Chapter 8
Ashley headed straight for Hell’s Kitchen after school the next day. She weaved her way through the crowded streets of Manhattan as she made her way to the familiar, run-down complex. She didn’t bother trying the elevator, knowing it was most likely busted as always and made her way up several flights of stairs to get to her destination. She stopped outside a door with a sign painted on (although the paint was starting to flake off around the edges) – Nelson & Murdock Attorneys at Law. She gently rapped her knuckles on the fogged glass window and made her way inside.
There was a young woman sitting at the desk in the middle of the room, nursing over a mug of hot chocolate as she poured over some insurance documents for a case that had been sent through. She glanced up as Ashley stepped inside the doorway, pushing back her long blonde locks and quickly stood up, rushing over to pull Ashley into a hug. “Ashley! I haven’t seen you in ages!”
“Hey Karen,” Ashley greeted, unconsciously relaxing in Karen’s arms. Her shoulders fell from their near-constant raised position as the woman run her fingers through Ashley’s mess of dark waves.
Karen made a low hum in the back of her throat as she stepped back to get a good look at the young girl. “You look tired… And you’re far too skinny. What do they feed you at that school?” Karen was a total mother hen around Ashley, something that Foggy reminded her of constantly and now was no exception. She sat the young girl down in a chair opposite hers and put the kettle on to make Ashley a drink. As she poured the hot chocolate sachet into the mug along with a splash of milk, Foggy stepped out of his office to see what the commotion was about.
“Oh, hey Ash,” he greeted and gave her an awkward side-hug from where she was sat down. She greeted Foggy in return before taking the mug of hot chocolate from Karen and the three of them soon found themselves all sat down around Karen’s desk as they waited for Matt to return from whatever he was doing.
“How are you?” Karen asked. She busied her hands as they talked, tidying away screwed up post-its and organising files in her desk drawer. “I feel like it’s been months since we’ve seen you.”
“I’m okay.” Ashley answered. She took a sip of the hot chocolate, revelling in the feeling as the warm liquid slid down her throat. For the first time in days, she wasn’t shivering with the cold, so this trip was worth it just for the hot chocolate alone. “Exams are coming up, so I’ve been busy with studying.”
“Uh-huh…” Foggy fixed her with a meaningful glare. “So, you haven’t been running around New York with a couple of vigilantes then and putting yourself in danger?”
“Nope. I wouldn’t dream of such a thing.” There was a brief pause before the three of them dissolved into light laughter. The three were still chuckling to themselves a minute later when Matt stepped inside. He smiled as he heard the sound of his friends laughing.
“Sounds like our guest has arrived then.” He walked over to the three and stood behind Ashley’s chair, putting one hand on the back of the chair and resting the other on her head. Matt couldn’t see the frown that was no doubt on her face, but he could definitely feel the heat of a glare, which just made him smile wider.
“Murdock,” Ashley said shortly, although there was no bite to her tone.
“So, care to tell me why you a) don’t have a bank account, and b) suddenly need one now?” Matt jumped straight in, thinking back to the phone call the two had had the previous night. When she had called, his first thought was that she had gotten herself hurt. He was rather shocked when she had asked him for a favour. ‘I need you to help me open a bank account.’ The request had certainly thrown him, but he was just happy she had come to him for help. It might only be a small favour now, but maybe in time she could confide in him with what was really going on.
“I got an internship and I need a bank account so they can pay me.” Ashley decided to ignore the first portion of Matt’s question and hoped he wouldn’t probe any further. She was quite thankful when he didn’t and instead asked what the internship was for. “I’m going to be an intern at Stark Industries.”
There was a low-pitched whistle from Foggy beside her and an excited gasp from Karen. “Stark Industries? That’s huge!” Karen reached across the desk and picked up one of Ashley’s hands in both of hers. “I’m so happy for you!”
While both Karen and Foggy were congratulating Ashley, Matt’s face was stony. Stark worried him. The man was completely unpredictable, and Matt was very much under the impression that he didn’t do anything for anyone without an ulterior motive. If he were to find out Ashley’s alter-ego, Matt wouldn’t put it past the billionaire to hand her over to the government or SHIELD.
“Matt?” Karen grabbed his attention after he had been zoning out for the last couple of minutes. He hadn’t realised that his grip on the back of Ashley’s chair was so strong that the wood was straining under the force. He let go, trying not to think about ways he would like to pummel Tony Stark and instead focused on the three heartbeats in the room belonging to his friends. He found comfort in the soft thumps when he was upset or angry and it helped calm him down considerably.
“Sorry, I was just thinking… Anyway, shouldn’t we be heading off? The banks will be closing soon, so we’ll need to get a move on.”
As Matt moved towards the door, Ashley and Karen both stood up, Karen pulling her jacket on as she walked out with them. Ashley gave her a confused glance, wondering why Karen was joining them. “Matt thought it would look better if we were sisters, so for all intents and purposes, I’m Karen Carter, your legal guardian for the next couple of hours. Apparently it would be more believable if someone who wasn’t obviously disabled was your guardian – his words not mine.”
Ashley just nodded, letting a small grin sneak past her lips. She definitely wouldn’t mind having Karen for an older sister. She was also quite happy that her account would be in her real full name. As soon as she could, she was going to get her legal name changed back to Carter, but that would need to wait until she was at least sixteen.
It didn’t actually take them long to get an account set up at the bank. Ashley was able to just sit back for the most of it, only pitching in to dictate what sort of account she wanted. Matt and Karen did most of the talking and handed over some very convincing fake ID and guardianship documents. Ashley didn’t ask Matt where he had gotten those from, figuring the less she knew about the matter the better. Within half an hour, the account was set up and Ashley had been given her brand new bank card.
“Did you have any money you wanted to deposit today?” The bank clerk asked.
Ashley shifted in her seat then, pulling a wad of cash from her jeans pocket. She had been sitting with her hand wedged inside her pocket for most of the time they were there. Neither Matt nor Karen knew she actually had money to put in the account today. The clerk nodded as Ashley handed over the cash and begun counting the notes. “Two hundred dollars exactly. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
It was a huge weight off her mind as the money was processed and he then showed her his computer screen, stating the bank balance at two hundred dollars. Now she didn’t have to carry all that cash around with her every day. She had kept roughly fifty dollars back in case she needed the cash in an emergency. The clerk finished explaining about the benefits of the account and about how the interest rates worked before sending the trio on their way. Once they were outside, Matt was very quick to pipe up.
“How long have you been carrying that cash on you?”
Ashley hesitated. She couldn’t very well say for the past three weeks. “Uh, just since this morning. It was hidden away in a pair of old socks.” Not a total lie as she did keep the money in her socks. She just happened to carry the socks with her all the time.
“Uh-huh…” Matt’s tone wasn’t very convinced. Nevertheless, he let the subject be, knowing just how stubborn the girl could be. “Right, now that that’s done, shall we grab some take-out and head back to the office?”
“Actually, I have some homework I need to finish, so I’m going to head home soon.”
Karen’s face fell at her response. “Really? You’re going to leave just like that after I haven’t seen you in months?” She tried to play the guilt trip card to get Ashley to stick around a little longer, at least until she could get some food and maybe another hot chocolate in the poor girl. “How about we do a coffee run on the way back?”
Ashley nodded, the thought about a warm drink too tempting to pass up. With the Stark Industries internship now in her grasp, she didn’t feel too bad about treating herself to a nice hot drink. It would certainly help against the cold that was biting against her skin. So the three of them took a detour into the coffee shop across the street from the office before returning back. Ashley refused to let either Karen or Matt pay for her mint mocha, which was honestly the most delicious thing she had tasted. Matt had ordered a black coffee and Karen had ordered herself a gingerbread latte, a cappuccino for Foggy and she had selected a handful of pastries and cakes to take back with them.
When the three arrived, Foggy pulled an extra chair from his office and the four of them sat around Karen's desk. It was reminiscent of the first time she had met Foggy and Karen after a patrol with Matt had gone awry. The pair had stumbled into the office together one evening after being outnumbered by a group of rogue triads. The pair had taken quite a beating and needed somewhere to hide and treat their wounds, which had led them to the office, where Karen and Foggy were working late on a case.
“Have you read through your internship contract yet, Ashley?” Karen asked, as she picked up a cherry bakewell from the box of pastries. “Because I know a couple of really good lawyers who can make sure it’s up to scratch.”
“I have read it…” Ashley answered as she reached into her tattered backpack. “But feel free to give it a browse.” She pulled the large binder out of her bag that housed the contract along with some other documents Pepper had presented her with the previous evening, including a map of the Avengers’ Tower and a rough guide to current projects under Stark Industries. There were also several non-disclosure agreements that Ashley had already signed ready to return.
Foggy was very quick to pry the folder from Ashley’s hands and start flicking through the details. Every so often he made an appreciative noise, which Matt huffed a small chuckle at.
“This is surprisingly good…” Foggy murmured, speaking to himself rather than anyone else in the room. “I’m particularly impressed by the flexibility in the contract and the consideration for school exams and projects. The internship also comes with an automatic reference for university applications and application for funding through Stark Industries. Although I’m not sure you’d need it with the pay-check you’d be getting. As long as you’re sensible with your money, you could easily save a thousand dollars a month while you’re living at home…”
Ashley internally winced a little bit at his last sentence. She simply offered him a small smile, hoping it didn’t come out as awkward as it felt. As Foggy handed back the contract, Ashely flicked over to the last page, which needed to be filled in. She had filled in most of the details already, putting in her last home address and filling in her date of birth and school information. There were a couple of boxes currently left blank – guardian’s phone number and guardian’s signature. Ashley was well-versed in forging signatures but providing a phone number was going to be a bit more difficult. She had previously forged her mum’s signature for the Academic Decathlon finals in Washington. It had earned her next to a week in the airing cupboard after the trip, but Ashley still vowed it had been worth it.
“Hey, Matt?” Ashley quietly drew the vigilante’s attention. “I need to put down an emergency contact number… Any chance I can put down your burner phone?”
“Why?” Matt asked suspiciously. “Surely it should be your parents' number that should be put down.”
“They'll never agree to let me go.” Ashley figured this would be true if her parents were still around. It’s easier to lie if the lie is based on a truth. “And if they found out, they'd take the money I earn from me. I was just going to tell them I have extra Decathlon practice after school...”
Matt pursed his lips tightly. “Your parents take money from you?”
“They would if they knew I had any...” They had done it to her before, after they had caught her with some of the allowance her grandparents had given her.
“You know you can report them to CPS, right?” Karen said gently.
Ashley shook her head, a stray tear running down the side of her nose. “I don’t want to end up in care or get taken away from my school. I’m nearly sixteen. I have two and a half years of school left and then I’ll be going to university. I can stick it out a little longer...”
If anything, Ashley was trying to reassure herself with her words. Living in a tent was hardly an ideal life, but she just had to remind herself, if she can stick it out just a little while longer, she can go to university, especially if she has savings from the Stark Internship. She can do this.
Matt's resolve broke quickly. A part of him wanted to push even further as he knew she wasn’t telling the whole truth. The stutter in her heartbeat alone gave that away, but her wavering tone of voice was also a pretty good sign. Matt pulled out his burner phone and handed it over to Ashley, letting her note down the mobile’s number.
“So, if Tony Stark calls, who should I say I am?”
“Frank Sampson.”
“Alright kid, but you got to promise me one thing, okay?” Matt paused for a second, wondering how best to phrase his request. “If you need any help – like food or a bed for the night, or however many nights, you come to one of us... If you need anything, you got that?”
“Y-Yeah... I promise.”
Ashley left the office later that evening with two more phone numbers in her contacts – Karen <3 and Fogggy. Ashley thought it was quite cute that Karen put a heart next to her name and she found herself once again wishing that Karen really could be her sister. Whereas Foggy had put too many ‘g's in his name, but Ashley thought that was quite funny and very much a Foggy thing to do.
She finished off her homework in her tent, using her powers to provide a soft purple light in the darkness. She was able to summon a lilac orb that hung in the air just above her head. Every so often, the orb would crackle restlessly, and Ashley would swear down her powers had a mind of their own. In all fairness, she could probably count on her fingers how often her powers worked the exact way she had intended, while there were countless other times when they just reacted to events instinctually.
Once she had finished the last of her homework, she decided to cram in a quick patrol before bed time. Mostly, she was just craving to stretch her wings for a while but putting a stop to some petty crime seemed like a lot of fun at the same time. She stuck to Manhattan (but made a conscious effort to avoid Hell’s Kitchen of course). She flew across the rooftops, landing on random buildings in order to survey her surroundings. She came across a couple of purse-snatchers that were fairly easy to take down. The civilians had thanked her and asked for her name, so Ashley decided to start circulating the ‘Pegasus’ name, because there was no way in hell she was going to let the internet pick some crappy name for her.
It was nearing eleven o’clock when she decided to call it a night. She spread her wings once more and launched off the building she was currently perched on. Unfortunately, she didn’t get very far when a shot rung out. Instinctively, she dived as soon as she heard the sound, and by some miracle, the bullet that was aiming for her skimmed past, narrowly missing her kneecap. The rooftop closest to her was currently under construction; the developers were clearly looking to add another storey or two to it. She landed on the roof and immediately ducked behind a large concrete pillar. Her wings quickly folded away as she took note of her surroundings. There were tall pillars and beams stretching high above and with the cover of darkness, a few tight, dark corners to hide in. She couldn’t risk peeking her head out of her current spot and getting caught, so she decided to focus with the skills Matt had taught her.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and allowed her hearing to take over. She held her breath and managed to slow her heartbeat down to an almost painfully slow rhythm. From there she was able to pinpoint four sets of footsteps. There were two to the right of her – one was nimble, and she could picture the person stepping on their tiptoes, while the other steps were louder and slower, and they came down with considerable force. There was another set of footsteps very close by on her left. This one had a limp – one foot stepped down heavily, whereas the other was quick to follow close behind and didn’t have as much force. The fourth pair was probably around ten metres away – this one seemed to be pacing, first to the left and then the right. The worn away concrete of the roof crunched each time he turned around to pace the other direction.
The next sound she heard was the unmistakeable sound of a gun’s safety clicking off. This was from the pacing guy, as it sounded further away than the other footsteps. Then voices followed. They were low and heavily accented, sounding of East Asian descent. The tone was taunting as they tried to cajole her into the open. “Come here little girl… If you come with us willingly, we won’t hurt you… too much.” The men started cackling after that, which threw Ashley off as she tried to listen to the footsteps coming closer.
Running out of options, she prayed her powers would co-operate with her and used them to bring down the beams above. As another gunshot rung out in the air, the beams supporting a half ceiling above fell down on them all. The rubble successfully deflected the bullet, but a stray piece of falling concrete fell on one of Ashley’s legs as she tried to roll away from the impact. She cried out as the lump landed on her left leg, effectively trapping her from moving any further. Her powers reacted instinctively after that. They managed to levitate the heavy concrete and launch it across the building top, taking out one of the two thugs that were still standing. Ashley tried not to think about the sound he made as he fell over the edge, or the resounding splat when he came into contact with the road below.
Ashley didn’t have much time to survey her injuries, but she could at least gather that her leg wasn’t broken, so she could in theory stand on it. As long as she ignored the shooting pains from her ankle, that is. She didn’t have long to stand up and get her bearings before the last remaining thug came barrelling towards her, fists clenched. Before she had time to strike him, he had landed a punch to her face, which sent her staggering backwards into the pile of rubble. The movement and the pain she was in winded her for a second, but the other guy didn’t look to me in much better shape. There was a piece of metal sticking in his side, blood dripping at his feet with each step he took, but he still seemed hell bent on taking out Ashley. She knew she was too tired to fight with her powers, and she wouldn’t be able to focus properly. Instead, she picked up a length of broken scaffolding. It was just light enough that she could pick it up, groaning as she did so, but heavy enough that when she swung it, the guy in front of her was knocked out instantly.
Once she felt it safe to do so, she crawled her way out of the rubble, trying to find an open space to open her wings and return home. Before she could launch off the roof’s edge, her phone started ringing inside the pocket she had stitched into the inside of her hoodie (to stop her losing it in the middle of a fight just like this one). She fished the phone out and pressed answer without checking who the caller was as she was fairly certain she already knew.
“You better not have been in that building that just came down in Midtown.”
Ashley forced out a pained chuckle before she replied. “It’s not like the whole building came down.”
“What the hell happened?” Matt roared down the phone. Ashley didn’t think he’d ever sounded so angry before.
“I was about to go home before some freaking Yakuza-types started shooting at me. There were four of them… Now there’s only three, maybe less.”
“Was it that Karito that sent them?”
Ashley sighed. “I don’t know. Hold on, let me check.” She tucked the phone away in her pocket for a minute and limped carefully over to where one of her assailants was currently half-buried. He was a large balding man, his skin now extremely pale, which made the dark crimson blood staining around his mouth stand out more prominently. Ashley audibly winced as she took in his appearance. She had killed two people tonight. “Holy shit,” she murmured to herself, reaching down to the suit jacket he was wearing, now grey with concrete dust. She pulled out a piece of paper that was wedged inside his pocket. The paper was folded over several times and was only the size of a CD case when fully unfolded. On the paper was a list of names and an accompanying photo affixed with a paperclip of her talking to Matt on a rooftop, wings outstretched. This had only been taken a couple of days ago, as he wasn’t wearing his Daredevil gear. She turned her attention to the names that had been scribbled down next to the photo.
Ashley Carter/Sampson
Frank Sampson – unknown
Eleanor Sampson – unknown
Lucas Sampson – unknown
Daniel Carter – deceased
Lily Carter – deceased
‘Daredevil’ - unknown
Matthew Murdock
Franklin Nelson
Karen Page
‘Spider-Man’ – unknown