Capítulo 17: 17. Next Target
Peter Parker's PoV
I stared at the cluttered desk before me, a dozen USB thumb drives scattered across its surface. Each represented a failed experiment, destroyed in my attempts to transfigure them and increase their storage capacity. The process had been arduous, each failure a reminder of the delicate balance required in manipulating essence.
But amidst the failures lay a singular success. One thumb drive, plugged into my laptop, displayed over 50 terabytes of storage. It was a resounding achievement, accomplished without spending a cent—thanks to an excursion into the school's lost and found. Even more encouraging was the decreasing amount of essence required with each attempt.
Yet, this progress came at a cost. My essence levels were dangerously low, and the familiar gnawing hunger had returned. Just last night, after the triad raid, I had felt satiated. Now, the emptiness was back, demanding to be filled.
Gwen had invited me to a performance tonight, but I had more pressing matters. Sitting in the old warehouse where I had previously created the Elixir of Potential, I knew I couldn't risk drawing attention to the Brant house. The illegal electrical and Wi-Fi connections I had set up here made it an ideal place for my experiments.
I needed essence, quickly. The question was, which organized crime group should I target next? A recent file in the police
database came to mind—an intelligence report from the Organized Crime Unit. Bruno Karnelli's birthday was today, and the Karnelli family was hosting a dinner in his honour. They were heavily involved in New York City's drug trade, and Bruno had recently been acquitted of charges related to the murder of a Port Authority supervisor's family.
This was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. The mansion would be filled with high-ranking family members—a veritable feast of essence. I prepared myself, knowing that while this might not be the most efficient way to earn money, it was necessary to sustain my abilities. Tonight, I would raid the Karnelli mansion.
Maria Hill's PoV
On my way to a dinner function hosted by Director Alexander Pierce, my phone buzzed with an urgent call. Tech informed me that the Vigilante had accessed the police database, tracing the link to an abandoned warehouse. He had pulled an intelligence report on the Karnelli family.
Bruno Karnelli's birthday was today, and the family was hosting a party tonight. All the key members would be present. It didn't take long to realize that the vigilante had chosen his next target.
I immediately called Fury, briefing him on the situation. He ordered surveillance units to both the warehouse and the Karnelli mansion, with a tactical team on standby. Our directive was clear: observe and only intervene if there was a risk of civilian casualties. We needed to identify who this Vigilante was and understand his motives.
Fury mentioned that a triad drug processing location had been hit just last night, possibly by the same Vigilante. If it was him, he was escalating his activities. We had to proceed cautiously, ensuring we didn't spook him.
I informed Fury I was heading to the Karnelli mansion myself to rendezvous with the surveillance team. This Vigilante was becoming a significant variable, and we needed to get ahead of him.
Peter Parker's PoV
Arriving at the Karnelli mansion just after sundown, I observed the property from a distance. Using the Void Walker Ring, I slipped past the perimeter unnoticed, taking note of the more than twenty armed men patrolling the grounds, with even more inside.
Finding a secluded spot among the bushes, I had a clear view of the front entrance. Guests arrived in a steady stream, many of whom I recognized from their criminal records. These were not innocents; they were deeply entrenched in the criminal underworld.
This realization eased my conscience. Even if collateral damage occurred, the likelihood was that they were complicit in the Karnelli family's activities. Now, it was just a matter of finding the right opportunity to strike.
The Karnelli mansion was like a fortress, its sprawling grounds illuminated by decorative lights and patrolled by an army of guards. From my vantage point of the estate, I observed the patterns of the guards, the movements of the guests, and the placement of cameras. I had been careful so far, moving under the cover of the shadows, but the cameras dotted every angle of the mansion. My Void Walker Ring helped me remain unnoticed, but luck wouldn't last forever. I needed to act decisively.
The last of the guests filled inside as the festivities began. Most of the guards were now stationed in clusters- two large groups at the front and rear entrances, with a few smaller patrols circling the perimeter. The only building with consistent activity was the small two-story building just off to the side of the mansion, where the guards entered and exited every hour, on the hour. That had to be the control hub for the cameras and communications. Neutralizing it was my priority.
The guests smoking and chatting on the balcony headed inside, leaving the exterior less guarded. Sensing an opportunity, I slipped from my hiding spot, moving towards the security building.
As I approached, Steven, my ever-watchful companion within Sanguineista- whispered a warning in my mind. 'Caw'-Danger. I froze, and my muscles tensed, I stopped just short of the door and slipped into a dark corner. A guard stepped out, looking around suspiciously. He didn't have time to react as I lunged, driving Sanguineista into his throat. His gurgling scream was muffled as I dragged him back inside, closing the door behind me.
'Thanks for the heads-up Steven.' I told him, I heard a caw of appreciation in response. The blade pulsed faintly, absorbing the guard's essence as his body withered and turned to dust. It took around 6-10 seconds to completely absorb them. The time had also decreased as apparently,y the blade had grown in strength as well.
I ascended the narrow staircase, the soft glow of monitors guiding me to the security room. At the top I found three men, seated around a table, engrossed in a poker game. None of them noticed me. Without hesitation, I leapt from the railing and slammed into the nearest man plunging Sanguineista into his skull.
The others scrambled to react. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" One of them cursed, fumbling for his gun. I kicked him in the nuts with all the strength I had, doubling him over, his mouth open but the pain was probably so severe that he couldn't get the scream out.
The Third man managed to draw his gun but I was quicker. I closed the distance and clenching my fist, I punched him square in the chest with as much strength as I could put behind it. His ribs caved under the blow, I felt the bones crunch and he fell back with the blow. He gasped for breath and after a moment it sounded like he was choking on liquids.
Steven warned me again and I turned to see the second man was trying to move through the pain and point his gun at me. I closed the distance and grabbed the gun from his arms. I didn't have experience with using firearms but I would benefit from learning eventually. A quick thrust of the Sanguineista ended the suffering man's struggle. After I turned and did the same to the other.
I surveyed the room. Monitors plaster over two of the walls showed live feeds from the mansion and the grounds. It was a good thing they weren't paying attention. Perhaps they thought that no one would be crazy enough to sneak in here. So far, no alarms have been triggered. I scanned the room and noted the three diagrams showing where each camera was and the layout of each floor. The screens were next, noting the positions of the guards and their patrol patterns.
I located the electrical room on the diagram and then paid attention to the guards positioned around it. When I was confident, I took out one of three Improvised Incendiary Devices I had made earlier today. I placed it on the rack that held the CPUs and DVRs and set the time for 25 minutes but didn't activate it.
I then moved to scavenge everything I could get from what remained of the three men's belongings. Guns, extra magazines, jewellery and wallets. I placed everything into my backpack. Then I turned back to the screen and waited. Less than 30 minutes later, another guard returned and entered the security building
Before the guard made his way up the steps, I had already leapt off the railing and driven Sanguineista into his skull. As soon as he had been absorbed, I also scavenged everything from his remains. Quickly I walked back and activated the Incendiary device. The clock was running now.
Quickly I exited the building and no longer having to worry about the cameras, I could now move freely and quickly. It didn't take long to get to the electrical room as it was just behind the security building. I entered and identified the main breaker, I placed another incendiary device and set it for 20 minutes.
I then exited the electrical room and moved heading towards the mansion while avoiding the guards. I climbed a lattice that was on the side of the building and entered the 2nd floor through a window. I made my way to the room next to where the higher-ups of the family were socializing. Most of the regular guests were on the first floor.
The room was some time of private meeting room which was connected to the larger meeting room. I hadn't seen anyone enter this room while I had been watching the monitors so I was confident that it was empty when I entered. Inside I scanned the room and found no one so I then moved towards the door.
'Caw, caw, caaaw?' Steven asked if I was sure about what I was about to do. 'Sure, why not, they won't know what hit them.' 'Caw, caw, ggggggggg, Caw?' 'No, they can hit me if they can't see me, besides I won't be standing still.' I quickly reassured Steven.
As I took out the next device I listened through the door to what was going on in the other room.
There were too many voices mixed to pick out any particular voice but then I heard one particular phrase above the others, "Yeah well FUCK KINGPIN and those fucking Chinks, this city was our family's own since my grandfather's times." And then a hush. It didn't take long for the conversations to resume.
I set my last incendiary device timer to 5 seconds and braced myself against the door before checking my watch. 3,2,1. For a moment nothing happened but after an additional 10 seconds, the lights began to flicker. As soon as the lights went out completely, I activated the time and opened the door. Several persons while the room was in some disarray, had taken out their phones and put the flashlights on.
With my enhanced vision I picked a group that was furthest away from my true target. The device which was just a 20 oz plastic bottle filled with a neon green liquid with a small electrical timer and 9-volt battery taped to it, sailed through the air, I quickly and quietly pulled the door shut before someone saw where it came from. A moment later screams filled the room and panic ensued.
I pushed the door open and quickly stabbed Sanguineista into the nearest person. I focused into the Gauntlet and willed it to help Sanguineista absorb faster. Understanding my intention it did just that but I felt a strain on my body. The absorption time dropped to around 3 seconds but I could feel the strain, as well as I was sure I was losing most of the essence from the target. However, I didn't have the time to spear as there were to many targets.
As Sanguineista absorbed the man I began to use my enhanced senses to screen the room that had been bathed in the light from the flames as a couple of men screamed as they burned. As everyone panicked and tried to either distance themselves or try to put out the burning men, I dragged the now withered husk with me towards the person who was only a couple of feet away and as the man who Sanguineista was buried in began to crumble I rammed the dagger through the remains into the chest of the next. I quickly grabbed his throat and squeezed keeping him from screaming out.
Two targets were down and I had yet to be detected, while I moved towards number three, the door slammed open and three guards came bolting in while I saw my main target behind them. Their eyes widened as they saw me at the further end of the room.
Two of them had fire extinguishers but as soon as they saw me, they dropped them and pulled out guns. Bruno Karnelli also followed their eyes and his locked onto me, he pulled what I instantly recognised from the movies, a black Desert Eagle. Without wasting time, I dived for cover behind some of the other guests leaving behind Sanguineista which had still been absorbing someone when they opened fire.
I wasn't worried about losing Sanguineista as it was only a physical manifestation, its true form was Stevens's soul which had been bound to me. After experimenting with it, I understood that I would lose all of the essence stored in it so far if I recalled it directly back to me. It was inconvenient but necessary.
Chaos ensued as Bruno and the guards opened fire on his own people. The guest who I had hidden behind, was caught unaware of what was going on and drew his gun. As he pointed to return fire at Bruno and his men, he was quickly gunned down. Now having no choice, I grabbed the gun the guest had drawn.
Guns were too loud for my tactics so far, also I had barely any experience except the previous guns I had taken from other criminals. Fortunately, I had looked up some videos on their use. Now out of options, I opened fire on the guards while moving. By some miracle I managed to miss every shot, but this also gave me enough time to grab Sanguineista and make it to the room I had come in from.
Without the light from the fire, they would have an even harder time finding me. I exited the room from another door and was now in the corridor that could either lead to an exit or take me back to where Bruno and his men were. I took off sprinting soundlessly in the dark. As I rounded the corner I heard Bruno; "FIND THAT FUCKING BASTARD!"
Without missing a beat; "RIGHT HERE FUCK FACE!" I shouted as Sanguineista went into the closest guard. The guard didn't have a chance to scream as I drove the blade into his throat out of shared habit at this point. There was barely enough light from the fire for them to see me up close. I pulled back into the darkness as they opened fire.
Now I was free to act with impunity. Moving to the wall and keeping low I quickly crawled past them as they fired wildly into the dark. Bruno was the first to run out of ammo, followed by the other two guards. Grabbing Bruno's wrist I bent and snapped it sending his gun onto the ground. I followed up by giving him a headbutt to the face which sent him stumbling back.
The guards weren't so fortunate as I followed up with a kick to the chest sending him back into the room with the fire which had spread. The other, I grabbed him and with all my strength I twisted his head until I heard an audible, snap. He crumpled onto the ground lifelessly. Bruno seeing this, now with a mix of pain and terror in his eyes, turned and fled.
This was what I was hoping for. I grabbed Sanguineista and gave pursuit. As he stumbled through the corridor towards the steps, where light was coming up from, several guards came up the stairs with flashlights. Grabbing one of the guards I heard him shouting at the others, to find and kill me, completely ignoring the fire upstairs. What he didn't know was that I was now only a few feet away from him taking cover in the darkness.
I wanted to see if my intuition was correct. Bruno grabbed one of the flashlights and as the other guards made their way back to the burning room, he turned and headed in the opposite direction. If I was correct, he was now motivated by fear and under the assumption, that his life was in sufficient danger. He would try to grab his "bug out bag" for a situation where he needed to flee and fast.
With the flashlight, he was now able to see and with the adrenaline coursing through his veins, he was moving fast. He came to the end of the corridor and entered an office, ordering the guard to stand lookout. As Bruno entered the room, before the guard could turn and point his flashlight, behind him, my blade pierced his throat. I held him in place so as to not alert Bruno that I was there.
I entered the office and Bruno had his back to me as he stooped in a corner and was pulling off a wooden panel from the wall. Behind was a safe and with practice ease he entered the code and opened it. I didn't need him any longer and before Bruno registered that I was there, Sanguineista entered the back of his skull.
'Caaaaw.'
'No Steven, I am not going to gloat about how easy this was and tell him my plans.'
I countered Steven's disappointing remark, which I took to be that why would I just kill him as soon as I had what I wanted? Inside the safe was indeed what I wanted, several keys, a small notebook and a cell phone. A duffel bag and from the looks of it 10 x $10,000 stacks. A small velvet sack also got my attention and upon checking it was filled with what looked like diamonds.
"Holy shit, I'm rich!" I said out loud. I quickly grabbed everything and stuffed it in the bag. I looked around the room but nothing caught my attention. All that was left of Bruno was his belongings which I went through. The only thing of value was a Rolex, a thick diamond-encrusted gold ring and a gold-plated lighter. Not wanting to leave anything to chance took the lighter and set the curtains and tablecloth on fire, that way I would be sure I would leave no traces behind.
I quickly moved to exit but still ran into a few more guards, taking the opportunity to top off the amount of essence I had stored. The now familiar feeling of power coursed through my veins as I also had a satisfied feeling settle over me, I felt full. With a few more fires set and a backpack and duffle bag filled with loot, I turned back as I stood on the wall watching the now dark burning mansion.
Men and women panicked and ran towards the gates and I went over a wall on the side, retreating into the darkness. Now, I would have to make my way back to the warehouse on foot. It would take about an hour of walking but I had the energy to spare, plus I was in an extremely good mood. I had made a lot of mistakes and now, I saw how unprepared I had been, but I had also gained valuable experience.
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