The benefit to an electric van was that it was almost as quiet as a mouse to most. No loud engine start up, no chance of a misfire or faint rumble as it idled. To most, an electric van could sneak up on you like a phantom. It helped cut down on the noise pollution that drowned this city's soundscape. Unless you saw it, you would never know it's there.
But the Devil knew it was there.
He crouched on the roof of Doreen's apartment building, tightening his white mask. He held his breath, focusing his hearing down into the street below. No one seemed to be about... well, save for the two men sitting in the van. One faster heartbeat, one slower. The van shook slightly with the former's movements, while the other moved nimbly. The doors to the back of the van opened, and they stepped out into the street. Particulars in appearance were always hard for Matt to parse out. The material sounded stiff. No buckles or belts, no zipper, just metal clasps... a work uniform, maybe? The air moved around their heads oddly, indicating they were wearing hats. Baseball caps, most certainly. One dragged out a small metal box that rattled with every movement, lifting it out the back of the truck as the other slammed the doors shut. Matt's brow furrowed. It was unlikely they were maintenance workers this late at night. Especially to a building that lacked any residents at the moment, Doreen included. Matt was glad he could convince her to visit her son in Jersey for the night.
They swiftly crossed the street, before the larger one stopped in the middle of the road, patting his coverall pockets. "Shit, Snake, I think I forgot the keys."
His partner, Snake, stopped dead in his tracks. His exhale sounded like a hiss of frustration. He turned around, shaking his head. "Well, Ox, then it's a good thing I'm here. Montana knew you'd fuck this up on your own." Snake shoved the toolbox into Ox's hands as they continued towards the building's front door. The former reached in to his pockets to produce a small leather pouch, and unfolded it. Matt had a hard time focusing on what the object was, until he heard the distinct sound of metal raking against metal: lockpicks. Frank had cheaped out on security, of course, and it took the Snake less than two seconds to rake all the pins in place and click the lock in place. He swung the door open, and the two stepped inside. Matt listened as their footsteps went up one flights of stairs, then two, and finally started the third.
Matt sprung into action, diving backwards off the edge of the building. He remembered the drunken stammering Foggy had made when Matt showed off his coordination when they were escaping a busted party their freshman year in college, and a smile formed on his lips. Matthew Murdock reached out a single hand, grabbing the railing of the fourth floor fire escape and pendulum swinging his way into the open window of Doreen's apartment. He rolled along the ground, barely making much noise. He listened quietly, his mind focusing on the soft hum of power as it surged through the apartment's walls. He quickly approached the small door in the living room, opening it up to reveal the apartment's breaker box. The nest of wires that ran in and out of it were evidence of illegal electrical work... something he would have a field day with in his other life. But for now, he quickly flipped all the switches off and closed the door, moving across the living room and crouching behind a sofa.
Matt hid just in time, as he heard the familiar sound of a metal rake being used to open the front door of the apartment itself. The two criminals stepped into the apartment, Ox slamming the door behind them. Matt couldn't see faces, but he could hear Snake turn to look at his partner with a lethal glare, if looks could kill. Snake fumbled his hands along the wall, looking for a lightswitch. When he flipped it, no lights turned on. He tried the next switch, groaning in frustration as that too failed to produce light. "Damn it... I'll look for the breaker. You get to work on the bedroom."
The two split up. Ox took the toolbox from Snake and slammed open the door to Doreen's bedroom. Snake was harder to place in the apartment. His footsteps were soft, especially now that he had handed off the toolbox. He moved quickly and with purpose, finding the breaker box just as quickly as Matt had. He looked over the switches, scratching his chin. He noticed all the breakers were flipped immediately. Snake knew something wasn't right.
Matt wasn't able to get the grab as Snake ducked under the attempted hold, summersaulting backwards into a crouching position. A voice rang out from the other room. "Wait, who are we tagging again Snake? The Dragons?"
Snake opened his mouth to call out, letting out little more than a yelp before the Devil was on him. Matt Murdock charged, focusing his attention on the small creaks in the floorboard under Snake's feet. His weight shifted to Matt's left, so he was clearly trying to dodge right. It made sense, to head towards your companion. Matt redirected mid-charge, intercepting the Snake as he tried to leap for safety. Matt had launched them into the single ratty sofa, which proceeded to flip onto its back as the two scrambled for control. The Snake seemed the better wrestler by talent, managing to use the momentum to push off of the Devil to try and get to a standing position. "Get in here you oa-" The Snake was unable to finish his sentence as the Devil swept his opponent's legs, the final word replaced with a thud and groan. Matt spun around on the floor, climbing on top of the criminal and quickly delivering a powerful punch to the man's jaw. It was a solid hit, bit the Snake responded by contorting his body to slip his feet onto the vigilante's chest. A powerful kick knocked the wind out of Matt's lungs, and landing his back into the overturned sofa. The Snake crawled on all fours, disoriented, past Matthew Murdock.
Matt spent the moment he had gasping for air focusing on his surroundings. The other criminal, Ox, lumbered towards the bedroom door down the hallway, his voice surprisingly small for such a large man. "What's wrong, Marston?"
"Code names, you moron!" Snake tried to scramble to his feet, looking back towards the rising Devil. The criminal didn't like his odds. "Change of plans, Oxy. You smash, I tag. We've got company."
This seemed to spring the Ox to attention. He barreled out of the room, and the Snake managed to slip past the large man like a leaf on the wind. Matthew still wheezed, his smell replaced with a faint whiff of iron. Blood, most likely. Snake had gotten in a punch in the initial grapple he hadn't noticed. The Devil had to be quick, if he was going to bring both of them down. He tilted his head, a strange reverberation in the room that didn't seem to match. Something wooden, heavy... a single piece resting against the wall.
A baseball bat.
Matt lifted it up into his hands, before turning to the Ox that stood confused in the hallway. "Uh, Snake, I thought you said it was just the two of us on this job."
They both heard the exasperated sigh come from the other room, followed by the shaking of a can of spray paint. "He's here to stop us, Ox. He's one of those vigilante's... the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, I think they're calling him."
"So then, I need to-"
"Kill him, Harrison!"
The Ox huffed, turning his gaze towards the Devil. "I'm sorry, man. Boss said no witnesses." The Ox moved forward, only needing a few steps before he was looming over the Devil. But Matt was quick, having cocked back the bat and swung it into the criminal's side. The Ox howled in surprise, losing his balance and stumbling into the small kitchen. Matt followed him in, lifting the bat up to deliver an overhead swing. But the Ox was ready this time, lifting a hand up and punching towards the bat. As soon as the fist made contact, the bat splintered into dozens of shards in an instant. The force was incredible. Ox followed it up with another punch towards the vigilante, who dodged the blow and delivered a counter-punch into the Ox's chest. Matt felt pain shoot up his knuckles, as the man's chest felt nearly as hard as brick. He was over 300 lbs of muscle, easy. As that realization shot into his mind, he realized he had left himself open to a backhanded slap.
Matthew Murdock was thrown backwards with a single slap into the kitchen wall, denting the drywall with his back. Pain shot through Matt Murdock's limbs as he tasted blood. Adrenaline shot through his veins like ice, doing it's best to numb the nervous system. It had been ages since Matt got this close to fear. It was a shame he was incapable of it.
Fearful men know when to quit.
Matthew Murdock charged forward with reckless abandon, ripping a toaster off the counter to swing by the cord into Ox's shoulder. This impact did little more than the others, just seeming to throw the man a little off balance and slow his next attack. Matt mostly focused on dodging the Ox's wild swings, trying not to focus on the loud cracks and banging that came from the heavy blows as they made contact with the counters, cabinets, and walls. For but a moment, Matt remembered what it was like when he watched his father box much bigger opponents in the unsanctioned fights at Fogwell's. It was a dance, his father had told him. A dance you had to keep up until the music stopped.
Matt took a stray hit here and there, doing his best to block the punches with his arms. But each one slammed him into a wall or a counter, and each one was a little harder to recover from. But Matt kept getting up. He couldn't afford to stop. If he stopped, he was dead. He was so focused on surviving the Ox's attacks, he hadn't heard that the spray painting had stopped in the bedroom. He only realized as he heard a fast heartbeat pounding behind him that the Snake had finished his work. He was now cornered in a small kitchen between an Ox and a Snake, breathing heavily as they all squared off. "You shouldn't have stuck your nose in our business. Now, why don't you just make this easy on us." The Snake produced a knife to emphasize his point, holding it out in the Devil's direction.
Matt placed a hand on his bruised ribs, grunting a little in pain. He didn't have long before the adrenaline wasn't going to be enough. He didn't like walking away, but he wasn't going to be used to Hell's Kitchen dead. And Foggy would kill him if he died to two thugs in an apartment. So, Matt Murdock bent his knees, held out a hand, and motioned for the Snake to come closer.
The Snake lunged at him, his stab quick and accurate. But the Devil was faster, grabbing the Snake's wrist and arm. He slammed the criminal's elbow down onto his knee, the sickening crack of splintered bone and a loud scream echoing in the apartment. The Ox charged behind Matt, swinging a fist down. Matt simply rotated around the Snake, kicking the criminal into the hulking accomplice's path. The Ox was only able to pull back his punch slightly, and the Snake crumbled under the powerful hit. Matt didn't stay to relish the small win, walking back into the living room. He held the Snake's hat in his hands, and crawled up onto the windowsill leading out onto the fire escape. He heard the Ox round the corner after him, watching in horror as the Vigilante turned and smiled. He waved the hat towards the ox, before leaping backwards out of the window and off the fire escape.
The criminal ran up to the window, peering out into the dark alley.
No one was there.
The Devil was loose.
Mcmolly
Carlyle
mickilennial
Qia
Hound55
Roman
Festive
Melissa
Lord Wraith
PapaOso
