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She nodded. She couldn't tell him she seemed to have a connection to Tony which told her where he was. She'd only just learned of it.
She didn't understand it. She wondered if Tony had noticed her presence. "Ross was smart. He was always going to be close by. They've gone in the complete opposite direction to which they originally went. They thought they could outsmart us. They didn't. But I don't think we have long. Rhodey and I will travel ahead. You follow our beacons."
"Why can't –" Steve started but Natasha interrupted.
"We do not have time to discuss this, Steve." She turned and ran out the room, already pulling out the smaller Arc Reactor Tony had given her and attaching it to her chest.
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Tony panted. His wrist hurt.
Ross had ordered the Winter Soldier to release one of his arms and hold it up for Ross to shoot.
The bullet had torn through his wrist but was lodged halfway through. Blood was leaking down his wrist.
Tony was sure the bullet had nicked a major artery yet it seemed to be stemming the blood flow.
"You know… if you had been receptive to changes in the Accords, this wouldn't… have… happened," gasped Tony.
"The Accords were perfect as they were before you meddled with them. We need to control the Avengers. To send you where you are needed to be only and not waste time dealing with terrorists like Brock Rumlow."
Tony winced. "You do realise nothing bad happened in Lagos, right? There were no reported injuries, no deaths… We even notified the government to ensure we had permission to act, and the relevant authorities were involved. We're supposed to safeguard human life… The Accords work. But you cannot force people to go somewhere where they shouldn't be. Nor is it legal for us to be detained without trial. All those -"
"Shut up!" Ross walked forward and pressed the gun to Tony's head.
"Shoot me, you know you want to."
Ross snarled. "Not yet." He walked away. "I'm not done with you."
"The more you shoot me, the more this looks like you did it." Tony attempted to shrug but roaring pain ran through his shoulders. "Sending me that note was not a smart move. I knew you'd try something."
"And yet you still made yourself vulnerable," smirked Ross, his eyes glinting.
"Everyone is going to know you killed me. Not the Winter Soldier. Even if he shoots you dead, you'll still be vilified as a villain in the public's eyes," snarled Tony. "It doesn't matter if I played right into your trap. I know help is coming."
"You're a fool." Ross waved the gun around in the air.
Tony smirked. "I wouldn't underestimate Natasha Romanoff." Because he could feel her in his head, probing around could almost feel they were joined together in soul.
He didn't know how she was doing it but she was there, with him.
'Tony?'
Her voice reverberated inside his head.
He didn't answer. Couldn't allow himself to be distracted.
"Three bullets to go. The last one is going in your head, Stark." He walked forward. "I'd quite like to shoot you in the heart but doing so would be a waste… You'd be dead before I can blow your brains out." He pressed forward until the butt of the gun was pressed against Tony's stomach.
"Will I shoot you in the head from the top or up through the chin? But first…"
Tony flinched, jerked as the bullet went into his stomach.
"Let him go," Ross ordered.
The Winter Soldier released Tony and he fell, slumping to the floor, gasping in pain.
"If I know my anatomy correctly that bullet should have gone into your stomach. Your stomach acid will leak and you'll suffer serious internal damage. Before it can kill you…"
"You'll shoot me in the head… I know!" He almost wanted this to be over. Intense pain was ripping through his entire body.
He couldn't even lift himself up from the floor. His blood covered the floor. He couldn't even feel the hand Ross had shot.
"One more place to shoot before your brains… Where shall it go, Stark? Maybe I'll let you choose?"
Tony scoffed. "Yeah, right, as if I'm going to give you ideas…" he wheezed.
"Soldier, turn him onto his front."
Grabbed by the Winter Soldier, Tony was forced onto his front, head pressed down onto the floor.
"Remove his shirt."
Sticky with blood soaking through it from the stomach wound, the Winter Soldier cut the clothes off, leaving Tony on the floor shivering from the cold room and the lack of blood running through his body.
His heart was beating faster than it should as it tried to compensate for the loss of blood.
Ross knelt down beside Tony's body, running the butt of the gun down his spine before moving the gun to the level where the kidneys were usually found.
"You don't need two kidney's – "
And that was when the door flew open.
---------
Because of the nature of the attack, the remaining Accords committee had already sanctioned a rescue mission, meaning Rhodey and Natasha didn't need to seek permission to rescue Tony.
She knew they were running out of time.
Thankfully the two Iron Man suits quickly made it to the hotel where Natasha could feel Tony.
"We haven't got time to waste, Rhodey," breathed Natasha, one hand over her abdomen, feeling pain running through her body.
Ignoring the check-in clerk at the hotel counter, they pushed past and into the corridor. She could feel Tony beneath them.
Finding a lift they took it down to the bottommost level – the service level, located beneath the ground floor of the hotel and where guests never go.
"He's close…" Natasha still had her suit on, as did Rhodey.
Smaller and lithe, she was able to run down the corridor before stopping at a metal door labelled 'No Entry'. She pointed at it.
"Blow this door in. He's in there." She could sense his pain through there.
Rhodey urged her to step back, raised his arm and fired a repulsor shot right at the door, blowing it open on its hinges.
Stepping through the smoke, Natasha and Rhodey walked into the room.
****
POWER STONES!!!
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