"Would you really think so little of me?"
"I can't afford not to."
full summary inside
daredevil fanfic
part of the earth-716 universe
matt murdock x m!oc
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... free the hound
NOTE: This chapter is being posted as part of a double-feature, so to speak, so make sure you didn't accidentally skip the previous chapter!
"WELL?" MATTHEW asked impatiently, head tilting.
Artemis jerked his head, motioning to the four unconscious men behind them. "Not so sure I want them listening in on this."
Matthew paused, tilting his head. "They're all--hang on." He strode over to Jacket, lifting him by the collar of his shirt and delivering another swift blow to the head before unceremoniously dropping him. "They're all out. None of them are waking up anytime soon."
Artemis squinted at him.
"Just get on with it already."
He scoffed. "Calm down, would you? This is not as simple as you think."
There was a pause. Then, "Your voice changed."
Artemis hummed, inspecting his nails. "I can do all sorts of accents," he replied airily. "This is my natural accent, though I must admit, I am not a particular fan. People here do not often like Russians."
Matthew said nothing for a moment. "Did you work for Fisk, then? The Russian mob?"
Artemis scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Of course not. Why would I do something so stupid?"
"I know nothing about you; it seemed like a reasonable assumption when you breeze into town almost immediately after I dealt with both."
"Fair enough," he acquiesced after a moment. He tilted his head to the side, thinking.
Matt's jaw was set, his focus on the gun still holstered by Artemis's shoulder, inches away from his hand. If he reached for it-
Artemis sat on the floor of the ally, a muffled thump on the pavement as he landed roughly, his forearms resting on his knees. "I had a sister," he began suddenly.
Matt blinked. "What?"
He shrugged. "You said you wanted to know. I will tell you, Mr. Murdock, but the real question will be, how much are you willing to hear?"
Sighing, Matt nodded. "Keep going," he ordered.
"I was only a year older," he continued, looking up into the sky as though he were reading a book suspended before him. "I do not know if we were born orphans or given up by our parents, but we were in the custody of the Soviet government."
"The Soviet Union fell in the 90's," Matt protested, frowning.
Artemis laughed-a dry thing that held no humor. "Yes, but that does not mean their dreams fell with them. Factions remained in power, moving behind the scenes.
"When I was four, an my sister was three, we were put with a surrogate family in Ohio while our 'parents' fulfilled their mission."
Matt could hear a faint smile in his voice, the muscles in his face tightening.
