"Wake up. Wake up"
Foggy felt someone kick the back of his chair.
"Fuck!" he groaned. His head was throbbing from a mixture of dehydration from his hangover and the dull throb from landing on his coffee table. He didn't have the energy to open his eyes he just called out "Karen. Karen. Have you any of those headache tablets that you keep in your drawer?"
His head was thumping. He slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head up. Squinting slightly waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark room. He tried to move but found his legs were tied together and his arms were tied behind his back.
"Fuck!" he repeated. "Where the hell am I?"
"We thought at one stage you weren't going to wake up at all"
"Oh man. I wish I hadn't now. So it wasn't a dream?"
"No Mr. Nelson it very much wasn't a dream"
************
Matt was pacing his office floor. Karen was sat at her desk scrolling through Foggy's phone.
"Anything unusual? Any texts, phone numbers, phone calls? Anything from last night?"
"No, nothing out of the ordinary. You know him longer than me. Maybe you might recognise his contacts"
"Who was the last person to call him?"
"Me"
"No. Before that"
"You"
"Karen. Before that again" he said waving his finger in a spiral direction, trying not to sound impatient.
"Marci, then your police officer friend Sargent Brett Mahoney. There's nothing unusual here at all, its just family and friends"
"Any texts, voicemail" he sighed "I don't know Karen." He stopped pacing and rested his hands on his hips. "I know Foggy a very long time but he would never go off by himself without telling me. It's just not right. Something is off here. Really off and I don't like it"
Foggy's phone suddenly started to ring making Karen and Matt jump
"Who is it?" Matt asked
Karen checked the caller ID. A photo of a woman who looked a lot like Foggy appeared on the display with mom written below.
"It's his mother" she said handing the phone to Matt. "I don't know her as well as you do, you should answer it"
Matt took the phone from Karen
"Hello....... Mrs. Nelson yes its Matt.... It has been too long...... I am well thanks..... I am eating fine..... No, I never did get that dog, I don't need one, no matter what Foggy says...... Foggy, em, he's not here at the moment. He's just stepped out, gone to the courtroom to get some notes on a case we are working on together...... Yes that's right, he left his phone on the desk, very clever of him..... I'll tell him you called. Love to the family...... I'll get him to ring you as soon as I can....... I would love to come for a weekend......... It has been too long........ No that's a myth about lawyers we don't all lie. I will come....... Yes really........... I have to go there's a client at the door" he moved the phone aside and turned to the door so his voice was away from the phone. "Be right with you, just on the phone." Turning back to the phone he said to Mrs Nelson "I really have to go I will tell him you called...... Okay yes, okay bye Mrs.Nelson"
He handed the phone back to Karen.
"Do you think she bought it?"
"You are the lawyer, it sounded convincing to me but then as you say all lawyers don't lie" she smiled
"There's nothing more we can do here tonight. I think we should head home. If you remember anything else let me know. I'll go find old friends from college. Maybe ring Marci she might know something, she might have a few phone numbers from the old days"
"I'll ring the hospitals"
Karen noticed Matt flinched nervously as soon as she had said the word hospital.
"Yes of course. We should have thought of that earlier. Ring around and see if anyone was checked in or was brought in fitting Foggy's description. He has no identification on him. If he's been hurt they wont know who he is" he trailed off
"It might not have come to that Matt. When should we tell the police?"
"Let's not worry about them just yet. Karen, please be careful. I can't have you disappearing on me also. You and Foggy" he paused catching his breath. "Just be careful. Lock your doors"
"Matt"
"Yeah"
"We'll find him. I promise"
"I hope so Karen. I really do"
***************************
Back in his apartment Matt closed the doors to his cupboard in the sitting room. His dad's boxing trunk was opened on the floor. Kneeling in front of it he blessed himself and turned his head up to the ceiling. He silently asked God to protect him and to be with him before he gathered up his black combats, boots, long sleeved shirt and his black mask. He knew he had to get a better suit he was working on that but tonight he was going to do whatever it took to find his friend.
Karen had phoned and confirmed that Foggy hadn't been admitted to the hospital, but Matt already knew this information because he had spoken to Claire. On one hand it came as a relief that he wasn't in a hospital bed but on the other it meant that Foggy was still out there, alone and missing. He suited up quickly. He wanted to get out there and start searching, time was of the essence. Foggy could be bleeding to death. His first stop was to head back to Foggy's apartment, where he could look over it properly, his way.
*********************
Easing the window open, Matt once again stood in Foggy's sitting room. The same smells from earlier were there so he eliminated them. He focused on the room and blocked out the sounds from outside so he wouldn't be distracted. There was a very weak smell of cigarettes lingering in the room, he hadn't noticed it earlier but it was there hanging in the air. Foggy hadn't smoked since they were both in college. Matt had always known when he did. He had never been a fan of them himself but it was only after a serious drinking session or if he was stressing over an exam that Foggy bought a pack or two. As soon as college had ended Foggy had given up saying he didn't need them any longer or could afford them.
The cigarette smell was covering something else. It was a very strong cheap aftershave a kind Matt wasn't aware of but the kind if you were standing close to the person this cheap stuff would go down your throat and up your nose. This confirmed that there was definitely someone else there after Karen had left. He couldn't tell if there was one person or more in the apartment. Matt was getting more frustrated everything was a dead end. He wanted to throw something, hit someone. The Devil inside of him raised his ugly head. Picking up a chair from the table he threw it across the room.
"Fuck it Foggy. Where are you?"
******
Foggy lifted his head up. His neck hurt from being in the same position for so long and his arms ached. He didn't know what time it was. His lip had been split opened again and he definitely had a cut over his eye from the last punch that knocked him out. He could hear muffled talking in the corner of the room. He tried to listen through the ringing in his ears. He thought of Matt doing this every day trying to hear conversations through walls and down dark alleyways. Only a few weeks back he had been arguing with his best friend over his secret life but now he really hoped the masked man was going to find him and get him the hell out of here.
His eyes suddenly watered up. He missed Matt, his laugh, his quirky comments. He even missed his annoying pen flicking that he did at this desk. Matt obviously never used the pen to write with but when he listened to Foggy reading he would pick up the pen then weave it in and out of each finger or he would sit there flicking it up and down between his index and thumb. It drove Foggy mad but now he wished he was at his desk and listening to Matt click the pen off and back on over and over.
"Matt" he whispered not realising he had said it out loud.
The two men stopped talking and walked over to him.
"Missing your boyfriend?" the smaller one laughed flicking his cigarette to the floor and stubbing it out.
"Fuck you" Foggy growled
"Now, now" the older taller one started. "There's no need to be so aggressive. You'll be reunited with your friends, when we are good and ready. You must be hungry. We don't want you to die on us just yet, well not until we get what we want"
"And what do you want exactly?"
"Lawyers and their questions" the taller one laughed
"Oh! now you have questions, now you can talk. You didn't do very much last week when you were meant to" the smaller one went forward walking over to Foggy's chair
"Shut up Frankie. Go get him some food"
"Me, where? But Tony I've got no money"
"Fucking improvise" Tony replied
It was like a comedy act between the two guys but at least now Foggy had got their names and what did they mean about lawyers and what happened last week. His head hurt, everything hurt and now these two were talking in riddles. He closed his eyes to try ease the pain in his head.
He thought about screaming for help. He hoped Matt was on a rooftop somewhere and would hear him, but he couldn't start screaming Matt's name out loud. They would think he was completely crazy or because that would reveal Matt's secret identity but he didn't know what else to call him. He slumped his shoulders and sighed. Unfortunately Foggy wasn't going anywhere for a while. His stomach made a growling noise and he thought of the last meal he had with his friends and a single tear slid down his cheek.
******
Matt had left Foggy's apartment and had decided to go home early. His heart and head just weren't in it. He was standing on top of a building looking out over his city. His mask was in his hand and as he stood there eyes glazed over leaving the rain fall gently on to his face, he was lost in his own thoughts. Who would want to hurt his friend? Who had Foggy pissed off so much that they would go so far as to kidnapping him? He had checked every alleyway and every dumpster for a body. He had checked in with Claire again to see if Foggy had been brought in to the hospital but unfortunately everything he had tried had ended up hitting a brick wall and coming up with no answers.
A scream broke through his thoughts. For a split second Matt ignored it and thought about walking away. He just didn't have the energy tonight. There was a perfectly good police force in Hell's Kitchen, they could easily go see who had screamed and sort the commotion out. Stick's voice came into his thoughts about leaving his emotions cloud his judgement. The Devil side of him was raring to go and the good Catholic side of him was saying he couldn't leave someone in distress but still Matt didn't move. It felt like he was stuck to the roof top. He heard a second scream a lot louder and more high pitched. He swore to himself for being so selfish. Putting his mask over his eyes for the second time that night, Matt jumped off the building.
******
"Hand over the money bitch" Frankie shouted at the cashier
Matt came into the shop from a back entrance. He quietly walked up through the aisles. The cashier was crying and fumbling at the till. Frankie was getting more and more impatient. Matt checked out the scene. The man was armed with a small pistol he was being very aggressive and the poor girl was in tears. Standing behind one of the aisles he waited for his moment. His plan was to come up behind the attacker, take him by the neck and have this all over and done with in a matter of minutes. Then leave the rest to the police force and the authorities.
"I'm not in the mood for this tonight" he said coming out of the shadows
"It's you" Frankie squeaked
Matt turned to the cashier. "Go you're safe now. I have this covered" but she didn't move. He banged his fist on the counter "GO!"
Frankie ran at Matt. Matt raised his fist blocking the first punch. The men struggled back and forth. Frankie was fast but Matt was faster. Matt kicked the gun out of Frankie's hand. A punch to the stomach winded Matt slightly and he doubled over his head fell forward. Matt suddenly smelled the waft of cigarettes from the other man and then there it was, that cheap awful aftershave. He had smelled it before. He couldn't think for a second but that smell was so familiar. He kept his head down inhaling trying to breathe but the smell was so strong. It was the same aftershave he had gotten in Foggy's apartment. Distracted Matt let his guard down and he didn't hear the flick of the knife. The knife sliced through Matt's side, cutting him from left to right. The cut was pretty deep. Matt screamed out in pain. He ran at Frankie, although slightly dazed from the shock of the knife cutting him. He threw a punch but Frankie ducked. Frankie took advantage of the situation and punched him straight into his side. Matt cried out again, the cut in his side throbbed and the copper filled in air. He felt his own blood trickle out of him and a cold shiver went through his body. Beads of sweat appeared under his mask on his forehead, he felt a bit light headed. He wanted to ask, no, demand to know where Foggy was but he swayed slightly. Matt lost his balance and staggered forward onto a display case. Shaking his head he never saw or felt Frankie pick up his gun from the counter. He hit Matt over the base of his head with the heel of the gun. Matt fell forward and the world on fire went black.