Chapter summary: Matt almost encounters the Punisher, missing him by just a few minutes, but what Matt does find leaves a sour taste in his mouth.

Chapter 2: Criminal

Matt sensed from the heartbeat that the kid couldn't be much older than 17 or 18. The wheezing breaths sounded wrong coming from a boy just entering the prime of his life, but Matt recognized immediately that these would be the boy's last breaths if he didn't receive immediate medical attention. He sprinted across rooftops toward the street in question, dialing 911 as he ran. Filtering through the information processed by his radar sense, he realized that there was a woman nearby as well, a sobbing and distraught woman. As he swung down the fire escape to land on the sidewalk, he sensed that the boy and the woman with the only two people on the block.

Concentrating on this new information, he perceived that the woman was hurt as well, though not as gravely as the boy. His instincts told him to help the woman first, but shrugging off that moment of hesitation, he moved toward the boy.

"Hang on; I'm going to get you some help. An ambulance is on the way."

The boy was leaning awkwardly against the wall of a building, clutching his chest in pain. After sucking in a rattling breath, he let out a harsh cough, splattering blood onto his chin and on the collar of his shirt. Matt recognized the signs of internal bleeding, and despite knowing that he could not help, reached out to place a comforting hand on the boy's arm.

"D-don't," whispered the woman. She continued speaking, her voice wavering and each word quieter than the previous one, "D-don't help him. He doesn't deserve to be saved. Th-that man—he raped me."

Matt retracted his arm, and his concerned expression twisted into a mixture of disgust and shock—both at the boy's actions and at the venom in the woman's words. Bile rose to the back of his throat, and he backed away from the kid, position himself protectively in front of the woman.

She seemed so defeated, but her voice was sure. "Someone like you saved me; stopped the assault."

"Like me?"

The kid coughed again, spewing more blood, and twitched his arm in a vague gesture. "Steel-toe boot…he kicked…ugh…" More coughing. "Monster…Guns…Skull…" He rattled in a breath.

Flinching at the sound of the boy's voice, the woman curled in on herself.

Standing between the woman and her rapist, Matt clenched his jaw. "Punisher…"

Torn between helping the kid and helping him along to his death, Matt felt a rush of relief flow through him at the sound of sirens approaching. He would stay at the scene just as long as he needed to be there and no longer than that. As soon as the EMTs arrived, he would head to confession.


"Foggy! Thank god you're back! We have a walk-in, and I think he's getting a little antsy waiting in there."

A balding, middle-aged man sat in the conference, shuffling papers around grumpily.

Foggy introduced himself to the older man, learning that the man owned a restaurant that was damaged when Daredevil was kicked through the window and knocked down a table.

"Right. So, Mr. Vaitones, was it?"

"Yes. That's correct."

"What is that you want?"

"To sue Daredevil, of course. Not only did the repairs put me back 10k, but the danger's also scared customers away! I'm losing business, and it's all because of that Daredevil fellow! What gives him the right to wear that silly costume and come crashing through windows?"


Karen had stopped taking notes and was staring at Foggy with a guarded expression. He nodded in agreement with her unspoken words. We can't take this case. Even if we could somehow depose Daredevil, we can't take this case.

"You're shutting me out, Matt. You know you can talk to me. I'm here for you, and I'll always listen to what you have to say, even if it's fucked up and crazy and I don't agree with it."

Matt leaned forward on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands. He wasn't feeling much like talking, having just learned that the kid hadn't made it, bleeding out on the way to the hospital. Another victim of the Punisher. Matt wouldn't contest that the kid's action were despicable, but the boy—like anyone else—had deserved at least a trial and maybe even an opportunity at rehabilitation.

Now, the kid's corpse was lying in a morgue somewhere, while the Punisher was probably sitting in his Punisher cave and reloading his assault rifle. And since the woman was refusing to give description of the murdering vigilante, the police were no closer to finding him. Luckily for Matt, he had everything he needed to recognize the Punisher the next time the crossed paths.

"—And I told her you'd be back soon, but she kept insisting that you call her, so I said—" Foggy stopped mid-sentence and glanced over at his friend. "Matt, are you even listening to me?"

"The Punisher killed a kid today. A rapist, yes, but also just a kid. I don't know what to think. I don't know what I would've done if I'd arrived during the attack."

Matt clenched and unclenched his fists. He really needed to punch something right now; if his shoulder wasn't still healing, he'd head over to Fogwell's, but now, when he was so close to being fully healed, he needed to save his best for the streets, where every punch mattered.