Chapter Text
Hawk and Gwen turned to look.
Down the alley, a male and female police officer were staring at the four bodies on the ground, their necks twisted at impossible angles. The officers scrambled to draw their service weapons, aiming them with trembling hands at Hawk and Gwen.
Gwen immediately spoke up.
“My father is the captain of the 19th Precinct.”
...
Captain George Stacy, who had been in his office at the 19th, rushed to the scene the moment he got the call from the Queens precinct.
The entire area was already cordoned off with police tape.
As George got out of his car, the first thing he saw was Gwen and Hawk standing together, answering questions from a Queens detective.
“Gwen!”
“Dad.”
Gwen’s face lit up as she saw him approaching in his white dress shirt.
The surrounding officers and detectives saw him, and as per protocol, they straightened up, offering salutes and greetings.
George’s focus was entirely on his daughter. He rushed to her side, his voice tight with concern.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
Gwen smiled and shook her head. She glanced at Hawk. “Hawk got here just in time.”
George’s eyes shifted to Hawk. He said nothing, just gave him a curt, meaningful nod.
Hawk smiled faintly in return.
Just then, the captain of the Queens precinct, who was inside the crime scene, heard he had arrived and called out, “George!”
George followed the voice and saw his old friend. He told Gwen to wait and then walked under the yellow tape.
“Alan, what the hell happened?”
“Preliminary assessment is an attempted kidnapping.”
“Kidnapping?”
“Yeah.”
Allen, the Queens precinct captain and a longtime friend of George’s, pointed to a roll of duct tape and zip ties that had been recovered from the Toyota. Then, a thought seemed to strike him. “So, Gwen’s boyfriend doesn’t mess around, huh?”
George paused.
“What do you mean?”
“Look at this.”
Alan pointed to the four bodies on the ground, their masks removed, each with its head twisted one hundred eighty degrees. "The M.E. just finished a preliminary. No gunshot wounds. All by hand. Necks snapped clean."
“...” George stared at the bodies, a look of pure astonishment on his face. He instinctively glanced back outside the tape, at Hawk.
Gwen saw her father’s look and nudged Hawk with her elbow, whispering, “My dad’s curious about you now.”
“It’s fine.”
Hawk wasn’t concerned.
The strength he had today was the result of a thousand straight days of relentless, unwavering effort.
The System... It had only given him the opportunity. Hawk was the one who'd taken it and run with it. Ten thousand punches a day for a thousand days. Sounds easy enough. But how many people could actually pull that off?
And so—
Why should I hide the strength I earned with my own two hands?
The first time he’d hit Quantico, he’d only worn a surgical mask. He hadn’t tried to conceal himself. The Lizard, the Hulk, the second Quantico run—he had never once considered hiding.
What’s the point of having power if you hide it? No more walking in the shadows. It’s time to live out loud.
Pretend to be weak to fool his enemies? Not his style...
He preferred to put all his power on full display.
...
Hawk thought to himself, and his eyes met George’s from across the crime scene. He gave him a small smile.
George held his gaze for a moment, then looked away as a detective ran up to his friend Alan with a report.
“Abu Lembel.”
“He’s with the Devil's Gang.”
“Made bail two weeks ago. The other three are with the gang, too. The woman we took to the hospital is Abu Lembel’s wife.”
“The Devil's Gang...” Alan looked at his friend. “You think they were coming after you?”
The Devil's Gang wasn’t a Queens crew. They were from Manhattan. And their main turf was the 19th Precinct.
George shook his head. “I’m head of Homicide. Organized crime isn’t my division.”
Gang-related cases were handled by the Organized Crime Investigation Division. His job was to handle the murders in his precinct.
Allen’s brow furrowed. “Then who were they after? They couldn’t have been after Gwen herself, could they?”
“What’s the status of the woman they took to the hospital?”
“Don’t know yet.”
Alan glanced at his watch. “Want to go check it out together?”
George nodded.
He didn’t ask Allen to hand over the case. He knew his friend couldn’t, even if he wanted to. It was a gang-related crime in the Queens jurisdiction.
“Gwen.”
“Uncle Alan.”
Gwen, who had been discussing the case with Hawk, smiled sweetly at the captain as he and her father walked over.
Alan smiled back. “You weren’t too scared, were you?”
Gwen saw her father’s eyes linger on Hawk. She smiled and tightened her grip on Hawk’s arm. “You’ve already asked me twice, Uncle Allen. I’m fine. Hawk protected me. Really.”
George watched his precious daughter clinging to the arm of this wild animal, and his eye twitched.
Captain Alan just laughed. Then he seemed to remember something. “Gwen’s eighteen this year, right? She’ll be graduating college in three years. By the way, George, how much have you saved up for her wedding fund?”
It was tradition.
Typically, the bride’s family was expected to cover the cost of the wedding, and if they were well-off, the honeymoon as well.
George said nothing. He just shot his smartass friend a look, then took his car keys from his pocket and tossed them to Hawk.
Hawk caught them easily.
“Take Gwen home.”
“Alright.”
Hawk nodded and, with Gwen on his arm, walked toward George’s unmarked police car.
As for his own Audi A8 and Gwen’s Corolla, they had already handed the keys over to the insurance agent—who had arrived even before George. The agent would have the cars towed to a repair shop and delivered back to them once they were fixed.
...
Soon, Hawk was behind the wheel, openly driving a police car away from the crime scene.
Captain Alan watched them go, then turned to George as they walked toward his own car. “Your future son-in-law seems like a good kid. Is he going to Berkeley, too?”
George shook his head. “No. NYU Law.”
Alan’s expression turned serious. “Law school. That’s good. That’s very good.”
He could become a wealthy lawyer, or a powerful politician.
Law school was a smart move.
But—
“You run a background check on him?”
“I did. He’s an orphan.”
“...” Alan, now in his car, looked over at George in the passenger seat and drew in a sharp breath.
He glanced back at the gleaming black Audi A8.
“An orphan with an Audi A8? You sure?”
“He just moved a few days ago.”
“What?”
“He used to live in the Queensbridge Houses. Now he's in the East Village.”
“...”
Queensbridge Houses—a notoriously rough housing project in Queens. The East Village—an upscale Manhattan neighborhood known for attracting the wealthy.
“Hiss.” Alan couldn’t help but draw in another sharp breath.
“He...”
“Unbelievable, right?”
“How?”
“I don’t know.” George looked at his friend’s serious face and shook his head. “The only thing I know for sure is that the money he used to buy that house is clean.”
Allen’s brow furrowed.
George seemed to guess what he was thinking and smiled faintly. “Because the IRS hasn’t paid him a visit.”
Alan immediately shut his mouth.
The logic was undeniable.
There was a reason criminals laundered their money.
It wasn't just about hiding it. It was about paying taxes on it. Because once you paid your taxes, the IRS left you alone. And a man who wasn't on the IRS's radar was a man with clean money.
...
That evening, when George got home, Hawk and Gwen were in the living room, watching the new episode of Desperate Housewives with Helen.
Seeing him, Gwen immediately asked, “Dad, what happened?”
George took off his coat and walked to the bar. “She didn’t make it.”
Gwen was stunned. “She died?”
Hawk’s eyes flickered for a second.
Good. No loose ends...
Helen, who already knew what had happened, looked at her husband with a worried expression. “Why would someone try to kidnap Gwen? Do you think they were after you?”
“Alan’s still looking into it.”
George poured himself a whiskey and took a sip. “I’m arranging for two officers to be posted downstairs. Don’t go out alone for a while. Your safety comes first.”
Helen and Gwen both nodded.
It was a grim but familiar reality. Cops and their families were often targets for retaliation.
Seeing that George was home, Hawk stood up. “Mr. Stacy, I should get going.”
George looked at him, nodded, and said one word. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s my job to protect Gwen,” Hawk said with a smile.
Gwen walked Hawk to the door.
Across the street, a parked police car gave off a sense of security.
“You be careful, too.”
“Don’t worry.” Hawk smiled, said his goodbyes, and walked toward the subway. The moment he turned the corner and was out of Gwen’s sight, he stopped. He took a deep breath.
And then, he unleashed his full senses.
...