Chapter 14:

All warfare is based upon deception.

- Sun Tzu

We stood in silence, staring each other down like the matador and the bull. In that moment, I imagined myself as the matador waiting for the bull to charge so I could parry and deflect. But perhaps I had it all wrong. Perhaps I was the unwitting bull fighting for my life and Harry was the matador, waving the false flag in my face to distract me from what was really happening…

He chewed his lip, mulling over my request to see Shriek. He knew full well I was aware he could get me into Ravencroft Asylum to see her. After all, hadn't he brought me to see Peter when he was locked up in that God-awful facility? Just as Jameson had the connections to allow John and I to free Peter, Harry's money and Oscorp's influence had similar connections to get me inside again.

Finally, he spoke and as he did, his eyes narrowed the slightest bit. "It's going to be difficult since Spider-man somehow escaped." His eyes narrowed upon me even more. Did he know? Was that the steely edge of accusation in his voice? If he did know, it seemed he wasn't going to come right out and tell me because just as soon as they had narrowed upon me, his eyes returned to their normal gaze and he continued onwards, "But I'll figure out a way to do it… for you."

He paused, waiting for the gushing appreciation I knew he so badly craved. I said nothing. The silence spanned for a few awkward moments until finally he chuckled, nodded his head and took one step backwards from me.

"Fire and ice, Mary Jane." He wagged a finger at me. While I suppose he meant the gesture to be a friendly sort of chiding, there was a look in his eyes that chilled me. He repeated, "You are fire and ice." He dropped his hand then winked and continued to step backwards towards the automatic doors of the emergency room waiting area. "But you know I've always enjoyed a challenge."

Had his demeanor suddenly shifted to something more menacing or was it my own paranoia coloring the scene into something it wasn't?

The sliding doors opened but before he slipped through them he asked, "Why do you want to see Shriek?"

Without hesitation, the lie came hurtling from my lips, "Everyone knows Shriek is a mind-bender. If she can tap into his mind, maybe she can help us trap him. I know it's a long shot but Spider-Man is strong and Peter…" Saying Peter's name caused an onslaught of memories so sudden, I hadn't the mental quickness to stymie their flow.

A young Peter, perhaps ten or eleven years old, playing in the autumn leaves at Aunt May's. I watched curiously from my Aunt Anna's living room, peeking behind the curtain of one of the many windows that overlooked Aunt May's front yard. His coke bottle glasses were too large for his small face. In between jumps, he would have to pause and with a single index finger push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. He laughed without reservation, his small voice carrying across the yard and through the closed windowpane. "Go play with him, Mary Jane. He's a nice boy." Aunt Anna had tried to convince me but I refused. It had been the first time I had ever seen him.

Another memory; An older Peter, tall and muscular but with the same coke bottle glasses, picking me up from Aunt Anna's many years later - our first and last date that ended with Spider-Man rescuing me from the Rhino. It had been my first meeting with both Peter and Spider-Man. This meeting had been before the story of Gwen and Peter had begun. It had been the beginning of our story.

Another memory; Peter teasing me in that merciless way of his. But I could hold my own. Both of us throwing barbed words at one another as our language of choice and the way in which we most often communicated with each other. It was the comforting way in which I knew that things were okay - we were okay. If Peter was teasing me and I was reciprocating then life was normal. But nothing had been "normal" since life after Gwen.

An odd lump formed in my throat. The lie that had bloomed to life threatened to wither and die at the hands of my unbridled emotions. I swallowed down hard. There was too much at stake to allow my emotions to overwhelm me.

I spoke with an evenness that surprised even myself. "Peter's smart. It won't be easy taking him down."

"He may be smart but we have the Green Goblin on our side. We don't need anyone's help."

Again without hesitation, I spoke. "The Green Goblin was never able to take Spider-Man down before. Why do you think he could do it now when Spider-Man has absolutely nothing left to lose?"

His eyes narrowed. Had I gone too far? Although I tried to keep my tone as even as his had been, the meaning behind my words had caused him to bristle. The air around him seemed to be suddenly charged with his irritation.

"We have to do everything we can, Harry. He killed Gwen." The tears that suddenly blurred my vision were not an act. "He has to pay."

"Oh, he'll pay, Mary Jane. Mark my words." Before my very eyes, Harry's face morphed into the Green Goblin's; the way his chin tilted down, mouth turned ever so slightly, eyes glistening with vengeance… Even his voice had transformed into a sinister hiss. In the distance, I heard the Green Goblin's unmistakable cackle. I blinked hard and the Green Goblin's face disappeared. Harry lifted his chin and pulled his cell phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He took a step backwards towards the open doors. "I'm going to step outside and make a couple phone calls. Get your stuff together. We'll be leaving soon."

Once he was out of sight, I sat down hard into one of the poorly cushioned chairs. I inhaled deeply, not realizing I had been holding my breath. I had no plan. I was going to waltz into Ravencroft with just a hope and a prayer that I'd be able to figure it out as I went. My head was spinning. Peter was in danger. John was surely on death's doorstep. As for me? I couldn't help but feel like I was making a deal with the devil in negotiating with Harry. He was doing me a favor but he would expect something in return. Harry would always keep score and between bringing me to see Peter and now Shriek, the scale was tipping heavily in his favor.

I stood from the chair and walked to the hospital's front desk. "Can you tell me the status of John Jameson?"

The nurse tapped away at a computer then shook her head. "The computer doesn't have a status yet. Give me a second and I'll check."

I nodded my head but she was already walking away, disappearing behind a set of heavy double doors. No matter his status, how could I possibly leave him here? I asked myself the question but even as I did, I already knew the answer. While an immense guilt tugged hard at my heart, it was easily overridden by my need to do something. My whole world had been turned upside down and was now currently in the process of crumbling. No - sitting idly by was not something I was capable of doing in any circumstance, least of all now.

A few more moments ticked by before the nurse reemerged from the heavy double doors.

"They're working on stabilizing him. That's all they could tell me for now."

"Thank you." A tried to smile but I couldn't quite manage it. I pulled my cell from my pocket then began searching for a phone number. "I need you to call his next of kin to let them know what's going on. I have to go but I'll be back as soon as I can." I knew she didn't care I was leaving. I knew I was only adding this last part as a feeble attempt in placating my own guilt. Wordlessly, she slid a pen and paper across the desk. In my cellphone I found his father's phone number. I scrawled it onto the piece of paper.

"Are you ready?" Harry was behind me. I straightened and steeled myself. Like a switch had been flipped, I turned it on. It: The act. The facade. The mask. If my sneaking suspicion that Harry was lying to me proved to be correct, I had to play my cards right. Because if my hunch was correct, it wasn't only Peter's life on the line. It could be mine as well.

An artificial light filled my eyes. I forced the corners of my mouth up. Then, I turned around and became the girl that Harry once knew many, many years ago.

"Come on, tiger." I patted his chest as I walked past him towards the doors leading out into the crisp night, "Lets catch ourselves an itsy-bitsy spider."

Author's note: It's a short chapter, I know, but you'll have to forgive me. I'm a weeee bit rusty. It feels good to dust off the ol' cobwebs :)

For the last reviewer: this chapter is for you.