4:45.

Matt's hand dropped from his watch. He tossed his cane back and forth.

Blake would be coming around the corner any minute now.

Since Jack decided he was going to be no help, Matt was going to follow her, find out whether or not she was passing on information, and if she was then Matt would tell Foggy and they'd figure out what to do from there.

That was the plan, at least.

And Matt had mixed feelings towards plans.

On one hand, not having one was stupid. On the other, having them seemed futile at times. They hardly ever work! Or maybe it was just Matt's plans that didn't work. Was it something to do with him? Was he just that bad at making plans? Or was he good at planning but bad at acting them out?

Matt was so caught up in his own thoughts that he almost didn't notice when the door at the end of the hall swung open and various jury members began to mill around. Blake was at the tail end of the bunch, her hands in her pockets and posture casual.

Matt slid off his seat and walked down the hall, hopefully appearing casual as well.

After a few minutes of walking Blake broke off from the group as they headed outside to the designated smoking area. Then she went down another hall.

Matt frowned. That was odd.

He slowed his pace so he was farther away from her. Once he was out of the view of the others, he tucked his cane under his arm and crept along silently.

After a minute or two of walking, she stopped in the middle of the hall. Matt jumped and tucked himself into a door frame, hiding himself from sight. Just in time, too. She turned and peered behind her, surveying the hall; her eyes lingered longer than necessary on the supposed vacant corridor. After a few seconds she turned and began walking again, her fingers rapidly drumming against her leg in a nervous manner.

Matt pressed his lips together tightly and waited with bated breath. As soon as Blake was far enough away that she was out of sight, Matt slipped out of his hiding spot and followed her with the help of his echolocation. He carefully set his can aside and continued without it.

He turned down two more halls and followed her down a set of stairs. Then he turned left, then right, then down another staircase. Eventually he was so far in the building that he barely knew where he was anymore.

Eventually he tracked her to the basement. He wasn't even aware this building had a basement.

The entire floor smelled of must. It was damp and moldy. He could list at least ten health code violations off the top of his head.

Unfortunately for him, the loud gurgling water heater, creaking plumbing, and the terribly strong smell plagued his super senses. His echolocation began to fail him.

He had to lead himself with a hand on the wall. He was beginning to deeply miss his cane. It took him five minutes to find the exit.

He yanked open the rusty handle and stepped outside. The cool, crisp outside air was a very nice contrast to the stuffy basement.

He appeared to be in a back alley behind the building that was completely excluded from everything, including security cameras. A prime spot for someone to pass on information or do any sort of illegal activities.

But where was Blake?

He listened with his super hearing. All he got was the loud basement behind him. She wasn't anywhere in the alley.

He had lost her.

"Yeah, that figures," Matt muttered. He rubbed his chin, turning around and opening the basement door. He stepped back into the stuffy room. Once again his senses were overtaken by the noise and the smells.

He would go on to use this as an excuse to explain why he didn't notice Blake standing literally five feet away from him.

There was a resounding CRACK, a horrible pain shot through his skull, and everything went dark.

The first thing Matt was aware of was pain. A jarring, stinging pain that shot through the back of his head.

The second thing he was aware of was that his hands were tied behind him. Zip ties painfully dug into his wrists. His ankles were similarly secured to the legs of the uncomfortable folding chair he was currently sitting in.

He raised his head and groaned weakly. His echolocation flickered in and out of focus, like a t.v. with an unadjusted attena. The only thing he could hear was a loud buzzing and his own heart beat. The familiar taste of a certain metallic substance filled his mouth; he must've bitten his tongue.

It was at moments like this that Matt really hated having super powers; each of his injuries were magnified a hundred times. He twitched and groaned again as another jolt of pain shot through his skull.

He was less afraid of being stuck like this and more afraid of what Foggy's reaction was going to be. Matt was really testing that man's patience and sanity.

"Hey, sleeping beauty, up here," said someone unfamiliar.

Matt flinched and jerked up straight. He tilted his head. His echolocation continued to fail him. Someone was loudly snapping their fingers.

"So, you've finally decided to grace me with your presence," the same someone scoffed. It was a girl, Matt could tell. But that was about it. He flinched as a metal chair screeched across the floor and paused in front of him. "Why were you following me?"

Matt frowned. Following? The only person he had followed today was Blake and she-

Oh. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

"You're Amy Blake," Matt said. He was surprised at how slurred his words were.

Why couldn't one of his powers have been super healing?

"I asked you a question," Blake snapped.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said dryly, hoping it sounded somewhat believable. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying," Matt lied. His head bobbed back.

He heard the chair in front of him adjust slightly. "You followed me here." She sounded annoyed. "I want to know why."

"Where is here?" Matt asked. He fiddled with the restraints on his hands. They weren't going anywhere. He instead focused on his leg restraints. The left one was secure, but the right one gave slightly. If he could keep her distracted, he might be able to get it loose…

"The basement. We're three floors down from everyone else. So no matter how much you yell, no one will hear you," she said smugly.

"I wasn't planning on yelling," Matt grunted honestly. He scrunched his brow and shifted in his seat. His echolocation was slowly but surely starting to come back. He could barely make out her form sitting across from him.

"Look at me when I talk to you," she snarled, slamming her hand against her chair with a resounding smack.

"I'm blind," Matt said, raising an eyebrow.

She sniffed. "Cut the act. I know your eyes work perfectly fine."

"Really? Why wasn't I told?" Matt scoffed.

Matt could practically hear her scowl. "Why aren't you scared?"

Matt sighed. "Should I be?"

She growled and slapped him hard across the face. His head jerked to the side as a throbbing pain bloomed under his cheekbone. Matt stiffened.

"Well that's just rude," he said sarcastically. He spit out some blood onto the floor. She ignored him.

"You followed me. Without your cane. And without seeing me, might I add. I think it's safe to say you have powers," she tilted her head. "Who are you working for? The Avengers? The X - Men? S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"Currently?" Matt shrugged. "Bruce Banner. But it varies on a case-to-case basis."

"You're a mercenary?" She asked, intrigued. He heard her chair groan quietly as she leaned forward.

"No… I'm a lawyer…" Matt corrected.

"Cut the act!" she yelled.

"Hmmmm…" Matt hummed. "No."

His sarcasm was going to get him killed one day. Foggy was right.

She jumped up from her seat. There was a click and something cold pressed against Matts forehead. It didn't take a genius, nor did it take super powers, to guess what it was.

"I'm getting really sick of your wit, Mr. Murdock," she snapped. She pressed the gun's cold barrel harder into his forehead. "Do you think you're funny?"

"I think I'm hilarious," he smiled.

"We'll see how funny you think you are when you're dead," she taunted. Her finger rested on the trigger. "It'll be weeks before they find your body."

"What about the cleaning crew?" Matt asked innocently. He was stalling. Luckily all he seemed to have to do was play to what seemed to be the weakness of all super villains: the need to monologue. "They'd probably find my body."

"I thought of that," she said gleefully. "Unfortunately, they're all on vacation."

The hairs on the back of Matt's neck stood up. "Is that a code word for murdered?"

Her grip on the pistol tightened. "Something like that."

"If you're trying to intimidate me into talking, it's not going to work," Matt sighed. He was going to have a bruise on his forehead if she kept this up. That would be hard to explain. He's pretty sure Foggy's "he ran into a door" excuse wasn't going to work this time.

It wouldn't work if Matt died, either. What would Foggy do then? Would he tell Karen his secret? Or would he stay silent about it? Matt needed to have a talk with him if he survived this.

"I don't need you to talk," Ms. Blake said, pulling Matt from his depressing thoughts. "Quite the contrary, I'd like you to stay very, very quiet. Dead quiet," she said.

"Oh, God," Matt groaned. "Just shoot me. That pun was awful."

"And after you're dead, I think I'll have a similar little chat with your friends. Franklin Nelson and Karen Page, is that right?" She said deviously. Matt's heart jumped. He stilled. Her grin grew sharper. "Imagine that! Three of the Lawyers working for Doctor Banner, found dead. They'll throw out the case, of course. And no one will dare take Doctor Banner's case after that. He's a dead man!" She pressed the barrel even harder into Matt's forehead. "Just like you and your friends."

Matt's facial expression went blank.

Matt's okay with being kidnapped, he's okay with being threatened and knocked out, and to some degree he's come to be okay with the idea of dying.

But Blake just crossed the line.

He leaned forwards towards her, ignoring how the gun pressed even harder against his head. "Here's something you should know about me." When he spoke, his words were slow, cold and deliberate. Blake hesitated. Matt continued in his intimidating, deep Daredevil voice. "No one ever, ever, threatens my friends and gets away with it."

She laughed, though it sounded somewhat nervous. "What are you going to do? You're tied up."

"Am I?" Matt asked, tilting his head.

She hesitated and glanced down at his restraints. As soon as her eyes were off his face Matt kicked his free leg up, sending the gun flying. It went off and hit the ceiling, sending pieces of it raining down on them.

Blake yelped and jumped back. Matt threw himself and the chair into her, knocking both of them to the ground.

She hissed and kicked, which he narrowly avoided.

He rolled to the side and leapt up. The restraints around his wrist had snapped. The only tie that remained was the one around his left foot which was, annoyingly, still attached to the chair.

No sooner had Matt risen to his feet had she as well. She aimed a roundhouse kick at his head. He ducked. He grabbed her ankle and pushed her backwards. She flipped midair and landed on her feet.

Whoever she was, she was trained well.

Seemingly out of nowhere, she produced a small knife. She surged forward and whipped it towards him. Part of it nicked his arm and slashed through his sleeve, painfully cutting his arm. Not deep enough to be serious, but enough to hurt. He grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

When she stumbled Matt kicked his leg out, and the metal folding chair that was still attached to his ankle whipped out and caught her in the legs, sending her sprawling to the floor.

The knife skid across the floor. Matt kicked it away. She spun and sent a wild kick towards Matt's chest. He easily blocked it.

She leapt up but Matt grabbed her jacket and held her down.

She screamed and sent desperate kicks and punches at him. None of them hit their mark.

"My turn," Matt growled. "Who are you working for?"

"Go to hell," she spat, a bit of blood creeping down her chin.

'I'm not going to ask you again! Who are you working for?" Matt yelled. He grunted and struggled with her flailing arms for a few seconds before shoving her back down,

She seethed. Then Matt heard a snap. Almost like a bone had broken.

By the time Matt realized it had come from the cyanide capsule in her mouth, it was too late. Foam spilled out from her mouth.

"Hail… Hydra…"

She went limp.

Matt burst through the back door, trying to rapidly tie his tie and hide all traces of blood from his being.

This was bad. This was so very bad.

Bad. Bad. Bad.

His heart was thumping in his ears, louder than any drums he's ever heard.

He ran down the hallway, avoiding everybody he could.

Foggy was leaning on a door frame and scrolling through his phone.

"Foggy! Foggy!" Matt gasped, out of breath. Foggy's head whipped up.

"What's wrong?" Worry was evident in his voice. "You've been gone for over an hour! Where's your cane? Is that blood?!"

"I, uhh.." Matt gasped. He pressed his hand against the doorframe and tried to catch his breath. Foggy's heartbeat rang through his ear along with his own. They were equally fast and panicked. "I have some bad news," Matt breathed.

"Oh, no," Foggy said uneasily. "I don't think I want to know."

"Blake's…. Uh..." Matt said, still panting. He stood up straighter and caught his breath. He tried to force his voice to be calm and even. "Okay, don't freak out, but Blake's dead."

"What?" Foggy shrieked. His voice echoed through the hall, gaining a few wary glances.

"No!" Matt said, frantically shaking his head. "I said don't freak out!"

"What?!" Foggy squeaked, grabbing Matts arms and shaking him.

Matt grabbed Foggy and quickly pulled him into an abandoned room, locking the door behind him.

Foggy slid down the wall and onto the floor.

"Oh, Matt." Foggy rubbed his hands over his face. "Matt. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Matt insisted, holding his hands out in surrender.

"What happened!?" he squealed.

"Long story short, Blake was an undercover Hydra agent."

"WHAT?!" Foggy screamed, dropping his hands from his face.

"Calm down!" Matt pleaded. He plopped down on the floor across from him.

"What?!" Foggy hissed, a bit quieter this time

"She was a part of Hydra. She took a cyanide pill. She's dead," Matt explained, massaging his temples. His heartbeat slowly calmed down. "Any more questions?"

"Matt… Matt… wha..." Foggy stammered. "What... why… Why did you do this?"

"I didn't do anything!" Matt said defensively, uncharacteristically raising his voice. He could feel the panic start to return. "Why are you acting like this is my fault?"

"Cause it kinda is!" Foggy snapped, raising his hands in the air.

"Is not!" Matt snapped back, harsher than he intended.

"Is too!"

"Is not!

"Matt!"

"What?" Matt buried his face in his hands, whipping his glasses off and discarding them nearby. He was panicking and taking it out on Foggy. He had to calm down… He slowly started focusing on breathing in and out, trying to get his heart to calm down yet again.

Foggy slowly sat across from him. He gently patted his shoulder. After a few seconds he retracted his hand and placed it in his lap. "We're going to be kicked out of this case, Matt," he said bluntly. At least he wasn't yelling anymore, Matt thought.

"I know," Matt whispered. He could feel pricks at the back of his eyes.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, he repeated again and again in his head like a mantra.

"A member of the jury can't just disappear," Foggy sighed.

"I know…" Matt's voice broke.

"The judge is going to throw out the entire case. All the arguments we've made will be useless. They're going to get a new judge, new lawyers, a complete new jury…"

"I know," Matt's breath hitched. "I'm sorry."

The tears were really threatening to come now. Matt sniffed and squeezed his useless eyes shut.

Foggy shook his head. "All the evidence that was provided is going to be thrown out. Banner's going to be put back into custody. Doctor Banner is doomed, Matt."

"I know!" Matt snapped. The tears were pouring down his face now. He rubbed at them angrily as he began to hyperventilate. "Don't you think I know that? I know! I know and it sucks!"

Foggy looked at him sadly. After a few seconds of watching Matt sob pathetically, Foggy sighed again and moved so he was sitting directly next to him. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders in an awkward attempt to comfort him.

"There, there," Foggy said. Matt cried harder and pressed his hands into his eyes with more force. Foggy gave him an awkward but reassuring hug. "It's… it's gonna be fine Matt."

"How?" Matt choked.

"I don't know," Foggy said honestly. "But we'll figure it out. We always do, right?"

Matt sniffled pathetically. Foggy grabbed a handkerchief from his back pocket and passed it to his friend. Matt hesitantly accepted it.

"The only thing that really matters is that you're okay." Foggy gave him a suspicious sideways look. "You are okay, right?"

"'I'm fine," Matt sniffled.

Foggy hummed in a I'm-not-sure-if-I-believe-you-but-I'm-willing-to-let-it-go-this-once way. He dropped his arms but kept one hand on Matt's shoulder.

Foggy let them sit in silence for a while.

Matt's thoughts raced through his head as fast as his heart was pounding.

He messed up. He messed up so bad. Now Foggy was mad and Doctor Banner barely stood any chance whatsoever.

Last time Matt cried like this was during his and Foggy's fight. They stopped being friends for weeks. Foggy hated Matt's guts.

And Matt didn't blame him; he deserved it. Matt wouldn't blame Foggy if he completely ditched him now and just threw out their friendship. Matt would deserve it.

He messed up. He messed up bad.

The case was doomed. Doctor Banner was doomed.

This was all his fault. All his fault.

Matt wished there was a way to make Blake just walk into that courtroom right now, like nothing had happened. Why did he always have to stick his nose in others' business? This was all his fault! Even if he couldn't undo it, he wished he could find a way to make it so no one else found out. Make it so everyone thought Blake was there…

Matt stiffened suddenly as an idea struck him. Foggy looked at him, concerned.

"Matt, what-"

"A Photostatic Veil," Matt said suddenly. He could fix this.

"Huh?"

"It's also known as a Nano Mask," Matt explained excitedly. He jumped to his feet and began to pace. "It uses nanotech to perfectly mimic anyone's face and voice. If you wear it, you'll look and sound like a completely different person."

"So what?" Foggy asked, confused and very concerned about his friend's sanity.

Matt snapped his fingers and grinned. "If we can find a way to get it, we can use it to disguise someone to look like Blake. No one will know!"

Foggy gaped and slowly rose to his feet.

"Matt," he said slowly. "Are you telling me that you want to impersonate a member of the jury? That is so illegal, man!"

"Oh, of course not," Matt shook his head quickly.

"Oh thank God," Foggy breathed.

"I'm going to be with you, representing Doctor Banner," Matt explained. He quickly readjusted his tie and handed Foggy his handkerchief. "We're going to get someone else to impersonate a juror."

"Oh, yeah, that makes it a lot better. Thank you for clarifying," Foggy said sarcastically. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, could you find my cane?" Matt asked as he searched the floor for his discarded glasses. He found them and passed them to Foggy as well. "And hold onto these, please."

Foggy sighed. He took the glasses and dropped his hands to his sides. "Well, at least that's simple-"

"Also, I'm going to have to break into Avengers Tower," Matt added as an afterthought

"Darn it, Matt!" Foggy rubbed his hand over his face. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Dying isn't my style," Matt smirked. He dusted his hand on his pants. Foggy took a deep breath in.

"That's not comforting," he gritted out.

Matt patted Foggy's arm and walked to the door, smiling. "I'll be back shortly. Thanks for the pep talk."

"Wha… Matt! We're on in fifteen minutes! What do you expect me to do?" Foggy asked frantically.

"Stall," Matt said. He paused with his hand on the door handle, thinking. After a moment he added, "and find Claire Temple. We're gonna need her help."

"I dont have her number!" Foggy said incredulously. "I barely even know who she is."

"Just find her! You're good at finding people." Matt grinned. "I'll see you soon!"