Stark, Peggy, and Mr. Jarvis were finally done with getting Stark ready for the press conference. Now, we were waiting in the office while they got the podium and stage stuff ready to go. Mr. Jarvis and Peggy were having a conversation over by her desk and I leaned on Jack's desk alone. Jack was working out some logistical stuff with the other agents and their positions. I already knew I was going to be positioned up with Jack and Stark so I didn't need to be part of that meeting.

"So I think I finally figured it out," Stark said. I looked up from my shoes and saw he was coming over to me. Peggy and Mr. Jarvis glanced over in our direction, but then went back to their own conversation.

I titled my head and decided I'd entertain this. "Oh? And what did you figure out?" I asked him. There were a few different directions this could go, I thought, and didn't exactly know which was the best.

He leaned on the desk opposite of me, my own desk actually, and crossed his arms like I had with mine. "Tiffany Jones, daughter of Frederick and Georgina Jones." The look on my face must've told him he was spot on. "Yeah, I don't forget pretty faces. Yours just happened to stick out a bit more because of what your parents kept saying."

Now I was fully intrigued. "Wait, are you talking about the conversation you guys had at that party back in '41?" I asked. He nodded. "Wow, that was a long time ago. How do you even remember the conversation?"

"Well, certain things like marriage proposals stick out in my mind, and that's exactly what the conversation was about," he said with a shrug. The way he said all that was so casual, while I was absolutely floored.

"Are you- you mean- they were..." I trailed off and realized that it made sense. At the time, I was 20 and Stark would've been something like 24. "Well damn, that's interesting."

Howard laughed and shook his head at the memory. "Yeah, your parents were discussing us getting married a year later, but then you ran off." Right, I had left for Miami two days after that party, and never came back home.

Something from what he said stuck out at me. "Only they were discussing?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged, and got off the desk to stand in front of me. "Well, I was present, but I didn't really think that was a good idea, no offense," he explained. I moved over enough for him to lean on the desk right next to me. "Honestly I should thank you for running away so quickly. Of course I have the power to say no to a marriage proposal, but your parents were offering many things. There's only so much a man can say no to."

I scoffed and then chuckled. "Of course they had so much to offer you- my father's the head of a huge weapons company that's second to you in manufacturing. There's a lot there," I said. Stark nodded along.

We sat there quiet for a few minutes, until Howard spoke again. "I think it took me so long to finally realize who you were because you look pretty different." He turned to look at me straight on and took in my appearance. "Your hair is lighter, your makeup is much different, and I can see how the war aged you a bit, too," he said.

As I thought about it, I realized that he was very correct. "Well, the Miami sun bleached my hair a bit I think... as for the makeup, I used less and less as the years went on in Miami because the sun was very warm and I just didn't find the need for it anymore," I said. I chose not to talk about the aging I went through working for the SSR.

"You really shed the image you had when you were with your parents, huh?" he asked.

The question threw me off. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on, you know what I mean. You look different and you don't even care. The clothes, too- they're no longer the finest of fine from all over the globe. Instead you buy from department stores. You work at the SSR for christ's sake! You got rid of that image the second you could."

I sighed and looked away. "You're right, in a sense. Maybe I didn't seek to change so much, but I'm not exactly fighting it," I said, then looked back at my feet.

The conversation we had was cut off when Jack came back over with al the agents. "Alright, let's get moving! Stage is all set up, it's just waiting for us!" Jack called out. We all gathered what we'd need, like guns and such, and started to walk out.

This would be an interesting press conference.

~~

"After a thorough investigation, we have concluded that Howard Stark is innocent of the theft and sale of weapons to foreign enemies. All charges against Mr. Stark have been dropped," Jack's voice boomed through the mic. Photographers snapped their pictures every now and then while reporters anxiously waited to get to hear from Howard Stark himself.

I stood behind the podium with Mr. Stark. As discussed, I was to be his sort of bodyguard. It would be easy for me to get him out of there while the others dealt with any possible attempts on his life from Fennhoff/Ivchenko and Underwood.

"We owe Mr. Stark a tremendous debt of gratitude, and his assistance in our current investigation is invaluable." Jack was going to continue, but Stark stepped up and whispered something to him. I eyes Mr. Jarvis, who looked confused like I was. "He is..." Jack continued, though it seemed a bit difficult. "...a hero for all Americans." I stopped some laughter from coming out, but couldn't stop the smile.

Jack went on. "Mr. Stark will be working in concert with the SSR to bring those responsible for this crime to justice." Howard stepped up and whispered to Jack again, and I couldn't wait to see what it was this time. "We are humbled..." there was definitely supposed to be more. Instead, Jack cleared his throat. "Here's Howard Stark."

Reports went nuts as Howard walked up to the podium, and they were loud enough for me to laugh without everyone hearing me. I let out a breath and stepped up next to him so I could see easier and just be a bodyguard. "For too long now, the name Howard Stark has been dragged through the mud. Today is a day of reckoning for anyone who doubts-"

A shot was fired and I acted quickly. "Down!" I shouted, grabbing Stark's arm and pulling him down and running behind a column where Mr. Jarvis and Jack had already taken cover.

Jack went to his walkie-talkie quickly while I stood in front of Howard with my gun out and ready to fire. "Get him out of here," Jack said as he turned to me. "Police car in the back alley." I nodded and ran out with my gun at the ready while Mr. Jarvis got Howard to follow along. "Go!" Jack shouted after us.

We hurried to the alleyway where Mr. Jarvis opened the back door of the police car for us. I shoved Stark in first as he said, "See? Told you it was a great idea!"

"Your genius holds no bounds, sir," Mr. Jarvis quickly replied. After I was in, he shut the door and hurried to get into the passenger seat. But before he could, the car sped off and Mr. Jarvis was left standing and looking around.

I leaned up to the driver. "Sir, you need to stop. We have to go back and grab Mr. Jarvis and head straight to the SSR," I ordered.

The man driving looked straight ahead. "Doctor Fennhoff would like to see you," he replied in a monotone voice. My body went cold and I fell back into my seat. I looked over at Howard and saw that he was coming to the same terror I was.

Howard, however, didn't want to go so easily. "Whatever Fennhoff is paying you, I can double it," he said. The man didn't respond. "You like cars? Yeah, I like cars. You know, I gotta fleet of Cadillacs. You can take your pick. Take two."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Alright, you see this piece of paper? It's Rosalind Russel's private number, and is absolutely my final offer."

"Stark, he's hypnotized. Even if he wanted any of these offerings, he's not in control to accept any of them," I explained. He looked at me, worried and scared, then took back the piece of paper. "Seriously?" I asked.

He got defensive. "What? It's... private. Don't want this falling into the wrong hands," he explained as he shoved the paper back into his pocket.

"We could be killed and your worried about a piece of paper with a number on it?" I asked. He tried to retort, but ended up slouching back and staring out the window. I followed in suit, holding my gun and ready to fire when needed.

The car pulled into a new alleyway, and I got ready to fire the second the door opened. In front of us was another car with Dottie and Fennhoff standing next to it. They were ready for Stark, but were surprised to see me in the back with him.

Dottie came over to my side and Fennhoff to Stark's. My instinct was to protect Stark, but I couldn't do that if I was getting shot or attacked by Dottie, so I got ready to be offensive with her. She opened my door and I fired, but she ducked out of the way and snatched my gun before I could fire again. Throwing it off to the side, she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the car harshly.

I fell to the ground and used that to try and get my gun, but she pulled me up and held me against a nearby brick wall. "Howard go!" I yelled, and received a punch in the gut from Dottie for that. Of course, I was already injured there, so that was just a lovely feeling. I coughed violently but tried to yell at Stark. "Go!"

"Miss Underwood..." Fennhoff said, and she turned to look at him while still pinning me. "We really need to get going. Why don't you take care of the baggage while I get Stark in the car?"

She turned back to me and smiled, but it was malicious. I looked over to Stark, who looked panicked, but got distracted by her hand reaching back and pulling a gun out of her pocket. "Sorry Tiffany, but this is the best way," she said in her stupid sweet voice. While I thought she was going to shoot me, she ended up pulling her hand back and using the gun to hit me over the head.

I was out cold and slumped on the ground.

A/n: I love cliffhangers :)

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