Part XIII
She was not out for five nights. He was waiting on rooftops anyway, his self-appointed guardianship, but her absence was notable. He had a feeling she did not like violence despite her strong feelings of anger and helplessness. He could understand that, his fears had overwhelmed him before he learned to manage those feelings into strength.
Should he go to the basement she was squatting at? He still had not resolved how he would manage to help her, keep her safe, and get her out of that hellhole. Should he visit with Foggy during the day? His fears for her safety were a liability, if he didn't resolve this now, he would make a mistake and in his mind, he saw several scenarios where that ended badly for him, for her, for his city.
He decided to go and at least listen, there was no harm in that, he could detect emergencies from almost a mile away. It was a warm night, nothing notable going down. Crossing over rooftops, and down several fire escapes, he found the currently abandoned building she was hiding in. The smells were overwhelming, not just trash but the mold and mildew, dampness now warmed over. Subtly, from below his feet, he could hear coughing. She must be sick.
He eased his way down to the basement and started talking before he could sense her, he knew she was on the alert.
"Angel? It's me," he could sense her holding in a cough.
She coughed. "Hey, Daredevil. I'm not doing too good, sorry I haven't been out." She sounded defeated and it wasn't just from being sick.
"You okay? You need a doctor?" he crouched down about ten feet away from her so she wouldn't feel crowded, he could hear the vibrations in her lungs. The mold was going to kill her. He had to get her away from here. The overwhelming sense of depression was a heavy weight on him.
"Well, after that last bone-crunching battle of yours…I got sick. I can't do what you do. I can't pummel bones into dust and break spines or break arms." She started quietly sobbing. "I want to help, but their pain…even bad guys feel pain."
"There are other ways you can help. We can continue your training, but you can do things during the day. Those lawyers would help you get on your feet." He could sense there was more. He moved closer, crouched near her.
"Listen, some guy's been hanging around this building, which is another reason I haven't been leaving. I got a picture on my phone, do you recognize him?" She drew out a phone.
He tampered down the panic. "I can't really tell…"
She moved it closer to him, "See, this guy right here, it's a pretty clear picture, I'm worried he works for Wilson Fisk and this building will be the next to go." She had a sound of fear in her tone.
The silence was heavy in the room and he felt the moment she realized.
Part XIV
"You're blind aren't you? Just like that lawyer…" He could sense her welling sadness and pity. She reached out to him and touched his arm.
"I have other senses, just like you. I don't need eyes to do what I do." He was so used to pity, yet her feelings were so strong, she needed to learn how to tamper those feelings, it would lead to a bad end.
"How do you do it? How do you go out night after night and not see? It's terrifying enough for me and I can see everything." She started coughing, it took about five minutes for her to stop.
"Listen, I have to get you out of here. If there's any guys hanging around here, you're in danger. This building could be destroyed with you in it. You're sick, you need care. I want you to come with me, I know a place you can stay." He would have to take her to Foggy, hopefully he wasn't entertaining, although he couldn't imagine Marci staying at the cheap walk-up apartment that Foggy called home, she was too fastidious for that.
"No, I can't, I won't leave! This place is empty, I don't get overwhelmed by feelings here. There's just the rats!" She was in a panic and started coughing again.
"You're sick. The mold here is making it worse, it can kill you." He considered for a moment giving her a knock out tap on the jaw and carrying her out.
She started sobbing quietly again.
"Look, I've been on my own since the last place was knocked down. I was dependent on people for a long time, I'm on disability as it is, that's all I've got. I can't be around people, they abuse and hurt and ridicule me. You're the only one who accepts me as I am, who needs me." He took her in his arms and held her. She was shaking.
"You'll be okay. It's temporary. Foggy will work it out, he's got friends in all places, he's gotten help before. He can get you on your feet, get you in a place you can help people. That's what he does. He's got big plans to save the world, starting with Hell's Kitchen." He stroked her hair, she soothed immediately. He used every ounce of his willpower to calm her, and used his skills to bring her peace. She relaxed.
"Okay. I just have a few things to bring, not a lot. Most of my stuff was lost in the demolition." She dragged herself up and grabbed a few odds and ends. That's when he heard a sound outside, a telltale smell of gasoline followed.
XV
He grabbed her, pushed her up the stairs.
"Get up the stairs, go outside, wait across the street. Someone's starting the building on fire. Do not come back here!" He had an arsonist to beat up.
"Wait! What about you? You can't even see him!" She stood unmoving, full of fear.
"Look, I can handle myself but I can't handle you and an arsonist. Please!" He could hear the lighter being lit.
Too late, the flames started. He pushed her up the stairs and immediately went to the source of the sound of running feet behind the building. He went the opposite direction and caught him just as he tried to get in his car. He pummeled him against the car, throwing away the typical gun kept ready.
"Who are you working for?" He spit out in the man's face. He could smell the fear on him, the sweat, the taint of gasoline and lighter fluid.
"Hey, man, what? I don't work for anybody, I was just smoking a cigarette," the man whined. He was a paid thug, not the brightest flame in the fire.
"Who hired you?" He used all menace he could.
"Just a voice on the phone, man, I don't know him!" He screamed, the fire was getting closer. Daredevil dragged him to the opposite corner, near another abandoned building and zip tied him to a pole. He took the phone out of his pocket, he did need help.
She was crouching on a doorstep of a store long out of business, choking and coughing.
"Hey, I need your help!" She perked up, got her coughing under control. "I need you to call 911 and report this arson, tell him the perpetrator is zip tied to a pole across the street. I'm going to need another favor after that."
She breathlessly coughed her way into the 911 call, giving the right amount of unfeigned panic. He could hear the sirens almost immediately. She was good.
"Let's go up to the roof," he helped her up, he was going to need to get her taken care of quick.
Once they got to the roof, he had her go through the phone, text messages and calls. There was no way he could really trace the calls to Wilson Fisk, but he could at least get some idea of where these calls were coming from.
"I'm going to need you to get this phone to Foggy, he needs to follow up on this. It has to be related to the case he's working on with Fisk, if we can see who's taking up the lead now that he's in jail." This was good. Maybe temporary, but good. She'd have something to do.
"Okay! Yeah, you sure this guy won't mind me staying with him? What do I say, Daredevil sent me?" She perked up, she was going to make it.
"Just tell him a mutual friend sent you. I don't really work with him, but I try to help him when I can." They were approaching his apartment.
"I can't go any further. Listen, get better, okay? I may not keep in touch, but I'll be watching." He hugged her, held her for long moments. She was like him, she had lost everything important but still had more to give.
"Okay, I still want to help." She was crying again, but he had to go, there was work to be done.
He jumped up the fire escape and on to the roof, then listened for her to go to Foggy. Once he heard her inside, he jumped off the roof and into the night.