“Ring, ring——”
“Hello, this is the Daily Bugle.
Do you need something…”
“Forget that.
Get the broadcast van to Fifth Avenue right now.
Witnesses spotted people suspected to be Thunderbolts members operating in the area.”
“There’s a building fire in Manhattan!
Send a reporter to the scene and get coverage immediately!”
39th Street, Second Avenue, New York.
Daily Bugle headquarters.
Figures hurried through the corridors of the 46-story newspaper building, phones ringing from one desk to the next.
Inside the office, Daily Bugle employees worked without slowing down, but the tension on their faces was impossible to hide.
Unease hung over the newsroom, turning every whispered conversation into something heavier.
News that the newspaper was about to be acquired had spread like wildfire.
J.
Jonah Jameson, the Daily Bugle’s founder and boss, had remained silent in the face of the rumors, and that silence only made them more believable.
Everyone knew Jameson’s temper.
He was not the kind of man who backed down easily, much less watched his newspaper slip out of his hands without putting up a fight.
So with the rumors racing through the office, there was only one explanation for his silence: the rumors were true.
Now that the acquisition had been tacitly accepted as fact, everyone at the Daily Bugle understood that the newspaper changing hands was only a matter of time.
The only questions left were when it would happen and who would be taking over.
…
“…So, Mr.
Wilson, could you tell me why you’ve decided to run for mayor this time?
We all know you’re already a successful businessman, but mayor, especially the mayor of New York City?”
Inside the studio, Ben Urich, a veteran reporter for the newspaper, conducted the interview.
He glanced down at the question card in his hand before raising his eyes to the tall man sitting across from him on the sofa.
“Are you really ready?”
“Of course.”
On the sofa, Wilson Fisk, or rather Kingpin, casually adjusted the slightly crooked collar pin on the lapel of his white suit.
He nodded toward the camera with a faint smile and gave his answer.
The campaign image crafted by his professional team had been carefully designed to soften the pressure created by Kingpin’s massive frame.
Combined with the respectable public image he had built over the years, the moment he announced his candidacy, he quickly became one of the leading contenders in this year’s New York City mayoral election.
Even in a recent poll jointly conducted by the Daily Bugle and Emerson College, Kingpin had earned an approval rating of 19%.
That was more than twice his score from the same poll a week earlier, putting him narrowly in second place among the candidates.
There was another reason his numbers had climbed so sharply.
His long-standing public image certainly helped, but the recently exposed sexual harassment scandal involving the former Director of the New York City Department of Sanitation had played an even bigger role.
Voters disgusted by the scandal turned their anger toward the former Director and threw their support behind Kingpin, sending his numbers soaring within a single week and pushing him into the front ranks of the New York City mayoral race.
“As for your question about why I’m running for mayor…”
The interview continued inside the studio.
Kingpin lowered his eyes toward the reporter sitting across from him.
Then he leaned forward slightly, his enormous frame casting a shadow over the space between them, and lowered his voice.
“You know, Ben Urich, my childhood wasn’t pleasant.
As far back as I can remember, every day was filled with gunfire and gang warfare.
In the end, even my father died on the streets during a gang shootout.”
He paused for a moment.
“…That kind of childhood left a deep mark on me.
It also taught me how cruel the law of the jungle could be.
From that point on, I wanted to change my life.
I didn’t want to end up following the same path as my father.”
Kingpin’s voice remained calm as he continued.
“So I worked hard to change my circumstances.
In the end, with my own hands, I ‘started from scratch’ and built my own ‘business empire.'”
Sitting directly across from reporter Ben Urich, Kingpin smoothly recounted the entrepreneurial journey his campaign team had polished and carefully rewritten.
The story caught everyone’s attention.
Then, without giving Urich a chance to interrupt, Kingpin smoothly shifted the conversation toward his campaign platform.
“It is precisely because I had such a childhood that I understand the darkness hidden within New York City.
I grew up here.
I know the city’s crime problem better than most.
Our police system needs stronger reform.
We cannot keep relying on so-called ‘vigilantes’ to protect us…”
“Oh?
From what you’re saying, Mr.
Wilson, it sounds like you don’t support the superhero trend sweeping across New York City?”
Ben Urich caught the scent of a headline and immediately pressed the point.
Kingpin noticed the probing look in Urich’s eyes and sneered inwardly.
His expression, however, remained calm as he answered cooperatively.
“You misunderstand me, Ben Urich.
I’m not against all superheroes.
Registered groups like the Thunderbolts may carry the title of superheroes, but they’re still operating under the supervision of the Federal Government.”
His voice remained measured.
“What I oppose are those civilian ‘vigilantes’ who call themselves ‘superheroes’ while refusing to accept registered supervision.
In recent years, they’ve become one of the main factors behind New York City’s rising crime rate…”
The twenty-minute live television interview came to an end without a hitch.
Ben Urich took the initiative to extend his hand toward Kingpin.
“Mr.
Wilson, I look forward to seeing you become mayor.”
“Thank you, Ben Urich.”
Kingpin extended his thick, broad palm and briefly shook the reporter’s hand.
A smile remained on his face as he accepted the blessing.
“I look forward to that day as well.”
…
At the same time, at the fire scene, thick smoke rolled through the streets.
Screams mixed with the urgent wail of fire engines as the on-site camera transmitted the chaos directly to viewers watching from home.
“…As you can see, the firefighters who arrived at the scene are working hard to bring the blaze under control.
They’re doing everything they can to keep the fire from spreading…”
“The cause of the disaster remains unknown.
However, according to residents who escaped the building, the fire appears to have started on the top floor of the residential building.
By the time many residents heard the cries for help, the flames had already begun spreading downward from the upper floors, showing just how quickly the fire consumed the building.”
The reporter’s voice tightened as another burst of smoke billowed behind him.
“Right now, all we can do is pray that the firefighters can rescue the victims still trapped inside…”
“…This has been Daily Bugle reporter Colin Luper, bringing you the latest report from the scene of the fire!”