Dani's POV
(Nightwing27th)
It's the middle of the night. The rains refusing to let up as I lock the front door. The porch light flickers a few times before going out, leaving me in total darkness. I sigh as I flip my hood up on my head, making a mental note to fix it later. I pull the car keys out of my pocket, preparing to step out into the rain. The neighbor's porch light flips on as a woman storms out of the house.
She marches down the drive way to her car, a man close behind her. "How dare you," she said, turning on her heels to face him. I slowly slink back into the shadows. I'll just wait until their done. I'm not going to get caught up in their drama.
"It was never supposed to go this far," he tells her. I can barely make out the man's appearance. But the woman was facing me, the porch light lighting up her face. "What I'm offering you is more than necessary to…take care of things and then start a new life for yourself."
"'Take care of things'? What is the matter with you?" she asked, rage boiling in her eyes. "No! No, I will not 'take care of it'." The man sighed as he glanced around the neighborhood.
"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way." He moved too fast for her to react, jabbing his hand into her throat and then spinning her, cupping her mouth as he dragged her back inside. The door slammed shut and then the porch light turned off. My heart beat against my rib cage uncontrollably. What is going on? Did he really just…?
I take a deep breath and pull out my cell phone. I unlock the screen and then quickly start dialing 9-1-1. The phone beeps at me, claiming it's battery is too drained to make the call. I swore under my breath, shoving the phone back in my pocket. No one's coming to help that girl. No one even knows she needs help.
I glance around and then head across the grass to the front door. This is really stupid. I slowly place my hand on the door knob and then, ever so slightly, turn it. He left it unlocked. I gently push the door open and then step inside. Five feet away from me he stood over the top of her with a gun. She lies on the floor, blood pouring from her nose as she pleaded for her life.
And in the blink of an eye, all the panic I was feeling, vanished. I marched forward as she gasped at my presence in the room. The man turned, swinging the gun in my direction. I quickened my pace, covering the distance between us. My left hand latched onto his wrist as I pushed it up, forcing the gun into the air.
I curled my right hand into a fist a split second before it made contact with his throat. The impact caused him to pull the trigger. The bullet hit the ceiling, but the girl screamed anyway. I slipped the gun out of his right hand, as I put mine on the back of his head and grabbed a fist full of hair. I quickly brought my knee up as I brought his head down.
At that, he went limp and fell to the floor. I ejected the gun's clip, letting it fall to the floor. I turned to face the girl. She looked up at me, shocked, as tears still stained her face. "Do you have a land line?" She quickly nodded. "Good. Call the police. Then pack your things and leave town. Better yet, leave the state."
"Why?" she croaked.
"Because men like him don't give up just because you put them behind bars," I replied. "He'll come back for you and next time I might not be there to stop him." I rubbed my sweatshirt over the gun a few times, trying to wipe away my finger prints. Then I tossed it to the side and headed for the door.
"Wait!" she called out. I looked at her and she was standing now. "Who are you?" I realized my hood was still up, that she probably didn't see my face. I hear sirens in the distance. I turn without a word and run out the door.
Hell's Kitchen. 10 years later.
I launch myself out the window, a couple seconds after they did, and land on the scaffolding a few feet down. My opponent's already on his feet, whereas, the man in the black mask appears to be knocked out on the concrete below. I'm still not sure whose side he's on, but so far, the man in front of me is the only one trying to kill me.
I know my bow won't do me any good this close, so I decide to use it as a weapon instead. He swings his right fist at me and I duck to miss it. As I come up, his other fist gets me in the jaw. I stumble back a few steps, regaining my balance. I wrapped my right arm around the pole next to me before planting my boot in his chest.
He slammed into the rail behind him as I smacked my bow against the side of his face. Blood spewed from his mouth as he went off the edge, landing hard on the ground, feet below. The fall seemed to take its toll for only a second. The man in the mask was on him before he could get to his feet.
I ran to the stairs and then hurried down them. I faced the two men, both throwing more punches then I could count. I rolled my right shoulder in its socket, testing it. It's still really sore from the other night. I try to ignore it and reach behind me for an arrow, as the man gets on top of the man in the mask and begins strangling him.
My fingers grasp the arrow and I pause. I readjust my grip on my bow, the rain causing it to slip out of my hands. Then, I take a deep breath…and then in a split second, I've loaded the bow, aimed, and fired. The arrow lodged itself into the man's shoulder blade. He screams, loosening his grip, giving the man in the mask the upper hand.
He punches him in the side of the head a few times before pushing him to the side. Both men roll away from each other, as I hear my arrow snapping. The Mask got on his hands and knees, before collapsing to the ground and rolling onto his back. The other guy, tried to get up too. But, he caught sight of his knife, instead.
I ran up to him. His hand grabbed the knife before I could kick it out of the way. He swung the knife low, slicing my lower right leg. I instantly hit the ground, rolling onto my right side. I kicked him in the face as hard as I could, sending him flying back. The Mask caught him and didn't waste any time trying to get the knife away from him. He put him in a chokehold, and then the man pushed back against him.
His head made contact with the Mask's, giving him a chance to slip out of his grip. Now the two stood a few feet apart, waiting for the other to make a move. The Mask reached behind him and grabbed the chain hanging down from the scaffolding, as the man came at him with the knife.
The Mask dodged the man's swing and then wrapped the chain around his arm followed by his head. He pulled the chain tight and then let him hang there by it, as he punched him several more times. Then he jumped, spun, and kicked the man in the head, knocking him out. The Mask hit the ground, rolling onto his back.
I rolled over onto my hands and knees and then pushed myself up. I got to my feet, but then stumbled when I tried to put pressure on my right leg. I caught myself before I fell and then stood up straight. My bow was on the ground a few feet away. I tried to ignore the pain in my leg and walked up to it. I picked it up and then startled at the sound of a woman's voice.
I turned around and saw the woman from the apartment this whole fight started in. She's the one the man was trying to kill. The Mask was now standing and in front of the man, searching his pockets. He didn't look up at the girl as she gawked at us.
"What the..?" the woman said. She was still scared and shocked from what just happened. The Mask pulled something out of the man's pocket and held it up. Then he looked up at her.
"I'll get this into the right hands." He slowly started backing away from her.
"No. You can't," she said, as he kept walking. "You can't take it to the police, you can't trust anyone!" He stopped walking and then turned around.
"Then we tell everyone." His breathing was still heavy, and it was more than clear he was injured. But, so am I. The rain stung as it landed in my open wound. There's no need for me to stay, the bad guy's been dealt with and this…vigilante seems to have things covered. So, before he has the chance of stopping me, I slip into the shadows and disappear.
Alison's POV
(bellamysgirl)
My fingers worked quickly to roll down the top of the brown paper bag on the counter in front of me while my teeth held onto my paper and pen. It seems like multitasking has become second to racing against the clock on my list of skills. "Chase!" The word came out muffled, sounding odd around the paper in my mouth. "We're gonna be late!" I finished rolling down the bag and pulled the pen and paper from my mouth, putting it on the counter next to the bag.
I was only just barely able to have time for breakfast this morning, and pre-making lunch—my best bet for getting anywhere with Chase on time—became less of an option than flying him to school. "Chase Mathew Fletcher, if you're not out here in five minutes-"
"I'm here!" Chase almost flew into the kitchen counter in his burst of speed heading into the room. I was able to swing my arm out to catch him before he could. "Whoa! Easy there," I steadied him, and then grabbed the paper bag off the counter. "Brush your teeth?"
"Yep," he nodded.
"Make your bed?"
"Yep," he nodded again.
"Good job. Where's your coat?" I asked, eyeing his empty shoulders pointedly. His eyes rounded a moment. Then he tore out of the kitchen at warp speed, skidding around the corner toward the front door. I swear, that kid would make tire marks on glass. I sighed, pulling my purse strap onto my shoulder, then I left the kitchen, walking around the corner to the front door. Our tiny two-bedroom apartment doesn't allow for much space. It's like living in a shoe box made for rats.
But, when that's all you can afford, it's all you get. Chase just finished pulling his back pack over his coat as I arrived at the coat rack by the door. "Ready to go?" I asked him.
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," he moped, adjusting his straps. I pulled my coat off the rack and opened the door, holding it for him. "Come on, Grumpy Cat. Your school work isn't going to do itself," I gestured for him to exit with a smile.
"That's the dream," he said, almost in awe a second. Then he snapped out of it and started out of the apartment. I raised an eyebrow and shook my head, chuckling once before following him out, making sure to lock the door behind me. After dropping Chase off at Sacred Heart Elementary, I drove to the next stop on my list of things to do today—finding a lawyer.
I parked along the sidewalk just down the street from the office. I found it when I was out scouting yesterday. It wasn't the most A-lister building—but I didn't need A-lister. I needed affordable legal help and advice. Plus, this was the closest place I could find. I pushed through the door to the building, stepping into a dimly lit hallway of doors. I closed the door behind me and started through. My eyes scanned each door as I passed, until they caught something.
I stopped and turned left to face the door. On it was a cut-out cardboard sign with Nelson And Murdock written on it in black sharpie. I inhaled. My knuckles rapped on the wooden part of the door, beside the window, and I stepped back to wait. Nothing. An empty silence followed. Maybe they weren't open today? But I waited another moment, just to make sure.
I startled slightly as the door whipped open and a young-looking blonde woman smiled brightly at me. "Hi," I started. "Um, I don't have an appointment-"
"That's alright. Please, come in," the woman moved aside, pulling the door open further for me to enter, gesturing me to come inside the office. I smiled politely and stepped inside, and she closed the door behind me. "What brings you to Nelson and Murdock?" she asked, walking around me to stand in front of the desk center-room, facing me.
"Well, I need some legal advice. I was hoping I could ask a lawyer a few questions?" I fished. I wasn't sure what the procedure or legal protocol was, so I took a fifty/fifty stab. "Of course," My head snapped left at the sudden voice. "Legal advice is one of the many services we offer here."
A man with brown hair and dark glasses stood in the doorway of an office room. The blonde woman quickly spoke up. "Oh, this is Matt Murdock," she introduced. "Matt, this is…" It was only then I realized I hadn't given her my name.
"Alison Fletcher," I supplied. I had the urge to hold out my hand to shake, but I noticed something in his hands. My eyes followed further down to the full front of the walking stick. He was blind. A blind lawyer? How does that work, exactly? I kept my skeptical thoughts to myself—along with my hands—and the blonde woman next introduced herself. "I'm Karen, by the way," she smiled.
"Nice to meet you," I smiled back, this time holding out a hand. She shook it briefly, then moved to sit behind the desk. "Miss Fletcher, would you like to join me in my office?" Mr. Murdock asked, from the doorway to the office.
"Sure." I didn't really know what to say exactly, so I kept it to a minimum answer and followed him into the office. He maneuvered around his desk near the back wall and sat, then gestured a hand out toward the chair opposite him. "Please, sit," I stepped over toward the desk and sat in the chair, trying to gather my questions in my head. "What kind of questions do you have, Miss Fletcher?"
I inhaled. "My ex-boyfriend has been threatening me."
"Verbally or physically?" he asked.
"Both. I came to New York—not only for my new job—but to get away from him. He always seems to find me, and recently I've been feeling really uneasy about leaving my apartment. I feel like I'm being watched, he'll just show up out of the blue—in my apartment—it's just getting out of hand," I explained, as calmly as possible.
"Do you know why he's following you? Has he made any demands?" he asked, sitting up a bit in his chair.
"He wants custody of my son," I answered. "We weren't together when I had him, but it's his child." He was quiet a second, most likely thinking. Faint voices caught my attention and I turned in my chair to see through the window, into the main room. Karen was talking to a man with just above shoulder-length blondish-red hair in a suit. Just as I turned back to face the desk, the man walked into the office. "Hi there," he smiled, stopping a foot into the office.
"Foggy, this Alison Fletcher," Mr. Murdock introduced. "She's just here for some legal advice."
"Foggy Nelson. Nice to meet you," the man said, stepping for with an outstretched hand. I smiled, shaking his hand. "Mind if I sit in? Sometimes two lawyers are better than one."
"Of course," I nodded. Mr. Nelson pulled a chair over from the corner of the room, sitting in it on Mr. Murdock's side of the desk. He listened intently as Mr. Murdock continued the conversation. "Then he's going to sue you for custody?" he asked, not really a question, as if the conversation never ended.
"I don't know. He hasn't taken any action yet but, frankly, he's scaring me. He's definitely not a man that should be trusted with a child's care," I answered.
"What makes you say that?" Mr. Nelson enquired. Just sitting in, huh? My mind scrambled for a better explanation. Better than the truth. But I couldn't find one. So I took a deep breath and spoke. "I got pregnant when we were dating. When I told him, he wrote me a check and told me to 'take care of it'," I used my fingers as air quotes, the words leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. "I refused to get an abortion, and…"
"And what, Miss Fletcher?" Mr. Murdock asked, somewhat-quietly.
"And he beat me, pointed a gun at my face. He nearly killed me," I finished.
"Nearly?" Mr. Nelson asked, his eyebrows raised.
I nodded. "Some woman showed up out of the blue, knocked him out, and told me to disappear. I've been practically on the run ever since," I answered, keeping my tone level. "But I know him, he's going to try and take me to court. I just don't know what to do."
"Well, it sounds like-"
Mr. Murdock started to speak, but was interrupted by an epiphany-stricken Mr. Nelson. "Wait, Matt. I think I know someone who can help," he said. He then quickly stood from his chair and hurried into the main room.