A Conversation (December 1998)

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas...The inside of the Tower was being decorated by the team. Over the last few months, Ava had begun training with the team. Steve and the others had been quite impressed to see what she could do with the amulet's power. She trained regularly with the team and everyone had accepted her. Ava and Logan had slept together a few more times since that first night, although they did not define themselves as being in a relationship.

Serena was now crawling which meant the Tower had to be baby proofed. Ava had laughed as she watched Logan try to open the baby proofed refrigerator for the first time. Serena was growing more and more beautiful everyday and to Isabella's ears her laugh was the most beautiful thing in the world. Serena seemed to have a fondness for Logan, and though Logan would never admit it, Isabella could tell that he had a fondness for her as well. Isabella would often catch him holding her and talking to her. When he would get angry about something, Serena would just laugh and most of the time his anger would just fade away.

Steve, Ava, and Logan were finishing up decorating the tree that Tony had had brought in. Steve was holding Serena as he placed some of the ornaments. Sarah had the day off that day. Tony was in the lab working on upgrades to their suits. "I'm going out," she told the trio as she put on her coat. She needed to finish up her Christmas shopping. Happy was bringing the car around. "I'll be back later."

She took the elevator down and Happy was waiting and opened the door. She stepped in and he closed the door after her.

Brookfield Place, The Manhattan Mall and The Shops at Columbus Circle were some of the best shopping New York had to offer. New York was a special place this time of year and It was the first Christmas Isabella had with these many people. Add in her parents, her brother and his girlfriend and this year's party promised to be special. As Happy Drove her though there was a Christmas when she was working. Frank had showed up and made her pasta. He brought in a small tree and decorated it and lights. And even had gotten her a few presents and stashed them under the tree. He had left a note for her but she did not make it back into the country until the next day. By then he had left but everything he had done was still there. Now Frank spent his Christmas's alone. No friends, no family and No Isabella. She had moved on.

Happy decided on The Manhattan Mall to start. There was also Isabella's favorite coffee place there though he loved it more than she did and everyone knew though Happy thought it was a secret that he was sweet on the owner who was sweet on him as well.

The Mall was packed with people and with a pair of sunglasses and a scarf, Isabella blended into the masses easily. That and not having Tony with her. He drew people too him by just standing still it seemed.

And so they made it to the Mall and Happy excused himself to get the coffees. Isabella knew he would be awhile and there were alot of shops nearby that Happy was always uncomfortable going into. One of them was a lingerie shop that Isabella knew well.

Frank had wanted to talk to Isabella. He wanted to ask about Ava and he also just wanted to see her as well. He would never admit it but he was terribly lonely and he had been injured recently and could not do what he did for a while. Frank had no qualms about going into a lingerie shop. He recalled some of the things Isabella wore but he had always been happy with just her being completely nude. Frank was a large, strong, broad man that dwarfed Isabella and though he didn't possess all of Tony's tricks in the bedroom he really hadn't needed them. He saw Isabella checking out a lacey, black thing that he could imagine her wearing.

"If you want to model that, I'm up for it," Frank said as he came up behind her. "You know, to see if Tony might like it," Frank said. The Police were still looking for him for a number of murders and suspected assaults and murders but Frank always had a way to blend in like she did. He was dressed in a Black leather jacket, black boots and black jeans. He also wore dark sunglasses and he had a bruise on his cheek and a bandaid over his left eyebrow. He looked like he had been worked over fairly badly and he walked with a slight limp.

Isabella couldn't help but smile a little when Happy offered to go get them some coffees. She knew that he liked the shop's owner, Lily, though he would never admit it. She took that opportunity to go into the lingerie store to look at a few things. Happy would go in there with her, but he was never comfortable doing it. Isabella always liked teasing him by asking his opinion on pieces. She enjoyed seeing him blush. She picked out a black lacy one piece and was looking at it more closely when she felt someone come up behind her. When she turned and saw Frank her eye's widened at his appearance.

Isabella hadn't seen Frank since he had dropped off Ava at the Tower and then left again. She worried about him being out there alone, particularly around the holidays. She reached out to gently touch his face. There was genuine worry in her eyes. "What the hell happened to you?"

Frank shrugged as he looked into Isabella's eyes. "Well, you should of seen the other guy," He said to lighten the mood. He did not push her hand away. He liked her touch. It wasn't a sexual thing this time but he liked it just the same. "Its getting rough out there Isabella. But I don't have much choice. I'm onto something....something big," He said.

Isabella knew that Frank was always going to have a place in her heart. She would never stop caring about him and worrying about him. She wanted him to be happy and she feared that he was going to get himself killed out there on the streets doing what he was doing. She eyed him a little when he told her he was on to something big.

"What is it?"

Frank looked around. "I think maybe you need to...try that on? And this too," He said as he removed a very 'barely there' two piece in sheer, white material. Even as he picked it up though his eyes were looking around them.

Isabella glanced at Frank and then nodded a little as she picked up on what he wanted them to do. She took the pieces and walked back to the dressing room. Frank stealthily followed behind her and soon they were alone.

"Ok, so what's going on?" she said in a low voice.

"Well, I don't know, I think maybe this one?" He said as he touched the sheer, white lingerie. Her look annoyance was priceless he missed that look and he rolled his eyes. "He leaned in toward her left ear.

"Gideon Mace. I can getem. I have an in. He's working with Rawlins," he said. Isbabella knew Rawlins. he was a high level CIA agent. Frank blamed him for calling the hit on him and his family. "With Gideon gone Rawklins no longer has his high level link to organized crime," Frank said.

Isabella sighed and rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. She had no intention of trying on anything with Frank present. As he leaned in towards her left ear she listened to what he said. She of course knew who Rawlins was. Isabella had always had a bad feeling about him, but that feeling had only worsened when Frank had told her that he had called the hit on his family. If Rawlins was using Gideon as a link to organized crime then taking out Gideon would sever that tie.

She sighed a little and looked at him. "I suppose having Gideon gone would help Ava to sleep a little better at night." When Frank just looked at her she continued on. "Gideon murdered Ava's entire family in order to try and get the White Tiger amulet. That's why she was going after him. You two have more in common than you initially thought."

Frank just looked at Isabella a moment. "What, no lectures on taking him down legally? Normally thats what you say," Frank said. The fitting room wasn't large and at least one other person was nearby but they were whispering and there was some piped in music as well to cover their voices. Frank wasn't certain how he felt about Isabella. She was one of the good ones though. A good woman, Italian, a good cook and a tiger in bed. When she told him that she was marrying Tony Stark it hurt him alot more than he admitted. He wanted her to be happy more than anything and he wasn't in a position or the right mindset to get re-married and stop his crusade. Frank sighed.

"I keep holding to the thought that it won't work out between you and Tony. I'm getting close Isabella. Really close to putting an end to all of this. I'm sorry I lied to you but it was the only way I could protect you. There is a man I used to work with looking for me. They call him Jigsaw," Frank said as he took Isabella's face into his , thick, large hands. "How do you get more beautiful?" He told her softly.

Isabella was an intelligent woman. She knew that there was no way of doing this legally...not with Rawlins involved and Gideon was hurting people. He needed to be stopped. Tony would never approve of this so she had no intention of telling him. This needed to be taken care of though.

She felt Frank's large hands cup around her face and she found herself looking up into his eyes. She placed her hands atop his and leaned into his touch for a moment before she gently removed his hands from her face.

"I don't want you doing this alone Frank." A thought the occurred to her. "Ava could help you. She deserves a shot at Gideon for what he did to her and you've seen what she can do. She's more in control now. I think she could prove to be a good asset for you."

Frank shook his head as the moment passed between them. "That's not how I work. I won't take responsibility for her. For anyone. And from what I saw, wading into them like that. She'd get herself killed," he said but another thing occurred to him.

"She's still in the tower? Whats all that about?" He asked.

Isabella sighed and looked at Frank. "Well, where else does she have to go? She's alone. Tony and I have offered her a place on the Avengers team. When you dropped her off at the Tower she became my responsibility and I had no intention of turning her over to the police."

"An Avenger huh?" Frank said and he began to think about ways he could use her. And he would 'use' her and not necessarily in a way the woman would like. Gideon was a slippery customer and having Ava on the inside would make all the difference.

"You know, I've changed my mind. Maybe I can use her," Frank said as he rubbed his chin. "She'll need clothes...nice ones. She did have a figure as I recall," he said thinking outloud. He noticed Isabella's look. "What? Men go for South Americans and Mexicans. And Italians," Frank said with a wink.

Isabella sighed and rolled her her eyes. "She's Puerto Rican." Isabella suddenly began to get a little nervous about what Frank might have her doing. She felt responsible for her and didn't want her to get hurt. "What exactly are you going to have her doing?"

Frank grinned. "She'll be a bit of eye candy for them. I need her to put them off guard, get them thinking of something else besides someone coming in to kill them. If she wants to help, that's what I need her to do. If she can't or won't then I can't use her. It's that simple. A frontal assault won't work, I've already looked into that. And demolitions is risky. Too much chance of collateral damage. He has a family and servants," Frank said.

Isabella listened to Frank and she sighed a little as she thought it over. Ultimately though, it wasn't her decision. "I'll need to talk to Ava about this. Do you want to arrange a time for us to meet normally, or would you rather continue to stalk me and sneak up on me?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Frank grinned at her. "Well, Have her meet me at the Movieplex 12. The 12 Oclock showing of Saving Private Ryan. I'll find her there or I won't," Frank said then looked at the sheer Lingerie again and set both pieces into her hands. "You sure you won't let me see you in this? I bet you'd be very sexy in it," Frank said. Before she could complain though his lips were on hers and he held her hands down so she couldn't stop him. He felt her try to pull back but he followed and kissed her quite passionately before he backed up.

Frank looked at her. "Is it cheating if you're not facing me when we fuck?" He said in a very naughty way. What he meant was quite obvious and he knew her blush was all he was going to get as he saw her thinking about that. He listened for a moment and then stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Isabella returned back to the Tower and asked to speak to Ava privately in her office. She told Ava what Frank had told her and the two women discussed the pros and cons of her helping Frank. In the end, Ava agreed to do it. It was a huge risk, but she was willing to take it. She packed a bag with the items she would need and then snuck out of the Tower to meet Frank at the Movieplex 12. She purchased a ticket for the 12 p.m. showing of Saving Private Ryan and walked into the theater. She took a seat in the back row over towards one side, away from the other people who had already gathered. She then waited for Frank to show.

Frank wasn't certain about this at all but Ava's involvement would help him immensely if she didn't blow it. He had been following Gideon's Entourage and he knew every Friday night they went to the Calypso. A club Gideon owned. Frank had been inside a few times but having a woman...a sexy woman held promise that he'd take her upstairs to his apartment. Gideon had lots of apartments and a couple of houses but this one didn't leave room for alot of security and Gideon likely thought the club was enough to curtail anyone from trying anything.

Frank saw her go in as he took a drink from a water fountain. He waited for 2 minutes, bought a tub of popcorn and then stepped inside the theater. The movie had just started and he hurried up and sat next to her. He handed her the popcorn. He said nothing for several minutes.

"So you think you can help me? Well first off You need to know this. I lied to Isabella. I'm not really interested in Gideon but I do need to plant bugs in his apartment. I can't do that unless he is...indisposed. When he's not there he's got all of his security running. So he has to be there and his security shut down so I can get in. It's as simple as that. If you kill him he can't help me. I know he is responsible for murdering your family but do you just want him dead? Or do you want him to suffer for what he's done?" Frank asked her.

Ava had not really gotten a good look at Frank a few months earlier because she had been focused on Remi. Even though it was dark in the theater, she could make out his features enough as she looked over at him. He appeared to have been roughed over recently, but even so he was actually rather attractive. Not in a conventional way, but there was something about him. He looked solid and strong and she could see the pain in his eyes. It was the same pain she held in her own.

She was quiet a moment as she listened to him and considered what he said. She wanted revenge, but Frank was right. Death would be too quick a punishment. She wanted something more.

"I want him to suffer."

"What are you willing to do to make that happen? Do you know what 'indisposed' means? It means he needs to be out of the way while I plant the bugs. It means he might be sticking his tongue down your throat and maybe more," Frank said. "I think you're a resourceful woman Ava, maybe you can avoid that but if you kill him or hurt him, the gig is up," He said.

Ava rolled her eyes at Frank. "Of course I know what 'indisposed' means. I'm not 8 years old. I can handle it. Just knowing he's going to suffer will be enough for me." She ate a piece of popcorn and then glanced at Frank. "Besides, he might like a little S&M and then I can hurt him."

Frank chuckled at that. "Well, first things first, you'll need to dress the part. And, can you dance? Isabella said you were Puerto Rican. You need to get his attention," Frank said.

Ava rolled her eyes again and looked at him. "I don't need any help from you with this. Trust me, I'll get his attention and I'll hold it. You'll just need to be careful because I might grab your attention too," she teased with a little grin.