starkingenuity | Why Can't We Be Friends?

"See, I really appreciate this actually." The scotch it good, the company is interesting and he's got a gun training on the back of his head. It makes him smile because Tony Stark isn't always in his right mind. Danger is a turn on. It means he's not bored and likely not alone. Both of these things are the utter bane of his existence.

He smiles at the shorter but equally impressively dressed man. Irish. Snarky. He gets that it's pretty rare to get a meeting like this.

"The invitation, I mean." By invitation, he really means kidnapping. Oh well. "But you know I can't do what you want. Stark Industries is out of the weapon's biz."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

dontbeobvious

'Dear Jim, fix it for me so that bastard Stark that bankrupt my company will go back to doing what he does best so I can profit once more. If not, blow his fucking head off?'

It had been a simple request, one Jim found very amusing because of the sheer bluntness of it all and the absurd amount of money his client had thrown at him. He knew the basics, Tony Stark was once a weapons manufacturer and then he saw the light, decided to do good and wear a stupid iron suit instead. Sounded like a mid-life crisis personally.

"Oh you could do anything you wanted, Mr Stark. You could easily go back to manufacturing weapons, we both know that. What you mean is I won't do what you want. Try to get it right," Moriarty shot back, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Couldn't people speak right in America?

He was sensing this wouldn't be a quick, easy or clean job. Fortunately he packed spare clothes.

From:

starkingenuity

"Okay, fine, semantics. I won't. I have absolutely no intention of going back on my word. It would look bad, you know how it is. Stockholders have such a terrible time with change and to go back to the original format would just be stupid."

He stretches out in his seat, legs stretching beneath the red suit he had on. Yes, red. But no less designer than Jim's classic ensemble. Tony just likes flash sometimes. He'd been prepping for a photoshoot when a very weird looking guy in a car dragged him away.

That was pretty epic though. Broad day light and Iron Man gets kidnapped? He likes it,

"Who are you any way?"

From:

dontbeobvious

"I'm Richard," he lied easily, the name rolling off his tongue like it was truly his own. He smiled playfully at his friend, currently holding a gun to Starks head, knowing he wouldn't give away the game or he'd be met with a painful end. Jim always lied about his name and he was good at being convincing now. Few rarely even got to see his face but Stark was special.

Apparently the iron suit was scaring his poor wittle henchmen so he had to step in.

"I do what I'm told by my bosses and they've told me that you need to go back to making weapons or we'll have to waste that intelligent little brain. Well, I'm reliably informed you're a clever ducky anyway."

He hadn't seen much proof. He looked like a right berk in that red suit.

From:

starkingenuity

"Yeah okay, so let me stop you there."

Tony leans forward and puts his drink down with a half of a grin, his eyes always watching everything that's happening. He's got the gunman in his sights too but he figures that the guy is just a lackey. Jim's the one to watch for. There's something in his crooked teeth that prove it.

"First, you're lying. You don't have a boss. Or you do and it's some other personality or something because you are giving off all of these boss vibes. It's true."

He glances back at the gunman.

"Don't you think so?" Moran actually cocks the trigger and that gives it away. Tony thanks him with a smile. "You guy here thinks so too."

From:

dontbeobvious

"Moran had an itchy trigger finger but I should warn you, if you get too smart, he will blow your head off. It hurts his little brain when people get all deductive," Moriarty teased but Moran knew he didn't mean it, after all they went to the same university and if his 'lackey' had no brain then he wouldn't of hired him.

"I work for hire so technically, it depends how you look at it. I'm either a self employed boss with henchmen to back me up or I get a new boss every week. Take your pick of which one you think suits me best and it should help you get a peek into your future," if he was self employed, things would get ugly, if he was trying to impress a boss, maybe not as bad.

But both options gave him a clear idea of Tony had a good read on him or not.

"He's not my guy, for the record, you best be nice to my dear Moran."

From:

starkingenuity

"Yeah, yeah, we all work for hire," Tony says, mellow as ever. "We're business men." He's pretty sure Moriarty is more than that, but he's not really sure just what he creates. Ordered chaos? Unordered chaos? It probably doesn't matter. "We both deal in contracts and employees and all of that other stuff. And we pick and choose our clients. Especially you. I'm sort of guessing you don't really have a moral code, huh?"

He can actually feel Moran's hostility levels rising. Interesting.

He turns, hooking an arm over the back of the seat. "And you! Well you're sort of amazing, aren't you? I mean, c'mon, what does this guy pay you? Not enough. Which means you're loyal. I could use a you. Not you exactly, just someone that loyal. Use to have Potts, but things happen. You know how it is."

Moran sighs through his nose and gazes up at Moriarty. "Can't I just shoot him?"

From:

dontbeobvious

"Wait till we get to the room, you're not getting blood in the car again," Moriarty complained, he wasn't saying no, he just wanted to do it in the hotel. Perhaps it might stop these boring deductions the iron freak kept splurging out. Sherlock would of figured this all out moments ago, which was sad. Oh how he missed his dear sweet enemy, now he was stuck with chatty Americans. Clever but still.

He did always appreciate a good show off and this man was definitely a big one.

"We need less chatty clients. I miss the ones that cried," Jim mused idly to Moran in a casual tone, like they weren't in the middle of a kidnapping, talking right over Tonys head. "Remember that one guy? Pissed himself? We had dinner after we dumped him in the lake... where was that? They did an excellent pasta dish thing?"

He always liked to keep track of good places to eat.

From:

starkingenuity

"Ah, use to be called Las Consellos but you made them change their name for not being Italian enough. I had to shoot the daughter first."

Tony just frowns. Shooting people is not the way to go, folks. Trust him. And besides, Tony's not that kind of genius. He doesn't have that in him. He's more a practical sort, but nothing like these two, even if he and Jim would probably have a little melding of minds over math. Tony and math are friends.

"Never been there. Usually stick to places I know are clean. What's their rating? Do you know?" What? He can get in on the conversation too, guys!

From:

dontbeobvious

Moriarty just stared at Tony like he'd just cursed them both out. Why was he butting in? They were in the middle of something here. Heaving a sigh, he resisted not letting Moran shoot him, he just remember the awkwardness of trying to get the blood out last time.

"I'm sensing we're going to end up killing you. And eight. It became a nine when it changed the name."

He gives Morans a pointed look to show the whole murder of the daughter was not in vain, it improved reputation and made it seem more genuine. "See, now I'm in the mood for Italian. Moran, find me food?"

From:

starkingenuity

"I thought you were going to kill me anyway because I won't conform to your evil plans or something." Yeah, Tony's just going to shrug a little and settle in. He still doesn't think that they'll actually kill him.

If they do, well, he'll just look pretty damned surprised and haunt them from beyond the grave.

He watches as Moran pulls out his phone immediately to call around for reservations. He grins at Jim and mouths: 'where did you get him? He's so cute! House trained?'

From:

dontbeobvious

"Probably but people crack eventually, you just have to find the weak spot," and he had a few ideas when it came to Mr Stark, it was pretty obvious from what he's observed of the man and he intended to exploit it greatly.

As Moran called up some food, Moriarty pulled out his own phone, barely paying attention to Tony. Though he did mouth back 'Oxford'. They had both attended the same university but of course, by then, Moriarty had published two books and was well regarded.

Despite his age.

He sent off a quick text before tucking his phone away and grinning. "Moran, don't forget to get Mr Starks order."

From:

starkingenuity

"Risotto and lemon chicken if they have it. White sauce not red. There might be enough red sauce later and it's easier to clean up if I spill." See? He's really a very good guest. Always thinking. "Though I won't say no to whatever wine you decide on."

Alcohol of any sort is delicious and, if you ask Tony, necessary. The man's a full blood Italian after all, born and raised in Long Island.

Moran looks like he wants to hit Tony in the nose, and Tony just smiles before going for his own phone. Moran grunts and grabs it.

"Hey, I need to check my email!"

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim uses his own phone to easily hack into Tonys emails. He can get into anything and everything, not that he'd explain how. He liked to be all smoke and mirrors, appear all knowing, really he often just cheated and did it the easy way. "Hmm, one from Pepper about a board meeting you'll never attend, one about a shipment you need to sign for that you never will and a few from friends. I assume you have friends? They want you for drinks."

Either that or they were very informal business partners.

Turning off his phone, he slipped it away and peered out the window. Nearly there. And yes, they were seriously going to check into a hotel with a hostage right there beside them.

Wouldn't be the first time, his mind was going back to that magical holiday in France. Just him, Moran and Bob. Oh Bob, it was a shame to throw him off the Eiffel tower.

From:

starkingenuity

Well, they didn't have to. He gave them what they wanted but Moran made a sad face over not getting to kill anyone-- Moriarty was the best boss sometimes. Othertimes, the worst, but you have to give and take.

Tony seems impressed at least by the hack job, at least to a degree. "Could you tell Ms. Potts that board meetings are for board members, not chairmen and I happen to be the chairman?"

No sign of distress still. Tony's not really worried. Sure, he's without his suit, but JARVIS will be getting curious soon and starting pinging his location through the reactor.

In the meantime, Tony is going to enjoy himself.

This is one nice hotel.

From:

dontbeobvious

As they pulled up outside the hotel room, Jim opened the door and hopped out. He wasn't dumb enough to email Pepper. And he wasn't in the mood to point out that if it was a critical matter, it was best the chairman attends. His father never missed a meeting but then he was a by the book businessman.

Boring!

Once they were all out, Jim turned to Tony and put his hands on the mans shoulder, smiling a very demented and unsettling smile. "If you try to run or tell people you're our hostage, we won't kill you. And trust me, that's worse."

Death was merciful, living hell was much more fun.

"I'll get the hotel key. Moran, you know your job."

From:

starkingenuity

"Why would I run? I want lunch." Tony arches an eyebrow at Jim and grins back at him. He's not even remotely demented, just amused. Just very amused. He's had worse really. Being kidnapped in Afghanistan certainly has nothing on this. "And we're having fun aren't we?"

Moran isn't as pleased by being dismissed. He knows exactly what Jim expects him to do.

Go and get lunch and threaten a bunch of people.

Well at least threatening is fun.

From:

dontbeobvious

Afghanistan? Oh they had nothing on Jim. He was playing nice, he always started off nice. It got progressively worse as they went on. He left Moran to handle all the odd little duties while he approached the desk, handing over his card and a fake ID. It took a while for everything to get set up then, finally, he was offered the room key.

"Have a nice stay, Mr Brook."

Jim smiled back happily and took off towards the room, he assumed Tony would just follow.

He seemed dumb enough to believe it wasn't that bad and Moran would easily take him down if he ran.

From:

starkingenuity

Just where is Tony going to go? Or run to? No, he's curious. He also has a face that just about everyone in the entire world remembers, or knows, or wants to know which is why they are both very suddenly surrounded by mothers and children with their phones out for pictures and scraps of paper for autographs.

Tony is a ham. But he also is pretty sure that taking pictures with this 'Richard Brook' in the background is a bad idea.

But he'll sign the books. It's easier just to go along with it he's found.

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim didn't seem to mind the pictures or the autographs, he wasn't that bothered. If he didn't want to be seen and if he didn't want Tony to be seen, they'd of made sure of it. This was much of a show for himself as it was for Tony. Not for Tony and not for his client but for a certain someone back home.

Who would read the paper, see his face and know he was back.

And he was responsible for what happened to Tony Stark. Smiling into the cameras, he lead Tony along to the elevator where, finally, they were free from fans and going towards the room.

He hummed along with the elevator music, tweaking his suit jacket. "After you, of course. We're at the end of the hall."

From:

starkingenuity

Tony's mind is elsewhere. Those people the took photos... Are they going to be killed? Will their devices be stolen? Will they been scared and intimidated? He really doesn't know and it scares him more than Jim ever will. They promise of it being worse than death if he tries to run might not be a bluff.

After all, Jim can just hurt those innocents. Or have his stray dog do it.

"Yiu didn't have to get the bridal suite. But Jesus, Richard, I feel like a princess!"

He needs to get need something electrical. He needs to warn JARVIS and the best way is through the device in his chest going haywire.

From:

dontbeobvious

"Well you shouldn't," Jim said in a serious tone, turning around and very slowly, the dorkiest grin ever spread on his face. "I'm the princess here. Baby, you should of seen my crown... but the government got in my way, took it back. Looks much better on me that the queen."

He heaved a longing sigh and opened the door, shoving Tony in ahead of him and locking the door behind them. Their bags had been sent ahead of time and sat on the double bed. Well, he was hardly getting separate beds, Moran either slept on the floor or with him. Didn't care which.

"Take a seat, I'll offer you a drink. Choose wisely."

He was going to be nice, the rest of this day would be rough and there was still a 3.5% chance Tony may actually do as he asks.

From:

starkingenuity

"I think you're going to make a pretty poor follow up with that scotch in the car." He's still trying to pull off good natured and docile here. He already knows that Jim is well aware of everything he is. And probably all about SHIELD and the Avengers too.

That doesn't seem to be a problem for him. Which always spells bad news.

The crazies are the worst. They really are.

"How about a cocktail? What are you drinking?"

From:

dontbeobvious

"I'm not. One cocktail it is," Moriarty never drank when he was on the job, it was all about a clear mind. He had a thing for being at his best and that never happened when he was drinking... he just ended up screwing someone. And with Moran being all snippy today and Tony so not being his type, he didn't even want to go there.

Moriarty didn't have a professional sort of bar in his room but the mini fridge was very well stocked and they had a pretty broad table.

He whipped up something quick, it wasn't perfect and lacked the typical wedge of fruit but he wasn't a bar tender, Moran usually handled this. He slid the drink along and pulled out his phone, sending his second in command a text to get his ass up here now.

Sliding it back into his pocket, he sat just across from Tony and dropped back. "I have to say, I'm a fan of your fathers work. Not yours, you're like a sequel to a really good film, it's not bad but never compares and usually lacks that spark. No, he was a genius, the way he was with numbers? Blew my mind."

From:

starkingenuity

"Well thanks, if I ever see him again, I'll let him know he's still got one fan down here. Well two. Rogers still likes the old coot." Tony doesn't mind being ridiculed. It sort of feels forced, though he doubts Jim is saying it just to get a rise.

He sort of is positive that Jim doesn't do anything to get a rise. Tony on the other hand--

"So what's with this Richard Brooks stuff, Jim?"

What? He's a genius too you know!

From:

dontbeobvious

"I'm not surprised, no one in America appreciates a great mind, they just like the shiny bright stuff you present to them," he mocked, unable to help himself. He always mocked Americans, solely because it annoyed Moran but he forgot the man wasn't in the room... damn, he'd have to repeat that one later.

He did appreciate Tony was a genius and he wasn't surprised that he could work things out but he wasn't overly amazed.

"Richard Brook is a real man, you know? Tell me, how can you be sure I'm not Richard and I am Jim? Why Jim?"

He was curious. Especially since no one had mentioned his name, he wasn't displaying the name Jim anywhere and most importantly, no one in the world could put a name to his face. No secret government, no brilliant minds, no spies. Only Sherlock. He was sure there was a way, it clearly wasn't clear what it was.

From:

starkingenuity

"Jim Moriarty." Not really high up on SHIELD's lists of baddies to watch when Doctor Doom and Loki were flitting around. But they used him anyway, kept him in contacts, used him to contract people disappearing-- Tony got a lot more than Phase II from that bug he planted. "I'm just assuming here, there was no description of you in the files, but it fits."

Fury is going to have to explaining to do. Though Tony is pretty sure that this isn't actually one of Fury's jobs. The Council. Those about him. Which makes all of this very interesting.

"Please don't tell me SHIELD hired you for this, though. I'm pretty damned tired of having my allies kidnap me. Any chance on a second cocktail?"

From:

dontbeobvious

"SHIELD?" He burst into laughter, unable to help himself, like SHIELD had any say in what he did. They were pathetic and rather irksome, he didn't appreciate anything they did. "I'm not their ally, nor their friend, they had this very stupid idea that I would just do what they wanted because they were the higher ups. They soon shut up when I got a hold of their nukes."

Threatening to nuke Chicago was his finest moment since the fall. Moran even took photos and he made a scrap book.

The Council and himself hadn't done business since.

"No more, Moran will be here soon. Until then, amuse yourself," he put on the TV and went over to the bed to raid his luggage and make sure nothing was touched. He had a lot of personal items that took a lot of work to get through security.

From:

starkingenuity

"Liquor is sort of my amusement. Liquor or electronics--" Well, Jim did say he could amuse himself so Tony sets about taking the remote control apart before he works on the television.

Moran arrives with dinner -- in little white boxes because fuck that shit if he's going to get one of those wheelie tables with the metal domes to go over the plates. Hell no. He drops the food in their plastic bags on the bed by Jim and raids his pockets for forks and butter pats, all wrapped up in little plastic tubs.

"What's freako doing? Rewiring the AC?"

From:

dontbeobvious

"I really don't care," Moriarty said lazily from the bed, he was on his laptop, already hacked into Stark tower and having a play around with the system. He set it to disco feature and just left it like that. No doubt the intelligent system in there would trace him back eventually but that was kind of the plan. He had three days tops, one day minimum.

Sitting up, he eyed the box and-- oh, class it up, Moran!

"We need a table, we'll all sit together and eat," Moriarty insisted, they were going to kick things off after food, everyone wants a nice snack and hell, lulling Tony into a false sense of security was so much fun. "Tony, food time. Please don't break the TV, I want to watch Glee later."

Wouldn't that be a treat?

From:

starkingenuity

"Ten more minutes, I've almost got us satellite from Japan." And a little tie in with his own Tower. What? Tony has to do something to help his escape. He's not going to be stuck for three months playing lets have cocktails with this whiny little Mick!

He makes one more tweak and that ten minute window goes out the window. He flicks on the National Nihon station and grins as he pads over to the table Moran is slopping together.

Tony shares a frown with Moriarty over his pet's mess.

"Thought he was house trained--"

Moran nearly back hands him and instead shoves a styrofoam back against his chest. "Shut up, Stark."

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim wasn't stupid, he could already guess what Tony had done to the TV and he was going to get rid of it very shortly in a way that Moran was just going to love. Until then, they sat around a pleasant little table, all of them eating their dinners in a nice sort of atmosphere.

Light conversation, nice and casual, it was going very well.

Well, until Jim finished his dinner, tapped the metal fork against his teeth for a second as he thought away. The next moment, he was stabbing said fork right into Starks hand, which just happened to be sitting there unassumingly. For a little guy, Jim had some force behind his moves.

He didn't even say anything to Tony, he just left the fork in there and turned back Moran, that twinkle in his eyes. The games were starting.

From:

starkingenuity

It's just so much, it happens so quick, that all Tony can do is stare. First, the wall gets his undivided attention. And then his hand. And finally Jim. Only then does his mouth hang open, the scream still soundless for a moment. Moran makes more noise, fork still in his mouth. It's just a little snort of a thing, followed by a grin as Tony stands, knocking back his chair.

Oh, it's a mess. A hundred things pool through his mind as he gags on his own tongue and shuffles back and tries not spill the wine.

Yes, he has his priorities.

Sweat beads on his brow and pours down his temples as he finally finds his voice. "Wh--" Not much of a voice after all.

From:

dontbeobvious

It was very comical to see Tony slowly process it all happening to him, did he really think Jim wanted them to eat together for fun? It was a statement, nothing was going to be as it seemed and he wasn't here to play nice. Like he said before, he was a fan of Tonys quick thinking father, he had yet to see those traits here with Tony. Just a revamped version, logical mind but too cocky. Looking at the 'tweaked' TV, he sighed and turned to Moran.

"I suppose you'll have to shoot the TV to little bits, he's clearly tampered with it to connect to his home life and while I did put up a disruptor, lets not take the chance. Go next door, kill whoevers in there and steal their TV. We'll do it after dessert."

He grabbed the pie from the box and cut it into three pieces, ignoring Tony in favourite of the food.

"Take a seat, Tony, you'll miss out. If you don't take a seat, I'll have to make you."

From:

starkingenuity

Putting his silencer on his gun, Moran makes pot shots at the television, very slowly reducing it to a pile of neat rubble that hardly makes any noise at all. While he has his pie. Because seriously? Mmm, pie!

Tony's a little too distraught to eat actually, but he does sit, face half covered by his hand as he tries not to freak out by the piece of cutlery still extending from his hand.

He gasps like a fish, but after Moran snorts at him, the billionare manages a faint: 'now you need a new fork' to Jim.

From:

dontbeobvious

"He better not puke on our floor, handcuff him to the shower rail so if he does anything, our room is clean," Jim complained but he was in no rush, they were enjoy dessert and Tony would be out for a while, he seemed to be in shock. All of that from a little fork? What was in store next would be interesting.

Maybe he wouldn't last as long as Jim predicted. Chances of getting the company back rose to 4% - not bad at all.

"When you remove that fork, could you give it a quick swill?"

From:

starkingenuity

Ever the loyal, if grumbling, servant, Moran does just exactly as he's told before returning the cleaned off fork to it's owner. "I'm having his pie," the marksman announces, but cuts off the crusts for Jim since he knows how much he likes them and sets about eating the fruit filling with relish.

Tony's whimpering in the bathroom doesn't get much sympathy, mostly because Moran's already figured his opponent out.

"He's playing us," he grumbles. "Yeah, that shit hurts but not enough to leave him pissing in those expensive socks of his." He rolls his eyes. "I hate the clever ones."

From:

dontbeobvious

"In every lie, there's a shred of truth," Moriarty remarked and as one of the biggest liars in the world, he knew that little saying meant a lot. Tony was clever and trying to make them think they were pulling it off and Jim knew they weren't because nothing was ever that easy with the smart ones. "If he does try to run, just shoot his foot. Or leg. Depends where you get the shot."

He was predicting a death defying escape attempt eventually here.

Sighing, he eyed the smashed in TV and pulled a face. Now how were they going to watch Glee, after the pie Moran was going to have to go and steal a TV.

Until then, he got up and headed into the bathroom. It was only right to wash his hands.

Edited Date: 2012-10-03 04:53 pm (UTC)

From:

starkingenuity

Not quite dangling from the shower curtain rail, Tony looks up from beneath damp hair at Jim as he washes his hand. He already knows that this ploy isn't working. Luckily, it still really does hurt like a bitch. His suit jacket is stained red and the paleness isn't anything that can be faked.

The corners of his lips pull upward. "Did you guys really have my pie?" he asks, but it's not like the bathroom is sound proof. He heard Moran happily chewing away at it just like he hears him get up to steal a television from next door. "Okay, fine, I deserve it. But c'mon, the TV thing? Give me a little credit. I don't like being caged."

It's a sentiment only the truly crazy ever say.

"Unless I'm in the armor. Don't suppose you've got that lying around, do you?"

From:

dontbeobvious

Moriarty was very thorough when washing his hands, it was done very methodically and it showed he was a man who was no stranger to getting his hands dirty. Not that he enjoyed that, he didn't usually get involved if he could help it but like Moran said, they smart ones were the worst and they needed someone with a mind to challenge him.

"Vanity or friends?" Moriarty said as he wiped his hands on the towel, looking at Tony with a shark like grin. He knew both matter to Tony but he was just curious which one was worse. "I'm curious which one wins. For example, if I said that I had Ms Potts somewhere and I was going to brutally murder her if you didn't agree to have acid poured in your face, would you let her die? Or would you save your face?"

Tony loved to be loved, if he was mutilated, he'd probably only get pity. But he did love his friends. Of course he had no intention of doing something so cliche but he was interested.

"This isn't a deep psychological question I'm going to use against you, I already have theories. I know neither are the most important to you but one had to win over the other?"

From:

starkingenuity

There's no reason to hesitate. Tony knows that Jim is far more creative. Besides. He's probably already figured it out. "I don't know my own social security number," he teases, ignoring the pain as he focuses on the madman. He's dealt with one before. "I need her or I'm screwed."

Tony is vain but he's still a hero. He still likes to think he is, at least. It's important to him to sort of live up to the man the world knows him as know. And that's the guy that carried the nuke into space, thinking he was going to die.

"Now that we're friends, think you can put my arm down? I'm pretty sure it's going to give me a heart attack."

From:

dontbeobvious

"Well that's disappointing," Moriarty complained, pulling a face. He expected more than that but then, he was one of 'earth's mightiest heroes' ... what a joke they were. All they did was step in when something big happened, anyone in the world could do that, people got new powers every day and nothing really set them apart from those people except a costume and backing from their government. Want to save the world and do something impressive? Sort out the third world. Then he'd appalled them, even he could sort out that giant fuck up in the world.

"I'm sure you've done the maths, right? Of how many weapons you sold, the average deaths they must of caused and then compared it to the lives you've saved? You've a long way to go," Moriarty pointed out because yes, he had done the maths.

It had been fun actually! Lot of civilian deaths.

He was tempted, for a moment, to let him have a heart attack and be done with this. But eventually he peeked his head out the door to get Moran. "Sebastian, darling, Tony wants to join us for Glee."

From:

starkingenuity

"No." Moran actually growls it. "No. No, I'm tired of-- Why can't you play with your pets after? You promised me a quiet night in and I don't know about you, but this isn't fucking quiet at all."

In the bathroom, Tony just shook his head at Moriarty. "You let him speak to you like that?" he asks, knowing Moran can hear him and, at the response he gets, Tony actually laughs.

"I'm sorry, boss, but I'm fucking spraying your fucking ceiling with his fucking brains!"

"Language. So unprofessional," Tony laments.

From:

dontbeobvious

"See, Moran, unprofessional. I always say you need to mind your manners a bit more," Jim cooed at his second in command, still half leaning out the bathroom door. Though he did turn around just to give Tony an amused look. "Fair warning, if you piss him off, he will blow your brains out. He has done that in the past... and it's been hilarious."

Jim had a strange sense of humour and when moran got pissed off, things got funny and deadly and he loved it.

"Look, it's a hostage situation, it was never going to be quiet. If it bothers you that much, I'm sure I packed duct tape somewhere."

Either way, he was leaving Tony behind in the bathroom and heading out to get a drink. He always had a little something when watching Glee, it helped him enjoy the mindless stupidity of it all.

From:

starkingenuity

"It wasn't suppose to be a fucking hostage situation. It was suppose to be some pot shots into the crowd to stir everyone up and then faggy wine, Glee, and dinner." Moran has his arms crossed and his lower lip out but God forbid anyone mention that he might be pouting. Pouting is not in Moran's vocabulary.

Stomping around and acting like a pissant, however, is very in character and he gladly embraces it as he does just that. Stomp stomp stomp. Assholes.

The sound of springs signal that Moran's fallen into bed and Tony sighs.

"I'll give you the number of where I got Pepper. Very good."

From:

dontbeobvious

Moriarty was happily on his bed, curled up and reading a new book that apparently was meant to help explain how the ten dimensions posited in super-string theory can fit within the four dimensions we are conventionally familiar with. Thus far he wasn't impressed but he highlighted bits he could incorporate into his next research paper. A life of crime hardly meant throwing away his academic career.

"Let Tony out and do stop sulking Moran. I'll make it up to you, I have a fun job for tomorrow."

And he knew Moran would like it, it was needlessly violent and somewhat pointless but it was going to help them cement if Tony would ever be willing to do change his mind or not. Jim was still voting no.

"And while you're in there, get that number?"

From:

starkingenuity

Sebastian had been lightly stroking Jim's hair while he read until he mentioned the number. "You're not getting a PA," he grumbles and shoves away from the great genius before shuffling into the bathroom.

Tony's still hanging there, sort of swinging to and fro like a strung up skeleton on a withered tree. He doesn't make eyecontact but he does sort of topple happily into Moran's arms when he's let down.

"Think your boss will let be have a band-aid?"

Sebastian grumbles but eventually packs up the wound and wraps it properly.

From:

dontbeobvious

When Tony and Sebastian returned, Moriarty looked up from his book and tossed it over his shoulder with a sigh. He'd finish it later, for now he had a henchmen to cheer up. "Sebby, you know I was joking, don't be so silly or I'll have to bash some sense into your brain with my needlessly big book. Like I'd replace you with a PA, they wouldn't kill people for getting my coffee order wrong and they've probably never killed a tiger."

Which is still one of the main reasons he loved Moran, weird but come on, how many people did things like that? It set him apart from everyone else. Determination, amorality and intelligence.

"Has Pepper ever killed a tiger, Tony?"

... And now he was thinking of the cereal, he looked over at Moran and raised an eyebrow, assuming he was probably thinking the same. Maybe he could kill another 'tiger' after all.

From:

starkingenuity

"Just the cereal." Oh see Tony is a quick one. He's well aware of what they're getting at. He plops down as Sebastian exchanges a look of withering Lack of amusement st their guest and yanks Tony back up.

"Geniuses only." It's a growl.

And Tony is of course offended but he laughs and takes the floor where Moran smashes him. He's not feeling hopeless yet. They're not completely off the grid. Someone will find him.

Pepper will need him to sign something--

Right? Maybe?

Who knows. His head hurts and he tries not to think about it as Moran calls down for Frosted Flakes.

From:

dontbeobvious

Moriarty and Moran were never the most normal people when it came to hostage situations. Most took it seriously refused to let their hostage see their face and it was all business. Moriarty knew how these things could go and he understood that 9 times out of 10, he was going to kill his hostage.

And he was going to kill Tony eventually so why not have fun.

He sat on the bed, eating a bowl of cereal and watching Glee on his laptop as they still had yet to get a new TV. It was a dreadful show that Moriarty didn't actually like that much but it was funny making Moran sit through it. He always looked so amazingly awkward and unimpressed.

"Americans make the worst TV, it's brilliant!" Moriarty said brightly, just for the benefit of the two Americans in the room with him.

From:

starkingenuity

"And the Irish are all drunk bastards that need braces," Moran shoots back, making Tony tilt back his head and frown.

"You really let him talk to you like--" He gets a boot to the face, something he's only ever seen in cartoons, and immediately shuts up. Moran happily sits through the rest of the show and then goes back to setting up the television.

He'd gotten it before Tony came out of the bathroom, killed the lovely couple next door too -- which calmed his nerves a lot -- but he's having a hell of a time setting it up.

And he wants to watch Big Bang Theory.

From:

dontbeobvious

While Moran fiddled with the television, Moriarty simply sighed in a loud tone. They had a technological genius here and they were just going to struggle to get their TV working? Yes, that was definitely the image he wanted to present to his hostage. Still, he seemed very happy to let Moran tinker with it and curse as the aerial wouldn't go in the back.

"He's adorable, isn't he? Would you believe that he has an IQ only 20 points below yours?" Moriarty remarked cheerfully to Tony. Everyone in the room was clearly of high intelligence and yet there was still a remarkable amount of stupidity going on.

He wasn't going to openly brag about his own IQ, that was a private matter. Naturally.

"And yet he can do as he's told and you can't. Is that the difference? 20 points from a life saving decision. Maybe we should start working on that brain yours till it's average and willing."

From:

starkingenuity

Jim is a man of mathmatics and statistics. That means that he likes equations, he likes balance. He probably is interested in classical music and symmetry too. Tony knows the type and they always are just a little bit off, a little bit...psychotic. And that's interesting.

"IQ's not something I really take note of," Tony says, striking up a good conversation. "I'm good with structures is all. I understand things easily. So stuff like that? That's easy. For me. I don't think I'd be a good sniper though."

And yes. He knows that's what Moran is. They've eluded to it enough. And he reminds him a little of Barton.

He almost wants to ask if Moran can track something with his eyes and shoot another without looking at it.

From:

dontbeobvious

"When I was a boy, I was told that IQ means absolutely nothing, it all depends on your emotional intelligence," Jim laughed at that one, it was a sort of condescending laugh. He never felt anything in his life, not really. Yes, he had emotions and he expressed them but they never felt truly there. Except boredom, boredom was always there and he had never stopped it.

Only once. And he'd blown out the back of his head to do it. The scar was well hidden in his hair down, it had been very lucky to survive that one. Bless Moran and his ability to beat sense back into him even with a head wound.

"It's not important to me at all but it's important to others. People react on an emotional level, not a logical level. And that makes them stupid and weak. Which is why if I was to of, say, planted a bomb in the middle of a lovely little kindergarten in midtown manhattan and it's set to go off when all the kids sit down for story time, you're likely to want to stop it... despite the fact that you can't."

He smiled at Tony. That sort of dead unsettling smile. And then he looked away once more.

"Try putting the scart lead in the other socket, Sebby."

From:

starkingenuity

"Oh." And there, back to life again. Sebastian grins at his hard work and crosses his arms ver his chest. Tony is left wondering just how they work. He understands hat Moran must be brilliant, he went to Oxford, he's obviously military, but he doesn't really know why he works so well with Jim. Jim seems the sort to never work well with anyone.

At all.

Tony frowns at that. In another world, another life, they might have gotten along so well.

They seem to have the same sort of mentality.

Or at least the same need for order and a little bit of fun. Anything that doesn't lead to the drags of boredom.

Moran returns to the bed and flops back down, stretched out. He and Tony sing along to the theme song.

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim watched the first ten minutes of the program before he got bored. It wasn't that the show was rubbish or that he wasn't interested, he just didn't like sitting around. He didn't feel like reading, he didn't feel like watching TV and sleep was beyond him.

He didn't disturb the other two, he literally just got off the bed and walked out of their room. Only Moriarty would ditch his own hostage in favour of amusing himself.

But Moran knew the drill, he knew to watch Tony while he went out to find what he wanted. He was only gone for half an hour anyway. He broke into next door, the room Moran had stolen the TV from. Stepping over the dead bodies, he proceeded to raid their luggage till he found the items he wanted. Packing them all up in the dead mans backpack, he dragged them all back into their room.

"They had tea brewing, you could of been polite and let them have it first," Moriarty scolded as he clambered back onto the bed, pulling the bag up with him. He opened it up and flashed it to Moran so he could have a peek. Yep... guess who found the booze, lube, condoms and a curler. They got very hot, he wanted to see what damage it'd do to Tonys face.

He near enough climbed onto Moran, making things highly suggestive. "Want to play with our new toy?"

Edited Date: 2012-10-05 07:57 pm (UTC)

From:

starkingenuity

"Five minutes." He looks through Jim as if Moriarty will move through the powers of the mind. When that doesn't work, dark eyes flicker upwards to an Irish face and Moran exhales very, very slowly. "Let me explain this to you."

As good as he's sure it's going to be, Tony's eyes search frantically for a way out. Five minutes...and then they're going to play. Play what? That's one question he never wants answered.

"I like one show. I sit through yours and I want thirty minutes to myself. No. I want twenty-two minutes to myself." Damn commercials. He usually has to get up and get drinks or kill someone during commercial breaks. "So. Five. Fucking. Minutes. Got it?"

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim stared at him for a while before he slowly rolled off and exhaled loudly. "Stop being lazy and do your fucking job, darling. I'm paying you to help me destroy Stark, not watch this show. However, if you're dead set on seeing the end, I'll make some deductions from your wages."

Which probably wouldn't be the end of it. Moriarty didn't make denials of what he wanted very well and Moran was lucky he wasn't suffering any further.

His fondness for Moran was making him weak... this wasn't a good thing and he knew it but he didn't care.

"I don't get the appeal of this show anyway. Sheldon is just a less cunning and active Sherlock."

From:

starkingenuity

"When that little blonde chick does the scary Jewish mom voice--" He just melts. It reminds him of Jim, really. Sweet on the outside, a raging lunatic on the inside. He pulls Jim slowly down against him and wraps an arm around his waist.

Five minutes and then he's all Jim's. If Jim will even let him hold him for that long. Tony's giving them looks, as if trying to decide something.

And that will be beautiful. He'll have no real idea on what this is or how Sebastian understands that he's a no one one. A nothing. Jim will kill him as quickly as anyone else when he's through.

And he's okay with that.

Edited Date: 2012-10-07 03:19 am (UTC)

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim dropped his head on Morans chest and huffed in annoyance. He would wait the five minutes and they both knew it was rare for him to do that but he decided to try and work out ways in which he could get Tony to cry out in agony before they killed him. There were clearly several answers and Jim was mentally noting them down.

His favourite were mostly mouth related. But fingers had his interest.

They waited till the credits finally came up and Jim heaved a sigh and reached up, childishly patting Morans face. "Awake now? Alert? Happy to of watched that mess of a show? Great! Grab the hostage."

And with that, he rolled over onto his side and let Moran go for it.

From:

starkingenuity

There's always something so perfect about the world when Jim is still and thinking. Whenever the smaller man is quiet like that, and not asleep, Sebastian knows that there's quite a lot going on in his head and, the best part, he's almost always sure to like it.

"Good, I need to stretch."

He does a few squats, knowing Tony is watching him, and when the Super Hero opens his mouth to grumble or yell or, more likely, say something annoyingly clever, Moran grabs him by the hair and drags him up from the bottom of the bed to the pillows. Tony cries out, startled, until Moran lets him go.

"Hey! Watch the hair!"

From:

dontbeobvious

"There he is!" Jim cooed playfully as he ruffled Tonys hair, just to see if it was as lovely as his fansite claimed... not as nice as Moran's, actually, it wasn't as smooth and ruffle-able. "So Tony, here's the charitable part of the evening. We get to started now but I'll let pick the area we'll start on. Any body part."

Smirking playfully, he sat back and turned to head to Moran. He was ready to cause a little chaos and let Moran get his hands dirty. He had no desire to do that himself.

"If you decide to do it the hard way and not pick, we'll go to the defacto starter. Every mans favourite place."

And he'd probably cut it off. How would a playboy go about things if he didn't have anything to put in? guess he'd have to be shagged by a bunch of blokes or something? The concept left an amused smile on his face.

From:

starkingenuity

"This is all to make me get back into the weapon's business?" Tony rolls over, though Moran looks ready to bash his foolish head in for the attempt. "You do realize that maiming me isn't going to really make me want to make things that kill other people any more than I do now, right?"

Moran shrugs. "Yeah, but it's fun."

"Wow, really? Nice going, psycho."

Sebastian gives Moriarty a look. Does he really have to wait? Really? Can't he just take off his fingers and be done with it? Tony smirks. He hates him. He really hates him.

"All right, we'll play. Nose hair first."

From:

dontbeobvious

"There's a 4% chance you'll do as we want and I think to get you into that area, we'd have to do something really extreme that would push you to your lowest," which wouldn't happen but it made sense to go extreme. Jim pulled his bag up and dumped it onto Tonys chest, having a rummage for what he could find to use of Tony's picked body part.

Though it wasn't technically what they wanted, he could work with it. Pulling out the lighter he always travelled with, he tossed it to Moran.

"See how many hairs you can burn off using just the lighter and...." he rummaged around before pulling out a receipt from their coffees earlier. "This piece of paper."

Removing the bag, he sat back with a curious look. This would be good.

"You can change your mind on the body part any time in the first five minutes."

From:

starkingenuity

"Do you think it's going to take you five minutes to burn the hair out of my nose?" He's not afraid...not completely. He knows it will hurt but the damage won't be severe. Muscus membranes tend to heal, quickly. Anything else would be insane right now.

He'll think about it later. If they give him a choice.

Tony slips to the end of the bed and defiantly lifts his head. "There's a few difficult ones in there, Jim. I kept thinking about waxing-- What do you think?"

Moran thinks their hostage is as nuts as Jim is.

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim didn't waste any time, he set fire to the receipt and thrust it up towards Tonys nose, twirling it on the outside as he tried to remove all the hairs as neatly as he could, his fingers occasionally hitting the skin around the nose. It was quite fun actually. His other hand ended up clasped in Tonys hair as he kept him steady, working away to remove it all.

Humming playfully to himself, he didn't pull back till he was sure he'd gotten most of them. blowing out the blacken piece of paper, he offered a second receipt to Moran.

"Do the other one, darling? It's a forest up there."

Tony was brave and wreckless, of course he'd be stubborn at things like this. But it was easy to break men like that, they were less likely to beg for help which means they were more likely to be pushed to their physical and mental limits.

"I get to pick the next body part, I've got a good one in store!"

From:

starkingenuity

"The idea of going up another dude's nose is not my idea of a good time." Tony's eyes have watered and he keeps swallowing but other than that, he's really handling things pretty well, even with the blackened edges of nostrils he's sporting.

He makes an exaggerated sigh and crumples up the receipt. "It'll be faster with just the lighter."

Tony doesn't quite yelp, but he moves like he might just be about to. Good. He likes having the man afraid of him. It's probably why Jim likes him too. Moran can share in their favorite pastime.

He flicks the lighter and the flame, as it nears Tony, flickers with each breath before the man closes his eyes. The smell of singed flesh outweighs the hair, but at least it's done with.

Moran flings the lighter over his shoulder and shrugs.

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim laughed and eyed the fallen lighter with amusement. Shame he didn't keep that on the bed, he fancied a cigarette now. He blamed Tony, the smell of the mans burnt flesh made him think of his early days, back when he was a smoker and he had to be around for most business interactions.

"He's not a very mighty super hero," Moriarty complained as he hopped off the bed and fiddled around with the pre-loaded ipod they'd been given by the hotel. All boring modern rubbish but every now and again, he found something that sparked his interest. Slipping it into the dock, he turned up the speakers and filled the room with the sound of Beethoven's ninth symphony second movement.

It was always wise to have music playing over things like this. If he did start crying out, they were in trouble.

"Break all his fingers on the left hand. If he cries out even once, break all the fingers on his right hand."

From:

starkingenuity

Well, 'trouble' is relevant only if there was no master sniper here. He'd not really a hands on guy, Moran, but if Moriarty wants it, Moriarty usually gets it after awhile.

Breaking fingers is a good torture device. He knows it. He's used it before. It's not elegant and he's not as good at it as say, Mitchell or Barger is but he'll do in a pinch.

His breaks aren't that clean, though. He doesn't just pop knuckles out. He snaps them.

It's not as satisfying as a bullet. But watching Stark swallow his pain?

That's pretty remarkable.

After the third finger, there comes a huff. "Does that count as a crying out?"

From:

dontbeobvious

"No, don't be harsh, we want a proper noise. A whimper, a scream, a cry or a yelp. Any little pained noise," Moriarty said, just to make it fair. After all, Moran did some poor work snapping the mans fingers, it wasn't clean and it would be lucky if he got full function back to them. Hmming slightly, Moriarty flopped backwards, his mind ticking away, deep in thought.

It was interesting how composed Tony could keep but then he had a history of this sort of thing, they could hardly beat out shrapnel in the heart.

"You know, if those don't get sorted in 24 hours, it's going to drastically reduce the use of your fingers? Won't be much of an engineer. Or a piano player."

Not that Tony cared about that, huh?

From:

starkingenuity

"I guess that means no weapons." It takes him several very long seconds to get that out there, right between the ring and pinkie finger getting mauled. But at least he doesn't scream. His right hand is free and fine and-- And he's fucked no matter what. He knows that. "Besides, we both know that you're going to kill me."

He's sweating profusely.His nose is burned. He's already been injured and hung over the bathroom rail.

He really doesn't have an delusions by this point. Just a vague hope that there's enough of him left for Steve Rogers or Clint Barton to save when they come.

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim climbed up onto the bed and removed his tie, making sure it was strong material before he hooked it around the top of the spinning ceiling fan. He held the device still, ignoring the racket it made at it's forced stop as he tightened the ties grip and made sure it was hanging on. Letting go, the fan twirled once more and the tie hung off it. Turning to Tony, he smirked darkly.

"Go back to building weapons or I'm going to make that your noose. And it won't end cleanly. You'll choke, it won't snap your neck and it'll take a while. You'll probably feel yourself stop breathing, your eyes burning with pain, it's not pretty," Jim informed him as he crouched on the end of the bed and crawled closer to Tony, clambering up him much like a lapdancer would do for a bigger tip.

Leaning down, he smiled and patted Tonys face.

"Death or go back to your old ways. Pick? I know what I'd do," he leaned down and whispered in Tonys ear, it was strangely intimate but that was Jim all over, he seemed nearly affectionate but it couldn't be more wrong. "I'd rather die, wouldn't you?"

Why would anyone give up when they'd gotten so far?

From:

starkingenuity

"Mmm... That won't hold my weight and you know it," Tony says, stray tears slipping down his cheeks. Pain is a terrible thing but he can compartmentalize. More or less. Somethings are just impossible to work with.

Moran, actually, is thinking the same thing. "Why would you even say that?" he grunted, wiping his hands on his pants as Tony cradles his hand against his chest, gingerly.

"Shh, now," Tony says. "The adults are speaking."

Making Moran annoyed at him is his new favorite pastime, Tony decides.

From:

dontbeobvious

It was a metaphor... did no one gets dramatics? Heaving a very loud sigh, he gave Moran that look. The look that clearly said 'I'm acting here, stop being a prick'. No one understood the brilliance of a little prop work, he dropped down and put his head on Tonys chest, his hand reaching out to feel the device that replaced his heart. "I think hanging is too impersonal but choking always has that sort of hands on intimacy, doesn't it? I strangled my first boyfriend, it was perfection. It's fine, he was a prick anyway. Slept around and all that rubbish, i didn't care but in that moment we shared, I owned him."

He sounded almost yearning as he said that, he didn't discuss his past often but when he knew someone wasn't going to live, he was comfortable doing it. Slipping his hand into his jacket pocket, he rolled off the man and as his hand came out, so did a crude little pen knife he usually used for opening post.

Flicking it open, he studied the blade before looking at Tony.

"What would it take to change your mind? I know I never will but if there was something out there that could, what would it be? Enlighten me before I break you."

From:

starkingenuity

Moran stands silently, off to the side. He's never heard that one before, and when Tony reaches up to stroke Jim's hair -- probably out of some sort of personal amusement and little more -- he nearly shoots Tony Stark dead, then and there. But Jim moves into his line of fire, and Sebastian knows that what Tony said was true.

Moran is a genius, but he's not on par with these two.

He's here for backup, as a pet, to do the heavy lifting, but this is a meeting of the minds more than bodies.

And Tony seems to be considering it very hard, the answer to Moriarty's question.

"If you could threaten to take away who I am, what I'm able to do, my very mind--. But yanno, that'd defeat the purpose really. Neuter me and no more anything."

From:

dontbeobvious

"But that sounds so much more fun."

To destroy Tony Stark and only leave some empty shell behind for everyone to find and be stuck with. Not a great genius inventor but some zombie instead, a shadow of what he'd once been. And constant reminder that the man they loved hadn't died, he'd be trapped with them and they could do nothing about it. Jim smiled at the thought.

"You know, that's not a impossible task. Of course he remove what you are would mean you wouldn't be making weapons but who's to day you wouldn't be remove and someone else would out bid that women you gave control to. You know, the one who is only there because you said so? She really has no qualifications," and there was no way of denying that. But it would be such a shame to waste such genius.

But then... "Would be no great loss, you never were as god a your father. Let the legacy die now? Not a bad idea."

From:

starkingenuity

"Boy, is it lucky that being compared to my father doesn't send me into a rage," Tony says with a mock sincerity that causes Sebastian, in the corner, to laugh.

"What?" he shrugs when the other two glance at him. "Oh c'mon, that's funny." He snatches the lighter and burns the end of a cigarette. He has needs. They ate. Watched Glee and Big Bang Theory and he's overdo for a cigarette damn it!

Tony shakes his head at Jim, despite the pain he's in. "I don't really want to be your creepy love slave with a lobotomy."

From:

dontbeobvious

"Why would you be a love slave? You'd just be a lobotomised puppet. And I'd give you back, I'm sure your friends would adore the burden that is a slobbering waste of space," he grinned darkly before hopping off the bed and moving closer to Moran and giving him a stern look. "You were quitting, remember? everything we own smells of smoke because of you. Don't make me practise lobotomy on you."

And he probably would, it wouldn't be the first time his men had lost their lives so Jim Moriarty could practise something. Oh so many lives lost to bombs.

Turning back to Tony, he huffed slightly as if he didn't know what to do. So many options, so little interest in actually doing it.

"I'm losing interest in you... that's annoying."

From:

starkingenuity

"Annoying? I don't know. I like the breaks. Go roll up a newspaper for the puppy."

"I am not the puppy!" Moran roared, but he'd already removed the cigarette from his mouth and-- Oh, let's face it. Jim commanded, Moran almost always did.

So. Getting to Moran seemed to be the way to get to Jim too. Or at least it could be a distraction. Tony grinned. "Kinda looks that way to me. You're pussy-whipped."

Too much annoyance, not enough Big Bang.

Psychopaths need down time too. Snubbing the cigarette on Stark's face will give him a lot of sanity back, he's sure.

From:

dontbeobvious

"Moran," Jim said in a warning tone as he moved closer and grabbed the mans hand, jerking him away. The purposeful taunting of Moran? Yeah, he saw it. And his companion rarely had a great method of dealing with his anger so he decided to go about this his own way. "I think we should go for a ride."

He finally knew what he wanted to do to Tony and he really was eager to get ride of him now. He wasn't going to do what they wanted and he was causing fuss.

No more games.

"Stick him in the boot. If he tries to run or mouths off, shoot his toes off."

From:

starkingenuity

Moran has that look like he's going to shoot Tony's toes of whether he mouths off or not. At least getting the Avenger into the car isn't as difficult as one might expect. He's limping, there are burn marks on his face and his hand is turning purple from the breaks but the one time that they meet someone in the hall way, Tony just plays off drunk.

Moran doesn't understand that at first until he realizes that Tony is martyring himself for everyone else.

God. He hates him.

Shoving Tony into the trunk is easy when he gets in willingly and Sebastian slides into the driver's seat and slams the door, staring at Jim with dark eyes.

"We should kill him."

From:

dontbeobvious

"We're going to destroy him first. Don't you trust me?" Jim said, cocking his head to the side and smiling playfully. "Do we still have all the bombs set up? The back up plan in case one of us got caught? Well, they've just become plan A. Radio the boys and tell them to wait for my sign, the one we discussed. We're going to have some fun in Manhattan."

Giggling, he clambered into the back and got himself settled.

Tony wanted everyone to think of him as a hero, a protector, that's all he wanted. To be that good guy who could sacrifice himself and mean something. Being useless in a time of crisis? That would be a great send off.

Jim pulled out his phone and started to work, he had a lot to organise in a short space of time.

From:

starkingenuity

Moran liked where Jim went most of the time. His mind-- Insane, fractured, but the way it mended together in the end, the way it played on the threads that stitched it together, was absolutely beautiful. He put on the radio and headed to the rendezvous point for the original plan B.

New York would burn. Not for the first time, but this would be better than aliens and terrorists.

It's an inside job by a man without loyalties and the men with loyalties only to him.

He takes the eastern route to the jet and swings around to the passenger door to let Jim out. No one knew it was him. Their crew had no idea that this little runt was their boss. Moran's always loved that.

"New plan from Moriarty," Sebastian yells to the flight crew. "Gas us up!"

From:

dontbeobvious

"Make sure they wait for my signal. And I was thinking that Mr Stark would appreciate a good sight. But of course he won't be content with watching unless he's out there suffering for those people so I was thinking we could offer him that chance," he sat back and finished the final set ups to the automated devices that were set all over the place. The thing with his plans were that they were all done with perfect detail.

Only the best were involved and they did their jobs, they made every part work like a ticking watch.

And he had no worries his plans would work, he only ever worried about one thing and that was the target of his attacks being there to see it and hate every second.

"I say we go biblical on St Stark."

From:

starkingenuity

"Biblical?" Moran frowns lightly as he sits on the hood of the car. He know Tony can hear what they're talking about and that just makes it better in the long run. "Did you bring his suit? Are we dressing him up like an angel? I don't want to play Sodom and Gomorrah with him right now though. He's not my type."

No, really, he isn't. Moran'll fuck a lot of things but he draws the line at ungodly facial hair and too many muscles.

Tony bangs the top of the trunk twice and Sebastian grins up at Jim. He might not know the play but he's sure he's going to like it.

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim didn't say anything cause he didn't want to ruin the surprise for Tony. So he simply leaned back and stretched out his arms in a mock cross. He wanted to be a modern day Jesus then fine, he fed the poor and dazzled them with magic tricks, it was time to suffer. It seemed very fitting for a man like Stark.

"In the centre of the disaster zone. As his world goes crashing down, he'll be able to watch."

And do absolutely nothing. He knew those damn heroes would be there in seconds when the bomb went off, they could see their dear friend in the middle of chaos and know exactly who it was intended for. It was perfect. Then, of course, as soon as they got to Tony... he was going to let Moran handle it from there.

What? He could offer people false hope. "It'll be happening in five minutes, we don't want to be delayed."

From:

starkingenuity

"You're really sure?"

Moran sits glumly by the window, frowning as the helicopter takes off to put them a safe but still snipeable distance away. Tony Stark gets smaller and smaller, left on the roof of a building Jim has already determined will not be in any blast range.

"They can save him." But they won't. The Avengers will have their hands full and only one other of them could fly.

Jim kept track of when the alien was on Earth but intel suggested he might not be. Sebastian shoves an earpiece into his left ear and stands, ready to disembark as well when they hover closer to the ground.

"If you're sure Jim..."

From:

dontbeobvious

"They might. Who knows? That's the exciting part. Are they as good as I'm told or are they as useless as everyone else? Who knows?" Jim took a seat back and relaxed, watching Tony as he got smaller and it was harder to see his pain. Jim didn't care what happened to Tony now, he was more focused on the best part of the plan.

The bombing was what he was focused on now, the countdown was getting closer and he couldn't wait. When they got further enough away and Tony had chance to get used to how he was stuck, trapped in a mock cross position with the help of two daggers, he sent off a text to all his bombers.

Ten seconds exactly, he wanted detonation. He had timed it to go off in a circle, it should surround Stark entirely and detonate in the pattern of morse code SOS.

Like the Avengers could miss that one.

From:

starkingenuity

It was a nightmare. The pain wasn't anything to really worry about right now. He was breathing in debris and smoke. Everything was singed and burning. He could hear people screaming-- Well maybe not, he was too far up. But he could imagine it.

The snap crackle pop was nothing like the cereal. It didn't hurt this badly to enjoy little grains of puffed rice.

Tony already knew that the Avengers were mobilized by the aircraft slowly shifting downwards. Cap, Barton, Widow-- Banner would be too far away to get here in time. Thor likely would not know about it until it was too late.

He could only hope his team would right this.

From:

dontbeobvious

Jim waited patiently for every bomb to detonate before he reached out and pressed a hand to Morans shoulder to calm him from jumping right into it. He knew what his companion wanted to do but sadly, he couldn't allow it. Tony was fun, he was smart and he reminded him a little of a lost enemy. If he wasn't on the side of the angels, he might of been interested in him but now, he was up to a little mystery here.

"Death is too easy but let's leave this all up to fate, yes? Shoot to hurt but not to kill. He'll either be saved from bleeding out or his friends will abandon him to save the day. Either way, they'll know we've been here and I won't know what happens till I check the news tomorrow."

This was all a little game to him and he was having fun, why end it? They knew he was a threat now.

Not that they didn't but a constant reminder was always good. He sat back and pulled out his phone, he had been hacking into Shield for the past hour and that file they had on him clearly need updating. And that was exactly what he was doing. When the men pulled up his file later, they'd see a full report on the kidnapping of Tony Stark, the explosions in New York and, of course, a little message from the man himself.

The eye patch doesn't suit you, Fury. Looks like a bad Bond villain. All my love to the council and please, no revenge acts? I'd hate to see something worse happen xxx

From:

starkingenuity

"I better at least get some fucking head out of this," Moran said as he lined up the shot and sent a bullet straight through Tony's shoulder.

Just as the craft turned, the sky opened up and the Thunderer raged down through the clouds, making Sebastian snort. No fair. Tony Stark, it seemed, was going to live after all.

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