Chapter 23 [Baxter Building—Right after Events in Chapter 21]
A black and white patrol car settled into an open parking spot alongside the curb. Red and White Strobe Lights warned other cars to give wide berth. Light Rain spat on its hood. That's if Terse Vibes within didn't accomplish that feat by itself….
Jean DeWolff squinted up at the skyscraper in question. Her father's orders had echoed through her head. His attitude ground at her sensibilities. Cynicism pushed a knowing cough from her mouth. Reed Richards pulled one over on you, Dad. Hate to say it but you've had that one coming! The Web Head's not the creep Jameson and you make him out to be! Her fingers pushed the cigarette lighter into service. She put a cancer stick in her mouth. Her left fingers tapped out Impatience's Morse code on the arm rest. She stuck the lighter's glowing tip onto Cigarette's end. Irritated Puffs worked off those emotions. We should just leave him alone already! Dad won't care. He never does. Her eyes glanced over her shoulder and down the street.
SWAT sat about five blocks back. The NYPD set up roadblocks around the Baxter Building. Snipers positioned themselves on surrounding rooftops. Choppers flew toward her position. Between these forces, Captain DeWolff cut off any means of escape.
Dad, it's been tried before. You've failed before. Snort jabbed forth to nobody in particular. Then, she looked at her walkie talkie. What a farce! Clenched teeth abused the cigarette in her mouth. "Dispatch, this is DeWolff."
"Base here, DeWolff. Are you at the site?"
She curled her lip. "Yes. I am in front of the site. I'm going in. I have the warrants in hand. Wait for my signal."
"Be sure you give it, Lieutenant. We don't want him getting away again. Now do we?" her father snapped.
Her eyes narrowed. "That, Sir, was not my fault. I had six gangsters on my ass! I know my priorities, Dad. I want to make sure I don't go in guns blazing for nothing. Besides, if he wants to get by me, he'll get by me. DeWolff out." Her finger came off the talk button. He's as bad as Jameson. Her eyes rolled. She got out of the car and slammed the door. She marched into the lobby.
The nondescript area appeared much like any business building's lobby in Midtown. Large glass windows and a few cushioned seats provided some ambiance. A few potted plants sat in their planters along the area's edges. Beyond that, nothing indicated that the Fantastic Four resided several stories above her head.
Hiding in plain sight. Then again, their identities are well known. She spied the elderly doorman standing to the left of an elevator door. If you want to get in, ask the man. She headed toward him. "Good morning, Sir." She flashed her badge. "I'm Lieutenant Jean DeWolff of the NYPD. I need to see Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four. Please call the elevator down. I have a warrant."
O' Houlihan scratched his head. He glanced at the door's buttons. "Begging your pardon, Ma' am." Respect prompted a tip of his hat to her. "I'd be delighted to call the elevator for you. There's a wee problem. Only the Fantastic Four themselves have access to the top floors."
"Wait." Incredulity scoffed at his explanation. "So you can't get to them unless they want you to?" She imagined a list of several fire codes being broken by that arrangement. "You're serious. What's your name, Doorman?"
"O' Houlihan, Lieutenant. If I may say so, I understand the importance of your warrant. I'd let you up if I could. I…." O' Houlihan watched the light flash atop the elevator. "Seems they're coming to you." He stepped back from the door. Relief eased his posture and thoughts. Being arrested was far from an ideal day for him. Still, her threat paled before Cosmic Level Threats in comparison.
"That's fortunate for you, Mr. O' Houlihan. I'd have hated to haul you downtown for obstruction." She watched the floor lights flash on and off. She knew he had no reason to lie. Then her ears picked up on the elevator's cue. She watched the doors open.
"Top of the morning, Mrs. Richards." He tipped his hat once more.
Sue stepped out of the elevator. "Thank you and good morning to you as well. It's all right, O' Houlihan." Assurance prompted a smile to defuse the situation. "We were preparing for the NYPD as well. Reed has found something for them to see." She turned to DeWolff. "May I see a badge please?"
DeWolff flashed her badge again. "Can we get into that elevator? There's an entire SWAT unit waiting to come in down the block. I'd rather not have a scene. I also have a warrant to search the premises and another for Spider-Man's arrest."
"He's not here, Officer…?" Sue took in DeWolff's badge.
"Lieutenant DeWolff, Mrs. Richards. What do you mean he isn't here? This is the only place he could be! You'd better not be stonewalling me." Impatience grated on DeWolff. Her fingers reached for the walkie talkie again.
Sue raised an eyebrow at DeWolff. "I have no reason to. I'm merely telling you that he's not here. Reed wants to talk to you. Follow me." She stepped back into the elevator. "He has something for you to see."
DeWolff nodded. "Just a minute." She took out her walkie talkie. "Dispatch?"
"Dispatch here, DeWolff."
"Dispatch, Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four is here with me. She's taking me upstairs. Hold your positions. DeWolff out." DeWolff rammed the cigarette into the nearby ash tray. "Lead on."
Sue stepped to the right allowing her passenger to enter the car. She depressed a button on her buckle. A beam of light shot from that spot toward the elevator's panel. The doors closed. They started toward the upper floors. "As I said, Reed has something you will want to see, Lieutenant." She watched the lights flash on and off above the door. Finally, the doors opened. "Here we are." She beckoned for DeWolff to follow.
DeWolff stepped out into the reception area. She glanced around the nondescript room. She'd half-expected some security restraint device to be honest. Nerves and Craving drew her hand toward the pack in her pocket. "So, where are your husband and the others?"
"They're here. We're going to Reed's lab now." Sue led DeWolff through their living area. "Can I get you some coffee?" She glanced over at Ben who read the Bugle in the corner. "Ben, is Reed ready?"
"Yeah. Reed just finished, Susie." He set the newspaper down on the table. "This the police lady?" He sized up DeWolff. Smoke puffed a couple of times from Cigar's end. "You need a smoke?"
"Yeah." DeWolff slid a cancer stick from her pack. She stuck it in her mouth. This seems normal enough. Then again, it's the Thing lighting my cigarette. "Mind a light?"
He lit her cigarette with his cigar. "There ya go. Come on." He got up from Couch's reinforced comfort. He trudged down the passage toward the lab. He motioned for them to follow him.
Awe widened DeWolff's eyes and slackened her jaw. Akin to a Child's Christmas morning, her eyes took in Beyond Cutting Edge Technology. Supercomputers extended from floor to ceiling on her left and right. Lights danced across Displays. A cylindrical mass of metal extended from Ominous Door in the wall. She watched Reed finish his sandwich and watch the screen. Her fingers grabbed onto the cigarette before it dropped to the floor. She shook her head. Incredulity's snort escaped her lips. "Wow." She shook herself back to the waking world. "This is some setup you've got here."
"I appreciate that." Reed got up from his stool. "Welcome….?" He extended his hand.
"Lieutenant Jean DeWolff, NYPD, Dr. Richards." DeWolff shook his hand. Then, she flashed her badge one more time. "Thanks for that. I do have my job to do though." She took out the two warrants. "I've got warrants to search the premises and to arrest Spider-Man. We saw the Human Torch flying away from the George Washington Bridge with someone. Maybe you can spare me having to root through everything? I'd sure appreciate it."
Reed shrugged. "Spider-Man's not here, Lieutenant. You're right. Johnny did bring him back here. You know he was up in Montreal before his fight with the Green Goblin?"
"Yeah. So? We saw the news footage of the Wall Crawler fighting the Hulk there. Okay. Then, he got himself back here and butted in on another fight. Look, Dr. Richards, believe it or not, I'm on your side. I owe him my life. Even before that, I didn't think he was a bad guy despite what the Chief or Bugle say or think. Just want you to know that. Still, I have to ask why you didn't let us know that?"
"He just spent the night in quarantine." Reed understood the tight rope under his proverbial feet. "You saw him up on the bridge? He was deathly ill with the London flu. Any normal person would be in a hospital ICU. Frankly, his recovery rate astounded me. You just missed him by an hour. So, we are telling you the truth."
"Again, you could've let us know. There are other quarantine facilities and doctors. I just don't like my friends especially the daughter of a former police captain and my mentor being thrown off the side of a bridge!" DeWolff retorted. Her tone held Impatience's fraying edge to it.
"What fight were ya watchin', Lady?" Ben rolled his eyes. "I saw the whole thing. So did Johnny and Crystal. The Web Head could barely throw a punch! That Goblin guy gassed him with some pumpkin. He shoved that gal over the side! The Matchstick stopped him from doing the same to the Wall Crawler." Indignant snort puffed another smoke ball from his cigar. "Susie, tell her how much he was worrying about her and her guy."
Sue sighed. "Lieutenant, Spider-Man couldn't stop worrying about her or Peter Parker. That's after he saw the condition of the apartment." Her eyes glanced toward Reed.
Reed queued up the video monitor in front of himself. "Those search warrants concern Captain George Stacy's murder, I believe. You might wish to see this footage before we speak further." He pressed a button.
DeWolff humored Reed in that moment. Frankly, she wanted to believe him. Proof would shut her father and Jameson up. Proof would exonerate the Wall Crawler. She watched the events unfold between Spider-Man and Doc Ock. She saw the elder Stacy's sacrifice and the Wall Crawler's desperate attempt to save him. Spidey's stopping with Stacy on the rooftop raised an eyebrow. Despite Spidey's blocking out Stacy for most of the footage, the elder man's face came into view. Despite the muted sound, she read Stacy's dying lips and last request. The request for Gwen's sake didn't surprise her. What he called his savior did….
...Peter…
She shook her head. Amusement and Irony prompted a laugh from her. Questions surrounding New York's exclusive photo bug and the Wall Crawler had bugged NYPD for years. Now, the answer lay on the footage. "I should've known."
"Excuse me, Lieutenant? You should've known about what?" Reed shut off the feed. "I was going to send this downtown this morning. It'll exonerate Spider-Man."
DeWolff puffed on her cigarette. She understood her father's orders. She knew he wanted Spider-Man's head on a platter. Still, Reed's video cleared him. However, the footage exposed the Wall Crawler's secret as well. If that video went downtown, even if the DA cleared him of the murder charge, Peter would never know a minute's peace again. Memoria recalled Gwen speaking to her of May Parker's fragility. In addition, Life Debt reminded her of that duty. "I can lip read, Dr. Richards. Captain Stacy's lips mouthed out Spider-Man's name…his real name." She rubbed her forehead. "I can't believe I'm saying this but the last part on the rooftop, you have to cut it out. There's enough without it."
"She's ain't kiddin', Big Brain. I saw it too. Whadda a revoltin' development!" Ben ground his teeth. "Aww nertz!"
Reed shook his head. Despite Caution's care with the preparation, he'd overlooked that one crucial detail. "I should have remembered that." He bowed his head.
"Reed, at least it was only the Lieutenant and not downtown." Sue rubbed Reed's arm. Her eyes turned to DeWolff.
DeWolff put her hands up. "Cut that portion out, Dr. Richards. Parker does more good in a week than most cops do in a couple of years. Besides, Gwen Stacy and her father are my friends. The captain valued Parker like a son. I've never seen her like this with any other guy. Ever. I owe him my life too." Her cigarette puffed a few more times. "I'll keep his secret."
"And what about your Chief and the NYPD?" Reed raised his eyebrow. Disbelief gave way to Admiration for her earnest and protective outlook.
"My father's a biased fool on a lot of things. What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, Parker and Gwen deserve their peace." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Just do me a favor? Next time, look closer before showing someone that stuff. Lucky for us, we all have his back in here. And officially speaking, I never told you to take that portion out. You all clear on that?" DeWolff raised her walkie talkie to her mouth. "Dispatch."
"Dispatch here, DeWolff. Anything?"
"Negative. Spider-Man's not here. I executed a thorough search of the premises. Have the brass however stand ready with video equipment. Reed Richards has something of interest for them to see. He will be coming down to 1PP with it. Stand down. Again Spider-Man's not here. Stand down. DeWolff out." She clicked off the walkie talkie. "One down, one to go." She rubbed her forehead again. "Now, I have to break the news to Gwen. This is going to be something else." She glanced around. "You all have an ash tray around here?"
"Yeah. I've got one back in the living room. Folla me, Lady." Ben looked to Reed. "We done, Stretcho?"
"We're done, Ben. Thanks." Reed walked over to DeWolff. "I appreciate this, Lieutenant. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Dr. Richards. Thank you for letting me see that first." DeWolff shook his hand. "Thanks for keeping him quarantined. Wish me luck. At least Gwen will know her boyfriend didn't kill her father."
"Actually, they're engaged, Detective," Sue pointed out.
"The surprises never stop, do they?" DeWolff nodded. "It's about time Parker got around to it. Gwen's a fine person and a good friend. I've got to get back to the hospital. Wish me luck on that talk. You all should get downtown as soon as you can." With that, she followed Ben and Sue from the lab.
Reed shook his head. "How'd I overlook that?" He went back in the footage. He saved a backup. Then, he positioned the video at the point where Spider-Man swung into the air with Stacy. Everything after that, the editing software deleted for posterity.
Anyone seemed fallible. Fortunately, the Wall Crawler had his friends as well….