Chapter 90: Arc Three. Chapter Ninety. Paths Of Least Resistance

Herman watched as the two costumed heroes dropped down at the front of the junkyard and he swore as he recognised them. Huntress had been all over the news, and even if he was wearing a stupid getup that would only mean that the man next to her was Venom.

Shit, he thought to himself, if she’s with him then that means that the Kingpin rumour was right, and then they probably took out Alexsi as well. Right then he wished he had his suit. It was a custom job, and as he liked to get up close and personal with electricity, it let him feel the muscles twitch and contract as his victims were fried. It was too late though, they were here and he was in trouble.

As the pair approached the office Herman nodded and went inside, following they saw the sparsely decorated interior and stood as he sat in a broken office chair, stained and missing its wheels.

“Yeah, things aren't so good right now,” and he motioned around him, “but that ain’t why I'm here. Business. You took over Kingpin's patch,” and as he waved a hand at the scrapyard, “can I assume this was you as well? If so, you owe on his debts, and I'm here to collect.”

Huntress stood impassively, and after a moment. “Venom, wait outside. I don't need you for this,” and after a nod, he left.

“Mr Shultz. Felicia Hardy,'' and as Huntress slipped back Felicia was standing in her business outfit, black suit, over a white blouse, pencil skirt and black heels. “And yes, if you mean Fisk leaving New York and Alexsi’s death, then yes. I am responsible.” She figured that someone would have to take the blame for the death, and as she was moving in anyway, Peter would just owe her one.

As the man stared at her, a hard stare trying to figure out the young woman, he breathed out through his nose and leant over to grab a cigarette. “Alexsi is ten, and Fisk is fifty, payable over time, the families aren't monsters, Miss?” and he paused for a moment, “Hardy? As in Thomas Hardy?” And Felicia nodded, “well, sorry but that ain’t worth a discount. Money, payable in instalments plus Fisk owed another two-three hundred mill in loans on equipment, buildings, men, and a few other expenses. We didn’t ask but happily paid. If you’re his replacement, then those are added to the debt. Now, do we talk, or do I get my ass handed to me and you talk to the next guy?” 

Herman leaned back, happy this was going this route and not the way he had heard Huntress normally negotiated. Plus, now he had a name and names had addresses and family, friends and pressure points he could squeeze. So far, this was looking good. She even admitted to killing Alexsi, and he could throw that back up the chain and let them send someone else to deal with it.

Felicia took a breath, this was it, “Alexsi was ten, that's fine but we didn't kill Fisk, he just left. Go chase his ass for his fifty plus. Debts on the buildings and equipment I’ll concede to, as long as you provide an itemised accounts book. I'm not paying cause you feel like skimming Mr Shultz. His men scattered so go chase their assess for what they stole. I'm not a charity and not about to roll over for you. I will, however, play ball and no, Huntress won't ‘hand your ass to you’. You seem like a reasonable man and as long as you obey my rules then we can work things out.”

Herman frowned, “rules huh? Let's just say I do. What rules?”

“Nothing major, drugs are checked for impurities and kept at a reasonable price. No selling to minors, or getting a girl on smack so she hooks for you. Nothing to stop business from being run, just things to get those who want to work to work and those who don't walk away.”

Herman nodded his head back and forth while frowning, “and if I say yes, what guarantees I get that Huntress and Venom don't come to kill me. They were scraping Alexsi off the sidewalk, and well, we’ll check if Fisk is alive or not.”

“Same deal Fisk got. I don't care. I run this the way I run it, say no and it’s war, say yes and we play nice. I took out Alexsi as he didn't want to play nice and was up Osborn’s ass. Fisk played ball and was allowed to leave, where he went I have no idea but let's face it, if you can't find Fisk then, then you can’t find your ass with both hands and a map.” At which Herman laughed,

“You can prove that right? Alexsi working for Osborn? That goes a long way to clearing some of the mess but Fisk? I’ll make enquiries.” and Felicia nodded, 

“I’ll have copies of my files emailed to you,” and as she looked around the office, “I’ll send a courier.” and Herman shook his head.

“Ain't good enough, I need the originals, cause.” and Felicia raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged, “ain’t no matter, we mark our files, so we know if they’re real or not. If they ain’t real, then it's war, cause you don't kill two guys,” and as Felicia raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms, “yeah, two guys without paying. If what you say is true, the Fisk ain't your business but you still gotta pay for Alexsi.”

“I can do that, we have a side business we’re willing to split off, but I want a contract, guarantees and it goes to the debt, plus I want the paperwork for that too.” and Herman frowned, shrugged but agreed.

“Sure, but uh, it ain't chocolate bars is it? Cause the girls scouts, yeah even we leave them alone,” and Felicia laughed 

“No, it's not cookies, Mr Shultz '' and the atmosphere between the two relaxed, at least to cordial levels.

As the pair continued to talk, Felicia phoned the office and had a courier bring over the original files. Matt had taken photocopies before packing them back up, and he was going over them at his own pace. They had already moved them from the warehouse in an attempt to keep the illegal activities there to a minimum and Gwen had begun to mention moving the workshops out as well. 

No one minded the noise but the smell of burning metal or solder was irritating on their enhanced senses. While her brewery was fine, it was getting cramped and it was time to get Peter to build more homes.

Venom could hear their conversation, Shultz must have been unaware of their capabilities or he would have set up a white noise generator but with how relaxed Felicia seemed he wasn't worried. This was her world and he just stuck a toe in every now and again when she needed him.

This was their life. He didn't object to any of their lives. MJ worked on her scripts and would be gone if filming took her across the globe, and even if it didn’t a press circuit would. Gwen was happy to help make the cream, attend college and head down the scientist route. Liv was at a loose end right now but once she recovered she would find her place in the world again.

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Strangely enough, it was Peter who found himself at a loss. He enjoyed everything, the lab work, the fighting and taking out villains, and most of all, being a landlord. Working with his hands gave him a sense of peace, it grounded him that no matter how big and powerful you got, that a blocked toilet still needed a plumber and even if you didn't do it yourself, life needed organisation. Sighing to himself, he just needed to find that spark. 

The CLS needed a manufacturing facility, hand made circuit boards and roughly fabricated parts were fine but to really get it up and running he needed a backer, preferably one with a steel mill and a huge workshop. Sadly, he knew that unless he sold out to Stark or Hammer, such a place wasn’t just going to fall into his lap, the warehouse had been a fluke and one he knew wasn't going to be repeated anytime soon.

It was an hour before Felicia came out and as Venom jumped off the scrapped car he had been sitting on she smiled and nodded at him.

“It's settled. I’ll tell you more when I can,” and as Huntress morphed into her armour the pair ran, jumped and shot out web lines to swing off into the city before heading home.

As they swung, Felica smiled to herself and swung closer, letting go and holding onto Venom. It had been a lifetime ago that he had saved her, chided her and then swung through New York, attached and thrusting, but now, she just wanted the closeness. Resting her head on his shoulder he aimed high and found a nice overhang for them to sit on.

“Everything okay?” and she nodded, letting her face cover pull back, as he saw her smile, he had an idea. “Give me a minute okay?” and as she nodded, confused, he dived from the building, only to appear again a few minutes later with hotdogs.

“Got you one with everything.'' Peters was missing the sauerkraut as he hated the overly vinegary taste, but Felicia was always an everything dog. As he handed them over she smiled, “why?”

Sitting down next to her on the ledge, “you know, it's nice up here and we don't do this often enough.” and as he took a bite of his dog she nodded and bit into her own. 

After swallowing she stared at him, “still not an answer,” and he looked over at her,

“I love you, do I need an excuse?” and as she blushed, he smiled and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, leaning back she nudged him with her shoulder and took another bite of her dog, 

“wuv u oo,” she said, hoping the mouthful would hide her admission,

“How romantic,” he fawned and fake fanned himself and as she laughed he smiled, “it's okay, you know, to be loved.” and she nodded, “I heard you take the rap for Alexsi, and well, thanks.” but she shook her head and stuffing the last of the dog into her mouth finished it before speaking,

“Then I don't need to repeat anything?” and he nodded, “look, Alexsi was going to cause problems, and you did it for us anyway, so why not. I mean, you owe me 10 million, so it's all fair right?” and he laughed.

“Well, since I paid for your crime empire to begin with, you don't pay rent, and you steal all my snacks, I think we can work something out, right?” and she batted him with the back of her hand,

“I pay rent asshole, not my fault Gwen keeps stealing mine.” and he laughed, pulling her over into a hug. As she slid an arm around him she rested her head on his shoulder “but seriously Pete, I know you don't want the bad guy life, so it's no biggie. Money is good and Shultz is easier to deal with than the cops. The Black Cats are becoming a force for good, and yeah, it's all good.” as she looked up at him, “and I really do love you, even if you make me feel stupid sometimes.”

Peter looked down at her, knowing she meant emotionally and not like an actual idiot, and pulling her close he kissed the top of her head and then lifted her head for a proper kiss.

“Well, Miss Crime Lord, how about we work out exactly how I'm going to repay you by spending a little time scaring pigeons and avoiding helicopters?” he whispered and as Felicia gave him a quizzical look, he raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a bright and very cheeky smile.

“Ooooh,” and as she lifted herself onto his lap, once more, they began to swing, connected and in each other's arms, around New York.

~

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