Jessica Jones and Ben Urich are in J. Jonah Jameson’s office at the Daily Bugle. Joe Robertson is also in attendance. Jessica is angry after all that’s been going on, that Jameson is turning his back on her. He attempts to explain why he’s brought her back there, but she is too furious to listen, telling him he is dead to her. He folds his arms and patiently waits for her rant to end. She asks if he knows how many awful things she’s heard about him over the years; how many disgusting things she’s heard. He doesn’t reply, and Jessica ends her tirade by informing him that they’re all true.
She storms out of the office, followed by Ben Urich, who is asked by Jameson to, “Get the crazy pregnant woman and bring her back.” Kat Farrell sees her and grabs her coat, but Ben tells her he’s got it. Back in the office, Jameson tells Joe that she’s not fired, but Joe reckons she’s beaten him to it. “Nick Fury,” exclaims Jameson.
Ben catches up to Jessica, and she asks why no one will help her find Luke. He’s all she cares about. Kat has followed anyway, and asks her when she last saw Luke. Jessica asks if she’ll help, and Kat agrees, if she gets to share the byline. Ben notices someone across the street looking at them, and calls over to him. The man doesn’t move when Ben storms over and asks what he wants. “Hi Ben,” the man replies. Ben asks him what he’s doing there, but before he can answer, Jessica asks who he is. He introduces himself as Al MacKenzie, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. He’s been impressed with Jessica, especially when she refused a boatload of dough to get green with Hydra. Jessica isn’t interested in his niceties. She charges him and knocks him backwards into piles of newspapers.
She demands to know Luke’s whereabouts. MacKenzie asks her to stop making a spectacle. He’s a level nine S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Her super-powers not withstanding, he can take her down in two moves, though he doesn’t make it a habit to hit women - or pregnant women. He explains that he was just about to tell her that everything is okay now. They’re keeping Luke upstate. Who? she asks. “You got a pen?” replies Al.
(later)
Jessica, Ben and Kat arrive by car at their destination. It’s a bar called The Locust. Evening is drawing in as they prepare to head inside. Ben is skeptical that Luke will be there, but Jessica opens the door anyway. Inside, there are plenty of guys drinking or playing pool. Everyone turns to look at her, but she continues through the bar undeterred. She walks into the red-lit back room and notices Logan sitting at a table, alone, nursing a beer or three.
“Wolverine? Right?” Logan asks what now. Logan has had a few drinks and is slightly drunk. He tells Jessica she smells great. He stands, and Jessica asks him to back off. Logan asks if he knows her, ‘cause he wants to. Jessica replies that she has a boyfriend, and he’ll kick his ass. Logan puts his arm against the wall and leans into her. “Ha! Oh yeah? What’s his name?” Jessica replies that it’s Luke Cage. Logan stands upright. He clearly knows who Luke is.
He heads back to his drinks, as Jessica asks where Luke is. Logan gives up, and asks her where he is. Jessica throws her head back, thinking those snakes in S.H.I.E.L.D. lied to her. They lied right to her face. Logan asks her what she’s talking about. She explains that something happened with Nick Fury and now her boyfriend is missing. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent told her to go there, and that Luke was safe. Instead, she finds him there.
Upon hearing the names Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., Logan slams his glass down on the table and orders her to leave. “No more S.H.I.E.L.D.! No more Fury! No more Hydra with the hands. No more. Stop raping me! All of you!! Stop raping me!” Surprised at his outburst, Jessica manages to remains calm and apologizes. Logan destroys the table and tells her to shut up. He pops his claws and approaches her. He holds them right up to her face and asks if she feels sorry for him. Jessica looks at the claws and is petrified. Logan sees the fear in her eyes and, slowly, his rage begins to subside as he slides backwards into his chair. He looks like a broken man.
He tries to regain his composure and then tells Jessica that, every day of his life, his mind or body is raped by somebody. Always trying to get him to do something he don’t wanna do. He wonders what’s with this damn world that people would do this to him, over and over. Jessica is joined by Ben and Kat, and they can’t help but feel sorry for him. Looking at the floor, Logan tells them that they can’t tell from looking at him, but he’s not usually the self-pitying type.
Kat asks why they are there. Ben reminds her that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent has been trying to get him to throw Nick Fury under the bus - in print. He’s screwing with him. He doesn’t know why he’s sent them there. Logan then suggests that maybe their mystery agent wanted them to meet with him in order to piss him off, so that he’d lose it enough so that he’d go and try to kill Fury. They know that, after all the crap he’s been through, he wants to. It would put everyone out of his misery. They want him dead for what he’s done and, in theory, they ain’t wrong.
Kat asks what he did. She removes a notebook from her jacket and asks if he wants to go on the record. Logan snarls at her before brushing past them. He hopes they find Cage. He’s a good guy, and he only knows four of ‘em. Jessica tells Logan it isn’t him - it’s them. Logan turns, and lets her know she’ll find him. There aren’t that many places a sick super hero can hide safely. Ben’s eyes light up when he hears this. “Oh my God,” he exclaims, “I… I know where Luke is.
(later)
It’s dark now and, as they approach a building in a quiet part of town, Ben asks them to let him do the talking. This place is a secret. This is where heroes can come and get bandaged up; no questions asked. Kat asks how he knows about the place. He asks how she thinks he knows. “Your pal, Daredevil?” she asks. Ben asks them to let him do the talking. A sign in the window reads, ‘Night Medical Center.’
Inside, they climb the stairways and Jessica peers into a room. Suddenly, a sword is pointed at her throat, which stops her in her tracks. “Not one more step.” Jessica finds herself flanked by several people, all armed with either a sword or a sai. She recognizes Misty Knight, who tells her to stop talking when she tries to say that it’s her. Standing at the back is Danny Rand, and he asks Jessica to leave. He then asks his people to get her out, but not to manhandle her. They can’t hurt the baby. Jessica is astonished, and once again reiterates that it’s her, Jessica. Danny replies that, if it is her, then they can’t have her there. They have to keep Luke safe. That’s all that matters. He says that Captain America told him to get Luke away from the hospital, so he did. “Now leave.”
Misty tries to pull Jessica back, but she is determined to get to the bottom of things. Danny tells her that Luke is his brother. He doesn’t know her. He asks how he should know her. They had dinner? He asks if she knows how dangerous their lives are; how few people they can trust? Since the first second they put on their costumes as Power Man and Iron Fist, that was it for them as far as trusting strangers goes. Everyone is an enemy on days like this, he adds. In his eyes, in this situation, Jessica is just a girl he knows, and he doesn’t know where she came from.
He continues to say that all he knows is that Luke is in danger, and he doesn’t know her well enough to trust that she isn’t part of the problem. Jessica replies that he may be Luke’s brother, but her baby is his. “Says you,” replies Danny, coldly. Jessica can’t believe he just said that. Danny looks at her, but doesn’t seem likely to give. He is insistent on not letting her in, but Misty steps forward and asks him to allow her through. She reckons he hasn’t slept, and this is making him goofy. Danny bows his head, and the nurse tells Jessica he’s in the room on the right.
She finds Luke alive and seemingly out of danger in a hospital bed. They say hi to each other, and Luke asks about the baby. Jessica assures him she’s fine, and Luke is pleased. The baby is all that matters. Jessica begins to cry, and Luke turns and says, “Hey… didn’t you used to be a tougher broad?” Jessica tells him she loves him so much. Luke replies that this is the first time he’s heard her say that. He loves her too, and he’s not just saying it because she did. He asks if Danny is taking care of her. She looks round to see Danny leaning against the door frame. “Yeah,” she answers.
Suddenly, an amber glow fills the room, and a holographic image of Nick Fury appears. He is in uniform, and he informs them that he’s broadcasting from a few blocks away, so he doesn’t cause them any more grief. He says that he just wanted to make sure they all made it, and that their baby made it. Jessica asks if he can hear her. Fury replies that he can. Jessica then points at him and tells him to get the $%#@ out of their lives. Fury says he was about to do that, but just wanted to say how sorry he is that this happened. They’re good people.
Jessica asks what exactly happened. He tells her that she’ll find out soon enough now that the cat’s out of the bag. They won’t be hearing from him again; no one will. With that, the image disappears, leaving Jessica to wonder what on Earth that meant.
(the Daily Bugle)
J. Jonah Jameson holds up tomorrow’s potential front page. Nick Fury’s face is on the cover along with a story of his secret war hitting New York City. Joe Robertson reminds Jonah that, if they publish this, they could end up in a war - a world war - and they won’t know why he did it. Jonah can’t take his eyes off the cover. This is a major scoop, but he knows the implications of running with it.
(morning)
A newsstand has a copy of the Daily Bugle. The cover has Spider-Man on it, as usual, with the headline, ‘Spider-Man menace. Wallcrawler mayhem ties up New Jersey traffic.” A second story refers to Matt Murdock facing trial. There is no mention of any secret war.
