Hacky Sack ~ An Avengers Story

Fourteen - Hail Hydra

Third Person POV

Tony kept calling out Cedar's name and feeling his way around the now empty restaurant waiting for the smoke to clear out. "Cedar!" He'd call out, but to no avail. Once the smoke lifted, his eyes scanned the room, chest becoming heavy. The empty room as well as streets filled him with a mixture of emotions. Anger, hatred, sadness, guilt.

"She's gone." He whispered to himself, needing to hold on to a table to keep himself from collapsing. "It's all my fault."

Tony Stark made his way back to his car, sitting in it for a few minutes before punching the steering wheel and letting out a cry. He struck it twice more before returning home, thoughts of Cedar never leaving his mind.

Shame filled the man as he stepped foot in his own building. His feet trudged over to the elevator as his AI greeted him. "I've called the team into the meeting room, Sir. They are in there awaiting you, but don't know what for. I figured it best for you to tell them."

"Thank you Jarvis." Tony muttered in response, leaning up against the railing of the lift for support. It wasn't long before the 'ding' of the capsule sounded and he was face with the members of his team.

The Captain was first to speak, "Tony what happened? Where's Cedar?" He questioned, standing to meet him. Tony walked into the room and stood head of the table, hands pressed firmly against the oak.

"They took her." He mumbled the three words that caused his previously shattered heart to be crushed further. The room filled with individual questions of 'what' and 'who'. One voice raised above the others, that voice belonging to Agent Romanoff.

"Who took her, Stark?" She demanded, looking for an answer other than the one she knew she would get.

"Hydra." He managed to choke out, before letting his body fall into one of the swivel chairs he loves to spin around in. "It's all my fault."

"It's not your fault To-"

"YES IT IS!" He burst, "She knew something bad was going to happen! Instead of agreeing to talk in private I took her out into public for fucKING SHAWARMA! I didn't listen to her obvious signs of distress." He cried the last part into his hands.

The others stood around in complete and utter shock. Never have they imagined something like this happening, or at least this soon. They hadn't a clue what to do or how to get her back.

"JARVIS pull up all recorded active Hydra bases within an hour's drive time. Search nearing security cams to said bases for any sign of Cedar. That being suspicious vans, members of Hydra, or anything relating to Hydra." Cap instructed the AI.

"On it." He replied, going straight to work.

"Steve you do realize just how many bases they have around the area, right? Even if she's at one of them now, who's to say that they don't load her into a plane and fly her far away from here?" Romanoff brought up the downsides of his plan.

"It's a start." He reasoned. Tony's kept his head in his hands since his outburst, wallowing in regret and self-pity.

/Meanwhile/

Cedar's eyes were finally gifted with her surroundings as the burlap sack was lifted from her head. She looked around and let her eyes set at her captor. Her expression wasn't mad, but disappointed.

"Really, Ward?" Her tone sounded bored, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Aren't you?" He questioned in return.

Cedar groaned in frustration, "I was. What gives?"

"Your well-being was brought to our attention when your Avenger friends added you to their records." He returned her sass.