Let's see how Abby is doing...since we now know her clock is ticking. This one is very short, but it needed to be on its own. Please review...if you can.

Chapter Fourteen – Hostage

Her head throbbed with a pulse pounding agony as she slowly began regain consciousness. From what she observed, she knew she was in trouble.

She did not remember a whole lot of what happened once she and Tony had returned to his home; under a ruse of deception on behalf of her brother. Then there was the foul smell of chloroform that filled her nose and now she was here.

The office around her crystal prison was that of her brother so at least she knew that she was in the Teradyne building. She was still in Santa Monica and at least not the far for Tony if he located her.

Abby sat up and realized that she was at least plugged into an electric outlet within the cage so her LVAD would stay powered and keep her alive.

The elevator beeped and she slowly sat up.

"Good morning sister. How are we feeling today?" Alec asked.

"Like you care," she snapped at him.

"But I do...well at least from a financial standpoint."

"So that is what this is about," she said, "money."

"Almost three billion dollars, my beautiful sister," he told her. "Once you are dead and with your "new" power of attorney and will in place, I stand to achieve everything in the event of your death."

Abby's hands slammed against the glass wall. "How can you do this?" she asked him in anger.

"I got rid of our brother fairly easily," Her brother confessed to his crimes. "You were just supposed to be a good little girl, but no. You decided to go to school and earn a place at father's right hand. With you gone, I will gladly take that place...and then smother him while he sleeps. It will all be mine."

She pound on the wall. "And killing me is going to make it easier?"

"Yes...once Uncle Justin has control of your portion…"

"Wait," she interrupted him. "Justin Hammer, our Uncle Justin is involved in this too?"

"He is purchasing your portion as we speak in order to "alleviate" any stress on you," he continued to explain his plan. "Then I will sell him my half. He will own the company, father will die in his sleep, and Uncle Justin will hire me into his company. I will be worth more than this company is altogether."

"And the whole hitman thing? Too squeamish to do it yourself? You know you may think that you have it all figured out bro, but if I have, you know that everyone else has too. You are just coward and I am going to laugh when Iron Man blows you straight to Hell."

Alec entered the crystal cell in anger at her making him mad and she huddled into the corner to stay away from him.

She tried to punch him, but he got his hands on her wrists to keep her restrained. He looked at her with lust.

"If only we weren't related," he said to her before kissing her hard.

While she tried to fight him off, he yanked out the charging cable from the battery pack and from the electric outlet before leaving her in the cage alone.

"You son-of-a-bitch," she shouted as she slammed her hands on the glass. Alex twirled the cable before her. "That battery pack has approximately twelve or so hours of charge. I cannot wait to watch you start to squirm and beg to have this back," he taunted her with the cable. "Once I know that you are on the verge of death, I will cut you loose, only so I can watch you die. Sleep tight."

Alec left her as she protested and screamed for him to come back, but he left in the elevator and the lights dimmed in their father's office.

Alec Wickford walked off the elevator, down the stairs from the elevators, and outside to the awaiting limo that would take him home.

Inside the car though, he was not alone.

Bethany Gabe awaited him. "Is it done?" she asked.

He revealed the power cable. "By midnight tonight, Abygail Angela Wickford will be nothing but a faded memory on the cover of the Los Angeles Times as the young executive to hang herself," he gloated.

"Good," she replied as she touched the bruise on her face. No doubt from the assault that Abby had given her from when they had captured her at Stark's house.

"Hey," he said to her, looking deep into her eyes. "You're still prettier than she is." His hand moved up her leg and under her skirt.

Both he and Beth locked lips and tongues as they headed back to his residence. He did not care that she was married.

She was his in this moment in time.

This guy is sick and twisted...first kissing his blood sister and then going after a married woman. Please review and lets see if Tony reaches Abby in time!