NOT DAREDEVIL*

The heiress had requested a private session. After her conversation with Janice about the Syndicate, Saya knew that they needed lawyers like Murdock and Walters off their back. “Manslaughter, huh?” Saya leaned back in her chair and crossed one ankle over the other. “If only you had enough money to make bail.” 

matt let out a bitter chuckle, “business - hasn’t been paying well, i suppose.” the guard had given him the woman’s name before their meeting, but she was mostly unfamiliar to him. her heartbeat was strong. this was a woman who was very sure of herself.

“More popular than my boss.” Felicia replied demurely, one heel clad ankle crossing over the other. “We were in the middle of negotiations to have you represent him. Oscorp has lawyers, of course, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, Matthew Murdock. Murder charges aside, that is.”

“guess i should be pretty flattered you’ve come to see me, even now,” matt offered up a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. smoothing his hands over his uniform pants, he could hear the guards gossiping in the corner of the room - could practically feel their eyes boring into him and his mysterious visitor.

She had taken off the uniform for a change. The leather jacket was worn and the baseball hat brim was starting to bend. It was comfortable, and even though Carol had grown used to the suit it felt nice to strip down. “I didn’t realize there would be a line around the block for the jailed lawyer.” 

“This is an issue.” Yelena leaned forward in her chair. “How can you represent me if you are stuck in jail?”

Two Dora Milaje guards stood by the rooms door, dark eyes boring into the clearly uncomfortable prison guards. Shuri herself was in an orange almost as bright at the inmates; Wakanda fashion continued to progress rapidly through vibrant colors and patterns. “I have never been in an American prison before.” She admitted. “But I heard we could not meet at your law office because you killed a man. Is that true, Mr. Murdock?”

he could hear the heartbeats of the other two figures present - they were steady and strong - likely dora milaje if matt remembered correctly. where the wakandan royals went, they followed.

shuri’s observation distracted him momentarily from drawing his own sensory clues about the situation, “well, i’ll tell you one thing - it smells great,” he deadpanned and then scoffed, bowing his head after speaking - refusing to answer shuri’s question directly.

“I was just coming to hear things from your perspective.”

Daisy leaned forward on the table, frowning at the sight of her friend in an orange prison jumper as he sat down in front of her. She couldn’t help but notice that he looked tired. “What happened, Matt?” She asked quietly, sighing softly to herself as she shook her head. “I read in the Bugle that it was a manslaughter charge?”

daisy was a welcome presence in any aspect of matt’s life, but right now - she was the last person he wanted to speak to. she’d never understand his reasoning for turning himself in. well, maybe she’d be willing to try - but she’d never truly get it. so while every instinct in matt’s body was telling him to clam up, say nothing, he decided to dodge the subject instead.

“Always the joker, weren’t you?” Janice laughed, leaning back in her seat. It had been a long time since she had sat in a visitor’s seat, and had forgotten just how uncomfortable they were. “Word traveled quickly that you were in here on manslaughter charges. I know we’ve historically been on opposite sides of the courtroom, but I’m here to offer you my help.”

She pressed another kiss to the top of his head, inhaling the scent of his shampoo. “Not with me. Not with me you don’t have to be.” God knew he had seen her not alright too many times despite the cool exterior and elusive air she wanted to keep. Rising, she walked in front of him and crouched to take his hands. “I’ve been checking around, asking the shadows. What they did – I don’t think can be done again. I’m sorry, darling.”

matt knew what she was about to say, could tell by the slight spike in her heart rate - but he let her take his hands anyway, thumb moving to caress the tops of her fingers.

“Careful. I don’t remember if I put my explosive-tip arrows in that bag or not. Or was the acid tipped arrows.. Shit, I dunno.”

“Is kung-fu better than parking cars? I’m not a mixed martial artist so I can’t say, but I’m really damn good at parking cars.”

“A lot changed for me after Pleasant Hill. Mentally, physically.. There’s definitely been some sort of reality shift.”

“They’re not actual earthquakes coming out of my hands. Technically it’s vibrations.”

“What is this Tik Tok that I keep hearing mortals go on about?”

Felicia stood and waited for her chips to dispense from the machine, but when they got stuck she let out a groan and hit the glass. “The one time I try to pay for something.” She grumbled to herself.

“At this point, doing anything other than whatever it takes means we’re not doing enough. Not with how things have been going. I’m not someone who can standby and watch that happen.”