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.