The Assassination of Hank Pym by the Coward David Cannon: Part Three.
Brooklyn, New York
From his window David watched as the police helicopters swooped over his apartment building and headed towards the Brooklyn Bridge. They had been searching for Whirlwind all day and, more than likely, they would continue doing so until some other super-villain killed a couple of cops on the other side of town. The problem with the police, especially in a city as big as New York, was that they were too reactionary. It was bad enough dealing with normal criminals like that, next to impossible to handle super-criminals that way.
“… Not bad for an hour’s work.”
Cannon placed his hands on his helmet and slowly removed it from his head, throwing it to the floor and smiling as he admired the two large sacks of money he had acquired earlier in the day. It would take some days to successfully launder it all and clear out the marked bills, but he had more than enough money sitting in front of him to destroy Hank Pym with. He intended to upgrade his armor before the next met which meant a visit to Phineas Mason was in order, but until then he would have to sit tight and plan his next move.
“I have to admit, you always did know how to put on a show…”
Yellowjacket was back. Whoever it was under that mask had helped him plan the job he had pulled off this morning. The man wandered around the small apartment, stepping over discarded pieces of pizza and empty beer cans as he did so. He ran his finger along the walls of the apartment, touching the pictures of Janet Van Dyne affectionately as he passed each one.
“I take it you’re here for your cut,” Cannon said with a grin, as he reached into one of the bags. “Surprised it took you this long.”
“Why don’t you hold onto that for me? There’ll be plenty more where that came from. Let’s just hope Pym saw it…”
David shrugged his shoulders and sat himself on the couch. He kicked the pizza boxes away from the top of the coffee table and rested his feet on them nonchalantly, then placed his interlocking fingers behind his head. He thought for a moment that only one night ago he had sat in the same position ready to blow his own brains out; ready to leave this world whilst that coward, Henry Pym, still drew breath. Pym had let Janet die. He had failed her as a man and a husband, like Cannon had told her he would. Oh, how they held him up and revered Pym now, but Cannon was ready to expose him as the false prophet he was. The people would thank him, after he ended Pym’s sorry life. They would thank him of ridding the world of a cowardly, woman-beater like him.
“You really think that coward will come all the way across the country for little old me?”
Yellowjacket reached into his utility belt and removed several pictures, which he threw onto the coffee table next to David’s feet. The first was of a young black male that he did not recognize, David turned the picture over and read the name scrawled on the back, which brought a faint smile to his face. The second he recognized straight away as Tigra, having butted heads with the Avengers more than his fair share of times he was aware of her links with Pym. The last picture, even with the name scrawled on the back, was a mystery to him.
“I’m counting on it.”
The Assassination of Hank Pym by the Coward David Cannon: Part Four.
Staten Island, New York
It had taken Pym several hours in the Avengers Quinjet to get to New York but he was finally there. The first stop was obvious. According to the Avengers database Leonard Samson had worked with Cannon a few months ago before his last breakout from The Raft. If there was anyone that understood what had driven him off the deep end, it was Samson. Leonard Samson was the finest psychiatric mind the world had to offer and, to little surprise, his insight into super-human behavior was was unparalleled. Samson had even helped Pym understand and overcome his own demons once upon a time.
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it was an emergency,” Hank said in a low voice. “More than anyone, Leonard, I know the merit of the work you do.”
Leonard was sat in an expensive leather chair behind his desk, whilst Pym stood in front of the window and stared out across the New York skyline. Samson sighed as he grappled with Pym’s request. David Cannon, as Samson’s patient, had a right to confidentiality but Whirlwind, the super-villain endangering people’s lives, did not. He took a sip of his coffee, reached into his draw and revealed a file with a picture of Whirlwind on the front before he began speaking.
“David has always been a troubled individual. You know that much from your own experiences with him. He’s obsessive, increasingly violent and, as of the last session we had, seems to be projecting all of his anger onto a single person: you. David’s unhealthy obsession with Janet did not disappear when she left us, Hank. He simply redirected it. In doing so, it appears his obsession has become magnified. The feelings of anger and of betrayal, in turn, have become more intense.”
“... And that explains the uncharacteristic brutality he employed during the bank robbery?”
Whirlwind had never been a stranger to violence. But, for as long as Pym had known him, it had always been a means rather than an end. The footage of Cannon’s attack wasn’t shocking to Hank because of the level of violence, he had seen much worse in his time as an Avenger. What was troubling about it was that Whirlwind had only ever been concerned with the money, he had been that way since he had called himself the Human Top, but this time he seemed to have thrown his modus operandi out of the window.
“Exactly,” Samson nodded, he cleared his throat slightly before continuing in a diplomatic tone.
“As the object of his obsession, you could be feeling some responsibility for David and his recent actions… I would suggest that you leave his apprehension to someone else. The less contact David has with you, the better, Hank.”
“You don’t understand…” Hank said.
He rested his arm against the glass and turned his face towards Samson.
“Time and time again, I’ve bumped heads with Whirlwind. Believe it or not, he was one of the first super-villains I encountered after becoming Ant-Man. Every time we’ve sent him to The Raft one way or another he’s fallen through the cracks and ended up worse than the time before. He needs to be brought to justice, Leonard, but he also needs help. It wouldn’t feel right for me to leave this to someone else to deal with.”
Samson understood better than Hank imagined. Pym saw himself, Leonard had failed to ascertain whether it was conscious or not, as Victor Frankenstein. He was caught in a never-ending battle with the guilt he felt about creating a monster of his own in Ultron. With Whirlwind, Pym feared that in failing to protect Janet he had unleashed another monster upon the world. Samson could tell from Pym’s eyes that he had no intention of staying away from Cannon, that he would leave his practice and pursue Cannon if it took him to the ends of the Earth. He would be damned if he would let him face that alone.
“You are nothing if not stubborn, Dr. Pym. Fine then, if you insist upon ignoring my advice… I must insist upon helping you.”
