Chapter Two: Paying It Forward
As expected, reaching Bayville was the easy part. With no money and no background, it was going to be a hard scramble for survival. No food, no shelter, and a face that, if anyone did recognize… it would bring questions and trouble that neither he nor his original really needed. What he needed was work. The kind that paid in cash and that didn't ask too many questions. It would have been so easy to use his skills to obtain the money he needed but that simply was not an option. He wouldn't be a criminal, EVER.
Luckily, Dennis Matthews had a connection to a day labor job. It wasn't much and ditch-digging might not be glamorous or make one rich, but it beat scrounging through the trash behind markets and restaurants for enough scraps to eat. Plus he could use the money after food for some essential supplies. It wasn't as if he needed the money for a date after all. Sadly he hadn't forgotten about MJ, he knew he had quite possibly never even met the girl but the vision of her was burned deep into his dreams.
At the end of the first back-breaking day, the foreman; a solid, broad-shouldered man in his fifties, approached him with a smile. "You did well out there today kid." He handed over sixty dollars for the day's pay. "Do you plan on sticking around?"
"Maybe. Not like I have anywhere else I have to be. I think I'll see what turns up here."
The foreman looked at him quizzically. "Well, if you want the work, be here tomorrow at eight-thirty.''
"Eight-thirty... Right..." He said as the foreman frowned noticing the kid wasn't wearing a watch.
"Kid..." The foreman sighed. "Come on... Dennis told me a little about your circumstances and my wife Hannah is making pot roast. When's the last time you had a decent meal son?"
Thinking back when he left Queens yesterday he didn't have a chance to grab anything like food just a few pieces of clothes.
"Too long..." He admitted. "Sir... I don't want to be an inconvenience."
"The workday is officially over. So you can stop with the sir. The name is William Brown. You can call me Mr. Brown. After thirty years in the Navy, I haven't been called 'sir' and I don't want it to start now.
Even then I did exactly what you and were doin' today. I've worked for a living son. As for an inconvenience... Hell! Don't even consider something like that. I owe someone out there and I don't expect I'll get the chance to pay 'im back so I'm paying it forward.
"Now when I introduce you to my wife I gotta call you something other than 'Kid' so what do I call you?"
"Ben... Ben Reilly." He had decided on the name yesterday. Ben for his uncle and Reilly was the maiden name of his aunt. As much as he wanted to separate himself from 'Peter' they shared past and he didn't want to throw it away. So, he decided to keep a small part of his former life.
"Nice to meet you, Ben Reilly.'' Brown pointed to an old Plymouth Roadrunner. He could tell that it had lovingly been restored and maintained by its current owner. "Get in Ben, and buckle up." He grinned as the old car was his only real vice. "I've been known to have a heavy foot when I'm in a good mood and today has been pretty good." Mr. Brown said with a smile
Ben got in and fastened his seat-belt.
Mr. Brown had gotten a gleam in his eyes as he turned the ignition on, as the old car roared to life he looked at Ben and excitedly said, "Houston we are a go!"
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Watching from across the street, Seward Trainer frowned. This could make his job harder. Still, there was nothing to be done about it but roll with it. He needed to find a motel. It looked like he was going to be there a while.
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The first stop for Will and Ben was the local 'S' mart Mr. Brown told him not to use the money he'd made today, Ben was going to protest but the older man wouldn't have any of it. Ben decided to pick up a cheap digital watch, some clean socks, and underwear as well as some deodorant. Being stinky wasn't really the weapon he wanted to fight crime with. He asked Mr. Brown if he could pick up some hair dye, a shaving kit, and a comb.
"Hair dye?" Brown asked with interest. "You hiding from someone, Ben?"
"No... Not really... But a little while ago I ran into a bad case of mistaken identity. I don't know what that other me did but somebody is pretty mad at him... That's when I got my watch and wallet taken." He added. "I'm kinda hoping to avoid repeating that particular day if I can help it." Ben didn't really like lying to such a nice guy, but it was necessary. He needed more than just one way to not be mistaken as Peter Parker. Dying his hair was pretty much the limit he was willing to go, and he needed that distinction immediately.
"Can't say I blame you. The same thing almost happened to my son."
"Oh? What happened? Uh... If it isn't prying too much..."
"Nah..." Will waved it off. "My son John is a lot smarter in the head than his old man see... So he's a student at ESU in New York. Well, he's a good boy and way smarter than me in the books but he's not exactly street smart. Last fall he took his girlfriend out on a date and this guy came up and asked for a couple of dollars. John being the nice guy he is pulled out his wallet and next thing you know the fella had a knife... Then he noticed the guy had two friends with him, see...?
Now if it was me at his age, I coulda beat the crap outta all three of 'em! But I'd taught my son to think through his problems. Muscle only gets you so far… So he never became what you would call a fighter. He tosses down his wallet to show he ain't gonna give them no trouble and then one of the guys makes a grab at his girl. Now one of the things I instilled into my son was, respect for women and so he takes an exception stepping between her and this guy… So the fella comes at him with the knife and 'Bam!' This Spiderman guy they keep showing in the papers showed up, it's all over in thirty seconds. All three of the creeps are out cold and trussed like Christmas Turkeys… Thankfully I still have my son.
"That's one of the reasons I'm doing this Ben, every day we see things we know aren't right and we let them go 'cause it ain't our problem and someone else take care of it. 'Cept it was because someone decided it was his problem… that I didn't lose ma' son that night. I'll never be able to repay that back to him, but I owe him now. My father taught me always to pay my obligations and this is where I start paying a little of that debt."
Ben listened with rapt interest. "Why do you think he does it?"
"Hmmm?"
"Spider-Man... Why do you think he does what he does? It seems like he gets a lot of grief for all his troubles."
"Well..." The older man paused as he inspected a Lily that he was thinking about getting his wife. "I 'spect it's because he knows what it's like to be the victim. But who knows?... But I'd bet money on it. He's been where you are now. Life punched him square in the gut and this is his answer."
"I thought you said you weren't much of a book learner professor...?" Reilly teased fondly.
"I'm not, but my wife reads. And I may have picked up a book or two when I wasn't getting up to my elbows in grease... Some interesting stuff even for an old gear head like myself. Now let's get going... We'll stop over at the value shack and find you some more clothes and then you'll get to have the best meal you've had in a 'coon's age.''