Prologue

Matt Murdock was not the kind of man to be pre-occupied. Normally, every fiber of being was concentrating on either his career as a lawyer or his, "other job." But as he sat at his desk that morning, he found that for the first time in his life, there was no way he could even begin to concentrate on his many clients. With a sigh, he stood and walked out of his private office into the lobby of his law firm. Nancy, the new receptionist, looked up at Matt as he crossed the room and headed for the door. He made sure to keep looking straight ahead, trying not to even glance in her direction. He knew he was being silly, with his dark glasses on, there was no way she could see his eyes. He still felt better if he just looked straight ahead.

"I'm taking the rest of the day off, Nancy," he said, and walked out into the streets before the young woman could answer.

As usual, the sidewalks were crowded, what else could be expected in Manhattan? He blended easily into the crowd, even with his cane and sunglasses. Nobody noticed the blind man, no one ever noticed anyone but themselves.

Well, one man noticed everything, one man looked out for everyone.

Daredevil.

But for once, Daredevil wasn't looking out for the common man, or fighting crime, or anything like usual. For once, all he wanted was to get home.

***



When Matt finally arrived at his downtown apartment, he had lost the sense of urgency to get out that he'd had in the office. But he was more than glad to be home.

His wife, Julie was sitting on the couch indulging in her soaps when her husband walked in. "Matt!" she cried, sitting up in surprise, "What on earth are you doing here?" She slowly got up off the couch and waddled towards her husband, her large belly leading the way. "Why aren't you at work?"

Matt moved forward and kissed his wife. They stood in the middle of the room embracing for a few moments, and then Matt broke the silence. "Well, honey, the baby is due today." he trailed off at the look Julie gave him.

"Matt, darling, love-of-my-life, this baby is not coming today, trust me," she smiled at him and Matt couldn't help but feel like a little kid being scolded for skipping school.

"Still, I wanted to be here," he gave his wife a soft kiss on the forehead, "in case anything happened," he finished.

Julie sighed and stared into Matt's eyes. "Nothing is going to happen, Matt, why are you so worried?" she asked him suspiciously. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Daredevil, would it?"

Matt was slightly miffed, "Don't you think I'd tell you if it was something like that?"

Julie shrugged. "I don't know, maybe not."

Matt looked at his wife intently, trying to make her let go of her preposterous-and horrifying-thoughts. "I would tell you, 'I'd never let anything like that slide."

He could tell from the way she smiled at him that she still wasn't convinced. "Look, sweetie, the only person Kingpin's out to get is me, okay?"

Julie laughed. "No, that's not okay! Do you think I want anyone "out to get" you? How could that possibly be "okay?!" she cried.

Anxiously, Matt placed his hand on her shoulder, "Julie, sweetie, the baby, remember the baby."

Julie calmed down and stared into her husband's eyes, worried. "I don't care if anyone's after me, Matt, I only care if someone's trying to get you, don't you understand that?"

Matt kissed his wife's hand. "The only way anyone could ever get me would be to hurt you," he told her.

The two embraced, and they stood for a long time in the living room, holding each other close. Finally, Julie spoke. "Matt, did you get permission to take the rest of the day off?"

Nodding, Matt spoke, "Yep, sure did."

Julie looped her arm through her husband's. "C'mon, let's go get a bite to eat."

The two walked out of their apartment and down the steps into the streets. They felt safe among the crowded streets of New York, a feeling that wouldn't last much longer.