Spidey & Speedy - Starling City Storm

Chapter 3 - Big Money Got No Soul

***PETER***

"Am I the only one not liking this?" I ask, watching Oliver as he leaves the other SUV and steps into the Maybach nearby.

"Damn right you're not," Gwen says. "Whoever owns this car is trouble. Count on it."

"For people who've not been on our turf for more than a couple of hours," Laurel comments, "you two have a remarkable grasp of the atmosphere."

"Don't be snarky," Diggle says. "Save it for Malcolm."

"Yeah," Felicity mutters, fine-tuning a set of binoculars. "I've got a few choice words for him myself."

The darkness seeps in all around us, along with the cold. Even with Felicity running the heater full blast, I'm shivering, as is Gwen. I take her hand, feeling her pulse hammering, rabbit-like, under her skin.

"I haven't been this wired since my dad died," she whispers. "I didn't sleep for almost a week after that."

"I didn't know," I say. Of course I wouldn't - that week was part of the brief time we weren't seeing each other. I think it lasted about three months, maybe four. It was only earlier this month, a couple of weeks before Easter, that we finally began to reconnect. It's been good for us, it really has. And you know what they say - nothing like a whirlwind adventure to really bring young lovers together. They really do say that, right? Right? I'm hearing crickets.

Actually, no, it's not crickets I'm hearing. It's a wolf or two howling nearby. Maybe not even nearby - maybe the sound's just carrying that much across the lake to our right.

"We barely know this Oliver guy," Gwen says, "and we're already scared for him. Either our hearts are a size too big, or-"

"Or it's just our guts telling us to beware what happens next," I say.

"Good little guts," Gwen says, patting her stomach and smiling at it. "I don't have any treats on hand right now, but I'll give you one soon, don't worry."

"Only you," I say, "could get away with talking to your stomach like it's a dog."

"Quiet," Felicity whispers. "Something's happening. Oh no...that must be what Malcolm's using to seed the clouds."

I slowly peek around the driver's seat - I can't climb up there myself and get a better view, not without kicking Felicity or Gwen in the face - and see a man in his forties emerge from the backseat of the Maybach just long enough to raise a small remote into the air and click it.

"No way that little thing's responsible for the snow all by itself," Diggle says.

"Right," I say. "It must be a trigger."

"For what?" asks Gwen.

Felicity scans the area, slowly swiveling on the spot and looking like some kind of human periscope. "I can't see squat," she says. "Dammit, Ollie, where'd you leave the night-vision goggles this time?"

"Probably in the other ride," Laurel says.

My phone vibrates - thank God I remembered to put it on silent. I check the screen before answering. "What's up, Grayson?" I ask, thumbing the screen to access the in-call controls. "You're on speaker," I say a second before putting him on.

"Are you guys seeing what's coming out of the lake?" he asks.

"Uh...no. Should we?" I look around, trying to get a glimpse of whatever he's talking about.

"There's this...I dunno how to describe it," Grayson says, sounding a bit freaked out. "It looks like a UFO, actually."

"I see it!" Gwen says, pointing out her window - because she's on the passenger side, closer to the lake, she's better able to see it.