Arson

Chapter Nineteen

Alexandria's P.O.V

Daredevil and I sat on the side of the road, looking down the dirt path.

"When he said 'wait at the rendezvous point', I figured it'd be somewhere less...barren." I scanned the empty street, noting the only objects in the vicinity. Which, were lamps and...trees. Trees everywhere.

"So did I."

"Well, while we're sitting here," I shuffled closer to him, my arm now pressed into his. "How's Foggy?"

"Oh, Foggy's good! Uh, he's still super mad about me being Daredevil, but otherwise, we're good....I think."

"Avocados at law." My tease made his lips contort into a smile, but it was...pained? Did I strike a raw nerve?

"Yeah, he and I split up. During the Castle V The People case, I was running night ops with Elektra. Honestly, I probably should've cared more about the client...even if it was Frank," His head tilted towards me, the Daredevil's full attention now given away. "So, we decided he was better at being the lawyer, and I was better at being the hero."

"Oh, Matt...I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was all my fault."

"Well, you'll be partners again."

"I have to hold out hope."

My arms wrapped around his burly one, he seemed like he needed a hug. He leaned his head onto mine, and let out a deep sigh.

"You know, I have the strangest feeling that Frank's gonna see this and kill me-"

"Yeah, definitely."

We both decided, for the collective good, to let go of each other.

"Man, all of that pent up rage and muscle hurling towards me. Not what I expected my evening to be like."

"Frank's very protective of me."

"No brainer. My ribs still hurt from him ramming me!" He pouted.

"Baby." I taunted. His glare was playful, followed by a rough bump by his elbow.

"Well," Daredevil looked towards the road. Or, faced it...he couldn't see it. "How long does it take for a homicidal veteran to get the information he wants? My guess, it doesn't take a very long time..."

"You're right, we've been here for a couple of hours...do you think something went wrong?"

"Knowing that man," His tone became cold. "Everything went wrong."

"You hate each other, I get it, but maybe you should have little more faith in him. He's kept me safe and alive for awhile, now."

"I don't hate him. Hate's a strong word. I just dislike him very much. But Frank? Oh yeah, he totally hates me."

"Definitely."

____________________________________

Another hour passed.

Matt yawned, causing me to do the same.

The streetlamps were now our only source of light, or my only source. Daredevil's world of fire probably remained the same.

The crickets chirped, annoying the ever living crap out of me.

"WE'VE BEEN SITTING HERE, FOR TWO HOURS!"

"Captain Obvious." Matt stood up, contorting his body to let his stiff bones pop and reset.

"Something's wrong, I can feel it in my gut...do you think he's hurt...?"

"Probably."

"MATT-"

"Hey, you asked for me to tell you what I thought! Also, don't go around shouting my name."

"As long as it isn't your last name, it's fine. There are thousands of Matt's and Matthew's in New York." I stood up, and began pacing back and forth.

Where was he?

"Micro should've contacted me..." The cracks in my voice were subtle, but noticeable to a trained ear.

My heart throbbed, I could feel it in my throat.

Daredevil gave me a peculiar look, one I've never seen before.

"Hmm...that was unexpected." He said more to himself than to me.

"What?"

"You're heartbeat. It quickened...were you thinking about Castle?"

Looking down the empty road, the expression on my face became devoid of life.

"Always."

As he opened his mouth to say something, once again, he was interrupted. The rumble of a car's tires was on the dirt.

It had to be Castle and Lieberman.

Low and behold, the van pulled up, in all of its dark and dangerous energy.

As it slowed to a stop, the window rolled down.

I leaned onto the door, my glare resting on his. Or...his resting face.

He had a very mean and serious resting face. Most of the time, I mistook it for a hostile mood towards me, but it was most likely because he was tired.

"You kept us waiting."

"Sorry, Darlin', Bennett wasn't leavin' his foxhole."

As I studied him, I noticed he was holding his arm. The scarlet seeped through his fingers.

"You're hurt..."

"Just a graze from a bullet. I ain't bleedin' out or anythin', just in a little pain. Besides," This time, it was a serious glare towards Matt. His jaw seized up, chest puffed out a little...I paid more attention to that than anything else. "You had company."

Letting Matt and Frank silently challenge each other, I looked passed Castle and to Micro.

"Did you find out who Agent Orange is?"

"We'll know in a few hours. Bennett just arrived at a safe house, so we better get going." He elbowed Frank in the uninjured arm, snapping him out of his territorial behavior.

When I said Frank was protective of me, I wasn't joking. It was like messing with a Rottweiler...eventually, mess with them enough, you get bit.

I just prayed that Daredevil knew where that line was.

"Hop in, you two. The ride's not too far away, and this can be all over with a single bullet."

Those words cut into Matt, and Castle fully knew it did.

"I'm telling you, Frank. One bullet. One death. That's it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know your rules. If it'll make you feel better, I didn't kill anyone on that little excursion. Just shot one guy in the arm." He smirked, but I think he was...proud of himself that he didn't have to kill someone.

With Daredevil's built in lie detector, he was able to believe Frank more easily.

"You gettin' in or what...?" Castle snarled.

"Right behind you, milady." Daredevil opened the door for me, letting me inside first.

I chuckled, but it died down once I saw Frank's subtle shift in his seat. He didn't like Daredevil being so corgule or so close to me.

Oh well, he was going to have to deal with it for a few more hours...because we were already driving off.