Walking the Tightrope 🕷 Peter Parker [2]

eleven

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Immanuel Clements attacked Stark Industries with the hopes of finally earning some recognition from Tony Stark. He had been working at the company for nearly fifteen years, and not once had he ever been given the credit he so rightfully deserved. So he decided to do something about it. He used that big brain of his and attacked the SI branch in New York City on a day he knew Tony Stark would be visiting.

And he got caught, obviously.

Nobody attacked Tony Stark and his friends and got away with it.

But, the strangest thing happened on his way to the jail in the back of a police car. His hands were locked behind his back with a pair of handcuffs, there was no way he was going to be able to get out. On his own, anyway. But when someone attacked the police car, well, Immanuel knew he had a shot at getting away.

The car rolled onto its side and the policeman in the driver's seat was knocked out. Immanuel groaned and rolled over, looking up at the door opposite him. He pushed himself off his side and stood up. How was he going to get out of a car that had turned on its side?

He definitely wasn't expecting the window above him to shatter and for someone to reach in and grab ahold of his shirt. He was dragged out of the car and thrown against the pavement with a thud. Immanuel grunted and looked up at his savior.

A middle aged man stood before him. His hair was graying and he had a beard to match. His eyes were a piercing blue, and they stared into Immanuel's very soul. When the man spoke, his voice was rough, as if he hadn't used it in a while. "You wanna got outta here alive? Get in the damn car."

Immanuel glanced over at a black car that sat waiting for them. He got to his feet and quickly rushed to the car. He threw himself into the back seat and the next thing he knew, the mystery man was in the front seat and they were speeding away from the police car and out of Manhattan.

Immanuel sat up in the back seat and looked at the man before him. "Who are you?" He demanded. "Why did you help me?"

"Save your questions until after we lost the cops, Clements." The man snapped in response. Immanuel sat back. So, this guy knew his name. This was weird. He decided to do what the guy who saved him from the police said. He kept his mouth shut for the rest of the car ride.

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The car came to a stop in front of a very old apartment complex across the river in New Jersey. The mystery man got out of the car and hauled Immanuel out with him. "Come on. Walk quickly." He instructed. Immanuel did as he was told, with his hands still cuffed behind his back.

They rushed inside the building and up a set of stairs. Immanuel was led down a dimly lit hallway and to a gross looking door. The man unlocked it and shoved Immanuel inside. He closed the door and locked it behind him. That's when Immanuel decided to ask his questions.

"What's going on? Who are you? Why did you help me escape?" The questions spilled out of his mouth faster than he had time to process what he was actually asking.

The man held his hand up and Immanuel shushed himself. The man walked over to him and turned him around and before he knew it, the cuffs had been removed from his wrists. He sighed and rubbed his wrists gratefully. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," the man replied. "To answer your questions, I rescued you, obviously. My name is David Cartwright, and I helped you because we both have something in common."

Immanuel raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"A personal vendetta against Tony Stark." This caught Immanuel's attention. "You've been waiting for him to notice you for years. You were so desperate, you were stupid enough to attack his—technically his fiancée's company..." Cartwright laughed, shaking his head. "But I understand that frustration—and I want to help you help me."

Immanuel folded his arms across his chest. "What do you have against Tony Stark?" He asked.

Cartwright shrugged. "Nothing specific, lots of things, I suppose." He sat down in his chair and leaned back. "He's never done anything helpful for this city, no matter how bad everyone believes it, not matter how bad he himself believes it."

"So... you want to help me stage another attack?" Immanuel asked, slightly hopeful and excited to have backup and another shot at taking down Tony Stark.

"Ah, no." Cartwright shook his head. Immanuel's hope sank a bit. "No, not another attack. See, you're going too big too soon. You need to start simpler."

"What do you mean?" Immanuel asked.

"I mean that if you really want to hurt Tony Stark, if you want to hit him where it really hurts, then messing with his company isn't the way to go." Cartwright explained.

Immanuel folded his arms. "What would you suggest then?"

"Going for someone close to him, make Stark knows what it means to really suffer." Cartwright smirked.

"Like Pepper Potts or Happy Hogan?" Immanuel asked.

"No, no, they're too closely watched," Cartwright replied. "That girl that was with him in the office when you attacked, however..."

Immanuel's eyes went wide. There had been a girl in the office when he showed up. She had ended up being the reason he had been caught. Immanuel clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes. "She was a kid, though," He said.

Cartwright shrugged. "Look, all I'm saying is that Stark clearly cares about this girl, otherwise he wouldn't have had her upstairs with them. So, if you really want to get back at Tony Stark, you need to do something for me."

"Kidnap her?"

"See, now you're getting it!" Cartwright exclaimed happily. "So, if you get the girl and get her back here to me, I'll do the rest. You'll have your revenge, and I'll have mine. Simple." He held his hands up and smiled. "So what do you say? Do we have a deal?" He stuck his hand out.

Immanuel stared at David Cartwright's hand for a moment and thought. He wanted more than anything for Tony Stark to pay for all of the crap he had put him through when he worked for Stark Industries, to make that ass of a man know how it feels to lose everything. But... was Immanuel really capable of taking some kid?

While he had pretended he was ready to kill her that day, Immanuel never really planned on hurting any kids. Just Stark. That's all he wanted.

But... Cartwright was right. If he wanted to get Tony Stark where it really hurt, he needed to go after what was really important to him.

He grabbed ahold of Cartwright's hand and nodded. "Deal."

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Wow what's this? An UPDATE? I DID IT HAHAHAHA thank goodness honestly I was beginning to get annoyed with myself for not updating this book.

I hope this chapter wasn't total trash 🤪🤪🤪