Sunday, midnight.
The Golden Tigers' Nightclub had been buzzing just hours ago. Music, chatter, laughter, and women bounced off the walls. Now, silence reigned, the once vibrant dance floor deserted, and the neon lights flickering intermittently. The club's owner, the leader of the Golden Tigers, was Ho. A Chinese man with black swept-back hair, a fancy suit, a handsome charm, and a perpetually sweating brow.
The Golden Tigers were a triad set in New York. A Chinese crime syndicate that owned the Red Hook Pier and several factories where they produce fentanyl pills and powder.
But there was more to take. There was a power vacuum in Chinatown and Ho, the leader, planned to suck it all into himself. Following the arrest of Otomo, there were streets, buildings, alleyways, and so much power to be seized. So much power.
Ho sat with his eyes closed, seated on a U-shaped nightclub couch. He was thinking. Usually, he would have women around his arms but not tonight. Tonight was the time for action.
At last, he opened his eyes. "Tony," Ho called over, turning slightly to glance behind him.
But Tony, his largest and most intimidating guard, wasn't there. The owner frowned, his irritation growing. "Where the hell did you go?" he muttered under his breath, not noticing the thin strand of webbing that hung from the ceiling, swaying gently in the air conditioning's breeze.
Ho turned his head to his left. Also nothing. "This isn't the time for breaks, idiots. We've got shipments coming in. We use those shipments and then we set-up our labs."
A turn to his right. He saw shadows. Ho called out again, "Mick! Get your ass over here. Now!"
Silence.
An uneasy feeling crept up his spine. He slowly got up, expecting to see his guards somewhere—anywhere—but the nightclub was devoid of life. His eyes darted left and right. He took a step back, his foot landing on something sticky. Looking down, he saw a patch of webbing on the floor, its strands glistening in the low light.
"What the...?" His voice trailed off as he slowly lifted his head, following the webbing up to the ceiling.
There, hanging like grotesque chandeliers, were his guards, cocooned in webbing, their unconscious forms swaying slightly. His eyes widened in terror as he stumbled backward, nearly tripping back into the couch.
"What…what the hell!?" Ho shouted, his voice cracking with panic.
He spun around, his breath coming in short gasps. "I heard something…!" The shadows seemed suspicious all of a sudden. It was like the world was closing in on him. Ho's eyes darted around wildly, looking for the source. Then, from the darkness above, a figure descended silently, softly landing on two feet. The grace was akin to a predator stalking its prey.
Because in spite of being the leader of a great gang, that was what Ho was here. A prey. The predator?
Spider-Man.
Superhuman strength. Webs stronger than steel. A fucking suit that was bullet-proof. He saw the videos. He heard the rumours.
The nightclub owner froze up, his eyes locked on the figure before him. Spider-Man's presence was imposing, his form blending seamlessly with the shadows, only the faint green outline of his mask and symbol visible. The leader of the Golden Tigers felt his bones grow brittle as Spider-Man remained eerily still.
Ho waited and waited until the masked menace slowly lifted his hand, revealing a small paper with a symbol on it: a skull, Crossbones' insignia.
"C-Crossbones? T-t-that's who you're searching for?" Ho stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Spider-Man remained silent, his body and mask revealing nothing. He took a slow, deliberate step forward, the threat implicit in his every movement.
"I swear, I don't know! I don't!" Ho pleaded. Spider-Man took a single step forward. Ho reeled back and fell onto the couch. "I-I just…wait, wait! Wait! I remember! He…he was here waiting for someone! There's this woman, Elektra, she hooks crooks up with EMPs. Great for robbing big houses with security! He was there and I-I think it was because of her!"
Spider-Man tilted his head slightly, his silence more intimidating than any words could be. Ho could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the fear gripping him like a vice.
"I-I don't know anything else!" Ho continued, desperate. "I don't! He didn't meet her here and left! I only remember because he was huge! Huge! No one wanted to come near him! I swear it! I swear!"
Calmness be damned. Composure be damned. He was facing off against some human demon. Acting fearless was a fool's job.
Spider-Man relaxed. In that moment, Ho felt a glimmer of hope. He could escape this alive. He could live to see another day.
But then he heard the police sirens outside. Before he could so much as think of running, his hands and legs were webbed up to the couch. Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
"Wait—!"
Thwip!
Ho's mouth and eyes were blocked. He felt nothing except impending doom.
By the time Benjamin Grimm arrived, the job was already done. No note was necessary. Spider-Man had done the work for him.
"Clobberin' these bastards left and right, I can hardly keep up" Officer Grimm muttered. "Looks good on my resume though."
***
Another day at work, another length of time for experimenting. Felix yawned and put a hand to his mouth. Last night had been moderately eventful. 'After combing through so many gangs, I finally got a name. Elektra…'
Herbie found nothing on her in the NYPD database. No record of a woman selling EMPs and no match for that name. Whoever this Elektra was, she wasn't remotely on police's criminal radar. She was super deep into the criminal world.
Walking out of the elevator, he waved at Czarina who was on the phone and smiled back. On occasion, their conversations would go in-depth. On Friday, he told her about his recent obsession in putting lots of mayonnaise in his burgers. The redhead eyed him very strangely.
"What can I say? My appetite is weird," he remembered telling her.
"I understand mustard but mayonnaise? How can that even be good in excess?"
"Trust me, it just is."
"I don't trust you then."
"Your loss, Czarina."
The jovial conversations aside, his theory on her affiliation with SHIELD was…in process. The expectation was that she would tell her higher-ups to approach Alistair. It wasn't easy to judge, however. He had hacked Alistair's phone and was keeping tabs through that. However, if SHIELD had approached him when his phone wasn't with him—which, unfortunately, Alistair did often—then there was a chance the collaboration was already occurring and he didn't know it.
'Somehow, I have to get inside Alistair's home and then hack all his stuff.'
He was outside of Oscorp Tower at this point, one step down the staircase. He wanted to glance back to see if Alistair was nearby. He had waited but unfortunately, from what the advanced glasses were telling him, he was doing overtime.
'Dammit.'
All Felix had to do was go to his house. That was all and he could confirm two very important things: Alistair's allegiance and Czarina's true intentions.
"You little bastard…"
A voice. A whisper. His Spider-Sense didn't tingle though his senses were telling someone was approaching—and fast.
What followed was a pair of arms around his waist and a chin tucked on his shoulder. "I knew it! I knew it was you!"
Black hair and a silly smile. "Jessica Jones," Felix said, craning his head to look at her. The smile on his own face couldn't be stopped. "Good to see you again."
Jessica pulled herself away from him, still smiling. She was decked out in the blue Oscorp security uniform. "Right back at you. I've been trying to catch you these past weeks but I never make it."
"Right, you work the elevator shift."
"Ha, I knew it." Jessica pointed at him. "You're the reason I got the job so easily."
Felix laughed, a warm and genuine sound. "I might have put in a good word for you. I have a couple of friends here, that's all."
"Was it my dick sucking skills?" she joked.
"Definitely not."
Jessica rolled her eyes, but her smile remained. "You went out of your way to help me and I seriously appreciate it. Seriously, seriously. Thank you, Felix."
"Anytime," Felix replied. "You deserved the job. I just made sure they saw that."
Jessica crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly. "So, how's the big project going? You looked pretty engrossed yesterday."
Felix opened his mouth, closed it, then glanced around. He leaned forward and whispered, "You probably shouldn't say that out loud." He was hush-hush about it.
Jessica stiffened. She swallowed thickly, understanding just how bad her slip-up was. "My bad. Pretend I didn't say that then." Pause. "It's just…I've been watching the elevators real carefully, so it's hard not to notice."
She was trying to explain herself. They were far from the entrance and while that would have been a safe distance at other company offices, that wasn't the case for Oscorp—especially after Crossbones' attack. The cameras were better than military-grade, capable of zooming in and out with immense precision. In that moment, Jessica must have remembered the quality of the Oscorp Tower cameras and that they extended all the way here. Whether that included audio…
AUDIO HAS BEEN FORCIBLY DEACTIVATED.
It appeared that the cameras did include audio. Luckily, Felix had Herbie on his side and so he waved it off. "I get it, I get it. Let's just stop."
They stood there for a moment, the hustle and bustle of Oscorp Tower around them. Talking about big projects right in front of the Tower…man, she could be dumb. The silence getting awkward, Felix blurted out, "How's your divorce?"
"It's done. It's not like we hate each other or wanted to steal money. We took what was originally ours and that was that. Luke just…never acted like my husband. That's all."
"I see."
'Yeah, see? See how awkward it is to answer those types of questions? You put me in a bad spot, I do the same. We're even.'
Suddenly, Jessica smiled. "But that's the past. My thing with Luke is done and I'm moving onto better things." Jessica gave him a playful shove with her shoulder. "Now out of here before I start getting all mushy. I've got a shift to finish."
Felix laughed again, raising a single hand in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. I'm going. But we should catch up properly some time. Coffee or something?"
"Deal," Jessica said, her grin returning. "I'll hold you to that."
The security lady went away. Felix stood there, waving at her till she was gone. He turned, found time was slowing, and—
"Oof."
Almost bumped into someone. His hearing had already picked up the lady walking up the stairs. He could have easily pretended not to see her but decided to go for the human approach. Afterall, the Oscorp cameras were watching. "Sorry about…that…"
Which was his mistake.
"Ah."
Felix did not expect to see Christine Everhart here. The blonde was pretty. Not some bombshell like, say, Czarina was. However, she was pretty enough that with make-up, she could make equally as many heads turn.
"You." Christine Everhart was just as surprised as he was. "You work here?"
"I do. What are you doing here?"
Memories of their night together flashed through their heads. The fact that he had bedded her during his stay at Stark's mansion was insane in retrospect. Evidence that it was indeed an insane thing to do? The fact that her gaze went from his face to his crotch—and stayed there, glued. Only when he cleared his throat did she look back up, red in the cheeks.
"I, err…" Christine was a reporter. Someone that didn't get nervous often. However, in front of Felix, she was beyond nervous. Felix didn't require Herbie's facial analysis program to know that. "I have a meeting with Mr. Osborn. Bye."
So she walked off. Felix watched after the reporter, eyes narrowed. Knowing he was being watched by the guards on the camera footage, he flagged a nearby taxi. At this time of day, the yellow cars were waiting just at the corner, aware that the workers of the tower were ready to go home.
Once inside, he handed the driver a twenty dollar bill and told him his address. The taxi got going. Under his breath, eyeing the skyscraper still. He opened the window and under his breath and the wind, Felix muttered, "Herbie, hack into Osborn's office."
'I'm curious—'
ERROR. NOT POSSIBLE.
"What? Why?" he whispered. His face halfway out the window, the whips of wind blurred his voice to the taxi driver.
NORMAN HAS DEACTIVATED ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN HIS OFFICE. CHRISTINE'S PHONE HAS BEEN TAKEN BY SECURITY TOO.
'Paranoid bastard.' Felix eyed the skyscraper that was Oscorp tower. 'Well, Osborn isn't my target anyway. Even so…'
His detective instincts were telling him to do something. Osborn called up a reporter…he was planning something. Maybe. 'Or maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's just a random scoop.' A billionaire doing that in his day-to-day life was normal.
Felix pursed his lips. "Maria…text her. Tell her to investigate Christine and her connection with Stark, Osborn, and anyone and anything else."
If there was anyone that could do a thorough ground investigation, it was Maria Hill.
That left Felix to do what he really wanted to do: investigate Elektra. For the next week of nights, he was going to do some serious Spider-Manning and find out who and where she was.