americas_son | (no subject)

(no subject)

There was one and only one thing about this that was lacking:

It wasn't a meal. It was barely a snack. And it definitely wasn't about eating.

Now it's well into nighttime, and Cal is hungry.

Time to go do something about that.

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He shrugs.

"I know that the vultures have not yet begun to circle round the company. I imagine it won't be long, however."

Virginia straightens up in her chair a little.

"Yes, that was another thing I was hoping to talk to Tony about. Obadiah doesn't seem to made any arrangements for the company in the event of his early death. I've been keeping the lid on that for now, but frankly that's only going to work until someone realizes that I was in Obadiah's employ, not Stark Industries'. Tony's position is going to become very precarious very soon."

"He could very easily take up that mantle. If he cared to," Sherlock says. "I am not sure that he will. Not immediately."

There are, of course, ways around that.

"His window of opportunity is extremely narrow," Virginia says, "especially at his age. Even if he did have the power on paper, it wouldn't be difficult for the board to dance around his instructions, and if they don't respect him, they will. There are a couple of board members in particular who won't lose any time in leading a coup. He can talk to the legal department about how to prevent that, and I can advise him on choosing a temporary figurehead who can probably be trusted not to make a power grab, but time is not something he has at his disposal."

"It is possible I could bridge the gap until he is ready to take command."

Virginia raises a skeptical eyebrow.

"No offense, Sherlock, but that sounds like the premise of a sitcom that gets cancelled after four episodes."

"I dunno," he says casually, "I do a pretty good impression of the guy."

. . . to Virginia's credit, the ensuing pause doesn't last as long as it does with most people who see that stunt.

"I'm listening."

He resumes his usual mannerisms with a shrug.

"Anything that does not require engineering expertise, I can do. A broadly applied dose of Stark charm coupled with a sufficient concentration of Stark intractability should see it through. Once we have the mess sorted out, he can step back in and no one ought to know the difference. I would very much appreciate having your help in the matter, of course."

"Of course. I'm Obadiah's assistant, I know things Tony's going to need. People would probably think it a little strange if he didn't keep me on." And it will save her the job search.

She purses her lips a bit, thinking.

"I don't think any of them have ever met Tony," she says, "at least not long enough for it to count. If anyone notices - well, you are his brother. Protecting his interests.

"If we keep it to a minimum, it might work." Maybe. Or that might be the exhaustion talking. At the very least, it isn't a substantially worse plan than any other ones they might have come up with.

"It is overwhelmingly unlikely that anyone will notice."

Sherlock knows exactly how good his Tony impression is. The only weak point is his lack of engineering genius, and he won't need that for administrative tasks.

"Could be worth a shot, then," Virginia says. "I'll have to think about it a little more, in case there are some difficulties I'm not seeing right now."

"At your leisure. We can discuss it further tomorrow, perhaps."

Virginia nods.

"All right."

The kettle clicks. Sherlock pours.

He has reason to believe she is not at her best. She displays every sign of a clearly defined thought process, but she hasn't noticed the fresh marks on his neck.

Well, there will be time for that.

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