Hellcat

Chapter Eleven

Matt and I snuck into Detective Blake's hospital room through the window. Detective Hoffman, Blake's partner was there, a syringe in his hand. He injected something into Blake's IV as Matt climbed in through the window. "What are you doing?" Blake asked his partner. Hoffman jumped, dropping the syringe just before Matt wrapped his arms around Hoffman's neck. Hoffman grunted, struggling to break the hold Matt had on him. Blake started wheezing and I knew he was dying.

As Matt choked Hoffman into unconsciousness, I grabbed the nearest chair and shoved it under the door handle, buying us time if anyone tried to enter the room. Matt laid Hoffman on the ground before going to Blake. The detective was sitting up, struggling to breathe. Matt carefully pushed him back onto the bed. "I need you to listen to me. We don't have much time," he started as I reached for the syringe on the ground. "Whatever your partner has injected you with has already reached your heart. You're gonna be dead soon. And there's nothing anyone can do about it," Matt continued to say as I examined the syringe. Only a small amount of clear liquid remained in the syringe.

"But you can make the man responsible for this pay for what he's done," Matt said as the machines attached to Blake started beeping rapidly. Someone knocked on the door. "Hoffman!" I heard Brent call from the other side of the door. "Tell me everything you know about Wilson Fisk," Matt insisted. Brent continued to call for the unconscious detective on the floor. "Is it my turn for this?" Blake mumbled as the door shook violently. Blake spoke too softly for me to hear over the sounds from the other side of the door, but Matt heard him. The door continued to shake and rattle, the chair moving slightly. It scraped against the floor.

"We're out of time," I hissed to Matt. He stepped back from the hospital bed as I dropped the syringe on the floor beside Hoffman. "Let's go," Matt said, making his way to the window. Matt exited the room before me, the door continuing to jerk behind me. I quickly followed him out of the window, using the ledges to scale the building. I could hear the door burst open, voices shouting as they entered the hospital room. But, by the time they got there, we were gone.

Rain poured down around us, rolling off of my leather jacket. It plastered my hair to my head, a few strands stuck to my forehead. Matt's clothes had to be soaked through as we landed in the alleyway. Ben Urich was before us, reaching down for his dropped car keys. He picked them up, but as he stood, he slowed and his body stiffened. He knew we were right behind him. Moving slowly, he turned to face me and Matt, eyes wide, but not afraid.

"We need to talk," Matt spoke to him. Ben was clearly uncomfortable and hesitant, standing beside his car in case he needed to make a quick getaway. "Do you know who I am?" Matt asked the old reporter. Ellison took off his wet and fogged up glasses off, getting a slightly clearer view of us. "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen," Ben replied, his gaze flickering towards me for a moment before returning to Matt.

"Do you believe that? What they're saying about me?" Matt asked him. "You've been in an awful lot of wrong places at the wrong time lately. But I've heard the other stories. About the man in the mask, helping people. Sounds like maybe there's more than one side to you," Ben replied simply, his voice almost relaxed. He'd been around dangerous people his whole career, exposing them for the monsters they were.

"I didn't blow the hell out of the Russians. And I didn't shoot those cops," Matt told him. Ben turned his gaze onto me. "Did she?" Ben asked, nodding his head towards me. Matt turned his head towards me, waiting for my response. "No," I said simply. Ben nodded, but seemed hesitant to take me at my word.

"So, what? You want me to write your side of this?" he asked us. "No, I want you to expose the man responsible. The man who's tearing this city apart, piece by piece," Matt proposed. "You got a name?" Ben questioned. "Wilson Fisk." Ben stared at Matt blankly. "Never heard of him," Ben replied. "Because he doesn't want you to," I said, catching Ben's attention for a moment. "That's what makes him dangerous. Living in the shadow, no one knowing who he is," Matt added to my statement. "Said the man in a mask," Ben quipped back. "I'm trying to protect this city," Matt countered. "But right now they hate you. And have no idea who this Fisk guy is," Ben explained. He wasn't wrong. Fisk was a shadow.