What to Do
"Keep telling me what to do..."
-Ward Meachum
Rising out of the squat, he turned to face the woman leading the others. Joy Meachum no longer with them, that left three individuals in need of protection, and two of them were because of him. They were searching for him to look at them, wanting answers.
"How can you be sure?" the detective asked, soon as her feet brought her within the range she perceived he required to hear speech.
He glanced to the street below. These people lost their homes in fires barely a half hour ago. They thought it meant Heart believed they were inside and were making an attempt on their lives, or at least an attempt to distract the Defenders. Matt suspected it meant the latter. Done so they could attack the people they cared about left vulnerable while they rushed off for retaliation.
"Harold came for Ward. Heart soldiers were with him."
Karen stepped closer, voice worried. "They didn't get him, right?"
His gaze lowered to the ground. "They did."
"Again?" Foggy exclaimed, rightfully exasperated.
"Danny and Colleen were there. They tried to stop them. Colleen's hurt, but nothing too serious. Some of them had power they didn't have before. Fire, strength..and mind control."
Horrified, Karen said, "Tell me it's not Harold."
"Yeah. He has the mind control."
"What the hell?" uttered Foggy.
"Goddammit," Karen swore.
The third individual hanging at the back of the group seemed to be growing increasingly concerned. "Where's Jessica? What's she making of all this?"
Matt shook his head once, turning around to face the street. "Someone put into Ward's phone the name of a motel and a room number. Left it where it would be found."
"You should lead with that next time," Foggy suggested.
He felt the corner of his mouth upturn in a miniscule smile. Yeah, probably should have.
"Who would do that?" Misty demanded. "And why?"
"Very soon we're going to need you in this fight with us, Ms. Knight."
"About damn time."
She rolled the artificial arm like she was preparing a weapon. It kind of was one. Matt understood why she would be eager to get closer to the action. Undoubtedly, there were thoughts of revenge and great anger for what Bakuto took from her.
"Matt, what can we do?" asked Karen.
Already knowing she would be dissatisfied with his response, he said it anyway, tacking on extra to try to make it go down easier.
"Stay alive. There's bound to be a ridiculous and intriguing story you'll gain out of all this."
He watched two police cars pull to the curb in front of the safe house. Motioning for the woman to step up, Misty approached to stand beside him. She saw what he did.
"They're not my precinct. They shouldn't know the location."
"Are these the dirty cops Jessica mentioned?" Malcolm questioned.
Glancing briefly toward the man, he spoke to the cop among them. "You must have trusted the wrong person."
Karen looked instantly excited, hurrying over to peer down at the spot a block away. There were story possibilities churning in that head of hers. Now was ideal for him to share the information he'd kept out. It might dissuade any reckless pursuit of a headline.
"Frank was there too, Karen."
Hearing the tone he used, the excitement was fading while she turned to him. A long moment of silence passed between them. Finally, she found the words she needed to say.
"Is it bad?"
"Yes."
"Will he make it?"
"I don't know."
His head perked up. There was movement crossing rooftops, swift and quiet. The Hand trained them that way. He examined those gathered.
"Misty, I'm leaving it to you to keep them safe."
"We got company other than the cops?"
He motioned to the first Heart fighter leaping into sight, several rooftops away yet. She sighed, annoyed and tired. Matt felt similarly. He had about enough of secret ninjas too.
The detective's phone rang and she swore, trying to muffle the sound as quickly as possible. She was met with varied success. The corrupt police officers below heard nothing, but the ninjas were aware and reacting, speeding up and heading directly for them. Fortunately they didn't carry long range weapons.
A shot rang out. Matt ducked and shouted for everyone to get down. He risked peering over the roof siding and surveyed the four cops were searching upward at the building they were on. That had him immediately discovered. A second shot fired from the single officer with his gun raised upward. He was responsible for the first discharge as well.
"They must be communicating," he observed out loud to the rest.
Misty frowned, monitoring the approaching threat with concern. "Is it a problem?"
He smiled. "No."
/
Rising to his feet, he stared in disbelief.
"Ward?"
Claire, Luke, and Jessica gaped in equal surprise. Nobody expected to see Ward walking through the door of his own free will. Nor did they expect him to show up anywhere near Rand. He didn't look happy, but there was no visible sign of injury.
"Jesus…"
Continuing on with Claire's breathed out reaction, he asked, "Where were you? Did you go out a rear window or something?"
After Harold scurried away when Jessica started kicking his ass, they'd become free of his control over them. Danny assumed it had something to do with distance, but he couldn't say for sure. Luke went looking for Harold, and he noticed the room was otherwise empty.
The board members in the chemical department observing their primary chemist's work on a cure for the current sickness expanding throughout the city, looked less surprised and more relieved. They didn't know details concerning their CEO's troubles so it made sense. Donald and Maria were probably hoping he was there to bail them out and assure they didn't have to worry anymore. No such luck for them today.
"Marcus helped me."
Jessica sank back into her chair. "He the one who put where you were going to be in your phone?"
"I guess."
Ward was in a suit and tie. Because he was at Rand? A change into his own clothing meant he'd been home.
Bigger question. Why was he just noticing this? Danny scanned his face, searching for anything telling he could gather.
"Good morning, Sandi."
The chemist blinked. "Good morning, Mr. Meachum."
"Progress report?"
Her eyes grew big and she glanced about at all of them. "Not yet, sorry."
"Why do you think this Patterson guy helped you?" Claire asked.
Ward shook his head, appearing uncertain. "I don't know and I don't trust him. It's likely all a trick to ultimately benefit Kuo in some way."
"We'd have no idea where you were without his help though. Doesn't that seem strange?"
Danny thought about Claire's statement. "Unless Kuo didn't need Ward in his possession right now. Maybe we were told where he was to distract us, same as the fires set."
"A lot of people did get sick seemingly overnight," Claire shared. "They must have done something to spread it faster while all of us were worrying over our friends' safety."
"A production factory going into operation can do that." Ward removed the notepad tucked beneath his arm and held it out. "I've made a list of warehouse properties owned by Rand that could be used for such an operation. Marcus told me my name would identify the correct location."
"We're taking the word of somebody we're not trusting?" Jessica inquired.
"You got a better idea?" Luke asked.
She shrugged. "Nope. Just checking that's what we're planning to do."
He sighed. Teamwork was more aggravating than he would like at times. Especially with their ever expanding members of concern and egos. Danny suggested they use the list and get moving. He didn't want to spend all day searching locations for a factory that may or may not be uncovered.
Someone was waiting for them in the lobby.
"Colleen, what are you doing here?"
"I'm fine, Danny. Where we headed?" Her eyes caught sight of Ward just past his shoulder. "Oh."
"Hi, Colleen."
He studied the man for a moment. Was he okay? He seemed unusually less dour and cranky compared to the typical him. Danny would have guessed he'd be in a bad mood after being kidnapped yet another time. He didn't seem all that bothered.
They went out onto the street and it didn't take long to realize they were being followed to the parking lot. Matt appeared in full Daredevil attire, looking both ways before he did so. It was still early enough to leave the streets emptier than they would be in a few hours.
Half hidden in the alley behind him, he updated them on the move of their friends with the aid of Misty Knight. The safe house had been discovered by dirty police officers and a fight between them and ninjas occurred under the brightening morning light. In turn, Luke let him know what was up on their end.
He was listening when he took notice of something spray painted on a coffee shop window across the street. The store owner wouldn't be too pleased when they discovered the graffiti. Danny returned his attention to his friends but then immediately turned to give the mark a second look.
His eyes continued to scan the buildings following the mark and spotted another one painted onto a brick apartment building. The symbol was an almost complete box with the line for the right side missing, a curvy X shape inside. He knew its literal meaning and determined what it was being used for in this case.
"Danny, what's up?" Colleen questioned.
"The symbol over there," he pointed out. "It's a Chinese character."
"Oh you're right," she agreed, studying the spray paint work. Her gaze shifted to Ward.
Danny looked at him too. "Your name will hopefully lead us to the factory. We just follow the trail."
The others crossed the street with him, and he stopped before the graffiti symbol.
"This character represents division of a large city."
"Also called a ward," Colleen finished.
Comprehension dawned on him and the rest. A unique method to get their attention. On his own, Ward never would have noticed or been able to read the marking. Patterson must have assumed he would find Danny and they would go looking for the location together. But was it help?
They followed the repeated marking, going to get their answer the old fashioned manner. Eventually, it led them to an address not on the list. It could be a trap like Ward believed it was. But they'd arrived in force and were prepared to confront any opposition.
Inside, the warehouse was set up into an operating factory. That much was evident. There were barrels and conveyer belts and machines. The equipment was running and he didn't quite know how it worked, but he knew enough to be suspicious. The unidentifiable liquid in the small bottles was a clear, amber-brownish color, rows of them passing along on one of the belts.
"These are the guys!" Jessica declared. "Cartel assisting the ninja clan or whatever."
Two men stepped out among the crowd of gathering cartel members entering through a wide doorway from an adjacent room. The one on the right was older, relaxed and exuding danger without ever speaking or doing anything to make someone feel threatened. He had to be the crime lord, Taylor Manden. Danny read his file. He favored beheading people.
On his left was a younger man matching the picture from his own file. Nick Gomez, loyal lieutenant of their criminal enterprise. He and his boss's drug cartel had been an issue for the city a long time. They'd just never done the type of thing to warrant extracurricular attention on his behalf.
"Someone's been talking," Manden said. "It's the only way you could have found this palace."
"Nobody's been talking," Danny told him honestly. Spray paint was a hundred percent non-verbal.
"Kill you later, kill you now," the crime lord announced in a loud voice. "Makes no difference to me."
He spat something in Spanish and they were backing into their goons while they surged forward. It must have been to incite them with a kill order. Not the most inviting of people, were they?
"Danny."
Detecting the worry in his voice, he glanced at Ward, unwilling to blind himself to the approaching criminals for too long. The man didn't have to say anything. He quickly followed his line of sight to a balcony a fair distance away. There was a ninja standing above, observing everything. Harold stood a few yards from him, doing the same thing.
His attention was ripped back to the enemies almost upon them when the first of them displayed an ability. The man flew up into the air and came swooping downward, knife in hand. Another swept a row of boxes down by gesturing an arm through the air, the heavy crates crushing Luke onto the ground. Luckily he could take it.
Becoming angry, he focused inward, accumulating the power into his fist. Heart allowed them to use fluid from the Egg. They had no claim to this power. He would take it back if he had to knock it out of them.
He raced into the fight, noticing although they were carrying guns, they weren't pulling them out to shoot.
Alarmed rapid-fire shouting in Spanish by Manden when one of them jostled a machine he'd been pushed into by Colleen, suggested they weren't risking bullets messing up production. Danny swept an elbow back into a knife-wielding assailant that tried to come up behind him. He barely paid attention to the guy.
"Stay with me," he ordered Ward, and received no complaint.
His eyes surveyed the scene before him briefly. Matt and Claire were on the opposite side of the large, open area. Her combat skills were minimal, however, she knew enough to put up a fair fight and Daredevil as backup kept her protected. In the meantime, Luke and Jessica formed a tag team of their own, making the thugs wish they'd never gotten this job detail.
Danny sought out Colleen again to find she was all right, then searched out the powered members scattered among the non-powered. He'd do his best to target them. A particularly idiotic goon tried to thrust his knife at Ward when he was standing right next to him.
He snapped the man's wrist and then his arm for good measure, kicking him in the stomach. Turning away, he engaged another two and Ward was standing up, clutching the inside of his suit jacket when he turned back. A quick check told him the man wasn't hurt.
Three cartel members reached them and spread out. A fourth joined, the lieutenant, Gomez, sparking electricity out of his fingertips. It soon became clear the others had powers of their own as well.
Beginning the fight, one of them stretched his arm impossibly long to smack into his face. He bore the hit and kept coming, hitting him hard enough to get him out of the way. His second combatant vanished right in front of his eyes and he warily stepped back. An invisible foot kicked him in the leg and it gave out. He stumbled and Ward charged forth, rushing the cartel member who was nearing to attack.
When his fist hit the man's chest, it sounded like it was hitting metal and Ward recoiled his hand. Laughing, the man stood still and let him take a free shot. Ward unwisely did, punching him across the jaw and ended up cradling his fist and backing away. The hard as metal enemy socked him in the stomach and Ward doubled over.
Gomez shot lightning out of a hand and Danny avoided the blast of electricity. Somersaulting forward, he fought the man with stretching ability, putting him down with finality before moving on to the invisible one who locked an arm around his neck. He couldn't see the arm but he sure felt it. The metal man removed a knife off his belt, walking up to stab him.
He jabbed his head backward but the man's head was far enough away to avoid such a move. So instead he waited for the guy with the knife to get close enough and then ran up his body, flipping over the man who'd had him by the neck. He spun and kicked the unseen attacker and he popped back into sight, having smashed his head into an apparent metal leg by accident.
Danny dodged an electric blast again, concentrating to power up his fist. He watched Ward looking at Gomez and could tell he was getting ideas on stepping in to help. He'd prefer not to have him in that kind of danger, even if he might be able to handle it.
A powerful hand gripped his sweatshirt. It really did feel like metal latching on. He grew smug and swung his fist about to straight punch him in the face. That did the trick, sending his heavy body flying across the room.
Flying… He eyed the man capable of flight breeze past, attacking Claire. She was bloody. He couldn't identify if it was a superficial or serious injury at this distance. All he knew was she was hurt. Renewed anger flooded his system and urgency to keep his friends safe filled him.
Ward was making his move on Gomez and a cartel member drew his gun to fire at him. Danny powered up, knowing it was too much, too soon and not caring. He slammed it into the ground, breaking up the floor in the radius surrounding him. Everybody nearby lost their footing and he hurried to stand Ward back on his feet.
The cartel leader was shouting in Spanish. He noticed the members were thinning out, either unconscious on the floor or simply gone. It appeared to be a retreat. Gomez dragged himself up off the ground, clutching a bleeding skull, and chose to run toward Manden, confirming that theory.
At a fair distance, someone began discharging a firearm.
He tracked the bark of the gun and cutting bullets, watching Matt spin flip through the air to avoid at least four rounds. Danny saw blood spurt out, possibly from two separate areas. Heightened senses had him searching the man as he landed on the ground, sweeping himself farther away to avoid getting hit again.
Grazes were what they were. One in the arm and the other in the thigh. A thin stream of blood trailed out of his outfit from the injuries, but he held himself straight and balanced, which boded well. His relief was short-lived as Harold came into view, gun to Colleen's head.
"You people have to die!" the irate man screamed.
He was seeking out his son. Danny moved slowly in his direction to close the distance, Ward at his heel. It didn't take long for him to locate who he sought.
Harold tried to appeal to him. "We can have our lives back, Ward. These people don't get how the world works, but I do."
"All you care about is the stupid company," said Ward, raising his voice to counter the distance. "Let her go!
"They have no idea what's coming! But I do," insisted Harold. "Heart, Hand… They're a mere blip on the radar for what's really out there in the universe. If the Black Order is half as dangerous as they sound…"
What was he raving on about? Danny didn't understand a bit of what he was saying. Lies cooked up to confuse, throw them off their guard perhaps. He wouldn't trust anything coming from this monster.
"Look, you need to see the truth, son. This is the world now and we have to grab hold and refuse to let go. This is how it has to be!"
"Keep telling me what I have to do…"
Something inconceivable happened. One moment he was looking at Ward's infuriated face, and the next the man was across the room. There were what appeared to be particles of light dissipating in the air where he'd been standing. They reminded him of the energy gathered into his fist seconds before he wielded it as a weapon to smash the ground, exhausting his power at the same time.
Ward stood a foot in front of his father, and two quick steps brought him into a hug. No, not exactly. He'd come close to wrap an arm around his shoulder as though in an embrace, and used the other to jerk the arm holding the gun into the air.
Given the opportunity, Colleen scrambled backwards and lifted her sword off the ground. He studied her for a moment, trying to see whether she was hurt. Harold would have put a bullet in her head if Ward hadn't somehow done what he did. How could he disappear and reappear like that?
Harold pushed back, ripping his arm free and lowering the weapon to attempt to shoot Colleen again. Angry, Danny started forward but stopped almost as suddenly. The weapon had fallen out of his grasp when he was shoved into the wall behind him. Blood leaked past his lips. He was gasping in complete disbelief.
He shifted to the side to find how he was bleeding and saw what hurt him. Ward had slid a knife into his father's chest. It looked to be directly in the heart, or if not, extremely close. Where and when did he pick up the knife?
"I knew your heart had to be in there somewhere."
Shock met Ward's determined stare. Danny drew near. His eyes caught that the others were waiting in different parts of the room, probably as surprised as the dying man seemed to be. They'd never quite decided on the whole killing thing. He was conflicted for the outcome. He regretted Ward ending up in this position.
"This is what they wanted you to do," claimed Harold.
Blood leaked across his shirt, expanding from the chest wound. Ward took a step back when his father reached for him and the man sank to his knees. Confusion was mixing into the shock.
"I was protecting you."
The man was met with an incredulous look. Leaning in, Ward told him sincerely, "But Harold, you never did."
They were locked into a stare, and Danny wondered at the rather cold nature in which his friend was handling such an act. He didn't know if he would actually be able to kill a person, much as he sometimes felt like it. Killing someone well known, who was once family… That was a huge choice and Ward was calm.
Peering down at the expanding blood leaking out around the knife stuck in his chest, Harold lifted sad eyes upward to his son.
"Ward…?"
"Do you know why I really hate you? The real reason?" he asked him. "I do love you..and that's why I hate you. It's stupid. I hate you..because I love you, Dad."
Harold's eyes slid closed and he fell over, unmoving. Blood continued to leak out. Ward's eyes were glued to the sight, unable to look away. Danny approached and gripped his arm.
"Goodbye, Dad," he murmured.
There was no malice, only simple acceptance his father was dead. He sounded emotionally drained. They would have to be certain the correct body was destroyed this time. He wouldn't let Ward fall victim to the bastard ever again.
His gaze was drawn to Colleen as she approached. "Look away, Ward."
He did, knowing the reason behind her request before Danny realized what she was going to do. When the blade came down on Harold's fallen form, separating head from body, he winced. She'd finished it. She made sure he could never hurt anyone anymore.
Danny imagined he would be conflicted, but he was relieved and proud of her. The man ended up granted more chances at life than most, and he'd squandered every last chance. He didn't feel doubt or concern they did the wrong thing. It was what was done to protect others. This was right and just.
"I had to do it," said Ward.
Now that he was close and studying him, he could see there was expected emotion. He was hurting and grieving his dead father. Joy entered into his mind and he wondered if Ward was thinking of her too.
Using the hold on his arm, he tugged him into an embrace. "It's okay."
"It's not," the other insisted, trying to pull away. "Who kills their dad three times? Who watches their dad die four times? This is so screwed up."
He held to Ward, firm. "It is okay."
"There won't be a fifth time," Colleen said. "This is it, Ward. He's really gone."
She came forward to stand at his shoulder and Danny reluctantly let him go so he could look at her.
"You saved my life. Remember that."
They surveyed the room, taking note the overlooking ninja had vanished and the remainder of the cartel fled or lay unconscious. The present danger was officially ended. It brought to mind how precisely Harold met his end.
He turned to his friends coming to join them. Colleen was examining Ward with some kind of look he couldn't decipher. Discarding the distraction from his head, he focused on the surprise.
"I think you'd better explain how you reached Harold like that."
Ward found the ground real interesting.
"You know how I led you to believe Marcus Patterson got me out through the back window?" he began.
He would have to do a little explaining to make him forget he was less than truthful earlier that day. Danny wanted complete honesty between them. It was the least they could do for each other after everything they'd been put through because of Harold Meachum. He was gone for good now. Time to stop defining themselves by what was done to them by that man.
AN:区
