Chapter 44: What should I do?

Still drinking her coffee, Natasha looks at Skye who's dilly-dallying. "You're not gonna be late to school?" 

"I got the first period off today. So I can be a little late." Skye said with shamelessness. "What about you, what are you gonna do on your break?"

The girls hit it off that morning and quickly became friends. "I don't know yet," Natasha said. There's a safe house for her in New York she could stay in before finding things to do. 

"Why don't you stay here, and come with us tomorrow. Kai is taking me hiking", Skye offered. "I don't think I can do that" Natasha wants to reject her imposition, but Skye insists. 

"You didn't have anything to do. So come with me. I need an ally to fight that prankster". 

Natasha just smiles without confirming. She didn't expect that Skye would call her father. 

The phone connected quickly and Skye put Kai on a loudspeaker. "Kai, could Natasha come with us tomorrow for the hike?" 

"Hey you don't have to" Natasha tries to get away, but she couldn't do it before Kai said  "Okay, bring her to get some equipment, boots, and some new clothes. She could stay with us tonight as we need to ride early tomorrow morning."

'Like father, like daughter', is Natasha's impression of Skye. 

Skye is happy her scheme works. She didn't do this just because she wanted Natasha to be her ally, but also because, " this is the first time Kai brought a woman over!!!" Of course, she won't let this go. If she could match them together, then maybe she could escape Kai's eagle eye supervision on her. 

"Also Skye, you didn't go to school?" Kai asked on the phone, pouring a bucket of cold water on her scheming head.  She panicked and said" I have the first period of today. So I can be a little late."

"First period off doesn't mean you can be late. You're getting cocky recently, I need to double down on your training." Kai threatened. "No, I'm going. I'm going! " 

She rushes to school, after saying to Natasha "We will meet at XX store at 3 after I finish school." Natasha, who is left alone, thought to herself "it seems like I have a plan now." 

A smile appears on her face before it disappears shortly after.  "Could I lead a normal life, like Kai and his daughter, or will they be afraid of me when they know the truth?"Her mind refuses to let her be happy.

She suspects Kai only knows about her agent identity. She already asks Coulson. It seems like he didn't know anything about her, nor did Coulson tell him anything. Normal life seems so far away from her, and she's afraid of it. 

Last night was a wonderful night. She wasn't a black widow or an agent, she felt like a woman who was drinking with her friend after a long day of work. She also didn't have a nightmare when sleeping last night but had a beautiful dream instead. 

She had thrown away her past for a day and was free from its shackles for a little while. And she longs for the day to be completely free from it. 

…

"We don't need this, or this", Tony Stark is redesigning and improving his iron suit using a holographic projection of the blueprint. 

After coming back from Afghanistan, he'd been holed up in his laboratory in his Malibu mansion. "Sir, your email has been hacked again. It's a video this time." 

"Pull it up," Tony could tell the kid M.O. He heard about what Ryan did when he was held in the cave. And his location is in one of the places Ryan calculated. He's really mad at the military for not getting him involved sooner.

"Maybe Yinsen would not die! " He sighs when he thinks about it. Yinsen says he plans to die but he'll never know if he said it to comfort him or if it's the truth. 

He plays the video. It shows an animation of him in jail, trying to seduce the terrorist to get out of it. "What the hell is the kid smoking" 

He couldn't watch the 5 minutes video of him doing a sexy dance and poses trying to get the terrorist attention. He ends it early and says "Prepare to retaliate JARVIS. He got cocky as I'm not here for a while" 

Although disgusted, he's secretly happy that the kid didn't treat him like some fragile person. Many did at this time, and he didn't like it. Only Rhodes, Pepper, and Happy treat him normally. 

"Sir, there's something at the end of the email you need to look at." There's another attachment in the email. He pulls it up, and it shows the record of the Ten Commandments member activities, their trade record, some of the known members, and so on. 

He checks the date of the document and it was from 3 to 4 years ago. 

" What's his connection to the group?" Tony mulled. It was then he remembered Ryan's accident. "JARVIS, compare the data to the incident that the Knight is in." 

After analyzing, it seems like there's some inconsistency in the data. "It looks like the military didn't help their family after all." Of course, he knows about the incident. It's a very high-profile case but at the same time, not. He knows about the reason it happened and how it's settled. But it seems like Ryan has suspicions about it and investigated more. 

"The military has been lying to the Knight family in the first place. And why did the event stop after they offered their help? " Tony now has a suspicion about the military. 

Because the data didn't lie. He could check it himself if he wanted to, but it's not why Ryan sent it to him. That was the data he investigate to show Hydra that he was holding a grudge against the terrorist. 

It was after he woke up so the data isn't very advanced. When he gives it to Stark, his thoughts are to help him start with some foundation instead of from scratch. He didn't expect it'll do anything more. 

"Start investigating from the military side this time. Find out who leaked my position to the terrorist". 

JARVIS, who is now more advanced from the original story gets to work. 

…

At the time of the hike, it turns out Kai had booked a resort for them to stay in during the trip. " You thought we would camp in the jungle?" He said with a sly smile.

The face of Skye and Natasha hating on him as they had to bring all the heavy equipment with them as they thought it'll be in the wilderness is priceless. Kai only has a small bag on him.

Kai and Natasha become very close during the trip. But there's something else bothering Natasha."Why does he treat me like that!" Kai keeps treating her like he treats Skye! His daughter! 

She thought maybe he was interested in her early on, but it's not likely now. Apart from wiping her mouth if it's dirty or changing her diapers, he treats her like a kid. They stay there for 3 days. Even when she is in a bikini that makes some men drool while she is by the resort pool, Kai has no reactions. Her ego was bruised a little bit more.

It's not like he's celibate, but people are dressed sexier than that on the island. Sometimes even not wearing anything. Natasha's is just a child's play for him. 

He did some barbeque while shirtless and is holding a beer in his left hand and a tong in his right hand. "Steak is ready".

Skye couldn't hold herself back and devoured the meat. Natasha is a little more refined, but barely. The meat is from the trading site. He will only give the best to his daughter, especially during a vacation. Natasha gets some benefits as some food and drinks he bought to have a spiritual nourishment effect. For her, who has been living a traumatic life, those days are blissful.

In the Shield headquarters, Nick Fury is flabbergasted. "You did what?" Coulson just let a valuable asset run free. Quickly he tracked Natasha down and asked her to report back to the headquarters.

She couldn't get a full break that was promised as assignments came in for her when they got back. Kai gives her his number so that she can contact him anytime. 

"But… should I do that?" The days she spent with him are blissful. She can sleep easily, and sometimes she could even forget her past. Kai is also an excellent cook, and he is very fun. He had never been intrusive about her previous life and is very respectful. 

She didn't know if she could meet them again afterward with her agent life. So she wants to cherish the moment she gets with them. She took a lot of pictures during the trip and there's also a picture of the three of them together. The 1984 Rolex that she got as a gift and the printed out pictures are kept in a secure deposit box after this, as it becomes her treasure. 

Even if she got his number, she doesn't contact him afterward. Their lives are very different, and she is a little scared. She tries to stay away, but fate does not acknowledge her actions as they will meet each other later in the future. 

…

In the island base, it's been a while since Yinsen is here. Although he's no longer suspicious about the masked man, he still avoided him subconsciously.

It was a normal day but then the so-called 'deer god' summoned him to the information center. 

"You called for me?", Yinsen asked. The masked man's expression is still monotonous, so he doesn't know what he's thinking about. "There's something I want to share with you" 

The Deer God played a video of Gulmira, Yinsen's hometown that was attacked by the terrorist. He is saddened by this, and he tries to beg the masked man to do something for the people. 

"Please! They are innocent people.!" He turns to beg, as he knows what the man in front of him is capable of. The islander has told him many stories about it. 

"Keep watching. " The elf calms him down. " You have already helped them without you knowing about it." 

"What do you mean?" Yinsen is puzzled and wants an explanation. Before he could, he sees a red gold humanoid iron suit flying into the town and start to kill the terrorist! 

"That is… Tony!!". Yinsen knows the design. He helped with the design. It was Stark in a much more advanced iron suit. 

While Yinsen is watching it, the Deer God says to him. "Stark never forgot about you, nor will he for the rest of his life." 

Yinsen got teary. His heart is greatly touched by that word. "I think I'm ready to have the conversation now" He saw Stark already saving the villagers. He opened up to the Deer God beside him, knowing that he won't see it happen if it isn't for that guy. 

The elf nods.  He holds Yinsens shoulder and they teleport inside the other guy's quarters. Some good food and tea are prepared on the table. 

Yinsen vented about his life. About the unfairness of the world. The world views them all differently after 2001. The action of several people has painted all other members of the community as a terrorist. 

He used to be an excellent physicist. He even attended a prestigious meeting between scholars in the world in 1999, where he met Stark for the first time. 

But he got deported from the country he used to be in, because of his belief. When he returned to Gulmira with his wife and kids, although impoverished, they lived a happy life there. It continues until the terrorist attack! 

His family is now dead. And all he wanted was to join them. But the terrorist had another plan for him. They wanted him to work for them. In his religion, they cannot commit suicide, as they will not be accepted into heaven. 

He's very tired of his life, and every time he goes to sleep, he will recall the nightmare of watching his family dead with his eyes. 

It continued until he met Stark again. That guy rekindles his passion for physics, creating the arc reactor inside the cave. He decided at the moment, that even if he dies, Tony had to live! That is why he chooses to sacrifice himself. As a bonus, he can meet his wife and children again, whilst doing the right thing.

"Is that all of it?" The elf asked. 

"What do you mean?" 

It seems like Yinsen didn't realize it. So he guided him through it. "There's such a concept in my religion, but I don't think….", his words were cut off because of his sudden realization. 

"Ahh, so that's it". Yinsen looked at the mysterious being with a complicated expression after his realization. With difficulty, he says" If I'm dead in battle or war for the right thing, I could go into heaven and meet my family. With my life, I'm afraid I couldn't meet them again…" 

Tears start to fall. He's not a devout believer like his wife and children. He's a physicist for god sake. "But if there's a chance,... A chance I could meet them again…I will take it no matter what. "

The elf took some time to be with him until he calmed down. He also gives him some spirit nourishing drink, not alcohol. 

They talk until late at night. Then finally Yinsen asked him. "What should I do now?" 

There's something that the elf notices on the island when Yinsen is here. He then asked him "What do you think about the island?" 

Yinsen answered honestly about various aspects "... and I think that the kid here could use some more supervision" 

The kids are becoming naughty, but they are good kids. The elf smiles behind the mask then "What do you think about being the Dean of the island?" 

"What?" Yinsen is surprised by the offer.

"Just make sure that the kid has supervision. Check in on their study, and punish them when they are naughty. There's a lot of kids on the island, so I need help." 

"Consider the island a school, and you're their teacher. I'll give you a big salary." Money isn't a problem for him. "I also won't stop you if you want to leave"

Many kids had been abandoning their studies to practice, so he needed to do something about it. He didn't want the kid to become a musclehead. He realizes that Yinsen is very good with kids, and the latter also listens to him. It is a good choice to select Yinsen as the dean. 

Yinsen thinks for a while before agreeing. "I also have a condition. "

"Can you help my people to get out of their nightmare if it is within your capability?" 

The elf then replied "I will, but really… I don't have to." he then pointed to the screen that pops out from his smartwatch holographic projection. "He will". It is a picture of Stark as Iron man. 

…

Obadiah Stane is troubled. " Tony has been kicked out of the board of directors. I could barely do that because of the Knights' kid intervention. Who would have thought he'd become a shareholder in a short period"

Ryan now has a 6% stake in Stark's industry. He had been buying the stock at a low price when everyone else was dumping them. But one unexpected thing happened to him. The news of him becoming a shareholder makes the stock prices stop dropping. It climbed back up slightly. "I underestimated the factor of influence in business"

Stark already knows that Obadiah Stane is responsible for the black market weapon selling that is responsible for the chaos in Afghanistan. But he needs some hard proof. The only way to do that is to break into Obadiah's private server. 

Obadiah Stane is now meeting with Raza, the Ten Commandments leader. "I will exchange it for the Jericho Missiles," Raza negotiated. But this time, Obadiah didn't kill Raza as he wanted, but he offered a passage to the US and some other missiles instead. 

"I will keep your life, in return, you will kill the Knight kid for me" Obadiah smirks while thinking that in his mind. He took the prototype Iron Armor Mark 0 back to the company.

"*Tsk tsk tsk* If you haven't acted out Tony, maybe I will still keep you by my side. After all, you're my golden goose."

Raza who is beaten up in the tent wants to vent his anger to the culprit that makes him stoop this low. "I WILL MAKE SURE OF IT! TIM, HIDDLE, RYAN. ALL OF THEM MUST DIE!!!"