Authors Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.
God I hate the cold.
Kenrio: Fair enough, I get that not everyone likes every character. I think she's entertaining, and fun as hell to write, but that's just me.
MarauderPrime12: Thanks very much for the kind words.
JustAnAverageGuy101: Hopefully you're still enjoying it man.
I promise I don't hate you guys, but the title is the second Iron Maiden song I've featured, and like 'The Longest Day' it is a song I don't think is very good at all. I really like Iron Maiden from Killers to Powerslave, all of that is great stuff, but right after Powerslave the band decided to 'experiment' and totally abandoned that sound that I really like. The result of this deviation was the album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and while that is an awesome title and the album is very operatic and poetic, gone is the heavy metal sound, replaced instead with a lot of Synthesizer stuff. If that's your jam then go knock yourself out, but I like the more traditional metal sound. I do promise you that I will eventually feature actually good Iron Maiden songs at some point. Until then, Up the Irons!
I also learned that there's apparently a Black Cat comic storyline that shares a title with this song, that's not why I picked it and this is not at all related to that. Just thought that was a cool piece of trivia.
Power Without Question – Chapter 84: The Evil That Men Do
Circle of fire my baptism of joy at an end it seems
The seventh lamb slain, the book of life opens before me
And I will pray for you, someday I may return
Don't you cry for me, beyond is where I learn
Living on a razor's edge, balancing on a ledge
Living on a razor's edge, you know, you know
The evil that men do lives on and on
Mary Jane felt her heart drop after hearing Peter recount what had happened, sitting at Micks as the sun began to rise, a steaming coffee sitting on the table in front of her to keep her awake after pulling a punishing all nighter only for it to result in the deaths of two of her best friends. The silence between the couple was only broken by the screaming sirens of an ambulance that tore past the restaurant, not even causing Peter to look up from the table, hanging his head in shame.
"Wow," breathed the redhead, her voice causing his eyes to lift slightly. "And they still haven't found the bodies?" Peter shook his head numbly. "You think they survived?" asked the Associate Editor optimistically, daring to hope that this was just another one of Felicia's crazy schemes.
Peter shrugged, defeated, and let out a tired, heaving sigh. "I don't know," he admitted as he sat up and leaned back, worry and anger still etched on his usually upbeat face. It hurt her to see, and she could see that there was something else gnawing at him. Carefully, MJ reached out and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, "Did I do the right thing MJ?" he asked lowly.
The redhead pondered the question for a few moments, "Do you think you did Pete?" she asked finally. A pair of red rimmed brown eyes met hers for a second as Peter closed his eyes in thought and, after a moment, took a breath before nodding solemnly. "Then I think so too. Peter."
The bit of force caused him to look up at her, "I understand why they did the things they did, maybe they were right, maybe they weren't," she allayed. "But what you did? Wanting to help? To follow the rules you set for yourself? None of that is wrong," she stressed with a squeeze of his hand. "In fact, it's what I would have done."
The scientist nodded, able to hear the truth in her reassuring words while not being as reassured by them as he should have. "Thank you," replied the brunette as he tried to understand why before saying, "But…I can't get over what he said MJ," admitted Peter.
"Who? Matt?" she asked carefully.
The brunette nodded numbly, "He said the only thing he wanted was to be friends at the end of this and I…" he said before suddenly faltering, swallowing hard, "I told him yes and I would have again…but I never told him that the second time." Mary Jane listened intently, knowing that Peter would never turn away the Pilot even after all the questionable things he had done. "Now I'm not sure I'll ever get to."
"Peter," she said sincerely, snapping him from his self-pity, even if it was only for a moment, "I think Matt knew that," assured the redhead. "You shoulder so many burdens for so many others that…I don't think you truly realize just how far everyone else is willing to go. I think Matt will surprise you and you'll get your chance, and I know that you'll set things right when you do."
Sighing, Yuri set the report down and looked up at Commissioner DeWolff before giving her friend an honest assessment of the situation they found themselves in after what had been an evidently eventful night, "What a clusterfuck." A string of car bombings, shootouts, and assaults were overshadowed by the actions of Spider-Man, the Marauder, and Black Cat.
"Pretty much," agreed the blonde, "You ever hear back from your boys?" That caused the Captain to grimace as she sat back in her chair and let out a breath.
"A bit," admitted Watanabe curtly, even though that was far from the whole truth. Indeed, DeWolff sensed as much and waited patiently for the Captain to elaborate, reaching over to grab her coffee and take a sip, Yuri composed herself and relayed what she had learned.
"I haven't heard from the Marauder," she revealed. "And all I heard from Spider-Man was that he thought the Marauder was killed in that explosion uptown," continued to police captain, causing DeWolff to frown and open her mouth only for Yuri to cut her off. "I checked, Fire and Rescue pulled out six bodies, all were identified as part of Hammerhead's Maggia family."
The blonde commissioner raised an eyebrow, "You don't think he's dead, do you?" she asked, and Yuri shook her head, "What do you think's going on then?"
"I don't know," lied Watanabe quickly, the Captain knew he had been wanting to go after Hammerhead for a while and remembered exactly what the Pilot intended to do to the mob boss. "I do know that he's not going to get killed by Hammerhead of all people. And until they find his body, I refuse to count him out."
Commissioner DeWolff mulled this over, "Well keep trying. Let me know the moment you hear anything from him," ordered the woman tiredly. She waited until Yuri nodded before letting out a breath through clenched teeth. "Until we do, we still have to worry about this gang war that's breaking out. it seems that Hammerhead has declared war on the other families, and he's already bringing a bunch of Sable International ordnance to bear on them to even the odds."
Even when the woman was half a world away and embroiled in her own civil war, Silver Sablinova was still causing the NYPD problems. Still, of all the things Yuri had learned about the Symkarian mercenary, she hadn't taken the woman as the careless type, "So that explains why there have been all those break ins at their old bases," mused Watanabe as she tapped her fingers idly on the desk. "But MRAPs? Heavy weapons? I don't think Sable International left them behind, so that raises the obvious question.…"
"Just where in the hell is Hammerhead getting all this shit?" asked the Commissioner bluntly as both women pondered that particular question.
Stepping out of the car and standing to his full height, Hammerhead adjusted his jacket before turning towards the Oscorp warehouse and development center that his boys were already swarming. Striding through the parking lot, the mob boss didn't slow as he stepped over the dead security guard that had tried to play hero. While he had one of his most trusted men working to acquire the drives, the Don fully expected the other Bosses to not go down without a fight prompting Hammerhead to meet force with force, and Hammerhead was anything but shy about the use of force.
Walking past more bodies that had been cut down by the energy guns he had acquired, Hammerhead made his way inside the Oscorp building, "Let's see what's behind door number one," he hummed happily, a shark like grin on his face as he turned to see what exactly the city's formerly beloved mayor had for him. Even if he wanted to bring back the good old days, the Mob Boss knew that would take new age methods and gear. In the past it had Uzis and Streetsweepers, before that it had been Tommy Guns, and before that it had been Lever Action Repeating Rifles, and now he was going to usher a new era to the streets of Manhattan.
He had known exactly where to look too: Sable International. The PMC had taken over the city in a matter of days, and neither the IMC nor those freaks in costumes could totally break their grip on what Hammerhead sought to make his turf. With Oscorp making more of their technology, the Mob Boss had been quick to capitalize, stealing what he could for months before it could be shipped overseas, and now that the brewing war with the other crime families had finally gone hot, Hammerhead was going straight to the source to turn up the heat even more.
"Get a load of these boss!" shouted one of his men happily from the end of the hallway that had mostly offices, "This is what I'm talking about!"
Hammerhead shoved the man aside and marched inside to get an unexpected surprise, "Well, well, well, would you look at that," hummed the Maggia boss as he looked at the armored vehicles arrayed before him. These were a different type than the ones they had gotten their hands on, lower profile eight wheeled tank looking things with gun turrets on top. "Is it my birthday?" he asked.
He had come here with something specific in mind, but he wasn't going to say no to picking up a bit more firepower. "Alphonse!" called out Hammerhead as the man he called out turned to face him, "You think your boys can drive these things?"
The man the rest of the family called 'Scarface' looked over the sleek armored vehicles, "Probably boss," replied the man, "We got a bunch of the guys who say they worked on 'em too. What should we do with 'em?"
"Take them with us," ordered Hammerhead, "They can help show us how to work these things." And once his boy knew what they needed to, they could drop the eggheads in the Hudson and wash their hands of them. With a nod, Alphonse set to work, rounding up the technicians and finding the guys in the group who could figure out how to drive the armored vehicles. While that was happening, the Maggia boss moved through the building, looking for the real reason he had come here.
While all of this stuff was nice and would be put to use, Hammerhead knew what Oscorp had been cooking up for Sable International and some of it was more useful to him than others. The next room was filled with boxes and crates, some labeled Oscorp, and others already in white Sable International hard cases. Turning around, the Maggia Don looked to the group that had followed him, "This is what we came for boys, bring the trucks around and load all this up," he said before scanning the room and settling his gaze on a series of white cases marked 'Project Olympus.' Pointing at that stack, he said, "Start with those."
His boys quickly went to work, getting the doors open as the box trucks the group had brought were backed into place and the crates loaded with a mixture of muscle and the pair of forklifts left lying around. When the Project Olympus equipment was loaded, the crew went to work taking anything else that wasn't bolted down.
"Hey boss!" yelled out one man, standing next to an opened crate, "It looks like…well, I don't know, but it seems important."
Scowling, Hammerhead went to take a closer look and found a hard case with a strange device inside, but the label 'E.M.P.' gave away its purpose.
"Take it," directed the Don curtly, when the man gave him a questioning look, Hammerhead elaborated, "I'm sure we can find a use for it." Now it seemed the man understood, as his confusion was replaced with a predatory grin as he replaced the lid, "Anthony, get this next!" ordered Hammerhead as the forklift was rushed over to pick up the heavy crate. As the box was whisked away, the Don looked down at his watch before clapping his hands, "Alright boys, let's wrap this up!"
"Yo, Hammerhead!" called out another man from the back, "I think you're going to want to see this boss." Grumbling, the Don turned to see who it was and saw some new guy at a door that had been electronically locked. But since they had what they had come for, the Maggia boss wasn't all that interested, "I'm serious."
Grunting, the Don shoved his subordinate aside to walk into the room, and the first thing that stood out was the size. Even if it was mostly dark, Hammerhead could tell that the ceiling was much higher and there was a lot more space. "Hit the lights, will ya?" ordered the Maggia boss as the switch was flipped and the lights began to illuminate the space and, more importantly, what was filling it. When Hammerhead registered just what he had come across, a shark like grin crept onto his scarred face. "It must be my birthday," he said as he began to imagine how useful these newest finds could be.
Frank Nitti opened the door and stepped out of the car, the three other men that had accompanied the Enforcer as they walked up to the bank holding the drives they had been sent to acquire. Walking up the steps, the quartet entered the bank, brusquely shoving their way past the patrons of the Maggia owned establishment and heading towards the counter. The experienced killer scanned the bank, looking intently for anyone out of place or who might want to interfere. Each of the men in the group carried a concealed handgun, and one carried a secure briefcase in addition. Their orders were to secure the drives and, if they failed that, to ensure that none of the other families got their hands on them. Hammerhead wasn't the kind of boss that tolerated failure, and Nitti didn't advance as far as he had by failing.
Ignoring the stares of the other customers and staff, the group of men strode straight past the counter and into the offices behind it, Nitti eying the security cameras as they passed them on their way to the office of the manager. Reaching the door, Nitti nodded once to his men as they uniformly moved towards the wall, standing against it next to the door, taking up watch as Nitti made his way inside the office. When the door was opened, the Enforcer saw the manager stand and open his mouth to say something when he recognized who had entered his office. "You the man sent to collect Ms. Hardy's safety deposit box?" he asked, getting a curt nod back from the Enforcer. Taking a deep breath, the man reached into a drawer and removed a keyring, "Follow me please," he instructed as he walked past Nitti.
Turning on his heel, the enforcer complied, following the man out of the office, closing the door behind him as the rest of his men fell in step behind Nitti as they went deeper into the bank. The Enforcer trailed his eyes over the employees he passed, looking for any hint of trouble as the group of five entered the elevator and descended towards the vault in the basement below. With a silent nod to the security guard behind the desk, the security door was unlocked and was pulled open by the manager as he led the group of Maggia men inside. Nitti scanned the room for anything amiss as the Manager looked over the wall of safety deposit boxes for the specific one that the Enforcer was here for. Nitti watched him as he came to a stop and inserted the key, unlocking it before stepping away and allowing Hammerhead's man to search it.
Nitti pulled out the box to reveal a small black pouch, opening the drawstring, he dumped the contents out to reveal four black USB drives, smiling slightly, Nitti placed them back in the bag and turned to one of his men and signaled. Promptly, the Maggia man approached and opened the secure briefcase, into which the drives went. Closing the case and locking it, Nitti turned back to the manager, "Thank you for your cooperation, I'll be sure to let the boss know."
With that, the Maggia enforcer led his men back out the way they came, up the stairs and through the lobby, still on alert for any sign of the other families as they made their way to the exit. Nitti didn't let his guard down until they were back inside their vehicle, where he let out a breath. "Get us moving," he ordered as the man driving put the car into gear and got them moving back to the business that served as a front for them. Only New York traffic was still a nightmare, despite the war between the families already heating up fast. Dialing a number on his phone, the enforcer pressed it to his ear and spoke as soon as the call was accepted, "Boss, we got 'em," he reported. "All four were in the box, just like you said."
"Good, that's really good," answered Hammerhead in his gravelly voice. "Oscorp gave us a better haul than anticipated, and thanks to that stupid bitch, we now have everything we need to bring the other families into line." The vehicle carrying the Maggia men made a turn down an alley, past a gate and into the lot beside the storefront to a semi-legitimate machine shop. "Once we got the other families in line, then we'll bring the rest of the city into line."
"Sounds like a plan," replied Nitti as the call ended and the group of men made their way inside, with Nitti pausing a moment to scan the street for any signs of trouble. Finding it clear, the Maggia Enforcer made his way inside, though he failed to notice the small, sleek UAV circling overhead.
His webshooters hissed and clicked, loading the cartridge into place before Peter raised his arm and pulled his two middle fingers to the button on the palm of his glove to fire a webline out and grab his mask from where it was drying in the laundry room. Holding it in one hand, he snatched his phone off the table with the other and was met with a litany of alerts that Yuri had been calling him repeatedly during his two-hour nap and grimaced. MJ had been unrelenting when she had forced him to take a break, but a check of his newsfeed told him that the gang war Matthew had said was coming was already here.
Quickly checking his texts, he saw that Yuri had sent him a few updates, and Peter's eyes widened at one in particular. 'Marauder and Black Cat bodies not found' it read, causing the Webslinger to feel a surge of hope in his chest. His friends were still out there, somewhere, and he could find them and make this right. With that extra motivation, Spider-Man's expression hardened as he went back into the bedroom where Mary Jane was still sleeping. Putting his phone down on the nightstand, Peter quickly scribbled out a note to let MJ know what he was up to before he bent over to plant a small kiss on his sleeping girlfriend's forehead and pulled his mask on, the HUD booting to life as he made his way to the window and pulled it open. Getting a facefull of morning air as he vaulted out and stuck to the brick outside, pulling the window shut behind him before firing off a line and starting to swing through the city as he called Captain Watanabe. "Yuri, what's happening?" asked the Webslinger.
"Spider-Man, thank god, it's looking bad," replied the haggard sounding Captain, "We investigated the explosion uptown, and even though we didn't find the bodies of the Marauder or Black Cat, I can't get a hold of the Marauder. You hear from him?" asked Yuri quickly, genuinely concerned about the Pilot's wellbeing as Peter pulled himself to a stoplight and launch off it.
Firing a line and swinging again, the Queens Native sighed, "No, I haven't," he admitted sadly, "And I haven't been able to reach him." That wasn't the whole truth, but it was as close as he could stomach telling Yuri.
"Well, at least you're back Spider-Man," replied the Captain wearily before taking a breath and refocusing. "And Hammerhead's men are attacking the other families all across the city, I need you to do what you can to stop them. There was a string of break-ins at several Oscorp facilities that have most of the NYPD tied down."
"I'm on it Yuri, I'll do what I can," he assured before hanging up, and he didn't have to wait long to fulfill his promise. Spider-Man had barely made it six blocks from Mary Jane's apartment before he heard the screech of tires and the staccato of gunfire echo through the streets. With an acrobatic flip, the Webhead reversed directions and doubled back towards the source of the shots. Eyes towards the ground, Spider-Man spied the quartet of cars flying through the streets as more gunshots rang out. "Gotta stop these guys," ground out the Webslinger as he surged forwards, firing a pair of weblines at a traffic light and using both super strong arms to pull himself to the light and handspring off of it. Flipping over the top of the trailing car before firing another line from his right webshooter to pull himself to the wall of the building and run along it for a few steps. When the Webhead hit the end of the building, he saw the lead vehicle go hard right, blowing through the stop light to a salvo of horns from frustrated drivers. Jumping 'up' before firing a webilne at the edge of the building, Peter whipped around the corner and pulled himself back to the surface of the building, barely losing any speed and now in line with the lead vehicle.
Planting both feet on the edge of the building, Spider-Man leapt off, rolling as the vehicles continued to exchange shots below before the Wallcrawler pounced, firing a webline to change his direction immediately, now streaking almost straight down towards the hood of the SUV in front. His approach didn't go unnoticed as his sixth sense buzzed and he contorted his body just as bullets snapped past and the driver swerved in a vain attempt to make the Webhead miss. Only for the hero to stick out his arm and latch onto the front fender with his sticky grip as he kicked his feet forward. Without being fazed, Spidey began running on the pavement at breakneck speed before he kicked himself up and landed on the hood of the vehicle in a three point stance, eye lenses narrowing at the two men in the front seats. The passenger whipped his pistol around to point at Spider-Man only for the hero to whip his foot around and kick the windshield, shattering the glass as he spun around on one hand as he brought up his second hand and planted a webline on the man's chest. Spinning around so his feet were towards the window, the Webslinger lay flat on his back as he yanked on the line.
"Should've worn your seatbelt!" quipped the Wallcrawler as he pulled the Maggia man out of the set and 'caught' him with his feet before using his free hand to plant a web trip mine on the body before he extended his legs, thrusting the body up as Spider-Man flipped over back down onto his feet as the trip wire activated, pulling the man to the wall. With his sticky feet securely on the hood of the SUV, Spider-Man fired a pair of weblines to buildings on either side of the road and grabbed on tight. His arms and legs burned as the Webslinger grit his teeth, his superstrength fighting against the momentum of the vehicle as the webs went taut and the SUV slowed instantly, tires screeching in protest.
The warbling in the back of Spider-Man's mind gave him the briefest of warnings as he instinctively let go of the webs in his hands. Letting his body relax just before one of the SUVs behind the lead one slammed into the one the Webslinger hitched a ride on. Even the Wallcrawler's superhuman balance faltered for a split second as his arms flailed while the vehicle lurched sideways. There was another monumental crash as metal was deformed, twisted, and crumpled as the third and fourth SUVs collided with the first two and Spider-Man felt the one he was on begin to roll. Reacting instantly, Spider-Man jumped clear and landed smoothly on the street as he looked up to see the massive vehicle come at him and raised his hands. Grunting at the impact, the Webslinger caught the 5,500 pound SUV and strained to balance it when his sixth sense began to buzz. Looking around, Spidey saw men getting out of the other vehicles, weapons pointing his way. Arms straining, he Webslinger set the vehicle down, rolling it over on all four wheels just before the roar of gunfire echoed through the street. Bullets slammed into the SUV as Spidey stuck to the side of the vehicle and waited for the buzzing in the back of his head to subside. When it did, he fired a web at a manhole cover before jumping from the car and spinning, yanking the metal circle up as he twisted through the air.
"Bad guy, corner pocket!" he called out as he swung the manhole cover up over the top and let go, sending the metal flying and slamming into one of the gunmen.
"Someone squash that bug!" shouted one of the Maggia gunmen as he raised his weapon only for a line of synthetic silk the wrap around the muzzle and rip the gun from his hands as a second line hit his chest. "Wha…" began the man just as a red booted foot slammed into his face, causing his head to snap to the side as he staggered back. Barely on the ground for a fraction of a second, Spider-Man jumped back up and fired his webshooters, lines coming down either side of the stunned Maggia man before the Webslinger streaked down and planted both feet on the man's back, driving him to the ground and planting a few bursts of webbing to keep him there.
A shriek nearly drowned out the warble of the Wallcrawler's spider sense as he flipped away from the burst of red energy pulses fired from a Hammerhead thug with a Sable energy rifle. "C'mon guys!" called out the Webslinger, "You get those fancy guns and still can't hit anything!" Spider-Man darted forwards and slid along the ground before jumping up. Swinging an uppercut that hit the nearest goon and sent him up into the air, Peter followed by jumping up and firing a webline at a traffic light above and swinging, extending his legs and planting his feet in the man's gut, sending him flying back and slamming into one of his compatriots before both men collapsed in a heap alongside one of the wrecked vehicles.
Spider-Man's feet barely hit the ground when he felt his danger sense alert him of another threat and spun, holding two fingers to the button on his glove and loosing an impact web from the hip, the glob of synthetic silk pining the man to the taxi behind him before another jumped out from behind an SUV. The Wallcrawler's eye lenses narrowed at the small device in the man's hand before the Maggia goon hurled the blinking grenade at him. Reacting fast, Spider-Man fired a webline to snatch the grenade out of the air before he twirled it over his head and flung it back towards the SUV it had flown from as it bounced once and then exploded in a bright red flash, scorching the paint off the body and warping the metal of the panels as the heat ignited the gasoline that had leaked from the wrecked vehicle. The last two Maggia thugs that had been behind it were forced to flee the growing conflagration, but neither made it very far.
A pair of weblines stuck to the back of one before a red blur steaked in, the impact sending the trailing goon sliding across the street. The second whipped around only for Spider-Man to lunge at him, throwing an uppercut that sent him skywards while the webslinger jumped up and backflipped to wrap his legs around the man's midsection as he looked 'up' at the street below and fired a pair of weblines at the asphalt before yanking, pulling both him and the Maggia enforcer to the street, the body of the thug falling limp as soon as it hit. Rolling on the ground and smoothly getting to his feet, Spider-Man dusted off his suit and turned to the last Maggia thug, who was shaking himself from his daze and trying to pull himself to his feet, bracing himself against one of the wrecked SUVs before a quick salvo of web bursts pinned his hand and feet where they were, immobilizing him. Snarling, the thug sent a vengeful glare towards the Webhead before screaming, "When we're done with the other families, we're gonna fuc…mmph!"
"Language," chided the Wallcrawler as he tsked at the tie and suspenders wearing man, "Though I will say, you Maggia are the best dressed criminals I've ever beaten up, your dry cleaning must cost a fortune."
Striding up to the police line, Yuri eyed the various police vehicles that surrounded the building she had been asked to visit. Patrol cars, ambulances, as well as trucks from the Medical Examiner and CSI unit all were bunched around a building with a sign that read South Side Freight and Tooling out front. Clenching her teeth as she suppressed her displeasure at having to be here when there was a gang war spreading throughout the city, Captain Watanabe flashed her badge to the beat cop manning the line and lifted the yellow tape to pass inside the perimeter. "Watanabe!" called out a voice that had Yuri turning to the source and seeing Detective Sergeant Brett Mahoney approach, "Thanks for coming."
The Captain knew Mahoney by reputation; a good, honest cop, but one of those who had been promoted to fill the many vacancies created by the last six months and was new to his role as Detective Sergeant. Yuri shook the man's hand and surveyed the scene before asking, "And why am I here?" with a raised eyebrow, "What happened?"
Mahoney grimaced as Watanabe's hard look, "It's nasty, a massacre," he revealed, though Yuri could tell there was more to it than that. "Follow me, I'll show you," said Mahoney as he turned and the Captain followed, "I have an idea about this, I'll walk you through what I think happened based on what the forensic guys are saying, but I wanted a second opinion."
Rounding the corner of the building, Mahoney began to climb up the fire escape before turning back to Yuri. Taking that as her cue to follow, the Captain ascended the metal steps after him as he continued, "And I think when you see exactly what happened I think you'll understand why I called you."
Nodding, Watanabe followed him up to the roof, "I'm pretty sure this was the first one killed," the Detective announced as Yuri emerged from the fire escape and saw a body laid out, rifle a few yards away.
Approaching the body, Yuri noted the outline around the body as she crouched down and got a closer look at the dead man, quickly guessing the cause of death. "Broken neck?" she asked. Though the fact that the dead man's face was looking up despite the body lying on its chest was a bit of a giveaway. Mahoney nodded as Yuri cast her gaze to the rest of the scene, "This is one of Hammerhead's, isn't it?"
"All of the bodies are," replied the man, "Which is why I'm inclined to think this wasn't done by one of the other families. Chances are they would have taken some losses hitting this place," reasoned the Detective Sergeant, and Yuri was inclined to agree, which narrowed down the list of suspects considerably. "Far as we can tell, whoever did this came this way, towards the skylight here," explained Mahoney, "The ME already took him, but here's a photo of what we found."
The man offered Yuri his phone and the Captain took it, eyes widening at the image of a man that had been driven down on his back and had a giant wound on the front of his head, his skull partially split open and one eye completely mutilated. "After taking out both sentries on the roof, as best we can tell, whoever did this entered through a window down there," continued the Detective, pointing to a corner of the building, "Yanked a third out and let him fall to his death from the four story drop."
Yuri's eyes narrowed as she asked the obvious question, "How'd he get down from the roof? there's no fire escape or easy path down."
"Ropes or something I guess," answered Mahoney with a shrug, "Haven't figured that part out yet." Turning around, the Detective made his way to the door that led to the stairwell inside the warehouse until they exited the top floor and then pointed to an open door that showed a barren room and open window. "Intruder came in through there," explained the man, "Then worked his way down this hallway, then he probably took another guy by surprise at the end." Leading Yuri on, the pair arrived at the next body, which lay slumped against the wall.
Scrutinizing the body, Yuri shook her head, "This guy didn't get taken by surprise," she asserted as she crouched down and examined the rifle next to the body, which still had the safety on, "He never even knew the intruder was there, I bet it was the intruder that was taken by surprise as this guy rounded the corner."
"You sure?" asked Mahoney as the Captain noted the two bullet holes, one shot had blown off the man's lower jaw while the second entered beside his nose and blew out the back of his head. "We found the shell casings right there, like the intruder just executed the guy," countered the Detective as he pointed to the three pieces of brass on the ground just two feet from the corner.
Looking from the brass that hinted at where the shots had been fired from and then back to the body, realization dawned on Watanabe. "The intruder was crouched here and taken by surprise when the guy rounded the corner," said the Captain confidently, "He fired up into his head and caught the body as it fell." Turning from the body to the wall, Yuri scanned it until she saw what she was looking for, a single neat hole about seven feet up, and pointed to it. "The intruder was so shocked that he missed at almost point-blank range."
"Then how'd this guy not notice the intruder crouched down right here? He was facing this direction when he was shot…" wondered Mahoney. While Yuri had a theory as to how that could happen, she kept it to herself as she stood and walked on. Caught off guard, the Detective moved quickly to catch up. "Next thing we think happened was the intruder used this elevator shift to drop down, we found that the door had been forced open." Not disturbing the elevator, the two cops took the stairs, descending to the ground floor.
"Obviously, whatever the intruder was after was on this floor, because he didn't hold back," began Mahoney as they emerged from the stairs and Yuri saw what made the detective think that, a massive hole had been blown in the wall ahead of them.
Approaching the hole, Yuri could begin to make out what was left of what was probably an office space on the other side, but there wasn't that much left. There had clearly been several explosions inside, blowing tables and chairs to bits, throwing papers and computers off of them or shredding them with shrapnel. But it was the carnage and gore that Yuri was focused on, the smell was overwhelming as she poked her head through the hole caused her to recoil back, but not before she could see the blood that covered the floor and furniture as lifeless corpses lay strewn about the room, gaping wounds on their bodies and some missing limbs.
"We found six 40mm grenade casings in case you were wondering what did this," provided Mahoney as Yuri nodded before steeling herself and heading into the open door to get a closer look at the carnage, carefully stepping over the markers that littered the ground.
The edges of the room are more intact than the center, it seemed that the grenades were fired through the hole made by the first. "Some survived," noted Yuri, with Mahoney nodding an affirmative as the veteran lawwoman grimaced and noted the bullet holes in the wall and spent bullet casings on the ground at the relatively undamaged edge of the room. Only then did she turn back towards Mahoney standing in the doorway and notice that the door hadn't just been opened, but bashed off its hinges.
"Ran too," provided the Detective Sergeant as he made his way through the ruined room and towards another open door out towards the floor of the shop, through the tooling and wooden crates with the Captain in tow. Rounding one of the lathes, Mahoney paused, "They didn't make it very far though," he said as Yuri noted the dead man lying on the ground. He had seemingly turned to stand and fight, and got a burst of bullets stitched across his chest as a result. Looking on there was another a little further on, clearly leading towards the back door of the warehouse. Reaching the back door, Yuri noted the cluster of 40mm shell casings on the ground before looking outside in a covered parking area to see a trio of ruined cars, which had been reduced charred and twisted hulks of metal. "One kept running though, but whoever the intruder who did this was a helluva shot though," explained Mahoney as they walked through the wrecks and paused at a splotch of blood on the concrete of the garage floor. The smear was indicative of a man who had been dragging himself along the ground, seemingly determined to make a desperate escape, but the body that was sprawled out a few yards beyond was the only indication Yuri needed to know how that had turned out.
"Who's this?" asked the Captain as she looked down at the body, the mortified face frozen in its last expression before he had been killed. He hadn't been given a quick death either, one knee had been blown out and he was missing a few teeth from where he had been kicked in the face.
Mahoney checked his notebook, "Frank Nitti, one of Hammerhead's lieutenants, last seen at a bank earlier this morning, according to eyewitnesses, he went to the safety deposit boxes." That was when Yuri looked away from the killing blow, the gash in his throat that still had one hand clenched around it and noted the briefcase clenched in his other hand.
"It looks like he made a withdrawal," mused the Captain as she undid the latch on the case to open it and reveal a few small black flash drives inside with a note that read, Hammerhead isn't the only one who can plant a tracker. Suppressing the flicker of surprise from her expression as her suspicions swung a certain way, Yuri took a calming breath and closed the case before standing and stepping away.
"What do you think Captain," began Mahoney, "Any idea who might do something like this?"
Watanabe's face remained emotionless, "No, none," she lied before turning away and heading back for her car.
"What is the meaning of this?" barked a demanding voice that caused Commissioner Jean DeWolff to look away from the loading of trucks that she was overseeing and search for the source. The woman's eyes quickly settled on a man in his fifties wearing a suit with a recognizable green pinstriped jacket and orange vest. "Commissioner, I demand an explanation!" shouted Norman Osborn, the former mayor of New York had a dark expression on his face as he strode confidently towards DeWolff like he owned the place, which he did.
Sighing, DeWolff reached into her pocket and pulled out the folded paper in it before she turned to face the CEO of Oscrop, that paper being the whole reason she was here. "You want an explanation Osborn?" asked the Commissioner as she shoved the paper into his chest, "There it is! You can't keep your shit together so good men and women are dying…again." The blonde woman was glaring daggers into the CEO as he unfolded the paper and skimmed through the court order directing the NYPD to seize ordnance at Oscorp facilities and take it into 'protective custody' effectively, considering the rash of thefts by Hammerhead.
The Maggia Don had been putting it to use too, more than a few reports of RPG attacks on the other families had come her way in the last few hours. "We're taking all of this because you can't keep it out of Hammerhead's hands."
Osborn grimaced before he carefully folded the paper and passed it to his aide who silently took it and filed it in the folder she was carrying before the CEO straightened his jacket and responded. "I see," responded the Executive coolly, "I will have my legal team take this up with the courts. There are no grounds for a seizure of property, my company is not accused of any criminal activity in that order. There is no reason for all of this to be seized. Your efforts, Commissioner, should be on those who are responsible for the thefts and not my company. So I suggest that you cease your efforts here and go do your actual job before you give my legal team any more reasons to sue the city."
Jean's stoic features slowly softened until she finally lost the battle within her and began to laugh softly in the face of the former Mayor. "You can't just boss me around anymore Norman," managed the Commissioner, "You really think that after all the shit you pulled with Devil's Breath that you'll be able to garner any sympathy?" The woman's expression darkened dangerously. "And don't think this is over, I expect Oscorp's full cooperation in detailing everything that Hammerhead has stolen,"
Even if she knew in the back of her mind there was a snowball's chance in hell of that. While there were judges favorable to her position, there were probably just as many, if not more, that were in Osborn's pocket, either politically or financially, and they could easily prevent her from carrying out her threat. But the Commissioner took a bit of delight in seeing the CEO squirm and poured it on, "And if Hammerhead happened to steal Devil's Breath then…well I'll make sure you get a cell next to your pal Fisk in the RAFT."
A twitch of one eyebrow was the only indication that the Commissioner's words had gotten to Osborn, and he quickly recovered, stepping closer to look down at DeWolff through narrowed eyes as he spoke lowly. "Let me be clear DeWolff, if you think that you can come in here and expect me to bend to your will because of what you read in the papers then you will be proven wrong. Just because I'm not in office doesn't mean I'm out of control, so if you push me too close to the edge don't be surprised when I pull you over with me."
Now it was Jean who narrowed her eyes, "Is that a threat?" she asked coldly.
"No," answered Osborn, "It's a promise." With that, he stepped back and regarded DeWolff one last time, "Good day Commissioner. I wish you the best in your efforts to stop the criminal activity plaguing our fair city," he said loud enough for those around them to hear before spinning on his heel and striding back out, Jean able to see him reach out and take his phone from his assistant as he exited the building.
For her part, DeWolff just hoped that Osborn's final words would come true and this situation wouldn't get any worse.
"Hey MJ," greeted Peter as he swung through the city, "What's up?" asked the Webslinger.
"Just trying to keep up with everything that's happening, with you or otherwise," replied the Associate Editor over the phone. "I'm not the only one that's been busy though. Are you holding up alright Pete?" she asked sincerely. While Spider-Man had been busy trying to keep the city intact as the Maggia families slugged it out, Mary Jane had been doing her best to keep track of events that happened for the story she would inevitably write about this whole thing.
"Little tired, suit is going to need a wash…or maybe three," he replied, "But I'm doing alright." Swinging up and letting go of his webline, the Wallcrawler flipped and fell back down onto a rooftop he agilely hopped across before leaping from the edge and firing another line. "You get any word on Matt? Or maybe Felicia?" asked Spidey hopefully, "Or has anything happened that sounds like they did it?"
There was a brief and tense silence as Peter held his breath in his swing and awaited response, "My contacts confirmed that they never found their bodies at the penthouse," began the redhead as Peter let out the breath, "As for them making an appearance…nobody's seen them," followed up MJ, causing Spider-Man to deflate once again. "I checked social media, and people are already talking about the Marauder's absence…but I might have something," she revealed as Spider-Man came to a stop as he gave his girlfriend his undivided attention. "There's been a lot of Hammerhead properties being hit by other families, but there was one that seems odd. The police report makes it sound like there was only one attacker who took the whole place apart by himself. No survivors," listed off the Associate Editor as Peter let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. When he didn't immediately answer, MJ took that as her cue to add a little bit, "It definitely fits Matt's MO. I'm waiting for my sources to give me more details, but one of them said something about some drives being found there, so…"
"Yeah," answered Peter, his throat a little dry, there was hope that his friend was still out there, somewhere, on a rogue revenge mission that dragged the city back into war. Clenching a fist, the Webslinger silently vowed to make sure that Matt didn't end up like Li and Octavius, but if it came down to it, if the Marauder had to be stopped then Spider-Man would make stopping him his responsibility. "When was that MJ?"
"Four hours ago," answered the redhead, "Don't even try Pete, we both know he's not going to be anywhere near there." And both of them knew she was right, but that didn't prevent the Wallcrawler from sighing in frustration at the situation he found himself in. He had already tried Matt's place, finding it almost normal except the absence of his friend's McLaren and missing BT-7274, so he was very quickly running out of options.
Abruptly coming to his feet, Spider-Man began to pace along the edge of the building, "There's got to be some way to find him…" insisted the Webhead before he came to a sudden halt, "Wait, he's after Hammerhead, so if we can figure out where tall, dark, and flat headed is, Matt is sure to be close by." That didn't mean this would be much easier, but Spider-Man was willing to try anything he could to try and finally get ahead of his friend for this first time since this whole mess started.
"Let me see," replied Mary Jane as Peter resumed his anxious pacing, hoping that this hunch would pay off and that his girlfriend could pull through again. After what felt like a small eternity that Peter spent clenching and unclenching his fist, he heard MJ's excited voice in his ear once again, "I think I have something. One of the other people covering the story of the gang war has been tracking the areas with the most fighting and it seems that things have been moving north. Most of the fighting during the last few hours has been up in Harlem. The police just reported a high speed chase down Edgecombe avenue with a group of Hammerhead's men so I'd start there if I were you."
Before she had even finished her sentence, Spider-Man had leapt from the building he was on and was heading northwest towards Edgecombe in the hope that he could find the source of all the Maggia's operations. "Incredible work," replied Peter genuinely as he rapidly picked up speed, "You really are something else MJ," complimented the Webslinger as he hung a hard right onto St. Nicholas and began to move straight north.
"I know," answered the Associate Editor without missing a beat, "Not just a pretty face. I'm smart, charming, and observant."
Peter let out a small laugh, "Modest too," he quipped.
"Oh, totally," agreed the redhead with a laugh that caused Spider-Man to smile behind his mask. "Alright, I need to call Robbie and give him an update. Go get 'em Tiger." With that, the line clicked off as Peter refocused on moving fast, swinging past the traffic at a stoplight and launching off it to pick up more speed. The block flew past until a sudden warbling of his sixth sense caused him to reach back and fire a webline at the nearest building.
The rope of synthetic silk stuck fast and killed Spider-Man's forward momentum in an instant, all of it being translated into vertical speed as his arm took the full force of his sudden change in direction, but it was nothing his superhuman muscles couldn't take, and the abrupt move soon proved its worth as the ringing of his Spider-Sense was replaced by the thunderous echoing report of a high-powered rifle as the round snapped past the Wallcrawler. Letting go of the line, Spider-Man flipped as he finally ran out of momentum level with the rooftops and staring straight at the sniper who had just taken a shot and was frantically trying to chamber a new round.
Eye lenses narrowing, Spider-Man raised an arm just as the Maggia goon tried to raise his weapon, only there was no chance for him to be faster on the draw than the Webslinger, who fired a line first and changed direction once again, now streaking straight towards the marksman before slamming into him at full speed. The collision sent the Maggia gunman skidding across the rooftop as his rifle flew from his hands, "If you want an autograph," began the Webhead as he turned towards the two other men that were on the rooftop, each reaching for a Sable made energy rifle, "There are nicer ways to get my attention."
"Get the bug out of here!" shouted one as Spider-Man turned to face the two others and jumped forwards the closest and spun as he lashed out with his foot and kicked the weapon from the man's hand before planting his own hand on the man's head and pushed the Maggia enforcer down to the ground while simultaneously pushing himself towards the last of Hammerhead's men. The sudden hum at the base of his skull caused the Webhead to twist his body as the shriek of the man's laser weapon hit his ears. Red hot bolts shot passed the hero as he fired a webline that hit the man's stomach and yanked, knocking the man's aim off as Spider-Man hit the rooftop and slid across it before going right between the man's legs before coming up to a crouch and firing an impact web with his other webshooter, sending the gunman flailing before he slammed into a chimney that got stuck.
But the other two men were back on their feet and turning towards the Webslinger as the sniper grabbed a Sable shock baton and powered up the device, which glowed an evil looking red and crackled with similarly colored lightning along its length before the Maggia man charged at Spider-Man.
Standing his ground, the Wallcralwer let the man close the distance before he reacted, waiting for his sixth sense to ring before he took action, merely stepping back as the baton was swung, missing the hero by mere inches before a line of synthetic silk wrapped around the baton and yanked it from the man's hands and sent it clattering across the rooftop.
While the Maggia sniper was still trying to comprehend what had just happened, Spider-Man swept his leg, kicking and ripping the leg the Maggia man had his weight on out from under the sniper, causing him to fall back as the Webslinger launched himself with his other leg, flipping himself around and grabbing the man's head before using gravity and his own strength to slam the man into the rooftop, feeling the man's body go limp from the impact as he was knocked out.
The warble of his spider sense had the Webslinger rolling away from the man he had just knocked out and whip around to the sight of the last of Hammerhead's men lashing out at him with one of Sable's energy whips that caused to air to crackle as it passed him by. A second whip lashed out at Spider-Man as the Webslinger agilely jumped and flipped over it as he fired a line of white webbing that snagged the man's face and pulled him forwards, causing him to stumble as the Wallcrawler extended his leg and kicked him in the face, able to feel the man's nose break through his boot before Spider-Man landed back on the rooftop.
While the Maggia man brought a hand up to his face reflexively, the Wallcrawler jumped up and delivered a spin kick to his chest that sent him stumbling backwards until his dress shoes clipped the edge of the roof. "Oh fuck!" yelled th goon as his arms flailed and the whips fell from his grip towards the street several stories below. The only thing stopping him from following was the thwip thwip of Spider-Man's webshoooters sounding out.
One fired an impact web that pinned the man's feet to the rooftop while the other fired a webline that grabbed the man by his shirt. "Oh…holy shit…shit shit shit…" rambled the man as he desperately wrapped both his hands around the webline to hang on tight as his weight and upper body dangled precariously over the edge of the building and he looked down at the lethal drop before turning back to Spider-Man. "What…what do you want freak?" he asked, his voice shaking as much as his body was.
Taking a deliberate step forward that caused the Maggia man to 'fall' a few inches and elicited a startled scream. Spider-Man took a few deep breaths, letting his adrenaline ebb as his head cleared and he thought about how to word his question, "What were you doing here?" he asked.
"Sightseeing," the man snarled angrily as Spider-Man let the line slip an inch in his hand and the man yelped again before the Webslinger's hold solidified. Eye lenses narrowing at the Maggia enforcer, his meaning was clearly received as the man in suspenders gulped and began to speak, slowly and deliberately, "We're lookouts, meant to watch for anyone getting close to the old hospital and scare 'em off."
Spider-Man knew what he was talking about, the old Harlem Sanitarium was abandoned and decrepit, the perfect place to hide in plain sight and with enough space to house a lot of people or stolen Sable supplies. He could feel that it was the place he was looking for. "
Thanks for your cooperation," quipped the Webhead before he slung a tripwire mine onto the man's chest and yanked the webline that was still stuck, pulling him forwards until he was leaning forwards over the rooftop and the mine activated, shooting out a webline that yanked him all the way down to the roof and then sticking him there.
Heading towards the corner of the roof and jumping off to take a look and investigate the Sanitarium as he called Yuri mid swing. When the Captain picked up, the Webslinger began without preamble. "Yuri, I have a lead on where Hammerhead might be," he said as he stuck to the side of a building and began to crawl along the brick.
"You do? Thank god," replied the woman as Spider-Man rounded the corner of the structure and turned around to press his back to the building as he looked out towards the Sanitarium. "We haven't been able to nail anything down and are overwhelmed, if we can take Hammerhead down, we might be able to wrest control of the city back."
Looking at the dilapidated building, Spider-Man's lenses zoomed in and the hero looked for anything amiss, and it didn't take long for things to stand out. There were men with rifles and Sable rocket launchers in windows and on the rooftop, and it seemed like there had been barricades and defensive works erected in the front courtyard, while the other sides had been boarded up. What clinched it was the imposing white Sable MRAP that emerged from the Sanitarium's supply warehouse and made its way out onto the street. "Well I'm looking at the Harlem Sanitarium, seeing lots of Maggia activity."
"Good work Spider-Man," replied Yuri. "I'll try to get ahold of a warrant and the plans to give to our SWAT teams. I hope you're an early riser Spider-Man, I want you to help us tomorrow morning when we go bag Hammerhead."
Commissioners Report to the Mayor: Seizure of Oscorp Property
Madam Mayor,
This report is to inform you that, as Commissioner of the New York Police Department, I have sought, received, and carried out a court order to seize property owned by Oscorp Industries. The reasons for this action is as follows:
Preliminary evidence gathered surrounding the recent uptick in organized criminal activity strongly suggests that firearms, vehicles, and other items used in these crimes came into the hands of the perpetrators by way of Oscorp. Further investigation is required to determine exactly how this happened, be it by design or negligence, and as a result Oscorp poses a direct threat to the public. To mitigate this, Oscorp property that might be used in further crimes has been seized and placed in protective custody, pending the results of the ongoing investigation into Oscorp's role in seeing their property fall into the hands of organized crime.
Criminal charges against Oscorp, or Civil Asset Forfeiture cases against Oscorp property, are pending following the results of the ongoing investigations.
The aim of this is to limit the access of criminal organizations to advanced weapons, vehicles, and equipment that might be used to aid in criminal activity. However, what remains unknown is exactly how much has already been taken, this is one of the main aims of the investigation. The NYPD will remain vigilant towards this ongoing threat and respond accordingly, but the support of the Mayor's office in bolstering our efforts will urgently needed should the situation deteriorate further.
Jean DeWolff
Commissioner, NYPD
Closing Notes: There we go, a little transition chapter to get us set up for Turf Wars, which has a lot of cool bits I'm really looking forward to. It's also going to have a few more changes made to it than The Heist did because some of the stuff they did was kinda dumb. The most important thing to really notice here is some of the toys that Hammerhead found, because they will show up later, and feel free to speculate about what you think Hammerhead found at the very end.
There aren't many other things of note in this chapter. All I will say is that the "Bad guy, corner pocket!" line was one I got from some preproduction game footage. Apparently it was a quip that Spidey said almost every time you threw something at an enemy. It was obviously cut along with the entire dynamic quip system during combat in favor of more specific scripted ones.
Otherwise, next chapter will be the start of Turf Wars, and one side reaches a High Water Mark.
Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.