Another Close Call (November 2012)

Aunt may was excited to be having Serena over once again. Were Peter and Serena getting serious? She hoped it was so though she did miss Peter a great deal, she knew he wasn’t a teenager anymore and grown men needed to make a life for themselves. She made beef and barley soup and home made bread with a apple cake for after.

The ride there was uneventful but there was no telling what this mystery woman was capable of. She used a grenade and didn’t care about hurting innocent people so everyone was on their guard as Happy pulled up to the house.

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Dax had been tracking Peter and Serena as soon as they left the tower. He plugged in possible destinations by the route they were taking and Aunt May’s house seemed the most likely place for them to end up. Hannah set herself up on a small apartment building across the street from Aunt May’s house. She had a sniper rifle and was pleased to see the car pull up. She looked through the scope to see which side Serena would be on.

Serena tried to relax in the car with Peter, but she felt...nervous. She didn't want to live her life feeling this way, but she couldn't help it. She began to wonder if going to Aunt May's house wasn't a mistake. She didn't want to put the woman's life in danger. She and Peter talked about it for a few moments and Peter convinced Serena that it would be alright.

Happy and Richard got out and then Peter. Peter took Serena's hand and she began to step out of the car.

Once again Peter’s danger sense went crazy and as he helped Serena out his smile faded and he just reacted. He pulled Serena forward hard. Right near where her head had been something hit the glass of the door. She ended up landing on him just as the report of the weapon firing made it to their ears. Once again Peter covered Serena’s body and as Richard moved in front of them he looked up at the ceiling of the building across the street.

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It was a perfect shot and yet, once again, Hannah missed! To make things worse a man, likely part of her security detail was looking right up where she was. She took aim and fired at him. The bullet took him right in the chest. It spun him around until he landed hard on his side. Hannah pulled back and quickly began to break down her weapon.

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Peter didn’t know if more shots were coming or not but he didn’t intend on finding out. “Hurry, in the car..get in the car!” He yelled and pushed Serena off him toward the car as he grabbed hold of Richard’s collar and followed her in. “Go go go!” He yelled at Happy and Happy went. He saw Aunt May look out the window but he couldn’t do anything about that now. As the car took off Peter tried to stem the flow of blood but he was losing alot of it and fast. The bullet went into Richard’s chest and out his back. “We’re going to need the hospital Happy and fast!” peter said urgently. Richard had been the Starks head of security from before Serena was born. She knew him longer than any of the Avengers. Richard gasped for breath but he was fading fast.

Everything seemed to happy so fast that Serena barely had time to react. She felt Peter pull her forward...hard and within a fraction of a second she was on the ground with Peter covering her body. She looked up and saw that the bullet had hit right where she had been standing only a moment before. Then...she heard a second gun fire. She looked over to see Richard standing there...blood began to flow from a bullet wound to his chest. The blood flowed down his back and his front. Serena got back in the car as quickly as she could and Peter pulled in Richard. Happy took off and began to drive to the nearest hospital. He called Tony to let him know what happened.

Serena sat in the back and she felt tears begin to stream down her cheeks as she looked at Richard. She had known him her entire life. He had been like an uncle to her. He had always kept some chocolate in his office for her and would make her promise not to tell her parents he had let her have it before dinner. He had been protective of her, as if she had been his own daughter.

"No...please don't leave me..." she begged him as the tears continued to fall.

Richard didn’t really feel the pain. He was in shock but not being able to breathe was distressing and his face was a mask of fear. He struggled as peter held his hands over the entrance and exit wounds and Serena held his right hand in hers. He squeezed her hands as he gurgled blood from his lips and then she felt his grip weaken and his eyes closed.

At the hospital, an emergency team rushed to the car with a gurney and Peter helped them get Richard onto it but Serena knew he was already gone. They rushed him inside for emergency surgery and Peter just sat there with his feet out of the car and his door opened to the emergency doors. His hands and jacket were covered in blood and he just breathed for a moment as the adrenaline began to fade in him.

“I’m...sorry Serena,” He said.

Serena was horrified by how helpless she felt to help Richard. He was dying right before her eyes and there was nothing she could do but hold his hand. The distress in his eyes only made everything that much worse. She felt his hand loosen in her own and she knew he was gone before they even reached the hospital.

As she watched Richard’s body being taken away and his lifeless eyes looking at her she felt a wave of nausea come over her. She quickly stepped outside of the car and got sick in one of the bushes.

Isabella and Tony arrived only moments later and Isabella quickly took Serena into her arms as her daughter began to sob.

Back at the Tower Peter and Serena just stood together in the shower, holding one another. The hot water created a stream of red down their legs that filtered down the drain. Neither of them said anything,they just stood there, motionless and let the water run over them. Peter wasn’t certain how long they just stood there like that but they did eventually wash, put on comfortable clothes and then get into the large bed. He said nothing as she snuggled up into his arms and pressed her body up against him. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked very tired. What they were going to do could be talked about in the morning he decided. Tonight, they just needed a moment of peace.

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Tony, Isabella, Steve, Kate, Logan and Natalya sat in the conference room with a large carafe of coffee and white mugs in everyone’s hands. “Ok, I’ve retasked one of my satellites. I’m not taking any more chances. Someone is out to kill Serena and we WILL find out who this is and take them out,” Tony said forcefully. His eyes were angry and serious. Deadly serious. I’ve checked out the car, there are no tracking devices on it so how ever they are doing this, its by either observation or some kind of movable device, like a drone or a helicopter or a suit. I am considering that that hack we encountered fairly recently might have something to do with it but we couldn’t track who did that.

“The kids are just going to have to stay here,” Logan said. “Letting them out is just inviting another attack,” he said. “The energy fields are on 24/7. And Josh Nelson is the new head of security downstairs. They’re installed a facial passkey with voice print so we’ll each have to go down and have that done. You won’t be able to use the elevator without it,” Tony said. “So, how do we catch these people?” Tony asked and looked at everyone in turn.

Isabella was upset and very unsettled. They were now certain that Serena was the target, but they still didn't know who this person was or why they were after her. It was likely some kind of retaliation against Tony and herself, but they couldn't be certain of anything right now. Richard's death was very upsetting to Isabella. Richard had been at the Tower as the head of security for as long as she and Tony had been married. Richard had always been pleasant to talk to and always had a smile for her. His death was like losing a member of their family. She would plan his funeral and make sure that he wasn't forgotten. He had sacrificed his life for her daughter and she would always remember him for that.

Isabella sat quietly at the conference table next to Tony. She was quiet for a few moments before speaking up. "Frank...he can find them."

Everyone looked at Isabella and then Tony who groaned visibly when Isabella mentioned that name. Tony didn’t like Frank and the feeling was mutual. “Pfft, he’s probably in some...dungeon somewhere hold up. You think he’ll just answer your call like nothing’s happened?” Tony asked.

Isabella looked at Tony. "Yes, he will answer. He and I have talked several times over the last few years. He still has the cell phone I gave him and I call every so often just to make sure he's alright." Isabella still cared about Frank and wanted to be sure he was safe. "He told me if I ever needed anything to call him. I know he can do this Tony."

“Then call him Isabella! Why are we even still talking about this?” Tony asked peevishly. This combined with how upset he was about the Assassination attempts had him on the extreme edge. And he was angry to boot. He stood up and left the room and headed for the bar near the kitchen. “When the kids wake up, Kata and Natalya have some questions for them,” Steve said with a sigh. For him having enemies to fight was easier than something like this. Probably for all of them.

Isabella was rather shocked by Tony's outburst. She was upset too and she didn't need his attitude. She sighed and stood up and walked down to the office. She walked in and closed the door. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Frank's number. She didn't it in her phone. That was too risky if someone ever got their hands on it. She had long since memorized the number. She waited while the phone rang a few times and then heard him pick up.

"Hi Frank..."

Frank did indeed have another place to hold up. Now that the world knew he was alive, he had to take precautions. He lived in a smaller warehouse and the only way to get upstairs was a freight elevator. The bottom floor was his garage and storage. The upper floor was his workshop and living space. He always kept his cellphones on him. The older flip phone was for Isabella alone which was why he was really surprised when it went off.

“Oh, Isabella, I’ts...been a while. Is this about whats happening with Serena?” he asked. The news was the news after all and this was pretty big news so naturally he knew about it.

Isabella was glad to hear Frank's voice. He was always in the back of her mind. She was always wondering about him and hoping he was alright. The last time they had spoken had been over a year ago.

Isabella was pacing slightly, but she forced herself to sit down in her chair. "Yes...there was another attempt on her life today. We don't know who this person is or how to protect Serena at this point other than just keeping her locked down in the Tower. I...we...need your help Frank. We'll pay you...I just don't want anything to happen to Serena. Will you help me...please?"

Hearing her voice, hearing the worry and concern and the urgency was not easy for Frank to take. “Isabella, ofcourse I’ll help. I’ll need a little time to gather information. I will need to talk to Serena about what happened...and this Peter Parker as well, He said. “The sooner the better and I’ll have to come to the tower to do this so I’ll need...to be discreet,” He said.

Isabella nodded. "Of course. Whatever you need. I can have Happy pick you up and bring you here. There is an underground entrance so you won't be seen. I greatly appreciate this Frank...more than I could ever express."

They made the arrangements for Happy to pick him up the following morning and after they hung up Isabella went back to her and Tony's room and began to get ready for bed. When Tony came in she looked over at him slightly. "Frank will be here in the morning."

Tony paused in what he was doing then began again. “Fine,” he said as he got into bed and picked up his book. He never slept that much and went through books quickly. “I hope he can help,” He said stiffly as he opened up his book to where he left off. There was a distinct chill in the air. Just because she was bringing Frank in did not mean he’d just rollover and do nothing. There was a way these people were doing surveillance on Serena and he was going to find it.

Isabella had been as strong as she could be for Serena, Peter, and everyone else. She was the rock in their family who had to keep her emotions in check so she could be there for everyone else. Tonight though she felt her emotions slipping and tears came to her eyes. She wanted to feel Tony's arms around her, but instead he just picked up his book and began to read. She didn't want to cry in front of him so she got up and went to the bathroom, however, Tony would be able to hear her.

Tony watched her go to the bathroom and saw a glimpse of a face that looked like it was going to break at any moment. When he heard her muffled sobbing he closed the book and went to the bath room. He was about to knock but then he just opened the door and went in. She was on the toilet with her face in her hands and he stepped up to her and then got down onto his knees in front of her.

“Hey, we’re going to find them,” he said as he shifted forward to put her head on his shoulder. “We’re going to protect her because that is who we are,” he said.

Isabella didn't fight Tony. She just let him pull her forward into his arms. She continued to cry against his shoulder. Eventually, Tony picked her up and took her back to bed. He discarded his book and just put his arms around Isabella to comfort her. Although she was still upset, she eventually fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

The following morning she got up and washed her face and got dressed. There were no more tears...there couldn't be. Tears would not help her daughter. She gave Happy the address of where to pick up Frank and then went to prepare some breakfast.

Peter awoke with Serena looking at him. He didn’t know what she was thinking or feeling. She had a thoughtful, neutral expression on her face. “How long have you been awake?” Peter yawned. “You should have woken me,” Peter said as he leaned up to look at her alarm clock. Once he caught the time he lowered his head back down.

“You taking a shower? I suppose we’re going to be asked alot of questions today,” Peter said. He leaned up onto his arm with a wince. His back was very sore still.

Serena hadn't been able to sleep that night. She was still extremely upset about Richard's death and was concerned for the lives of those she loved and cared about. She watched Peter as he began to awaken. "I wasn't able to sleep," she admitted, and she certainly looked like she had been awake all night. "I've been trying to figure out who this person might be and I just can't figure it out."

“Then its likely not linked to you, directly. It must be someone who has a grudge against your parents, or maybe Tony. Sometimes, being a good guy brings that. But thats just something that goes with the territory. Their onto her now, its only a matter of time,” Peter said.

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Frank wore a black hoodie and his usual black combat clothes. He wouldnt let security frisk him and so they had to call up to allow him into the tower. Once the elevator opened he smelled breakfast and decided that he was hungry and moved toward where there appeared to be a large kitchen, table and chairs. Isabella was cooking as he came up.

“Hey, waitress, I’m still waitin for the coffee,” He said with a smile. “Hey there gorgeous,” he said in his New York accent. He looked older than the last time she saw him. As if this past couple of years had been hard on him. He gave her a hard hug and his body was solid as if there was nothing at all soft on him.

Isabella felt rather nervous about seeing Frank again. Yes, she had spoken on the phone with him, but she hadn't seen him since before she and Tony had gotten married. Despite everything that had happened at the end of their relationship, she still cared deeply about him. She was in the kitchen making a breakfast casserole and some coffee. She had just put the casserole into the oven when Frank walked in. She looked up at him and when she saw him a lot of memories came flooding back into her mind. He looked older, but he was still the same Frank she had known. He pulled her into a hug and she hugged him back.

"Thank you for coming."

Frank would be able to see just how upset Isabella was over what was happening, but she just did what she needed to do. She poured him a cup of coffee and remembered he way he liked it so she prepared it that way. Tony walked in just as she was giving Frank the cup.

"Frank...you remember Tony..."

“Kinda hard to forget,” He said sarcastically as he extended his hand to Tony. Tony raised an eyebrow at him and looked at his hand as if there might be some kind of trap in it but he took it anyway. “Look, I’m all for a good meet and greet but lets get one thing clear here, you’re here because isabella thinks you can be of use to us. If you can be than that good. If not then I will cut you loose faster than a marlin at lunchtime,” he said.

“Just sit down and relax Tony,” Frank said and gestured to the table. “Once the kids get up I’ll ask the questions I need to ask then be on my way about it,” Frank said plainly as he sipped his coffee.