Thick as Thieves Ch. 13 (Marvel) (Patreon)

(Every character depicted in the story below is a consenting legal adult over the age of 18)

A/N: Gwen is doing a sneak!

-x-X-x-

Look, is what Gwen is doing dangerous? Yeah, maybe a little bit. After all, she infiltrated a very dangerous sort of party… the type of party where people could die and most of the party goers wouldn’t bat an eye. And here she was, the daughter of a NYPD Police Captain.

Sure, she had done her best to change up her look, but she couldn’t fully disguise herself because the people at this sort of get-together were more likely to notice wigs and eye color changing contacts then they were to notice anything else. Rather, Gwen was forced to rely on keeping things subtle. A hair style change here. A slightly different version of her makeup there.

To be fair, nobody here should recognize her, even if they did have run-ins with her father in the past. She looked different enough tonight that she should be able to fly under the radar. The only people who would be able to catch her out would be those who knew her personally, like say people she’d gone to school with before graduating.

… But obviously none of them were going to be here tonight. Not at this type of party. And really, what else was she supposed to do when she’d caught wind of this gala being held? The Kingpin tended to have his fingers in a lot of pies and everyone knew who he truly was at this point. Wilson Fisk had been in and out of prison half a dozen times, put there by her own mentor, by Daredevil, and by others.

But he always got back out again and always somehow paid his way to a semi-clean record. Even though everyone knew he was a crook, even though everyone knew he was the Kingpin, money talked and the corruption inherent in the system that made heroes like Gwen necessary kept the wheels turning.

There were lots of events where Wilson Fisk the Businessman hosted everyone from senators to bankers to police chiefs. And then there were events like this one where the Kingpin was hosting some of his fellow ne’er-do-wells, the sort of scum that dressed up in costumes and ran around making life harder than it had to be for her.

It wasn’t the true crazies, of course. You wouldn’t see Green Goblin here (no, Norman Osborne had his own balancing act he was constantly doing) or the likes of Venom or Carnage or Doc Ock. But that didn’t mean Gwen didn’t recognize plenty of the party goers. She saw a few members of the Hand, as well as certain individuals who tended to work closely with Fisk like Bullseye.

And of course, much to her annoyance… she sees Black Cat. Gwen isn’t surprised that the cat burglar received an invitation to this party, nor that she’s attending… but she also isn’t happy about it. It’s immediately obvious that Black Cat is here to strut around and hold her head high over her latest theft at the Met.

What Gwen is surprised by is the man whose arm Black Cat is hanging off of. Because that man… can only be ‘Crow’, she’s pretty sure. It’s just that he’s changed up his whole look, going from the all-black burglar’s clothing with the black balaclava hiding his face to a gentleman’s suit in silver and black. No mask… but the black feathers layered on his shoulders in the form of epaulets make it abundantly clear he can only be the ‘Crow’ she was introduced to back at the Met.

Only, why isn’t he wearing a mask now? Even Black Cat is wearing her mask alongside a stylized dress version of her usual outfit. It doesn’t make sense that he’s just decided to expose himself, especially at a place like this. Certain individuals like Wilson Fisk himself can get away with having their true face tied to their criminal activities, but ‘Crow’ is way too new for that kind of thing.

Not to mention… he keeps looking at her. The first time their eyes meet, Gwen chalks it up to a simple coincidence and keeps moving on. The second time their eyes meet she feels a little discomfited as well as annoyed by the fact that every time she looks over at him, he just so happens to appear to be looking in her direction.

But by the third time it happens? Nope, nuh uh. Crow is watching her. There’s no doubt about it. Not exclusively thank fuck, and he’s not so foolish as to do something as stupid as stare at her… but Gwen can tell there’s something going on. He’s clocked something is up with her.

What though? She’s dressed like all of the other servers at the gala and should be blending into the background just like the rest of them. She’s definitely not the only blonde server, nor is she the only pretty girl server either. So why does Crow keep coming back to her? And why does she keep coming back to him?

Gwen makes sure to commit his face to memory of course, but she also makes sure to get a few pictures of him as well. As a matter of fact, she’s taking pictures of just about everyone using the very small hidden camera button in her server’s jacket. All she has to do to activate the camera and take a picture is press her index finger to the inside of her palm in the exact way. A simple flesh-colored patch there that’s hooked up via Wi-Fi to the camera ensures it works.

As a matter of fact, Gwen is taking pictures of just about everyone tonight. After all, this little shindig is going to make for a great expose in a few days. She’s taken a page out of Peter’s book in that regard. He used to take photos of Spider-Man and other things for Jonah J. Jameson back in the day.

Well, times change and the journalism landscape has changed with them. Newspapers are out, blogs are in. Gwen has gone out of her way to make an entirely anonymous blog that she can post to whenever she wants. On top of throwing these photos towards the mainstream media so they can report on them, she’ll also do her own write-up and post it on her blog, exposing everyone here for the dastardly villains they are.

Unfortunately, the flip side is that-

“Hey.”

Gwen blinks, only her self-control keeping her from jumping half a dozen feet in the air and landing on the nearest wall. Crow is suddenly beside her and all she can think is how the fuck did he sneak up on her? She’d barely taken her eyes off of him and if nothing else her danger sense should have triggered with his proximity!

Keeping her shocked reaction to a mere jolt is a herculean effort on Gwen’s part, but once she manages it she looks to him with slightly wide eyes, trying to play the part of ‘slightly afraid serving girl’ to the hilt.

“U-Um… yes sir?”

Black Cat is nowhere to be seen, Gwen absently notes, even as Crow frowns at her. Where had the cat burglar gone off to? Was Crow really so comfortable at this sort of party already that he was willing to split up? He’d literally debuted a few days ago!

“You really shouldn’t be here, Gwen. It’s not safe.”

… What. Gwen knows she should try and play it off as a case of mistaken identity, but in the end she just stares, completely caught out by Crow seemingly knowing exactly who she is. How?! How the fuck does Black Cat’s edgy little protégé go from scrambling to escape her that night at the Met to… this? And how does he know her?

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The unimpressed look that Crow gives her at that has Gwen resisting the urge to scowl. Fuck this guy, she was doing her best here! It was his fault for blindsiding her!

He opens his mouth to say something else… but whatever he might have said, Gwen never gets to find out because he cuts himself off upon realizing the same thing she’s realized… they’re surrounded.

Big musclebound security guards in suits have essentially materialized out of the crowd and are all around them, leaving Gwen to stiffen as the tension immediately grows even thicker. Crow, meanwhile, frowns as he looks around at them.

“Yes?”

“Crow, right? The Kingpin would like a word with you.”

Gwen blinks as she realizes… they aren’t there for her. That would explain why her danger sense didn’t activate (again). She wasn’t the focus of even a single one of these security guards. Instead, it was actually Crow that they were surrounding.

The ‘dashing’ gentleman thief arches a brow at that, passing his cane from hand to hand for a moment before sketching a brief smile.

“Very well. Lead the way, gentlemen.”

And with that, they’re off. Gwen finds herself all alone, still holding a tray of hors d’oeuvres, staring at Crow’s back. He obviously knew who she was and therefore likely knew she was a Police Captain’s daughter as well. Someone like him could score a ton of points with the Kingpin if he sold her out.

… But it wasn’t like he could sell her out if she was already gone! With that said, Gwen quickly sets down the tray and flees the main floor, making her way into the back and towards her hidden stash. Just as Peter had taught her, Gwen always came prepared for any eventuality.

In moments, she’s changed into her Ghost-Spider costume and is heading up into the rafters of the large building. Fortunately, her danger sense does still work, alerting her when she’s about to run into any patrols and keeping her from being found out as she skulks her way to the Kingpin’s Office to see what he wants with Crow.

She arrives a little late of course, the Kingpin and Crow are already talking… but fortunately it seems they haven’t been talking long and are just finishing up pleasantries. Or as Fisk puts it…

“Now that introductions are out of the way, let’s talk business, shall we?”

The two men are standing in Fisk’s office, the Kingpin by the large floor to ceiling window that looks out into New York City and Crow on the other side of his desk, holding the top of his horse-headed cane. A couple of thugs guard the door, making it clear that the thief can’t just leave.

“Business you say? I must admit, I’m a little surprised that you only wanted to talk to me and not Black Cat as well. She and I are a team, as I’m sure you know.”

Chuckling, the Kingpin continues looking out the window for a moment more before turning and looking Crow in the eye.

“Yes. I am aware of yours and the Cat’s… relationship. I’ve had my own dealings with her in the past that she might have told you about. Unfortunately, we’ve long since discovered that we simply don’t work well together, her and I. She’s much too transient and certainly leans well into her moniker.”

Stepping up to the desk, Fisk plants his hands on it as he leans forward a bit, studying Crow curiously.

“But you are not her. I find myself curious what sort of man you are, Crow. A man who would walk into one of my parties without a mask. A man who would wear your identity proudly mere days after your very first outing. I get the impression that you are a confident man… I can always use confident men.”

Ugh, this was just a recruitment effort? Gwen’s nose wrinkles beneath her mask in distaste. She wants nothing more than to skulk away now… but she can’t. Sure, she might hate Black Cat and think she’s nothing but a bitch… however, she still wants to see what Crow will do.

Not just because she’s worried he might expose that she was present here tonight necessarily… but rather because she’s well aware that her mentor and Black Cat had a weird relationship, once upon a time. If Crow does betray Black Cat to the Kingpin, Gwen might just find a way to ensure that it gets back to the cat burglar, one way or another. Call it professional pride if you will. Or honor between women, whatever.

“That’s an interesting offer, Mister Fisk. I’ve certainly heard a lot about you and I won’t pretend like I’m not impressed by everything I’ve heard. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m much more reliable than Black Cat, at least for your purposes. I have my own goals I intend to work towards. Things that require me to remain independent for the foreseeable future.”

Well damn, would you look at that. Alright fine, so he was loyal at least. Gwen wasn’t giving him any brownie points for not hopping into bed with the Kingpin the first chance he got, however. That was literally the least he could do. The bar was pretty much on the ground.

Still, she watches carefully, curious how Fisk will react. He’s a man well known for his rages, a large man who has personally killed more people with his bare hands than Gwen is sure anyone knows about. Crow is being relatively respectful in his rejection, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything when he's alone in the Kingpin’s Office with the man and two of his goons.

… Would she jump in if Crow was attacked? Or would she stay out of sight and watch a man be brutally murdered in front of her? She doesn’t think she could honestly do the latter, but the former would involve revealing her presence here this evening, which was also something she really didn’t want to happen.

Fortunately, after a moment of silence Fisk just smiles and leans back, his hands leaving his desk.

“Of course. It’s important to recognize our limitations, isn’t it? Better to admit your weaknesses now rather than disappoint later. Thank you for your time, Crow.”

With that dismissal, Crow is shown the door and allowed to leave. Gwen hesitates for a moment. On the one hand, she should stick around and see what Kingpin might do and say once Crow was gone. On the other hand, part of her wanted to follow Crow, maybe out of the party altogether, and potentially capture and interrogate him. How the hell had he known her name?!

-x-X-x-

A/N: Remember to Vote, leave a Like, and let me know what you think!

-x-X-x-

Google Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zw9vpLlJF8LxbYTz0lR757emfHObvEFVbR8eaXgizJ4/edit?tab=t.0