The Devil's Dilemma
The news hit like a thunderbolt.
Matt was in his basement room at St. Agnes when he heard it - the television from the church's common room above carrying the breaking news report. His enhanced hearing picked up every word with crystal clarity:
"Wilson Fisk, the notorious crime lord known as the Kingpin, has been transferred from Ryker's Island to the Presidential Hotel under FBI supervision. Sources say Fisk has made a deal with federal authorities..."
The mug in Matt's hand shattered, hot coffee spilling across the floor. His mind raced, trying to process what he was hearing. Fisk. Out of prison. In a luxury hotel.
"No," he whispered, his hands shaking. "No, no, no..."
He could hear more details filtering through - something about cooperation with ongoing investigations, about threats to Fisk's life in prison. But all Matt could focus on was the overwhelming sense that everything was falling apart.
His phone buzzed - Foggy.
"Tell me you're watching the news," Foggy said without preamble.
"I heard." Matt's voice was tight. "How did this happen?"
"I don't know, but I'm looking into it. The FBI's keeping everything under wraps, but there are rumors..." Foggy paused. "Matt, whatever deal he made, it's big. They don't just let someone like Fisk walk without getting something major in return."
Matt's enhanced senses picked up the tension in Foggy's voice, the slight tremor that betrayed his friend's fear. "He's planning something. This is... this is just the beginning."
"Matt..." Foggy's tone shifted to concern. "You don't look so good. I mean, when I saw you yesterday-"
"I'm fine." The lie came automatically. "I need to find out what deal he made. What he's giving them."
"And how exactly are you planning to do that? Walk into the Presidential Hotel and ask nicely?"
Matt's silence was telling.
"No." Foggy's voice hardened. "No way, Matt. You can barely stand straight right now. Whatever's going on with you-"
"Nothing's going on with me." Matt cut him off sharply. "I just need to... to figure this out."
But even as he said it, he could feel his control slipping. The suppressants weren't working as well anymore, and the news about Fisk had sent his stress levels skyrocketing. His omega nature was trying to surface, demanding comfort and safety in the face of this threat.
"Matt?" Sister Maggie's voice came from his doorway. "I assume you heard."
"Everyone heard." Matt turned away from both conversations, his fingers clenching around his cane. "He played us. All of us."
"Matthew." Maggie's footsteps approached. "Whatever you're thinking-"
"He knows something." The words burst out of him. "When I saw him in prison, he... he figured something out about me. And now he's out, and I don't..." His voice cracked slightly. "I don't know what he's planning."
There was a long silence on the phone. Finally, Foggy spoke: "What do you mean, he figured something out about you?"
Matt's heart rate spiked. "Nothing. I have to go."
He hung up before Foggy could protest, but Maggie wasn't so easily dismissed.
"You're afraid," she observed quietly.
"I'm not afraid." But his hands were shaking as he reached for his pills. "I'm angry. He doesn't deserve this. Any of it."
"And yet something about this situation has you terrified." Maggie moved closer, her beta scent non-threatening. "Is it what he knows? Or what he might do with that knowledge?"
Matt turned sharply. "You don't understand. None of you understand. Fisk isn't just... he's not just another criminal. He's different. The way he thinks, the way he plans... everything is a chess move with him."
"Including whatever he learned about you?"
The question hung in the air between them, heavy with implication. Matt could feel his careful walls cracking, the weight of his secrets becoming too heavy to bear.
"When I saw him," he said finally, his voice barely a whisper, "he knew. He could tell what I... what I am. And now he's out, and I don't know if this is part of his plan, if he's going to..."
He couldn't finish the sentence. The thought of Fisk using his true nature against him, of exposing him to the world... it was almost too much to bear.
"Matthew." Maggie's voice was gentle. "Perhaps this isn't about exposure. Perhaps-"
"Don't." Matt cut her off. "Don't try to make this something it's not. Fisk is a monster. Whatever he's planning, whatever deal he made... it's not good. For anyone."
But even as he said it, he remembered the strange gentleness in Fisk's voice when he'd realized what Matt was. The almost... protective tone that had crept into his words.
No. He couldn't think about that. Couldn't let himself believe that Fisk's apparent concern was anything but another manipulation.
"I need to find out what deal he made," he said firmly. "I need to understand what he's planning."
"And how will you do that?" Maggie asked. "In your current condition?"
Matt's jaw tightened. "Whatever it takes. I'll do whatever it takes."
But as he stood there, trying to project strength he didn't feel, Matt couldn't shake the growing sense of dread in his stomach. Something was coming - something bigger than Fisk's release, bigger than his own struggles with his nature.
And he wasn't sure he was strong enough to face it.