Chapter One
"Shut up!" the lead terrorist yelled at his hostages as they whimpered quietly.
A group of four suicide bombers had managed to sneak past security in the Empire State Building. All of them had strapped several sticks of TNT around their waists and they had concealed it under their coats. One of them pretended to voice a concern to the two security guards as the others passed through the metal detectors. They had made sure that nothing made of metal was on them and they got through safely as their compatriot made sure to keep the guards from looking directly at them.
Once they were through, they hurried quickly to the stairs and went up as the remaining terrorist knocked out the guards and sealed the doors. Once that was done, the one left behind positioned himself by the doors with his finger on the detonator just in case. All that remained was to go up the stairs and onto the observation deck where they quickly rounded the scared tourists up into a group and sealed the doors there.
"Everything okay down there?" one of the terrorists asked, as he spoke into a walkie-talkie to the man on the ground floor.
"Everything is secure," the man replied.
"Good. Use the phone line down there and relay our demands to the police."
"You got it."
The man put his walkie-talkie back in his coat pocket and faced the huddled mass of people.
"Alright, everyone. We want you to remain calm. No talking or we set off the explosives and blow you to bits. Hopefully, everyone will leave this building in one piece after we get our money."
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Peter settled down and turned on the TV as he peeled back the plastic covering on his turkey TV dinner. He sat it down on the TV tray in front of him and sat his can of Coke beside it. He began to eat when suddenly the football game he had been watching was replaced by a graphic that said 'Breaking News.' Peter swallowed his mouthful of turkey and gave the TV his full attention.
"We interrupt this broadcast to report that several terrorists have taken hostages on top of the Empire State Building. Police are unable to confirm their identities at the moment. The only information the Police have given out so far is that the terrorists are demanding the city pay them a ransom of ten million dollars in the next hour or they will detonate bombs that they have strapped to their bodies."
That was all Peter needed to hear. He began to pull off his clothes as he sat and stared at the TV dinner. It seemed nowadays he couldn't even finish a meal anymore. He pulled off his pants and pulled on his boots, gloves, and mask. He opened the balcony door and swung out as quickly as he could towards the Empire State Building.
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The man looked at his watch. A half hour had passed and still no word about the money. All that had happened in that time was a swarm of police and SWAT teams had surrounded the building and there were now snipers positioned on nearby roofs as well as a police helicopter in the air. The men had made sure to show the snipers and the helicopter the bombs strapped to their chests so they knew they were serious. After that, nothing had happened and no one dared make a move. The man snickered to himself. Cowards. He would love to see someone try something, anything to rescue these people.
Suddenly, he heard a small sound coming out of the walkie-talkie like the shattering of glass. The man frowned and grabbed the walkie-talkie from his coat pocket.
"Jim? You there?" he asked as he spoke into it. "Jim, is everything all right? What's going on down there?"
He frowned when he heard no response and gritted his teeth. So, the idiots were finally trying something, were they? He looked at the other two men who were standing near the hostages with their fingers on their detonators.
"Jim's not responding. I think they're attempting a rescue," he said to them. "Be ready."
As the others nodded, the man frowned as he suddenly heard the faint sounds of the police screaming out in surprise. He walked to the edge and looked down at them, but from his vantage point, they looked like little ants. He wondered if the screaming meant Jim had gotten the drop of the rescuers. But, he hadn't heard the sound of any explosion. Jim had orders to detonate his bomb if anyone came through the front door. He was still looking over the edge when suddenly he heard a yell behind him and the terrified screams of the hostages. He turned and his eyes widened as he saw one of his men down and Spider-Man standing over him.
The man cursed to himself. He was hoping they would get the money and be gone before the web-head showed up.
He watched as the other man made a move to detonate the bomb. Spider-Man quickly turned his attention to him and kicked his hand away from the detonator. Then he quickly webbed the man in a cocoon rendering him helpless. He spun around and focused his attention on him as the hostages ran screaming to the other side of the deck.
"Don't make any stupid moves, Spider-Man," he threatened as Spider-Man advanced on him. "I have enough explosives to blow both of us sky high."
He watched as Spider-Man stopped and he grinned knowing he had the upper hand.
"That's right, you costumed freak," he said, smirking. "You might be super powered, but you are still mortal, and I don't think you want to leave this life yet, do you? I, on the other hand, am ready to die if need be." He said, fingering the detonator button.
He watched as Spider-Man stood motionless and then suddenly, before the man could react, Spider-Man's hand moved to the front of his costume. He quickly lifted up the shirt part of the costume to expose a kind of utility belt underneath. The man gasped as Spider-Man pushed a button and a bright light was shining directly in his eyes. The man blinked and stumbled back trying to get away from the glare, as Spider-Man quickly ran over to him. The man felt his arm being jerked away from the button at the same time he felt Spider-Man's fist in his gut. The man dropped to his knees and he grunted as he felt him plant his foot in the middle of his back. He fell all the way to the ground and he felt a warm sticky substance envelop his body as he was webbed to the concrete. He looked up at Spider-Man who was staring at him with his arms folded over his chest.
"Guess you and your friends are just going to have to come up with some other way to get your rent money," he said.
As the man struggled to get free, Peter walked to the deck door and jerked it open. Then, he walked over to the mass of people on the other side of the deck. He gestured back to the hostages.
"They're taken care of; it's safe for you to go down," he said to them. "And tell the police that these jokers are not a threat anymore, so they can come and arrest them."
Peter smiled beneath his mask as he heard the grateful thanks from the hostages. He raised his hand to them.
"It's okay. You don't have to thank me. I'm just glad all of you are safe," he said.
Without another word, Peter leapt off the building and web-slinged away as the hostages hurried downstairs.
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"Ah, home again," Peter said, as he shut the balcony door and peeled off his mask. "Now, maybe I can eat my meal for a change."
He walked over to the TV dinner still on the TV tray and stuck out his tongue as he noticed the sauce around the turkey had congealed. Sighing, he walked back to the microwave and put it back in as he reached into the cabinet for a glass. He got some ice out of the refrigerator and put it in the glass. He figured the Coke was probably warm by now also. As he finished pouring the Coke, he heard the microwave buzzer go off and he went and got his re-heated meal. He settled down and switched the channel to CNN with the remote. He was wondering what they were going to say about what had just occurred.
"…Tell us that Spider-Man apparently defeated the terrorists and rescued all of the hostages. No casualties were reported," the anchor was saying.
Peter grinned at that. He was glad that no one had lost their lives, since it could have very easily ended up otherwise.
"…Two security guards were knocked out by one of the terrorists and they suffered minor concussions." The anchor continued. "It is not known at this time who the suspects are and if they have any links to any known terrorists groups. We will continue to update you on this story as it unfolds. Now, for a quick look at other news happening today…Another woman's body was discovered along the banks of the East River last night. Police have confirmed her identity. She is Amber Miller, a 29-year-old Legal Assistant from Queens. Police have confirmed that she is a possible victim of the spider killer. She is now the forth victim in a year. The spider killer's identity is not known. There have been no eyewitness accounts. Only the M.O. is known. The victims are always naked, bound, and gagged and their hearts are taken out. The killer also leaves a small spider on the victim's forehead that is drawn in the victim's own blood. Police have confirmed that Amber Miller was left in this manner. The Police and the FBI both have given no further comment except to say that they are hopeful they will be able to catch the killer soon. If anyone has any information on the identity or whereabouts of this killer, please contact the NYPD or FBI. And now for a look at Financial News, here's…"
Peter turned off the TV and thought to himself as he ate. He had been trying to track down this spider killer ever since news of the first victim had surfaced. So far, he had no luck in finding whoever it was. It sickened him to think that someone was doing something like this to innocent young women and it made him more determined to find who it was. Especially since the killer seemed to be picking his victims randomly. There was no connection among the killings that Peter could see except for the M.O. That scared him. He was worried about Mary Jane and whether she could be considered a target or not. He sighed as he reached over and grabbed a stack of newspaper clippings from the table beside him. He studied them as he ate; racking his brains trying to think of any connection between the women. Any identifier that made these people a target. He shook his head as he could think of none. Two of the women were Caucasian, one was Hispanic, and the latest victim had been Black. So race wasn't it. One was blonde, one was a red head, and the last two were brunette, so it wasn't hair color. One had been a 45-year-old homemaker who was at poverty level, one was a 38-year-old lawyer, one was a 22-year-old college student who had been working at McDonalds, and Amber had been a 29-year-old legal secretary, so that ruled out age and social status.
Peter shook his head. Nothing seemed to fit and no one ever saw or heard anything. The killer just seemed to be able to strike at will and fade away before anyone could get a glimpse of him. It irritated Peter to no end and he was determined to bring the killer to justice. He sat and thought for about a half hour before he finally gave up. He had a test coming up the next morning in his Chemistry class and he needed to do some studying.
Reluctantly, he put the clippings back on the table and went to get his Chemistry book off of the dining room table. He settled back down, opened his book to his notes, and began to skim through them. As he studied though, his mind kept shifting back to the Spider Killer and he had to force himself to keep on his notes. Finally, after an hour of studying, he realized it was a losing battle and he closed the book. He figured he knew the material well enough that he could ace the test anyway. He put the book back on the dining room table and headed upstairs to take a shower.