All Roads Lead to Hell *Matt Murdock* (book three of Damned-3a)

12) Free will is a myth

Vera was really starting to like this woman. Detective Knight was one hell of a cop, sure, but mostly, one hell of a person, smart and apparently reasonable when it counted.

It had taken Vera few minutes to calm down and she had spent them with her palm on Brett's chest and his firm grip on her shoulder. Claire had been talking to her urgently, persuading her she could handle this and they had her needed to, because they had all been in danger.

Nothing had helped her as much as Knight's voice, cutting through Vera's rapid's breaths and Claire's attempts to comfort her and get-it-together speech.

"I'll take you there."

Vera's blurry vision had cleared almost instantly. Brett and Claire had stared at the detective incredulously.

"You mean it," Claire had said, frowning in doubt.

"Yes."

That was how they found themselves on the streets of New York in huge Honda, taking sharp turns.

"Why you're doing this?" Vera breathed from the back seat, still processing that the detective had actually taken Vera and Claire to a car, driving them to Midland Circle without alerting anyone else of the NYPD force, Brett staying and promising to have his lips sealed.

Detective Knight eyed her in the rear-view mirror, not answering at first. Then she sighed tiredly.

"Look, Machackova. I really don't like this. Neither I like the way you think you can just get away with lying to the police and openly protect Daredevil's identity. But the truth is he's trying his best and what's more, so is Luke. I trust Luke. Even I can tell we're over our heads, all of us. This Hand shitstorm is no laughing matter; if the police will go head on them, it will be a bloodbath," she explained, apparently making it up as she went.

"Getting in the way of the three or four wayward vigilantes is only making things worse. Buying them some time without cops on their back is the only thing I can do right now," she added, taking another sharp turn, the seatbelt cutting to Vera's torso.

Jesus, this woman drove like mad.

Vera was grateful for that.

"That doesn't explain why you took us along," Vera noted carefully, watching the detective. Claire remained silent.

"Maybe I just need to get rid of your annoying ass."

Vera huffed out a laugh, noticing the detective shot her an amused look in the mirror. That was alright. In the end, Vera didn't need to know her motivations; it was the outcome what was important. She definitely wouldn't look the gift horse in the mouth.

"Thank you, Misty," Claire said, giving the detective a small smile as they went down to a parking lot.

"Just make sure it's worth it and that those idiots don't die."

Vera gulped at the last note, grateful that Knight pulled over with a loud cry of the tires, revealing four figures. Four; of course Coleen had already been here.

Luke, Jessica, Colleen and Matt stared at the car, ready to defend themselves. Claire and Misty threw the doors open.

"Hold it!" the detective warned and Vera slowly opened her door too, getting out as Claire asked what happened. When Vera was closing the door, she looked at Matt; he was leaning forward, gripping his billy club tightly. He was clearly not happy about the development.

"No time to explain," Luke cut them off.

Vera quickly scanned the parking lot. 'What happened' seemed like a relevant question, given the mess. She eyed Matt again; his face was twisted in a strange grimace - it made Vera feel more than uneasy. Was he in such pain that he couldn't hide it, displaying it on his face? Or what was it what she saw?