Matt had been marginally aware of this office building for awhile now. Word on the street was the mob had ties to the building. He'd gathered that much during his less frequent undercover investigations, the kind where he pulled on a dirty coat and a baseball cap and played up his New York accent. The building registered as a place of interest, as a spot where information could be easily gathered if one knew how to go about it. It was the kind of place where listening paid off more than did bursting in guns a-blazing. You could always pull out a weapon later, if people weren't cooperating
( ... )
Vinny coward on the ground for a moment before his bravado got the better of him. Idiot needed to learn not to run his mouth. It could be hazerdous to his health. "You know who the fuck I am asshole? I'll have you killed for this you fuck
( ... )
How he'd managed to stand still throughout the process was beyond Matt's own comprehension. He was practically growling from the doorway, just barely able to contain his rage. He could understand Castle's methods though, and he'd be a hypocrite if he tried to say he wouldn't be doing about the same thing to Vinny if he'd been the one to arrive first. The impending head shot was another story, however, and as his radar showed Castle's reflection raising his gun to Vinny's forehead, Daredevil leapt into action, leaving his post at the door behind to bolt into the room in a flash of scarlet. He was graceful in the air, leaping over the corpses to land at Frank's side, teeth bared in warning. "That's enough, Frank
( ... )
Frank glared at Daredevil's back as he walked away, but he lowered his weapon and slipped it back beneath his coat. Fine, if the holy roller wanted to help Frank wouldn't object. He might distract enough of the scum for him to get the girl out safely. Quickly he caught up to Daredevil. "The girl's life is the only one that matters. I won't let you endanger her just to let some piece of filth keep breathing. Clear?"
Matt didn't feel the need to answer that. He wasn't going to let anyone else die, not Red Queen, not the kidnappers, not himself, and not even Frank. If he had his way, they'd all be getting out of Giuseppe's alive. Some of them might be in handcuffs, but they'd all still be breathing.
"You have a car or are we walking?" Matt didn't mind walking, or swinging there as was often the case for him. But he doubted Frank would appreciate him crashing the establishment before he got there. Matt wouldn't mind taking care of this himself. He'd done more dangerous feats on his own and armed with less. But Castle was here and chomping at the bit to help. It would be a waste to have him here and not use his skills while he was free and willing...
"It's around the corner," Frank muttered as he picked up the pace. His vehicle of choice was as usual a van. Not the fastest thing on the road, but it gave him more than enough room to store his arms and still have space to sleep in it if he had to. It was also stolen. Not that the previous owner would mind, as he had just been fished out the Hudson a few days ago.
Frank jumped into the driver's seat and cleared off the passenger side for Daredevil. "Watch the ordnance."
He wasn't expecting anything more than a van. Frank seemed to have preference for the vehicles, one Matt might be more understanding toward if he was more understanding of Frank's way of doing things. He frowned at it though, not because he was disgusted by it but because he realized what it represented. It was a traveling base, a stock-pile of weapons, Frank's own mobile weapons cache. And here was Daredevil, getting in and riding shotgun, buckling himself in for safety's sake. The whole damn situation was laughable.
"We go bursting in and they'll shoot her." His voice was calm and certain, though he really had no way of knowing. It was all speculation. If the kidnappers had known about Red Queen, known where to find her and how to disable her, chances were someone on their payroll knew how to get information from her too. "They won't know we're coming. We have to use surprise to our advantage."
"I know." Already he was running through scenarios, thinking of the fastest ways to extract the hostage. Having Daredevil along did provide some options he wouldn't have had otherwise. It also meant cutting the power to the restaurant would be far more effective than it would normally be. After an hour on the road Frank drove them past the front of Giuseppe's before driving another block and turning down into an alley.
Parking the van, Frank stepped into the back and began to rummage through his equipment looking for binoculars and night vision gear. "Let's go have a look. Figure out what we're dealing with."
The ride over had given him ample time to weigh his various options and come to some conclusions. It was nice to be able to clear his head and make decisions before they were necessary, it would mean less confusion in the long run
( ... )
Frank found the equipment he was looking for and opened the van's back door to climb out. Now he just needed to find where in the building the girl was then cut the power. The goons would be disoriented long enough for Daredevil and himself to make short work of them.
"Think you can locate her? I want to find her then cut the power. It will be cleaner that way."
He was silent a moment, ignoring the sounds of his own body, and of Frank, and of the men inside pacing about. At first he heard nothing, not a single aural trace of her. Then it hit him, like a burst over the other sound waves. Someone else inside the building, someone smaller than the men, someone stationary. It had to be the Red Queen.
"I think I got her." He could be wrong, of course. His sensitive ears had been fooled before, but with every second that passed and every step they took closer to their marks, Matt was more and more certain that the smaller figure had to be her. "I'm ready when you are. Let's get her out of there."
"Good." Frank nodded and walked along the side of the building until he found the electrical box he was looking for. With his Ka-Bar he quickly pried off the cover and then a moment later the power in the restaurant flickered off. "You go straight for her. Just worry about the ones that are directly in your way. Once you have her get her back to this van. I'll be handling the rest of them while you do that."
Normally, he would scoff at orders from someone like Frank, he'd snort dismissively and do things his way. But Red Queen's safety mattered more than his own pride, so he set any indignity aside and did as Castle asked. After all, Frank would get his, Matt would make damn sure of it.
There was commotion inside, confusion, cursing, rage. All of it painted a beautiful, cacophonous image in his mind's eye, reflections of the men inside bouncing off every wall and chair in the restaurant, and off of one another. And off of her, too. He was honed in on her presence now, slipping into the building and making use of his surroundings as best he could. The men were struggling for a flashlight, for a lighter, for something to guide them while Daredevil crept between them and slowly toward Red Queen. Whether or not he even registered to her, he didn't know, but he was just a few feet away from her now.
She was frightened. That was a fact and facts were not to be ignored. She had been taken, shocked with what she believed was a taser and had awoken to find herself blindfolded with some kind of drug in her system. It was hard to think. She didn't like that, her mind, her computing speeds were her greatest asset but at the moment, she could hardly focus enough to reach the network.
She was, for all intents and purposes, helpless.
Then the shouting began, loud noises, chaos, all of it pressing in and disorienting her more. She wanted to go, she wanted to be free, but her hands were tied and she didn't know where she was or who was even in the room with her. Because there was someone there, she could hear the footsteps in her haze and what little non-computer instincts she possessed told her he was near. An extra loud noise rattled around in her skull and all she could do was start to cry, huddled in the corner they'd left her in, helpless.
"I want to go home." She whispered, tears staining her blindfold.
Frank did just as he promised and soon the the mafioso were diving for cover. Mindful of his fire Frank made sure to keep himself as far from Daredevil's position as he could to avoid both one his shots going stray and to reduce the chance of any return fire injuring the very people he was trying to save. It meant he'd be far more exposed than he would have preferred, but if it got the girl out safe it would be worth it.
Turning over a table and crouching behind it Frank peered over looking for who might be shouting orders. Soon one of the crooks dared to stand up a little and do just that. Frank rewarded him with a bullet through his brain. If the thug's friends were idiots, and they most likely were they'd get angry and stay focused on Frank, forgetting completely about the girl, and Daredevil.
"It's alright," Matt said, voice steady and calm despite the chaos and gunfire. He knelt before her, placing a gentle, firm hand on her shoulder, tracing down her arm to check for any bindings, then softly to her face to feel for a blindfold. He tore the blindfold off first before beginning work on her arms. "We'll get you home, sweetheart. I promise. Just close your eyes. Pretend you're somewhere else
( ... )
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"You have a car or are we walking?" Matt didn't mind walking, or swinging there as was often the case for him. But he doubted Frank would appreciate him crashing the establishment before he got there. Matt wouldn't mind taking care of this himself. He'd done more dangerous feats on his own and armed with less. But Castle was here and chomping at the bit to help. It would be a waste to have him here and not use his skills while he was free and willing...
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Frank jumped into the driver's seat and cleared off the passenger side for Daredevil. "Watch the ordnance."
Reply
"We go bursting in and they'll shoot her." His voice was calm and certain, though he really had no way of knowing. It was all speculation. If the kidnappers had known about Red Queen, known where to find her and how to disable her, chances were someone on their payroll knew how to get information from her too. "They won't know we're coming. We have to use surprise to our advantage."
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Parking the van, Frank stepped into the back and began to rummage through his equipment looking for binoculars and night vision gear. "Let's go have a look. Figure out what we're dealing with."
Reply
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"Think you can locate her? I want to find her then cut the power. It will be cleaner that way."
Reply
"I think I got her." He could be wrong, of course. His sensitive ears had been fooled before, but with every second that passed and every step they took closer to their marks, Matt was more and more certain that the smaller figure had to be her. "I'm ready when you are. Let's get her out of there."
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There was commotion inside, confusion, cursing, rage. All of it painted a beautiful, cacophonous image in his mind's eye, reflections of the men inside bouncing off every wall and chair in the restaurant, and off of one another. And off of her, too. He was honed in on her presence now, slipping into the building and making use of his surroundings as best he could. The men were struggling for a flashlight, for a lighter, for something to guide them while Daredevil crept between them and slowly toward Red Queen. Whether or not he even registered to her, he didn't know, but he was just a few feet away from her now.
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She was, for all intents and purposes, helpless.
Then the shouting began, loud noises, chaos, all of it pressing in and disorienting her more. She wanted to go, she wanted to be free, but her hands were tied and she didn't know where she was or who was even in the room with her. Because there was someone there, she could hear the footsteps in her haze and what little non-computer instincts she possessed told her he was near. An extra loud noise rattled around in her skull and all she could do was start to cry, huddled in the corner they'd left her in, helpless.
"I want to go home." She whispered, tears staining her blindfold.
Reply
Turning over a table and crouching behind it Frank peered over looking for who might be shouting orders. Soon one of the crooks dared to stand up a little and do just that. Frank rewarded him with a bullet through his brain. If the thug's friends were idiots, and they most likely were they'd get angry and stay focused on Frank, forgetting completely about the girl, and Daredevil.
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