  Note: IMDb lists Rhodey as a colonel, while Wikipedia ranks
him as a lieutenant colonel. I can't remember who's right. If
the latter, Pepper would still not refer to him as "Lieutenant
Colonel" unless she were being extremely formal. Trust me, I
work for one.   It was a good thing, Pepper thought with some
exasperation, that she could take notes practically in her
sleep.  The exasperation was for herself, for once, not her
admittedly patience-stretching boss. Here it was barely two
weeks since he'd been nearly pulled to pieces by one of his
oldest mentors turned insane, and he was pacing around his
living room spinning off plans for the company while she knew
all the while that he was thinking about the next...mission.
She really hated the thought. And it distracted her. But she
kept taking notes, holding her game face and pausing in her
typing only to discreetly scratch the persistent itch on the
back of her skull.  It wasn't that she was going to argue. Even
if she doubted his purpose, which she didn't,