That's Just The Way The World Works

The Ninth

    I listened to the news intently, standing up as I stared at the TV... An entire building blown to bits with a total of eleven casualties so far... The news spoke of it being the base of a mob in New York... Of course, they didn't have all the details but I knew... Hammerhead must have known they were coming... Moved his base... and destroyed what was left of this one, hoping Spider-man and the police would go down with it. I wasn't worried about Peter... It would take more than this to take him down... Right? Right.

I quickly went to my room and fumbled around looking for a map of New York City, I brought one with me when I first came here all those months ago. Olivia watched and raised an eyebrow, "MJ, what are you doing??" She called.

I opened the drawers of my desk and pushed aside papers and folders, making a mess as I went. I needed to hurry. Finally, I find the map and grab a sharpie laying on my easel, Olivia was watching from the doorway before quickly moving aside as I brisk past her. I kneel down at the coffee table, spreading the map out, the only markings on it were in red with a subway route to get to the apartment. I then bite the cap off my blue sharpie and circle the location of the base that blew up--then from my memory I tried to circle the other bases Peter had taken down. There were a total of eight, last I remember--including the one that just crumbled. "Ugh... Where was it, I only remember four." I say. Olivia looks over, almost frightened, "what are you talking about?"

"The bases. There were eight--I only remember the location of four... Damnit..." I look up and over at Peter's room... Did he even have anything that would show the past locations? His phone would... damn.

"MJ, do you think you might be too close to these kinds of places?? Hammerhead is a mob boss--right?"

"You're right but no--I'm not close enough. I'm sick of doing the easy job." I say with a huff... I wasn't jealous that Peter got all the action, but I didn't think I would be able to stand next to him and be his damsel in distress... Is that how he sees me? Either way, he won't see me that way after this. I get up and head to his bedroom, charging straight for his desk and looking through, some old web fluid sticking to my hand before I shook it off. I pulled out his notebook--no I shouldn't look... I set it to the side and looked for anything else before my eyes landed in his closet. I narrow them and go to his closet, Olivia now watching from his doorway. I stepped in, tripping over the clothes that flooded the floor, and then I looked around frantically before I then looked up... I smile, "Of course." above was a map tapped to the ceiling of Peter's closet, it showed all the districts in New York City, hammerhead's bases circled in orange. I took a mental screenshot and ran back out to my own map and circled the others in... Now, where's the pattern... Old construction sites away from traffic... That's always the theme... Though all the bases seemed to point to the same place except the one that crumbled just a few moments ago... I tap the sharpie against my lip... Then I slide my finger across the map and see it... The one district without a single base... It had to be there.

I double circle it with my blue sharpie and stand up, Olivia calls out as I quickly rush to the door and shove on my shoes, "MJ, could you please tell me what's going on???"

"I know where the real base is. Tell Peter Clinton, and ask if he can catch up." I say, adrenalin making my chest tight as I grabbed my jacket and flung it on. "See ya." I close the door behind me and just like that, I'm on a subway to Clinton.

Time to crash Hammerhead's ninth base.