Tony was tired. He was working on the microchip for two days straight and one of the fucking circuits kept... well, short-circuiting. Someone was popping up in his lab from time to time to remind him to at least drink. Tony, the good friend he was, didn't want his buddies to worry, so he obeyed and drank coffee every single time they stopped by.
For now, it was Steve by his side, eyeing him with concern.
"Tony, you should rest. You continue like this, you'll end up blowing this place up," he pressed to his non-existent responsibility.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Please. With this microchip? Nah."
Steve sighed as a sign of resignation. Tony knew Cap didn't understand shit about what he was creating with his capable hands – all the new tech was still too complicated for the living fossil, even though he tried his best.
"Mr.Stark? Sir? Were you expecting any visitors today?" a polite British voice asked. Jarvis.
Tony frowned, trying to remember – he barely recalled what day was today – eyes turning to the ceiling with the effort. "I don't know, Jarvis. Probably not. Is someone waiting for me?"
"Yes, sir. A young woman. She's demanding a meeting with you."
He could literally hear Steve's judgement. So he used to be sleeping around a little – it wasn't a crime. He was desired. But Tony had always made very clear he didn't want to be bothered again. And he was... careful. About creating mini-Tonies. Besides, it was all in the past.
"Why?" he asked his AI.
"She claims it's about the religious issues in Hell's Kitchen you expressed your concerns about."
"What the hell?" he exclaimed bewildered. Was it some kind of a prank? Was Barton bored or annoyed with Tony's constant effort to make this world a better place, recently by inventing a faster operating system, so he paid some woman to bug him?
"Who is she? Show me the cameras, Jarvis."
"Yes, sir."
The floating picture of the reception desk appeared on his right. Steve took a step back since he was in the middle of the projection.
Tony was unimpressed. Sure, the girl was pretty enough – not top model-slim, but still pleasantly lean, quite tall, nice legs. Long black hair. Face? Nah. Nothing special. Also, too young for him. Barton would know better. This wasn't his doing.
"She introduced herself as Dianne Inn Ferni," Jarvis informed him and Tony's eyebrows shut up.
"Really?"
"Isn't inferno the Latin word for Hell?" asked Steve at the same time.
"It is indeed, Mr. Rogers."
"Run her through the facial recognition," Tony ordered while watching the girl fidgeting with a short black scarf around her neck nervously. Who the hell was she?
"Her name is Veronika Macháčková. Born in Trutnov, Czech Republic. 7.2.1995. No degree or record of being a student at the moment, dropout from Faculty of Medicine in Prague's Charles University after two successfully finished years. Resident of NY Hell's Kitchen for about two months. Working as a bartender at My Daily Dose of Caffeine, local café. No criminal record, but she appeared in police reports – she was held hostage in a bank robbery and kidnapped. Saved by the local vigilante known as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen both times. Do you wish me to show you the security footage from the bank, sir?"
Tony's interest spiked when he heard the mention of the Devil – they were monitoring his activities for months now, considering asking him to join the team. He seemed to be a lone wolf though, too focused on his own little playground, so they hadn't approached him. Yet.
"Yes, Jarvis, that would be great."
And that girl definitely caught his attention when he saw the footage, because damn, she got balls. (Also, the Devil was a freaking ninja.) It still didn't explain why she wanted to see him and why she came up with such a ridiculous name and excuse. Tony didn't care about religion, let alone in Hell's Kitchen.
"The unofficial records mention she was kidnapped because the men were hoping to discover the identity of the vigilante – they believed she had a connection with him. She apparently told them his name was Mike, but claimed the officer she made it up. She expressed her suspicion his name was Richard, Dick for short, since he never told it to anyone. I also have a video from the Landman & Zack benefit which she attended few days ago. Would you like to see, sir? I would recommend it," Jarvis offered politely and Tony thought why not. He gave her one point mentally – for her sense of humour. He could appreciate that.
Tony was watching the video, thoughtful. Okay, so she could dance. And? It wasn't exactly import- holy shit that was one fabulous slap. The rest of the footage would be boring, so he turned it off – not before he glimpsed a fragment of her exchange with two well-known lawyers who happened to bring down Wilson Fisk while ago. With the help of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.
Tony examined the inconspicuous girl still waiting at the reception desk. Who was she? And what was it with that freaking black scarf around her neck with those two weirdly loose ends? She wouldn't let go of it the whole time.
Then he realized it wasn't a scarf. It was a coiled cowl.
"JARVIS, send her up like right NOW!" he yelled and made his way to the common room of the Avengers, followed by confused Steve.
"What is it, Tony? You know who she is?"
"JARVIS! Call Natasha and Barton! Banner too!"
"TONY!"
"Seriously? Name beginning with D? Inn Ferni? Religious issues in Hell's Kitchen? The black thingie around her neck? Saved by the Devil, twice? Connection with Nelson & Murdock? I'm telling you, Rogers, this is about the Devil of Hell's Kitchen!"
Steve's eyes popped.
Natasha entered the room first, dressed in her yoga pants and sports bra. "What is it Stark? What the hell is your emergency?" she asked him, annoyed he interrupted her ohm-oooohm session most likely.
The elevator dinged and Veronica Machackova's surprised face appeared as its doors opened. Three pairs of eyes snapped up at her. She looked very nervous. "Uhm. Good evening... "
"Natasha, Steve, I'd like to introduce you an ally of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, Veronica Machackova," Tony explained, spreading his arms wide as if he was welcoming a well-known diva on the stage.
Natasha's head inclined to her side, observing the girl cautiously and Steve tried a reassuring smile – it was more like a grimace, because he was still astonished by Tony's revelation.
Tony gave the girl cocky grin before speaking up again. "Or am I wrong, miss Machackova?"
The girl took few careful steps in their direction. "You are not, Mr. Stark, even though I'm not sure he considers me an ally. The important thing is that he's in trouble. And I know you know nothing about me, probably nothing about him. You have no reason to trust us. But he's a good man and he's helping people. Please. I believe he's in a serious danger," she pleaded, sliding her gaze to all of them successively during her speech, settling at Steve since he was the biggest softie in the room.
"Who's in danger?" Barton appeared in the door as well and Veronica's sad imploring eyes went wide as she saw him. Tony couldn't help rolling his eyes. Everyone had a crush on Birdman these days. Bow and arrows. Jeez. What about the Iron Man suit?!
"The Devil of Hell's Kitchen," Tony explained shortly and Barton whistled.
"What makes you think he's in danger? Please, sit down," Rogers offered and gestured to the couch. Veronica looked at Tony, silently asking for permission.
Good. At least someone remembered whose building it was. "Go on. Sit down and answer the man's question..." He crossed his arms, stepping closer.
She hesitantly took a seat. "I'm- ... we are in close contact with each other-"
"You're sleeping together, I gathered, please continue," Tony couldn't help but vent his excellent observation skills. The Devil was a loner – there was no way he would let someone get close enough to worry about him, let alone give someone his mask, unless they were having sexual intercourse (it was totally Rogers's fault he use this term in his head).
Her face turned bright red.
"No, they don't. Look at her. Not yet, anyway. Don't interrupt," Natasha came to her rescue with her even better spying skills and she sat on the couch too, as the rest of the present team seated themselves as well. The poor girl's cheeks burned with embarrassment. Not yet, huh? How long they were together? Since the bank? Since the kidnapping? Before any of those events? Either way the Devil had some patience...
"Uhm. He has a burner phone. There are only three contacts in it – mine, his friend's and other friend's, who... gives him a medical attention when needed. He called me – well, someone called me from his phone. He didn't say a word. I think he would... he wouldn't call me accidentally. I got scared and hung up, worried someone got to him and was trying to trace the call."
Natasha gave her an impressed look. "I like her."
"Oh, you haven't seen her disarm the robber or slap her dance partner – you would love it, women's power," Tony added with wide grin.
Clint raised an eyebrow and one corner of his lips twitched in admiration. Her face got even more crimson and she gave Tony a consternated look.
Steve calmed her. "Don't worry about it. Tony just lacks the sense of privacy. And the slap was... justified, I'm sure. Nothing to be ashamed of. Please, continue."
She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "I called the rest of his contacts so they wouldn't give away his name at least or stayed on the phone for too long. They called me moments after I told them that they received the weird call too. No voice talking to them, just silence."
"What was the last time you talked to him?" Clint asked.
She laughed, but there was no humour in it. It actually sounded scary. She turned to Barton with desperate eyes.
"Yesterday evening. Technically. It's not even 24 hours. I know what you think, you think that I'm freaking out like an overprotective girlfriend, but I am not. He didn't show up at work. He's not in his apartment or his friends'. I haven't heard from him. We have an agreement ever since one unpleasant experience involving homemade blood transfusion station. He always stops by or texts me or something. And then the calls..."
Yep. She was crying now, hiding her face in her palms. Shit. Tony didn't have enough coffee for this today. Or he had too much, it was hard to tell.
"Hey, hey, calm down, Veronica." Of course, Steve-the-appeaser came to the rescue, stroking her shoulder in comforting gesture. "We'll do everything to find him."
She took a deep breath and looked at him with religious trust. Son of a bitch, that girl knew how to make puppy eyes. Tony actually wanted to help her really badly from that moment too.
"Thank you, Captain Rogers." She examined the faces of the rest of the team. "Thank you, everyone, if you are willing to help."
Clint gave her an enthusiastic nod, because the Devil of Hell's Kitchen was his own crush (something about parkouring?) and Natasha just... nodded too. Tony himself shrugged. "I wouldn't miss it. What's the plan, guys?"
Veronica raised her hand shyly.
"What is it, Veronica? Oh, and I don't know how the others feel about it, but call me Steve, please." Of course. Steve. Good friend Steve, just a kid from Brooklyn.
She eyed him timidly. "Thank you. I'm Vera."
Natasha sighed in resignation. "Natasha."
"Clint. Or Hawkeye. No preference."
Tony remained silent, waiting for someone to snap at him, as they were all watching him with expectation. It was Clint, as he had reckoned. "Come on, Tony!"
"Fine. I'm Tony. Just wanted to know who would crack first."
Natasha rolled her eyes at him, but her lips twitched. "You were saying?" She turned back to Vera.
"It's... it's just an idea. They are probably not stupid, but I thought about calling them? Let them trace the call, so they could find me? Maybe you could track them too? I wouldn't be calling from here, of course."
"Oh, honey, they wouldn't trace the call if you made it from here," Tony assured her.
"Right. Should have assumed that. If they tracked me and took me, you would be able to follow. Or I can act like a reckless girlfriend who is determined to save the man she loves and offer them to do anything in exchange for his life – turn herself in instead of him, gather money, I don't know." She scanned their expressions and quickly continued as she assumed she was seeing scepticism. "Or not. It's stupid. Sorry. I am gonna shut up now. Just tell me what you need me to do. Or not to do. Whatever." She pressed her lips together tightly, so she wouldn't talk anymore.
"You really do have balls, don't you? Telling the police the Devil's name is probably Dick. Disarming robbers. Offering yourself to be a decoy," Tony named all the things he knew, pleasantly surprised by her bravery and boldness. She might not be as inconspicuous as he had thought so. Then again, there had to be something about her that had caught the Devil's attention; Tony should have known better.
"Well, I once told the kidnappers that the Devil would break one of their bones for each punch they ever landed and started to name the bones in Latin, so I guess I do. Not my finest moment, by the way." And with these words, she earned Natasha's respect for eternity, Tony could tell. He wasn't sure about Steve though, it may have the opposite effect on him. Tony was impressed if nothing else.
"I actually think it could work," Clint told her thoughtfully. "If they are dumb enough to fall for it. Dumb enough to think you are that idiotic. We should give it a try. We can let them to locate you, but I like the reckless girlfriend better. How are your acting skills?"
"Oh, I won't have to act," she assured him, her eyes somewhat haunted.
"Which part are we talking about? Are we seriously considering involving a civilian in this?" Rogers burst out, indignant.
"Look at her, Steve. She's not a civilian," Natasha cooled him down, "she's already involved. She's willing to do it. I say we let her." She smiled at Vera just slightly, supportive.
"What if she gets hurt?!"
"Then I'll have to deal with Mike's rage. But he's gonna be pissed off for involving you guys anyway, so..." Vera offered with a shrug and Clint laughed.
Tony was startled. "About that. Mike? The police records say you made the name up."
She looked at him incredulously. "That was off the record too! How do you even— never mind. I think I don't want to know. Yes. I came up with it. We settled on Mike after that."
"You know his real name though." Natasha and her cold logic. Tony thought it might work well as a bedroom role play if she called him a fake name, so he wasn't so sure about that.
She sighed in resignation. "Yes. Yes I do. If... if you want me to tell you, I... I'll just figure out another way of helping him. He would never forgive me.... But if... if he dies... Oh-oh... no doprdele."
Tony assumed the last words were a curse. She was downright miserable. Torn. Tears appeared in her eyes again. She blinked furiously to fight them off as she was about to stand up.
Steve comforted her again, placing a hand on her shoulder, keeping her down. "Hey, hey. Don't worry about it. Our help is not conditional. We'll deal with this later."
Vera stared at him in disbelief for several seconds and then she hugged him wholeheartedly, colliding with his chest hard. Steve was shocked by her attack and froze, but he recovered and hugged her back carefully with his huge arms.
Tony thought his face was hilarious, but managed to keep his mouth shut. Natasha held back her laugh too. Clint tried, but snorted.
It was exactly the moment Bruce entered the room and watched the scene in front of him in awe. He looked like he just got out of bed, loser.
"What did I miss? Is she his long lost granddaughter or something?"
Natasha tossed a pen at him so he would shut up, while Steve, now adapted to the situation, kept comforting his long lost granddaughter. Yeah. Or something.
-----Notes:
Intermezzo no.5 Thoughts?
Also, do you think I should add The Avengers as a tag? I mean, they will be in like two or three following chapters...but there weren't in the previous twenty or so...