24. Persuading

'.....'= Thoughts 

"....."= Conversations 

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Tony froze in the air, his attacks stopping suddenly as Harry's words cut through the tension. For a moment, it seemed as though time stood still as the gravity of what Harry had just said sank in. Tony's mind was flooded with memories of his mother, her fingers dancing across the piano keys, filling their home with music. It was true, this was the song she had played that fateful day before everything changed.

Tony demanded,his eyes fixed on Harry. "How did you know that?", his tone a mixture of astonishment and apprehension.

Harry met Tony's gaze, his expression somber yet resolute. "I know more than you think, Tony."

Tony's jaw tightened, and for a moment, it seemed as though he might lash out in anger.

Before Tony could erupt, Harry asked,"Do you know why SHIELD is after me?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because you killed your team members along with the agents sent after you or maybe it's because you killed some civilians now," Tony quipped, his tone filled to brim with sarcasm.

Harry's eyes narrowed, his tone turning cold. "You're not so innocent yourself. What about the fight between you and your uncle, Obadiah? I heard that didn't end too well, and I'm pretty sure there were a few civilians caught in the crossfire."

Tony's expression hardened, but Harry pressed on. "I was betrayed, betrayed by the people I trusted very much. Alexander Pierce set me up. Do you even know who Pierce is? He's a high-ranking official within SHIELD, and he's been using the organization to further his own agenda."

As the words sunk in, Tony's eyes widened in disbelief. "Alexander Pierce? The guy from the World Security Council?"

Harry nodded grimly. "Yeah. But it turns out he's been working with HYDRA all along. You remember HYDRA, don't you? The organization that we thought was destroyed? It's still very much alive, and they've infiltrated SHIELD at the highest levels."

Tony's brow furrowed as he processed the information. "HYDRA...but what does that have to do with me? With my parents?"

Harry's gaze softened slightly, his voice quiet as he spoke. "HYDRA was responsible for killing your parents. They wanted to eliminate anyone who stood in their way, anyone who posed a threat to their twisted vision of the world. Your parents, Howard and Maria Stark, they were targeted and killed by HYDRA."

Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself for the difficult conversation to come. "Tony, during my mission, my team and I found a HYDRA facility. We uncovered some vital information about the organization, including the fact that they had infiltrated SHIELD. It was a shocking revelation, and I knew I had to act fast. I immediately called Alexander Pierce, thinking he would want to know about the threat within SHIELD."

Tony's eyes widened in surprise as he processed the gravity of Harry's words. "Infiltrated SHIELD?"

Harry's expression darkened as he continued. "I don't know all the details, but it's clear that HYDRA had managed to embed their operatives within SHIELD, working from the inside to further their own agenda. When I informed Pierce about what we had discovered, I thought he would take immediate action to root out the traitors and protect SHIELD."

"But that's not what happened, is it?" Tony asked, a note of concern creeping into his voice.

Harry shook his head, his jaw clenching with frustration. "No. Just a few hours after I contacted Pierce, our team found ourselves surrounded by HYDRA agents. It was a fierce and deadly ambush, and despite our best efforts, we were outnumbered and outgunned."

Tony nodded his head asking Harry to further his story.

Harry's gaze turned somber as he spoke, the weight of the memories pressing on him. "It was a bloody fight. We lost good people that day, brave individuals who gave their lives to protect the information we had uncovered. I...I was able to escape, but it came at a cost."

He paused, swallowing hard as he recalled the harrowing events. "Now, Pierce is calling me a traitor, blaming me for the deaths of my team members. He's turned the tables on me, using the chaos and confusion to paint me as the villain. I'm being hunted, branded as a traitor to SHIELD, even though all I did was try to do the right thing."

Tony remained silent, his expression contemplative as he processed Harry's words. He couldn't deny the anguish and determination in Harry's eyes as he recounted the events, but Tony still couldn't trust him.

After a moment of tense silence, Tony finally spoke. "I still don't know trust you. But I can't ignore the fact that you were right about the song your mother played before she died. That's not something easily dismissed. For now, I'm willing to entertain the idea that there might be more to this than meets the eye."

Harry's shoulders sagged with relief, and relief shone in his eyes as he looked at Tony.

Tony hovering in the air, regarded Harry with a skeptical expression. "Even if I start to believe that there's more to your story, I still need proof that my parents were murdered. Without evidence, I can't take any action."

Harry nodded, understanding Tony's need for concrete proof. "I understand. And I believe I know where you can find that proof."

Tony raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite himself. "And where would that be?"

Harry hesitated for a moment before speaking. "There's a HYDRA facility in Siberia, Russia. I don't know the exact location, but I know it's there."

Tony's eyes narrowed as he processed Harry's words. "And you got this information from the facility you found few weeks ago?".

"Yes, that's where I got the information. But Tony, I can't stick around. SHIELD will be here any minute to capture me, and I can't let that happen. I have already fulfilled my part of the deal."

Tony listened to Harry's words and then spoke, his tone firm and determined. "I can't let you go just yet. I don't trust you, and I need you to come with me. Our deal will only be fulfilled when I find the proof you mentioned about the HYDRA facility in Siberia. And if we find that proof, I'll even help you remove the tracker inside your body."

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