4344/Just a Few Questions

Just a Few Questions
Date of Scene:	27 April 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Matt goes to ask Elektra a favor and as usual hearts are broken.
Cast of Characters:	Daredevil, Elektra

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Daredevil has posed:
The video was weighing heavily on Matt's mind. He'd had Foggy watch it, something Foggy deeply regretted, but he'd said that it showed what Maya had said it did, Daredevil shooting a man with the man's own gun. The way Foggy described the crime as brutal and from Matt heard he didn't doubt it, the victim, Ms. Lopez's father didn't go easily. Still, he had questions, and having run through his own resources there was one more place to go.

He'd called ahead, let Elektra know he was coming and that he had questions he didn't trust to the phone. Then at the appointed hour he exits a cab and goes inside, calling out, "Hello," as he enters, cane leading the way.

The place felt close to completion, the sound of the remaining work was muffled by competed walls and ceiling and the smell of fresh paint clung to every wall.

"I'm here to see Ms. Natchios."

Elektra has posed:
To say that she was surprised by Matt's call was an understatement. Since the night of hte attack, she'd been avoiding him. Hell, she'd been avoiding anything to do with that portion of her life - Not just Josie's, but Hell's Kitchen altogther..Instead, she'd kept herself busy in other ways.

Other.. unsatisfying ways.

She just hadn't seen any way around it. Until now...

She'd chosen the meeting ground. Somewhat neutral territory, or so she thought. And, she had a legitimate enough reason to be at the Hugo Building as she wrapped up the final details for the grand opening.

Behind the reception desk, a young man, dressed in clean, but faded jeans, and a black t-shirt, looks down at the book in front of him, then back up. "Say, you're that guy, huh?" Then he thinks better of it. "I mean, uh, welcome to the Hugo Building. Uh.. Miss.. Ms. Natchios said someone would be dropping by. Must be you, huh? Sorry, she didn't say you were blind? She's in the office. Want I should let her know you're here?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt offers the guy at the desk a tight but quizzical smile. "That guy?" he asks tilting his head before nodding, "Yes, please do, and if someone could show me the way to the office that'd be great," he says as he moves out of the doorway and leans on his cane.

As he waits, he continues to let his senses tell him about the building getting a sense of the space.

Elektra has posed:
The young man behind the desk squints at his book. "Yeah.. Uh.. Mmmmmaat-tt Mmuurdooockk?" He sounds out Matt's name painfully slowly, and the picture should become clear to Matt: he's one of the building's residents. Or will be if he hasn't moved in already. And good to her word, opportunity is being given to those who might not otherwise get a "Hand Up and Out" as the slogan was.

He pushes a button behind the desk and leans in, "Miss Natchios? Your guy is here."

So he's rough around the edges. He'll learn.

Elektra's reply is easy enough for Matt to hear: "Send him in."

"She says to go in. Uh.. you need help with that?" He seems slightly uncomfortable, but at least he's semi-aware that offering is a thing you do.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt continue to smile as the man figures out his name and makes the call, though the smile takes on a more good-humoured tone. It was good to see Elektra doing good.

When asked about being shown in, he nods vaguely in the man's direction, "Yes if you don't mind," he says, waiting with his arm out.

Elektra has posed:
The young man is clearly out of his depth, not k nowing if he's to grab Matt's arm, or to let Matt find it or what. In the end, he seems to settle between the two, moving close enough to both grab and offer at the same time.

"Don't mind at all. It's uh.. this way. Kinda like in front of you. Maybe like a few steps?"

Daredevil has posed:
"It's okay to grab my arm," Matt supplies, "I can't see if you're offering yours or not. And don't worry, everyone takes a bit of time to work this part out."

Once he gets the directions, he nods, "Alright, thanks, what's your name by the way?" he asks as they move the short distance to door.

Elektra has posed:
With Matt's help, and prodding, the young man takes a much more confident grip on Matt's arm. "Heh. Can't see. Right. Because you're blind. Shoulda thought of that, huh?"

He's smiling to himself, clearly amused at his own expense, until Matt's question throws him off. "My name?"

There's a sudden stiffening from the young man, and a long pause before he hesitantly provides, "Marcus.. You ain't gonna tell Ms. Natchios I did it wrong, are you?"

It clear that Marcus isn't entirely sure it's safe to give his name to a stranger, and is having to unlearn bunches of ingrained suspicion to answer Matt. Just as it's also clear he's terrified Matt might get him fired even before his job truly started.

Daredevil has posed:
"Yep, like I said, it happens," Matt says easily as they sort out the arm business. "And don't worry Marcus, I'm just saying hello, you don't have to tell me your last name. Besides, I'm a defense attorney, incriminating people is the job for the other side," he offers in a little joke to try to ease the man's nerves.

Elektra has posed:
Marcuc's footsteps stumble for a step, then he stops. In part to catch his balance, and in part because the door is reached. "Attorney? Like put guys like me in jail?" Clearly focusing on 'attorney' and not the 'defense' portion of the statement.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt smiles patiently, "No, I'm the type that keep people out of jail or at least get them a fair shot at justice," he says, reaching into his pocket and producing a card. "I am sure you're keeping out of trouble but if you ever need a lawyer for anything, or just some legal advice give me a call, Ms Natchios has things set up so we can cover the costs for the clients that need them covered."

Elektra has posed:
That seems to reassure the young man, his whole demeanour changing, "Heh, that right, huh? Keep folks outta jail? I'll remember that."

He awkwardly disentangles Matt's hand from his arm. "I'll just open the door here, and you can go in. She's just in there at the desk. Oh..uh.. like about the same number of steps ahead?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods, "Thanks, Marcus and yeah, keep that card, if you need any help I'll do everything I can," he offers the man his hand to shake before taking the direction with a further nod and stepping inside. Letting his senses give him the senses of the office and the woman inside.

Elektra has posed:
"Will do man, er.. Mr. Murdock."

And Marcus returns to his desk duty.

Inn the office, Elektra is behind the desk, and has already looked up from the files in front of her and is regarding Matt, waiting for him to step inside and close the door behind him.

"Matthew," she greets him carefully. And, when it's clear the door is closed, leaving them to sound-proofed silence, she allows a small smile, chin moving imperceptibly towards the space outside. "How'd he do?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt laughs and then steps into the office, growing serious as he does. He was trying to avoid these sorts of meetings to make it easier for the both of them, so since he was here he clamps down hard on his emotions, trying to be as much about business as he could, even if just the sent of her and the steady thrum of her heartbeat brought everything he was trying to forget about her back again.

"Not bad, took him a moment to figure out I couldn't see his arm, but otherwise he did well," he answers, putting his cane against the wall. "Seems like the construction's almost done, how soon until the grand opening?" he asks.

Elektra has posed:
"Pool is filling and being treated. Equipment arrives and is setup the rest of this week. By next weekend, we open."

Her words and appraisal of the place are efficient, and to another might seem utterly businesslike, but he knows her well enough to know the difference. She's actually proud of this place and what her vision has turned out to look like.

"Good to hear Marcus passed the test. He's one of the ones your second chances are going to put to the test."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt stands there nodding faintly at the details of the place's development, before remarking, "Next weekend? You guys made good time," he offers a sincere smile at that. He knew she was the reason for that.

Though her words make Marcus suddenly click. There had been something faintly familiar about him before but now that he knew the context the rest of the details came together. "Bodega robbery, right? Him and another guy. The other guy wounded the clerk," he remembered that night and Marcus in flashes of sensation. The smell of cordite and blood, the anger, at the crime and then the feel of bone giving way under his fists and Marcus' panicked shouts and hammering heartbeat when he caught up with him.

Mixing that moment with the man he just met, it made him feel queasy, but he does his best not to show it, even though, with Elektra, his best often isn't enough. "I'm glad he's doing well for himself," he says.

Elektra has posed:
Elektra nods thoughtfully. "Ironically, it was the whole internet crash that pushed the project through. Made it really clear we needed something to rally behind. I had the resources. I applied them."

She's watching his face and sees his expression go from off to on as he clues into who Marcus is.

"Yes. That would be him. A side effect of hunting up all those case files to send to you was finding people for my project." She gives him a tight little smile. "I know. I was a bitch. Hitting you with your failures even as I was stocking my project with people to become your successes."

The rest of what she notes she lets pass without comment.

Daredevil has posed:
"Makes sense," Matt says with a nod. "Probably helped a lot of people too."

"Can't say it wasn't deserved," Matt says and means it. To his mind he's killed her, it left what counted as fair retribution from her wide open. "Just glad you're helping them."

"That said, I was hoping to get your help with something," he says. "Someone brought me a video of someone in a Daredevil suit killing their father, I was wondering if it might be related to the incident from the other night. Someone coming at you through your connections."

Elektra has posed:
Elektra makes a small scoffing noise. "I'm not doing this for you, Matthew. The pro-bono fund. To begin with, that was for you. I wanted you to be forced to pay attention to me."

She sighs and shrugs, pushing back from the desk, but not without closing the file folders in front of her first.

"It became clear what a stupid idea that was. I was.. well, you know what happened. I thought about handing the project over to another firm to snub you when you refused to sign the first time. I even thought about naming it the Nelson and Murdock fund while giving it to someone else. Totally to pretend you hadn't hurt me."

"Then I realized you'd never see me the same again if I did. And that the fund /was/ Nelson and Murdock. By the time I'd sent you all those files I was ashamed of myself. It would never be something you could accept if that was how you came to it."

She gives a small, bitter smile at the memory.

"That's when I ripped up the contracts. But the Hugo Building was never about you."

Daredevil has posed:
"Elektra, I know this place has nothing to do with me. I'm still glad you built it though, both because it's going to help people and because it's important to you," Matt says in that soft-spoken and earnest tone of his.

"As for the rest, Elektra, I'm sorry," he begins to say he didn't want to hurt her, but he wasn't sure that was true, that he didn't hope the hurt would force the change he couldn't convince her of by other means. His face shows his own disgust at his choices but he doesn't remark on it.

"I shouldn't have shut you out like I did. I was wrong," he says with effort. "I know that doesn't mean much now, given all that's happened, but it's true. I was wrong and I'm sorry I hurt you."

The video will wait, he turns his attention to Elektra then and only her, while he waits for her reply.

Elektra has posed:
"Water under the bridge, Matthew," she says softly and without any particular inflection. They'd had all the discussions they could about them and nothing ever changed. This time, she wasn't going to have the discussion.

"So. You didn't call me up to discuss old wounds and torn contracts. And you certainly could have found out when the opening was by many other means, so I'm left to conclude you must have some other reason you've dragged yourself over here to have a chat."

The implication being that she was aware he was avoiding her as much as she was avoiding him.

Daredevil has posed:
"About the contracts, I didn't know, I knew you mentioned thinking of other firms, but," he makes a face. The tale spoke to her anger and hurt eloquently. "Like I said, I'm sorry."

Though when she declares it water under the bridge he doesn't argue and offers the barest hint of a nod.

"No, not here for that," he agrees. "But, like I mentioned, someone brought me a video tape of someone in a Daredevil suit killing their father. I haven't been able to find the source, I thought you might be able to, if you're willing, or that it might be related to the incident at Josie's the guys coming at you through your contacts."

Elektra has posed:
Elektra gives a soft chuckle. "You, killing anyone?"

The chuckle turns into a luagh.

"Of course you couldn't say, but we all know it wasn't you. So, let me guess, you'd like me to look into it? Hrm?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods, not joining in on the laughter, though the sentiment is appreciated. "Glad, you believe me," he says. "Showed Foggy the tape and for a moment, he wondered." Though Foggy wasn't fully on board with what Matt did at night anyhow.

Matt makes a face, but confirms, "Yes," he says knowing he's asking a lot of her right now. "I haven't been able to track down the source of the tape but it was sent to a woman named Maya Lopez, who brought it to me seeking advice on what do with it."

Elektra has posed:
"Maya Lopez." Elektra mulls the word around in her mouth and tastes it for any association it might draw up, coming up empty-handed. "The name rings no bells."

She doesn't address the matter of her helping. Not immediately. It takes her time to come to a comfortable conclusion with her answer to him.

"I'll see what I can do, Matthew. If only because I don't need any unaccounted for elements in the neghbourhood." Or, more to the point, she wasn't sure it wasn't a rogue element within her own organization, and as such, she felt responsible to deal with it. To make sure her mistakes hadn't put him in danger. "Anything else?"

Daredevil has posed:
"Doesn't ring any bells with me either, nobody I know has heard of her," Matt says, frowning at his missed chance of following her and learning more that way, but like the other things it was water under the bridge now.

Matt nods, "Whatever your reasons, Elektra, thank you," Matt says as he reaches for his cane leaning against the wall. "And no, that's what I came for," he says which was true enough except for the parts of him that missed her.

Elektra has posed:
"Leave the video with me. If I find out anything, I'll make certain you have the information you need."

She looks thoughtful, struggling with a decision, then speaks up. "Look, Matthew. I know there are things that make this difficult, but in some ways this project and the pro-bono fund brush against one another, much as that hadn't been my initial intent. I think your coming to the opening and seeing what your belief in change has created, and giving that message to the people who will be living and working here, would speak volumes."

She nods.

"I'd like you to come. Bring Claire. Bring a date. Just..I think you should be here."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt fishes into his pocket and produces a flash drive, it held a cellphone video of the tape being played, the actual tape being out of reach for the moment. He puts it on Elektra's desk, with a "Thank you," he says.

He notes the signs of her struggle but doesn't remark on it, not until she makes her request of him. He blinks behind his shades before he nods, shallow and rapid, "Yeah, I'd like that," he says sounding a little surprised though he quickly gets a handle on it and follows up with, "I'll be here, Elektra, and thank you for the invitation, it means a lot."

Elektra has posed:
The flash drive is taken and held between long slender fingers.

"Stay safe, Matthew." It's terribly inadequate to what she'd like to say, but it's all she's left without ripping open wounds that have to be left to heal. For both their sakes.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt finds himself nodding again, the gesture equally inadequate as the words they're in response to. Though as words go they're safe and without edges to hurt with and draw blood. "You too," he offers in the same fashion. His attention lingering on her longer than it should, the moment pregnant with the things that had to go unspoken. "And Elektra," he says, "See you at the opening," he finishes before turning for the door.