MTLNOVEL Chapter 49: Chapter 49
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***
The spider said he needed to think, but if at the beginning of the conversation there was still a chance that the teenager would let my words pass and think that he was the smartest one here. Now Conors had shattered his ego, Norman had broken his worldview, and the information about his not-so-good future had put the final nail in the coffin of his confidence. That he would accept my offer I knew 99 per cent of the time. The last percentage I left to hormones and possible brain damage in one of the battles.
Right now, Parker has no chance of saving himself. He's had no contact with any of the other supers. And if he magically finds Xavier's institute, the boy will get an extremely racy set of phrases about self-acceptance in return. Xavier will never help a teenager suppress his mutation. And the fact that it's not from birth, or that it will make him an insect cannibal dangerous to humans won't be an argument for the bald man either. The only person who might want to help Spidey is McCoy. But wanting and being able are completely different things. Hank still can't even help himself. He can't fight the speed of DNA rearrangement.
Well, let's not talk about the spider now. I have another meeting tomorrow. There's less chance of recruitment, but then again, his daytime talents are far more valuable than his backstreet skills.
In the morning, the law firm of Nelson & Murdoch had received an invitation to fund and possibly purchase their office with the jobs of their employees intact. Since there was a calm on the horizon, they sensibly decided that nothing would prevent them from having a nice meal at the rich man's expense for free. Of course, they weren't going to take over just yet.
At the place they were met by a rather prestigious restaurant. Inside it resembled a cosy forest cottage. Warm colours prevailed everywhere and it seemed that there must be a fireplace burning somewhere. Pleasant seemingly homely armchairs and wooden tables welcomed the guests. When they reached the right table, they saw a young guy of 20-22 years old. Black hair, bright yellow eyes, immediately attracting attention and a face that was a mixture of American-British genes with a slight almost imperceptible oriental note. According to the unspoken rules in these circles, he and Matt know that apart from greetings and the exchange of empty phrases, nothing more will be said until after dinner. The discussion of the proposal will begin later.
-According to the information I've heard, your office is going through some tough times. I support your idea of helping those who have no money or those who have been abandoned. But unfortunately, this line of work is an extremely unprofitable business model. Even now you have to take a minimum of 1-2 high paying cases from not very clean conscience individuals. Correct me if I'm wrong. - Said Pierce, looking around the room.
-You're right. - Foggy said bitterly, with all the resentment he felt for what he and Matt had done together. He didn't want to give up his friend's dream, but every day he realised more and more that this was not the way to work. Foggy didn't want to shut down his and Matt's brainchild. But his colleague had too often rejected lucrative orders in favour of the right, but not at all financially favourable cases. If they don't make any changes, they won't last more than a year.
-My offer will allow you to pursue only those endeavours you deem worthy. You'll have a steady salary. I think $15,000 will do you good. - Said Pierce, watching Foggy's jaw drop and Murdoch's mask of indifference slacken for a second.
-You will be required to attend to the defence of my men, if necessary. You can rest assured that the consciences of those who work for me are pretty clear, and you won't be forced to get them out of the mud or anything like that. But you must realise that when working with quite wealthy and powerful individuals there will always be excesses. And in order to prevent these misunderstandings from turning into something more for me and my men, I will need your talents. - Said Raine as he watched the wrinkles on Matt's forehead smooth out a little.
-But why us? - Murdoch asked the question that was most important to him.
-I've seen the records of your cases. You've pulled almost unreal cases with no connections and no finances. What would take a high-priced lawyer a month of sleepless nights, you can do in a week. And the most important reason is the choice of your clients. You are not for sale, which is too valuable a quality for a man in this day and age. - Said Ryan without a twist in his eye.
-I've seen your attempts to confront the dark side of New York, and I'll be ready to provide you and your family with protection when working on such cases. - Pierce described another rather fatuous plus.
-I don't demand an answer immediately, but it would be desirable to give it within a month. - Said Ryan as he watched the waiter take away the empty plates.
Before leaving, when Pierce and Murdoch were alone, Ryan handed him another contract.
-What's this? - Matt asked warily.
-This is a personal offer just for you. It comes as a bonus to the main contract. It's hard to find a qualified assistant these days, Mr Murdoch. - Said Pierce, adjusting his tie.
-And you won't be too lazy to do extra lettering on all the important documents? - Matt asked with interest.
-The solution to this problem is described in the contract. - Smiling enigmatically, Ryan replied.
Since Raine had already seen Matt's amazingly fast reading speed, he knew that the blind lawyer would have read more than half of the contract on the way to the car. At the exit of the restaurant Foggy was waiting for them, ready to go home after dropping Matt off at his place. They were only a couple of metres away from the car when a suspicious black van came round the corner. The side door of the van opened and the three of them were dragged inside, immediately putting a black bag over their heads and binding their limbs.
I realised that these men weren't after me. During the kidnapping all attention was focused on these two, and they had even allocated a couple of men to capture each of them. I was only dragged inside for company.
To my surprise, Foggy didn't yell or dialogue with the kidnappers. He settled quietly in the corner of the van. Matt was the one doing the talking. He tried to find out who kidnapped us and what they wanted to do. But all he got in response was one phrase.
-Peter sends his regards.
We'd been travelling in this comfortable position for about ten minutes and it looked like Foggy was finally starting to lose his nerve.
-"Guys, I know you don't want to show your faces or anything. But why did you put a bag over the head of a man in black glasses with a stick? - Nelson asked, laughing hard.
I don't know if he was a little off his rocker or trying to deal with the stress, but from the sound of the impact, they really took the bag off Murdoch. We stopped after about thirty minutes of driving. I knew from the aroma wafting from the door that opened that we were in some kind of chemical storage facility. And since I'm not a stupid teenager, and Foggy can't cook meth, there weren't many options for our future.
***
In an ornate office on the 60th floor sat a stately man. An overbearing aura of power surrounded him, overwhelming anyone who entered the office. This man would never be lost in the crowd, as he was about two metres tall, and his mane of fiery red hair falling over his shoulders always caught the eyes of those around him. In his hand, a clot of flame was playfully burning, jumping from finger to finger. The owner of this ability looked no older than three decades. The only thing that gave away his true age were his eyes, in which one could see the experience of more than one century.
The silence of the room was shattered by the appearance of a man in his twenties in a green-coloured suit. Having stopped playing with the flames, the man turned his gaze to his guest.
-I got some interesting information from the hunters' archives. My man had to risk a lot for this record. - Said the guy, throwing the tablet in front of the man.
The man gave the boy an unreadable look, but took the tablet. The video showed a dark alley and a vampire jumping on his victim. Then everything happened quite normally, the jerk was blinded by ultraviolet light, and then the standard hunt with a predictable end for the ghoul should have started. But suddenly a Lycan jumped down from the roof, which the camera mistress immediately attacked and with the help of her colleagues inflicted extremely serious injuries on the werewolf. To be honest, considering the amount of silver, the guy probably had no more than 10-15 hours to live a life of misery. The huntress was about to approach and put a collar around the half-dead lycan's neck. But at that moment the situation changed dramatically. The beast, which seemed badly wounded, suddenly jumped up and was able to summon a flame that killed the huntress. The last sound recorded by the camera was the scream of the girl conducting the hunt.
Returning the tablet to the boy, which was bent in some places, the man thought for a moment.
-Did any of the thirteen brag about such a child? - He asked his right hand.
-No. -According to the findings, afterwards her partners faced him again and the Lycan once again demonstrated the power of fire control. This time there was no chance of the technology being used. - Said the shocking news to the guy.
-But he looked like he was clean. You can't get that kind of power by staying pure. - The man repeated the obvious truth incomprehensibly.
-Shall I send this video to the others, asking for proof of parentage? - Asked the guy trying to return the tablet to its original shape.
-Send it out. If no one responds, then set up a meeting with him. It would be good for my pack to know his way of getting power. - The man expressed his opinion, and then a flame of interest lit up in his eyes....
***
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