How To Manage The Pain (July 1995)

Isabella and her team had been staking out these people for 2 weeks. Renee had successfully infiltrated the warehouse where they were repackaging the weapons and munitions before they were shipped out. They had already tagged the ship they were going out in. Headed to North Africa. This would be the 4th shipment but this one was by far the largest. They were in a black, SUV monitoring Renee. She had a pin on her jacket that gave them video and she was wired up so they could hear everything. They were celebrating the large sale but things sounded as if they were getting a bit too much for Renee.

“C’mon baby, you know you’ve been wantin it,” a deep voice said. The large man closed the door behind her and moved and put his hands on her. “Get your fuckin hands off me!” Renee snapped and pushed his hands back. “Whoa, whoa whoa, all this hostility,” The man said.

Alonzo had always had a thing for Renee but so far they had managed to keep their ‘thing’ under wraps. They were two of the best agents Isabella could have hoped to get on her team. “Should we go?” Alonzo said as he leaned back from the small console he was using to monitor what was happening. Henry took off his headphones. “She’s got it under control,” he said hopefully.

“Let me out,” Renee said warningly. “I will, I will, I jus want sum sugar first,” the man said and then there was a lot of muffled sounds. The sounds of a struggle. “Let...let go...of...me!” Renee said in obvious distress. “What the fuck!?” The man said. “Shit! I’m made!” Renee said and then it was like an alarm went off inside all their heads. Everyone bailed out of the SUV. “Agents need assistance…” Henry began to call out through his throat mic as everyone ran toward the warehouse.

The past 7 years had brought both pain and happiness for Isabella. Several months after they had graduated from Phillips Academy, Isabella had attempted to contact Tony, but he had never called her back. The pain of his loss was great and Isabella's heart never fully recovered from it. She had kept the necklace and stored it in a keepsake box in her bedroom as a reminder of her love for him. Isabella had tried dating other guys, but none of them compared to Tony and for now she decided to simply remain single.

Isabella had graduated from the CIA training program at the top of her class. She was a rising CIA operative, and had been able to hand pick her own team. They worked well together and had been given the task of locating weapons and munitions that were being shipped out to North Africa. After locating the warehouse, Renee had been able to successfully infiltrate it and gain the trust of those running the operation. Isabella sat in a black van with Alonzo and Henry as they monitored the situation. Renee was wired for sound and video feed and Isabella carefully listened to the conversation. Everything was being recorded for evidence. Isabella could hear that one of the men was hitting on Renee and the situation slowly began to get more and more tense. Isabella hoped that Renee would be able to get out of there without their cover being blown, but unfortunately that didn't happen. Isabella jumped up and readied her gun as she, Alonzo, and Henry rushed towards the warehouse to help her.

The warehouse became like a kicked anthill. Henry jumped on a map who tried to run past them. They each had several sets of zip ties and even as she and Alonzo ran past Henry had the guy zipped up by his wrists and ankles.

“Marcus ain’t gunna like this, who is she? Cop? Feds, who?” Neil asked. “Don’t know, Leon’s workin her over now,” Billy said. They had sub-machine guns in their hands. In the room behind them, there was only one window in the door, Leon punched a tied up Renee in the gut. She had a bruised eye and a bloody lip. Her t-shirt was cut down the center as well as her bra and her breasts though still covered by her light jacket were easily accessible to him.

“Bitch i will cut you into pieces...who are you workin for!?” Leon asked harshly. “Hurry up Leon, we gotta go!” Neil said. He and Billy were extremely antsy and knew someone was coming. Leon flicked open his switchblade. Renee had already spat into his face but he was done being cordial. He made certain she saw the blade and he saw her wrists and ankles struggle against the duct tape. “You best talk or you’re gunna have a really bad day,” Leon said as he touched the tip of his blade up against her flesh just above her right breast. Blood trickled down from where the blade touched her. It was very sharp.

Inside most of the workers were not interested in them. But some also were. Two men on a catwalk above them began to fire down at them with full automatic fire.

Isabella had gotten to know each member of her team really well and she felt fully responsible for them. She was not going anywhere without Renee. Isabella was not afraid to run into gunfire and she did so now. They were wearing bulletproof vests, but they still needed to be careful. Inside the warehouse, chaos had ensued. Isabella did not see Renee, but as her eyes scanned the area around her she spotted a room where the door was closed. Her gut instinct told her that Renee was there.

Before she could get any closer to the room though, two men on the catwalk above them began to fire down at them with full automatic weapons. They were forced to take cover and Isabella waited for the perfect opportunity to return fire using her rifle. Isabella was an excellent shot and she managed to hit one of the two men, while Alonzo took out the other.

“Fuck you! Ahhhh!” Renee said as Leon pressed the knife in a little deeper. “You’re a pretty one, too bad that I’ll have to carve up that pretty face,” Leon said as he shifted the knife to her cheek. “Which eye is your best one? I wouldn’t want to dibilitate ya...too much,” he said as he lifted up the knife. Suddenly, something rolled at the feet of the two men.

More men with guns were coming down the stairs to the catwalk. They paused to fire at them and once more Isabella was forced to take cover. One of them had some kind of rocket launcher. “Is that!!!” Alonzo said. “Take cover!” Henry warned. As Neil looked down at the black orb his eyes went wide when he figured out what it was but he had no chance to say anything. The grenade went off with a bang. As the man with the launcher aimed at them suddenly someone repelled from the ceiling and began to light them all up. He was dressed all in black and Isabella knew who it was. Frank Castle shot at the group of men with his battle rifle. No one was left standing after his barrage of bullets.

He repelled all the way to the floor and unhooked himself. Leon ofcourse heard the explosion and drew out his pistol. He shifted to get behind Renee so whomever opened the door would hit her first. “There’s one woman and one man in that room. He’s crouched behind her, using her for cover,” Frank said matter of factly as they drew up to him. “Nice to see you again, Isabella,” he said with a knowing wink. They had had a few nights together but it was little more than just rough sex between them, so far.

Isabella just barely managed to take cover again before more gunfire rained down on them. She glanced around the crate she was crouching behind and suddenly saw a man with a rocket launcher. Her eyes widened as he took aim, but before he could fire the weapon a man dressed in all black repelled down from the ceiling and took the man out. Isabella immediately recognized him as Frank Castle. She and Frank had slept together several times, but their relationship was simply that...sex, which worked for them both.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” she told him honestly.

With Frank covering them, they busted through the door where Renee was being held. “Drop your weapon and put your hands behind your head,” Isabella ordered in a firm, commanding tone.

Leon saw that there was no getting out of this. If he shot the girl or at them, they'd certainly kill him. Renee looked obviously relieved when she saw them. Isabella saw that she was in bad shape. She was alive though. They'd all be getting out of this alive.

"Ok man, shiit, I ain't dyin taday!" Leon said and raised his hands up. He complied with them and Henry moved up and took the man into custody. When Isabella looked behind her, she noticed that Frank was no longer there. 10 minutes later they had Renee released and Alonzo had given her his jacket to cover herself with. She trembled as he held her and obviously was distraught from her near death experience. As CIA agents swarmed the warehouse and the docks they found more weapons on the Ship. When Isabella was called to check it all out, when she arrived and they opened the boarded up crates she saw the name on the weapon cases. 'Stark Industries'

Isabella could see that Renee was hurt, but she was alive and that was what mattered at the moment. The man was lucky she was alive, otherwise she would not have been so nice. Thankfully, he surrendered and Alonzo helped Renee while Henry handcuffed him. More CIA agents arrived to lock down the area and they began to gather together all of the crates of weapons. Isabella was called out to look at it once everything had been found. She opened up one of the crates and her eyes suddenly widened when she saw the name on the cases...Stark Industries.

As everything was taken away, Isabella's mind began to try and figure out what might be going on. She didn't want to believe that Tony was selling his weapons to these people. There must be another explanation...

It was almost 3 am when she finally arrived back at her apartment. She opened the door and sighed as she closed it behind her. It had been a long night and she was looking forward to a drink.

A moment later the hairs on the back of her neck rose as a familiar scent wafted her way from the living room. That and she heard the jingle of ice in one of her crystal ball mall glasses. Then he flipped the lamp on.

Frank Castle took another sip from his drink as he stood and offered her one with a single, small ice cube in it. Just how she liked it. She hadn't noticed the new bottle on the mini bar. he must have brought it for her. She had to think why Frank was always around when she came upon these weapon caches. It wasn't every time but it was often. Too often. Too often to just be coincidence.

"All that paperwork to fill out after such a long day," He said in a simpering tone. "I wondered if you needed a good fucking to get to sleep tonight," he said crudely. But that was who Frank was. He didn't mince words much.

Isabella was suddenly aware that there was someone else in the apartment with her. A familiar scent filled her nose and she heard the sound of ice jingling in a glass. When he flipped the light on, Isabella looked over to see Frank standing there with two glasses in his hand. Frank knew how she liked her drinks prepared and she accepted the glass he handed to her. She took a small sip and the bourbon warmed her mouth and throat. She glanced over at her mini bar and noticed a new bottle there. Frank must have brought it with him. Isabella had never given Frank a key. He just knew how to get into her apartment. The first time he had snuck in he had nearly given her a heart attack. Now, she was used to it.

Isabella heard what Frank said and she blushed ever so slightly. Frank was a rather crude, straight-to-the-point kind of man. No other man she had ever been with talked to her the way Frank did. She rather liked it. It turned her on. However, tonight...tonight she had something else on her mind.

"Frank, how are you finding these weapon caches? It seems like every time we locate one you're right there." Her tone wasn't accusatory, but she was curious about it.

“Besides the bug I planted on your stakeout van? I follow the money,” he said simply as if what he had just said didn’t break like half a dozen laws. “Your old boyfriend,” he began. Isabella had talked about Tony while in bed with Frank. Frank had been surprised by that but didn;t say anything about it, he just listened. Isabella didn’t talk much but when she did, it was just her needing to get it out in the open and Frank didn’t judge. He just listened to her.

“He’s playing both ends. He’s double dealing under the table or someone in his company is, I always follow the money,” he said. “Those weapons cost way too much for those thugs to get their hands on that stuff. Someone else bought them. If they didn’t find out about your little bust, you could have followed them up the chain to whomever bought them,” he said plainly as he set his drink down then moved up and put his hands on the front of her dress pants. He began to undo the buttons and he lowered the zipper.

Isabella knew there was more to Frank than what he told her. However, she never pushed him to reveal more. Their relationship didn’t work like that. Isabella hadn’t intended to tell Frank about Tony, but one night she had just needed to. She had seen Tony on tv earlier that day and he had consumed her thoughts for the rest of the day. Frank had listened quietly and had not really said anything about him...until now. Isabella sighed as she listened to what Frank said. She felt where his hands were but she did not stop him.

“Tony would not be involved in this. I know him well enough to be able to tell you that for certain. I plan to talk to him though about all of this.”

Frank was not at all surprised by what Isabella had said. He knew her to be ‘one of the good guys’. Even if she worked for one of the most corrupt law enforcement agencies known to man. He pulled her pants down to her ankles then gingerly, so as to not spill her drink he lifted her up onto her kitchen counter. He could see her skin prickle do to the sudden chill of it, she was only in her white panties though her blouse was still on.

“Do you think he’ll see you?” Frank asked as he reached around her and began on the buttons of her blouse. “A man like that, how many billions is he worth these days? Isn’t all that easy to just pop in and see him,” Frank said. “I’m not much up on my who’s who of the billionaire, playboy scene but if someone ‘were’ to allude to double dealing, he might look into it,” Frank said as he shifted her legs open for him and he went down onto his knees before her then something occurred to him and he looked up at her..

“I heard he was a genius too,” Frank said in that way he spoke when he didn’t understand her. He had pointed out that he was worth billions AND was a playboy AND a genius. Obviously he was wondering why on earth she didn’t hang onto him. But then he shifted her panties to give his mouth access to her and then he leaned forward into her center and went to work.

A Considerable amount of time later they lay in her bed. Frank was sleeping soundly.

Isabella was exhausted, both mentally and physically. However, despite that she was unable to sleep. She lay there awake staring up at the ceiling for a long time as thoughts of Tony crept into her mind. She glanced over at Frank and saw he was sleeping soundly. She finally just got up. She put on her robe and walked over to her closet. She stepped inside and found a large, unlabeled box. She opened it and gazed down at the contents inside. There were movie ticket stubs, concert ticket stubs, photos, and other memorabilia from her time with Tony. She reached in and picked up a set of photo booth pictures of Tony and herself. They were both smiling and laughing and goofing around. She then saw a dried rose from the first bouquet Tony had sent her. Tears came to her eyes as she touched it.

At 7 am she took a shower and dressed. She made coffee for Frank and then headed to work. Once there she closed her office door and picked up the phone and dialed the number she had for Tony. She felt nervous as she listened to the rings.

The phone number she dialed had shifted to an answering service. When she announced her name and position though the answering service switched the call to Tony's personal assistant Pepper Potts. Pepper was already up and At Tony's already. Tony had a board meeting, which he absolutely hated to go to such things like that but this one was going to be important.

Tony has his suit on but his tie was not straight. Pepper had a cup of double espresso for him, 1 small cube of raw sugar in it was how he took it. Her phone went off as she appeared from the kitchen into the main room. A large expansive living room decored in a modern, open style.

"I'll take the call," Pepper said and Isabella heard the click of the redirected phone call. "Hello, this is Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's personal assistant. How may I help you Agent Corsetti?" She asked as she watched Tony sit down at the piano. They didn't have time for this and Pepper wanted to be done with this call quickly. "What is this regarding?" She asked hastily.

Isabella nervously fingered Tony’s old necklace. She wasn’t sure why she had decided to wear it that day. She had never worn it before. She was transferred to Tony’s personal assistant, Miss Potts, and she heard her pick up.

“I need to speak to Ton...Mr. Stark regarding a CIA matter. Last night a large cache of Stark Industries weapons was discovered in a warehouse. The weapons were about to be smuggled out of the country by criminals. It is very important that I speak to him about this as this is now a criminal investigation.”

“Well Miss Corsetti,” Potts said as Tony began to play. “Mr. Stark is extremely busy this morning. Why don’t you come out this afternoon. Mr. Stark will be here...most likely,” she said though she didn’t know if that would be true or not. “The service will give you the address, thank you,” she said then Isabella heard a beep. The lady at the call service gave her Tony’s address. It was there in New York.

When she got back to the office her teams secretary Harriet came up to her as soon as she got off the elevator. “Mr. Stolick is waiting for you in your office. Something’s going down but no one really knows what,” Harriet said.

Alex Stolick was a career company man and also Isabella’s supervisor. He was a bit older than she, 6’4”, former football quarterback, short, dark hair, blue eyes and very handsome and confident. He was also a yes man who rarely stuck his neck out for anyone. When Isabella came in he smiled, stood then gestured for her to close the door behind her as he got up. He waited for her to sit in her chair and he sat on the edge of her desk, pretty close to her.

“Did something happen yesterday that wasn’t in your report? I figured there must have been when Carver just chewed the hell out of my ear for the last half hour,” He said in obvious irritation. Nathan Carver was head of the New York division of the CIA. An older man who, like Stolick was very much a company man. But he was also dangerous. He had been around since the end of the cold war and he ‘knew things’.

Isabella blinked at the abruptness of her conversation with Miss Potts. She sighed, but took down the address that was given to her. She hoped that this woman would not be present when she came by later to speak to him. She pocketed the address and then headed to the office. As soon as she got off the elevator Harriet grabbed her and informed her that Mr. Stolick, her supervisor, was in her office. She wasn't entirely surprised by that because of what happened the day before. He probably just wanted to talk to her more about it.

She walked in and smiled at Alex. He was in his early to mid 30s and was rather handsome. She took a seat and watched as he sat on her desk close to her. She listened to what he said and she knew she needed to be careful here. What he spoke of was Frank Castle’s appearance.

“I’m not sure what he could mean,” Isabella responded. “Did he say anything specific?”

"Well, the whole 'establishment' is pissed. They want you and your team to take those weapons you confiscated back to the docks. They're supposed to be on some ship called the Pacific Queen. And I don't want to know how you get them there. Just get them there," he said and saw the look on her face. He knew her to be a good Agent and one that did not often compromise her morals.

"Look, we don't know where they're gunna end up and we don't want to know. All I know is the brass is looking down on this one. Think of it like the Hartford job. As distasteful as doing business with those mobsters was, in the end you got it done. Thats the Isabella I need here ok?" He said. Obviously someone high up in the CIA had a personal stake of some kind in all of this. Weapons were big business and obviously, business was booming. This had nothing to do with Frank Castle at all. Only Isabella looking the other way as part of her soul sailed off to god knows where. Not to mention who'd be hurt or killed by these weapons.

Isabella's brow furrowed as Alex continued to speak. It became immediately clear that this had nothing to do with Frank Castle, but instead to do with the weapons themselves. When Alex mentioned the Hartford job, Isabella looked down and away. She was still ashamed of herself for that job and what she and her team had to do. This under-handedness was not why she had become a CIA agent. Tony's words from 7 years ago echoed in her ears. She didn't want him to be right. She didn't want to think that she had sold her soul to a corrupt agency.

"Those weapons are going to hurt innocent people Alex."

Alex sighed. He knew this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation but he had to press on. “Look, the wheels are turning Isabella. And the grease keeping them moving is way above my pay grade. “You were willing to look the other way before. I’m asking you to just do it once more, ok?” He said. “I’ll find a way to make it up to you,” he said in consolation. “Alright?” He asked as he stood up and buttoned his suit coat.

“I have to go put out another fire today,” he said as he nodded to her in commiseration. “How’s Renee doing?” He asked. Isbabella knew that she might have lasting issues with her eye but other than that there were only a few stitches and the mental issues associated with being attacked.

Isabella sighed and shrugged a little when Alex asked her how Renee was doing. "We'll have to wait and see," was all she said.

Isabella tried to focus on her work, but she found it nearly impossible between thinking about what Alex had told her and knowing that she was going to see Tony that afternoon. When the time came for her to leave to head over to the address she felt her nervousness grow again. She and Tony had not ended on great terms and when she had tried to contact him a few years ago after the death of his parents he had never returned her call.

She hailed a cab and gave them the address. Isabella was driven out of the city and after close to an hour they arrived at a large beachside estate. The house was quite modern, with lots of large, floor to ceiling windows looking out over the ocean. As she got out of the cab, a man suddenly appeared and held the door open for her and then offered her his hand to help her out. He introduced himself as Happy Hogan, Head of Security. He led her inside and Isabella tried to calm her nerves. She had seen Tony on tv and on the covers of magazines, but she had not seen him in person for 7 years.

Tony was tinkering with his old blue 1968 Jaguar E-Type Zero. A classic convertible. It didn't 'really' need much work but he was rebuilding the carburetor as well as other parts of it simply because he wanted to. He had only heard half of what Pepper had told him about a CIA agent wanting to talk to him. He had also forgot that he told Happy to bring them in if and when they came. He was dressed in blue overalls and he was on a floor cart under the car trying to re-attach the hoses when he heard someone come in.

Next to the Jaguar was a Red Ferrari, a Silver Lamborghini, a black rolls, a gray 1966 Aston Martin, A White Lotus and a Green Bugatti

Happy didn't know who Isabella was but he knew what Tony liked and Isabella was very much his type though he only asked if she wanted a beverage. Why she was here was not his business and after he led her down into his lab area. Which also was where he stored his cars, he came up to Tony and bent down to talk to him.

"Tony the CIA agent is here...she's a woman," he said softly so Isabella couldn't hear. He had left her just outside of the lab area near the stairs. "Is she cute?" Tony asked. "Very," Happy said with a smile. "Ok, then a..." He began but happy finished for him. "I'll clear your evening schedule," Happy said with a grin. This was just Tony being Tony.

Happy nodded a smile at Isabella as he stepped away and moved up the stairs. Tony slid out from under the car and sat up. he wiped his hands but from where he was he could only see Heels, nice legs and the hem of a skirt. Very nice legs, he though as he stood up.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Agent..." he began but when he saw Isabella, he knew her face. He knew her face and everything else about her. He had spent years trying to forget about Isabella. The breakup had deeply scarred him. To compensate women were mostly just playthings. He liked to get off, always had trouble sleeping and women were a nice way to curb all of that. And there had been alot of women since Isabella.

He covered his shock by tilting his head and smiling at her and he stepped up and shook her hand though his hand still had alot of grease on it. He did that on purpose. "Well, Agent...Corsetti, now this is a surprise," he said smoothly but his insides were far from smooth right then and he withdrew his hand and began to snake out of his overalls. He had not changed very much since she last saw him. he still wore simple clothes and even did his hair the same way.

Isabella was led to a large area that appeared to be half lab and half garage. There was a line of beautiful old classic cars, but the one that caught her eye was the very one he was working on. Isabella had once mentioned to Tony that a 1968 Jaguar E-Type was her dream car. She wondered if he even remembered her telling him that. She stood back a little ways while Happy went to speak to him. She found herself nervously fidgeting, and she tried to stop herself. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest it was beating so fast. Then, as he looked up and saw her, her eyes met his and she knew in that moment that she still loved him. She had spent 7 years trying to heal the wound in her heart, but it had never fully healed and now that wound had been ripped back open again. Losing Tony had been like losing a piece of herself.

She didn't realize it, but she was holding her breath as she watched him approach her. He smiled at her, but she could tell he was unsettled by her presence. He shook her head and she winced a little when she realized it was covered in grease. That was a passive aggressive move on his part...that and calling her Agent Corsetti instead of Isabella. She walked over and picked up a rag to wipe the grease off her hand with.

"Mr. Stark," she began. If he was going to be formal then she would be the same. "I'm here to talk to you about a large cache of Stark Industries weapons that my team found in a criminal run warehouse."

He had almost forgotten how beautiful Isabella was. Large, dark eyes, perfect olive skin and dark hair that glimmered in the natural sunlight. He also remembered feeling her hair on his chest while she was on top of him going crazy like she was want to do. It took an effort but he banished those thoughts away and he gestured for her to follow him upstairs.

"You want a coke or maybe something stronger?" he asked as they reached the top. The sun was really coming through the windows. "Jarvis, dim the windows 30 percent," He said. "Ofcourse sir," Jarvis responded and then the light dimmed. He ofcourse has half forgotten her question as he moved to the mini bar and began to make them drinks. When she uttered another word, he did not know what it could have been he spoke over her.

"Why come to me with this? There must be a dozen other people better suited to help you with...whatever it is you're doing. Why me?" he asked with more force than he really meant. Her being here had unsettled him and he didn't like feeling unsettled.