Jack sat in a lobby. It was dark. The only light from the receptionist’s computer and what little glare from the moon made its way through one of the side windows. Jack shuddered, partially from the cold and partially from fear. Through the lens of his anxiety, his awareness of everything was amplified tenfold. The steady, rhythmic beating of his heart, every noise outside, the sound of sirens in the distance. He shuddered again and quickly glanced to the receptionist before looking back to the floor. The sound of her tapping away at her computer twisted Jack’s stomach into knots. Every time she paused, he tried not to whimper. He could tell she was looking at him, judging him, and he was afraid he wouldn’t measure up. He was just hoping his actions tonight would speak for him.
The sound of distant laughter echoed through the room, and Jack flinched. That was good, right? It meant he was in a good mood. Hopefully. Unless he was laughing to himself about the things he was going to do to Jack. Oh god. Jack clenched his fists, before opening his palms and wiping them down on his trousers. At this rate he was going to piss himself. Seriously.
“Just stick with the plan, stick with the plan” Jack muttered to himself.
He’d just oversell his value. He’d already convinced Lorien he’d saved him from Lupus labs, and he’d started on curing his sickness. When reports had come in of Dr Warren’s suicide, the boy had practically grovelled at his feet. He’d be a great tool to leverage. Dangerous, but good to leverage. That’s what this was all about, wasn’t it? Value. He just needed to oversell his, pretend he knew more than he did about the cloning process. Pretend he was just as good as Miles. The receptionist stopped tapping at the keys and Jack froze, his heart hammering against his rib cage, hard enough to shake the rest of his body. But this time, instead of resuming the receptionist stayed silent. He heard a small whisper from her and then more silence. Suddenly the door to the office opened, and a man Jack didn’t recognise stepped out, wearing a smug grin. He nodded to Jack, who offered a quick nod back, then continued out of the lobby, escorted by three bodyguards.
Jack sat in silence for a few more minutes before the receptionist’s voice cut through the air.
“Mr Fisk is ready for you know” she said.
“Ok” Jack squeaked. He jumped up, wiped his hands on his coat, and made his way forward into the office.
The office was cold. Extremely cold. To the point that the air in front of Jack’s face misted up. But even then, the first thing he took notice of was the size of the man in front of him. Wilson Fisk wasn’t just large, but tall. A whopping seven-foot beast of a man, who looked like a offensive lineman. And yet the only other time Jack had met him, he’d glided across a room with the grace of a ballerina, before crushing a man’s head with one hand. He could exert forces far greater than even someone of his size should’ve been capable off. A veritable tank. Just thinking about it made Jack want to cut him open, run as many tests as he could. Like always, he felt a compulsion to see what made him tick. He’d never say that out loud though, it’d mean instant death. The man stood behind his desk, staring out the window over the alley behind the small, abandoned building he’d chosen as a hideout. In the distance, the financial district stood tall and proud. Jack could barely see it past the man’s frame.
“Jack, was it?” the man said, his voice surprisingly normal.
“Yes sir”
“Please sit” he said, turning to Jack. The man’s eyes tracked Jack as he stepped forward, taking a seat in the chair before the desk. Fisk stalked around the room, his footstep shaking the floor, as he hummed a tune to himself.
“You’re a very lucky man Jack”
“I know sir”
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“No, I don’t think you do. I mean, what kind of son of a gun goes to grab a Chinese takeaway in the middle of an active terror campaign?”
“I wouldn’t call it a terror campaign… sir”
“Oh? Well a tactical assault then? Doesn’t really matter. Either way, you blew half of Chinatown to Kingdom come”
“I told the men not to mess with th-”
“I don’t care what you told them, I just want to know whether you can build me more”
“Yes. Yes I can sir”
“Good. Very good” Kingpin said, nodding slowly to himself. Jack wiped his hands on his trousers, his heart thumping loudly. He’d gotten past the first hurdle. Now he just needed to buy himself time after he’d finished building the cloning devices. He didn’t want to build them and immediately get killed for his efforts. But he couldn’t speak. The man’s presence was too great, to overpowering. He was afraid that if he spoke up, said the wrong thing, he’d kill him in an instant.
“It’s my younger son’s birthday tomorrow, Jack. What’d you think I should get him?” Kingpin asked.
“I-I’m not sure” Jack said trembling.
“Well he’s quite the avid fan of the Nets. I doubt he’d appreciate just a signed jersey though. He’d probably want season tickets. But I know my son, he’d only go to the odd game and even if he did go, he’s got the attention span of a goldfish so- pointless” Fisk said, kissing his teeth. “My wife spoils him you see. I didn’t realise till it was too late. She’s ruined him. He’s not like Damian, he’s… weak? No, he’s still my blood. Soft? Yes, soft. That’s a better word”
Kingpin continued walking around the room, before stopping and resting his hands on the back of Jack’s chair.
“His grades are slipping as well. His current tutor’s too nice. Too lenient. Lets him get away with things” he said. Jack shut his eyes tightly, begging his body to stop shaking.
“Would you mind taking over from her? I know it’d hinder your duties slightly, but you’ll be well cared for”
“O-of course sir” Jack said.
“Good. Good” Fisk said, clapping his hands on Jack’s shoulder. “You can leave now. I’ll have one of my associates meet with you to discuss further details”
“I-is that all Mr Fisk?” Jack said, his heart racing. Shit.
“Yes? Did you have something else in mind?”
“I was just wondering about my… duties. Once I’ve built the machines, what exactly do you want me to do?“
“Oh, wasn’t I clear? The same thing that imbecile was supposed to be doing for me in the first place. Building an army”
“T-that’s well within my capabilities, but where exactly will I be located?”
“I have a friend at Alchemax who’s more than happy to open up a new private department once he receives some funding. You’ll have everything you need and more than enough spending money” Fisk said, walking around to sit behind his desk.
“What about L- Subject 0?”
“What about him?”
“Well I was just wondering if he… I- he’s-“
“Spit it out kid”
“Well he’s a metahuman. Extremely physically competent and-”
“Ah. I see what you’re trying to do here. You want me to hire him from you? What is this, daylight robbery?”
“No sir. N-no I just wanted to know if you’d find him useful. No charge”
“Really now? Don’t you need him for your experiments?”
“I- I can do them without him. You can have him as much as you like. Though he does seem to be partial to me” Jack said, heart hammering even harder.
“Hear that Prowler. Looks like you’ve got competition” Fisk said, with a smile, looking to the corner of the room. Jack glanced behind him and jumped. The Prowler stood still, silently watching the two of them.
“I doubt anyone’s competition for me sir” he said, his voice deepened by the costume. Kingpin laughed heartily as Jack turned back to face him. What the hell? How had he not noticed him? What was he even doing here? Hadn’t he been arrested? Jack shook his head unable to make sense of the situation.
Kingpin stopped laughing and pointed at Prowler, whilst looking to Jack.
“Funny guy, no?” he said, before chuckling again. Jack nodded, unsure of what to say. Kingpin chuckled a bit more then leant back in his chair, sighing.
“Before you go Jack, I’d like to thank you. Remaining loyal to me, and informing me of Dr Warren’s betrayal… it was greatly appreciated”
“Y-you’re welcome sir”
“Plus your plan with the clones, taking the labs out, handling Spider-Man and the stuff with Oscorp... genius. You’ve got a real talent for this stuff kid. Stick with me and we’ll flourish, no doubt”
“Yes sir”
“But seriously kid, if you betray me like you did Dr Warren, I’ll have Prowler over their slit your throat. Capiche?”
“Y-yes sir” Jack stuttered.
“You can leave now. No more questions”
Jack stood quickly with a nod, and walked out of the room, glancing at Prowler on his way out. He wiped his brow and cursed. Shit. This whole thing was a bloody mess. Even if he could spend his time experimenting, fulfilling his urges, it seemed like Kingpin wanted more. Fuck. He should’ve trusted Warren knew what he was doing. Now that he was on that beast’s radar, there was no chance he was ever leaving it. What had he gotten himself into?