View source for 7140/City Fall: Where is Mercy Found

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2019/04/05
|Location=Nelson & Murdock, Attorneys At Law, Hell's Kitchen, NYC
|Synopsis=Matt Murdock takes on a couple of hard-luck cases... And Daredevil has a clue to chase down.
|Cast of Characters=89,1092
|Tinyplot=City Fall
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:89|Matt Murdock (89)}} has posed:'''<br>The offices of Nelson and Murdock were dark, but that didn't mean unoccupied, not when Matt Murdock was working late. He didn't need the lights, but he did need to work. Trading one suit for another Matt had gone from his night job back to his day job trading the red of Daredevil for the muted blue suit of Matt Murdock. Not that he needed to wear a suit at this hour, there weren't any clients to see, just some paperwork over due for the Gonzales case that Foggy was going to /kill/ him about if it wasn't done by morning. <br><br>A hero/lawyer's work is never done. <br><br>He lifts the lid of his laptop giving the office its only illumination as the screen powers on and Matt plugs in his braille display to get down to the business of work.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1092|Natasha Cranston (1092)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;thump. thump. thump. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's... Odd. Matt knows what footsteps sound like and identify the brand and degree of wear on the soles, and whether the owner is in shape, or tired, or wounded... But these don't sound like footsteps at all - all he hears is the soft puff of air being displaced without hearing the footstep itself. But whatever they are, they're moving up the stairs and approaching the door to the office... And then there's a knock.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:89|Matt Murdock (89)}} has posed:'''<br>The strange and nearly silent footfalls have Matt standing at his desk, the first thought ringing through his head is that the Foot or the remnant of the Hand still left in the city had discovered the truth that Matt Murdock was Daredevil. He held back that initial clutch of fear, willing his mind to work rationally. He had plans for this for now though, he didn't need this fight here in the office...<br><br>He grabbed his cane and started for Foggy's office, the one with the window, when the knock stops him in his tracks. <br><br>/That/ didn't fit the nightmare scenario in his head. Matt pauses half-way across the reception area, and considering options for a moment decides on simply saying: "It's open."<br><br>And letting whoever it was outside come to him.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1092|Natasha Cranston (1092)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The door opens... And it's not a ninja of any description. In fact, it doesn't seem to be /anything/ -- other than a vague area of fuzz where both his radar sense and his echolocation just give up and shrug. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">Mr. Murdock?</span>" The voice, however, is real enough -- and strangely dopplered, as if someone were speaking into some kind of voice mask and amplifier. "<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">I wish to hire your services on someone's behalf.</span>" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As they speak, the 'fuzz' seems to contract, as if Matt's senses are sorting themselves out, solidifying into a tall figure wearing a bulky coat and cape, with a hat and scarf covering their features...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:89|Matt Murdock (89)}} has posed:'''<br>When the door opens Matt's not sure if a ninja would be better or worse than... that whatever it was, that was both there and not there. <br><br>That said the man doesn't show it on the outside, his lips drawing into a defiant line as he says, "Do you or the potential client have a name?" <br><br>The blank in his senses begins to take shape into something Matt had experienced before, that ghost vigilante he'd crossed paths with in Brooklyn. Or rather Daredevil had, he can't speak to it, not as Matt Murdock and so he waits quietly for an answer.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1092|Natasha Cranston (1092)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Shadow reaches slowly into their coat, withdrawing a familiar shape - a file folder, almost certainly standard police issue. "<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">Nicholas Murray, age nineteen, and Edward Davis, twenty-one,</span>" the Shadow replies, placing the file in front of Matt, even though he can't read it. "<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">Their attempt to rob a grocery store turned into a hostage situation by the time I intervened. The NYPD has been looking incompetent lately, so I suspect they intend to throw the book at them and push for maximum sentences... Regardless of mitigating circumstances.</span>"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:89|Matt Murdock (89)}} has posed:'''<br>Matt frowns when the cloaked stranger doesn't give a name, but he holds his objections for now. The case he's brought with him grabbing his attention. Guilty but likely going to go up the river due to politics, whoever it was in the cloak they knew their mark; that had Nelson and Murdock written all over it. <br><br>Matt's hand reaches out to lay on top of the folder. "Given I can't read what's in here, what can you tell me about the mitagating circumstances?" he asks. "Provided he doesn't get off anyhow, a lot of guys are these days." <br><br>Matt had been focused on his other job during the recent more lenient turn of the local judges but now that he was back it didn't escape his notice.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1092|Natasha Cranston (1092)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone with senses less than Matt's would have missed it, but there is a twitch from the Shadow as he hints at the recent spate of leniency. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">... That has not escaped my attention, and I /am/ in the process of dealing with it,</span>" the Shadow replies. "<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">But that is exactly /why/ these two will suffer -- people are starting to notice the trend, and those responsible need to arrange for some... /examples/... set so that the general public can be persuaded it was just a glitch.</span>" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">As to mitigating circumstances... Nicholas made the kind of bad decision entirely too many kids his age are prone to and got himself addicted and in debt. Edward was a good enough friend to convince him to try to quit, but that still left the debt - and when Nick couldn't pay up, his dealer took his girlfriend as... 'collateral', threatening to either sell her off or return her in pieces unless Nick came up with the money very soon.</span>" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">I won't pretend trying to rob a grocery store for the cash was a good idea, but desperate people make terrible decisions.</span>"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:89|Matt Murdock (89)}} has posed:'''<br>Matt's brows raise behind his red shades, "Dealing with it how? I know some of those judges, hell, Foggy and I clerked for some of them, they didn't strike me as people who could be gotten to. Not easily." <br><br>As for the blowback, that was typical in a system that saw judges elected, public perception sometimes trumped justice and it sounded like Nicholas and Edward were caught up in the middle of it, bad choices aside.<br><br>"Alright, I'm interested in the case. Where are Nicholas and Edward being held, and what happened to the girlfriend and the dealer?" he asks already pulling the pieces of the case together in his head.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1092|Natasha Cranston (1092)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A pause, as the Shadow considers how much to tell a blind lawyer. "<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">Some of them were... 'gotten to'... in less /conventional/ ways,</span>" they eventually reply, the stress on the word 'conventional' as much as an outright admission that magic of some sort is almost certainly involved. "<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">If you're ever asked to defend someone who holds a 'coin'... I recommend declining the case if possible.</span>" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">I have the name of his dealer, and the address where he was supposed to go to pay his debt. His girlfriend will be returned safe and sound. My word on it.</span>"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:89|Matt Murdock (89)}} has posed:'''<br>"A coin?" Matt asks weighing quickly what Matt Murdock would know and what was the province of his alter-ego. "I've heard about them. What does that mean? Membership in some sort of criminal conpsiracy?" he asks. <br><br>Matt lifts his head to consider the figure in front of him. "The sooner she's freed, the better, for everybody, also, the dealer? His being alive and in police custody will help this case immensely. I assume that won't be an issue?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1092|Natasha Cranston (1092)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">Presumably,</span>" the Shadow replies. "<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">I am still investigating the matter. As to the girl... I'm aware time is of the essence, which is why I don't intend to stay here long.</span>" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Shadow reaches into their coat again, this time extracting a thick envelope of a /very/ familiar shape. "<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">This should cover a week of your standard rate; if more turns out to be required we can discuss it when I inform you at which precinct the dealer can be found.</span>"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:89|Matt Murdock (89)}} has posed:'''<br>"You're being very tight lipped about this," Matt observes, unable to keep a little of the resentment out of his voice. It was hard to play the helpless lawyer when so much was at stake. "It might help to have someone working these coins from this side of the law." <br><br>Matt holds out his hand for the money. "I'll take the amount on faith, but if the Murray and Davis qualify, I can probably have their defense covered by the Hugo Foundation, they've got a fund set up for that. In which case, I'll take this as a donation for that fund if there's no objections? Otherwise, we can settle things when you let me know about the dealer."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1092|Natasha Cranston (1092)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's certainly a hefty envelope, but without checking the denomination it's hard to guess how much money there is.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">Whoever is behind this has invested a great deal of effort and resources into setting it up - and they may not yet realize that they've shown their hand, but if an attorney suddenly starts to ask the wrong questions...</span>" The Shadow trails off, letting the implications speak for themselves. One blind lawyer would be easy to abduct, question and dispose off, after all. "<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">I promise I will contact you when I learn more. For now, however...</span>" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And their last words echo out of empty air as Matt's radar sense fuzzes out on their general location again...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:89|Matt Murdock (89)}} has posed:'''<br>Matt's senses give him a solid idea of how heavy the enevlope is without having to bounce it in his hand to weigh it, the rest he takes on the judgement of the character of the person in front of them, they don't strike him as the sort to short him, indeed if he was going to guess he'd say there's probably a bit more than their usual fee in there if it's not the exact amount. He sets that down on top of the file. <br><br>Swallowing his pride, Matt nods, "I appreciate your concern," he says about keeping him out of things. Not that he really plans to leave off. but for now he'll play that role. As his senses blur and the figure departs he calls out after them: "Never caught your name."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1092|Natasha Cranston (1092)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Only laughter answers him, slowly echoing down the stairway until even the sound of non-footsteps fades and he's left with nothing but the noises from the street through the still-open window. People walking, people talking, people arguing, cars driving past, the occasional cab picking up a fare...<br><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>The Mare-in-the-Yew is said to have once asked the Watchman for mercy; his reply was "<span class="bold_fg_y bg_n ++ hy">Mercy is found only in Shadow</i></span>." <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;-- Teresa Galmier, <u>[https://cultistsimulator.gamepedia.com/The_Locksmith%27s_Dream:_Stolen_Reflections The Locksmith's Dream: Stolen Reflections]</u><br> <br>
}}