5377/Matthew Murdock for the Defense

Matthew Murdock for the Defense
Date of Scene:	15 September 2018
Location:	Nelson & Murdock, New York City
Synopsis:	The infamous Contessa comes to Nelson and Murdock for legal help and Matt accepts, if only to find out more about the strangest crimelord he's ever met.
Cast of Characters:	Daredevil, Ekaterina Vespucci

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Daredevil has posed:
Matt had, for the most part stepped back from his duties at Nelson and Murdock to focus on his night time responsibilities. Though when Foggy called saying they had a client who wanted to meet and that he'd be in court all day, Matt suited up to take the meeting.

Truth was he missed it, being a lawyer, helping people without the costume. Though even so, his other life pulled at him, he'd left that message for Stick before coming to the office, and he just had to hope he got it and would meet him tonight. It'd been too long since he'd heard from him, or Elektra.

Still, the client, he was coming into this meeting blind except for Foggy saying she sounded 'really cute' on the phone. Matt had rolled his eyes. As if that was a benchmark for picking clients.

So, at the appointed hour Matt wait in the reception area of the office, leaning on Karen's desk, dressed in a inexpensive but well-fitted suit of blue, his eyes shaded by red tinted sunglasses, his cane held loosely in one hand.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
A young girl shows up with a man. The girl appears to be quite young probably around nineteen to early twenties. She is short probably only abouit 5"1 or 5"2 and wears informal clothing. She smells of paint and dust probably having come from some sort of gallery or construction site. Like Foggy said this girl is cute - she looks and sounds sweet - and is pretty sweet in her behaviour and demeanor. The man is late twenties and ex military by the way he carries himself.

As they enter the office Ekaterina introduces herself, "Mr Murdock Sono la Contessa Ekaterina Vespucci," she introduces herself in Italian. There is the first sign of complications in this case. This girl is probably the reputedly infamous underworld figure 'The Contessa' or 'Lady Artifice' if Matt has been keeping his ear to the ground. "This is my employee Mr Gary Noble. We have some legal problems relating to an altercation at one of my establishments." This tiny girl a crimelord? And an entreprenuer being so young. What was the world coming to?

Daredevil has posed:
Matt's linquistic talents tend towards, English, Spanish, Latin and snippets of Greek, French and Russian, though The Contessa's greeting is plain enough for Matt to understand.

He stands, up, brushing off his suit with his free hand and then putting it infront of him in an invitation to shake. "Contessa, Mr. Noble," he greets, "I'm Matthew Murdock, it's a pleasure to meet you both."

That was a lie, he was definitely going to have to have a talk with Foggy about vetting clients. He knew who the Contessa was, by reputation at least, though he'd always pictured someone older, but with his life being nothing but ninja, ninja, ninja lately he'd not had the time to investigate. He supposed now was as good a time as any.

"Please forgive my partner not being here to greet you as well, he has court today, but if you would like to step into my office, we can see what I can do to help."

He gestures towards the office on the left of the desk.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Gary nods in greeting and is seated Ekaterina sits next to her man. "I thank you for meeting us at such short notice Mr Murdock. You may not know I own sereval commercial Art galleries and teach an Art History course at my local community college in Queens. But I find that exhibiting art in other venues can boost sales and to that end I opened up a club. It has been both a boon and a bane to my existence. Mr Noble is one of my chiefs of security. I had to invest in so much security for my club I found it advantageous to start my own security firm," this was a convenient way of course to justify having a private army. "A former member of the Gnucchi syndicate Mr Donatelli Fachello attempted to assault me outside my club and Gary came to my defence things got pretty nasty and both Mr Fachello and Gary got arrested. Gary was simply doing his job defending me..."

At this stage Gary says, "Yeah couldn't let anything happen to Kat here she's friends with my wife. I wouldn't be able to go home." Actually almost all of her organisation just call Ekaterina Kat - some she is apparently like everyones little sister.

Kat continues, "I think all of this spans from some sort of miscommunication Mr Murdock. The man who assaulted me seems to think I am running some sort of rival syndicate." Interesting angle from Kat.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt doesn't need to check heartbeats to tell if that last part was true or not.

There is the faint up turn of his lips. "Strange how rumours get started, isn't it?" he says rhetorically. "And, do I call you Contessa, Ms. Vespucci or Kat?" he asks.

Sitting back in his chair Matt considers what he's been told. "Were there witnesses to this attack?" he asks. "Preferably ones who aren't employed by yourself or your security company."

Matt's posture is wary, but he has to admit the casual way Gary calls the Contessa Kat, has him curious. Definitely not the norm for your run-of-the-mill crimeboss.

"Also, Gary," he asks attention shifting from the Contessa to her man. "Would you mind giving me the events as you saw them as well, just so we're all on the same page." Matt focuses then, listening to the beat of the man's heart for signs of deception.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Call me Kat," Ekaterina says smiling sweetly, "I think just about everybody does. Yes this criminal syndicate rumor has gotten out of hand - just the other day Frank Castle showed up outside my studio apartment and office would you believe?" Yes alot of people would believe that and it is perhaps not a story that one can just cut off there. "Yes yes..." Kat says, "I have several club patrons but most of them are regulars so I think that it might be argued they are in camp Katr. I do however have security footage. I would have thought all of this would be a slam dunk to avoid even having charges laid against Gary but the police seem to be a bit testy about me. I think that someone just wants to cause me and my organisations trouble."

Gary says, "Sure do you need to deposition me? It's a long story?"

But wait a minute - Kat just glosses over an encounter with Frank Castle?

Daredevil has posed:
Matt doesn't pick up a pen or a pad, but he takes careful notes of the mental sort. The presense of multiple witnesses and security footage, tells its own story. Not about the alleged crime itself, but how seriously someone in the NYPD wants to take down Kat and her operation. Someone in blue was getting emotional about this, lashing out, trying to make just about anything stick.

It bore more investigation.

The question of the deposition is forgotten though, after Frank Castle, a lot of the rest is a blurr.

"The Punisher?" Matt asks sitting up a little straighter. "He came to see you?" that question is followed by an implied 'and you're alive?'. That told it's own story too.

"What happened there? From what I've read in the papers, Frank Castle doesn't usually visit without leaving a lot of bodies behind."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Gary groans as Kat excitedly tells her story. "Actually I made him - he was doing surveillance up on an adjoining rooftop near my apartment. It doubles as the place where I run my security firm. I figure I can kill two birds with one stone by simply sleeping there. I also have myt studio where I do my art in there," Kat says.

"She's very talented Gary interjects. Then thinks a little better of it. Poor Matt might not be able to appreciate the acuity of Kat's art given erm his sight thing.

"Yes well I snuck up on him whilst he was surveilling us. Caught him by surpriose. He did not like that. It was all fun and games until he stuck a gun in my face. After assuring him that I was unarmed I told him that my place was just a security firm and that he was mistaking it for a staging area. I said that he could spend the next week or so scoping the place out or I could just let him inside to take a look. He went with the latter. He had a look around - nothing illegal to see and then we had a chat and swapped numbers and he left."

Gary cracks his neck and says to Matt, "You see what we have to put up with..." he says to Matt, "Ordinary girls bring home puppys. This one picks up vigilante serial killers. And not one of us was surprised when she walked in there with Frank Castle. It is a completely normal event where I work. We just laughed and shrugged it off."

"Well Frank does kind of look like a kicked puppy," Kat says mustering a rather pathetic defense. Indeed - poor Gary this girl must be a nightmare to protect.

"Why don't you tell Mr Murdock about all the other things that happened to you over the last two weeks? It wasn't just the Punisher you met was it Kat?" Gary prods.

Daredevil has posed:
"You, /made/ the Punisher?" Matt asks, incredulous. "I hear he's some sort of Marine special forces operator, that's quite the accomplishment."

Matt listens carefully to the rest, "Well, if the Punisher looked things over and didn't see a problem, then it sounds like the police are barking up the wrong tree."

"I don't envy you your job, Mr. Noble," Matt remarks to Gary with a smile. "And I am sure she's as talented at her art as she is at making your life interesting, though unless that includes sculpting, most of it would be lost on me."

"Anyhow, yes, please share, it would be good background for the case," he says not to mention interesting, given what he'd heard so far.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"I can see really well in the dark," Kat says - maybe this is not the venue to mention she is a 1200 year old mutant who can see almost perfectly in the dark and at range. Or that she teleported up next to Frank which was how she got the drop on him. Gary knows all of this which is one of the explanations for how fond he is of his boss. She is unique.

Gary says, "Tell Mr Murdock Kat. This is hardly relevant to the case but Kat has a habit of not going around with a security retinue. She has us guarding her Star Wars figurines at home while she walks head on into dangerous areas."

Kat says, "Alright we'll I met and was rescued by no lessa than Superman in Metropolis when I was taken hostage in a bank robbery. I met Red Robin in Gotham when I was being mugged. Got him to promise to come to one of my events. Being mugged was very exciting it was the first time that had happeend to me in Gotham," Gary groans again. "Then I was almost kidnapped in Gotham again when some kids tried to rob a University coffee shop. But they ran away and Batman showed up. I gave him my card." She's been doing alot of socialising with the Supers it appears. "Oh I met Wonderwoman or Diana as she prefers. She had coffee with me and we swapped numbers. She's coming to my charity arty event as well. I met a Violet Lantern - I forget her name. I also met Professor Zoom and ran away from him as he destroyed a museum I was in. I met Thor Odinson in a park together with this gigantic talking gorilla called Kid." Kat seems proud of her adventures.

"Hey Gary I think there will be a few organised crime figures incidentally at my event - think I should take Frank Castle as my plus one?" Kat jokes.

Gary rubs his eyes. "No security detail during all of this like I said. And with Kat it is impossible to know whether she is joking about taking Castle as her date."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt chuckles, when the story's finished. "Kat, this steps outside of my purview as your legal counsel but for your sake, and the sake of Gary's stress level, you might want to think about bringing a bodyguard when you go out. You seem, kidnapping prone."

There is a smile to soften the words and make it clear he's mostly joking.

"As for bringing Mr. Castle as your date, all I can recommend is that if you do, you might want to handout free bullet proof vests at the door," he says still smiling.

Then it's down to brass tacks.

"I will need to discuss things with my partner, but I think we should be able to take Mr. Noble's case. Provided you don't give him a heart attack before the trial date," he adds with a smile. "We can take his deposition today, and get the paperwork handled, after that my partner will view the security tapes, talk to the witnesses, and we'll take it from there. Does that work for you both?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Kat and Gary look at eachother and nod. "That sounds great Mr Murdock," Kat says and Gary seconds that. "Do you need all of our contact information as well?" Kat asks. If she is a crimelord she must be the strangest in all of NYC. Perhaps the US. "Oh and I know this great little coffee place we can meet in if we have to eat and meet!" Kat exclaims. Gary rubs his eyes again. The sprightly little girl was quite the eater. Indeed beneath the smell of paint and dust Matt might detect a scent of donuts and coffee.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt opens a drawer in his desk, feels through some folders and then pulls a stappled form from the drawer and runs his finger over a little braile tag before removing it, then holds the form out in the pair's vague direction.

"If you can fill out our standard client agreement here, that will include all your contact information, my assistant will make sure it gets into a format I can read," he offers with a self-effacing smile.

"And I'm sure we'll need to sit down sometime, so we can definitely try that coffee place," he suggests, breezily. "I try not to indluge too much, but I admit a fondness for lattes."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Kat seems pleased by the arrangements and the agreements are signed by both Gary and Kat. "One question," Kat asks, "Even if this case goes well I am still worried about civil liability. This Donatelli guy is the sort of creook who could get litigious. I want to try and take steps to mitigate against that possibility. Do you do much civil stuff Mr Murdock?"

Daredevil has posed:
Matt sits back while the two erstwhile criminals fill out their forms. Though Matt is a good deal less sure that they are criminals than he was when they walked in.

He'd have to do some digging both as Matt Murdock and as Daredevil.

The question is met with slightly boyish and agreeable smile. "We're a full servicxe lawfirm by necessity, so we can absolutely handle a civil case for you as well. Though, may I ask a question of my own? Why Nelson and Murdock. You clearly have the resources to hire a firm like Hogarth, Chao and Benowitz or Wolfram and Hart, why us?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Gary looks pointedly at Kat. There was a bit of history to the tale and Kat had a whole lot of history behind her. "That's a shortlist of people that give me the creeps," Kat says. "I'd rather have a smaller competant firm where success matters more and things are more personal."

And boy oh boy would he be in for a surprise if he figured out /what/ Kat was as Daredevil. Gary Chris and her spoke about it often.

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods, in acceptance of the answer. "Well, things are definitely more personal here," he assures Kat. "And we have been very successful." If they did their digging, Nelson and Murdock punch well above their weight class for a firm their size.

"Are there any further questions? If not, and those forms are done I can let you on your way and we'll get to work on your case."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Nothing comes to mind," Kat extends her small soft hand to Matt, "Thankyou for your time Mr Murdock I look forward to working with you if only the circumstances were better. But then it's usually not a good thing needing a lawyer. It's like needing a doctor I guess."

Daredevil has posed:
"I completely unserstand," Matt says with a smile about needing a lawyer. The hand, extended goes unshook, not because Matt can't detect it but because he's got to play the role of Matt Murdock, blind lawyer. He let's the awkward pause that creates linger a second or two before saying, "You're extending your hand, aren't you?" with a disarming and boyish smile. He puts out his own hand. "Don't worry, it happens all the time."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Oh sorry," Kat says sheepishly and shakes his hand. "I am not very nuanced when it comes to... well everything." She smiles knowing that he probably can't see that either. "We should let you get back to work. Gary here is not letting me out of his sight now so I guess we are going to the movies together. We'll speak soon Mr Murdock."

Daredevil has posed:
"Like I said, happens all the time," Matt says excusing the faux pas. "And yes, should get started on your case, but I hope you both enjoy the movie, and we'll be in touch soon," he says before adding. "Also, feel free to call me Matt, it's only fair."