Judge's Quarters, New York Supreme Court, New York
Judge Howard DuPrey looked around his chambers, an annoyed look on his face, especially as he passed his gaze over Matt Murdock. “I assume that these so called super criminals that Mister Murdock reported have departed the premises?” He asked as the head of the additional security hired to protect the Purcell case from super human interference, one Dakota North, walked into the room.
“They slithered away.” Dakota replied as she shot a look at Matt and Foggy. “We found the two employees that they killed to get the uniforms for their disguises. One was crushed to death, the other had a bullet shot to the head, both murders were committed off of camera. The bailiff had his radio on but nobody heard a thing.”
“One of them has some kind of sonic dampening powers.” Matt explained, “They used me earlier to disrupt the Purcell case. They are the reason why I’m handing the running of the case over to Foggy, I fear that I may be compromised by the death threats they made to me back in the nurses officer.” He added, as he heard Foggy’s heart stop for a brief second out of shock.
“I will allow this, only because it will allow the case to progress without interruption.” Judge DuPrey sighed as he glowered at Foggy. “We’ll resume tomorrow morning, Mr Purcell will be returned to his house arrest, and the jury will be allowed to return to their hotel room until deliberation resumes. Miss North, I think your services are no longer needed, with the breach of security it is obvious that you are not up to the task of defending us. You are all dismissed.” He added, as the people in his chambers began to leave.
“A word Mr Murdock.” Dakota hissed, as she pulled Matt aside as they left the chambers. “You just cost me my job!”
“I didn’t the criminals who decided to blackmail me did.” Matt responded, as he removed a file from her briefcase. “And I have another case for you regarding an irregularity with one of my current clients.” He added.
“What client?” Dakota asked.
“One Caroline Lynch, I want to know what connection she had to a Lydia van Klien.” Matt explained as Dakota flipped through the details Lynch had provided Matt the day before. “She seems to have an irregularity in her heart, some kind of odd mechanical tick.”
“And you’ll pay?” Dakota asked.
“Of course.” Matt replied, a smile on his face. “I don’t suppose you got IDs for the villains who infiltrated into the court room?”
“Only on the reptilian one, his name is Aaron Salomon AKA Slither, an evil mutant who ran with the Brotherhood and the Serpent Society for a while. He is a deadly constrictor with the ability to crush his foes as well as being mildly venomous. Why exactly would you need this information for anyway?” Dakota asked as she shot Matt a wry smile.
“I want to know my blackmailers name when he finds me again.” Matt replied, as he picked up his briefcase and headed towards the atrium.
**
Backalley, Midtown, New York
The slightly plump man dressed in a business suit ran down the alleyway, his gold clad insectile pursuer gaining ground on him, before he came to a chain-link fence and turned to face the man chasing him.
“Please I didn’t do anything.” The man gasped, before he was blasted with a ray of golden light, his body freezing as he was coated with immobilizing gold dust.
“So you’re back to a life of crime?” A voice called from the shadows, causing the gold figure to spin round in surprise. “Not that I’m a little surprised that you were tempted away by a crime as common as a mugging Goldbug.”
“Yeah it’s a mugging for SHIELD.” Goldbug responded as he watched Daredevil drop down into the alleyway. “This guy is a courier-droid, a 21st century bagman developed by the CIA to pay off unsavoury characters. Now the mob has them, and they are using them to transfer their ill-gotten gains around the city.”
“Interesting indeed.” Matt asked as he listened to Goldbug’s heartbeat, the rhythm remaining steady, sure evidence that he was telling the truth. “I need your help to send a message. You still have connections to the underworld right?”
“I have some, what message do you have?” Goldbug asked.
“Tell Slither that Daredevil is looking for him, and that if he wants to talk, he knows where to find me.” Daredevil replied. “And tell him to bring my lady friend with him, I want to talk to her as well.”
**
Rooftop of Murdock and Nelson: Partners in Law, Hell's Kitchen, New York
Matt sat cross legged on the roof top in Hell’s Kitchen, his mind blotting the continued trial of Purcell from his mind. Foggy was doing fine, something Matt was proud of, but tonight his only concern was the trio of blackmailers. Word had spread through the underworld like wild fire, and Matt was certain that Slither would come to the meeting he’d set up. A few hours after dark, his assumption was proved right when a slight smell of lavender and a much stronger odder of rotten flesh arrived, their presence accompanied with the sudden nullification of all the sound surrounding the rooftop.
“You have a lot of nerve calling me out Murdock!!” Slither hissed as the serpentine mutant padded across to the left, while off to the right the click of heels and soft hiss of a long hooded cape dragging on the floor announced his partner’s presence.
Ignoring the flanking maneuverer, Matt got to his feet. “I withdrew from the case like you asked, I’m simply awaiting more instructions.” He stated through gritted teeth, his anguish and annoyance radiating off him like light off a beacon.
“More instructions?” Slither asked. “That’s simple, next time we need someone dead, you kill them.”
“The next time we need someone to defend us, you defend us.” The female villain purred as she passed close to Matt and stroked his chin.
“And what about your friend from the alleyway, does he get the same deal?” Matt asked as he felt the vibrations of the hand slip down towards a pistol holstered on the woman’s belt.
“This is a three way deal between you, me and Silencer!!” Slither hissed as he came close to Matt, the smell intensifying with every word, every flick of his snake like tongue. “I’m sure you can understand that the circle of trust needs to be small, I’d hate for Bullseye or the Kingpin to know who you were and rob me of my new partner.”
“A partnership, is that what this is?” Matt sighed as he shifted slightly. “I’m sorry but I’m going to have to decline!” He yelled as he extended his arm as quick as he could, his palm striking the butt of Silencer’s gun and sending the shot she was aiming at him over his head and into Slither’s shoulder, the pain causing him to recoil slightly.
“You’ll pay for that Murdock!!” Slither roared, as Matt followed up the palm strike with a punch to the chest, the blow winding Silencer and buying a few precious moments before the sound on the rooftop was silenced. Fortunatly Matt knew the roof well, and as Slither came running at him, he slipped under the mutant’s guard and delivered an elbow blow to the neck. Either howling in pain, or swearing in rage, Slither brought his arms in to crush the smaller target but missed closing the gap by less than a second as Matt slipped away. His liberation was short lived however, as he backed off a savage kick to the base of the spine sent him reeling as Silencer counter-attacked, with Slither joining in seconds later with a brutal punch to the chest, the blow knocking Matt off balance.
“Grab him, we’ll see how he does with two bullets in his kneecaps.” Silencer yelled, although the words to Matt seemed like they were spoken underwater. Leaping towards him Slither slammed him into the ground before wrapping his arms under his elbows, the sheer power of the mutant causing the bone to buckle slightly. Kicking out, Matt landed a few choice kicks to Slither’s groin in an attempt to free himself, but ultimately these attacks were in vain.
“Not going to happen!” Slither sneered.
“-----!” Matt replied as he landed a final kick to Slither’s groin before leaning forward with all his strength, sending the serpentine mutant off balance. Capitalizing on his opponent off guard Matt slammed his billy-club into his face, the sound of breaking teeth and a scream of rage muffled but evident by Slither dropping Matt to clutch his left cheek. Getting to his feet Matt homed in on the lavender scent, faint as it was, only for something to impact with his shoulder, staggering him.
“Nice try.” Silencer purred as she stepped out of range of her opponent. “You are too valuable to kill, but not to train. You will submit to our commands or we will…” She hissed, as the smell of rotting flesh got closer behind him. Leaping to one side, Matt felt a rush of air pass him, and heard a scream as Slither collided with Silencer.
“You were saying.” Matt replied the sound dampening field lifted, the sounds of New York flooding over the rooftop. Seconds later the sounds grew even louder, too loud to focus on, almost if every sound had been magnified, echoes of noises far away reverberating and forming multiple radar images of the area around him. Charging in once again Slither went to tackle him, only for Matt to dodge at the last moment. “You’ll have to try better Slither.”
“Oh we will.” Silencer stated as she opened fire, multiple bullets flying towards Matt. Unsure where to dodge, Matt chose the only direction where he knew he wouldn’t be hit, in this case the one that led to him dropping over the side of the roof. Almost immediately silence closed around him, but unlike his first fight with the villain behind the sudden nullification of sound, Matt knew every inch of this area of Hell’s Kitchen. Flicking the end of his billy-club out, he felt the end of the concealed cable impact with the side of the next building, before shooting up to safety. Now out of the null-sound pocket, Matt turned to the other building and watched as Slither took a run up, before easily clearing the gap. Silencer was less lucky, her leap fell short by a foot, causing her to grab the side of a fire escape, before dropping to the alleyway below.
“Looks like it’s just me and you now Murdock!!” Slither snarled as he pounced towards Matt, the ferocity of his attack catching his opponent off guard. Grabbing the lawyer in his hands once again, Slither began to squeeze, the force causing Matt’s ribs to buckle, as he stretched his neck up and unhinged his jaw ready to deliver a killer bite, his forked tongue flicking rancid breath over his victim. Taking a deep breath, Matt waited for the tongue to snake close, before biting down on it, the shock of this surprise attack forcing Slither to loosen his grip as one serpentine hand slammed into the side of his attacker’s jaw.
“Look’s like.” Matt wheezed as he both he and Slither let go at the same time. There was blood in his mouth, but he was unsure on whose it was. Screaming in both anger and pain, Slither lunged clumsily towards him, only for Matt to dodge round his blow and trip the snake like mutant so he fell head first into a newly installed solar panel, shards of black glass shattering on impact. Getting up, Slither screamed in pure animal rage, shards of glass stabbed into his face and torso, before receiving a billy-club strike to the throat, followed by a quick chop to the back of the neck, the blows sending him spluttering to the floor.
“You have to kill me, let me live and I tell everyone who you really are!” Slither snarled, as he lay prone on the floor. “As long as I can talk, I am your master.”
“Then maybe I should send you elsewhere. I hear Doctor Doom is looking for mutant test-subjects to create a retaliatory weapon against Magneto.” Matt suggested as Slither’s heart began to beat loudly as he panicked. “The Latverian Embassy isn’t far from here.”
“You wouldn’t.” Slither gulped, only to see Matt move his head slightly. “Okay, okay I won’t talk, just keep me away from Doom.”
“I need you to talk, who is your friend, the one from the alley.” Matt asked, as he scanned the area for any sign of Silencer. “And where can I find him?”
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