CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Kingpin of Crime

PART TWO: Dance with the Devil

Pretending to be a spider is fun. Well, it can be fun, given the right circumstances. Not that I particularly want to start eating flies or anything, but stalking prey can be pretty amusing. Case in point, I was now staring down at an old friend of mine. My old buddy Shocker was up to his old tricks. I could have sworn I told him to stop selling drugs in my city. Yet here he was, standing in the same alley that I beat him up in last time, selling crack yet again. I was hanging upside from a web twenty feet above his head. Naturally, he had no idea I was there.

There's a reason I'm here to see Shocker. He and Rhino are buddies, you understand. So my plan is pretty simple: first I slap Shocker around, and then I find Rhino and bring him to justice. And, if possible, I'll figure out who the hell this Kingpin of Crime is, let alone if he actually exists. Then, hopefully, I can get home in time to do my homework and figure out how the hell I'm gonna afford a suit for the prom.

I watch as Shocker's customers walk out of the alley. He lights up a cigarette, then stands there and starts counting his money. Now's my time to strike. I lower myself on a webline silently, and I find myself right behind him.

"Those are bad for your health, you know," I comment.

He jumps, screams, and turns toward me. As he turns, he drops his money and scrambles into his pocket so he can whip a pocketknife out. I slap the blade out of his hand, grab him by the collar, and yank on the web, pulling myself high into the air and bringing him with me. I ball up the web in my hand, holding myself twenty feet in the air. I don't say anything for a second. Nah, I'm gonna let him register this situation in his mind. Much to my surprise, Shocker actually starts crying. This makes me smile under my mask.

"Shocker...didn't I tell you to get a real job?"

"Wha...what the fuck, man!"

"Didn't I tell you to stop selling this shit in my city?"

Shocker continued to scream as he stares at the ground, which is quite a distance under us.

"What did I say would happen if you didn't stop selling your poison around here?"

I let him go. The maggot screams all the way down.

Huh? Oh, don't worry, I'm not gonna turn him into street pizza...not yet, anyway.

I relax my grip on the webline, letting myself fall until I'm five feet off the ground. I reach out with my free hand and grab Shocker's ankle. His body flips upside down and his body jerks. The only thing keeping him off the ground is my hand on his ankle.

"I feel like being generous, Shocker. I don't think I'm gonna kill you today," I say.

"Don't kill me...don't kill me..." he stutters.

"Shut up! Don't think you're getting out of this that easily, though. You're gonna give me some information."

"Whatever you want, man! Just don't kill me!"

"I have a very simple question. You, being a very simple person, are going to give me a very simple answer. Simple, ain't it?"

I let go of Shocker, letting him fall the remaining five feet. He crashes into the ground and rolls onto his back, groaning in pain. As soon as he opens his eyes, he finds himself staring into the blank white holes on my mask. I'm hanging on the web directly above him now.

"Where's Rhino?"

"K...k...k..." he stammers.

"In English..." I say, losing my patience quickly.

"...Kingpin..."

Ah, an interesting answer.

"Who is the Kingpin?"

"If I told you..."

"He would kill you, I know. That's what they all say. Now tell me who he is."

"You don't want to fuck with him, man...I ain't sayin' that 'cuz I like you, either! You just don't wanna fuck with him! Ain't no costume or superpowers gonna save your ass!"

"That's interesting, Shocker. Now give me a name before I rip your face off."

"Alright, look, if I give you a name, you gotta promise me protection."

"I don't make deals with drug dealers. C'mon Shocker, I don't have all day."

"I'd let you kill me before I told you, man! If I tell you, you can't let him know you got his name from me!"

I stare at him blankly for a few seconds. I'm getting nowhere this way. I decide to play it his way.

"Alright, he won't know you're a spineless stool pigeon. Now what's his name?" I ask.

"Talbert...John Talbert," he replies.

"And where can I find this John Talbert?"

"Dude lives in a hotel...the Sheraton on 19th and Race...Room 119."

"Why would he live in a damn hotel?"

"He stays in a different hotel every week. Doesn't think he needs to buy his own house. But he has safehouses all over the city. Even I don't know where they are."

"And how exactly do you know all this, Shocker?"

"I hear this from Rhino. Kingpin'd never tell me any of this shit, but he trusts Rhino and Rhino tells me."

I grab Shocker by his shirt and pull him toward me.

"You bullshittin' me, Shocker?"

"No, I swear..."

I release my grip on him and slowly raise myself on the webline until I'm lost in shadow.

"If I find out you're lying, I'll be back."

I leave Shocker alone in the alley. I'm sure he's pissed his pants.

I make my way downtown until I find the Sheraton. It's gotten dark at this point, which will definitely help me out. I'm gonna have to do the stealth thing before I make my presence known. I know nothing about this Talbert guy, so I'm gonna have to play it safe. Not only that, but I haven't been in costume for months and I still need to get used to this.

Once I reach the hotel, I climb down the side of the building until I reach a balcony. I drop onto the balcony and look around. It suddenly hits me: I have no idea what room this is. I have to find Room 119, but how am I supposed to tell which room that is from the outside? I cautiously open the sliding glass door and enter the room...

...only to walk in on a young couple having sex. They stop when they spot me and stare at me silently. Their jaws hit the floor at the sight of me. I just stand there, gazing awkwardly back at them.

"Uh...I'm with the hotel...they told me you had ordered room service...my mistake...could you please point me in the direction of Room 119?"

The young woman in bed pulled the sheet up to cover herself and pointed to the left.

"Um...five rooms that way..." she replied.

I gradually sidestep past the young couple and make my way to the door. They follow me with their eyes until I finally exit their room. That was smooth, Spidey. Very smooth.

Turning to my right, I hear a click from the next door over. I jump to the ceiling and cling to it. The door opens, and a maid exits. She begins to stroll down the hall past the room I just left. I crawl along the ceiling behind and above her, and watch as she approaches a door and knocks on it. It seems to be my lucky number. Room 119.

"Mr. Talbert? Are you in?" the young maid asks.

"One second, darling," I hear from inside the room.

A second later, the door opens. My eyes widen as I see the guy in the doorway. He fuckin' huge! I can barely see past him into the hotel room. He's a big black man, with the broadest shoulders I've ever seen, and he's got humongous muscles all over. The man's gotta be a good six feet, six inches tall. His hands are as big as his head. What else can I say? He even makes Rhino looks small, and Rhino is not a small man.

"Martina, you're right on time," Talbert says to her. His voice is too damn deep to be human. I can almost feel him speaking.

"Of course I am, Mr. Talbert. I'd never leave you waiting," the maid replies.

Okay, it doesn't take my sixth sense to see what's going on here. I watch as Talbert steps back, and Martina enters the room. They both walk into the room, their backs to the door. I slip into the room before the door can close. Talbert suddenly turns, wraps his arm around Martina's waist, and plants a kiss on her. While they kiss, I dash across the wall and jump into the closet, closing the door and watching them both through the cracks. After a few seconds, they stop kissing.

"Just give me one moment, my dear. I have some company," says Talbert.

"No problem, Mr. Talbert," she replies.

Talbert walks into another part of the room. Which sucks, because now I can't see him. But I can still hear him.

"Looks like we're going to have to put our business on hold, Rhino. We'll talk tomorrow. But you're a free man, now. Go out and have some fun," says Talbert.

My heart starts pounding. I'm almost tempted to jump out there and start throwing punches. Rhino is in the room with me, and I'm trapped in the closet. Suddenly, that stupid R. Kelly song starts playing in my head. I shake my head to stop letting myself get sidetracked and continue listening.

"I don't know, man. Word on the street is there's somebody lookin' for me," says Rhino. "The guy in the red suit's been askin' questions about me."

"Just so we're on the same page, which guy in the red suit are we talking about here? The one with the webs or the one with the horns?" asks Talbert.

"The one with the horns," answers Rhino.

Okay, I'm really confused now. There's a guy in a red suit with horns hunting after Rhino? What exactly has he been smoking on?

"Oh, but don't worry. I'm definitely lookin' for that motherfucker Spider-Man. I saw his face, man. I just don't know if I could recognize him if I saw him again. But when I find him, I'm gonna make him pay for puttin' me in lockup..."

"Hey," Talbert says, almost chuckling, "Relax. You're not going to worry about any of that tonight. I want you to go to the club tonight. I gave the Enforcers a call today. They're going to make sure nobody tries anything stupid with you."

"Thanks, Mr. Talbert. I owe you big for this, man."

"You're one of my best employees, Rhino. Getting you out of jail was as easy as a game of Monopoly. Now, if you'll excuse me, Martina and I would like some privacy."

"You got it, Mr. Talbert."

I continue staring through the cracks. I watch as a huge set of feet walk past me.

"Oh, Rhino, one more thing," says Talbert.

"Sir?"

"After you meet with the Enforcers, do me a favor and pick up Tracy on your way to the club, won't you? She mentioned wanting to go tonight, but I don't want her going without you and the boys being there."

"No problem, Mr. Talbert. I'll make sure your daughter is safe."

And suddenly the story gets a little more interesting. I watch as Rhino leaves the room. Talbert walks back toward Martina.

"Sorry about that, my dear," he says before ushering her into the next room. A few seconds later, I hear things that I honestly cared not to hear. I doubt you really want me to get into detail here. Bottom line, I bolted out of the closet toward the door and got the hell out of there as quick as I could.

I made my way back outside, perched on the side of the hotel, and watched as Rhino handed a slip to a valet. Moments later, the valet came back with a jet black Hummer and handed the keys to Rhino. Rhino climbed into the Hummer and pulled away from the hotel. I fired a webline and leapt off of the wall, gradually swinging over the Hummer. After completing the swing, I released the web and let myself fall until I landed on top of a car that was behind Rhino. I jumped off of the car's roof and landed on top of Rhino's Hummer. He wasn't aware that I was on top of the car.

I crouched low and started to contemplate what I should do. If Talbert was planning on getting Rhino some protection, it would probably be best if I took him out on the spot. I got ready to tear the roof off of the Hummer and wring Rhino's neck, but then something stopped me. I felt something that I hadn't felt in months. The danger sense was buzzing lightly. Then it suddenly started to flare. I had almost forgotten about it, and more importantly, I had almost forgotten how to react to it. Just as I began to look up to see where the danger was coming from, I felt a foot slam into my face. My body was knocked from the Hummer. As I fell through the air, I grabbed onto a nearby lightpole, flipped, and crouched on top of it. A split second later, something...like a billy club or something, came out of seemingly nowhere and hit me in the nose. I fell from the pole and landed on the top of an eighteen wheeler that was passing by. I turned onto my side just in time to see a pair of red boots land in front of me. I looked up at whoever it was that attacked me.

I think I may actually be losing my mind. Whoever this guy was who just hit me, he was standing in front of me in a red suit with horns on his head. There was a double "D" on his chest. He had a mask covering the top half of his face, and the lenses were bright red. The billy club he had just hit me with was detached into two pieces and connected by some kind of cord, and had just retracted to make one long staff. The red guy with the horns on his head twirled the staff over his head and then entered a stance.

"Looks like my source was right," he said. "You're in league with Rhino. Which means you're working for the Kingpin. Which means I'm going to have to kick your ass."

I stand up and look him over. It's kind of weird. This is my first time meeting another nut in a costume. I'm trying really hard not to laugh.

"Red jammies, horns...so I'm guessing you're supposed to be the Devil, right?" I ask him.

"Close..." he says as he smirks at me.

Moving faster than I would have expected, he smacks me across the face with his staff, knocking me back down.

"Daredevil..."

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN