Eli was mildly impressed by the confused act Matthew put up. The way he stared at the woman, brow raised, and an almost genuinely incredulous look on his face, was pretty good.
"I think you've got the wrong person," he said, and his voice sounded just judgmental enough to make anyone believe he truly thought the woman was crazy. Sadly, she didn't seem so convinced.
"Please, your friend already tried that." Clearly, she was absolutely certain that she was right. Which she was. Not that either Eli or Matthew would tell her that. "I know it's you. It wasn't hard to figure out once I talked to the men who saw the both of you at the warehouse you burned down. After that, I just had to do a bit of research, check some camera footage. It's funny how you keep running into this one particular redhead."
Eli spotted the precise moment in which Matthew gave up on pretending she was spouting nonsense. Honestly, he would have done the same because it was clear that she knew what she was talking about.
"What do you want?" Matthew asked, sounding very reluctant to even ask.
"Like I said, I want to help you."
Eli couldn't help but stare at Adria Fisk as she seemingly offered her help to the man who'd put her father in jail. Not that he trusted her to mean it. He definitely didn't like how smug she sounded as she supposedly offered to help them.
"Help?" Matthew asked, very much not believing a word of it, if the way he sounded was anything to go by. "With what, and why would you even bother?"
Eli took a moment to contemplate the fact that Matthew managed to not look all that alarmed to have Fisk's daughter figure out he was Vigilante. Or maybe he was just panicking on the inside. Eli could relate to that.
"Well, for starters, it really doesn't look like you're doing too well. I mean, your friend here doesn't look too good."
Rude, Eli thought, glaring at her from behind Matthew.
"We're doing just fine," Matthew said through gritted teeth.
"Sure you are. And you're not at all worried about a certain someone finding you and all the people you care about." Well, when she put it that way. "Listen, I know my father and you have had some issues, and I get it, he's a hard guy to get along with. Also, you repeatedly tried to ruin him and got him arrested, so really, some of it's on you."
"How rude of me," Matthew said flatly.
"Very. But about the man after you, the one who put your little friend here in the hospital, he's not one of my father's. At least, not anymore. He took on a job for my father, and then the asshole decided he had other plans."
"And I should trust that you're not lying because?" Eli thought Matthew had a good point.
"You shouldn't, but you don't have a lot of choices and I can make things easier for you."
"Or you can stab me in the back. Literally."
"I could, but that would be a waste if I can use you instead." That probably wasn't the best thing to say. Eli could see Matthew tense, his fists clenching at his sides. "This really is a help me help you situation," she added with an amused quirk to her lips.
"And what do you get out of this? Revenge for him not following the deal with your father?"
"Actually, I just want him out of the way. Ever since my father was imprisoned, things have been more messy than usual. He left a very profitable spot available for anyone who wants it." She shrugged.
"And this guy does. I'm guessing you do too."
"Me, not so much, but it's better than letting someone else take over. Especially with the way he's going about it." She frowned, brow furrowing and eyes taking on a distant look for a second. "If he gets his way, he'll end up with too much power for someone who's not particularly stable. Whatever mess he creates will spill out into the rest of the city. A city I happen to live in. Plus, he's already made it clear that he wants to get rid of any potential competition."
"Oh, so you're in it to save your own ass," Eli said, not sounding impressed. And sure, he could have said it in a nicer way, but he didn't want to. And also, Matthew was right there serving as a particularly effective source of courage.
"Nice to know you can put two and two together," Fisk's daughter said with an extremely sarcastic smile. Eli was reluctantly impressed. "But yes, basically. I would really like to stay alive, and sadly, all the people around me are idiots who don't stand a chance in hell against this guy."
"And you think I should stick my neck out for you?" Matthew actually sounded like he wanted to laugh, which Eli could get.
"Oh, I know you'll stick your neck out for someone." She turned to Eli with an unsettling sort of gaze. It made him want to shrink back into his bed, but he was much too petty for that. Instead, he glared right back. "I just want to make sure you get the job done. I'll help you get rid of this guy. Hell, I'll even make sure the little shit behind you stays alive."
Matthew looked surprised at hearing that. Eli thought he was an idiot if he thought such a calculating woman wouldn't have noticed that he was practically shielding Eli. Of course she was going to use him to sway Matthew into doing her bidding. Hell, he'd do the same if he was an evil asshole.
"Lady, you're out of your seriously unhinged mind." Again, probably not the smartest thing to say, but it looked like Matthew was seriously considering her offer and Eli couldn't have that.
"Or, I could just tell everyone about your little nighttime escapades," she added, ignoring Eli. "I'm sure the cops have a nice collection of blood samples just waiting for the right match."
Well, now Eli definitely wanted to throw her out the window.
"I'm being very nice here, you know? I didn't have to offer anything in exchange."
"No, you're just that caring sort of person," Eli said with the fakest smile he could muster. She just smiled right back at him.
"So, what will it be?" she asked, as if Matthew had much of a choice. Eli heard Matthew sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat as he had the same realization as Eli.
"You promise nothing will happen to him?"
Eli knew it was coming—after all, they were screwed now that she knew who Matthew was—but he still stared up at Matthew as if he were insane for even considering taking her up on the offer.
"I'll do what I can."
That wasn't the most reassuring way to word it, but then Eli didn't really care. He just wanted Matthew to tell her to fuck off. And sure, he didn't know what they would do after that, but they'd figure something out. They had to.
Of course, things rarely went the way Eli wanted them to. This was no exception. With some amount of Horror, Eli watched as Matthew nodded. Granted, it was a very reluctant nod.
"Fine," he practically spat out the word. Adria smiled, a wide stretch of her lips that made her eyes look brighter. It was the kind of smile that told Eli she was most definitely planning their eventual demise. In short, he didn't like it.
But she was gone soon enough with a promise to discuss details soon. As unhappy as Eli was about how things had turned out, he was still relieved to have her as far away as possible. Even if she'd promised to be in touch. Eli was already thinking of ways they could leave town and start a new life—without crime fighting—when Matthew sat on the edge of Eli's bed.
He let out a tired sigh, shoulders slumped. Eli didn't say anything, figuring there was a lot Matthew needed to process. Hell, he was having a hard time processing it all.
"Looks like I got you involved in a mess again," Matthew said. Eli didn't like the way he said it, like he was blaming himself. And sure, it was ultimately Matthew's fault for ever bothering to put on a mask in the first place, but it wasn't like Eli hadn't chosen to stick around.
"I've been stabbed, shot, and just generally beaten up and I'm still here," Eli said after a second, wishing he didn't sound half as tired as he did. "So really, whatever happens to me is on me."
Matthew didn't seem to agree with that. Not if the way he looked at Eli was anything to go by. He turned, brows furrowed and eyes looking absolutely guilt ridden. All in all, it wasn't a good look on him, Eli had to admit.
"But if it weren't for me—"
"I'd have gotten mugged like twenty times by now. Hell, I might even be dead," he shrugged, and tried not to wince at the ache he felt from the small movement—a reminder that he wasn't still all there as far as his recovery went. "The point is, I'm not a kid. I can make my own choices and I chose to stick around knowing what it meant. So don't say it's your fault when I could have walked away."
Matthew didn't say anything, instead looking at Eli in a way that made the redhead want to tell him to stop staring. It was the soft kind of look that never failed to make Eli look away while his cheeks reddened.
"Stop staring, you idiot," he finally said, because unlike at home, he didn't have any place to hide. Matthew laughed, because Eli's embarrassment was funny to him, apparently.
"Sorry," Matthew said, but he was still smiling. At the very least he didn't look as tired as before, his eyes looking brighter and his stance more relaxed. "And thanks. For sticking around."
"Well, who else is gonna make sure you do the bare minimum to function?" Eli said with a flat tone, because really, if it were up to Matthew sleep would be substituted with coffee. Matthew snickered, probably because he was very much aware of what a pain in the ass he could be at times. Especially when he was determined to drive himself to an early grave through either his Vigilante antics or his complete and utter lack of self-care. "You know, I don't blame you for any of this. So don't blame yourself."
Matthew smiled, and Eli found he felt just the slightest bit better about the whole thing. He probably would have felt better if he'd not been so painfully aware of how utterly screwed they were. Still, Eli would take whatever small victories he could take.
He just hoped it wouldn't be the last.
# # #
Hello everyone! Hope you all like this chapter I definitely didn't almost forget to post today because I've lost all concept of time in this hellish year. :'D
But hey, isn't Adria fun? And I promise I'm not being evil about her, I just find it fun to write her. She's so delightfully vicious, I appreciate that. Anyway, next chapter will be up on Friday 20th and then I will probably give you all one more update and then hibernate for the winter, I mean, take a break during December/January. But, I'll still probably post some fun prompts during that time!
Which reminds me, if you all have any holiday prompts, go ahead and drop them in the Vigilante Prompt book, and also check out the Halloween prompt from this year if you haven't! Other than that, hope you all are doing great and stay safe! (ㆁᴗㆁ✿)