Arc Three. Chapter Eighty-Nine. A Shocking Discovery

Herman Shultz stared at the wrecked office and shook his head. So much for an easy assignment, he thought as he kicked a piece of burnt debris. Sure, the police had been scouring the place but once they finished, the lazy assholes who were supposed to be working as part of Alexsi's crew just left it. With no orders from up high, they had all taken a nice holiday, and as far as they were concerned, the junkyard was shut down.

He had been called in. To clean up and make sure it was back in working order by the end of the week. If he could find out who actually killed Alexsi, as no one who worked in this life died by 'accident', then a nice fat paycheck was coming his way.

So they brought in the 'Shocker', a tireless man who used electricity to its fullest to gain whatever information he needed. Being paid to electrocute scumbags and snitches was just icing on his cake but even he had to shake his head at the mess.

"Yeah, you, fuckface, and no I don't care what your name is. Get me a list of everyone who works here, and if they ain't here by the end of tomorrow, then I'll be visiting them personally." and the man nodded and shook as he scurried away.

Herman knew that being scrawny got you nowhere, so he worked out. Tall, at over six and a half feet he kept his head shaved and his face clean. Project an image, his mentor told him, and the muscular dark-skinned bald man projected one. It said, 'fuck with me and I'll make you eat your entrails.' Just how he liked it.

Getting a gimmick added to that, he used to love those old hand buzzer things as a kid, the shocker, to him wasn't just a sexual innuendo, He loved seeing people's faces as they jumped at the small buzzer but now, as an adult, he used the real thing. The rush of seeing them twist and contort in pain was just as much of a pleasure as sex, and it always lasted longer too. Seeing the mess the junkyard was in, he knew he'd need it soon. Someone was responsible, and he would make them talk.

He gave them a day but everyone knew, you don't wait when the boss calls. They either got their asses back here by the end of the day or he used them as an example for the rest. Alexsi was a nice guy, but Herman, he'd fucking kill the assholes who did this. Kill one and the rest would fall in line.

He had waited patiently. Some of the guys found a flat packed office and as he stood, flicking through the list of names, they assembled it and stared nervously at each other as he read. Everyone was accounted for barring four people. Benny, who Alexsi had said was taking a nap in the river. Max, who Alexsi had said had been given that strange blue liquid. Alexsi himself, as even with a body it wasn't uncommon to find a suitable replacement if someone wanted out of the life and then this asshole. Some fucking dumbshit kid Alexsi must have been grooming. Peter Parker. He showed up, got a job, after Benny took his swim, and then after the explosion suddenly disappeared like a ghost.

Herman took a last draw on his cigarette and stubbing it out, yelled over at one of the men, "yeah, you, you get to be ds one, dumbshit one. Where the fuck does this Parker kid live? There's no address here." and the man looked nervously over at his companions,

"Yeah, don't look at them, I'm asking you." and moving over Herman stood in front of him, holding the sheet of paper up, "which fuckhead didn't get an address or do a background check on a random kid from fuck knows where?" and the man paled, "say it, go on,'' and Herman shook his head as he knew what he was about to say.

"Uh, it was Alexsi sir, he uh, vetted him and approved his job," and Herman swore,

"Was he fucking him?" and the man looked down and shook his head. "So why the fuck was he sucking up to a fucking nobody?" Herman yelled and the man flinched back.

"Yeah, you," he asked as one of the other men raised a hand nervously, "you're now ds two, what?"

"Uh, He fixed a case, Alexsi had us ship em out not too long after Benny. Said something about it being boobytrapped and the kid stopped us from getting arrested." and Herman threw his hands up,

"Finally, someone with a fucking brain. Okay, so your now ds one. So tell me ds one. Why the fuck wasn't that in the report you sent to the top? and who the fuck was trying to get Alexsi nabbed?" but the man shook his head, "Dumbfucks, all of you, fucking dumb as fucking shit, dumbfucks." and Herman threw the piles of papers at them.

Shaking his head, he took another cigarette out of its pack and lit it, "clean this place up, Alexsi had backup, I want them, get a new PC and get it wired up and If I hear anything about we don't got the guys for that I fucking swear you are next for my foot up your ass." and the men nodded and busied themselves.

Herman sat back in the office. Right now he had a pile of crates as a desk, a semi-clean board over the top as a worktop and the broken but serviceable chair he was sitting on dug uncomfortably into his back. This Peter Parker was his number one suspect. Nobody turns up randomly, works for a few months, and then vanishes and as long as Alexsi was smart enough to leave some kind of trail, he would find him, and then they would have a little talk.

Thankfully, Hermans reputation as a fixer of problems and a supplier of permanent solutions meant that the men he was sending out soon hurried back with not just a functional, if old, computer but the drives that Alexsi had stashed away for safekeeping. Using the system most people used the ones from the day he was killed were missing, the backups would have been done at night as he slept but it was enough to go on.

Checking through the financial records he saw Parker getting paid quite well, maybe a bit more than he deserved but it was mainly junk they would have been sold or scrapped. After a few months, he was switched to a paid position, Herman leant back, tapping a pen in the table as he chewed its cap. Right after a bank job. Cross-checking the notes, he saw the call logs for Alexis's phone and calling up the recordings,

"tough break Osborn, tough break," played over and over. So it was that stupid shit. He was long gone though, but Osborn's kid went to the same school as Parker, and Stacy as well. Herman looked over the files and names and saw the connection.

If Stacy wanted info on Alexsi then the young Parker was perfect, and if Osborn wanted the same then his son's best friend was also perfect. Add in Alexsi's soft spot for the kid and it all pointed to Peter Parker. What he didn't get though was why kill Alexsi? Did he find out and threaten him? But Herman shook his head, he wouldn't threaten him, he'd off him, Benny was a testament to that. Alexsi was soft for the kid but not that soft.

Something else was going on, which led to headache number two. Someone had offed Kingpin as well. The higher-ups were furious as the message they got from him was "speak to Huntress and then that was it" after that, contact was cut and he was gone.

All Herman had there was a number and as he dialled it, surprisingly, a woman answered,

"Huntress."

"Herman Schultz. Yeah, I got this number from Fisk. We need to talk." and after a moments silence,

"Sure, where? And no men." Herman laughed as if he would be that dumb.

"You know the junkyard in the Midtown warehouse district, Alexsi's place?" and he smiled as there was another pause, oh yeah, she had something to do with it or knew someone who did.

"Yes."

"Good, there. 1 hour, and sorry but my guys will be here, that ain't good enough, well, tough shit. Too many things go bad in this town for me to be stupid enough to walk into your little trap," and he hung up.

At the other end of the line, Felicia swore. She had expected someone to come for them months ago, and after Bullseye and Elektra both showed up she figured that was the end of it. Fisk leaving must have pushed his boss, or whoever ran the families in New York to send someone. Now she had to deal with it.

As she stared at her desk, "well, I guess it beats paperwork" and smiling she lifted her phone, "hey Pete? Wanna come bash some heads with me?"

He laughed on the other end of the phone. "sure, where?" and he stopped when she told him,

"Yeah, okay, but I need a mask, can't be seen there."

Even Peter had heard the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime saying and he wasn't about to walk right back into the first person he ever killed home and announce it.

"Sure, and make sure you're ready. These guys," and she sighed, "are assholes." and as Peter laughed she shook her head. "One hour, meet you at home and then we head there. See you soon," and making kissy noises down the phone he was still laughing as she hung up.

She shook her head as she smiled, but breathed out a heavy sigh. This was the first real test of her abilities as the latest crime boss of Hells Kitchen. The gangs were behaving for now, even after she dealt out the new rules for operating on her turf. They might have complained a bit but after some negotiations and cutting their dues, they settled and it was all smooth sailing.

Now though, if Alexsi's death was being investigated and a new owner was setting up shop, she needed to be prepared to deal with a new variable in her plan. Gwen and Elektra were good enough, but today she needed someone she could rely on and that was Venom. Gwen still needed training and Elektra had promised to take over that, but she still needed to adjust to Hades. The last thing she needed was a rampaging symbiote, especially if Hades felt the same way about Venom as the rest of them did.

Picking up her phone, she walked out of the office she was currently renting. The Manhattan projects office was massive and screamed inferiority complex. Instead, she had rented one of the brownstones in New York they used for brothels and took the top floor. It was inconspicuous and safe.

"Taking the day off," she mentioned to her new secretary, and they nodded, Felicia couldn't remember her name, she was really one of the girls, who rather than walking the streets had a talent for typing, and once they were better situated she would see if she could file as well. A sad truth was that a proper criminal enterprise was just as much about paperwork as crime, and Felicia hated paperwork.

As she headed home she sent messages to every madam in the area, letting them know a new player was in town and that she was going to meet with him. It was standard practice. Cloak and dagger was great for spying, but a boss who hid from their employees sowed mistrust and risked disloyalty from only the most fervent of subordinates. Felicia wanted a network of close allies, and this was the way to do it.

As she approached the warehouse she spied Venom already sitting on the roof across, clad in black, everything. His boots were shiny and knee-high, covering black trousers and an open side buttoned trench coat, he had on thick goggles to cover his mask and a fedora on top. She stifled a laugh as she saw him,

"What the hell?" and she gave him a once over, he did look kinda sexy, like a 50's detective version of his Venom armour, but she would never let him know that.

"I uh, watched Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, and uh, got inspired," and Felicia laughed and shook her head, "and you said to practice."

"Come on then Captain Tight Pants, but fuck V, take off the damn hat. You look like a dork," and as Huntress spread out over her, she sent out a web line and swung off, shimmering and disappearing towards the junkyard.

Venom stood for a moment looking down at the hat he was holding, "but I like the hat," he huffed.