Jessica Jones and Danny Rand stood on the corner of West 37th and 10th Avenue, just a few buildings down from the spacious condominium owned by Wilson Fisk. It wasn't where he had lived during his arrest, but rather an asset he acquired while behind bars; one he hid well from the authorities. The three bedroom, two bath, glass and brick home in the sky was listed under the name of Vanessa Fisk. Not the most clever of aliases, but when the refurbished pre-war condo was bought, no one was looking - so Fisk barely had to hide.

The cynical among them - Jessica and Colleen - believed the timing of the purchase was no coincidence, just six weeks before Fisk walked out of prison.

Danny's trip to the Real Estate Board had been a bust, but he had decided to dig deeper. He'd gone back to Rand Enterprises and used their considerable power to find the notaries on all legal documents pertaining to anyone called Fisk in the last six months. Then he used his wallet to pay them into talking. According to the records Danny had read, Fisk's lawyer moved money from one account to another until it settled in Vanessa's hands. She had bought the condo. She had been back in New York City for just over a month.

If Jessica hadn't been so continually flustered by Danny's mere presence she might have been impressed by all he had uncovered. Instead she thought, finally.

To Jessica and Colleen the purchase of the condo meant Fisk knew he would be free soon. Why would he summon her back from Europe and ensure they had suitably lavish accommodations if he was planning on serving the remainder of his lengthy sentence?

To Jessica alone it also meant Fisk wasn't planning on his newfound Kilgrave powers to work, or else he could have simply walked into a condo, house, or mansion and willed the owners to give it to him. Whatever mind control abilities Fisk had gained, he'd done so in the last month. Jessica relished having a timeline. She finally felt as if she were only a few pieces short of making the puzzle whole.

But she hadn't slept well the night before, as those same clues rattled inside her head. Finally, guilt abruptly woke her at 4am, viciously reminding her that Matt Murdock was still out there, somewhere, under Fisk's control.

It's not as if she had forgotten him - that wasn't possible. But the team had made a decision early after Matt's abduction was known: they would ignore it, for now. The thought had gnawed at each of them, especially since they knew Matt would never do the same. But Trish and Foggy were still in hiding, the scientist's apartment lab and all the evidence inside was destroyed, his body was still splayed in the street, and the team was just settling into a quiet yet raw peace after the fallout between Jessica and Luke.

Looking for Matt, placing all their resources into that basket, wouldn't solve the mystery of why or how. Jessica was done being reactive. She didn't want to know where Fisk had been. She wanted find out where he was going and get there first. In doing so they all hoped Matt would be waiting there for them, ready to be rescued.

But it had only been a few days and Jessica was already regretting their collective choices and itched to break out on her own and find Matt.

That was why she and Danny were staking out Fisk's new neighbourhood. He thought they were on routine reconnaissance, just getting the lay of the land. But Jessica wanted to see Matt.

By 9am she'd spotted the next best thing: Vanessa. Her picture had been in the paper numerous times following Wilson Fisk's arrest and so Jessica recognized her instantly. She was beautiful and impeccably dressed. Even in New York City a woman of her caliber stood out. To Jessica, it made her easy to follow.

"Keep an eye out for Fisk," Jessica told Danny as she pushed herself off the wall they'd been sharing.

"Where are you going?" he asked, surprised.

"Coffee," she called to him as she stealthy navigated the flow of people and moved across the street. She heard Danny call after her, probably putting in an order for green tea, but she ignored him.

Vanessa ducked into a store less than a block from where Jessica had first spotted her. For a moment, Jessica wondered if she had been made already. But Vanessa emerged in short order with what appeared to be a bag of croissants.

Jessica knew that had Matt been with her they could have eased back and leisurely followed Vanessa without fear of being caught. He would have used his nose to sniff out those breakfast breads all around the city, if need be. But she was on her own - the way she liked it… most of the time.

Soon Vanessa entered what appeared to be the offices of an accountant inside a brownstone that had seen better days. Jessica waited patiently - a virtue she rarely had in supply. Finally, Vanessa emerged. The bag of croissants was gone. Now she carried an accordion file folder, tucked neatly under her arm.

It continued that way for over 35 minutes, Vanessa darting in and out of stores throughout the neighbourhood. She never took a taxi, everything was within walking distance of her new condo - even in her ultra sleek high heels.

A package picked up from one location found its way to the next, and Jessica quickly understood that each business was a quiet front for something else. She remembered what the scientist had told her:

I don't have enough equipment here...

Jessica had assumed this meant there were more shitty apartment labs tucked away throughout the city, but they could just as easily be in the back rooms of bakeries or CPA offices or corner stores. But even then, why would Vanessa need to take something from one and pass it to another? What could they be doing? And were they really working for Wilson Fisk?

The scientist had been a contradiction in terms. He hadn't been a professor, he hadn't been under mind control, he hadn't truly been afraid of Fisk despite his actions in the warehouse. He had stalled her long enough to see Matt Murdock taken. He played her and she foolishly hadn't realized what was truly going on until it was too late.

Each time she felt the puzzle was finally coming together, another corner piece turned on it's side to reveal grooved edges that seemingly had no fit.

As she waited for Vanessa to emerge from a local coin dealer's nearly derelict storefront, Jessica's cell phone buzzed, the vibration sending a small jolt from the back pocket of her jeans. Fishing it out, she saw it was a text from Danny. He wanted to know where she had gone.

Jessica ignored it, leaving him guessing. But just a minute later there came another buzz, followed by an exaggerated sigh.

I see Fisk.

The text blared at her like an air horn, jarring her equilibrium.

He's on the move. Should I follow?

No, never, Jessica wanted to shout into her phone. Danny would surely give their operation away. If anyone was to follow Fisk it would be her.

She texted back, Don't follow. What direction is he headed?

Jessica was reluctant to leave her tail on Vanessa. Yes, Fisk was the target but after what both he and Kilgrave before him had done to Trish it proved to Jessica that family was not off limits. In fact, family was sometimes the only way to turn the knife and produce answers.

Vanessa's presence in New York, their money and where it came from, the location of the condo they bought - especially in relation to the stores Vanessa was now visiting - could all be tied together. Or they could be red herrings. Jessica couldn't be sure, but her gut told her it was the former. Her gut was rarely wrong. What Vanessa was doing now was the key.

Danny's reply broke her train of thought.

He's headed north on 10th Avenue... and Matt's with him.

Fuck the key.

In an instant Jessica turned and ran back the way she came, her boots clashing heavily with the sidewalk. She pushed people aside, no stealth tactics involved, as they shouted back at her. She didn't care. She wasn't thinking. She felt compelled to get to Matt - as if her own form of mind control was taking hold, one that threw caution to the wind, one that cared not about the mission, but rather the man.

"Hey!" she heard Danny scream. He was behind her, chasing after her as she continued to move upstream against the throngs of people on the busy street. "I thought we were just watching," Danny added as he caught up with her. She could tell he was slightly out of breath.

"I know, I know," Jessica replied, because she did know. If they came upon Fisk - if they came upon a mind controlled Matt - there were sure to be others, as Fisk never travelled alone. Which meant she and Danny would be outnumbered.

"Look, we have confirmation that's where he lives," Danny told her, as he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back "We can tell the others and come back, stake it out proper next time. Maybe make an assault plan."

Jessica wretched herself from Danny's gentle hold. She moved against him too forcefully. He was only trying to help. But Jessica didn't want his help. The night they had decided to follow the money trail, follow the condo purchase, find Fisk and perhaps Vanessa too, was a mistake. Jessica wished that night could be washed from existence. Not only had she allowed Fisk to take control of Matt, but she had agreed - even suggested - they not search for him. Now it was her chance to rectify that.

"We have no way of knowing what Fisk plans to do with him… what he plans to make him do," Jessica told Danny. "We have to at least follow them."

Danny quickly nodded in reply. Jessica wondered if he too wanted to save Matt sooner rather than later. But it didn't matter. Even if Danny had refused to go, she would have followed Fisk. She wasn't looking for approval.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hours later, Jessica and Danny found themselves just as they had started the day, huddled together against a brick wall. This time it was in a different part of the neighbourhood, a darker, dirtier part. The part Vanessa would never have been seen in, the part Fisk had more recently been calling home.

Jessica and Danny watched the silhouettes of Fisk, Matt, and others playing against the light on the top floor of a three storey walk up they had just entered. After several minutes, she knew no one working for Fisk was still out on the street, and so she signalled to Danny to follow her around the back of the building. Together they helped each other scale the side and make their way to the roof. From the ledge Jessica hoped she would be able to hear what was going on, but they were too far away and everything came to her in bits and pieces.

Fisk: "It's not enough."

Man: "We told you it might not work."

Fisk: "The resources you've supplied aren't-"

Danny scraped against the roof as he found his place next to Jessica, the sound of crumpling tar drowning out the little she could hear of the conversation below. Jessica's eyes narrowed on Danny's form, her disdain barely contained.

Jessica returned to her perch, straining to hear, but now there was only silence. She knew what that meant.

Rising from her position on the roof, she turned and came face-to-face with Matt Murdock, standing on the other side of the roof in his full Daredevil costume.

"Matt," Danny exclaimed as he scurried to his feet.

Matt stood motionless in response.

"Matt, it's me, Danny."

Jessica rolled her eyes. It didn't work that way. Matt knew who they were, but he didn't care - he couldn't care.

"I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you again, Miss Jones, but sadly it's not," Fisk said as he slowly appeared behind Matt. He put his hand on Matt's shoulder and starred down both Jessica and Danny. "Everywhere I look, there you are."

"Yeah, that tends to happen when you attack someone's friends or kidnap their sister," Jessica spat back.

Fisk smirked. "I don't want to fight you, honestly. I've never wanted to fight you."

"No, you'll just have someone else do it for you," Jessica replied, nodding to Matt.

"If it makes you feel better, I won't have him fight you either," Fisk told her. "I know how close you've become."

Jessica felt the hair on the back of her neck stand tall. It was yet another statement that let her know that while she had been watching him, investigating him, he had been doing the same to her.

"Just give us Matt!" Danny yelled. "That's all we want."

Jessica sighed, and she knew Fisk caught her exasperation. Danny's bravado was ill informed and ill timed.

"Miss Jones, until next time," Fisk said, nodding his head to Jessica before turning back toward the door leading inside.

Matt also turned, ready to follow his leader. But Fisk shook his head no. It wasn't a cue to Matt, Jessica knew, since that wasn't the way Kilgrave's powers worked. Matt needed to hear the order before he would mindlessly stay behind. No, the shake of Fisk's head was directed at her. It was Fisk's way of letting her know she shouldn't have followed them - that there was punishment to come.

"Kill him," Fisk finally said. Matt turned to look back at Danny, his eyes narrowing. "Kill Danny Rand."

With that Fisk left the roof, the door slamming shut behind him, leaving Jessica, yet again, a step behind.

Fisk knew who Danny was. Sure, he could have known due to Danny's company or his involvement in trying to take down The Hand. But Jessica suspected he knew because she wasn't the only one Fisk was investigating. They were all being followed, they were all being silently hunted.

As Matt stepped toward Danny, he turned to Jessica. "Is this going to be bad?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jessica told him.

Danny inhaled deep, his eyes closed, preparing for battle. When they finally opened, Jessica could see the resolve etched across his face. In that moment, she almost respected him. Almost.