, she finally managed to get her plans back on track.
“Take this to Mr. Stark, he is with Ms. Potts in the second gym.”
Arriving, she held back a snort at the sweaty man but Potts wasn’t leaning away nor rebuffing his clear as day advances.
Just then, her coms pinged once indicating that her pictures were back and she could proceed, easy.
Or not so much, Natasha entered the ring and tried to ignore the man, Hogan. Although making his usual smooth playboy pass – Natasha suppressed rolling her eyes at the comments towards her curriculum – Stark’s eyes were straight on Potts. Now what?
“… never take your eyes off of your opponent.” Hmm. Potential.
Easily blocking the punch, Natasha changed her center of gravity, keeping her legs straight and hooking a knee in his neck, Hogan was on the ground.
Expecting an exclamation of surprise and admiration, she found herself in the end of at least a dozen AK47. FBI? What the hell?
“Slowly, put your hands in the air, and get up.” Clearly the CO. all of them were standing at least ten feet from her, too far to make the proper movements out of this situation.
Gritting her teeth, Natasha obeyed, without moving her head, she quickly spotted Stark and Potts reaching for Hogan, all three looking at her with suspicion and barely contained hostility.
For the second time in the same mission, Natasha felt stupid.
Why did she think that a man that was so thoroughly betrayed not two years ago by the closest thing to a father he had in decades would be impressed with a movement that even a woman interested in self-defense would never know? A movement that was clearly well practiced and comfortable for her. Meaning she did it before. Natasha had her reservations if Stark, Potts or even Hogan would be able to see any of it, but the FBI, for all their restrictions, were no bunch of incompetents.
“Boss, Ms. Potts, we should let them do their work.” Hogan escorted them out of the room while the agents handcuffed her and dragged her out.
Three hours later, she was in the closest FBI center being interrogated, the cuffs were impossible to escape, and it seems that Stark was escaping his contracts by supplying security measures, their SHIELD database was sorely lacking in info on them.
“Natalia Alianova Romanova, twenty five years old. Kidnapped at five and indoctrinated in the Red Room, HYDRA’s Russian cousin, a few years after “graduating” was turned against them in a mission for SHIELD to show your loyalty, after Clinton Barton, codename Hawkeye, vouched for you. Since then you have killed, stolen, blackmailed, threatened, tortured to… atone for your mistakes. I need to ask, do you even have an American visa or did SHIELD just hand wave that away too?”
Natasha could control even micro expressions, letting show what she wanted to show, but she couldn’t control the blood from leaving her face how the hell…
“Yes, I know… I shouldn’t… or better yet, wasn’t supposed to know any of this, right? Well, turns out that Dr. Stark didn’t exactly just gave a pass to Colonel… soon to be former Colonel Nicholas Fury. Dr. Stark was perfectly willing to overlook the fact that some agency he never heard of, which for someone of his background, would be a terrifying first, approached him wanting to “know more” about his escape, SHIELD helped with Stane after all, but after digging just a bit…even the most strained relationship… well, Howard Stark’s name came up and Dr. Stark couldn’t ignore it anymore.”
The agent leaned back, relaxed and almost amused, “That, when not counting the fact that a large part of the Stark fortune is still being used to fund a very much illegal organization that a Stark himself never heard of, he went over every hacked database and turned over to the FBI and CIA,” he smiled, genuinely amused, “The beauty is that Stark can’t be prosecuted for knowing international intelligence that not even U.S. wants their own citizens knowing after all… if you don’t legally exist… then no action against you is illegal… on the other hand… SHIELD doesn’t legally exist but its agents do, so they are liable to be sued…you people just don’t think things through, do you?”
It seems that he was not actually seeking any answers, why should he after all. He just got up, straightened his tie and made his way to the door before pausing as if contemplating, “Oh… also…I don’t know what you were trying to accomplish by performing a martial move on his bodyguard, but since Stane, Dr. Stark’s own godfather, tried to kill one of the most economical, social and political influential Americans that support President Ellis… well… FBI and CIA basically made camp at SI, and you know… we are pretty good, for all that SHIELD poaches militaries and our own agents since it seems that they have no training program of their own, we are nobody’s leftovers, the fact that we caught you by surprise… surprised us.”
With a last pointed look, he closed the door without ever telling her his name, the mechanism of the door made a beeping sounding, clearly locked…the Stark Industries logo staring mockingly at her.