Bob and Weave

Chapter Seven

Matt couldn't help the feral grin that crossed his face as he heard the kid freaking out about how he was following The Devil of Hell's Kitchen. "So, you've heard of me?" He asked pausing on a rooftop just a building north of the fire.

Spider-Man's whole body vibrated and shook with how forcefully he was nodding. "Of course I have! You took down Fisk!"

The enthusiasm rolling off the kid gave Daredevil pause. This freakout was borderline admiration. "Not alone." Matt brushed off the praise. It was weird. Spider-Man seemed genuinely excited to meet him.

"Of course." The boy said sagely. "Those lawyers played a big part too, and the police-

"Focus for a moment, kid." Matt cut in. "What made you come out here?"

"Oh, well… it's just… I happened to be looking this way when I saw the explosion… took me a minute to cross the river… but I just couldn't let it go. I was hoping maybe to see who did it this time… but the bomber was long gone by the time I got here. It wasn't a waste of time though! I helped save you and that dude!"

Matt tilted his head. So Spider-Man was following up on the bombing. "This time?"

"I was at the first bombing." Spider-Man explained. "The smaller one that happened Monday. Did you notice that guy said it was Wednesday? I mean technically he was right it's like two in the morning but most people would forget that and still call it Tuesday because of lack of sleep- his internal clock must be crazy good or he was confused. One time I thought it was Thursday and it was actually Tuesday. That week was sooooo long!" He seemed to take a breath and remember what they'd originally been talking about. "Unfortunately last time I missed my chance to follow the guy who set it off. This time I wasn't even here soon enough to try…"

Matt winced. Spider-Man had let the guy go to save him and make sure he was okay. "Well… I was nearby last time. I didn't see the guy… but I heard him." Matt said.

Spider-Man's quick heartbeat picked up in pace with excitement. "Really?"

Matt nodded. "He sounded Canadian." Matt said recalling the guy's accent.

"Canadian?" The kid sounded genuinely confused and a bit doubtful.

Matt shrugged. "Sounded that way to me anyway."

Spider-Man seemed to study him a moment before he sighed. "Well, you don't seem the joking type so I guess you're telling the truth. It does eliminate a few people… but this is New York. There are a lot of people who could still fit that…"

Nodding Daredevil ignored the idea that he would joke about something so serious. "It seems this bomb was much more devastating than the last."

The masked boy nodded slowly. "It looks like everyone got out though."

Matt nodded. "I have a friend nearby who might help us gather some more intel, do you want to come?"

Spider-Man was practically vibrating. "Do cat's always land on their feet!?"

"Um…"

"YES!" Spider-Man spun punching the air with a slight leap that had him vibrating in Matt's world of fire.

Matt decided Spider-Man was like an adorable excitable puppy and he wasn't sure if that was helpful or not, but at least he wouldn't have to go home. As long as he was with someone he technically wasn't breaking his promise to Foggy.

He wasn't doing this solo mission style. Even if it kind of started that way. "So… who are we meeting?" Spider-Man asked excitedly.

"Hold on." Matt cast his senses out and stumbled a bit.

"You okay?"

Matt waved off the kid's worry. "Fine." The world was howling around his left ear and his right was painfully muffled. Concentrating he tried to find that familiar voice. The explosion was outside of Hell's Kitchen so he hadn't expect officer Brett Mahoney to be around but there he was. "Be quiet, I'm trying to locate him."

It was harder to pinpoint his location without the full use of his hearing. Matt took in a deep breath through his nose and concentrated on vibrations. Listening for foot fall's he matched it up with the small trimmers he felt in the earth. The sound of Brett's pacing was in his ear and with it he matched it with the scuffing shake of boots on the road. "Found him." He said after a moment bringing his senses back in.

Spider-Man's head cocked slightly in curiosity. Okay, this kid was… Matt had a strange and sudden urge to tell him to go home. If he thought it would do any good maybe he would have but Matt understood that drive to do more than just stand by and watch. Besides, he'd learned how to strangle a man with his bare hands before he was whatever age Spider-Man clearly was. (Fourteen… maybe Sixteen with a stretch; if he had to guess.) Matt knew that if he hadn't failed in Stick's eye's that he probably would have been killing by the time he was twelve so he had no right to tell the boy to leave.

That would make him a hypocrite. Or so Matt felt as such, and he tried not to be. Everyone knew hypocrisy was frowned upon by God himself. Or so he'd been told at one point by one of the sisters a long time ago when he was still young and impressionable.

Shaking his head Matt moved to greet the officer. "Stay nearby but out of sight." He whispered.

Saluting Spider-Man followed him to the roof's edge crouching low. Matt nodded and lowered himself down the side of the building. The clap of his boot's against the ground suddenly felt loud to Matt, even though he wasn't sure he'd made a sound at all. He paused a moment just to be safe, but nothing changed in the emergency team's movements. Now all he had to do was make sure Brett was the only one who saw him.

He caught a slight buzzing from a street light above where Brett was standing. The officer was in full visibility near another who was sipping at a mug of coffee. Matt knew that where he was standing was cloaked in darkness and neither cop could see him. He considered tossing a pebble at the man but reconsidered. The earlier stunt proved he still wasn't too good with special stuff at the moment.

There was a light vibration behind him and Matt felt body heat approaching him. He sighed. "I told you to stay out of sight."

"We are out of sight." Spider-Man said. "You also said to stay nearby, can't get any nearer." There was a smugness in the kid's voice that reminded him of a certain tin-can.

He startled slightly when he heard a distinctly feminine voice coming from Spider-Man. A very realistic, but still clearly automated voice. "The officer's are officer Brett Mahoney and officer Felicia Kolip. Officer Brett Mahoney is known for receiving tip's from Daredevil."

"Oh… so like your own Jim Gordon! That's so cool!" The kid crouched moving closer to the light. Matt stood frozen as he processed. "I wish I had a cop friend."

"We're not friends." Matt responded automatically.

"Ah, right, got to keep your distance. Don't want the bad guy's targeting him."

Yes, but no. Brett was Foggy's friend. Matt's acquaintance. He grunted. "We need to lure him over here." Matt said holding back all his questions. Spider-Man shifted forward slightly and Matt grabbed his shoulder sharply. "Discreetly."

Spider-Man nodded. "I got it." He shifted forward again. Matt bit his tongue as the kid waved his arm out into the light.

He heard Brett's heart pick up but Kolip only sighed. She must not have been looking in their direction. "Hey, Felicia, want to go get the ETA on when we can get the hell out of here?" The man asked and Spider-Man slipped smoothly back into the alley.

The woman grunted setting her coffee cup down on the hood of their cruiser. "Sure. Hopefully, it's soon. We've got nothing to do here."

"Once the flame's die down we can start an evidence search. We need to see if the bomb matches the last explosion."

"Right, right." The woman walked away.

Brett waited a beat before stepping toward the side street. "Why am I not surprised you're looking into this. Don't tell me it's another mob thing."

"Don't know yet." Matt said as The man stopped where the air started to cool. Right at the shadows edge.

Brett leaned closer hands on his hips. "What is— is that Spider-Man next to you?"

Matt didn't answer that instead, he pressed. "What can you tell me about the bomber?"

Brett sighed. "Not much, man. It seems like he's been able to slip past surveillance so far. We aren't even sure what he wants yet. His letter only said there was more to come."

"Letter?" Matt asked.

Brett cursed. "I'm getting too lax with you. Shit. That's need to know only." He groused. "It's all bragging and threat's- or I guess promises- that he'll strike again." Matt nodded. That matched what Clint had said. At least Hawkeye was still being forthright with Daredevil…

"What kind of bomb was used?" Spider-Man asked. Matt was a bit disturbed with the boy's follow up questions and how much he seemed to know about the apparently high explosive and the probable chemical makeup.

"So most things used can be picked up at your local hardware store." The now slightly more terrifying kid sighed.

"Exactly." Brett said sounding completely unfazed though his heart had done a strange hiccup and start a few times. "So tracking this guy is proving to be fairly fruitless. We're hoping to find something tonight… but our hopes are low."

"Well, Daredevil said the guy was Canadian!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "I said he sounded Canadian."

"That's what I said." Spider-Man countered.

"Actually, having a Canadian accent and being Canadian are not the same thing." The female voice said.

Brett clearly could not hear her. "Those are not the same thing." The officer said sounding unimpressed.

"Right…" Spider-Man chuckled nervously.

"It's not completely unhelpful," Brett said. "I can't officially use it… seeing as I doubt Daredevil is willing to leave a statement." He paused probably to glare at Matt. "Still anything helps at this point. Beside's we did have a few anonymous tips… most of them deadends but I think one of them matches this. I'll look into it."

So his tip was buried in the mess. Matt nodded to let Brett know he understood but couldn't help but notice the sound of approaching footsteps. Quickly he grabbed Spider-Man's wrist and started pulling him toward the back of the alley. "Whoa." The kid gasped in surprise. "Guess we're going now. Nice to meet you!"

"Hold on-" Brett started.

"You're really making the quiet exit impossible." Daredevil chided his fellow vigilante.

"Sorry." Spider-Man said lifting his other arm and firing a web. "We'll just make it quick instead."

Matt didn't have a chance to protest as he was being dragged into the air, hopefully not screaming. That would really ruin the tough and mysterious persona he'd built up for Daredevil's image.

Authours Notes: Brett did look at Daredevil to study his reaction, but he was not glaring at him. Matt tends to assume the worst... and he can't see what look's people are giving him or not giving him. Sometimes he thinks people are looking at him when they are not. Sometimes he has no idea how many people actually are looking at him. His senses are amazing but not alway's perfect. How else would he have missed Jessica Jone's taking pictures of him parkouring up a wall? If he wasn't focused on something else I'm sure he would have.

Also... I realized a few chapters back when Clint was talking to the officers. The third officer I never named would have been perfect for hinting at being a Stan Lee cameo- (Is that the right way of putting it for imagined appearances in a written format?)
Also, also, (for a friend) feel free to imagine that Spider-Man yelled "YEET!" as he tossed that fire extinguisher last chapter.

So much is going on with the bad guy right now... but I don't want to give any of that away yet. Guess you guys are just going to have to wait for the heroes to stop being distracted by each other to get to all this behind the seance drama.

Thank you three thousand for reading!