Kazakhstan (August 1995)

Alex slipped in and tapped his knuckles on her door. Her and her team oversaw contractors load up the weapons they confiscated onto the ship they were supposed to go on but that had been 2 weeks ago. Alex still avoided her though so it would be a surprise seeing him there now and he held a light blue file folder with a black binding. The kind of folder that meant he had work for her and her team. Or so it had been the way of it in the past. Renee was fully recovered and back in service. It was difficult to see the man that assaulted her get released on bail but he had been and by the looks of his lawyer, whomever hired him had alot of money.

"Feel like takin a trip? This just came down from 'on high'," Alex said as he set the folder down on her desk. "You must be moving up in the world if I'm relegated to being the messenger around here," Alex said. He knew Isabella was busy but things like this always took precedence.

Isabella had slipped into a state of depression over the past few weeks. Seeing Tony again had brought up a lot of unresolved feelings and she felt more alone than she ever had. She worked and then she went home. Sometimes Frank was there and sometimes he wasn't. She didn't talk to him about what had happened with Tony, but he would have been able to tell from her depressed mood that something had happened. Isabella was no longer proud of the work she was doing for the CIA. She had once been a strong, confident woman, but now she felt beaten down.

She had just been about to go get some coffee when she heard a rap on her door. Looking up, she saw Alex and saw the blue folder he was holding. She knew what that meant. She glanced at him when he asked her if she felt like taking a trip and then picked up the folder and opened it up.

"Taking a trip where?"

Alex just smiled in that way he did when he knew something she did not. He snatched a piece of candy from the dish on her desk then shrugged as he turned around to leave. "Kazakhstan. You'll be running security for some rich billionaire...some guy named Stark," Alex said as he stepped into the hall.

Tony ofcourse asked for her by name. He knew her bosses, bosses boss, after all and wanted to mess with her a little. The meeting they had had left him feeling...unsettled. He blamed her for that so if he was feeling unsettled, so should she," he decided and had them put the order through.

Isabella's eyes widened when she heard what Alex said. She immediately got up and followed him. "No, Alex I can't. I...I'm compromised where Mr. Stark is concerned. Please, you need to find someone else to do it."

Alex turned to face her and had a surprised look on his face. Several people in the halls paused to hear what the ruckus was about. Alex still had the piece of candy in his hands and he did a quick movement. A sleight of hand trick he had done many times and the candy was gone. He showed her his empty hands. He shook his head and mouthed to her. 'Its done, nothing I can do.' Then he turned and continued down the hallway. Everyone else just started up again going about their business.

Isabella didn't understand what was happening. Did Tony request this? And, if so, why? The thought of seeing Tony again made her feel nauseous. She wanted to scream and hit something. She was frustrated and upset, but there was nothing she could do.

The flight left in the morning so she had to go home and pack. Frank didn't come over that night so she left him a note explaining where she was. In the morning, a car picked her up and drove her to the military base where a plane was waiting. She was escorted on board. She was the only woman on board and as she looked around she saw a handsome man in dress blues looking at her. He got up and walked over to sit down next to her.

"I'm Isabella Corsetti."

James could not believe this was happening...again. These high profile weapons sales were really becoming a sore point for him. Tony wasn't in the military but everything he did affected the military, The Air Force included. He and Tony were friends but he had become irritated with Tony as of late. Tony never kept his appointments and James was often left with covering for him. This last thing though had really irritated him. Tony was out with 2 playmates at the same time and left James to handle the diplomats. He noticed the woman from across the way and smiled politely at her. At first he wondered if she was here because of Tony but when she came over and sat next to him he knew she was just another sap like he was being manipulated by the man.

"James Rhodes, my friends call me Rhodey," James said as he shook her hand. He originally thought that he wouldn't drink on the flight but after listening to the woman he decided they both needed a drink and ordered  them.

"So there we were going down in the helicopter. My copilot took a head shot and the side gunner died in the crash," he told her. "We were tracked so we both knew men were coming to where we crashed. My leg was broken and Tony carried me out of there. I told him to just leave me but he wouldn't. It's just how he was. He built some kind of contraption to distribute my weight on his back," James chuckled. "I think he used the seat material and  aluminum he scavenged form the crash," James said as he smiled at her. "So, how did you and Tony meet?" he asked her.

Isabella accepted the drink and they began to chat. Isabella listened to the story Rhodey told her about their helicopter going down. She smiled a little when he explained how Tony had built a contraption from the wreckage to help carry Rhodey after he broke his leg during the crash. She knew there were some people out there that considered Tony selfish and self-centered, but Isabella knew the real Tony and he would do anything he could to help a friend.

She took a sip of her drink before answering Rhodey's question about how she and Tony had met. "Well...we met at Phillips Academy. We were close friends our first two years there, and then during our third year we became something more." She looked down a little as memories came flooding back to her. "We were in love and Tony wanted me to go with him to New York after we graduated, but I had been accepted into the CIA training program. We...we broke up as a result and Tony has never forgiven me for that."

"I want to hate the man but then he just does something completely selfless and pulls me right back in," Rhodey said. "But if he brought you here, you know its because he still has feelings for you. He wouldn't do it otherwise," Rhodey assured her. "Tony never does anything by happenstance though it might seem that way sometimes," he said. "I've seen him play chess," he said with a smile. They talked for a good long while and eventually the plane landed. They were met by dignitaries, military brass and army soldiers who looked like a pretty rough and tumble group. They filed into military vehicles and were taken to the main base just a few clicks from the airport.

Isabella was given a chance to examine the given intelligence and it was a fairly open area where they'd be doing the tests but the route on the way back looked somewhat suspect. Everything else looked in order but one of the soldiers explained why often take that route and his explanation sounded reasonable.

"Ok, we're still waiting on Mr. Stark," A colonel said as he came into the tent. Everyone groaned as if this was hardly the first time they had been made to wait for something like this. Apparently Tony had a reputation for never being on time. Isabella was shown to a tent where she could put on military clothes and clean up before the ride to the testing site. An hour later they were driving in the military vehicles. This time of year it was hot and dusty. The heat was terrible but the soldiers in her vehicle appeared not to really notice it. Eventually the vehicle stopped and they exited to deploy their people and secure the area for the test. When she began deploying everyone she heard the familiar sound of ice in a crystal glass. When she turned around Tony was there in a very nice suit and a light blue tie. He had on sunglasses and looked fresh and clean.

"I'm not certain olive drab is your color. The whole, paramilitary vibe just isn't working for me," He said with a smile.

Isabella listened to Rhodey, but she wasn’t certain she wanted to see Tony again. She wasn’t sure her heart was going to be able to take it. However, she didn’t have much of a choice.

After they landed they were taken to the main base. There were army fatigues that she was given to wear and she changed into them and secured her weapons. She pulled her hair up into a bun. She was given clearance to examine the intelligence. She didn’t like the routes to and from the testing site, but they were the only option.

They got into the military vehicles and headed to the site. It was hot and dusty, but Isabella didn’t complain. When the reached the site, she got out and began deploying the security team. Suddenly, she heard the familiar sound of ice in a crystal glass behind her. She looked over at Tony but her expression remained neutral. She heard what he said, but didn’t respond to it. “Mr. Stark,” was all she said coldly in greeting before turning away.

"Tough room," Tony said quickly and just looked at her a moment. "So, you're not digging my little joke?" He said as he took a sip from his glass. "Oh, did you want one? I doubt the government would approve...since your on duty and all," he said as a very attractive blonde came over to him and he put his arm around the woman's back. He winked at her and stepped away but before he took three steps they were met by a Sheikh in robes and Tony had to remove his hand from the girls behind to shake the man's hand.

They didn't have much time to dilly dally though. Soon more vehicles showed up and high ranking military personnel began to file out of the vehicles. James shook the hand of who could have been his superior and all the big wigs were talking and shaking hands.

Isabella did not respond to Tony, but out of the corner of her eye she saw a blonde woman with clearly fake breasts come over and start hanging all over Tony. If Tony wanted to hurt her more he wouldn't have been able to at this point. She felt herself growing angry, but she didn't give Tony the pleasure of looking at him. In fact, she actually walked away.

Finally, the high ranking military personnel arrived and Isabella hoped the presentation would start soon. She wanted this all to be over with so she could leave.

In his usual flair, tony had set up the demonstration to commence after a short speech. He included his father in the speech, though only in a minor way and as he raised his arms the weapon launched . The cluster bomb split up into dozens of separate pieces and it struck the hill side with dramatically destructive results. Everyone clapped and Tony stepped down and opened up a travel bar and fixed himself another drink. "A free one of these with the purchase of 5 million or more," he said with a smile and he shifted to gesture with his drink right at Isabella. He took a sip and them moved to go to his vehicle. James tried to come with him but Tony spoke into his ear. James sighed and looked over at Isabella. He had a resigned look in his eye and nodded his head to her toward Tony. A sign he wanted her to ride with Tony on the way back.

Isabella stood back during the presentation. She didn't like that he was building weapons, especially knowing that a large amount were ending up in the hands of criminals. He didn't seem to care about that either. Those weapons could be hurting innocent people. She began to feel that the Tony she had known was gone and was replaced by a man who wanted only money and power.

After the presentation, Isabella began to step towards the vehicle she had arrived in, but James caught her attention and gestured for her to join Tony in his vehicle. "Fuck," she said under her breath as she gritted her teeth. She felt Tony's necklace against her skin under the fatigues and for the first time she wanted to rip it off and throw it at his head. She walked over towards the vehicle and took a cleansing breath before getting in. She said nothing to Tony and didn't look at him.

Tony sat behind the passenger and Isabella sat behind the driver. The vehicle started off as part of 2 others. There were 3 more but they were not in any hurry to follow. James Rhodes was part of that group. The passenger, a young soldier held a camera. "Could I...uh, get a picture?" He asked. "With you I mean," he said. Tony smiled. "Sure," he said and leaned forward. The kid took the photo and he appeared to be tickled by it.

"Hey, get your camera, take one of us...Miss Corsetti and myself," Tony said. The soldier smiled and got out his camera again. Tony noticed Isabella wasn't into it but he continued as if he didn't notice. He leaned into her. "C'mon, smile," He said as the soldier tried to take the picture. But then they heard an explosion and the vehicle in front of them exploded. Tony shifted quickly in shock back to the corner.

"Check right! Check!" The kid that took the photo said but then he was riddled with bullets as he began to put on his helmet. There was shooting all around them.

Isabella did not want to have her picture taken with Tony. That only reminded her of the pictures she had in the box in her closet back at home. In those pictures they were happy and smiling. She didn't want a picture of a heartbreaking moment like this.

However, before she could tell Tony she didn't want her picture taken the vehicle was rocked by the sounds of the vehicle in front of them exploding. Isabella didn't hesitate, but she quickly sprang into action and moved to protect Tony. "Tony, stay down!" she ordered.

The driver grabbed her weapon and put on her helmet. "Bug out bug out!!! They have RPGs!" She yelled. Tony looked at Isabella and Isabella looked at Tony and then they were opening the doors. Tony saw a group of rocks nearby and he hurried over to them and just narrowly missed getting hit by small arms fire. He hunkered down and pulled out his phone.

Isabella heard the soldiers in the vehicle behind hers returning fire but there were far more enemies than allies now. She was able to take out two enemies but she felt a painful jerk in her arm and then her head as her helmet was literally shot off of her head. The shot knocked her onto her butt and she lost sight of Tony. Her arm burned and dust got into her eyes. The driver was hit in the chest and fell right next to her. Her blue eyes stared lifelessly at her.

A shell landed right near Tony and he saw that it was one of his weapons. Before he could wonder about it though he tried to get up and move away. Before he could though the shell exploded and knocked him onto his back. Dust was in his eyes and he felt pain all over his chest. He pulled at his suit coat and shirt and he felt the shrapnel burn his flesh. There were others there he could hear the arabic language as all went dark.

Isabella looked for her weapon but it lay several feet away. As she tried to crawl to it she felt pressure on her leg and then a sharp pain his her in the back of the neck and all went black.

Isabella groaned as she slowly began to regain consciousness. She blinked, but quickly realized that her head was covered. There was a gag in her mouth. Her hands were bound back behind her back and she was tied to a chair. She pulled at the ropes a little, but was then struck by someone across the face. They spoke in Arabic and she couldn't understand the exact words he said, but she knew the meaning and she stopped struggling. She didn't know where she was or even if Tony was alive. She felt panic rise up inside of her, but she forced herself to remain as calm as possible.

Suddenly, she heard a different Arabic voice. It sounded like it was some feet away. What she couldn't see happening was that they were holding Tony hostage and videoing demands for his release.

Tony screamed in pain then darkness took him. He awoke with the smell of blood and a coppery metallic taste in his mouth. There was more pain and then he fell unconscious once again. When he woke he knew he was sitting up but there were a very bright light in his face and people were talking. His chest burned like it was on fire and fear began to creep into his mind. He had thought, for a moment that he saw Isabella. Was that a dream? He was tempted to call out to her but he could not let them know that he really knew her. She was dressed as a soldier so maybe that's what they thought she was. Just a common soldier. The camera was shut off. and a table was brought forth. Pictures of the Jericho missile platform were set down in front of him.

"Tony Stark, you will make the Jericho Missile for us. If you do not, you will die!" The man said. "We capture another. She will help you. If you fail, she will share your fate," the man said then Tony was lifted up and half carried. As he was carried, Isabella was picked up and carried. The space felt...closed in where they were taken. Closed in, damp and cold. He was almost dropped onto a small bed and he was so out of it he laid back and darkness took him once more.

Isabella was not treated so gingerly. She was tossed onto the floor just as her hand ties were cut. Those that brought her shut the thick, metal door and sealed them both inside the small room.

Isabella was roughly pulled to her feet and then carried like a sack of potatoes. As she was carried she felt hands touching her inappropriately. She wanted to kick at them, but her ankles were bound as well. The sack on her head allowed some light to come through so she was aware when they were suddenly inside a darker area. Judging by the echoing and the sound of wetness on the ground she thought it must be a cave, or a structure built into the earth. She heard a door open and suddenly she was tossed onto the floor. The bounds were cut and then they pulled the sack off of her head and removed the gag. Before she could even get up the men were gone and the large, metal door was closed. She could hear the lock engage. She looked over and saw Tony. Then she saw a wire running from his chest down to what appeared to be a car battery. She quickly got up and moved over to the small bed he was on. She pulled up his shirt to try and understand what they had done to him.

Wires led from thew battery to a round electromagnet that had been placed into his chest. The wound looked angry and hastily done. Tony looked pale but he was breathing. The room they were in was packed with all sorts of weapon parts. Tony had multiple wounds on his chest and they were sewn up.

After a few hours Tony finally stirred. He lifted up his head then groaned and laid back down. He was in alot of pain and he felt...strange. He reached up and felt the wires. In alarm he sat up and traced the wires down to a car battery then followed them back up to his chest. "What the hell did they do to me?" He said aloud. He had not known Isabella was captured with him. He thought she had been killed but he had himself to worry about right then.

Isabella examined the contraption closely and began to guess why they had done what they had done. She moved about the room and looked for any other possible ways out, but there were none. She saw the weapon parts. She had heard what they wanted Tony to do. They wanted him to build the Jericho missile.

After a while she heard Tony stir and then he sat up. She could see the alarm on his face as he looked at the wire and car battery. She slowly moved over to where he was. He would be able to see a large bruise forming in the right side of her face from where she had been hit.

“My best guess is that there is shrapnel in your chest that they couldn’t remove and the electromagnet is keeping it from reaching your heart.”

There was a pitcher of water and two glasses. She poured him a glass of water and handed it to him.

Tony was in shock and he said nothing as he accepted the glass. He nearly choked on the water as he tried to take a drink. "THey'll come for us," he managed to get out," but it was obvious he was nearly overcome by fear. "I thought you were dead...I thought I was alone," He said as he felt dizzy and laid back down onto the bed. He groaned softly as the pain of his chest was like a drum in his head. It beat in time with his heart.

"I'm a mess Isabella..." Tony said as he tried not to groan again. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

Isabella was outwardly very calm. She had to be. She could see that Tony was nearly overcome by fear and she was the head of his security detail. However, inside she was terrified. She didn’t know what was going to happen or how she was going to keep Tony safe.

“I’m fine,” was all she said, though the truth was the side of her face hurt, although she knew that was nothing compared to what Tony was going through.

Tony fell asleep again...

Tony awoke to the sound of screeching metal as the doors were opened. When he and Isabella were not standing, two men came into the room yelling. Isabella was just sitting there when one kicked her in the hip. "You stand! Stand!" He growled. Tony was jerked awake as the other man jerked him upright.

"You stand,,,stand!" he said. "Build missile!" He said and slapped Tony hard across the face. They dropped off a little food for them then left them again.

"Their not going to let us go no matter what I do," Tony said as he thought about it. He sat back down on the bed feeling defeated and something horrible occurred to him. He had gotten Isabella into all of this. He was going to be at fault for getting her killed.

"This is my fault. I brought you here. I brought you here and they're going to kill us both no matter what I do," he said feeling defeated. He laid back down and turned onto his side. He wanted to just close his eyes and give up.