Author's notes:
The background on the Rhino comes from the Marvel Encyclopedia on Spider-Man.
"Stukach," is the Russian word for government informant.
Chapter Six
"Hang on Mary Jane!" Peter shouted as they rapidly descended toward the wreckage. "Are you sure it's John's? We're pretty high up and there are lots of black SUV's"
"Not like that one!" she replied frantically, her mind already churning out one worst-case scenario after another. Please God, don't let anything happened to him, she prayed.
They both breathed a sigh of relief when they landed and saw that no one was inside the ruined vehicle. "Stay here!" Peter ordered.
"Do you have any idea who did this?" Mary Jane asked, still in shock, both over the destruction of the SUV and Peter's blink-of-an-eye transformation from love-sick young man to battle-hardened crime fighter.
"Alexsei Sytsevich," Peter called back over his shoulder, already taking off in pursuit. "Also known as the Rhino." He was well acquainted with Sytsevich, a one-time hit-man for a Moscow-based crime syndicate with branches in New York. Seduced by promises of wealth and power, Sytsevich had voluntarily undergone a series of cybernetic treatments in which a powerful exoskeleton, modeled on the hide of a rhinoceros, was permanently fused with his body, rendering him practically invulnerable to conventional police weaponry.
Peter had barely survived his first encounter with the Rhino, having taken a direct hit from that horn. But he had learned three important things from that episode that he hoped would be of use to him now. The first was that, once Systevich had gathered a full head of steam, he could not easily stop or change direction. The second was that he was quick-tempered and as dumb as a doornail, which meant that it wouldn't be that difficult to throw him off balance. The third, and perhaps the most critical, was that Sytsevich always left a trail, usually in the form of damaged buildings, destroyed vehicles, and panicked bystanders scrambling to get out of the way.
Sure enough, the trail was there, right down the center of Broadway. As Peter overtook his quarry, he saw that John Jameson was still alive, miraculously. Sytsevich was carrying him like a rag doll under one arm while charging up the street. He did not appear to be hurt, at least not seriously. But he looked rather comical, pathetically pounding the Rhino's arm in an effort to get the charging man-beast to let him go.
Peter quickly deduced what had happened. For months, the Daily Bugle had been doing an exposé on the Russian Mafia and its shadowy connections to renegade elements of the former Soviet KGB. Peter himself had been assigned to the story and had done some dangerous undercover work to obtain photos, with nary a word of praise from his boss for having stuck his neck out. More than once, Jonah Jameson had received threats of retaliation, warning him very unsubtly to back off or there would be severe consequences. But instead of anticipating who was behind those threats, Jameson had accused Spider-Man of being in league with the Russians, making himself and his family notoriously easy targets for their most fearsome weapon. It was only a matter of time, Peter thought anxiously as he raced to save the pompous, self-important publisher's son.
But he had a huge tactical problem on his hands. He quickly realized that he could not fire his webs into Sytsevich's eyes. Sytsevich weighed over seven hundred pounds, and if he went down the wrong way, John Jameson could be crushed. He would somehow have to get Sytsevich to let John go. He gestured to the captive astronaut to stay calm. The expression of relief on John's face at seeing Spider-Man was all too palpable. John signaled back that he understood.
"Hey Alex," Peter called out as he swung by the Rhino, "don't they feed you enough at the zoo?"
"You!" Sytsevich growled contemptuously in a thick Russian accent. "Stay out of my way, you worm. This is none of your business!"
"Sorry Alex. No can do." Peter replied. "Now are you going to be a good little boy and put the man down or do I have to spank you?"
"I'll squash you like an insect!" Sytsevich roared. Peter smiled under his mask. His tactic was working. The Rhino may have had a thick hide, but he sure had thin skin.
"Give it up Alex. You're a second-rate stukach who couldn't squash his babushka." He had once heard that calling a Russian a stukach was the ultimate insult. It had the desired effect. Snorting like a bull, Sytsevich forgot all about his mission and dropped John Jameson in the middle of the street. Fortunately, John had been blessed with considerable reflexes of his own, honed by extensive training, numerous spacewalks, and playing quarterback on the moon. He somehow managed to land on his feet and get out of the way of oncoming traffic.
Sytsevich, meanwhile had slowed down and come to a stop. He was right where Peter wanted him to be. "Toro, Toro!" Peter shouted, pretending to be a matator.
Furious, Sytsevich charged him. But Peter stood his ground, waiting for the right moment to get out of the way. A crowd of onlookers had gathered, gaping at the sight of the Rhino bearing down on Spider-Man. "Move, get out of there!" one little boy screamed. But Peter held up his hand, letting the crowd know that he knew what he was doing. "Come on Alex," he whispered. "Closer . . . closer . . . closer . . .Now!" The Rhino was less than two feet away from Peter when suddenly he leaped straight up, twisted around in mid-air, and landed squarely on Sytsevich's back. Systevich reared up, trying to shake him off. But Peter held on, locking his arms around the Rhino's neck, wrestling him to the ground like a linebacker who had just made a touchdown saving tackle.
The Rhino tried to roll over and crush him under the full weight of his armored body. But Peter, faster and far more agile, was able to get up just in time. Sytsevich flailed furiously at Peter with his fists, but couldn't strike anything other than empty air. Finally, Peter got into position, grabbed Sytsevich in a headlock and flipped him over, the asphalt cracking under the impact.
"Oh, and by the way Alex," Peter said as he picked up the groggy Rhino by the horn. "Spider's aren't insects. They're arachnids." Before Sytsevich knew what was happening, Peter delivered a punch to the face that knocked him out cold. He probably couldn't figure out the difference anyway, he thought as he webbed the Rhino up, tying his arms and legs together for the police.
John Jameson, meanwhile, hurried over to Spider-Man, shaking his hand profusely. "Thank you for saving me from that overgrown crackpot." he said breathlessly.
"Are you all right?" Peter asked, remembering what the Rhino had done to John's car.
"Yes," John answered. "But I wouldn't have been if he hit me head on. What about you?"
Peter was taken aback by John's expression of concern. It was the first time that he could remember anyone thinking about his welfare, much less the son of his detractor-in-chief. "I'm okay," he told the astronaut. Sirens off in the distance told him that the police were on their way. In the corner of his eye, he saw Mary Jane running towards them. He turned back to John and smiled beneath his mask. "There's somebody here to see you," he said, gesturing in her direction.
"Mary Jane!" John shouted as he ran toward his fiancée.
"Take good care of her," Peter whispered, his voice breaking, as he watched the two of them embrace.