Fisk Tower had gained new veins, short and long, thick and slim. They wormed down the halls, climbed up the walls. They bundled in different parts of the tower in different rooms, plugged into different ports in the walls, extension cables -
And machines.
Lola still couldn't believe it seeing it all. How Rafferty had managed to stealthily stow away another building's electricity. How one week in the tower had changed from near desolation that was used as a hideaway/hang out/home to life with some parts into a chaotic organized mess of tech.
Especially, in one room in particular that Lola was approaching.
She knocked on the door -
"Yeah?" Hearing Rafferty's voice, Lola walked in.
The chaotic organized mess originated here, the nest. Lights stolen from the nearby construction site illuminated the old security room, any adjacent rooms that had windows had tarpaulin hanging over the doorways or the door windows to prevent any suspicion of human activity. Such was the cause of the hideout that the cops were going to storm was found and notified to the corrupt ones. That hideout was now stripped clean and a new one made; on the multitude of screens that still worked, different cameras around the tower and around the hideouts were on screen. Some monitors were off to the side - monitoring different comm channels and chat rooms, on the internet surfing for anyone on the internet talking about the Underground.
To the different smaller rooms off to the sides, other Underground members were keeping tabs on members that were out and about in the city - scouting more possible hideouts, finding new ways to get people sympathetic to their group other than just recruiting members outright, even finding routes for members to go to should they need to evacuate like the previous hideout aforementioned or supply routes to not be suspicious in broad daylight.
Sitting in the chair, at the keyboard of the security terminal, was Rafferty slumping in her chair and making a deep sigh as she glanced around at all the stuff that was still unused by her and the few other tech savvy crew members.
"How are things going?" Lola asked, handing Rafferty a can of soda.
Which she took, opened, and sipped, "Comm network is now more solid, don't need to worry about hackers jacking in and watching. A lot of the stuff that the guys brought in were pretty good. Didn't need to macgyver as much as I thought."
"Bet it helped that a lotta this stuff was still in one piece." Lola said, looking around the security room.
"Oh, definitely! In fact," Rafferty began typing away at the keyboard and on one of the nearby additional monitors on the counter a window appeared showing different names and numbers, "As much as we were able to piece-meal Fisk's database protection to put into ours, I also found a few accounts and places of his crime empire here. It turns out, he was also keeping tabs on the Maggia."
Lola's brows shot up upon hearing all of this, "Hmm, okay, okay…This isn't going to -"
"No, we're not going to steal money directly from Fisk's accounts -"
"Good. I'm no wizard but even I can guess that stuff is traceable, 'specially for someone as powerful as Fisk."
"But we can directly go after the places on this list that were under him. Like how you dealt with the Demons, going after what's left is now completely viable."
"Complications I should know?"
"Mm…" Rafferty pondered for a moment, "Not necessarily. We have the numbers, but Fisk's men and the Maggia weren't messed with for a reason. I already have some people scouting these places," Another monitor showed a map showing the whole of New York, "here, here, and here."
"They know how to blend in?"
"Just told them to act natural, look like dumb kids."
"And I'm guessing these places are the weak links right now?"
"No, they're part of Raft."
Lola paused, "I still think it's reckless to go after what's left of Fisk's stuff and the Maggia at the same time."
"Good thing I'm the main girl in the chair then." Rafferty said, "You guys would be lost without me. Now, you can finally do what you do best, Meaty."
There was a long stretch of silence that made Rafferty look over at Lola, who was frowning and looking away.
"What?" Rafferty said.
The frown became a pout as a small blush appeared on Lola's cheek, she paused a moment longer, "...Thanks-There-Happy."
Rafferty looked at her with furrowed brows and squinted eyes, "...What are you, five?"
Lola's pout twitched, for a moment, becoming a scowl. Rafferty scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Shut up."
"I didn't say anything."
"Yeah, you did. Don't need to say anything to say anything."
"What?" Rafferty had turned in her chair to look at Lola incredulously.
Lola grumbled, anger beginning to crease her face, "Look - Thank you. There."
"Is it really that hard to say a simple sentence like that?"
"I'm the Boss." Was all Lola said with a particular, hardened look in her eye.
Rafferty sighed and shook her head before her head perked up, "Oh yeah," Her hand clicked the mouse and soon another window appeared on another monitor, "Tombstone's gang is going through rough after Spiderman beat him. If we finish them off, we could get more space for us."
Rafferty looked over at Lola, "How about it?" And saw that her anger had slipped away, her face almost neutral as there was a distant look in her eye as she stared at Tombstone's name on the monitor.
Rafferty glanced back and forth between the monitor and Lola.
She paused. She waved her hand. She snapped.
"Boss." Rafferty said; nothing, "Boss!"
Still nothing.
Rafferty frowned as something came to her mind, "...Lo!"
Lola blinked and then scowled at Rafferty, "Low?"
Ignoring Lola's comment, Rafferty went back to the topic, "Which are we hitting first - Fisk, Maggia, or Tombstone?"
Lola looked back at Tombstone's name and it was a brand that was so hot that its glow made it unbearable to see like the sun. But she couldn't look away, she couldn't. Not in front of Rafferty, not in front of the other members of the Underground. He never did. The only time he ever wasn't the boss was that one look he gave before she left his office. So Lola looked, staring at something else on the window to make it look like she was contemplating before looking at the window that the Fisk/Maggia stuff on screen.
She made her choice.
"Good morning, New York. Today we have further updates on the attack on those six different locations all around the city. This was a coordinated attack by the Underground to finally put an end to not only the Maggia but also Tombstone's gang. Photos of the crime scenes have become viral over the course of the last few days with the Underground symbol sprayed in droves - the walls, the floors, and even the ceiling. The Chief of Police had this to say -"
"From our investigation, the Underground has gained large numbers to warrant a coordinated attack as large as this. Judging by the fact that money and weapons were stolen on these sites, we speculate that this was a show of power as much as modern barbarism. We currently have a few possible leads to where they had gained their high caliber weapons in the first place as well as where they could be located -"
"We are live with our reporter on the ground at one of the crime scenes. Can you tell us what you can see right now?"
"Yes. We are currently in front of what looks to be a regular jewelry store but - follow me. As you can see, behind this wall reveals the site of a massive fraud ring, and - look at this! - you can see all the UG's everywhere, the symbol of this gang called the Underground. We have spoken with some of the locals that live here, and they have said that they have seen or visited this place many times and have never even thought that this place hid any crime, much less be a target for one. I had spoken to an old lady whose heart was broken hearing that the Underground seems to be made of young teenagers, saying that something is wrong if some many kids are willing to go as far as this. I was curious and asked if Spiderman could have done something. And she said that as incredible as he is, he is one man. One man trying to do his best for the city he loves."
"Thank you, stay safe. In other news -"
Spirits were high, the hissing and popping of soda cans were like fireworks and the screaming and laughter of everyone was the encore dialed to eleven. It was all so loud that, for the first time, Lola needed to get away and found herself going to Rafferty's room, the security room.
No,
It was more than that,
It was Tombstone's gang -
"Yeah?" Lola's head perked up, realizing that she had entered without knocking on the door - Rafferty was lying down on the bed that was improvised from two hard wood crates that, together, were roughly wide enough to be queen sized-bed, the mattress making it seem bigger, almost bulging on top of the crates, "You didn't knock like usual."
"Oh, uh… sorry."
Rafferty sat up, noticing how Lola was shuffling over to a chair. She sat down in Rafferty's chair, not even bothering to ask, with her head dipping down, her hair hiding her face. She stayed that way for a moment in silence before leaning over and setting her arms on the counter.
She looked down at her hands -
Rough and calloused,
Big for girl,
Now suddenly so small.
Rafferty got up from the bed and walked away. Lola expected as such, she was the Boss, after all. She never let anyone see her like this, she didn't want to. It would ruin her image, and it wasn't how things were done. She had been through worse, but she wasn't going to let this get to her.
That was when she heard the door to the security room click.
She looked over just enough to see Rafferty taking her hand off of the door handle, locking it from the inside to prevent anyone from entering. There was a soft look in her eyes. Lola turned away, looking back down at the white of the counter. She heard Rafferty walking back to the bed, and the shuffling of her sitting down at the edge. Rafferty stared at her for a long moment, the look in her eye still soft enough to be gentle but hardened enough to carry an edge.
"What's going on, Lo?" Rafferty said.
Lola actually began to ponder on the question before she then smiled at the irony.
Lo, low point, despite being so high, so mighty -
Cash,
Guns,
A crew.
And yet -
"I… don't, know."
Rafferty's brows furrowed, "What?"
"I don't, really know what's wrong." Lola said, her voice low, nearly mumbling.
Rafferty stared for a moment, her face blank but her gaze sharpening, "Bull."
Lola looked over, her hair nearly obscuring her face making her look like a ghost.
"You know what's wrong with you," Rafferty said, "You just don't want to admit it."
Lola paused, "...No. I…" She trailed off, and looked away.
A small frown pulled Rafferty's lips.
She stood,
She walked over,
She saw Lola look over again -
And the smack from her hand slapping Lola drew out all sound that was in the room, the droning of the computers, the celebrations of the crew outside the room like dandelions in the wind. Lola had to catch herself on the counter to prevent herself from falling off the chair. After that, complete silence.
From her,
From Rafferty.
Then, slowly, she set her eyes at Rafferty, who looked back intensely, holding her hand, of which Lola could see that her palm and fingers were becoming beat red. Something flared within Lola - she stood, leaping out of the chair, her sudden movement pushing it back and hitting the counter. Her face a mask of anger and hate, her footsteps were brisk as went to Rafferty, her fist a hammer that slammed against Rafferty's face.
Rafferty stumbled back, falling onto the bed -
Lola was quick, getting on top, her fist reeling
Rafferty tore her glasses away with one hand, throwing it off to the side, and covered her wind-pipe with her other hand -
Whap, whap, whap!
Whap-whap!
Whap whap whap!
Whapwhapwhapwhapwhap!
Whap-whap!
Whap,
Whap,
Whap.
Pause.
Pat.
Her hands felt heavy. Her whole body felt heavy. Everything was heavy. She sluggishly turned, her fist falling off Rafferty's face, feeling something wet her fingers. She slowly went down, sitting on the ground with her legs out, her back against the crates under the bed, and stared ahead at the wall opposite to her. There was another moment of silence before there was the shuffling of Rafferty reaching over to get her glasses. Soon, Rafferty joined Lola on the ground.
Lola looked over -
Rafferty's gaze didn't change, despite her now disheveled hair, the minor swelling of her face, and the bleeding of her nose.
Lola looked down at her hands, her fingers on her right hand had traces of Rafferty's blood.
Blood…
Red like…
That day…
Eruption into anger,
Alone,
Nowhere to go,
Staring at the road,
Uncertainty abound,
Then, He appeared.
She felt Rafferty's hand on her shoulder. Lola began to shake -
He,
Him -
"...Why?" Her shaking grew to a trembling, her voice like a loud whisper, "Why? Why did he lose?"
"...Who?" Rafferty's voice was just as quiet.
Tears began to race down, "...How did he lose? No one could… So why?!" Her hands went to her face, "Why a guy in spandex? Why did D-" It was too much, her body jumped and she gasped, she grit her teeth.
"...It's just us, Lo." Was all Rafferty said.
Lola grit harder,
She tried to hold on -
The waves crashed more
- She slipped,
And the sobs that came out were like pained, stifled moans.
"Rafferty! What happened to your face?! And who are you?! What -"
"Dad, its -"
"I, uh… saved your daughter from an asshole who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."
"Oh, really? Hmph… Must have given him a bad beating."
Lola looked down at the bandage wrapped around her hand.
"Yeah… It still hurts."
"Well, you can go now. Thanks for bringing my daughter back safe."
"Dad! Don't you need to go now or else you'll miss your meeting today?"
Her dad looked at the clock, "Starts in two hours."
"Starts in an hour, Dad. Go. I can handle myself."
Raffterty's Father glared at Lola, who found herself unable to look him in the eye, all the bravado she had as the Underground's Boss having receded and the lake was dry. Rafferty's Father's gaze lessened but the sharpness was still there. He looked at Rafferty for a moment before passing them both and went to the elevator and pressed the button to call it.
"...I'm going to be working late, Raff." He said.
"That's fine, Dad." Rafferty said, "Make sure you eat and drink while you're working."
"I will." Her father said, and the elevator doors opened, "And the first aid kit's where it is." He stepped in.
"Thanks." Rafferty said as the elevator doors were closing.
When they did, and when the humming of the elevator descending disappeared, the air around Rafferty and Lola changed.
Rafferty smiled at Lola, "Come on." And led Lola by the hand into her apartment.
"U-uh… Wait - I…"
Time flowed -
Ten minutes,
Thirty,
Fifty,
Hour and a half,
Two hours,
Four -
It was like tossing a rock into a still lake - the splash, and the ripples came ashore. Rafferty was the rocks, Lola the lake. For every rock that Rafferty threw, more and more of Lola rippled out. Every rock that was heavier, the splashing grew bigger and the more the ripples grew into undulations, never thrashing. In fact, the more splashes, the more the ripples became more frequent the more the lake grew, wider and wider, deeper albeit at a slower pace. All the rocks thrown into the lake slowly began to form an impromptu foundation.
Until -
Breaking News!
Tombstone retires from crime!
They were watching a movie, an oldie but a goodie on VideoStream, and when it ended a recommendation appeared on the video player. Before Rafferty could say or do anything, being the one holding the remote, Lola allowed it to play. Appearing on the screen was Tombstone dressed in a suit, evidently piecemealed and stitched together to fit his size, was standing in a courtroom with his lawyer - a man with dark shades and a cane.
"I got nothing left. I got nowhere else to go but up. I'm done."
"The words of the notorious gang leader Tombstone, who had announced in this courtroom in front of the Judge and Jury of his renunciation of crime. It seems that whatever Spiderman had done has finally put Tombstone's crime to rest -"
Rafferty snatched the remote out of Lola's hand and took the video off the screen of the tv by returning to the home page. She looked over and saw that drawn, far-away look return to Lola's face, her silence as loud as screams.
"Lo," Rafferty said, "What was Tombstone to you?"
There was a long silence before Lola said anything, "...He was… my world. He… he picked me off the ground when everyone didn't. I had…" Another pause, her eyes began to tear up again and she sniffled, "Losing my real parents… Seeing how strong he was… I wanted to be just like him…"
Her face scrunched up when the tide began to churn again, "...But now? I… I'm scared…"
Rafferty pondered for a moment, "...Being scared means you're assessing the situation."
Lola looked over.
"You started stagnating because you were afraid Spiderman would show up to stop you. And… you were hesitant to give the order to attack Tombstone's gang because they were your family. You weren't even there to attack them."
Lola wiped her tears away, her eyes becoming blemished, "I don't know what to do now."
"We go back to laying low, that's what." Rafferty said, "After all, it's Spidey. We can't beat him with normal stuff so why rattle the cage again?"
"Yeah…"
Rafferty saw the time, "Oh, it's dinner already? How about I whip you up something? I'm a pretty good cook." Her grin was confident, even bearing pride.
"Sure."
Rafferty stood and started walking to the kitchen, "Anything you want?"
"Uh… Surprise me."
Rafferty chuckled but there was no ridicule, again that confidence shining through. Because the apartment was connected to the living room, Lola could see Rafferty setting up the dish - pot, ingredients, apron. At first what seemed to be a chicken dish threw Lola into confusion when she saw Rafferty put rice in as well, seasoning and soy sauce as well. There was a method to Rafferty's kitchen madness - her posture, how she seasoned and how she dabbed the soy sauce, the way she stirred the rice in the pot without needing to exert much effort.
What was a fascination began to change as Lola starred on and on, no longer seeing her cooking but merely looking at her, her whole body and form. Lola blinked and turned her head away, looking back at the tv screen. Her eyes shifted as she slowly put her hand to her chest, her heart was pounding and she felt herself becoming hot.
Her eyes were still shifting as confusion set on her face, her other hand going to her head.
"Lo?"
Lola's head perked up upon hearing her name and saw Rafferty pausing in her cooking.
"Everything okay?" She asked.
Lola sat straighter, clearing her throat, fixing her posture, trying to look tough while also trying to look relaxed, "Uh, yeah! Yeah!" She forced a grin.
In Rafferty's eyes was a knowing glint. Her lips pulled into a smile as she chuckled before going back to her cooking. In that moment in time when Rafferty did that, Lola began to feel something warm in her chest, stirring. The image was stuck in her head. She felt her cheeks burning. She hid her face in her hands.
Rafferty giggled, "I didn't think you could be so cute."
Lola leaned forward and hung her head to smoosh her face in her hands, her face feeling like it was on fire.
Meanwhile, Rafferty had butterflies bashing her stomach apart, wondering where she had gotten this bravado.
The air was growing cold and the old shop before them looked like the ideal place for a homeless person to break into for shelter. Despite their blue streak with striking down Fisk's empire, the Maggia, and even Tombstone's gang, Lola agreed with what Rafferty had said about laying low. At first there was some black lash amongst the Underground crew, but with incidents like Devil's Breath and Hammerhead's incursion still somewhat fresh in the public conscience, these complaints quickly died off.
Both were dealt by a Spider,
None of them wanted to get caught in its web.
But currently, they had another thing to worry about - the cold. While they did have electricity in the tower, they had to use it only for power, and even then there were times where they had to go "Black Out" to avoid arousing suspicion on why a building's electric bill was so high. As much as they could use that electricity to use them on heaters, they would arouse as much suspicion as stealing or buying them in bulk, after all none of them knew how to drive and even if they used the routes that they had made there was still the possibility of being seen or, again, causing suspicion. There was the thought of making fires inside the tower, but Rafferty had confirmed that the sprinkler system was still hooked up to fire alarms.
They had to steal old models from abandoned apartments or homes,
Or make their own by jury rigging parts from old and abandoned stores -
Because loiters could be anyone in the abandoned places that they could call home, raiding old stores like the one in front of them was more ideal.
"Lo, I can handle this on my own." Rafferty mumbled to Lola, low enough that only she could hear her.
"No. I've had my fair share of running into loiters."
"Bold of you to assume I go into dangerous places unarmed."
"Bold of you to assume loiters are weaker than you."
Rafferty sighed, "Okay - what's with you lately? You've been babysitting me even in places where there is no danger."
Lola paused, "...I… We're partners. Partners buddy-up, right?"
"Not all the time, Lo."
"Pff, so? I watch your back, you watch mine, yeah?"
Rafferty snorted, closing her eyes. She opened them and set them on the shop, "Owner disappeared without a trace, last tax payment was four months ago. Typical bureaucratic stuff, electricity and water gone, and now its just sitting there."
Lola looked at the sign - Mason's Repairs.
"Anything else?"
"Family owned. Like I said, owner disappeared. Must've pissed off the wrong people."
"We'll piss off the authorities if we don't do this right." Lola glanced around, noting there were less people here, thinning due to the colder weather and the fact that it was during lunch hour.
Rafferty took Lola's arm into her's, making Lola stiffen from the sudden gesture. Lola felt her cheeks burn when Rafferty set her head against her arm. Then she felt her hand softly pat her arm - a signal. The coast was clear. Lola regained her composure and they crossed the street. Once they were on the same side as the abandoned shop, they walked a few steps down the sidewalk before Lola stopped.
"Hey," Lola nodded her head over to the way that went around the shop, "You, uh… Um… Wanna, um…" Lola hated how she was failing such a simple, sleazy pick up line, and she found her cheeks burning hot with embarrassment, "Fuck…!"
Rafferty stared at Lola, her eyes may as well be beams of contempt meant to burn her down. Rafferty's hand went to her face, although she was smiling the look she gave said - That's really all you could think of?
"I think I would." Rafferty said, "Shakespeare."
Rafferty led on, pulling Lola, guiding her to take the lead once they started going. But Lola didn't want to, wanting to stay on equal footing, not wanting to speed up or drag Rafferty. Who glanced at her as they walked, but said nothing until they turned the corner, leading to the employee entrance in the back.
"Okay," Lola glanced around, "Fenced, don't see anyone on roofs or windows. Better make it -"
The peck on the check silenced Lola.
She slowly looked over,
To see Rafferty grinning like a winner, "For being a cute dork."
Lola felt her heat skip, but then her annoyance flared, she rubbed her check, "C'mon! We gotta do this!"
"If you keep acting like that, I think I gotta do that every time." Rafferty said as she went to the back door, pulling a small, rectangular contraption from her pocket.
"They say that will work good?" Lola said.
"Oh, come on. Have some faith in your tech wizards. It's a shame some of them didn't get a chance to go to school. I could definitely see them going places, if they did."
Rafferty lined up the contraption to the lock on the door handle and a red light appeared, filling the space inside the keyhole. Seeing a light appear on the contraption, Rafferty set it against the lock and soon there was the sound of soft grinding as the pins inside the lock were being pulled up.
Click!
Rafferty turned the handle and opened the door, "See?"
Opening the door all the way, the musty smell of dust exuded out. The decor and furniture were dressed either in dust or in plastic wrap, the former being the most abundant despite the fact that they were only seeing the back rooms that only the employees see. They entered, making sure the back door was left cracked open for them to leave.
They went to the front of the store, where all the merchandise was.
"Man…" Lola said, looking at all of it, "Some of this is still pretty recent, at least two years old."
"Something like that." Rafferty said, assessing some of it, "Some of these are even oldies but goodies. Like this fridge."
"Those radiators and heaters over there any good?"
Rafferty went over to the ones Lola pointed out, "Some of these, the rest are old. These three we could possibly take, but these old ones probably have some parts in them we could use."
Lola went past the counter and back in the employee area, looking down at one of the halls, "Think they got stuff in the back?"
"Probably. There's gotta be a storage place somewhere. Half of this stuff is old but dependable. No doubt family friends and neighbors donated it to this place. Helps that this was a repair shop, too" Rafferty went to the side to look at the other items that could be of interest.
When Lola reached the farther rooms of the employee area, that was when she noticed that the lights in this part of the shop were still on. From the hall, the first thing that she saw was a bulletin board of some kind. She walked in, stepped close. A handful of names and something about a thing called Roxxon. She looked around. This area looked to be the break room - on the opposite side, along the wall nearing the corner she saw a coffee machine, and to the table adjacent to it pizza boxes and chinese take out.
She found herself drawn to another table in the center on the opposite side, the backpack, gas mask, and the crowbar. She went, approached, and saw a flash of purple through the window of the door directly to her left.
She threw herself back,
And there was an explosion of glass and wood.
"Lo?!" Rafferty cried out.
Lola was about to call out when something exploded through the door, showering the opposite wall in splinters and glass. The first thing she saw was the trail of a purple light, second - the silver metal on the gauntlet, shoes, and the mask, third - the pajamas of the person wearing them.
The person with the silver mask turned to look at Lola.
She ran.
"B!" Lola cried out, scrambling up, "Get out - go!"
Lola saw Rafferty down the hall as she ran through it. There was electrical whirling behind her. Lola looked over and felt her heart jump out of her chest when she saw the silver mask flash before her face before she was thrown down. She felt metal grasping her throat as they both slid on the ground due to the momentum, the person in the mask on top of her.
They eventually came to a stop, and Lola heard the racking of a pistol. She tried to look up and the gauntlet squeezed tighter around her throat.
"Ah! B!" Lola cried out.
"Let her go!" Rafferty said, her hands shaking as she aimed the pistol at the silver mask.
The Silver Mask turned their head up to look at Rafferty. Lola's hand slowly went down, fingers digging into her pocket, touching something, then fished it out. Her hand sprang out, the light catching the flash of a knife. The gauntlet squeezed hard once again, causing Lola to drop the knife and let out a restrained, guttural cry.
The back door swung wide with a bang as teenagers with guns rushed in.
Lola heard the commotion and saw just enough to know what this meant, "Raff…" She tried to say. Just when Lola thought she was being overbearing as Rafferty said.
The Silver Mask glanced at all of them, from Lola in their gauntlet, to Rafferty and the other teens.
"...Are you perhaps… The Underground?" Their voice was modulated, making it hard to distinguish whether or not the Silver Mask was a man or a woman, despite the fact that anyone looking at their body would see that the Silver Mask was a woman.
With her free hand, the Silver Mask reached up and took off her mask, lessening her grip on Lola as she did, revealing a young African American woman with brown curly hair. Her eyes had a burning determination.
"How about we make a deal?"