The Tower

Taken

I'd noticed the two people following me when I stepped off the train at the 116th Station. A man and a woman. She about my age and he maybe ten years older. He was wearing a suit whereas the woman looked more like a tourist. She had an I heart New York hoodie on over a pair of jeans. I'd gotten up fairly last minute and let the crowd of students drag me off the train with them. They'd almost panicked and jumped off just as the doors were closing. At the time I had written it off as two people who hadn't been paying enough attention to where they were going.

I saw them again while I was in my office. I'd been typing away, writing up a paper and I got up to open the window to let some fresh air in. They were out on the lawn at the front of the building talking to each other. The guy was smoking a cigarette and they both looked really bored.

That time I was a little more concerned. Not strongly but I took note. It was strange they were out there when I'd noticed them on the train too, and on the train, they didn't seem to know each other. I put them at the back of my head and went back to work. When I came out from lunch they were still out there, standing on opposite sides of the lawn out the front of the building.

I pulled out my phone as I walked to the cafe I was head to and texted Tony.

It felt like my heart was trying to escape my chest it was beating so hard. I put my phone in my pocket and just kept walking. Making my way out onto Broadway where there were lots of people moving around getting themselves lunch and doing all the little personal tasks you do during your lunch hour. A van pulled up just ahead of me and the back burst open. I turned suddenly right into the arms of the guy in the suit.

I opened my mouth to scream, but he brought something to it and everything went black.

I woke later nauseated and fuzzy. I was sitting in a chair my arms bound behind my back and my legs tied firmly in place. I raised my head slowly as the room spun around me. It took a moment for my eyes to focus but when I did I saw I was in a dimly lit room that was bare except for the chair I was sitting on. There was a door in front of me and a large mirror that I assumed was two-way.

The door opened and a tall woman walked in. She wore a black and white catsuit and a gold mask that was framed by her black hair. "Finally awake, Doctor Cooper." She said. She had an Italian accent, though it wasn't thick.

"Who are you?" I asked looking up at her.

"You can call me Madame Masque." She replied. "Are you comfortable, my dear."

"Not really," I answered. "What do you want? I'm not anyone."

She laughed and crouched in front of me cupping my jaw. "Now that's just not true, darling." She purred. "You've got to be something quite special to attract the attention of Anthony Stark."

I barked out a laugh. I couldn't help it. "Tony Stark? The Playboy? I think you just need to have a heartbeat."

She slapped me across the face. It made my neck wrench to the side and heat blossomed in my cheek. "I will not have you speak about him like that." She hissed.