A/N: Here we go. I still don't own these fabulous characters, except for the police captain and the fictional criminals... those are mine.
Again, I don't like to be too graphic, but there could be trigger warnings for the violence of the criminals in this story. Read with caution!
And please don't forget to review! :)
Chapter 4: Look at That
The phone call from the men inside the bank hadn't gone the way that Captain Jenkins would have liked. The man on the phone had growled in frustration and ended the call when he once again requested to talk to Peter.
However, the men inside hadn't finished with their demands, so Jenkins assumed they would call again. The next call, he hoped, would come when the kid had regained consciousness and could say something on the phone.
Captain Jenkins and May were standing together by the van, looking intently at the names that were sent to May on her phone.
Jenkins wasn't only interested in the confirmed identity of the criminals, but in the name of the contact from whom Mrs. Parker had received the information.
STARK: Got them! Get these names to the captain on scene: Xander Hanes, Albert McMann, and Jackson Grey.
Jenkins wasn't an idiot by any means, and he only knew one Stark who could possibly identify these men before his own people. He noticed May Parker studying his face, and he realized she knew what he was thinking.
"Mrs. Parker," Jenkins said, "Would you mind joining me in my car for a moment? I'd like to ask you a few questions and clarify some things."
May studied the man for a moment. Her instincts told her that the captain was a good man, and she took it as a good sign that he wasn't immediately throwing around Tony's name to the other men on site. "Of course, Captain."
Jenkins looked at his sergeant, who was eyeing him curiously. "Keep doing what you can to get eyes inside, I just need a moment with Mrs. Parker."
The sergeant nodded. He hadn't seen what was on the phone in May Parker's hand, but he trusted that his captain would tell him what he needed to know in time.
May and Jenkins made their way over to his police sedan, with Jenkins opening the door on the passenger's side for May to enter. Once she was inside, he made his way over to the driver's seat.
May noticed Happy standing nearby, and gave him a nod and a wave in order to let him know that everything was okay.
Once his door was closed, Jenkins looked over at May, "I thought we might need some privacy to talk. I don't suppose you can tell me how you know Tony Stark?" Jenkins said.
May took a deep breath and looked at the Captain. He had a trustworthy face and kind, blue eyes. He was an older man, with wrinkles around his eyes that indicated years of service with the police force. "Peter and Tony are..." May starting speaking, but she was still trying to piece together what the captain should know. "Well... Peter started an internship with Stark Industries a little over a year ago."
Jenkins was giving May a look that told her to continue.
"In that time..." May went on, "Tony and Peter have grown close. Stark has become a sort of mentor to Peter," she explained.
Jenkins nodded, looking thoughtful. "I see," the man said. "Any reason the Iron Man hasn't felt the need to help us out with more than just names?" He asked, sounding more agitated with the hero than he meant to.
May looked a little hurt by his tone. "I asked him to stay back," she defended. "I trusted that you and your men would know what to do! I wasn't sure having Tony Stark on the scene would help Peter! Can you imagine what those men might do to my boy if they find out that he is close to Tony Stark?!" She snapped.
Realization made its way on the older man's face. He scrubbed a hand over his tired eyes and sighed, "Damn it! Yeah... that would not be good." He looked at May again, "And I'm not so sure the government would approve of Iron Man blasting his way into that bank, either... what with the Accords and all."
May hadn't even thought about that. She was more worried about Peter being used as a shield or being killed as a result of Iron Man charging in.
"You made the right call, Mrs. Parker, and I appreciate the confidence you have in our team," Jenkins told her. "I'm sorry I reacted that way. Please forgive my outburst. Your Peter..." Jenkins paused, "... he reminds me of my own son when he was younger. These things are always harder when kids are involved."
May nodded at him, "Peter's not just an average kid." She stopped herself, unsure of why she said that out loud. "I... I mean, at least not to me..." She tried to explain, "What I mean is... he's been through a lot. He lost his parents when he was young. My husband and I became his guardians after their death. And then..." May paused and took a breath, "Ben, that was my husband's name, he was killed only a short time before Peter began his internship with Tony." She shrugged, "That kid in there is a fighter, Captain Jenkins, he's been through and made it through some very difficult times." Of course she didn't elaborate on how some of those difficult times involved her boy wearing a Spider-Man suit or chasing after invisible jets and men with wing suits.
Jenkins nodded, understanding and accepting her explanation. "From what I heard, he sure is a fighter," He looked at May, "And that's a good thing, mam. We'll find a way to get him out of there." Jenkins drummed his fingers on his steering wheel, seeming to think for a moment. "Is there anything on Peter that would let those men inside know that he is connected to Stark?" he asked.
May thought about Peter's backpack, "Does a Spider-Man suit count?" she thought to herself. "Umm... I'm not sure," she told the captain aloud. "It's a possibility, but..." she crinkled her brows in thought, "wouldn't they have done something already if they had found something or figured it out?" She asked the captain.
He shook his head, "It's hard to know for sure. We NEED to get eyes inside that building!"
May glanced out her window in time to see two other men join Happy Hogan. She didn't recognize them at first. They were in baseball caps and wearing sunglasses, but she finally realized that Tony and Colonel Rhodes had arrived, incognito. Happy was pointing towards the car, and she ushered them over through the car window. "I might have some friends who could help you with that, Captain Jenkins. Mind if we let them in?" May asked.
Jenkins watched as two men in baseball caps and sunglasses approached his car. In another circumstance, these men would be suspicious characters. Yet, the man trusted Mrs. Parker and nodded.
Tony and Rhodes weren't really waiting for an invite anyway, as they just quickly opened the back doors and slid inside.
"Captain Jenkins..." May said, "Meet Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes. Gentleman..." she looked to the back seat, "this is Captain Jenkins."
"Nice to meet you Cap," Rhodes said, "Cap... Captain Jenkins, sir." He stumbled a bit, realizing that nickname was usually reserved for someone else he knew.
Tony raised an eyebrow at his friend, but focused on the people in the front, "I trust that May gave you the message that I sent to her?" he asked.
"Yes..." Jenkins confirmed, "... she's updated me on a few things."
Tony looked mildly worried, so May piped up, "Uhh... about Peter being your intern. You know? And how you have been a mentor to him?"
"Phew!" Tony thought, relieved that May hadn't spilled the beans about Spider-Man to the police captain.
"I'm a little surprised to see you, actually," Jenkins said. "I thought you were going to keep out of site per Mrs. Parker's request?"
Tony used his hands to bring attention to what he was wearing, "I'm not looking to draw attention, Jenkins. I left my expensive suits at home." He unzipped his sweatshirt a little, "Well..." he said nodding to the nano part housing unit on his chest, "... the designer suits any way."
"Tony!" May scolded, "Are you nuts?"
Tony zipped his sweatshirt back up. "Hey! This is just a precaution. I won't deploy this unless something really gets out of hand!" he defended.
"Don't worry," Rhodes said, "I'll be keeping an eye on him."
Jenkins was shaking his head in disbelief, "My grandson will never believe that Iron Man and War Machine were in the backseat of my sedan," he muttered. Then he cleared his throat, realizing the others had heard him. He quickly recovered and composed himself, "Right... um... it looks like the two of you aren't planning to make a scene, so what is that you think we should do next? As soon as I give these names to my men, it won't take long for the FBI to be breathing down our neck."
"Right..." Tony said, "... you got a command center with A/V nearby?"
"Yeah..." Jenkins said, "but my men haven't been able to get any visuals inside yet.
Tony held out his hands, "Look who you're talking to! I'm not one of your guys, Jenkins... I have my own ways to make that happen."
The captain nodded, "No doubt. Alright, Stark... you come with me to the van. I'll try to explain to my guys about what's happening. I don't suppose you'll tell me how you can get eyes in there?" Jenkins asked as he reached for his car door.
Tony smirked and opened the door as Rhodes and May opened theirs, "Just... a little fly on the wall." was the only explanation he gave.
Peter was uncomfortable. There was something cold dripping on his face. He tried to pull his head away from the discomfort, but found that his head was on solid ground and bumped into something else as he tried to pull it to the side.
Slowly, he opened his eyes to get his bearings... and remembered that he was trapped inside of a nightmare.
He was on the floor, laying in an uncomfortable position. His head was on the cold floor, and he was awkwardly leaning to the left side of his back. His hands were still tightly secured behind his back, and his injured shoulder was on fire... the pain making his nerves scream in agony as the pain shot up and down his arm and across his chest. He had his legs pulled up, bringing his knees up as if to somehow protect himself, but his ankles were still bound together as well.
If it weren't for that damn pain in his shoulder, Peter was pretty sure he could have pulled himself free. However, he wasn't interested in fanning the flame that was ablaze under his right shoulder.
Instead, he found himself breathing through the dizziness and nausea, and he focused on what was dripping on his face.
"Mm hum phumph?" Peter mumbled into the gag, only now remembering about that additional inconvenience. He looked up to see Larry, Curly, and Moe standing above him with a water bottle.
Larry, held the bottle in hands and waved it above Peter's head as if to tease him with the contents.
"We thought you might like a little water..." Moe chuckled as he watched Peter blink up at them.
Peter was thirsty... parched even. His mouth was terribly dry and he felt like there was sand in his throat. Water would be a welcome pleasure. "What's the catch?" Peter wondered, knowing these jerks weren't likely to give him anything out of compassion or kindness.
Curly stepped forward to yank Peter into a sitting position behind the counter, causing Peter to groan loudly behind the tape over his mouth. "You just have to earn it, kid," Curly told Peter.
Larry set the water bottle down and picked up a phone, now waving the phone for Peter to see. "You fell asleep just as we made contact with the police," the man growled out, clearly annoyed. "They'd like to talk to you." He brought the phone down towards Peter. "But you can only say what I tell you... got it?" He spit out the last two words in such a way that spit, too, cascaded towards Peter's face.
"Hm mm ha mmmfff hu hmm hum?" Peter tried, hoping to make it sound like, "How am I supposed to do that?"
The men above him smirked at each other and shook their heads.
Larry knelt down and roughly grabbed Peter's chin, seeming to understand the garbled question. "THAT is there to make sure you only talk when I want you to talk," he said, letting go by roughly pushing Peter's face back so that his head bumped into the counter.
Peter closed his eyes, struggling against the new wave of dizziness. "Well if you want me conscious, you'll need to stop doing that!" he thought, settling on glaring daggers at the man for the rough treatment. "If only I could use my web shooters to tie you up!" he thought. "I'd toss you around and see how you like it!"
"Knock it off kid!" Curly barked out. "Even without the use of that smart mouth, you got a lot of attitude for someone in your position! Cut it out, or you're gonna regret it!"
As Curly spoke the last sentence, something was thrown in Peter's direction.
Peter flinched and turned away from the object, shutting his eyes. The item fell by his legs, but didn't really hit him. Peter opened his eyes and looked, only to find his own backpack. He wasn't sure if he felt relief or fear when he saw it. He thought it would be better if the men paid no attention to that bag at all.
Outside the bank, Captain Jenkins quickly introduced Tony to the officers working inside the van/command center. He gave them the same brief explanation about Peter being Tony's intern that May had offered. The other officers were ordered to keep Tony's presence on the scene quiet, and they agreed (even though they clearly still had some questions about Tony's presence).
Jenkins had also shared the identity of the criminals inside with the detectives assigned to the case, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before the FBI would want to come and take over.
At the moment, all attention was on Tony and the tiny device that he was working on.
"This little guy," Tony informed the others, "Will help us to see and hear exactly what those assholes inside are up to. I call him..." The device fired up and began floating inside the van, "The itsy bitsy spider! He'll be climbing up the water spout, so to speak, and getting us inside." The tiny little spider drone was really a new prototype that he had been working on for Peter. Peter's current drone wasn't as stealthy as Tony thought it could be, so he had decided to work on something closer in size to the trackers that Peter used to find Toomes' men in Maryland. Of course, he wouldn't let the police know about that part.
"I thought you said it would be a little fly on the wall," Jenkins commented, trying to hide his fascination and annoying Tony in the process.
The Iron Man rolled his eyes and raised a hand in the direction of the tiny spider drone, "Close enough, don't you think?"
One of the officers inside the van, Officer Hassler, didn't even try to hide his excitement and fascination, "Oh Man! That thing is so cool! They'll never see that coming!"
"Yeah..." Tony agreed, "That's pretty much the whole point." Tony was working away, moving things around both on his phone and a little hologram coming from it. Too many hours had gone by already, and he was ready to see exactly what was happening with Peter. "Okay... here we go!"
With that, the little drone surged forward, exiting the window of the van that was cracked open up front. The others were now watching the video image displayed on a screen in the back of the van.
"Will you look at that!" Officer Hassler exclaimed, clearly amazed by the picture quality of the tiny camera embedded in the little spider drone.
They watched as the tiny drone flew over the heads of officers outside and made its way towards the bank. Before long the little drone was flying along the bricks and locating an entrance, which happened to be the heating and ventilation system and air ducts. For awhile they only saw the duct work.
"Bingo!" Tony whispered, seeing the vent that should let the little drone into the area of the bank where the robbers and Peter were likely to be.
They all watched as the little drone entered the space. Tony quickly navigated the drone so that it would be on the wall, not wanting the little device to accidentally draw attention. Tony then started to maneuver the tiny camera to pan around the room.
The first image they came across was that of the dead body guard, which prompted the people inside the van to mumble and curse. Some sending up prayers for the poor man and his family, while others were cursing the men who killed him.
Tony panned away from the guard, searching the room for the others. Oddly, it seemed empty and abandoned, with nothing but the marble floor to greet them. He was starting to think that they might be in the back, but he continued to use the camera to pan along the bank teller stations and counter.
And finally he found them.
At this angle, he could only see Hanes (a.k.a Moe), McMann (a.k.a. Curly), and Grey (a.k.a. Larry) talking to and doing something with someone behind the counter.
Tony set his jaw and began navigating the little spider drone to crawl along the wall and get a better angle so that he could see Peter, knowing he was likely to be what was drawing the men's attention to that area of the bank.
When he finally could see what was going on behind the counter, Tony could feel his blood beginning to boil.
There was Peter, propped up behind the teller's station both bound and gagged with a crude bandage over his gunshot wound.
A collection of gasps and curses could be heard throughout the van.
Tony let out a small growl, but zoomed in to get a better look at Peter and the men.
He didn't zoom in far. He just wanted the men and Peter to fill up most of the frame so that they had the best view.
Peter was alive, but he looked pale. His skin was glistening with sweat, and Tony feared that he could be fighting a fever or infection. Peter's chest rose and fell quickly, and his body seemed to be shaking slightly. The mistreatment to his body was clearly taking a toll on the poor kid.
They could also see one of the bank phones on the counter above Peter's head, and Grey seemed to be getting ready to make another call.
Tony hit another button, causing sound to fill the small space inside the van.
"Remember...when we take that tape off your mouth, you say only what I told you," Grey was saying, "You hear me, Pete?"
"Woah... this thing has audio, too?" Hassler breathed out in amazement.
The others sent him a look, letting him know that now wasn't the time to fanboy over Stark's tech.
"Looks like we should be expecting our next call," Jenkins commented.
"We'll be ready, sir," someone answered.
But Tony wasn't paying much attention to them. His focus was on Peter, who was pinching his brows together as if noticing something. Tony watched as Peter turned his head, his eyes going wide as he likely noticed the little spider on the wall. "Damn those spidey senses, kid. Don't draw attention to this thing. Look away! Look away!" Tony silently commanded, hoping Peter would realize the mistake and turn away from the tiny drone. Tony let a small, relieved breath when Peter quickly lookied away, likely realizing that he shouldn't stare at it.
Tony noticed something else.
Peter's tense body seemed to relax a little. "That's right, kid. Take it easy. I'm right here. You're not alone anymore," he thought.
He just hoped Peter wouldn't do something to put Spider-Man on display for the NYPD officers inside the van because Peter would have no way of knowing that Tony's eyes weren't the only ones watching what was happening.
A/N: What do you think? Will Spider-Man be discovered? Will the police strike a deal in time, or will the FBI get in the way with plans of their own?
Also... Peter does not know the real names of the men inside; therefore, his scenes will continue to have the nicknames he gave to them. Any scenes with Tony and Captain Jenkins will now have their real names since they have no way of knowing about the nicknames given to them by Peter.
I hope that makes sense, and I'm sorry if that gets confusing.
Again, any similarity to real people, places, or events is purely coincidental. Everything here is the result of my twisted imagination. (Except of course the characters that belong to Marvel...damn it!).