Gwen
Gwen's plan was not brilliant, and quite possibly foolhardy. Mostly crazy. She had gathered several pieces of evidence and her most recent video of what Richard Fisk was up to after his armed robbery. What she saw, perhaps with some naivety, was a way out of Spider-Woman's cold war with the Kingpin. What she had discovered when she dug into her AI's digital web for the cartel was that Richard had been in bed with the cartel, both literally and figuratively. What he'd been doing while she was at school that Wednesday afternoon was quite… enlightening. If a little disturbing, and definitely not for casual viewing by a fifteen-year-old girl. It took her all of Wednesday night to prepare the package of evidence she was going to present.
The package was quite comprehensive. Photos. Dates. Emails. Videos that could be sold to a porn site. The latter she wished she'd never seen. She'd never actually had sex. She knew what went where, but there was a little more violence to what she'd seen on both sides of whatever arrangement Richard had with the sister of the cartel's head.
Gwen was dressed in one of her most professional looking business suits. It happened to be the one Obadiah had arranged for her to wear at the demonstration of the new guidance system. Her destination was just outside the Uber she was currently sitting in. The building that housed the Kingpin's legitimate offices. She nodded to her driver and got out of the car. She looked up at the building remembering a few months ago when she burst through one of the windows. She sighed. The plan really was a world of stupidity. No help for it now, she was basically committed. She walked through the front doors and past the security desk. No one stopped her. Apparently, there was truth to the whole pretend you belong, and no one will question that you do.
She ran into her first hurtle when she realized there was a front desk to the Kingpin's offices. The side was a locked glass door. Behind the desk was a thirty-something woman. She looked at Gwen up and down.
"Hello, may I help you?"
Gwen nodded.
"I would like to see Mr. Fisk."
The secretary chuckled softly.
"Alright, do you have an appointment?"
Gwen shook her head.
"I don't but I'm sure he'll want to see me. If you could tell him Gwen Stacy is here."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Fisk is a very busy ma-"
Gwen leaned on the desk with her elbow and got closer.
"You do not want to get in my way. Call him and tell him Gwen Stacy is here."
The secretary seemed taken aback by Gwen's tone of voice. She shook her head as if to say, whatever. Then picked up her phone and dialed an internal extension.
"Hello, Mr. Fisk, there is a teenage girl here to see you, says her name is Gwen Stacy."
The secretary seemed shocked by the answer she received.
"Of course, sir, right away sir."
She hung up her phone and stood up. She motioned at the glass door.
"He'll see you, Ms. Stacy. Just through the door, straight down and it's the door right at the end there."
The secretary swiped Gwen in and pointed towards a door at the end of a row of cubicles. Gwen smiled at her.
"Thank you."
Gwen followed the instructions and politely knocked on the door. She heard the Kingpin call her inside. She opened the office door, walked in and closed it behind her. He stood up behind his desk and offered his hand. She took it and shook it. He did not try to crush her hand as she suspected he might. She wasn't sure why. By all appearances the Kingpin tried to project a professional law-abiding image to the public.
"Gwen Stacy. Of all the people I expected to see here, you were not one of them. Please have a seat. It must be important if you've come here all the way from Queens."
Gwen smiled politely at him. She swept her pencil skirt under her legs and sat down. She crossed her legs and tried to look relaxed.
"Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Fisk. I know how busy you are."
He seemed a combination of amused and impressed by her demeanor. He sat down and motioned to her.
"So, Gwen, what brings you to see me?"
"Mr. Fisk, I know there have been some challenges between you and my father. And that during those you have threatened my life. I'm not here to discuss that specifically I just wanted you to know, that I know. I am also aware of some terrible threats that have been made against you and your family by someone I am associated with. I think we can both say mistakes have been made."
He smiled and leaned forward folding his hands.
"You are rather cavalier about accusing me of crimes. Given my reputation."
Gwen smiled politely.
"I am just stating the facts as I know them, Mr. Fisk. No accusations implied or intended. I was hoping we could try to mend this you threaten me, my attack spider threatens you relationship we seem to have going on without having ever met each other. A fresh start."
His eyes narrowed.
"So, you sent her after my son?"
Gwen continued to channel Phil Coulsin's polite smile.
"You sent him after my mother, he's alive, she's not."
He leaned back, seeming less amused by her presence. He looked displeased when she mentioned her mother.
"That was a misunderstanding. Your mother and I dated at one point. She has ties to…"
He trailed off.
"To the Irish Mob. I know. I hang out at my Uncle Liam's pub all the time."
He nodded.
"Of course. My son was supposed to speak to her about your father and his insistence in interfering with my business activities. Not… what he did. I cared for your mother rather deeply if I'm being at all honest. I'm somewhat glad for your attack spider's interference. I regretted my actions towards you almost immediately after making them."
He looked saddened. Gwen continued to smile but her voice turned icy.
"So, he wasn't supposed to rape her then beat her to death?"
He frowned.
"How do you know that?"
Gwen shrugged.
"I'm really good with computers."
He shifted in his seat looking uncomfortable.
"Yes, I was upset with James, very upset. Especially after he approached you at your mother's funeral. I raised him better than that. He did not deserve what Spider-Woman did to him."
"You are right, he deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison, but you weren't about to let that happen, were you? I have to admit, when I asked her to punish him, I did not mean for her to make him a vegetable. I was hoping she knew someone who could get him arrested. I don't know who she really is under that mask, but I assume she's some form of Federal agent. Just based on what she's told me. I am sorry she took my request wrong."
He leaned forward again. He looked solemn.
"I am sorry for what happened to your mother. I wish I could have attended her service, but I believed your father would find it in poor taste. I also apologize for my rash actions after James's beating. A parent… sometimes does not think clearly when it comes to their children. I think perhaps you are correct; We should look to start fresh."
"I'm glad you agree, Mr. Fisk. On to why I'm here. I was hoping I could renegotiate a better arrangement with you in regard to not trying to kill me or my father. I want to preface this with the statement: I am not here to threaten you. I want to make that clear. If what I have ever got out… it would be very bad for your son Richard. You have a lot of influence in New York, but this is way beyond that. National security, FBI, a nightmare. What I propose is this: I do you this favor. You leave me, my family and my friend alone. Excluding the criminal element… you know who I'm talking about there."
Gwen picked up the leather folder she'd leaned against her seat and dropped one of her spider bots at the same time. Having some insight into the inner workings of Fisk's organization would not hurt her. She pulled the zipper open and pulled out a manilla envelope. She patted the envelope.
"In this envelope, I have enough evidence to bury Richard under several hundred years of federal prison sentence. I convinced Spider-Woman not to give it to the feds or post it online. There is more though. Something problematic for you and your organization. I will give this to you, but I want your word me and mine are off limits to your people."
He folded his hands and looked at the folder.
"If what you are telling me is true, that seems equitable. I appreciate you not trying to threaten me with it. It speaks to your intelligence."
She handed him the folder and moved to leave. He held up his hand, the other accepting the folder.
"Please, stay, I may have questions. Have you eaten?"
Gwen's stomach complained eagerly at the thought of food.
"Not since lunch."
He picked up the phone and made a call. A short time later the same assistant she'd met at the front door came in with several takeout containers of Chinese food and plates. She also had bottles of water. He motioned for Gwen to take some. She tried to be conservative, but he had a lot of food. She realized he was eating just as much as her. He seemed amused by her ability to eat so much. When they finished, he put the plates aside and picked up the folder and opened it. Gwen watched him pull the contents out, it was two flash drives, several photos and a few transcripts.
Gwen pointed at the pink flash drive.
"I ask you politely to save the pink flash drive until after I have left. I really do not need to see that again."
He raised an eyebrow at that and slid the drive aside. He started looking through the photos. His face darkened as he went through them. Finally, he slammed them down on the desk.
"That idiot."
He looked at Gwen.
"These had better not be photoshopped in any way."
"I am sorry to say the only thing that has been changed on any of it was just reducing the running length so I could fit them on the drives."
He picked up the black flash drive and plugged it into his computer. Gwen winced.
"I should tell you, doing that with a random flash drive someone gives you is never a good idea. Its fine, I didn't want to do anything bad, but… never mind, Mr. Fisk."
He nodded to her. He started going through the files. She thought he was going to punch the monitor.
"How long have you known about this?"
"Only two days. I was looking for information on the Cartel for her, not your organization or your son. We're worried about the weapons."
He leaned on his desk on his elbows as he rewatched the video where Richard talks about getting no respect from his father. How they could form an alliance to take over all the crime in the city. How he and his new girlfriend could be the king and queen of crime… The Kingpin frowned. Gwen had seen a similar look on her father's face when she disappointed him. He stared at his desk for a long time. Even as stoic as Fisk seemed, she could tell this blindsided him. He lifted up the transcript. His eyes scanned it. He dropped them halfway through.
"You gathered all of this?"
Gwen nodded.
"Who else have you shown?"
He motioned to the collected evidence with his hands.
"My father. I wanted his opinion on what we should do. Then I realized he was powerless to do anything, so I came to you."
He leaned forward folding his hands over the photos that lay scattered across his desk.
"What is your end goal? In all of this? You don't seem… naïve. You know I will have to act on it. Do you want to see my family disintegrate?"
Gwen shook her head.
"No Mr. Fisk. I want the weapons I designed off the streets before more people get hurt. The Sorera Cartel is a threat to you and everyone else. I am one teenage girl. I am doing what I can to make the weapons go away."
He stood up and walked to one of the windows that made up the outer wall of his office. He folded his hands behind his back and looked down. He spoke without looking at her.
"Your aim is admirable. And it appears our goals are aligned for the time being. Give me everything you have on the Cartel, and I will ensure those weapons you are concerned about find their way off the streets."
Gwen smiled, the thought of SHIELD and the Kingpin running into each other… No. She did not want to rock the boat.
"You won't have to worry about the Cartel. Spider-Woman has arranged for a federal agency to deal with them. She chose them as the lesser of two evils, or so she said. Your son, however, is not on the federal agency's list. He has a stash of weapons already. Those are the ones I was hoping you would deal with. If… the agents trace those weapons to him I have a feeling he'll vanish without a trace."
He turned to her.
"Ah, I see. You have put me in a position where I must act. If I do nothing, he attempts his coup, if he succeeds, I die, or he ends up vanished by the government. If I act, I betray him… Either way, he is lost to me. I wonder, Gwen, do you play chess?"
Gwen nodded.
"I imagine you're quite good at it."
He sighed and sat down.
"I have underestimated you. It will not happen again. Perhaps someday, after this unpleasantness with my son is dealt with, you would consider playing a game of chess with me."
"Of course."
He gave a sad smile.
"I see so much of your mother in you. If you'll excuse me, I have some decisions to make. Would you like a ride home?"
Gwen pondered that for a few seconds.
"If it is not too much trouble, Mr. Fisk."
He nodded and picked up his phone. After a brief conversation he hung up.
"He'll be waiting for you downstairs. I'll call you when I have time for that chess game."
Gwen picked up her leather folder.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Fisk."
Obadiah
Obadiah motioned to the salvaged Iron Man Mark I armor. William Ginter Riva was a smaller, soft-spoken man with a balding head of light brown hair. He adjusted his glasses and poked and prodded various places on the armor. His blue eyes focused on the hole in the chest plate. He ran his fingers along the edge of the opening.
"You want us to reproduce this, Mr. Stane?"
Obadiah smiled and nodded. He pressed his fists against his hips.
"Obviously the design needs to be upgraded. Better armor. Better integrated weapon systems. Better flight system. No data leaves this lab. I need a tight lid on this William. No outside consultations."
William put his hand on the chest plate.
"That will make it more difficult, sir. Have you reconsidered adding this Gwen Stacy I keep seeing crop up on memos to the team? Her knowledge of integrated circuits and the newer fabrication system she developed could help us reduce the bulkiness of the armor."
Obadiah shook his head and waved his hand dismissively.
"No, I don't want her anywhere near this."
William adjusted his glasses.
"But si-"
Obadiah put a firm hand on William's shoulder.
"No but sirs. Just do what I am telling you. I want this ready ASAP."
William frowned slightly.
"And the power system, this is going to require… a lot of power. I'm not sure the technology exists."
Obadiah pointed at the giant arc reactor that dominated the floor above the research lab.
"It exists. Just fit that, in here."
Obadiah stuck his fingers in the hole at the center of the armor where the arc reactor would be housed.