Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it
Chapter 19– Justice Waits For No Man.
----------------------------------------
"So... how was your night?" Felicia asks as I finally exit my room after a long ass time, the sun is high in the sky, and I am pretty sure it is midday. I didn't even look at the time when I woke up. I just needed to go out and put some caffeine in my body to kick it into gear.
"It was... a night. I don't really want to talk about it. Is the coffee done?" I ask Felicia, who nods. I walk past the kitchen island, where she is sitting on a stool, dressed in nothing but an oversized white T-shirt that stops halfway down her thighs and eating a sandwich. I guess I am not the only one that had a hard time yesterday because it is midday, and she hasn't dressed up or left the apartment, not even a side of make-up on her face either.
"Great. So... How was your night?" I ask as I begin to pour myself some coffee, fishing for information. I know I shouldn't be getting news like this through her, but I can't help myself. We agreed when we started this little crusade of mine that Felicia would not be sharing any information with me because that would leave a trail from her to Batman attacks. Unfortunately, the Kingpin never lets anything important be known by too many, so he will have a narrow list to find the traitor from.
"It was... A night. I don't want to think about all the hoops that damn fatty is putting me through, so can we talk about something else." Felicia says, obviously having a beleaguered last night much the same as I. So I let the issue go and sat down at the kitchen island next to her and started to drink my coffee, the both of us sitting in silence aside from the sound of my sips and Felicia's munching.
"Do you have any plans for today then, Felicia? I am pretty free today, and I have decided to take a rest day." I was pretty tired from my excursion last night. It was just one thing after the other. First, I stopped the multiple crimes I came across, including the incident with the girl who was traumatised by me and went full-on Christian, and then I stopped more crimes before finally reaching the crime den where I assaulted the place.
After that, I discovered that they were transferring people somewhere, and so I tailed the shipment to a secret underground facility which I snuck into. Then I made a distraction, freed the prisoners and then went out and helped Shield defeat the AIM agents and disappeared off into the night. Only to have a little skirmish with Daredevil, which was a bit weird and then I finally came home and rested.
Man, the superhero life is tough. I mean, I have memories of doing this kind of stuff again and again as Spider-Man, nights even more tiring than this one, of fighting and fighting all night, and then coming home all bruised, battered and bleeding and sleeping it off, only to wake up the next day and do the same thing. Thankfully I am not that guy anymore because while Peter would feel the all-powering need to go out there and do it again, knowing that anything terrible happening would be happening because he decided to not go out, I don't have such an obligation.
The only reason I am even doing this superhero thing now is to help out Felicia, we have been living together for a couple months, and I would say we are even friends. And even if I am not the superhero type, I am still a man that repays his debts and looks out for those he cares about. And right now, the only person in my life that comes close to that is Felicia, so I am going to do this for her. And after everything is resolved, I will leave with my new identity and try to forge a life for myself, far away from all of this craziness.
"I am not planning to do anything today, Ben. Nothing at all. Probably just stay home and go on the internet, watch some TV and maybe play some video games. I am at that fat fuckers beck and call, so I would rather not be doing anything important when he inevitably calls me and makes me drop it to go steal something for him." She explains, and yeah, I can understand that. I have yet to really ask about what jobs she's been given, and she hasn't been asking me about my end of things. We figure it will be safe for both of us that way. With no collusion between us, then nobody will ever figure out that we are colluding, if that makes sense.
"Hey, you checked for microphones and stuff today, right?" Felicia asks nervously a second later, and I freeze at her words. Then, quickly without a word, I get up and go back to my room, and go to the corner where I kneel down and closely examine a socket in the wall. I reach my finger out and stick it into the nails and start to undraw them and then pull the socket out so I can reach in and take out the little scanner inside that detects listening and recording devices.
Ever since the run-in with Fisk, when I made this scanner, I have continually checked the place we were staying every morning in case someone has come back and implanted more bugs in the wall and stuff. It occurred to both myself and Felicia that we would both be out and about during the day and night so people could sneak in and plant more bugs, so I checked every morning for them. I also figured that if they could come in and plant more bugs, then they could even come and mess with my scanner, so I hid it, and I checked its mechanisms every few days just to make sure it hadn't been tampered with.
Immediately I get to scanning my room, and when it comes up clean, I start moving to the other rooms to check them as well. Eventually, I make it back to the main room where Felicia is still sitting at the counter, the apartment is nearly completely clean, and as I look down at my scanner, that is confirmed the whole place is clean. Which I expected, but you can never be too careful. In the last week or so, we have had no trouble. Mainly because we have changed locations a few times, though bugs did pop up every so often in more subtle spots each time, but they underestimated my scanner, and I found them all.
I think the main reason that we have had no bugs so far in this apartment is that it is not under Felicia or any of her alias names. It is under mine. Not my main Ben Reily one because that would be stupid, but I asked Felicia for assistance. She helped me to find a guy to get me some fake identification that wasn't the best, but the hotel staff definitely wouldn't see through it, and I got the hotel room this time, and Felicia had to sneak in through a window, and we have had no problem here yet.
"Alright, we are all good. Feel free to start badmouthing him off even more, maybe comment on his weight and big bald head, or how about the fact that he doesn't have a neck." I say, putting my scanner down on the coffee table, picking up the TV remote, and turning on the television to see what is on.
"No, I am not in the mood anymore. Plus, I want to save up all the insults so I can use them on the man himself someday. But can you please remember to use that thing? If Fisk heard me mouthing off about him, things could turn out really bad. He really doesn't take disrespect well." Felicia says, breathing a sigh of relief. Even if it was unlikely for there to be any bugs here since we haven't had any since we moved n, the confirmation is a relief.
"Sorry, Felicia, I just had a tough night and forgot about it this morning. Which is why I am planning on going to the movies tonight, and I think you should come with me. I tell her, pausing in my channel, flipping to look back over the sofa towards her.
"Ben, I-" She spins around on her stool and turns around to give me an answer, but I cut her off before she can.
"I know, I know. But you can't just stay cooped up inside while your skills are being used for Fisk. That would be letting him win. You need to keep on living your life and don't worry so much about Fisk. Eventually, you won't be under his thumb anymore, and I am working to make that day come as soon as possible. So relax, take a load off and try to enjoy yourself for a bit. Come to the movies with me, we'll eat snacks and popcorn, watch a comedy, or a horror or whatever. Just enjoy yourself for a bit." It is a bit sad to see the woman that would be out and about all day, shopping or robbing, be reduced to hiding inside and waiting to be called upon.
"...Alright, fine, but you are paying. And we are going shopping afterwards as well, and you are going to help me carry it all." She says, agreeing to my request but also enlisting me for a bothersome time afterwards. Looking at the sly smirk on her face, I can tell she knows my unwillingness to go shopping with her but knows that I won't refuse either since I want her to come to the movies with me.
"Alright, you got me. I'll pay for the movie and all the snacks, but the shopping is your own thing. I will carry all the stuff for you as well, but you will be paying for dinner." I already know that I am the perfect shopping tool for women. Given my strength and my stickiness, I can carry multiple bags and can even stick them firmly to my body as well, ensuring they won't spill. I know my worth, as does Felicia, since she wants me to accompany her shopping.
"Okay, I will buy dinner. But I won't be getting takeout or something. It will be really fancy, like sushi or something. In return, you can pay for three of the things I will pick up today." She says, leaving her stool and hopping over the back of the sofa to land on the soft cushions next to me, jostling me sightly and making me drop the remote to the floor. Looking down, I can no longer see the thing, meaning it has travelled underneath the sofa. Shooting Felicia a look, she, in turn, looks sheepish, but I ignore her for now and start to rifle my hand about under the sofa in search of the remote control.
"Yeah, how about no, Felicia. I am already paying for movies and snacks, and you are paying for dinner and your own shopping. You have already convinced me to take on every man's bane, following a woman shopping, and you won't be rinsing me for anything more. Yes, got it," I say, exclaiming with happiness when my hand finally grasps the remote, happy that I didn't have to get off my seat and kneel on the ground to get it.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"Come on, Ben. I haven't been feeling the best, what with everything going on lately, and I could really use a pick me up. Some nice shiny things for me to wear would really help. Please, Ben." She starts to plead, shining those emerald green eyes at me and subtly emphasising her chest with her arms by making a pleading gesture with her hands.
"Ha, that is not going to work on me, Felicia. I have lived with you for months now. I know all your tricks and schemes and can easily resist your wiles. I have seen it all, how you take longer than necessary to pick things off the floor, the way you like to chew on the ends of pens and how you scrunch your face up into this cute face when you eat something too spicy. Felicia, I know everything about you...r methods, and I am totally immune to them." Even if Felicia stopped trying to overtly seduce me after I dropped her in that alleyway, I still notice the stuff she does around me.
"Right... So, what movie are we going to watch then?"
----------------------------------------
"Hahaha, did you see that part where the-"
"The guy was hiding, and he ended up getting under the bed, and his parent got on top? Yeah, that was pretty funny."
"No, I was talking about the part where she had to quickly hide the diamond, and she threw it into the monkey pit, and then the monkeys threw it back at her."
"Yeah, that was really funny. Especially how they threw it back right when she was being questioned by the police, and she ended up getting the reward money for the diamond that she stole." It was a comedy movie about a woman whose husband had disappeared, and she discovered that he was an infamous thief. And suddenly, she couldn't pay the bills, so she started to use his tools and gadgets to perform robberies of her own, and she mostly bundled her way through it, her luck getting her off scot-free and with the loot. The finale is her ending up in Paris and competing with her disguised husband for a diamond, which her husband lets her get, but she is then chased to the zoo.
"So, what now? You want to go and do my shopping first, or shall we get something to eat now?" Felicia asks as we continue to leave the movie theatre, one that is inside of a massive mall, so we have a lot of options for what we can do now.
"Let's eat now, then. I can already tell I am going to be wiped out by the time you finish with your shopping and won't be able to enjoy the food, so it is better to have it now. So that when we are finally done with your spree, I can go home and collapse into bed." Better to enjoy my food now, as at least I have a full stomach while I am following Felicia through the stores and waiting outside of changing rooms.
"Alright, to the food court, it is." Then, determining our path, Felicia turns around and walks off in the opposite direction.
"Food court? I thought I would be getting treated to the fancy stuff today." That was what she promised, after all.
"What do you mean? Don't you know mall food is the epitome of culinary skill? The workers have to microwave the food to the exact second, and they even have to package it up into cardboard and plastic as well without damaging the food itself. Truly, high-quality food." I stare at the back of her head blankly as I follow behind her, and she must have felt it because she turned around and saw my look.
"Alright, it's not exactly fancy, but it will have to do. If we did my shopping first, then we could have gone out and found a nice restaurant, but since shopping is the last thing, then it makes no sense to leave the mall, travel an hour away to a nice place to eat and then come back. Plus, the fancy food was contingent on you buying some of my choices for me. So, we will eat here, unless you are really adamant about the fancy food. Are you?" Felicia questions, now walking backwards and expertly avoiding people as she does.
"...Which food place are we going to then?"
----------------------------------------
"Phew, I am stuffed. Could not eat another thing if I wanted to." Felicia says, pushing her tray away from her and reclining against the back of her chair. So we ended up having good old Mcdonald's. Not the fanciest place out there, but it is undoubtedly delicious.
"You're full? You haven't even touched your fries, and about sixty percent of your food is left." I point out, sitting across from her at our two people table in the middle of the food court.
"Yeah, well, a girl's gotta watch her weight." Felicia shoots back, looking down at her tray still full of chicken nuggets and other delicious foods that remain untouched.
"Yeah, you've gotta watch your weight? I am sure you will burn off whatever you eat and more while you are doing all those jumps and lunges and other acrobatics." I say back, still digging into my delicious burger. I am kind of glad we didn't go and get anything fancy, the atmosphere would have been too stuffy, and we, or rather I, would have stuck out like a sore thumb. I much prefer this, eating a burger with my hands and taking big chunks out of it.
"I still have to fit into the suit, ya know? If I can't get into my outfit, then I am not going to be doing any of those acrobatics. The suit is very tight and slim-fitting, not to mention all the other work and tech in it. I have to maintain a specific weight to keep it working properly and utilising it to its utmost." Oh yeah, her suit has all that tech and stuff, servitors and such, working inside it. You wouldn't think it is, given how slim-fitting and all-revealing it is, even though it covers every inch of her skin. I am guessing most of the bulk is hidden under the fur lining her suit. Quite clever. But giving up Big Macs for power beyond your means, that is a tough call. But not really.
"So, if you're not having it?" I question, eyeing her food with hungry eyes. My enhanced body means I need more food than others, not so much so that it would be weird, but enough that I can always eat. I can operate on just as much food as the average person eats, but I have a lot to eat before I am full. And the food is looking mighty tasty, even if I still need to finish my own.
"Yeah, help yourself. Hey, do you see that guy over there?" Felicia asks as I grab her tray and drag it over towards my own. I turn my head to see what she is talking about when she grabs ahold of my face and pulls it to look back at me.
"Don't just look directly at him. Have I taught you nothing? Instead, eye him out of the corner of your eye with your powers that should be easily achievable. And if it doesn't, then try to get a view of your target through reflections and mirrors that are around. Only when you are seriously stressed for time or in an urgent situation should you look directly at your mark. Got it?" I nod my head and stop munching on the food in my mouth for a second to look over in the direction she wants me to.
I spotted a gaudy-looking man in my peripheral vision, a fat guy who seemed to be with his other girlfriend, and he was a very material guy. He was covered in gold, chains, rings, and earrings. Whatever accessory you could think of, he had it in gold. I think even his shades were gold trimmed.
"The flashy guy with his wife? What about him?" I say, mentioning the guy to see if that is actually who she is on about. I think he is because he is just so flashy and covered in wealth, and those are things that pique Felicia's attention.
"That's not his wife. It's his mistress. Notice how he wears a dozen different gold rings on his fingers, but there is no ring on his wedding finger. A guy, as flashy and material as that, would definitely have a ring on that finger, and the fact he doesn't means he took it off. I bet if we got closer, we would even see the imprint on his finger." She says, pinpointing the guy's infidelity for some reason. With my enhanced vision, I have no problem getting a close look at the finger, and it does indeed have an imprint on it.
"Yeah, he does. So what? Why are you so interested in this sleazebag and his cheating ways?" I am much more interested in the food in front of me. After all, this is supposed to be a break, and I would rather not spend it pontificating on some cheating asshole.
"The girl he's with is pretty and young, while he is fat and definitely not young. Sure, she could be with him because of his striking personality, but given how he's dressed and all the gold, I figure he doesn't have much of a personality. She is probably with him for his money, meaning he is rich and has money to spare that he can waste on his mistress, probably one of many." She explains but still doesn't explain why I should bother with this.
"Okay, and why are we wasting time figuring this guy out?" I grab a fry and dip it into some ketchup before placing it into my mouth and chewing it, much more interested in the food than whatever Felicia is going on about.
"How about we have a bet?" I pause in my eating, surprised by the sudden change in topic. Where did that come from?
"A bet? About what?" I am curious as to where this could go, and I am not ruling it out yet. It is always better to see where a bet could go and what it is about before altogether rejecting it. You could have a one hundred percent chance of winning if you are lucky with what the bet is about.
"I think it is time to put all those skills I taught you to the test. As soon as that guy leaves the food court, we are going to follow him and try and swipe as much of the gold he has off of him. The one who has the most gold wins. If I win, then you have to pay for all my shopping." She points at me, finishing explaining her wager.
"And what do I get?" I ask because she hasn't agreed to what is up for me.
"Whatever you want, it is up to you. Or I could simply owe you a favour?" Honestly, paying for her shopping wouldn't really hurt me, but I have to make sure that what I am asking for is at the same level. A lot of power here, but I will go with safety.
"Alright, it could be fun. I will pay for your shopping if you win, but you will owe me a favour if I win." I am not really losing anything either way, so I will play along.
"Oh, I wonder what you are going to ask of me?" I ignore her in favour of eating my food and thinking about my game plan. The guy has a lot of earrings and piercings on him, and those will be Felicia's because I am not skilled enough. So I will focus on his rings and watches and stuff. I should be able to swipe a healthy amount of them.
----------------------------------------
"Haha, I still can't believe I won. Has the student become the master?" I laugh as I open the door, allowing Felicia to go into our apartment first before following her in and closing the door behind me.
"Yeah, yeah, you won. But don't let it go to your head. You just got lucky. The guy went to the toilet, and I couldn't find an opportunity to follow, unlike you. Plus, you used your sticky power to slide all the stuff off of him while my bounty actually took skill.- Here, just put them in my room." I follow Felicia as she opens the room to her door and gestures to the corner of her room for me to put all her shopping bags, which I do happy to finally be rid of them after closing them all day.
Her room is pretty plain, which is to be expected since we move so often. Though she has clothes strewn all over the place, and I try not to look at all the underwear all over the place. She also has a lot of jewellery and expensive items around the place, a big pile of it just in the corner.
"Well, you now owe me a favour. But I got you this in the spirit of sportsmanship, so no hard feelings. I saw it and thought it looked nice." So I pulled out a box from my back pocket and gave it to her, I saw it while we were shopping and while she was in the changing room, I went and bought it. I think she could use something to bolster her spirits in these trying times.
"Oh, wow..." She says as she takes the box and opens it to reveal a single silver earring in the shape of a tiny cat's paw. "I love it." She says, as she immediately takes it out and starts to look at it.
"Right, well.." I say, and she looks back up at me. And we stay silent for a moment, just staring at each other.
"Good night," I say and then turn around and leave the room, heading towards my own.
"...Night." I hear her say behind me.