New Arrangements

Fauna

Fauna blinked her eyes open and saw the familiar ceiling of her apartment. She felt the familiar lumps of her old stuffy couch. Had she dreamed the whole thing? She wondered, but once she realized how cold and wet she was she shot up in a panic. She whipped her head around the room, searching. It wasn't a dream, she was too cold and her body hurt too much. She gasped when her eyes found the dark silhouette sitting in the corner of the room.

His feet were flat on the floor and knees were up near his chest. He rested his forearms on the tops of his knees and let his hands dangled freely. His head was bowed. Half of him blended with the shadows of the dark room. The only light filtered in through her window from the street lamps below. Even in this crouched position he seemed to soak up half the space of the room.

Fauna looked over her shoulder at the door.

"You'll never make it." He said in a low voice.

He was right, she thought. Even if she did, she couldn't get out of the building without her fob. If she used her fob, her father would want to know why she left in the middle of the night. That explanation would lead all the way back to her little breaking and entering stunt at the office. She could run to a neighbor, but she disregarded that thought. He'd probably just kill them too, she couldn't pull someone into this mess and put them in harm's way.

Feeling defeated she sat back, letting the couch envelop her as she rested her hands in her lap.

"I'm going to ask you some questions, tell me the truth and I'll stay as far away from you as possible." His head came up and looked in her direction.

She had no other choice, Fauna nodded.

"Do you believe I can tell when you're lying?"

He, disturbingly had so far, she had no reason to doubt it now. She nodded again.

"Answer with words please."

Did the Devil of Hell's kitchen just ask nicely. "Yes." She replied.

"What's your name?"

Fauna's eyes snapped to his position, confused. Did he have short term memory?

"I'm trying to establish a base. You're a difficult read, Fauna. Now tell me your full name."

She didn't quite understand what he just said, how could he read her? Did he have some kind of device?

"Fauna Grace."

"How old are you, Fauna?"

"Nineteen." Her voice trembled.

"Are you sentimental?"

Confused again, she didn't understand why that was important. "I don't know, I guess."

"You have no pictures on the walls."

She looked around at her drab, ugly apartment. She didn't really want to acknowledge that question. She would hang some if she was allowed to, but her father forbade it.

"I'm not allowed to." She answered hoping he'd chalk that up to just being a rule of the building. Which was technically true, but only in her case. She had once been in Mrs. Carmichael's apartment. Old pictures, paintings and knicknacks covered the walls.

"The bruise on your cheek, where'd it come from?"

Fauna's heart sank. She had forgotten all about it. "I- walked into a door."

"That was a lie."

Fauna looked at him in amazement. He could really tell when she was lying. Her heart jumped.

"What's my name?"

Fauna's heart jumped again and sped up. She didn't want to say it. He was going to force her to admit that she knew his identity.

"You're - the Daredevil."

Matthew stood. Fauna jerked back slightly, ready to flee, though it would be futile. But instead of lunging for her, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the wall, crossing his ankles. For a moment the light from the street partially lit his face.

"That wasn't what I was asking, and you know that."

She looked down at her fidgeting fingers and eye'd the door as best she could without turning her head.

"Remember what I said about keeping my distance as long as you tell me the truth. That also stands as long as you don't try to run."

She nodded. "Mat-Matthew Murdock." She could see the tension rippling through his body at the sound of his name on her lips.

"We have ourselves a problem, Fauna."

She shivered.

"You know who I am, you know who my friends are and you know where I work."

"I didn't know that's where you worked. I would have never gone there if I'd known." She pleaded that fact, but unsure why.

He nodded.

"I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"And there's the problem. I don't know you, so I don't know how good you are at keeping promises. I told you to quit your job. You were right back there tonight."

"I didn't promise I would quit. You just demanded it." She snapped at him, but she quickly scolded herself. Sometimes the old Fauna bubbled to the surface. She's recently learned that rule: don't-speak-unless-spoken-to was a good policy to live by around people like her father, his associates, partners and, she was willing to bet, men like Daredevil.

"There's the other problem. You work for some very bad people, if they get a hold of that information everyone I know and care for will be in danger. They'll hurt them, kill them to get to me. You must understand I can't allow that to happen."

She relaxed a little when he didn't retaliate against her boldness. "I-I don't want anyone to get hurt, I would never want that."

"I believe you in that, but sometimes circumstances can change in the heat of the moment. I can't take that risk."

Her tears welled up in her eyes, the rain began sprinkling against the window. "Then, will you do it quickly?"

"Do what?"

"Kill me."

Matthew tilted his head in her direction. And took a deep breath. "Honestly Fauna, I don't want to hurt you. But that doesn't mean I won't, I will do what I need to."

"Then... what are you going to do?" She was almost afraid to ask, but at least it wasn't to kill her. However, she felt that if she did screw up death would soon follow.

"First, you quit your job?"

She tore her eyes from her lap to him. "I can't." She said as quietly as possible.

"Why?" His jaw clenched at his frustration.

"I-" she paused, "I…just can't." She couldn't tell him. Not without telling him about her mother. There was no way she was going to tell him about her mother. He'd use her, threaten her.

"Then I need something else from you."

She looked at him again.

"Your phone."

She looked around. Her bag was on the floor at her feet. She reached down and fished out her cell, tossing it to him.

She watched as he opened it, the light from the screen gave her a nice view of his black mask, the tight line of his lips and the clinch in his jaw.

"You have one contact saved on this phone, Work. There's no friends or family listed. This is a burner, where's your real phone." His agitation was growing.

Lightning streaked down onto the fire escape just outside her window. Just as she expected. It infuriated her that he wanted to use her family, her friends to keep her quiet. For the first time she was glad they weren't currently a part of her life. This life her father forced upon her.

She shook her head, "that's all I have." Her heart jumped, hoping he'd believe her because it was the truth. She wasn't allowed to use the phone for anything other than work. If she wanted to call her mother she had to do it from the pay phone down the street.

Matthew straightened and began crossing the room with such speed. Fauna barely managed to jump ahead of him. She bolted for the door.

She opened the door only a few inches when it was slammed shut by Matthew's hand. She spun around, tears falling down her cheeks as she realized she was trapped. Matthew brought his other hand up and placed it next to her head on the door. Parallel to his other hand.

"Please, I won't tell anyone who you are. Please." Her begging turned to sobs, "I won't, I won't."

"I believe you're telling me the truth, now." He said in that calm voice of his, but Fauna could hear the dangerousness of it. "But I have nothing to guarantee that truth won't change when you can use that information to your advantage."

She looked up at him. Desperate for a solution. Then it hit her, she had information on the very people he liked to punish.

"What about information on Grayson's nightly business… before it happens?" She said through her tears.

Fauna watched as he angled his head to the left, just slightly. It was like he was studying her.

"How does that guarantee you keep your promise, exactly?"

"I become your accomplice. I don't like being a part of what they do. I really don't, but I don't have a choice. If they find out who you are then they'll know I was helping you. You could tell them who gave you that information."

Matthew lowered his hands to his sides and retreated from her, turning. His shoulder blades and muscles shifted under his black shirt.

"So, it's - I'll keep your secret if you keep mine- deal." He said in a low voice.

"The threat of them knowing I helped you in any way should be enough of a guarantee I'll keep quiet. And I'm not stupid, I know if the police know I'm involved with either of you I can be charged with your crimes too."

She watched him, hoping and praying he'd accept the arrangement. He turned back to her and nodded.

"So, give me something then."

"Now?!"

"You honestly expect me to leave here empty handed."

He had a good point, she realized, though she hadn't thought of that or imagined she needed something so quickly.

"Okay. Umm-" she closed her eyes and began sorting through some of the paperwork that came across her desk recently.

Matthew watched her with an admiring fascination. The shimmering swirls of light shifted live waves in the ocean. For a moment, just a fraction of a second, the world outside faded from Matthew's senses. It threw him off balance for a moment, but he quickly recovered. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm a Eidetiker." She closed her eyes again, using the images in her mind to push away paper after paper, trying to find something useful. For the most part she ignored the work, but when she wanted she could call it back to her memory.

"Having an eidetic memory is rare, especially in adults." Matthew was impressed.

"There." She said, opening her eyes and looking toward the floor. It was as if she was looking at something in front of her, but it was nothing; just empty space.

"That's odd." She said, tilting her head slightly.

Matthew waited quietly, intrigued as he watched the shift in the lights again.

"There's a cargo container coming tomorrow night."

"Why is that odd?"

"It's by itself, they usually come by the hundreds. There must be something special inside."

"When?"

"Nine." She said looking up at him, but instead of standing where she thought he was now directly in front of her. She stepped back in response, but there was nowhere to go. She stumbled as her back hit the door. He didn't reach for her and stopped a few inches away.

"Fauna. If you lie to me our arrangement ends. What you've told me is the truth?"

She nodded.

"In words, please."

"Yes."

"And you believe that if you break your word, I'll come after you and everyone you care for."

She tried to swallow, but couldn't, her throat was suddenly so dry it felt like sandpaper.

"Yes."

"If you tell anyone about me, I'll tell them about you and you'll have the biggest crime lords in the city knocking on your door."

Her heart pounded in fear. "Yes."

He nodded. Then Matthew turned, jumped onto the fire escape and was gone.

Fauna fell to the floor and sobbed.

Matthew

On the roof of Fauna's apartment Matthew took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he listened to her cry. The rain pelted down violently. At least the electricity in the air had settled, he thought. Pangs of guilt pounded his chest as he pulled himself up on the rooftop. He'd stick close by, surely there was something he could get himself into while keeping tabs on Fauna.

He had to make sure she wouldn't call her employer or the police. He wasn't completely satisfied with their arrangement, but at least he didn't have to kidnap her until he figured something else out. That came with all kinds of complications he didn't have time for.

It was better this way. She believed he would give her up as a rat if she gave away his identity. People like her employer didn't take kindly to rats, everyone in the city was keenly aware of that. Fauna was right, if they found out she gave him information, the threat of what they'd do to her should guarantee she'd keep quiet.

Though he'd never give her name up if he'd been captured or found on, but she didn't have to know that. It would be better if she believed he had no values or morals.

Matthew didn't want to admit it, but Fauna intrigues him too much. Why did he see her so differently than everyone else? Why did his senses go a little haywire around her? And now, they shut down. He did admit it was nice for the night to go quiet for a moment. He heard so much fear and pain at night.

Matthew heard a scream nearby. He listened for a moment, a mugging. His lips curved into a smirk as he leaped to the neighboring building. Tonight he'd get little rest, when morning came he would follow her to work and listen in for a while. Then he'd have to catch a couple hours of sleep, then be back in time for his 9pm date at Grayson's shipping yard.

He'd have to take a sick day, Foggy would be pissed. Matthew knew his friend would understand, they'd talked many times about what could happen if someone knew about him.

Funny thing was, they never decided on how they would deal with that particular person. He supposed that deep down they thought it wouldn't happen, they'd never had to deal with it. He should probably give Foggy a call, he had a lot of explaining to do. He slid down a ladder and landed on top of one mugger, then he spun and kicked down the other.

"Go!" Matthew yelled at the man in the brown overcoat. "Get out of here." The man was wide-eyed. He scrambled to pick up his wallet and took off down the empty street. Behind him, Matthew heard the first mugger standing. He really did enjoy this a little too much.