The Tangled Web | Peter Parker

Chapter 29

"Oh, hey," Foggy said with his mouth full of food as he looked over at Eddie. "I couldn't find any real ties to that warehouse you had me look into.

Eddie's face went pale. He froze while biting into his burger.

"Warehouse?" I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows. "What warehouse?" I wondered, glancing between Eddie and Foggy while they communicated silently by exchanging concerned looks. "The one that you and I went to? That warehouse? Why?"

"The, uh," Foggy stammered, shaking his head. "The one at the corner of-"

"Stop," Eddie interrupted, glaring at Foggy. "Yes," he sighed, lowering his burger to his plate and pinching the skin between his eyes. "That warehouse. Thanks so much for bringing that up, Nelson."

"I didn't know the topic was off-limits," Foggy mumbled, taking another bite of his burger.

I stared at the maple syrup that was dripping off of the waffle on the plate in front of me. Foggy's admission had taken me by surprise. I have so many questions.

"Why did you have him look into the warehouse?" I asked as I turned to look at Eddie. "What ties were you looking for?" I exhaled as my eyes narrowed in on Foggy.

Foggy swallowed his food and opened his mouth, looking dumbfounded. He looked nervously at Eddie, waiting for him to take the lead.

Eddie sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I, uh, I had him do some digging into who owns the place," he explained. His next words were said with a hint of caution and hesitation. "I was hoping the owner might match your description of the guy who harassed you outside of The Bugle."

James.

I felt the blood drain from my face as I recalled our last interaction. The chill of his voice. The weasly appearance. The fear.

We'll be in touch soon.

"But apparently that was a dead end," Eddie added. He lowered his head, examined my face, and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Em? Did you hear what I said?" He asked as his fingers touched my chin and turned my head to look at him. "It was a dead end."

I felt the air slowly return to my lungs as I focused on Eddie's soft stare.

"Well," Foggy said aversely. "Not entirely."

"What?" I exclaimed, my eyes growing wide. I felt my heart rate increase with each second that passed by.

"The building is owned by Union Allied," Foggy exhaled, shaking his head. "Or it was, should I say. It was acquired by a company called Confederated Global Investments. But they sold it off earlier this month," he explained quietly. "And get this," Foggy continued and he leaned forward. "One of the guys who works for the investment company sort of matches the description of your guy."

"Shit," Eddie whispered, closing his eyes.

Great. That's just great. I pushed my plate of barely-touched waffles away from me, having lost any sense of appetite at the mention of James. Why would James have any connection to the warehouse in Manhattan where the bank robbers escaped to?

"Hang on," Eddie said, shaking his head. "Union Allied? Isn't that the one construction company that's been making a bunch of developments all over the city?"

"Sure is," Foggy nodded. "They've been doing a lot of work around Hell's Kitchen. I think they were contracted to help with the cleanup at Oscorp, too," he explained, looking over at me reluctantly.

My mind was racing with reasons why a man like James would have any connection to an abandoned building like that. Flashbacks of the conversation I overheard while investigating the warehouse replayed in my mind.