The Urban Spider
Chapter 1
Jason MacQuil sat on the edge of a rooftop, a newspaper clutched in his hands. He was sitting in a hunched stance, his dirty hoodie blowing in the breeze, a half-eaten bagel sitting next to him. Thirty stories below, the streets of New York buzzed with activity, as the sun rose over the Manhattan skyline and the city that never slept began a new day.
Jason flipped a page in the newspaper and laughed. "A remake of Commando? Jeez, what are those Hollywood assholes smoking these days?" Chuckling, he threw the newspaper away and it went spinning off into the air.
The man then glanced down at his watch. Although it was cracked slightly, it still worked. The current time was eleven forty five.
Jason smiled. It was time. Standing up, he looked down at the city streets. The tiny dots of scurrying citizens ran back and forward, while the wailing of sirens, the honk of horns, and the sounds of drilling echoed about. The man's eyes focused on a smaller building squished between two skyscrapers.
Jason crouched on the edge of the rooftop, his hoodie flopping in the wind. He tensed, clenching his teeth, before jumping off.
The man fell through the space. The world turned into a blur around him as he plummeted. Jason squinted his eyes, grinning and get a wild whoop as he fell. He spread his arms wide and twisted himself sideways.
He fell into an alley. As the ground rose toward him, Jason spun in midair and pushed off one wall. He sprang forward and landed on the other, hands first. The man then jumped again, did a somersault and landed easily on the alley ground.
Jason glanced around. He saw a homeless man lying in a pile of garbage, a bottle of liquor in one hand. He was staring at Jason, his eyes wide.
Jason licked his lips. He slowly rose. The homeless man yelped and dropped his liquor. It shattered into pieces.
He tried to stand but tripped over a garbage bag and fell on his face. Jason slowly walked over to him and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Hey, old timer," Jason said. The homeless man looked up and screamed at him. He raised his hands, sputtering gibberish.
Jason shook his head and chuckled. "You alright there? Something wrong?"
"You…came down!" The homeless fellow squealed. "Right out of the sky! Landed without hurting yourself!"
Jason laughed. "I think you've been drinking too much, old man! I was just on my morning jog and happened to run in here to take a bit of a breather."
The homeless man stared at him. "But…but…I saw…"
"Alcohol makes you see funny things," Jason patted the homeless man on the head mockingly. "How about you try and spend what little money you got on something less destructive, eh?"
The homeless man stared at him and blinked a few times. Jason smirked, winked, and left the alley.
Emerging onto the city street, Jason skipped down the sidewalk, whistling to himself. As he walked, he scanned his surroundings carefully. He saw a large truck parked at the end of the sidewalk, a couple of kids drawing pictures with chalk on the pavement, and a flock of pigeons tearing apart a loaf of bread. But no cops…at least none he could see.
Jason stopped at the end of the block, still whistling. He looked up and saw the building before him he had seen from the rooftop. The words, "BANK OF AMERICA" were posted on it in big, bold letters.
Jason whistled louder.
His eyes looked inside. He could see a line of people standing before the counters, two service reps calling the next person up. Two security guards hung out in the corners, their arms folded. Both looked tired and bored.
Jason grinned. This would be too easy.
The man opened the bank door and trotted inside. He approached the first security guard. The man eyed him, clearly not liking his dress style.
"G'day mate," Jason said in a poor Australian accent. "Mind if I ask you a question?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "I suppose so. What do you want-"
Jason punched the guard in the face. The man went flying backward and smashed into the wall. He fell forward and slumped to the floor, blood dripping from the back of his head and mouth.
Jason turned and faced the crowd of people. Some screamed, some just stared in shock. Jason's eyes went to the second security guard. He was reaching for his taser.
Jason sprang forward. He jumped over the crowd and shot across the room. The guard drew the taser but Jason grabbed his arm and twisted. There was a crack and the man screamed. Jason then grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up, and slammed him to the floor.
The guard lay there, stunned. Jason snatched up his taser and fired it. The electric surge zapped the fallen man and he writhed on the floor for a few seconds before falling still. Jason dropped it and said, "Stay down, big fella'."
Jason turned back to the crowd and saw they were fleeing for the exits. He laughed but didn't pursue. Let them run. It was easier to manage a smaller group of hostages rather than a whole group.
Jason darted over to the window and waved at the rep inside. The man on the other side of the glass was a portly, middle-aged fellow, who stared back at Jason, panic stricken. He raised a shaking finger and stammered, "Oh my god…your him! T-the Urban Spider!"
The thief grinned. "Good to be recognized." He then raised one hand and slammed it against the glass.
The glass cracked but didn't break. The service rep screamed and fell out of his chair. Jason blinked and looked at his hand then back at the glass.
"Huh," He muttered. "Strong glass."
He wound up his fist, pulling it far back, before swinging it hard again at the window. This time, the glass shattered into pieces. The Urban Spider cheered before leaping through the broken window.
He landed next to the overweight service rep. The man shrieked and tried to rise but Jason grabbed his collar and yanked him back.
"Not so fast, fat boy," Jason said. He drew a box cutter out of his jacket and held it to the man's throat. The man froze. "You gotta do something for me."
"W-w-what do you want?" The man sputtered, his whole body quivering. The Urban Spider smiled and pulled him to his feet.
"I want into the vault," Jason said. "And you'll get me in. Won't you?"
The man was silent. The Urban Spider laughed and pressed the box cutter harder against the fellow's throat. "Or you could say no and I can cut you open and get a lifetime supply of marshmellows. Choose quick."
"A-alright sir," The man stammered. "F-follow me."
Jason nodded and lowered the box cutter but kept it out. The man walked forward, pushing open the door at the back of hallway. The Urban Spider followed.
They entered into a metallic looking room. A giant vault door stood before them, a keypad next to it. Several employees cowered in the corner and cowered fearfully upon seeing Jason.
Jason gave them a little wave, making sure they saw his box cutter. He pointed at the keypad and said to the fat man, "Welp, chop chop!"
The man slowly approached the keypad. His finger shaking, he entered a code in. The keypad beeped and there was a loud click. The door to the vault opened.
The man turned, opening his mouth to say something, but Jason strode forward and slammed his fist into the man's stomach. The man was thrown back and smashed to the floor, gasping and sputtering. The Urban Spider strode into the bank vault.
Jason's eyes opened wide. Before him lay mountains of cash, all ready to pluck. The Urban Spider giggled, rubbing his hands together, before leaping forward. Reaching into his pants, he took out a rolled up plastic bag and began shoving in as much cash as the bag could carry.
Once the bag was full to bursting, the spider slug it over his shoulder. He skipped out of the vault and waved to the cowering staff.
"See ya' on the flipside," He said, before running back to the entrance. But when he got there, Jason screeched to a halt.
Outside were three police cars, their sirens blaring. Jason swore, as the megaphone enhanced voice of a police officer echoed into the bank.
"This is the police! Come out with your hands up!"
"No thanks," Jason muttered. He clutched the bag of money to his side and tensed himself. The officers were starting to count down but he wasn't listening.
Jason charged forward, jumping up and smashing feet first through the door. He crashed onto the street and hit the sidewalk hard. He grabbed the concrete with one hand and was jerked to a stop, sticking there.
The Urban Spider glanced up. He saw the police aiming guns at him. They raised their pistols and yelled at him to surrender.
Jason crouched and leaped up instead. He bounded through the air and lunged out, snatching the side of the building. The Urban Spider was yanked forward and slammed against the wall. He hung on tight with one hand, pressing his feet against the wall.
Shots rang out. Bullets struck the wall below him, just missing him. Jason pressed off the wall hard and did a backflip. He crashed through the window, flying into an apartment.
The spider hit the floor and rolled several feet before whacking into something. He jumped up, raising a fist and saw he was next to a table. Two people stared down at him, both of them naked and holding spoon fulls of soup.
Jason saluted them. "Howdy! Don't mind me. Just passing through." He leaped up and darted across the apartment. The Urban Spider kicked the door down, sending it flying off its hinges. He shot down the hallway and ran to the stairs.
The thief shot up the stairs like a rocket, reaching the roof. He emerged into the sunlight, his bag of cash slamming his side, and looked around. He could hear police sirens down below, blaring.
Jason glanced over the edge and saw a squadron of cop cars pulling up around the building. He frowned. These assholes never gave up.
The Urban Spider looked across the rooftops. He looked at the bag of cash in his arm. With one arm, he was handicapped and not able to jump from roof to roof easily. The cops, dumb as they were, might actually catch him in this state.
"Fuck," Jason muttered. With that, he hurled the bag of money off the roof. Dollars bills went flying everywhere and fell away into space.
Jason spat at the cop cars and yelled, "You happy? Fucking assholes! There, take it! Have at it, jackasses!"
Cursing loudly, the Urban Spider jumped off the rooftop and fell away into space. Another robbery ruined.
