Chapter Text
“Hey, Peter, aren’t you leaving?” Peter jumped as he was jolted out of his thoughts by the voice behind him.
“Oh, uh, sorry Mr. Freghz, I was working on this problem,” Peter said, “I’m not going to be much longer, if you want I can lock up the lab?”
Normally Mr. Freghz would vehemently refuse Peter’s offer, wanting to ensure that everything was properly secured himself as the lab was filled with secret Stark Industries projects, but this wasn't a normal situation. It was the 23rd of December and the last day of work for all the employees and interns at Stark Industries.
The relief in the air was palpable from everyone, except Peter that was. He had finished school for the holidays the week earlier and had taken every opportunity possible to spend as much time as he could in the labs at his internship as the holidays were always difficult for what was left of the Parker family. Peter would try to stay as busy as he could whilst May would pick up as many extra shifts as possible at work, neither of them wanting to acknowledge the empty place at the head of the table.
“Fine, alright,” Mr. Freghz finally uttered, “but I’m trusting you kid, if you mess this up you’ll be on coffee runs only until Thanksgiving.”
“You can trust me, Sir, I promise.”
After a stern stare that made Peter feel as if the older man knew every one of his secrets, Mr. Freghz nodded and grabbed his jacket from the back of his seat before patting Peter’s shoulder.
“Have a nice Christmas, kid, and let that ridiculous brain of yours rest for a while.”
“Yes, Sir, you too, Sir.”
And with that, Peter was left in silence with only the blueprints on his desk and the half built motherboard of his own artificial intelligence project to distract him from the thoughts he was trying to avoid.
He lost himself in the rhythmic motions of his work, finding the complex maths and intricate manufacturing of his project relaxing. He didn't need conversation or music, choosing instead to listen to the peaceful pitter patter of rain on the windows.
It wasn't until the lights above him started to dim and enter night mode that Peter realised just how long he’d been working for, he knew from experience that the lights didn't lower until 10 pm, which meant that he’d been working for far longer than he’d intended.
With a sigh he started rolling up all the blueprints and tidying his mess of metal and wires into a slightly more organised chaos that he would feel less guilty of leaving for the next few days under the tower reopened after Christmas, it felt like such a long time until he would be able to continue his project.
Peter pulled on his oversized parka and scarf, mentally thanking May for wrapping it around his neck that morning as she looked at the forecast with a frown, he often struggled with the cold since becoming Spider-Man, and that little bit of extra warmth was a godsend in the dreary December nights.
The corridors were bare as Peter walked through them, usually there were a few other stragglers who had gotten distracted by their projects and ended up staying late, but this wasn't a normal situation, it was the last day of work, everyone else had already gone. No one wanted to be at work late when they could be home with family.
The thought made Peter remember a warm smile and the smell of aftershave as he was pulled into a warm embrace, his -
No.
He wouldn't think about that, not now. Not when he was about to head back home to an empty, dark apartment and tuck himself into bed while his only remaining family member worked into the early hours of the morning.
“Dude just force it,” a hushed voice muttered from around the corner.
“I’m not forcing it, we’re trying to be quiet,” another voice said.
“Who cares, there are probably cameras everywhere in here, we need to move quickly.”
“No one’s going to be watching them right now, it’s Christmas, everyone’s probably gone home already.”
“What do you mean? This is Stark Industries, they’re going to have round the clock surveillance.”
Peter slowly crept forward as he listened to them arguing, they surely didn't sound as though they were employees, and even if they were, they definitely sounded as though they were up to no good. When he rounded the corner he saw them, both in black hoodies with caps pulled low to cover their faces as much as possible, not that it worked as Peter’s better than 20/20 vision was able to pick out their features in perfect detail.
The taller of the two was holding a crowbar, Peter couldn't help but wonder what they were after, that was if they even knew. Maybe they were just trying to get their hands on anything that they could flog for a quick buck, the holidays always brought out the worst of desperation in some people.
“Just break the fucking door down already,” the shorter man said.
“Uh,” Peter stepped out into full view, “that crowbar isn't going to break through that door.”
Click
Well, that was unexpected. Peter frowned at the barrel of the gun that was now trained on him, in theory he could easily disarm the man but they hadn't been wrong when they mentioned the cameras that were everywhere in the building and Peter wasn't eager to reveal his secret identity.
“Who the fuck are you?” The man with the gun demanded.
“Peter,” Peter said simply, “I work here, and that door is titanium and has a multiple locking system along with biometric recognition.”
“You're what? Twelve? How do you work here ?”
“I’m fifteen,” Peter said rolling his eyes, “and I have an internship.”
“Stan, grab him,” the man with the gun said.
“What?” The man with the crowbar - Stan - said, “why? We have no use for a kid, Lewis.”
“Sure we do,” Lewis said, “we can use him as a hostage.”
“A hostage?”
“Come on, think about it.” Lewis said, gun still trained on Peter, “Stark will pay a fortune for the kid’s safety. Imagine the negative press of him not only keeping a young intern here at this time of night but also allowing him to get injured.”
“I don't know man,” Stan said, “I doubt Stark even knows who this kid is, nevermind cares enough about him to pay for his safety, and do we really want to take this from a robbery to a kidnapping?”
“We’re not going to keep him, and maybe Stark doesn't know or care who the kid is, but he’s rich enough to pay to protect his reputation.”
“Uh, guys, I’m right here,” Peter grumbled, irritated by their arguing about his relevance and what his life was worth.
“Maybe we should gag him,” Stan suggested.
“Why? Wouldn't we want him to beg Stark to rescue him, how will he do that if he can’t speak?” Lewis argued.
“His voice is all squeaky and annoying, besides, Stark doesn't even know we have him yet.”
Lewis nodded, “you’re right, bind his hands behind his back and gag him for now. If we take him to the main atrium there’ll probably be a security guard or someone who can alert Stark of the hostage situation.”
“Why do you need to tie me up and gag me for that?” Peter whined, taking an automatic step back.
“Because the guard can’t do anything reckless if he’s faced with you with a gun to your head, and we don't want you doing anything stupid to prewarn him” Lewis snapped, “now shut up.”
Peter struggled at a human strength as the unarmed man roughly bound his hands behind his back with some kind of wire, this situation was getting out of control and he had a terrible feeling in his gut. Something was going to go wrong.
He didn't know whether that something was him being injured or his identity revealed, or possibly even someone else getting harmed as a result of the situation he was in, but his Spidey Sense was screaming at him that something was going to go terribly, terribly wrong.
And a small part of Peter’s mind was wondering what if they were right? Why would Tony Stark care about an unknown intern? Why should he fork out his money to protect someone he didn't even know?
A dirty rag was forced into Peter’s mouth before his Spidey Sense could even warn him and his lips were covered with tape, effectively sealing it inside and muffling any sound that he tried to make. He couldn't help but gag at the taste of it.
He was truly screwed.