DAREDEVIL MAN WITHOUT FEAR #14
By:Stephen Kelley
"Hope I time this right" Matt quickly assessed as he shot his leg up into the solar plexus of the thug lunging at him just enough that the bullet grazed past his ear into the shoulder of his partner. Matt then grabbed the knife and hurled it into the gun toting thugs hand, "I wouldn't move my hand unless you want to nick an artery and bleed" Matt calmly warned him as he heard footsteps approaching. "Oh thank God you're here officers" Matt said sounding relieved in a victimized fashion "oh thank God Murdock what happened". Matt recognized the voice of Lieut.
Yosef Hernandez a new recruit from the NYPD's police Academy who as Matt could tell by his breathing and heart rate the first few times he met him was built like an ox. "Oh Hernandez" Matt smiled "I take it Colby's right next to you" "yes Mr. fancy pants blind lawyer I am, you might telling us what the hell happened here". Jacqueline Colby was another recruit from the NYPD police Academy though unlike Hernandez, she was the "cheery one". "As far as I could tell I was doing my shopping and then these three men tried to mug me" "and I don't suppose you saw who fought them, unless you got some karate moves with that old cane of yours". "Oh Jackie girl if you only knew" Matt internally mused as he did his best to look befuddled "no, not the slightest clue as it happened so fast" which he could hear Colby gingerly sucking her teeth disapprovingly.
"I'm telling the truth Colby, all I know is best I could tell was there were two guys behind me one in front that the one in front and pulled a gun and the other one was lunging" Matt panicked trying to sound convincingly scared. "Whatever" she sighed as she wrote it down but Matt could sense her frustration, Colby was a woman of practicality and no-nonsense. As best Matt could figure she knew he was lying but couldn't prove it because he was legally blind. After Matt was done shopping and was offered a lift by Colby and Hernandez back to his apartment. Matt slumped on his couch abit unraveling from what had just transpired, did someone know that he was really Daredevil beyond the obvious choices and neither of them likely to hire three sloppy thugs.
"Or maybe no one knows I'm really Daredevil and they just wanted takeout Matt Murdock" Matt concluded. It seemed the most likely probability that the thugs thought they could ambush a blind man or trick him into getting take it out one where the other. "The first couple of times I almost have" Matt thought back to his earliest adventures "but I am a lot more seasoned now and prepare for such attacks". Matt figured there would be an assassin in his closet or his kitchen pantry "can't imagine the pantry would be a good hiding spot even for a flexible assassin" Matt mused to himself. However the three sloppy thugs were bailed out and when they were freed, it didn't last long as darts were shot into their Adam's apple and necks.
The prison guards looked all around but couldn't find the assailants who shot the poison darts into the released convicts necks and throats for that matter the poison had came from scorpions in Saudi Arabia. "Well that's just lovely, so we have to worry about the potential of assassins slipping into our borders to assassinate the Prince on his coronation" Peter Morganson said pinching his nose in frustration. Peter was the UK representative at the UN, he had worked feverishly to help security teams regain control of security after the attempted attack on the Prince.
"The threat is very real Peter" spoke Lana Barshefsky the Russian representative "what is to stop these terrorists from coming and attacking anyone of us next". "Because they want you all to be afraid" Matt said stepping into the room tapping his cane "Mr. Murdock" Peter said warmly "I hear you had a little "incident" while getting your groceries last night". Matt lightly chuckled "some people said I took them by myself, guess people follow TMZ way too closely and will believe anything they hear". "But in all seriousness you're right Peter we should be very careful with how we proceed from here" Matt's sheepish grin dissolving.
Elsewhere in the city a shadowy figure was sitting at a small old fashion worktable sharpening darts out of freshly extracted scorpion venom. "Soon blind man" the deep baritone of the figures voice rumbled "very soon we will meet" holding the dart up to the light. "And you will cower with true fear for once in your life" the figures deep, demonic sounding laughter filled the room. Echoing down the hallway of the small apartment complex, no one daring to knock on the door out of sheer terror.