DISCLAIMER: Marvel's Daredevil belongs to Marvel and Netflix.
A/N: This was inspired by Daredevil #191 and Batman: War on Crime by Alex Ross. Check 'em out!
THE EYES BEHIND A BULLET
It is getting dark. New York breathes and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen listens.
Matt Murdock stands at the edge of a rooftop in his combat gear and concentrates. Every sound and every voice tells him a different story. One exchange between two teenagers catches his attention.
"What's that supposed to mean you little bitch?"
"Stop calling me that."
"Stop calling you a little bitch? And what are you gonna do about it, Pete?"
Matt tightens his jaw. He concentrates on these voices while something cold and violent churns inside of him. He hates bullies regardless of age. He can't stop listening.
"What are you gonna do? Tell me."
"Eat shit, Russell."
Russell laughs. It's the forced kind of laugh. Matt doesn't need heightened senses to tell Russell is going to get violent any second now. He knows that's what cowards do. They catch you off-guard because that is the only chance they will ever get.
A fight starts. Heartrates spike. Matt jogs towards the voices but breaks into a sprint when he hears the click of a gun.
Matt traverses the maze-like rooftops of Hell's Kitchen making sure not to waste a single step or lose momentum. He gets through three blocks in seconds. Both bully and victim are now three stories below him.
Something's wrong. Matt has misread the situation.
"Oh shit! Pete! Pete! No!"
Two teenagers are facing each other. One has the other at gunpoint but they are both terrified. The one holding the gun is crying.
"I told you to stop, Russell! I told you!"
Pete's shaking so much he can't hold the gun steady. Russell stares at the barrel and shouts more gibberish. The smell of his urine reaches Matt's nose.
Matt can tell the gun is a revolver, a .22 judging by the size. He thinks of what to do, conscious of the time he's wasting. There are many ways to disarm the boy. All of them hurt. One of them kills.
Matt remembers it's just a kid.
Stick would be laughing. Then he would frown at what his disciple is about to do.
Matt makes his way down to the alley without making a single noise. He stands behind Pete. Both boys are so hypnotized by the gun they don't see or hear the man in black getting closer.
"Put the gun away. No one has to get hurt."
Pete gasps and turns around. Russell tries to run the opposite way but it accomplishes nothing. It's a one-way alley. He sits on his ass and hyperventilates.
"It's the devil of Hell's Kitchen!" Russell yells. He sees a brick out of the corner of his eye and gets an idea.
Pete takes a step back. He's shaking harder.
"Back off, man!"
"No."
Pete takes another step back.
"Stay away! I'm gonna shoot you!"
Matt doesn't move. He clenches his fists.
"Don't hurt me..." Pete begs.
"I would've already done that if I wanted to," says Matt, "Just like you would've hurt Russell. You in the back. That your name?"
"Y-yeah."
Matt points at Russell. "Put that brick down."
"What?"
"You were thinking about throwing that brick. Then what?"
Russell drops the brick. He feels the last of his courage leave him.
"I don't wanna die..." he whimpers.
Pete grunts and points the gun at Russell.
"Don't," Matt says. "He's not going to hurt you."
Pete lets out an angry wail and points the gun back to Matt.
"Shut up!"
"You're Pete, right?" Matt asks. He raises his hands. "Who gave you that gun? Did you steal it?"
Pete's heartbeat tells Matt everything.
"From your dad?"
"...How did you know?"
"That's not important," Matt says. "Russell has been hurting you, hasn't he?"
"Yeah..."
"And you wanted to hurt him back."
Pete sobs and wipes a tear on his shoulder. He keeps Matt between his sights.
"Nobody listens to me. It's bullshit. I had to do something!"
"I know."
"Do you?!"
"Yeah," Matt nods and takes a step forward. The ten feet keeping him away from Pete feel like ten miles. Breaking his hands would be so easy now.
"You're lying!"
"I'm not. Bullies killed someone I cared about, Pete," Matt says. "It's true. I blamed the guns first... but then I understood something. You know what that was?"
"No."
"It's not a gun that killed my dad. It was the bullies. Pete... and if you use that gun to kill Russell you're going to turn into a bully yourself. What's going to happen after that? Are you going to just kill anyone who hurts you?"
Pete shakes his head. "I only wanted to scare him..."
"I know. That's why it's so important that you listen," Matt says with a soft voice. "Do you go to church?"
"Y-yeah..."
"They tell you killing is a sin. They tell you it's going to weigh down on your conscience, and when you die you'll go straight to hell, right? They're not telling you the whole truth."
Matt takes another step forward.
"They don't tell you killing and hurting people gets easier after the first time. That's when you'll be really lost."
Pete sobs. He lowers his arms. The gun has become too heavy.
Matt puts a hand on Pete's shoulder and squeezes it while the other pries the gun away from his trembling hand. Russell watches Matt disarm Pete and stumbles back on his feet.
"You're crazy, Pete! You fuckin' psycho! You're dead!"
Matt's mouth turns into a flat line. The muscles on his neck tighten until they look like steel cords under his skin. He squeezes Pete's shoulder again and steps between him and Russell.
"You. Listen," Matt says to the bully. "If anything happens to him, if he comes back from school with a black eye or a single broken bone... if he slips on something and cracks his skull... if he walks outside and he's struck by lightning... you'll be the first on my list. You won't hurt him anymore. I'll be watching you."
Matt curls his fingers into fists. He sidesteps and kicks a nearby dumpster with all the strength of his hips behind it. Russell shudders at the impact and screams upon seeing the spot where the dumpster caved in.
"Go!"
Russell empties the rest of his bowels and runs, never once looking back. As soon as he's gone Pete wraps his arms around Matt and buries his face on his stomach, too embarrassed to weep openly.
Matt freezes for a moment. The movements of his arms turn awkward until he embraces the boy. He kicks the gun away and holds Pete tighter.
"It's okay," he says. "I know."
Hell's Kitchen screams but Matt Murdock ignores it for now. He only has ears for the desperate, impotent crying of a young man.
END
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