EOIN COLFER Master Tony it did not sound like she meant Master Tony It sounded like she meant exactly the same thing that his mom meant when she called him Anthony which was pretty much the same as his father meant when he called him anything as though every variation of his name was an accusation of something Tony Anthony Master Stark All disapproving Tony could hear his father's voice now Tony Get your head out of the clouds Actually he could hear his father's voice as Howard Stark back from his three hour lunch steamrolled through reception the customary thunderhead scowl pasted on his face Tony let's have all day go This better be good because I don't Tony hitched his backpack a little higher It's good Dad Real good said Tony thinking He's gonna make me partner when he sees this It better be said Howard Stark pushing through the double doors into his office Annabel hold my calls he said over his shoulder then added For three minutes Shouldn't take more than that Tony swallowed It would take him two minutes to get the device set up That left one minute for the pitch 4
THE GAUNTLET He squared his shoulders One minute is all you need boy genius he thought and he followed his father into the office or as the employees of Stark Industries referred to it in whispers the Lion's Den Howard Stark was not a fan of California architecture Floor to ceiling windows were not his thing In his opinion opinion more looking out meant less looking in which for years Tony had thought was stating the obvious until he realized that by looking in his father meant thinking or inventing Having said that his dad was doing his share of looking out right now staring at Tony as though he were an alien who had just come through a wormhole the What the hell is that he said eventually pointing in vague direction of his son's head That's my head Dad said Tony And this Q A is not coming out of my three minutes Not your head Tony The thing on your head Are you wearing a wig A wig said Tony injured Come on Dad A little gel maybe but not a wig This is the latest style There's an English band called Duran Duran maybe you've heard of them No I have not said Howard Stark settling into his leather office chair Modern music is just old music dumbed down for a dumb generation though that governor guy 5
EOIN COLFER blows a pretty mean saxophone they tell me He'll be president one day mark my words When other people said mark my words it was a kind of vague prediction not to be taken seriously When Howard Stark said it it meant he planned to use his fortune fortune and influence to make whatever event he had marked happen and you could bet your last dime on its coming true Mr. Arkansas doesn't know what's about to hit him thought Tony Howard was not finished with his hairdo lecture I bet that style you've got going there takes what an hour to get right That's an hour of gaping at yourself in the mirror mirror Looking out Tony Looking out when you could be looking in I have been looking in said Tony hurriedly eager to stop this style lecture in its tracks before his three minutes were up And I've come up with something Howard crossed his arms and grunted softly The message message was clear I'll believe that when I see it Yeah well you're about to see it old man thought Tony Prepare to experience the awe And while he shrugged off his bag he also thought that as soon as he was partner he'd be able to say that kind of stuff out loud Tony laid the bag on his father's desk then unzipped the main compartment He reached inside gently as if 6
THE GAUNTLET to cradle a newborn kitten but what his hands came out with was a small flying machine with a bulbous nose and two sets of low slung wings with inset rotors I know what you're thinking he said A model airplane airplane Big deal right But this is so much more than a model Tony was prepared for his father to be unimpressed What he was not prepared for at this point was for his father not to be unimpressed Or rather impressed Wait a minute said Howard Stark literally jumping from his chair Wait just one minute young man Howard Stark hurried around the desk and grabbed the plane right out of Tony's hands This is he said turning the craft over in his hands I don't believe this Have you been in my files The battery battery the cameras Tony pulled the miniature plane from his father's grasp No I haven't been in your files This is all me Dad One hundred percent Tony I call it the Tanngrisnir which was the goat that pulled Thor's chariot Not that I believe in any of that stuff but I needed a name and I know you like the Greek classics Norse corrected Howard absently Thor is a Norse god but never mind that now How did you put this together For a second Tony's usual stream of patter dried up because it seemed as though the moment he'd dreamed 7
