HOURS HAD PASSED since Matt's promise. Elena's hands were no longer bleeding and the precinct was down by a few numbers. Sensei Wing, the nurse that Elena had recognised and Detective Misty Knight had all left. Along with Luke Cage, Jessica Jones... and Matt. Elena knew that she shouldn't be worried, and that Matt would be a-okay. But something inside her was just tugging. She wasn't sure what to think.
Elena hadn't really communicated with anyone within the precinct since Matt had left, although she had given a smug look over to Karen and Foggy. She knew as much as they did now, Matt had told her the truth. His secret. She was annoyed that he hadn't opened up about his knowledge about the Hand in the first place – especially since they were the organisation who had kidnapped her last year. But, despite this, she did understand. She understood why he wouldn't want to tell her. He'd made this clear when he knocked on her apartment door. He didn't want her to get hurt. In a way, it was admirable. Not the keeping secrets, of course. But it was the way that he'd come to her. That he'd thought of her. That she was not to be harmed.
Matt Murdock was most definitely a complicated man. And Elena realised that she was happy to unravel him. To see what was behind those walls he had put up in front of her. She just hoped that he wouldn't feel the same to her. Her own problems, her own issues... they would be kept behind vaulted doors. Never to come out to anyone. Ever.
Luckily for Elena, most people seemed to leave her alone in here too. To keep to herself with her vaulted doors and deep thoughts surrounding Matt Murdock. The cop who'd given her the hoodie had communicated with her once or twice, but her quiet and bland answers had kept him away since then. Foggy and Karen hadn't tried to speak to her, which Elena didn't mind. She didn't really feel like talking to them anyway, they didn't seem to be on good terms with Matt. It was still strange to Elena, the fact that it was her who was getting on with him out of the three. This would've seemed totally crazy a year ago.
Elena ran her hand through her hair, she'd returned to the main room now. A few others had retreated to the room with the evidence board in, but Elena had opted to stay put. She didn't really feel like looking at those pictures of the kidnapping again. Or the pictures of dead people and blood everywhere. Nope, too much for her right now.
She noticed that Foggy was still here, but he was the only one that she recognised. He was on his phone, probably texting Marci about everything going on. He sat across the room, almost as if he didn't dare to sit with Elena. She didn't blame him, she had been pretty confrontational earlier. She really hoped he wasn't talking shit to Marci, though. She did not need that. And besides, Marci would never let him.
As Foggy glanced over at Elena, she quickly looked away. She didn't want him guessing that she'd been staring. Even if it was totally innocent. She readjusted herself on the chair, her eyes resting on the door instead. There, that was better. Now she'd be able to see first-hand who entered the room. And if Matt came back, she'd be able to get to him first. Apparently, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage had kidnapped him. Forcibly made him leave. But Elena had a very hard time believing that. This was the same man who'd taken on Wilson Fisk and Frank Castle in court, who'd returned to Wilson Fisk in prison. Matt Murdock was a lot of things, but he wasn't a push over. She had a sneaking suspicion that he demanded to go with them, not the other way around.
But Elena knew she would have to wait until he got back to know what had happened. She hoped that it would be an interesting story. She loved Matt's stories. She loved listening to them, or maybe it was just listening to him... No, it wasn't that. He was just a good storyteller. There was nothing underneath that. Nothing at all.
A woman pushed the door open, pulling Elena from her thoughts. She was somewhat tall and wore a stylish robe that Elena was immediately envious of. Her hair was short, the tight curls pulled away from her face. It was her face that Elena recognised. Of course she recognised her face! Her face had been on a CD in teenage Elena's bedroom, blasting through her stereo to annoy her parents who hated her smooth vocals and R&B beats. This was most definitely Allegra. Well, that was her stage name. Apparently she went by Zelda Jackson now. And apparently, she was close to Luke Cage.
"Oh my God," Elena whispered, staring up at the woman. Despite meeting a few celebrities in her time, it was still quite exciting. Especially when this particular one had spurred her teenage rebellious angst so much. Of course, that couldn't all be attributed to Zelda Jackson. A lot of that had stemmed from the pop punk scene she loved so much. Oh, how she missed her youth.
Elena's whisper had not been quiet enough, it seemed. The woman turned towards Elena, her eyebrow raised slightly in confusion. Elena really hoped that she hadn't heard her, but she was quickly proven wrong. Zelda Jackson walked towards her, gesturing to the table with a polite smile and nod of her head.
"Hey. You mind if I sit here?" she asked. Elena's cheeks flushed instantly. Her speaking-voice was just as velvety as her singing voice was. Her carob coloured eyes examined Elena's face, her peach painted lips quirking upwards in an amused smile. She was totally had. Elena nodded awkwardly, unable to pull her eyes away. She looked different to how she did fourteen years ago, of course she did, but she still had that factor about her. Elena couldn't help but stare. She guessed that she got it a lot, though, what with being so accomplished.
"You're a person of interest, too?" Zelda Jackson asked, pressing her lips into an inquiring line. She looked as if she was trying to keep her amusement discrete, but it didn't work on Elena. She could read people's faces well. So she quickly swallowed and nodded, trying to brush off her total awe and excitement.
"Uh, yes. I am. My friend... Matt Murdock. He's the one who's all wrapped up in this," she said, carefully. Perhaps she'd know where he was. Who was she kidding? Zelda Jackson was a national treasure! She had just released a new album and was being nominated for all sorts of awards! Why the hell would she know who Matt Murdock was ?!
"Matt Murdock... Luke's lawyer, right?" Zelda Jackson asked, leaning back in the chair she'd chosen with an effortless sense of elegance. Oh, wow. Elena was totally staring now.
"Yeah, that's... that's him," Elena said, awkwardly smiling. "You're... uh, you're Zelda," she blurted out, instantly regretting the words. Of course she was! Way to be obvious!
"I am," Zelda said with a quiet chuckle, raising her eyebrows at Elena. She flushed deeply, that was embarrassing.
"Yeah, of course you are," Elena said with a self-deprecating laugh, "sorry. I just... I was a huge fan. Am. Am a huge fan. You're... great. Really great. Like, the music's great. And the activism. Just... all around super cool. Big fan," she said awkwardly. Zelda smiled, crossing one leg over the other.
"Well, thanks. I have to say, I'm a fan too. ADA Woods, right? You helped put the Punisher away... and that perm case? I thought that was great," Zelda said, politely. Elena couldn't help but stare. Again. She knew who she was?!
"Uh... yeah! That's me. Elena Woods. Really great to meet you," Elena said, leaning forwards to shake her hand with a bright grin. Zelda shook her hand, and Elena felt a surge of excitement rush through her at the soft skin of the R&B star. This was so cool. Marci was going to be insanely jealous. Let alone Clementine!
"You too," Zelda said, leaning back in her chair once she'd shaken Elena's hand. "It's been a long couple of days, huh? I don't know about you, but I'm starting to hate the sight of this precinct," Zelda said with a grimace. Elena nodded in agreement, trying her best to look less obsessed and more normal.
"Oh, definitely. I actually want to get back to work," Elena said, and Zelda laughed. God, even her laugh sounded magical! It was like bells, or something.
"Mm," she hummed in agreement, "I mean... this whole thing is causing so many tensions here. Luke's doing the best he can, so's Misty. But, you know... Detective and an ex-con shouldn't really be working together," she said, shaking her head with a grimace. Elena nodded.
"Right. Yeah, of course. I was actually gonna come up here the other day, to try and talk to Luke Cage. My office... we're researching into Midland Circle. Well, I don't know if we are anymore. I've been dealt a lot of weird cards today," Elena sighed, shaking her head. Zelda raised a perfectly threaded eyebrow.
"The Hand?" she questioned. Elena raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly. She was starting to believe that she was the only one who hadn't known about this organisation before Rosemary had informed her.
"Yeah. The Hand. And it's not just me, right? It sounds totally crazy?" Elena asked, resting her hand on the table and leaning inwards. Zelda chuckled again, that beautiful bell-like laugh, and nodded.
"No. It does sound crazy. But... you know. I trust Luke. I trust Misty. I trust things will get sorted. I would've done more if I could, but I don't think a benefit concert would really be much of a push back on these people," she said, slightly sarcastically. Elena nodded, a little too enthusiastically. Not only was Zelda Jackson totally cool, she was also funny.
"Yeah. Maybe we could leave that to the cops," Elena said with a sigh. Zelda smiled and fell quiet, a natural lull in the conversation building. Elena glanced around the room, noticing that Foggy had left whilst she'd been talking to Zelda. She guessed that he'd gone to find Karen, she was pretty sure that he didn't know anyone else of interest to talk to.
Elena looked back at Zelda, opening her mouth to say something else. But before Elena could even get the words out, the bright fluorescent lights flickered, failing completely and plunging the room into darkness. Elena opened her laptop quickly, projecting some light for her and Zelda. A quick glance at her laptop screen showed her that there was no internet, either. Zelda looked at Elena with raised eyebrows and an expression of confusion.
"That's weird," Zelda said, her pearly teeth showing for a moment as she began to bite on her full bottom lip.
"Yeah," Elena agreed, "you think...?"
"It's got something to do with them?" Zelda asked, referring to Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and somehow Matt Murdock. She sighed, shifting in her seat and settling with a shrug. "I don't know. Maybe. Probably. But... I wouldn't worry about it. Luke's capable," she added in a softer tone, perhaps noticing a sense of worry on Elena's face.
Elena nodded. "Yeah... yeah. I'm not worried. They'll be fine," she said, her voice wavering for a moment. She smiled confidently, turning her attention back to the cool light of her laptop screen. Yes! Of course, they'd be fine. They were capable. Very capable. Luke Cage was, like... a superhero. Of course Matt would be fine.
But deep down, past her false confidence, Elena couldn't help but feel a pit of dread building in her stomach.
A FEW HOURS had passed since the power had gone out. And there was still no sign of Matt. Elena had tried her best to stay calm, but it was getting worrying. Where was he? Why was it taking so long? It was well into the night now and in all honesty, Elena just wanted to go home. She didn't want to be stuck here any longer.
One positive was that the power had come back on, but that was it. There really wasn't anything else good about the situation, apart from Zelda Jackson sitting with her, of course. Rosemary Taylor had since joined their table, and the other people of interest had returned to the main room. Foggy, Karen, a man who Elena didn't recognise and a blonde were sitting at a table. Trish Walker and a woman with dark hair who seemed to be friendly with Karen were standing nearby. There hadn't been much cross conversation between the two tables, Elena guessed that was because everyone was stressed. There wasn't really much point in making new friends whilst they were all waiting anxiously for the returns of their own absent companions.
Elena was tapping her foot against the floor, although made the conscious effort to do it silently. She didn't want Rosemary or Zelda Jackson to get annoyed at her. The latter, in particular. That would be totally humiliating. Her eyes drifted to the clock, and she leant back in her seat to run her hand through her hair.
She hated this. The waiting.
Patience had never really been a strong suit of Elena's. She liked things to be done as soon as they could be, and she hated to be in nervous anticipation. A few events stuck out to her. Waiting to see if she had gotten into Harvard, waiting to see if she had the job at the DA's office, waiting for her mother's reaction to something important to her... Actually, there were quite a few events with her mother. She remembered in particular a childhood memory, when she was holding up a drawing for Regina to see. Just... waiting. At the time it had felt endless. And Elena supposed that was what she felt now. Only, she wasn't waiting for Regina to see a sweet drawing she'd done. She was waiting for Matt to come back.
She looked down at her phone, gnawing at the inside of her cheek. She was sure she was going to bite through to the other side if she wasn't careful. She'd already made her hand bleed, she didn't want to end up with a gaping hole in her cheek. Elena looked at her texts to Matt. She had been good on her word, she'd already scored a reservation for them three days from now. It was a nice restaurant. It was also notoriously hard to get a reservation for, which was why Elena had called in a favour from the owner. She'd helped him once whilst working for Landman & Zack, probably one of the only good people who'd ever been her client there.
She had texted Matt the information. That she'd meet him at the restaurant at 5:30, precisely. She wouldn't mind paying for it, either. She knew it would be out of his budget, and well within hers. Even without her father's monthly allowances, she still had far more than she needed. He had actually seen the message too, and replied with a thumbs up emoji. It had made Elena laugh at the time, and she'd wondered how he managed to do that. She'd not really paid much attention to how he used his phone, but he was definitely proficient at texting, which was kind of sweet.
But, the thumbs up was a confirmation. One that did help ease Elena's stress a little. She was looking forward to this. It would be... nice to spend some more time with Matt, and it would be nice to go to a posh restaurant again. It had been a while. She deserved to be treated to some luxury every once in a while. And to share it with Matt? That would also be enjoyable. As crazy as it was.
Elena put her phone down, there was movement at the door now. Finally! She hoped that this meant Matthew was back. She was looking forward to hearing what the hell he'd gotten up to.
Jessica Jones was first in. The dark haired woman made a beeline for Trish Walker, the man, the blonde and the other dark haired woman. She embraced Trish Walker tightly, and the two other women let out deep sighs of relief, hugging each other. The man stepped forward as Jessica Jones pulled back from the radio host, it was his turn for a hug now. Elena noticed that Foggy and Karen had stood up too. She guessed that it was in anticipation. Her heart began to beat a little quicker, the gnawing on her cheek becoming worse.
Luke Cage was next, followed closely by the nurse from Metro General. Zelda Jackson let out a gasp and rose from her seat, hurrying forwards to the tall man. He looked utterly exhausted. The R&B singer flung her arms around his neck and his hands found their way to her waist. Elena watched discreetly as Zelda pulled his face down to hers and planted a deep kiss on his lips. It almost looked as if she were crying. Once Luke had gently pulled away from her, he sank down onto a chair, his eyes were tired. Zelda's attention turned to the nurse from Metro General, and she hugged her too, rubbing her back gently. They both looked tired, Elena tried to think of how exhausted Matt would look. He'd probably yawn and scratch at his stubble, he'd take his glasses off and pinch at the bridge of his nose absently.
Danny Rand entered the room next. He was joined by Sensei Wing, who had a deep red patch on her white jacket. Elena thought that was ominous, had there been vicious fighting? Was it those same people who'd kidnapped her and Karen last year? Would Matt be hurt? Rosemary Taylor got up from her chair and walked towards the pair, a bright smile crossing her face. She wrapped one arm around Danny, giving the dishevelled billionaire a side hug, whilst squeezing Colleen's hand tightly. Elena noticed just how messy Danny Rand looked. His shirt was torn open, revealing a dragon tattoo inked on his pale chest. Colleen Wing looked exhausted too, her hair was a mess, but Elena guessed that was the last of her worries. She looked like she needed to see a doctor, more than anything else.
Right, Elena thought to herself. Matt was next. He was probably getting checked by one of the cops, seeing as he was just a lawyer in all this. Elena kept her eyes on the door frame, on the hallway. Any minute now, she thought. Come on, Matt. Her foot tapping became more focused, her shoe began to echo against the floor. Come on.
No movement. The hallway remained empty. Elena leaned forward, trying to peer down either side. Soon she'd hear that familiar tapping of his cane. One, two. One, two. Any minute now. She swallowed, the pit of dread that had formed in her stomach began to swirl and ebb, replacing her anxiety with a sickening nausea. Come on, Matt.
Still, there was nothing. Elena's molars pierced her cheek, a metallic taste of blood entering her mouth. Her nails began to dig into her undamaged skin. Come on, Matt. Maybe he was just delayed. Maybe he was waiting outside. There was no use jumping to scary conclusions. He was fine. Of course he was. He'd only texted her a few hours ago. A thumbs up emoji, of all things! He was totally fine. He was thumbs-up-emoji fine. Yes, that was it.
A loud, choked sob came from Elena's left. It sounded suspiciously like Karen. Elena tore her eyes away from the door and saw Karen standing with her back towards her, her arms secured tightly around Foggy. Foggy cradled her against him, his eyebrows drawn in something that looked like pain. Elena's dread was deafening, now. Her shoe was tapping endlessly against the floor. As she stared blankly over at Foggy, he caught her eyes. Briefly, barely.
His soft eyes settled on Elena's questioning ones, her chest began to rise and fall more frequently. A much faster pace than before. Minutely, Foggy's head moved. A fraction of movement, if that. He shook his head.
Elena's nails pierced her unmarred skin.
author's note:
im sorry.
goodbye matt 😁😁😁 see u in season 3!!! u messed up!!!
when does he not lets be real. i love him. but he gives me a big ass headache
poor elena tho... girlie is waiting for her dinner with him 😞 he was NOT 👍 okay
we have one more chapter left of act three!! insane!! the next one is very personal to me. u guys are gonna love it i swear 🙏 very interesting things happen
also. zelda is my queen. she is so so lovely and i cannot wait to write my luke cage fic she is so perfect
thank u all so much for reading!! love u always
— cheryl 💖