Matt sat alone, absently letting the sounds of the city wash over him. It had been a while since his last time visiting the church. In fact, it had been almost exactly six months. He had spent countless hours praying that Jane would be ok, that she would wake up, but it wasn't until much later, after she had left the hospital, after he knew that physically she was ok, that he found himself back at the church. This time however he was asking for forgiveness, for the sins he was about to commit.

Matt sighed, gripping his cane tightly in his hands. It felt like years since he turned back to the church. Now, he couldn't bring himself to go inside. Better to not ask questions you already knew the answers to.

"You're Jack Murdock's kid, aren't you?" a gentle voice asked.

Matt's back straightened, poised, as if ready to leap off the bench and run as far away as he could get.

The priest sighed, sitting down next to him. "It's all right," he said waving away the worry he could almost feel pouring off the man sitting next to him. "Seal of Confession. Anything you said during the sacrament of the penance stays between us. Could've killed 10 people, I couldn't tell anyone."

Matt scoffed, "That seem fair to you?"

The priest shrugged, "It is what it is."

The two sat in silence, letting the sound of the church bells fill the air.

"I have to get to work," Matt offered, not willing to voice the swirling thoughts coursing through him.

"Yeah, me too." The priest added, "Wouldn't mind a cup of coffee first, though. Chamber of commerce donated one of those fancy espresso machines for meetings and stuff. I make a heck of a latte, if you're interested."

Matt smiled, slowly getting up from the bench, forcing himself to look ahead to the tasks of the day, "Some other time, maybe."

He nodded a farewell and then turned to walk away.

"Seemed you had a lot on your mind the last time you were here," the priest called out, "Sure you don't want that latte?"

Matt paused, his heart clenched. He would like nothing more than to simply turn, and speak to the priest, get the reassurance that all would be forgiven, but he knew better. There were things that even a priest could not gently wave away. He turned his head back towards the priest, he couldn't see him, but he could sense the anticipation, the hope that Matt would turn back around.

"Take care of yourself, Father."

Matt quickly made his way through the streets. He was not often thankful that he was blind, and regardless of the countless hours of trauma recovery, there were many times he was still quite bitter about it. But there were some unexpected perks. When he walked the streets with his cane, he was given a wide berth, no one wanted to shove a blind man out of their way. It gave him room to breathe, and room to think. Although this morning, he simply enjoyed the quiet. He was doing his best not to get completely lost in his thoughts as he jogged up the steps of the office. He would really much prefer to avoid the third degree from Foggy and Karen.

"Hey!" Foggy called as soon as Matt opened the door, "You know she's not really free?"

"Hey," Karen waved sheepishly, knowing full well that Matt couldn't see it, but old habits die hard.

"Jesus!" Foggy exclaimed, "What happened to your eye?"

"Oh," Matt cringed. He had completely forgotten that he looked like shit. Jane had been kind enough to let him know that earlier that morning as she was helping him check his stitches.

"Are you okay?" Karen asked.

"Yeah," Matt waved away her concern, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just wasn't paying attention last night. It's my fault."

Foggy smirked, "You need a dog."

Matt laughed and shook his head, "I'm not getting a dog."

"What?" Foggy feigning hurt at Matt's absolute refusal to even consider it, "You don't like dogs? Who doesn't like dogs? I bet Jane would love a dog!"

Karen smiled, looking back and forth between the two friends, "I…I love dogs," she offered, enjoying seeing Matt a little bit flustered for the first time.

Matt was about to answer when a sudden knock on the door made the three fall silent.

Foggy froze, looking at the door, then at Matt, then at the door again.

"Was that a knock?"

Matt smiled, "Someone's at the door."

"Our door?"

Foggy looked back and forth again as if he couldn't possibly believe what was happening.

"Uh, Karen?" Matt said, gesturing in the direction of the door, doing his best to bring everyone's attention to the fact that they were actually professional lawyers, and this was their place of business.

"Right," Karen said, shaking her head. She straightened her skirt and steeled herself before heading to the door, "Okay," she muttered, more trying to reassure herself than anyone else.

She opened the door and was almost shocked to see a pristinely well-dressed man on the other side. She had been expecting someone perhaps a little more down on luck. Karen was not the only one surprised as both men behind her were also speechless.

"Hi," the man said, looking almost amused at the people before him, "Do you do walk-ins?"

Foggy's smile was wide as he led their unexpected client to their meeting room. Matt couldn't help the small smirk at his friend's excitement, but something made him hesitate. This man did not fit in with the kind of people that were generally seeking out their legal help. There was something very, very suspicious about this man.

Matt followed Foggy and settled himself next to him. There was very little he could tell from the man before him. His cologne was nondescript, and everything about him seemed poised and polished. The only thing that stood out was the constant ticking of his watch. Matt sighed, of course, it was a nice watch.

The man before them smiled, a cool calculated smile before he began.

"I represent a consortium with diversified interests in the private sector, both domestic and international. From time to time, we scout the landscape for promising talent to put on retainer."

"Retainer?" Foggy smiled. Matt could hear his heartbeat speed up, the excitement from him was almost palpable.

"Why are you approaching us?" Matt asked carefully, listening for anything that could reveal even the slightest detail of the man before him, "Why not a larger firm, Mr.?"

He let the question hang for a moment, but the man before him did not even hesitate.

"Confederated Global Investments is my employer," he said looking between the two gentlemen before him.

Matt chuckled, there was not even a slight change in the man's heartbeat. This was a well-rehearsed presentation, "It's not what I was asking."

"It's the only name relevant to this discussion, Mr. Murdock."

Foggy looked at Matt concerned, he knew retainer meant a paycheck. Sure it wasn't what they wanted to do long-term, but the potential for some sort of cushion for their firm was too good to pass up.

"Oh," Matt answered knowingly, "So why us?"

Foggy shifted in his chair, Matt was not going to let this one go.

"Obviously, the larger firms aren't able to provide the same hands-on attention that we pride ourselves on here at Nelson and Murdock." He offered, trying desperately to smooth over any tension that could be building between Matt and their potential paycheck.

The man smiled, "It's a fair question. I'm here because my employer does extensive business in Hell's Kitchen, and who knows it better than two local boys who graduated from Columbia Law, cum laude and summa cum laude?"

"Uh, the 'summa' part is politics," Foggy clarified. Matt was a fantastic student for sure, but Foggy wasn't one to just roll over and let Matt take all the credit.

The man chuckled.

"You set up shop right here in your backyard, despite the fact that both of you were made a very lucrative offer from Landman and Zack in Manhattan where you interned," he paused for a moment, settling his gaze on Matt, "From my understanding there was a strong personal motivation to set out on your own."

Matt clenched his jaw. There were in fact very personal reasons why the two of them were no longer involved with Landman and Zack, but he was not about to discuss that with a complete stranger, and the fact that the man knew anything at all was rather unsettling. He could feel Karen's gaze settle on him as well. She was more than aware that there was something that the two lawyers were unwilling to tell her yet.

"You've done done your homework," Matt said, doing his best to keep his growing suspicion of the man concealed.

"My employer expects no less."

"Then forgive me for being blunt," Matt said, his patience beginning to wear thin.

"Uh-" Foggy stammered, "'Blunt' is a strong word."

"In my line of work, I find it refreshing."

"What is that line of work exactly?" Matt asked, very bluntly. Enjoying the fact that the man seemed slightly put off by Matt's unwillingness to be flattered away from his inquiries.

Foggy laughed nervously, "What my partner is trying to say is we're still building a practice, so we're very particular about our clientele."

"I assure you," the man continued, "all my employer wants is for you to continue to be ethical, decent men, good lawyers. And for that, nothing more than your exceptional skills and your discretion," he pulled an envelope from his coat pocket and carefully slid it toward Foggy, "you'll be fairly compensated."

Foggy quickly pulled the check from the envelope, and did his best to conceal his absolute shock. Matt on the other hand, heard Foggy's heartbeat pick back up again, and his breathing hitch. It had to be a pretty substantial number.

"It's, uh," Foggy stammered, "It's fair. That's.. That's fair."

The man smiled at Foggy's enthusiasm.

"Your partner doesn't seem convinced."

Matt smirked, he was nowhere near convinced. In fact, the only thing he was convinced of, was the fact that he wanted this man out of his office as soon as physically possible.

"Like Foggy said," Matt offered, "we're particular about our clientele."

The man gave a small nod, staring Matt down. Matt could feel his gaze, but he sat stoically, not affected by the man in the slightest. Not outwardly at least.

"I'm curious about your clientele. Do they all end up working for you after you get them off for murder or just the pretty ones?" He stared at Karen, his small smirk showing that he knew absolutely every detail of her case.

The silence hung in the air. Foggy stared at the man in disbelief. Of the two, Matt was always the skeptic, always the one to question, and as much as Foggy was reluctant to admit it. He couldn't help the growing sensation that Matt may actually be right about this one.

Matt took a deep breath, he turned to Karen. "You, uh, give us a minute?" he asked to the rather startled woman, "please?"

Karen hesitated, but picked up her notepad and quickly exited the room.

The man adjusted his glasses, "I didn't mean to upset anyone," he offered.

"How did you know about Miss Page's situation?" he asked directly, "She was never charged. There was nothing in the papers."

He listened intently.

"I have friends on the force. I hear I'm not the only one."

Foggy shifted uncomfortably, "I think we might be veering off the subject."

"Look," the man said, growing tired of their discussion, "I understand your concerns, Mr. Murdock. Perhaps you should review one of our cases before you make a decision? Peace of mind and whatnot."

Foggy nodded, it was more than acceptable, "That's a fantastic idea."

He turned to his partner, hoping somewhat that his glare could make his blind partner see the opportunity that was before them, "Matthew?" he bit out.

"Yeah," Matt sighed, "what harm could it do?"

"Excellent," the man answered, looking down at his watch. "You have thirty eight minutes to get to Precinct 15." He reached into his briefcase and pulled out the thin file he had brought with him.

"What?" Foggy asked shocked, "Now? What's the case?"

The man smiled, sliding the file in between the two lawyers, knowing full well only one of them was capable of reading it at the moment.

"Everything you need is in this file. Thank you for your time." He smiled coyly before giving a curt nod and making his way out of the dingy office.

"No," Foggy added beginning to look through the file, "Thank you. Thank yoouu veeerry…"

The door shut behind the man and Foggy turned to Matt.

"What is your problem?" he growled.

"He wouldn't even give us his name, Foggy," Matt said buttoning his jacket as he went to grab his cane. Frustrated that he was required to carry it to help his facade, but all the same, it was annoying when he was in a hurry.

"You wouldn't care if you could see the zeroes on this check," Foggy added, watching Matt carefully.

"Yeah," Matt shrugged, "maybe you would if you couldn't."

"We're running out of time," Foggy pointed out, gesturing back to the file in his hand.

Matt nodded and made his way to the door, "I'll meet you there."

He knew this was making Foggy upset, he could hear him calling to him as he left, but Matt focused his attention elsewhere, searching for the tell tale sound of the wristwatch he had memorized during their meeting. He hurried down the stairs, keeping the constant ticking within earshot.

FILL

A large car pulled up next to the curb right in front of the man. Matt paused, blocking out all of the extraneous noise around him as he focused on the man getting into the car. He stomach tightened at what he heard.

"It's been taken care of, sir."


Jane stared at the card in her hand.

"It's not going to bite, I promise."

Jane quickly turned to the man sitting next to her. Tommy was watching her carefully, one arm draped over the steering wheel. They had been sitting in silence for the past few minutes. She looked back at the card, and then at the door that was all of 20 feet from the car.

"You don't have to go in," Tommy added, "But… you'd kill it kiddo."

Jane didn't say anything. She knew it was a good opportunity, and at most, she would be there for a couple months, and then she could go back to work for Tommy. She sighed. This time last year, she wouldn't have even remotely hesitated. In fact she would be banging down the door for an opportunity like this, but now…Now she was nervous. Now this change meant that she was stepping beyond her comfort zone, and she was nervous.

"Fuck it," Jane muttered. She gripped the card in her hand, as if when she opened the door it was going to be wrenched from her hand.

"Go get 'em Jane!" Tommy called, "Text me when you're done and I'll come get you!"

Jane smiled and waved as Tommy turned back into traffic. The cars behind him were no doubt happy that there was more room to travel. Jane watched him drive away for a moment before she took a deep breath and made her way into the building before her. It certainly looked as nice as the name would suggest. For the amount of time she spent overthinking about whether or not she should go in, as soon as she stepped foot in the building, Jane felt surprisingly calm.

The elevator doors opened to the most luxurious restaurant she had ever been in. Any confidence she had built up over the last few minutes, immediately disappeared. She decorated cakes for a living, this was absolutely ridiculous. Sure she went to culinary school, she had fantastic teachers and she did well, but this was a whole other level.

"May I help you?"

Jane turned to see a very polished young woman looking at her as if she were very out of place. Jane certainly felt out of place. She had made sure she wore her lawyer clothes as Matt called them. But now, standing in the lobby of Per Se, her blouse and skirt still made her feel ridiculously under dressed.

"Uh, yeah," she stammered, "I'm here to speak with a Mr. Boyles?"

The young woman looked Jane up and down, as if struggling to determine whether or not Jane was going to soil the carpet if she dared to step on it. Jane just smiled.

"I'm here regarding the temporary chef position?"

The young woman seemed to snap back into her usual hostess mask, and smiled a rather strained smile.

"But of course!"

Jane just nodded as the woman gave her yet another onceover before quickly walking to the back of the restaurant. Jane ran a hand through her hair, hoping that it was still within an acceptable level of curly.

"What am I doing here?" she muttered.

"I hope to give me a hand?"

Jane looked up to see a young chef walking towards her with a wide smile. He was about her height, thin, and with short brown hair. The sleeves of his chef coat were rolled up, and almost surprisingly, his arms sported not a single tattoo. Jane almost laughed, the difference between a pastry chef, and a cook.

"Elwyn Boyles," he said, reaching out to shake her hand, "Tommy says you're quite the chef."

Jane nodded, "Tommy is known for exaggerating sometimes, but I have my resume here for you."

Elwyn took the sheet from her, quickly looking over everything.

He laughed, "Why are you working for Tommy?"

Jane looked at him confused.

Elwyn looked up from the paper before him, "You are a little overqualified to be decorating cakes."

Jane could feel the color run to her cheeks, "Tommy was there for me before school, and he uh, helped me out a lot a few months ago."

Elwyn nodded, "I mean, with this resume I'm kind of surprised I haven't seen you earlier."

"The hours are pretty good with Tommy," Jane said before she could even stop herself. She wasn't exactly instilling confidence in a potential employer.

Elwyn just laughed, "I can't argue with you there."

Jane couldn't help but feel more and more nervous the longer he was quiet. Elwyn looked carefully at the woman standing before him. In truth, he didn't need to look at her resume. Tommy had all but read it to him one night over drinks when Elwyn mentioned that he was going to be low on chefs the next two months. The two of them had gone to school together and as much as Elwyn would tease him for making cakes, the man was incredibly talented. If Tommy said she was good, that was enough for him.

"I need some extra hands Thursday to Sunday. Prep, service, closing. I have one chef going on maternity leave, and one who just broke his arm mountain biking. If you can start Friday, we'll get you familiarized with the menu, see how you feel and then we'll go from there."

Jane looked at him in disbelief, "Really?"

Elwyn laughed, "Tommy and I go way back, if he says you're good, you're good. Can you be here at one?"


Matt tapped his pen, lost in thought, his mind racing in a million directions.

"Let's pull section 35.15 of the Penal."

He could hear Foggy typing and muttering, "35.15."

"Then we'll take our facts and fit them to the CJI and the statute."

Foggy sighs falling back in his chair.

"Got the insights?"

Foggy shook his head, it took all of his control not to launch the computer through the window, but that wasn't going to speed anything up.

"It's still loading," he grumbled, "we need better wi-fi."

Matt chuckled, "We need better everything."

Foggy threw up his hands, "Let's do that. Let's win cases, be popular and make money!"

Matt's smile grew, it was a frequent conversation the two had, but they both knew better.

"It's not about that Foggy."

"I know," Foggy shrugged, "but it could be, just a little… a smidge."

They both turned towards the door at a soft knock. Karen poked her head through the door, not wanting to interrupt the two.

"Hey, uh wi-fi's acting weird."

Foggy just glared at the computer as if sheer willpower was going to make anything go faster.

"You find out anything on Confed Global?" Matt asked, hoping for anything even remotely useful.

"Yeah," Karen answered, "it's a subsidiary of a holding company of a loan out to a holding subsidiary and on and on and on. But that dickhead's check cleared in about two seconds."

Matt smirked, "There's your money."

Foggy ignored him, "Bang on the router, will you Karen?"

She nodded, looking back and forth between the two lawyers. Foggy was always open and warm, and while Matt was certainly welcoming, she would never forget the fact that he brought her into his home when she had nowhere else to go, but there always seemed to be a slight wall around Matt. She had only ever seen a slight chink in it when Jane was around.

Karen moved to shut the door behind her when Matt spoke out again.

"Oh, hey," he said, turning back to her, "no more long lunches until this is over, okay?"

Karen smiled, "You got it."

Matt slouched in his chair, trying to relieve some pressure on his side while he waited for the inevitable banging of the router. It was almost a daily occurrence at this point. Sure enough, within a few moments of Karen banging in the other room, Foggy's computer beeped.

"All right!" Foggy yelled, clapping as his computer finally displayed the page, "practice insights for New York State Penal Law 35.15."

Matt straightened in his chair, turning his full attention back to Foggy when something caused him to pause. He turned his head towards the door.

"You good?" Foggy asked

Matt listened for a moment, unsure if what he thought he had heard was actually there. He listened carefully, trying to pick through the multitude of sounds in the building.

"Matt?"

Matt shook his head, "I thought I heard someone at the door."

Foggy didn't get a chance to say anything because at that moment, all three members of the office heard the rapid knocking at the door.

Karen was the first to the door.

"Jane?"

Matt leapt from the table, and in two steps he was in front of Jane. Matt could hear every strained breath, her elevated heart rate.

"Hey, hey," he said gently, taking Jane's hand in his.

"I- can't– I can't–"

"Janie, just feel my hand ok?"

Jane crumpled to the ground, struggling to get a single breath.

Matt knelt with Jane, never once loosening his hold on her hand. With his free hand he tenderly rubbed her back, desperately wishing that he could just wipe away the pain.

"Just breathe," he murmured, "I've got you."

The office was silent, save for Jane's gasping breaths, and for a moment time stood still. Matt could feel Jane clenching his hand, as if she was afraid she would be wrenched away if she let go.

"I've got you,"

Jane's breathing slowed and Matt held her tight to him. There had been many sleepless nights, the two of them crouched in a similar position, and every time, it absolutely destroyed him. This was one enemy he could not defeat for Jane.

Jane took in a deep shuddering breath, "It was only a few blocks," she whispered, defeated, "I thought I could do it but-"

Matt kissed her head, "It's ok Janie, its ok."

"Tommy, Tommy, Tommy," a mechanical voice tore through the office. Matt turned to Foggy who quickly answered Matt's phone.

"Matt's phone," Foggy answered.

"I didn't want to bother Tommy, he already drove me all the way over there," Jane whispered again, not wanting to remove herself from the safety of Matt's arms. In a moment she would have to face the world again, but for right now, she was safe, and she was not about to give that up.

"Hey Tommy, yeah she's here, Matt's got her," Foggy answered.

Matt for once was not paying any attention to the conversation on the phone. Every ounce of his concentration was on the trembling woman before him.

"Let's get you home."