2/2

"Usually I'm the one playing hard to get Matthew" she chided playfully. "Don't you know it's not nice to leave a girl waiting for a second date?" purred Hardy, her voice taking on its most seductive tones.

Matthew shook his head in disbelief. "I don't suppose you had something in mind?" Of all the people to call him, a thief who seemed as concerned with getting him into bed with her as stealing was not his first choice. But considering the thief in question, wasn't his last choice either.

There was another purr on the other end. "I was wondering if you would care to join me for lunch downtown? Maybe we could arrange for a third date? Perhaps with some of the old playmates?"

"I like the sound of that" replied Cooper instantly, quickly cutting through the layers. "Time and place?"

An hour and a half later, Cooper was handing the key of his M3 to a valet outside the high rise, the restaurant was situated at the top. Dressed in casual business attire, slacks, sport coat, and fabric trench coat, with a P2016 concealed in a shoulder holster, Cooper still felt horribly out of place. He could feel the eyes watching him as he crossed the marble floor of the lobby and made his way to the elevator bank. As soon as the doors closed and granted him a small bit of privacy did he allow himself to relax. "What's there to worry about? You're just a lucky guy meeting a sexy lady for lunch" he reminded himself. "Only you're doing it while carrying a gun that doesn't fucking exist. Dumbass" he muttered.

His chastising came to a brief pause as he switched elevators. Once he was ascending to the top floor again, he pulled out his phone and dial a number. "BT, remind me to go buy a carry gun, maybe a Sig P220" he said without preamble.

"Affirmative Pilot. I will remind you to buy a Sig Sauer P220 handgun for concealed carry purposes" responded BT-7274 before Cooper hung up and was left with his thoughts until he reached the top floor and the doors opened.

"Let's do this Cooper" he said to himself as he stepped out.

Hardy watched the tall, solidly built vigilante step out of the elevator and scan the area. Even with his coat and business casual attire, his broad shoulders and muscle mass were clearly visible. The end of a scar was visible on his neck and such impossibly bright and alert blue eyes that she could almost swear were glowing gave him the air of a veteran with a rugged edge she wouldn't deny was attractive. Nor could the Black Cat deny how formidable a fighter the Renegade Commando was, between his track record and seeing him in action, he was every bit as good as his reputation. He shared more than a few traits with a certain ex of hers, which would probably get under the Spider's skin. Both exceptionally capable, neigh unbeatable when doing their superhero thing, but when they weren't?

They couldn't have been more different. Parker was nearly hopeless, restricted by his own 'good guy' philosophy of 'great power and great responsibility' that he would never change. But Cooper? He seemed like a wildcard, and more importantly, could change if given the right persuasion. Felicia just needed to find out what made him tick. That probably wouldn't be that hard, he wasn't the broody type, and he trusted her, at least up to a point.

At the very worst he would play give and take, and she had plenty to give.

Matthew was then led across the restaurant to Felicia's corner table, his bright blue eyes never lingering anywhere for too long. His strides were taken with unabashed confidence, though part of that may have come from the concealed handgun he had on his person. "Mighty kind of ya'" he drawled as he took his seat and the greeter departed. "Nice to see you again Miss Hardy" he said politely as he turned attention to her.

She flashed her most charming smile in return. "Likewise, Matthew" she said as she leaned forwards and watched his eyes glance down briefly, causing her to smirk with satisfaction. Beneath all the armor and attitude, he was still a man and as predictable as ever. "Glad to see you come on such short notice."

"You made a good offer" he answered as he looked at the menu and frowned, "Jesus H. Christ, 40 bucks for shitty ribs. I miss home" he mused with a shake of his head. He looked back up and forced a cocky smirk, "now what was it you were in such a hurry to discuss?" he asked with a gleam in his eye.

"Business before pleasure I presume?" asked Hardy, getting a nod in return. "I've done a little digging, had to go really deep, but I've found something. Kingpin may be leaving, but two of his top lieutenants are staying to run Cinderblock" she revealed with a smile.

She could see a hint of the Marauder come out; the smirk was replaced with an almost predatory grin. "But you don't just get this for free" she said coyly, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "You need to answer some questions first."

He merely shrugged before the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the appetizer and wine Felicia had ordered earlier, though Matthew asked for a glass of water. When he saw the look the temptress was giving him, he smirked. "Not a big wine drinker" he admitted, "and something tells me I'm going to need to be fully alert for what's coming. What'd you want to ask?" he answered as his water arrived and he took a sip.

Felicia's expression became curious as she pondered which question to ask first. "Why?" she said finally, though all that drew was a dry chuckle from the man. Hardy narrowed her eyes and tired again, taking care to be more specific now that she knew she was dealing with a sarcastic ass. "Why do you do it? The whole nighttime deal you have?"

He placed the glass down and smiled mirthfully, "Slight correction, it's practically my only job." The Marauder then seemed contemplative for a moment before he answered with a sardonic smirk. "Because I love it." Hardy tilted her head, her delicate features quirking into an inquisitive expression, wanting more of an answer. Cooper hesitated before he provided one. "I don't have much left, at least…not much that means anything. This…isn't living" he said, looking around them at the restaurant. "For whatever reason, I have to be in the thick of it" he admitted honestly, and a bit sadly. His steely blue eyes then turned to Hardy's. "You're the same way? With your…activities." Before Felicia could fully register the words, she found herself nodding. Cooper continued, "Figured, you clearly have it all, you don't do it for the money, or the honor. You do it for the thrill of it."

Felicia wasn't sure what to make of the admission, he seemed to be trying to understand her as much as she was trying to understand him. That was both exciting and dangerous. "You really don't get out much, do you?" she asked dryly, getting a small chuckle in response. "What's your story then? Not the bogus one you gave Parker about being from Texas, the real story."

"I really am from Texas" he responded instantly while flashing his cockiest grin, "just had a small detour on the way here" he deflected. His lips formed a grimace as he mulled over what he was going to say. "It was little week-long walk-through hell" he supplied without a hint of exaggeration. "Wasn't all bad, picked up a set of skills, some gear, and…and made a friend." His tone wasn't remorseful or ashamed, he still had that smirk, and a calm drawl that projected confidence.

Hardy understood immediately, while he was new to New York, he had come about by being put through the ringer. There was a part of him that didn't make it out the same way he went in, but he had fully embraced the Marauder. All of the good and bad that came with it, for whatever reasons, he was committed to making the most of everything he could do. It was a way of thinking she was intimately familiar with. Though she didn't show any of that understanding, just remained still, looking like she was still processing. Felicia gave a sympathetic smile. "And the future?"

"Fuck if I know" responded Cooper quietly with a small laugh. "Haven't thought that far ahead, but I'm open to suggestions" he said suggestively and with a cocky grin.

"I'd recommend the shrimp" responded Hardy instantly, but with a lighthearted smirk of her own.

"Ouch."

One unsatisfying meal later, Cooper descended the building and slipped away in his M3. His mind was all over the place, though of all of the swirling thoughts, Felecia Hardy herself occupied a good number of them. Every time he looked at her he had to remind himself that she had made him look like an ass the first time they met. He had been pretty successful, but it hadn't been easy. Even in the business suit and pencil skirt the Thief was stunning to look at, and part of him was sure that whoever had coined the phrase 'sex on two legs' had done so after seeing Felecia Hardy. The other part of him said that, based on the part of her legs her skirt left exposed, they deserved to be included with the rest of her.

She was more than a pretty everything, she could fight, and she was the kind of smart that he couldn't comprehend, playing four dimensional chess while he thought the game was checkers. She could not only see every piece on the board, even those who didn't know they were in the game, but she could dictate or predict where every piece would all be. Though for all of her ability to play mind games with everyone, the Texan thought she had fucking awful taste in restaurants. While the food may not have been worth the trip, the information Black Cat passed on to him had been. Kingpin had two lieutenants who were about to hole up in well defended locations tonight. Hardy knew these locations for some reason and had passed along one to Cooper.

When pressed about what would happen to the other one, the thief had been coy, but assured him it would be taken care of. The infotainment system alerted him to an incoming call that he quickly accepted. "BT, take a look at that location?"

"Affirmative pilot" came the voice of the Vanguard class Titan over the car's speakers. "The given location seems probable; the property is owned by a company listed by Ms. Watson as a shell company for Fisk. I have already begun planning the logistical elements of an action against it" reported BT dutifully.

"Sounds like a plan buddy, I'll beat traffic out of town and get ready. Time to cut the head off the snake." With that, Cooper hung up on the Titan and mashed the throttle, the M3 rocketing forwards and slicing through traffic, the driver unable to suppress the evil grin on his face.

Peter was busy mixing up a fresh batch of web fluid in his apartment while trying to put the ass kicking he had received at the hands of the Marauder out of his mind when he heard a strange humming noise. Looking up and around, the webhead realized that was his phone on vibrate somewhere in the mess of papers on his desk. After a few seconds of furiously tossing boxes and nick knacks around he heard a solid 'thump' on the floor as he turned and scooped up the phone, accepting the call without having a look at the Caller ID. "Heya, what's up" he said before adding "whoever this is" under his breath.

"Spider" answered a feminine voice with a seductive edge that he instantly recognized. "You sound winded, getting a workout in? Perhaps with that lovely redheaded friend of yours?" Peter was almost taken aback before he remembered who he was dealing with while also failing to detect any trace of jealousy in the Cat Burglar's tone.

The Superhero still gulped as his mind raced with all of the questions he had been meaning to ask the Thief. "Felecia?" he asked dumbly, still not sure what game she was playing. The only thing he was sure of was that Black Cat always was playing games.

But before he could follow up his...brilliant...opening, the quick witted woman cut him off. "What's wrong Spider? Cat got your tongue?" with a giggle at his expense. It was almost like old times, only the woman had seemingly replaced him with an armored green meanie. "Or were you really in the middle of something? If so, please continue, I won't mind listening while you finish" she continued without missing a beat.

"No...NO" he said suddenly as he pushed select thoughts from his head and tried to calm down to get the woman to focus. "Listen, Felecia, what do you think you are doing with the Marauder? He's dangerous" hissed the wallcrawler with deadly seriousness. "Too dangerous" he cautioned, "stay away from him, whatever he's up to can't be good. You don't need any of the attention he's been getting to rub off on you."

"Awww...nice to know you still care Spider" said the woman without a care in her answer, her flippant attitude not diminished in the slightest. "But don't worry, this kitty can handle herself" she assured before humming in thought. "Though, since you brought him up, I did learn where the Marauder might be headed tonight...if you're interested" she offered far too kindly. He didn't need a Spider-Sense to tell him that there was more than what she was letting on. "He's going after a Kingpin Lieutenant who's going to be in Hell's Kitchen tonight. Apparently our old friend Mr. Fisk is up to no good, something the Marauder intends to rectify."

Peter's phone buzzed again as he pulled it away from his ear to see that Felecia had sent him an address in the south west corner of the island. Quickly saving it, he pressed the phone back to his face as he noticed a beaker beginning to bubble dangerously and tilted his head to pin the phone to his shoulder as he added a neutralizing agent to stabilize the reaction. "Thanks Felecia, I got the address" he said sincerely before turning serious. "Though why are you sending this to me? What's in it for you?" he asked bluntly, hoping to bludgeon his way past her coyness.

And as always, that didn't work. "Hmm...I guess you could say I'm curious...curious to see if you do any better than last night. Good luck Spider" she finished with a flirtatious flourish before the line clicked and went dead. Sighing, he tossed the phone aside before steeling himself and getting back to work.

He had a rematch to prepare for.

"Watanabe" answered Yuri on reflex as she pressed her phone to her ear. Still standing in the middle of the floor of her precinct.

"Good afternoon Captain" purred an unknown female voice.

Watanabe felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, the voice was disarming, too disarming. "Who is this?" she asked as she moved to the corner of the room for some semblance of privacy. "What do you want?"

"Tsk tsk tsk Captain" came the reply. "Those aren't the questions you should be asking. You should be asking what I can give you" hinted the woman.

Yuri gave an exasperated sigh. "What is it you can give me?" she asked, gritting her teeth as every semblance of common sense she had was begging her to hang up.

There was a small laugh over the phone before she got her answer. "I know where the Marauder will be tonight Captain. Midtown East, offices of Lawton insurance group." Yuri's jaw nearly hit the floor as she struggled for words. "Seems I have your attention Captain. The Marauder will be going after a Lieutenant of the Kingpin who will be holing up there tonight."

Yuri pursed her lips as she processed those words, the target made sense, but it sounded too much like a trap. "And you're happy to just…tell us this? No strings attached?"

"I wouldn't exactly say that Captain" replied the woman coyly. "I've talked to the man and I doubt he'll go quietly. Good luck, you'll need it" the mystery woman finished before hanging up.

Watanabe let out a breath, with the mayor asking for daily updates and no other leads she didn't see many alternatives. Putting her phone away, Yuri returned to the two detectives and cleared her throat. "I just got a tip about where the Marauder will be tonight" she revealed.

She got a pair of shocked looks in return but held up a placating hand. "I know it's out of the blue, and I don't entirely trust it, but it's all we got and we're going to roll with it. Martinez, look into Lawton Insurance group, and get us a warrant for a stakeout on suspicion of it being a front for the Kingpin."

The older Hispanic man nodded as he jammed a toothpick back in between his teeth. "I'm on it ma'am" he assured before spinning in his chair back to his computer.

The Asian woman then turned to the blonde. "Johnson, call SWAT and tell them to get their heavy hitters ready. We're going to want all hands on-deck if this pans out and we have to go toe to toe with that sonofabitch."

"Got it cap" replied the woman before Yuri turned on her heel and left the two detectives to their work. As soon as the Captain was gone, Johnson pulled up a chat room on her computer and sent a brief message before she picked up the phone.

One of Wilson Fisk's massive fingers tapped on the top of the cigar, knocking an ash into the tray on his desk as he looked over the short message again before he looked up at the man who had handed it to him. "The Lawton offices in Midtown, that's where Mr. Perrault is to relocate for the coming events, is it not?"

The man standing off to the side of his desk swallowed before answering. "Yes sir, it is. He has been forwarded this message as well. Due to the limited timeframe, he requests permission to relocate to his home. He has the equipment to carry out his assignment there."

"Approved" answered Fisk instantly. Too much had gone into Cinderblock to lose such a valuable piece at the last minute. Placing the cigar back in his mouth and inhaling deeply before letting a puff of smoke waft from the end. "Mr. Gregson" he said, causing the man who delivered the message to stand up straighter, "this message indicates that the Police are aware of this."

The man adjusted his collar. "Yes sir, this message came from an informant in the Chinatown precinct."

"I see" responded Fisk as he removed the Cigar. "And this message suggests that the Police will send Mayor Osborn's Task Force. Do you agree with this?" Gregson nodded vigorously after a moment of thought. "I concur. Two of the most substantial threats to our endeavors will be at the same place at the same time. Both focused solely on each other. This presents an opportunity for us, wouldn't you agree?"

Gregson furrowed his brow. "What did you have in mind sir?" he asked.

"Reassign all of our associates away from the Lawton offices" he ordered before there was a flicker of an evil smirk on his face before the expression was quickly wrangled under control. "And then prepare a crew, the best enforces in my employ. This is an opportunity that we should not allow to pass us by." He paused for a moment as he considered the scale of the coming events. "Then have my private jet readied for immediate departure. I think it best if I head to Europe a day early. Any questions."

"Just one" replied Gregson. "How many men for this crew?"

"How many do you have?"

Cooper's Logbook – Tactical Ability: A-Wall

Speed may be the lifeblood of pilots, but when one needs to solidify their position on the battlefield, they can use this incredible piece of equipment. The Tactical that creates the 'Amp Wall,' a one-way barrier that applies an arc charge to the rounds that pass through, giving them extra punch. Using rapidly alternating electro-magnetic fields to 'catch' incoming bullets means that the power source built into the flash forged circular emitters only last a few seconds before shorting out and self-destructing.

The downside is that the barrier is bright fricking orange and is a giant 'shoot me' sign, but at least it does that when it's bulletproof. Some of these 'superhero' costumes on the other hand…

Log – Ordinance: Gravity Star

Of all of the ways I can make people reconsider their life choices, this might just be the most ridiculous. To the uninitiated it looks like a shuriken, I throw it like a shuriken, and it is as sharp as a shuriken, so it's a shuriken, right? Wrong. What it does do that makes it special is the ability to generate a gravity well that sucks everything towards the center. And I mean everything, people, grenades, vases, staplers, wrenches and other tools (don't ask how I know), it can even alter the flight path of bullets. I'm not even going to attempt to understand the utter bullshit science that goes into making these things, but it does have one other quirk that is hilarious.

After a few moments the well collapses this gravity characteristic is reversed, and for a fraction of a second everything nearby is shot away very, very quickly. This includes me, if I time it just right then I have used it to launch myself across gaps, though I still need some practice...and I need to replace my now ruined kneepads.

Closing notes: Yes, I did absolutely have Kingpin steal Vigo's line from the original John Wick, and no, I don't regret it. This is also the obligatory reminder that if you haven't seen John Wick, you should go watch John Wick.

I also want to take a moment to point out that if you do ever go to a shooting range NEVER FIRE A GUN LIKE COOPER DOES IN THIS CHAPTER. This violates the rules of almost every range out there and I only did it for story purposes.

Also, if you're dissapointed with the first meeting of Spider-Man and the Marauder, know that I felt the same way when I wrote it. So I decided that there would be a rematch because no great fight is truly settled in the opening round.

Feel free to leave some feedback if you got it as we close in on the end of the Cinderblock Story arc. This chapter was mainly setup for the home stretch as all the pieces are now in place, all that's left is to see if our heroes succeed in thwarting Cinderblock and find out the price they have to pay. Chances are we will see it concluded by the end of next week. Chapter 12 will be the end of this saga, serving as a wrap up and a transitional chapter into the next arc. I swear that after that second arc there will be a time jump and I will quit screwing around and get into the actual game.

Wednesday will see blood on the streets, blood on the rocks, blood in gutter, every last drop in If You Want Blood.

Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out.