Legally Blonde | Matt Murdock

FIFTEEN. THE PUNISHER

"You'll be alright, though," Blake said, noticing her wary expression. He put his hand on her shoulder and nodded, "just... follow my lead?" he asked, smile twitching at his lips.

Elena chuckled quietly, "sure. Rather you than me," she teased. Blake shook his head with a smile, then the two lawyers began to make their way into the precinct, catching up with Samantha. Elena had no idea how the formidable woman could be so alert at half nine in the morning. It had been a long night for all of them and Elena was well aware at how dishevelled she looked. Her evening with Marci had been cut short, having to race to the office with nothing but a bag of clothes in the morning and a reusable coffee cup (which had proven itself to be very useful over the following hours).

Reyes led Blake and Elena into the precinct, and Elena quickly sorted her hair out after seeing how messy it was in a glass door. She had a strange feeling about her as she entered the building. The last time she had been to this specific place was after the attempted attack, after the Devil of Hell's Kitchen came to her rescue. She swallowed, trying not to let the memories of that night get to her. She could still smell the alcohol on that man, feel the grabs of his hands. She would rather forget it, but she couldn't control her night terrors.

Elena squared her shoulders and carried on walking, then caught sight of Karen and Foggy by the desk. There was no sign of Matthew, Elena noticed. Reyes halted in front of them, turning to Blake.

"Are they the ones that brought in Grote?" she asked. Grote, Elena thought to herself, who was he again? Right, Elliot Grote, the only man who'd escaped from the murderous rampage at the hospital. Elena repressed a grimace. Was there really so much riding on this one man?

"Um, Franklin Nelson, of Nelson and Murdock," Foggy said, holding his hand out for Reyes to shake. She didn't take it. Foggy's eyes flicked to Elena for a moment, before quickly moving on. "This is my associate, Karen Page."

Reyes made no move to acknowledge that she cared or had even heard what Foggy had said and turned to look at the two detectives who had been following them in since their arrival. She assumed those were the ones that Reyes was talking to on the phone.

"Officers, I want you to prepare Mr. Grote for transport," she said, firmly. The officers nodded and took their leave, and Elena raised an eyebrow. That was fast. She'd never gotten the chance to work with Reyes on an actual case before, it was somewhat thrilling to see her in action. She exchanged a glance with Blake, who looked similarly impressed, albeit slightly subdued.

"Excuse me," Foggy started, a frown crossing his generally happy features, "but, transport where, exactly?"

"Once he's in our custody, I want you to personally handle all the arrangements," Reyes said, ignoring Foggy's question. She was talking to Blake now, and he had her full attention. Blake nodded, opening his mouth to speak before Foggy interrupted. Elena noticed now just how confused and slightly frustrated Foggy and Karen were.

"Just to put it out there," Foggy started, "our client's already given us a list of his conditions."

Elena glanced at Reyes, and she relaxed into a polite smile as she regarded the two. "Mr Nelson, have you ever negotiated a witness protection agreement?"

Elena pressed her lips together, glancing downwards. As much as she liked Karen and Foggy, she had a feeling that something of this scale? Yeah, they might be a little inexperienced. She understood the need to continue with it, but sometimes you had to pick your battles.

"Well... speaking for my firm, I can attest that we're all very fast learners."

Elena bit the inside of her cheek, Reyes did not look impressed. The older woman tilted her head to the side, pursing her lips. She let out a quiet sigh, looking over at Blake to respond for her.