Hellcat

Chapter 41

The next morning was hectic. Police cars came to my condo and asked to escort me to Courthouse. I wasn't under arrest, I knew that for sure. But this was serious. Frank escaped last night and if that's true, who knows who he would go after. I suspected I wouldn't be in any danger, but I couldn't count on it. So I went with the officers, arriving at Courthouse just as another squad car pulled up. "Miss Drake?" a woman called to me. "Yeah," I responded as another car door opened beside me. "Miss Page?" the same woman called as I stared at Karen. "Yeah," she responded as well. "Agent Gallagher. Follow me. I'll get you both through security as quickly as possible," the woman told us as Karen and I stepped up beside each other.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she whispered to me as we followed Agent Gallagher. "Huh?" She gave me a look of confusion before continuing. "Matt said you were sick – that that was why you missed court," she explained. "Oh, yeah. It was just really bad food poisoning. I'm fine now," I assured her as Agent Gallagher led us up the steps. "Wait here," she ordered us. That's when I noticed Foggy was already there.

"Hey," Karen greeted him. "Guess I'm not the only one that got Reyes' invitation," Foggy said as I stared at all of the blockades set up around the top of the steps. "Yeah, security is nuts," Karen muttered. "Frank Castle's on the loose. I wouldn't take any chances either," Foggy grumbled. "No, not even Frank could have orchestrated an escape that quickly," I countered, shaking my head. "How is that even possible?" Karen muttered almost to herself. "Guessing that's what the District Attorney wants to ask us," Foggy said with a heavy sigh. "This case just keeps serving up the shit burgers," he grumbled before Agent Gallagher returned.

"Mr. Nelson, this way," she called to Foggy. "See you on the other side," Foggy huffed to us before following the agent. Then Karen sighed and turned towards me. Her expression clearly showed that she was nervous. But it felt like she was nervous to be around me, not because of any of the other crazy things happening at once. "Okay, what is it?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow and putting my hands on my hips. She sighed in response, not even bothering to hide it.

"Okay, I know it's not my place to get into your relationship with Matt, but you're my friend and I don't want you to get hurt, so –" she started when I let out a small laugh. She stopped herself, eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "What?" I sighed and shook my head at her. "Karen, I know what you're going to say, and Matt's not cheating on me." her eyes went wide at my statement as I she was going to try and deny that that was what she was thinking.

"Matt told me what happened when you came to tell him Frank was taking the stand. The woman you saw is an old college friend of his. The three of us went out for dinner and I got food poisoning," I assured her. Confusion spread even more over her features as she stared at me. "But... but she was naked," Karen stammered. "She spilled some wine on herself at dinner. She was taking a shower and I was resting in the bedroom. Nothing happened," I told her with a small smile.

"What about the old blind guy?" she asked me. "Oh, yeah. That's Stick. He's an asshole who used to mentor Matt just after the accident. He likes to show up unannounced." Her confusion never wavered. "So Matt's not cheating on you?" she asked me. I let out a small laugh, shaking my head once more. "No. But I'm glad to know you were worried about me," I said before pulling her in for a quick hug. "Well, yeah, that's what we do, right?" she asked me, pulling back slightly. I gave a small nod. "Definitely," I replied.

Then I heard the cane tapping against the stairs. "Speak of the Devil..." I muttered to Karen before reaching out to touch Matt's arm. "Hey, you," I greeted. "Hey," he muttered, turning towards me. Karen sighed heavily from beside me. "I, uh... I see Reyes dragged you in, too," she called out to him. "Karen? Are you all right?" he asked her, noticing her strained voice. "Other than being hauled in as a suspect in the escape of a confessed murderer? Yeah, I'm great," she muttered.