Orb Weaver: Plague, Chapter 3

I didn’t expect that Blackwell would tattle on me. She was not someone to take risks. But It provided another layer of security, especially if someone threatened her, or used parahuman powers. She was also not a brave woman, and now, even the best thinker would learn only that Orb Weaver and The Investigator were looking at the same case—and that Orb Weaver was not a fan of the Investigator and not above harming her investigations for his own goals.

It would also be an easy way to see if Blackwell was planning any independent actions. She might not know it, but if she lied to either one of the “capes” I would immediately know it.

And the only reason she might lie is if someone was influencing her.

Another trap for the unknown source of Dinah’s kidnapping attempt.

But now I had another target.

Hookwolf.

Hookwolf was an open cape, and had a Birdcage order.

Which was not enforced, or to put it differently, Birdcage bound inmates weren’t generally treated any differently. You couldn’t shoot them down in the street, and you couldn’t ignore civilian casualties—unlike Kill Orders, where anything was on the table.

It was… odd. Even my research didn’t fully explain why. There were capes with kill orders who were less dangerous than Hookwolf. And far more dangerous capes who didn’t have a kill order.

Heartbreaker didn’t have a kill order.

Part of it was likely politics. Bringing in Hookwolf as a Birdcage inmate was probably less risky than a full scale fight that killed dozens. Still, the issue was interesting…

Regardless, I had to deal with Hookwolf, or at the very least,  start dealing with him.

I had stayed in the areas he was known to frequent, and towards dusk, I picked up on him. Buzzing low over a building, my bugs emplaced a directional mic I had. Normally that wouldn’t help, Hookwolf’s voice lost among a dozen others, but I… well, my talents were very good at picking out voices.

“You want me—Yeah, yeah, I’ll show the peons we’re not afraid.” He was talking on the phone. Then his voice dropped down, barely audible even to me. “Jesus, Max, you need to stop dicking around. We don’t know a goddamn thing about Orb Weaver, other than he’s a fucking cold-blooded asshole who plays mind games. Maybe Victor could stop trying to make more of the glorious white race with Othala and start doing his job? Yeah, yeah, I’m going.”

Max. A real name, or nickname. Interesting. And someone Hookwolf answers to. Very Interesting.

Because from what was understood, there was only one person Hookwolf answered to in the Bay.

Grumbling, Hookwolf started heading down the street. Some place nearby, then. It made sense to send him out—of the E88 capes, he was the one hardest to bring down, especially if you cared about collateral. Purity was faster, but vulnerable, and most of the rest, put bluntly, weren’t nearly as skilled as Hookwolf.

The border of E88 turf.

I followed along and before long there was a small group entering my range. Two groups. One smelling of fear, the other of… arousal.

Ick.

I didn’t have time to scale a building, so I ducked into an alley, and sent some bugs up, holding onto another shotgun mic and a microcamera, one I’d taken off of a cell phone.

“What the fuck is going on?” Hookwolf asked. He was pissed, probably assuming this was beneath him.

I wonder. Had “Max” actually flexed his authority?

The first group were older E88 teens, maybe a few twenty year olds. Not central members of the organization, if the way they responded to Hookwolf was any response.

The second were mostly teens. Winslow teens. They’d made the mistake of taking a route too close to E88 turf, but given that the E88 had… flexible borders, it had probably been safe the day before. I saw Maria standing with them, she was holding onto a friend’s jacket and I knew this was a part of town she had been warned about.

I expect Kurt and Lacy are going to ground her. Well, it was up to me to ensure it was just…

“We were gonna educate them on where people like them don’t belong,” one ganger said taking out a butterfly knife. I winced at the way he was playing with it. Someone was likely to get the unkind name of “stumpy” if he didn’t learn better.

“But Kaiser said you would come and watch!”

Hookwolf tensed.

Kaiser said he could come and watch and Max ordered him here. Well. Max wasn’t an uncommon name but… yes, that confirmed it. The day had already turned out quite profitable.

Now to save them… But… no. I could kill two birds with one stone here.

*****

“It seems rather unfair,” My voice rumbled. Maria squeaked. The E88 ganger with the blade dropped it and nearly stabbed his own foot.

Hookwolf just went absolutely still, eyes flicking around the area, and I could see his skin moving, likely his power coming to the fore.

He wasn’t afraid, but he was cautious, caught by a cape with unknown powers, on the defensive. The worst place to be caught, thanks to ‘Max’.”

“I mean,” I continued, “Hookwolf vs. A group of teens. One might wonder about that…”

“We’re not—“

“Shut the fuck up,” Hookwolf said. “So, you wanna fight me?”

“Not yet. Perhaps not ever. I spin the threads of your destiny forward and there are… tangles in them.”

“Yeah, yeah, Let me guess, you’re also gonna predict Uber and Leet are gonna fuck up in the future.”

“I wouldn’t waste a prediction on that.” It was a pity, but well, Hookwolf was both a showman and smart. He wasn’t nearly as easy to fool as others… which is why my words hadn’t been for him. “But I propose a somewhat more… even contest. Let one of your followers—not you, not any actual soldier, nominate themselves, and I will pick one of mine…”

After all, I recognized the African-American boy next to Maria. He was a junior, and from the way his hands were twitching…

“I’ll do it!” one E88 said. He was big, looming over the others, but he was also a little chubby. Slow. And I sent some bugs running up his slacks.

When dealing with Nazi’s, if needed, cheating was very much on the menu.

“But wait,” I said. “There have to be… stakes. Would you not agree, Hookwolf?”

“I turn myself in?”

I laughed, the sound causing both Nazis and victims to shiver. “For such a small thing? No. This is J Street. If my champion loses, I will never put my orb on this street. If my champion wins, I shall put my sign on this street, and you, Hookwolf, Brad, on your warrior’s pride, will ensure that the street is open to all who use it. And they will also be free of any future… actions in consequence of this fight.”

Hookwolf seethed. Then nodded. I couldn’t have done this with some place deeper in Empire territory. But this really wasn’t much of a blow to the Empire. Just to their pride.

“Fine.”

“Now I’ll ask—“

“I’ll do it.”

“David—“ Maria looked terrified. “He’s—“

“David. Very well, as happened in the past, you are set against Goliath.”

“Gonna fuck you up, little boy!” the ganger said, the others patting him on the back.

Hookwolf said nothing. Then his eyes narrowed as David undid his shirt, handed it to Maria and advanced, taking a stance that anyone who knew MMA would recognize.

It wasn’t my fault that the E88 failed to recognize one of Winslow’s up and coming stars in wrestling and member of an off campus MMA club.

The ganger advanced. “What’s wrong, darkie, gonna crap—oof!” David took advantage of his talking, darted in, punched him twice in the solar plexus, jumped back, spun around, kicked him in the head. He wasn’t talking.

“Gonna fucking kill y—“ The ganger swung, powerful but slow, and David took one blow on his shoulder, where it wouldn’t seriously injure him, then snapped a kick right into the crotch of his enemy. An agonized gasp filled the air, but he staggered forward, one hand going to his crotch.

Which opened up his face to a snap blow that broke his nose, and another kick to his side.

David danced around him, keeping his opponent off balance, forcing him to keep turning and then started raining kicks and blows on him.

“He does have promise, does he not?”

“Fucking knows how to fight,” Hookwolf said. “Ain’t afraid to get hurt.”

“Shall we call it now? I fear the outcome isn’t in question.”

“Yeah.”

Hookwolf advanced, and David backed off. Smart and tough, I thought, since he realized that this was one foe he couldn’t beat.

Hookwolf leaned down and picked up the puking ganger. “You fucking call that fighting?”

“He… he fucking was cheating.”

“Oh Bullshit. Congrats, fat bag, this weekend, Me, Cricket and Stormtiger are gonna teach you how not to be a waste, and we ain’t gonna stop until you can last five minutes, or you’re in the ER. Fucking moron, you didn’t even watch his footwork.” He turned to the others. “Fine, you got the street. Anyone bothers you, I’ll deal with them.” He turned and glared at the E88 gang. “What the fuck are you doing here? Get lost.”

They got. So did the other group. Nobody wanted to depend on Hookwolf or Orb Weaver’s continued good humor. Soon we were alone.

“A question, if you don’t mind?”

“What?”

“You are a wolf. In skill, I doubt any in the Bay save Armsmaster could match you. In powers, you have matched yourself with Lung.”

“Yeah, so what’s the question?”

“Minor really… I was just wondering why a wolf would tolerate being chained by jackals. Good day.”

I said nothing else, and Hookwolf waited, then left, grumbling.

It would take time to see the impact of my words, but ideally…

With time, cracks in the foundation could bring even the mightiest fortress down.

But now I had another duty.

****

Maria was clinging to David. That had been Hookwolf. And Orb Weaver who was just as scary, but David…her sort of boyfriend, had fought one of the E88, in front of Hookwolf, to protect her and she—

A car came screeching to a halt in front of them. It was…

Oh no. Kurt and Lacy got out.

“What are you doing in this part of town?” Kurt asked. “This isn’t safe.”

Suddenly David looked more nervous than he’d been in the fight. “We… We were late and took…”

“A shortcut, which had them encountering Hookwolf of the E88.”

Kurt and Lacy turned dead white at that.

“You didn’t tell us that.” Lacy glared at the air.

“Driving while worried is dangerous. But David took up the gauntlet and defeated an E88 ganger. David, Hookwolf considers you a good fighter. Regardless of his moral position, that is a strong professional complement.”

“Up until he decides to send out a prospect to test you…” Kurt muttered.

“Indeed. So, I will communicate with some associates. David, you should consider an internship with the PRT.  Also, while Hookwolf will honor his word, I would not make a practice of flaunting the freedom of J street. Use it to go too and from your destination, but nothing more. Hookwolf is not an absolute ruler of his people, after all. Now I leave you. Maria, in the future, you might consider a phone call if you’re late, rather than moving through dangerous parts of town…”

“I will.” Maria’s voice was small.

“Oh you bet she will. You won’t have to worry about being out late for at least the next week. You were in the same place as Hookwolf…” Lacy’s anger didn’t conceal her terror. From my impression the terror was at least as bad for Maria as the grounding.

Good.

“David, we’ll drive you to your parents,” Kurt said. “Do you need to hit the ER?”

“Just a bruise, sir.”

“Best think about what else could have happened. I—“ Kurt looked around. “Thank you for watching after our kid.”

“And thank you, for giving her a home. Farewell.”

As they left, I smiled to myself. It had been a very profitable day.

Now to find out more about “Max.”