C 50

"Didn't Bullseye get released? Let him take care of the problem."

Kingpin's voice was cold and sharp. He ordered, "And send a lawyer's letter to the Daily Bugle. I don't want any reports about me circulating online. Tell the other media companies to avoid fanning the flames and have them speak in our favor. Do you understand?"

Wesley nodded obediently. "I've already issued the order. These media companies are smart enough not to challenge us."

He paused before adding, "As for the Daily Bugle, I'll make sure they understand just how powerful Kingpin really is."

"Don't disappoint me again, Wesley," Fisk replied, his gaze hard and icy.

Wesley felt a shiver down his spine as he avoided his boss's penetrating stare, a cold sweat forming on his back.

Suddenly, Fisk's personal phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he frowned slightly and answered. As he listened, his expression darkened, his eyes flashing with a fury that was almost palpable.

Wesley noticed the shift, and his heart sank. He knew this time Kingpin's anger was more intense than anything he'd seen before.

New York was about to feel the shockwaves...

Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle, Anton and Eddie were eagerly refreshing the online comments about Kingpin. The public response was overwhelmingly favorable to them.

It was the result of the Daily Bugle's longstanding reputation, and people trusted what was published there. Kingpin's true face was now exposed for all to see, and he could no longer hide behind his facade of a respectable businessman and philanthropist.

For Anton and his team, this was just the first step in dismantling the syndicate. Now they just needed to uncover solid criminal evidence against him to ensure he'd be locked away for good, without any chance of escaping justice.

It was a similar but tougher situation compared to dealing with the Life Foundation. Unlike them, Kingpin was cunning, resourceful, and had layers of protection. Capturing him would require careful planning and impeccable timing.

"Ben has gone to verify his suspicions," Eddie said suddenly. "If he's right, we can finally expose Fisk as a criminal. Once that happens, everyone will turn on him, and he won't be able to hold on to his power or his freedom."

The "Ben" Eddie referred to was his old friend and fellow journalist, Ben Ulrich, a man deeply committed to fighting crime. Given Kingpin's power, Ben had been more than willing to cooperate with the Daily Bugle. Having Eddie as a close ally there only made things easier.

"Don't worry. You won't be disappointed," Anton replied confidently. Everything was going as planned. He was certain this would work. "Fisk has always been ruthless. Nothing would surprise me, even if he committed murder as a teenager."

"Why are you so sure?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because he's naturally cruel. Nothing is beneath him, not even patricide," Anton replied, a hint of knowing in his voice.

Of course, Anton's certainty stemmed from more than just intuition. In truth, he knew the story. He had seen it in the movies and TV shows of his former life, where Kingpin was often the main villain. 

In one version, Fisk's rise to power had been dark and brutal.

The issue, however, was that each adaptation came with slight differences in backstory and details. But as soon as Ben mentioned Kingpin's past, Anton knew precisely which version they were dealing with.

In this version, Fisk had killed his abusive father as a teenager to protect his mother, who then helped him cover it up. 

To outsiders, it looked like Fisk's father had been killed in a random street fight—an incident that barely raised eyebrows in Hell's Kitchen, where the police often turned a blind eye to daily violence.

To confirm this theory, Ben had tracked down Fisk's mother in a private nursing home on the outskirts of New York, hoping to extract the truth from her.

At a private nursing home in suburban New York, Ben Ulrich exited the building with a mixture of excitement and grim satisfaction. He'd gotten the answers he'd sought, though Kingpin's mother, who suffered from dementia, was only occasionally lucid.

Despite this limitation, her fragmented confessions had shed light on the dark truth. Though her testimony wouldn't hold up in court, it would still serve as a blow to Fisk's carefully constructed public image.

The once untouchable Kingpin now had cracks in his armor.

"This information is explosive," Ben muttered as he pulled out his phone to share the news with Eddie. But just as he was about to dial, a black car rolled up to the nursing home's entrance.

Syndicate operatives.

Ben's eyes widened. Kingpin's men had tracked him down, and the head of the syndicate himself was here. As Fisk's imposing figure emerged from the car, Ben could feel the oppressive weight of the man's ruthless reputation.

Ben's heart raced. Kingpin's cold, furious expression spoke volumes—Fisk knew Ben had overstepped.

With a sense of resignation, Ben steeled himself to face whatever punishment Kingpin had planned. But just then, a figure clad in red appeared, leaping through the air.

Kingpin moved swiftly, dodging the figure's initial attack, only to swing a massive fist toward his new opponent.

"Daredevil," Fisk growled, recognizing the man instantly. "How noble of you to show up in broad daylight just to get in my way."

"Kingpin," Matt replied, locking onto Fisk's position with his acute hearing. "Your empire's days are numbered, Fisk. Now that your cover is blown, do you still feel like targeting innocent people?"

"Ben, get out of here," Daredevil ordered, keeping his focus on Kingpin.

"Right," Ben replied, knowing that Daredevil's arrival was his cue to leave. He quickly ran in the opposite direction.

But Kingpin wasn't about to let him slip away so easily. He signaled to his men, and a squad of thugs immediately gave chase.

To Fisk's surprise, Daredevil remained, his attention focused solely on him. Fisk smirked, gripping his cane. He was more than prepared for this fight. 

With a massive build that towered over Daredevil, he charged forward like a mountain on the move.

"You won't escape this time, Daredevil," he snarled.

With nunchucks in hand, Daredevil matched Fisk's brute strength with agility and skill, a clash of two formidable fighters operating at the peak of human ability.

Meanwhile, Ben, now cornered in an alley by Kingpin's thugs, found himself trapped with no way out. Just when he thought escape was impossible, a team of men in black suits appeared from both sides of the alley, opening fire on the thugs.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunfire was deafening. Ben stood frozen as the syndicate operatives fell, their bodies strewn across the alley floor.

As the gunfire ceased, Ben recalled Eddie's words from the night before.

"Work with us, and you won't be disappointed," Eddie had promised, hinting at resources beyond Ben's imagination. "We've got allies that Fisk could never anticipate."

Ben whispered to himself in awe, "Is this... God's arrangement?"

Elsewhere, at the Daily Bugle office, Anton received the news about the encounter.

"Fisk must have gotten word of Ben's actions," Anton mused aloud. "But with Daredevil and the High Table's enforcers on our side, he won't succeed. Meanwhile, let's focus on dealing with Fisk's inevitable retaliation and any legal threats he might throw at us."

"Leave that to me," Eddie replied with a smug smile. "I've been itching to transform for days. It's time New York got a taste of what Venom can do."

"Oh?" Anton raised an eyebrow at the symbiotic voice that suddenly echoed from Eddie's mouth.

The deep, gravelly tone of Venom grumbled, "Finally, we get to hunt bad guys. New York wasn't supposed to be this tame. You promised me villains everywhere, and now I'm hungry."

…

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