Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐎
𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐏𝐄𝐈, 𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐖𝐀𝐍
TONY
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
'We've lost contact with Miss Preece. I will run a region-wide search for compatible signals to reconnect to her.'
'Yeah, I caught on to that.'
Tony breathed out, facing the phone with a disgruntled look. He slumped over nothing, exhaling deeply and searching the dim-lit room for anyone familiar to him. The party was on a full swing, with a coalition of laughter traversing from either end of the hall. It was not typical to see Tony Stark standing alone at the side of the dance floor, not fancying himself in the audience. Some part of him spurred strongly as the idea of Eleanor snatched again raided his mind. He couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't as easier than the customary. Of course, the angels were not on his side that night and bringing him head-on with the first-hand dilemma.
'Right under your nose,' Zeke said in a forlorn tone, pocketing his fists into his suit. It was strange for him to stand with no regrets, his face resembling the late Obadiah Stane in every way. The balding head, the cold smirk on his lips and sharp intent in his eyes.
'It feels weird, doesn't it?'
'Not anything new,' Tony shrugged, not prepared to show any sign of weakness. Elle had warned him that this psycho practically ran on vulnerable links, making him bridle a bit.
'I don't think we've been formally introduced, Mr Stark—'
'I hate formalities,' Tony butted in, moving closer to engage dominance. 'And it sort of lines up with the fact that you took the one thing that mattered to me the most and dumpster-dived the heck out of my retro-tech. Killed a hundred in that process.'
'Eleanor tattled on me?' He grunted and cracked the tension on his collars, the widespread smirk on his face growing. 'You were bound to know anyway.'
'I can't disagree,' he shared a petulant stare with Zeke, levelling the field. 'I know your MO, Stane. You want Elle and you want me dead. I'm ready to hash out whatever. It's your turn to choose.'
'None of your gimmicks in business, Stark. I'll get what I want.'
'Nah uh, you can't have both,' Tony tilted his head, looking up defiantly. He knew Zeke's fatherly sentiment overpowered his attraction towards Elle. If he managed to get Elle back, everything else was a piece of cake. With Elle in the mix, he had a faulted contingency.
