ironmonger | (no subject)

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Obadiah has gotten some sleep, but not much. There's too much to do, and he has to be ready to alert his security team at any moment.

He's up well before dawn, on the phone with Virginia to outline the things he'll need her to take care of while he concentrates on the Tony situation.

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As soon as Sherry slows down in the hall to catch his breath, Tony huddles close to him.

(He's never seen Sherry lose a fight before.)

He pauses for no more than four seconds before collecting their escort with a nod and heading for the stairs—still holding Tony's hand, leading the way and leaving the security personnel to bring up the rear.

The lone woman in the group is the member guarding the front entrance. She greets them with,

"No sign of movement. I'm guessing they shot their wad with Goliath up there and are either cutting their losses or haven't figured out Mr Holmes had backup yet."

"Let's hope that keeps up, shall we? Come along, Tony. Almost there."

He clings to Sherlock's hand as he follows.

Obadiah is intent on the video feed in the van; when they're close, he gets up and opens the back doors to let them in.

"Tony," he says, relief clear in his voice. "Are you all right?"

Does a sniffle count as an answer?

If it does, it is probably a no.

"More or less," Sherlock translates, smoothing a hand through Tony's hair.

(Comforting Tony is more important than what their escort might or might not see.)

"All right," Obadiah murmurs, reaching out to put his arms around Tony.

To the team members, he says,

"We'll give the others another two minutes."

Tony is entirely okay with transferring his clinging to Obie.

"I can go back for them," Sherlock offers.

He holds Tony close, stroking his hair the way Sherlock had done a moment ago. It's what he knows his team will expect to see. It's also the first time in a while now that he's had Tony this close without a single guardian-inappropriate thought crossing his mind.

"No," he says, almost before Sherlock is finished speaking. He watched the fight as it unfolded. "On the off chance you're not concussed, I'd like to keep it that way. They know they're on a deadline to get back."

"Your concern is appreciated. I am fine."

"Sherry," he says, somewhat muffled by Obadiah's shoulder, "you are not going back to let that guy beat you up again. You're just not."

"You heard him," Obadiah agrees. "They're professionals, Sherlock. They'll manage."

In fact, a few seconds later, they can be seen staggering out the front door, one of them propped up between the other two.

"All right," Obadiah says, "everyone be ready to go as soon as they're inside."

If being ready to go means letting go of Obadiah, they may have a problem.

"- Lewis, you drive," he adds after a few seconds. "We're going directly to Mercy."

"Yes, sir," she says, and gets into the front of the van.

There, that should no longer be a problem.

Good.

After a minute or so, he reaches for Sherlock's hand again.

Sherlock leans against Tony's other side, not bothered in the slightest by the proximity of Obadiah.

Tony is what matters. Tony is always what matters.

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