4091/Community outreach

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Community outreach
Date of Scene: 17 March 2018
Location: Cranston Multinational Shipping HQ
Synopsis: Matt Murdock talks to a client about a case, and has a proposal for a charity opportunity.
Cast of Characters: Shadow, Daredevil




Shadow has posed:
    It's a lovely Saturday afternoon in New York, but just because it's the weekend doesn't mean people aren't at work. Shipping is a 24/7 business, and Cranston Multinational Shipping's corporate headquarters is active and running - although in a few hours it'll close for public access, even though work doesn't exactly stop. But for now the doors are open and the lobby is manned by a perky receptionist that will smile at you as if there is no greater joy in her world than helping you with whatever assistance you happen to need that brought you to her. Nearby is a nicely appointed waiting lounge where you'll be able to wait while any request you might have is passed on up until it reaches someone who can answer it one way or the other, and just past the receptionist is a polite, unnasuming, but nonetheless large and fit security guard that will politely but as firmly as required remove you from the premises should you no longer be welcome.

    A pretty standard corporate lobby, in other words...

Daredevil has posed:
Matt had been a little worse for wear these last couple of days with lots on his mind. It kept him up nights, well, the part of his nights when he actually slept, but seeing he was meeting their biggest client today, Matt makes an effort to look his best. He's shaved and put on his best suit (after getting it back from the cleaners) before hailing a cab and taking to CMS Headquarters. The little bruises and nicks on his face? Those he can't do much about but he's used to explaining them, he's got a dozen stock answers in hand like cards to drop on most of the questions he gets about them.

Matt plays the part of the blindman as he comes up from the curb, then with the help of a messenger coming out of the door he finds the entrance and makes his way inside, cane tapping and swaying ahead of him. By 'chance' he finds the desk, bumping it with his cane, then leaning, "Hi, I really hope this is the reception desk, I have a meeting with Ms. Cranston, I'm Matthew Murdock," he says putting on one of his disarming self-effacing smiles for the receptionist.

Shadow has posed:
    Judging by the way the receptionist's heartrate just went up slightly, the smile has its usual effect. She looks down at her keyboard and quickly taps out M-U-R-D-A-K, pauses a moment to look at the screen, then hits the backspace key twice and tries O-C-K instead.

    "Ah, Mr. Murdock! Welcome to CMS; Miss Cranston is waiting for you in her office. One moment, please...

    She fumbles at her desk for a moment before retrieving an already-printed badge and lanyard, placing it on the desk with a deliberately audible tap before sliding it against Matt's hand. "This will authorize you to get past the checkpoint. Take the elevator to the fortieth floor, then to your left..." She trails off, a little uncertainly. "... Would you prefer someone to escort you?" she asks, clearly unsure how to make the offer without sounding offensive or socially awkward.

Daredevil has posed:
There is a faint up turn of the corners of Matt's lips as he detects the change of heartbeat, it was always nice to know he made an impression. And hearing the click of the lanyard against the desk, he slides his hand that way until he's got it, and with a little bit of put on fumbling he puts it around his neck. "Thank you," he leaves a pause for her to supply her name. "And great," he says of Ms. Cranston is expecting him. "And sure, if you can spare someone I'd appreciate it."

Shadow has posed:
"... Oh!" She sounds embarassed as she realizes Matt can't read her name tag. "I'm sorry. I'm Marilyn. If you'd like to take a seat in the lounge behind you, I'll have someone down for you in a moment..."

    She waits for Matt to move to a seat, then busies herself at the computer...

Daredevil has posed:
Matt grins, "It happens, and thank you Marilyn," he says before turning and heading over to the lounge with a slight chuckle to himself. Keeping himself amused was part of what made the 'act' tolerable. He makes his way to the lounge, finds a chair with his cane and sits. Using the quiet moment to let more of his senses told him in, getting more of a feel for his environment. He wasn't looking for something specific, just, looking around so to speak, like someone might people watch to pass the time.

Shadow has posed:
    Her work done, Marilyn relaxes, then moves her mouse to some other part of her screen and starts typing again.
    D-I-D-N-T-K-N-O-W-T-H-E-Y-M-A-D-E-L-A-W-Y-E-R-S-T-H-I-S-C-U-T-E-:-3

    Less than a minute later the tap-tap-tap of sensible heels comes up from past the checkpoint and a crisply dressed woman walks up to him. "Mister Murdock? I'm Danielle. Would you care to accompany me to Miss Cranston's office?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt grins as he hears what Marilyn is typing about him. Truthfully he needed the boost, all appearances to the contrary, Matt was struggling, there was just so much going wrong right now, so it was nice to be able to take a little joy in something.

Matt waits until Danielle is close by to turn towards the sound of the on-coming heels, he gets to his feet, collecting his cane and his briefcase. "Thank you, Danielle, that'd be great, also, call me Matt," he says holding out his arm in the rough direction of her voice. "I really appreciate you taking the time to accommodate me."

If escorted, he comes along easily.

Shadow has posed:
    "It's no problem at all, Matt," Danielle smiles at him as she extends her arm to lead him past the checkpoint with a wave toward the guard who stands aside. "CMS prides itself on being able to accomodate its customers and visitors."

    She leads the way to the elevators, guiding Matt ahead of her into the one she'd come down in earlier, then follows him inside and presses the button for thet 40th floor. "I take it this is your first visit to the building?" she asks conversationally as the elevator starts moving.

Daredevil has posed:
"It shows," Matt says, smiling warmly before he follows along and steps into the elevator along with Danielle.

"Yes, the last time I met with Ms. Cranston it was at my firm's offices," he says, doing his best to make Nelson and Murdock sound more impressive for Natasha's sake as much as anything. "So, this is my first visit. I asked the cabby he drove me, he said the building looked very impressive," he remarks as he leans on his cane with one hand, his briefcase held in the other.

Shadow has posed:
    That brings another smile and a nod. "The building itself has been around since before the second world war," Danielle replies. "Cranston International - as the company was still named at the time, under Miss Cranston's grandfater - acquired it after its previous owner became embroiled in financial disrepute and it's been the headquarters for CMS ever since. It has been extensively renovated over the years, of course --" she cuts off briefly when the lift comes to a halt and the doors open. "... but here and there, especially in the Lobby, we've endeavoured to keep at least some of the old architecture as a reminder of our roots..." She continues plying Matt with trivia as she leads the way down the corridor - /good/ carpet, from the feel and the sound-absorbence of it, which makes the texture of the walls a little harder to determine, but there are hints of brass and marble...

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods, "Quite the legacy. I am sure Ms. Cranston's grandfather would be proud of what she's doing with the company. I followed some of what was happening during the Outage, CMS really stepped up, which is rare these days," he says conversationally but the compliment is sincere. It had impressed him.

Leaving the lift Matt drinks in his surroundings, the definitely well appointed, that much he can tell. "Have you worked for Ms. Cranston long?" he asks, making conversation as they journey towards Ms. Cranston's office.

Shadow has posed:
    "Not terribly long," Danielle admits. "Of course, she has only been in charge of the company for five months now, but I was among the first wave of new hires." She continues down the corridor toward a door about twenty meters down the hall from the elevators.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods, "Well it seems you've come on at a good time," he says. "From what I hear, the company is doing very well since the Outage," he says carrying on down the hall. When they cross the distance from the elevators to the door, Matt says, "Thank you for your help by the way, Danielle, and the history lesson. I hope I didn't keep you from anything too important," he says ahead of the expected entrance to the office itself.

Shadow has posed:
    Danielle smiles. "Not to worry, Matt. Customer relations /is/ my job, after all." She knocks on the door. "Miss Cranston? Mr. Murdock here to see you."

    "Ah, thank you Danielle. Let him in, would you?"

    She opens the door for Matt. "Have a nice day."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt offers another of those disarming smiles, "Well, you're very good at it," he says warmly, before inclining his head. "Thanks again."

"You too," he says and moving ahead with his cane he steps into the office, smiling, "Ms. Cranston, thank you for taking the time to see me," he says continuing forward with his cane, taking in the room and Natasha with his senses as he does.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha 'looks' much the same as the last time he met there; professionally and well-dressed, and judging by her heartrate either on mild tranquilizers or significantly more physically fit than most CEOs in his experience. "Mister Murdock. Welcome to my office. Please be seated; there's a chair just to your left; would you care for coffee or tea?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt had noticed that the heartrate last time, so his bet was fitness, but it wasn't impossible she had an addiction of some sort, but something in how she carried herself told him it was the other. Impressive though, his heart beat at about the same rate and he knew how much work /that/ took.

"To my left?" he asks, as he feels for it with the cane, finding it, he navigates himself into it. "And thank you, coffee would be wonderful, a lot of late nights lately," he says as he gets settled, briefcase in his lap, cane rested against the chair.

Shadow has posed:
    "Mm; I know the feeling," Nataha nods in sympathy, then reaches for her intercom. "Mathias, a coffee for our guest, if you would." She releases the button without waiting for a response. "In the meantime, as I'm certain you're a busy man, can you tell me what I might be able to do for you?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt smiles with understanding, "I can imagine, CMS has been busy lately, what was it thirteen acquisitions in February alone?" he asks conversationally. When asked about his business, he nods and opens his briefcase.

"I'm here a about two things, the first is the case you brought me in on, it seems like nothing came of the investigation and nothing has been filed, so, I wanted your direction on how you'd like things to proceed. Second, and this is more a personal matter, but I was hoping to get something in front of the people who handle CMS's charitable giving, there's a clinic project in Hell's Kitchen that is looking for donors, and with how CMS stepped up during the Outage, I thought it might be a good fit."

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha smiles, and from her body language Matt suspects that it would be quite a disconcerting smile if he could see it. "The Poseidon issue was handled satisfactorily, and in-house," she replies, a certain amount of satisfaction humming in her voice - the satisfaction of someone who has /personally/ seen to it that something bad happened to people who deserved it. "My accounting department found out who was cooking their books, and we were able to hand the entire smuggling operation over to the police. The last I heard, the director responsible had to mortgage his house and /both/ his cars to be able to keep paying his lawyer's bills, and it may still not be enough to keep him out of jail." She waves a dismissive hand. "Regardless of how the trial falls out, it's unlikely he'll find work in this sector again. And everyone involved took to heart the message that Cranston Multinational runs a /clean/ ship, and will not tolerate a subsidiary who doesn't."

    She leans back slightly in her seat as an older man arrives bearing a cup of excellent smelling coffee, which he deposits on the table in front of Matt's chair with an audible tap. "Milk or sugar, sir?" he asks while Natasha looks on.

Daredevil has posed:
The tone piques Matt's interest, it was unexpected, and the unexpected both thrilled and alarmed him. He counted on knowing what was coming, but at the same time, when thing changed suddenly it kept him on his toes and feeling alive. So, when he smiles at the fate of the man in question, it's a genuine one, though not about what he pretends it is. "Well, criminality should be expensive, I am glad the matter is settled then. I suppose you'd like Nelson and Murdock to close its involvement?" he asks, leaving the charity issue for the moment.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha nods. "Indeed, and with my thanks for a job well done. I'll have Mathias contact your secretary about the final bill, and I'll certainly keep Nelson and Murdock in mind should I find myself in need of criminal legal services again. As you might have noticed, our regularly retainered attorneys tend to specialize in corporate and contract law, and it showed in this case..."

Daredevil has posed:
Having taken the coffee from Mattias earlier, Matt takes a sip. It tasted like heaven, and not just because he was working on 30 minutes sleep today. "We do our best, and thank you, I'll make sure Karen has everything ready when Mathias calls," he says cheerfully. "And hopefully it won't be necessary, but if you need our services we'd be happy to work with you again."

He takes a sip of coffee to create a break in the conversation before he asks, gently, "As to the other matter?" he asks, letting Natasha decide if it was going to be discussed or not.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha nods, letting Matt enjoy the coffee for a moment before she responds. "To be honest, this is the first I've heard of the project. As you already noted, CMS has been busy, both with the outage and with its aftermath. That said, a charity clinic sounds like an excellent idea, but I would like to know a bit more about the project's founders and intentions before I commit to a decision. I'm sure you understand -- in fact, I'm willing to bet you have a copy of the relevant paperwork on you for me to peruse?" she asks, conveying the raised eyebrow Matt can detect just fine in her tone of voice.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt too takes a moment to sip his coffee again, he was going to need all the caffeine he could get, it was Saint Patrick's Day, odds were good Foggy would want to close the office early to go to Josie's for suspect green beer and wings. "I'm not surprised," he says about the project as he pulls out the paper work. "It's in the nascent stages of development, but as you predicted, here's all the paperwork," he says setting down his coffee to lean forward with the papers. "And of course, I wouldn't expect anything less than due diligence, I think you'll find the information there persuasive, as well, I am sure the founder, Claire Temple would be happy to meet with you to discuss any questions you have."

Shadow has posed:
    Mathias accepts the paperwork with quiet efficiency and delivers it to Natasha's desk, where she picks it up and leafs through it. "Efficient as ever, I see. And yes, this looks promising; I think I'll certainly have a word with Miss Temple about how and where CMS can be of most help."

Daredevil has posed:
"I try to be," Matt says with his usual self-effacing charm. "Excellent, you'll find her number in the documents, I'll make sure she's expecting your call."

He closes his briefcase. "That's all I had, but if I can be of any assistance, please let me know," he says offering her the chance to bring up new business or send him on his way.

Shadow has posed:
    "At the moment Cranston Multinational is blessedly free of legal embroilments," Natasha replies with a hint of smugness in her voice -- not entirely unwarranted, since two of her competitors are still suffering severe bad PR over lawsuits attempting to get out from under massive nondelivery penalties. "Still, if that were to change, or if I hear of a friend in need of legal representation, I'll be sure to keep Nelson and Murdock in mind."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt can hear the smugness of her tone and from what he reads of the business news she has reason to be. The Outage dealt a blow to a lot of shipping companies, well, a lot of companies in general. "Thank you," Matt says. "We'd be happy to help CMS or any of your friends to the best of our ability if the need arises," he says, and then moves to stand. "I won't take up any more of your time, but thank you for seeing me and I hope you and Ms. Temple can work something out about her project, it's a worthwhile effort."

Shadow has posed:
    "It certainly seems to be," Natasha replies, rising as well. "I look forward to meeting her. Thank you for bringing this to my attention; if you'd prefer, Mathias will assist you out."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt grins, "I am sure you'll get along very well," he says before, considering her offer. "I think I can find it on my own, Danielle, was very helpful in showing me the way, but thank you," he says before, if there is nothing else, he takes his leave.

On the way out he returns his lanyard to Marilyn, slipping her his card as he does, hey, she seemed nice. And then Matt is on his way back to the office before the call of wings and green beer gets too loud for Foggy to ignore.

Shadow has posed:
    Marilyn smiles brightly and thanks him for the return, then lets him know she called a cab when Mathias contacted her that the meeting was concluded; it should be arriving in a minute at most.

    Meanwhile, up in her office, Natasha studies the proposal for a bit longer, then rises and walks toward the window that makes up the back wall, looking down over Wall Street and watching a figure with a stick quietly tap his way down the pavement to the waiting cab. He seemed earnest, but she can't shake the feeling there was something more, there. Something he kept hidden.

But then, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?