Chapter 25: Lemon Fresh

To the people of the slums of Musutafu there were three types of businesses. The first was the mom and pop shop. These beloved bars, cafes, and corner stores were invariably in a state of constant disrepair and whose owners were either cantankerous, withered old prunes filled with wisdom or affable sages that would always be willing to part with a candy or two to help out a down on his luck kid. They had always been there and they would never leave. Stark and treasured reminders of the neighbourhood that once was.

The second were the "Pay! Now get out!" joints. Occasionally some enterprising young street rat would scrap together enough money working a shit job or three to open up a business of their own. For these individual's survival was a constant struggle. Shoplifters, muggers, vagrants, everyone wanted a piece and nobody wanted to pay for it. Without the armour of nostalgia, their owners relied on bulletproof glass and concealed weapons to stay afloat. If you went inside one of these stores you were expected to know what you wanted, get it, then leave. No questions, no chit chat, no loitering.

The third type of business were those places that everybody knew but nobody talked about and nobody went there to shop. True, every once and a while you might see somebody walk inside, but you quickly forgot about it. Curious people didn't live long in the slums and what business of yours was it anyway?

One such business was Lemon Fresh. A dumpy old laundromat on 77th Street that was open odd hours and only had two working machines. Every once and a while a car would stop by and drop off some "laundry" in a duffle bag but other than that nobody ever went in there.

That Wednesday it was business as usual at Lemon Fresh. The owner was expecting three deliveries: One from Piranha who worked the docks, another from Claw who had been promoted to protection, and one from Big Spin's casino.

However unbeknownst to the clientele and owner of the Lemon Fresh Laundromat, far above them perched in the shadow of a roof top water tower was a curious onlooker.

I can wait all day guys. Izuku thought idly as he traced his finger across the hot tar rooftop.

His plan was simple. Big Spin had told him the Lemon Fresh was where Shocker collected his protection money so he would just follow the money as it changed hands up the ladder. This wasn't some rinky dink drug money that was being collected either. Big Spin's casino alone generated tens of millions of yen a month in revenue and Izuku was willing to bet that whoever handled that kind of cash had to be pretty high up in the Shocker's organization. Possibly even high enough to know where to find the big man himself.

However as essential as this task was, staking out a money laundering building wasn't exactly Izuku's idea of a fun vacation activity. No doubt while all his classmates were partying it up, he was stuck watching a building all day.

The hours passed and Izuku found his mind wandering. He wondered where Weasel was and what sort of mischief he was getting himself into. Maybe he was racing his gold car down the freeway, or sunning himself in Dubai, or swimming with dolphins somewhere.

Izuku flicked a beetle off the ledge of the roof and pressed himself against the cool metal sheeting of the water tower. Hopefully wherever Weasel was he didn't get himself in over his head. Though lord knows he deserved every bit of trouble heading his way.

Izuku suddenly felt his phone start to buzz. Whipping off his gloved hand, he pulled out his phone. It was his mother. After a moments indecision he answered.

'Hey, Mom. How's it going?'

'Hello, Izu. I was just wondering when you were coming home. I have dinner all ready…'

Izuku bite his lip in frustration. He couldn't afford to abandon his post.

'Uh, well. I'm sort of hanging out with my friends right now. We're actually having a bite and afterwards we were all going to see a movie…' Izuku said, trailing off.

'Ooh, that's great news Izu! I'll let you go then. But don't stay up too late! It's a school night remember.'

'Okay Mom, I won't. Don't wait up though. 'Bye!'

'Bye.'

He hung up the phone. Turning his head, he looked past the Grey Towers and in the direction of his own apartment building. He couldn't see it in the haze of smog, but he was sure that his Mother was there, jumping for joy at the prospect of him having made some friends.

Izuku could only smile faintly. He supposed he could have called up some of his classmates and seen what they were up to, but he couldn't spare the time. Also, he wasn't sure if he could stomach being out in public any time soon.

Since the Sports Festival he hadn't been around the city much out of his spider suit so he hadn't had any interactions with anyone, but while he was on patrol he kept seeing his face pop up everywhere. He was on posters, television, on the news, it was too much. Not to mention what the slavering hordes of possessive weirdos on the internet had made of him. Rather than deal with the degeneracy that his social media had become, he had just deleted everything and moved on. To his amusement, Bakugo had done the same. For all his pomp and bluster, he knew that Bakugo was probably as uncomfortable with his new-found fame as he was.

Putting himself back against the water tower, he wondered if Mei's commercial had netted her any job offers. The hours slowly creeped by and the sun started to set. A few times over the course of the day, a few guys wandered in to Lemon Fresh but never anybody he recognized. Finally, just as he was starting to think about sneaking off to get a bite to eat, he spotted a luxurious SUV approaching.

Claw thumbed the stirring wheel angrily as he slowly drove closer to the cleaners. Between his splitting headache and his partners nonstop babbling, his patience was almost at its limit.

'And then, the stupid fucking bitch gets herself covered in muck or some shit and she starts screamin' and rollin' around, crying like a fucking baby.' his partner suddenly put on a piercingly high-pitched voice, "OoOoooOooo it hurts! Make it stop!" he slapped the dash and chortled stupidly.

Claw glanced over at the man with disdain before looking over his shoulder to an empty spot.

'Why are you even watching the Sports Festival in the first place? Its nothing but a bunch of goody two shoes jerking each other off. Pointless waste of time, I never bother with it.' Claw said as be parallel parked the SUV.

'Yeah, but its fun! You should've seen it! Midnight was there, trouncing around in that fucking costume of hers. Goddamn! Those kids are so lucky.' he said wistfully, 'She could subdue me any day of the week, you know what I'm sayin'?' he said, jostling Claw in the arm. Claw shot the man a pitying look.

'I bet you a lot of guys have said that about Midnight right before she cracked their skull open. Seriously did you even stop and think what kind of risk you were taking sitting in that stadium? All Might, Endeavour, hell half of the pro heroes in this shithole city were in those seats.'

The man shrugged, 'Sixty thousand people in there, you think they're going to do a back-ground check on everyone? Please. I'm just some schmuck from the Towers. Nobody gives a shit about me. You know, I heard the boss man was there. Checking out the future competition.'

Claw smirked in disbelief and his partner continued.

'Besides,' he said slyly, 'I kind of thought you'd be interested in the games considering who won second place…'

Claw's smirk quickly turned into an ugly scowl. Everyone had been giving him shit about the fucking, green haired, freckly kid. His partner smiled upon seeing his reaction and he continued.

'Y'know all things considered, I'm not surprised you and that other guy -what was his name?- Shush, Mum, Swoosh…?'

'Hush. His name was Hush. And he was a good guy.' Claw said in an even, calm voice.

He was twice the partner you'll ever be. Claw thought bitterly. He and Hush went way back. They had come up the ranks together back when the Shocker was just a member of The Squadron Sinister. He had been devastated to learn that Hush was killed last year by one of Speed Demon's guys during the turf war.

'Well anyway, I'm surprised you aren't even interested in your boy no more. He's a real-'

'Look, let's just get this over with, alright?' Claw said gruffly, opening his door.

The other man snickered as he grabbed the "laundry bag" from the back seat before he too exited the vehicle. Walking side by side, the pair entered the dingy laundromat.

A bell mounted to the top of the door jingled merrily upon the two men's arrival into the small, narrow store. Claw scowled as he walked in. The place stank like mold and rot and it wasn't hard to see why. The floors were filthy and stained, and around the rusted, broken down laundry machines, small pools of milky water had collected. No doubt they had never been installed properly. Considering how much money passed through this place, you'd think they would invest more in a believable cover.

'Hey. Hey! Is anybody here?' Claw called out loudly as he walked up to the counter. Stopping at the front, he rapped his knuckles across the chipped linoleum wrapped surface. Nobody answered him.

'Hellooo?' he called out, still banging on the counter.

After a moment they heard rustling from up above.

'Alright! Alright, damn you. Just give me a moment…' wheezed a voice from the backroom.

Claw leaned over the counter and scowled at the doorway for a moment before checking his watch. He was already running a little late. After he was done with the drop he still needed to collect rent from over a dozen overdue deadbeats across the city and tracking down those cockroaches took time.

'Hey. What are you doing back there?' called out his partner.

The pair heard some ineligible mumbling and the sound of creaking stairs before at least the wiry old bastard who ran the store walked through the doorway towards them. Nobody knew where the old geezer had come from, but he was old school, a career criminal before they were even born.

'You guys are early.' he said sullenly.

'Actually, we're late.' Claw said, lip curling as he noticed the old man's dishevelled appearance, 'Jesus what the fuck happened to professionalism?'

'Yeah, yeah.' rasped the man as he reached for the duffle bag, 'Look, you see the places around here? Run down shitholes the lot of them. I'm just blending in.'

'Yeah, you're a real method actor.' sneered his partner as he plopped the bag on the counter.

The old man grumbled incoherently and snatched the bag away. Before either of them could say anything further, the front door swung open accompanied by the soft jingling of the store bell.

The three men quickly looked over, hands reaching into their jacket pockets before they relaxed somewhat. It was Piranha.

'Greeeetings boyyssss.' he gargled past his bulbous lips, 'Isssss it a paaarty in here?'

'Hey Piranha. How's the sun treating ya?' Claw's partner said jovially and he hissed at him.

Claw watched as the giant fish man hybrid pulled out a bottle from his overcoat jacket. Popping the lid with a flick of his chitinous webbed hands, he upended the container on himself, spilling water over his emerald scaled skin. At the liquids touch, the room immediately began to reek of rotting fish. Claw grimaced before pinching his nose shut as Piranha let out a sigh of pleasure.

'Itsssss not fair. Making me driiive all the way here.' Piranha gargled, tossing the bottle aside.

'Is the floor a dump to you, Piranha?' Claw said moving to the side so the fish-man could drop his own duffle bag on the counter, 'No wonder this city has such a rat problem.'

'Pleasssse.' he said, rotating one of his bulging eyes to face Claw, 'I live in the bay. You want to ssseee a real garbage problem? Vissssit one of the underwater ghettoessss.'

Claw and his partner backed apart to opposite walls to make room for him. It was getting crowded.

As Piranha gingerly placed his own duffle bag on the counter the door's entrance bell jingled yet again. Piranha growled and twisted his giant body around as far as he could while Claw and his partner once again reached for their weapons, but it was just Big Spin's courier.

'What's- Woo! Jesus that stink!' cried the man tucking his nose into his elbow.

Piranha turned his head and flashed the newcomer a smile. His mouth revealed rows upon rows of jagged teeth. Big Spin's courier floundered before the crowded counter for a moment before throwing his duffle bag over to the shop keep who looked on with a surly expression.

'Here.' he said as he the old man caught the bag, 'Enjoy.'

Without another word the courier turned and stumbled out the door. Claw likewise motioned to his partner. If he was stuck in here for much longer, he was going to pass out.

'Well Piranha, would you be so inclined to get out the way? Some of us have things to do.'

'Alright, alright…'

Eventually they were able to extract themselves and Claw and his partner stepped out into the street, grateful for the fresh air.

'I don't know why Piranha insists on delivering his laundry himself if he dislikes being out of the water so much.' Claw mumbled as they walked back to the SUV.

'He's just paranoid.' replied his partner, 'Nobody would ever mess with this place.'

At that the two men stepped into their vehicle and drove off. Before long the fish man also lumbered outside and into his brine filled camper. And though he mumbled and hissed loudly, everybody on the street was careful not to meet his gaze as they continued on with their business. It was no surprise then that when one more person entered the cleaners, nobody batted an eye or remembered a thing.

Ignoring the chiming of the bell, Izuku quickly strode across the store to the backroom. Hopping over the puddle of Piranha water on the floor and across the countertop, he entered into a dingy storeroom. Walking past shelves of detergent and cleaning compounds, he scaled a set of rickety stairs up towards the loft space on the second floor.

Izuku slipped into the room and quickly glanced around. The loft was certainly a lived-in space. Every inch of the room was utilized. Shelves filled with books and belongings covered the walls between cheap dressers and a couch. Fans filled the room, each one pointing towards the slightly ajar window overlooking the street. Beside the window, Izuku spotted the back of the shop owner. He was fiddling with a wall mounted safe, three duffle bags piled at his feet. Izuku silently padded over to the man. Standing behind him, Izuku spoke.

'Hey-'

Immediately the old man whirled around. In an instant a crackling corona of glowing orange light formed around his head framing his eyes and mouth in a horrifying glow. As Izuku considered his new opponent, energy raced down the old man's wrinkled neck and chest towards his rising arms and down his hands. With a soundless snarl, he pushed out with his now incandescent palms as though shoving the air.

Izuku flipped over to the wall as some great, invisible pressure blew past him. Without a second thought he sprang off the wall and tackled into the old man, headbutting him to the floor. The man was momentarily stunned at the blow and while he was down Izuku forcibly pinned him.

'Hey!' he shouted, 'Cut it out gramps!'

'Spider-Man!' the man growled glaring up at him, 'You want to talk?'

'Something like tha-' Izuku froze as in that instant, the man's eyes briefly flashed orange again. Arching himself backward, Izuku threw back his chin just in time to dodge past another blast of energy. He watched wide eyed as a perfectly circular hole suddenly appeared in the ceiling above him, the edges charred black with carbonized ceiling tile.

Jerking his neck back down to his struggling opponent, Izuku punched the old man across the face. To his amazement however the old bastard kept struggling and he managed to twist around his hand to point his fingertips at Izuku. With a yelp, Izuku rolled away just as another blast rocketed outward, lancing into the wall and scoring its surface with intense heat.

Screw this! I need to finish this guy off before he brings the cops down on us!

Springing up, Izuku charged into the old man and threw him back against the wall safe. Before he could react, Izuku launched a volley of punches across the old man's stomach and lower chest. Caught between the safe and the flurry of blows, he had nowhere to go and he quickly collapsed down to his feet, hacking and coughing up blood.

'Stay down!' Izuku shouted, roughly grabbing the sputtering man by the collar, 'You can't beat me.'

The man spat out a glob of blood on Izuku's arm in response and glared up at him in silent defiance.

'I'm not here for you.' he continued as he hoisted the man up with one arm and pinning him against the safe, 'I want Shocker. Where is he?'

The man briefly struggled before he went slack and relaxed.

'Shocker? What makes you think I know anything about where he is?'

'Because he needs to get his hands on his money from someone and I'm willing to bet that you're ranked high enough to know where to find him. So where is he?'

The old man sighed and turned his wrinkled eyes past Izuku and out towards the window.

'If I tell you I'm a dead man.' he said thoughtfully, 'But I suppose you'll kill me if I don't talk right?' he let out a pained chuckle. Izuku's instinct told him to stay silent as he appeared to be thinking things over.

'Let's cut a deal.' the old man said in a suddenly crisp voice, 'I tell you what you want and I walk out of here. With all the money.' he added, arching his eyebrows, 'Deal?'

'No!' Izuku said, 'There are no deals! You tell me what I want and you can leave in police custody instead of a hearse.'

The man laughed again. His laughs quickly subsided into a fit of coughing and he stopped himself.

'Naw. If I tell you anything, I'm dead anyway. All this…' he said bumping his head against the safe, 'Will be the only thing keeping me alive if I tell you anything. Because trust me, you aren't beating Shocker. He'll find out who squealed and I'll be spending the rest of my days on the run.'

Izuku frowned. He didn't like the idea of letting someone go free, much less one of Shocker's top guys, but he didn't see any other way. He couldn't exactly torture the guy. With a sigh of resignation, Izuku lowered the old man down to the floor.

'Alright deal. You tell me where he is, and I'll leave you be. So, where is he?' Izuku asked as the old man wiped some bloody spittle off his chin.

'Downtown. Glass Way Tower. The Penthouse suite.'

Izuku's eyes widened in surprise. The Glass Way Tower was the last place he expected someone like Shocker to be.

'The Glass Way Tower? Why is he up there? I thought he was all about discretion.'

'He's moving up in the world. What can I say? He can't stay a crime boss running from safehouse to safehouse forever.' he chuckled, flecks of red falling from his lips, 'It gets tiring Spider-Man…'

Izuku stood silent and thought things over. The Glass Way Tower was in the city centre. There were sure to be several hero agencies nearby. If the alarm was raised, he would be done for. Still, what choice did he have?

'Does Shocker have anybody with him?'

'Maybe a butler or secretary. He doesn't let anybody see him there. He likes to keep the place clean.'

Izuku nodded. At least he wouldn't have to fight a bunch of his goons. Getting ambushed by somebody like Speed Demon again was the last thing he wanted. Taking down Shocker alone was going to be difficult enough as is.

'Alright.' Izuku said finally, 'A deal's a deal. I'll let you go…this time. But, if I get to the Glass Towers and I find out that you've alerted Shocker…'

The man shrugged, 'I wouldn't worry about me, Spider-Man. As far as I'm concerned all this-' he said gesturing to the duffle bags, '-is my retirement fund. See I've been in this game for a long time too and I'm sick of growing old watching somebody else's money.'

Keeping his eyes on the injured man, Izuku backed up to the window and opened it wide. After a split second's hesitation, he shot out his web and jumped outside.