The charges were set, all he had to do was get out – preferably without running into anymore weapons dealers. All it would take was a push of a button and they would be done dealing his weapons in the black market.
He quickly rounds the corner, the area thankfully devoid of dealers. It looks like it should be an easy trip to the exit. He walks forwards, scanning the room for anything dangerous. The armour's footfalls echoing loudly in the quiet space.
Movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention. He quickly ducks behind the wall and waits. There are no whispers, no sounds of guns being reloaded, no footsteps. Only the sound of water splashing around.
Carefully he looks around the wall. The room appears empty of people. Empty of most things. There was five shelves and one chair. And a large tank surrounded by an extraordinary amount of barbed wire. The only reason explanation for the noise had to be that there was someone in the tank.
Slowly he steps into the room, repulsors raised and ready. It takes him seventeen steps to reach the barbed wired exterior of the tank. He shifts closer to the edge of the tank, thankful for the protection of the Iron Man suit.
To his shock there is a man staring up at him from under the water. Tony quickly drops to his knees amongst the wire and reaches out his hand for the guy who must be a prisoner here.
Faster than he has ever seen anyone move underwater the man disappears behind a large chunk of debris that must fallen from the ceiling into the tank, leaving a trail of bubbles his wake.
Tony sits back and raises his hands in a peace gesture. "I'm not here to hurt you" he says loudly, hoping the man would hear him. The man must need to surface soon, his lung capacity must be extraordinary. But the man does not budge.
He quickly glances behind him to make sure no one was trying to get the drop on him. "My name is Tony Stark" he says, opening his helmet.
That gets the man's attention. He gives the guy a smile as he retracts his right gauntlet and reaches into the water.
The man swims out from behind the rock and… no. No, that can't be real, right? The man has a tail, dark blue with a speckling of pearlescent white scales, and in the light the tail as a striking iridescent red shine.
Tony watches transfixed as the man swims to the surface of the tank. He shakes himself, there was time enough for that later. "Who are you?" he asks, "What are you doing here? Are you a prisoner?"
The man nods sadly. "My name is Steven Rogers. Yes, I am a prisoner. I have been for a while. Since I was caught in the Valkyrie's nets years ago, I have been traded in the black market from group to group for years now. Will you help me, Tony Stark? Will you set me free?" he says.
Valkyrie's nets? As in Vikings? Tony decided to question it later, if the fish man was going to try anything the Iron Man suit would protect him well enough. "Yes, I'm going to help you" he says.
Tony closes his helmet and his gauntlet before he reaches in and picks up Rogers out of the water, careful of the barbed wire. Rogers wraps his arms tight around his neck, his tail swishing around anxiously.
With the merman in his arms, he leaves the dealer den. He triggers the detonation when he was at a safe distance away.
Rogers knocks on his helmet and he cautiously opens it.
"Thank You" the man says, before softly kissing his cheek.
The End
Notes: For the MHEA Harlequin Hoopla, Suspense Prompt - Feb 12th: Merpeople