A SERIES OF CONVERSATIONS

By Derrick Ferguson

Black Mesa, New Mexico

Bruce Banner left Wal-Mart and walked unhurriedly across the huge parking lot. Even though it was only a little after 10 AM it was nearly a hundred degrees. His hotel was across the parking lot and a four lane highway after that. He carefully navigated his way across the blacktop lanes. For years now he deliberately picked hotels close to Wal-Marts or Targets or Costcos as he could pick up everything and anything he needed in one place, thereby minimizing his trips outdoors. It also helped when hotel desk staff saw him coming in with both hands full of Wal-Mart bags and then didn’t see him for two or three days. It threw off their suspicion as they figured he simply bought enough supplies so that he wouldn’t have to go back out into the hellish mid-summer New Mexico sun.

Not that there was much chance of him being recognized. Over the years Bruce had become something of a master of disguise. Using a special compound of his own creation, his skin was now six shades darker than his usual pasty complexion. It would last for about a week and couldn’t be washed or sweated off. He wore a baseball cap, which wasn’t unusual as most men in these parts wouldn’t dream of going outside without headgear to protect them from the broiling New Mexico sun. But in addition, he shaved his head but kept a three day stubble on his cheeks and chin. Lifts in his shoes, throwing back his shoulders and keeping his head up added a foot, foot and a half to his height. Even people who had known him for years would have to look twice, maybe even three times before they would be sure they were looking at Bruce Banner.

Inside his hotel room, he dumped his purchases on the bed. He’d bought a dozen pre-paid cell phones. He had some calls to make and his intention was to use just one phone for one call apiece, then destroy the phone.

The television was on CNN as it always was. They were still getting plenty of air time out of Seattle. And CNN every so often gave up nuggets of information that Bruce actually found useful as there was a never ending line of senators, congressmen, retired military men, scientists, strategic consultants, retired superheroes and other government types who were more than willing to give their opinion on what the government was doing or should be doing to apprehend him.

Bruce sat at the table next to the window. He had requested a room overlooking the entrance of the hotel. While he worked at his laptop he could keep an eye out for the authorities.

Bruce got himself a tall glass of orange juice and opened up the first cell phone. He’d spent a fruitful couple of hours last night using his considerable hacking skills to get some phone numbers. He sighed. His backpack waited by the door. He was all dressed and once he was finished with these phone calls, he’d be gone. His usual method of staying on the run was to go to the bus station and take the first bus leaving. Didn’t matter where. Then when he got to that destination, he immediately took the first thing leaving out of that station. He would do that one more time before stopping in whatever town he found himself in and staying there for two or three days before moving on. The motive for this was simple: if he himself didn’t know where he was going, it wasn’t possible for his movements to be predictable.

But since he was planning on heading for one of his secret labs in Nevada and being isolated for some time, he needed to contact some people. He put on a pair of glasses and looked at the numbers on his laptop screen. He dialed the first one and after three rings it was answered;

“Hello?”

“Matt?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“Bruce Banner.”

There was a moment of total, utter silence. When the person on the other end spoke again, Bruce could plainly hear the tightly controlled volcanic outrage in it even though the speaker’s voice was low.

“You son of a bitch. Where do you get the balls to call my house?”

“I don’t exactly have the luxury of calling you whenever, Matt. Don’t hang up, okay?”

“You must be joking. I don’t know you anymore, Banner. I don’t want to know you.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“WERE is the operative word here. The Bruce Banner I knew wasn’t a mass murderer with the blood of thousands on his hands. You need to get down on your knees and thank whatever god will have you that I don’t know where you are or I’d come for you.”

“I call you for help and I get threats. Thanks a lot.”

“You go to hell, Banner. You kill thousands, practically destroy an American city and you think I’m supposed to feel sorry for YOU? That’s been the problem all these years. There’s been too much feeling sorry for you. But not anymore.”

“I still want your help.”

“The only help I can give you is that you turn yourself in to the authorities at once.”

“I’ll agree to turning myself in, but only to you and only if you agree to defend me. There were extenuating circumstances that people need to understand. It wasn’t my fault that-.”

“Bullshit. And I wouldn’t defend you if a loaded gun was put to my head. You want legal advice? Okay, here it is: find yourself the deepest, darkest cave in Mongolia and stay there for the rest of your life. Nobody’s fooling around with you anymore, Bruce. Those days are dead. As dead as those people you killed in Seattle. I’m hanging up now. Don’t call me again.”

Bruce listened to a dial tone for ten seconds before closing the phone and dropping it into the bucket of bleach and ammonia next to his chair. He hadn’t really expected much from Matt. He’d always had a streak of self-righteousness that to Bruce bordered on the fanatical. But Matt was the only lawyer he knew personally. And Matt had actually defended him years ago during one of Bruce’s infrequent trips to New York. They’d become friends and actually revealed their secrets to each other. Daredevil and The Hulk had even teamed up against The Kingpin. Then, a few years later Matt had once again used his legal skills to help Bruce and The Hulk in the aftermath of the destruction of the Rhode Island town of Hadleyville. When it was all over, Matt had sworn he’d always be there to help Bruce.

Hah.

Bruce opened up a new cell phone and dialed the next number. This one was in San Francisco. This time, the phone rang about nine times before it was answered.

“Brand New Day. Sorry for not answering right away. We’re kinda short staffed today.”

“That’s okay. Is Jim Wilson there?”

“Yeah. Just hold on a sec, okay?” Bruce listened to murmurs of conversation in the background for about two minutes before the phone was picked up and a voice said, “Jim Wilson. If you’re sellin’ something, I ain’t buyin’.”

“Hi, Jim. It’s Bruce.”

About a minute of stunned silence went by before Jim could say anything. “Bruce? Bruce Banner?”

“Yeah, Jim. It’s really me.”

“I can’t talk on this phone, man. Too many people around. Gimme your number, I’ll call you back.”

“I’d rather you give me your number and I’ll call you back, Jim. Not that I don’t trust you, but-“

“Yeah, yeah, I dig. Gimme five minutes to get to my office then call me at 347-756-2021.”

Bruce dropped that phone into the bucket of ammonia and bleach to join the first one and spent the five minutes opening up a new phone and dialing Jim back. He answered on the first ring.

“You are well and truly the last person on Earth I expected to hear from, Bruce. Where are you-wait-scratch that. I don’t wanna know. It’s better I don’t in case I’m interrogated again.”

“Who questioned you, Jim?”

“Shit, a better question is who didn’t question me. FBI, NSA, S.H.I.E.L.D., S.A.F.E., A.R.M, The Machine…get the picture?”

“I do indeed. Sorry about that, Jim.”

“Wasn’t just me. They were pullin’ in everybody who ever had any contact with you in your life. There were even three or four people there who claimed they knew you from first grade.”

“Was Betty there? Or Rick Jones?”

“Nah. I’d definitely have seen ‘em if they were. They kept the whole lot of us in a hangar at a private airfield just outside of Baltimore for about two weeks questionin’ us. But they didn’t find Betty and Rick for lack of tryin’. They were number 1 and 2 on their hit parade…Bruce, what happened, man?”

“Jim, you have to believe me…I didn’t mean for it to happen. There was this crew of Hulkbusters the government sent after The Hulk…”

“Bruce, there have been Hulkbusters after you before. You got ‘em off your ass without having to murder a whole goddamn city to do it!”

“They provoked The Hulk so much that I couldn’t control him! There was nothing I could do!”

“Bruce, you know what I do these days?”

“You’re running some kind of hospice for HIV positive patients.”

“Not exactly, but that’s close enough. You know why I’m doing this, Bruce? It’s because I’m HIV positive myself.”

“I know that, Jim. I tried to give you a blood transfusion to help you, remember?”

“Yeah…but’s that’s always been your way, hasn’t it, Bruce? Find a quick fix for everything instead of solving the problem for good. Blame everything that’s gone wrong in your life on The Hulk instead of on you.” Jim sighed. “Part of the reason I’m here is because I had to take responsibility for my actions. It was my choice of those actions that resulted in me being HIV positive and nothing else. So I’m here trying to help others who are HIV positive face that responsibility and accept it for themselves. God knows it ain’t easy. But it’s a necessary step that has to be taken. Now let’s look at you. It’s because you never took responsibility for The Hulk is the reason you’re in this position now.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The hell I don’t. You’re the worst addict I’ve ever met, Bruce. And your addiction is The Hulk.

Until you face up to that and accept your responsibility, more people are going to die.” “I guess I can’t count on you for help, then.”

“If you turn yourself in, yeah, I’ll help.”

“I can’t! I’m trying to explain to you that The Hulk was pushed!”

“Well, if the interrogation I went through is any indication, the world is tired of The Hulk pushing.”

“I’m sorry to have bothered you, Jim.”

“Bruce?”

“Yeah?”

“You wanna do something for me?”

“If I can.”

“Find a church. And pray. Pray for all of us who wake up every morning wondering what city The Hulk is going to destroy next.”

Bruce cut the connection and twisted the phone to pieces in hands that were now slightly thicker and tinged green under the darkening agent. Bruce could feel that familiar hotness fill his throat.

That’s right, Brucie! Lemme out so’s I can track down that big-mouthed punk and give HIM somptin’ to pray about!

Bruce gripped the sides of the table and breathed deeply, in and out, in and out, struggling to control the transformation. His spine quivered and thrummed like a plucked banjo string. His temples throbbed and his heart felt as if it were swelling to ten times normal size.

He imagined a clean, mountain lake with ice cold blue water. He imagined himself walking through quiet trees with a carving in his hand. He imagined himself kneeling by the lake and letting the carving in his hand drop into the water. The carving was one of The Hulk and as it dropped further and further into that cool, clean, quiet lake, his anger dropped with it. Bruce opened his eyes. He had successful fought off the transformation. He relaxed, letting all tension drain away from his taunt muscles. He got to his feet, walked slowly to the bathroom and washed his face with cold water.

That was a close one.

Bruce returned to his laptop and looked at the next phone number. He ripped open a new pack, took out a fresh cell phone and dialed. This number had taken him three hours to find and it was the most dangerous number to call. But he had to call.

Five rings later a tired female voice said, “Hello, Bruce.”

“How’d you know it was me, Kate?”

“I knew you’d call sooner or later. And this is an unfamiliar number. Not hard to figure out. My phone blocks everything except those numbers I want to let through.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. issue phone?”

“Of course.”

“Are you tracking me now, Kate? Or recording this call?”

Hundreds of miles away in her house in upstate New York, Katherine Waynesboro wiped her already red, steaming eyes and controlled her voice as she said; “No, damn you.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Believe me or not, Bruce. It’s your choice.”

“Kate, I’m not going to be on for long. I just need to know about this price on my head.”

“The United States, along with an undisclosed number of other nations have collectively and unofficially placed a bounty of one billion dollars on your head, dead or alive.”

“Isn’t anybody interested or cares that The Hulk was provoked into his actions due to his being attacked by a squad of government headhunters? These were government agents instigating a major battle in an American city! If they’d left The Hulk alone, nothing would have happened!”

“Bruce, none of that matters now. The only thing that is left for you to do is to come in and end this. I can’t bear the thought of you lying dead somewhere with the back of your head blown off.”

“Really? Sounds to me as if you’re looking forward to it.”

“Bruce, I’m on the ragged edge here and have been since Seattle. I spent 72 hours with no sleep undergoing chemical interrogation by S.H.I.E.L.D. until they were completely satisfied I had no knowledge of your whereabouts. But I’m sure I’m under surveillance.”

“I guess I’d better cut this short, then. They’ll probably be knocking down the door any minute now.”

“Bruce, wait a minute…”

“Don’t try to keep me on so they can trace this call, Kate.”

“They’re not tracing this call, Bruce. I removed the chip. There’s no way they can track you by my phone. And I’d be willing to bet you’re using a burner you’re going to dump as soon as you finish this call.”

“Make it fast, Kate.”

“Why did you call me?”

Bruce sighed, rubbed his eyes. “We were friends, once. And then we were closer than friends. I thought maybe I could reach out to you…I don’t know…maybe this was all a mistake. I called you and a couple of other friends.”

“Why?”

“I thought maybe I could make somebody understand that this wasn’t my fault!”

Kate sighed. “I’ve never met anybody like you, Bruce. You’re the smartest man I know. And yet you’re entirely clueless when it comes to simple human understanding.”

“I’m not clueless when it comes to being held responsible for something I had no control over! Nobody ever seems to consider that!”

Kate said nothing and suddenly Bruce knew why. He could hear helicopters overhead. Huge black vans screeched to a stop in front of the hotel. Police cars, sirens screaming and bubblegum lights spinning joined the black vans. Heavily armed men poured out of the vans.

“You lied, Kate!”

“What did you expect, Bruce? Did you honestly think I could let you walk away after what you did? What do you want from us, Bruce?”

“I want to be left ALONE!” Bruce howled as he threw the phone across the room where it broke apart into shards of metal and plastic. “Fine! You want me? COME AND GET ME!’

The door to his hotel room smashed inwards as a hoard of armed men in body armor swarmed into the room. But it was too late. Bruce Banner was gone.

The Hulk grinned at the armed men. “I’m gonna enjoy this.”

He leaped at them.

NEXT ISSUE: Things get worse. Trust me.