Summary:Tony Stark gets Jessica Drew up to date on the Aegir matter and resolves to re-connect the Avengers. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Tony Stark is in his office and thinking how great it is to engage in the work seemingly ordained for him. It sounds a little presumptuous, but Tony, in spite of his MANY vices, did seem like a man adrift unless he had a grindstone to put his nose to.
After a moderate hiatus where he opted to re-center himself, re-define what was important, he was back in the office and reaching out to everyone he knew. Tony Stark was back, and things were heating up again.
Jessica was being escorted up by one of Tony's many assistants, who seemed none too happy about the arrangement. The woman has given Jessica dirty looks and curt answers. But it's something that Jessica has grown accustomed to from other women. Such was her own plight.
"You'll be having a better day, once you're out of my proximity," she reassures the assistant with a smile.
"I don't doubt that," comes the woman's reply, before the door is opened, and Jessica's arrival has been announced.
Jessica feels confident as she steps into the doorway, clad in an espresso leather blazer and boots, an ivory sweater beneath the blazer, and boot-cut jeans. Her hair is down, a tousled mane of dark hair with a hint of curl.
But as she steps into Tony's office doorway, the assistant steps back and waits to be dismissed, giving Jessica the worst side-eye she's gotten in weeks.
Tony is standing at the window, looking out at the city, when the door opens. He turns around, looking crisp in his expensive suit, but the hair seems slightly unkempt. He nodded to Brenda. "Thank you, Brenda, that should be all. I'll handle things from here."
Brenda leaves, with a little hustle in her walk. Tony had a sneaking suspicion he knew why Brenda was so put off. It was most likely the same reason many were put off by her, and why men and other women gazed meaningfully at her like Flynn Rider had gazed at Rapunzel in that Disney movie.
Tony stepped forward and extended a hand. "Nice to see you again, Jessica. How've you been holding up?"
"I've been well. Better, since I returned from Russia. There aren't enough clothes in that country to keep me warm there," Jess replies with a warm laugh, as she takes Tony's hand and shakes it. "And look at you, all dapper and fresh from sabbatical. Sorry I pissed off your intern. She'll be all right once she gets some fresh air. I hope the break has done you some good?"
Tony nodded, walking over to the liquor cabinet. "I think so. I've had some time to reflect, time to re-engage the jets, and I got back and hit the ground running. Want anything? I have some Patron from the Super Bowl party." He begins to pour himself a Scotch on the rocks.
"I'm have what you're having. A double. Neat," Jessica replies, adding a sweet little "Pleeeease?" at the end. "So where are your jets aiming you, now that you've got 'em engaged?"
Tony grins and pours a double Scotch, no ice, for the spider-spy. He hands her her glass, then says, "Well…I made contact with a citizen from Atlantis. A Lady Mera. Apparently they are having some trouble with a group to be identified, and this group seems intent on screwing up Atlantean/Landlubber relations."
"Of course they are. If there are relations anywhere, there is someone bent on screwing them up," Jess quips with a grin, as she lifts her glass to Tony and takes a mouthful of the amber liquid…holds it there a moment, then swallows thoughtfully. "Don't have any leads yet on this group to be identified?"
Tony shakes his head. "She said she talked to Thor about it, so I'm trying to get Fabio down here to spill what he knows. Haven't been able to call in The Last Boy Scout yet, but here's hoping Rogers will show up soon. In the mean time, I did an end run around political gerrymandering and set up a trade agreement between Stark Industries and the businesses of Atlantis. Pepper drew everything up, gave them the Phouka treatment, and they were ratified on the DL a couple of days ago. Giving Atlantis a multinational corporation as a friend should stymie the bad guys, and if they go after Atlants, we are legally allowed to provide help to our business partners."
"Sounds like you've got this all wrapped up, then," she comments as she takes a few pacing steps. She paces a slow circle, swirling her glass gently. "Awfully convenient that Atlantis suddenly has a global partnership, too. What sort of trouble has this unidentified group been causing them?"
Tony sips his drink. "All right. Stick to something solid, here. An Asgardian god of the sea, Aegir, is in cahoors with some group or entity known as the Gorgon. They were trying to destroy New York, only their weapon, crystal-based by the description, was trashed. They're looking for some Atlantean artifact. She was worried that us Landlubbers were going to get attack by the Gorgons and blame Atlantis for it."
"Fair enough," Jess replies, and she stops circling. "So how do I help? I have resources at my disposal, but nothing more than you have. So I suppose this is the point at which you begin to delegate." Jessica narrows her eyes playfully, leaning against Tony's desk with a quirked, half-grin.
Tony chuckles. "I wouldn't call it *delegate.*" He looks thoughtful for a moment, then adds, "It might *be* that, but I wouldn't call it that. Right now, I'm trying to get the 411 from Mr. Hammer Time, but in the meantime, I'd like you to get some feelers put out. Do your spy thing, check whatever info networks you're still plugged into. The voodoo that you do so well." He walks over to the desk, settling into his chair. "Update the encrypted comm rigs we have. I have a team of lawyers who are running low on chum and are ready to jump in to protect the agreement if the government gives us grief. But the less people know about our involvement, the better. We need the element of surprise before we jump into this thing. I want them to not know what hit them.:
"Sounds like you've got it all planned out. That's what I like about you. Never a loose end in sight." Jess takes another swallow of her drink, watching Tony narrowly. "Maybe some time off did you some good. Can't imagine it's easy, all work and no play. So I'll get on those rings, and see what I can gather on the downlow. The lower I keep my profile, the better, anyway." She rakes her fingers through her hair thoughtfully, then nods. "I'll keep you abreast of what I'm findin'."
Jeez, the jokes you could make there. But have to keep focused, even though he's thinking about what Jessica's skin might feel like along the contour of her throst…
Jesus, Tony. TRY to keep your head on straight.
"All right. That's about it, but I'm working on trying to increase our commnet. The more one knows, the more EVERYONE should know." He drains his drink abruptly, feeling the mellow burn of the Scotch. "We need to be on point again."
"Well, you know you've got me, El Capitan. Anywhere you want me, just say the word." She smiles easily, and shakes her head. "Even if it means going looking for a few of our wayward lambs to bring back into the flock."
Tony nods. "Good thought. I'll send you the file I have from Mera, and update it if I get any new data. Yeah, in the meantime, if you get in touch with any of the others, tell them what we have, share the file, and we'll try to get everyone on board with this. The later it gets, the later it gets." He looked to her, stifled the first three thoughts that come to mind, then says, "And if you need anything, come to me and i'll get you kitted out. Maybe when Atlantis sees we're on the up-and-up, they can get over some of that xenophobia.{"
"That's just human nature, Tony. Atlanteans, humans…it's all the same. We're hard-wired from prehistoric times to recognize threats by sight. But it can be overcome. And the Atlanteans are good folk, for the most part. As much as humans are. Maybe better, some of 'em. It's just abjection that tears us apart. That's why we can come together for a common cause. We just have to focus on what we have in common, and not accentuate the differences. It'll come together." Jess drains her glass and nods affirmatively. "I'll start the To-Do list from hell, and inflict it on you."
Tony sighed. "Yeah. You're right, of course. We'll just have to take it as it comes." He heads for the Scotch again. "Anything you want to bring up, Jess, while we're here? We need to work on sharing again…"
"Just that we're gonna want to start looking at outfitting the team for ocean-faring missions. As much as I like getting wet, we're going to have to make sure the team's equipped for whatever comes." Jess smirks. "Not that you hadn't thought of that already."
"Might have to get a tally on who needs high-pressure-capable underwater suits. I can base them off the Mark 37 Armor data. Can't make it TOO bulky, though." He smirks to Jess. "Not unless YOU want yours outfitted with a mini-torpedo."
Jessica winks. "I /am/ a mini torpedo. Just put me in a wetsuit, and I'll do you some good." She frets at her bottom lip for a moment and nods. "Sounds like you're on the right track, though. Of course you are." Of course he is.
Tony nods. "Duly noted. Just…let's see what happens. There's gotta be more to this. We just have to figure out what it is." He sits down at his desk. "Now…if there's nothing else, I need to get back to work. I feel like I need to ramrod this thing into effect quickly…or the next time is going to be epically bad."
"You got it, Boss," Jess replies with fingerguns ablaze. She gets up from her perch on the edge of his desk and rakes through her hair again, looking around. "Think that about covers it. I'll think of 99 new problems for ya to chew on, but one of 'em won't be the lack of a little spider." Jess moves her empty glass from Tony's desk to the bar, and turns on her heel. "If ya need me, just whistle." And with that, she lets herself out of his office and sees her way out, past the scowls and dagger-laced glares of the assistants at their desks.