Over the years, Walter had kept silent about this matter, never expecting that someone would eventually track down clues and come to his home…
Melinda May didn't give Walter much time to reminisce.
She injected him with a sedative, and he quickly fell unconscious.
A nearby S.H.I.E.L.D. agent praised her with a grin. "As expected of the Cavalry—clean, fast, and efficient as always."
May hoisted Walter up and handed him to another agent. "Thanks to Barton holding off the enemy at the front, we have our opening. Let's move."
Whoosh—!
The tail of a green mechanical scorpion sliced through the air with a sharp, metallic hiss, the deadly stinger gleaming under the dim alley lights.
May's pupils contracted in alarm. She lashed out with a sudden kick, sending her fellow agent flying just far enough to avoid the strike.
The scorpion's tail smashed into the wall, carving a deep furrow through the concrete.
[Super-criminal: Scorpion…]
May instantly recognized him—Mac Gargan—thanks to the S.H.I.E.L.D. intel embedded in her memory.
Without hesitation, she drew the sidearm strapped to her thigh and opened fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The other agents quickly followed suit, raising their weapons and unloading a volley at the villain.
"Get out of the way! Hand him over!" Gargan snarled, his voice muffled through the comms of his armored helmet.
The mechanical combat suit, designed like a scorpion, shrugged off their gunfire. Gargan lunged, his massive clawed gauntlet reaching for the unconscious Walter.
He wasn't here by coincidence. Wilson Fisk—Kingpin—had hired him as a contingency measure, and now Gargan's moment to earn his pay had arrived.
...
The fight over Walter was brutal.
Elsewhere, inside Walter's own house, Jack Kadere was locked in a very different kind of struggle—one involving temptation rather than gunfire.
"I… I need to borrow some money," Felicia Hardy finally whispered, her voice laced with hesitation. "A lot of money…"
She had already given Jack her most precious gift. Even if he refused, she doubted he'd be angry.
But feeling his warmth beside her, Felicia realized the request didn't matter as much as the bond she had with him.
Jack pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of her moist eyes, his voice low and magnetic. "How much are we talking about, Felicia?"
She gave a playful, sultry wink. "Maybe… enough to satisfy all my desires."
Jack chuckled. "No problem. It's yours."
A quick transfer later—
"Mmm~ That's a lot," Felicia purred, seeing the number flash on her screen.
Her pale, delicate feet curled with excitement, and her tousled silver hair trembled ever so slightly as if charged by the thrill of his generosity.
Watching her satisfied expression, Jack laughed softly, running a hand through her silky hair. "You're far too easy to please, Felicia. That's only a small part of my treasury."
Dazed but grateful, she smiled warmly. "It's a fortune to me… Jack, thank you."
For all her cool charm in everyday life, Felicia was still just a young woman from New York. She had never received such a massive sum before.
Overwhelmed, she didn't think about anything else—she only wanted to stay curled in Jack's arms, wrapped in that intoxicating sense of security.
...
At the NYPD precinct
"Yes, Walter Hardy—the Black Cat Burglar—is Felicia Hardy's father, Jessica."
Captain George Stacy explained the situation to Jessica Drew and the others who had come by. "From what I've heard, the FBI claims he's been kidnapped by the super-criminal known as Scorpion. They're pursuing him right now. You kids should keep out of it."
"So that's what's been going on with Felicia's family…" Cindy Moon muttered, frowning as the truth sank in. She stamped her foot in frustration. "Really? She didn't even tell me? What kind of friend does that? We could've figured this out together—I would've helped her!"
Jessica placed a hand on Cindy's shoulder, speaking gently. "She probably didn't want you to worry. I can understand her feelings. It's the same with me and Gwen…"
"FBI…" Gwen Stacy, standing nearby, was more concerned with another angle. "Since when does the FBI handle this kind of super-criminal case? Did they create some special task force?"
George shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe. All I can say is their credentials check out."
"Really…" Gwen's spider-sense, now sharper after her recent training with Cindy, told her otherwise. Something about this felt off—almost staged.
[Gwen, your father's been misled.]
The voice came from her comms—Skye, patched directly into Gwen's suit systems, confirming her suspicion.
"I checked," Skye continued. [Those people in black suits? They're S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives. And the ones chasing the Black Cat Burglar? Also S.H.I.E.L.D.]
Gwen's eyes narrowed. [S.H.I.E.L.D.? You mean the agency you and Jack mentioned? What exactly do they do?]
Skye hesitated, trying to recall the official name. [Their full title is… National Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Yeah, that's it.] She brushed off the momentary lapse. [But that's not the important part. The problem is—they can't keep up with Scorpion. I think you'd better get there fast.]
[Where exactly are they?] Gwen asked.
[Sending coordinates now,] Skye replied, attaching a roadside surveillance clip to her transmission.
Gwen scanned the location, then turned to Jessica. "Jess, enough talking—let's move."
"Oh, I'm in," Jessica grinned, immediately lifting off the ground. She called back over her shoulder, "Uncle George, we're heading out first!"
"Hey! Jessica! What do you think you're doing?!" George shouted after her. "You ignore my warning, and I'll be having a word with your brother!"
It wasn't just idle scolding. George had always treated Jessica like family—not only because she was Gwen's close friend, but also because she was the adopted sister of his neighbor, Jack Kadere. That made her, in his eyes, almost like another daughter.