(no subject)

[incywincyhero]

WHO: Jack Bauer and Spider-Man
WHERE: Some Manhattan rooftop.
WHEN: Friday evening.
WARNINGS: Ethical quandaries and discussion of torture.
SUMMARY: Jack and Spidey have a little chat about Osborn.
FORMAT: Whatever!

Spider-Man was sitting on the edge of the roof, one foot propped on the parapet and the other dangling. In deference to the unseasonal weather he nursed a cup of coffee in his hands, another waiting for Jack's arrival next to his web-sack of civvies and folded umbrella.

The tapping of his fingers against the paper cup was only interrupted when he took a sip, more out of a need to occupy himself than any real desire for a drink. He knew the coming conversation was one he and Jack needed to have, but that didn't make him any more eager to discuss the subject at hand.

Comments

[out_of_time]

Jack doesn't say anything for a long time. He takes a deep pull of his coffee, drinking it without enjoying it. He looks out into the darkness of the City.

"That's one of the sickest things I've ever heard."

[incywincyhero]

Spider-Man moves back in Jack's direction and flops back down on the parapet. He's not a good enough actor to sell his boneless sprawl as genuine relaxation, even if Jack hadn't just been witness to his half-panicked confession.

"I don't ... really talk about me and Norman," he says into the silence. "A couple people know what happened, but not --" Again, stopping mid-sentence. "I almost gave in to him. I was just ... so tired of fighting. And the longer he had me locked up in the dark, the more everything he said seemed to make sense. I was this close to drinking from the vial and becoming Gobby Jr."

Just for a moment ... you showed your true self, whispers Norman in his memories.

"I mean, whatever. I blew him off in the end, and I'm okay, now. But you need to know how good he is at controlling people. If he can't scare them, manipulate them, or buy them off in your normal nefarious-businessman ways ... he ups the ante."

[out_of_time]

He nods. Jack is going to be checking his toothpaste from now on, that's for sure.

"I understand," he says quietly, looking down at passing traffic, then at Spidey.

"You've stopped him before, haven't you? You've brought him down." The 'how' isn't said just yet.

[incywincyhero]

"I guess it depends on your definition of 'stopping.'" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Even when I manage to get him arrested, he always manages to wriggle out of it somehow. You've seen how he works the system."

[out_of_time]

"Right now, just getting him arrested is a good start." Jack re-positions himself on the roof, squatting down and facing Spidey directly. "Do you have anything we can use? A plan, an idea, his weaknesses?"

[incywincyhero]

"Well, he takes a punch like anyone else. The problem isn't knocking him down -- it's keeping him there. The guy's as slippery as a bag of Harvard Law School-educated weasels."

[out_of_time]

Jack grunts. "I know the type." He stands up. "And I've put plenty of them down."

He looks over his shoulder. "I need to get moving. CPD patrols this area every night in a few minutes, it's risky for me to stay exposed."

i literally couldn't make myself type that swear it seemed so wrong

[incywincyhero]

He nods and, now that they're wrapping up, starts checking the capacity of his web-shooter cartridges. "I know the feeling. So ... what's the plan for now? I know I'm going to keep hunting for a way to nail that sonuva @#$% to the wall; what about you?"

heh

[out_of_time]

"I'll see what I can do." Jack stands with his back turned, hiding a grim and contemplating face. He knows he doesn't have much time before he leads a suicide mission overseas, and that even if they succeed he'll likely have to exile himself to deal with the fallout. When it comes to dealing with threats like Osborn, he is as always running out of time.

"I wish I could promise you something," he says. "But there's a lot happening right now." There's a pause. "I want you to know, I appreciate what you do. Whoever you are underneath that, you've made a difference. That counts for something."

If this is the last time he sees Spider-Man- if he's going to spend God knows how long out of the City- he wants it to be on a high note.

[incywincyhero]

Spidey doesn't look up at Jack right away, instead putting an inordinate and probably unnecessary amount of attention into replacing one of his web-cartridges. Finally he slams it home, tugs the glove back in place and moves back towards the other man, reaching out to offer his hand.

"It means a lot that you'd say that, Jack, really." He hesitates, then barrels on, "Listen, I don't know what you've got planned next, and I'm not going to pretend that I approve of everything you're doing, because we both know that's not true. But take care of yourself, all right? We need all the good people we can get out here."