Fan Fiction: Crossovers
Can't Get You Outta My Head
Chapter 6
"We should strike now!"
Khan was informing his honor guard of the events of the day. The dozen soldiers that accompanied him everywhere looked eager at the prospect of battle, Khan's finest warrior Shan Ruche, had declared his opinion to the room.
Khan was almost amused. "Now Shan?"
Ruche did not hesitate. "We are twelve, they are only three. They would not expect an attack so soon, we can spilt up and surround them, we can take them by surprise and kill them all!"
The rest of the guards murmured. Ruche was the only one among them who had fought The Shadow. His eagerness was catching.
Khan however, was not impressed. "Shan Ruche." He said to the room. "An army unto himself." he laughed jovially, and suddenly threw Ruche to the floor. "Are you MAD?" he bellowed. "I know this man we are facing. And I WILL! NOT! UNDERSETIMATE HIM! Him or the old man, or the mutant, or even the woman."
His guards shrank back in fear. Ruche painfully picked himself up.
Khan was suddenly calm again. "We will strike, but we will weaken him before striking the killing blow."
Diane was asleep, and the night was at full dark. The grounds around the manor were pure black, with even deeper darkness in the shadows of the trees.
But inside the manor, activity was still going strong, as it had for most of the night. The combined intellect of Stephen Cranston, his uncle and Peter Parker had been at work for six straight hours, planning for the inevitable encounter, strategizing the how's and where's and when's, and after all the work, the three geniuses had come up with...
"Nothing!" declared Stephen, "We have nothing!"
The men were tired, and hungry, and most everyone else in the city would have been asleep, but still they thought, and tried to come up with some tiny clue that could lead them to Khan.
"We can't use flight records." Said Victor, repeating things they had already decided. "He may not have left the country after the last fight."
"Which left him horribly burned, but we can't use hospital records because chances are he took care of it himself, the same as I do." continued Stephen.
Peter had a brainwave. "Hospital supplies! He would have needed some particular medicines, we could find where they go. Or if he stole them, maybe we could find where the break in was."
"I don't know Pete, that was a year ago, the trail's pretty cold by now. Besides he would have stolen them from some place they wouldn't have been noticed, charities, relief supplies. He could have just bought them on the black market..." Stephen stopped, thought for a minute. "OF COURSE! The black market! Khan is in the predatory lending business now! People who go to them don't take credit or cheque!"
Victor picked it up immediately. "So that means that there's a lot of hard currency going someplace."
"Our usual resources in black market accounts wont help, Max works New York, Not Seattle." Peter pointed out.
Stephen started thinking again. "So we can check out bank records for some of Seattle's cash short elite. Look for who suddenly started spending again when on the brink of bankruptcy, find who suddenly got put into hospital when they got that sudden influx of cash. Find someone who uses back door accounts, discrepancies in tax returns, that sort of thing."
Victor let out a breath. "For all of Seattle? Stephen, that's going to be a lot of work, we need some way to narrow the field."
Stephen grinned. "We have a way. She's sleeping down the hall."
Victor jumped to his feet. "NO! We are NOT bringing her in on this! How would we explain getting the info?"
"We don't have to." Stephen explained. "Uncle do you honestly think we are the only millionaires in the world with less than legal contacts? Do you think that we are the only ones with money who can get information that isn't easy to come by?"
Victor considered it, then nodded, conceding the point. "And she would know what to look for. She's done it herself. So we can find out who's more likely, and maybe even where she met Khan, to make the deal. So we have a lead!" He paused. "But we have to get the info here first. We can't let her see where it comes from."
"Agreed." Stephen said. "It'll take Burbank a while to put all that together. Then I have to pick it up from the sanctum, still longer to get it here. I figure about maybe 24 hours. Khan still plotting away all that time."
"Let's hope it's enough." Peter murmured.
Stephen headed over to the phone, and dialed. "Burbank." he paused while receiving the answer. "Burbank, I need accounting records for everyone in Seattle with social, political, commercial, or industrial holdings or connections for the last year." Another pause while Burbank answered. "I know Burbank, do it as fast as possible but do it right. Make sure you don't miss anything." another pause. "I know Burbank, do what you can. Send it as you get it."
He hung up, and turned back to the others. "I think that's the first time I heard Burbank admit that it would be 'very difficult' to get the information."
Victor chuckled. Then he turned somber. "Khan may make his move before then. We'll have to keep an eye on her. You guys get some sleep; stay here. There are plenty of other guest rooms. I'll take the first watch."
Stephen and Peter nodded, then headed off to their respective rooms.
In the hallway, Stephen said, "I'll head to the sanctum in the morning to collect whatever Burbank got during the night."
Peter nodded. "I'll take over from Victor at say, 3 am. I'll find a perch on the roof."
Stephen nodded, and the men split up for their various rooms.
"Are you sure about this?"
Stephen looked back at his partner. "About what?"
Peter took a deep breath and continued. "About the plan. We're talking about using the network to give a person we don't trust, information she could use after all this is over, against other People we don't know in another city , on the off chance that she may lead us to the villain, using a lead we aren't sure will go anywhere in the first place. Are you sure about this?"
"Nope." Stephen said cheerfully. "But in any case, I don't think we have to wait that long. Knowing Khan, he'll make a move sooner or later. So really, this isn't absolutely necessary."
As they reached the alley, leading to the Sanctum, Peter threw up his hands. "Then WHY are we doing this?"
"Because I want to be sure." Stephen said quietly.
"About what?"
"About Diane."
Peter was silent for a long moment. Stephen pulled the lever, and the hidden staircase in the wall pulled back to reveal itself. Finally Peter said what had been preying on his mind. "So, you have gone from dreading her, to trading banter, to wanting to protect her, to having her move in, to suggesting that she join the team in less than two days. Stephen..."
"Pete, I know what you're thinking, but trust me, I know what I'm doing."
Peter would have said more, but as they descended the staircase, his Spidersense started to buzz, louder and louder. He was about to remark on it, when Stephen suddenly yelped. Peter followed his partner's gaze and gasped.
Sitting, on the console, was a large black box, and on it, a timer. On the timer, a number, counting down.
Thirty seconds before the numbers hit zero. There was absolutely no doubt about what it was.
"BOMB!" Shouted Peter.
"Move!" Snapped Stephen.
The men turned and hurried back up the stairs, they ran for the street, the sound of their frantic footsteps pounding the pavement, echoing off the high walls.
They reached the end of the alley, Moe's cab pulling up. Stephen paused just as he reached the door, and looked around. There were about a dozen people in the street.
"THERE'S A BOMB! EVERYBODY RUN! A BOMB!" he screamed at the street in general. He ducked into the cab before anyone could see him. His words caused pandemonium, and the street scattered in panic.
"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" He yelled at the cabbie. Moe floored the accelerator, and the cab's tires squealed as the car sped into the empty road.
Seconds later, a massive explosion ripped the street, and the concussive force threw Moe's cab up on the two front wheels. Seconds later the shockwave eased, and the cab settled back with a thump.
Peter and Stephen looked back, the building over the sanctum, the alleyway leading to it, and half the surrounding block had been reduced to a pile of rubble, a plume of fire and smoke rising into the early morning sky.
"D'you think ya used enough dynamite there Butch?" quipped Peter quietly.
Stephen did not answer; he just stared back at the rubble, an openly shell-shocked look on his face. Peter could understand why. The Sanctum, the subterranean base of The Shadow for over seventy years, had just been completely destroyed.
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