They weren’t a lot of phone booths left in ordinary cities in ordinary streets but Gotham wasn’t an ordinary city and Crime Alley wasn’t an ordinary street.

“Betsy,” said a shaking voice. The voice of a man with the habits of a child. “Betsy it’s me.”

The phone slipped from his hands. He gripped it tightly but the phone slid in his hands.

“I… I screwed up,” the man said, he stared out the four glass walls of the phone booth. He felt trapped, his body all itchy. “I know you said no killing but… but…”

The man wailed. “They were threatening you and… and I didn’t want anything to happen to you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

The phone slipped from his bloodied hands. “Please, please call me on that private number we talked about. You know, that one. Please call me to tell me if you’re safe.”

The blood on his jacket felt heavy, like sweat. His bald face looked like a tomato with all the blood that was on it. The man was so huge, his head almost touched the top.

“I know you have a lot of clients,” the man said. “So, if you get this, this is Melvin Potter. Please, please get out of this city. I put you in danger and I’m so, so sorry Betsy. I’m so sorry.”

Tears felt down his face. “I’m so sorry Betsy.”

“He’s over there,” shouted a voice. “He’s in that phone booth.”

Melvin hung up the phone. He left the phone booth, leaving behind a trail of bloody footsteps in his wake.

…

His senses exploded into life as the world around Matt came into focus. He was breathing heavily, feeling the individual pinpricks bandage thread dig into his body like needles.

And he smelt her, the lavender stained by the strong iron stench of blood. He heard the slosh of a cloth stained in anti-septic as Elektra rolled it up into a ball and walked towards him.

“That wasn’t like you Matthew,” Elektra said. “Rushing into battle like that.”

Elektra peeled off the bandages and started wiping the wounds. He could feel the anti-septic sizzling in his wounds but he ignored the pain, trying his best to keep his body still.

“Stick said you were the best warrior he trained,” Elektra said, putting a fresh new patch of bandages on his wound. “These wounds say otherwise.”

“Stick also said you were emotional,” Elektra said, her hand was like silk in comparison to the bandages on his body. “Maybe that’s why…”

“What do you want?” Matt interrupted. He listened to her heartbeat; it didn’t give anything away.

“You, Matthew,” Elektra said.

Matt chuckled. “Sure, you left me in college without a word and the next time I see you, you’re talking about Stick and you’re murdering people. Now tell me, what the hell do you want?”

“The same thing you do,” Elektra said. “Eradicate crime. How I’m going to do it in a place called Crime Alley, I don’t know.”

Matt chuckled. “By killing everybody? God, you and Stick are the same.”

“And what,” Elektra said. “You plan to clean your streets up by chasing them till they have heart attacks.”

“That’s none of your business,” Matt said. “Now get out of my apartment.”

“Stick was right,” Elektra said. “You’re weak. You can’t do what’s necessary.”

“Stick is a delusional old man,” Matt said. “He doesn’t care about you; he just wants soldiers for that League of Assassins. I can’t believe you were stupid enough to fall for his delusions. Now get out of my house.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Elektra said. “Flail your fists blindly looking for those children to compensate for your guilt. While people in your city die, while your law firm collapses?”

“What are you talking about?” Matt asked. “What about my law firm? Elektra if you did anything to Foggy, I swear…”

“Check your messages, Matthew,” Elektra said. “God knows you need to.”

Matt checked his phone and saw around 20 voice messages from Foggy.

…

“What happened?” Matt asked, sitting across Foggy by the window of Nelson’s Butchery.

The smell of rich meat invaded his nose as Foggy’s various brothers and Ma Nelson greeted him.

Foggy was stuffing himself with stew and bread, Matt could smell the stew around his mouth like he always did when he was stressed.

“Some kids,” Foggy said, licking his fingers. His voice was muffled by the food he ate. “After the trial they wrecked the office.”

“Why?”

“After Elliot’s case I don’t think anybody here likes us,” Foggy said. “Mahoney even told me some people over at the GCPD are calling us a bunch of ‘money swindling shysters.’”

“Did you find out who wrecked the place?” Matt said. “Maybe we can sue for damages.”

“And risk plummeting our reputation even more?” Foggy said, about to grab another piece of meat before Matt stopped him.

“You’re going to feel that one in the morning,” he mumbled. “Not cooked very well.”

Foggy took note of that and put it aside.

“The people that damaged the office are a bunch of teens that don’t know any better,” Foggy said. “No point in suing them and ruining their futures so I sent them over to that new school around the block, Ma Gunn’s. Face it, Matt we need something to get our reputation back on track or… I don’t know. Maybe starting a firm in Crime Alley was a farfetched idea.”

“This is our home, Foggy,” Matt said. “Remember what we said in…”

“Law school, yeah,” Foggy said. “To bring the law into Crime alley.” Foggy chuckled. “Damn that was cheesy but unless you have any bright ideas, Matt, I think we might have to find somewhere else to open up shop.”

“I’ll… I’ll sleep on it,” Matt said. It was just at that moment he smelt her scent lingering in the air through the strong smell of meat. “You mentioned a client…”

“Mrs. White,” Foggy said. “Yeah, if we manage to claim maintenance from her husband, we’ll probably have enough money to repair the firm or start a new one. It won’t do anything for our reputation but…”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll head home to do some of the research. I’ll call you if I find something.”

Matt left the butchery and followed her scent into a narrow alleyway.

She dropped down from the roof and had no time to react before Matt dropped all the pretences of pretending to be blind and pinned her against the wall.

“How the hell did you know about this?”

“Word travels around Crime Alley fast.” Matt could almost see her smile, the way he felt her body light up in excitement. “You’re trying to save your reputation, are you not?”

“Not with your help I’m not,” Matt said through grit teeth. “Now get the hell out of my life before I…”

“What, Matthew?” Elektra asked. “Before you what?”

Matt’s body tensed up. He let go of Elektra before turning his back to her.

“The enemies you face are…”

Matt raised up her hand to stop her. “Before you start. What is it you want?”

“To be with…”

Matt turned to face her. “Cut the bullshit,” Matt said, smirking. “You’re good at using people. At earning their trust and throwing it in the trash. I know you well enough to know you didn’t come here just to see me.”

Elektra’s body tensed. Maybe there was a shred of honesty in her, maybe she did come to see him. Matt couldn’t tell. That was what made her so enticing in college. Other girls were easy to read, their bodies and heartbeats gave everything away. Elektra’s didn’t.

Elektra was quiet. Her heartbeat had its same calm rhythm but there was a hint of hesitation in it. A small flicker of doubt like a ripple in a still pond.

“My father,” Elektra said. “I want to know who killed my father.”

…

Let me out, he murmured from a dark corner of his mind. The monster, the murderer.

“No,” Melvin moaned. “Shut up.”

They threatened her Melvin. They took her away from us. We must kill them before they do anything to her.

“No,” Melvin cried, clutching his head. “She wouldn’t want that. I don’t…”

Want that? He said in a mocking tone. Look at your hands, Melvin.

Melvin didn’t want to look. Didn’t want to see the blood on his hands but he was forced to bear witness to it like a passer-by witnessing a car accident. The blood of the men he fought, the man he killed.

“I did it to protect myself,” Melvin said. “I…”

You can’t run from me Melvin. You’re a warrior, a Gladiator. Our father made sure of that.

“My father made sure of you, not me,” Melvin said. “Not me, not me…”

Then why do you wear our armour? Bear our weapons.

Melvin could feel the weight of the yellow armour on his body. Stared at the gauntlets binding his hands with the sawblades magnetically attached.

“To protect ourselves.”

No, you want to let me out, he said. Let the monster out.

“Go away,” Melvin cried. His head searing in pain. “Go away!”

I can’t go away. After all I’m looking right at you.

Melvin opened his eyes to see the steel mask resting on the coffee table. Staring at with it’s emptied out eyes, almost mocking him. Melvin picked up the mask and threw it away, it buried itself in the plastered wall, causing cracks to break outwards like a spider’s web.

The safe house was claustrophobic. Old plastered walls, worn furniture and a faded wooden table. It was a small room that made him feel suffocated and trapped. Trapped with him. This was the safehouse where he buried him away but he released him again. The cracked concrete in the corner and the aged wooden box he all but ripped open. He felt itchy and uncomfortable, his body squirming like a fly in a spider’s web.

It was then he heard the door knocking.

“Potter, Potter,” said a heavy Russian accent that he recognised as Sergei’s. “You think we wouldn’t find you.”

Oh, no, no, no. They shouldn’t be here. He thought he’d be safe. That he could find Betsy and get out of here but they found him. Oh, God, they found him.

“Big man like you leave a hell of a trail behind.”

“Get out,” he shouted. “Get out!”

The door rattled. “You kill some of our boys…” the door shook. “And you sell to people we told you not to sell to. The Japanese, Melvin? What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t… I was forced to,” Melvin said. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, you hear that, boys?” Sergei scoffed. “He’s sorry. Sorry won’t bring them back asshole.”

Let me out.

“No,” Melvin cried,

You have to. To protect yourself, to protect Betsy.

“Shut up!” Melvin cried. “Don’t say her name.”

“Now he’s telling us to shut up,” Sergei said. “The lip on this…”

“Not you,” Melvin said. “Not you. I’m sorry.”

Fight. Fight. Kill them.

“I DON’T WANT TO.”

You have to.

The sawblades whirred just as the door burst open.

“I’LL KILL YOU,” Gladiator roared, launching a sawblade that whizzed past the five men. “I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU!”

He tackled one of the men to the wall, landing hammer-like blows on his face till it was just a bloody pulp. Before he gouged out his eyes and tossed him aside like a ragdoll.

The five men readied their guns but before they could Gladiator pressed the magnet on his sawblade and it returned slicking through them, bouncing off some of their jackets and ripping through the throat of one. Blood spurted upwards and he collapsed on the ground. Gladiator sprinted towards the wounded men, punching them and tossing them aside. One tried to make a run for it before he grabbed him by the coat and tossed him backward, a satisfying crack silencing his scream of pain.

All that was left was Sergei, holding up his phone. Gladiator walked toward him when…

“What the…” she said. “Who the hell are you guys? What do you want with me?”

Gladiator stopped in his tracks, almost like he was frozen in place.

“I… swear,” she said. “I’ll call the cops.”

“Shut up whore.”

Gladiator couldn’t feel himself; his body felt like a vacuum. He stared blankly at Sergei. He was starting to lose all feeling in his fingers, his legs, his arms. He was starting to dissociate.

“Now you’re going to tell me where Melvin Potter is,” said the thug. “Otherwise, you won’t be using those nice little legs of yours tomorrow morning.”

“M-Melvin,” she said. “I don’t know anything about Melvin.”

The thug chuckled. “You know what I don’t like lady, liars.” The thug shuffled played a recording on his phone.

“B-Betsy it’s me…”

Gladiator’s eyes flickered. He stared at what was happening on the phone and slowly Melvin started to feel like himself again.

“Look whatever you do, leave him alone,” Betsy pleaded. “Please, he’s lost. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s… He’s…”

The thug punched her straight across the face causing droplets of blood to spill across the floor. The impact of the punch was like having ice cold water splashed all over Melvin’s face.

“LEAVE BETSY ALONE!” Melvin screamed, he charged towards Sergei clumsily. A charge, Sergei easily side-stepped away from.

“Now, Melvin,” Sergei said. “If you keep on acting out like your therapist’s brains will be splattered all over that room over there. Do you want that?”

Melvin sagged. He stared at Sergei with a pleading look. “You’ll leave her alone?” he asked, almost sobbing. “You won’t touch her,” he shouted.

“Yes, Melvin,” Sergei said. “We’ll leave her alone, provided you comply. We want answers Melv and you’re the one who’s going to give them to us.”

…

Elektra led him to an old warehouse on the outskirts of Crime Alley, next to the Narrows. Matt could smell the graffiti on the walls and the faded smell of excrement and run-down machines.

“Isn’t the fanciest of places but it’ll have to do,” she said.

“So, what’s this about the Gladiator?” Matt said. “What does some freak have to do with missing kids?”

“As you know, the Gladiator is one of those freaks the Batman had to deal with in his early days,” Elektra said. “But unlike the Riddler and Two-Face, he was the only one who managed to pull through with some semblance of sanity thanks in part to his therapist Betsy Beaty.”

“Okay,” Matt said. “What else?”

“As you know, amidst being a spectacular hand to hand combatant,” Elektra said. “Gladiator was also a famed costume maker. He single-handedly built his armour which could take impact from shotgun blasts and electricity and the higherups, people like Sweeney wouldn’t want talents like that to go to waste so…”

“They threatened him,” Matt said. “Reminded him of a life he wanted to leave behind.”

“Yes,” Elektra said. “Roscoe had a deal with the Cartel and the Russians to supply special bulletproof armour. They wanted to exclude possible wild cards like the Yakuza and Irish from the deal but unfortunately just a few days ago after the assassination of the Cartel’s right-hand man at the hands of a Japanese man they found the armour left behind. Armour that shouldn’t belong them.”

“That seems too deliberate,” Matt said. “Almost like someone wants a war to happen.”

“Maybe so,” Elektra said. “After that incident, Melvin went into hiding,”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Matt said. “What does this have to do with the missing kids and what does this have to do with your father?”

“My employer wants to stop this war from happening,” Elektra said. “And he’ll do so by any means necessary. As for those children, Melvin making the armour made him closely work with the shipment side of the Russian’s criminal enterprise. He may know something about the children. After we find him, Melvin will need legal protection. The Russians and Cartel will be after his head and we don’t know if the police can be trusted. That’s where Matt Murdock and his partner come in.”

Matt nodded. “It won’t be enough to save our reputation but it will put us in good graces.”

“What’s more, Melvin can testify against the Russians and Cartel,” Elektra said. “The factions that have the biggest hold over your home further improving your reputation. So, what do you say, Matthew? Do you want to work together?”

Matt sighed. His fingers twirled around his walking stick.

“If we’re going to work together,” Matt said. “First thing’s first is that you’re not going to kill. If you kill, this whole thing is off and you and your employer can find some other masked vigilante to help you out.”

“Fine,” Elektra said. “I’ll agree to your half-measures.”

“Second,” Matt said and then paused. He focused on her heartbeat. The calm, cool heartbeat like cold air through a mountain. When Elektra lied you had to pay attention really well otherwise, you’d miss the tell-tale skip of the heartbeat of that of a liar. “Did you kill Liam Grote? Your smell still lingered over the crime scene. If we’re going to be working together, I need to know whether or not I can trust you.”

“No,” Elektra said.

Her heart skipped a beat.

…

“What’s going on here?” Foggy asked Theo noticing the police car parked outside the butchery. His mum and dad were giving a statement to Officer Mahoney. Foggy noticed the broken glass at the front and graffiti plastered on the door, the word PIG painted in a vibrant red in the centre. “Jesus Christ what’s going on?”

“Mum, dad and I were out grocery shopping,” Theo said. “When we got back, we saw this. Graffiti all over the place. Somebody broke in and took all the money and everything.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Foggy said. “Did you find out who?”

Theo shook his head. “Cops are thinking it had something to do with that Grote case of yours, you know? People mad you let a rapist and crime boss walk.”

“But that doesn’t mean…” Foggy sighed. “I knew this was a bad idea. I knew it. Look, I’ll pay the costs and…”

Theo shook his head. “No. You don’t have to Fog it’s…”

Foggy shook his head firmly. “No, Theo. I have to. You shouldn’t have to suffer because of something my firm did. I’ll find another place to crash.”

“You don’t have to Foggy,” Theo said. “Mum and I don’t…”

“I insist, Theo,” Foggy said. “Tell mum and dad I’ll be over at Matt’s tonight if they need me. Besides, somebody has to give Matt a piece of his mind and it sure as hell isn’t going to be you.”

…

Meticulous would be the word Matt used to describe Ms. Beaty’s office. Everything was in its place. He could smell the lingering smell of cleaning chemicals on the shelves and desk. A recently watered plant stood on the mahogany desk and the plain carpet almost dug into his shoes.

“She’s not here,” Matt said.

“We wait,” Elektra said. Elektra had lied in the front office by saying they were in for a couple’s therapy session.

“No,” Matt said. There was a lingering smell in the air. The smell of expensive cigarettes and gunpowder. “Someone was here recently. Someone who wasn’t here just for a chat.”

Matt focused, trying to find anything in the room that would be a dead giveaway. “There’s nothing here. Her perfume and sweat is all over the room. Somebody kidnapped her. Somebody looking for Melvin.”

Elektra stood up. “So, we find her.”

“How?” Matt asked. “She could be anywhere…”

“You, Matthew,” Elektra said. “You can track her down for us.”

“Me?” Matt scoffed. “This city is big. She could be anywhere by now. Besides I don’t even know what she sounds like.”

Elektra walked over to the table, hips swaying. She pointed at the phone on the table.

Elektra pressed a button on the phone.

“Betsy… I…”

“Skip,” Elektra said.

“Melvin,” Betsy said. “Melvin please call back. Please tell me you’re okay.” There was a softness in her voice, a desperation that went beyond just a simple patient and doctor relationship. In the background somebody slammed the door. “Who is it?” The slamming was more insistent and angrier. “Melvin please call back. I haven’t heard from you in days. Please tell me you’re okay.” The door burst open and the call cut abruptly.

“Here we go,” Elektra said. “She was kidnapped. There’s your voice.”

Elektra placed something on the machine. After a few minutes she removed it. She walked over to the door.

“Where are we headed?” Matt asked.

“Upstairs.”

Matt followed her to the rooftop. The wind dug into his body. From above the city below felt like a violent sea of lives. Voices, smells, senses washed over him. He almost felt drowned in them all.

“Find her.”

Matt shook her head. “I can’t. This is too much I can’t focus.”

“You can, Matthew,” Elektra said. “You did it when you were child.”

“That was ages ago,” Matt said. “It wasn’t at this scale.”

Elektra played the recording of Betsy’s voice. “You can do it, Matthew.”

Matt tried focusing on the sounds. Voices were almost as unique as heartbeats. If Matt focused, he was able to notice the little inflections of everybody’s voices. How they sounded when they were lying, how their temperatures and muscles changed when they were laughing. Everybody’s bodies told different stories and their emotions were the pens that wrote them. But this, this was too much.

“… my hotdog…”

Somewhere a glass shattered.

“… get your muffins…”

“… May I’m going to be late…”

The air smelt like a broth of foods and toxic chemicals.

His head was starting to ache.

“… Fuck Batman…”

Footsteps clattering on the pavement.

“… I’m a mutan…”

Cars honking.

Sirens wailing.

Matt almost collapsed on the floor. His ears were ringing and it felt like an alarm was going off in his head. Elektra rushed over to him; Matt raised a hand to stop her.

“I can’t do it,” Matt said, letting out a heavy sigh. “We’ll have to find another way, Elektra. This is too…”

“No, Matthew,” Elektra said. “You can do it. Relax, breathe.”

Matt got up.

“Listen to her voice.”

Melvin opened his ears, letting the world in again.

Melvin, Melvin please call ba…

“… Cat. I told you to look after my cat…”

Please tell me you

“… broke up with him. Jesus Steph, he’s an asshole…”

Who is…

“… the one who ate the cookies? Jack is it you…”

The sound of the door slamming

shut. “Put this bastard in the slammer. I can’t believe that clown has…”

Melvin please call

“… back. God if therapists were that hot I’d…”

I haven’t heard from you in

“… days and she hasn’t talked. Maybe she really doesn’t know…”

Please tell me

“… he’s okay. Don’t you do anything to him you bastards. Melvin isn’t like you. He’ll never be…”

“Found her,” Matt said.

…

Foggy sighed. “Pick up. Pick up,” he muttered as the phone was ringing. He was walking circles around Matt’s apartment

Matt picked up.

“Hello.”

“You free tonight,” Foggy asked.

“No, why?”

Foggy sighed. “See, some things happened with my parents over at the butchery. Somebody broke in and wrecked the place because of you know… the Grote thing so I was thinking that I could crash over at your place. I don’t want to give my parents trouble and…”

“You caught me at the wrong time, Fog,” Matt said. “I have work to do right now.”

“Work?” Foggy asked. “What work?”

“There’s a new case,” Matt said. “If I manage to get a spot in it, it could be huge for us. People will forget about the whole Grote thing…”

“Wait,” Foggy interrupted. “You’re working on a new case without telling me?”

“The details are a bit murky,” Matt said. “But once things fall into place…”

“Don’t you think you should’ve told me about this?” Foggy asked. “If it’s as huge as you say it is, shouldn’t I have a say in it? The whole reason it’s called Nelson and Murdock is because we work on our cases together and…”

“Just trust me on this Foggy,” Matt said. “I’ll send over the details later. If you need a place to crash just rent a motel room. I’ll cover the bill.”

“Matt you’re not listening…”

Before Foggy could say anything, Matt hung up. Foggy sighed. Once Matt got like this there was no stopping him. He tried calling back but it said his number was unavailable.

Oh well, Foggy thought. He was going to rent the most expensive motel room he could find.

…

“I TOLD YOU I DON’T KNOW,” Melvin cried.

“And I said that isn’t good enough, Melvin,” Sergei said, hitting him in his stomach across the stomach. “You’re saying one of my boys ordered you to send that batch to the Japanese but I don’t remember any Vladimir. Now tell me Melvin why did you sell it to the Japanese?”

“I’m telling you the truth,” Melvin said, tears falling down his bloodied face. “Please. He threatened to kill Betsy if I didn’t do it. Just leave her alone.”

Sergei grinned. “I’m afraid I can’t do that Melvin.” Sergei showed the live video of Betsy keeled over, her face bruised and her clothes bloodied. “Mikhail, you think this woman will look good without some of her teeth?”

Mikhail grinned. “No, Sergei I don’t think so.”

Sergei looked at Melvin with a sinister grin on his face. “Let’s see if our boy Melvin still gets off when she has one of her teeth pulled off.”

Melvin cried. “No. No. I swear it was Vladimir,” Melvin pleaded, his voice breaking apart like ice. “Please leave her alone. Please don’t touch her. DON’T TOUCH HER.”

“Hey Mikhail,” Sergei said. “Do you know anyone called Vladimir.”

“No,” Mikhail said. “No, I don’t.”

“First you kill some of my boys,” Sergei said. “And now you have the audacity to lie to me.”

“I’m not lying,” Melvin cried. “I swear I’m telling the truth. Please leave Betsy alone. Please.”

Mikhail clipped the pliers. He walked slowly towards Betsy, like a hunter to a wounded deer.

“You hear that?” somebody mumbled in the background.

“Ms. Beatsy,” Mikhail said.

Betsy moved back into her chair like a cornered animal, her eyes wide open. “Please,” she cried. “Please leave me alone.”

“Let’s see that pretty little smile of yours,” Mikhail said, his smile twisted by the phone camera zooming in on it.

It was at that moment the door burst open. Gunfire muted the microphone distorting the sound.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Sergei roared. His head snapped to Melvin. “Did you do this?!”

Melvin shook his head. “No, no it wasn’t me. Please you’ve got to believe me.”

Mikhail reached for a his but something was thrown at his face causing him to drop the phone on the floor. The screen was cracked. They were flashes of bright light and people groaning in pain.

“Are you okay?” said an out of breath voice.

“I’m… okay,” Betsy said. The phone cut off at random points. “Is… Melvin…”

“We’re going to save him.”

There was the sound of footsteps as the phone was picked up. On the other side was the Devil. He dragged up Mikhail’s bloodied face, pulling at his hair.

“We’re coming for you,” the Devil said. He pulled Mikhail to the centre of the camera.

Sergei grinned. “You don’t even know where I am?”

“D18,” the Devil said. The grin on Sergei’s face disappeared. “See you soon…” The Devil paused.

“Sergei.”

…

Right in the centre of his crosshair was his target. Just one pull of the trigger and the five million dollars would be his. His target walked alongside two women, one dressed in a skimpy red dress and the other bruised all over. The assassin placed a bullet in his gun and loaded it, he took a deep breath and…

His target stopped and turned right to face him, his masked face invading his crosshair. He raised his hand and said something to the bruised lady. The assassin was perplexed, he was sure he hid himself. How the hell did he know where he was?

The Devil disappeared from his crosshair and so did the lady in red. The assassin grinned. This would be interesting.

…

“You think we should move, boss?” Dimitri asked.

Sergei shook his head. “No, we can’t move. We still haven’t gotten answers from our friend Potter and besides if we manage to get that bastard in the head, five million dollars will be ours.”

“Potter has been awfully quiet,” Dimitri said. “Besides you saw how he took down Mikhail, you really think we’ll be okay?”

“I know we’ll be okay Dimitri,” Sergei said. “Besides who could say no to five million dollars.”

It was awfully quiet. Their footsteps creaked on the floorboards of Melvin’s safehouse. One of the old apartment blocks of Park Row, long since abandoned after the economy took a nose dive after the Wayne deaths. They were surrounded by a lot of old derelict buildings that were long since taken over by homeless people. The buildings looked like wafers with their peeled off surfaces and rows of windows. They were brittle and creaked under the slightest gust of wind and the building they were in was no exception.

“You hear that Melvin,” Sergei grinned, turning to Melvin. “Your girlfriend’s coming from you.”

The building swayed like a ship in the sea. The wood groaned under their footsteps.

“We’re still not done with you, rat,” Sergei said. He walked over to Melvin. “After we kill that masked freak, we’re going to kill your girlfriend and then we’ll see if you talk then.”

Melvin was still quiet.

“SPEAK WHEN YOU’RE SPOKEN TO, FREAK!”

Sergei slapped Melvin across the head but he still didn’t respond. It was almost as if he was dead.

And then footsteps.

“Boss do you hear that?”

The floor creaked under heavy footsteps. Sergei and his half-dozen goons pointed their guns at the door. The door creaked open and the Devil was standing right in front of them, holding a brick.

“Fire away boys!”

Before they could even fire the Devil rolled out of the way, throwing the brick up at the roof. Splinters from above rained down on them as the first floor collapsed in itself. The goons were scattered and confused and it was at that moment the lady in red descended into the room, her hair flowing behind her, carrying two Sais.

Taking advantage of the confusion the Devil tackled Dimitri across the ground, his gun clattered across the floor. The woman also took advantage of this opportunity, she threw one of her Sais into Alexei’s right thigh causing him to let out a cry of pain and the other into Igor’s palm causing him to throw his gun onto the floor. Sergei rushed over to Melvin in order to take him hostage but before he could the Devil was on him, throwing a large piece of wood directly into his temple. Sergei crumpled on the floor.

Igor pulled out the Sais from his hand and as the woman focused on elbowed Alexei, kicking him across the face and pulling one of her Sais from his thigh, Igor threw it at her. She leapt to the side as it hit the wall with a loud thunk. The lady smiled at him and before he could reach for the gun a Sais found itself planted in his elbow. She walked over to him to finish the job but found herself being yanked back as Alexei tugged at her hair.

Meanwhile, the Devil was holding a piece of splintered wood. One of the men had their guns trained on Elektra, he knocked him across the head with wood. Hearing that, the other man turned to face him. Before he could fire, the Devil ducked and kicked him in the shin. The goon yelped in pain but the Devil had no time to finish his job as the other goon charged towards him ready to tackle him across the floor. Matt crouched and grabbed him by his sides and using the weight of his legs he shifted his body weight to the side and threw the goon into the other one.

Alexei pulled at the lady’s hair as Igor scrambled for his gun. Just before Igor could get her gun, Elektra crouched and tossed Alexei over. She had lost some hair and the pain still lingered in her scalp. Igor had his gun trained on Elektra but Matthew grabbed him in a chokehold and squeezed the consciousness out of him.

“Untie Melvin,” Matthew said. “I have some questions I want to ask Sergei over there.”

Elektra rushed over to Melvin. Sergei crawled away, trying to reach for a gun but Matthew grabbed him by the back, grabbed his collars and pinned on the floor.

“What is this about 5 million dollars?”

Sergei grinned and spat on his face.

Elektra picked up her Sais and ripped at Melvin’s bindings. The man was strangely quiet throughout everything.

Matt grinned and punched him across the face.

“I have ways of making you talk,” Matt said. He picked up a splinter of wood and jammed it into Sergei’s palm. Sergei let out a scream of pain.

Even when he was untied, Melvin was unusually still. “You can go now.” Melvin was quiet. “Potter?”

“Now tell me about the five million dollars,” Matt said. “Or else?”

Sergei grinned. “Go to hell.”

Melvin mumbled something.

“What was that?”

“I said,” Melvin turned and smiled. “Melvin isn’t here anymore.”

It was at that moment Matt heard a gun click.

“Look out!” Elektra cried.

Melvin charged at them like a raging bull and a bullet bounced off a metal pole in the distance and hit the spot Matt and Sergei were supposed to be.

“Huh, I missed,” said a voice amplified through a megaphone. “That doesn’t happen often.”

Melvin’s soft boyish features were replaced by that of a stone-cold warrior. “Give me Sergei,” said the Gladiator. “And nobody gets hurt.”

“Oh, things are looking interesting,” said the voice through the microphone.

Matt stretched his head, flicking his hand to the building across of them.

Elektra nodded and was about to leave the room when Gladiator threw a chair over at her. Elektra quickly rolled out of the way, brandishing her two Sais.

“I can’t let you have Sergei, Melvin,” Matt said. “Just let us go.” Matt focused on the assassin. He was taking a breath and adjusting his sniper rifle.

“I told you,” Gladiator said in a low rumble. “MELVIN. ISN’T. HERE!”

The Gladiator punched a hole into the wall and let out a roar.

The sniper felt the wind whistle by him. He moved his rifle 45 degrees to the west, collecting his breath and steeling his nerves. He would have that five million otherwise his name wasn’t Floyd Lawton.

“Do you think Betsy would want this?” Matt asked. “You’re not a killer Melvin.”

“To hell with Betsy!” Gladiator roared. “I am the Gladiator and I will have my target. Now give me Sergei or else I will kill that whore of yours.”

Matt sighed. “I’m sorry, Melvin. I can’t let you have him.”

The Assassin fired. Matt pushed Sergei, Melvin charged like a bull and Elektra rushed out of the room as the Assassin pulled the trigger.

To be continued…