บท 21: Chapter: 21
Chapter 21:
My inventory, which had sat empty, was now filled with dozens of outfits, along with everything else that tickled my fancy during my wild shopping trip. I had shamelessly spent probably close to 20 thousand in only a few hours. That was small peanuts to Tony, though. He probably makes more than that during his bathroom breaks.
After my spree, I checked into a nearby hotel for the night. It was going to be a really long flight all the way to Europe from California.
…
Over 16 hours spent in the air. Even if Tony's private jet was the height of luxury, the flight was still way too long. I needed to either get my angelic mastery or my intelligence leveled up so I could finally teleport places.
"That sucked," I muttered as I stepped off the plane with a tired yawn. It wasn't exactly a physical tired, but more of a mental one. I don't think I've slept in over a week and even as a gamer that was probably unhealthy. I'd make sure to get a bit of sleep to mentally recharge myself when we reached the hotel. After that, we'd be heading off to the races.
The Monaco Grand Prix was supposed to take place tomorrow. Something was supposed to happen there that was unforeseen by the Ancient One. I wasn't sure what to expect, to be honest.
[Quest Initiated: Prevent a Tragedy. The Forces of Evil are planning an attack at the Monaco Grand Prix. Stop them from killing Tony Stark and causing a massacre.]
[Reward: ???]
[Failure: ???]
The forces of evil? 'Is that as specific as you can get, system?'
[Yes. I'm not allowed to spoil future events.]
This Grand Prix is going to be one of Europe's most televised events. Whoever wants to kill Tony Stark there really wants to make a statement. I wondered if Whiplash would even be there to attack the racetrack. Or would it be someone else? The racetrack is also absolutely going to be packed with people. If a large group attacks, I won't be able to protect everyone. I was going to need help, unfortunately…
Tony, Pepper, Happy, and I entered a fancy limousine that was heading towards our hotel. I pulled out my cell phone and made a show of pretending like I had just received some shocking information. I let out a fake gasp that drew the eyes of everyone in the limo.
"Layla, what's wrong?" Pepper asked in concern.
I had a worried look on my face that was about half genuine and half acting. "I just received a credible tip from an old associate. There is a very high likelihood that an attack will occur at the racetrack tomorrow." I explained.
Everyone else's eyes widened in surprise when they heard that. "An attack?" Tony asked. "I announced that I was going to be publicly attending the race. Any terrorists would have to be crazy to think that they could plan an attack while Ironman is there." Tony said confidently.
"I think that's the point." I said. "They want to kill you. But it's not just that. They want to cause a massacre, apparently."
Tony was shocked that there was anyone bold enough to try and kill him while he was Iron Man. Pepper looked mortified, and Happy didn't look happy at all. He was muttering about not getting paid enough to fight off terrorists. Wait? How much was I getting paid? Pepper just shook my hand and told me I was hired. 5 minutes later I was meeting Tony. There was no paperwork signed at all…
[She probably forgot about all that in the excitement of meeting a real angel…]
'So do I even technically work for them then?'
[Technically…no. You got a free 20 grand shopping spree out of it though.]
"Maybe we should just leave, Tony." Pepper suggested. "If we announce it publicly that you won't be attending, maybe there won't be an attack."
Tony had a contemplative look on his face before he turned to me. "You were just hired yesterday–"
Technically, I was not.
"–and while I did say you were a good hire, I'm not 100% sure of your background. Are you sure your source is credible? Who did you even work for before me?" Tony asked me.
"I trust her! She wouldn't lie about this!" Pepper exclaimed with some strong emotion. That was a large amount of her trust to give me so suddenly, even if she was still absolutely confusing me for the paragons of goodness that are my unfallen brethren. I'd do my best not to break that trust with her.
Tony seemed to trust Pepper as he relented. "Fine. I'll believe her. But I'm not running. Who's to say the attack won't happen anyway even if I don't show up?" He asked.
"Couldn't we just call off the race?" Happy asked. I wondered that as well. That would technically save everyone and complete my quest.
Tony scoffed. "You have no idea how much money is put into races like these. All we have is a vague non-credible threat. Do you even know who will be trying to kill me, Layla?" Tony asked me.
"I do not," I admitted. "Only that it is probably a decent-sized group if they're planning on also targeting the crowd." Tony sighed but thanked me for my honesty at least.
"Jarvis," Tony spoke out loud. "Please get one-eyed-willy on the line for us. I need to talk to him."
"Connecting the call now, sir." Jarvis's voice echoed throughout the limo's backseat. A holographic screen popped up, and a moment later a stern-looking man with an eyepatch popped up on the other side of the screen.
"Stark, what a surprise for you to call me." The man who could only be Nick Fury said.
"Alright, listen up Patchy. I got a tip about…" Tony went on to explain the vague warning I'd given him.
Fury scowled over the line. "A major terrorist attack is the last fucking thing I need right now. Fine, I'll send as many agents as I can. Unfortunately, I can't call all hands on deck. A tip off from a strange source has me cleaning house a bit." Fury said. I could tell from the way he avoided directly looking at us that he was underplaying whatever was going on at SHIELD.
"This tip didn't have to come from an unbelievably beautiful girl with long black hair and purple eyes, did it?" Tony asked jokingly as he winked at me. I almost did a spit take! So did Fury on the screen!
"How the hell do you know about Layla of the Fallen?" Fury asked.
"WHAT!?" I exclaimed out loud in panic. How the hell does SHIELD know about me!? I only gave Natasha my first name. Even then, I had no official documents at that point so I figured they'd chop it up to being a fake name. I never gave her my full title though…
The screen turned towards where I sat off to the side and I could tell Fury now noticed me. "Layla of the Fallen, I presume. Why am I not surprised that you're at the heart of this mess? You've caused a lot of trouble for me." He said accusingly.
"What kind of trouble could I have possibly caused you?" I asked sarcastically.
"You killed over 50 ninjas in the middle of London and just left their corpses for SHIELD to clean up." Fury stated. The other three people in the Limo gave me shocked looks at hearing that.
[You did do that…]
Oh… right. That was probably really gross to clean up. The sorcerers only took away the demon's body.
"Ninjas?" Tony asked. "Ninjas are still a real thing?"
"Unfortunately." I muttered in reply.
"You also broke into a man's home and castrated him with a lightsaber." Fury said again. Tony and Happy unconsciously placed their hands protectively over their legs as they both suddenly gave me weary looks.
…How was that more terrifying to them than me killing 50 ninjas…
XXX
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