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It has been a few days since Matt Murdock had gotten a mysterious note that let on the author had inside information about the trial of Danielle Rand. The heiress and CEO of the Rand Corporation has only recently been released on bail, but the specter of the upcoming months are ones that weigh heavily upon Matt, and perhaps even the cool, calm, and collected Miss Rand as well. Either way, he very much wanted his client to be here.
Also in the room is Natalie, a bubbly secretary for Wilson Fisk who seems to be spending a lot of time at Nelson and Murdock lately. Matt hasn't given specifics to Foggy, yet, but he hasn't been hiding anything either.
*
Danny is enough of a public figure that she's used to being followed by reporters and photographers, and unfortunately for her, this isn't the first time she's been framed for murder, either. So despite what look like dire straights, the young woman who slouches in a chair in Murdock's office, flipping through a newspaper, doesn't look like she recognizes that there's an axe hanging over her head. "Oh, here's a good theory," she smirks at the paper. "I did it when he wouldn't join in an orgy. That's new."
*
Colleen arrived outside around 4 pm, a little earlier than she had suggested in her note to Matthew Murdock, Esq. but rather than go in she watches the building from across the street. Noone seemed especially interested in her or the attorney's place for half of an hour and so she crosses the street to arrive at the correct time. She's dressed casually, the collar of her army jacket up, her hair back in a ponytail. "Hello", she greets whoever is in the front office. "I'm here to see Mister Murdock."
*
The entire office environment is unconventional. With Karen away today, and Fisk's personal assistant lingering about more often, the plucky redhead has stepped into the role of secretary for the day. And, unlike most secretaries, she sits on rather than at, the desk.
A small, nearly demure, smile tugs at the corners of Natalie's mouth when Colleen checks in. The length of her pencil skirt, while entirely respectable, doesn't make the skirt itself so. In fact, the way in which the black fabric hugs her hips and accentuates her narrow waist leaves little to the imagination. The billowy bubble like sleeves of her blouse, however, offset the black skirt well.
She hops from her spot on the desk and gives a faint tick of her head. "Of course," she replies gently as she turns on her heel towards Matt's office. "And you are?" she asks with a vague narrowing of her eyes. Evidently she's in the business of knowing visitors. A small knock on Matt's office and Nat pops her head around the corner. "Mister Murdock?" ever the formalities of work. "You have another visitor. Also," she produces a pad of paper (from where? it's a mystery, maybe even to Natalie), "I can take notes if you like—I know Miss Page does some of that normally." She shrugs. "Whatever works best for you, of course."
*
"It sounds like one hell of a party, Miss Rand," Murdock says quietly from behind his desk with raised eyebrows. "I'm sorry to have missed it." As Colleen approaches, Matt can hear her steps, smell the new scent of her skin, and hear her heartbeat. He presumes this is the person they are waiting for. "Yes, please do come in, Natalie."
At the idea of Natalie taking notes, Matt has a hard time not laughing. Nevertheless, he's on his feet, moving around his desk, moving to shake Colleen's hand, if she'll let him find it. "Hello. As you know, I'm Matt Murdock. This is my substitute secretary, Natalie Rushman, and my client Danny Rand. It's nice to meet you."
*
"Right?" Danny folds up the paper, tossing it aside. "Too bad it didn't happen, at least I'd have some fun memories to tide me over when they lock me up for the next twenty years." She looks up at Natalie announces an arrival, pushing up in her chair to at least sit up a little bit straighter.
*
"My name's not especially important." Colleen says to Natalie, but she offers a smile anyway. She makes sure Matt does find her hand when he comes out to greet her. She's on edge, her heart rate up slightly but outwardly she controls it well. Colleen peers around Murdock as he mentions Rand. "Really? How lucky." She nods unconsciouly to the attorney, habit around sighted people. "Could we go in your office, Mister Murdock?" and she glances between Natalie and Matt for a moment, unsure of the former.
*
Natalie saunters in the room around Colleen. "A pleasure, of course." She slides into one of the chairs located on the far side of the room, and readies her pen for shorthand of whatever the meeting will hold. Carefully, her legs cross at the ankles and she manages another vague shrug of her shoulders. She emits a quiet breath, and her green eyes glance between the group.
*
"You don't have to share your name," Matt says as he wanders back into his office where Danny is seated. "Please, make yourself comfortable." There's a chair and a sofa for wherever Colleen would prefer to sit if she would prefer to sit at all. Matt takes his place at his desk, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands in his lap.
*
Danny tilts her head slightly as she watches the other women enter the room, tucking one leg underneath herself as she looks between the arrivals. "Hey," she tips her chin upward to Colleen as she enters, not bothering with names if that's how this is going down. "Nice to meet you. And you," she adds with a look to Natalie. "This is why you took the case, isn't it?" she asks Matt. "So you could afford to hire another secretary."
*
Collen follows the others into the office and stands where she can watch the door. "I'll try not to take up too much of your time." she reaches up to scratch her nose, considering her words. "I read about Miss Rand's problem and the Rockefeller murder and I thought it seemed strange, so I… uh, thought I should discuss it with some people closer to the street, shall we say? They weren't cooperative at first, but eventually I broke the ice." and she unconsciously rubs her left fist with the other hand. "I don't have any evidence I can hand you, not a paper trail, anyway… but the people I talked to seem to think there's something important going on in the streets. A different group than usual - not the bikers, not the Mafia, not the Irish - someone different intruding on their rackets, and this someone might have wanted Rockefeller out of the way for some reason." she finishes finally.
*
Natalie's chin tucks towards her chest at the mention of hiring another secretary. Her cheeks warm slightly and she draws curly-qs on the edge of her paper — a force of habit long-developed from her early days in the occupation. A knowing smile pulls all of her features upwards. "I… am just temporarily filling in for Karen as a favour to Mat — er — Mister Murdock," her smile turns sheepish at the slip-up. "We met recently at a gathering where my employer's wife saw fit to…" her lips twist to the side uncertainly as she searches for an appropriate word "…ensure I had a life outside the office." But she assumes her silence when Colleen explains what she knows, and goes back to writing shorthand notes on the pad of paper.
*
"Well, and to count the riches you're going to line my pocket book when I get you off," Matt asides quietly to Danny. "That came out wrong." As Colleen discusses what she knows, Matt seems to hang on her every word. He pauses a long time, pondering, before he responds to Natalie, "She's just helping me out while Karen is away for a while." He says absently, still thinking about Colleen's words. "Ma'am, would you be interested in continuing to gather information? Anything to get the truth to come out and get Danny here the freedom she has a right to. It'd be helpful."
*
"Little bit, yeah," Danny agrees with Matt, though her attention is mostly on Colleen now. "Not the bikers, not the mob, not the Irish. What's left?" she asks, then winces, scrubbing a hand over her face. "Please don't say ninjas. The ninjas are absolutely the worst."
*
"As I wrote in my note," Colleen says towards Matt. "I understand you help people who might not otherwise be able to afford the assistance they need." and she nods to Danny. "And some people who can, I guess." She shrugs, though. "So, I thought that if you happened to hear something, a lead I can follow, I might be able to do some off-the-books investigation… I'm not a policewoman." she adds. "I would." she offers in response to Matt's question. "I might be able to help Miss Rand's case as well as find out who these other criminals are. At least the other groups are the evil we know, someone new with a lot of resources might be trouble. Two birds with one stone." She sighs. "I don't have any law-enforcement connections and I have to convince people on the street to talk to me, sometimes a bit forcefully, so I came to you." She wrinkles her nose at Danny's suggestion. "If it's ninjas we have a serious problem." She reaches to her own shoulder, as if to grasp something, but there's nothing there and so she drops her hand.
*
Natalie continues to write down notes at Colleen's assertions. Her eyes flit between Danny, Matt, and Colleen, but the warmth in her gaze remains — changing with a lift of a wry eyebrow and air of concern at the mention of ninjas. Her lips curve downwards slightly and she taps the pen against her chin, but she offers no words in response, just the silent stillness of someone giving something ample consideration.
*
"I'm honestly a bit worried for your safety, miss," Matt says as he brings his hands up under his chin. "Depending on how dangerous this gets…It's not something I want you to get hurt over." He licks his lips as he considers and takes a couple of deep breaths. "Although Miss Rand's life could depend on this. If not only her freedom."
*
"No kidding," Danny grimaces. "It was the ninjas last time that made the whole damned case complicated. Because, funny story, people don't tend to buy 'ninjas' as a valid excuse for why you were right there when someone you had every reason to want dead, turned up dead." She pushes up out of her chair, pacing a few steps before turning a speculative look on Colleen. "I can back you," she offers. "Call it a retainer."
*
Colleen smiles at Matt, but quickly remembers he can't see her. "I appreciate the concern, Mister Murdock, but my grandfather taught me how to take care of myself. These groups on their own aren't much trouble, but if someone is trying to unify them, that's another matter." She considers another moment. "Colleen is my name. Colleen Wing." She looks at Danny. "I hadn't thought of money, but that might not be a bad idea." She frowns a bit. "Most people don't believe in ninjas."
*
Natalie's teeth play at her bottom lip. She shifts in her spot and allows her eyes to hone in on Colleen for a few beats. The concern in her expression is palpable. Her eyes narrow into green slits — indeterminate considerate slits that offer little thought to the entire affair. "There's been hints that people have been trying to divide and conquer parts of the city for some time. Yakuza, the mafia — all have their factions, and all seem to be feeling the pinch." She shrugs and then scribbles something down. "Of course, that's all hearsay. I only heard it about real estate deals." She shoots Colleen a small smile, "Secretaries hear a lot and are trusted to understand none of it. I'm happy to say my business degree at least had some positive use."
*
"Colleen Wing," Matt says as he commits it to memory. "Everyone hates ninjas except for their friends and little kids on Halloween," he says with a grin towards Danny. He nods towards the CEO when she offers to back Colleen. He nods towards Natalie, "I've been hearing the same thing. The problem, I'm hearing from some of my clients, is no one really knows what's going on. Someone out there is setting up and…" He shrugs as he searches for the word, "Obfuscating to look like someone else. Almost like they're trying to confuse."
*
"It'd be great if they could do me a favor and not drag me into it." Danny paces a few more steps, pushing a hand through her hair as she turns to look back at the rest of the office. "Look, Murdock. If we're going to do this, then there's something you need to know as my council. Which is going to sound roughly as ridiculous as the ninjas, but I'm getting kind of tired of walking around it, honestly. You two…" She takes a deep breath, eyeing the other women. "No cameras, no records?"
*
I have my own secrets, which is why I didn't want to give my name." Colleen says to Danny. "So I shouldn't want to reveal yours, whatever it might be." She looks back to Matt. "I hope you'll keep my name, my last name at least, out of things. I don't want to put my father in danger, either his life or his career."
*
Natalie's eyes narrow again and she leans forward before setting her notepad on the edge of Murdock's desk. No records. She can live with that. The pen is also set down and she twists in the chair to watch Danny with rapt attention. "To my knowledge, there's no cameras in here — " she arches an eyebrow towards Matt " — and my records are now on hold," her head bobs lightly towards her pad of paper.
*
Matt nods to Natalie, "No cameras in here." He folds his arms over his chest and turns towards Danny, "Well, what is it? Don't tell me you're a carney worker. That'd be the next in ridiculousness, I imagine." He nods knowingly to Colleen, "Everything in here stays in here. I think that's safe to say for all of us."
*
"Yeah, not exactly," Danny smirks at Matt, starting to untuck her shirt. Hey, at least they'll find out if he's really blind, right? "All those years I was missing in the mountains? Remote village isn't quite the whole story. It was remote, and it was a village, but it wasn't exactly…here. K'un Lun," she finally says, as if that answers it. "It's one of the Celestial cities, it isn't always accessible from this plane. Not for another few years, at least. But that's where I ended up growing up. And there, I trained. I trained for a position that…it's a chance. A chance to face Shou Lao the undying, the great dragon. To fight it. And to reach its heart, and become the Iron Fist."
*
"K'un Lun." Colleen repeats, but it doesn't seem to ring a bell. "A dragon?" she asks. "I wish my grandfather had taught me more about things like that, but there wasn't time. The best he could do was… what do they call it in English? 'Geomancy', that's it. Just hints, though."
*
The madness of Danny's words registers on Natalie's unsettled expression. She's not unsupportive, exactly, but to say that she's unsure would likely be an understatement. "So," there's a long pause that follows the single word. "You were taken away from this plane of existence and went somewhere kind of like Asgard(???) in that it exists in legend and also for real, but most people would never know anything of its existence." Her nose wrinkles. "And in this place you… aspired to take out a dragon… thing… and sought to become some Fist — avenger-person?" she arches a wry eyebrow. Finally, she nods and sucks on the inside of her cheek. "…neat."
*
"/You/ are Iron Fist?" Matt says with a raised eyebrow. "I…I don't know what to say. I guess you could say I'm shocked." And he certainly seems so as he rocks back in his chair. To him, he knows what the Iron Fist is. And for a moment he's compelled to give up his own secret—but it's just for a moment. He doesn't know Miss Wing well, though she seems good intentioned. And he's pretty sure Natalie would hit him in the head with a bottle. But the sharing is appreciated. The Catholic in him wants to reach back when he's reached out towards.
*
"Yeah, I know, it sounds a little nuts." Danny smirks over at Natalie, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "But. It happened. It was the only way I was going to be strong enough to get back here. Because yeah, at the time, I thought I wanted to kill Harold Meachum. I didn't," she adds quickly. "I got there, and…" She sobers a bit, grimacing. "I couldn't. He was a sad, scared old man, and it wasn't going to bring my parents back. But. I also can't get back for another four years."
She pulls her shirt up on one side, showing where a black silhouette of a dragon is etched wide across her ribs, something not quite like a tattoo about it. "Burns when you tangle with a dragon, turns out." Lowering her shirt, she sinks back into her chair, looking between the others. "I'm not there anymore. But being the Iron Fist comes with duties. With responsibilities, to protect people. So that's what I've been doing. I don't know if maybe someone caught on and that's where this is coming from, but if you're going to help me, then you needed to know."
*
"Hmm." Colleen mumurs. "I wear a dragon mask when I go visting our friends on the street." she mentions randomly. The burn/tattoo/brand/whatever doesn't seem to trouble the red-haired Japanese woman overly much. "I can't imagine what that ordeal might have been like." she says, though there is a touch of awe there. "All I really have to offer is my sword and some old martial arts, though I seem to have a knack for investigation."
*
Natalie blinks owlishly as she stares at the not-tattoo. She swallows hard and settles back in her seat when Danny pulls her shirt back down. Her hands fold lightly on her lap in front of her and she nods slowly, silently giving credence to each of Danny's words. "Regardless, the notion of protecting people seems like important information. I'd guess that you are getting pushed out of the way in whatever dealings are percolating behind the scenes. In my opinion, Miss Rand, the criminal underworld that framed you just saw opportunity to strike back at one of the few real threats to itself. As it stands," she glances between them, "it would be opportunistic. And the movement was going on before you were so charged with a crime."
*
"I'm missing something, aren't I?" Matt says as he tilts his head and grins slightly. "This is one of those moments where I wish I had sight, right?" He exhales, thinking of how this information mixes with what he already knows. "Miss Rand, if you go out and search for ways to defend yourself, please realize that we will have to be able to use whatever you use in court. With all of the repercussions that are included."
*
"Martial arts is most of what I have," Danny smiles ruefully over at Colleen. "Just…focused." She lifts one hand, head lowering slightly as she focuses, and a golden glow starts to build around her fist. "It's chi," she explains, mostly to Colleen. She seems most likely to understand, at least. "But it's focused. It grants a little bit of strength and power when I need it. And speeds up healing, which I just about always need."
*
"My grandfather wanted to teach me some Chi Kung but I imagine it would have been nothing like yours." Colleen says with a touch of awe in her voice. She nods, though. "I'll be happy to help, however I can. It sounds like there might be things going on that I can't counted on."
*
"Always," Natalie replies to Matt. She reaches for her pad of paper now and tucks it in the back of her skirt. Suddenly the mystery of where it came from vanishes. "I suppose I should go back to typing up those briefs." She slides towards the edge of her chair and presses herself to a stand.
*
Matt can feel the energy come off of Danny. He knows she is being truthful, but as she invokes her chi, he can feel the honesty emanating from her. "Well," he says with raised eyebrows, "This has been one hell of a meeting. I think it best that all of us start work immediately and get this case tossed as soon as possible."
*
"Whether they're coming after Danny Rand for opening a community center, or the Iron Fist for knocking a few of their guys around, it means they're gunning for me," Danny grimaces. "I'll keep my eyes open, though. And try to be ready. And yeah," she smirks over at Matt. "Why do you think I keep a lawyer on staff?"
*