Location: outside stark industries
Getting out of the car , flanked by Colson and his team, Pepper Potts had tracked Stane's last known location thanks to Jarvis, a.k.a. Matthew's helper had provided. She had insisted on coming along, stating that they needed her to get through the security system without delays .
Speaking of Matthew , he was missing for the past 4 hours , the only confirmation of him being in the county was his arrival time from the terminal and the suspicious luggage that was left behind on the patio as reported by an agent.
Colson was already arming himself with SHIELD issued pistol while the rest of the team, composed of SWAT and other agents had pulled out the riot gear. From the info they received on the target, Obadiah Stane, he was currently housing a weapon that could compare to a military grade rocket launcher if used correctly.
" Miss Potts , please open the door." Colson said as the team went into breach formation , their breathing audible through their balaclavas and helmets. Anxiety was like a sickness, none of them knew what they were about to encounter , but with the high possibility of a hostage and the only now radioed-in, missing status of Stark, the stakes were starting to stack onto each other.
Pepper's key card beeped with confirmation, the electric glass doors opening in a smooth motion as the team followed in, each enclosing pepper to the safety of the middle of the group .
The hallways were cloaked in darkness, the intermediate lighting from the safety lights shining red and reflecting onto each of the combat ready figures. They coasted in formation , stopping at each doorway to sweep the room , clearing the building of any unexpected opponents.
The building was eerily quiet. Too quiet, not even the soft hum of the giant arc reactor in the main lobby had interrupted the silence. Each step they made echoed on the marble floors till they stopped in front of an elevator, Pepper once again swiping her card to open the doors.
Holding their breath, they watched as the elevator counted up to the ground floor , two stops before finally a ding and the emptiness that welcomed a slight breath of relief.
The team filed in one by one, this floor was clear as expected but there was no telling if there wouldn't be any unexpected surprises on the lower floors. The doors slowly closed off any way of turning back.
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POV Pepper Potts
The elevator was playing the copyrighted Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas playing quietly in the background. The song only reminds me that Matthew had changed the playlist for the elevator system again, the song was a stark contrast to the situation we were currently in.
If Stane had Matthew hostage was up in the air, but the possibility was not zero, tony wasn't picking up his phone and Jarvis was disabled about six to five hours ago , the only reason we knew anything at all was due to Colson sending an agent there to check on Tony after the radio silence from Matthew.
The power suddenly cut as the elevator's counter hit 3, the lights inside dimming ,then replacing the amber glow to red. The others in the elevator wearily glanced around to the door and Colson pressed continuously on the emergency exit button.
I knew I should have stayed outside but I couldn't be the person that just waits and sees. I wanted to take action, to at least guide them to hopefully find Matty, or stop Stane. Both if possible.
The ping of the elevator door opening spooked me out of my worry, and what welcomed my gaze was near darkness. A sky light let in glimpses of moon light, illuminating wisp of smoke coming from pipes that trailed along the walls. A draft sent a shiver down my spine, the feeling of being watched was a collective instinct shared with the team.
The sound of a chain rattling against a wall caught my attention, the grates clanging as I turned and hurried over to the figure I spotted in my periphery.
Matthew was looking over to us , his face dead tired but a mix of relief and worry. He was kneeling on the metal grated floor, his arms extended a short ways from him, not far enough to hurt but far enough to be an inconvenience.
" Matthew, are you okay?" Stupid question, I know but I needed to have a verbal confirmation that he was alright , at least not severely injured.
"I'm fine, do you have a pin , something sharp on you?" of course he asked that, and of course I gave him one of my bobby pins although I was pretty sure one of the agents could get him out without him MacGyver-ing his way out.
" Let me at least call over one of the agents free you."
" He's in here, you have to get out of here." he whispered, stopping my line of thought, his eyes not seeing me but scanning the area to find what was probably Stane.
Behind us, the agents slowly scanned the surroundings, their flash lights crossing the walls and floor , stopping on the giant machine standing in the middle of the room.
Looking back abruptly ,I saw one of them approach the armor, but it was already too late to warn them . The white slights in the helmet came on and the once approaching agent was tossed into a railing.
The suit moves agilely despite its bulk tossing more agents around as they let loose fire onto the metal frame but obviously it didn't work .
I screamed ducking down to avoid ricocheting debris. Matty had already unlocked one of his restraints , pulling me lower to avoid the friendly fire. A yell brought the attention away from our side and he took the opportunity to unlock the other side. Whilst doing so he turned to me.
" Run, I'll catch up, " seeing that I was still standing there, he looked over to the chaos opposite us , then back at me with a serious look, " I'll be fine, just go!"
His yell spooked me enough to get me to hesitatingly run out of there much to my dismay, I didn't want to leave him behind but right now I would be a hindrance more than a help. The steps were skipped in twos and threes, I managed to scale the flight of stairs swiftly, my arms colliding with the exit door leading to the lobby.
I didn't stop till I made it to the front door, the glass doors refusing to open thanks to the power cut. I looked back, hoping to god that Matthew got out safely and that the noise I was currently hearing was not due to Stane injuring ,or worse killing, the agents.
I finally got the door to budge but I felt the floor below me give way the moment I stepped out of the building. A short gasp escaped me as I reached out the starry night sky , regret coursing through my bones, as I felt weightless.