(Sequel to my Ghost Rider OC story)
After the Avengers' victory over Thanos, Jake Castle left New York, jaded and heartbroken with the loss of his beloved wife. After giving up his Spirit of Vengeance, and with only his and Wanda's puppy as a source...
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Jake and Rachel did not return to Yorkie's hideout the morning after. Instead, they went to an old apartment complex, and upon entering one apartment on the fourth floor, everything was trashed.
"This your and Danny's place?" Jake asked. "Cops swept this place real good. Could be grasping at straws, but maybe the Exchange has them in their back pocket like in Tampa."
"That was you during all that shit in Tampa?" Rachel whispered back as they looked around while holstering their pistols.
"Yeah, no shit. Did you or Danny make any enemies in the past?"
"Not sure about Danny, to be honest. As for me? Maybe an insurgent or war criminal or two, but that was a long time ago. If they wanted payback on me, they would've done it themselves, not get that maniac, Barracuda, to do it for them."
Jake hummed as they entered the bedroom, where the two ex-Marines laid their eyes on different objects. Rachel found an old photo of herself and Daniel standing in front of a seaside cabin while Jake found what looked like a destroyed fingerprint scanner and an empty space behind what looked like the site of an old picture.
Jake raised his eyebrows as he turned to Rachel.
"Was there a safe in the apartment? Behind a painting?"
"Danny never told me anything about that."
Rachel looked to where the empty compartment was. Her eyes widened.
"That's where his favorite painting of us sat at," she explained. "We were at the beach, the day he proposed. He got a local artist to paint that portrait of us next to the waves...it was a beautiful moment."
Jake ran his finger through the empty space, collecting dust.
"Something was definitely here. Maybe they took the whole safe," he noted. "Guess they couldn't open it by breaking the scanner."
"But, why? What could be in that safe that's so important? And why did Danny never tell me?" Rachel wondered.
"We'll figure it out when we find what was in that safe," Jake told her. "Alright, come on. We need to leave before someone catches us."
Meanwhile...
"Yes, we are proceeding as planned. Where is it now?" Dr. Gerard spoke through her phone while watching the city from her large glass window.
"...Good. Don't fail me. It's our best bet now," she ordered whoever spoke through the other end before ending the call right there.
As she put the phone down, Dr. Gerard pulled out the silver and red credit card-shaped object from earlier. She narrowed her eyes towards the seemingly mundane object in her hands.
"You know,...we could've had it all,...Dr. Alves..."
As she said this, a red-clad flying figure zoomed past her window.
