2945/Abrogados, Darn It!

Abrogados, Darn It!
Date of Scene:	23 October 2017
Location:	New York City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Daredevil, Karen Page, Foggy Nelson

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Daredevil has posed:
    The sun is going down over the great city of Manhattan, the slight chill of Autumn having set in for perhaps the first time for this part of the season. It's just cold enough outside for people to need a jacket, for the fallen leaves to chase after their steps, and inside the Law Offices of Nelson and Murdock...
    "Who touched the thermostat?"
    Matt Murdock's voice lifts as he asks all both of the other employees in the law firm. He stands there at the wall, a hand resting on the small curved surface of the 1950s era temperature control that when turned causes the walls to creak and the radiators to thud. Only now it's gotten a bit warmer, and with his senses the way they are... there is nothing they can hide from him! Nothing!
    This sentiment is reflected in his features as he turns away from the wall, cane resting on the floor as he cocks an eyebrow. Those crimson lenses of his glasses hide an admonishing glower, but Karen most likely can feel it.

Karen Page has posed:
    Karen's played the thermostat wars in the office more than once, only she's usually the one turning it down, pointing out that there are things such as sweaters, and maybe the boys should employ them. It's a message she reminds Matt without looking up from her desk, just knowing - knowing - he's glowering at her, "You can just save that look for someone else, thank-you very much. I'm the one who brings a sweater to work trying to save us all some money. Speaking of which, I need to transfer my cell payments to the firm's accounts. That or you need to get me a dedicated cell for the office. I can't keep giving my number out to people on your behalf and have it go dead because I miss a payment."
    Not that she knows how they can add that tab to the firm, though she has hopes that maybe one of those leads will pay off and the firm won't be a constant juggling act, much like her own finances.
    "Just turn the heat down, already." But she's smirking as she says that.

Foggy Nelson has posed:
Foggy didn't mind the cold as much as Karen and Matt. He had his own way of battling it. He carried around an extra layer of insulation. Some would call it fat, but he preferred to think of it as insulation. So, with his suit, he was still feeling okay. He still had a coat, and wore it, but it just had the effect of making him warm and toasty. Like he had just had a piping hot cup of drinking chocolate with a little white marshmallow inside.

He had been hiding something from Matt, and it was killing him. There were signs. The palpitations. The increased heart rate. The flushing of his cheeks. Something was troubling him, though discerning what had him so agitated was a far more difficult undertaking. He had been holding off for as long as he could, thinking about what he would say, what Matt would say, what he would say in response. And in truth, he had no idea how Matt would take it. There were so many ways, and none of them made sense to him.

It also had the effect of making him eat more. Like right now, where he had a double chocolate glazed doughnut, crumbs getting onto the plate, which rested above a deposition he was going over. In their office, with the walls the way they were, they could all hear other pretty easily, and he called out, "I didn't touch it, councillor. Have you talked to building maintenance? It's probably loosened with age and usage." Ah yes, ever the lawyer.

Daredevil has posed:
    To his credit, Matt gives that possibility a consideration. Even as he turns back towards the small device and lightly touches it with one hand. He hrms to himself, then slowly twists it to the side, causing the radiators to clank-clang a bit with something metallic inside a few seeming to bounce around on the interior. But that should serve for now. "I'll keep an eye on it for now, but I have my suspicions." He says loud enough to be heard. But Karen can see if not Foggy the small smile there at the corner of his mouth given to her even as he walks back towards the other office that houses Foggy.
    The cane clicks lightly against the door as he raps against it, then leans inside. "Excuse me, Franklin Percy Nelson, Esquire..." He asks as he leans inside, "Can you pull yourself away? I was thinking dinner at Josie's then I need to turn in early." There's a pause as he tilts his head slightly, frowning faintly at Foggy's heartbeat, the elevated levels of tension in the man. Need to get him somewhere to unwind.
    "Figure we can get some wings." Over his shoulder he calls, "Karen, wings? Beer?"

Karen Page has posed:
    That her request for the phone payments isn't addressed isn't missed by Karen. "Fine," she mutters to herself, "I pay the bills. I'll just add it to the list of them. And when you ask when this happened, I'm going to pretend I have no clue what you're talking about."
    She gathers up the remnants of the day's files upon her desk and takes them over to the metal monster of a filing cabinet that suffices in the office, putting each away in their appropriate spot, and locking the thing. Can't be too safe, right?
    "What? Huh.. Beer and wings? I'm down. Throw in a pizza and I won't even complain about coming in early and making coffee tomorrow." There's a smirk as she peeks around, aiming her next comment at Foggy, "Even if you don't like my coffee. I keep telling you, get a better coffee maker. It's not user error."

Foggy Nelson has posed:
"Josie's, beer, and wings, there are no four sweeter words in the English language. Lead on my friend, lead on," oh, right, the blindness, so, Foggy and Karen will have to lead on. Getting up from his desk, Foggy closes a folder and chews down the last of that doughnut, before giving Matt a smile. Even if he was wound tighter than a garden hose, he was still Matt's best friend, and he could relax, when he wasn't thinking about 'it.'

Walking out of his office with Matt he smiles to Karen, "oh come, with the dials," there was exactly one dial, "and the controls," there was exactly one lever, "and the moving parts," he must have meant the lid where you could pour water inside, "there is plenty of room for user error. You just have to keep at it, and I'm sure one of these days it'll come out tasting like a Keurig." He gave her a pat on the shoulder, and leaned in to whisper, "and we'll see about the phone thing." No, he hadn't forgotten about that. Then raising an arm, he said in a loud, authoritarian voice, as if he were a town crier, "to Josie's!" And he offered the other arm to Matt, as he so often did.

Daredevil has posed:
    Back to her, Matt tilts his head, "Oh sorry, Karen. Sure... hmm." He straightens up from the door jam, "If you want we could put you on my plan?" He rests his free hand upon the door knob of Foggy's door, still standing there as he considers the two of them by turning his head slightly.
    Once Foggy emerges from the office he'll step along after the two of them, even as Foggy regales them with his interpretations of the arcane mechanics of filtering water through burned bean debris. "To Josie's." He'll echo even if perhaps at a little lower tone of voice. He starts to move towards the door, leaning over to push his door closed with the tip of his cane even as they move on to the door.
    "I was thinking of going on a run in the morning, so need to get in some decent sleep." He offers that, but then he seems compelled to add. "On a treadmill." Since if he didn't assuredly Foggy would give him a hard time about the idea of a blind man running around on sidewalks all willy nilly.
    "Did you ever hear back from Mrs. Gutierrez?" He asks the two of them, even as they make it out into the hallway, technically violating their no work talk after hours rule.

Karen Page has posed:
    Foggy's commentary on coffeemakers is scoffed at. "If it's /that/ easy, then maybe you should be making the office coffee. Until then, I don't want to hear any more complaints. And Keurigs are the evil. Their inventor regretted it, you know."
    Karen makes certain she's the last out of the office, taking care to lock up properly as Foggy leads Matt on. It's a simple matter to catch up to the two, and fall into easy step with them both.
    "Your plan works," she tells Matt. "I wouldn't say much, but I've been using it for potential clients. Clients with actual large amounts of money. In this case, Ms. Emma Frost of Frost Industries. And, before you say anything, I have a meeting set up with her in two weeks to discuss matters. I'm doing it, so hush. Both of you. And yes on the Gutierrez, but we're now officially on non-office time, so change the subject."
    Even if she and Foggy did meet Emma at Josie's and blatantly break that rule. Hell, she'd been breaking that rule left, right, and centre lately trying to drum up a few choice clients. Ms. Frost was one she had hopes for.
    "You have a treadmill at home, Matt?" Karen blinks a couple of time, considering that. It wasn't the treadmill comment that threw her, it was the way it was given - its inclusion a decided afterthought. A correcting afterthought. It was odd.. but for the moment, Karen lets it pass.

Foggy Nelson has posed:
"That sounds fair. I'll make the office coffee, and you can give the closing statements." Foggy suggests this as if it were a remotely equitable exchange, which it most assuredly is not. But he was smiling as he teased about it. "He did, she did," he had no idea who invented the Keurig, "so, it was a Robert Oppenheimer situation?"

Yeah, Foggy had a similar thought on the treadmill. Matt really did need to get better at this, but such thoughts disappeared as they approached Josie's. He beamed with excitement over the food and drinks that they would soon be consuming. Josie's wasn't elegant, it wasn't refined, but it was good, and they were welcome. "First round's on me." Yeah, he felt guilty about what he was going to bring up. But free booze was free booze.

Daredevil has posed:
    As Matt walks along and Karen offers to him a few words about Emma Frost they'll see him furrow his brow slightly, "I'm not sure why, but I can't recall that name but it gives me a small negative vibe." His brow lifts but then he lets it go for now as he walks along towards the stairwell or the elevator, depending on what they feel up to tonight.
    When she finishes mentioning her and proceeds on to Ms. Gutierrez and then also non-office time he'll stop and nod a few times, as if accepting the need to hush up on that topic. But now he tilts his head towards Karen, "Yes, an older one but it works alright." He offers that bit as he follows along.
    To Foggy he smiles as they wander on towards Josie's, "On you?" Matt quirks an eyebrow, "What's the occasion? You lose a client?" He asks as they get to the door and it's opened, but he'll hold it open for the both of them to head inside first. Then he'll trail along after.

Karen Page has posed:
    Oh, Karen's not a shy one, and two can play games. "I have no problem giving closing statements, but you might find their Honours not appreciating why I'm doing so when you explain it to them. Matt likes his coffee ready when he arrives in the office. I usually pour his mug when I hear the cane. You'll get used to his patterns in a week or so I'll bet, but the coffeemaker takes half an hour to brew, so you'll need to be in before 9. 8:15 if you really want to be sure. I take mine with cream, except when I don't, but I'll pour my own. Matt likes the mountain grown blend, but we only get it when it's on sale, because nobody has the money for that otherwise, but don't buy the no-name brand, because we do serve the coffee to clients. Throw in an extra scoop - the water meter lies, and only makes 11 cups, but if you don't throw that scoop in, it tastes like dishwater, and no, don't ask me how I know."
    She smiles sweetly at the end of her rundown of all things office coffeemaker, adding, "Yeah. Pretty much an Oppenheimer situation. The sheer mass of garbage added to landfills horrified the inventor."
    Matt's frown isn't missed, but she threw up the no-work clause, so now she's bound by it, unless someone else breaks it. Until then, she bites her tongue, though she does thank Matt for holding the door. Josie's is old hat to them all, she's no worries he needs a lead around the bar.

Foggy Nelson has posed:
'Or gain one,' Foggy thought to himself. He even mouthed it, but didn't whisper it. He knew enough not to do that, but could Matt read lips? Whatever the case, there was a lot of noise in Josie's, and hopefully that would prove distracting for matt. But then Karen hits him with her take on the coffee situation, and suddenly, Foggy thought he had made a terrible deal. It happened to the best of lawyers. You never knew for certain what the other side had, and Foggy just got slapped across the playground.

The evening went along pretty well. Lots of drinks, merriment, talk, chat, wings, even some pizza, as Karen had asked, and when Foggy was reasonably certain that Matt was in a good mood, he decided to try and start that dreaded work talk again. "So, the other day, I got this strange invite. Seems some corporate bigwigs want to throw us some money so we can take the hard luck cases on a pro bono basis, and they like it for the publicity and the tax write off." Yeah, he was starting off softly.

Daredevil has posed:
    Once they enter he'll head towards their regular table, smiling the way along at the interplay between Karen and Foggy. Sometimes it's just very nice to take a back seat to their back and forth and enjoy it for what it is, it helps to lend some element of... normalcy to their shared world, despite all of the craziness that surrounds them.
    Pulling out a chair he'll lightly touch the seat with one hand, then sweep it off with a brush of fingertips before he settles in and rests his cane across his lap, starting the process of folding it up even as he turns his head slightly, "The usual?" He asks off-handedly, and unless Foggy or Karen object he's fine with that.
    And then they settled down for a good steady evening. Laughter was shared, a nice back and forth. Each of them took turns teasing the others in turn. Just a decent time had by all. But it was roughly the third round, once the pizza and wings had been cleared, that he turned to face Foggy, eyebrows lifted as he listens to the man's words.
    "Oh?" He asks, curiousity lighting his features briefly. But he gives a nod a few times, since after all everything is cool right now, everything is good. Despite some of the other things he's not thinking about. "That's good? Right?" He asks of the other lawyer. "Wait, how was it strange?"

Karen Page has posed:
    Karen knew she'd scored one on the coffee deal - even if she also knew she'd be the one into the office early the next working day, setting up the coffee machine and pouring their usual cups with her usual cheery banter or saucy comebacks. It was a good lead in to the rest of the evening.. Beer. Pizza. Wings.
    And then Foggy brings up the client. All good and well - but, like Matt, the 'strange' caught her ears, too. However, this one was all Matt's to field for the moment. Courting clients was a thing she did, and did well, but one who walked themselves up to their door and offered what was essentially the firm's calling card? Pro-bono funding? She was not only all ears, but all curiousity as well.

Foggy Nelson has posed:
"Yeah, it's very good, it's incredible even." Foggy had made a point of not drinking as much as the others, trying to keep his wits about him, plus, he had explained that he had an early meeting tomorrow, which he did, so he had a valid reason to take it a little easier. The others though, had no real reasons to hold off, none relating to Nelson and Murdock anyway. And Foggy knew that. He was counting on it. He didn't want to mess this up. "They want to pay us to do what we do anyway, just, to make it easier for us, and they look good, plus, the tax write off. But, you don't find it strange that someone with money would want to do that kind of good for the community?" He wasn't helping himself there.

Daredevil has posed:
    "Hmm," It definitely does trigger some alarms for Matt as he looks to him, but his friend can probably tell that his counterpart is still a little hazy from the booze they've shared. Matt tilts his head the other way and then says, "Yeah it does seem a bit fishy. I mean, if we were to take any sort of connection like that we'd need to take a hard long look at what is behind them, what their motives are. It's not enough to just do good as we can, Foggy. We can't become a front for other people."
    But then a small smile touches his features as he opens a hand towards Foggy, palm up as if expecting him to provide the answers as he adds, "But really, Foggy. I trust you. If you tell me you've vetted them enough, I'll go with it." And that said he leans over and takes up his beer and tilts it back to finish the last of it.

Karen Page has posed:
    Oh, she's had a few, and is quite warm and toasty. Not so tipsy she can't see herself home, but enough that when Matt doesn't rise to the matter at hand, she's got zero compunctions of her own in speaking up. Only, because she /is/ a little toasty, it's a little louder than she might otherwise raise objections..
    "Now, wait a minute here! What's this we'll go with it business? What aren't you saying?" Oh, yes, she's noticed the cagey. Corporation? Who refers to a potential client of this nature as 'corporation'? There's a smelly underbelly to this whole thing, and while it's usually Matt's job to fish it out, he's apparently well into his cups and missed his opportunity.
    Thankfully, he hired her.. at least she thinks she was hired. At this moment it's a bit hazy. She might have merely told them she was working for them.. Which made her blink. Must focus, Karen. Must focus. "Just what aren't you saying, huh? And don't think I didn't notice that bit about don't we find it strange. You're a horrible, horrible liar, Foggy Nelson, so spill."
    As though the firm were her own, and as senior partner it were her place to make such demands.

Foggy Nelson has posed:
This was hard. And Karen didn't make it any easier. Foggy picked up what was left of his drink, and he drowned it in one. It didn't help. He looked to the pair of them. He looked to Matt. He would have drank another beer had one been there. He would have drank anything had it been there. "Okay, okay..." He paused. His lips suddenly felt parched. He licked them.

Why did it have to be so hard? He had the golden ticket, and there was no way in hell he was going to be able to collect on it. "All right... our benefactor has offered to set up a charitable foundation. Rich people, the kind who would never have us as lawyers, can donate to the foundation, and we can draw funds from it for our clients. If we accept, we'll have total access to the funds, know who donated, where it came from. We'd never accept it without that. Though, that might be troublesome negotiating. The key thing is. The real problem of it is..."

He reached for another glass, Karen's in this case, and he drank that too. Matt seemed to have finished his own. This was hard, so very, very hard. He breathed in, and out, trying to calm himself. "The person who wants to make all our dreams come true... is Elektra Natchios." There, he had said it. Instinctively, he seemed to raise his arms slightly, as if he expected to have something thrown at him in anger.

Daredevil has posed:
    Nodding towards Karen, Matt seems to be alright with the points she's making but then looks over towards Foggy as if waiting for the man to address her concerns. It's only when Mr. Nelson begins to explain that he seems to come a bit out of the muddle.
    At first Matt leans forwards, listening in that somewhat hazy way where a man who has a bit to drink is not entirely sure of his senses, and Matt... a little moreso. But he gives a nod as he follows along with the other lawyer's words, furrowing his brow as he puts it together. His brows lift at the point about access to the funds, knowing where they came from. Even despite his state of inebriation he seems to expression some doubt there.
    But then Foggy presses on as the name comes up. "Foggy..."
    Elektra Natchios. Matt's brow furrows, a heavy cloud seeming to come over him as he shakes his head slowly. One hand lifts to rub behind those crimson lenses as he takes off his glasses. A sure sign that he's out of sorts, as he rarely ever takes them off without some practical reason. Rubbing at his eyes he then takes a moment to adjust the frames, eyes closed as he hides those clouded eyes out of self-consciousness.
    But then the glasses are back on and he affixes his attention on Foggy. He frowns and says quietly. "Foggy," again, "That's not a good idea."

Karen Page has posed:
    Karen felt mightily pleased with herself for jumping on Matt's obvious miss, but as things go on, she's less pleased. Especially as Foggy grabs not only Matt's drink, but her own - hers a nearly full glass that she had just been reaching for when Foggy grabbed it up and downed it in one fell sweeop. A sure sign that something was amiss.
    And when Matt takes off his glasses at the mention of Elektra Natchios Karen's spidey sense fired on all circuits. Okay.. it wasn't spidey sense, but she had a good feeling for when things were getting piled high and deep, or something was being danced around, and what she was witnessing was a thrash party in the mosh pits.
    "Who," Karen asks quietly, "Is Elektra Natchios?" Fairly certain an explanation might clear things up a bit.

Foggy Nelson has posed:
"Matt's ex," Foggy replied quietly to Karen, which really explains everything about this situation. Matt's former copine. Elektra wanted to fund Nelson and Murdock. She wanted to help them. Why, probably to win Matt back, but really, she was doing something good. She was offering help to people who couldn't afford it. "Yeah, I know, but can we really turn our back on this? There are people, real people, who will suffer if we say no. We can help them." It cost money to keep the lights on, to investigate, to get experts, there were so many costs that couldn't be waved off. To win most battles, it cost money. And that's just what Elektra was offering. Money to take the cases they wanted to take. To defend the people who needed it the most, while also keeping the lights on. It was too good to be true. But where was the angle. Foggy couldn't see it. he fully believed that Elektra's sole motivation was the chance to win back Matt, and to Foggy, that was a small price to pay for the chance to do so much good. Plus, Elektra was beautiful, fun, and wealthy. Really, what was not to like. Not that Foggy knew about the assassin part.

Daredevil has posed:
    Poor Karen may be lost, but in this moment Matt doesn't seem inclined to solve the mystery for her. He's too focused on the here and now and the other man opposite her. But he does at least for a moment turn his head towards Karen, seeming about to offer some thing, something perhaps mollifying or deflective, but instead he just shakes his head and turns back towards Foggy.
    He spreads his hands, a gesture he makes when he's trying to get the /feel/ of something before him even as he lowers his head slightly. But then he lifts it back up to speak to his partner directly. "Foggy... I just. I don't know what she said to you, but if she is behind it you can't trust it."
    He tries a smile but it's not a warm one, it's a sort of tragic one as if trying to laugh at an insane situation, "I loved her. And I love you, man." He says that with no self-consciousness. "And I can understand why you could think this would be good."
    But then he leans forwards as if sharing a conspiratorial whisper with him, telling him quietly. "But it's not. And I can't do it. I just can't."
    There's a pause and he places his hands on the table then slides his chair back with a faint scrape of the wooden legs on the wooden floor. "I... need to go. Think about this."

Karen Page has posed:
    Matt's ex? Karen couldn't help the small 'oh' of surprise that touched upon her lips. But still, it seemed odd that merely breaking up with the woman meant it was a bad idea. It was only business, wasn't it? Fine, Foggy ran a song and dance around the matter, and maybe they'd had a bad breakup, but it wasn't like she was proposing marriage, was it? And they could use the money..
    "I don't get it? Matt?" Her confusion turned upon him. "It's business? Just because you broke up with her - you defend people accused of the most horrible things, how can you turn this down just because you once loved her?" The word was a small catch in the back of her throat as she said it, but it was the smaller of the concerns she had. Just how horrible had things been that he'd flat out turn the offer down? "I don't understand?"
    Karen turns to Foggy, then. "Just what is he thinking about?"
    Back to Matt. "What do you mean you need to think about this? You can't say no and then.."
    She reaches for her glass, but it's empty. The mood was shattered. And they'd been having such a good time, too.

Foggy Nelson has posed:
Foggy wasn't too surprised by this reaction. He opened his mouth as if to explain to Karen, and then closed it. He had so much he could say, but Matt wasn't speaking about it, and perhaps it wasn't his place to explain it either. "That might be a good idea, Matt." He replied, finally, meaning to the soul searching. With the amount of alcohol Matt had consumed, even with his advantages, he shouldn't go home alone. Especially with the blindness. And given that Foggy brought this up, he kind of wanted to give Matt some space, so he turned to Karen, "uh, Karen, could you walk Matt home? And don't worry about tomorrow, I'll make the coffee... whenever you two show up." He had a feeling if Karen did walk Matt home, they might end up staying up to talk. Karen was good at that sort of thing, and Matt probably needed it right about now. Foggy had the early start. He had a meeting. But Matt didn't, and he could manage to answer the door or phones for a few hours on his own. How tough could it be?

Daredevil has posed:
    "No. I'm fine." He holds up a hand towards Karen as his attention slips, then he shakes his head. No he can't think about the offer, because that was a no from him, always would be. He has to go and think about all of this, what just happened, was he just... set up? By his friend? Did she get to him somehow? Did she have something on him? Did she... He shakes his head and despite the words that come from Karen he gets to his feet, uncurling the cane in his hand and setting it down, the end of it clicking against the table's legs, then against the neighboring chair.
    Only for that chair's occupant to snap, "Hey, watch it, asshole!"
    Which just has Matt apologizing, "Sorry." He says even as he steps to the side.
    It's only a moment, his control slipping as the entirety of the noise in the room, outside in the alley, on the street, the voices, the sounds, the scents, the pressure. All of it seems a bit too much.
    But outwardly he seems merely to lose focus for a moment. That single loss of a step. But he's able to step past and make his way towards the door. The cane clicks against it and he shoulders it open and through.

Karen Page has posed:
    Karen isn't exactly known for following instructions. And Matt can say he's fine all he wants, she has no intention of merely letting him escape. Even if it's just ot check with him outside the door - away from Foggy.
    So when he gets up, so does she. And when the man in the chair calls Matt an asshole, she glares at him, totally overriding Matt's apology with a snapped, "You can just fuck right off, can't you see the man is blind and just got some bad news. You're just lucky I have something to do, or I'd.. just fuck right off."
    And she's pushing out after Matt, trying to catch him before he can flee.