Hellcat

Chapter Fourteen

The next day was quiet. I borrowed Matt's office in the morning since he hadn't arrived yet. Karen and Foggy were here, but everything seemed too quiet without him. "Hey," I heard Karen call out softly, a smile in her voice. Glancing toward the door, I saw Matt standing there, offering her a small smile. Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.

"Hey," Matt greeted back. "Foggy, uh, tried to get ahold of you last night," Karen started up. Their voices were low and conversational, but there was an underlying edge to Matt's. "Oh, yeah, turned off my phone," he replied simply. "You okay?" Karen asked as I tried to continue working on the budget as well as keeping our payroll and expenses in check. "Yeah, just... tired," Matt replied. I wondered if he went out last night, beating up bad guys.

"How did it go with that, um... Vanessa woman?" Karen asked. "Oh, I didn't get what I needed," Matt informed her. She let out a relieved sigh before stammering. "I-I was worried. Thought Allison might've killed you," she teased. "Why? Did she threaten to again?" he asked her. I could hear the humor in his voice as he spoke. The fondness.

"Yeah. Well, Foggy and I had better luck. Um, we identified the assholes that jumped us outside of Elena's. It's a Stewart Schmidt and Joseph Pike," Karen said. I heard the rustling of paper but refused to look. Something in me told me that I couldn't look at Matt. if I did, something bad would happen. I had been living with happiness in my heart for the last two months and it felt wrong. Like when you can feel the electricity in the air just before lightning struck. The calm before the storm, they called it. I had a feeling something bad was about to happen. And not just bad, but monumentally horrible.

"And where the hell were you?" Foggy's voice snapped me out of my dark thoughts. Glancing back, I saw him move to the small pot of coffee we had in the office. "Um... walking, clearing my head," Matt replied with a sigh. "Hate when you don't answer my calls, buddy. I always think you fell down an open manhole or something," Foggy said, bringing laughter from my mouth. It was soft, quiet, but I knew Matt could hear it. Matt even chuckled softly. Foggy and Karen didn't notice, but I saw Matt turn his head slightly so his ear was more in my direction.

"I'm fine. Who's the employer of record?" Matt continued with the important things. "Westmeyer-Holt Contracting, another wonderful Confed Global subsidiary," Karen said with a sigh as I stood, deciding to be part of the conversation. "Well, that's it. That's great. We press assault charges, get them to flip on Fisk," Matt suggested. "Yeah, not so much," Foggy informed him. "I reached out to Ben and his sources say that they're off the map," Karen explained with a sigh. "Just like Hoffman and Tully," I grumbled. "Of course they are," Matt said with a bitter chuckle. "Great, so we have nothing."

Karen shook her head, a small smile springing to her lips. "I wouldn't go that far. Here, Foggy show him the thing," she said, grabbing an envelope from her desk before handing it to him. "Right, the thing!" Foggy agreed, taking the envelope. I raised an eyebrow at it. I hadn't seen the envelope before. "What thing?" Matt asked, voicing my own question as Karen stood, unable to hide her smile. "The dream, buddy," Foggy said as he opened the envelope and pulled out a plaque. He put it into Matt's hands and I stepped up beside my friend, looking at the plaque over his shoulder.

"It's just like the one I drew on the napkin that you, uh, couldn't see back when," Foggy explained excitedly. In Matt's hands was a sign – a real sign – that read Nelson and Murdock: Attorneys at Law. "It's a little small, isn't it?" Matt asked with a soft laugh. Foggy laughed too. "Building regulations," he explained. I couldn't stop the genuine smile from spreading over my lips as I rested a hand on Matt's shoulder.

"Anyway, so are we. We are small but awesome," Karen said pridefully. "And we're gonna make a difference," added Foggy with a small nod. "I know it doesn't feel like it sometimes... a lot of the time, but we are, with the power of the law," he continued. "Okay," Matt said with a nod before Foggy clapped a hand on Matt's other shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "Dragged me into this rinky-dink firm, Murdock... and I'll never be able to thank you enough for it," Foggy insisted. Seeing this – how Foggy and Matt were together – it was like watching brothers, not friends.

Matt had a goofy grin on his face, so proud of himself and his friend, but also a bit flushed from embarrassment at the gratitude. "You're not gonna kiss me," Matt teased his friend. "I'm feeling a little something," Foggy said, his smile reaching his ears. "Okay, come here," I heard Matt mutter before the two embraced.

"Dude, I think Allison's gonna cry," Foggy said, looking at me over Matt's shoulder. "What?" Matt asked, pulling back from the hug as I scoffed. "No, I'm not. I don't cry. I'm too badass to cry," I said, brushing off the genuine emotion in me. But Foggy had been sort of right, I was tearing up slightly. "Crying is not un-badass," Foggy informed me, still smiling. I just smiled and shook my head. "I'll admit I was feeling a little something, but I'm not crying," I said, pointing a finger accusatorially at Foggy.

The phone rang and Karen went to answer it as we laughed, enjoying the happiness of this moment. Matt turned, smiling at me. "So, how's God?" I asked Matt, teasingly. He let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "Fine, I think. He doesn't exactly talk back," Matt informed me. "Uh, hey," Karen called, waving her hand to catch our attention. She was on the phone, her expression grim. She cleared her throat. "Uh, sorry, what?" she asked the person on the other end of the line. There was an instant change in her. She swallowed hard and her body seemed to shake. "Um, when?" she asked the other person. The calm was over. Welcome to the storm.

The morgue. That's where we were. That's who called our offices, asking us to come down. On the slab before us was a small form, covered in a white sheet. The coroner pulled back the sheet to reveal a familiar face, pale in death. Karen gasped, turning her gaze away and shutting her eyes tightly. Foggy didn't bother trying to fight back the tears as we were faced with the body of Elena Cardenas.

"It's her," Foggy told Matt in a shaky voice as I just stared, my body and mind numb. Matt was silent for a long moment. "How did it happen?" he asked Brett, who stood across the body from us. "Neighbor saw some junkie they've seen in the building, fleeing the scene with her purse," Brett explained. My vision started to focus and unfocus as I stared at her dead face. Mrs. Cardenas had been so kind, seeing the good in people first. She even found good in me.

I heard a sob come from Karen, but I couldn't move. "Karen, maybe you should wait outside," Matt suggested softly. "No," she said, sniffling. "No, I'm..." she trailed off, wiping at her cheeks. "How did she die?" I asked. My voice sounded empty and hollow to my ears and I hated it – that lack of emotion. Brett didn't speak for a moment, hesitating. I pulled my eyes away from Elena's body and turned them steely onto him.

"How?" I asked again, my voice sharper. "Multiple stab wounds," he told us. Foggy squeezed his eyes shut against the tears as Karen covered her mouth with her hand. "The ambulance got there quick, but..." Brett trailed off. "My mom says all the family she knew about has passed on. I knew you were looking into her tenancy case. I thought you might be able to point us toward the next of kin," Brett said. he spoke softly and gently, but kept it professional. He had to. "No, she didn't have anyone. Just us," Karen said. Something strange was happening. As I stood there, gaze returned to Elena's body, a sensation washed over me.

"We'll see to the arrangements," Foggy added softly. There was something on my face – on my cheek. Blinking in confusion, I reached up and touched the skin under my eye, fingertips coming away wet. I was crying. "It's good of you to take that on. I'll let the M.E. know," Brett said before he left us to have a moment with her. Karen turned, crying on Foggy's shoulder. Matt just stood there, unmoving. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I glanced down at his hands gripping his cane. His fists clenched around the cane so tightly that his knuckles turned white. In that moment, I thought the cane might snap.