Part VII

In the morning, he came early to the office, last night had been quiet. Foggy was surprised and so was Karen.

"Hey, Matt! What brings you here?" Foggy was cheerful again, things had been going well.

"Hey, I have an idea for that little vigilante we rescued the other night." He had an idea that would benefit all of them.

"What, another charity case? Can we afford it?" Foggy pretended to sound irritated but he loved helping people, he really did.

"Hey! I'm not a charity case! I work hard here for my paycheck!" Karen chimed in. Matt still detected a strain in her voice most days, but she seemed to forget as soon as she was tangling with Foggy.

"Well, we did first meet you chained to a desk accused of murder. At least, that's how I remember it." He was needling her, which was good, Karen became stronger when she had to fight.

"Okay, okay you guys!" Matt smiled, he loved them both, they made his darkness less dark. "I think if we channel this girl's energy, we can all benefit. I was thinking of going to find her, maybe offer a job where she goes to the hospital and interviews people who have been victims of a crime. She can work for us, maybe find potential clients. She seems really sensitive about people. It might work, she can work with doctor referrals and ask a few questions." He had a feeling she would know many of these people since she lived in the area and she would know who had been a victim of crime. He knew there would be replacements rising to fill Wilson Fisk's absence, if he could narrow down the main contenders, he could save the city.

"Matt, you don't even know this girl, how do you know she can do this? How do you know she even wants a real job?" Karen was being protective, she knew Matt's blindness might blind him to people's faults.

"I don't know, Matt, she seemed more like a cosplay character, she might not even be interested in helping people at all." Foggy had his doubts, he'd seen her costume in the full light of day. Matt could sense his embarrassment.

"Well, she's not the only one dressing up in a crazy costume trying to fight crime. Her hearts in the right place, we just need to direct it to a more legal challenge." He felt Foggy relent, he understood channeling energies away from vigilante justice.

"Point taken. Where can we find her? Her name's Kylie, right?" Foggy was all business now.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I know the area. She's squatting in a basement right now. I'm pretty sure she was living in the same tenement as Mrs. Cardenas and lost her home the same time as everyone else." Now he had Karen's attention. He knew they would both want to help after that.

Karen gasped. "Oh, yeah, we have to help! You think she's homeless?"

"Yeah, not everyone wants to move to the projects, I can understand that." Foggy had a good heart, it's what made him such a great partner.

"Well, let's go find her and offer her a job. Then she can afford to get a real apartment, and start working against crime during the day instead of at night." Matt was ready, he had narrowed down the area she retreated to at night, it made little difference to him finding it again during the day.

Part VIII

"Are you sure, Matt? This place looks like the worst hellhole ever! I don't see how anyone could even squat here!" Foggy was right, the place was falling apart. But it had the same smell Kylie carried in her hair and he had followed her to this street last night secretly.

They made their way carefully down broken steps to the basement. Matt made sure they made lots of noise so she wouldn't suddenly attack. He knew she was here, he heard her rising heartbeat. She was scared.

"Kylie? We're the lawyers from the other night! Are you here?" Matt knew she didn't want to come out, but at the same time, she was curious.

"Come on, guys, really? I'm not even paying you? Why are you chasing me? Are the cops outside?" She came out of a deep corner.

In an undertone, Foggy muttered, "Matt, this place has vermin. We have to get her out of here. It's a shambles." Matt was grateful for his friend's help, it was going to take both of them to convince her to leave.

"Hey, we might have a job for you! We help people and you can help us help people." She was frowning, Matt could feel it.

"What, you can't put up a Craigslist ad or something? I don't want to be a secretary, I don't exactly have the right wardrobe." She was irritated and embarrassed, no one ever came here.

"Look, can we talk over coffee? I think we should talk over coffee!" That was Foggy, always thinking about food and drink.

"Okay, if you're buying." She carefully walked up the broken stairs with them, there was broken tiles, beams, trash, and detritus everywhere.

They caught a taxi and went to Foggy's favorite bistro. The coffee and sandwiches were always hot and fresh there.

"So here's the deal, we need someone to talk to people in the hospital, victims of crimes…" Matt started laying out the plan.

"I can't do that! I can't go to a hospital! Are you crazy?" Panic rising in her voice, she didn't even let him finish his sentence.

He started to ask why but she got up and left, rushing out the door, almost knocking over a burly, bearded hipster.

"That went well! Look, Matt, I know you like helping people but, to be honest, some people don't want to be helped. I know, I see it every day." Foggy was a great friend but he couldn't see deep inside people, he just didn't understand.

"That's not it, Foggy, I think she just has a problem with hospitals. I'll think of something else. And if you think of something, let me know." Foggy paid and they went back to the office.

Part IX

Even in the city, he could hear the crickets at night. They sang underneath the sound of motorcycles, sirens, and trucks downshifting. He could tune out so many of the irritant noises but he tried to keep a place for the cricket song every once in a while, it reminded him that good could be found everywhere.

She approached, quieter tonight. The incident with him and Foggy left her sad and slow. Damn, it's not like he could ask her what the problem was directly. He'd have to fish it out of her, and that might seem weird for a vigilante to ask a girl about her feelings. Well, sometimes the direct approach worked.

"You seem off, what's wrong?" He kept his voice low and muted, he really didn't need her to put two and two together.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some people came to see me today and…I don't know, I don't want to talk about it really." She was deflated. This wasn't what he wanted at all. He needed her off the streets.

"I'm a good listener." Inside he laughed to himself, that's all he was really.

"I just, well, I was offered a job." She was embarrassed about it.

"That sounds promising. Did you accept?" He waited. Now he would understand the puzzle.

"I can't. It was at the hospital. You know how I sense things? Sense people? I can't go to hospitals, it overwhelms those senses. I can't go to weddings, funerals, parties. Large groups of people have so much pain, sadness, things going on in their life. It absolutely crushes and exhausts me, it takes days for me to recover. I can't hold down any job, even just a few people having a bad day hurts physically." She was turned away from him, she was afraid of sensing his disappointment. He'd learn to hide those emotions long ago. This he could fix.

"I can teach you. I can teach you how to close it out. How to focus on one thing at a time and not feel overwhelmed." Even as he said it, though, he knew he would be creating an intimacy with her, a closeness that would be almost too much for him. He was already emotionally attached to this outsider who was so much like him. He couldn't even afford to name the feeling in his mind. What was he doing?