Chapter 65 - Conviction and Leads

Devin had gathered numerous weapons from the armory. Assault rifles, pistols, his daggers, and many other items just on the off chance that they might be needed. Hopping into his truck, Devin called Luke's, the bar that Luke cage owned, just on the off chance that the two Hell's Kitchen denizens were there. Devin remembered that Kilgrave had ordered Luke to blow it up in the show while he was hypnotized but things were different now. Surprisingly, the phone picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" came the deep baritone of Luke's voice though there was a note of strain like the big man was under some pressure or stress at the moment.

"Mr. Cage. Glad to see you're still alive and kicking." Devin stated as he made his way along the packed streets leading to the city proper.

"Mr. Price, look I'm grateful for the help last time but now isn't a good time for a friendly chat." Luke said as a that strain reentered his tone once more.

"I agree. I just had a rather fun chat with Kilgrave on Ms. Jones' phone and I'm not in the mood for another." Devin said before hearing a muffled conversation take place on the other end of the phone. Soon he could hear multiple voices coming through.

"So, that jackass has my phone. Great!" said Jones as her voice came through the speaker. It was rougher and had a scratchy quality to it that spoke of something not being normal with the normally caustic woman.

"Yes, he made a threat that I either break off our deal and make no further contact or something horrible will happen to me and my loved ones." Devin said as he turned a corner after waiting for an elderly woman to cross.

"Then you need to stop contacting me till I manage to kill him." Jones said gruffly. Devin knew that Jones wouldn't want to involve anyone innocent in this conflict of hers, but now that Kilgrave was making threats against Devin then this just became personal.

"No Ms. Jones, it's too late for that. You see him making threats against me and mine. That is crossing the line and I wont stand for it. So now I will find Kilgrave and I will make him wish he had never been born or at the very least, wish he had let you kill him." Devin said with anger coloring his tone.

"Damn it Price, Kilgrave is mine!" Jones yelled through the speaker.

"You've had plenty of time to catch and kill him. Now? Now I'm stepping in and if you want I'll deliver him to you, but I won't give him the chance to harm my loved ones." Devin stated as he pulled on to the highway headed for New Jersey. Devin knew that Kilgrave had bought Jones' childhood home using money he had scammed off of a group of gangsters during a poker game.

"Price! Don-" Jones began before Devin closed the call. It was gonna be just over three hours to get to the house. Of course there is a chance that this wouldn't turn out to be nothing more than a wild goose chase, but it was a lead.

***

The dial tone through the speaker nearly caused Jessica to crush the phone in her grip. She had been played with left and right by Kilgrave and now Price was being dragged into everything.

"Jessica, he gave you that pin to protect from Kilgrave's influence and now Kilgrave is after him. If anyone has a better chance of surviving an encounter with that nut job then it's Price." Luke said as he moved to take the phone from Jessica. After having safely removed the phone from her hand, Luke guided her to a chair.

"I know Luke, but I feel helpless in this. This whole thing is my problem and then I get you involved, now Price is involved. If something happens to the two of you or someone innocent I'll never be able to forgive myself. Too many people have died in Kilgrave's hands." Jessica said as she placed her head in her hands. Luke looked at her for a moment, deciding how to handle this situation.

"Then just keep doing what you have been." Luke said as he pulled a bottle off the shelf behind him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jessica asked though slightly muffled due to her head still in her hands. Luke poured a glass of whiskey and then set it in front of Jessica on the table.

"Let Price hunt Kilgrave. This will put more pressure on him and eventually he'll make a mistake. Plus Price said that if he catches Kilgrave before us then he'll bring him to us." Luke said as he sat down and took a sip from his own glass. Jessica downed the contents of her glass in one go. Taking a deep breath she pushed her hair back and got a determined look on her face.

"Alright, you're right Luke. I need to get back to my office and look for the next clue for where he is hiding." Jessica said as she stood up. She circled around the table and placed a kiss on Luke's cheek and marched towards the door. Luke could only watch with a smile on his face at her determination.

***

-3 Hours Later-

Devin pulled up to the picture of mundane neighborhoods. The house was a white and light blue town house with a couple small trees in the yard. Devin put the Phoenix Plume on his arm under his jacket before stepping out of the truck. Walking up to the house, Devin could tell that the place was well taken care of at least. Though Kilgrave had bought the place from a guy and his family for roughly a million.

Looking in the windows, Devin could see all new furniture filling the rooms. Stepping up to the door Devin knocked on the door and waited. After a few minutes of waiting, Devin knocked again just to be sure. Once again no one answered though Devin figured that his hunch was spot on. Devin turned to leave only to hear a voice calling out to him.

"Excuse me young man?" an elderly voice came from Devin's left. Looking over Devin saw a little elderly woman in a flowery muumuu and her hair in curlers was standing on her porch in a pair of fluffy, pink bunny slippers.

"Hello ma'am." Devin called back as he walked down the steps.

"Are you friends with that man who just bought that house?" the elderly woman asked as she pointed at the house with a knarled, old finger.

"I guess you could say I'm a friend of a friend. Have you seen him lately?" Devin said before asking for information. The old lady seemed to get a dazed look for a moment before answering.

"No, he left this morning and hasn't been back since. He is a bit rude though as he glares at anyone that gets near him or the house." the woman said as she pointed her cane at the house once more.

"Well I'm sorry for that, he's had a rough time lately and he hasn't been dealing well." Devin said with a smile as he opened his inventory and placed a pistol at the back of his waistband just in case.

"Well just let him know that just cause things are tough that is no excuse to be rude." the woman said as she frowned at Devin.

"Understood ma'am." Devin said before turning towards his truck. Stepping into his vehicle Devin started it up and drove away. It was at this point that a man in a purple button up shirt and grey vest with dark hair stepped out of the screen door on the elderly woman's house and stood next to her while glaring at where the truck had disappeared.