The Truth
I bite my lip and tap my foot as MJ types in the password. Her fingers move carefully over the holographic keyboard in the center of the room, and soon a screen pops into existence above her. I watch it like a hawk as a large set of files appears. God. There must be hundreds.
“Okay, which one should we—Peter!” Mr. Stark says as I tap the first file, marked “Surveillance- 1” Surely this has to contain the footage we’re looking for.
However, instead of the inside of a plane, what appears is a view of the outside of an airport.
“What?” I mutter. On camera, a nondescript gray car drives up, releasing two passengers before driving away. My heart thuds as I realize the two are my parents. So this was them, I think to myself. Just minutes before they died. From the worried looks on their faces and their hurried manner, I can tell they are aware of their fates. My throat tightens at the sight. How long was this after they said goodbye to me?
“Still, this isn’t what we’re looking for,” Mr. Stark says behind me, as if reading my thoughts. Begrudgingly I nod, and exit out of the file to tap another one. A tight breath escapes me as I look at the files, and the sheer amount of them. This could take awhile.
Twenty minutes later, Mr. Stark, MJ, Ned, and I are no closer to finding the file we want. The tension in me has only grown as the minutes pass, and by now a cold nausea has set in my body. My foot still taps and my fingers clench and unclench as I watch Ned, who has taken over by now, look through another meaningless document.
“This is getting us nowhere,” I say finally.
Mr. Stark looks at me. “Don’t worry, Pete. We’ll find it,” he says.
I almost scoff. How can he expect me not to worry? This is my parents’ killer we’re looking for. The person who robbed me of a normal life. I’m going to find out who it was and when I do I’ll—
What? What will I do? I take a breath. That’s a question I can answer later. For now…
“Guys,” Ned says, pointing to the screen. My heart jumps into my throat.
The inside of a private plane stares down at me, ominous and strangely empty. Sets of seat line the edges, instead of the normal seats that all face front. But I don’t understand. Where are my parents?
Wait, there they are. They walk on screen and take their seats, facing each other, one on each side of the plane. My chest tightens when a third person appears. Oh. Just the flight attendant. My chest loosens. He serves my parents drinks, then takes a seat at the far end of the cabin. My parents don’t touch their beverages. After several moments of small talk between my parents, the plane takes off. No one speaks for awhile after that. But then the flight attendant says,
“I trust you know there’s no escape.”
A cold bolt of lightning shoots down my spine. It was this guy?
My mother shoots him a cool glance. “He’ll never get his hands on our research. Surely he knows that.” I smile at the bravery in her voice. “Besides, even if he did, he couldn’t read it.”
The attendant chuckles. “Stupid woman. No regard for your own safety.”
My father gives her a glance, then looks to the attendant. “We know what you’re planning,” he says. “We will have no part in it. Do what you will with us, but we will not help you make soldiers.”
The attendant frowns, then reaches into his jacket. I gasp when he pulls out a gun.
“Oh god, this is it,” I whisper. MJ grabs my hand and threads our fingers together. I steel myself for the worst. But I don’t dare close my eyes.
The screen goes black.
A voice begins speaking. “Someone’s been looking around,” it says, deep and distorted.
For a second, I can’t see I’m so livid. My blood runs hot and fast. My muscles shake, and my pulse pounds in my ears. I was so close. Who the fuck wants to keep me from finding out what happened to my parents? This has to be the same person who sent those guys after me, trying to end my life. Why? What the hell is the reason?
“Who are you?” I spit, voice harsh. MJ gives me a worried sideways glance. “What do you want with me?”
“Patience, patience. All will be answered in good time.”
I take a quivering breath. As if that’ll calm me down now. “Just show yourself.”
“Peter,” Mr. Stark says behind me. “It’s okay.”
I whip around and glare at him. “How the fuck is this okay? This is probably my parents’ killer! The guy who hired someone to kill them.” I turn back to the black screen. “So come out. I’m ready for you.”
The voice laughs, a disturbing sound that shakes my core. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Against me? You wouldn’t last five minutes.”
“Wanna bet?” I growl.
The voice sighs. “Young people are always so impatient. Your parents at least had some dignity.”
I ball my hands into fists so tight I can feel my nails cutting into my skin. “So you did do it,” I whisper. Whoever this is, they killed my parents. They took everything from me.
“Yes.”
“Well,” I say, voice tightly calm. “I’m gonna find you. And I’m—”
“You’ll what? Kill me?”
I freeze. I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t think. Right? Do I even know anymore?
“Who knows?” I say.
The voice laughs again. “You don’t have it in you. You’re a child.”
“Well at least I’m not a coward who hides behind a screen.”
Several moments of silence pass. “It’s high time I got rid of you myself, isn’t it?” the voice says, as if to itself.
MJ grabs my arm. “Peter? Let’s turn it off,” she says, voice small.
“So it’ll go away? But I have to keep talking to it. Maybe we can pinpoint its location,” I say.
“I’ve tried,” Mr. Stark says. “It’s blocking the signal.”
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath. I turn back to the screen, and raise my voice. “I don’t know who you are, but you had my parents murdered. Don’t think I’m going to stop looking for you.” I turn to MJ. “Let’s turn it off.”
She nods, and reaches to turn the screen off. As soon as it’s gone, I drop to my knees, grab one of the pillows on the floor, and release a guttural scream into it. In a second I drop the pillow, panting.
Mr. Stark kneels down beside me. “It’s going to be okay, Pete,” he says softly.
“We were so close,” I say, voice breaking.
“I know…I know.”
I’m about to lean in for a hug, then a thought occurs to me. “You know who might be able to help us?” I say, straightening. “Mr. Osborn.”
“I don’t know, Peter—”
“But think about it. He’s close with the government, with the police. He might be able to get us the files.” I rise to my feet. “We should go.”
“Tonight?” MJ asks.
“Why not? I’m sure he’ll be willing to talk.” I pull my phone out of my pocket, and dial Mr. Osborn’s number. In a moment he picks up. “Hello?” I say.
“Peter?” Mr. Osborn says. “What is it?”
“I need your help. Could you help me access some police files?”
“Of course. Would you like to drop by Oscorp? I’m still in my office.”
I nod. “Yeah, that sounds good. If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
“Thank you,” I say earnestly. “I’ll be there in a few hours.”
“I’ll see you then.”
A bubble of excitement wells in my chest. The Mr. Osborn wants to help me access these files.
“Can you take me?” I say, looking up at Mr. Stark.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” he replies, running a hand through his hair. “You might not like what you find.”
“Please? I’m ready for it.”
He sighs, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, he says, “Fine. But we won’t stay long.”
“That’s okay. This shouldn’t take too much time.”
He nods, and walks toward the door. I follow him, a bounce in my step. MJ and Ned approach behind me. I might actually find out what happened to my parents tonight.