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PROLOGUE It all started with a phone call. At least that’s how it started for Matt Murdock. He was in his office at Nelson & Murdock, when his phone rang. “Matthew Murdock. How can I help you?” “ “Hi, Mr. Murdock, you’re a lawyer, right?” “That’s right,” he replies. “Cool. ‘Cause I need one. Like bad.” Whoever was on the other line wasn’t from New York. “Tell me your name and where you are.” “Oh, right. My name is Luis Santiago. I’m in jail. Eighteenth precinct.” “I’ll be right there.” Before he left, Matt told his best friend and partner Foggy Nelson and their receptionist Karen Page where he was going. The office was small, so getting around would normally not be too difficult for the blind man. But most of their clients paid with food and favors, so there were a few obstacles in his way as he made his way to the front office with the large window. “Can he pay?” Foggy asked. “Does it matter?” “No, but actual money would be a nice change.” “I’ll see what I can do.” Matt heads out, sunglasses on his face and stick sweeping the ground. CHAPTER ONE This was not a case she would normally fly out to New York City for. Jessica Drew usually saved travel for the most dangerous criminals who decided to skip their court date. There had been a few of those, over the years. Not as many as she’d like. But she owed Scott a favor. At least that’s what she told herself. If Jess were being honest with herself (never), she’d have to admit that she found Luis endearing in an annoying younger brother sort of way. Not that she had any sort of family experience to draw on. Regardless, Jess would help him however she could. Unfortunately, Jessica didn’t have a lot of information to go on. All she could get from Scott was that Luis had gone out to New York to visit his cousin. Apparently got convinced to do something illegal and had gotten caught. Thankfully, Luis had enough sense to get a lawyer. Which is where Jessica currently found herself. She paused to make sure the sign on the building read “Nelson and Murdock: Attorneys at Law” to make sure she was in the right spot (it was). Jess took another moment to straighten her appearance – she had no idea what kind of person this Matthew Murdock was, but she’d had enough run ins with lawyers to know how quickly some could write you off based on appearance alone. Not that it would matter if this one did. She just needed information. And if he didn’t give it, she would just break in later to snoop around anyway. Whatever Jessica had expected to find upon entering the law offices of Nelson and Murdock it wasn’t baskets of food stacked up wherever there was space. Her eyes darted around assessing the situation. Thankfully it wasn’t currently busy. There was a blonde woman sitting at the desk in the center of the room, looking expectantly at her. Right manners. “Hello, I’m looking for a Matthew Murdock?” “Uh, sure.” She smiled then looked down at her appointment calendar. There was nothing there. “So you don’t have an appointment, but the good news is that Matt is free.” She looked up and smiled, taking in the motorcycle jacket, long black hair, and green eyes. There was no denying the woman was beautiful. And as Foggy so often liked to point out, if there was a beautiful woman, Matt somehow always gravitated toward them. “Your name and what you’d like to see Matt about?” The way the woman looked at her didn't go unnoticed but Jess ignored it for now. She made her way further into the room toward the desk. Smiling politely, she held her hand out toward the woman. Jessica always hated this part. Making nice, the small talk. It set her on edge. As a general rule, she preferred to avoid people. But sometimes it was unavoidable. "My name is Jessica Drew. I'm here to speak with him about a client he recently had." Karen was surprised by the offered hand. Most people treated her as a receptionist and didn’t bother with that sort of thing. She took the hand. “I’m Karen Page. Which it says on my desk, so you probably knew that.” She got up from her desk and headed to the back office. She knocked on the door before opening it. “There’s a Jessica Drew here to talk about a recent client.” Matt knew that already, had heard their conversation. But he smiled and asked Karen to show the woman in. After adjusting his sunglasses, he stood. “Ms. Drew.” His suit was dark grey, rumpled, inexpensive. His tie was black and on the thin side. The sunglasses he wore had red round lenses that almost completely obscured his eyes, providing a perfect scarlet reflection of whatever was in front of them. They looked good with his dark auburn hair. He had a small cut on his chin that would seem to be from shaving except that there was a hint of a bruise on either side of it. “I’m not sure how I can help you. As you probably know, I am obligated to keep all communication between me and my clients confidential.” His voice had a pleasant rumble to it. “But you’re welcome to ask any question you’d like.” Jessica thanked Karen and closed the office door behind her. She took a moment to evaluate the man before her. The rumpled suit, the tie, the glasses, the sound of his voice. At first glance he seemed like one of those attractive nerds you would see on a television sitcom. But the bruise on his face and the way she could see herself reflected in his sunglasses set Jessica on edge. She felt as if she was being judged and she hadn't even opened her mouth yet. "Mr. Murdock." Jessica returned the greeting in kind as she took a seat opposite of the lawyer. She took a moment more to regard the lawyer before deciding to just get right to the point. Her accent was clearly British, but there was warmth to it. "I'm here in regards to one Luis Santiago. You helped him get released on bail. However, it would seem that Mr. Santiago has skipped his court date. I'm here to bring him back in, but he seems to have disappeared completely." “I did. He has. I was not happy about that.” Matt had stood waiting in the courtroom for his client calling the one phone number he had for him, but the man never showed up. He tried family, but Luis’ mom had died recently, and his father had been deported. On the plus side, Mr. Santiago’s disappearance caused an alluring woman to come see him. There was something about her, something different, something that made him want to help her. “And your interest in Mr. Santiago is…?” He focused on her heartbeat. Jessica leaned forward in her chair and clasped her hands together. "I'm a bounty hunter, Mr. Murdock. What do you think my interest in Mr. Santiago is?" She leaned back and considered the lawyer again. He didn't need to know she was actually here as a favor for someone else. Jessica was actually fairly certain the bond company had another agent out to bring Luis in already. But Scott's hunches were never wrong. If he thought Luis was in over his head, he probably was. "I understand Mr. Santiago is a flight risk, but seventy-five thousand dollars is a lot of bail money for someone whose biggest crime previously was stealing a couple of smoothie machines from Baskin Robbins." Jess was still amused by that. They had been really great smoothies though. "You were the last person to see him, Mr. Murdock. Given that I am not from around here, I was hoping you could possibly point me in the right direction. Your client shows up to court, I get paid and you never have to hear from me again." Matt learned two things. First, she was telling him the truth. Second, she was not telling him the entire truth. That intrigued him. As she finished, he smirked at the ‘last person to see him’ comment. “Ms. Drew, I can honestly tell you that I’ve never seen my client.” He knew it was a dick move when he said it, but he couldn’t resist. “The bail was set high because Mr. Santiago, in addition to being charged with breaking and entering and armed robbery, is also not from around here. Given his lack of home and ties to the community, he was seen as a flight risk. He was actually lucky to get any bail at all,” he informed her. “But I’m that good. What I can do is give you the number I have for him. But I should warn you I’ve been calling it with no success.” Wow he was a cocky son of a bitch. "Of course you haven't." Jess responded drily. She had known what the sunglasses meant and certainly she could have phrased herself better. He didn’t have to be such a dick about it though. The bounty hunter crossed her arms with a frown as she considered the rest of the information Murdock gave her. Armed robbery wasn't Luis' style. Far from it. "Yeah, I'll take that phone number. I want to see if it matches what I have." He turned to his computer with the special braille reader and keyboard to retrieve Luis’ file. “So where are you from?” His question was equal parts curiosity and wanting to fill the silence while he searched for the number. "San Francisco." Jess answered simply, though she wondered if her answer would throw him off like it threw off others. It was her typical answer to that particular question. People always seemed disconcerted by her answer to the point where they didn't seem to want ask anything else. Jess encouraged it. The less she was around people the better. Not that she couldn't fake it if she needed to. Given that Luis also resided in San Francisco, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out this wasn’t just another case to her. Matt figured she either knew him, knew a friend of his, or knew an enemy. Whichever it was, instead of throwing him off, her answer only fed his suspicions and made him more determined to learn more. His head tilted slightly to get a better read on her heart. “How do you know Luis Santiago?” She should've figured that wouldn't work with a lawyer. Still, she couldn't help but grin. "I've had success bringing Luis in before." Granted, that had been in San Fransisco. Most of her skips didn't make it this far before she got to them. Not that she had been looking for Luis back in California. Murdock didn't need to know that though. He lifted his chin in thought. After giving her the number he had for Luis, he decided to ask her another question. “What are your impressions of him?” "Thanks." Jess wrote the number down and slid the paper into her jacket pocket. She'd look at it later. "Well, he was one of the easier skips to bring in." Jess figured that was an honest enough answer to a question she hadn't been expecting. She didn't like how easily she was answering his questions. She was better than that. Why did he care about what she thought about Luis anyway? Despite her reservations, she expanded on her answer a bit. "He seems like a nice enough sort, but also seems to consistently make bad decisions." Matt nodded slowly at that. “Definitely not one of the brighter criminals. I think he got in over his head, was probably told it was an easier job than it really was. Do you already have the particulars of the case?” He bit his lip after asking that. If she was any good at bounty hunting, she already did. And that made his question sound misogynistic. “Of course, you do. You’re not an amateur.” So, it seemed as though she and Mr. Murdock were on the same page in that regard. Jess wasn't sure she liked that or not. But it didn't matter, because his next words caused her to bristle, despite his attempt at back peddling. What a pompous ass. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Murdock, I should be going." She replied, her voice oozing politeness as she stood up. Jess took a moment to lean in towards the lawyer and lowered her voice as if sharing a secret. "If you're really just "that good" I would think you would dress better." It was an immature and petty thing to say, but Jess had had enough. She turned and strode out Matt's office, closing the door behind her. She gave a friendly little wave to Karen to keep up appearances before heading to the motorcycle she had parked outside the office. All Matt could think was that it could have gone better. He didn’t even get her phone number. It didn’t matter. He’d listen for Luis tonight on the roof.
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Chapter Two "I don't know, Scott. The number you gave me and the one I got from the lawyer are different. And neither are currently working." Jess ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to keep the frustration out of her voice. She knew Scott was concerned for his friend and why he couldn't help out with the search himself. But she hadn't even been here a day yet. "Unfortunately, I know about as much as you do right now. If I get more information, I'll let you know. Yeah. Bye." She ended the call and shoved the phone into her back pocket. All she knew is he was here in New York City –a place she hadn't been to since her SHIELD days. It was the same and different at once. Jess didn't like feeling this off balance. Jess didn't even know where to begin searching for Luis. She had however, done one thing upon her arrival and had made herself available to one of the local bonds offices. The guy running the office would have laughed outright if she hadn't shown him her credentials. Despite them, the only skips he had given her were easy ones. It was better than nothing though and depending on the case could pay pretty well. And with her abilities well – criminals were often at an unfair advantage. She hoped that perhaps one of these cases would overlap with her search for Luis and point her in the right direction. Jess flipped open the file folder on the counter top and looked case on top of the stack. Steven Atwood, 25, wanted for shoplifting. Shoplifting really? Jess felt insulted. She hoped he had shop lifted something good. Grand theft skips always paid more. Jess studied the file a bit more, memorizing her target's face as well as some of his local hangouts. She'd try the bar first, but it was a bit early for him to be there. Once she was sure she had everything she needed, Jess headed out for the night. Might as well use the next couple of hours to reacquaint herself with the night life of New York. ★✩★✩★Back in Hell’s Kitchen, Nelson and Murdock were having a beer at Josie’s, their usual hangout. It was a small dive that only locals went to. But it did have a pool table. That was a plus. It helped make up for the crappy beer and poor clientele. Foggy and Matt loved it despite how much they ridiculed the place and the owner. But it was getting late, and Matt had somewhere to be. “You can’t leave yet,” Foggy said. “You haven’t finished telling me about the hot bounty hunter.” Matt chuckled. “I never told you she was hot.” “You didn’t have to. I could tell by how you were talking about her. Also, Karen said she looked like a model,” he admitted. Foggy was a little on the heavier side with straight blond hair that went to his chin. His suit was as rumpled as Matt’s, but he always felt Matt looked better. They were best friends. Had been since college where they shared a dorm room. “Well I’m sure Karen can give you a better description than I can,” Matt said as he stood. “I’ve gotta go. See you tomorrow.” Foggy watched his friend leave as worry gnawed at his bones. He knew exactly where his friend was going. He was going to put on a red costume and be a vigilante. Learning that particular piece of information, that Matt could kind of see but not really, had almost broken their friendship. But they had survived. He just hoped Matt could survive out there. Half an hour later, Matt was in his Daredevil suit. He crouched on the roof listening for the voice or the name of Luis Santiago. ★✩★✩★One thing Jess had forgotten about New York City was the superiority of the food trucks. San Francisco had some good ones, but they had nothing on New York. She had a moment of guilt for not getting right to work, but pushed it aside. One had to eat to survive after all and the Korean BBQ she just bought smelled absolutely delicious. She even had the bonus of actually enjoying her meal before she tried searching for her skip at that bar. Jess had just turned away from the truck when cries for help met her ears. Jess paused and looked in the direction of the commotion, seeing an older woman wringing her hands and carrying on "He stole my purse! Help!" She looked in the direction the woman pointed and could see the punk running down the crowded street. Jess gave it a moment to see if the police or anyone sprang into action – Let them handle it she had to remind herself. This wasn't her city. But when nothing happened, Jess took matters into her own hands. She shoved her uneaten meal into the hands of a bystander then tore down the street after the would-be thief. The punk looked behind him, saw the woman in pursuit and put on another burst of speed. She looked like a lioness going in for the kill and what little instinct he had told him he did NOT want to get caught by this woman. Thankfully, he didn't have much farther to go and dodged down an alley. That’s when he stopped. Abruptly. He stumbled back out of the alley, purse still in his hands. Another man walked out of the dark dressed in red and black with two pointed things sticking up from his head. He threw a swift punch at the guy’s stomach before sweeping his legs out from under him, making him fall onto his back. Suit guy knelt and took the purse from the criminal’s grasp. He leaned closer and whispered something that made the man on the ground scoot back, trying to get away. Jess came skidding to a halt and let out a huff of annoyance as the costumed jackass dealt with her thief. She had heard about the super heroes in New York. San Fransisco had its fair share (she was one sometimes), but she honestly had been hoping to stay away from the superhero set. Guess that was something she couldn't avoid even if she tried. She crossed her arms as she let the man deal with criminal. If she were to be honest, he did have style. And the costume was certainly intimidating enough. The man in the costume stood up. He knew exactly who was standing there watching. He threw the purse at her then tilted his head as though hearing something. He wheeled around and ducked before a shot rang out. Then he disappeared back into the alley. Almost immediately more shots could be heard. Jess caught the purse and ducked just a second after the costumed man did. She watched as he disappeared down the alley and desperately wanted to follow. He might need assistance if those gun shots were any indication – but she didn't want to leave her would-be thief who was currently trying to crawl nonchalantly to his feet. "Ah ah." Jess admonished, grabbing the punk by his collar and shoving him face first into the cement. "You made me skip dinner.", she scolded as she pulled some zip ties out of her jacket and bound the thief’s wrists together. She also took a moment to zip tie the purse shut and loop it around his neck before zip tying the whole package to a street post. Satisfied with her handiwork, the bounty hunter ran into the alley as more gun shots rang out. There was a blur of red leaping up a fire escape before falling and clocking a guy with a kick. The superhero landed in a crouch behind the fallen man. Just as quickly he disappeared into the shadows as two men shot at where he had just been. Jess had to admit the guy in the red suit was good. Really good. She wasn't going to let him have all the fun though. She charged towards the two thugs and slammed into one, knocking him to the ground. Hearing the cock of the gun she rolled off her first target and kicked her leg at the second guy's ankle. There was a satisfying crack and yell as the man dropped his gun and tumbled to the ground. Another shot rang out. Jess turned and saw the superhero holding a fourth guy’s arm up. The thug didn’t really have a chance at that point. He tried to fight back, but the man in the red suit pulled out a club and used it to clock the bad guy across the jaw before kicking in his kneecap. Chest heaving, he stood over the fallen man. He lifted his head slightly. “Nice moves.” "You too." Jess returned as she slammed her first target's face into the pavement to make sure he stayed down. Where the "superhero" was panting, Jess was hardly winded. Her eyes flickered to the second thug's vest and patch glued onto it. Then they flicked back to the man in red. There wasn't much time and she needed answers sooner rather than later. If this guy was running around in a mask he should know something about keeping secrets. "Back away. Far away." She told him, her tone leaving no room for argument. “If you’re going to kill them…” He shifted his body to challenge her. She rolled her eyes. “Maim, yes. Freak out, yes. Kill, no. Now leave.” Daredevil backed away without a word. He jumped onto a dumpster and worked his way up to the roof, leaving the bounty hunter with the fallen thugs but keeping an ear out for what she was doing. Jess stood up and turned to her second target, placing her foot on his chest and looming over him. "I am going to take this." She told him, carefully ripping the patch off his vest as the air turned sickly sweet around them. "And you are going to tell me what exactly was going on here tonight." The man below her began to sweat in fear. Daredevil heard the man’s heart rate increase. He couldn’t understand why until a strange scent rose up from the alley below. It filled him with fear, and he stepped back to get away from it. He ended up on the far side of the roof, positioning himself upwind from the alley. He continued to listen. Jess was vaguely aware of Daredevil retreating out of site, but most of her attention was focused on her target. She hated to do this, hated using this part of her powers. It was cheating. But the cops would be here any second and she needed information. She leaned in closer to the man who cringed in fear "Don't...don't hurt me!" He pleaded. Wow. That didn't take long. She didn't even have her pheromones going on full. "I won't. Did you and your friends have anything to do with that kid I ran down tonight? What was that about anyway? You don't seem the type to deal with petty thieves." The thug stared back in terror, and Jess had to give him a little shake to get him back on track. He gulped for air as sweat beaded down his face. "Old people carry all sorts of stuff we can use. Easy to steal from. Good way to test a kid's skills. Pleasedon'tkillme." Jess could hear sirens. "Who's yours boss?" The man just gasped in terror and Jess gave him another shake. "Smitty. Oh my God it's Smitty." The thug lifted his hands and covered his face. At least she had a name now. "If anyone asks you what happened. Tell them it was a Spider." The Thug just nodded in acquiescence, not that it would help him right now. Jess pulled back her fist and knocked him out with a well-placed punch. She leapt up onto the wall and crawled to the roof above, getting out of site just as the cops arrived. “What’d you do to him?” A gravelly voice asked. His form could barely be made out in the shadows, but it was him, the man in the red suit. He was still processing everything he had experienced. Any ideas that this woman was just a normal bounty hunter had flown out the window as soon as he heard her climb the wall. The scent he could have attributed to science. But wall crawling? That was not normal. Not even science had been able to make that work. “Who are you?” Damn. She had been hoping he had fled farther than he had. Jess moved herself further into the shadows, keeping her eye on the masked man. Just because he helped her out didn't mean she wasn't his next target. Especially now that he had seen some of her powers in action. "You know, I could ask the same for you. Suits like that are expensive." She responded. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she brought her pheromones back under control. Fear was always the harder one to manage, but the one she preferred to use. She'd rather people fear her than the other option. "And as for what I did, it was science. He'll be fine once the chemicals wear off, though he'll probably have a migraine." She studied the man a moment more, before continuing, "It's been a pleasure, but I have somewhere I need to be." Jess turned and ran, leaping from roof to roof. Daredevil smiled. Well at least she thought him rich. That should keep his identity safe. He listened to her, mapping the path in his head, giving her a head start so as not to spook her. Assuming she was off to find Smitty, he remained at a distance. He’d only interfere if she needed help. It was something he was willing to do only because she hadn’t killed the guys in the alley. A small voice in his head wondered if she was Catholic. The question made him chuckle as he leapt across two buildings. Jess wasn't taking any chances of Red following her. She took the most convoluted route she could think of, knowing full well that he'd probably find her again if he wanted to. This wasn't her city after all. Once satisfied she wasn't being followed, Jess finally dropped down the side of a building and crouched on the wall to take a breather. On the roof two buildings south of her position, Daredevil crouched once again, this time listening for her heartbeat. He wished he could see what she took off the guy. He knew it was a patch, but he didn’t have enough time to figure out what was one it. Maybe he’d be better off asking Sergeant Mahoney to describe it to him. She toyed with the patch she had stolen off the thug's vest and clenched her jaw at the insignia embroidered on it. The Dogs of Hell. She had had some experience with them out west. They were not to be taken lightly. Rumor had it that the New York group made the Nevada gang look like amateurs. If Luis had gotten caught up with them, he was in more trouble than any of them realized. The problem was she had no clue where to begin looking, and the cops had arrived before she could get the information out of her thug.
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Luis was tied to a chair. It was surreal, like horror movie shit. Scott was not gonna believe it when he told him about it. He looked up at the guy looming over him. Unfortunately, he couldn't see his face. “I told you, I didn’t say nuthin’. I got caught, right? But that wasn’t on me. Your boy Chihuahua over there screwed up. But I didn’t say nuthin’.” A fist slammed into his jaw. That shit hurts. He was pretty sure a few teeth were knocked loose and he could definitely taste blood. “Daaaang. You didn’t have to do that, bro. I didn’t even know who that lawyer was. He was recommended to me by my cousin’s girlfriend whose aunt had a friend whose mama lived in a building. They were trying to kick her out. And they were being mean. Like not fixing the leaky faucets or catching rats. This lawyer helped get the super to fix stuff and shit.” Smitty reached down and squeezed Luis' jaw in his hands. "You're full of shit. Now, you're going to tell me everything you told Murdock or we start with the kneecaps." “No no no no no. You don’t have to do that. I’ll tell you everything,” Luis promised. “But first, can I use the bathroom? I gotta go real bad.” "No." Smitty snapped his fingers and one of the gang members standing nearby came forward, brandishing a pocket knife. "Start with his knees." “Dude, I already said I’d tell you everything. Go ahead. Ask me a question,” Luis says. “You better hurry, though, ‘cause I know Ant-Man and Spider-Woman." Well, he didn't really know Spider-Woman but Smitty didn't know that. "I’ve got connections, yo. And if they find me hurt or anything, you’re gonna get whipped so bad, man. So, you know, you should treat me right is what I’m sayin’.” "Sounds like there's a bug problem where you're from." Was this guy serious? He was far more afraid of Daredevil than people who called themselves "Ant-Man" or "Spider-Woman". Bugs were easy to squash. You couldn't squash a devil. "We can kill 'em with a can of raid. Whose names did you give to Murdock?" The knife was pressed into the lower part of Luis' kneecap. Luis tried to move his knee back, but there was nowhere to move it to. “I didn’t give no names, man. I’m no snitch.” His heart raced with fear. He should never have taken this job. Never do jobs with a crew you don’t know. “You don’t have to do th- OWOWOWOW! I didn't do nothin'!" He pleaded as the knife bit into his skin and the muscles beneath. But as soon as the pain started it stopped. Another Dog entered the room and whispered into Smitty's ear. "You're fuckin' lucky. We'll get back to you later." He signaled his men to follow after him, leaving Luis alone in the darkness.
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Chapter 4 The smell of stale beer and piss bombarded Jess as she entered the bar. She took a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting as she vaguely wondered how disgusting the place would be if it were brighter. The sad part was, "Josie's" was nicer than quite a few of the bars she'd been in over the years. Her day so far hadn't been as productive as she had hoped. Jess needed information, and what she had come up with wasn't much – though some of it was interesting. Like the fact that Luis' lawyer Matthew Murdock had been the one to take down New York City's crime lord. A case like that and the lawyer she had met didn't match up with Jess. But he had also gotten Luis released on bail, so clearly Murdock had the right to boast that he was a very good lawyer. It irked her. Of course, she had stopped by the office to reach out to the lawyer but had been stonewalled by a polite but firm Karen. "They're both in court for the day, no I don't know when they'll return, stop by tomorrow." Karen had almost seemed...possessive? Clearly there was something going on there but Jess wasn't about to step on that landmine. So, Jess decided to take a different route. There had to be a power vacuum now that Fisk was out of the picture. The reports she had access to (despite her credentials) only said that gang related crimes had increased. Three groups – the Dogs, the Cartel and the Irish. All of them were bad news, but Jess wanted the Dogs. And she had found the saying "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" to be true more often than not. But Jess needed names, names that were at the local precinct that they wouldn't give her for whatever stupid reason. Which was why Jess found herself in this shithole of a bar – one of the skips she had been given frequented the place. She could've probably just gone into his home and gotten him, but people were far more defensive when cornered. It was safer to lure him out of Josie's and then make her arrest, turn him in at the precinct, and sneak back into their records room without getting caught. Piece of cake with the added bonus of getting a paycheck out of it. Jess made her way to the bar. "Double whiskey, rocks please." Then turned around and leaned against it as she awaited her order. She didn't see her skip yet, but she did see the last person she'd expect to find in a joint like this. Her drink delivered, Jess scooped it up and made her way over to his table. "Murdock, this is a pleasant surprise." Matt lifted his head. He and his companion stood . “Drew, isn’t it? Karen said you came by the office. This is my partner Foggy Nelson.” He gestured to the man sitting next to him. Foggy smiled and gave a little dorky wave. “Hi. I’ve heard a lot about you.” “Not a lot,” Matt corrected. “Please join us,” he continued as though not hearing his friend. Jess grinned at Foggy and took a seat close to the wall so that she could see if her skip entered the bar – but he wouldn’t see her. "In my experience, 'Not a lot' usually means a lot. I hope it was all good though." She held out her hand to the other lawyer. "Pleased to meet you Foggy." He shook it after taking his seat again. “To be fair, it was Karen who told me most of the stuff. Matt just gave a run-down of what you wanted.” He couldn’t help himself. “And maybe how you smelled.” Matt turned his head slowly toward Foggy. “Because you asked.” “That’s beside the point. Don’t you agree, Ms. Drew? I mean, he remembered.” Foggy smiled. Jess raised an eyebrow at Foggy, "Why would you ask how someone smelled? That's just a little weird, isn't it?" She looked over at Murdock as her heart sped up a little. She really hoped she wasn't having some sort of effect on him. “Normally I wouldn’t. But Matt being blind is sensitive to that sort of thing,” he explained. “He can tell you what kind of perfume someone is wearing. It’s very Sherlock Holmes.” Matt chuckled. “Short answer – Foggy is weird. Is there something I can help you with, Ms. Drew? Or would you prefer to wait until tomorrow?” If her pheromones had an effect on him, it wasn't showing. She relaxed seeing that Matt wasn't exhibiting any of the tell-tale signs of infatuation. "Actually, there is, but it will have to wait until tomorrow since it involves some details of a certain client. It's best not to talk about it here." Jess responded, taking another sip of her whiskey and immediately regretted it. “Sure,” Matt replied with a nod. “I have court in the morning, but I should be done by 10:30. Come by the office then.” He found it interesting that she tensed when Foggy mentioned her scent and relaxed after he asked if she wanted something. He remembered up on the roof she had said what she did to that man was chemical. He wondered now if it could be biological. “Or you could come earlier,” Foggy added. “Hang out. I can tell you the best places to eat in the city.” The corners of Matt’s lips quirked up. “Foggy really does know all the best places.” "I do love food." Jess admitted, as she allowed herself to relax a little more. Foggy reminded her a bit of Scott – Someone you couldn't help but like instantly. She had even started to see Matt's appeal – the loosened tie, the unbuttoned collar, that smirk. Yeah, she could see why Karen had acted as she had earlier. Jess wondered if Matt was only an asshole while he was on the clock. Matt finished his beer as Foggy told Jess about this his favorite hotdog stand. “Don’t tell her too much, she won’t want to come see you in the morning. And that would be a shame,” he smiled. “Anyone need a refill?” he asked while rolling up his sleeves. Foggy answered immediately. “I’ll get it. Ms. Drew, can I get you anything?” He smiled with hope. Jess looked past Foggy and a slow, almost predatory smile spread across her face. Her skip was right on time. Men could be so predictable. "No thank you, though I appreciate the offer. If you'll excuse me." She patted both boys on the shoulder then waded her way towards the bar. “Guess she found a better offer,” Matt said. Foggy watched the bounty hunter with a frown. “For once I thought I actually had a chance there.” “It’s probably for the best.” Her mind now focused on the job, Jess sidled up to the bar and took a seat next to her target. She gave him a flirty little smile but didn't say anything as she turned her attention to Josie, who looked at her expectantly. "I'll have a martini?" Josie raised an eyebrow at that, but went to make the drink as Jess observed her target out of the corner of her eyes. He was fairly attractive – in that douchebag jock sort of way. And he was definitely checking her out. This was almost too easy. Josie plunked the martini in front of the dark-haired woman then went to take care of another customer. Jess kept one hand on her drink and rested her head on the other, causing her hair to fall artfully over her shoulders. She really disliked seduction, it made her feel gross. But Jess couldn't deny the results she got with it. The less spectacle was made the better. Steven Atwood smiled with the confidence of a man who knew she wanted to sleep with him. He took a good long look at her and licked his lips. For his opening line, he opted to paraphrase an oldie but goodie (at least to him. Jess thought it was horrendous). “What’s a pretty girl like you doing in a dive like this?” Steven was making it too easy. "Oh, I'm new to the city. Wanted to check out the night life." Jess leaned in as her finger slowly circled the rim of her glass. "Care to show me?" “Thought you’d never ask. We can start with my apartment.” "Lead the way." Jess purred as she placed a twenty on the bar as she stood. Steven smiled even more as he got up. Clearly, he couldn't believe his luck. “Right this way. What’s your name?” "It's Jess. What's yours?" She asked, following him out. She leaned into his personal space just a little as she followed him. Just a little bit longer. “Steve.” He’d always hated Steven. It’s what his mom called him. Steven was some nerd in his mom’s basement. Steve was cool, a ladies’ man. Yeah, he always went by Steve. "Steve. I like that name," Jess stopped and pushed the man against the wall, moving further into his personal space. She trailed a hand slowly down his arm. “You’re forward,” he chuckled as his free hand snaked down to grab Jess' ass. "Well, Steve," Jess said grabbing his wrist and flipping him around so he was facing the wall, his hand pressed into the small of his back, "You're under arrest for skipping your court date." She snatched his other hand and brought it next to the first, not caring that someone had just left the bar and could see what was happening. Using one hand to keep his wrist in place, she pulled a pair of cuffs from inside her back pocket. She had her target in cuffs before he could even blink. She pushed him to the ground. "Stay there or you will regret it." Inside the bar, Matt’s eyebrows rose. “She’s good.” “Who’s good?” “Jessica Drew. The guy at the bar apparently skipped bail. She just caught him.” Foggy’s eyebrows rose this time. “For real?” Matt nodded. “Go outside if you want to see.” “Alright.” He stood up and headed outside where he saw a man on the ground with Jessica’s boot on his back. He addressed the bounty hunter. “Happy accident? Or did you know this guy was going to show up here.” "Oh Hey, you wouldn't happen to own a car would you?" Jess looked up from searching through Steven's pockets. Her skip tried that moment to squirm away but Jess ground the heel of her boot Into his back. "FUCK lady, what the hell?" "What did I say asshole?" Jess reminded him as her boot pressed even harder into his back before finally letting up. "Well?" “Not to move!” He was clearly not happy. Foggy shook his head. “No car. Sorry. I can call you a cab if you want. But there’s a precinct a couple blocks down. You could probably just walk him over.” "Pity." Jess replied. She resumed her search, this time in Steves jacket pockets, looking for car keys. "To answer your question, I was hoping he'd show up here tonight." After a few moments Jess gave up and looked down at her target. "Alright up you go. Looks like we're walking. Maybe if you’re nice, Foggy here will be your lawyer." “What’d he do?” Foggy asked. Jess gave Foggy a wicked grin as she half hauled Steve to his feet. "Got caught shop lifting a Dragon themed Fleshlight, anal beads, and bottle of lube. And no, I don't know why the police report was that detailed." He needed to be sure he heard correctly. “Dragon themed?” “Don’t judge,” Steve grumbled. “I’m just wondering where one gets a dragon themed fleshlight.” "I'm sure you can Google it." Jess responded as she started pushing her skip in the direction of the precinct. "See you, Foggy. Tell Matt I said good night." “Yeah. Good night. It was nice to meet you.” He waved then tried to cover it by running his hand over his hair. He headed back inside and sat back at Matt’s table. “Did you hear all of that?” He saw the amused smirk on Matt’s lips. “Of course you did.” “A dragon fleshlight?” He tried not to laugh. “Dragon themed,” Foggy corrected. Then he sighed. “She’s into you. I shouldn’t be surprised. They’re always into you.” “That’s not true.” “Yes, it is.” He didn’t sound happy about it. “I know how this is going to end up. She’ll come to the office tomorrow. You’ll talk about the case. She’ll invite you to lunch. Then you’ll end up at her hotel having some afternoon delight.” “Foggy, she’s not going to be here long.” “And when has that ever stopped you?” He shrugged. “It’s fine. I mean, if I don’t have a chance, then at least you can, you know.” Matt nodded. “That’s very noble of you. Now drink your beer.” “Why can’t they want funny for once?” “Marci wanted funny,” he pointed out. “Yeah.” Foggy smiled. “And she ended up having a soul after all. Maybe I’ll give her a call.” It would at least give him something to do while he worried about Matt that night. ***** Jess pushed Steven through the door of the Hell's Kitchen precinct and steered him directly to the front desk. The officer behind the desk raised an eyebrow at them. "Who you got?" "Steven Atwood, 25, skipped bail last week. I'm bringing him in, Sir." She responded, her voice professional. The officer at the desk typed a few things into his computer, stared at the man with Jess a moment, then nodded. He signaled a colleague to come and take Steven away then handed Jess a slip of paper. "Here you go Ms. Drew, good luck on the next one." The officer suddenly grinned. "Atwood was a waste of your talents. "Apparently my reputation precedes me." Jess responded, grinning as she slipped the paper into a pocket. "Heard about those cases in San Francisco. Vinnie was a prick for giving you this one" "Yeah well, that happens more often than you would think." She studied the desk officer for a moment. He was different than the one who was there this morning and Jess decided to try again. "Hey, would I be able to check out some of the reports? I need more information on another skip." "Yeah, records room is back that way." The officer replied and pointed vaguely down the hall as a pair of officers dragged some belligerent drunks in with them. Jess waved in thanks and disappeared down the hall before the officer could change his mind. Not that he would – he'd have his hands full for a while it would seem. It didn't take her long to find the room or the information she was looking for. She pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture of the file. After shoving the papers back into their folder, she slammed the drawer shut. The information would have to wait until she could speak to Murdock in the morning. Not ideal, but Jess had rules she had to follow. Well, as Jessica Drew anyway.
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Chapter 5 After losing a motion to suppress a client’s prior drug conviction, Matthew Murdock took a cab to his law office. As soon as he stepped out of it, he could hear Jessica Drew making Foggy laugh. She was telling him about someone she was chasing, someone who was trying to make quick money as a mud wrester in Reno. He could even hear Karen laughing. It made him smile. “Señor Murdock.” He turned to his right where the sound came from. “Yes?” He could tell there was a woman there holding a plate of what smelled like gingerbread. “It’s Ofelia Trujillo.” He smiled. “Ms. Trujillo. Of course. How is your husband?” Matt had gotten them some money after Mr. Trujillo and his truck were hit by a car that ran a red light. “Much better. He went back to work today.” “That’s fantastic.” “I came to give you some maranitos. As a thank you,” she explained. “Without you, we would have lost everything.” Matt was pretty sure that’s an exaggeration. “Thank you, Ms. Trujillo.” He took the platter of what was basically thin gingerbread. “Foggy should be in. Would you like to say hello?” “No, I have to go. But give Señor Foggy and Karen my best.” She turned around and walked away. He continued into the office. “Delivery,” he announced. Jess raised an eyebrow at the food as Foggy descended on it like a vulture and took the plate from Matt. "What are you not going share with anyone else?" Her stomach rumbled as if to emphasize her point. "I skipped breakfast this morning." In reality she had spent the night casing the Dogs local hideouts and hadn't slept at all. Foggy tore the plastic wrap off the plate then held it out to her, offering her pick of the pig-shaped pastries. “Always happy to share with a beautiful woman.” "It's only skin deep I assure you." Jess brushed away the compliment with a wry smile, then becoming all business. Compliments didn't mean anything to her, but she still took two maranitos for herself anyway. "Pleasure chatting with you, but I've got business to discuss with Murdock now that he's here." Jess stepped around Foggy and made her way to Matts office. “Sorry, Foggy,” Matt said before following her. He closed the door behind him before walking around to sit at his desk. “How can I help you, Ms. Drew?” Jess leaned back and draped an arm over the back of her chair. "The other night local hero Daredevil took down some members of the Dogs of Hell. Turns out one of those Dogs is a skip I brought in awhile back. How he's not rotting in a jail cell still is beyond me, but I feel like he might know something about our client’s whereabouts. Thing is, I can't get in to question him myself." Jess took a bite of her pastry, unable to stop herself from making a happy sound at how delicious it was. The sound of someone enjoying their food wasn't something Matt equated with sexy, but Jessica Drew had managed to make him do just that. His lips curved up into a smile that he held for several seconds too long. Catching himself, Matt cleared his throat and licked his lips. “And where is this skip of yours currently,” he asked, doing his best to ignore how inadvertently sexy she was being. Noticing Matt’s reaction and remembering Foggy’s words from the night before, Jess moved her chair slightly back from the desk. "Metro General," she replied. She looked mournfully at her remaining maranitos. She'd just have to save it for later. “Is he in police custody?” When she confirmed that he was, Matt began to put the pieces together. “You think I can get you access to him. So, what, I pretend to be his lawyer and you go in with me as my associate?” "Good plan, but unfortunately I don't have the clothing to pull that off on such short notice." Jess replied. "I could probably pull off girlfriend though." She continued to watch Murdock, looking for any other ways she could be affecting him. “Assuming his lawyer and girlfriend haven’t already been to see him.” He adjusted his glasses as he considered it. “You really think he knows something about Luis?” "I honestly don't know what he knows. But I think it's worth a shot. Call it a hunch." Jess pursed her lips in thought. "I didn't think about his own lawyer already showing up though." Matt knew that probably wouldn’t matter to her. “Something tells me you’re the type of woman who likes to live dangerously. I’m willing to try your plan if you are.” "I guess the bounty hunting must have given that away." Jess responded drily. She broke into a grin. "I'm surprised, Murdock. You don't seem like the type to bend the rules. Let's go have some fun shall we?" “Depends on the rule.” It was hard to read him while he had those glasses on, and he always seemed to have those glasses on. He stood and grabbed his satchel and stick. “After you, Ms. Drew.” ***** Matt Murdock walked with his shoulders back, head high, and stick moving swiftly back and forth in front of him in his version of a stride. One hand was holding on to Jessica Drew’s elbow as she guided him to the hospital room of Thomas “Tomcat” Jones. Two officers stood in front of the door, thankfully neither were ones Jess had run into at the presinct. “No visitors,” one of them said. Letting go of Jess’ arm, Matt pulled out a business card from his breast pocket. “Matt Murdock. I’m Mr. Jones’ attorney. One officer glanced at the card, then from Matt to Jess. "And who would you be ma'am?" "I'm Tomcat's old lady." Jess responded, producing a Long Island accent out of nowhere. "Name's Tina." The officers traded a look, before the first addressed them both. "Unfortunately, Mr. Jones can't have visitors." Jess looked at Murdock and then back to the cops. She took a step forward. "What do you mean I can't see him? I'm his girl, that ain't enough? What do you think I'm gonna do, saw him out of his cuffs? I ain't got nothin' on me you can check!" Jess began turning her pockets inside out, showing that she indeed didn't have anything on her. Matt presses his lips together to prevent himself from laughing. "Sorry Ma'am but there's rules-" Jess cut the officer off before he could say more. She moved so that she was in the officer's personal space. "Don't you 'Ma'am me! I have the right to see my man. He's hurting and-" “Tina,” Matt interrupted in a calm but firm voice. “You’re not helping. Officer, you can’t prevent me from speaking to my client. So, either get out of the way, or I will have you charged with obstruction of justice.” "Fine." Jess stepped back from the officer to stand next to Matt again. Both officers stared at Jess with narrowed eyes a moment before addressing Matt. "Look Mr. Murdock, we don't want any trouble, but we were told no visitors. This guy is wanted criminal." “And I am his lawyer. Or have you forgotten the Miranda Warning you’re required to say to those you arrest,” he challenged. The cops looked at each other again, before the one doing all the speaking finally nodded. "Fine, but we have to search you. Is that ok, Ma'am?" Jess huffed and rolled her eyes at being called ma'am. "I already showed you I got nothin' but fine. If it lets me in to see my Tom. Don't try anything funny." She warned as the cop started his search. Matt opened his bag to show that he had no weapons. Then he raised his arms and waited to be pat down. Finally, they were let into the room. “He’s all yours,” he told Jess once the door was closed. She took a moment and observed the man on the other side of the dimly lit room. Daredevil had given him a hell of a beating, "His neck is in a brace." Jess leaned in and whispered to Matt, figuring he'd want to know. "Probably deserves it too." She muttered even more quietly as she approached the bed. "Hello, Thomas, remember me?" Jess asked. She sounded sweet but there was definitely an edge to her voice. Thomas opened his eyes and stared at Jess for several minutes, until he finally recognized the woman standing over him. His eyes widened, and he couldn't help but flinch a little. "Aww shit lady. Not you again." Matt could hear the sounds of the machines humming in the room. Someone two floors down was crashing, and doctors and nurses were doing their best to stabilize them. In Emergency, they were bringing in two gunshot victims. But all of that was distraction. He needed to concentrate on Tomcat Jones. He cleared his throat as he walked up. “Mr. Jones, we have some questions for you. The sooner you answer them, the sooner we can leave you to heal.” "And what if refuse?" Tom challenged. Jess leaned in, her voice the same sweet tone as before, "Then me making you piss the bed will be the least of your worries. Tell me everything you know about Luis Santiago." “You can’t touch me. I’m in police custody. I’m protected.” Something about the way he said it made Matt think he meant a very specific kind of protected. “That’s the thing about dirty cops.” Jess smiled. She had heard the tell, too, and picked up exactly where the lawyer left off. “No matter how big the pocket they’re in, they’re always willing to crawl into a bigger one. Or maybe they just heard your Nevada branch got wiped out by a woman.” She casually looked at the IV dripping into his arm. It was Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. That Daredevil really did do a number on him if he needed that kind of medication. “Now tell me everything you know about Luis Santiago.” “Never heard of the guy.” “He’s lying,” Matt told her. Jess wanted to know how he was so sure, but she would ask later. “Of course he is.” Her fingers casually wrapped around the tube running from the Fentanyl to Tom’s arm. She folded the tube, cutting off the supply to the pain killer. “Shall we try again?” “Bitch, that won’t do nothin’.” But Tom’s heartrate has increased again. The pain was diminished with the meds but not gone completely. He had already been asking the nurses for more. Given the current opioid epidemic, however, the hospital had been very careful about dosage lately. “Perhaps,” Matt replied, “but you don’t believe that.” Jess licked her lips as she noted how Tomcat stared at the tube where she pinched it. “Let’s try this one more time. Luis Santiago.” Tomcat did not want to tell her a single goddamn thing, but with no cops on his side and no meds, what choice did he have. "Guy was a moron, okay? Smitty needed a thief for some jackass who wouldn't pay for a hit. Smitty picked him up in some bar 'cause he was braggin' about some theft he pulled off. So, he was hired." "Hired him or made him do it?" Jess asked for clarification. "Hired him, lady. Guy wanted money. The job paid well. Except he's a fuckin' moron. We gave him all the right information, and he fucked up. Got caught by a security guard and killed him." “Guard didn’t kill him,” Matt told Jess. "So where is Luis now?" Jess purred dangerously as Tomcat whined with pain. "The sooner you tell me, the sooner you get your pain meds back." "I don't know, lady. They move him around. Not sure if they want him for another theft or 'cause he went to the lawyer that took down Fisk to bail him out." His eyes flicked briefly to Matt then back to the tube. “He’s telling the truth,” Matt said. “He doesn’t know where Luis is. But he can probably tell us the places they use for this sort of thing.” Jess only had to raise an eyebrow at Tomcat. Sweat had begun to bead on his forehead and he was panting with pain. He licked his lips. "Try...try the truckyard by the docks. The bar....and there's a warehouse not far from the truckyard." She frowned at that. None of those had been places she had cased the night before, though she had been nearby.Matt nodded, which was all the confirmation Jess needed. She released the tube, and Tomcat groaned with relief. "Wait for me at the door," she instructed Matt.. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he replied before making his way to the door. Jess turned up the IV drip ever so slightly before removing the glove from her hand. "You are going to forget this whole conversation happened ok?" She lightly tapped the now thoroughly doped up Tomcat's cheek as just the barest hint of that sickly-sweet scent rose through the air. "I hope your dreams are anything but pleasant." Satisfied, Jess turned on her heel and strode towards Matt. "You alright Murdock?" She asked quietly as she pulled her gloves back on. “Yeah.” He didn’t look fine, though. Remembering that scent and the way it increased his fear, he quickly opened the door wanting to get out of there. “Thank you,” he told the cops as he and Jess passed them. As soon as they were in the elevator, Jess pulled out a small bottle and misted both herself and Matt with its' contents. "How are you feeling now Murdock?" She knew he was sensitive. But hell, she hadn't realized he was that sensitive. She was going to have to be far more careful. He took a deep breath. His shoulders relaxed. “Better. Thank you.” He tugged at his collar and took another breath. “What is that? And what happened?” Jess shrugged, not that Matt would be able to see it. "Science. You pick up some interesting tricks in my line of work." She leaned in a little and lowered her voice to a sly whisper. "Mr. Jones is going to have a bad trip. He's lucky that's all it's going to be." He licked his lips. “Remind me to never make you angry. Or skip bail.” His finger tugged on his collar as though feeling a little warm. “You’re definitely resourceful.” "I have to be." Jess stepped away from the lawyer as a faint blush crept up his cheeks. She looked at the bottle in her hand then back to Matt. This shit worked every time. What the hell? Just as she was about to spay it again, the elevator dinged and the door opened. Jess hastily pocketed the bottle, "Looks like this is our stop. After you, Murdock." Matt stepped out of the elevator and paused until she was next to him again. He cleared his throat, “Anything else I can help with? I know a few people on the police force.” She allowed Matt to take her elbow so she could guide him out of the hospital, but kept as much distance between them as she could. "I appreciate the offer, Murdock, but I've got it from here. But tell me, how’d you know he was lying?" He shrugged and tilted his head. “Good guess? A guy like that isn’t going to tell you the truth immediately. But you…” He wasn’t sure what to say. “You are very impressive, Ms. Drew.” He wrestled with whether to ask her out for a drink. It took a moment, but he did make up his mind. “I just have one request. Please call me before you turn Luis over to the police so I can be there.” "I'll be sure to, don't worry. I wouldn't leave Luis high and dry like that." Jess responded once they were out of the hospital. She pulled her arm free from Matt's grasp and regarded him a moment. "I appreciate the compliment Murdock, but I'm not as impressive as you think I am. Far from it actually." Jess shoved her hands in her pockets, fingers brushing the bottle again. “I doubt that.” He adjusted his glasses. “If you’re still around after, maybe you’ll let me buy you a drink. As a thank you for your help,” he added. Jess frowned as she continued to study Murdock. He seemed better, but Jess took a step back just to be safe. "I'll think about it." Matt nodded once taking the body language as rejection. “I’m sure you’re a busy woman. Good luck, and be careful.” "Same to you. I'll be in touch." Jess gave the lawyer one last look then turned to go. He considered calling after her. Instead he turned to the street and walked to where he thought he could find a cab. He had done everything he could for her as a lawyer. But as Daredevil he could have her back.
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Chapter 6 Jess- actually Spider-Woman now- had perched herself against the wall of a building overlooking the warehouse Tomcat had told her about. The shadows hid her well, but Spider-Woman doubted anyone would look 30 stories up to see if they were being watched. She adjusted the glasses on her face, wishing the night vision feature on them was a bit better. So far, nothing. But that didn't necessarily mean anything – Groups like the Dogs preferred to operate well after everyone else had gone to bed for the night. She rubbed absently at her arm as she waited for some sign that things were moving. Her night so far had not been ideal. Jess had picked up a skip earlier – this time busting into his home, but she hadn't realized the ass had had back up. He'd wound up slicing her arm with a knife and ruining her jacket on top of it. She had managed to bring both thugs down and into the station, but it set Jess' mood for the night. It was why she was out here as Spider-Woman rather than Jess tonight. There were things she could do as Spider-Woman that she couldn't as Jess. After helping Foggy prepare for trial and needing to go home to change, Daredevil arrived on the roof of the building. He crouched and listened. There were voices below him. More intriguingly he could hear her heartbeat on the outside of the building. He knew that must be the bounty hunter. He frowned. Foggy had teased him mercilessly when he told him how Drew had shut him down when he asked her out for drinks. It still smarted a little. He took a breath and kept listening. Below her in the warehouse, he could sense someone hanging from their wrists silent but alive. There were five maybe six men with him. Four were playing cards. At least one was walking around. He had a feeling Jessica Drew could take them all out, so he chose to wait. One man stepped out of the warehouse. As he walked away from the building, his hands went up to his mouth. A small flame from a lighter could be seen, and he used it to light his cigarette. The top of the lighter closed with a flick. Then he took a long drag. The movement caught Spider-Woman's attention and she crawled a few more feet up the wall, Daredevil's presence went unnoticed. This was what she had been waiting for. Once she felt she was high enough she pushed herself away from the building, spreading her arms so that the wings of her jacket caught the wind, turning her free fall into a glide. Her injured arm protested at the movement, but she pushed it aside and focused her attention on the thug below. It was mostly silent, only a faint rustling that caught Daredevil’s attention. He found himself again impressed with her. But the man with the cigarette was too busy looking at his phone and smoking his cigarette to notice her. Spider-Woman swooped in to land silently behind the man, plucking the cigarette from his fingers and stepping on it as it fell to the ground. "Those aren't good for you." She whispered as he turned to look at her, his surprise clear on his face. Her fist met his temple and the man fell to the ground without a word. Spider-Woman paused and listened to make sure no one else was alerted then dragged the man's limp form behind a shipping container. Satisfied, she slipped into the warehouse, weaving between the large wooden containers stacked inside. The man hanging by his wrists stirred, grabbing the attention of the three thugs watching him. They encircled the man, getting in his face and taunting him. Spider-Woman silently crawled along the ceiling, two more unconscious bodies hidden in the stacks of crates below. She dropped from the ceiling, grabbed the first thug by the neck and smashed his head through the table then into the concrete floor. One man down, she turned to face the other two. Daredevil climbed down the building while keeping his senses tuned to her. The way he experienced it, it was like a ballet. Her movements were as fluid and graceful as a dancer. She virtually disappeared until there were more people to hit. Halfway down, he heard a car drive up and stop in front of the warehouse. Four more guys got out. One noticed cigarette guy knocked out on the ground. They pulled out their guns and headed inside. Now on the ground, Daredevil ran after them. Spider-Woman dodged her first opponent's swing and ducked down low, managing to punch him in the stomach. The thug doubled over, and she kicked him hard, sending him flying only to land several feet away. She turned just in time to grab the remaining thug's wrist, preventing him from stabbing her in the back. Spider-woman stared at her opponent as she tightened her grip on his wrist. The man groaned and dropped his knife as bones in his wrist started to crack. Despite his obvious pain the man grinned and looked past her shoulder. Spider-Woman shoved her current opponent away in order to face whoever was behind her – but only found the sting of bullets. She hissed in pain, annoyed at herself for getting sloppy. But it wasn't long before she found her new attackers. Her hands crackled with green electricity, which made her new opponents hesitate. It was all Spider-Woman needed, and she let her venom blasts fly. The two men crumpled to the ground unconscious. In the darkness beyond, she could hear the sound of fists hitting flesh. Then came the sound of grunting. Finally, there was a thud as something hit the floor. Spider-Woman straightened and stared into the shadows, ready to fight whoever was next. The sound of something metal scraping against cement behind her caught her attention but it was too late. Spider-Woman grunted and fell to her knees as the crowbar slammed into her back with a sickening crunch. "Stupid bitch. Think you can come in here and ruin our fun?" She stared at the remaining thug she had pushed away only a few moment ago. Apparently, she hadn't pushed him hard enough. He leaned over and grabbed her hair with his good hand, pulling her close so that her face was only a few inches away from his. It was the opening she needed. Spider-Woman grabbed his throat and released another jolt of bioelectricity. His grip on her loosened as he passed out and she fell to the floor with him. "If you're going to finish me off, now's a good time to do it." Spider-woman called harshly to whoever it was in the shadows. All she could make out with her glasses was the outline of a body. Injured and drained from using her bioelectricity as she had, she knew she didn't have much left to defend herself with. “I’m not,” a gruff voice replied before the man in red appeared. He crouched down next to her. “Bullets didn’t hit any major organs or arteries, but your ribs are fractured. I’m going to get the prisoner. Then I’ll be back to help you out of here.” She wouldn't admit it, but she was relieved when Daredevil stepped out. She wasn't about to let him help her up though; her pride wouldn't allow it. She'd had far worse injuries before. But she couldn't help the groan that escaped her as she struggled to her feet. Nor the feeling of deja vu as he remarked on her injuries. She pushed the feeling away for the moment and focused on the prisoner. "Is he still alive?" She asked, knowing by now that it wasn't Luis. She still wanted to know why they had this one. “Yes, but he’s unconscious.” Daredevil searched for a key or bolt cutters to cut the man down with. He found them on what remained of the table where the men had been playing cards. He unlocked the handcuffs and helped the man to the ground. “We need to get you both to a hospital.” She hobbled over to the last man she zapped, ignoring the blood that oozed from her wounds and the pain in her chest. After a moment of searching she pulled out his phone. Her vision swam as a she dialed 911 - She has had forgotten how much her bioelectricty could take out of her. "This will get him to the hospital sooner. I'm out." She looked at Daredevil. "I'd recommend the same for you." She punched send on the phone and let it clatter to the floor as she limped away. If she swayed a little from exhaustion, she didn't notice. Daredevil rushed after her. “You’re in no condition to just walk away.” He stopped to pull a t-shirt off one of the guys. “Just wait a minute. We need to at least stop the bleeding.” He ripped the shirt into strips as he tried to catch up with her again. Jess had been going non-stop since she had landed in this city a few days ago. It figured it had all finally caught up with her tonight. Injuries aside, the fact that she not only stopped to wait for Daredevil to catch up with her but was willing to compromise was proof of just how truly exhausted she was. "Help me out of here first then we'll stop the bleeding. I want to be far away when the cops show." “Sure.” He wrapped an arm around her waist. “Lean on me,” he told her. Jess did as she was told and leaned into him so that weight was off her injured leg. She could tell the bullets were still in both wounds, but she'd deal with that when she got to her safe house. "Here's good." She finally spoke when she felt they were far enough away. He lowered her to the ground and started to bind her leg. “I know a nurse. She’s very discreet. She works at a hospital nearby,” he told her. “She can get that bullet out of you. No cops.” She watched him work in silence for several moments before she spoke again "I've pulled bullets out of myself before. I'll be fine once I get to my place. Thanks for the help though." Jess grabbed a strip of shirt and wadded it up to hold on the wound on her shoulder. “This is going to take more than a first aid kit,” he told her, though he suspected she already knew that. "Why do you care?" She countered, wincing a little as he tightened the bandage on her leg. Jess felt like she had a valid point. She was on his turf and meddling in things he probably didn't want her to meddle in. In her experience even the good guys could be a bit territorial. She didn't think Daredevil would hurt her – he could have already if he'd wanted to. But she felt there was a catch here, something she was missing. That sense of déjà vu returned as she tried to stand again. “Do I need a reason?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “You don’t trust me. I get it. Not sure I trust you, either. But I think we’re after the same thing.” He stood. “We can have that talk later. Right now, you need medical attention.” He offered his hand. “Shall we?” "Fine, but we go back to my place." She took his offered hand and allowed him to pull her up. "If you try anything funny I'm zapping you to hell." She threatened, though it was an empty one. If they were after the same thing – person she suspected – then he definitely wouldn't hurt her. Though why he'd be after Luis was beyond her – but it did get her thinking again. "I don't do funny," he replied as they started moving again. But almost immediately, he told her to stop. He waited, listened. "Please don't shock me." He picked her up and ducked into an alley. A moment later, two cop cars drove by. "Fuck-" Jess' response was cut off as he whisked her down the alley. She bit her lip to swallow the gasp of pain the sudden movement caused and couldn't help but cling to him briefly as she worked through it. She cursed her own weakness as she struggled to get her feet back on the ground. "You're lucky I'm out of juice." She hissed quietly as she wrapped her arms around her ribs. Jess looked back towards the street, on the alert for more cop cars. She didn't want to get caught unaware like that again. She was better than that. She didn't need his help, but she wasn't about to let him off without having that talk. He listened for a moment. “Okay. We’re clear.” She let him lead her out of the alley, but every sense was screaming at her to hide, to get to the rooftops, that they were too exposed. She was half tempted to use her pheromones and take whatever information Daredevil had for her from him – but immediately felt horrible for even having the thought. She was a poor excuse of a human being. If she could be considered even that much. "It's not much further." "Hospital is only three blocks away." He replied, hoping to change her mind about going there. "I'm not going to die you know. I wasn't lying when I said I've been through this before." Jess started to have second thoughts about him helping her at all. In her current state it would be ridiculously easy to become a science experiment again. What the hell had she been thinking, letting him take her anywhere? She started to resist Daredevil's hold on her. "You know what. I appreciate the help, but it's really best if I deal with this myself." "You can barely stand. You're still bleeding. You -" He cocked his head and listened to just how quickly her wounds were closing. Then he realized, "You need to get the bullets out before your skin heals around them." "No shit. Won't be the first time that has happened either." He looked like a dog who was listening for something. He had super hearing or some other ability if he could tell how quickly she was healing already. She twisted out of his hold and ducked down another alley, the movement once more causing her chest to burn and her wounds to ooze again. Jess took a second to lean against the building – exhaustion could only be healed with sleep – then started to climb. Daredevil huffed. He followed as best he could, climbing up the fire escape and anything else he could find. Why he was doing this he didn’t know. And he was starting to think he should just let her go. He could still check out the other locations himself for Luis. Jess hauled herself onto the roof of the building and collapsed against the wall with a huff of her own. She grumbled when she saw that Daredevil had followed. "Fuck you." She complained, but she was done fighting him if he was stubborn enough to follow her up to the rooftops. "Flat's that way. Two buildings over." She gestured as she attempted to stand again. He rushed over and helped her up. “You sure you can get to it up here?” He was concerned how she was going to get across the buildings. "Yes", she responded with a bite of sarcasm. "I'm on the top floor. It's only a couple of jumps." Jess pushed herself away from him and towards the edge of the building. The jump wasn't far in the least, but she wasn't looking forward to landing. She made the leap anyway, managing to take the brunt of it on her good leg before collapsing with a groan. Daredevil followed, easily jumping the gap. He landed with a roll. Then he returned to her, helping her across the building. He again found himself impressed, this time by her tenacity and stubbornness. “Just one more,” he told her. She'd have been touched by his concern, except that they were after the same thing. Which meant he wanted something from her. Jess didn't bother with a response. She took a breath and made the next leap and somehow managed to land it like the last one. She propped herself on her elbows as her vision swam and she tried to catch her breath. He again followed her across. This time he crouched beside her. “Take a breath. We’re almost there. No more jumps.” He helped her to her feet. "Says the asshole without cracked ribs." Jess gasped, but she leaned on him for several moments as she caught her breath. It was that or fall over again. She cursed herself for using her venom blasts when she was already tired to begin with. This was always the result. She could feel blood soaking through her clothing again...including the knife slice from earlier. She pushed herself away from Daredevil and made her way to the side of the building. She slid down onto the fire escape, then through the nearby window and into her apartment. Daredevil jumped down and followed her in. “Air B&B?” he asked when he realized this was not a hotel room. Some of the tension ran out of Jess now that she was home- well her home away from home. "I own it." She explained as she struggled out of her jacket. She bit her to lip and swallowed another groan of pain, then limped towards the bathroom. He followed. His image reflected in the large mirror above the sink, the lights made him look almost silly standing there in his costume. Seeming to either not know or not care, he crouched to open the bottom cabinet. He pulled out the first aid kit. It was as if he knew exactly where it was. He put it and a bottle of alcohol on the counter then stood back up. “Do you have any large tweezers? Or do we need to use a knife.” "Just make yourself at home." Jess muttered, more than a little unnerved that he knew where to find her first aid kit. "Probably need to use both. They're in the kit." Her tank top was soaked in blood. She turned away from her reflection and studied Daredevil. He was far less intimidating in the light. But it was his mask that drew her attention. Jess reached up and slid her thumb along the eye slots...or rather, where eye slots should've been. "You can't see." She realized and several things began to click into place, despite her exhaustion. He had pulled away when she reached for him but not far enough. “Then you won’t mind taking off your clothes. So I can get to your wounds,” he clarified as he took off his gloves. Jess bit back a response, but she pulled her hand away. He might not be able to see, but he clearly had abilities that compensated for it. Hadn't Foggy said something similar? "Yeah sure." She slid the straps of her bra and tank top off her arm but otherwise left them on. Her pants were a little trickier as they had begun to stick to the wound, but she managed with only a wince of pain. She eased herself back so that she sat on the counter...and her hands for good measure. "I don't want to punch you when you start to dig those bullets out." She half-heartedly joked. “I appreciate that.” He listened to see which wound was worse. He decided to get out the bullet in her leg first. He poured some alcohol on his hands, the scalpel, tweezers, and the wound. During the latter, he heard the wince he had been expecting from her. He used his fingers to try to hold the wound open. “Ready?” Before she could answer, he pushed the tweezers into her wound and used them to grasp the sides of the bullet. Jess was not ready, but the only sound she made was a huff as Daredevil worked to remove the bullet. It was bad enough she had shown so much weakness already. Years ago she'd have been severely punished for it. She wasn't going to show anymore, especially not to him. Bullet out, he placed the metal on the counter. He could hear her breath slow and controlled as he placed a bandage over the wound. He straightened up and offered her the tweezers. "Do you want to take out the one in your shoulder yourself?" At least he worked quickly and she was had to admit he was surprisingly gentle. It threw her off balance. More than she already was and she didn't like it. She studied his face another moment (she was pretty sure she knew those lips) before she answered a bit grudgingly, "You're faster than me, and I'm the one who can see what I'm doing." She pushed the tweezers back towards him. Jess pulled her hair back with a hand and tilted her head to the side of so he could get to the wound on her shoulder more easily. Matt took a slow breath to calm himself. He needed to be professional at this moment. He poured more alcohol on the tweezers. For this wound, he used an alcohol-soaked piece of cloth to clean it. "It's nice you want to clean it out, but it won't matter." Jess growled as the alcohol stung her. He seemed to be taking his time with this one. Then again that was a wise move since it was probably lodged between a couple of bones. "Do you have a natural immunity to infections?" He sounded intrigued. He again used his fingers to try to keep the hole open. This time he realized it required some re-cutting to get to the bullet. "Yeah." Jess didn't elaborate, though infection was one of many things she didn't have to worry about. It was a both a blessing and a curse. She saw him go for the scalpel and braced herself, knowing this one was going to hurt more than the last. "I'm sorry about this." He pushed the scalpel against the skin and sliced the wound open again. He quickly exchanged it for the tweezers. He placed his free hand at her clavicle for leverage. Then he listened as the tweezers went in. He could hear and feel as the metal scraped against the bullet. "Sorry," he muttered as he twisted the tweezers to get a better grip. "One. Two. Three." He pulled out the bullet with a grunt. It hurt a lot, the pressure on her clavicle putting pressure on her injured ribs in turn. Jess could taste the blood as she bit her lip to keep herself quiet. It was over soon enough and she finally let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Thanks." The bullet was placed on the counter with the other one. He gently placed a bandage over the wound to stop the bleeding. "Personally, I think you need stitches, but you know your abilities better than I do." She turned her head and looked at his hands, once again wondering how they could be so gentle. Jess honestly couldn't remember the last time anyone had touched her like that. She unconsciously leaned into his touch even though it hurt. "Don't bother. The bandage will be enough for now and it'll be half healed by mid-morning." The ribs would take a little longer but she didn't mention that. "You said earlier that we needed to have a talk?" She probed a little. Her body screamed at her to rest, but now that her injuries were taken care of she wanted information. "Did I?" He placed her hand over the bandage to hold it in place as he cut strips of tape. "Why are you going after the Dogs?" So that's how he wanted to play. "You did. Mentioned we might want the same thing even." Jess threw his words back at him. She pressed the bandage firmly into her shoulder and once more tilted her head to the side so the tape wouldn't get stuck in her hair. "As to why – I have a history with the Dogs. I get a certain amount of joy bringing them in." She purposely left Luis out of her explanation – she wanted to see where his questioning was going. He smirked at her subterfuge. "You're looking for someone. Someone specific." He placed the strips of tape across the bandage and onto her skin. "But not the guy in the warehouse." If Jess hadn't been certain before now, that smirk all but confirmed his identity to her. But she didn't call him out. Not yet. "True, but we both must be looking for someone specific because you weren't after the guy in the warehouse either. And you did mention we were after the same thing- or rather, someone." she reminded him again. "I become interested when someone travels across the country to search for a two-bit criminal." He grabbed his gloves and left the bathroom to give her some privacy. Jess didn't give a shit about privacy. She kicked off her shoes and pants the rest of the way then darted after Daredevil as fast as her body would allow. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him around so that he was facing her. "A two-bit criminal who's worth a lot of money." Money that she wasn't going to see because she wasn't the bounty hunter assigned to his case. Money that she wouldn't take regardless because she respected Scott, because he cared about his friends and wished she had people that cared as much about her. Money she didn't give a shit about because it was Luis and while he made stupid ass decisions on a nearly constant basis, she actually liked the guy. Jess pulled herself into his space so she was only inches from his face. "I think you got interested when it was your client that disappeared out of the blue." God, he wanted to kiss her. But she had rejected him once before, and she obviously thought/knew they were one and the same. "Get into bed, lady. You need to rest. The blood loss is messing with your brain." Jess laughed – but it was not a happy one. Whatever exhaustion she had felt before had been replaced by anger and a little hurt. He'd known about her all this time, had asked her for drinks (though she was fairly certain that wasn't really him) and now that she had figured it out he didn't trust her, tried to deny it. She shifted herself closer to him as her grip on his wrist loosened ever so slightly. "All I'm asking is to be put on equal footing with you. You've had an idea of what I am since day one and I appreciate that you haven't given that secret away. Trust me with yours – we'll find Luis far more quickly if you do and then I'll be out of your city and your life can go back to normal." Well as normal as it got for people like them. He leaned back and chewed on his lip. "My identity is secret to protect those I love." She didn't know why it was so important to her to have him trust her. But she found it was something she wanted more than anything. She trusted him – to the point where she let him in her safe house no one else new about. Hell, she let him pull bullets out of her and he could've killed in 30 different ways – but he hadn't. Jess knew better than to trust anyone. Trust usually got you hurt and the man who stood before her knew that too. Yet, Jess trusted Daredevil and she trusted Matt Murdock and she was damn sure they were the same person. "Yeah, I can get that." He had Foggy and Karen to worry about, not to mention his career. She wondered what it was like to have all that. To have people to care about and who cared about you back. The anger ran out of her just as quickly as it appeared. She let go of his wrist and moved out of his space altogether. "Thanks for all your help to tonight. If I find anything else out I'll be sure to let you or Murdock know. Or you know. You can find me with your bat hearing. Door's behind you. Or you can use the window again. Whichever." She was done trying to call him out. She'd let him keep his secret. With that she turned and headed towards the bedroom, leaving Daredevil to do whatever else it was he did. When she fell into bed, she didn't even care that she got the sheets bloody. Daredevil stood there as though in a trance. He wanted to tell her. It was only fair. And it wasn't like she usually lived here. Plus it might be nice to be able to talk to someone about this who wasn't trying to get him to stop. He opened his mouth but couldn't speak. He just stood there. He listened to her get into bed. He listened to her heartbeat and the sound of her breathing. He realized he was being creepy just standing there listening. His head hung low as he considered his next move. Did he owe her the truth? Probably. He said a silent prayer for her. Then he quietly headed to the window and climbed out.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 7 Jess cracked open an eye to see the late-afternoon sunlight streaming through the window. Shit. She had definitely intended to be up before now. And now that she was awake she could feel every bruise in her body. She noted the places her body hurt the most – shoulder, ribs, and thigh- then slowly rolled out of bed with a groan. She grimaced in distaste at her ruined bedsheets – covered in dirt and blood as they were, Jess saw a trip to Target in her future. She stripped the bed and shoved the sheets into a corner of the room to be dealt with later, then hobbled into the bathroom. With a sigh, she cleaned up that mess too, before she inspected the damage from the night before. The good news was the wounds had all closed. The bad news was that there were several huge bruises left in their wake that made it hard to move. Her ribs weren't any better, but painkillers did nothing for her since she metabolized them too fast. With a sigh she turned to the shower, cranked in on hot and climbed in. Jess stood there for good long while letting it ease her aches and wash the blood from the night before away. Eventually she felt human enough to venture towards the kitchen, intent on enjoying an entire pot of coffee, but paused. She smelled pizza. Jess bypassed the kitchen to find a large pizza, with a note taped to the box, on her coffee table. She definitely hadn't ordered a pizza, but Jess wasn't going to complain about free food. She took a slice and shoved it into her mouth as she read the note: ‘A peace offering. I’ll come by tonight. We can check out the next place if you’re up to it. –DD’ Jess loved food. Jess loved free food even more. Jess wasn't going complain about free food from anonymous sources. She was, however, annoyed that Murdock/Daredevil/whoever the fuck he was thought she could be bought with food. She was even more annoyed because she had been bought hook, line and sinker. It also annoyed her that the note sounded suspiciously as if he was asking her on a date. A date to beat up people – which she needed to do because she still hadn't found Luis and had begun to suspect the worst. She flopped onto her couch and grabbed another slice, hell bent on making sure that not one crumb remained for Daredevil to eat when he finally showed. The box was empty by the time Daredevil knocked on her window that night. "Drew?" He wasn't going to enter her place without her permission. Jess had just finished off the last slice of pizza with a satisfied sigh when he arrived. She looked up at her window and raised an eyebrow. She stood up and opened the window, then stepped aside to let him in. "Oh, so we are going by names now?" He stepped inside and stood there with his hands on his hips and his head bowed. "I don't trust easily as you can imagine." His body language alone was enough to make any spite she had towards him run out of her. Jess mirrored his stance, feeling ashamed she had asked for such a thing from him. "Actually, I can imagine." She responded. Trust got you hurt and others hurt. Trust was not something to be given lightly. But he knew what she was, what she could do, and all Jess had wanted was to be put back on equal footing. But she wasn't going to push him for it. It had to be something he wanted to give. She really hadn't done anything to deserve it anyway. "You have people to protect. Me knowing who you are puts that in jeopardy. It's fine." Jess was sincere, though it still stung. She had started to learn that not being trustworthy was a feeling you didn't get used to. He reached up and took off his helmet. Then he took off a glove and held out his hand to her. "You were right. I'm Matt Murdock. And I really need to be more careful." That was the last thing she had expected. Jess' jaw dropped and she spent several long moments just staring at him. One minute it was gruff, aloof Daredevil standing there and then it was just Matt as soon as the helmet came off. Matt in a red Kevlar suit, but Matt nonetheless. She realized she looked like an idiot, not that he could see it but that was beside the point. She still felt ashamed – as if she had put him in a corner and hadn't really given him a choice about revealing his secret to her. Except now he had and Jess felt an odd sense of flattery join her shame. Jess took his offered hand, liked that it was as calloused as her own. She licked her lips as a million questions she wanted to, but didn't, ask darted through her head. "Yeah, you really do." She agreed with him instead. "I don't usually let people get this close when I'm in the suit," he explained. He felt stupid talking about it and decided to change the topic instead. He put the helmet back on. "How are you feeling?" "And I don't usually let people near my apartment." Jess responded in an awkward attempt to show she understood what he meant. She noted the change in him as the helmet went on – as he went from Matt back to Daredevil. It was similar to the change in him when he had gone into lawyer mode as soon as they entered the hospital yesterday. And Jess liked it. Liked seeing all the different hats Matt Murdock wore. Admired that he pulled it off as well as he did. She would never be able to do it. "I feel like a giant bruise if I'm to be honest. But sitting around not moving isn't going to help that." She grabbed her glasses off the coffee table and put them on. She moved closer to him then, feeling more comfortable with him now that the shock had worn off some. "I'm Spider-Woman by the way." She whispered it, sharing the secret not many people knew. He knew what she could do, she just figured she owed him the name too, despite how silly and seldom used as it was. He nodded once. "Which place do you want to check out tonight?" She had expected some smartass comment, since that's what she usually got in response to her name. Jess made her way to the window and climbed out. "The bar." “The bar?” It sounded like he thought that was a bad idea. “Don’t you think you should take it easy tonight?” "I thought that would be taking it easy?" Jess paused her ascent to the roof and looked back at him. She didn't think Luis was there, but she could use the bar to get information. They should have gone there last night instead of the warehouse. Plus biker bars loved when women who looked like her showed up. She didn't like it but had learned to use it to her advantage. He hesitated. “I can’t go in with you. And there will be a lot of them in there. At least half will be drunk and rowdy.” He threw his hands up as though suggesting that should be enough. “Plus, you’re a walking bruise.” "I assure you I can handle a room full of rowdy men." Jess responded, feeling annoyed, though he had a point about her bruises. She was going to leave her jacket with him, but her bruises were wide spread and would give her away. Jess decided to ignore that detail for the moment. "Besides, won't you be able to hear what's going on? You can come rescue me if it all goes.... south." It was then that something clicked into place, and Jess let go of the wall to land with a soft thud beside Daredevil. Her eyes narrowed to slits as several odd thoughts raced through her mind. "Are you concerned about me?" The question surprised him. He wasn’t sure how to answer, particularly since it felt like any answer he gave would be taken poorly. He licked his lips. “You got shot last night. Twice. Yes, I’m concerned.” Jess stepped away and attached herself to the wall again, unsure if he was telling the truth or not. She was surprised at how desperately she wanted to believe his concern, but no one ever worried about the wellbeing of Jessica Drew. "Well, you shouldn't be. I can handle myself. You've a point about the bruise though. Too much for makeup to cover well so they'd know something is up." She conceded to that point at least. "So, Truck yard then? What have the news reports said about last night?" “Police took the credit,” he told her then started to climb up, relieved that she changed her mind about the bar. “The guy inside had been missing for a couple of days. He was a known drug dealer with a couple of arrests under his belt.” He pulls himself up onto the roof. “What the news didn’t say is that the guy was a police snitch. Which is probably why the Dogs had him.” "Do you know what kind of things he snitched to the police?" Jess asked, her voice changing a bit as she slipped into Spider-Woman mode. She wished she hadn't slept all day so she could've gotten more information from the guy. "Did you pay him a visit?" She had reached the roof before him and offered a hand to help him the rest of the way up. Daredevil took it. “Not directly but I went to the station. He’d tell them about any big shipments coming in. He gave them the location of a couple of the Dogs who were wanted for questioning. The guy’s scared and ready to talk if he can get witness protection.” Again, she kicked herself for sleeping all day, but knew she had needed it. "Let's hope tonight goes well so another hospital trip isn't needed." She considered Daredevil a moment and a sly grin crossed her face. "Race you to the truck yards." Spider-Woman didn't wait for him to respond, just turned and sprinted across the roof top. He only had a short moment to be amused before he ran after her. He took it as a good sign, that she was feeling better, at least good enough to race him. She had an advantage though. She could glide between buildings. He had to trust in his own skills to get him across, that and his baton. Her movements were a bit stiff at first, but it wasn't long before Jess was alternately leaping and gliding between buildings. Eventually she got enough height for her webwings to catch an updraft so she was gliding in earnest. She loved the freedom gliding gave her – and also the tactical advantage. From this height, she could see movement at the truckyards. She located Daredevil below and closed her arms, going into a free fall before snapping them open again to land gracefully on a nearby rooftop to wait for him. He put on an extra burst of speed when he sensed her falling and let out a relieved breath when she landed. It took 30 seconds for him to reach her. “Did you see them?” he asked. “There’s a lot of echo. I can’t pinpoint exactly how many there are.” Spider-Woman adjusted her glasses. "I counted 13, but there could be more. Couldn't see any faces though." She couldn't help but have a feeling that Luis was down there. He crouched down to get a better listen. It was easier to hear here, but the trucks still made it a little difficult. “Sounds like they’re scattered. How do you want to play this?” "It's your city. How do you think it should be played?" She returned, more than a little intrigued about how his senses worked. She shoved her hands in her pockets as she waited. His head tilted up toward her. “Me?” He slowly stood as he went through various scenarios in his mind. They could move faster alone, but he knew Spider-Woman was still healing. She could use her scent thing, but he rejected that idea since it would probably make them trigger happy. “We should go in together on the north side and quietly sweep south.” If they got split up, he’d still be close enough to help her. Once again, the way he tilted his head to listen reminded her of a puppy. She was starting to find it sort of endearing. Spider-Woman licked her lips as she thought. "It looked as if they were loading a truck though. I'll cover the south entrance for anything entering or leaving the yard." She told him, her mind clearly made up. He gave a nod. There could be advantage in having her there to catch anyone who tried to get away. He’d practically be herding them toward her. Practically but not actually if he could help it. Though he did wonder how quickly she would get bored and start moving north. “You’re well enough to handle it?” he asked. Spider-Woman gave an offended scoff. "Why wouldn't I be? I feel fine." Which was true enough. She was so jumped up on adrenaline for their upcoming mission that her bruises and ribs didn't even twinge. She leaned into him, "I'm stronger than you and far more durable. Don't you worry about me." “I’ll try not to,” he replied as he tried to ignore how warm she felt against him. He could smell the pepperoni and marinara sauce still on her breath. His cheek was tickled by strands of her hair that were moved by the cool breeze around them. “Do you want me to signal you if I find Luis?” It took a few moments before she realized exactly how close she was to him and moved away awkwardly, though she huffed with annoyance in a poor attempt to cover it up. "That sounds good. I uh...guess I'll holler for you?" She knew his hearing was good but if the trucks were interfering, they'd need to find another way. “It’ll be easier once I acclimate to the space,” he told her. “And I’ll keep an ear out for you.” He shifted. “Well, good luck.” He couldn’t believe he just said that. After an awkward pause, he cocked his head. There it was, a very recognizable voice. Though he had only spoken to Luis a handful of times, there was no mistaking it. “He’s there. Somewhere near the center.” He pressed his lips together. “He’s telling them about his mother’s tamales.” Matt couldn’t help but wonder how that had gotten on to that topic. "It's a survival tactic." Jess supplied. She didn't need to be a mind-reader to know what he was thinking. "Remind me to tell you about the first time I had to bring him in when this is all over. Let's move." She ducked down the side of the building, keeping to the walls and shadows as she made her way south to search for Luis. Daredevil went North doing much the same while following the high chain-link fence. Once he got to the corner of it, he stopped to listen for Spider-Woman. It sounded as though she was already punching the front guard. He jumped onto the fence and tried to climb up and over as quietly as he could. He stopped whenever he heard someone come near. Then he’d continue, finally landing with a soft thud. He next climbed onto one of the trucks. He travelled from one to the next heading in the direction of Luis’ voice. That lasted until the trucks ran out. He stopped and waited until a guard was just below him. Then he jumped down behind him and knocked him out. He could hear another guard coming up. He moved to stand against the truck. As the guard came by, he stepped out and punched him in the face. With the front guard down, Jess made good time sneaking towards the building that lay near the center of the yard. She used stacks of old pallets and a row of windowless Ford vans for cover. The sound of one of those vans caught her attention and she dove behind a stack of pallets as it pulled up to the building. A man stepped out and began to pound on the door. "Where's he at?!? We're on a time frame here!" The words made Daredevil move faster. Luis was just across the open space in a small office. He ran, throwing his baton at a guard in front of him, retrieving it as he passed. He jumped and kicked the next one. He followed that with a right uppercut to the gut just before shoving his head against the wall. Daredevil waited for the one inside to come out. He grabbed the gun and pulled it out. It was strapped to its owner. It made it easy to choke the guy until he became unconscious. He stepped into the building. “Luis Santiago.” “Duuuude. That ruckus was you?” he said. “You’re badass. You look kind funny though. What’s with the horns?” He turned to see the horned guy untie his feet then his hands. “You look like El Diablito in Lotería, only he had these little red shorts he wore. Are you here to rescue me?” “Yes.” “Badass.” He grinned widely. “How’d you know I was here? Is anyone else with you?” “Yes. Now let’s go.” Daredevil pulled Luis to his feet and dragged him out the door. The man at the door paused his knocking. "Hey! He's getting away!!" He turned to run to the side entrance, but Spider-Woman had acted fast. She slammed into the thug, and both fell to the ground with a thud. She easily overpowered him and knocked him out with a quick punch to the face. She turned to see another guy get out of the van and went for him next, hoping she bought Luis and Daredevil more time. “Run!” Daredevil shouted at Luis. There wasn’t a lot to fight with. All he could do was run behind Luis and try to protect him. Gunshots rang through the air. Luis stopped. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Daredevil grabbed him and pushed him forward. “Run!” He pulled his baton out of its holster and threw it at the nearest goon. He heard it hit its target square in the forehead. But then he was surrounded by five more guys all with guns. He grabbed one by the head, using it to swing around and kick a second. He hoped the proximity would mean they wouldn’t be using their weapons. Spider-Woman shoved the second man away with a kick and ran towards the gun shots. She hadn't gotten far when she literally ran into Luis. "Luis!" She took a moment and held him by the shoulders – he looked worse for wear – torn, dirty clothes and bruises covered his face and she assumed the rest of his body. “Spider-Woman? Oh man. This isn’t what it looks like. I’m innocent this time. Honest.” He pointed behind him. “El Diabolito rescued me and told me to run. So I ran. And then I ran into you.” He smiled. “That’s kinda funny, right?” "Hilarious." Spider-Woman responded as she grabbed Luis by the wrist. "Come on." She dragged him after her, heading south toward the pallets she had hidden behind earlier. Gunshots rang out behind them. She could hear the sound of a van being started, and they picked up the pace. Or tried to. Luis had stopped to look behind them at the headlights that were rapidly approaching – she hadn't kicked the second guy hard or far enough. "Go hide!!" She shouted at Luis, as she pushed him out of the way just before the van managed to slam into her. She somehow managed to twist herself so she rolled up and over it rather than dragged beneath and landed several feet behind it with a thud. The van skidded into a turn and stopped right in front of Luis. He stopped dead in his tracks and lifted his hands up. “Oh man. I wish Scott was here,” he muttered to himself as he was dragged into the van. Daredevil struggled to get up before the van took off. He was grateful for his bullet-proof suit, but he knew he was going to have at least a half dozen bruises on his torso from this. Someone kicked him back down. He growled and grabbed the end of the gun, moving the barrel up where the gunshot wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone. Then he shoved the butt of the gun so it hit the owner in the nose. He could smell the blood as it poured out of the new wound. He jumped onto his feet and knocked him out with a roundhouse kick. He ran or tried to run after the van, but it was too late. Finding it hard to breathe, he stopped and tried to listen for any distinguishing characteristics or a clue as to where they were taking him. Spider-Woman had the wind knocked out her, and her already damaged ribs felt like they were on fire. She struggled to her feet as the van started to move again, but was too slow. The van and Luis were gone before she had even had a chance to run. She focused on the gun fire and ran towards that instead, intent on taking her disappointment and anger out on whoever was left. She wasn't disappointed. Two thugs had struggled to their feet and were aiming their guns at Daredevil who was wincing with pain and holding his ribs as he slowly walked toward them. Spider-Woman could have just zapped them and been done with it but no. That was too easy. With a feral growl of "No,” she tore into them despite the protests of her injured ribs. She grabbed one by his arm and wrenched it back until she heard the snap that signified a broken arm. Not satisfied, she threw him on the ground and stomped on his groin, then his knee for extra measure. His buddy tried to run. Injured though she was, Spider-Woman was still faster. She left the first one behind and launched at the second. They crashed to the ground but she hauled him back up with her hand on his throat. "You're going to tell me where they went." Daredevil walked up as the man protested. “Lift him higher.” Spider-Woman complied and lifted him so his toes barely touched the ground. The man’s eyes got bigger. “Fuck you.” he gasped. She tightened her grip and he gasped for air. "I....I dunno, Lady!" “He’s telling the truth.” Daredevil didn’t look happy about it. She threw the man on the ground and kicked him the face with the heel of her boot. There was a crunch and he lay motionless. . “We should go. How are you at tracking?” Spider-Woman growled with annoyance. Not at Daredevil but how the whole thing had gone to shit in seconds. "Fair. Can you still hear him? If you can point me in the right direction and I can get air to try and find them." He cocked his head. “They’re heading south toward the Lincoln Tunnel. Go. I’ll catch up.” She took off at a sprint, having to run out of the truckyard before even getting to a building that could give her enough height to catch a decent updraft. When she was finally in the air, she turned in the direction of the tunnel. Traffic this late at night was still steady going out of the city, but it flowed well enough. Jess searched the city below her, looking for the van that had taken Luis. Or the telltale signs of a vehicle that was being driven erratically, but had no luck. She landed on the rooftop near the tunnel's entrance and contemplated heading to Jersey to resume the search there. She didn't know Jersey all the well. And she was injured and getting tired, well on her way to repeating last night's performance. Jess crouched down and dragged her hands over her face. She watched the tunnel for a few more moments, then took to the air again, this time in search of Daredevil. She grew both worried and annoyed as searched the rooftops, only to see no sign of him. Eventually, she admitted defeat and headed back to her apartment with a heavy heart. She could only hope that Luis would be alright.
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Chapter 8 Daredevil slowed down once he got out of the truckyard. Though he could already feel the bruises forming beneath his suit, his senses were focused on Spider-Woman. When he heard her curse beneath her breath, he knew she had lost him. Well at least that meant he didn’t have to try to catch up. Instead he decided to go to her apartment and wait for her. She’d have to go there eventually. It was painful climbing up the fire escape, but the suit had done its job. There were no holes where the bullets had hit. Unfortunately, some of the bullets were still there fused to the suit. He climbed through the window and dropped onto the couch. He was still sitting there in the dark when she got back. A soft thud on the fire escape signaled Jess' arrival. With a soft groan, she climbed into the window. She was one solid bruise from shoulders to knees, she was sure of it. Better than last night, but still bad. Her stomach twisted in anxiety for both Luis and Matt. She had heard gunshots – what if they had gotten him too? Jess wiped tears of frustration and failure from her eyes as she flicked the lights on. Any worry she had about Murdock being captured flew out the window. "What, you can't warn a person that you're sitting there in the dark?" She grumbled in an attempt to cover all the emotions she was feeling. “Sorry. Sometimes I forget that the lights are off,” he replied. In front of him were three bullets resting on the coffee table along with his helmet. “And it may be a while before I can stand again. You lost Luis in the tunnel.” It wasn’t accusatory, just stating a fact. Jess hung her head, ashamed at her failure "Yeah. Yeah I did." She rubbed her face again with her hands, then eyed the coffee table. "Shit." Jess saw the bullets and retrieved her first aid kit from the bathroom. "Come on, let's get this off you, so I can see the damage." She told him as she sat down next to him and reached for the buckles on his suit. “It’s just bruises and a cracked rib,” he told her. He made no move to stop her though. “You should take care of yourself first. And I should be getting home.” "I heal faster than you." She argued back. "You can go home after your ribs are wrapped." It took her a bit to figure out how the damn suit worked, but she managed to get it off him. She looked at the tears in the armor were the bullets had hit and gave a low whistle. "You're really lucky. How'd you get this suit anyway?" She asked, turning her attention to the bruises on his chest. He winced whenever she poked at them. “I’ve got a guy. Fisk threatened his wife. He agreed to help me if I made sure she was safe.” The flexible armor saved him tonight and at least a dozen nights prior. But multiple scars on his body marked the time before the armor when all he wore was black clothing that let him move. “Guess I’m going to have to pay him a visit.” He rubbed his forehead. “We have to find Luis first.” "Not a bad friend to have." Jess gently traced a scar under his ribs and eyed the rest. She wondered how he got them. She knew better than to ask – he'd probably not want to tell her and she wouldn't blame him for that. Jess swallowed her frustration at loosing Luis again, "We do, but we're not going to find him as beat up as we are. We need to rest." She hated to admit it. But one of them had to. Satisfied that his skin wasn't broken anywhere, she reached into her kit for a bottle. "Bruise cream. It'll help with the swelling." She explained, squeezing some into her hands then applied it to wherever bruises had started to show. At every touch, Matt had to concentrate on his breathing and remind himself that she wasn’t interested. Whatever he was feeling was one-sided. Besides, Luis was the priority. “Thank you. I normally just wear long-sleeved shirts and hope no one decides to touch me there.” She had finished covering his bruises, but Jess couldn't keep her hands from wandering. Or her eyes from staring. He was a beautiful. She gently traced the scar under his collarbone when his words finally registered. Abruptly she pulled her hand away as a flush crept up her face, a flush that confused him. "Yeah, I probably would, too." She agreed, capping the cream and tossing it into the kit. Jess took a moment to look at him and pursed her lips at how he was controlling his breathing. Mentally she checked her control, making sure her pheromones weren't getting away from her. They didn't seem to be, but who knew what he could smell with his senses. Best to get this over with. She reached for an ace bandage this time. "Lift your arms a little if you can." She instructed, her tone professional. He lifted his arms. “I’m sorry. My plan sucked. I slowed you down. If we had just gotten there 10 minutes earlier…” She started to wrap his ribs, making sure the bandage was snug. If her fingers lightly brushed his skin, she ignored it. "Your plan was solid. We just had shit timing. It's not your fault. If anything, it's mine. I had him. I was with him, and they still managed to take him." Jess made sure the bandage was secured, then pulled away and put her face in her hands. "We were so damn close. This could have all been over by now, and I fucked up." “You were hit by a truck,” he reminded her. “The fact that you walked away is a miracle.” He lowered his arms. “Besides, there’s plenty of blame to go around. Do you… Do you want me to put some of that cream on your back?” Jess huffed. "Not really. I've had worse." Her tone was rather matter of fact. Until he offered that. The flush creeped up her face again and her heart raced. Jess licked her lips. She wanted him to touch her. Wanted to feel those careful hands on her again. Jess couldn't remember the last time she wanted such a thing. But she wanted it now. "Um...no. I...I can get it. But uh...Thanks." She replied as she leaned over to close up the first aid kit. “You’re lying.” His voice was soft, low. “I think you’re lying.” He wasn’t actually sure. He found her very confusing. “I promise I’ll just put the cream on your bruises, nothing else.” Jess pursed her lips as he called her out. Whatever signs of infatuation he had been exhibiting before seemed to be gone now. She closed her eyes and breathed in, though the fire in her chest and back made that difficult. She did hurt – a lot. And the topical cream would help her more than any pain killer would so long as there were no open wounds. She wasn't used to someone else taking care of her. Or even wanting to take care of her. She couldn't allow herself to get used to this. "Yeah, ok." She reached back into the kit and pulled out the cream and handed it to him. She turned her back to him and then gingerly removed her jacket and hiked up her shirt. It was hard for him to hear her heartbeat over his own. But he did his best to keep it professional. “I’m fairly certain your entire left side is one big bruise.” He rubbed it generously on her left. His fingers stopped on her third rib. “You have a new fracture.” He handled it gently. Then he continued up, moving his fingers beneath her bra rather than suggesting she take it off. “You must get a lot of bruises in your line of work.” Jess tried not to melt under his touch but it was hard. She sighed and unconsciously shifted closer to him as he worked. "You can tell all that just from listening and touching?" Jess asked, wincing a little has he pressed on her rib, but she didn't pull away. She shifted closer again as his hand slid under bra, but she wasn't paying attention to what her body was doing anymore. "I do yeah. Comes with the territory." She snorted a little. "Your nighttime activities don't seem like something a lawyer like yourself would condone." “I work within the law when I can,” he explained. “But sometimes the law isn’t enough. People can become corrupt. Justice isn’t always blind.” He realized she probably knew that already. “Fisk was a prime example of that. Matt Murdock alone couldn’t have put him away. It took Daredevil to protect witnesses and find out exactly what Fisk was up to.” His fingers lingered longer than they needed to. He slowly ran them down her back. “Jess.” He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. No, he knew exactly what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her to stay in town, to explore with him whatever the hell this was between them. Instead, he told her, “I think I got all of it.” "I can understand that. Do the same even, when I'm not bringing in the ones who got caught and try to get away." Jess sighed as his hands continued to glide across her back. It felt so good, despite injured ribs and large bruises. She didn't want him to stop, could have him run his fingers over her back all night until she was nothing but a puddle. Jess bit her lip, to keep the sigh of disappointment from escaping. "Yeah I think so. Thank you." She pulled down her shirt and turned to face him. "Uh...if you want the couch for the night, you can have it." She offered. He looked about as exhausted as she was starting to feel. He gave a disappointed smile. “Believe it or not, it’s harder sneaking back into my place without being seen during the day instead of at night. So unless you happen to have a change of clothes for me, I’m going to have to go.” He really hoped she had a change of clothes for him. Then again, he knew that her having men’s clothing here would probably make him feel a bit jealous. "Oh, I can believe it." Jess gave wry smile. She had been there herself. With a bit of effort, Jess pulled herself up off the couch and made her way to the bedroom. She shuffled about her drawers for a bit before finding what she was looking for. She tossed jeans and an oversized (on her anyway) hoodie at him. "They haven't been worn much if that helps. Not sure how the fit of the pants will be." He smiled and caught the clothes easily. Jess really should not have been surprised. "Thanks." He pulled the waistband against his hips to see if they'll fit. "This will work. Mind if I use your washroom?" He placed the borrowed clothes on the back of the couch. "Not at all." She almost offered to help him find it but had had no problem finding it the night before. "You know where it is." She picked up her jacket off the floor and made her way back to the bedroom to grab a spare pillow from the bed and kick off her boot. She tossed it on the couch alongside a spare blanket she had found in her search for clothes for Matt. He came out of the bathroom holding his pants and shoes. He wore only his boxers. "Bathroom is all yours." Jess turned at his voice and whatever she had been about to say died on her lips. Even bruised and with wrapped ribs he was beyond handsome. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so attracted to someone or wanted them like she wanted him. She licked her lips as her heart raced. Jess didn't like this. Didn't like that Murdock had somehow weaseled past her defenses so easily. But she liked being around him. Tonight had gone to shit, but there had been comfort in knowing someone had her back. "Uh...Thanks. Pillow and blanket are on the bed. Sleep well. And don't be afraid to get me if you need anything." She stood there for a moment longer than necessary just staring, then moved around him towards the bathroom. “Thanks.” He could feel how close she was as she passed. “Uh, do you mind if I raid your kitchen?” he asked. Jess paused and stared at him. Then felt a bit ashamed that she hadn't offered food to begin with. That's what normal people didn't wasn't it? Now she regretted eating all that pizza. "No, but I don't keep much food around, since I'm hardly here. You don't mind Ramen or cereal do you?" She changed direction and headed towards the kitchen. “Either works. Or I can order take-out if you’re hungry, too,” he offered as he followed her. “My treat.” That felt like a really stupid thing to say. He seemed to always be saying stupid things to her. She paused with her hand in a cabinet and frowned at him. "But you got pizza. And I ate it all like a glutton. And it's...it's my place. Shouldn't I be feeding you? That's what people do right?" The question was sincere but her heart pounded in her chest as darker thoughts drifted into her head. Thoughts usually saved for her dreams. She was failing and failure meant punishment. She had failed Luis and now she was failing Matt. Jess didn't bother for him to answer and continued to rifle through her tiny kitchen. She would've gone to get her phone but she left that in her bedroom, and it would mean walking past him again. Matt placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Jess, it’s fine. You weren’t exactly expecting company. And the pizza was an apology.” His hand slid down and came to rest on the small of her back. Jess initially froze at his touch, but then his hand slid down her back like it had earlier and her traitorous body immediately relaxed again. She hated that she barely knew him and he had her figured out already. Hated that he could ground her with just a touch. Jess let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "But you're hungry." “And Ramen will take care of that,” he told her. If he took one step forward, his shoulder would be against hers, and his arm would slide around her waist. It was a dangerous thought. “I’m sorry I’m such a bother. You probably just want to lie in bed and rest.” Jess reached forward and pushed one of the Ramen packets she had pulled out to the side. "I hope you like shrimp flavor." She hung her head, acutely aware of his hand still on her back. "You're not a bother Matt. I just don't know how to..." She paused and her hand flailed a bit as she searched for the right word, "people." He couldn’t help but smile. “You don’t know how to people? I’m not sure I do either.” He licked his lips. “Just so you know, I tend not to trust those that do know how to people. It usually means they’re manipulating others to get what they want. What I do trust is your drive and your determination. And I trust that you have my back, which is not something I’m used to.” Another flush crept up Jess' neck at his words. "I trust you too. And I don't trust anyone," she whispered. But the rest of his words settled uncomfortably in her stomach, and Jess felt compelled to tell Matt that she was not the good person he thought she was. Far from it. She turned herself to face him, though she couldn't look at him – not that it mattered. He couldn't see her anyway. "I'm not...not a good person, Matt. I've done terrible things. I've been that person you don't trust." “But you aren’t anymore. You used past tense,” he explained. His head tilted ever so slightly. “There’s something you should know about me.” He took her hand gently in his. “I’m Catholic. I believe in redemption. I believe that people can change. Something tells me you’re proof of that.” Jess figured those that got second chances would be more like Luis. He was clearly a good egg – he just tended to fall into bad situations. Matt's hand felt so warm and welcoming. She tightened her grip on it and swallowed. Jess wished she could believe him. She wanted to believe him. "You think so?" “I know so.” He took a step forward and wrapped his arms firmly around her. “I know so.” "What?" Jess froze as his arms wrapped about her. She stood there confused for several seconds until the realization that he was actually hugging her clicked into place. "Oh." No one had ever hugged her like this before. Not in a way that made her feel safe and protected. Jess couldn't stop herself from melting into him. Her arms wrapped about his waist, and she buried her face in his shoulder. He smelled like sweat and books. Jess pressed herself closer, content to let someone hold her up just this once. Her body felt warm against his. It had been a while since he allowed himself this type of contact with another human being. He was afraid he had stepped over the line until she finally relaxed against him. He closed his eyes. “Tonight was hard. Tomorrow will be better.” "Yeah." Jess agreed, more focused on the hug than his words. She tightened her arms around him and snuggled into him even more, as if she was starved for contact. Eventually she pulled her head away from his shoulder and lifted an arm to wipe tears from her eyes. She hadn't known how much she had needed this until now. "Uh...you still hungry?" She asked, though she wasn't quite ready to leave his embrace just yet. There was a stray teardrop on her jaw. Matt gently wiped it away with his thumb. That touch turned into a caress as his fingers rested against her neck. “I am, but it can wait.” "Okay." Jess sighed. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, her attention focused completely on his hand as it slid down her neck. He leaned closer, head tilted down. The hand not on her neck was on the small of her back. He could feel how close she was, could hear her heart beating. “Should I stop?” He had a her trapped, but Jess didn't want to escape. His body felt so good against hers, warm and safe. Not something she was used to but she started to think it was something she would like. She could feel his breath on her neck and shivered. "No," It was barely a whisper, hardly a sound at all, but she knew he heard it. His cheek brushed softly against hers. He turned his head, aligning their lips but keeping the distance between them no further than a soft breath. Then he did what he'd been wanting to do for some time now. He tasted her lips. They were soft and warm and tasted of pepperoni and pizza sauce. His tongue pressed against them for a moment before their lips met again. Jessica had kissed a lot of men in her (admittedly short) waking lifetime. One Matthew Murdock had just skyrocketed himself to the top of the list. Jess made a pleased sound in the back of her throat and parted her lips slightly at the pressure from his tongue, trying to encourage him to deepen the kiss as she pressed her body more fully against his. Just as his tongue pressed against hers, his stomach growled with hunger. He pulled away just enough to speak. “Sorry.” Jess huffed a laugh and brought her hand up to stroke his cheek. "Don't be. Food is important." She leaned in and briefly pressed her lips to his one more time before reluctantly pulling away from him so she could grab a pot and get water boiling. Matt put a hand on his stomach and gave the traitor a hard squeeze. It only growled again. He took a deep breath. “Do you need any help?” "If I needed help making Ramen I would truly be failing at life." Well she already failed at that but at least should could make Ramen. She felt oddly shy as they waited for the water to boil. Matt had seen more of her in one night than anyone else she had met in the last few years. It made her feel vulnerable and a little scared. He was feeling a little naked himself and had his arms crossed over his chest. He walked away. When he came back, he was wearing the hoodie. It was zipped up to the middle of his chest. “Watched pot, right?” He squeezed his eyes shut and wrinkled his nose at the lameness of his words. At first Jess was worried she had upset him but when he came back, she relaxed. She poured the noodles into the now boiling water. "That fits well." Figures Matt would totally rock the boxers/hoodie look. Jess tilted her head, not getting the reference "Uh....what?" He stuck his hands in his pockets. “The saying. A watched pot never boils. But it was boiling, so it was a stupid thing to say.” He chewed on his lip as he leaned against the refrigerator. “Could I get some water?” Jess blushed – Both at the way he chewed his lip and shame that she was being a bad hostess."I'm sorry. Uh. Bottled water is on the door of the fridge. Top row." She hastily poured the Ramen in a bowl, spilling a little of the broth, but she would clean it up later. "Never heard it before. But I guess it makes sense yeah." She made a mental note to stock her kitchen better. He opened the door and grabbed two waters. “Time can definitely feel subjective even though it’s not.” After closing the refrigerator, he handed one to her. "Heh. Yeah." Jess agreed a bit wryly. "Thank you." She took the offered water and bowl of ramen and lead the way back to the couch. "Sorry. The coffee table is really the only place to eat at here. It's a bit bare bones, since I'm not here often." She waited for Matt to get settled then handed him the bowl and sat down nearby, her legs curled under her. “It’s yours, and it’s safe. That’s all that matters.” He took the bowl with thanks. “How often do you get to New York?” He slurped up some noodles hoping the question sounded casual. It was a question Jess was extremely familiar with. But for the first time she was disappointed by her answer. "On an as needed basis. I only come out here if a skip does, which usually isn't more than two or three times a year." He nodded slowly as he concentrated on his Ramen. “That’s… a little disappointing to be honest. I hope when you do visit you’ll call me to have dinner or coffee or at least come by the office.” Jess uncurled herself to nudge him playfully with her foot. "Well now I know this lawyer. Maybe he'll give me a call if one of his clients skips bail." Matt smiled. “Good point. I’ll definitely be giving you a call if that happens again.” He found himself hoping that it would. She left her foot resting against his thigh, though hadn't realized she'd done so. "So..." Jess hesitated a moment, then plowed ahead anyway "Can I ask how your powers work?" Her toes curled into his thigh, betraying that she was worried she might have crossed a line. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to." She added hastily. He put his empty bowl on the coffee table and scratched his eyebrow. “When I lost my eyesight, all of my other senses became more acute. But a lot more acute, particularly my hearing.” He explained, “It’s almost like echolocation.” Without thinking, he took hold of her foot and started to massage it. “The sound waves bouncing off things and returning to me helps me know where they are. Only it makes everything kind of fiery. Though that might partially be a temperature thing.” He felt like he wasn’t doing a good job at this. “It was hard to get used to. Everything was so loud after the accident. It was overwhelming.” Jess knew how Matt had lost his eyesight – that was pretty easy to find when she was researching him. But she found how his abilities worked fascinating. She had opened her mouth to ask another question but startled as his hand took hold of her. She winced as little and rubbed her ribs, then relaxed back into the couch. "Sorry, wasn't expecting that." Jess felt like an idiot, but she could understand why he'd want to touch her feet in the first place. She turned back to the conversation, "I know something of what that is like." She sighed and sunk even further into the couch as Matt continued to massage her foot. God she was weak and she knew Murdock knew it. "Were you born with your powers? Or did you acquire them," he asked as his thumbs worked over her arch. She tensed a bit at the question. "I've always had them." Jess shrugged. It wasn't exactly what he'd asked but it was the best she could answer. She pulled her foot out of his grasp and curled up again. "So not one of those Inhumans then." He scratched his nose. "What made you decide to be a bounty hunter? If you want to talk about it." "Oh, no, definitely not." Jess thought the whole Inhuman thing was pretty interesting. She had a bit more details than most about how all that went down, but she wasn't about to elaborate on that to Matt. She huffed another laugh. "Your whole redemption thing. I used to do bad things. And I didn't want to do them anymore. So, I decided the best way to get away from it was to put bad people away. Ones like Luis are far and few between." Jess looked down at her hands and guilt filled her. She hoped Luis was alright. "That's a good reason. And we'll get Luis back." He just hoped Luis would still be alive when they do. Jess thoughts were along the same lines. "We should have had him back tonight." She echoed her thoughts from earlier, feeling the bitterness well up again. "If I had paid more attention-" Jess cut herself off, tried to convince herself there's nothing they could've done. She should have followed into Jersey and hoped for the best. Jess rubbed at her eyes. She needed rest, not to think about what ifs right now. "You did all you could," Matt told her. "If anything I slowed you down." He shook his head. "There's enough blame to go around is what I'm saying." "Matt, you didn't slow me down in the least." Jess reached over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. They were repeating themselves – an obvious sign of exhaustion. She leaned closer, suddenly very intent that Matt knew she meant it. "I am really glad you were there." He placed his hand over hers. “I’m glad you were there, too.” The weight of the day descended on him like a fog. “We should get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.” "Yeah." Jess pressed her lips to his cheek. "Sleep well Murdock." She squeezed his hand, then stood and took the empty bowl to the sink and headed to the bedroom. Sleep would not come easy. There was too much to think about.
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Chapter 9 Luis really hoped Spider-Woman and El Diablito weren’t dead. If he had known this was going to happen, he would never have come to New York. Too late now. The van ride felt long. Like long long. Even though he was blindfolded and tied up, he could hear when they went through a tunnel. Then they kept driving. There were stops, probably traffic lights. Finally they stopped for reals. The van doors opened. Hands dragged Luis out of the van. He turned his head this way and that as though hoping it would help him see. It didn’t. “Where are we?” Those same hands grabbed Luis by the jaw and lifted him so his feet barely touched the ground. "You're gonna tell me why Daredevil and that broad are interested in saving your pathetic ass." “Daredevil?” Luis asked. “Guess that’s more scary than El Diablito. I never seen him before tonight. Honest. But Spider-Woman is a personal friend. So you should treat me right. Got it?” The hand squeezes Luis's jaw tighter, "You said the same about some Ant-dude. Why would they be friends with you huh? Why? Who are they?" He shook the thief to make his point. “Ow ow ow ow.” Luis tried to get out of the grasp. He failed. His voice was tight with pain and the pressure on his jaw. “’Cause I’m a good guy. And I got skills. You seen my skills.” Luis was dropped unceremoniously on the ground. Then there was another punch to his jaw. "Shut your yap or we're feeding you to the Cartel." The hands dragged Luis back to his feet and then pushed him in the direction of wherever they needed to be. He stumbled and tripped a bit every time he got shoved. “There’s no need to feed anyone to anything,” he says. “Just tell me what you want. Maybe we can make a deal.” "You lost your chances at deals. If that Spider-Bitch follows us here you're dead. Just know that." The hand shoved him into a door. "Alright, you got 10 minutes to get this door and then the safe inside open. Do it, and you live another day." “You gonna untie me?” Luis asked as he tried to look under the mask at him. “I’m good, but I still need my hands and my eyes.” This time he was punched in the gut, but the hands removed the blindfold and the ropes around his wrist. "Get to work. 8 minutes." He stretched his neck and his fingers before bending down. He took out his lock picking tools. One straight and one curved tool was selected. Even with the pain, it took him less than 30 seconds to open the door. 7 minutes 35 seconds Luis put his tools away. He stumbled to the safe and ran his fingers over it carefully. It was about the size of a mini fridge. The outside was a dull silver. There was a nob with numbers on it. The correct combination would open it.
7 minutes
He turned the nob while pressing his ear against it. There was enough noise outside what with motorcycles and people yelling that it was hard to hear the clicks. 6 minutes He looked around for an alternative like a sledgehammer or an explosive. “Hey, how much do you care about the contents?” Hands pulled out a gun and pointed it at Luis. "A lot. Damage the contents and your brains wind up on the safe." He raised his hands. “Okay. Okay.” He put a finger on top of the gun and tried to get it to point somewhere else. “I can’t work with that much pressure, okay?” He returned his focus to the safe. 5 minutes Luis put a hand over the ear he wasn’t listening with hoping it would help. He tried again… and failed again. “You wouldn’t happen to have any noise-cancelling headphones, would you?” "No." The barrel of the gun was pressed into the back of Luis' head. "4 Minutes." “Hey, I can’t work like this okay?” He wipes the sweat from his brow. He closes his eyes and listens only for the click of a pin falling into place. 3 minutes No change.
2 minutes
Luis took a slow breath after he heard the first pin click into place. This might work.
1 minute
Luis pulled away from the safe. He turned the handle. It clicked. 45 seconds He pulled on the door. The door opened. Luis breathed a sigh of relief. "You live another day." Hands shoved Luis out of the way and began to shove the contents of the safe into a duffle back. It didn't look like a lot, but it was several thousand dollars worth of heroine that the Cartel had managed to steal from the Chinese. Which was fine because now Gao's wrath was on the Cartel and not the Dogs. Except that the Cartel seemed to have caught on with their plan. He grabbed Luis by the wrists and ziptied them together, then he shoved him out of the building toward the van. "Don't even think about running." He threatened the thief as gunfire erupted from all sides. Luis automatically ducked, covering his hand as he ran as quickly as he could to the van. He didn’t know what was happening, and he didn’t really want to know. He just hoped he was being rescued and that this time it would be successful.
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Chapter 10 Jess stumbled into her apartment's tiny kitchen before the sun had even risen. True to her prediction, she hadn't gotten more than an hour or two of sleep the night before. Alternating between worry for Luis and inappropriate thoughts about the man spending the night on her couch, Jess had finally given up. Surprised to see Matt still asleep on the couch, she made sure she had enough coffee for them both. The scent of the coffee woke him. His plan had been to get up early and head home to shower and change without disturbing her. Well, at least he didn’t have to worry about waking her. He sat up slowly with a groan. He rubbed his face then ran his hands through his hair. He pulled on the sweats she gave him the night before and headed to the kitchen. “Did you get any sleep?” "Not in the least. At least one of us did though." Jess poured the coffee and turned to hand him a mug. Her mouth went a little dry at the sight of him, and as her heart rate sped up a little she hoped he wouldn't notice. It wasn't fair that even bruised and with incredible bed head, Matt Murdock was sexy as hell. She caught herself staring (again. Get a grip Jess) and shuffled uncomfortably. "Uh, how are you feeling?" “Sore,” he replied. “Why? Do I look that bad?” He blew on his coffee and took a sip. "Well you look a bit like Medusa with your hair going all over the place." Jess snarked in an attempt to cover her discomfort. Matt was acting far too nonchalant about the whole thing, and Jess was sure he knew what he was doing to her. She hated him for it, hated she let him get under her skin so quickly. But she couldn't hate him for long. "Also, you are very bruised. I would offer you aspirin but I don't keep any around. It's a bit worthless for me." His eyes widened in curiosity. “A side effect of your powers? That must suck.” "Yeah it does." Jess agreed before lapsing into silence. She had no idea what to say. It wasn't like they had even slept together but the silence grew and Jess shuffled uncomfortably again. He scratched the back of his head. He chewed on his lip. The silence between them was heavy, awkward. “About last night…” He took a breath. “I really enjoyed…” His awkwardness was evident in how he moved his head. “…kissing you.” Her face felt hot (again) and her heart pounded even more loudly in her chest. It dawned on Jess that this must be what those awkward high school crushes that were depicted in movies felt like. The last of her resolve crumbled. Jess moved closer until she was only a hairsbreadth from him. She licked her lips, "Yeah?" If her heart was pounding before, it thundered now. “Yeah.” He set his coffee down while his other arm wrapped around her waist. He pulled her into a kiss, and she tasted as good as she had the night before. He pulled his lips away, but his forehead stayed resting against hers. “I’m trouble, Jessica Drew. I’m trouble you don’t need.” Jess huffed a laugh. "If you knew about even half the trouble that followed me, you wouldn't be here right now." She was fairly certain that was the truth. Her fingers slid briefly along the waistband of his sweats before trailing up his back and along his shoulders. Whatever this was, Jess was going to enjoy it for as long as it lasted. She kissed him this time, her tongue gliding along his lips as she pressed herself against him. He pushed her against the counter as he opened his mouth to her and deepened the kiss. His hand moved up her back pushing her tank top up as he pressed his hips against hers. “Is this too fast?” he asked before kissing her again. Heat pooled low in Jessica's belly and a needy growl escaped her. She'd denied this part of herself for too long. She shivered at his touch and slid her hands down his side until they once more fingered the waist of his sweats. She pulled away briefly then pressed a kiss below his right ear. "I have to admit it's been awhile." He wanted her, wanted to touch more of her. “For me, too.” He kissed her again. The beginnings of his erection pressed against her. “I don’t have protection on me.” She could feel his arousal, and Jess pressed herself against it as she returned his kiss. It was hard to think as lust clouded her mind but eventually she pulled away with a groan. "I don't have any either." Which was true. But the real truth was that the last time she had visited New York she had found that they had expired before she had a chance to use them. Jess had thrown the whole package out and hadn't bothered to replace them, figuring it would be years before she wanted to share her bed with anyone again. How wrong she had been. Matt nodded and forced himself to take a step back. “Right. Well, that’s that.” He took a couple of slow breaths. “I should probably get home.” Jess leaned back into the counter to steady herself as he stepped away. She got her breath, then moved towards him again. She took his hand, her thumb gliding over his knuckles. "So that drink. When all this is done – I'd like to take you up on it. And then maybe you could show me your apartment after?" She pulled him to her with a gentle tug and kissed him softly on the lips. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke. “I’d like that.” He kissed her again. “I’d like that a lot.” His hand cupped her neck as he took another kiss. “I really should go. I still have to shower and change and go into the office.” He couldn’t help himself and kissed her once more. It made all of the other sounds around them fade into the background. He took another breath. “Meet you back here at eight?” It was Jess' turn to pull herself away after that last kiss – but it was hard. "Yes. Hopefully I'll have some information or a plan by then." A plan that didn't involve her thinking about what Matt's lips and hands could do to her. A plan that would have Luis safe (though he'd totally be doing another stint in jail). She stole one last, quick kiss then gently pushed him towards the door. "See you tonight." “Tonight.” He grabbed his things and quickly left while he still had the will to do so. ***** By the time eight o'clock rolled around, Jess had her head in the game once more. She had managed to form something of a plan. Now she just had to hope Matt would go along with it. Jess shoved some Thai food into her mouth as she waited for Matt to show up. He appeared at the fire escape promptly at the scheduled time wearing his business suit. He had a bag with him containing the clothes he borrowed and his Daredevil gear. He knocked on the window before coming in. “Hey. I just need to change, and then I’ll be ready to go.” "There's food here if you need something to eat." Jess looked up as he came in. Seeing him in his business suit made it hard to believe that the same man went around dressed in a red suit at night. Jess shook her head. "We've also got a bit of time to go over the plan – they really won't be moving about for another few hours at least." “Oh. Okay.” He set the bag down and walked over to her. He grabbed a container and the extra chopsticks. “So what’s the plan?” he asked before starting to eat. "Something went down in Jersey last night after we lost Luis – I think he may have been involved. It's easy enough – we're heading to the bar. If all goes well, I'll be able to lure someone out so we can get information from him for some idea of where to go to next." His brow furrowed as he chewed. He swallowed. “How will you know if the person you bring out has any information?” Jess leaned towards him. "You listen. I'm sure you know all about that. Besides, I know what someone who is in charge looks like. It's just a matter of getting to them." That satisfied him. “You obviously know what you’re doing. I’ll hang back and listen. Have you already surveyed the area?” "Why has it seemed as if I have no idea what I'm doing until now?" Jess couldn't help but bristle a little at the comment. "And of course I have. But feel free to do so yourself." “It would make me more comfortable,” he admitted. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to working with anyone. And I have trust issues, which is more than a mild understatement.” He hoped the explanation would help. Jess settled back into the couch again, more than a little hurt. She understood his reasoning, but that didn't make it any easier. Especially since she seemed to trust him far more than he did her. "I understand." She returned to eating and let the silence between them grow. Matt was comfortable with silences. It was another good way to learn things. People tended to fill them. Besides, there were no real silences for him. There were heartbeats and shuffles and breathing. There were conversations in other apartments and out on the streets. But this silence he did break. “This is good.” He motioned to his food. "Thai place about two blocks away. It had good reviews on Google." Jess replied curtly. “Ah.” Her tone made it clear that she didn’t want conversation. He finished his meal quickly and in silence. “Mind if I use your bathroom to change?” he asked as he retrieved his bag. "Not at all. But wait before you go." “Sure.” He turned his body toward her. “I brought back the clothes you let me borrow, too. I haven’t had time to wash them. I can if you’d prefer it,” he offered. "Oh uh. You can keep them if you want. Doesn't matter to me." She was actually kind of surprised he had thought to return them. “You might need them. I’ll leave them on the bed.” He held the bag over his shoulder and walked to the bedroom. Originally, he was going to leave his daytime suit here, but her tone this evening has made him think it’d be better to take them home before heading to the bar. He stopped when he got to her bed. Once the borrowed clothes had been placed there, he took the bag into the bathroom and changed. As nicely as he could, he folded up his jacket, trousers, tie, and shirt and placed them in the bag. With helmet and bag in hand, he returned to the living room. When he returned from the bedroom Jess had to do a double take. It was still hard to believe that Murdock and Daredevil were the same person, but yet it made complete sense. "You can leave your bag here if you need to." She offered. Jess might be a bitch but she wasn't heartless enough to make him drag his bag all around Hell's Kitchen. "And I know I don't need to tell you but be careful. The Dogs are on edge now and they have watchers." “I’ll stick to the shadows and rooftops.” He headed for the window with his bag in hand. “I’ll drop this off at my place then head to the bar.” He stopped in front of her. “I’ll be able to hear you. Do you have a way for you to hear me? Or should I just join you when you’ve led your mark outside.” Jess thought for a moment. "Don't step in unless it looks like it's going to go to shit. Go or you won't have enough time to scout the place out." “You got it, boss.” With that, he headed out the window and made his way to the roof. ***** Sometime later Jess approached what Dogs called a bar, hands in the pockets of her jacket as the gravel crunched under her boots. She had decided she was fed up with trying to be subtle. Ok maybe getting hit by a van wasn't that subtle, but that was Spider-Woman, not Jess. Tonight, she was herself – Jess the Bounty Hunter, not Spider-Woman or one of the other hundreds of roles she could have played. The two thugs guarding the door eyed her up and down before they grinned at each other. Jess stopped just short of them. The thug on the left approached her, invading Jess personal space. Jess blinked but otherwise waited for him to speak. "You don't look like the rest of the whores hangin' out inside. What're you doin' here?" She smiled winningly at the guard and gently patted his cheek, the air around them beginning to smell a bit like autumn. Jess may have wanted to pick a fight, but not with these two. "I'm not your typical whore. Now, you'll be a dear and let me in. There's someone inside I need to speak with." "Yeah, yeah ok." The thug replied, a dopey smile on his face. His friend gave Jess a look and moved closer, only to be as suddenly enamored as his partner. He leaned into Jess and raised his hand as if to touch her. "Will we see you again?" Jess rolled her eyes and pushed them both away. "I'll be back later. Now you be good lads and guard the door like you were told." They rushed to obey as Jess disappeared inside. Standing in the shadow of an alley across the street, Daredevil couldn’t help but smile at the ease with which she did that. He filtered through the noise of the bar and found her footsteps. She was turning certainly turning heads. There are a few wolf whistles, too. So predictable. Inside, Jess was definitely attracting attention, and it wasn’t just the attention any stranger would get walking into the Dog’s bar. It started out that way, but as soon as they saw what she looked like, they started to crowd around her. “You lost, little girl?” "Mmm, no I'm exactly where I need to be." Jess smirked and looked at her questioner. She pulled her hands out of her pockets to show she wasn't armed. "I was actually hoping you could help me look for someone?" The one who spoke before, a hairy guy with arms that could rival Captain America, told her, “I’d say you found someone.” He looked like the prototypical biker – leather vest, leather boots, beer can in one hand, in need of a shower. “This is a dangerous place.” He puckered his lips just a little. “You like dangerous places?” Jess smiled charmingly. "Oh, I love dangerous places, but you're not the one I'm looking for." Truth was, Jess didn't exactly know who she was looking for as she hadn't gotten a good look at the van driver. But if there was one thing Jess learned, you'd be surprised who knew what. "So, perhaps you could help me hmm??” His eyes roamed over her in a way that made her want to cringe, she didn't back away. “Sure I’ll help you. But you gotta help me first.” Jess smiled, playing along for now. "Perhaps we should go someplace more...private to negotiate?" He matched her smile with one that was much too eager. “Right this way.” He grabbed her wrist and lead her to the back. They pushed through a door into a room stacked with supplies and inventory, and Jess found herself pressed up against one of the shelves. "Now, I believe you said you'd help me?" His breath wreaked of alcohol. "Did I? I don't recall." Jess said as she pushed him away from her. He squared his shoulders and stepped forward, trying to be menacing. He smiled. “I like it when women play hard to get. I hope you try to fight back, too.” Jess waited until he tried to make a grab for her wrist again, then sprung into action. She sidestepped him neatly, grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. She pulled the knife from his pocket and held it to his throat. "You could say that I like it rough. Now, I’m looking for someone named Luis. Where is he? Or tell me who I can talk to in order to find him." “Fuck you.” That only caused his arm to be pushed higher up his back. His nostrils flared as he held in a yelp of pain. “I’m not tellin’ you nothin’, bitch.” He grabbed the wrist holding the knife and tried to force it away. It should have worked. "What the hell?" He tried again but Jess' arm still didn't budge. "So, I ask you again. Where is Luis? I'd really rather not force the answer out of you." She twisted his arm until she heard it pop. He screamed this time. “I don’t know no Luis!” That didn’t work. “Fuck! Ask Cueball!” "See, that wasn't so hard now was it? Why not take a nap now?" Jess pulled the knife and slamed the butt of it into his temple. He fell to floor, unconscious. She dragged his body behind one of the shelves, making sure his hands and legs were secured with zip ties. Only then did she peak out the door and into the bar to search for her next target. Cueball. Odds are the owner of that name had no hair on his head. That described a few men in there. But only one had the quiet air of someone in charge. He entered from the back and demanded a beer with an incline of his head. And when someone ran into him, they apologized. People in these sorts of gangs only apologize to someone with more power than them. Jess had had enough of playing games. She left the room and sauntered towards Cueball, hands her in pockets. He turned towards her as the bar went silent, and with a nod of his head, Jess found herself being blocked by two of his lackeys. She continued to look at Cueball; her green eyes narrowed. "I have an appointment." She told them, and attempted to push her way past. “Not with me you don’t.” His voice had the dry crackle of someone who smoked too much. "Oh, I absolutely do." This time Jess did push past the two thugs sending them sprawling on the floor. Cueball stood and pulled a gun from the back of his waistband. He pointed the barrel at her. “Not one more step, princess.” "You know what? I am really tired of having guns pointed at me." Jess lifted her arms to show she wasn't armed. Then she lunged at Cueball, making a grab for the gun in his hand. He fired but too late. She had already moved his arm. Instead of hitting her, the bullet hit the floor just narrowly missing someone’s boot. There was a pause as though everyone held their breath in the same moment before the crowd surged toward her. It was in that moment that Daredevil ran toward the bar. He didn’t go in. Not yet. Not till he was sure she needed the help. His entrance could put her more in danger. He flattened himself against the wall and listened. Everything erupted into chaos. Jess disarmed Cueball easily enough but then hands were tugging at her hair and arms, forcing her to lose sight of him as she defended herself. The cracking of bones followed by groans of pain could be heard as she laid into her assailants. She would have been lying to herself if she said she didn't enjoy a good bar fight. But when a well-aimed hit with a cue stick landed on her jaw, Jess had had enough. Green lightning laced from her hands, zapping anyone within a 10-foot radius. She didn't care if she had just outed herself. She was wasting time with this. The bar was instantly silent and those still standing stepped back. It was the respit Jess needed as she caught sight of Cueball leaving towards the back of the bar. She leapt over the twitching bodies of her victims and ran after her target. She caught sight of him in the alley being punched in the gut by Daredevil. “Misplace something?” the masked hero quipped as he pushed Cueball toward her. “Funny.” She grabbed the biker and slammed him face first into the wall of the next building. "You will tell me where Luis is or so help me, you will not have balls left." “She’ll do it, too,” Daredevil assured him as he leaned against the wall. “Fuck, lady. You’re goin’ down for this.” But another punch to his gut got him talking. He tells them Luis was being taken to an abandoned shopping mall the Dogs of Hell regularly used. Another punch, and he gave them the exact location of the mall. "There now, that wasn't so bad was it?" Jess asked as she allowed Cueball to stand straighter. He swung his fist, but Jess remained true to her promise and kneed him hard in the groin. The thug wheezed and doubled over, only to have his face meet Jess' knee. She didn't even give him a second glance as he fell to the ground, unconscious. Jess pushed Matt's shoulder. "You couldn't come in and help?" She huffed, then leapt to the wall and climbed to the roof of the next building. He followed, climbing up the fire-escape. “It seemed like you had it handled.” Jess leaned against the wall as she waited for him to catch up. She already regretted using her blasts in the bar. "That's besides the point." “I’m sorry I didn’t help.” He put his hands on his hips. “Do you know where this place is?” "I thought this was your city, shouldn't you know where everything is?" Jess whispered, unable to keep herself from moving towards him a bit. "It's near 44th and 11th. And I figure I'd just follow your leaping red ass across the rooftops. We don't have much time." She added and stepped away from him again. “I just wanted to be sure you knew where it was .” He didn’t wait for her to answer. He immediately headed in the direction of the shopping mall, leaping between buildings, rolling the landing when the distance called for it. Jess followed, close on his heels. "Luis, we're coming."
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Chapter 11 “Man, I missed my flight. Those tickets were non-refundable.” Before Luis could say more, he was gagged. That didn’t stop him from trying to talk though. He kept up his complaining about how he was going to have to buy another ticket. And this time it was going to be one-way, and since some people mistook him for being Muslim, he’d probably get the extra special security treatment. That was assuming he got out of this. What he didn’t say was that he really hoped Spider-Woman went to get Ant-Man so he could get an insect rescue. As he tried to talk around the gag about flying and what happened to his cousin’s girlfriend once on a plane, he kept looking for friendly ants that would signal it was happening. "You ain't gonna be needing a ticket. You ain't leaving here. Not after what we've got in mind." Smitty watched as Hands tugged a bag over Luis' head. "See, you've become a liability. I don't like liabilities." Hands pulled Luis to his feet and dragged him several yards away until Luis felt himself thrown against a wall. His hands were secured by a thick rope, ensuring that he wouldn't run off. Luis groaned. “What are you gonna do to me? I’ve done everything you wanted.” That’s what he tried to say. It came out more like a sing-song mumble hum. "There’s only one way to deal with liabilities – get rid of ‘em. " Smitty laughed. "Who’da thunk Daredevil and that Spider-Bitch would be hell bent on saving your ass. We can't have that. They can't save you if you're already dead." He reached for the shotgun that Hands now held. There was another groan. This one was less an expression of pain and more one of pleading not to be killed. "You might wanna say any final prayers now." The gun clicked but no shot came. Jess leapt down from the ceiling above, legs outstretched, and managing to knock Smitty back several feet as Hands lunged at her. "Get him out of here!" She snapped as she blocked a punch from Hands while Smitty scrambled to retrieve the gun. Daredevil grabbed Luis and pulled the bag off his head. “Come on.” The moved toward the exit as Luis did his best to express gratitude through the gag. Daredevil stopped abruptly, grabbed his batons, and threw one at Smitty, knocking him off his feet before he could get to the gun. Once both the batons were in his hands, he continued to the exit again. Jess grabbed Hands by the wrists then kicked his knee until she heard a satisfying crack. She let go of his wrists, letting him drop the ground with a scream of agony. She turned her attention to Smitty, stepping on his hand to prevent him from reaching the shotgun. Jess kicked it out of the way. "I am so sick of you Dogs, do you know that?" She bent down and hauled the thug to his feet. "Then why are you still here?" Smitty spat. Jess flicked the spit off her face and punched his jaw so hard blood ran out of his mouth. "Because I'm going to drag your ass off to...." Jess trailed off as the familiar sound of guns being loaded caught her attention. She looked about as Cueball and a whole crew of Dogs walked out of the shadows. "... jail." ***** Daredevil stopped when he heard the guns cocking. Luis froze. “What’s wrong?” he whispered. He didn't answer. This was one of those moments, one of those decisions that would color everything else. The guns went off. So long as there was shooting, she was alive. “Nothing.” Luis’ eyes became wide. “Are they shooting at Spider-Woman?” he asked as Daredevil dragged him away. “Is that Spider-Woman? Hey, not so fast. They banged up my knee.” Daredevil lifted him into a fireman's hold and carried him off. ***** Jess had sprung into action before the first shot could go off. She threw Smitty to the ground with another punch then moved towards the closest thug, pulling the gun from his grasp and smacking him under the jaw with the stock. Jess was already onto her next target before the first hit the ground. If the bar had been chaos, this was war. She didn't dare pause for a moment. As shots rang out around her, her focus narrowed to staying alive and incapacitating the enemy. Jess blasted, kicked and punched for what felt like an eternity until for the second time that evening, she found herself surrounded by two dozen groaning, twitching, or otherwise unconscious bodies. Blood dripped from her fists as she stood there panting, ready to take on whoever would come at her next, but no one did. After several more seconds, Jess relaxed her stance, uttering a string of curses when she realized that Smitty wasn't among those she had injured. She limped her way to where Cueball was sprawled in an unconscious heap by the wall. Using the chains that had once held Luis, she shackled him to the wall with the hope that if any of the thugs came to they would run rather than free him. Judging by how close the sirens were, she didn't think any of them would be running. She left just as the cops arrived, comforted with the thought and the knowledge that by now Matt had gotten Luis safely away. ***** Daredevil didn’t put Luis down until they were across the street from the police station. “Go inside and ask for Sergeant Brett Mahoney. Tell him who you are and that you were kidnapped by the Dogs of Hell. Tell him nothing else until your lawyer arrives. He’ll be here soon.” “My lawyer? You gonna call him or somethin’?” Luis asked. “Yes.” Luis looked from the police station to the dude in front of him and back to the police station. “Running will only make it worse.” He frowned. “Yeah. You’re probably right.” “You Catholic, Luis?” That was not a question he was expecting. “Yeah. Why?” He felt a red gloved hand rest on his shoulder. “God calls on us to do what is right not what is easy.” He gave the shoulder as squeeze. “I understand you have good friends on the west coast. Don’t let them down by doing something stupid.” Luis looked down in shame. “You think Spider-Woman is alright?” “From what I’ve seen, she can take care of herself. Now go turn yourself in.” He nodded. “Thanks, Diablito.” He limped across the street and entered the station. Daredevil heard him ask to see Sergeant Mahoney. He waited only for Mahoney to actually appear before heading home to change and call Jess. ***** Jess groaned as she hauled herself through her window. The exhaustion from using her venom blasts had taken hold about half way to her apartment. Combined with the injuries she had sustained tonight (several knife wounds and her old favorite the gunshot wound), Jess was fairly certain she was in worse shape than she had been the night Matt helped her home. She wished Matt had helped her home tonight, but she knew he was making sure Luis would be ok. If anything, his night was just beginning, and she had told him as much when he had called to check on her. That he had even done that much had surprised Jess, and it left her feeling flustered. She wasn’t used to it. He hadn’t sounded convinced when she had told him she was fine and his apparent concern only made her miss him more as she trudged to the bathroom to begin the arduous process of bullet removal. ***** “Jess?” The voice was coming from the living room. “It’s Matt.” He said apologetically after hearing her swear in surprise and frustration. He walked to the bathroom to find her sitting on the counter. Standing in the doorway, he wore his wrinkled brown suit and loosened tie. His messenger bag was hanging across his body, and he was holding two bags, one paper and one plastic. “I brought you some medical supplies and ice cream.” He set them down next to her. Jess was pulling the tweezers out of the sink as Matt walked in. She had been working on trying to get this bullet out for hours now and all she had managed to do was make the wound worse. At some point she had been shot in the back of her shoulder but the bullet hadn’t exited. She’d still rather have that than heal around it. She put the tweezers down and looked from Matt to the ice cream then back to Matt. Something twisted inside Jess, and she blinked hard several times. “Why?” “You mean other than because ice cream is delicious?” He pressed his lips together. “You aren’t lactose intolerant are you?” His hands busied themselves with getting the alcohol he had purchased and using it to clean the tweezers she had been using. “May I?” he asked, gesturing to her wound. He could hear the bullet scraping against her bone. “I assure you I am not.” Jess peaked in the bag. He had gotten chocolate..her favorite. She looked up at him as he offered his help yet again and her stomach twisted even tighter. She blinked again. “You’ll get your suit bloody.” “Good point.” He put the tweezers down then shrugged off his jacket. He hung it on the hook where she kept her bathrobe. Then he untied his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. He had been in too much of a hurry to put on an undershirt. So when he turned to hang these on the hook, too, she got a good look at his back and shoulders. He turned back around to face her. “Better?” He picked up the tweezers again. Jess could only stare and admire the way his muscles moved as he undressed. She noted the scars but wasn’t bothered by them. He was so handsome she couldn’t breathe, and it took a few seconds for her to realize Matt was speaking again. She swallowed before answering, “Yes.” She pulled herself off to the side then turned so her back was to him. Jess wasn’t sure if the breath she took next was to brace for the pain about to come or to recover from the way Matt got under her skin. He placed one hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be as quick as I can,” he promised. “Luis is safely in custody.” The tweezers were pushed into the wound. “He’s agreed to testify in exchange for immunity. We’re waiting for the paperwork.” He felt metal hit metal. “He’ll be spending the weekend in jail in protective custody.” He got a firm hold of the bullet. “But he’ll be able to go back home soon.” He tugged. He tugged again with a little more force. A squelching noise marked it getting free. Then it came out easily. “There we go.” The counter groaned as Jess gripped it tightly- it was the only indication she gave of just how much it hurt to have the bullet pulled out of her. She exhaled as the pain stopped. "Thanks. Again. Hopefully you won't have to do that again for a good, long while." She gave an experimental roll of her shoulder and winced. That bastard had gotten her good. "We're not done yet," he reminded her. He cleaned the wound. "Do you want stitches? I'm actually pretty good at them." Jess twisted herself to look in the mirror. It was not a pretty sight. She probably should, but stitches or not it would be mostly healed by morning. Her whole back was covered in blood from their efforts at removing it. She could feel her skin start to crawl and suddenly felt desperate for a shower. "I need a shower more than stitches." Matt took that as his cue to leave. “Sure.” He washed his hands in the sink. “If it’s okay, I’ll stick around to help you cover the wound when you’ve finished.” He dried his hands then retrieved his shirt, tie, and jacket from the hook. "Thanks, I'd appreciate that." Jess gave a tired sigh as she slid off the counter. This shower was going to hurt but she didn't want to ruin another set of bed sheets. She couldn't help but continue to eye up Matt as he gathered up his things. "Besides, I need someone to help me eat all this ice cream." He chuckled at that. “I better put it in the freezer until you’re ready for it.” He grabbed the bag with the ice cream and walked out. Fifteen minutes later Jess emerged from the shower, feeling more like herself despite her injuries. Even though Matt said he would stay, she was still surprised to find him sitting on the couch. She placed gauze and medical tape on the coffee table and sat down with her back facing him. The thin strap of the camisole she wore was already hanging off her injured shoulder. "I hope you weren't too bored waiting." “Not at all.” He picked up the gauze. “You were making some very interesting noises in the shower. I had to remind myself you didn’t need rescuing.” "It stung more than I thought it would." Jess huffed. At least she was clean and a lot of the shallower cuts and scrapes had healed. "So how long do you think it will be before Luis can go home?" Jess paused, then amended her statement "Well, go back to California at least, even if he's in prison." “Not sure. The court system is pretty slow. I’m hoping they’ll get his immunity agreement this week.” He taped the gauze to her shoulder over the bullet hole. “If we’re lucky, it’ll go through without any issues. If we’re really lucky, he can make his statement against the Dogs of Hell within the month, go home to California, and only come up to New York during the trial.” "I hope we're really lucky then. I think Luis would do better if he was where Scott could keep an eye on him." Jess replied, though honestly, with Scott on house arrest, she wasn't really sure how helpful that would be either. "Thank you again. Do you have somewhere to be, or can you help me eat this ice cream?" “I’d love to help you eat the ice cream.” His fingertips pressed the tape once more then trailed down her arm. His mind wandered to the condoms he picked up when he got her supplies, the ones in the pocket of his jacket draped across the back of the couch. “I’ll go get it.” He stood and headed for the kitchen. A pleased sigh escaped Jess as his finger trailed down her arm, and at first his words didn't register with her. She could already hear Matt fiddling around in her kitchen by the time she realized what he was doing. He was back just as she was about to get up and help. "I guess you didn't need help finding the spoons. All two of them." She stated as he returned. “Nope. Hope you don’t mind, but I didn’t think we needed bowls.” He handed her a spoon and the pint of ice cream wrapped in a paper towel. He kept a spoon for himself. “Ladies first.” Jess didn't need to be told twice. She shoved a large spoonful of deliciousness into her mouth as she sunk into the couch cushions in contentment. Jess offered the pint to Matt as she curled her legs underneath her. "Thank you again. You really didn't have to do all of this." He scraped some ice cream onto his spoon. “It was really just an excuse to have ice cream for breakfast.” He put the spoon into his mouth and relished the cold of it. "You need an excuse for that?" Jess asked. She lapsed into silence as she dug out another spoonful for herself. She had lost count of the times she'd had ice cream for breakfast. Or dinner for that matter. “Some of us do.” He took some more. “This is the first time I’ve had ice cream for breakfast,” he admitted. “I like it.” For some reason this completely dumbfounded Jess. She turned herself so she was facing Matt. "Wait. Did you not go to university to get that fancy law degree of yours? " She waved her spoon about to emphasize her point. "I mean, I thought ramen and ice cream were the staple diet of students everywhere?" At least, that's the impression she got from the internet. “Ramen and ice cream were staples for dinner. Sometimes lunch,” he told her. “But breakfast was cereal or Pop Tarts or granola bars.” He chuckled. “I can’t believe this is what we’re talking about.” "Well alright then." Jess nodded in acceptance of his explanation. She would have been disappointed if that particular bit of information hadn't been true. Jess sunk her spoon back into the carton, but froze with it half way to her mouth at his next words. "Should we be talking about something else?" Jess wracked her brain wondering if she was missing some form of etiquette. He hadn't complained about the ramen but maybe he had just been letting her slide then given the circumstance? “No,” he replied. “It’s just… After the few days we had, I don’t know, I feel like we should be trading vigilante stories or something.” He shrugged. “It’s stupid on my part. It just seems, I don’t know, normal. Too normal. I don’t get a lot of normal.” He tilted his head and shrugged. “I mean I do when I’m being a lawyer but not much else.” "I always wondered what normal felt like." Jess relaxed again and resumed eating ice cream. If this was normal she liked it. After a couple of mouthfuls she paused again and pointed her spoon at the lawyer. "What about when you're hanging out at the bar with Foggy? Do you file that under lawyering too? Isn't it normal to hang out with friends?" His eyes shifted downward as though thinking. “That’s normal. That’s also part of my lawyering life,” he explained. “Foggy helps me feel normal.” He made a face. “That sounded weird. Foggy is my best friend. We were roommates during law school. Shared a lot of ramen with him.” "Well that's good isn't it? Having a friend who cares about you right? Or someone who you know has your back?" Jess pushed her spoon into what was left of the ice cream and pushed it aside. She leaned closer to Matt, her face serious, not that he could see it. From Jess' perspective, Matt had everything she ever wanted. "I mean yeah you dress up as the devil and then go kick ass at night – but that's because you're fighting for the normal moments isn't it?" He was quiet for a moment. “Yes. I’m fighting for others to keep having normal moments not necessarily myself.” "Or just maybe your definition of normal is different." Jess leaned into the back of the couch. "Honestly, I'm the last person to have this discussion with. I have no idea what normal is, considering I basically do what you do. Minus the whole lawyering bit." She lapsed into silence a moment. "I guess so long as you enjoy those moments you get swept into other people normal, it's all good?" “I suppose.” He tilted his head. “You may not have lawyering, but you have bounty hunting. That’s kind of the same concept, right?” he asked. “Or do those blur more than my lives do.” "I've done ok with keeping them separate, but lately they've seemed to overlap. Or maybe I've just gotten careless." She was pretty certain it was the latter. Jess couldn't help but wonder if having someone like Foggy would change that. “Do you enjoy it? Bounty hunting,” he clarified. “I’m thinking you must have to know a lot about human nature to be good at it. Part detective. Part hunter.” He held his spoon in his hand as though not sure what to do with it. Jess offered Matt the ice cream again with a shrug. "I couldn't think of anything else to do with my skillset. I wouldn't say I enjoy it necessarily, but I get a lot of satisfaction putting bad people behind bars. Or helping out those like Luis who are good eggs but just make bad decisions." He waved the ice cream off. “Makes sense.” His tongued moistened his lips. “How long will you stay in New York?” "I'll probably stay through the end of the trial." Jess took Matt's spoon and the ice cream, then got up to put it all away. "Maybe take on some more cases. Then I'll head back to San Francisco." “So we’ll have time for that coffee then.” He sat back hoping they’d have time for a few coffees. Jess sat back down so she faced Matt again, clearly amused. "If I recall you mentioned beer. Though I guess coffee could work too." “Beer. Coffee. Whatever works best.” He placed a hand on her ankle. “How is the pain?” "Better than it was. You learn to ignore it eventually." Jess licked her lips as her gaze drifted from his hand to his face. “Should I come back later after you’ve had time to rest?” He added, “I can bring a bottle of something. Maybe even dinner.” "I...." Jess trailed off as she ran a hand through her hair. She was so very tired of being alone. Yet, she still had that nagging feeling that she was somehow influencing Matt because no one ever stuck with her this long. "If there are things you need to do for the trial go do them. Making sure Luis gets the best deal possible is important. But if I'm to be honest, I'd rather not be alone right now." Jess felt as if she was being selfish – but being selfish was ok once in a while wasn't it? “I can stay.” He moved closer and guided her gently into his arms. “The DA will call me when they decide what deal they actually want to make.” His hands gently stroked her arm. “And there is no where I’d rather be.” "Smooth Murdock." Jess chuckled as she relaxed into his embrace. She rested her head against his shoulder, content to enjoy whatever it was they had. "Hopefully the DA won't call for a while." Jess tilted her head up to nuzzle at his neck before pressing a light kiss to it. “That is the hope.” He relished the warmth of her against him. “So, is this okay?” "Very ok." Jess sighed with contentment while she absentmindedly toyed with the buttons on his shirt. "Trust me, you would know if it wasn't. Is this ok for you?" She countered. “Very,” he assured her. “So far this is the best part of my day.” If he wasn’t so tired and she wasn’t so injured, he’d be kissing her right now. "Good, mine too." And it was the truth. She was warm and felt incredibly safe in his arms. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. Jess started to push Matt down into the couch. "Put your-" A yawn escaped her before she could continue. "- feet up Matt. If you're even half as tired as I feel, you must be dead on your feet." He did as she suggested and settled back into the couch with a sigh. Jess stretched out alongside him with her head on his shoulder. It wasn’t long before they were both fast asleep. **** ”D.A. Office. D.A. Office.” The voice woke Matt and Jess. “D.A. Office.” Jess grumbled sleepily and snuggled further into Matt. "I think that's for you." “Shit.” Matt tried to get up, but he was beneath Jess, his legs tangled with hers. “Jacket pocket.” “D.A. Office.” Eventually his struggles made her shift so that he managed to sit up enough to grab his jacket. His hand fumbled in the pocket. As he took his phone out, the box of condoms fell out of it, too. He answered the call. “Matt Murdock.” Jess was still only half awake when she felt something land on her. She reached down between herself and the back of the couch. She pulled the box out and raised an eyebrow. Jess shoved the box back into the cushions, making sure she could reach them easily, but didn't say anything – she didn't want to jeopardize the conversation Matt was currently having. “Hank Pym? No, I don’t know him.” He paused to listen. “I’m sure Luis will be happy to hear that. Yes. Okay. Thank you.” He ended the call. “The D.A. just said Luis will be able to go home in exchange for his testimony against the Dogs of Hell.” Jess couldn't help but perk up a bit at the words "Hank Pym". She pulled herself away from Matt to look at him more fully. "Is that so? That is excellent news – Luis will do better where Scott can keep an eye on him. What did they want to know about Hank Pym?" She gave an experimental roll of her shoulder – it was still sore but much better than it had been earlier. “Apparently he pulled some strings. They wanted to know if I had set that up.” He tilted his head. “Do you know him?” "More like I know of him." Jess settled herself against Matt again, head on his shoulder. "He was a big time scientist for a government agency back in the 80s. Left for some reason. Scott – who asked me here in the first place, had a thing with Hank's daughter." Matt’s arm curled around her again. “Had? Guess Pym really liked your friend.” Jess frowned. "I'm not sure what's going on there." She made a mental note to look into it more when she got back to San Francisco. "And honestly, Scott is more of an acquaintance than a friend." “My mistake.” He took a deep breath. “Did you get any sleep?” "I did. Best sleep I've had in some time, even if it was only a few hours." Judging from the way the light was pouring through the window, it was only early afternoon. She raised her hand and gently stroked his cheek. "How about you?" He nodded with a smile. “Same.” He took her hand and kissed the palm of it. He felt the calluses on them. They made her somehow even more attractive, and he wondered what scars if any he’d find running his hands along her body. Jess shivered but then shifted so that she was more on top of him. "So, do you need to go into the office now or can you stay awhile?" Her voice lowered to an inviting purr as she pulled her hand from his so she could run it through his hair. “I think I can stay.” He raised his head to kiss her. Jess kissed him back for a moment then pulled away. "You only think you can? You're not sure?" She pressed herself against him as she kissed him once more. He pulled away long enough to say, “I can stay.” Then he was tasting her warmth again, his mouth opening wider with each kiss. His hands slipped beneath her camisole and slid up her back. One moved back down to gently squeeze her ass over her shorts. "Good," Jess breathed as she closed her eyes to concentrate on his touch. His hands on her back felt amazing, and she wondered what else they could do to her. The thought made her shiver. She pressed her hips against his as she pressed kisses along his jaw. "Think you might get lucky, Murdock?" “I’m already lucky,” he told her. “But I was hoping to continue what we started last night.” His hand gave another squeeze before moving down. His fingers stroked her through the thin material separating them from her labia. Heat curled low in Jess' belly as her hips rocked briefly into his touch, but she forced herself to swallow the moan that threatened to escape her throat. She wasn't about to give him too much satisfaction after such a dirty trick. Jess pulled herself away so that she was hovering over him. She grabbed his hands and gently pinned them above his head, and leaned forward until her hair curtained their faces. "Did you come prepared this time?" “You know I did.” His voice was low with want. “You picked up the box that fell out of my pocket when I got my phone.” It figured he'd been paying attention to that. Jess had begun to learn that not much escaped Matt's notice. She shifted so she had both his wrists in one hand while the other trailed down his body to briefly stroke him through his pants. "Maybe if you impress me I'll let you use them." Her own voice was husky with desire. She tugged his shirt out of his pants and began to unbutton it, her fingers lightly stroking each bit of skin that was exposed. His muscles twitched with each brush of her fingers and his breath deepened. “I take it you like control.” "Once in a while." Jess responded then lowered herself to kiss at his neck. She finished unbuttoning his shirt and ran her fingers down his chest and belly. Her fingers briefly tugged at the waist of his pants then went to work unbuckling his belt. “That’ll be easier with two hands,” he told her. "Perhaps." But Jess had years of practice and had his belt, and then his pants, undone in short order. She stared down at Matt, her breath caught by just how handsome he was. "Matt." She said his name softly, but it was thick with desire. Jess released his arms and lowered herself on to him, her hands and lips touching every bit of skin she could reach. His fingers combed through her long hair. Then they moved to her waist. He pressed his palms against her skin as they moved up, pulling the camisole with them. He tugged it over her head. They kissed again as he stroked down her chest to her breasts. He cupped them in his hands and curled his body to taste them. Jess arched her body into his touch with a sigh. She buried the fingers of one hand in his hair as the other tugged at his shirt. Somehow it was still on and she didn't want any clothing between them. She could feel his arousal between them, and Jess rolled her hips against it. "I want you." He sat up and began to pull at his shirt, flinging to the side once it was off. He grabbed the box of condoms and in his hurry tore the end when he opened it, causing condoms to go flying everywhere. Jess snorted in amusement, but it didn’t last long. Matt kissed her hungrily as he grabbed one of the fallen condoms and placed it in her hand. Jess sank back into the couch, pulling Matt down so that his body covered hers. She pushed at his pants and boxers until his cock was free, then wrapped her hand around his length. He was so hard already, but Jess couldn't help herself. She stroked his length as she kissed her way down his chest. “Jesus,” he moaned. He yanked her shorts and panties down. He could feel the cotton in both, the panties softer and smaller than the boxers that were covering them. He pulled them completely off her and tossed them to the side. He did the same to his own pants and underwear. Then he kissed up her leg and inner thigh as he spread her legs. He could smell her arousal, and it only made him want her more. His fingers found her pubic hair and gently tugged before continuing up her body. Her lips quirked into a smirk at his reaction but it wasn't there for very long. She had no choice but to release his cock as he kissed his way up her thigh. She was already wet with want for him, but his lips and hands were making her mind go blank, and he hadn't even touched her most sensitive areas yet. "Bloody hell, Matt." She sighed as her body arched into his touch. His lips finally reached her wetness as his hands continued their exploration. His lips trailed up her stomach before wrapping around her nipple. His palm slid up to her throat. He could feel her pulse against his fingers. The sound of her heartbeat pounded in his ears along with his own. He needed her. Now. The way he crawled up her body reminded Jess of a predator stalking its prey, and it ignited her desire tenfold. Jess was on fire with need for him, and his hand around her throat was one of the most erotic things she had ever experienced. She moaned and opened the package in her hand, then slid the condom onto his cock with practiced ease. He kissed her hungrily and groaned with satisfaction as he finally pushed into her. Already the outside world was fading into the background. There was only her and the way she made him feel. He started with a slow, deep rhythm. His cock filled her completely, and Jess moaned in ecstasy with each thrust of his hips. Her hands traced the scars on his back before trailing down to grab his ass. She wrapped her legs around his waist so she could feel him more deeply inside of her. She groaned as he hit the perfect spot inside of her. "Oh God. There. Harder.” He grunted as his hips snapped forward. “Like that?” He had his answer when Jess could only gasp in response, her body rising to meet his and her nails digging into his skin. He grabbed her wrists and held her hands above her head. His other hand caressed her breast before moving back up her neck. Jess closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. Her attention was focused solely on Matt and the pleasure he was bringing her. He was so hard and so deep inside of her Jess couldn't take it anymore. She shivered, and a low moan rose from the back of her throat as she completely surrendered herself to him. He could feel that moan beneath his skin and along every nerve. He moved faster, harder, until his mind went completely blank and his skin felt as though it were on fire with sensation. Finally he burst with pleasure. Body spent, he collapsed on top of her. “Are you okay?” he asked through heavy breaths. It took Jess a few moments to find her voice, but when she did it could only be described as a content purr. "Mmm....I am very good." She gingerly wrapped her arms around Matt's torso and nuzzled her face into his neck, content to just enjoy how well their bodies seemed to fit together. He smiled and shifted to the side, placing most of his weight on the couch. He held her close, enjoying her warmth, her scent, the steady beat of her heart. His hand wandered to her shoulder to make sure her bandages were still secure. Satisfied, his fingers wandered to her neck and stroked the skin there. “You’re amazing.” It was those stupid little gestures like calling to check up on her and checking her bandages that made Jess' heart twist. It absolutely terrified her. A million different thoughts as to why he would even care flew through her head and none of them were good. Tears pricked at her eyes, but rather than say anything Jess let the silence linger. The silence began to worry Matt a little. He knew she had an orgasm, but maybe she was having second thoughts about whatever this was. “You’re not so bad yourself, Matt. Thanks, Jess.” Jess pulled away from him and sat up, placing her head in her hands. "I’m sorry Matt." Her heart thundered in her chest and she shivered in the cool air of her living room. "I'm not....this is not something I'm used to." She wrapped her arms about herself. "No one has even pretended to care before." The last was uttered softly, not meant to be heard, but knew it probably was. Matt sits up and pulls her to his chest. “I’m not pretending.” He placed her hand on his heart so she could feel it beating. “I’m not pretending,” he repeated more emphatically. His heartbeat was strong and steady. Jess focused it on it, letting its rhythm sooth her. Eventually she relaxed in his arms, her head tucked back under his chin. "So, does this mean we're friends?" “At the very least,” he replied. He didn’t know what Jess’ history was exactly, but he had a feeling there was probably some sort of abuse involved. “You know my secret. I don’t tell my secret to just anyone, you know.” Jess did know. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that. "I've never had a friend before. You sure you want to deal all that?" She looked down at her hands. "I'm going to mess up a lot." “So am I.” He licked his lips as he tried to find the right words. “Did you want to just be friends? Because friends don’t usually do things together that require condoms.” He was hoping she’d say no but knew he wouldn’t refuse her if she wanted to keep it platonic from now on. Jess seriously considered that – the sex they just had, the soft touches he gave her, the conversations they had. Even if was only for a few weeks, this was something she wanted. Something to look back on when things inevitably got rough. "Then maybe the correct term would be friends with benefits?" To emphasize her point, she tilted her head up to place a kiss just behind his ear, her teeth lightly grazing his skin. She followed it up with another and another still, moving down his neck with each one. “That’s…” He closed his eyes. If she kept doing that, he was going to need a new condom. “Yes. Friends with benefits I can definitely do.” He brushed hair off her shoulder and kissed her skin. "Good. Then that's what we are." A weight felt as if it had been lifted off her shoulders, now that she knew where she and Matt stood. Jess shifted her body so that she was straddling his lap. "You know, there's more room on my bed." She suggested, her lips so close that they brushed against his. “Bed would be good.” He claimed her lips, hungering for her as intensely as he had before. “Foggy Nelson,” his phone interrupted. “Foggy Nelson.” Jess pulled away and shot the phone a dark look. Matt groaned as he shifted Jessica off of his lap. “Sorry.” He grabbed his phone from the coffee table. “Foggy, this better be good.” Jess smirked and settled back into the couch as she waited for Matt to get off the phone. **** It was an amazing two weeks full of night patrols, good conversation, good food, and sex. Lots of sex. Lots of amazing sex. Despite Jess’ fears, Matt never tired of her. She practically moved into his place. (It was more convenient for him since he had to go to court or the office in the morning.) But like all things, it had to end. Matt was in his office with Luis. He wanted to make sure the man knew exactly what was expected of him. “I really need you to try to stay out of trouble, Luis.” “No, I know. And I promise I will. For real this time.” Jess strode into the offices and plucked an apple from one of the fruit baskets that littered the place. She waved sweetly at Karen, who ignored her, then leaned in the doorway to Matt's office. "Wouldn't want to disappoint Ant-Man now would we?" She chimed in. Luis smiled nervously. “No. No we wouldn’t. How you been, Jess? My cousin’s friend still asks about you.” “Is it time?” Matt asked. He had not been looking forward to this moment. With a heavy heart, he stood and stepped around his desk. "I've been great." Jess replied to Luis, but her eyes were on Matt as she stepped into the room. Luis looked from Matt to Jess to Matt again. Jess raised an eyebrow at Luis, who miraculously got the message and left the room, shutting the door behind him. "It is." These last two weeks had quite literally been the best in her life. She'd learned a lot from Matt – mostly about herself, but about life too. Their odd lives fit so well together it was scary. Which was why Jess was leaving. It would be all too easy to stay and despite the last two weeks and Matts words, Jess still felt he'd be better off without her. Jess moved across the room and wrapped her arms around him, unable to stop herself from tucking her head under his chin. "It's been fun." His arms circled her waist. “It’s been more than fun. Promise me you’ll come back,” he requested. “Or find me a great deal on airfare so I can visit you.” He breathed her in knowing this would be his last chance for a long while. "Promise. And I'm only a phone call away if you need help." Jess tilted her head up so she could catch Matt's lips with hers. He made sure the kiss was one they would both remember. It was long and intense, and in the middle of it his hand moved to caress her neck. “I’m going to miss you.” Jess closed her eyes and leaned into his touch for just a moment. "I'll miss you too." More than she would let him ever know. Jess was fairly certain that Matt Murdock had crawled beneath her skin and would be staying there for a good long while. She kissed him once more before pulling away from him completely. "See you around, Murdock." And with that she turned and walked out of the office, leaving Matt with only his memories of her and the t-shirt she left on his bed.