CAPTURE – Chapter 1

The explosion turned the Humvee leading the convey into a dazzling fireball. The impact of it juddered the second vehicle and it skidded to a halt, the vibration sending Tony's scotch slopping over the sides of the glass. Tony held on to the glass tightly. Everything seemed to slow down. In slow motion he watched as the first, then second soldier accompanying him were killed, then everything suddenly sped back into focus as reality washed over him. They were under attack. Jimmy, the remaining soldier, climbed out of the vehicle.

"Wait, wait, give me a gun!"

"Stay in the car!" Jimmy ordered, and then seconds later he was down, blood splatter over the window, and another rocket blast rocked the van. Tony felt a sharp pain dig into his arm and realised that Pepper was clinging to his bicep, her manicured nails digging through the material of his shirt and jacket. He downed the rest of his drink in one go, dropper the glass and tried to put on a reassuring face despite the panic he felt.

Speak to her, Tony, he instructed himself, comfort her, reassure her.

"Come on," he ordered, it was the best he could do.

Pepper shook her head, but then nodded as she shuffled over the seat, following Tony as he scrambled down from the ride onto the sandy ground. He reached up with both hands, holding Pepper at the waist as he helped her jump down on to the floor. She stumbled a little but he held on until she had regained her footing. He heard her whisper a shit to herself, and guessed she was regretting her choice of footwear. He had mocked her only hours earlier on the jet. "Three inch heels for a trip to war-torn Afghanistan and a weapons demonstration – very appropriate Miss Potts." That moment, only hours ago, suddenly felt like a very old memory.

A shot shattered the door window, glass splayed out and they both shielded their faces. "Crouch down behind the wheel!" Tony ordered, before rushing to grab a gun that had landed just feet away from the vehicle. Was this Jimmy's weapon? Tony pushed the thought from his mind, cocked the gun and fired it into the general direction of the attack. Nothing happened, it was empty.

"Fu*k!" He threw the weapon down and dashed back over to Pepper in a rushed crouch. She was hiding behind the wheel as instructed, hands held over her ears, protecting her head. He grabbed her, she screamed-

"Pepper, it's me," he shouted over the noise of the gunfire. "Come on, we need to move away from here!"

"Where?" Pepper screamed, bewildered.

Tony pointed over to a rock some ten feet away. "There!" He yelled, "We need to get away from the vehicle. We'll take cover there…"

Pepper was gasping for breath, she looked terrified. He placed both of his hands on her upper arms, held her tightly, forcing her to pay attention. "It's going to be okay," he said, staring into her eyes. Pepper gave a short nod.

"On three," he said, and grabbed her hand. "One, two, three-"

They took off in the same crouched run Tony had adopted just minutes before. Gunfire erupted all around them. Tony held onto Peppers hand, pulling her onwards but careful not to move too fast – he knew running would be a struggle in her footwear. They made it to the rock, both slammed behind it, bullets were still flying everywhere, dust and smoke swirled in the air, severely limiting their visibility.

"You okay? You hit?" Tony asked as he pulled his phone from his jacket, began typing into it. Pepper shook her head. "I'm fine, but Tony, we can't stay here."

"Listen, I know, I'm just uploading our position to Jarvis then we'll move. We need to-"

A loud thump sounded to the left of their temporary shelter. They both glanced over, and saw a large "STARK" stencilled rocket embedded nose-first into the ground.

Tony yelled "MOVE!" and grabbed Peppers hand once more. They had moved barely a couple of feet before the rocket let out a high pitched wail. Tony reached out and roughly pushed Pepper ahead of him, and then they were moving faster, suddenly, flying through the air as the impact of the explosion washed over them. Then there was nothing, only blackness.

Tony opened his eyes and blinked against the dust filled air. He moved his head to the side, looking for Pepper. He could see her, just a few feet away, on her knees, crawling over to him. He tried to move and realised it was a bad idea as pain rippled through him, taking his breath away, making him gasp for air in short pants. His vision blacked out again, and when it returned, Pepper was leaning over him, ripping open his shirt and tugging at the chest armour she had pestered him to wear. He was too exhausted to lift his head, so he watched through half closed eyes, only able to see the top of her head as it looked down on him. Her hair was mussed up, he noticed, and for some reason he found this funny, and a small smile ghosted across his face, before it turned back into a grimace as the pain rolled over him again. Pepper was holding onto him, he guessed he had been hit, somewhere, and it hurt, it hurt so, so bad.

He reached out, tried to move his arm, guide it to her, to stop her from touching him, but his arm was too heavy and he could do nothing.

"Pepper," he moaned weakly, "Pepps. Are y'kay?"

Pepper looked up at him, rested her bloodied hand against his cheek softly. "I'm fine." She was scared. Terrified. She was trying to hide it, and she smiled shakily at him as she stroked his cheek, but he could see the fear she was hiding. She was talking to him, he realised, her lips were moving, but he couldn't hear anything. A side effect of the blast.

The pain got stronger, but how was it possible to hurt more? With each shallow breath he took, the stronger the pain became.

"Pepper," he gasped again, "I'm sorry," he paused, groaned, then whispered again, "I'm sorry."

His eyes rolled back in his head and he lost consciousness. Pepper continued to stroke his cheek, her other hand pressed against the hole in his chest as hard as she could. "You don't need to apologise," she said frantically, "it's going to be okay. We're going to be okay."

A vehicle approached, its tyres kicking up dust as it moved, heading towards them, getting closer. Pepper kept on talking to Tony, stroking his cheek, telling him that everything was fine. Fear rippled through her as the van approached, this wasn't a military van, she knew. Everything was certainly not okay. She looked down at Tony's face, his eyes closed, his chest shuddering as he took in wheezy breaths, was this it, the end for him, and for her. They were going to die, she thought, as tears sprung to her eyes. This is it. The vehicle stopped, kicking up more dust, and four men jumped out, shouting and cheering excitedly in a foreign language Pepper did not recognise. Pepper reached over and kissed Tony gently on his clammy forehead, then she closed her eyes, and she waited.

Hello! *waves* I'm a big Iron Man fan, and a big fan of fan-fiction, but this is my first Iron Man piece. I hope it is okay, and would appreciate any reviews/comments!