Chapter 4
She always knew this day would come. Well, not always; only since she’s known who Matt Murdock really was.
Still, knowing doesn’t make it any easier. Not by a long shot. As she sits in her office, Karen Page contemplates what happens now. Does the city just continue on like nothing happened? Like they didn’t just lose their guardian devil?
She had meant to reconcile things with Matt when it felt natural, when he was ready to be just the slightly goofy, debonair lawyer instead of living the double life, with that fire constantly blazing just below the surface, threatening to consume him and everyone around him in a heartbeat.
Karen absentmindedly finds herself wondering if Matt can hear his own heartbeat as well as other people’s. Could have heard, she mentally corrects herself. The sharp pang of guilt is back, and cuts clear through her gut. She can’t help but feel responsible for his death – even though logically, she knows that this is who he was, and not even she could have made him give it up. He knew all the risks, and he knew exactly what he was doing. It still doesn’t make it any easier for those he left behind though.
Everyone had decided it was for the best if the sudden disappearance of the devil of hell’s kitchen wasn’t publicized. No tributes, no news briefs, and no articles. This last one was of particular complaint for Karen, seeing how she owed her life to him on multiple occasions, and now she can’t even honor his memory with a piece on what he meant to her, to the community, to the city. It feels like a wasted opportunity, though she understands that it’s still vital that nobody connects the dots between the devil and Matt Murdock.
Matthew Michael Murdock. She hadn’t known his full name until the funeral – it surprised her, maybe at just how Catholic it was? Probably more of the fact that it had all that alliteration in there. That was Matt though – the former, not the latter: too Catholic for his own good sometimes. She admired that about him though: he had morals, something concrete to stick to, stand by, and to hold him accountable.
She briefly considered taking up going to church, before logic kicked into her brain and she admitted to herself that she didn’t really know the first thing about being religious. Not that she’s against it, it was just never a thing for her family. Killing people doesn’t exactly line up with Sunday School values, after all.
She could blame Foggy, and part of her wants to completely cut him out and never forgive him - but honestly, with Frank…whatever he is, either dead or completely off the grid, and Matt gone, she’s a little short in the friends department. And if it comes down to overlooking a lapse in judgment or losing somebody she’s been through so much with…she’ll happily forgive, because she can’t lose anybody else.
Caring about people and getting close to them – it hurts too much to try and meet new people. They don’t get it, not like any of the guys. She wonders if there’s anybody else who may get it – some of the other heroes who were with Matt? The other people in the police station? It seemed like they were all there because they knew their secrets - like Karen and Foggy knew Matt’s – but that’s not a guarantee that they’ve all been through similar, she reminded herself. And, Matt was the only one who didn’t come back.
She immediately hated herself for thinking that, for reminding herself of that, even though it was true. It’s not like this is something she can go to a meeting for, compare and contrast scenarios, figure out with other people how they handled being shot at or threatened or kidnapped or lied to over and over and over.
The only person she has now that gets that is Foggy. She sighs – she’s clearly not getting any work done today. She’ll probably pick a couple of easy questions for her column this week, something that’s not too hard hitting; people looking for the best cafes or wanting her take on the newest senate bills and what that means for the everyday person, something thoughtless.
But she doesn’t really want thoughtless, she wants to scream her mind – but she can’t. Because the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is dead. And there’s not a damn thing she can do about it without calling attention to the fact that Matt Murdock died at the exact same time.
Though, maybe Matt died a lot earlier and the devil just took over. At least, that was Foggy’s take on it. And hell, he knew him a lot better than she did. She just wished that there had been more time to change that.
Deciding that there was no hope for getting any work done today from the office, despite it only being 10:38AM, Karen shut off her computer, packed up, and headed towards the elevator. That is, until Ellison cut her off. She was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly ran into him…literally.
“Jesus. Sorry,” Karen apologized. Ellison just waved her off.
“Listen, I know your head’s not in the game today, but something just came in,” Ellison said as he motioned her into his office.
Confused and caught totally of guard, Karen follows him into the office and he shuts the door behind her. The office is spacious, but absolutely cluttered with papers, proofs, and pictures on every visible surface. She evicts a stack of binders from a chair and sits as Ellison rummages through papers on his desk.
“Last night, there was an incident in Little Italy. Got real bloody.”
“…So? What makes you think this is my kind of story? Crimes is –“
Ellison cut her off, “It’s not about the crime. It’s about the who.”
Karen’s heart sank – how does she tell Ellison that Daredevil is dead? She opens her mouth to start to explain, but he swivels his computer monitor around to her, and the photos on it leave her at a complete loss for words.
“These guys were hit during a poker game, but they’re not typical organized crime. They deal in construction and property reclamation. But the thing that makes it really interesting? They were hit with military precision.” Ellison studied her face carefully.
Karen gathered her thoughts before piecing everything together. “But, according to the official report, Frank Castle is dead.”
Ellison smirked, “Since when did you trust official reports?”
She grinned – he had a point. Besides, she knew that Frank was likely out there somewhere. Maybe this was the silver lining she was hoping for. She’s just not sure she was ready for a bombshell like this so soon.
Karen digs in her purse for her phone and rushes out of his office. As she weaves her way through the narrow walkways between desks, she shakes her head, unable to keep herself from a grin.
She may have lost one person from her life, but maybe she can actually keep a hero in her life this time, for a change.