The Devil With The Face of an Angel | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 88

"Mom," Peter breathed, looking at the woman the brown-haired man was holding tightly around her neck. Pepper smiled sadly at him, trying to signal with her lips that he must be careful and get out of here. Peter couldn't take his eyes off her, and off tears glistened in her eyes. "You!" he snapped at Mary, who looked quite bored. "You liar! You said you wouldn't hurt them!"

"Technically, I didn't say anything like that," she said perfectly calmly. "You wanted me to leave them alone, and I would. But here, Miss Potts had to get involved."

"Let him go," Pepper said in a determined voice, gasping for breath as Beck grabbed her a little harder.

Mary laughed falsely. "But dear, I'm not that stupid. No, you are definitely not in a position to negotiate. Now everything will depend only on my mercy. I won't let Peter go, I need him. You're useless to me, Pepper, but if I let you go, I'd be a real fool. Plus, I can have you as insurance, so Peter won't do anything stupid. Right, honey?" she turned to her son, who only half-listened to her. He stared at Beck, who grinned at him in amusement. Finally, it became interesting again.

"You," Peter said with difficulty. So this was another blow, another thing he didn't expect at all. Beck, whom he trusted so much, was on the side of his biological mother. He worked for her... was something like a spy...

The man smiled amusedly at him. "Hi, Peter. Surprised?"

"I told you everything. I trusted you," he said, his voice breaking. Not this. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He desperately looked out for his mother, tears streaming down her cheeks. Did they both know they had no chance of getting out of this?

"Yes, I know. I have always inspired people to trust. And this played a lot of cards for us," he grinned at him and Peter had to hold on so he wouldn't hit him. But it could be worse for his mom. Plus, Mary was still holding a gun. He knew she wouldn't shoot him - or maybe she would, but the bullet wouldn't kill him - but his mother was at the risk. And he knew very well that Mary was capable of everything. He had to think fast.

"You..." he growled at his biological mother, and she grinned. "Are you a teacher at all?"

"Actually no."

"And was some of what you told me true?"

"Maybe just the little things. My name, surname... and so on. Did you really think I was from another planet?" he chuckled amusedly, and Peter's stomach tightened. He made a complete idiot from himself. Of course, such nonsense, how could he believe it? "Children are so stupid. Well, not only children but also adults. I knew how to impress you. Gaining your trust was ridiculously easy."

"Stop blabbering on," Mary shouted, glancing at her son. "So, Peter, your time for thinking has expired. Either you turn around and go back to the lab, or I will shoot Pepper's brain out of her head. Maybe you can take it, too, Quentin," she smiled sweetly at him, and he rolled his eyes. "So, Peter? You are clever. You wouldn't want me to kill her, would you? Let's go back, we have to start our new project."

"How can I trust you not to shoot Mom if I turn around now and leave?" he said suspiciously, and Mary laughed. Peter's head shredded at full speed. He had to come up with something, and hurry up. Somehow to distract them. Do... just something. Stunning Quentin, take Mary's weapon. And then run away with Pepper quickly. But how, how?

"That's a pretty good question, Mary," Quentin agreed, enjoying the situation.

"Shut up and let go of the grip a little so Potts doesn't turn blue," she advised dryly, then shifted her gaze back to her son. "Honey. I am the one who keeps her promises. I promised to take revenge on Tony, to take revenge on Pepper. I promised Ross he would have a super-strong army. I promised you I wouldn't hurt your loved ones if you cooperated. Now I'm just waiting for you to decide."

"Just take him away, Mary, he's no idiot. Plus, he's still pretty weak, so—"

"No, you will not decide anything here! He may not have the strength yet, but he may be able to decide and give me the answer," she barked at Beck, who was no longer amused by this. "So, Peter? I'm running out of patience. You're just stretching it out unnecessarily."

"You're right, I'll work with you," Peter breathed with difficulty, clinging to the tabletop. Quentin had just given him an idea. Ir wasn't the best, but they had nothing else. Peter didn't have time to think long, so he thought he would just have to risk it. His knees broke and he fell to the floor.

"Oh, damn it. He shouldn't have gotten to his feet so soon, fool. First, he climbs, then when he walks— "

"Could you close your mouth for once?" Mary asked with a growl, and Peter heard her put the gun on the table. She stopped being vigilant. Well, that's exactly what he was hoping for. She thought he really passed out. She didn't know he was gaining strength. It played in his favor. Now just to make it all work out— "Take Potts back, I'll take care of him."

But as soon as she touched Peter, he turned quickly, kicked her legs, and threw her to the ground. Unexpectedly, Mary screamed and hit her head. But she didn't give up. As soon as Peter stood up, she kicked him in the knee and he fell to the ground again. Pepper screamed. Quentin winced, turned to face Mary, and Pepper hit him hard on the stomach with her elbow. He groaned in pain, released her, and she slipped out of his grip and ran to Peter's aid. He had been fighting successfully with Mary so far, and although he had never been really in a fight and had no intention of hurting anyone, the desire to survive and save himself and Pepper had won. He had to get Mary out, get time before she woke up...

"Peter!" Pepper shouted in horror as Mary slammed into his face and he fell to the ground with a groan. Blood dripped from his nose, his lip was torn, and his stomach ached terribly. Pepper refused to help him as he tried to get up, and threw herself at Mary like a lioness trying to defend her cub. Peter looked back at Quentin, who was already gathering to his feet. He glanced again at Mary, who screamed and grabbed the scalpel lying at the bottom of the open drawer. Peter heard the click of the trigger and turned in horror.

Beck smiled devilishly and pointed at Pepper. Peter didn't even notice himself getting up and lunging at him.

"NO!"

•••

Oh boy, how can this turn out?