The Devil on Our Backs*Matt Murdock*Daredevil x The Flash* Damned*

11) The puzzle pieces

The whole Team Flash was incredibly busy – they had several databases being searched at one time, looking for any thugs related to Fisk based on the clues they had found in his mind, Barry was bringing people in and out as if it was nothing, Cisco was erasing memories as if it was a second nature to him, Harry apparently couldn't resist watching them work like a control freak and Caitlin was watching over all of them, making sure they didn't pass out. Which was a valid worry, given just how much calories Barry was burning with all the running and heavy lifting (Matt had no clue how he was able to carry a man like Fisk himself) and Cisco's mental exhaustion was getting the best of him; still, they kept working relentlessly.

Matt was still out of the loop though, not participating for obvious reasons of wanting to murder all of Fisk's men. He tried a different strategy this time around; he busied himself with his phone. The amount of missed calls and texts was impressive to say at least. Matt had no intention to call every single of the people though – he had no energy for that.

He sent a text to everyone who cared – Karen and Foggy, Claire, Trish and Jessica, Terri and Nina... as well as to Vera's brother. He hoped it would buy him some time to make a few calls, because there were people on that list that would not be satisfied with a simple text.

He started with Terri.

"What the fuck Murdock?!" she hissed to the phone instead of a greeting. She sounded pissed and desperate, causing Matt's gut twist in guilt. As in more guilt than he had felt until that moment.

Matt massaged the bridge of his nose before answering.

"Hey, Terri-"

"You can't just call me, asking about seeing anything about Vera and hang up when I say no!! I knew something was wrong when she didn't show up at work and now there are news about Fisk breaking from prison, his re-arrest in a warehouse where there was a puddle of blood, but no injured person and—and-" she sobbed, making Matt wince in sympathy. "I didn't see anything, Matt. Why didn't I see anything? It's her, isn't it? He took her and-"

Despite being at the bottom of a pit at the moment, something in Matt quirked. He felt a sudden urge to comfort her despite needing a soothing care by himself. He blamed Vera for that; he knew what she would want to do if-- if she was conscious. Matt ignored the twist which the reminder gave his stomach, his hand absently running through her hair. Terri had no reason to feel guilty.

Also, clearly she hadn't read his text yet, because otherwise she would know it was indeed Vera the media were talking about.

"Terri, calm down. It's okay. You're not... you're not able to tell your powers to work on command. It's not... it's not your fault."

He wasn't even lying. No matter how frustrated he was that the poor woman didn't see Vera's kidnapping, he couldn't even be mad at her. There were several people to blame, Fisk at the top, sharing the place with Matt, but Terri... Terri wasn't on the list.

The barista sniffled into the phone, her voice still shaking.

"Vera? How-- how is she? Is she gonna be okay? Did he--- what did he do? What did that bastard do to my best friend?"

'She's barely making a sound when the blade cuts through her skin and flesh too. All of this... it got me wonder, what would change if she wasn't able to speak. Tell me, how does a blind man communicate with a mute person?'

'Maybe she will stay by your side to suffer silently...'

'Perhaps if she was paralyzed, unable to move from her neck down, unable to speak... a little spine injury in the right place, a little clot in her brain maybe. We humans are so fragile, aren't we?'