The Shadow (Book 1)

Chapter 8

Apogee Awards

Several months later:

"I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and, he is my great mentor," James Rhodes stood, speaking towards the crowded room, his gaze filtered from table to table, looking for someone. Scarlet was aware of the person he was looking for, and they, unfortunately, weren't there.

Scarlet sat, swirling the remaining liquid in her glass, listening to Rhodys' speech. Tony had told them both that he'd defiantly be there to collect the award he was being presented with, knowing his best friend was the one giving it. However, after endless texts and calls, Scarlet had not been able to get a hold of her boss. So she was left to sit, not quite, alone, but she might as well have been as James gave the speech; he had written specifically for Tony.

"ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour to present this year's apogee award to Mr Tony Stark,'' there was a round of applause. It quickly turned into a chorus of murmurs and whisperings as the figure of Tony Stark never emerged on the stage.

"Tony?"Rhodes asked, his gaze lingering on Scarlet, who shrugged, shaking her head. Scarlet felt bad for Rhodes; he had taken the time to write his speech, recalling him telling her how excited he had been to give his best friend an award. Scarlet couldn't help thinking that Tony had better have a good explanation for his absence.

To the left of Scarlet, Obadiah Stane suddenly stood from his seat. His hand lingered on the back of her chair before he strolled up towards the stage, taking the award from Rhodes.

"Thank you, Colonel," he spoke, taking James' place in front of the platform, who'd made his way through the tables to take up Stanes' vacated seat.

"where is he?" Rhodes whispered as soon as he sat down, his brows creased, showcasing his confusion.

"No idea," Scarlet replied, shrugging her shoulders as she swallowed what was left of her wine, placing it delicately back on the table, ''he hasn't answered a single one of my texts or calls,'' she added before they were both drawn back to Obadiah on the stage.

"This is beautiful. Thank you, thank you all very much. Well, I'm not Tony Stark," Stane started, turning the award around in his hands.

"I'd be a bit worried if you were Tony," Scarlet mumbled under her breath. Rhodes must have heard her because a light chuckle seemed to flow through him.

"But if I were Tony," Obadiah continued, "I would tell you how honoured I feel. And what a joy it is to receive this prestigious award,"

Looking around Scarlet, couldn't help but notice the abundance of people nodding their heads as if they really believed that Tony would actually have said those words if he had been there.

Scarlet, Rhodes and Obediah knew damn well that Tony would have said nothing of the sort. Rolling her eyes, Scarlet glanced over at her phone, the screen lighting up, signalling a new message. Reaching over to where it rested on the table, she picked it up, sighing when she read what was written.

Tony: At the casino across the street :)

Scarlet let out a heavy sigh, flashing the message at Rhodes, who had a similar reaction.

''Well, at least he's not dead, I suppose,'' he mumbled under his breath, ''come on, we better go get him before he does anything stupid.''

⫸⫸⫸

The moment Rhodes and Scarlet stepped into the casino, they instantly knew where Tony was. The large crowd, mainly made up of women, squished around one table was a dead giveaway. Sticking as close as she could to Rhodys' side, the pair made their way, pushing through the crowd to reach the man at its centre. Upon their sudden appearance next to him, Tony let out a cheer.

"Doc and Rhodes, good to see you. I need some luck," He said, smiling at them, oblivious to the fact that the pair weren't sporting very amused expressions.

"You missed the ceremony. Rhodes was going to give you your award," Scarlet spoke through gritted teeth, ignoring his greeting and shoving the award in her hand towards him. Unsurprisingly, he ignored moving it away from his face with his finger.

"And they told me that if I presented you with an award, you would be deeply honoured," Rhodes sounded a little more upset than Scarlet had initially thought.

"Of cause I'd be deeply honoured, it's you,'' Tony clamped his hand down on Rhodys' shoulder, shaking him a little, ''let's see it again, Scar?" He asked, even though moments ago he'd pushed it away from him.

"Right here," Scarlet rolled her eyes, pushing it towards him once again. She needed to stop acting as if his childish, immature comments and actions were a surprise because they weren't. They were actions she had to put up with every day.

"Wow, that's really something else. Do I have any of these Scar?" He held the award away from himself, admiring it at a distance before feeling its weight in his hand. Despite his behaviour earlier, he appeared to be sincere with his reaction.

"No. No, you don't," Scarlet confirmed, shaking her head.

"Right, ok. Well, seeing as you two are here, give us a hand," Tony shook his fisted hand in front of them, a pair of dice clutched tightly inside it.

Sighing, knowing he wouldn't take no for an answer, Scarlet leaned forward, blowing a kiss at Tonys' hand. He then turned to Rhodes, who looked at him with an unamused expression clearly visible on his face.

"I don't blow on men's dice," He said bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance.

''Come on," Tony whined.

Rhody huffed, uncrossing his arms, but instead of kissing Tonys' fist, he knocked the dice right out. The three of them watched as they flew across the table.

"Ah, there it is, lieutenant Rhodes rolls and, two craps, line away,'' Tony commentated.

"Because that's what happens, "Rhodes snapped as if it was indeed a frequent occurrence.

"It could be worse," Scarlet tried to reassure Rhodes but, he didn't seem to notice or didn't seem to care; either way, her comment hung in the air between the group.

"This is where I exit, see you tomorrow'' he turned to move away from the table before spinning back round to point at the pair ''and neither of you be late."

"Can't keep any promises," Scarlet called back, knowing for sure that she and Tony would indeed be late.

A couple more rounds at the table, and Tony decided to call it a night. He wrapped an arm around Scarlet's shoulder. While his other hand was occupied with his new award. They swerved their way out of the casino, mainly ignoring the stares and questions of the public around them. Just as they approached the entrance, Scarlet saw Tony hand his award to some random woman dressed in fewer clothes than Scarlet would have been comfortable. She tried to grab it back off the woman, but Tony pushed her further forward towards the exit.

Happy had pulled the car round to the front for them. Tony let his arm fall from off go Scarlet shoulder as he went to open the door for her. However, a feminine voice stopped him in his tracks. Spinning round, the two came face to face with a young blonde woman.

"Mr stark! Excuse me, Mr stark. Christine Everhart vanity fair magazine, can I ask you a couple of questions," Scarlet glared at the woman rolling her eyes, "if you're not busy, that is," Christine added, causing Scarlet to scoff. Pushing past Tony, Scarlet went to open the door herself and settled in the back seat of the car.

She wasn't impressed when Christen Everhart joined her.