78/The Curious Case of Dan Hastings

The Curious Case of Dan Hastings
Date of Scene:	23 February 2020
Location:	Nelson and Murdock
Synopsis:	Dan Hastings pays a call on Matt Murdock to help out a certain Multiple Man.
Cast of Characters:	Matthew Murdock, Daniel Hastings

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Matthew Murdock has posed:
The office was still a mess since the goons that had been following Elektra tossed the place looking for their documents, they didn't find anything, but they definitely left a mess. One that Matt was planning to see added to Elektra's bill.

For now though the office is limping along with half their electronics working, and Karen dilligently trying to sort through their scattered files.

Matt for his part is behind his desk, making calls to clients to let them know about the break-in and informing them that it shouldn't impact their cases and nothing was taken.

It was shaping up to be a long day.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Ding. The bell at the door announces a customer. Daniel's showered, no cologn, smells of cafeteria and fancy high tech lubricants and dirt that Matt just can't place the source of. Karen, of course, will see a fairly drab set of clothing. "Ahh.. hello?" His accent isn't English but it isn't American. Canadian maybe? "Is this the law office of Matthew Murdock?" He looks about the space with no small countenance of alarm at the disarray. "I.. can come back if now is a bad time."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
The strawberry blonde in the sweater and pencil skirt sorting through a literal mess of files looks up from her work to grin widely, "Nelson and Murdock," she corects gently as she stands. "And no, not at all, one moment, let me get Mr. Murdock for you," she turns towards one of the offices calling: "Matt."

"Thank you for understanding, Mrs. Gonzales," Matt says into the phone before smiling. "Yes, I hope Daredevil gets them too," he says with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Have a great day, and we'll see you at your appointment."

He hangs up. "I heard," he says. "Please show them in," he calls to Karen, who grins and gestures towards Matt's office, "Right this way."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"Nelson and Murdock." Daniel replies as if firming the memory in his brain as he approaches the attorney and follows it with a glance to the fellow. There was something off about him but he wasn't sure what. Of course, he wasn't expecting Murdock to be blind either, not that he'd noticed yet. "Thank you, miss." He nods to the secretary and is led into the office where he looks for and promptly sits in a chair.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
The first thing Daniel might notice about Matt is he's blind. There's no tell-tale dog, but there's a cane in evidence and he's wearing dark tinted red shades over his eyes. There are other clues too, bits of paper with braile on it, some sort of strange device hooked to his computer... Anyhow, Matt smiles in greeting, "Welcome to Nelson and Murdock, Mr..." he prompts for a name. "Do you mind if my assistant sits in with us? It usually helps me manage things a little more smoothly."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"Not at all." By the time Daniel's had a chance to look around, he's figured it out and gives Karen a glance. Still, the fellow passed the barr right? "Ahem. So. First.. this isn't about me. It's a fellow by the name of Jamie Madrox who is being detained at the precinct building within mutant town." The last two words are said with no small amount of rancor. He hates the term. "A number of individuals appeared through a rift in space time and attempted to abduct him. I watched the whole thing happen. Some powered people stopped it. Then the cops came over, grabbed up this Madrox fellow, and carted him off to jail before telling this one hero fellow that he was being charged with inciting a riot."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Karen gives a little nod, as if to say, 'don't worry, he's good', Matt of course makes no reaction at all to the little exchange.

When Dan tells his tale, Matt listens quietly. "That's quite the story... I'm sorry I didn't get your name?" he says prompting for Dan's name again. "But what you're saying then is that people came from a portal and attacked your friend Mr. Madrox and when it was all said and done the police took Mr. Madrox to the precinct?" as he asks his question Matt center's his focus on Dan's heart and the other signs a person gives when they're lying. People coming out of portals was a posibility these days, but it was a time saver to weed out the liars and the crazies, but Matt's guess was that Dan was neither of those things.

Carrying on he asks, "Now this other hero friend you mentioned, did he witness the whole thing as well?"

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"Ahh, apologies. Daniel Hastings." A beat. "Former SHIELD agent." That ought to at least lend a 'little' credibility. "And Mister Madrox isn't a friend. He's just.. someone to whom an injustice has been done." There's a small sigh that escapes him. "There were a number of them there. A flaming lass that.. did some injury to the assailants. And.. the floating sort of blurry fellow.. I think he called himself Journey." Definitely called himself Journey. "The police saw the portals. Came out when the raucous started. Even saw the flying men shooting down at the civilian population. Me."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt's expression seems to be professionally unreadable even at the mention of SHIELD but Karen takes in a bit of breath in surprise. Though it's the news that Madrox isn't a friend but just a victim, /that/, gets Matt's attention," especially when there's no hint of a lie to it.

His expression softens and he leans forward. "Don't suppose you know how to contact them?" Matt asks before elaborating. "From what you describe Mr. Hastings, this case is going to come down to witnesses and any video we can find, so anything you can provide that'll help us find either will be a step in the right direction."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Daniel Hastings takes a deep breath. "That.. is going to be hard, I think. The ones that didn't return through the hole in the sky were taken to Mount Sinai hospital.. and chatter is.. back to SHIELD. Madrox.. well.. still in jail? I'm sure there were other people on the streets and, of course, I'm willing to testify." He says as if that means something. "There's always cameras outside of a police station aren't there?"

Matthew Murdock has posed:
That didn't sound promising. "Alright then, we'll get your statement today, then my partner and I will talk to the rest of the people who saw what happened and request the video from the police right away..." Matt says clearly more than ready to take the case, so much so he was getting ahead of himself. "But before all that we'll need Mr. Madrox's okay to defend him, think that's likely?"

Daniel Hastings has posed:
That.. hmm.. Daniel hadn't thought about that hitch. "I.. would have no idea, Mister Murdock. I truly don't. I don't even know if he's made bail." Awkward. He lifted a hand and scratched the back of his neck. "And it seemed like the fellow had something of a prior record. Known to the police. So he's likely not going to want to be found." He takes a deep breath then exhales. "I.. will see what I can do. I did drop this in your lap half-baked after all. I should be the one to finish the cake, hmm?"

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Considering Dan's assessment he nods, "He might have made bail but if he's got priors or was on parole he might have a hold on him, less good for him but makes him a lot easier to find," he says a touch wrly. "So if you find him, let him know I'm willing to defend him, but time's important here Mr. Hastings, like I said, longer we wait in requesting the tapes the more likely they are to get lost to save the police a black eye for a wrongful arrest."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Daniel Hastings nods to Matt and smiles, glancing towards Karen hopefully. "Thank you, Mister Murdock. It's a relief to know there's blokes like you still out there. I know I'm not from America but it just chaffes my.." A glance to Karen. "It's rather upsetting to see this sort of abuse when a fellow was clearly attacked. Though.. they did say something about a serum and this Madrox fellow apparently being the end of civilization as we know it." A beat, a shrug. "Now /that/ was what set off the flame wielding woman. She was quite offended by it."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"Thanks," Matt says of the compliment and adds, "And it's good to see people caring about injustice when it happens to others instead of just themselves. Trust me that's rare."

When Dan holds back from swearing, Matt smiles, "She's heard worse."

"Said worse too," Karen adds with a grin.

The last bit brings a scowl to Matt's face, "Not the first time mutant hating cops have ended up working the beat in Bushwick, the part of Brooklyn that held the so-called 'Mutant Town'," he says before he frowns in thought and says, "If Mr. Madrox is willing to work with us, we'll get the officers names as well and see if they've been involved in any other overreaches like that. It could help Mr. Madrox's case even further if we can show the arrest was part of a pattern of abuse."

"Anyhow, if you can find Mr. Madrox, we'll be happy to meet with him and give him our pitch for his defense, given the circumstances, I'd say even if he doesn't hire us, he should definitely get himself a lawyer."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"Oh!" That does remind him and Daniel takes a small piece of paper out of his pocket, passing it to Karen because.. well.. blind man. "That's the name of the officer who took him in. Saw his name tag and badge number. I made sure to look for it before he got inside." He taps his temples. "I have better than twenty twenty." Cue wink at Karen. "I hope that helps. I wish I had more of them but that was the one who named the charge and took Madrox inside." He seems more energized now that he was able to provide /some/ information. "And I'll start looking for Mister Madrox straight away. Thank you, sir."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"He wrote the info on a slip of paper, I'll add it to the notes," Karen supplies Matt about Dan's actions and Matt nods, "Understood, that'll be a big help when the ball gets rolling," he says easily as he stands. "In the meantime, take my card," he hands Dan two, each with his information on it in print and braille. "And one for Mr. Madrox, either of you can call me day or night."

Once the cards are taken Matt extends a hand. "Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Hastings," he says. "Whatever happens with Mr. Madrox's case, you did the right thing."