Hell's Angel (BK 1)

The Devil of Hell's Kitchen

Dani's POV
(Nightwing27th)

"Devil? Yeah, right," Foggy stared at the news paper clutched in his hands. I rolled my eyes. I've been resisting saying anything about that article all day. "Guy's a coward." He walked away from me and into the office with the others. They've spent all day working some case. Of course when I say 'they' I mean Karen and Matt. Foggy's too hung up on the man in the mask.

I tuned him out as I finished up with their printer. Yesterday it decided to start squirting ink everywhere. I, unfortunately, only know how to make it work for a little while after it's stopped. I don't know how to make it stay working. I wipe what ink I can off my hands with a rag, walking up next to Foggy in the door way.

"Please tell me I don't detect a hint of admiration for that terrorist," Foggy was staring at Karen.

"This is just all speculation," she argued. "Nobody knows if he's a terrorist or what."

"You're absolutely right. Terrorists have causes," Foggy shot back. He was looking for someone to argue with about this. For some reason he's determined to get someone to believe him that the man in the mask, or 'The Devil of Hell's Kitchen', is a terrorist. "They claim responsibility. This guy's just a nut job." He tossed the baseball in his hands in the air. He reached out to catch it and moaned, clutching his side.

"Dude, catch with your other hand," I said.

"Yeah. It's downgraded to agony," he agreed.

"All right," Karen said. "What do you think, Matt?" He'd been sitting at the desk, quietly reading. I'm sure he's been trying to tune us out. "I think Foggy will be pitching for the Mets by mid-season," he said sarcastically.

"I'm being serious."

"So am I. Have you seen their bullpen?" Matt's question was rhetorical, which made it even funnier. I chuckled, along with Karen. Foggy, though, stayed serious, determined to see this through. "Come on," he said, "you're telling me this guy blowing up our backyard doesn't make you mad. At all?"

"What happened to Hell's Kitchen, to you, Dani, and Elena, and to all the people that were hurt," I could tell Matt was choosing his words wisely. He paused for a second, thinking. "Yeah, it makes me mad. But this man, whoever he is, whatever his motive, he shouldn't be tried and convicted in the press. We're lawyers, we know that's not how it's supposed to work." That was the polite way of telling Foggy to drop it.

Right now, I'm just the fly on the wall. I don't want to say anything that might incriminate me. And I was hoping the discussion would've ended there, but then Karen drug it a bit further, "So, uh, hypothetically, if this guy got caught...needed counsel, Nelson and Murdock would offer to defend him?"

"NO!" Foggy answered before the question mark landed on the end of Karen's sentence.

"It would be his right," Matt corrected.

"What about my right to punch him in the melon?" Foggy asked. I swear, the two sound like an old married couple half the time. "They pulled a piece of glass out of my side. Elena needed twelve stitches. And Dani needed..." he paused and looked at me.

"I...lost count at twenty," I said sheepishly, knowing it wouldn't help drop the subject. The running story is that I was out working a case and got caught in one of the blasts. I don't know if Foggy believed it or not, but the fact that I'm hurt because of all of this is helping him to prove his point.

Foggy made a gesture like I was proving his point, before continuing, "And you want to Perry Mason the guy who's responsible?"

"No one knows he's responsible," I said. "Right now, he's just the only suspect. As a lawyer, Foggy, you should want the right man behind bars. So he can't do it again." I half grumbled the last part.