As soon as Peter left their office, Karen and Foggy both turned toward Matt. He left the room, intent on grabbing a bagel. They slowly followed him, both silent. They were waiting with bated breath to hear what he had to say.
He was going to make them wait a little bit longer.
"So, what'd you guys think of him?" Matt asked innocently, smothering some cream cheese on his bagel.
Karen rolled her eyes, but conceded. "I thought he was a good kid. Amazing photography skills I'd like to take advantage of. Nice, willing, persistent. He seemed sincere," The cadence of her tone made it obvious she wanted Matt to add something. Instead, he took a massive bite of his breakfast.
"If nothing's wrong, I'd like to hire him. He'd be good around here," Foggy crossed his arms. "Is anything wrong, Matt?"
Matt swallowed, knowing he couldn't delay it any longer. "He lied." He stated simply.
"Oh?" Karen grabbed a bagel and began dressing it. "What about?"
"For one, his pictures,"
"You mean he didn't take them?" Foggy asked. "Like, plagiarizing?"
"No. He lied when Karen asked for copies. I'm assuming he doesn't have any other physical copies," Matt said through his food.
Karen made a soft 'ah' noise and Foggy shrugged. "So he lied about the copies. I'm not surprised about that, with how much printers in this city charge. Was that it?"
"No. It was about his past, mostly," Matt continued. "His job experience, his family, his situation. Judging by his heartbeat and breathing, they weren't true. Or maybe not the whole truth,"
Karen licked some cheese off her thumb, pausing to bite her nail in thought. After a brief pause, she strode back into her and Matt's office. She began shuffling through the folder presumably about Peter.
Foggy walked up to Matt, leaning against his desk. "So you don't trust the kid?"
Matt considered the question. "I'm not sure. When he talked about our firm, about helping people, he was genuine. I just don't know why he wasn't honest," He finished off his bagel, going in for another one.
Karen walked back in with the file labeled Parker, P. in her hand. "Are you sure, Matt? According to the records I dug up, everything he said is true," She handed the file to Foggy. "Stark internship in high school, blipped, had no family when he came back, helped out at FEAST, delivered for them and a pizza place. Unless he's got the skills to hack literally every government agency, Peter was honest."
"Yeah, but look at this picture," Foggy plucked a piece of paper out of the file. "The kid personally worked with Tony Stark. He's probably got that kind of skill and more."
"Come to think of it, why isn't he working with Stark Industries anymore?" Matt thought out loud. "Any kid who worked directly with Iron Man wouldn't just walk away. Not unless something big happened."
"Maybe S.I. restructured and let a bunch of people go?" Karen offered.
"If that happened, you would've found something on it. Whatever this is, it goes way deeper," Foggy closed the file and dropped it on his desk.
"So should I call Peter and let him know that we're going to pass on him?" Karen asked, finally eating her bagel.
Matt thought for a moment. "I wouldn't go that far yet."
"You cannot be serious," Foggy stood up straight and crossed his arms. "You've just spent the last ten minutes talking about how bad the kid is."
"Like I said, Mr. Parker may have lied about some of his past. But he was completely honest when he talked about helping people. He spoke with the kind of sincerity I wish our clients had," Matt began pacing the office. "And, frankly, we're not the kind of people who should be judging his past. Not with our histories."
"So… you want to hire him, then?" Karen quirked an eyebrow.
"I think we should take some time to consider it. Maybe vote on it," He went out into the main room. "I'm still not totally sure. But for now, we should get to our other work,"
Karen and Foggy seemed to agree, letting the topic of Peter go easily. Karen followed Matt out of the room, headed straight for her desk. Foggy plopped down at his own desk, though he was turned towards his garbage can. Matt sighed and walked back into his partner's office. He grabbed the garbage can and stood over Foggy. "And you are not eating this bagel. Karen's right; it's disgusting, and your onion-breath will drive me insane."
He walked out the garbage can in hand. Foggy was probably pouting at his back.
By the time noon rolled around, it had stopped snowing and warmed up considerably, so Matt decided to walk home for lunch. He needed the fresh air to clear his head after the morning he's had.
Some of his cases are pretty complicated. Even more than a year later, people were still having issues related to the Blip. Properties, inheritance, marriage disputes. All of them have tripled since the population was restored. The only good news about any of this was all the work his firm was getting. Sure, a lot of it was pro bono, but some of their cases came with a decent pay.
It's weird; he can't remember their profitable case, the whole Spider-Man/Mysterio battle. Matt's tried hard, searched every corner of his mind, but it always comes up empty. He supposes that it has something to do with the Battle of Lady Liberty and the universe nearly collapsing, but he wouldn't know. It was a puzzling situation, but at least he got paid handsomely for it. It was what finally allowed them to expand Nelson, Murdock & Page.
Which brings Matt back to his current predicament; Peter Parker. He's a nice kid, but Matt can't get over the fact that he lied. Sure, he was expecting Peter to lie a bit. Most people embellish their resumes. But Peter's lies were more than Matt was comfortable with. It wasn't just his job experience, it was his past, his education. Peter was an absolute mystery, and the longer his interview went, the more questions Matt had.
But Peter had been honest about the most important part; helping people. In that moment, Peter spoke with the kind of honesty Matt wanted to hear from his clients at trial. What he said didn't even seem prepared, he just spoke from the heart. The kid really believed in helping people. So while he may have been lying about himself, he was truthful about what really mattered. But did that outweigh the mystery?
Matt took a deep breath, almost immediately regretting it with the freezing winter air. He coughed and opened the door to his building. He would worry about Peter later. Right now, he only had 25 minutes to eat, and those bagels were long gone.
When he first stepped inside, his apartment seemed normal. Nothing out of place. Matt laid his cane down on the front table and stripped off his winter coat. He sighed and stretched, making his way into the kitchen. There was probably some leftover pasta or a frozen dinner or something he could eat.
It was only once he was in the kitchen that Matt felt something off. One of his windows was slightly open, letting in the winter air. He went to close it, then stopped in his tracks. He sensed an unfamiliar rectangular device sitting on his coffee table. Matt furrowed his brows. Why was this day full of questions?
Matt closed the window and stepped over to the table. Sitting in the center was a tape recorder and a tape sitting next to it. He didn't sense anything weird about them, so he carefully picked up the tape. It was small, and there only seemed to be a short message recorded on it. There was a message in braille printed on the front of it. For Daredevil.
Matt froze. That wasn't good. Cautiously, he slipped the tape into the recorder and pressed play.
"Murdock," Frank Castle's voice came loud and clear. While Matt was relieved that no one new had learned his secret identity, it wasn't good that the Punisher left him a message. "I know it's been a while. Only feels like a couple years for me, but I know it's been way longer for you. I don't know what the city was like during the Blip, but it must've been pretty easy, because you've really let things go. Crime is at an all time high, and more and more people are suffering in New York City."
Frank wasn't wrong. It had been a little easier during the Blip. There was less small-time crime like muggings and robberies, but there had been plenty of crime organizations that had tried to take advantage of the situation. For a lot of the Blip, Matt had been occupied with Fisk (again).
But now that everyone was back, it had been a nightmare. He's tried to go out as Daredevil as much as possible, but the city needed Matt Murdock more. There were so many legal issues that needed to be dealt with after the Blip. He had no time to suit up, not without destroying himself in the process. Matt felt awful about it, but he learned a long time ago that he needed to take care of himself to be of any use to anyone.
"I tried to sit by and let it be handled by the proper authorities. I even waited for you to do something. But nothing happened. Nothing changed. The city is crying out for help, and no one is doing anything. So I will." Matt's blood ran cold. No. Oh God, no. "I respect you, Murdock, but there's a job that needs to be done. If you won't do anything, I need to. New York needs help, so I won't back down. I will do what needs to be done to clean up this city, to save it from itself. I know how you feel about my methods, Red, but I don't care. This is your one and only warning; stay out of my way. You don't bother me, I don't bother you. Nothing will stop me from doing this, and anything that tries to stop me will see why they call me the Punisher."
The tape ended. Matt buried his face in his hands. He couldn't think. He couldn't speak. This is bad, this is bad. It was fine when Frank was under the radar. It made him uneasy, but it was easy enough to ignore. But if the Punisher goes public again… He just can't deal with Frank on top of everything else.
He wasn't sure how long he was sitting there, trying to figure out what to do, but it was long enough for his phone to start ringing, robotically saying 'Karen Page'. Numbly, Matt answered.
"Matt, where are you? You've been gone for almost an hour, and we have clients coming in soon."
"Karen, I…" He wasn't sure how to do this. He didn't know what to say.
"Matt? Is everything okay?"
He sighed. "I just got a message. From Frank Castle."
She went deathly silent. He sighed, fidgeting with his cufflinks. "Karen, it's bad. Can you pull every file we have on him?"
"Yeah… yeah. Of course." She muttered into the phone.
"I'll be back at the office in ten minutes. I just-" Matt leaned back against the couch, running a hand through his hair. "It just caught me off guard."
"Yeah, Matt. Take your time," Karen said, distracted. She hung up almost immediately. Matt dropped his phone on the couch and tried to steady his heartbeat. Oh, fuck.
Foggy was the first to greet him once he got back in the office. Well, 'greet' was probably the wrong word.
"What the actual fuck, Matt?"
Yeah, that couldn't be considered a greeting.
Matt faced him. Foggy had always been overly emotional, but it's gotten a lot more overwhelming since he found out about Daredevil. Right now, his emotions were rolling off him in waves. The first one Matt sensed was anger, but there was also a mix of panic, fear, regret, and sadness. The weight of his stare only made Matt's stress spike.
Matt didn't respond. Partially because he didn't have anything to say, but also because he couldn't deal with Foggy's emotions right now. He was barely keeping his own in check. Instead, Matt turned away and walked into his own office. He tucked his cane and his duffle bag underneath his desk and fell into his chair. There was a headache building between his temples and being in the office wasn't helping.
Foggy followed him in, obviously frustrated. Karen was sitting at her desk, which had about a dozen files on it that weren't there this morning. She looked at him expectantly.
"Matt-" Foggy started, radiating anger.
"Foggy! Please." Karen snapped.
Foggy sighed loudly, but complied. They both waited for Matt to say something. He really didn't want to, but he knew he had to. Matt took a deep breath, trying to center himself, and pulled the tape recorder out of his bag. Karen stood up and practically snatched the recorder out of his hand. "What is it?"
"It's a warning. He's doing the whole 'Punisher' thing again and doesn't want me to get involved." Matt leaned back in his chair. He never wanted to stand back up.
"So Frank is the Punisher again? Why?" Foggy asked.
"Crime is seeing an uptick, and Frank's noticed. He thinks the city is calling out for help, so he's 'answering'."
Foggy gaped. "Seriously?" Matt nodded. "This- this is bad. Not only are people gonna die, but with the Punisher back in the public eye, they're gonna drudge up the old case, which is bad news for us!" Foggy began pacing around the room. "We've finally got our firm in a good place, we're finally profitable, and now we have to deal with Frank fucking Castle again! This is going to ruin us!"
"Foggy!" Karen stood in front of him. "Calm down, you're spiraling." She softly set her hand on his shoulder. He stopped and took a few shaky breaths. His heartbeat went down, but he was still shaking.
"What about you, Karen?" Matt asked. They both looked at him. "You're not panicking like Foggy is." He almost added 'Like I am,' but Matt decided that it was best to keep that information to himself for now.
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm not panicking, but I'm trying to keep a level head," Karen stepped away from Foggy and set the tape recorder on her desk. "This is a case, and we just need to work it the way we did last time." Karen was implying something. Matt knew exactly what she was saying. He nodded solemnly.
Evidently, Foggy also made the connection. "No. No! Matt, you cannot-" He paused and took a deep breath. Slowly, he started again. "Look, Matt, I know you haven't given up your own vigilante thing. I've accepted that you won't stop going after muggers, or the occasional crime boss. But Castle is different. He's a killer. And the last time you directly fought him, you nearly died. And everytime Daredevil shows up in the news it reflects poorly on our firm. I could go on, but my point is," Foggy leaned over Matt's desk. "Daredevil needs to stay out of this." Matt stood up to argue.
"Foggy's right." Karen stated.
Foggy faced her and grinned. Matt furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"
"Daredevil should lay low, at least until we know more. Give me some time to look into Castle. Let me see what he's doing, track him down," Karen argued. Matt opened his mouth to respond. "Just give me a week, Matt. We need to know what we're getting into before Daredevil goes running in horns first."
Foggy looked back at him. "Matt, please. We need to be careful."
Matt pinched the bridge of his nose. Why is today so much? "Fine. Fine. I won't suit up tonight. But we need to make this one of our top priorities. We can't let Castle go on another rampage."
They both nodded. "I'll get started on it right away," Karen said. She set the tape recorder on her desk. She tapped anxiously, thinking. After a moment, she added, "But if we're going to do this, we need to hire Peter."
Foggy and Matt both stopped short. "Hang on, Karen," Foggy said. "We can't bring that kid into this! We'd be putting him in danger, and regardless of who he is or was, he doesn't deserve that!"
"We already need the help, Foggy! We're already drowning in work, and re-examining the Castle case is going to add onto the workload!" Karen yelled. "Besides, Frank only threatened Daredevil, and he's gone out of his way to protect me before. He wouldn't hurt an innocent kid like Peter."
"We can't trust Castle not to hurt any of us! It's been eight years, he Blipped, we have no idea what he will and won't do now."
"Foggy, I honestly believe that Frank won't hurt him. You didn't really know him back then."
"Karen, I was his lawyer! Of course I knew him!" Foggy argued. "Matt, back me up here! We can't drag another potentially innocent person into this mess!"
Matt sighed. "I think we should hire Peter."
Foggy's jaw fell. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Matt came out from around his desk. "Everything Karen said is right. We really need help, and Castle is going to make our work more complicated. And I don't think he'll go after anyone else. It sounds like he really tried to let the Punisher go, and is only doing it again because he's been pushed to the brink. He won't go after anyone who doesn't bother him. We just have to make sure to protect Peter."
"And you can do that?" Foggy asked quietly.
Matt smiled uneasily. "I can protect you guys. What's one more person?"
They all fell silent. Matt could feel Foggy's mind churning. After a moment, he nodded. "Okay. Fine. We'll hire Peter. But we should be honest with him," Matt got ready to argue. "Not about Daredevil, but about the Castle case, and how dangerous he is. He needs to know what he's getting into."
Matt nodded. "Okay. Karen, do you want to…?"
"On it." She grabbed the sticky note with Peter's number on it and typed it into her phone. Foggy and Matt left the office, closing the door behind them.
"Everything about this situation makes me want to die," Foggy sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. Matt grimaced at his choice of words. "You better be careful. I'm not losing you again."
Matt smiled slightly. "You won't. Neither of us are going to lose each other again. Now," He dusted off his pants. "We better stop talking about this for now. Our clients are about to walk in."
He could feel Foggy's glare as the door opened. A heavyset teenager and an old woman walked in. The old woman said something quietly to the boy in a language he didn't recognize. The teen shushed her.
"Is this Nelson, Murdock & Page?" He asked.
"Yes it is. Matt Murdock, this is my partner, Foggy Nelson," Matt greeted. He turned toward the woman. "I take it you're Ms. Batalon?"
"Yes. She's my Lola, and she's not great with English, so I'm here to translate. We're here about our landlord." Ned said. "I'm, uh, Ned Leeds, by the way."
"Good to meet you, Mr. Leeds," Foggy shook his hand. "Please, follow me into my office, and we'll discuss your case."
Foggy led them out of the main room just as Karen stepped out of her office. Matt looked at her expectantly.
"Peter said he's happy to take the job, but I told him there might be some risks and asked him to meet me for breakfast so I can explain." She said, fidgeting with her phone. "Would you like to be there?"
"It's probably best that I'm not," Matt shrugged. "Out of all of us, he was the most nervous around me. If we want the conversation to go well, we need to keep it as low-stress as we can."
Karen nodded. She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He appreciated the affection. He was going to need it going forward.