Invisible String

Forward

Tw: violence, blood and injury detail.

Pitch black. Darkness. That was what Matthew Murdock was reborn into. Alone and discarded in unexplored territory. Scrambling and gnawing his way through the expanse of black. Disoriented and bewildered. He felt robbed, it was unexpected, and he was left spinning off orbit. A pleading, yearnful declaration bursts from a young Matthew's lips. "DAD! DAD! I cant see! I Can't see."

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It seemed whenever Matthew would trip up in his life he would be transported back to that moment. Feeling endlessly stuck. He had reassured Jules that Foggy was wrong. That he wasn't just doing this for her, he was doing it for them and the benefit of everyone. Right? But he couldn't ignore that feeling, like trickling cold water. Did he put Jules above himself? Did he prioritize her? Jules didn't have many people on her side and apart from his closely knit circle, neither did Matt. They were each other's family. He despised what Foggy probably thought of him right now though. Self-absorbed and rigid. The very traits he wanted to distance himself from but sometimes slipped into.

Matt inhales a deep breath and tunes out all the tingling sensations buzzing around him. This was a tactic Stick taught him to slow his pulse and sharpen his focus, which was particularly useful in a brawl. Matt tightens his tie and walks into Homeland offices. Nevertheless, before he could utter a word to the receptionist, he hears the defined click clack of heels and lavender. "Matthew Murdock, what pleasant surprise." She says. "Dinah, likewise." They shake hands. "I hear Nelson and Murdock has a bigger office now?"

"Yeah, yeah we moved in recently, hasn't been a smooth ride but I'd be a little disappointed if it wasn't." Dinah chuckles. "That sounds like you Murdock, always sticking your hand into a different jar." Mathew raises his hands in a nonchalant gesture. "How are things with you agent Madani? Or should I say special agent in charge?"

"You heard about that huh?"

"Of course, it's a big accomplishment, you really deserve it." Dinah bites the inside of her lip. "Thank you...I've definitely got big shoes to fill, but it's nothing I can't handle y'know?" Matt nods. "Well Murdock, I know you didn't just come here to exchange pleasantries so what's up?" Matt lowers his voice. "Any chance we could talk somewhere private?" Dinah frowns slightly with concern.

"Yeah okay, let's go up to my office."

A few minutes later Matt is sitting across from Madani. She leans forward, hands clasped waiting for him to speak. Matt organizes his carefully concocted story in his head, careful not to implicate himself in any of this. "Dinah I've come to you because you're a good agent. You want the same thing I do. Justice.

"I have reason to believe that Homeland might be dirty." Dinah's face pales. "Shit. You feel it too?"

"Wait, you know?" Dinah swallows and presses her lips together. "I've thought something weird was going on for a while, I've been investigating secretly by myself because I didn't know who to trust."

"What have you seen Dinah?"

"My superiors have been acting different. It almost seems like they're feigning their confidence. We gets set important cases, but they choose to prioritize lower risk ones instead of the more complicated cases."

"For example. The warehouse that blew up with S.H.I.E.L.D agents inside and Hoffman. Instead of looking into it further they've simply ruled it as an unstable gas leak. It just didn't sit right with me."

"And last week I followed Catherine Stone, my deputy special agent in charge. I just had to see if I could get anything. She went to this restricted closed of part of the building. Then through this door I'd never seen before. But she knew the code. I hid for a bit and saw people come in and out of the door. Definitely not agents, I've never seen them around."  Dinah pulls her fingers through her loose curls. "Could you get me down there?"