Chapter 5
“I know you’re the Tinkerer, Phin.”
Phin looked down at her mug and sighed, realizing that the truth was out.
“Leave it to you to figure it out Miles.” She chuckled as she said this, but it was very humorless. “So…are you here to try to talk me out of it?”
Miles sighed. “Look Phin…”
“Please don’t Miles,” she cut him off. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Really? Because I saw what happened on the bridge.”
“That wasn’t even my fault!”
“You started an all-out attack on a Hammerhead truck. On a bridge full of civilians!”
“Everything would have been fine if Spider-Man hadn’t shown up!”
Miles slammed his fist on the table, rattling their mugs. “Damn it Phin!”
The rest of the patrons looked over at the commotion. Phin looked shocked at his outburst. Noticing the prying eyes, Miles leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“My mom was on that bridge Phin,” he whispered, glaring at the girl. “She got away with minor injuries but she could’ve died. And not because of Spider-Man, but because of you and the Underground. And there were a bunch of other people who almost suffered the same fate, but didn’t, because Spider-Man was there to save them. I’m not saying he doesn’t have some blame for that situation, but you don’t get to put it all on him and take none for yourself!”
Miles was breathing heavily once he finished his rant. He looked down at the table, taking a couple of breaths to calm himself. He hadn’t meant to snap at Phin like that, but he couldn’t just let her think she’d done nothing wrong.
“You’re right Miles…”
Miles lifted his head back up, catching Phin’s eyes. They were soft and apologetic.
“I…I didn’t mean for it to go down like that. But it did and I have to take responsibility for that. I’m really sorry your mom got hurt too. You know I would never intentionally put her in danger.”
“I know Phin. Doesn’t change the fact that you did.”
Phin nodded sadly at that. “Are you…are you gonna tell your Dad?” She was tense as she asked that, her entire body coiled. Almost as if she was planning to run.
“If I was gonna do that I would’ve just brought him with me.” Miles saw her relax at that. “So no, I’m not gonna tell him. I just…you’re my best friend Phin. And I wanna help. But, you gotta talk to me. About everything.”
He needed to know what her plan was. And why it required the use of Nuform. From everything Miles now knew about the stuff, he couldn’t possibly imagine that it would end well. For anyone.
Phin noticed that they were still getting looks from the rest of the people in the cafe.
“Alright. I’ll tell you. But can we go somewhere a little more…private.”
“I know just the place.”
Miles and Phin were standing underneath the water tower on the roof of his apartment building. It was the first place Miles had thought of.
‘Man. I haven’t been up here in years,” Phin exclaimed, leaning over a railing and staring out at the city. The sun was high in the sky now, the day fully settling in.
Miles walked over and leaned on the railing next to her. “Yeah, I know. We used to sneak up here all the time because my parents thought it was too dangerous for us.”
They both smiled at each other before looking back at the view.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Phin admitted.
Miles thought about it for a moment before something came to mind. “How did Rick get involved with Hammerhead? I thought he was going to work at that other place. What was the name of it again?”
“Roxxon,” Phin supplied for him. “And yeah, he did have an offer from them. But, the guy running the whole thing got arrested for fraud so it fell through. Rick was worried he wouldn’t be able to provide for both of us until Hammerhead came along. We were so excited when he got that job.”
“You didn’t try to bake him a cake, did you? That didn’t go so well the last time.”
Phin punched him on the shoulder, annoyed when all it did was make Miles laugh.
“Shut up dude! Anyway, everything was great for a few months. I was doing great in school, obviously. And Rick was really enjoying his work, developing some really cool stuff. He worked out of a lab that Hammerhead took over. Before they built that ugly ass building. Did such a good job, the big CEO himself put Rick in charge of their new high-priority project.”
Miles twisted to fully face Phin’s side profile, crossing his arms. “Nuform.”
“Yup. It was a big opportunity for Rick. He got to assemble his own team and they got to work on creating it. A few months in, a couple of members of the team started getting sick. They didn’t connect it directly to Nuform at first, but then…”
She trailed off, eyes getting sad as the memories of that time started to come back.
“Then Rick got sick. It didn’t take him long to make the connection. He would go Hammerhead all the time. Tried to explain what Nuform was doing to his team and that they needed to slow down development until there was a safer way to do it.”
“Let me guess. Hammerhead didn’t agree.”
“He claimed that Rick was just crazy. Denied any possibility that Nuform was the cause behind their sickness. Actually threatened to fire him and get him blacklisted if he didn’t finish. This went on for months. And Rick just kept getting worse and worse. We used to talk about it all the time while I helped him with his meds. It was…it was so hard seeing him like that Miles.”
“I’m sorry Phin.” Miles slid a little closer to her. “I can’t imagine having to deal with that.”
“Yeah. Anyway, Rick eventually found out about Hammerhead’s plan for the new facility. He was gonna install a Nuform reactor there. Eventually start selling it as a brand new ‘clean’ energy source. It would’ve endangered the entire city. And Rick couldn’t let that happen.
“And that’s when you guys came up with a plan to sneak in and destroy it?”
“We thought it would be so simple. But we were so wrong. Hammerhead was waiting for us. It was a trap. He… killed Rick. Right in front of me.”
Tears started to leak out of Phin’s eyes.
“Phin…” Miles went to touch her shoulder but she shied away from him. She angrily wiped the tears away.
“I’m fine,” she told him. Miles didn’t believe that for a second, but he let it go for the time being.
“How’d you get involved with the Underground?” Miles continued his line of questioning. “And where did the name ‘Tinkerer’ come from?”
“The name’s from Rick actually. He used to call me a ‘little tinkerer'. Because I was always messing around with stuff. Seemed like the perfect moniker to take to hide my identity.”
Miles smiled at the explanation. “That’s nice.”
“As for the Underground. A couple of them tried to break into the workshop. Saw some of the stuff I was working on.”
“The programmable matter right? That stuff is so cool! How does it work exactly?”
“Miles!” Phin stopped him before he could go off on a tangent.
“Sorry.”
“You’re such a dork,” she said fondly. “Anyway, they tried to steal it. That didn’t go too well for them. I was ready to teach them why they should've picked a different shop before I had a thought. If I was gonna take on Hammerhead, I was gonna need some help. So I cut a deal with them.”
“Why would they agree to that? I mean, I know why you’re after Hammerhead, but what do they get out of this?”
“Notoriety. They want to be so well-known, they can get away with anything. My tech can help them do that.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Miles was incredulous. Phin turned to face him full-on, drawing herself up.
“I told you. I can’t do this alone.”
“So your solution was to supply dangerous criminals with high-end weapons?”
“If that’s what it takes!”
“Jesus Phin! That's crazy!”
“What else should I have done Miles?”
“You could’ve…” Miles stopped himself before he yelled again. He lowered his voice back to a regular tone. “You could’ve called me.”
Phin sank back into herself, the anger she’d collected abruptly leaving and being replaced with a sadder emotion. “Miles…”
“Why didn’t you call me Phin? And not just when Rick died. I mean, this entire time…” Miles sighed, scuffing the ground with his shoe. “I tried reaching out over the past couple of years. Maybe not enough. Definitely not enough. But I did try. And you stopped. Why?”
Phin rubbed her hands together. “Because…because I was angry at you.” She looked away as she said it, as if she was ashamed to admit that.
Miles was terribly confused. Phin had been…mad at him? He tried to rack his brain quickly to think of something he may have done, but for the life of him, nothing came to mind.
“What did-how did I-why were you mad at me?”
It was Phin who sighed this time. “Because I felt like you abandoned me.”
The expression on the boy’s face didn’t change so Phin explained more.
“We were best friends Miles. And after my parent died, you and Rick were the only people I felt like I could rely on. And then you left. Went to that new, pretentious school of yours.”
“Phin. That wasn’t entirely up to me.”
“I know Miles. But at the time, I didn’t see it like that. It felt like my best friend was leaving me behind to go make new, better ones. And it made me sad and upset.”
Miles felt a pang in his chest.
“I’m sorry Phin I…”
She held up a hand. “Don’t Miles. You didn’t do anything wrong so don’t apologize. It was my fault. I was…I was still struggling with losing my parents. And I took a lot of that out on you. It actually took Rick to bring me out of that. And I realized that I’d made a mistake ghosting you like that. I’m really sorry.”
She went to lean back on the railing again. Miles joined her.
“You know I saw you walking around one day,” she eventually said.
“Really? When?”
“A couple of days before that night I had dinner with you and your parents. You had just walked out of that comic book store you always went to.”
“Why didn’t you say anything,” he questioned.
Phin shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess I had it in my mind that you would be angry at me for not speaking to you for so long. But I couldn’t stop wanting to know how you were doing. So I called your mom instead. Figured I could just ask her how you were doing and be satisfied with that.”
Miles laughed at that. “You clearly must have forgotten who my mother is.”
“Sure did. She was so excited to hear from me and insisted that I had to come over and that you would be happy to see me. She absolutely refused to take no for an answer. And that’s how I wound up there. You know the rest.”
Miles whistled as Phin finished up. “That’s- that’s a lot.”
“Yeah it is. But that’s my big secret. Why I’ve been so busy. But enough about me. What about you huh? What’s your excuse?”
Miles wasn’t prepared for the quick shift of focus onto him. He nervously rubbed his hands together.
“Oh um, just…the usual things you know. Mostly school. They work us really hard over there you know.”
Phin raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. And what’s the real reason? Come on Miles. I just told you everything. You know you can do the same with me.”
Man, how he wanted to. He could easily tell her. He had his suit on underneath his clothes. All he’d have to do was show her. His hand even twitch, going to pull his collar down, but he chickened out again. He was in too deep. Revealing himself wouldn’t end well. He just knew it. But he really hated having to lie to her. So he didn’t. At least, not fully.
“The real reason is…I’ve been taking on a lot more responsibilities lately. And sometimes, I feel like I don’t quite have the handle on it that I would like to think.”
“I can definitely understand that.”
“And also-” Miles decided to reveal something that had been weighing on him for the past few weeks. Something he hadn’t told anyone. Particularly, his parents.“I’ve been thinking about trying to get into art school for college.”
“That’s great Miles,” Phin exclaimed, before pausing. “Wait. Why would that be a problem?”
“I haven’t told my parents yet,” he admitted. “And the thing is, I’m sure they’d be fine with it. But for the last two years, all I could talk about was wanting to study Quantum Physics. Changing my mind going into senior year doesn’t seem like something they’d be happy about.”
“Miles.” Phin leaned over to bump his shoulder with hers. “Your parents would be proud of you no matter what. I know that for a fact.”
Miles smiled at her. “Yeah, I know. It’s just a little scary for me. Which sounds crazy but I just can’t help it. I’m probably just being a scaredy cat.”
“Definitely,” Phin quipped, causing Miles to mock glare at her. “But seriously Miles. There’s no need to worry.”
“I think I’m also a little worried about getting accepted into one. What if they don’t think my stuff’s good enough?”
“Oh please! You’re an amazing artist Miles. Any school that wouldn’t accept you is just stupid.”
Miles couldn’t stop himself from blushing a bit at Phin’s praise. “Thanks Phin.”
“By the way, how’s your Uncle Aaron doing? I know you used to show him all of your stuff. I’m sure he’d tell you the same thing.”
When she didn’t get an answer, she looked at Miles. He was no longer looking at her, eyes focused on the cityscape.
“He’s uh…he’s dead.”
Phin gasped, hands covering her mouth. “W-wait what? Miles, I didn’t know. When?”
“A couple of years ago. Kingpin killed him.”
“Fisk? Why would he kill your uncle?”
Miles figured he could tell Phin that secret. “My uncle was the Prowler.”
That got another gasp out of Phin.
“He was the Prowler? THE Prowler?”
“Yup. He was working for Kingpin but then…he decided that he didn’t want to do that anymore. Kingpin didn’t take that well and he…he shot him.”
The memory played through Miles’s mind, the bang from the gun and the look on his uncle’s face were etched into his brain. No matter how much time had passed, the memory never failed to bring a tear to his eye. He missed Aaron so much. He jumped a little when he felt a hand slide over his own. Following the hand up, he met Phin's eyes.
“I’m so sorry Miles. I know you were close with him.”
“Thanks Phin.”
Talking about his uncle actually brought forth one of the biggest reasons why Miles was so concerned about Phin.
“Look Phin,” he began. “I know you told me not to try and talk you out of this. And I won’t. But, when my uncle died, I remember talking to my dad. And he had so much regret for the fact that he never repaired their relationship. Felt like if he had just tried more, maybe he could’ve helped him. Before he got in too deep. And…I don’t want that to be us.”
Miles walked away from her, pacing back to the middle of the small area before stopping and turning around.
“I know you probably feel trapped and that there’s only one way out. Believe me, I get all of that. But you’re not alone Phin. I’m right here. And if you won’t stop, then at least let me help! Maybe I could join your…club? Crew? Team?”
“Uh, I don’t know…” Phin looked away from him.
“You know, Rick was- he was the best. I get why you’re doing this. If you want my help, I’m all in. If not, no worries, your secret’s safe with me.”
Miles was unprepared for the sudden impact on his chest. Phin had launched herself at him, catching him in a tight hug. But it didn’t take him long to wrap his own arms around her.
“You’re a good friend Miles,” she mumbled from where her face was planted in his shoulder. Which he was grateful for because she couldn't see his face fall a bit at her words. If she knew about the things he was keeping from her, he doubted she’d feel the same way.
Phin pulled back, smiling up at him. “Okay, I’ll get you in. I can show you around tomorrow.”
“Great! I’ll see you then.”
Miles made to move away only to be stopped by Phin pulling back on his jacket.
“Do you have to go? I mean…” Phin tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “It’s…It’d be nice to hang out a little longer.”
Miles grinned, unused to Phin’s unusual shyness. He wasn’t sure why though. Of course he’d want to hang out some more.
“I can stay. What do you wanna do?”
Phin tapped her chin in thought before snapping her fingers.
“Let’s go find some of our other time capsules! I think there are a few not too far from here!”
Gwen and Hobie were currently chilling in Hobie’s apartment. Gwen was sitting on the couch while Hobie sat in a chair across from her, feet on the table. She had just finished explaining to the punk spider what she and Miles found on their trip to Hammerhead.
“So his Doc Ock, which you lot thought kicked the bucket the first time, is still alive? And is working for this new big bad?”
“Yup.”
“And the tinkering lady is trying to stop big bad as well? But through unknown and seemingly dodgy means.”
“You got it.”
“Sounds like a real clusterfuck that.”
“You could say that again.” Gwen fell back into the couch, crossing her legs. “It feels like there’s some bigger play going on. I’m worried about Miles.”
“Course you are,” Hobie laughed. “Surprised you ain’t with Peter Pan right now Gwendy.”
“He hasn’t answered any of my texts today. Probably hanging out with Phin.” Gwen hates the way she mutters the girl’s name.
“Who’s Phin?”
“Miles’s best friend from middle school. They lost touch for a couple of years but recently started hanging out again.”
Hobie gave her a sly smirk. “Do we have a green-eyed monster sighting?”
Gwen sputtered at the implication. “W-w-what? No! I am not jealous, ok. I’ve met Phin. She’s…alright, I guess.”
“You sound unsure.”
Gwen looked down and fidgeted with her fingers. “I don’t know. Something about her just rubs me the wrong way.”
“Sounds a lot like jealousy to me.”
“I’m not jealous! Look Hobie, the other day, me, her and Miles were all hanging out. She stepped away for a while and when I went to go find her, she was having a conversation on the phone.”
Hobie just stared at her. “And?”
“And it sounded shady! She claimed it was about a problem with a party she was throwing that night but I know better.”
“How do you know she was lying?”
‘Well…well I don’t, I guess. But she was clearly hiding something.”
“You know I’m all for a conspiracy theory Gwendy. I’m just not seeing it with this one.”
“But Hobie…”
“There’s nothing wrong with being jealous you know. It’s a perfectly natural…”
“I’M NOT JEALOUS!”
Gwen’s outburst silences Hobie, who looks over in surprise. The girl is breathing heavily from her outburst. Hobie uncrossed his legs and sat up, his expression shifting to seriousness.
“Gwen,” he called to her, voice filled with concern. “What’s really bothering you?”
Gwen sighed. “Miles seems really close with Phin. And I…I don’t want to see another friend let him down. Like…like I did.
“Gwen…”
“I know I don’t have any concrete evidence. But I just have this gut feeling that Phin’s keeping something from him. And I don’t want Miles to have to go through that again. It almost broke him last time.”
“You can’t keep beating yourself up over that,” Hobie told her in response. “Miles already forgave you.”
“I know, I know. That doesn’t change the fact that it happened. And I feel like it’s my responsibility to protect him from it happening again. That’s why I’ve got my eye on Phin. You know Miles. He always thinks the best of his friends. Even after everything. I won’t let her take advantage of that.”
Hobie smiled, mentally rolling his eyes at the same time. The girl was so in love with Miles it was kinda painful. Oh, he had no doubts that Gwen meant every word that she said. But she was also definitely jealous. Old best friend comes to town and new best friend feels like she’s being replaced. It was straight out of a terrible rom-com flick.
“Ok Gwen.” Hobie got up and moved to sit next to Gwen. “If you think she’s bad news, then nothing wrong with keeping a close watch. Just--try to keep an open mind, yeah? Maybe she’s got her own stuff going on and our boy Miles is exactly the friend she needs now.”
Gwen nodded. She wasn’t gonna condemn the girl just yet. But the second she had any inkling she wasn’t on the up and up…
“I will Hobie. And thanks. For listening to me rant.”
“Gotta look out for my drummer don’t I? She’s a bit of a mad one still.”
Gwen playfully glared at him, which only made Hobie laugh.
“You’re so annoying. I gotta go. Need to patrol. I’ll see you later.”
“See ya Gwendy.”
“Dude! Look at this!”
Miles and Phin were sitting next to each other on the floor in Miles’s room, surrounded by time capsule containers. After spending a couple hours searching around the city, the two had returned to the Morales home with their spoils.
Phin looked over to see Miles pulling out a now deflated white, red, and yellow soccer ball.
“Oh cool,” she exclaimed. “I had forgotten about that one.”
“How could you,” Miles asked her incredulously. “I mentioned to you ONE time that I was into soccer, and you went all impossible mission to steal this from an exhibition match.”
Phin had the decency to blush, laughter bubbling forth. “Okay, okay, I may have taken that a bit too far.
Miles laughed along, his heart warming at the memory. “It was bold, I'll give you that. I remember us hightailing it out of there, convinced that we'd committed the perfect heist.”
“ I just thought it would be the perfect gift for you! So when I saw it, I had to get it.”
“And I appreciated it. You were always willing to do anything for your friends.”
Phin popped open another capsule case, pulling out a book. It was titled “America’s Untold Truth: Seeing Beneath the Veil of Nationalism.”
“Wow! I don’t think I ever finished reading this one.” She started flipping through the pages.
Miles snorted. “That’s because you were always checking out books before you finished your last ones. You’d even grab mine! Remember?”
Phin cackled, eyes lighting up mischievously. “Oh, how could I forget? I used to sneak into your locker and 'borrow' your library books before I even finished mine.”
Miles chuckled, shaking his head with mock exasperation. “I always use to wonder why I could never find the books I wanted to read. They'd just magically disappear, only to reappear in your bag.”
Phin nudged him with a grin. “Well, we had similar taste in books, and I just couldn't wait to find out what happened next. You were always so patient with my impatience.”
The orange light of the setting sun cast a warm glow over the room as the two friends continued to reminisce. Phin reached for another container, Miles looking over her shoulder as she opened it. Inside were two concert tickets to Dazzler and Lisa Cheney.
“This was such a random night,” Miles remarked, grabbing the tickets to take a closer look. He grinned at Phin.
Phin's cheeks flushed slightly, but she returned his smile. “It was a bit…unexpected.”
Miles chuckled, his memory unfolding like a movie scene. “Yeah, I remember you practically dragging me there because you didn't want to go alone.”
Phin's eyes widened with a playful innocence. “What? No way! I didn't drag you. I just... suggested it, and you agreed.”
Miles raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. “Oh, come on, Phin. I remember how nervous you were when you asked me. Don’t know why though.”
Phin's blush deepened, something Miles didn’t notice, fortunately for her. The reason she’d been nervous was because the concert had been her attempt at trying to ask the boy out. It had been the last year of middle school and moving into high school, Phin had wanted to stake her claim and get Miles to view her in a different light. Obviously, it hadn’t worked.
“Alright, alright, I might have been a little nervous. But you know me, I just wanted to have a fun night out.”
Miles nodded knowingly. “Yeah, but you seemed to know every word of every song. I thought you were just a casual fan.”
Phin's laughter bubbled up, her gaze dancing with mirth. “Well, you know, I do have a secret stash of Dazzler CDs hidden away somewhere.”
Miles raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. “Oh, really? You're a closet Dazzler fan?”
Phin rolled her eyes playfully. “Okay, maybe not a closet fan. But I do enjoy their music, and I thought it would be a great chance for us to hang out.”
Miles's expression softened, a fond smile gracing his lips. “Well, I have to admit, I went ready to hate it. But by the end of the concert, I bought three CDs and a t-shirt.”
Phin laughed, her heart warming at the memory. “I know! I knew you'd enjoy it. Dazzler and Lila Cheney are pretty awesome.”
“Yes they are.” Miles agreed. He turned to look at the last box. “Only one more.”
He pulled it between him and Phin, popping it open. They were two keys sitting there, attached to chains. The two of them both reached in and pulled one out.
“Our old house keys.” Phin seemed a little in awe.
Miles’s face matched hers. “We gave these to each other so we could hang out more. Ending up just hiding messages in our rooms.”
Phin nodded, a gentle smile playing on her lips. “Yeah, we thought we were so clever. It was like our secret code.”
Miles let out a chuckle before his gaze got a bit more introspective. “I guess you could say these keys were the ultimate form of trust. A promise that we could rely on each other.”
“Yeah,” Phin softly agreed. They both sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes as they got lost in their childhood. It was eventually disturbed by the sound of Phin’s phone buzzing. She checked it before sighing at the message.
“I’m sorry Miles. I really gotta go.”
“Underground stuff?”
Phin nodded. “Those guys really can be idiots sometimes. Gotta go and make sure they don’t screw up.
“We’re still on for tomorrow night,” he asked as they walked to the front door.
“Yeah. I’ll text you and let you know where to meet me.”
Miles opened the front door, allowing Phin to take a step outside before turning to look back.
“Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” he told her.
“Actually, before I go I wanted to tell you…Thank you.”
“For what?”
Phin held up the house key she still had in her hand. “For this.”
“I mean, it’s yours. You don’t have to thank me for that. Besides, Dad’s changed the locks since then so it’s not like it works…”
“No Miles.” Phin shook her head. “I meant for reminding me what these really meant. That you’re my best friend.”
Miles stood there in slight shock, unable to say anything.
“When Rick died, it felt like I lost the last person I could really trust. And…thank you. For reminding me that’s not true. It’s nice to have someone to rely on.”
Those words warmed his heart, only for the cold, crushing wave of reality to come and wash that feeling away. Phin had told him her big secret, but he was still keeping his from her. And on top of that, he was currently lying to her so that he could join her gang, while secretly trying to stop her. Yeah, she could rely on him alright.
“Phin I…” The truth tried to fly out of Miles’s mouth. It’d been a blast hanging out with her today and it showed that she was still the same person he’d been best friends with. But as he looked at her face, the image of the Tinkerer mask flashed and it choked his words back.
“Yeah Miles?” Phin looked at him expectedly.
Miles sighed, before smiling, hoping it was far more convincing to Phin than it felt to him.
“I feel the same way. It’s been really cool reconnecting.”
Phin beamed at him.
“Yeah, it has.”
Phin seemed to debate something with herself in her mind before she sprung forward and hugged him tight, similar to the way she had on the roof.
“Thank you Miles,” she whispered to him.
“Anytime,” he whispered back, returning her embrace. Phin stepped back, a wide smile still plastered on her face.
“I’ll see you later.”
She turned and walked down the hallway, heading to the stairs. She stopped to wave at him one last time before disappearing down them.
Miles stepped back inside, closing the door behind him and leaning on it. He let his head fall back on the door, releasing a long sigh.
“Mierda. Ahora sí que lo has conseguido, Miles. ”
“Why do I still not have it, Olivia?”
Inside the head office of Hammerhead Industries, Joseph Hammerhead sat behind his desk, glaring at the woman standing before him.
Olivia had her suit on, her four tentacles fanned out behind her.
“The girl hasn’t finished it yet. And she refuses to even let me get a look!”
Hammerhead got up out of his chair and stalked around to stand right in front of Olivia. He raised himself up, glaring down at the woman.
“You told me that girl could deliver,” he hissed.
Olivia used two of her extra arms to raise herself up to look Hammerhead dead in the eye, refusing to let him intimidate her.
“And she will,” she glared back.
Hammerhead stared at her a bit longer before grunting and walking back to his seat.
“Although I will admit,” Olivia continued as he sat down. “She’s seemed…distracted recently.”
“I have no time for distractions. I want what I’m paying you for.”
“Oh, don’t you worry. I’ll make sure you get it. Besides, I'm growing tired of the girl myself.”
She smiled evilly at Hammerhead.
“You’ll get what you want. And I’ll get what I want. Then we can get rid of her. For good.”