Devils and Angels

Chapter 4

"Claire?"

"Hey, Matt. I'm not at all surprised that you knew it was me. I am always here." Matt laughed. "You want the usual?" He loved listening to her voice. He wished he could see her face to see the beauty that went with it.

"Actually, no. I was wondering if you'd go out to dinner with me."

"Oh, um." Claire was surprised, but overjoyed. She tried to suppress her excitement. "Sure. I don't have to work tonight. My shift here ends at six thirty."

Matt smiled. "I'll be here."

There was something in her voice that was different from the other girls he'd dated. She didn't treat him like his blindness was a disability, and she didn't think of him as a "kicked puppy". To her, his blindness didn't define who he was. He did.

Matt liked that.

-

"A coffee shop? There's a bank down the street!"

"We have to start small. Besides, I like free coffee."

"Fine. But we go to a bank sooner or later."

"Deal."

At six twenty-two p.m., two men in black hoodies and ski masks burst through the doors of Starbucks Coffee. Claire, who was preparing to clock out in eight minutes, jumped in shock. In an instant, she was in one of the men's arms, kicking and screaming. He covered her mouth with his hand.

"Get the money!" he shouted to the other. The second man reached into the cash register drawer and grabbed a wad of money. Seeing a fresh cup of coffee on the counter that Claire had made for herself, he grabbed that, too, with a smirk.

"Greg! Some help here!" the first man shouted.

"Throw her down and let's go!" Greg said.

"What? No! Then she'll call the cops!"

"There's probably another employee in the back that'll be out here in a minute that will call the cops, too! Just throw her down and let's go!"

"NO!"

"Bill!"

"Let's take her with us!"

"And do what?"

There was a creak from the back room.

"Shit! Bring her; let's go!" Greg ran towards Bill, and they both dragged Claire out the door.

By the time they got her in the trunk of the car, she was unconscious from a doused cloth over her face.

"I didn't know you had one of those," Greg said.

"I come prepared," Bill said.

"Nice. Where to? Your place or mine?"

"Why not the new base?"

"What?"

"You did not forget. The building behind the gas station on 49th."

"Oh. That base."

They both climbed into the front of the car and sped away.

Matt Murdock sprinted down the sidewalk. He'd heard Claire struggling ever since he'd climbed out of the taxi and ran to help, only to be too late. Except, the kidnappers had been foolish enough to announce where they were going.

-

"Agghhh." Claire blinked into consciousness.

"Hey...she's awake," Bill said.

"Turn around! She'll see your face! Jesus. Put your mask back on," Greg said. He was wearing his. "I told you not to take yours off."

"All right, Missy. Or, should I say, 'Claire'? That's what your nametag says."

Claire's blurred vision cleared. The building they were in was small and damp. Mold stretched across the walls. Where were they? It was disgusting. Claire sneezed. There was a raggedy cat scampering across the floor. Great.

"Fluffy over here was licking your face trying to get you to wake up, but you were out. Damn stray cat, but, hey, you were dead to the world so we were running out of options," Greg said, prideful. "And we took all this money from your boss." He lifted the wad of money.

"Go to Hell," Claire spat. Greg laughed.

"Hey, dude, did you hear that?" he wheezed between laughs. Bill burst into laughter as well. "You're damning us? You'll be begging to die before we're done with you." Greg tried to pop his fingers but failed, crying out in pain. "Ah...yeah. That'll be our first move on you."

"You really think I'm scared of you? This is, what? Your first robbery? You're acting like children."

"Children? Hey, dude, did you hear that?" They both laughed again. Claire rolled her eyes and began fumbling with the rope that bound her hands to the chair she was sitting in. She felt a tickle in her nose, then sneezed again.

"Aww...does somebody have a wittle cold? Daww...little Claire... Do you need a tissue to bwow your nose?" Greg said in his best interpretation of a baby voice, which was the worst interpretation that Claire had ever heard.

"What do we even want from her, anyway?" Bill asked. "What do you want to do with her?"

"Well, first we're gonna--" Greg never finished his sentence. He collapsed to the floor after a crowbar was flung at the back of his head. Bill gasped, reaching for a knife on the table, ready to fling it into the dark corner. Claire closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

The Man in Black threw himself into a spinning flip as he emerged from the shadows, his flip ending with a kick to Bill's face. He fell to the floor beside Greg, but he was still conscious. Matt punched him in the chest, and then he was out.

Matt walked up to Claire, blinking behind his mask. Well, that was easy.