The hotel room felt stifling. Ethan sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at his phone screen as the morning sunlight streamed weakly through the curtains.
His eyelids felt like sandpaper. His brain still buzzed faintly from the caffeine he'd mainlined last night.
'Tuesday morning,' he thought, rubbing his eyes. 'Yeah, school's not happening today.'
With a resigned sigh, he tapped into the RFID system he'd embedded in Peter's card. A few lines of code later, his screen lit up with location data.
Gotcha.
Now that he knew where to go, he hit the dial button.
It rang twice before Peter's voice came through, low and tight.
"Yeah? Hello?"
"Good morning, Peter," Ethan said mildly. "You sound like you slept about as well as I did."
Silence.
"I figured out which hospital you took Aunt May to," Ethan continued. "Felicia and I will stop by soon. We'll discuss the plan I mentioned yesterday."
Peter's voice softened, but only slightly. "Fine."
"Great. Don't pace too much before we get there."
Ethan hung up before Peter could retort.
Next, he called Felicia. "Good morning."
She answered on the first ring, her tone light and playful. "Morning, boss. You sound like death warmed over."
"Thanks for noticing. Also, we're partners, so I'm no one's boss."
"Relax, it's a joke. So, what's the plan? Spider's in a bad place right now. I managed to talk him down yesterday, but if you fail to make him agree today, I don't think I'll be able to stop him again."
"I know. There's a cafe near the hospital," Ethan said. "Meet me there in thirty. I'll tell you there."
"Sure thing. I'll grab you a coffee if you promise not to fall asleep mid-plan."
"Tempting offer, but I'll get my own."
Ethan walked through the crisp morning air, his bag slung lazily over one shoulder. Every few steps, he rubbed his temple, trying to shake off the fuzziness lingering in his head.
The cafe came into view. Through the window, he spotted Felicia already seated, sipping from a tall paper cup.
"Early as ever," Ethan murmured as he stepped inside.
Felicia smirked up at him. "I was already in the neighborhood. You look rough, like you fought a small war last night."
"I did," Ethan replied, heading to the counter.
He ordered a coffee—black, no sugar—and joined her at the table.
Felicia watched him take his first sip. "Better?"
"Barely functional," Ethan muttered.
When his phone buzzed, he answered and gave Peter calm, precise directions.
"Third cafe on the left from the hospital entrance. You'll see a mural of a fox on the window. That's us."
"Fine," Peter said curtly, then hung up.
When Peter walked in fifteen minutes later, he looked calmer than the night before. But Ethan noticed the faint tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers twitched slightly as he stepped toward the table.
"Morning," Ethan said.
Peter nodded stiffly, sliding into the chair across from them.
"Want a drink? My treat," Ethan offered.
Peter didn't answer, his gaze sharp and watchful.
Ethan chuckled softly. "Since you're so eager, I won't waste any more time."
He drained the last of his coffee, set the cup aside, and leaned forward slightly.
"Alright. Here's the picture," Ethan began, his tone shifting subtly. Gone was the tired teenager—this voice was cool, assured, and precise.
"For days, I've been studying Oscorp's internal networks, boardroom politics, and Norman Osborn's personal habits. This plan is the culmination of all of it. The goal is threefold:
Cripple Norman financially and politically.
Steal Oscorp's proprietary data for our use.
This last one is a recent addition, but it's to make Norman too busy protecting his empire to even think about Peter—or anyone he cares about.
To do that, we'll need to infiltrate Oscrop and carry out a three-phase operation."
Peter's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't interrupt. Felicia leaned back in her chair, swirling her drink with mild interest.
"Phase One: Digital Sabotage."
"I'll plant falsified records in Norman's personal servers. These will suggest Oscorp was considering selling and has previously sold bioweapons to hostile nations—Latveria, Madripoor, Symkaria. I have reason to believe he does so; I'll also fabricate evidence of bribes and hush money to regulators.
At the same time, I'll create a fake 'whistleblower' scientist ready to leak this material to journalists and watchdog groups. This will put him in the spotlight, and when he's investigated, they'll disregard my fake data and find the real."
"Phase Two: Triple Infiltration."
"Peter, you'll be escorting Felicia through Oscorp's high-security areas. I'll leave it up to you to neutralize guards non-lethally, plant surveillance bugs, and gather photographic evidence of illegal experiments for later exposure.
Felicia, you'll deploy my auto-hack payload drives that I'll make tomorrow in their R&D divisions to copy all critical data. Once extraction is complete, the worm I designed will erase our tracks and delete Oscorp's backups.
I'll also work remotely to hack Norman's private accounts, making it look like he's laundering money. This will trigger IRS and FBI investigations."
"Phase Three: Orchestrated Exposure."
"After we pull out, we'll leak Oscorp's darkest secrets to SHIELD, the FBI, and select journalists like Ben Urich.
The result will be that Oscorp's stock tanks. Shareholders panic. Norman goes on full defensive mode. And you—" Ethan gestured to Peter—"can finally breathe without wondering if he'll come for you or your family."
Ethan leaned back, his fingers steepled.
"It's not just sabotage. It's psychological warfare. Norman will suspect his own people, turn paranoid, and burn his resources fighting ghosts."
Peter's jaw tightened. "You're sure no innocent employees get caught in the crossfire?"
"Positive," Ethan said smoothly. "This plan targets only Norman and his inner circle. The commercial divisions remain untouched."
Felicia smirked. "Sounds like you've been sitting on this plan for months if not years."
Ethan's lips curved faintly. "Timing is everything."
As the words left his mouth, Ethan fought the yawn creeping up his throat. He covered it smoothly with a sip of coffee, but Felicia raised an eyebrow.
"You sure you're not going to pass out mid-heist?" she teased.
Ethan smirked. "Wouldn't be the first time I pulled something off running on fumes."
Peter didn't laugh, but the sharpness in his eyes softened just slightly.
"Any questions?" Ethan asked, his tone calm but firm.
Peter's lips pressed into a thin line. Then, finally, he nodded.
"Not yet. But if this goes wrong—"
"It won't. Don't worry, I just gave a quick overview. When I'm planning it out, it'll be more detailed," Ethan said, his voice cold and certain.
For a moment, the three of them sat in silence, the weight of the plan settling over the table like a heavy fog.