CHAPTER THREE: JESTER
77% of the population had a fear of speaking in public.
Matt Murdock was in the other 23%.
This was where Matt excelled. Put him in front of a jury, put him in front of a judge, and a courtroom, and he was as comfortable there as he was vaulting off a rooftop. Closing arguments came as naturally to him as jabs and crosses.
Every now and then, as a lawyer, there was an ace in the hole that you could pull out at exactly the right moment during cross, and it changed the entire narrative.
Tonight, Daredevil gets to hold the ace.
He crouched in the shadows, listening to the buzzing neon and the sound of popping popcorn coming from the theatre across the street. Being down here on Broadway, smack in the midst of tourist season, was a little out of his comfort zone. The shows would be starting soon. Hopefully, by that point, all the people on the street below would be inside instead. Good. "Bigger the audience the better," Matt murmured.
I can't believe I just said that.
Who the hell are-
Matt cocked an ear, listening. Gotcha. Behind and under him, he heard a stage manager make a half hour call. He could also hear someone calling out camera positions. The show inside the theatre that night was doing a pro-shot of their production, so a camera crew was busy setting up to catch angles onstage and in the crowd. He's always wanted to perform in front of an audience, Matt shook his head. Tonight he's gonna get one hell of a standing O. Matt slipped inside a window and made his way down a back stairwell. Faint, muffled thumping was coming from inside a closet at the end of a hall, and Matt made his way there, feeling for the handle. A quick check told him it was locked, but an even quicker whack with his billy club knocked the handle off its tumblers, and he bent down and helped a bound and gagged man to his feet. The guy was somewhere between terrified and furious.
"Where is he?" Matt asked him, pulling the tape off the guy's mouth.
"About to go on," the man spat.
Matt nodded. "Okay." He sat the man back down on the ground.
"Hey! You're just gonna leave me?"
Matt was already back at the stairwell, hopping over the rail. "Someone'll be by eventually," he called back, making his way down to the stage.
Inside the theatre, the orchestra had just struck up the opening chords. A masked man stepped center stage, and in the sound booth, the production's director had just told Camera 1 to get him in a ¾ shot.
The actor onstage opened his mouth, began to say his first line.
Daredevil stepped onstage into the spotlight, drawing gasps and whispers from the audience.
Is this part of the show?
Holy shit! It's Daredevil!
The man center stage whirled to face Matt. "How dare you!" he barked. "You're ruining the show!"
Matt quirked an eyebrow. "Last I checked, hacks like you didn't belong onstage." He tugged out his billy club. "Interesting way to revive your career, considering I killed you."
Jester howled something unintelligible at him. Matt could feel the camera swing out as Jester came at him. Matt let a punch land, then put Jester into a headlock. In a move that would have made Foggy laugh hysterically, Matt took one hand and whipped off Jester's mask, ala Scooby Doo.
He felt the air get sucked out of the room as everyone's mouths dropped open. The camera swung down and caught a full glimpse of Jonathan Powers, a man who had staged his death and blamed it on Daredevil, alive, well, and thoroughly pissed off that his scheme had been uncovered. "This is what you wanted, isn't it, Powers?" he hissed in Powers' ear. "Well, you got it." Matt shoved Powers into the spotlight center stage, and disappeared into the shadowy curtains in the wings.
As he burst out the stage door exit into the alleyway behind the theatre, he heard the sound of applause and Powers screaming as Security hauled him offstage.
Your Honor, the prosecution rests.
He heard Foggy's voice in his head reminding him that he was a defense attorney, and told the voice to shut up and let him have his moment.