12097/The Cop and the Lawyer: An Eternal Struggle

The Cop and the Lawyer: An Eternal Struggle
Date of Scene:	30 August 2020
Location:	Fogwell's Gym, Hell's Kitchen, NYC
Synopsis:	The cop beats up the attorney. The attorney beats up the cop. They agree to do it again in a week. A fun time is had by all.
Cast of Characters:	Daredevil, Karrin Murphy

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Daredevil has posed:
It's been a while since Matt has been to the gym. He's been busy at work and by the time he's done for the day it's damn near time to be at work again. Today, though, he is forcing himself to take a break and get some sweat going. Now he's at Fogwell's. Having arrived in his usual suit, he disappeared in the locker rooms and has just emerged wearing his workout clothes. A simple, dark grey shirt that fits his form, and a pair of black pants and black trainers.

He's stopped just outside the lockers and he's wrapping white cloth around his hand, opening and closing his fist as he gets the fit just right. His head tilts slightly to the side as he filters out as much of the background gym noise as possible so he can focus.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The scent of Karrin Murphy is a unique one. First, the usual layers of someone who works with firearms and hits the range on a daily basis. Gun oil, a touch of gunpowder, sweat and smoke. Then there's the lingering bits of Gotham that cling to her, something heavier and more smoggy that New York is these days. But the strangest thing about the little cop isn't her profession, it's what lingers in the background. Something of sage, salt... Older spices that come with work that fell out of fashion a long time ago. Maybe she's a hippie in her off hours? Who knows. But that melange of scents mixed in with the short, sharp steps of her frame are a clear indication that the SI woman has decided Fogwell's is the place to work out today.

Seeing Matt come out of the lockers just as she's about to head in, she can't help but grin a bit. "...And here I thought I scared you off. Trying to make it in most Sunday nights so we can get out some aggression. Glad to see you came back for more." She teases him, her good natured griping a theme of their strange friendship. It only came after the first time he really laid her out on the matt. As if the fact he wasn't willing to go easy on her made her like him more.

Daredevil has posed:
The unique combination of scents does indeed find their way into the senses of the blind lawyer and causes a smile to cross his face. He always had an appreciation for her style. The odor of the job combined with unique odors of a woman who knows what she likes. Sundays at the gym without her around aren't quite the same. Without turning his head, he nods in response to her jests, "Officer." He goes about wrapping his other hand and shrugs his shoulders, "I figured you could use a little time off getting knocked around." His words are obviously banter and the schoolboy smile on his face makes it clear to anyone who may overhear their conversation that these two talk a lot of shit to one another. In good spirits, though.

"Nice seeing you again," he continues as he flexes his fingers as the wrap tightens. "How are things at the office?"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"Oh, you'll pay for that one." Karrin banters back at the comment about getting knocked around. "No time to rest, you know that. At least, I haven't had someone pull me into a fight and then say 'Oh, you look tired, let's take a break.' Excuses, excuses..." She mutters, finishing her walk towards the woman's lockerroom. "Hold that thought."

She's efficient in everything, and that includes the quick change into work out clothes, a pair of past-the-knee leggings, black sports bra, trainers. Her short hair is still pinned back from work. She's in the process of taping her hands with practiced, mindless turns of fingertips as she walks back out and to the bag beside him. Warm up was probably wise before they really went at each other. "Back in Gotham. SI needed me and... tired of my ex nosing around every inch of work I did in Bludhaven. It's a bit shorter a run to here now, though home's a bitch." She starts moving through some basic, slightly slower warm ups, her disciplined combinations as much habit as taping her hands.

"You? What really kept you out these last few weeks? Surely business isn't that crazy..." There is a different tone to her now. Something more casual in her voice and the set of her body, quiet vitals, they seem more... Relaxed. Happy? Could she actually be *happy*? Or, at least, well rested? That's a first.

Daredevil has posed:
The back and forth between them has Matt chuckling, finishing up the wraps on his hands. Once they're all set, he makes a fist in one hand and presses it firmly against the open palm of his other, then switches hands and repeats. "Thought held," he replies before she disappears intot he lockerroom and gets ready.

While she's changing, he steps in front of a bag and starts taking a few warm-up shots at it. The pain in his knuckles is a welcomed memory. Maybe it's the Catholic guilt. Maybe it's something else. When she emerges, he steps around the bag and puts it between them, holding onto it so she can take a few jabs at it, "Ex must've been a real piece of work to drive you to Gotham." He jests, but underneath lies a genuine concern about her situation without prying.

"We got a new client that is keeping us on retainer for the time being," he replies. "Has a lot of ventures so I'm doing my due dilligence in case anything comes up soon." While he has been researching things on behalf of a new client, that's not the entire truth. He tries not to show up to the gym when he's sporting injuries sustained as his alter ego. Best not to raise any questions or concerns, especially from officers of the law.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"He's..." Karrin's comfortable, habitual warm up punches suddenly get just a little violent. She was short -- tiny in comparison to most people around this gym, but the muscle behind her punches is from almost two decades of dedicated, disciplined training. She packed a lot of punch when they were just sparring. When it's a flash of her ex-'s face on the bag in front of her? There's even more. "My second ex for a reason, and every time I see him, I remember it's not me. The man who gets off on being a part of IA and using that to his advantage in all things."

She finishes the warm up with a series of quick side kicks, low height, then medium, then high, never letting her foot fall between adjusting the heights. Several rounds on one side, then the other, before she sinks and grabs the bag for him, "Come on. Warm up before I put you on the ground. Three weeks off and you'll be regretting it." Pulse up now, a fine sheen of sweat starting on her skin, she's warm enough and clearly keyed up for a fight. She rarely baits him like she is tonight if she's not interested in a real, vicious spar.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt makes a mental note: don't follow up on mentions of exes. Each strike Karrin lands on the bag pushes it into his chest and he can feel her intensity increasing dramatically as she talks about it. He considers saying something supportive but figures it better if the subject changes. He shifts around the bag as she switches to kicks, holding the bag steady for her as she unleashes months of aggression onto it.

Matt steps up to take his turn warming up and starts off with some firm jabs followed by a number of hooks. "I think I'm already regretting it," he says between shots, grinning over at her. He follows up with a few kicks as well, listening to his sparring partner's heart rate and breathing pattern. She's definitely riled up. He's going to go home with a few bruises.

"Alright, officer. Let's do it." He steps aay from the bag and heads to the sparring mat, tilting his head from one side to the other to crack his spine and loosen up his stiff neck. When he's at his position, he turns and waits for her to settle in and get ready. "Go easy on me, okay?"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"...Is that what you ask them in court? How well does that usually work?" Karrin asks him with a little laugh, not breathless yet, but riding that quiet wave of adrenaline that comes when she knows she's going to fight someone who actually will give her a challenge. Finding opponents bigger than her who don't go easy was hard, yet the monsters never go easy in the field. "Don't return the favor. Lay it on me."

And with that, no circling, no initial, opening, soft punches or salvos, Karrin strikes. In the beginning, she'd be a bit slower on him, uncertain how a blind man knew where to defend himself. But that's months past them. She's simply accepted that he's trained enough to get the subtle changes -- wind from a moving hand, the sound of a body through air -- to alert him as necessary. She starts with a quick right cross to his face, fairly expecting it to be blocked so she follows up going for a punch to his solar plexus, trying to knock him off balance so she can use her speed as an advange to balance out what she loses in height.

Daredevil has posed:
"You'd be surprised," Matt says with a grin as he raises his arms and assumes a defensive posture. He can tell from her heart rate climbing even more that she's about to come at him hard. "A blind guy asking for mercy really makes a difference." His light-hearted mood remains but the smile is gone in preparation for what's to come. "Deal." He won't go easy on her. She clearly needs to let off some steam and he knows she legitimately appreciates it.

When she comes at him, he braces himself and quickly shifts his arm to catch against her elbow. The strength behind her punch forces him to push back so her follow-through doesn't connect. Her follow-up, however, slams into his solar plexus, causing him to take a quick hop to the side to get out of the way of any more blows. He chuckles and shakes it off, "Nice hit." He steps forward with speed and throws his forearm towards her chest, also figuring it will be blocked, then follows up by spinning around and swinging his outstretched arm to try connecting the back of his hand with her ribs.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Their fights are a careful mix of taking hits and trying to be fast enough to not take too many. But part of it was teaching her to take the pain as well. She's not quite on the level of Stick's other students, but for a short cop from the other side of the river? Karrin Murphy's a dangerous woman. She doesn't let his praise put her at ease or stop the fight which is the right call, because he's suddenly tossing that forearm at her. Her own comes up with a clean, rolling block, shoving his attack out of the way and following up with an uppercut in the same moment. It means she definitely takes that hand to the ribs, a grunt of her breath knocked from her, but it's worth it if she can manage in her other punch.

"Good man... been training somewhere... Without me." She teases between now slightly ragged breaths, disengaging for just a moment to reset stance and her thoughts about the fight. He wasn't out of practice at all. She circles around him, breath giving her position away in a manner that she might be trying to bait him.

Daredevil has posed:
After his attack lands and she moves to reset, he does as well. Her compliment forces a laugh from the lawyer as he turns to face her side of the mat again, "Ah, it's been a while since I've been patronized. I almost missed it." He falls silent and tilts his head as he listens to her breathing. She's circling. Like she's been caged for a while and she's finally let out and unloading.

Matt slowly turns in pace, loosely following her position as she does. Whether he's keeping up with her precisely isn't clear. He raises a hand Bruce Lee-style and thumbs across his nose, exhaling sharply as he dance-steps into his ready stance. "Seems like you've been getting your share of practice as well," he says with a grin. "A blind man isn't good enough for you any more, huh?"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"Blind man who I *still* can't goad into an attack on my terms." Karrin's smile is clear behind her voice. This might be a fight, but it's an enjoyable one. She follows his dance steps, not quite letting him get too close to either side of her even as she shakes out arms and brings loosened palms up again, readying for defense. "I started sparring with this vam-" No, Karrin. Lawyer boy does not need to know vampires exist. Whatever she was going to say, her brain and body puts abrupt mental breaks on it and she quickly redirects, but she's lying out her ass about it, "vanguard trained idiot... Mouthy, but talented."

And, as if to distract from that less than smooth lie, she brings her back foot up and around for a roundhouse with a good amount of her weight behind it, reserving just enough tension in her core to not off center herself if he decides to throw her instead of blocking.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt's movements match but counter Karrin's. They circle for a few moments until it becomes apparent to him that she's giving him lead. Smart woman. He catches her stammer over her words but thinks nothing of it. "Give him my compliments, then," he says with a smile and a respectful bow of his head before he lunges forward and swings with a right hook followed by a left jab. If she doesn't block and counter, he'll drop down and spin around to swipe the back of his foot against hers in an attempt to take her off of her feet.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The lawyer didn't pick up her horrible verbal misdirection? Karrin got lucky. She tries to keep thoughts on the fight now, especially as things pick up between them. Hook is blocked but, as he goes for that jab, her open hand comes up, catching his wrist and pulling forward, across her shoulder, trying to get him in a fairly classic lock, but sometimes it's important to practice the classics.

Of course, he's already moving to drop, and she lets herself be taken down, using the pitch of her body's mometum from the previous planned lock. But, now that she's on her knees, she tries to take him over her shoulder. Their fight is, as often, as much a dance as it was a violent brawl.

Daredevil has posed:
When she goes down, he expects to come around and jump to his feet. As is often when sparring with her, though, his plan doesn't come to fruition and instead her grip remains and her momentum pulls him backwards and over her shoulder so that he slams down against his upper back. He's quick enough to let his backward momentum work to his advantage and he kicks his legs over his head so he does a backwards summersault and flips over to catch himself with his palms.

He does a quick pushup and kicks his feet up so they catch beneath him and he jumps up to his feet again, taking a few steps back to reset. Shaking his arms loosely by his sides and light on his feet, he exhales quickly and shakes his head, "Nice move." He'll take a step towards her and offer his hand to help her get to her feet, half expecting her to take advantage of it and try to take him down.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
That worked better than she expected, though it's always a quiet joy to see him respond when things get really dicey. He's nearly an acrobat in style and training, body elegant in its violence and never really stopping. Karrin could of pressed her momentary advantage, but she's mainly curious to see how he gets back up to his feet. "Same to you." She echoes his nice move comment, honest appreciation behind her voice.

As he offers the hand, she gives a little laugh and shakes her head, taking it and bringing herself up to her feet. "Too easy. Nice try." And then she's resetting again. The rest of the bouts go like that, both of them pushing each other, probing for new weaknesses, taking advantage when they can. The last round is more... Violent. Karrin both pushing and asking for a fight that feels a little more life or death. It's the round that will leave them both with bruises, and the one he'll probably win.

Daredevil has posed:
Their sparring goes round after round and at this point they're both breathing a little heavy. Sweat is beginning to soak into the neck of his shirt and his chest rises and falls steadily. Their engagement gets more and more forceful but it always remains respectful.

Once they've reached the point where it's time to end it, Matt doesn't wait for her to strike first. He approaches her quickly, but instead of taking a swing at her, he uses his momentum and body weight to try for a grapple around her waist and carry her backwards and to the ground so he can subdue her so she can't move. She's doesn't go down that easily, though, and twists her body to carry him around instead of going to the ground.

Matt uses the spinning and tightens his grip around her waist and plants his feet firmly so he can lift her up and off of her feet. With her in the air, he'll take a few steps forward and then drop down, pulling her down to slam her onto her back and move his arm around to hook her neck in the bend of his elbow, locking it tightly to his other arm but not enough to restrict her breathing.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The second last fight, Karrin's at her absolute height of potential. And she's damn good. Heart galloping raggedly, breath coming a touch more sharp as she fights through the exhaustion that comes with a long bout. Her sports bra is soaked through with sweat now and some strange, old salve that was on her skin from days ago has heated up to join the mix of scents. It's herbalist in nature. But she fights through the exhaustion and sweat. This is where people are truly honed. It means she wins that bout, if only just.

The last fight, however, she's past the point of exhaustion. She's still going, but it means she's slipping up, just a bit. A grunt of frustration escapes her lips as he nearly takes her down immediately and she just manages to twist around. It saves her for a few more seconds but, in the end, he's got her pinned. She lays there, breathing raggedly a few moments, face in the mat and body experimentally pressing a bit into his hold, seeing if there is any weakness to be found that she could break free. But he's a wall of muscle against her. Finally, she huffs out. "Your win." And the breaks away from him, just rolling back onto the mat and laying there, breathing a few moments. "Hell, I... missed that." She gasps out between breaths. "Dresden never goes all out. Too damn soft." There's something different when she says Dresden's name this time. Something... softer? Things have changed, as she comments on the man who has been a strange work partner for many years.

Daredevil has posed:
While Matt has Karrin pinned, he can feel her probing for weaknesses in his grip. He shifts his weight to make sure there are none until she finally taps out. Releasing his hold, he too rolls across the mat in the opposite direction and lies on his back for a while, just breathing heavily. When she admits to missing their sparring, Matt's stomach bounces as he laughs. "Yeah, me too. That was a good match."

When she mentions Dresden and senses the sublte change in her voice, he pushes himself up and into a sitting postion with a foot pulled up close to his body. He drapes his arm over his raised knee and exhales deeply, "Soft is good sometimes. It keeps you sharp." He chuckles to himself, "Maybe bring him along next time so I can have a break."

Eventually, he rises to his feet and begins his post-routine stretches. Crossing one arm across his chest, he twists his body and groans, stopping to rub his lower back, "I won't be skipping out on my workouts again any time soon. You got some solid hits in."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"A break? You just took a three week break, Murdock! Come on." Karrin stares at him across the vinyl, laughing a bit more a she raggedly rolls over, heart rate finally coming down and body beginning to protest the fact that she's not stretched yet. "Getting him across the river is a pain unless there is some need of a... well... Wizard for hire, in New York." Karrin knows how people generally take Dresden's profession, so she's braced already for the skeptical, awkward laughs that come.

Moving slower now, she begins to dip down, left knee bent and right stretch as far as it will go, foot flexed, as she starts going through the motions of limbering up abused muscles. She watches him as he goes, still trying to pick apart how he does it. There's something the cop is missing, she's certain of it, and it's driven her a little nuts since the first night they met.

"You're favouring your left ankle. Something happen?" Karrin asks, as they're nearly wound down. It's the tiniest change, probably an injury he took weeks ago, but she knows her fight partners. And there's some actual concern behind her voice, the feeling in the air that she's missing a lot of things about why he wasn't around. Her instincts are right, she just can't figure out the answers.

Daredevil has posed:
"Three weeks isn't very long when you take a beating like you just gave out, okay?" Matt chuckles and gives his back a brief rub before he goes back to stretching. He bends over at the waist until his head is between his knees and he drops his arms and folds them together, cradling them above the ground and then swaying his upper body from side to side. He's stretching that sore spot as much as he can.

The mention of Dresden being a wizard doesn't get an awkward laugh or unusual response. He respects the woman and if she has friends who are wizards, he's not going to argue. He's the devil, after all. Who is he to judge Gandalf? He can feel her watching him, contemplating. He straightens again and laughs as pain shoots through his lower body again.

"Oh. Yeah," he says when she asks about his ankle. In truth, he got his ass handed to him a couple of weeks ago and it took him a few days to even be able to put weight on his ankle. "Clumbsy. I fell and twisted my ankle up pretty bad." Stepping over to a bench beside the mat, he drops down and leans forward, reaching into his bag. He pulls out two bottles of water, holding one out towards her. He knows she brought her own water. Everyone does. "Thankfully it's feeling a lot better. I'm impressed you noticed."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Sure, she had her own bottle, but the offer is kind. Just like shared coffee when working in the field, it was a show of respect. Karrin accepts the water, finally down off the fighter's high, staring to feel some of the places that are going to be more tender or bruised tomorrow. Even her ribs, busted up a month ago, are reminding her that healing takes more than a few weeks sometimes, especially when she doesn't give herself downtime. Her body doesn't sound like the repeatedly broken machine his is? But, for someone who *isn't* a vigilante? It's close.

She unscrews the top of the bottle, taking a few hungry gulps of it before using the back of her wrist to brush sweat and fallen locks of blond hair from her eyes. "Favored it a few times. I could have gone hard on it but no reason to send you back into court limping. You'd never live down being beaten to shit by a cop." She smirks. "...And.. a fall. Sure." Oh, she does not believe him. She's silent a few moments, just studying the way he moves with his bag. One of these days, she'll put it together.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt can hear the creaking of the joints in Karrin's body as she moves and it is definitely more than most people. Especially people who aren't dressing up like superheroes and having buildings collapse on top of them. He 'looks' at her for a moment as she takes the bottle he offered. She's tired and hurting but she's strong and resilient. He is concerned for her safety, though. She shouldn't be enduring the amount of physical abuse that shes clearly taking.

"I should thank you for not hospitalizing me then," he says with a grin. "I'm not sure you'd live down beating the hell out of a blind man, either," he says, turning his head so he's clearly looking nowhere near where she is. For comedic effect, of course.

He turns back towards her and takes a long drink from his water, taking down 5 large gulps before he exhales and wipes his lips with the palm of his hand. He knows she doesn't buy his excuse. Even if he actually did fall, it's a lame excuse. He doesn't try doubling down or defending it though. Maybe one day she'll piece it together. Maybe not. He sits in silence for a moment, watching the fiery silhouette that makes up his view of her. He wonders in the back of his mind how she might react if she found out his alter ego.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Now that the fight is done and he's taking an actual chance to 'look' at her, he's not the only one nursing injuries. Definitely her ribs are still on the far end of healing from some actual fractures, still the mirco-breaks there, aggravated by pushing into the fight the way she did tonight. New scar tissue at her throat, the pattern almost animalistic? Like a bite? There's a fresh amount of it on her left bicep and across her lower left ribs as well. Those were likely knife wounds, cleaner than her neck, but the woman has her own secrets.

"Shit... I already got IA on my ass for the last two reports I filed. Beating the hell out of a blind attorney? My ex would have a field day with it. Maybe I *should* start going nicer on you." She admits as she finishes stretching and sinks down onto the bench. Another deep gulp of the water before its set aside and she starts methodically unwrapping her hands. "So. Next Sunday?" She grins. "If I can get *you* across the river, maybe Dresden might even bring his lanky ass in. Figure out who the mysterious man I've been meeting is before he gets jealous."