MASK OR MENACE IC CONTACT

[selfequipped]

"Hey, it's Kate. Leave a message."

Comments

5/9, evening

[notdaredevil]

So how downhill has everything gone in my absence?

[selfequipped]

Allison left, you've lost ... a lot of cases.

But the office is delightfully purple. That's an uphill part of it all.

[notdaredevil]

[ Shit. There's a pause, and then a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. ]

I was hoping you weren't going to say that.

[selfequipped]

Purple is great! It's soothing. I read a book on it.

[No, she hasn't. She's lying. Sorry, Matt.]

You want the rest of the head's up? And you've found Lil, right? She couldn't actually finish the "Matt's gone" call, so you better have called her or found her before you called me.

[notdaredevil]

I feel only vaguely insulted that you thought it was possible I would go anywhere but straight to her first.

[ Especially after all the frantic voicemails of her breaking down that she'd left him. And in a way, Matt has more faith that the other people in his life aren't dependent on him. Kate doesn't need him to prop her up in that way. ]

She's in bad shape. [ Quietly. One more pound of guilt on the pile. ] Since I assume you put my appointment book in the shredder by this point, Monday's open at the office, right?

[selfequipped]

Men are stupid, Matt. You're a man.

[It's a point of fact.]

And Monday is definitely open. Though we might need to discuss our lease, as we're now paying month to month. [Which means, of course, that the rent got jacked up.

Yay.]

[notdaredevil]

Much offense taken.

[ He's not that stupid. Not stupid enough to ignore the immediate problem at home. ]

I know. That was the best I could negotiate, in event of...sudden long-term but not permanent disappearance. [ Another bullet point on the "reasons Matt Murdock needs Foggy Nelson" list. ] We'll talk about it. I have an idea.

[selfequipped]

If it's an idea that gets us more business, I'm all ears. I'll prepare you a report, one that suits both of your lifestyles. We can go over it when you get in. [That's her subtle way of saying "to help you Daredevil, too" but you know.

Subtle.

She's still surprised he's keeping it a secret.]

[notdaredevil]

[ It's not a secret. It's a non-topic. Ignoring the issue by never discussing or acknowledging it. ]

Since I've poisoned the well of prospective referrals by disappearing, don't feel you have to hold back on considering the drastic. We'll talk about it Monday.

[selfequipped]

Great.

And tell Lil I have every intention of super gluing you to this world if she tries to break up with you over being ported out by an asshole Fate.

[notdaredevil]

Wait. Has she been talking about that for a whole month?

[ She already left him a voicemail with an anguished threat, but he'd never taken it that seriously. ]

[selfequipped]

We only spoke once, but she was really, really not okay.

And I'd probably come to that myself.

[notdaredevil]

[ As though he needed any more fuel on that guilt fire. And he'll feel guilty that he feels some shred of happiness that she'd held out for him, too. ]

I can't really blame her. Most people don't come back, when it's been a month.

[selfequipped]

No, they don't.

But it happens. It did happen here. You're here.

[Kate can actually sense that he feels like crap about it, so ... better not to dwell on bad things.]

[notdaredevil]

And going away for awhile has given me some new ideas.

[ Partially inspired by the "let it all hang out there" approach from San Francisco. ]

[selfequipped]

Well, we'll go over them on Monday. [Kate is actually a little concerned about what ideas Matt Murdock may have come up with.

He's Matt Murdock, after all.]