Chapter Text
Matthew Murdock’s apartment looked like it hadn’t changed in months. All of his suits were still in his closet, canes stacked behind them. Piles and piles of bills covered the coffee table in the middle of the living room. His kitchen was completely bare, which wasn’t strange as his friends thought Matt Murdock was missing or dead. Dex knew better though. Matt Murdock was alive and out there, working his damned hardest to take down Wilson Fisk.
Dex put a few small bugs and cameras throughout the apartment. He didn’t think Matt would find them as he probably was too focused on other things at the moment. If he did find them, Dex had backup plans. The billboard outside Matt’s apartment window flooded the room with bright neon colors. He’d have to go back to the hotel soon for his shift, but he’d rather stay here and see if he can find anything to help him with Matt.
It wasn’t smart to outright approach Matt. Dex sighed softly and reluctantly left the apartment, leaving through the roof entrance. He’d check in on Karen Page and get to work. It was only a matter of time before the FBI found out how he killed the Albanians and probably fire him. He bitterly chuckled. The universe deciding to make him wake up right after that was either genius or cruel. Probably both, though.
A shiver ran down Dex’s spine as he watched Karen Page hunching over her laptop and franticly jotting down notes Dex couldn’t quite read. His hands shook slightly as he looked through his binoculars. She barely changed in the ten years between now and when she shot him. Part of him wanted to kill her for it, but he knew he’d be dead if he did so.
Plus, Matt would be furious. And that was not good.
Dex loosely followed Karen to the Bulletin, tilting his head. He vaguely remembered the slaughter he committed there. He’d almost killed Foggy there, too. Matt had stepped in and actually managed to stop him. He shivered slightly, grimacing. It was getting colder at night, and he hated it. The metal that used to be in his spine always hurt worse when it was cold out. It got to the point where Dex started to despise the cold.
“Good morning, Ellison,” Karen smiled to her boss as she went inside her office. Dex put his binoculars down. It was almost 5:00 in the morning. Why the hell was she getting there so early? Dex shook his head. Damn journalists and their inability to work normal hours. Damned FBI for making him go in when he had bigger things to worry about.
Lim was waiting for Dex outside of Fisk's suite. Dex showed up right on time, feeling giddy. Annoying Fisk was going to be a favorite past time for him.
“Ready, Poindexter?” Lim asked him, checking his watch.
Dex smirked. “Always.”
“Up! Up! Up!” Dex shouted with way too much glee as they burst into the suite. “Room check!” Making Fisk uncomfortable was giving Dex the high he needed. Agent Lim followed him up the stairs to Fisk’s loft. “Convict, stand and face the wall.” Too bad Fisk was already standing. Dex would’ve loved to rough him up and possibly strangle him.
Lim checked behind the curtains and the mattress while Dex forced himself from throwing his badge at the back of Fisk’s bald head. But, all good things came to those who waited.
“You're to cooperate with all instructions. You understand?” Dex asked from behind Fisk, taking note how vulnerable he seemed to be. But he knew the truth. Fisk was like a tank.
“I understand.” Fisk's voice was controlled. Dex knew he was not liking this. He smiled.
“I am searching your person to ensure you're not carrying anything that might be harmful to yourself or others.” Dex pat down Fisk, definitely being more forceful than he usually was. Well, he thought so at least. He didn't really remember. “Do you understand?”
“I understand.” Good Lord, Dex hated the sound of Fisk’s voice.
“Check!” Lim announced after he finished looking behind the curtains and under the mattress.
“Turn around,” Dex snapped.
Fisk turned to look directly at Dex. “Are we finished here?” Dex hated how before he'd feel so uncomfortable with direct eye contact. Fisk looked at him as if he knew something. As if he could see the monster Dex was and was keeping the secret.
“All clear.” Dex told Lim, following his coworker out. At the bottom of the stairs, Dex paused, feeling the cold, uncomfortable weight of Fisk's stare.
This time, though, Dex did not look back.
Foggy didn't sleep at all. He was constantly getting up and checking if he'd locked all the doors and windows, jumping at every noise. His brain was running a mile a minute, and he couldn't catch a break. He’d died. He’d died in front of Karen. How could he sleep after this? Thank God for Marci. His girlfriend was the anchor he needed right now.
“Matt shows up alive, then tells me I'm never gonna see him again,” Foggy rambled to her, stressed out and sleep deprived. “Only I, Foggy Nelson, can be ghosted by a ghost! I swear, Matt is such an idiot!” He huffed, checking the door once more.
“It's locked,”Marci sighed, watching her sleep deprived boyfriend freak out over a supposedly dead friend.
“Like it was the last time you checked it.” She was really worried about him. He’d never been this freaked out before.
“We need to get another dead bolt installed. A single dead bolt and a measly chain? Might as well be a beaded curtain,” Foggy rambled, pacing the kitchen and living room. A single deadbolt wouldn’t stop Dex from bursting in and shooting him again. Bile rose in his throat. Dex had shot him through the chest after killing Benny. Fisk must’ve found out about his motion on Red Hook.
“Foggy, relax—” Marci tried.
“Relax? Are you even listening to me?” Foggy snapped, hands shaking. “Wilson Fisk wants my scalp. And for all we know, he wants yours, too. It's not like you've done him any favors.” The thought of Fisk getting Poindexter to kill Marci made him want to vomit. He couldn’t watch her die.
“And of course Matt wants me to stick to the sidelines while he deals with Fisk. Only Matt Murdock is fit
for the real action. Just because I'm not...” It wasn’t fair to be so angry at Matt. They all knew how dangerous Fisk was. But they’d worked together to take him down twice. What’s a third time? Maybe he could convince Brett to give him a bullet proof vest.
“I don't even know what I'm saying anymore,” he whispered quietly. “I don’t…I don’t know what’s going on anymore. It’s all changing so fast.”
“Foggy, breathe,” Marci soothed, gently rubbing his back.
“Matt was gone. Noe's he’s back” Foggy whispered, not turning around just yet. “Fisk is out, and I have no idea where that leaves me.” He looked at Marci, echoes in his mind of promising he’d never lie to anyone he loved. “Marci, I—I was gone. And now I’m back, and I don’t know what to do.”
Marci furrowed her brows. “Foggy…did you hit your head? What are you talking about?” She turned him around to look him in the eyes. Despite being a lawyer, he was a horrible liar. Whatever he was about to tell her, she knew he believed it.
“I died, Marci,” Foggy admitted, hands shaking. Oh, it felt so strange to admit the fact he died. “I was shot out front of Josie’s. About nine years from now.” He sat on the couch and stared at her with bloodshot, teary eyes. “I don’t know how or why I’m back, but I remember everything.” He laughed, shaking his head. “You’re going to suggest going on the offensive with Fisk.”
“I—” Foggy was right, though. Marci was going to suggest going on the offense.
“You convince me to run for DA, to make hell of a lot of noise against Fisk, make friends in the NYPD,” Foggy swallowed, holding his head in his hands. “And it fucking works in the end. We stopped Fisk, but it wasn’t enough. He got out of prison once again. His wife took over for a few years and was using Red Hook as a cover for her schemes. I was going to file a motion. But…I was killed before I could.” Tears slid down his cheeks.
“Karen was crying. Screaming at me to stay. Matt was fighting the guy who shot me,” Foggy took a shuddering breath, shoulders quivering. “I died, and Lord knows Matt probably spiraled. So did Karen. I left them behind. I…I should’ve…” A broken sob erupted from his throat.
Marci couldn't believe her ears. Foggy died? And he's back? Any sane person probably would've called 911 and put Foggy in a psychiatric hold. This was insane. No, worse than insane. Yet, Marci believed him. Foggy Nelson always strove to do the right thing. He hated lying to and for people. He wouldn't lie about something this big. How would he have known about her suggestion to run for DA just now?
“Foggy,” Marci murmured softly, cupping his face, her thumbs wiping away his tears. “I believe you. We’ll find a way to put Fisk away for good. I know you already said this, but run for DA. Get Fisk’s actions out in the open. If it worked before, it will work again.” She kissed him gently. “And then we’ll take out next steps. One at a time, Foggy.”
Foggy had to believe Marci, or else he didn’t know what he’d do. Right, the next step. He had to tell Karen Matt was alive. He was done lying for Matt, and this time, Foggy didn’t even think he could lie even if he wanted to. He couldn’t lie to Karen. Not when she was so connected to all of this.
Dex did not like Karen Page at all. Was it because she shot him? Maybe, though, he’d wanted to die at that point. Was it because she’d avoided death for so long? Probably. He’d tried to kill her multiple times in the past and failed. She dug her nose into things she shouldn’t and brought more trouble because of it. Dex hated that fact. He’d broken into her office before he found Matt’s apartment and left a bug and a tiny camera just in case she heard from Matt. So, here he was, watching Karen on a screen while Fisk was in the other room.
What had his life come to?
“Hi. Yes,” Karen answered her phone after checking down her list. “I know you said you couldn't meet until Friday morning, but I found something.” She paused, biting her nail. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
Good.
“I don't think it can wait till then,” Karen admitted hurriedly while a knock on her door echoed through the small office. “Yes, absolutely. Off the record. No, only somebody who works at the FDIC can help me. You will? Thank you so much.” The excitement in her voice made Dex sick. “No...Yeah, tomorrow is perfect.”
“I think I figured out how Fisk has been skirting the FBI asset freeze,” Karen looked up at someone right out of frame. Dammit. Dex would have to get another camera to watch the door.
“When's the last time you slept?” Dex froze. Foggy Nelson was in the office with Karen. Foggy Nelson, the man he’d murdered because Vanessa told him to. He swallowed thickly, distracting himself by looking at the cameras in Fisk’s suite.
“Why!?" Matt’s heartbroken scream echoed in his ears. “Why him!?”
“He's been funneling his money through Vancorp, which is the shell corporation that owns the hotel, and he's keeping it in an offshore firm named Red Lion National Bank,” Karen rambled, voice going faster and faster with each word. She’d gotten some dirt on Fisk. Dirt that Dex was more than happy to use to his advantage. See? This is why he needed to keep tabs on Karen.
“Karen...” Foggy whispered.
“That's the smoking g*n,” Karen pointed at her pad, “f it's not smoking, it's at least kinda warmish.” She admitted. Any information on Fisk was worth going after with everything you had. Dex took a mental note to look into Red Lion. And he’d keep an eye on Red Hook.
Dex didn’t bother taking note of Foggy telling Karen Matt was alive. Dex already knew this information. Matt was at the hotel. Matt had visited his apartment and got changed into one of his suits. If it didn’t notify Fisk, Dex would’ve followed him, but he couldn’t reveal his hand just yet. He needed to make sure Fisk still thought he was good enough to fixate on.
“Here.” He looked up as one of his female coworkers set a cup of coffee in front of him. “You look tired, Dex.” He did not remember her name at all. He barely remembered who she was. And yeah, he was tired, but that wasn’t going to slow him down.
“Thanks,” Dex gave a quick nod, looking back at the cameras watching Fisk. Not even twenty minutes later Dex got a notification from Matt’s apartment. He glanced down at his phone, the small screen showing Karen bursting into Matt’s apartment, screaming for him with Foggy trailing behind her. Dex’s jaw ticked. He hated how angry she was at Matt. An angry Karen was a terrifying Karen.
“Matt! Matt, where the hell are you?” Karen shouted, looking in his bedroom and around the empty living room.
“He's not here. I called. Even asked Fran down the hall if she saw anyone poking around. She would know. She pokes,” Foggy sighed, voice tired. He hadn’t slept worrying about Matt. Dex noted how red his eyes were. The cameras tracked Karen sitting on Matt’s couch.
“Why? Why would he let us think that he was dead?” Karen hissed, dropping her purse and running her hands through her hair.
“It wasn't Matt that I saw, Karen.” Dex tilted his head at Foggy’s words. “I mean, not really. It was Matt. All five feet, ten inches of him, but...the way that he spoke to me...something was missing.” Foggy really cared about Matt. Dex could tell. He was a good friend if he could tell something was missing with Matt. Ugly jealousy rose in Dex’s chest. He wanted to know Matt that well, wanted to be that close to Matt.
“Well, that's nothing new. There's always something missing with Matt.” The bitterness in Karen’s voice made Dex want to kill her. “I used to think that it was...it was busy lawyer, distracted Matt. Then I thought it was weight-of-the-world-on-his-shoulders Matt. But you know what? It's just Matt.” How dare she talk about Matt like that? He’d suffered so much, did so much for the people he cared about. Dex grit his teeth. He did not like Karen Page at all.
“I think a part of him was buried under Midland Circle. I don't know if he's coming back,” Foggy sighed as if the words pained him. Dex knew Matt could handle a lot before he broke. Part of him felt proud for being able to break Daredevil. Matt was a man of many complexities and contradictions. Dex wanted to study him, know how he ticked and why.
The last thing Dex heard on the bugs was Foggy and Karen finding the sun glasses and hat Matt left behind. Dex smirked to himself. Matt still cared about his friends, he couldn’t stay away even if he tried. If Dex needed drastic measures, he knew who to target to draw Matt out.
I’ll be seeing you soon, Counselor.