Chapter 183: Kingpin
"Are you Daredevil?" Peter asked in surprise.
Standing before him was a figure in a red suit with two small horns on his forehead. The mask covered the upper half of his face, leaving only his eyes and chin exposed. Having spent a significant amount of time patrolling Hell's Kitchen, Peter had certainly heard of Daredevil; he was a superhero worth getting to know.
"I'm honored that the famous Spider-Man even knows a nobody like me," Matthew Murdock, otherwise known as Daredevil, said with a touch of self-deprecation.
While passing through, Matt had overheard some remarkable things—firstly, Spider-Man's real name, Peter, and secondly, the mention of his "monster teacher."
"Hey~ don't say that. Do you need some help? I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man," Peter said, leaping onto the wall to Daredevil's left.
"There is a rather thorny matter that requires your assistance," Matt said, turning to face Spider-Man.
"What is it? Do we need to drop some babies off at the police station?" Peter joked.
Matt shook his head, frowning slightly. "It's a very difficult individual. I hope you can join me in taking him down so that Hell's Kitchen can see true light again."
"Is this the final boss of the Hell's Kitchen dungeon?!" Peter said excitedly, sounding like a player who had ground through many small mobs and was finally ready for the big boss.
"You could say that. Are you in, Spider-Man?" Matt couldn't help but remind him: "That man is not known for mercy." Having overheard Peter's earlier conversation, he realized that this so-called Spider-Man was just a kid who hadn't even started college yet.
"Of course. It's my duty," Peter stopped joking and became serious. This was his responsibility as a superhero.
"Good. Let's go then." The corner of Matt's mouth quirked up slightly; this Spider-Man was quite to his liking.
Just as Matt was about to move, Peter suddenly spoke up.
"Wait, who is our target?" Peter realized that Daredevil hadn't actually told him who the target was.
Matt stopped in his tracks, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "Kingpin!"
"Kingpin?" Peter asked, puzzled.
"Let's talk while we move," Matt said, not wanting to waste time.
"Okay." Peter was about to shoot a web when he looked at Daredevil and asked, "Do you need a lift?"
"No, thank you." Matt jumped, flicking his cane. One end shot out with a long cable attached. The grappling hook end caught a groove in the eaves, and Matt used the momentum to swing up.
"Cool!" Peter followed close behind.
"If the underworld could be run like a corporation, then the Chairman and the Board would be... Kingpin!" Matt explained.
"Why haven't I heard of him?" Peter wondered aloud. Logically, he shouldn't be ignorant of someone so notorious.
"You might not have heard of him, but you have certainly disrupted his transactions," Matt stated with certainty.
"Transactions?" Peter didn't recall hearing the name Kingpin from any of the criminals he had caught.
Matt replied, "Put it this way: 40% of all criminal activity can be traced back to Kingpin's shadow."
"That really is a big boss!" Peter now wanted to call Silas, who was supposed to be studying, to come join the boss raid.
"Yes, and a very large one at that," Matt added.
Peter followed closely behind Daredevil, and the two arrived at a factory that was currently in operation.
"Uh... unicorns?" Peter looked in confusion at the workers below transporting unicorn plush toys.
"On the surface, it's a toy factory. In reality, they are transporting drugs," Matt explained beside him.
"Drugs?" Peter's voice dropped. This mission was no longer a small-scale skirmish like his previous ones.
"Follow me." Matt stepped lightly across the top of the factory, sneaking into the warehouse. Peter followed suit, simultaneously calling out the Spider Squad to ensure no one would sneak up on them.
"What are you doing?" Peter had just climbed in through the window when he saw Daredevil feeling the unicorn plushies with his hands.
Daredevil took his cane and used the sharp end to slice open the unicorn's belly, revealing bags of white powder inside.
"The real stuff is hidden in here," Matt said, pointing at the toy.
Peter walked over, picked up a bag of powder, and asked, "This isn't all drugs, is it?"
"It is. They have people in high places protecting them. They use the unicorns as cover to deliver to every client they deal with—the junkies," Matt said, tossing the opened unicorn back into the pile.
"We should seize all of this," Peter suggested. If left here, it would eventually hit the streets.
"We can't do that. It would alert them," Matt shook his head. "Their ultimate boss is Kingpin. We must follow the trail to catch him if we want to eliminate these drugs for good."
"So what's the plan?" Peter had initially thought about having the Spider Ninjas take everything into the Shadow Realm.
"I've observed that every week, a mysterious person comes to the factory to inspect the goods," Matt said.
Peter immediately asked, "So you think that person is Kingpin?"
"Mhm. It's just a feeling, though. Kingpin is extremely cunning; it's highly unlikely he would show up here in person." Matt knew Kingpin well. For a man like that, he wouldn't show his face unless there was 110% safety. However, even if the mysterious person wasn't Kingpin, they would definitely be someone who had direct contact with him.
"Even if it's not Kingpin, we can use him to find out where Kingpin is," Matt added.
Peter nodded. "Does that mean the mysterious person is coming tonight?"
"Yes, probably around ten o'clock." Matt estimated the time.
Peter glanced at his wrist-mounted web-shooter, which now displayed 9:51 PM. His shooters had been updated with many new features—no longer just simple launchers, they now included GPS, time, and even electrical discharge capabilities.
"Nine minutes to go," Peter reminded Daredevil.
"Mhm. I'll take you to get familiar with the factory layout first." Matt wanted to ensure they could make a perfect escape if the plan failed.
"Okay," Peter said.
As they left the warehouse, Peter looked back one last time at the mountain of unicorn plushies.
The Port
"Need a hand, Stark?" Little Black walked up to a panting Stark and smiled.
After his battle with the Mandarin, Tony was nearly out of power.
"Of course we do," Jarvis said, speaking before Tony could open his mouth. He knew that Tony would almost certainly refuse.
"Who says? I think we're about to take that donkey down," Tony said stubbornly.
"In that case, keep it up," Little Black said, taking a step back.
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