The Eyes of a Tiger (December 1998)

Micro had put a few lights up, nothing too flashy. This place was supposed to be abandoned after all. He saw Frank drive up with someone else in his car and he hit the garage door and the door opened for them. Frank drove the van right in. The black van was an older model but it had modern gadgets and gizmos in it. A computer and an odd looking weapon shelf that looked like it could pivot and shift upward. Did the top of the van open? It certainly looked like it did. Frank didn't explain how anything worked but the van could launch a weapon straight at him if he was anywhere near the van. He had a special magnetic link system on his back that would draw the weapon right to him and it would connect to him so he could draw it out at need. Frank was the demolitions expert but Micro was the electronics and security systems expert.

When they got out of the van she noticed the place looked more or less like an old, abandoned warehouse. However as they moved through a door it looked more like an apartment than anything else. There was a man who shifted above them and she saw stairs up to where he was. Frank though directed her to one of the side rooms. "Thats your bunk. I know its not Stark Tower but we all have to make do," Frank said. "No outside communications. No cell phones, ,no computers, nothing," Frank warned as he moved up the stairs to where Micro was. The two men began talking in low tones about her. It was chilly in her room and a draft came from somewhere. Not Stark Tower at all!

Ava had made up her mind and so she was prepared to do whatever she needed to do in order to make Gideon pay for not only what he had done to her, but what he had done to many other people as well. The black van that she got into looked like something creeps drove around in and tried to lure children into. However, she kept her mouth shut about that, particularly after seeing what it looked like on the inside. Frank was clearly not the kind of man you wanted to mess around with. They pulled up to what appeared from the outside to be an abandoned warehouse, but when she walked inside it looked like an apartment. There were several rooms and she saw another man eyeing her as Frank pointed out which room was hers. The room was sparse, with only the essentials. Ava had grown rather used to living at Stark Tower and this was nothing at all like that. She was certainly going to miss the steam shower! She shivered a little and realized there was a draft coming from somewhere. She pulled her coat a little tighter around her, but then heard Frank mention her voice in a low tone. She became still so she could listen to what they were saying.

"Is she going to do it?" Micro said. "I think so, but I want you to have plan B ready to go just incase she decides to take Mace out on her own," He said. "I think she'll work out just fine though," Frank said. "Well she certainly is hot enough," Micro said. Frank shifted to look in Ava's direction then shifted to look back at Micro. He didn't say anything about that. He thought Ava was very attractive but his head was still stuck on Isabella. He knew that ship had sailed but he thought that he was still in love with her. "I'm tired, I'm going to my rack," He said and stepped away and moved down the stairs. He stopped by Ava's room.

"If you're hungry, there's stuff in the freezer. Its all microwave here," he said as he stepped away from her doorway. "Is there anything you need? Any questions?" Frank asked.

Ava actually found that she was curious to hear Frank's response to what Micro had said about her. When he said nothing she felt a little disappointed. She heard Frank coming towards her room and she moved away from the door so as not to appear like she had just been listening in to their conversation. She looked over at him and then nodded a little when he mentioned the food. 

"A little heat would be nice," she teased.

Frank paused before he stepped down the hall. "There's an extra heater and more blankets in the closet there," he said as he pointed toward a door down the hall a bit. "There's shower stuff there too and towels," He said. "I...want to thank you Ava for agreeing to help me. I know you didn't have to do this," he said. "I want you to know why I didn't tell Isabella the whole truth. Her and I...we have...a history," Frank said. "Gideon is just a middle man in the whole scheme of things. A CIA agent by the name of Rawlins is the true threat here," He said.

Ava was grateful to know that there was a heater and extra blankets. She was going to need it. She looked at Frank when he admitted that he and Isabella had history. She had suspected that from the way Isabella spoke about Frank...also from the fact that she knew him. Frank didn't really seem like the type of person Tony Stark would hang around with. 

"So, you and Isabella had a relationship?"

Frank sighed but if he was going to work with Ava, he knew he needed to be straight with her. "Yeah...for a while. I mean...it was mostly...you know...just sex. But we had an understanding too," Frank said. He was tempted to look down at her breasts but he kept his eyes on hers. Ava was knockout gorgeous, there was no denying that but they both had jobs to do. They only had a couple days to prepare for that as well.

Ava wasn't so sure it was just sex, but she decided not to push Frank on that. She just nodded a little. They said goodnight and Ava grabbed a few extra blankets. She tried to sleep, but she kept thinking about her family and how close she was to getting revenge. Every time she closed her eyes she kept seeing their deaths. Finally, she just gave up and got up and went out to look at what food they had. Nothing appealed to her, but she spotted some beer. She grabbed a bottle and opened it and then sat down at the small table.

Now that she left the tower her wrist comm was taken back. That and she couldn't use her phone or the internet. Frank couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about Isabella and about Rawlins. He wanted the man dead and nothing and no one could stop him now. He stepped back toward the kitchen area if it could be called that. He saw Ava sitting there with a beer and he moved to the cupboard and got out a glass. He went to the counter and opened a bottle of whiskey and poured some into his glass. He set the bottle down and moved and took a seat across from Ava.

"So you're the White Tiger...So that amulet...thing...belonged to your father? What does it do? I saw you fighting Remi's goons," Frank said as he took a sip from his glass.

Ava glanced over at Frank as he walked in to the kitchen. She said nothing as he got out a glass and then pulled out a bottle of whiskey. She took a swig from her beer and looked at him as he sat across from her. She wore the amulet around her neck and she instinctively touched it as Frank mentioned it.

"It has been in my family for generations" she told him. "My father was the White Tiger when Gideon sent his goons after the amulet. They slaughtered my family. Hector and I weren't there, but we walked in on them just as they killed them all. My brother protected me and managed to get a hold of the amulet. Then, he became the White Tiger. He did what he could to protect me. Gideon eventually hunted him down and killed him too, but I got the amulet before he could get his hands on it. Now, my entire family is dead and I'm alone."

Frank nodded and swallowed the rest of what was in his glass. he got back up, grabbed the bottle and another glass this time and came back and sat down, He poured them both a stiff drink.

"I was a Marine for 4 tours. Force Recon in Afghanistan. Rawlins was our commanding officer though I don't think he ever held a real rank. We went out, captured people of interest and brought them back for interrogation. And we disposed of them after," he said and swallowed the whiskey and refilled his glass again.

"When we got back into the states, Rawlins decided he wanted to be a Congressman. But, with all those skeletons in his closet, he decided he needed to cut free some of those loose ends. He sent men to kill me and ended up killing my wife, my boy and I managed to escape before they killed me too," Frank said. "They blamed me for my families murder...for a while," Frank amended. "I've been trying to get to Rawlins every since," Frank said.

Ava listened to Frank's story. When he spoke about his family he softened and she could see the pain in his eyes. It was a pain that reflected her own. She knew that pain. It was like a knife stabbing you over and over again in the heart. She looked at him and her eyes met his for a moment. "I'm sorry about your wife and son. I'm sure you must miss them. I can't close my eyes without seeing my family. Knowing that I'll never be able to talk to them again is what hurts the most."

Frank just nodded as he listened to Ava. he could see the pain and loss in her eyes and in her face. Obviously she was still tormented by it all just like he was. He doubted that would ever end or that he would ever stop dreaming about his dead wife. Sometimes the dreams were so real that he woke up expecting to see her but then remembering that she was gone.

"I dream of her...sometimes. But I'm beginning to forget what their faces even look like," Frank said and swallowed what was in his glass. "I think I'm going ta bed," He said and stood up.

Ava nodded and watched Frank walk away. For some reason knowing that he was going through the same pain she was made her feel less alone. She eventually headed to bed and was able to get some sleep. The following morning she woke up and decided she needed to shower. She removed her clothes and put on her robe. She then grabbed a towel and some soap. She hadn't brought her shampoo and conditioner with her so she would have to make do with what they had, which was a generic brand. Ava could certainly tell there were no women living here. She made her way into the shower area and blinked in surprise when she she saw it was all open...not only that but she wasn't alone in there...

Frank liked the water to be hot and he always got up early and showered. His head was under the water and he braced himself with his hands set up against the wall. This gave Ava a very good look at his backside. Frank was a very large, muscular man. He had long, large legs and a nicely rounded backside. His broad back was scarred fairly badly with cut scar that ran in odd angles across his back. Along with those he had a few bullet wounds as well. Proof that his existence was filled with danger and extreme violence. He turned enough for her to see 'him' entirely. He was large all over it turned out. He did have some chest and body hair but not overly so. When he turned and raised his hands up to wash the shampoo out of his hair she got an even better look at him. He had scars on his chest too though not as many.

Ava knew she should turn away and look anywhere else, but she couldn't stop herself. The first thing her eyes fell upon was his backside...which caused her heart to flutter a little. Everything about Frank was well toned and tight...including that. However, when she finally managed to pry her eyes away and look up she saw the scars and marks over his back and shoulders. She knew he lived a violent life, but seeing the scars made it all too real. She licked her lips as she watched him and as he turned around she got a look at ALL of him. It was certainly not a disappointment. She chewed her bottom lip a little as she felt her face become a little flushed. 

She was about to step away when she saw him open his eyes and see her. She found herself suddenly blushing. "I...I'm sorry...I didn't realize...I'm sorry..." She quickly turned and left and went back to her room.

Frank stopped at her room and noticed that the door was ajar. He rapped on the door with a knuckle and he slid the door open. He had a white towel on around his waist. "The shower's open...another thing I forgot to tell you. I forgot to close the door. We...never had a woman he before," Frank said. He had seen her looking at him but he didn't know for how long. Nor did he really mind. It could easily have been the other way around. But he decided to mess with her a bit. He did have a sense of humor.

"But, since you saw me I think it only fair that I see you...you know, to balance it all out," Frank said as if he were really serious. He wasn't and he grinned at her which, up until now, she hadn't seen before. Frank did not have much to smile about.

Ava heard the knock and she glanced over to see Frank walk in. He was wearing a towel around his waist and he smelled clean. Her eyebrows suddenly shot up and she looked at him when she heard him suggest that he should be able to see her naked. However, before she could open her mouth she saw him smile and she knew he was joking. She smile at him. It was nice to see him smile. It softened him a little.

“Well, the open thing doesn’t really work for me. I’m going to need a shower curtain and some better shampoo and conditioner.”

"Well that can be arranged certainly," Frank said. "Make a list of your needs. If you need to shop for club clothes, we will go tomorrow," He added. He was about to step away when he shifted back to look at her.

"Sleep well Ava, god knows we both deserve that much," he said softly in probably the nicest tone she had ever heard him speak.

Once again Frank was bombarded by dreams of his wife and hi family. However this time his boy never looked at him. And his wife kept herself distant. She was always looking out over the water or walking away from him. Was this a sign? Should he finally be allowed to move on? And then there was Ava dressed in her White Tiger suit. She was hunched down as if ready to pounce. They were in some jungle and he was in his recon uniform. He held a weapon at the ready as she had just jumped down from a tree and startled him. She had the eyes of a Tiger.

"I know you," He said as he relaxed his grip on his weapon. "No...you don't!" She growled and attacked him. He woke up with a start and sat up. He was sweating profusely and his sheets were damp beneath him.