Hell's Kitchen, Murdock and McDuffie's office, 11 AM.
Matt was reading a report in braille at his office. A couple of days ago, the victim of an assault came to his office to request that they represent him. Kirsten took on his case as he clearly had been beaten up black and blue, and she thought that it would be an easy victory. The office desperately needed money, so she agreed to meet with her client. Matt's heightened senses, however, told a different story. Yes, he was telling the truth about the assault, but he lied about the circumstances that led to that assault. During his initial testimony, he mentioned a woman working at a shelter for battered women who later went to his place to beat him up. He accused his estranged wife of being the one who sent that woman to do it, which clearly was a lie. Matt asked Cherry to investigate a little bit, and it turned out that his client actually was a very violent man. He didn't respect his restraining order and found the shelter where his wife sought refuge.
The director of the refuge pressed charges against him for assault, disruption, and psychological abuse of both the staff and clients of the shelter. He stumbled upon a recurring name, "Hayley Blackwood". She was the one who confronted their client. She wasn't afraid of him, and she managed to kick him out of the place with strength. It intrigued him for a while. Could she be the one who attacked him? His client had been very vague when describing his assailant, and Matt assumed that it could have been because he was ashamed. If a woman beat him up, and given how misogynistic that man was, it was very probable that the person who assaulted him was Hayley Blackwood. He wondered for a moment what he should do and decided that the best course of action was to visit the shelter for battered women, himself. He would encounter that woman and see for himself if she was the one who did it. Before he could move, his office door opened, and a strong scent of Jasmine filled his nostrils.
"I heard that this piece of shit is being represented by you. I decided to spare some time and come to your office myself. I was the one who beat up your client, and I did it for a reason."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"You heard me well. I am sparing you time and money by coming to your office."
She walked into the office and sat in the chair before Matt. He looked at her direction, cocked his head a little bit because he wanted to focus on her heartbeats. She seemed confident. She was telling the truth. Matt blinked several times behind his glasses. She said she had a good reason to beat his client up, reasons he could guess, given the incident that happened at the shelter. Still, not many people would take it as far as going to the client's house to beat him up there. She was extremely calm, far more than he anticipated her to be, which piqued his interest.
"Well, since you're here and you decided to walk into my office uninvited, I say I'm willing to hear what you have to say. Needless to inform you that our client decided to press charges against you."
"I'm well aware of this. I don't mind." -She answered, both hands now resting on the table.- "When Kurt, I mean your client, came to the shelter, he was looking for his wife Sandra." -She paused briefly- "Sandra came to us a week before the incident, bruised and wounded. Some of the wounds had not been treated, and they were infected. Sandra came to us, boiling hot with a fever, shaking and scared of the littlest noise. A classic case of physical abuse. She told us her story and begged us not to let Kurt know where she was. I looked her dead in the eye and promised that I would not let this motherfucker come near her."
"He still came." -Matt pointed out. Hayley scoffed and crossed her arms above her chest-
"Lo and Behold, that asshole came to our shelter, looking for Sandra. He wasn't intoxicated; don't let him pretend he was. He was angry. Fuming, really. I know this gaze, you know? When it's filled with anger, dark with nefarious intent. It was my colleague, Melania, who was at the front desk. She immediately asked him to leave, but he screamed Sandra's name. He threatened Melania with a beating of his own. My colleague was used to this type of violence; we are all used to these threats. Usually, they lose steam and leave the place, but Kurt didn't. Instead, it escalated. When Melania asked him to leave and opened the door for him to go, he grabbed her by the hair and threw her on the floor. He started to kick her in the stomach, but that's when I stepped in. I was tending to Sandra's wounds when we heard the commotion. Sandra immediately had a meltdown, and I tried to calm her down. Other clients chimed in, which allowed me to leave Sandra under their care and try and help Melania. I kicked his ass. That's when he pulled a gun on me. He threatened to kill me and everybody inside if we didn't give him Sandra."
She took a break from her story. Her grey eyes never left Matt's face. He could feel it as well as the change in her breathing and heartbeat as she was remembering the event. His jaw clenched. He couldn't stand domestic abusers and would have refused to represent him had he known beforehand. Kirsten had already accepted the case, so he couldn't turn it down, but it made him twitch. He adjusted his tie to help soothe himself down and kept notes of what Hayley was saying. She noticed it but decided to keep it to herself. As a lawyer, she assumed that he definitely heard stories like these. He probably eventually defended people like Kurt, so she assumed that he wasn't surprised. She tilted her head to the side and leaned her cheek against the warm palm of her hand.
"What? He didn't tell you that he threatened to shoot up the shelter? If you've read the report of the incident, it should be written that--"
"I know you're not lying. I believe you, Miss Blackwood." -He asserted. His fingers were still fidgeting with his tie- "Our client failed to disclose his behaviour at the shelter. I didn't finish the report, so would you be so kind and finish your story?"
"MMhhh... Yes, of course." -She nodded- " He pulled his gun on me. His hand was steady and in control. His eyes? Oh, his eyes! I saw bloodlust in his eyes. I didn't waste time because I knew he would not hesitate to pull the trigger on me or anyone else, for that matter. I kicked his ass and threw him off of the shelter. I dismantled his gun and kept the barrel on me while I dropped the rest don't he floor. He got louder, but he was neutralized for the time being. I pretended I didn't believe him and told him we'll see his ass in court but I knew he meant his words."
"So you decided to take matters into your own hands?" -He almost accused. Matt bit back his tongue as his reaction was impulsive, and he did not know how she would react. She did not blink, which surprised him, and instead crossed her arms above her chest-
"Tell me, Mr. Murdock. The director of the shelter went to the police, and what happened?"
"They filed a report. Charges were pressed."
"Mmmhhh... Yet they didn't arrest him on those charges, did they? They didn't consider him an imminent threat to the shelter and its clients." She shrugged.- "They told us that they would only consider him to be a dangerous threat if he came back to the shelter. So I was left with a choice. Either I trust the system and he comes back and slaughters everyone at the shelter, or I go to him, I beat fear into his heart, and then he wouldn't try to come back."
"Beat fear into him?" -Matt furrowed his brows-
"I can be very convincing." -She retorted and furrowed her brows- "I knew he would press charges against me, and since I beat him up pretty badly, I decided it would be best to come to you."
"A plea deal?" -She shrugged and tapped her fingers against the wooden table of Matt's office.- "What's in it for you?"
"You can fine me. I do not go to jail. I return to the shelter and you make sure that Kurt doesn't come back and try to kill his wife." -She then bent forward, so her breath was now brushing over Matt's face- "I made sure to not break a bone in his body. I made sure to just hurt him hard enough for him to remember me. He'll probably be back to his life by now. He can still work, can still do whatever he usually does, and he's intact. Just bruised." -She paused- "And given his verbal threats that you can find on video, his actual assault on my colleague Melania, and the fact that he pulled a gun on me might tip the balance in my favor."
"Miss Blackwood, do you have a lawyer?" -She lifted a brow and shook her head- "No? Well. I will have to consider your suggestion, and we would have to go before a judge if my partner and the client both agree to a plea deal."
"I do not have a lawyer, but I can represent myself. Mr. Murdock, are you saying that you agree on the plea deal?"
"I'm not the only lawyer on this case. I believe that my client did everything you said he did. I will discuss with my partner and will come back to you if your offer has been accepted."
He remained cautious. He couldn't possibly, no matter how charming her voice was, put aside the fact that she was probably more than meets the eye. She was saying the truth, there was no denying it, but he had to look at the bigger picture. Hayley Blackwood was a woman who had not been phased by the sight of a gun cocked to her head. She was a woman who kicked the ass of an unhinged man in a public setting. She also went as far as to go to his home to beat him up. She was not scared. She didn't run away from danger but towards danger.
"Alright. I think that there is no need for me to stay here. I know you are blind, so perhaps it would be best if I gave you my phone number. I'll say it out loud."
"Your number?" -he blinked and she hummed her reply- "Oh, sure. Hold on." -He set up his phone and waited for her to give it to her. Once she did and he rang her phone so she could have his number, he put the phone down and entwined his fingers- "Can I ask you a question?"
"I won't promise I will answer it. Please, shoot." -She put her hands back on his desk and lifted a brow. Matt could hear the change of heartbeat; she was intrigued.-
" It's fine by me. I just want to know why you went there and decided to beat him up. Don't tell me that it's because you don't trust police to do their job. I think that something else motivated you that night. I'd like to know what."
"Someone has to protect the powerless." -She replied without blinking. Matt nodded- "I would be damned if Sandra dies because I didn't do anything."
"I see. Thank you, Miss Blackwood, for answering my question." She smiled and chuckled a little before she left the office.
Matt was left a bit confused by the whole meeting. The jasmine scent stayed in his office for the remainder of the day and forced his mind back to Hayley Blackwood. Something stood out. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she was no ordinary woman. She was relatively cool when telling her story, to the point, yet passionate. He could tell she was in control of herself, poised and calm, but he could feel a fire within her. He was curious about her actions. Was it an isolated incident, or was it something she usually did? He didn't have time to investigate and didn't want to send Cherry on that case. Still, it lingered in the back of his mind.
Surprisingly enough, Kirsten agreed to the plea deal. She convinced their client to agree to it so his outburst at the shelter wouldn't be used against him. Matt briefly called Hayley to inform her of the situation. She attended the meeting before the judge, and everything went fast. Her conditions were agreed to, she paid her huge fine without flinching, and she left the judge's office a free woman and with the guarantee that Kurt would never come close to the shelter. Kirsten told Matt afterwards that she didn't feel good knowing they defended an abusive spouse, and she asked if he could drop by the Shelter to donate the money they received from their client as an informal apology. Matt agreed, still intrigued by Hayley and eager to meet with her again. He wanted to see her again.
