Chapter 21: Collateral.

'Well this is just one of those days where he doesn't pay to get out of bed,' Spider-Man thought as he cursed his luck. The situation was as follows, the Rose's men stood on one side, Silvermane's men stood on the other side, both sides hated each other, but both sides would also be willing to put aside their differences in the pursuit of killing him.

As a result, the web slinger had no idea what he wanted to do, which way he wanted to go, and he could feel the cold steel of the bullets that whizzed by him.

He had heard that there was some kind of deal going down and things got ugly.

"We can divide the city, after he take out the web slinger!" Hammerhead yelled as he rushed forward but Spider-Man dodged his attempt to headbutt him in the chest. The web slinger snapped his web line out and tightened it around the feet of the criminal. He twisted his elbow and the individual flew ass over tea kettle onto the ground.

"Yeah, that's not going to work as well as you guys think it does," Spider-Man said as he dodged a traquilizer dart that nearly nailed the side of his shoulder. The web slinger dropped down onto the ground and there were a pair of goons that rushed him. The web slinger clonked their heads together and they fell to the ground like they were nothing.

The web slinger felt the gigantic thug that came forward and he nearly took his head forward. The web slinger blocked his swinging fist with a line of webbing.

"Blow him away boys!" Hammerhead yelled and a barrage of bullets were shot at Spider-Man. The web slinger ducked and dodged and he could feel the bullets that were about ready to take him out. In fact the web slinger was really feeling the burn right about now.

"Okay, that's not….that's just not!" Spider-Man yelled and he grabbed the two guns with his web linging. The web slinger slid underneath a set of legs. One of them, after the gun was pulled from him, tried to pick up a table leg with a nail on it and swung for the fences. The web slinger avoided the attack as the nail was about ready to impact into his head.

Spider-Man webbed his hands against his the piece of wood and the web slinger then came back down onto the back of his head. There was a thunderous crunch as the thug went down onto the ground.

"Ah shit, the SWAT!" Hammerhead yelled as he picked up a Tommy Gun that one of them men dropped and he tried to blow the web slinger away

Spider-Man was not feeling too good about the SWAT, especially with the Mayor's new policy of taking him down at all costs, despite doing so good. Then again, given who the Mayor of New York was, it was just as well indeed.

The web slinger jumped into the air and webbed two of them up as the SWAT took down the doors with a battering ram, destroying the wooden frame.

"FREEZE!"

"No, don't want to," Spider-Man said as he turned his arms and shot out lines of webbing, grabbing onto the guns and yanking them from their hands.

The web slinger felt the panic that would come in to being in a situation like this. He thought that he was the monkey in the middle before between the Rose and Silvermane factions but the SWAT might have been just as bad, maybe. The web slinger avoided their attacks, using the heads of various goons like stair steps.

"Take down the spider, dead or alive!" the SWAT Team leader yelled as they tried to shoot him but he was already halfway out of the room.

Spider-Man knew that this mission was going to be one that did not go that well but he was pretty sure that the SWAT team made a really big attempt to kill him.

'I'm on the city's shit list this week apparently, well that's just wonderful,' Spider-Man thought as he kept propelling himself across the city. To say that he was more confused about this situation than ever before. 'And another Gang War…..we should really put a tally on those because there seems to be one about every three weeks and it just gets worse by each passing moment.'

Spider-Man kept picking up the pace as he landed on a gargoyle. There was a van that pulled out. The web slinger clutched his hands against the side of the gargoyle and he did not even need his spider sense to realize that something big was going on.

Especially given that there were a group of individuals dressed in what appeared to bee keeper outfits, and they were carrying a crate in between six of them.

'AIM, you've got to be kidding me,' Spider-Man thought, he had ran into the Advanced Idea Mechanics more than a few times, especially with their Big Headed Leader named MODOC, who had caused him many headaches.

"So, is he going to show up?" one of the AIM grunts asked another as Spider-Man heard things.

"I don't know, he said that he would be here, and there was no reason why he was here….."

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming," a young man said as he exited the truck, he appeared to be an associate of some sort for the Rose. "Do you have the equipment?"

"If you have the money," the goon said swiftly and the henchmen smiled as he held out a briefcase.

Spider-Man tried to get a better look at them but there was the SWAT helicopters that hovered around him.

"FREEZE SPIDER-MAN!" the SWAT team member yelled at the top of his lungs and the web slinger immediately bounced up and a rocket had destroyed the gargoyle that he stood on.

He knew that any attempt to figure out what AIM and the Rose was up to was lost, as the web slinger flew and managed to lose them after a half hour chase all around the city.

"Well I just finished the search on the gun that you found during your meeting with Jack O' Lantern," Gwen said as Peter made his way home. "And we got a problem."

"Auspicious words as always," Peter said with a sigh and Gwen cupped her hand underneath her chin and shook her head. "Exactly what was the problem?"

"Well….the guns….they're manufactured by HYDRA, there was a news report of similar shipments being lost, after one of the HYDRA bases were ransacked earlier this year," Gwen said and Peter nodded.

"So the Rose took advantage of the confusion and got the guns right then," Peter said and there was no question about that, that seemed to be about right. "And now….he has potentially high tech weapons and he's underneath a partnership with AIM as well."

"AIM…..oh why did it have to be them," Gwen grumbled and Peter smiled at her.

"My thoughts exactly, why did it have to be AIM?" Peter asked Gwen and the blonde shrugged her shoulders immediately. "I mean, they are one of the top manufacturers of weapons in the country but….I think that I might have answered that question right there."

"I think you might have, yes," Gwen agreed as she brushed her hand through the top of her hair, there was really no question about it, they were going to run into a huge problem, but exactly how much of a problem, neither of them really knew? "I don't even know what the weapons are able to do but they must have been able to do something if the Rose wanted his hands on it."

"And if he wants….." Peter said as he wondered about something. Gwen raised an eyebrow as a quizzical look spread over her eyes.

"What, Peter?" Gwen asked him and Peter decided to let her know what he was thinking, at least the best he could piece it together.

"The Rose seems like someone who was playing games, he used Jack O'Lantern, and he used the Sinister Six as pawns, he might claim that it's not about playing games, but you know what, he's a master of playing them," Spider-Man continued and Gwen frowned as she wrinkled her nose. "What if…."

"Pete….playing a group of goons and playing HYDRA and AIM who have vast resources are two different things….."

"We don't know who the Rose is anyway, so he could be someone who was at this for a long time," Peter suggested and then there was something that struck him immediately. "He does seem to have a contempt for the Kingpin…."

"Kingpin is locked away at his vacation suite at Ryker's Island though," Gwen argued and Peter nodded. "Unless you think….."

"Former mob enforcer who is deciding to take control of the pieces of Fisk's empire, I mean the Master Planner and the Green Goblin both tried, and…..well they're gone more or less," Spider-Man said as he let out a breath that he was holding in.

There were so many questions that Peter had and unfortunately there were not too many answers to go along with it. That might have defined his career as Spider-Man nearly as much as great power coming with great responsibility.

"You're going to figure out Pete…..I think that my other search is about to come through, let's see what we have here," Gwen said as both of them stared intently at the computer screen as something came to life. The blonde blew her hair away from her face where it flipped back down. She placed her hands on the side of her face and shook off the cobwebs.

"I'm guessing that something did not go according to your search," Peter said.

"Odd doesn't seem to cover it but…..Roderick Kingsley was spotted leaving one of his offices the night that he was captured," Gwen said. "At the time where he was tied up by Jack O' Lantern."

"Well….that's odd," Peter said and he suggested something. "You know with all of the shape shifters out there, it could be someone posing as him to steal Kingsley's secrets, although he runs a fashion company….unless a rival hired the Chameleon or someone."

The Chameleon was something that Peter had his problems with in the past, given that the man discovered his secret identity and sold it to Graydon Creed. Thankfully, Creed suffered a brain aneurism before he could spill the beans to the world and he had been exposed as a kook to begin with.

"Could be," Gwen suggested although there was deep skepticism dancing from her voice. "And if it was, well that ties into the HYDRA connection. Of course Kingsley made out well again, ten billion dollars he got out of insurance."

"That's odd….ly specific," Peter thought as he stood rigid and remembering the number Naomi Burnett said with the estimated number for the ransom. "That's the same number his assistant gave The Rose and Jack, when they called in to let them know that they had Kingsley."

"So do you think the assistant might be in on this?" Gwen asked and Peter frowned, he had to mull over this problem from every single angle before he figured out what he wanted to do.

"You know that's a good question and I really don't know," Peter said as he threw his head back with a lengthy sigh. He really had no idea what to make of this, if it was heads or tails immediately. "I'm going to see if I can follow up on the lead that I had earlier, providing the SWAT doesn't swat me."

Gwen could not resist smirking slightly at the pun but she gave Peter one statement. "Be careful."

"You know me, I will….so is the suit….."

"Nearly ready, I'm actually trying to remodel it from scratch," Gwen said as she leaned at Peter and kissed him, with the blonde returning the favor.

The Rose waited patiently behind his desk, his hands folded over the top of the table as he peered out from behind his mask.

"The web slinger tried to stick his nose in my operation yet again, expected but annoying," The Rose said to his second in command. "But, it doesn't matter, soon he will be put down and it's not like he doesn't have his problems. The SWAT will take him down, just like that, he's nothing, nothing."

"Well, one might….."

"I wouldn't disagree," The Rose said gruffly as he managed to keep his wits about himself. He was expecting another guest, someone that would keep the Spider-Man at bay. All he had to do was play the game that no one liked to play, the waiting game. However being a patient man, he could do it, all he needed was a little willpower. "Our friend will come soon, just ensure that the package is in the right location. I'm counting on you, don't let me down."

There was a moment where the individual on the other end of the line indicated that he would not let the Rose down but he disappeared into the distance with a crackling crunch.

The Rose waited as there was a thunderous knock on his door. He wasted no time in inviting the person in. "Come in."

The man was dressed in a suit, although one could see that there was something else underneath his suit. He had a rhino horn that caused him to stand out in a crowd, although no one was willing to laugh at him because he was the last person that they would ever see.

"Yeah, you wanted me," Rhino growled as he sat down, nearly breaking the chair. However given that it was specially reinforced, it did not quite give away just that. The large animal themed villain placed his hands down on the table.

"I want to call into service your talents, as an enforcer for a deal that's going to go down," the Rose said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey and tipped it back. "I have the matter completely under control but at the same time, there are certain unsavory people who might ruin my night."

"The web head," Rhino grunted and the Rose smiled as there was a sense that he was in fact getting the picture for better or for worse. "Been wanting to settle the score with him for an extremely long time."

"I'm sure that you have," The Rose said as he peered at the man. He was not the brightest bulb in the box but at the same time, the mob boss to be did not hire the Rhino for his thinking capabilities. His head was nearly as hard as Hammerhead's and he was much stronger. He needed an enforcer that could enforce his will. "And I'd allow you to keep the web head's heart as a trophy."

"Oh will you?" Rhino asked as he imagined the blood spilling from his enemy's chest as he was put down just like he was nothing and as far as Rhino was concerned, Spider-Man was nothing.

"Yes, but you have to take him down first, this isn't a charity, but I'm sure that you want revenge of all of the times that he humiliated you," The Rose said as he slid back and sure enough Rhino bounced up, nearly overturning the desk in his rage.

He called that one like that.

"Yes, yes, I'm going to crush that son of a bitch!" Rhino yelled as he looked more like a snorting bull than a Rhino but the Rose did not care about the animalistic comparisons, all he wanted was results and he was going to get them.

"Yes, I'm sure that you do," The Rose said as he was happy that he also had the foresight to save his drink. He tipped it deep into his mouth and continued to drink what he had immediately. He kept sipping what he had.

"Yeah I am!" Rhino grunted and he almost was about ready to punch the wall but he kept himself lined in. "So what time am I going to take him down?"

"Soon Rhino, sooner than you think," the Rose said as he took a phone call. The enforcer was not privy to what was going on with the other end of the call but never the less, the Rose nodded his head up and down, a frown curling around his lips. "Yes….it's ready, yes I'll be there, I'll see you in a little bit."

There was a second where Rhino kept his eyes locked onto the eyes of the Rose but there was no question, he was merely muscle and muscle did not think for the brain.

"It's time," The Rose whispered as he turned to the Rhino and the Rhino thundered excitement, with the mob enforcer ready to go.

The Rose believed that he was getting closer to putting the city of New York underneath his foot. His father told him that there were a few false starts but now he was going to achieve something great. He could feel it.

"Make sure it's in order and if Hammerhead or any of his goons show up, eradicate them, I don't want enough of their body left to feed to a fish," the Rose told his men immediately as he walked forward and down the steps. His men opened up the van and the Rhino climbed into the van, nearly rocking it.

"We're ready," one of the goons said and the Rose got in the passenger's sheet and crossed his arms immediately as he leaned back for a second.

"Good, let it begin," The Rose said as the goon put the pedal to the metal of the van as it was driven forward into New York. It was bullet proof so there was no chance that he would get taken out and if the van would not deter him, well the Rhino would.

Spider-Man went back to the scene of the crime, there should have been no way possible that the Rose would have left anything behind but he had to try. The AIM agents were not around, in fact he saw nothing but a janitor who was walking around. He looked rather bored as he was dancing with his mop.

'The things that you see in this city,' Spider-Man thought as he hung down and he could see a van pulling down the street out of the corner of his eye. Three limos followed each other in succession and the web slinger watched. 'Okay….that's interesting….very interesting….very suspicious but very interesting.'

Spider-Man saw a spotlight but he climbed up to avoid being caught up on it. The SWAT was still looking around, despite it being well after midnight and the web slinger felt his knee buckle a tiny bit.

The web slinger propelled himself up again and he could see a pair of AIM agents. The wall crawling hero caused him to land down onto the ground and he stood on his arms and legs, rearing his head back for a second.

So far, so good, at least it was so quiet.

"Check around here, there have been cops snooping around, thinking that they can catch us," one of the goons said as he cocked his gun and reloaded it. "Bastards are going to get buried in a parking lot."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Spider-Man hung upside down and saw a group of gang goons talk to a group of AIM agents. The web slinger placed his hands and feet on a crane that he webbed onto. He kept climbing and was above them.

'Move it, move it,' Spider-Man thought as he waited for an attempt to get them and he saw his moment, when one of the AIM agents stepped off to switch off.

That left the second one all alone and the web slinger pulled him up by the ankle and then into the cab of the crane.

"You will…." The AIM Agent stated but Spider-Man swung his elbow and knocked him out, causing him to be knocked out. It was not a violent blow per say but it really did in fact do the trick. And he slumped down to the ground like he was nothing.

"Oh will I?" Spider-Man asked as he managed to pull off the AIM Suit. "Ohhh….I don't think that dry cleaning is an AIM talent but….going to have to take a shower later."

Spider-Man dropped down, disguised in the evil bee keeper costume of AIM.

"There's been a security breach, it's Spider-Man," the web slinger said in a gruff voice and the two AIM agents looked at him, raising their eyebrows but they nodded.

"Spread out," one of them said and Spider-Man, disguised, slipped inside of the warehouse immediately, and could see that the Rose was talking to someone on a screen.

"Just make sure to do it….."

Spider-Man nearly made his way over but the Rhino saw him.

"HEY!" Rhino growled as he realized that half of the costume was ripped. "I knew you were around her somewhere."

'Oh boy,' Spider-Man thought as Rhino rushed him but the web slinger dodged the attack of Rhino. He bounced up and jumped onto his large broad shoulders, trying to take him down onto his knees but the beast grabbed him around the scruff of the neck.

The web slinger was bounced off of the walls and Rhino rushed him but the he jumped into the air, landing down onto his feet. Two lines of webbing shot onto Rhino's broad back but he snapped the web lines were rattled.

"Take him out, shoot him!" Rose yelled but Spider-Man thankfully managed to use Rhino's body to block it.

The web slinger bounced off of the broad body of the Rhino and the web slinger bounced back across him. The friendly neighborhood hero dodged them.

"Hey watch how you blast those things," Spider-Man said as he bounced up into the air and then bounced off of the face of the enemy.

"Watch it, you punk!" Rhino growled as he tried to gore the web head and Spider-Man dodged the attacks. The web slinger shot a line of webbing around his arms and legs but he snapped it.

"Distract him!" Rose muttered but the web slinger jumped out from in front of him.

"Okay, now it's me and you….."

Spider-Man's spider sense went off and there were a trio of snipers who were on the catwalk. He latched a line of webbing and pulled on the weak part of the structure and caused them to land onto a stack of cracks.

The Rose slipped out of the door and Rhino once again rushed at the web slinger, with his beefy shoulder extended out. The web slinger avoided the attempt of his shoulder being driven into him. The web slinger once again ducked, jumping from one side to the other.

"Stand still!" Rhino said.

"And cause my heart to be put all over your horn, no thank you," Spider-Man managed as he jumped up into the air and wrapped his arms around Rhino's head, but the massive thug hurled him off.

The web head lifted and pulled the quick release of a net, which caused paint cans to rain down on Rhino's head.

There was a sound of a battering ram and Spider-Man tensed up, his spider sense went off.

"Open up, or we will open fire!" the SWAT Team leader yelled and the windows began to crack.

"Better get out of here," Spider-Man said as he tried to get away as but Rhino grabbed his ankles and held onto him. "Hey, let…go!"

Spider-Man nailed him into a huge kick to the face, and drilled him with a series of kicks as he tried to slip away.

Rhino turned around as the door flew off with the SWAT ramming it in but he caught it. Several canisters flew onto the ground as Spider-Man had disappeared into the night, but he managed to pick up a shipment order that was dropped.

Gas canisters put out the Rhino as he coughed immediately as he dropped down to one knee.

"No, not going, not now!" Rhino growled as he covered his mouth with a face mask and he blew through the SWAT team before running out into the night with them chasing him.

"Overall I would have to say that tonight's events was nothing but a great success," The Rose said as he lifted up a glass to toast the situation. "And even my enforcer got away, and I will be keeping him on."

"He passed the test then?"

"He passed the test," The Rose whispered with a wide grin on his face. There was no question about it, he was rather pleased with how this was going all things considered. He was soaking in his adoration and his success. "And Spider-Man is not the wiser to what is going on."

"But if he gets closer to our operations….."

"It won't happen," The Rose said swiftly with a smile on his face. Spider-Man thought that he had all of the answers but the questions kept changing. He was slowly going to drive the web slinger, both of them insane, and then the city would be his. "And we got a pretty good chunk and managed to cause Hammerhead's shipment to be lost."

"Overall a successful day then, but not…

"It did not work as intended, I will concede that but we will work from there," the Rose said as he drummed his fingers at the edge of the desk and malice flooded through his eyes. "In the end, you will see what we can do, in the end…."

"Yes in the end, we will win the day and we will seize the city," the person on the other end of the communication. "The world has been something that many have tried to take but there are people who have failed because they did not plan."

"We have the mistakes of many people to live up from," the Rose whispered immediately over the other end of the communication link.

"And we have the mistakes of those who came before us in that position where we won't be able to make them again," the contact said, the voice extremely garbled. The Rose was about ready to meet another one of his mystery contacts. "And AIM's technology will allow us to become master's of the world, and they will suffer a fall."

"Ambitious but I like it," the Rose said as he took another drink and then held up a cigar. There was a second where he paused and looked at the cigar. It was bought with the blood of his enemies but the one that kept getting away at Spider-Man. "We learn from the sins of our fathers….."

"And the sins of our father will be something that will pave our path to the top," The Rose said and there was a beeping underneath his desk. "I have another call, if you will…."

"Do so, I will be meeting you all too soon and HYDRA losing that shipment directed the heat off of us, SHIELD doesn't even know what the plan is, until it's too late," the soft spoken voice said. "We will meet on Wednesday."

"Yes, we will," the Rose agreed as he was ready for that meeting. Never the less he had a call that he needed to take elsewhere. "Yes."

"It's me," Kingsley said. "We have a problem."

"I don't comprehend," the Rose said to him immediately.

"Someone has been trying to hack into the security system at the official headquarters for my company and….."

"Did they see us meeting?" The Rose asked crisply. He was not going to have one security flaw tangle everything that he was working on. "Did they see me….."

"No, that camera was not tampered with but if they looked at the time stamp, they would have seen me at the office the time where I was supposed to be kidnapped," Kingsley said and the Rose had an ugly scowl on his face.

He had a bit of a temper and held up the handle of the beer bottle and he swung it against the wall, smashing it like it was nothing. It shattered hard against the wall and he scowled once again.

"There's….there's no reason why they suspect anything is up," Kingsley said but there was a long awkward silence as he could almost tell the Rose was fuming.

"No, there isn't, but I have to be completely sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that no one who could ruin everything is sticking their nose where it doesn't below," The Rose said as he looked forward. "I want you to run an investigation of anyone who is trying to access the network, track them down, and once you find them, I want you to take them and I want you to put a bullet in the back of their head, do you hear me?"

"I hear you, loud and clear," Kingsley said without even missing a beat. There was just something about this that was unsettling but he was trying to keep thing cordial. "It will be done."

"See that it is, for it's your security breach that was going to ruin everything," The Rose said. He was not going to be like the Kingpin where something went wrong and it landed him in prison for the next thirty years. He was so close, yet so far.

The Rose got up to his feet, as he looked out the window. The city was in the palm of his hand, if he could just snatch it, it would be his.

It should be his, it will always be his, just like that. The Rose vowed victory and he would put a bullet in the head of the person who was investigating this.

To Be Continued.