Im finally updated! Sorry kiddos! Stuff got busy in normal life and I had no time! But hey! This chap is llonger! Maybe that helps? Nah. I'll try to get stuff sooner! Thanks for all the rates, faves, follows and other junks that make me feel all squishy! Here we go!
I own nothing!
Nothing.
Well, barely anything is more like it. Almost a full day of research and little to nothing to show for. Every building frequently used in the Russian's "business transactions" were either owned by the state, not owned by anyone, or had been scheduled for demolition the next day and is gone now. So all and all, Matt knows nothing about who runs the rink.
With a frustrated huff, Matt closes the lid of his computer and rests his elbows on the table on either side, holding his face in his hands. "I take it you didn't find much," Foggy asks from the doorway, a fresh cup of coffee in each hand.
Matt runs his fingers through his hair and lifts his head. "Nothing would be more like it," he sighs, lifting his hand to accept the coffee as Foggy walks forward. "Everything is a bust so far."
"Don't worry, buddy," the other lawyer responds, handing over the warm mug to his friend's waiting hand. "You'll get something."
The blind man sighs through his nose and takes a sip of the coffee, feeling a small amount of tension leave his body as the hot liquid flows into his system. "Hopefully," he responds, setting the mug on the table. "These guys are good. They don't have a single building in their name. They don't belong to anyone actually."
Foggy nods and takes a drink from his own cup. "Relax," he says through a smile. "These things take time. You know this." Another sigh from Matt. "Besides, you've been working for hours. It's already two hours past lunch. Did you even realize you were hungry?"
It seems as if the sentence awakens his hunger because as soon as the words leave his friend's mouth, his stomach releases a whale mating call. A slight heat rises to his cheeks as he reaches for his mug again. "I could go for some lunch," he says, taking another sip of the coffee. "What were you thinking?"
"I'm glad you asked, Matty," Foggy says cheerfully, moving beside his friend and throwing his arm around Matt's shoulders. "Cause I was thinking you could treat me and Karen to pizza. We go out, grab it, swing by and see Leslie and be back before our next meeting."
Matt feels his eyebrows pull together as his confusion sets in. "We have a meeting today?" he asks through a slight frown.
"Yeah," Foggy replies, moving his arm away and tugging Matt to his feet. "Three thirty. Some guy said something about a false arson charge."
A tired sigh falls from Matt's lips as he allows Foggy to lead him from his office. "Great," he huffs. "Guess we can't just enjoy the rest of the day."
"We can," Foggy assures, turning his head to Karen as she looks up from her stack of paperwork. "Maybe we can all hop a couple bars after work."
Karen smiles at the suggestion and nods a few times. "Only if you're buying," she says, the tone she uses suggests she's only half kidding.
Foggy laughs and shares the nod. "Alright, alright," he agrees, waving her down as Matt shifts away and goes for his cane. "Hey. Matt and I are going for pizza. Any topping preferences?"
"No mushrooms," she offers. "Or jalapeños."
"Boring!" Foggy says in a teasing drone. "So we'll get a boring cheese pizza for Karen and a pepperoni for me and Matt."
"I never said I wanted plain cheese!" Karen exclaims in a fake whine, easily being distinguished by the playful smile on her face. "I want pepperoni or something!"
"Anchovies then!"
"Gross!"
Matt smiles faintly as he listens to his friends bicker childishly, putting on a show of patting the wall for his cane. "How about we just get one with everything on it?" he suggests, 'successfully locating his cane' and turning back to them. "That way I don't break the bank buying pizza and you can just pick everything off you don't want."
Foggy smiles and points at him. "This is why you're the brains of the operation," he says proudly before turning his attention back to Karen. "Sound good to you?"
Karen shrugs and smiles faintly. "Sounds like a plan," she agrees, heart beating in a way that lets Matt know she's half lying. "Go get it. I'll be here."
"Alright," Foggy says, moving closer and tossing an arm over Matt's shoulder. "We'll be back in a few."
"Call us if anything happens," Matt declares over his shoulder as he struggles to keep up with Foggy. "Be back soon!"
##########
The rest of the day went extremely slow. The pizza was cold by the time they got back, but that's only because the stop with Leslie took a bit longer than they expected. Father Lantom and Sister Diana insisted on giving a very extensive, very detailed description of what's been going on and the progress Leslie's made in social interaction. She's still not even close to talking, but her hand stopped shaking so bad and her sentences are getting longer. The Sisters even gave Leslie her own Bible and a small journal to write stuff down in when she doesn't feel like telling Matt or anyone. They also gave her a small, wooden cross necklace that she now has tucked under her shirt and tied tightly in the back.
After the visit, the lawyers left the church and returned to the office, almost surprised to find the potential client already there with the full retainer in cash. Neither lawyer could focus too hard on the meeting; Foggy being too hungry to care about what this guy is saying and Matt too busy deciding whether or not he's lying. About halfway through, his decision is clear and he goes on to help. Once that was over, the trio dug into the pizza and called it a day. Now the two men wander down the street toward the church to pick Leslie up.
"I'm just saying, I think Leslie will feel better if you had a dog," Foggy insists, earning an unseen roll of the eyes from Matt. "Think about it! If something happens and you're not there, the dog will take care of it! It can be one of those PTSD dogs or something and it can help her through anxiety attacks!"
Despite the no that's forming on his tongue, Matt can almost feel himself considering the idea. He does have no experience dealing with anxiety attacks and such, plus he doesn't want to keep putting Father Lantom and the Sisters out of their way to take care of Leslie. A dog would take care of her during the day and when he's out at night. But a dog would be a huge commitment he's not ready to make.
Yes he knows he just brought home a strange, terrified, mute teenager who can barely function without panicking, but that wasn't a decision that wasn't made by him.
"I don't know, Foggy," he starts. "I don't think I'm ready for a dog. Service dog or not."
"But you have a kid now!" the other lawyer counters, throwing an arm over Matt's shoulders and jostling him when they come to a stop at the crosswalk. "They say you're supposed to have a dog before you have a kid you know-"
"Who said that?"
"-and you already skipped straight to having a kid-"
"Technically she's not a kid and I didn't have her."
"-and every kid needs a dog! Perfect reason! And you can totally sell the whole 'I'm blind and definitely don't know what's going on' thing with a service dog!" Foggy concludes in his lawyer time, ignoring Matt's protests as he starts across the street again. "It's the perfect reason!"
"What's with everyone saying I should get a dog," Matt inquires, knowing he won't get an answer as they start up the stairs to the church. "I...respect and admire them. That doesn't mean I want one in my house. That's beside the fact I can barely take care of Leslie."
"I think you're doing a wonderful job, Matthew," Father Lantom says, followed closely by Leslie and Sister Diana. "I believe you will do a good job," he clarifies. "It's only been a day or two and we all know how times can change."
Matt smiles at the quip and steps toward the other group, accepting Leslie's bag from Sister Diana as they all come to a stop. All but Leslie, that is. She continues forward a few steps and takes her spot between Matt and Foggy per usual. "Thank you, Father," he says, shifting the bag to his back on the side without his cane. "I'll try to make arrangements for other days so you-"
"Matthew," the Father interjects, lifting his hand to silence him. "Leslie is no problem at all. In fact, she's one of the better ones we get around here."
"That's great," Foggy says, gently placing a hand on Leslie's shoulder, causing her to jump slightly. "I knew you'd be great! Didja learn anything?"
"We can have a discussion later, Fog," Matt says. "I'm sure Father Lantom and the Sisters want to close up sometime tonight."
"Right," the second man says, releasing Leslie's shoulder in favor of waving at the Father and Sisters. "See you later."
"Goodbye, Mr. Nelson," Father Lantom says before turning his head to Matt. "Matthew," he says with a nod and finally settling his attention on Leslie. "Ms. Leslie."
To Matt's surprise, Leslie gives her own small nod at his farewell before flinching away again. Matt smiles softly before placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her toward the door. "Good night Father," he says, just loud enough to be heard as they exit. "Thank you."
"Any time Matthew," Father Lantom says just before the doors shut behind them. "Any time."
########
"What do you mean you can't find her?"
The man flinches, hands shielding his already blood covered face from the oncoming wrath of his boss. "I'm sorry, sir," he says, the sticky mess in his mouth making his already heavy accent nearly incomprehensible. "But the girl fell off the face of the planet. We looked everywhere."
"Obviously not!" the boss says, emphasising the final word with a savage kick to the ribs. "You know who has her. Find him. Get her. Or I will kill you."
The calm in his voice is what pulls the man off the floor and to his feet, clutching his defiantly broken rib and bowing his head in shame. "Yes sir," he says, struggling to keep the tremor from his voice. "I will find her."
"You better," the boss says slowly, glaring as he watches the subordinate slowly ease his way out. "I don't like when product goes missing."
######
Karen came down with a stomach bug after they left, so bar hopping was out. She said it might've been something on the pizza, but neither of the men feel anything after, so they just chalk it up to her. The trip home had to make a detour to Foggy's house when he realizes they left the giant bear at his house. So they go to his house, grab the bear, leave Foggy home -after he starts feeling the effects of the pizza- and Matt and Leslie head back to his house. Claire stopped by after they settled in and she checked up on Leslie's vitals and restitched Matt's side. Once she left, Matt suited up, and sure Leslie was as settled as she can be for the night before heading out for patrol.
Part of him felt like he was making a bad decision leaving her alone so soon, so he stuck around for a little while before actually heading out. But after a few minutes of lingering on the roof to monitor her heart rate for any spikes or panic attacks, he notices how her heart rate is steadier with him 'away' than when he was there. He doesn't take it personally, though. He kind of figured it would happen like that. After all, she has major trust issues around strangers, especially men. So him being away would most definitely make her feel better.
With that, the vigilante finally settles himself into patrol mode and headed out.
The air is a bit nippy for this time of year Matt notes as he stands near his usual post, senses steadily bringing the city into clear focus for him. Normal city ongoings keep a constant warmth in the air, but at this height, everything seems a bit chillier. Especially when a woman screams and a bucket of ice is poured down his back.
Matt is moving before he realizes, already down and across two rooftops before the scream ends. Two men circle a terrified woman, knives drawn and held toward her like a dark promise. The woman herself is backed against a chain linked fence, high heeled shoes keeping her from simply scaling it to escape. Something about it seems off, but Matt tries not to focus on it too much. Everything seems slightly darker since he's gotten Leslie. Foggy thinks it's his parental instincts kicking to life, but Matt insists it's just because she's so on edge.
He pushes the thought aside and keeps going, closing the distance as he leaps the final gap and drops to the ground behind the attackers. A sharp kick to the center of the back takes one man down easily, drawing the attention of the other man and causing him to advance. Matt snaps an arm out and catches the second man in the jaw, knocking him aside and giving the woman a chance to escape.
"Move!" Matt orders, causing the woman to flinch in a way that makes Matt's stomach turn as a thought of Leslie passes his mind. "Now!"
The woman starts forward, heels clicking on the concrete as she rushes between the recovering men. "Thank you," she says, voice steadier than anyone in a similar situation would be. "Thank you so much." Matt gives a single quick nod before returning his attention to the men climbing to his feet. "But I didn't need your help."
Russian accent.
The whistle of metal piping through the air catches Matt off guard and he's down, the back of his head throbbing and stinging as he lands harshly on his knees. Another blow snaps his head sideways and he sees stars, which is startling in the fact that he can see anything. His senses go haywire, the only thing working is his sharp sense of taste as the coppery blood fills his mouth.
A heeled shoe plants itself on the back of Matt's neck, pinning him to the ground as if he was planning on getting up soon. "Our boss sends his regards," the woman bites coldly, the acid stink of vodka and some pill drug pushing past the blood scent in his nose. "And says that you have three days to return his property. If not, he'll kill every last person in the city until he finds her himself." She grinds her heel in once more before removing the shoe and turning away, starting off in the direction she came from with the men following her.
It takes a while for Matt to move again. Not that he was too badly hurt, it was mainly the fact that he needed to allow his senses time to settle before he even considered doing anything. The first thing his does is reach in his pocket and fishes out the second cell phone he has for moments like this. He doesn't think he needs to call Claire for something like this, but he has another number memorized he thinks could help now. He quickly punches it in and waits, gently holding the phone to his ear. After a minute, someone answers.
"Hello?"
"I'm calling in that favor you owe me," Matt says, words slurring slightly from the blood pooling in his mouth. He spits out a mouthful of the thick liquid before groaning and pushing himself to a kneel. "How soon can you be in Hell's Kitchen?"
He receives a similar groan from the other end and a muttered 'aw stitches' before the other man responds. "If I leave now about an hour."
"Good," Matt says, rolling his neck to relieve some pain. "Get here, pack for a few days, and be ready to fight."
"Aw, Matt..."
"One more thing. You still have a dog right?"