Note: Sorry for the long wait. I'll try and update more often. Again, I appreciate all the reviews.
"Is it very dangerous being an astronaut?" Felicia asked as she and John strolled toward the window.
He took a sip from his champagne glass and replied, "We'll we train very hard and we're drilled for each situation. So far I've yet to have a real serious mission. I hope to have one soon. But how about you? My father tells me you're a student at ESU."
Felicia had been talking with John for less than fifteen minutes, yet she was already frustrated with him. He was gorgeous, charming, and intelligent. Yet there was something bland about him. She tried to dig deeper, to see if there was any possibility he was Spider-man. He had the kind of face that she envisioned underneath that mask. But the more time she spent with him the more disappointed she felt. He lacked the vivacity and subtle wit that Spider-man possessed, two characteristics she had only now realized that she adored in him.
John kept making small talk. He clearly was enamored with her. That was unsurprising. All men were. Felicia's thoughts drifted, unable to continue to listen to his chit chat. Why was she so aggravated by him? Here was the perfect man: tall, handsome, intelligent, and in less than half an hour she was tired of him. It was because he wasn't Spider-man. That was the man she truly loved and no one else would do.
"I did my undergraduate work at Columbia but I did some graduate work at ESU before NASA. They have a great science program…."
The party was interrupted as armed men crashed through the windows causing mass panic and confusion. People screamed while others ran toward the exits.
"Everybody down!" One of the men screamed. He then fired several warning shots straight up into the air.
Most of the guests fell to their knees at the command while a few others tried to make it to the doors. Felicia stood frozen for a moment, surveying the scene, thinking of the best course of action.
"Nobody move!" The armed man shouted and he fired another few shots at the people who had headed toward the exits. The other armed men secured the door to the elevator and the stairway.
Felicia was surprised as John attempted to force her to the ground. "Felicia, get down."
A man with a gun walked over toward her and started screaming so Felicia decided it was best to obey. She knelt next to John and whispered, "We've got to do something."
"I've been trained with hostage situations. We're out numbered. The best thing we can do is stay put." He whispered back.
Another man with a gun overheard them and yelled, "No talking!" And the man gave John a sharp kick in the back.
"Listen up," said the first armed man, the one who was obviously the leader of the group. "If you do exactly as I say, no one will get hurt. You are stay down and remove your wallets, cell phones, and jewelry and place them next to you. Once you've done this put your hands on your head and don't move. My men will be around to collect this. I've instructed them to shoot anyone who moves or talks. And since we're more the petty jewel thieves, Mrs. Hardy we'd like to have a word with you. Roger, she's that one there in the black dress."
Felicia saw two men grab her mother's arms and escort her to the corner. She again surveyed the room, looking for a way out so that she could return as the Black Cat.
John mistook the intense look of determination on her face for concern for her mother. "She'll be all right, Felicia. Just take off your jewelry and take your wallet out of your purse. Ok. Just do what they say and everything will be fine."
Felicia knew that her mother would be fine. She'd seen her get out of worse situations before. In fact, she suspected that her mom was involved in this little heist in one way or another. She wanted to stop these men and find out what they were really up to. As Felicia removed her necklace she noticed that there were several ropes dangling by the blown out windows. The men must have climbed down them from the roof. She put her jewelry out by her side, took a glance around at the position of the men, and clenched her black purse between her thighs. In that purse she had something that she had brought just in case, something that she had hoped to wear instead of this red dress.
***
Peter's spider sense had gone off before he had even gotten a block away. He turned to see the cause and noticed the blown out windows on the top floor. Peter smirked as he dashed into the alleyway to change. "It looks like I got invited to this party after all."