An Assassin Never Tells

F O U R T E E N

May 6th, 2010

That night was Mr. Stark's benefit thingy, but the man himself wasn't in attendance and hadn't been seen out in public for quite some time. I had been watching it on the t.v. when Stark came up from his workshop and told me to throw on something nice before sprinting up the stairs. I turned back to the screen, confused, "He's not planning on attending, is he? Oh, whatever, time to get gussied up, I guess."

I threw on a grey, floor-length dress with thin straps and a pair of nude pumps. I pulled the front pieces of my curly hair to the back of my hair a clipped them in place. Finally, I put on some semi-glam makeup and rushed back downstairs to meet Mr. Stark.

"Took you long enough, kid, let's go," he exclaimed, leading me down to his workshop, which is where his cars are apparently.

"Mr. Stark, are we going to the benefit," I questioned as we slid into the car.

"Sure are," he took off driving faster than a Christian woman drives when she's a minute late for church on Sunday morning, "And cut it out with the whole, 'Mr. Stark,' thing. It makes me feel old.

"Right," I laughed, "Got it."

The ride wasn't very long, and when we got there, the valet person took the car. The Disney Concert Hall was pretty darn full. There were reports left and right, hoping to talk to anyone they could. Mr. Stark, I mean, Tony spotted Obadiah quickly and made his way over. He patted some older man on the shoulder and told him he looked great before he interrupted Obadiah's interview.

"What's the world coming to when a man's got to crash his own party?"

"Look at you," exclaimed Obadiah, "Hey, what a surprise. And Lilith, good to see you again."

I nodded politely as Tony said, "I'll see you inside."

"Hey. Listen, take it slow, alright? I think I got the board right where we want them.

"You got it. Just cabin fever. I'll be a minute."

I followed Tony into the venue and over to the bar where a very familiar face was waiting.

"Give me a scotch. I'm starving."

"Mr. Stark," said the one and only Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D., better know as my father.

"Yeah?"

"Agent Coulson."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy from the..." Tony trailed off.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."

"God, you need a new name for that."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things."

"Let's just put something on the books."

"How about the 24th at 7:00 p.m. at Stark Industries?"

"Tell you what. You got it. You're absolutely right. Well, I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll make a date," and with that, Tony took off toward's Pepper, who looked absolutely stunning in her dress.

"Hey, dad," I said as we walked away from the bar.

"Hey to you too. How's the assignment going?"

"Easy. He stays in the shop ninety-eight percent of the time."

"It's weird not having you around, you know."

"Yeah, it's weird waking up somewhere else. Did Unc, I mean, Fury give you any insight as to when I'll be relieved of my duties?"

"No, in fact, if things get worse, he'll be sending another agent in. Under a different cover, of course."

"Yay," I cheer without enthusiasm, "How's the crew?"

"Reckless. Clint and Natasha hate not being able to check up on you, and Peggy's constantly calling for updates."

"Yeah, yeah...And how are you?"

"I'm alright. It's too quiet. There are no surprises. Everything's the same."

"I'll be back sooner than you think. But, right now, Stark's leaving the building, and I've gotta follow. Bye, dad."

"Bye Peg, and stay safe."

"I will."

When I made it outside, Mr. Stark was standing on the front steps looking defeated.

"Hey, Tony. What's goin' on?"

"A whole lotta shit."

"I see, I see. And how do you plan on dealing with this 'Whole lotta shit?'"

"Not sure yet, but I'll figure something out."

"Well, you going back in, or are we headin' out?"

He finally turned to look at me before saying, "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

A/N: Hi, everyone! I'm sorry this chapter is late; I was absolutely swamped with school and church assignments! I will admit that I waited until the last minute to do them, but at least they're done now. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Thank you all for all the votes and reads! As I've said before, it means a lot! I love y'all so so very much.