"Are we almost there yet?" Spencer asked nervously as he constantly scanned his surroundings.
"For the tenth time, yes, it's only a couple more minutes away." Tony sighed as he turned around to face him, no doubt noticing his fidgety and tense demeanour. "Bro, just calm down, everything's fine. We're in the middle of a crowded street, nothing's going to happen."
Hearing that, Spencer snorted derisively. "I'll calm down once we're at your acquaintance's place and no longer out in the open."
"Have it your way." Tony shrugged before turning back around and continuing to walk through the sea of people with Spencer following only a couple of steps behind.
"You know you haven't even told me how your acquaintance is even going to be able to help us out, or who they are. Mind throwing some hints?"
"You'll see soon enough." Tony cryptically replied. Despite being unable to see his face, Spencer was sure he was once again wearing that insufferable smirk of his.
"Smartass," Spencer muttered to himself as he resumed scrutinising every single person he passed–an act that clearly creeped a few of them out, judging by the way they scurried past.
Thankfully, he didn't have to do so for much longer. With each block they passed, as the surrounding buildings grew increasingly decrepit, the swarm of people gradually thinned. So much so, by the time they finally came to a stop ten minutes later at their destination, the street was all but abandoned. However, it wasn't the emptiness of their surroundings which drew the majority of Spencer's attention.
He stared at the rundown apartment building looming before them, uncertain if they'd arrived at the right place. With its crumbling walls, broken windows, and a rusty, collapsing fire escape that ran alongside it, the building looked even worse than the abandoned structures he'd seen the night before. Yet before Spencer could voice his doubts, still eyeing the building with scepticism, Tony was already climbing the cracked stone steps and pushing open the front door without even a knock.
"So is that just your new thing now? Entering places uninvited?" Spencer asked sarcastically before quickly hurrying to catch up, already seeing that Tony had started climbing up a set of dilapidated stairs that lay directly in front of the door.
"Very funny," Tony replied in a monotone voice before spinning around with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I hope your body's not aching too badly, Spence. We've got quite a way to go before we reach the top."
With that, Spencer found himself sluggishly climbing up flight after flight of stairs, an activity he quickly regretted. It turned out that it wasn't just his shoulder he had injured the day before; nearly every muscle in his body felt sore, torn or strained. Almost immediately, a burning pain encompassed him, leaving him stumbling upwards only a few floors in. Still, despite the pain, he didn't stop. He powered through, driven by the irritating smirk Tony flashed his way–clearly taking far too much delight in his struggle–until finally his perseverance paid off and he reached the top floor.
"Survived the climb, did you? Hope it was as fun for you as it was for me."
"Fuck. You." Spencer replied, panting deeply with each word as he leaned heavily against the wall beside him to give his wobbly legs a slight respite.
Tony, in the face of such vitriol, just let loose a cackling laugh as he turned back around and began walking down the hall to the only visible door on the other side. The moment he reached it, he proceeded to bang heavily upon the brittle and ancient door, almost cracking it in the process. But, despite the strength with which he struck, they were met with nothing but silence from the other side.
"Maybe they're not in?" Spencer guessed.
"No, she's in," Tony replied with a sigh before banging on the door once again, even louder than before. "It's a Sunday, there's no way she's going to be out of bed before at least four PM."
Despite the confidence with which he spoke, Spencer started to have doubts, wondering how anyone could continue to sleep in the face of such an onslaught of noise. Yet after three more deafening bangs-so loud an elderly resident a few floors below had screamed at them to be quiet–movement could suddenly be heard from the other side of the door. It was then, without warning, that the door flung open with a violent jolt, revealing a shadowed figure who was clearly not pleased at having been disturbed.
"I should have known it was you. No one else would try to disturb me this early in the morning." The long, messy-haired brunette who had just opened the door spoke in a tired tone.
"Well, come on in." She muttered as she walked back into her apartment and out of sight, leaving the front door wide open, which Tony promptly entered.
Quickly following after him, a few seconds later, the moment he stepped inside, Spencer was immediately hit by a sense of déjà vu. Looking around at the piles of pizza boxes and discarded coffee cups dumped across the room, he now found himself in, it felt as if he'd been transported back to his own apartment. At least, it would have been, if not for the mountain of paper scattered across every surface in sight, the noticeable lack of blood, and, most importantly of all, the monstrous-looking computer that sat in the corner of the room.
It was the computer specifically that captured the majority of his attention. After all, even from a quick glance, Spencer could tell it wasn't cheap, looking as if it cost more than everything else in the room combined. The disconnect was striking, especially when compared to the collapsing antique furniture that adorned the space. The only other remotely expensive piece of electronics he noticed in the room was the small TV by the door playing the news, and even that looked like it was from the nineties.
While he was busy gawking at his surroundings, Tony had marched over to the far end of the room and collapsed onto the long tan sofa that sat opposite the TV. Spencer, on the other hand, simply continued to stand awkwardly in the centre of the room, too aware of the nagging feeling that he was intruding. He did so despite how badly his legs throbbed, begging him for relief. In an effort to distract himself, as a silence descended over the room with only the sound of the TV as background noise, he finally asked the question he'd been holding onto since they'd entered.
"So, this is the person you think is going to be able to help us get my daughter back?" He asked, unable to hide his scepticism as he glanced toward a huge pile of rubbish that lay in the corner of the room.
"Mate, trust me when I say, she is the smartest person I know. Like Einstein level, kind of smart. If there is even the smallest hint to where your daughter is, she'll be able to find it."
Seeing the conviction with which he spoke–and having nothing to lose–Spencer decided to place his trust in Tony's judgement. "Alright, so what exactly does she do?"
"I'm a detective." The brunette said suddenly as she re-entered the room from an adjacent door, now dressed in a loose-fitting T-shirt and baggy blue jeans. "Name's Sarah."
"Spencer, nice to meet you." He replied, offering a slight wave in greeting–one she promptly ignored as she turned instead to face Tony.
"So what is it that you want?"
"Why do you think I need something?" He asked in feigned shock. "Couldn't I just be here to catch up with an old friend?"
"I hope for your sake you're not. Otherwise, I'm going to be throwing your ass out for waking me up so god damn early. So I'll ask again. Why are you here?"
Tony didn't reply immediately, instead turning to Spencer with a questioning gaze. Only after Spencer gave a sombre nod, silently granting permission, did Tony begin to explain. "We need your help. My friend here is in some deep shit, and you're the only person I know who might be able to help."
Hearing that, Sarah looked between the two of them with an intrigued expression on her face. "Explain."
And Tony did exactly that, retelling the events Spencer had shared with him less than an hour prior, occasionally glancing his way for details he'd either forgotten or hadn't been told. Throughout it all, Sarah didn't say a word. She listened in rapt attention, her focus unflinching. Only when Tony had finished and both he and Spencer looked on expectantly, did she finally speak.
"No."
"..."
At the firm refusal, Tony seemed shell-shocked, only managing to find his voice a few seconds later. "What do you mean, no?"
"I mean no. I'm not going to help." She said flatly before turning to face Spencer, her expression softening as she did so.
"I'm sorry, but based on what you've told me, this is far too dangerous for me to get involved. If what you've said is true, then just knowing all this has already put me at risk. I'm afraid both of you need to leave. Now." With that, she turned around and headed for the front door.
"Wait, please!" Spencer shouted, launching himself towards Sarah and grabbing her arm, stopping her in her tracks as she froze, staring at his hand in shock and appearing visibly uncomfortable.
"Look, I understand if you don't want to get involved. I don't blame you in the slightest." Spencer quickly acknowledged before Sarah could react and break away. "But please, even just the smallest hint or help you could offer would mean the world to me. Please, I just want to get my daughter back."
By the end of his plea, his voice had begun to crack as he fought not to devolve into a weeping mess for the second time that day. Yet even so, he didn't look away. He kept his eyes locked on Sarah, meeting the piercing stare she threw back at him as a heavy silence hung in the air. He did so, until, at last, she yanked her arm free from his grip, let out a resigned sigh, and finally replied.
"Alright, I'll help you."