Let's Begin

Ch. 10

Peter was in the middle of counting the number of bricks around his room when the door opened and Blondie and Scruffy walked in. With a little luck, they were bringing him food, so he sat upright and faced them with what he hoped was a good poker face. Unfortunately for Peter, they weren't bringing him food and instead, they pulled him to his feet and led him down the hallway.

Silently, Peter let them take him into a far room, up a couple of stairs, and to the right. When they stepped inside, Peter had to blink rapidly to avoid going blind. It was a lot brighter in this room than his own.

"So glad you could join us, Peter," Mr. Patrick said, motioning towards a chair in front of him.

Peter was shoved into the chair while Blondie held him down. His hands stayed firmly on Peter's shoulders and Peter shifted uncomfortably under the numerous stares from around the room. He never had liked being watched.

"Are you gonna feed me sometime?" he asked. He knew from movies (and maybe FRIDAY and JARVIS had told him about his dad's kidnappings before) that if he talked, they were less likely to get about doing whatever they planned. Besides, he was starving.

"Not if you ask," Mr. Patrick replied. Peter frowned, but stayed silent just in case he was being honest.

Still watching Peter, Mr. Patrick pulled out a phone and dialled a number. There was really only one person he would call, so Peter didn't have to guess. Sure, he might call his mom, but Peter had a $100 bet that the phone call was to his dad.

"Ah, Mr. Stark," Mr. Patrick grinned, looking at Peter, "I have someone here for you."

Mr. Patrick held the phone out to Peter, but he didn't say a word. He wanted food, but he also didn't want to make his dad worry more than he already was.

"Peter? Peter, answer me!" Tony yelled, clutching his phone tightly.

FRIDAY hadn't even started to trace the call, but he didn't have to ask to know the caller was Leonard. There was no doubt in his mind, either, that the person who was "there for him" was Peter. Unfortunately, Peter didn't say anything and Tony grew worried.

"Say hello," Leonard prompted, his voice barely audible over the speaker.

There was no sound for several seconds until suddenly, a loud cry came over the speaker. Tony sucked in a sharp breath, but his breathing stopped entirely at the sound of another hit followed by a very sharp, very painful scream.

"Stop!" he yelled into the phone.

Peter's screams stopped, but he knew that didn't mean his kid was safe now. They'd just hurt him more if they wanted to and Tony couldn't do anything about it from his lab. Even worse, FRIDAY couldn't get a trace on the call.

"Here's the deal, Stark," Leonard hissed, bringing the phone close enough Tony could hear him clearly. "We suffered for seven years in those prison cells thanks to you and your son. That's not something we're gonna forget easily."

"What do you want?" Tony asked, struggling to come up with new ideas on how to trace the phone call.

Leonard tutted softly.

"It's not that easy," he replied, "You have to find us yourself. We'll leave a clue in place for five hours. If you don't find it by then, it disappears and without those clues, you'll never find us."

"Give me the first clue," Tony demanded.

Leonard seemed to enjoy pausing dramatically, almost as if he was reconsidering giving Tony clues.

The following words made no sense to Tony, but it was probably partly due to the fact that he was not necessarily listening. While Leonard listed off numbers and countries (what type of clue was this anyway), Tony strained to hear any sign that Peter was okay.

Suddenly, the line clicked dead and Tony gasped. He stared at the hologram in front of him where FRIDAY had written out everything Leonard said including the supposed clue. The words didn't make any sense, but FRIDAY was already running an algorithm to figure it out.

How was he supposed to figure out the first clue if he could hardly focus on the words? In a wave of anger, he threw his phone across the lab and screamed. When he got Peter back, the kid was never leaving the Tower ever again.