and silently prayed that Ronan wouldn't be able to recognize Matt in the shadows, that without the dark suit and glasses of his lawyer visage, perhaps the image wouldn't register as familiar in Ronan's eyes.

But yet again she was reminded of why she so rarely prayed.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ronan said, and to Sarah's dismay he sounded thrilled by the revelation. "I recognize you. The lawyer. Matthew Murdock. Oh, this is great."

Matt didn't respond, but his mouth was pressed into a tight line, and Sarah couldn't even begin to imagine what was running through his mind. Did he have a plan? Did he regret what he'd just done? Was he panicking? Or did he feel strangely distant, like she did, almost as though she wasn't really there?

"The—the one who's supposed to uphold the law is the one who's running around causing the cops so much trouble," Ronan crowed in amusement. "How did that happen?"

"Wasn't satisfied with letting scum like you slip through the cracks in the system," Matt replied harshly.

"So you put on a mask and do it at night, too," Ronan mused. "Well, let's take care of that." He roughly propelled Sarah forward a few steps, not loosening his hold on her neck at all. "Be a good girl and kick that mask into the storm drain for me. He won't be needing it for now."

Sarah flicked her gaze downward, being careful not to move her head, and saw the storm drain he was referring to just a foot or two away. The mask was directly in front of them, and she grudgingly scuffed her shoe against it a few times until it slid into the dark concrete opening and disappeared from both sight and reach.

"Excellent. See, if you had been this good at following instructions when you worked for me, maybe we wouldn't have ended up here," Ronan said, satisfied that the offending mask had been disposed of. He pressed her to his chest a little closer so that she could feel something in his jacket against her back. "I brought my tranquilizer gun just in case I needed to calm you down, but look how cooperative you're being. All you needed was to be treated correctly," he sneered.

Sarah didn't say anything, her mind racing as she tried to figure out if there was any way she could reach the tranquilizer gun in his jacket before he could slit her throat—the chances seemed to be slim to none.

When he was met with silence on Sarah's end, Ronan addressed Matt once more. "Now, what I don't understand is how you managed to talk a timid mouse like this one into working with you. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen partnering up with St-St-Stuttering Sarah Corrigan."

There was no point anymore in denying that she had been working with Daredevil. They were far past the point of Ronan ever believing that.

"He didn't talk me into anything," Sarah corrected him, breathing out a laugh that bordered on hysterical as she realized how true that was. She could feel her voice vibrating against the knife as she spoke. "It was...it was my idea."

His surprised pause was an immediate reward. If Ronan was going to cut her throat tonight, she was glad that at least she could prove he didn't know her, that this pathetic image he had of her in his head wasn't who she was.

"Well, I hope it was worth it. Because once I get word to Fisk about what the two of you have done, he'll destroy you both and anyone you've ever cared about, starting with your brain dead father. And then he'll reward me beyond what you could even imagine," Ronan said, his excitement over the prospect clear in his voice. "Just think how he'll react when he hears that the sanctimonious asshole that put him in prison is the very same masked asshole that got him arrested."

As he spoke, Sarah truly started to understand that Ronan couldn't be allowed to leave that alleyway in any shape that would allow him to do what he was threatening.

"You're making this so much worse for yourself, Ronan," she said quietly.

"Excuse me? If things are going to get worse for anyone, it's you, sweetheart. Well, and your blind boy toy, too," he said, turning his attention back to Matt. "Or are you even really blind?"

Sarah realized that in the dark Ronan probably couldn't make out the way that Matt's eyes never quite focused on exactly the right spot.

Matt paused. "Clearly not."

It made sense; it was less risky for Ronan to think Matt could see than for him to know about Matt's enhanced senses.

"Good. Because I'd hate for you to miss out on seeing your girlfriend like this," Ronan said, tightening his grip on her hair so that her neck was just a centimeter more exposed. Sarah tried not to vocalize the pain that jolted through her, not wanting to encourage him. But even if Ronan couldn't hear the effect of his actions on her, Matt could; she knew he was listening to her heart pounding in her ribcage, her breathing ragged and short as she tried not to inhale too deeply and press against the blade to her throat. "Would you like to know what I'm going to do to her?"

"Nothing," Sarah whispered. It took her a moment to realize that she was the one who had just spoken.

"Nothing?" Ronan repeated. "Wishful thinking, princess."

"No. Y-you like to talk, but when it comes down to getting something done...you can't do it. That's why you brought a tranquilizer gun to capture someone half your size." The words were spilling out of her mouth before she could stop them, as though the part of her that desperately wanted to hurt Ronan had overridden the part of her brain that wanted to play it safe.

"Sarah," Matt said softly, a warning note in his voice.

"You should listen to him," Ronan's breath was hot against her ear as he leaned in. "Watch what you say for once. I swear I'll break every bone in your body—"

"Just like you always said you'd do to Daredevil?" she asked, ignoring the voice in the back of her head screaming at her to be quiet, that this was too risky. "And every time he still ended up kicking your ass all over Orion."

"Shut up," Ronan said, the same deadly anger in his voice that she'd heard the night he'd first attacked her.

She kept her eyes on Matt, whose hand was resting on the a few centimeters above the holster where he kept two metal billy clubs held to his leg. He tilted his head to the side slightly, tense and waiting. She hoped his silence meant he was catching on to what she was trying to do.

"Jason saw that, and that's why he fired you," she kept going.

"Shut up," Ronan growled, emphasizing his words by shaking her slightly, the knife digging into her flesh.

"You spent all this time talking about how badly you're going to hurt me. But in the end you're still afraid you won't be able to measure up. So you're taking the easy way out by just slitting my throat. No way to disappoint anyone then—"

Her words finally seemed to do the trick. With a strangled noise of frustration, Ronan whipped her around so that she was facing him, the knife dragging along her throat as he did so, and a second later he was knocked backwards and off his feet as one of the metal billy clubs struck him in the side of the head with startling accuracy. Sarah let out a ragged, pained gasp, her hands flying up to her throat. She could feel that it was wet, but the bleeding didn't seem too heavy; Ronan's anger had made him lose the focus he'd needed to keep the pressure on her throat. She doubled over slightly, trying to catch her breath as adrenaline rushed through her, making her feel light-headed.

Seconds later, she felt a gloved hand on either side of her arms, roughly pulling her upright. She caught sight of Matt, looking so out of place without his Daredevil mask on to conceal the look of panic on his face as he was hit with the strong smell of blood coming from her throat, dripping down onto the neckline of her shirt. His hands slid from her arms up to her face.

"Sarah—"

"I'm fine," she gasped out, wiping at the blood that ran down her collarbone. "It's not—I'm fine."

If there was a sight Sarah didn't think she'd ever forget, it was the look of relief on Matt's face when he heard her voice. He had one hand pressed against her bleeding neck and the other tangled in her hair, and she could feel both of them shaking slightly. He pressed his forehead to hers, just for a moment, and she caught his lips moving but couldn't make out what he was whispering.

Then he let her go, already turning around before Sarah even heard the clatter of Ronan getting up.

Ronan's demeanor had changed completely: the cockiness was gone, and although his usual scowl was still on his face, the panic in his eyes was obvious as he eyed Matt, who was closely tracking Ronan's movement with a dangerous look on his face. He took a step towards Ronan, who gripped the knife in his hand and let out an unconvincing laugh.

"Not so frightening without your mask," Ronan said, but he was taking small steps backwards even as he spoke.

"Are you sure?" Matt said softly, slowly following the other man as he backed away. "You seem pretty afraid to me."

Ronan's thoughts were clear on his face: he considered taking his chances using the knife, which he weighed in his hand, then abruptly reached for the tranquilizer gun on his belt instead, barely managing to raise it a few inches before Matt was on him, easily knocking the gun out of Ronan's hands so that it went skittering across the ground, landing a few feet away from where Sarah stood, swaying slightly and still clutching her neck.

It was difficult to see what was happening in the dark, just two large, shadowy moving quickly, and the occasional flash of the knife as Ronan repeatedly tried to embed it into Matt's chest. Sarah could hear both of them landing blows on each other, and then they abruptly swung into clear sight, illuminated by the streetlamp above as Matt slammed Ronan into the brick wall of Sarah's building. Sarah could see him grasping Ronan's wrist as Ronan struggled to bring the knife closer to Matt's face. Matt wrenched Ronan's wrist backward, wrestling the knife away from him and then—true to his word—he used the man's own weapon against him, driving the knife straight through Ronan's hand, effectively pinning it to the wall. Ronan's screams echoed off of the alleyway walls.

Matt yanked the knife out of Ronan's flesh—eliciting another scream—and threw it down the alley, breathing heavily as he slammed his fist into Ronan's face. Without the knife or the tranquilizer gun, Ronan truly stood no chance, and as Sarah watched she couldn't manage to muster any sympathy for him.

Maybe it was that lack of sympathy that tempted karma away from their side.

Ronan whipped his head forward, connecting his forehead with Matt's and knocking him back a step. Matt recovered quickly, grabbing Ronan by the shoulders and hurling him against the opposite wall of the alley, where he hit the brick with such force that he went sprawling to the ground, landing next to Donovan's unconscious form.

That was where things spun out of control.

Moving quicker than either Sarah or Matt could have anticipated, Ronan scrambled over Donovan, grabbing the cop's gun out of his holster. He used his good hand to fire a shot blindly in Matt's direction, missing by over a yard as he scrambled to his feet. He pointed the gun at Matt again, actually aiming this time, and at such close proximity—

Sarah lurched to the ground, snatching up the tranquilizer gun that lay nearby and aiming it at Ronan. She pulled the trigger before she could think. The dart fired with surprising force, and seconds later it was embedded deeply in Ronan's shoulder.

There was a beat during which all three of them were still, registering what had just happened. Then, to Sarah's relief, Ronan's grip on the gun in his hand slackened, causing him to drop it. His mouth drooped oddly as the tranquilizer took immediate effect. Sarah held her breath, waiting to see if he would lose consciousness. Matt stood still as well, breathing heavily as Ronan's eyes rolled back in his head. He slumped over, and Sarah thought he was out.

Then his body twitched—once, twice, three times—over and over again. Sarah watched in horror as he began to convulse on the ground. She couldn't understand what was happening—the darts weren't strong enough to cause this, were they? It was only supposed to knock him out.

"Holy shit," Sarah breathed out. She couldn't move her feet as Matt darted forward and dropped to his knees next to Ronan, roughly turning him over and swearing under his breath as the other man continued convulsing. "What's happening to him?"

Matt started to reply, but stopped short of speaking as Ronan abruptly ceased moving completely.

Both of them waited to see if he would begin twitching again, but he lay still.

"Is—is he...?" Sarah stared wide-eyed at the unmoving man on the ground

Matt was quiet for a few seconds.

"...there's no heartbeat," he said finally, standing up.

"What? I—I didn't—" she stammered, still in shock. "It was just one dart. That girl in Orion got hit with two a-and she didn't die."

"Tranquilizer is just like any other street-level drug," Matt said, his tone giving away his own disbelief at the situation. "You don't get any guarantee that the dosages will all be the same." He turned his head to her, speaking more forcefully now. "And if he had used it on you, you'd be dead, too."

Sarah took a few steps closer to Ronan, dropping the tranquilizer gun next to him with a clatter as she tried to process what was happening. Her mind jumped from thought to thought, going through all of the horrible consequences that could come of this.

"W-we should see if he has a burner phone on him," Sarah said faintly. She didn't think there were any more people involved with Ronan, but they needed to be sure, especially since she had just—No. She shook her head fiercely, not thinking about that. "I'll check Donovan."

Sarah stumbled over to the unconscious police officer and dropped to her knees next to him to check for a burner phone. Her gaze swept over his face, which barely resembled a face anymore—Matt had worked him over so thoroughly that it was just a mess of blood and broken flesh. Even though she knew that Matt would have said something if he'd heard Donovan's heart stop, she had to double check for her own sanity. She slowly reached out and pressed her fingers to his throat, closing her eyes in relief when she immediately felt a pulse.

She was just about to pull her hand away and reach into his jacket pocket when she heard the loud sound of a car engine at the end of the alleyway, and both she and Donovan were illuminated by headlights. She swore and shielded her eyes, squinting into the lights and just catching sight of flashing red and blue before she heard a loud voice call out, the person attached to it still concealed by the blindingly bright headlights.

"Hands up!"

Sarah immediately put both of her hands in the air, staring wide-eyed now at the silhouettes of two police officers who emerged from either side of the squad car, both with their guns drawn. Were they actual cops, or did they work for someone who wouldn't mind putting a bullet through her head? They were still a good fifty feet away, slowly making their way towards her.

She could see Matt out of the corner of her eye as he took a step closer to her. He and Ronan were still concealed from sight behind the dumpster—for now. As soon as the police got closer they would spot him, and even without the mask they would immediately know who he was.

"Matt," she whispered, not looking over at him as the police continued coming closer. "G-go. You have to go."

"I'm not leaving you here," he whispered back fiercely.

"You have to," she hissed between her teeth. "They'll arrest you if you don't. Go."

She could tell by Matt's silence that he knew she was right. There was nothing he could do to help her without his mask on, and his presence being discovered would only make things much worse. She continued facing forward, not wanting to appear as though she was talking to anyone, so she didn't see Matt melt away into the shadows, but she could feel it when he was no longer there.

Sarah squinted, trying to get a better look at the police officers that were approaching her. One of the officers was a blonde woman that Sarah had never seen before, but the other one she recognized—it was the desk sergeant who had been at the station the day she'd gone to meet with McDermott and turn down his bribe. Mahoney, she thought his name was. She hoped that he wouldn't recognize her as well.

"Jesus," the blonde officer breathed, and it dawned on Sarah how crazy she must look, kneeling on the ground next to an unconscious police officer, with her neck and shirt covered in blood. "That's...that's Donovan."

"Call a bus. Tell them there's an officer down," Mahoney replied, craning his neck to peer into the darkness at the end of the alley before addressing Sarah guardedly. "Just you back here?"

"N-no." Sarah shook her head, then nodded towards where Ronan—it was only Ronan's body now, she reminded herself—was sprawled.

Mahoney kept his weapon out as he inspected the area behind the dumpster. Sarah could already hear ambulance sirens close by—it was amazing how much faster they managed to get to crime scenes when a police officer was the one needing medical help.

Once the paramedics arrived, things passed in a bit of blur. The female officer patted Sarah down, and once she was satisfied that Sarah had no weapons and didn't pose an active threat, she provided her with a large roll of gauze to stem the bleeding from her throat. Sarah held the gauze there as she was questioned by Mahoney, while in the background the paramedics quickly tended to both Ronan and Donovan.

"What's your name?"

"Sarah Corrigan."

Brett frowned as he wrote the name down, glancing up from his notebook to take a closer look at her. For a moment, she was positive that he recognized her—either from the interrogation room or her meeting with Donovan—but if he did, he didn't mention it. It seemed odd to her.

"Can you tell me who that is?" Mahoney asked, nodding towards one of the ambulances, where Ronan's body was being removed from the scene.

"Yes. His name is Ronan Greenfield," Sarah answered shakily, mentally rehearsing the story she had come up with and including as much truth has she could. "He's my old coworker. He's, um...he's been following me for a while now, and he attacked me in the—in the stairwell and dragged me outside. That police officer heard me screaming a-and came to help me."

Mahoney paused the notes he was scribbling in his small notebook and cast a confused look back at Donovan, who was being checked over by the paramedics. Sarah craned her neck over Mahoney's shoulder to get a better view as well. They weren't rushing him into an ambulance, so she assumed his injuries were mostly non-life threatening, despite his bloody appearance.

"Sorry, you say that police officer came to help you?" he clarified doubtfully.

Sarah blinked. It seemed as though Donovan's reputation at the police department was not that of a warmhearted do-gooder.

"Um...yeah. Ronan attacked him, and...that's how they both got hurt."

"And how is it that Ronan ended up...?"