Spider-Man : Hunted

part 9


" What do you mean? " Mary Jane asked indignantly.

" I mean, you'd better shape up, or ship out young lady, " The sleazy director warned his lead actress. " You're just not cooperating with me or any of the other actors. "

" Yeah, well I never knew I signed up for a soft porn movie when I auditioned for a role in a soap opera! "

The director sighed and shook his head. " You signed a contract. You were all too eager to join up when you were offered the part. Do you really want to end up in court for breach of contract? "

Just then, Mary Jane spotted Peter Parker walking onto the set. He scanned the crowd, obviously looking for her.

" Peter! " She called, raising her hand to make sure he saw her. He smiled and waved back. She turned her attention back to the frustrated soap opera director. " Now if you don't mind, Mr. Raimi, it's my lunch hour. I've got a date. "

" Sure. " Raimi muttered.

Peter kissed Mary Jane hello, and took her hand as they walked. " So where are we headed? " Mary Jane asked, relieved to be away from work for a while.

He shrugged. " I figured we could get a hot dog or something at Central Park. "

" Sounds good to me, Tiger. "

As they walked, talking about this and that, every day issues, Peter felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was nice to forget about being Spider-Man once in a while. Mary Jane was as refreshing as a cool breeze.

" I heard about what you did for Gwen Stacy the other day, " Mary Jane said, interrupting his thoughts. " Flash told me all about what a great hero you are. "

Peter grinned, looking at his feet as he walked. " I did what anyone else would have done, " He said modestly.

" Nonsense! " Mary Jane poked him in the ribs. " Most people would have looked the other way. Truly Peter, you are an amazing person. Not to mention all the other lives you've saved recently. "

Spider-Man again. Sometimes he thought she only loved him because of her girlish fantasies about the hero. She had told him she had a crush on Spider-Man before she knew that he and Peter Parker were the same. Peter sighed at the irony of it. Even now that Mary Jane knew about his secret, he sometimes was still jealous of... well, himself.

Peter squeezed her hand gently and she smiled at him. Her super hero. She thought she was the luckiest girl alive. Of course, she didn't love him for what he could do, she loved Peter Parker for who he was. But nobody could deny they admired the web slinger's abilities.

" I've been thinking about hanging up the webs, " Mary Jane's eyes shot wide open. She hadn't been expecting this from him.

" Why!? " She was all she managed to utter.

" Because of Harry for one thing. " Peter stopped walked, and turned to look her in the eyes. He was serious, that she could tell. He had given this a lot of thought. " And maybe if I retire, I could live a more normal life. Spend more time with you, and with Aunt May. She's not going to be around forever, you know, and I don't want to regret it that I didn't spend any time with her. "

Mary Jane nodded slowly. " And by retiring, you'd also be protecting the people you love? "

" Exactly. "

They continued walking to the park in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

****

Harry and Jason Macendale stood side by side in the laboratory. A large glass chamber was in the middle of the room, with various chemicals and computers all around.

" So this is where the Performance Enhancers were tested? " Harry looked over to Macendale.

The older man nodded. " So I'm told. " He pointed to the chalk outline on the floor. " This is also where Dr. Stromm was murdered. "

Harry studied the glass chamber intently. " Who was the human test subject? "

" We don't know, Mr. Osborn. " Macendale followed the young CEO to the glass chamber. One side of the containment area had been shattered, as if someone had been flung right through it.

" I want the Performance Enhancers taken back to formula, " Harry said, deep in thought. " Dr. Stromm's records show that the project was far from ideal for human tests. I don't know why my father approved it. "

Macendale agreed. Osborn shouldn't have tested the formula yet. He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. It was strange that the Green Goblin had disappeared shortly after Norman's death. It was also strange that the terrorist had used Oscorp's glider and flight suit for his own purpouses. Nobody had made the connection yet, he was sure of that. Glancing at Harry, he jotted down a note and started making phone calls from his cellphone. He had work to do.

****

Ben Ulrich sat down in the visitor's chair opposite Captain Stacy's desk. Stacy looked up and greeted the reporter gruffly. " I'm busy, Ulrich. This better be important. " Ulrich rubbed his goattee, and pushed his glasses back onto his nose.

" You might find it interesting. I have some information on one of Oscorp's new board members. " The reporter grinned.

Stacy looked up from his paperwork. " I'm listening. "

" Jason Phillip Macendale. The new vice president of Oscorp, it turns out he's been doing some moonlighting work as well. "

The Captain frowned. " Well, spit it out Ulrich. I don't have all day. "

" Macendale is a mercenary. He is wanted in over 10 countries world wide for terrorist activities. Recently, several of his group had been arrested in New York. When interviewed, one of them admitted that he thought Macendale had set them up. Some years ago, he faked his own death in India, only to re-emerge back in the USA a couple of months later - with no criminal record. He built up a reputation as a good businessman, and obviously got hired quite recently by Harry Osborn. "

The policeman raised his eyebrows. " How did you come by this information? "

Ben smiled. " I have an informant. He's not exactly cheap, but he's reliable. "

" How sure are you he's trustworthy? "

" 99 Percent. "

George Stacy stroked his chin, deep in thought. " The question is, what does Macendale want with Oscorp? "

Ulrich shrugged. " My best guess is, that he wants the Spider Slayer designs for his own purposes. Maybe they're cheaper soldiers than flesh and blood people. "

Stacy shook his head. " I don't think that's all there is to it. If he just wanted the robots, he would have gone by now. No, I think he's after something else at Oscorp. And I have a sneaky feeling that Mr. Harry Osborn doesn't have the slightest idea what he's gotten himself into by hiring Macendale. "