Ben knew more than he was telling, that much was obvious to Kyle. It felt like he had rushed the conversation. Maybe this Bullseye person was after him too? Kyle took a quick glance out the window. The man that had been there before had left. Somebody had asked Ben to come here and had probably put him in danger of ending up next on Bullseye's hit list. And if he was even half as lethal as Ben had said then they were in serious trouble. Kyle made his mind up. He had asked John to keep an eye on Matt, so now he would be free to keep an eye on Ben, and if Bullseye did turn up maybe then he could get some answers.
-
It started to rain. Matt liked the rain, he liked the way every raindrop made a sound when it hit something, and the way it felt falling from the sky. Each sound showed up perfectly on his radar providing a greater depth for him to appreciate. For a moment it was as if he could see again. Matt was still in his Daredevil costume. The anti-sound that he now knew was Green Lantern had been searching around all night. First he had gone to Matt's office, then to his Brownstone. He was searching for Matt Murdock. So far he had stayed one step ahead of him, which wasn't hard considering that anti-sound was by far the most conspicuous thing that had ever been on Daredevil's radar. What was this about? Foggy wasn't expecting him at the office today. Maybe it was worth finding out.
-
Ben took a taxi home. He didn't need to head to the Daily Bugle offices for a while yet. Something had struck him as being a bit odd with that Rayner guy. To start with he'd been looking at that G.L. prop he wore like it had been the real thing, and he seemed really preoccupied with Matt. Something didn't feel right about him. Call it a hunch. Anyone else would have dismissed it out of hand but Ben Urich new better. It had been a hunch that had lead to him discovering Matt Murdock's little secret. Ben usually trusted his hunches. Maybe it was worth a little further investigation.
-
John had spent the whole night searching the city for any sign of Matt Murdock. He hadn't been at his home or his office. There was a chance that he could have gone to a girlfriend's place, if that were the case then John would have no idea where to look. Kyle hadn't mentioned anything like that to him. Or maybe Matt could see the future and knew that John was looking for him. He had seen too much in his time to dismiss the idea straight away, despite what he had said to Kyle. Another idea presented itself; the office had been called 'Nelson and Murdock'. Whoever this Nelson person was, he would know Matt. Right now that seemed like John's best chance of finding the guy. He made his mind up and turned around to head back to the office. Who knows, maybe there was a way to figure the whole thing out from there?
-
Ben Urich's home was being watched. Agents saw him arrive back. One radioed back to his superiors.
"He's here"...
-
It was raining heavily by the time Matt arrived at the office. The Green Lantern was already here, Daredevil could 'hear' him. Something seemed different about him. The strange sound that blacked out his radar was coming from outside his office, stranger still; the rain was bouncing off it as though it was glass. It could be an illusion created by the combination of rain and anti-sound, but the man at the centre of it seemed to be a different size and shape to Kyle Rayner. Could Matt have been wrong? So far he hadn't seen him, Daredevil decided to do something about that. The man without fear dived from his position and landed in the middle of the street. The man turned to face him.
"Who are you and why are you here?" He called out
"You can call me Green Lantern. I'm looking for Matthew Murdock". A defensive tone to his voice. The anti-sound prevented Matt from making out features, but the voice was definitely not that of Kyle Rayner.
"What do you want with him?"
"A good friend of mine thinks he's bad news. I'm here to find out" the man who had identified himself as Green Lantern answered. Daredevil decided to risk it.
"Does this have anything to do with a man called Kyle Rayner?" Green Lantern stayed neutral but the tone of his voice gave him away.
"Who are you? What do you know?"
"They call me Daredevil; I know what I need to know"
"Of course, everyone knows about Rayner these days, it's all over the news"
"I know that Rayner is innocent" Daredevil called out. Green Lantern took this in for a moment. When he spoke next he chose his words carefully.
"A few moments ago I thought you were nothing but an urban legend, and now you've turned up out of nowhere and told me something you shouldn't be able to know. Either you killed Barret or you know who did. Which is it?"
"The man you want is a hitman named Bullseye. He killed Barret and framed Kyle, and I now think that Kyle is next on his list for some reason" Matt prayed that Green Lantern would believe him.
"I know some people who are investigating it. If this Bulls Eye is involved why haven't they found him yet?"
"They won't. Bullseye covers his tracks too well. I've crossed paths with him too many times in the past to miss his involvement" the man nodded, at least, Matt thought he did. The blackness around him was making it hard to make out what he did. But his answer made it clear.
"Tell me everything you know"
-
Ben had turned on his computer. He intended to do some research on the Green Lantern. He knew as much as the next man did, but it was amazing what you could find if you looked in the right places. Out of habit he checked his email account before he started anything. As the screen loaded someone knocked at the door. Ben went to the door. Outside stood a man who reminded him of Schwarzenegger in his Conan the Barbarian days. He wore a purple and orange costume that clung to him like a second skin and he was smiling. It was not a nice smile.
"Hello Mr. Urich" he said as he entered the room.
"And just who do you think you are?" Ben asked. The tone of his voice said that it took more than muscles and costumes to unnerve him. The intruder smiled even wider.
"I'm told that you know someone. A man who calls himself a Daredevil. It is very important that I find him" The smile made Ben think of sharks.
"A daredevil?"
"Don't be clever Mr. Urich, you know exactly whom I mean. Now tell me what I want to know"
"You want to know this; Get out of my house or I'm calling the police. I don't spill my guts just coz you've got some muscle" Ben said sternly. The man smiled even more.
"Spill your guts, I like the sound of that" A man that size shouldn't be allowed to move as fast as the intruder did. Before Ben could blink he had been seized around the throat and lifted off his feet.
"You are going to tell me. Who is Daredevil!" Ben didn't answer. The man tossed him across the room like a rag doll.
"I'm not telling you anything you freak!" Ben yelled.
"My my my, you've certainly got a mouth on you" The man said calmly as he scooped Ben off the floor.
"Now tell me". Ben didn't answer yet again. He punched him in the stomach, making him double over.
"Tell Me!" He screamed as he kicked Ben in the ribs.
"Drop Dead!" Ben spat.
"Mr. Urich, that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble" He picked Ben up again and threw him into a wall.
"Major Force!" The man looked around at the sound of his name as an emerald green sledgehammer smashed across his face. Kyle Rayner, Green Lantern hovered a few inches off the floor. How could Major Force be involved in this? The man was supposed to be dead.
"This is a surprise; I'll have to have words with that assassin. Bullseye was supposed to have killed you by now" Force smirked as he stood back up. "I didn't know you were friends with the reporter" Ben lay on the floor behind then. Kyle couldn't tell if he was moving.
"You hired Bullseye" it wasn't a question.
"The term, I believe, is quid pro quo. I kill Daredevil for him; he kills you for me. Obviously something went wrong somewhere along the line..." Kyle had heard enough. He flew forward, the ring constructing an armoured claw around his hand. He smacked into Force hard enough to tear a building down. Force was thrown clean through a wall. Behind him he heard Ben gasp.
"Gotta.... Tell... Matt...". Ben was alive. That changed everything. Forgetting about Force for the moment Green Lantern went over to Ben's prone form. Using the ring he lifted the injured man gently. He could hear Major Force pick himself off the floor. Kyle didn't want to leave him on the loose but Ben took priority. Moving as quick as he could without aggravating Ben's injuries he flew out the door. The best thing to do would be to get him to a hospital. But Kyle couldn't help but wonder, what did he mean when he said 'tell Matt'?