章 10: Chapter 10 Aftershocks

The port had always been a place of activity where men and women moved cargo from sunrise to sunset. However, the activity experienced this time was different from any it had before.

Entire sections were cut off from the workers and many ships were being delayed as officers took control of the scenery placing a good majority of the port into investigation. So far the only bit of information that had been released was that a ship had sunk causing hundreds of millions in damages and this loss was sure to escalate with all the delays.

It also didn't help that all this action naturally attracted curious citizens and reporters looking for new stories. Causing not only traffic jams in the area but also more personnel to block the crowd.

"Back up, please! This is an active crime scene!" one officer barked, trying to keep the growing crowd at bay.

"Can you tell us anything about what happened here?" a reporter shouted, shoving a microphone towards the officer.

"No comment," he replied curtly, pushing the microphone away. Much to the reporter's annoyance but that didn't stop them as they tried their best to get the younger-looking cops to speak. Rookies always seemed to like attention anyway.

Inside the cordoned-off area, detectives and forensics teams examined the wreckage. Broken crates and unconscious men littered the dock, and the police were doing their best to piece together the events of the night.

A short while later, a black SUV pulled up to the scene, and several figures in dark suits stepped out. One of the officers moved to intercept them, his hand resting on his holstered weapon.

"Hold it right there. This is a restricted area. Who are you?" the officer demanded.

The man in the lead stepped forward, pulling out a badge and holding it up for the officer to see. "Phil Coulson, Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division," he said in a calm, authoritative tone. "We're taking over the scene."

"Strategic home… what? I'm sorry but whoever it is you are with you don't have that kind of jurisdiction here" However right when he said this another officer ran over and whispered something into his ear.

"Morales, what do you mean this isn't our crime scene anymore? We've been here since one in the morning"

"I know sir but it came from the police chief… They also want us to give these guys everything we have so far."

"Haha, of course. It's unfreaking believable." The officer said in a frustrated tone before looking back at Coulson. "You heard him, this is your crime scene now. We'll be heading out"

Coulson nodded with a light and polite smile. He felt some sympathy for the officer but from what he got in his debriefing he knew it was out of their league.

This section of the port wasn't meant for common use but exclusively belonged to the Kingpin. Any sort of evidence these officers find would likely go down the drain and be erased forever. At least with S.H.I.E.L.D. This evidence can be stocked up for when they are ready to take the man down.

"Alright, you heard him I want every nook and cranny of this port checked out but most of all I want to know what went down last night. A ship doesn't just blow up and sink at the docks without reason." Following Coulson's orders the agents quickly began moving around to do their jobs.

Before moving on Coulson noticed that there was still one police officer present waiting for him to finish. "Morales right? Did you need anything else?"

"No, but I have something for you" Reaching into his jacket Morales pulled out a ziplock bag with something thick inside. "This is the footage recorded from last night. It was pretty hard to get so I only just pulled it now and haven't checked it out myself." Saying this he handed it over to Coulson who gave the young cop a pat on the shoulder for potentially saving him some time.

Turning back Coulson quickly made his way to the black van. Opening the back door revealed a highly advanced interior with computers all along the walls.

"This is the control tower's black box. I want you to pull whatever you can from 12-3 am"

"Alright, we'll get right on it" Taking the box into his hands the Agent carefully placed it on the small desk before getting to work.

Coulson walked back out not wanting to get in their way. Anyway, he wasn't much of a computer guy and could do better work out on the field with his men.

Ring Ring

Feeling the hum of his phone Coulson checked it out and knew it was important the moment he saw the name 'Fury'.

"Yes sir?"

"Have your men found anything yet?"

"No not yet but we should soon. There's some footage being checked out and we're getting some dive teams to head down and check the ship."

"Hmm that's good but I'm going to need you to leave I have somewhere else for you to go"

Coulson was taken aback at hearing this. Usually, Fury wouldn't just switch his locations like that. Especially not in the middle of a job.

"May I ask why sir?"

"It's because of Kingpin"

Kingpin? The man had influence he couldn't deny that but there's no way it was enough to get them out of here.

"What about him?"

"He's dead… It was reported by some of his men. Now with what's happened at his docks I can't help but feel it's connected somehow so I need you to head to Fisk Tower. While Maria will take your position there at the docks."

'Dead' this was huge! crime was sure to run rampant and might even extend beyond Hell's Kitchen. Now he saw why Fury wanted him there. "Understood sir I'll head over right away"

"Good keep me posted on anything you find"

"Of course" With that said Coulson hung up the phone with a solemn look. There were way more questions than answers right now but with time he knew they'd find out what was going on.

Coulson's expectations were soon met. It only took a couple of hours from Kingpin's death for crime to explode and get out of hand. Gangs that had originally been quiet now saw an opportunity. The city no longer had an overlord watching their every move. The criminals were free to do what they wanted or better yet take that man's place.

Such thoughts practically drove everyone out of hiding as Hell's Kitchen became the epicenter of all the chaos. Throughout the next couple of weeks, Police did their best to contain things but most of their efforts were complete failures.

However, this didn't mean things were going perfectly for the gangs. With all of them being free from control it also made them all enemies with one another as they fought for a hierarchy. Naturally to win they'd do all they could to cut their losses and that

included hiring mercenaries.

So much chaos and trouble… As for the one responsible for all this. Well, he also took advantage of this chaos. There was no way Michael would lose out on what he considered free cash. 500 Million was a good chunk but more never hurt no one. Also by killing some criminals here and there he was able to release some guilt he had over causing all of this so it was a win-win.

"This city's really gone down under… Maybe I shouldn't have taken out Kingpin." Michael muttered to himself as he walked into the familiar Mercenary den. However, different from most times the place appeared empty.

"Looks like everyone's busy" Michael said upon noticing it was just Weasel.

"No duh Sherlock, we're overbooked right now and with how things are going I don't think it'll calm down any time soon," Weasel said with a tired expression. He loved money and loved business but too much was still too much. It used to be fun running this place but now he feels like he actually has to work and that honestly sucked.

"True but hey by taking out one more gang should make things quieter right?" Michael said nonchalantly, causing Weasel to twitch in response.

"Ha I still can't believe that you took out three more gangs… what was your beef with them anyway you seemed pretty intent on killing them. Like you'd do so with or without the money"

Michael didn't mind answering this question as it wasn't a secret anyway. He knew he wasn't the best guy out there but there were some crimes he felt deserved death without the law's intervention. "They were human traffickers no more reason than that"

"Fair enough" Weasel replied calmly but inside he was a little surprised. Most mercs don't usually care about details like that but it seemed like Michael wasn't too bad. Personally, he didn't like those guys either so if he wanted more jobs with getting rid of them he'd gladly help. 'Too bad I gotta stop him for now' Weasel thought before looking back at Michael with some seriousness.

"So you got some jobs for me?"

"No actually and probably not for a long time. We've been having some strangers asking around about you a lot. So far I've been able to keep information from leaking but I don't know how long that'll last. My best bet is for you to lay low for a while"

"You wouldn't usually tell me this if it was some gangs asking"

"You're right and honestly I'm not too sure either though I guess it might be feds. Still, it's just a guess."

'Like feds? Could he be talking about SHIELD or Hydra? Guess I do got to lay low'

"Thanks for the heads up"

"No problem, I'll give you a call once things are good around here."

Back home Michael laid on his bed with a bored expression while lightly throwing a ball up and catching it over and over again. He thought that mercenary work would last him a long time but it seemed like that was a dud.

"We'll I guess I shouldn't waste time, I'm bored anyways" Sitting up Michael pulled some documents he got from Kingpin.

Most were his properties that brought in income like apartments but what he was really interested in was the scientists who now owed him. He'd had the data on compound V for a while now and it seemed like as good a time as any to start learning about it.

"Let's see here… Archaeologist nope, Phytologist sounds useless, ah here we go a Geneticist. Dr Emrys Killebrew is a man with several PHDs and his debt seems like a good amount. Let's start with him"

Taking out his folder Michael proceeded to read about the man's whereabouts and found out it was in Canada. Not too far from where he is honestly so the trip should also be quick.

"Alright hopefully this guy is as smart as he sounds"