by Jim Butcher
"Look," I said. "The real problem with fighting the Ancients is their sheer durability. They can fight for days without slowing down, and it's all but impossible to fight them head-on. They don't get hurt and they're strong. So every little ding and bruise they inflict on you makes you tired faster, while they just shrug off whatever you do back to them.
They grind you away."
Mary Jane shivered. "Go on."
"I was looking for a weakness, but I had already found it - partially, anyway. Morlun got hurt twice. The first time was when he had me down and was starting to do to me what Mortia did to the Rhino. Ezekiel jumped him and bloodied his nose for him, literally. It was the first time in maybe eighteen hours of fighting I saw him injured.
"The second time was at the reactor, when he started taking a bite of me and got a mouthful of uranium instead. See?"
Felicia tilted her head, frowning. "From what Dex said... that's when they're vulnerable. When they feed. Right?"
"Right," I said. "Strange told me that the Ancients' powers were a result of their will focusing all the latent energy they've devoured. Morlun wasn't super-strong and nearly invulnerable all the time. He had to be concentrating on it, uniting himself to be that way. When he started to feed, he couldn't keep his focus, or at least it seriously reduced his defenses - and when he panicked, at the end, he couldn't use them at all."
"It explains why they get nervous at taking on more than one opponent, too," Felicia said. "More distractions."
"And why Mortia didn't stay on your trail after you saved the Rhino,"
Mary Jane added. "You hit her at the only moment when she was vulnerable.
For all she knew, you knew exactly what you were doing when you did so.
You probably scared the wits out of her."
I nodded. "Exactly. So we use that against them."
Mary Jane sat a cup of tea down in front of Felicia. "How?"
"I don't think I like where this is going," Felicia said.
"We decoy them," I said. "We tempt them into feeding."
The Black Cat sipped her tea. "I was right. This plan has a major flaw in it."
"Flaw?" Mary Jane asked. "Which part is flawed?"
"The part where they have to be feeding when we attack," she said. "To feed, you have to have, well, food.
I don't want to be food. That's really the point of the whole exercise, isn't it."
"It's a risk," I admitted. "But if I'm right, it could work. We wait until they start, blindside them, knock them out, and use the magic rocks to get rid of them."
Felicia's eyebrows went up. "Oh, sure. And if you're wrong?"
"I didn't say it was a perfect plan," I said quietly. "That's why you're carrying the rocks and I'm going to be the decoy."
Felicia shook her head, rising with the teacup to pace restlessly. "That isn't a good idea."
"Sure it is."
"No it isn't. I'm good, but you're better, and a lot stronger. Of the two of us, you're the one most likely to be able to KO one of the Ancients, even if they are in a weakened state." She smiled, showing teeth, and took a few hip-swaying steps across the room. "And let's face it, Parker.
I've forgotten more about distraction than you'll ever know."
"I hate to point this out," Mary Jane said quietly. "But once they start feeding, whoever they're attacking is essentially paralyzed. Right?"
I chewed on my lip and nodded. "Yes. Morlun barely got started on me before Ezekiel decked him, but the pain was..." I shivered. "Yes. You can't put up much of a fight after one of them starts on you."
"There are three of them," Mary Jane said. "No matter which of you is the decoy, there are still going to be two of them who aren't feeding. Do you think they'll just stand around and let you knock the third one out?"
I shook my head. "We'll have to separate them."
"Like you did last night?" Felicia asked.
"Exactly."
"Last night, when you scared Mortia to death?" Mary Jane asked. "Do you think she'll be as careless and confident this time? Do you think she'll be dumb enough to get separated from the others again?"
It was a big worry of mine, too, but I tried not to show it. "Maybe.
Maybe not. Either way, this is pretty much the best plan we've got."
Felicia laughed. "That's because it's the only plan we've got."
"You say tomato..." I said.
We stood there, looking at one another for a silent moment.
"That's the plan, then," I said quietly, taking MJ's hand.
"Right," Felicia said. She checked her watch, and her mouth twisted with distaste. "Now comes the fun part. Five hours of waiting."
I nodded. "I know what you mean. I hate waiting, too. I think Aunt May has some cards. We could play a round or two, or - "
Felicia lifted both hands. "No offense, Pete, but you could really use a shower first. Really."
"Thank you," Mary Jane told her. Thinking back later, there was a little bit of emphasis on the phrase I didn't notice at the time. "I didn't want to be the first one to say something."
Felicia grinned at MJ. "No problem. Go on, Pete. I'll keep an eye on Snoozy here." She took a sip of tea and regarded the Rhino. "Awww. He's kind of cute when he's sleeping."
"Fine, fine." I sighed, and trooped off to the bathroom for a shower.
I had barely gotten my hair wet when the shower door opened and Mary Jane joined me, pressed against me, and kissed me with abandon.
Two minutes before, I'd said that I hated waiting.
But we made time fly.
Chapter 23
I actually slept. Not for long, but every minute of it was precious. I woke up in the quietest part of the night, hours after the bars had closed, hours before the heavy Sunday morning traffic would be under way.
I lay in bed for a moment, my arm around Mary Jane, and she sighed in her sleep. The night showed me only a ghostly image of her, absent of makeup or artifice of any kind. Nor was her face touched with worry or fear -
only the relaxation of peaceful sleep.
My God, she was beautiful.
I'm a lucky man.
After a few minutes, I rose and went to the window, staring out at the quiet city. It was a quiet moment. A good moment. I faced the city I have always fought to protect, focused on what was before me. There was a chance I would prevail, a good chance. Victory was by no means likely, but I had that fighting chance.
That's all I've ever had, really.
And it's all I need.
After a little while, I felt Mary Jane's presence behind me. Her reflection in the window wore only the loosely wrapped sheet from the bed. She stepped up to press against my back, and wrapped her arms and the bedsheet around me. She rested her cheek upon my shoulder and stared out at the city with me, sharing my silence, her warmth and love pouring into me through her touch.
We stayed that way until the eastern sky began to lighten.
I turned to her, and nodded. She smiled a little, then brought me my colors. I started to put them on, but she gently pushed my hands back down to my sides, and dressed me herself. She stood up with the mask last, and pulled it slowly over my head - leaving my mouth uncovered.
Then she leaned into me and gave me one more kiss on the lips, slow and sweet. I returned it the same way, as gently as I knew how.
She broke off the kiss after a time, and murmured, "For luck."
I smiled a little and said, "You want to go out for some dinner later?"
"Not Thai. Never again."
"Not Thai," I agreed.
"I'll think about it," she said.
"You are quite a tease, Mrs. Parker."
She lifted her hands to cup my face, green eyes bright. "I'll make it up to you."
I smiled again, and turned to the door. I opened it as quietly as I could, and when it began to open, I heard voices. MJ touched my hand, silently telling me to wait and let her listen.
"Is not so much that I am stupid," the Rhino was rum
bling. "But I do not think well on my feet. I try to plan ahead, da? To be careful. But he always makes all plans fall apart."
"Believe you me," Felicia answered, "I know exactly what you mean."
"Is maddening. Someday I will beat him, my way."
"Yeah?" Felicia asked. "Even after tonight?"
The Rhino paused before saying, "He is man of honor. Maybe I have more respect for him. But I must beat him. I
will beat him."
"You're more alike than you realize," she told him. "I've read the files on you. I know why you volunteered for the procedures for the armor, the enhanced strength."
The Rhino grunted.
"I'm just saying, I understand your motivations. He would, too."
"Maybe you are right. It changes nothing."
"Why not?" Felicia asked.
"Because of what I am," he said. "A mercenary. A criminal. An enemy to him and those like him."
"So far," Felicia argued. "What's to say that the future can't be different?"
There was a silence so long that I thought maybe the Rhino had fallen asleep. But then he said, "Is too late for me."
"Why?"
"Because of what I have done. The alliances I have made, the mistakes I have made. There is no going back."
Felicia exhaled slowly and said, "What about your family? Do they think that?"
The Rhino's voice gained a faint edge of bitterness. "When they hear I am criminal, they disown me. My brothers and sisters hang up phones when I call. My mother sends back all my mail unopened."
"It's never too late, Aleksei," Felicia said. "My past isn't exactly white as the driven snow. But I turned things around."
"Your past had less blood in it. I have made enemies, and I owe too much to some of my allies," the Rhino replied. "Money. Favors. I try to leave now, I will not survive it." The couch creaked. Maybe he had shrugged. "I am a man who pays his debts. Besides. I have nothing else to do. Nowhere else to go."
Mary Jane pushed the door silently shut, frowning.
"What?" I asked her.
"I'm not sure," she said. "There's something about his attitude... I feel like I should be understanding something about him, but it's eluding me."
"Ah," I said. "Yes. Nothing is so subtle as the elusive Rhino."
She stuck her tongue out at me. "I'll think of it sooner or later." She frowned. "The poor man. He made himself into a criminal to try to provide for his family and bring them to the States - and he lost them because of it."
"Yeah. Breathe in the irony." I frowned and said, "Must have been tough to live through."
"Ready?" my wife asked me.
"Yeah," I said. "Let's do it." Then I opened the door and walked out into the living room. "Morning," I said to Felicia. "Rhino."
"Spider-Man," he replied with a nod. His ravaged face was no longer swollen, though there were still heavy welts and marks, and the way the skin was flaking off was none too pretty. Still, he was visibly less damaged than only a few hours before, and it was possible that the cataracts on his eyes were not as densely white as they had been. He also looked more relaxed. He must have been in a lot of pain earlier that night; he'd endured it long enough to allow him to sleep. He took a sip from a small silver flask, and then passed it back to Felicia, who sat in Aunt May's armchair.
"Tell me you're sober," I said to Felicia.
"Sober enough to know how crazy this is," she replied, taking another hit off the flask. "Mellow enough not to mind."
"As long as you don't throw up on me. You ready?"
"Yes," Felicia said, standing.
"Da," Aleksei said, rising.
"Whoa," I said. "Who said anything about you going, Rhino?"
"I did," he said. "Just now."
I sighed. "Ladies. Could you excuse us for a minute, please?"
The Black Cat narrowed her eyes for a moment - but then glanced at MJ, waiting for her response.
Mary Jane nodded at her and said, "Sure." The two of them withdrew down the little hall to the bedroom.
"There is something you wish to say?" the Rhino rumbled.
I picked up a cork coaster, and flicked it at him. It bounced off his face. The Rhino scowled and rubbed a finger on his nose.
"You're blind," I said, my tone frank.
"And even if you weren't, there's a big difference between calling a cease-fire and believing you've got my back."
"The Black Cat told me what you have learned about the Ancients, and your plan," the Rhino said. "I wish to help."
"I'll say it again: You're blind. You'd do more harm than good."
"Perhaps not," he said.
"Oh?"
"I cannot see," he rumbled. "But I do not need to see to serve as your decoy."
I lifted my eyebrows, surprised into a brief silence.
The Rhino's ugly mug slid into a grim smile.
"You'd be willing to do that?" I asked him quietly.
"Da."
"Why?"
"If the Ancients kill you," he said, "I will be their next meal. There is better chance for survival in cooperation."
"That's not what I meant, exactly," I said. "You'd be running a huge risk. If an Ancient starts in on you, there's no guarantee we'll be able to get to you in time. Even if we do, if my hypothesis is flawed you could die anyway." I snorted. "For that matter, how do you know that I won't just let you get eaten?"
"Because you already didn't," the Rhino pointed out.
I folded my arms, frowning. "You're willing to trust me to save your life?"
"You are Spider-Man," he said, as if the phrase embodied some kind of answer.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He let out a caustic little laugh. "Of course. You cannot see it. Or you would not be who you are."
"Um. What?" I asked.
"Give me your word," he said. "That if I do this thing for you, you will do your best to save my life. Not that you will. Just that you will try."
"I will," I told him.
"That is enough," he said.
"Tempus jugit."
"It is," I said, thoughtful. "Be right back."
I went down the hallway to the bedroom and opened the door. Felicia and Mary Jane were sitting on the edge of the bed together, hugging. Felicia looked... absolutely awkward. She wasn't the sort who'd had a lot of girly friends.
"You know," I drawled. "It's not just every hus-band who would walk in on this and be patient and understanding instead of leaping to conclusions."
I leaned on the door frame. "Carry on."
They broke the hug, gave each other a glance, then in practically a single voice said, "Men are pigs."
I beamed. "I figured putting the two of you in one room might get you to talk. Or start a fight. I'm not sure which one I was rooting for."
My spider sense warned me about the incoming pillow as Mary Jane threw it, but I let it bounce off my face.
Felicia folded her arms, too dignified to fling objects at me. "Well?"
"Well what?"
She arched a brow and then glanced pointedly past me.
"Oh. Cat... I've worked with you before," I said quietly. "But him..."
"Come on, Spidey," the Black Cat teased. "Who haven't you teamed up with at one time or another? You're the biggest team-up slut in New York."
"That doesn't mean I enjoy it."
"Why wouldn't you?" she asked.
I grunted and muttered under my breath.
"I'm sorry. What was that?" Felicia asked.
"I said, there's a reason it's 'the Amazing Spider-Man,' and not 'Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.'" I shook my head. "You know that if I had a choice, I'd be doing this alone."
"But you don't have a choice," Mary Jane said quietly. "Thank God."
I sighed. "MJ..."
"I know." She sighed. "You're a great big he-man and you don't need anyone. Been working on your own for years. But I worry about you being alone out there, because I'm your wife and that's what I do. I'm glad Felicia i
s going to be there. And if our guest can help, too, more power to him. You should take all the help you can get."
Felicia's expression sobered. "Believe me, I know what you're feeling. I don't play well with others, either. But Aleksei's got a point. If we can use him as our stalking horse, it will leave the two of us to handle the two Ancients who are still focused. I can try to distract those two while you finish off whichever one is taking a bite."
"Simple, eh?"
Felicia nodded. "That's the idea. Take one down, rinse, and repeat."
I took a deep breath, and released it slowly, thinking it over. Sure, the plan sounded swell - well, sweller than doing it with just me and the Cat, anyway - but I wasn't entirely convinced that the Rhino wouldn't be nearly as dangerous to Felicia and me as he would be to the Ancients. On the other hand, I didn't think I could manage to get myself into all that much more danger even if I tried. I still would have preferred to be the only one at risk.
And I suddenly felt like an arrogant high school basketball prodigy, too young and foolish to realize that no one can do everything alone.
That realization sparked another idea - a way to minimize the risk the Rhino's undisciplined strength presented, and to further use the Ancients' own natures, their confidence and their arrogance, against them.
"Okay," I said, feeling newly confident, and raised my voice. "You're on the team, Aleksei."
His expression grew pained. "Please," he called back. "Rhino. From you, Rhino."
I grinned, heading for the living room, beckoning MJ and Felicia to follow me. "Okay, Rhino. We're short on time, so huddle up. Here's the plan."
Chapter 24
The murky light of predawn fell on the auto yard. Colors were washed out to various shades of blue, darkening to perfect black. The streetlights nearby were mostly broken, but where they were on, they added the occasional shaft of yellowish light. The low light softened edges and deepened shadows. It made the stacks of crushed cars and mounds of discarded parts look positively alien, and the mounds and mounds of deceased vehicles created an oxidized labyrinth. The place smelled like rust and rot and old motor oil. Pools of liquid rippled under a ghostly wind, and the light reflecting from them danced through too many colors for them to be puddles of water.
