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veldeiaTitle: Iron & Irony: Second Encounters
Author: Veldeia
Fandom: Iron Man/House MD
Series: Sequel to Iron & Irony. (Has nothing whatsoever to do with Malt & Mockery.)
Spoilers: Late season 4 for House, but before the finale, so nothing big. Spoils all of Iron Man and Iron & Irony, of course.
Pairings: Tony/Pepper
Rating: PG-13
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
btsxbeta <3
Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing, except for a messed up mind that likes playing with other people's characters and universes.
Summary: Working for a superhero is dangerous business. When House and Pepper get kidnapped, they learn this the hard way. Of course, the part of the hero who needs to find and rescue them isn't all that easy, either.
5. "Go where? China?"
"Okay, Tony, now, just take it easy, I know this is nasty, but -"
"Nasty?!" Tony leaped up from the sofa, feeling like he might just spontaneously combust any moment. "That's the understatement of the year! You were there when that thing happened to me," he shouted, gesturing at the TV screen. "You know what it was like! I barely survived it in a state-of-the-art hospital, and there she is, stuck in a cell God knows where -"
"In China."
"- and you're telling me to take it easy even though we can't do anything to... Huh? China? Where did that come from?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. finally came up with a possible location. Sitwell's been trying to call you all morning to let you know, but since you haven't picked up..."
"Ah, shit," Tony said, and fell back on the sofa again, a hand on top of his head. He realized he was chuckling in a way that probably sounded more than a bit hysterical. Yeah, he'd been so completely beside himself, upset out of his wits thanks to that video clip, that he'd ignored his phone, certain that it wouldn't be anything related to Pepper anyway. He wasn't exactly sure what he felt right now - he couldn't believe how stupid he'd been, he was still furious, he was still worried to death about Pepper, but he was incredibly relieved to finally have news.
"I didn't get the specifics yet, I told him I'd call him back once I'd checked on you -"
Tony took a few deep breaths, trying to collect himself, and stood up again. "Okay, let's go," he said, and headed towards the stairs.
Rhodey grabbed his sleeve. "Tony, wait! Go where? China?"
Tony snorted. "Don't be an ass, Rhodey." He shook his arm free and continued on his way. "To the S.H.I.E.L.D. office in L.A., of course. I'm going to need all the details, and then we'll need to start planning the rescue operation. A phone conversation won't cut it, I need to be there myself."
After a half an hour of speeding with the R8, they were standing in a high-tech conference room with Coulson, Sitwell and a few other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, staring at a table that doubled as a huge touch screen - courtesy of Stark Industries, of course. It currently showed a satellite image of China.
"After a thorough examination of flight data from LAX and several airports in New Jersey, we were able to pinpoint the plane that was used to transport them out of the country," Sitwell explained, his face practically alight with enthusiasm. "It was actually entirely obvious once we got there, since one of the owners of the cargo company was linked to Liang-Miller Incorporated, which in turn has been suspected of ties to the Ten Rings for a while now -"
"Sitwell," Tony interrupted him. "I already know that there's a connection, thanks to that video I told you about - the nanovirus made it plain enough. So, stick to the business. I don't want a detective story, I want to know where they are."
"Right, right," Sitwell said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "So. The flight documents said the plane was headed to Beijing, but it never actually landed there. Instead, it went here," he pressed a finger on the screen, which zoomed in to show an airport at the outskirts of a city. "The city is called Jiayuguan. And there," he kept his finger on the screen and scrolled the image downwards from the city, to an area with rugged, mountainous terrain. "These are the Qilian mountains, and this here is our best bet on their current location," he tapped on a bright red point in the image.
The screen now showed a stretch of empty-looking land, mountains, sparse vegetation - no sign of anyone there, no buildings, as far as Tony could see. "Right. Invisible enemies with an invisible base?"
"Uh, sorry, sir," Sitwell muttered, and fiddled with the control panel at the low edge of the screen. "There."
Parts of the image lit up red, showing a large, carefully camouflaged entrance at the foot of a mountain. There were also a few smaller bright spots higher up in the rock wall, probably indicating side entrances and ventilation shafts.
"As you can see, it's well hidden, but we were able to spot it anyway, since, you know, we are very good at what we do," Sitwell said self-importantly.
Tony rewarded him with a quick smile. "This is great. So, what sort of plans does S.H.I.E.L.D. have for the rescue mission?"
Sitwell swallowed and stared at his feet.
"Mr. Stark, there's one thing you've got to understand," Coulson said slowly, his tone apologetic. "We only promised to help with locating them. We're chiefly an intelligence agency, not a military one. Going in blind and storming an enemy stronghold that might have heavy defenses isn't exactly the sort of thing we -"
"Oh, come on! I've seen you participate in countless military operations!"
"Participate, yes, but not conduct," Coulson replied. "And more than that, this base is on foreign soil, and there are substantial diplomatic concerns -"
"I don't care! My people are out there, and they're going to die unless we get them back soon! Rhodey, you're my military liaison. You've got contacts, you could make arrangements, right?"
"What sort of arrangements are you talking about?" Rhodey asked, frowning.
"Well, obviously, I'll be going in as Iron Man, but I'm going to need back-up. Possibly a few fighters in case they've got air defenses, and troops to aid in the search, since it's bound to be a real maze in there, and transport to get people there and back again, and obviously a bunch of medics - that sort of stuff. Whatever the Air Force can afford. And whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. can afford. The more the better. I'll help with the expenses, of course. Gather all we can get, then we can narrow it down to what we need, and head to China the first thing tomorrow."
"S-sir, just wait a minute -" Sitwell stuttered.
"Seriously, Mr. Stark, you can't -" Coulson tried.
"Zip it. Not interested," Tony interrupted them. "Can I count on you in this, Rhodey?" he asked, looking his friend in the eye.
"Sure, Tony... I'll do my best," Rhodey said, sounding only slightly hesitant.
Tony slapped him on the back and said, "I know you will. Thanks."
Okay, so, maybe Tony was going a bit over the top with this. They could try a more subtle approach, it would probably be a smarter choice - but the bastards had given Pepper the nanovirus! There was no time. The video had been timestamped two days ago, and the bad guy in it had said that the new version was faster than the one Tony had had. Better just hit the bad guys as hard and as soon as possible.
Thinking about the nanovirus gave Tony an idea. A big and important one. "There's something I need to do about the suit," he announced. "I'm heading back to my shop. Let me know when you've got this sorted out."
He rushed out of the room, leaving Rhodey and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents staring after him in a baffled silence.
House returned from his daily chat with Liu - a series of polite but patronizing questions and extremely rude answers - to find Potts lying on her bunk. She never did that during the days. She was always pacing, or sitting up, fiddling with the mattress or the hem of her skirt - all in all, always showing that this total lack of activity was state as alien to her as it was to him. So, obviously, her lying down and doing nothing was a symptom. She even looked slightly pale under her freckles.
House hobbled the few steps from the door to her bunk and sat down by her side.
"I think I'm starting to get sick," she told him. It was entirely redundant, since he'd already figured as much.
"Well, that means at least one of us now actually has something to do," House remarked. "Let's find out whether you're actually getting sick, or just think you are."
He went ahead and examined her as best he could under the circumstances. Of course, he couldn't get any definitive nor entirely reliable data - there was no way he could get exact counts without a watch, just estimations. Of course, his estimations were better than many others' actual measurements would be. What he found fit in with what was to be expected: elevated respiratory and heart rate and a slight fever. Add to that the dizziness and muscle pains that Potts described herself, and she had the exact same early symptoms Stark had had when he'd gotten the nanovirus.
"Okay, it's not just in your head. Unless I'm imagining things too, you really are getting sick." House declared his diagnosis, and retreated to his bunk.
He sat with his back against the wall, rubbing his horribly aching thigh. Was he getting sick as well? He'd have expected to get the symptoms first, since she obviously had better immune defenses than he did at the moment. Then again, it was also possible that he was already sick and had been for a while, and just hadn't noticed it. He had been dizzy, his muscles were achy, and his pulse was clearly on the fast side as well. It might all be due to the withdrawal, or it might be because of the nanovirus. No way to be sure.
"How long do you think it's going to take?" Potts asked somberly.
"If this progresses like the strain that Stark had, you'll start having trouble breathing sometime tomorrow, and it'll keep growing steadily worse up to the point when you'll be completely unable to breathe on your own. As for when that's going to happen, it's impossible to predict. Same goes for me, of course. I might start getting worse sooner than you, though. Can't be sure."
"Oh, God... Tony really needs to get here soon," Potts said. Pathetic.
By now, House knew Potts was actually quite smart, not just a pretty face, and he couldn't believe how she kept putting so much faith in Stark. Superhero or not, he was only human. It was entirely possible that he wouldn't be able to locate them, or that he'd be unable to reach them. And it would be lame beyond description if they did nothing but sat here and waited for Stark or death, whichever arrived first.
"We should start considering other options," House thought aloud. "We could talk to Liu and get the cure." He supposed she'd understand that he didn't really mean giving out any information, just pretending to. He was pretty sure she could pull it off. She was used to dealing with the press, after all, and that called for a decent poker face.
"You suppose they really have a cure?"
"I suppose you actually have a brain. First of all, they'd need to have a cure as a safety measure, in case one of their own got infected. Secondly, what would be the point of capturing us, infecting us and trying to get information from us, if they didn't have one? What would they gain if we gave in and promised to talk, but dropped dead before we could tell them everything we knew?"
"I just think there's something weird about the way Liu is acting, like he doesn't care all that much about the information."
"He's obviously a sociopath, you can't expect to read much from his behavior," House said, and waved at the surveillance camera. Liu might hear every word they were saying, in which case any sort of plotting would be completely pointless.
Potts caught his gesture, and seemed to get the implications. She grimaced. "Well, I'm not going to talk. Not yet, anyway. We can wait a bit longer."
At around 1730, Rhodey was back at the mansion, wondering how the hell he was going to give the news to Tony. He'd rather have walked into a minefield. Even though Tony's expectations had been unrealistic to begin with, Rhodey was still disappointed in himself. He had done his best, like he had promised, but in this case, his best was nowhere near good enough.
He found Tony in the workshop, just like he had expected, sitting at a desk, working intently on the Iron Man suit's gauntlets. He didn't even look up when Rhodey entered the room.
"Almost done here. When can we leave?"
"Uh, well, Tony," Rhodey began. Damn. Here it came. "I've talked to all my connections, everyone I could think of, but..."
Rhodey's nervous tone seemed to catch Tony's attention. He let go of the gauntlet he'd been tinkering with, and turned to face Rhodey. "But what?"
"Coulson did mention that there would be diplomatic problems. Tony, you've got to understand, our relations with China aren't exactly an easy and straightforward business, and, well - ah, shit. It's going to take days before we can get clearance for any sort of an official operation. In a worst case scenario, we might not get it at all - because the way they see this, we're just talking about two civilians, it's not exactly a matter of great importance when it comes to national security..."
"For fuck's sake, Rhodey!" Tony slammed the table with his fist, so hard that the gauntlets leaped a few inches into the air. "I can't believe I'm actually hearing this! Pepper doesn't have days - if we don't get there soon it's going to be too late - I can't believe this, I just fucking can't believe it!"
"I'm sorry, Tony, I really am, but that's the way it is. We're not going to get any help from them unless we wait. I did get their unofficial, off-the-record OK for an Iron Man mission, as long as it's a covert one. That's the best we can get at short notice."
What Rhodey didn't say aloud was, Nick Fury had also made Rhodey promise he'd do his best to keep Tony under control, to prevent him from turning this into a diplomatic disaster. The very idea made Rhodey feel like a traitor, though he had to admit that Fury did have a point. He knew telling Tony about it would only make things worse, so he kept it to himself.
"If that's how it's going to be, fine!" Tony declared grimly. "I'll go and get them out of there all by myself, if that's what it takes."
"Not all by yourself," Rhodey said, and put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "You might not have an army, but there's going to be a War Machine by your side."
"Absolutely out of the question!" Tony exclaimed, and pulled away from him. "No. That suit's never been tested in action -"
"The suit's fine, we've been testing it for weeks and there's nothing wrong with it. Hell, I'm sure your suit wasn't half as ready when you first took it into a battle zone."
"Pepper's life is already in jeopardy because of me, I'm not going to let another friend risk theirs - Rhodey, no. I won't allow it."
"Look, Tony. Two suits are better than one. You wanted help, you've got it. I'm coming. You can knock me out if you want to, I'll just get myself a plane and follow you anyway."
"Damn it, Rhodey!" Tony shouted. He was breathing hard, his fists raised in front of him, looking like he really was about to punch Rhodey in the face.
Rhodey didn't as much as flinch. "Yeah. Face it, pal. You're not going in there alone."
They both fell silent, and just stared at each other - a Mexican standoff without guns. They'd been in similar situations before, and it was always Rhodey who gave up, because Tony was way more stubborn than he was, and a lot less reasonable. This time was different, though. There was only one possible outcome.
Finally, Tony let his hands fall to his sides and said, "Okay. I can finish this during the flight. Pack your stuff. I'll call my staff to get the jet ready for departure."
By the morning of their fourth day in captivity, both Pepper and House had started coughing.
"If we don't talk to Liu today, there's a good chance neither of us will live to see tomorrow morning," House said in a toneless voice.
"Yeah, I know."
Pepper knew they should do it. They should knock on the door and ask the guards to take them to Liu, and lie their teeth off to convince him that they had changed their mind and wanted to talk. If it went well, they'd be cured. If Liu didn't believe them, the worst thing that could happen would be that he'd kill them, but they were dying anyway. They had nothing to lose. And still, she didn't want to, didn't want to even pretend to sell out Tony - and she wasn't sure she could actually pull it off.
"Waiting for this to get any worse would be stupid, since we're going to talk sooner or later anyway," House said, like he could guess exactly what she was thinking. Was she really that easy to read? If she was, Liu might see through her too.
House sat up slowly, moved his good leg over the edge of his bunk and lifted his bad leg after it. "I'm going to do it right now. Potts, are you with me in this? If you're not, I can go alone, but that'll only save me. I don't think they'll help you just because I've decided to cooperate, no matter how nicely I ask."
She rubbed her eyes, and couldn't help noticing how feverishly hot her face was. "I... Yeah. Let's do it," she decided.
As she got off the bed, the room tilted and melted into a blurry haze, and she had to sit down again. Well, she thought, maybe she could be able to fool Liu. She was so sick already that it'd be hard to tell whether she was hesitant and red in the face because she was lying, or because she was ill.
House had already knocked on the door. It swung open to reveal a very suspicious-looking thug. "What?" he asked.
"Oh, wow, you speak English? I'm impressed," House sneered. "We need to see Liu. Right now."
"Yes," the guard said, and called out in a language Pepper couldn't recognize. Soon, three more cronies appeared behind him. Two of them grabbed House between them. Pepper got up and took a few swaying steps towards the door. The other two guards took her between them, pulling her arms over their shoulders. Soon, they were on their way towards Liu's room, half-carried by the guards.
The guards dropped them on two armchairs opposing Liu's desk, bowed reverently, and left the room.
"Well, well," Liu said. "You have finally come to your senses, have you? Or are you simply desperate and attempting to lie your way out of trouble?"
Pepper did her best to keep her face blank. "Look, this wasn't an easy decision to make. We don't want to die, so we're going to talk," she told him.
"I suppose a man of your intelligence could see through lies easily, anyway," House said - not a flattering remark, but a sarcastic one.
"Ah, Doctor House, you'd better drop the antagonism. In exchange for the cure, I will expect your full cooperation. Now, prove to me that you're sincere, and tell me what you know about Iron Man. How can one harm him when he's in the suit? How can one get him out of the suit?"
It took all Pepper's willpower not to shout "I won't tell you anything!" at the top of her voice. Instead, she started with an easy near-truth. "The suit is locked, you need voice authorization to open it, and the only people who have that are Tony and me." Tony had mentioned he was considering doing something like that, or a fingerprint or retina scanner, but so far, it was just talk. Anyway, it was a fact that wouldn't help the bad guys at all.
"Interesting," Liu said. "Please, do go on."
They did, coming up with a series of lies that she hoped would sound realistic, but which were far enough from the truth that they wouldn't be of any use against Tony. She couldn't estimate how convincing she was herself, but House was every bit as good at this as she had expected. If she hadn't known he was lying, she would never have guessed. He gave Liu extremely exact-sounding facts, like an accurate description of completely made-up health problems that he claimed Tony had had since Afghanistan, and understated numbers for how much heat and cold the suit could stand, or how long its internal oxygen supply would last.
"I think that's enough," House finished. "Cure us of the virus, and we'll tell you the rest of what we know."
"Very well, my dear Doctor," Liu said. "I'll keep my promise, but you must understand I can't fully trust any of what you've said. As it is, according to my contacts, Stark is currently on his way here. That means that by tomorrow, we should be able to test your information. I sincerely hope you'll survive until then, because I won't give you the cure before I can be sure you're telling the truth."
Chapter 6.
Author: Veldeia
Fandom: Iron Man/House MD
Series: Sequel to Iron & Irony. (Has nothing whatsoever to do with Malt & Mockery.)
Spoilers: Late season 4 for House, but before the finale, so nothing big. Spoils all of Iron Man and Iron & Irony, of course.
Pairings: Tony/Pepper
Rating: PG-13
Beta:
btsxbeta <3Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing, except for a messed up mind that likes playing with other people's characters and universes.
Summary: Working for a superhero is dangerous business. When House and Pepper get kidnapped, they learn this the hard way. Of course, the part of the hero who needs to find and rescue them isn't all that easy, either.
5. "Go where? China?"
"Okay, Tony, now, just take it easy, I know this is nasty, but -"
"Nasty?!" Tony leaped up from the sofa, feeling like he might just spontaneously combust any moment. "That's the understatement of the year! You were there when that thing happened to me," he shouted, gesturing at the TV screen. "You know what it was like! I barely survived it in a state-of-the-art hospital, and there she is, stuck in a cell God knows where -"
"In China."
"- and you're telling me to take it easy even though we can't do anything to... Huh? China? Where did that come from?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. finally came up with a possible location. Sitwell's been trying to call you all morning to let you know, but since you haven't picked up..."
"Ah, shit," Tony said, and fell back on the sofa again, a hand on top of his head. He realized he was chuckling in a way that probably sounded more than a bit hysterical. Yeah, he'd been so completely beside himself, upset out of his wits thanks to that video clip, that he'd ignored his phone, certain that it wouldn't be anything related to Pepper anyway. He wasn't exactly sure what he felt right now - he couldn't believe how stupid he'd been, he was still furious, he was still worried to death about Pepper, but he was incredibly relieved to finally have news.
"I didn't get the specifics yet, I told him I'd call him back once I'd checked on you -"
Tony took a few deep breaths, trying to collect himself, and stood up again. "Okay, let's go," he said, and headed towards the stairs.
Rhodey grabbed his sleeve. "Tony, wait! Go where? China?"
Tony snorted. "Don't be an ass, Rhodey." He shook his arm free and continued on his way. "To the S.H.I.E.L.D. office in L.A., of course. I'm going to need all the details, and then we'll need to start planning the rescue operation. A phone conversation won't cut it, I need to be there myself."
After a half an hour of speeding with the R8, they were standing in a high-tech conference room with Coulson, Sitwell and a few other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, staring at a table that doubled as a huge touch screen - courtesy of Stark Industries, of course. It currently showed a satellite image of China.
"After a thorough examination of flight data from LAX and several airports in New Jersey, we were able to pinpoint the plane that was used to transport them out of the country," Sitwell explained, his face practically alight with enthusiasm. "It was actually entirely obvious once we got there, since one of the owners of the cargo company was linked to Liang-Miller Incorporated, which in turn has been suspected of ties to the Ten Rings for a while now -"
"Sitwell," Tony interrupted him. "I already know that there's a connection, thanks to that video I told you about - the nanovirus made it plain enough. So, stick to the business. I don't want a detective story, I want to know where they are."
"Right, right," Sitwell said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "So. The flight documents said the plane was headed to Beijing, but it never actually landed there. Instead, it went here," he pressed a finger on the screen, which zoomed in to show an airport at the outskirts of a city. "The city is called Jiayuguan. And there," he kept his finger on the screen and scrolled the image downwards from the city, to an area with rugged, mountainous terrain. "These are the Qilian mountains, and this here is our best bet on their current location," he tapped on a bright red point in the image.
The screen now showed a stretch of empty-looking land, mountains, sparse vegetation - no sign of anyone there, no buildings, as far as Tony could see. "Right. Invisible enemies with an invisible base?"
"Uh, sorry, sir," Sitwell muttered, and fiddled with the control panel at the low edge of the screen. "There."
Parts of the image lit up red, showing a large, carefully camouflaged entrance at the foot of a mountain. There were also a few smaller bright spots higher up in the rock wall, probably indicating side entrances and ventilation shafts.
"As you can see, it's well hidden, but we were able to spot it anyway, since, you know, we are very good at what we do," Sitwell said self-importantly.
Tony rewarded him with a quick smile. "This is great. So, what sort of plans does S.H.I.E.L.D. have for the rescue mission?"
Sitwell swallowed and stared at his feet.
"Mr. Stark, there's one thing you've got to understand," Coulson said slowly, his tone apologetic. "We only promised to help with locating them. We're chiefly an intelligence agency, not a military one. Going in blind and storming an enemy stronghold that might have heavy defenses isn't exactly the sort of thing we -"
"Oh, come on! I've seen you participate in countless military operations!"
"Participate, yes, but not conduct," Coulson replied. "And more than that, this base is on foreign soil, and there are substantial diplomatic concerns -"
"I don't care! My people are out there, and they're going to die unless we get them back soon! Rhodey, you're my military liaison. You've got contacts, you could make arrangements, right?"
"What sort of arrangements are you talking about?" Rhodey asked, frowning.
"Well, obviously, I'll be going in as Iron Man, but I'm going to need back-up. Possibly a few fighters in case they've got air defenses, and troops to aid in the search, since it's bound to be a real maze in there, and transport to get people there and back again, and obviously a bunch of medics - that sort of stuff. Whatever the Air Force can afford. And whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. can afford. The more the better. I'll help with the expenses, of course. Gather all we can get, then we can narrow it down to what we need, and head to China the first thing tomorrow."
"S-sir, just wait a minute -" Sitwell stuttered.
"Seriously, Mr. Stark, you can't -" Coulson tried.
"Zip it. Not interested," Tony interrupted them. "Can I count on you in this, Rhodey?" he asked, looking his friend in the eye.
"Sure, Tony... I'll do my best," Rhodey said, sounding only slightly hesitant.
Tony slapped him on the back and said, "I know you will. Thanks."
Okay, so, maybe Tony was going a bit over the top with this. They could try a more subtle approach, it would probably be a smarter choice - but the bastards had given Pepper the nanovirus! There was no time. The video had been timestamped two days ago, and the bad guy in it had said that the new version was faster than the one Tony had had. Better just hit the bad guys as hard and as soon as possible.
Thinking about the nanovirus gave Tony an idea. A big and important one. "There's something I need to do about the suit," he announced. "I'm heading back to my shop. Let me know when you've got this sorted out."
He rushed out of the room, leaving Rhodey and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents staring after him in a baffled silence.
House returned from his daily chat with Liu - a series of polite but patronizing questions and extremely rude answers - to find Potts lying on her bunk. She never did that during the days. She was always pacing, or sitting up, fiddling with the mattress or the hem of her skirt - all in all, always showing that this total lack of activity was state as alien to her as it was to him. So, obviously, her lying down and doing nothing was a symptom. She even looked slightly pale under her freckles.
House hobbled the few steps from the door to her bunk and sat down by her side.
"I think I'm starting to get sick," she told him. It was entirely redundant, since he'd already figured as much.
"Well, that means at least one of us now actually has something to do," House remarked. "Let's find out whether you're actually getting sick, or just think you are."
He went ahead and examined her as best he could under the circumstances. Of course, he couldn't get any definitive nor entirely reliable data - there was no way he could get exact counts without a watch, just estimations. Of course, his estimations were better than many others' actual measurements would be. What he found fit in with what was to be expected: elevated respiratory and heart rate and a slight fever. Add to that the dizziness and muscle pains that Potts described herself, and she had the exact same early symptoms Stark had had when he'd gotten the nanovirus.
"Okay, it's not just in your head. Unless I'm imagining things too, you really are getting sick." House declared his diagnosis, and retreated to his bunk.
He sat with his back against the wall, rubbing his horribly aching thigh. Was he getting sick as well? He'd have expected to get the symptoms first, since she obviously had better immune defenses than he did at the moment. Then again, it was also possible that he was already sick and had been for a while, and just hadn't noticed it. He had been dizzy, his muscles were achy, and his pulse was clearly on the fast side as well. It might all be due to the withdrawal, or it might be because of the nanovirus. No way to be sure.
"How long do you think it's going to take?" Potts asked somberly.
"If this progresses like the strain that Stark had, you'll start having trouble breathing sometime tomorrow, and it'll keep growing steadily worse up to the point when you'll be completely unable to breathe on your own. As for when that's going to happen, it's impossible to predict. Same goes for me, of course. I might start getting worse sooner than you, though. Can't be sure."
"Oh, God... Tony really needs to get here soon," Potts said. Pathetic.
By now, House knew Potts was actually quite smart, not just a pretty face, and he couldn't believe how she kept putting so much faith in Stark. Superhero or not, he was only human. It was entirely possible that he wouldn't be able to locate them, or that he'd be unable to reach them. And it would be lame beyond description if they did nothing but sat here and waited for Stark or death, whichever arrived first.
"We should start considering other options," House thought aloud. "We could talk to Liu and get the cure." He supposed she'd understand that he didn't really mean giving out any information, just pretending to. He was pretty sure she could pull it off. She was used to dealing with the press, after all, and that called for a decent poker face.
"You suppose they really have a cure?"
"I suppose you actually have a brain. First of all, they'd need to have a cure as a safety measure, in case one of their own got infected. Secondly, what would be the point of capturing us, infecting us and trying to get information from us, if they didn't have one? What would they gain if we gave in and promised to talk, but dropped dead before we could tell them everything we knew?"
"I just think there's something weird about the way Liu is acting, like he doesn't care all that much about the information."
"He's obviously a sociopath, you can't expect to read much from his behavior," House said, and waved at the surveillance camera. Liu might hear every word they were saying, in which case any sort of plotting would be completely pointless.
Potts caught his gesture, and seemed to get the implications. She grimaced. "Well, I'm not going to talk. Not yet, anyway. We can wait a bit longer."
At around 1730, Rhodey was back at the mansion, wondering how the hell he was going to give the news to Tony. He'd rather have walked into a minefield. Even though Tony's expectations had been unrealistic to begin with, Rhodey was still disappointed in himself. He had done his best, like he had promised, but in this case, his best was nowhere near good enough.
He found Tony in the workshop, just like he had expected, sitting at a desk, working intently on the Iron Man suit's gauntlets. He didn't even look up when Rhodey entered the room.
"Almost done here. When can we leave?"
"Uh, well, Tony," Rhodey began. Damn. Here it came. "I've talked to all my connections, everyone I could think of, but..."
Rhodey's nervous tone seemed to catch Tony's attention. He let go of the gauntlet he'd been tinkering with, and turned to face Rhodey. "But what?"
"Coulson did mention that there would be diplomatic problems. Tony, you've got to understand, our relations with China aren't exactly an easy and straightforward business, and, well - ah, shit. It's going to take days before we can get clearance for any sort of an official operation. In a worst case scenario, we might not get it at all - because the way they see this, we're just talking about two civilians, it's not exactly a matter of great importance when it comes to national security..."
"For fuck's sake, Rhodey!" Tony slammed the table with his fist, so hard that the gauntlets leaped a few inches into the air. "I can't believe I'm actually hearing this! Pepper doesn't have days - if we don't get there soon it's going to be too late - I can't believe this, I just fucking can't believe it!"
"I'm sorry, Tony, I really am, but that's the way it is. We're not going to get any help from them unless we wait. I did get their unofficial, off-the-record OK for an Iron Man mission, as long as it's a covert one. That's the best we can get at short notice."
What Rhodey didn't say aloud was, Nick Fury had also made Rhodey promise he'd do his best to keep Tony under control, to prevent him from turning this into a diplomatic disaster. The very idea made Rhodey feel like a traitor, though he had to admit that Fury did have a point. He knew telling Tony about it would only make things worse, so he kept it to himself.
"If that's how it's going to be, fine!" Tony declared grimly. "I'll go and get them out of there all by myself, if that's what it takes."
"Not all by yourself," Rhodey said, and put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "You might not have an army, but there's going to be a War Machine by your side."
"Absolutely out of the question!" Tony exclaimed, and pulled away from him. "No. That suit's never been tested in action -"
"The suit's fine, we've been testing it for weeks and there's nothing wrong with it. Hell, I'm sure your suit wasn't half as ready when you first took it into a battle zone."
"Pepper's life is already in jeopardy because of me, I'm not going to let another friend risk theirs - Rhodey, no. I won't allow it."
"Look, Tony. Two suits are better than one. You wanted help, you've got it. I'm coming. You can knock me out if you want to, I'll just get myself a plane and follow you anyway."
"Damn it, Rhodey!" Tony shouted. He was breathing hard, his fists raised in front of him, looking like he really was about to punch Rhodey in the face.
Rhodey didn't as much as flinch. "Yeah. Face it, pal. You're not going in there alone."
They both fell silent, and just stared at each other - a Mexican standoff without guns. They'd been in similar situations before, and it was always Rhodey who gave up, because Tony was way more stubborn than he was, and a lot less reasonable. This time was different, though. There was only one possible outcome.
Finally, Tony let his hands fall to his sides and said, "Okay. I can finish this during the flight. Pack your stuff. I'll call my staff to get the jet ready for departure."
By the morning of their fourth day in captivity, both Pepper and House had started coughing.
"If we don't talk to Liu today, there's a good chance neither of us will live to see tomorrow morning," House said in a toneless voice.
"Yeah, I know."
Pepper knew they should do it. They should knock on the door and ask the guards to take them to Liu, and lie their teeth off to convince him that they had changed their mind and wanted to talk. If it went well, they'd be cured. If Liu didn't believe them, the worst thing that could happen would be that he'd kill them, but they were dying anyway. They had nothing to lose. And still, she didn't want to, didn't want to even pretend to sell out Tony - and she wasn't sure she could actually pull it off.
"Waiting for this to get any worse would be stupid, since we're going to talk sooner or later anyway," House said, like he could guess exactly what she was thinking. Was she really that easy to read? If she was, Liu might see through her too.
House sat up slowly, moved his good leg over the edge of his bunk and lifted his bad leg after it. "I'm going to do it right now. Potts, are you with me in this? If you're not, I can go alone, but that'll only save me. I don't think they'll help you just because I've decided to cooperate, no matter how nicely I ask."
She rubbed her eyes, and couldn't help noticing how feverishly hot her face was. "I... Yeah. Let's do it," she decided.
As she got off the bed, the room tilted and melted into a blurry haze, and she had to sit down again. Well, she thought, maybe she could be able to fool Liu. She was so sick already that it'd be hard to tell whether she was hesitant and red in the face because she was lying, or because she was ill.
House had already knocked on the door. It swung open to reveal a very suspicious-looking thug. "What?" he asked.
"Oh, wow, you speak English? I'm impressed," House sneered. "We need to see Liu. Right now."
"Yes," the guard said, and called out in a language Pepper couldn't recognize. Soon, three more cronies appeared behind him. Two of them grabbed House between them. Pepper got up and took a few swaying steps towards the door. The other two guards took her between them, pulling her arms over their shoulders. Soon, they were on their way towards Liu's room, half-carried by the guards.
The guards dropped them on two armchairs opposing Liu's desk, bowed reverently, and left the room.
"Well, well," Liu said. "You have finally come to your senses, have you? Or are you simply desperate and attempting to lie your way out of trouble?"
Pepper did her best to keep her face blank. "Look, this wasn't an easy decision to make. We don't want to die, so we're going to talk," she told him.
"I suppose a man of your intelligence could see through lies easily, anyway," House said - not a flattering remark, but a sarcastic one.
"Ah, Doctor House, you'd better drop the antagonism. In exchange for the cure, I will expect your full cooperation. Now, prove to me that you're sincere, and tell me what you know about Iron Man. How can one harm him when he's in the suit? How can one get him out of the suit?"
It took all Pepper's willpower not to shout "I won't tell you anything!" at the top of her voice. Instead, she started with an easy near-truth. "The suit is locked, you need voice authorization to open it, and the only people who have that are Tony and me." Tony had mentioned he was considering doing something like that, or a fingerprint or retina scanner, but so far, it was just talk. Anyway, it was a fact that wouldn't help the bad guys at all.
"Interesting," Liu said. "Please, do go on."
They did, coming up with a series of lies that she hoped would sound realistic, but which were far enough from the truth that they wouldn't be of any use against Tony. She couldn't estimate how convincing she was herself, but House was every bit as good at this as she had expected. If she hadn't known he was lying, she would never have guessed. He gave Liu extremely exact-sounding facts, like an accurate description of completely made-up health problems that he claimed Tony had had since Afghanistan, and understated numbers for how much heat and cold the suit could stand, or how long its internal oxygen supply would last.
"I think that's enough," House finished. "Cure us of the virus, and we'll tell you the rest of what we know."
"Very well, my dear Doctor," Liu said. "I'll keep my promise, but you must understand I can't fully trust any of what you've said. As it is, according to my contacts, Stark is currently on his way here. That means that by tomorrow, we should be able to test your information. I sincerely hope you'll survive until then, because I won't give you the cure before I can be sure you're telling the truth."
Chapter 6.
