if_inconvenient | (no subject)

Then Sherlock probably does not want to be called.

"I make no promises about how often I would carry it."

What, it's all about Sherlock now?

"I think that would be kinda missing the point."

"It is a matter of priorities. I would not like to be interrupted by a phone call while breaking into your house, for example."

"There's this cool new thing now where you can put your phone on silent," Cal says. Helpfully.

"An egregious misnomer. They are still audible from twenty feet away."

"I said silent," Cal says, "not vibrate."

He will concede that vibrating phones are still loud.

"At which point I may as well leave it at home."

"Not if you're only turning it off for a little while," Cal says, with great patience.

"With conversations like this to look forward to, I am beginning to wonder why I would ever turn it back on," he teases.

"Hey," Cal says, "you called me."

"Apparently so that we could spend half an hour annoying each other."

"That's what friends do," Cal says solemnly.

Then he laughs.

So does Sherlock.

Which is when Peter Beardsley steps out onto the porch.

"Oh," Cal says into the phone, "hang on a sec."

He moves it down to his shoulder and gives Peter an expectant look.

"I've been informed," Peter says, "that Obadiah Stane is readying a flight to Sunnydale. It should land early tomorrow morning."

Technically, the order to track Stane was given by Mrs Chandler, and a month ago, she would have been the one he'd be taking the information to. But things are different now, and he's known from the start that it's really Cal Chandler to whom Obadiah Stane's presence in Sunnydale is relevant, anyway.

Cal frowns.

"Sherlock's in New York," he tells Peter. "He just left today. That's a hell of a coincidence."

(Indeed it is.)

(Peter's thoughts exactly. His eyebrows arch slightly.)

"Okay," Cal says slowly, thinking.

"Let Jarvis know he can get in touch if something goes wrong. I'll, uh - stop by tomorrow before school to check things out."

"Are you sure that's wise, sir?"

Peter isn't.

"What's he going to do," Cal asks reasonably, "meet me at the front door with a shotgun? I'll be fine."

And he knows it goes without saying that Peter will be sending someone along.

"Thank you, Peter."

Peter nods acknowledgment of the dismissal and goes back inside, displeased but not surprised.

Cal lifts the phone back up to his ear.

"Did you hear all that?"

"I did, yes. I do not think you need to worry about shotguns. Obadiah has always been very concerned with keeping up appearances in front of Tony, and I doubt that will change now."

"Yeah, I kinda figured on that," Cal says, elaborately casual.

Just because the thought of another encounter with Obadiah Stane doesn't put a sickening knot in his stomach anymore, that doesn't mean he isn't still a little apprehensive.