Hellcat

Chapter 77

When I arrived at the FBI, I was escorted up the stairs and into a large, open interrogation room. Actually, it looked more like a conference room, but I knew what it was. Agent Nadeem stood there; gaze turned on to a large television. "Agent Nadeem," one agent called out. Nadeem turned his gaze onto me before turning it to his fellow agents. "Thanks," he called to them.

I stepped into the conference room slowly, taking in every detail as the door was closed behind me. But the thing that stuck out to me the most was the television with a video paused on it. I could tell it was from a camera that had been knocked over. And with the sight of Sam lying unconscious from the camera's view underneath the table, I knew it was footage from the attack on the Bulletin.

"Allison, mind taking a seat?" Nadeem asked, gesturing to one of the many chairs that faced the television. I did as he asked, eyes locked on the footage. Nadeem noticed, glancing back at the screen. "I've got a little something I'd like you to see," he said before reaching for a remote on the table. He pressed a button and the video started to rewind itself.

After a few seconds, he finally pressed play. "Ah, Karen, you, crazy, beautiful, genius, you," I heard my own voice come from the speakers as I was greeted with the sight of Karen aiming her gun past the camera. Relief flashed across her features.

"What is this?" I asked Nadeem, watching as I rushed to Karen, taking the gun from her, and checking it. "This is the footage of what was supposed to be Jasper Evans' confession," Nadeem explained before gesturing to the screen. "You seem pretty familiar with guns," he commented at the way I had made sure the gun wasn't going to jam and had a full magazine.

"I'm a woman living alone in New York. I have one to protect myself," I answered as the rest of the video played out, with me handing the gun back to Karen, Sam asking what was happening, and Foggy answering that someone dressed like Daredevil was killing people.

"Yeah, but you see, I've only ever seen people trained to handle weapons do things like that," Nadeem commented, sitting in the chair directly across from me and angling it so he was facing the television. I watched myself break the scissors apart. Watched myself tell Sam to trust me. Watched myself get into a fighting stance. The more I watched, the more I knew I was in deep shit.

"Now, that right there," Nadeem started, pausing the video so that it was focused on me. I was standing in a fighting stance with determination written all over my features, mixing with a deadly calm. "Taking the scissors like that, making them into a better weapon. And that face... that is the face of someone who has been in a few brushes with death. Someone who has seen combat before," Nadeem continued. The more he spoke, the more dread circled in my gut.

"And your stance – you're trying to protect everyone. Being the first line of defense, are we?" he asked me. This time he turned his gaze on me, examining my features. I tried to keep my expression neutral, but by the satisfied look on his face, I knew that was the wrong call. Only someone with training would make themselves look indifferent to what he was saying.

"And then there's this," he continued, playing the video once more. Foggy jumped forward, attacking before getting tossed into the camera. Ellison and Sam's voices mixed in the quick fight as the imposter took them both down. And then there was only me. "Come get it," I heard my voice growl, even though you could only see my feet.

There was a long scuffle, full of grunts of pain and the sound of blows landing. The only thing about this video that made me relax the slightest bit was that the camera's audio hadn't picked up my comment about the suit's weakness.

Agent Nadeem paused the video just a second after my body hit the ground. "As far as we know, you're the only one who managed to go toe-to-toe with this guy. And the way you did it definitely screams training." Nadeem's words weren't a question, but rather a statement. A statement that made my gut twist sharply. "Wanna tell me how an accountant can fight like that?"