"Sorry About the Blood"
Between the three of them, it took nearly ten minutes to reach Karen’s car parked behind the hospital. She and Heather carefully lay Matt down in the backseat, doing their best to be mindful of his injuries.
“Sorry about the blood,” Matt murmured. His eyes were shut, no doubt fighting off the pain and nausea he experienced as the car began to move.
Karen almost laughed even though the situation wasn’t at all humorous. The fact that Matt was worried about the blood on her rental car backseats rather than the literal holes he had in his body was almost comical.
“Just do me a favor and try to stay awake until we get there, okay?”
Matt hummed in response. Heather glanced back at him. His nearly lifeless, blood-covered body was doing nothing to reassure her. However, she knew how much Matt trusted Karen, and that trust was good enough for her.
“Where are we going?” Heather questioned after five minutes into the drive.
Karen had her eyes on the dimly lit road in front of her, contemplating the answer she wanted to give to Heather.
“To a friend’s place.” She replied as she turned into an even darker alley. Karen pulled the car into a parking spot at the end of the alley. Before she could fully unbuckle her seatbelt Heather grabbed onto her arm.
“Is it safe here?” Heather still looked terrified, her grip on Karen's arm not wavering.
Karen flashed her a small smile, putting her hand over Heather's as a futile attempt at comforting her in their insane situation.
“Yeah, we’re safe here.” She removed her seatbelt and opened the door. Heather did the same as they circled back to Matt. His eyes were still closed, but he didn’t seem unconscious.
“Matt? We’re here.” Karen announced, hopefully loud enough to rouse him out of his current state.
“Yeah, okay.” Matt managed to respond. The two women helped him sit up, each putting an arm around his waist as they did before, carrying him to the entrance of Frank’s building. Matt could hear the familiar hum of the elevator as the three shuffled inside it.
Heather made eye contact with Karen, who shot her a reassuring glance as the elevator hit the third floor. They walked out, Matt still held up between them, and Karen knocked on the metal door.
The deadbolt sliding out of place echoed through the empty building. The door was cracked open, revealing a tired and slightly irritated Frank. He opened his door wider and motioned with his hand for them to enter.
As soon as they got through the door he resecured the locks and took Matt from their hold. He not so gracefully set him down on a cot. The movement elicited a groan from Matt.
“Thanks for the gentleness.” Matt quipped under his breath.
“Anything for you Red.”
Karen went over to the sink, wanting to rid her hands of Matt’s now-dried blood. When she rinsed them off she turned towards Heather, who stood in the same place, staring blankly ahead.
“Hey.” Karen walked up to her with a warm smile. “How about you wash some of that blood off.”
Heather nodded in agreement as she let Karen guide her to the sink. She left her to wash her hands and went to Frank’s coffee pot. Karen started a pot with no protest from Frank, who quite frankly looked like he was four days overdue for a good night’s sleep.
She brought a mug of steaming black coffee over to Frank, who was rummaging through a box of medical supplies. He silently thanked her with a nod, accepting the mug and taking a large gulp.
“So, do I have to patch him up or do you get to do the honors?” Frank asked Karen.
“Why don’t you work on fixing up him while I take care of Heather.” She motioned over to where Heather sat on a very distressed couch.
Frank grunted in response, turning towards Matt. He ripped open the blood-stained hospital gown, revealing Matt’s shoulder wound. It stopped bleeding for the most part, but a trail of dark blood made its way down his chest after Frank probed the wound.
His stomach and back were beginning to show an impressive array of bruising, ranging from purple to dark blue.
“Damn, whose puppy did you kick to deserve this huh?” Frank asked.
Matt let out a laugh. “Apparently, going up against a corrupt mayor has its consequences.”
“Always the noble knight in shining armor. Have you ever considered Boy Scouts?” Frank retorted. Matt smiled in response, but his expression quickly contorted into a frown as the movement pulled at the wound on his hairline.
“Sorry Red, this is gonna hurt but I don’t have any anesthetic.”
“Just get it over with,” Matt said as he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain to come.
Frank threaded the needle he pulled out from his medical kid. After sterilizing it he began to slide it into Matt’s flesh.
Matt grimaced in response, doing his best to not move during the impromptu surgery Frank was performing in his definition of a home. The pain dulled after the first few stitches, but it was most likely from the effects of blood loss rather than a high pain tolerance.
When Frank finished with his shoulder, he moved on to examining Matt’s head wound. It wouldn’t need stitches he concluded, but he still taped a piece of gauze to help it heal better.
After he finished Matt was beat. He let himself close his eyes and drift off. He figured that they had time to lay low for a bit while Fisk’s men attempted to track him down.
Frank gathered the bloodied towels and disposed of them in the garbage. After he washed his hands he glanced over to Karen. She was sitting on the couch with Heather, most likely comforting her after today’s events.
He turned back to his workstation, taking a long swig of his coffee that was now more room temperature than steaming hot. He heavily considered adding a splash of something stronger to it but decided with Murdock’s luck, he needed to be sharp and ready to act in the near future.