Marvel: The Enlightened One-Chapter 92: [] - Anna, Top-Tier Off-Site Support (Bonus)

Chapter 92: [92] - Anna, Top-Tier Off-Site Support (Bonus)

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What is New York City like at night?

Manhattan, a glittering jewel of light?

Brooklyn, a sprawling constellation of homes?

Queens, a silent, sleeping giant?

Most New Yorkers make it a habit to be home before dark, but this was still the city that never sleeps, a global metropolis with a nightlife all its own.

In the bars of Manhattan, a chaotic free-for-all was in full swing.

On the empty streets, street racers tore down the asphalt, their engines roaring.

Near Morningside Park, a luxury sedan pulled up to the curb. A woman in revealing clothing standing under a streetlight smiled and walked over to the car, getting in quickly before it drove away.

In a nearby apartment, three thugs who’d been looking for easy targets were slumped on the couch.

...

Splat.

Dirty water splashed up.

Just before it could touch him, Hawk took a step forward, appearing at the mouth of the alley. His nose twitched, and without pausing, he crossed the street.

Across the road was a six-story building with a peeling facade.

Hawk stood below, his gaze lifting and locking onto a window on the third floor.

The conversation of the three people inside was perfectly clear.

"Shit. Fuck. Shit!"

"Stop cursing. I just asked around. Roy’s dead."

"...For real?"

"Yeah."

"So what now?"

"What do you think? Maybe we just take a potshot at the girl. We’d still get the five hundred K for a kill. Split three ways, that’s enough."

"Are you crazy? Why take five hundred K when we can get a million?"

"You’re the one who’s crazy! How are we supposed to grab her now?"

"..."

Hawk listened to their hushed, frantic debate and smiled.

Found you...

He glanced at a nearby security camera, which was hanging uselessly from its mount, then walked into the six-story apartment building. He took the stairs to the third floor and stopped in front of a door.

The next second, he kicked.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

The deadbolt shattered, and the door flew open.

The three men inside—smoking, drinking, and plotting—jumped to their feet, their eyes wide with shock as Hawk stepped into the room.

And then, It was over.

The heads of two of the men were separated from their shoulders. Their headless bodies crumpled to the floor, blood fountaining from their necks.

The metallic tang of it filled the small apartment.

The sole survivor was paralyzed, staring in horror at the two heads that had rolled to a stop on the floor, their expressions still frozen in shock.

He began to shake uncontrollably, forgetting to control his own bladder.

A soft trickling sound echoed in the quiet room.

Hawk glanced at the man, who was now just a heap on the floor, his face ashen.

"Hold it."

The trickling stopped.

The man looked up, his pale, bloodless lips trembling.

"Don’t... don’t kill me."

"The name."

Hawk pulled out a handkerchief and began to wipe his hands, his gaze flat. "Who hired you?"

The words seemed to snap the man out of his daze. A single thought flashed through his mind.

Don’t talk.

If I keep my mouth shut, I might live.

If I talk, I’m dead for sure.

The man was a criminal, not an idiot. He knew better than anyone what happens when you’re no longer useful.

His two partners were dead. That made him valuable.

And so, with a new sense of purpose, he took a deep breath. The color returned to his face, his legs stopped shaking. With leverage came courage.

"..." Hawk watched, a look of genuine surprise on his face, as the man who had been a trembling mess just a second ago now pushed himself up from the floor and met his gaze.

The man sneered. "You want to know who hired me? Fine. Let me walk, and I’ll—"

SQUELCH!

The man’s words were cut short. He felt the world spin, and then he saw it.

A headless body, standing on the floor, gushing blood.

Wait a minute.

Those clothes look familiar...

As the thought registered, a searing pain shot through his brain, and then an endless darkness consumed him.

Thump.

The headless body crumpled to the floor.

Hawk looked down at the corpse and shook his head.

An idiot so stupid he belonged in a museum.

...

An hour later, Hawk was back at his apartment.

He pulled out the second phone Gwen had given him—the replacement for the one he’d "lost"—and dialed a number. As it rang, he glanced at the driver’s license in his other hand.

Daven Simmons.

The name of the museum-grade idiot who thought he had the leverage to negotiate.

The call connected quickly.

Anna’s voice, tinged with a pleasant surprise, came through the line. "Hawk!"

"Good evening, Anna. Hope I’m not disturbing you."

"Good morning." Anna, dressed in a lace nightgown in her Parisian mansion, pulled back the curtains and smiled. "It’s seven AM here in Paris."

Hawk registered this, then got straight to the point. "I need you to run a name for me. Check his bank accounts for a recent deposit of one hundred thousand dollars. If you find it, I need the information of the person who sent it."

"Of course. The name?"

"Daven Simmons. From New York."

If that idiot Daven had just kept his mouth shut in the apartment, Hawk probably would have let him live. But Hawk had been standing right outside, and he’d heard him mention the hundred thousand dollars in operational funds.

The advance payment was all he needed.

It didn’t matter that Daven wouldn’t talk. He could just trace the money.

...

In Paris, Anna jotted down the name.

"No problem. I’ll have my people look into it. When do you need it?"

"As soon as possible."

"Alright. I’ll let you know the moment I have something."

"Thanks."

"Don’t mention it." Anna smiled. She waited for Hawk to hang up before ending the call herself.

Ever since the Quantico incident, Hawk had become a high-priority asset for her organization. And as his primary contact, her own status had risen accordingly.

She had been trying to think of an excuse to call him, just to maintain the connection.

A relationship, after all, needs to be maintained. If you let too much time pass without contact, even the strongest connections can fade.

And now, he had called her.

This is good.

Anna thought to herself. She glanced at the name on the notepad, then picked up her phone and made another call.

If Hawk was placing this much trust in her, she couldn’t let him down.

...

The next morning, Hawk took the school bus.

Gwen wasn’t there.

After yesterday’s kidnapping attempt, not only Gwen, but her two younger brothers had also taken a leave of absence from school to stay home.

Until the case was solved and the motive was clear, it was safer to stay home.

Gwen had called him that morning to tell him not to pick her up. She had also mentioned that her father had spent the entire night at the Queens precinct, working the case.

But even though Gwen wasn’t there, someone else was.

Mary Jane.

She must have been waiting in the parking lot. The moment she saw Hawk get off the bus, her face lit up, and she dragged Peter over to him.

Mary Jane’s eyes were gleaming with gossip. She lowered her voice and fired off a series of questions. "Hawk, what happened? A kidnapping? For real? Who did it? Do you know?"

Hawk was stunned by the machine-gun-like barrage of questions. He looked at Peter.

Peter just gave him an embarrassed smile.

The message was clear: She handles the small things, I handle the big things. Of course, she gets to decide what counts as ’big.’

The Spider has been completely domesticated.

Hawk sighed internally. He looked at Mary Jane. "I thought you and Peter took a leave of absence at the start of the semester. Don’t you have to work today?"

Mary Jane had gotten a job at a restaurant.

Peter was back at the Daily Bugle, selling pictures of himself to save up money for college.

Mary Jane rolled her eyes. "Gwen was almost kidnapped. Of course we came."

Hawk nodded and then quickly answered her questions. "Alright. It was an attempted kidnapping. They haven’t found the person responsible yet. Gwen’s at home for now. Anything else?"

Mary Jane shook her head.

Hawk smiled faintly. "Good. I’ve got to go see my counselor."

He had no time for this. He needed to get his leave of absence approved. Once this business with Gwen’s kidnapping was settled, he was heading straight to Africa.

Hawk had no trouble getting the time off. His counselor, seeing that he had enough credits and had already gotten into college, happily signed off on it.

And that wasn’t the only good news.

Just as he was leaving the counselor’s office, his phone buzzed.

It was a text from Anna.

"..." Hawk opened it, and as he read the name she had sent him, his brow furrowed, and a single thought came to mind.

You have to pull the weeds out by the roots.

Or else...

They’ll just grow back.

...

Bonus Chapter at 500PS

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