Summary:Felicia Hardy hires Matt Murdock as a lawyer, paying him quite a bit of money in advance. They both discuss the terms of the contract and both sign. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The large black SUV rolled to a stop in front of the office building in Hell's Kitchen. Limos wre SO last century.
The driver got out and opened the door for the tall leggy lady in the dark grey business dress ( https://www.dhresource.com/0x0s/f2-albu-g9-M00-B6-14-rBVaVVxnw3CAKdcWAARSloKDSmI541.jpg/spring-autumn-strip-casual-business-workwear.jpg ) and asked, "Shall I wait here?"
"No, Patrick, you go and grab something to eat. This shouldn't take too long."
Patrick nods, then gets back in the SUV and drives off.
Felicia Hardy looked down to the briefcase, then to the door. She had to take care of all the necessary things, and this is one of them. She looked around, then spotted a rough-looking pair about 50 feet away. Something to note for coming out again.
She stepped inside…
The office Matt found himself is not large, it is not even crowded, he's practically working by himself right now at the fifth floor of an average looking building in the heart of Hell's kitchen. It is, usually, the place people come to if they know it is there, the name of Matthew Murdock written in a plaque outside of the sturdy door protecting his office, as well as his profession as a lawyer.
The noticeable absence of any employees, as well as the generally small size of the place, would suggest that the lawyer is probably there as a temporary sistemation more than a stable one.
Felicia smiled as she saw the plaque. Nothing complicated or pretentious. She'd met her share of lawyers and the plaque was usually the first sign of their behavior.
She had checked him out herself. Local boy, terrible accident, which didn't slow him down much. Lawyering is hard enough when you've got working eyes. She liked scrappers. Scrappers will pull out all the stops.
She rapped lightly on the door, then opened it.
"it's open…" Matt's calm voice announces from inside the office as he hears someone knocking at the door, not that he didn't hear the woman walking there, or even getting out of the car, the wonders of having developed hearing…
The office itself is a rectangular room, with the door located in one of the two shorter sides of the room, opposite a window that looks on the street outside. The furniture is not overabundant, with an oakwood desk in the center of the room, a couple of chairs in front of it and another behind it, a couple of small cabinets on the sides and a sofa just next the door. No plants or similar decoration, save for a couple of paintings hanging from the walls depicting a beach and the sea, with a sailboat seen in the distance anda lightouse, seen from its bottom.
The particularity of the room itself is that everything seems to be perfectly clean. Not a single spec of dust can be seen on the various surfaces, no flying piece of paper, even the air smells just fresh and clean. Sitting behind the desk, then, Matt Murdock himself is quietly waiting for the person to make her entrance, dressed in a simple but elegant grey suit, with no tie.
A clean room. She liked the fastidious. This decision was looking better and better all the time.
Felicia stepped in, closing the door behind her (and, out of habit, engaging the bolt lock). "Hello…Mr. Murdock, is it? My name is Felicia Hardy, and I an new in the city. So, I will need a good lawyer to put on retainer, and a few good friends gave me your name."
She stops in front of one of the chairs and sits, crossing her legs at the knee.
Matt Murdock lets the woman settle on the chair, using that time to discretely study every aspect of her. Her scent, her voice, the temperature of her body, the heartrate, breathing pattern, everything can be studied about a person. And the best part? Since he's not looking his exam could very well pass unobserved!
"greetings, miss Hardy." Matt replies with a smile, standing from his chair to offer the woman a hand to shake "well, I am glad people still remember about me! What can I do for you?"
Miss Hardy is the picture of health…exceptional health, even. Toned without being muscled, angled without being hard. The handshake is firm, and the slight passing of her fingertips over his palm reveals her personality as an extrovert…as well as being a bit of a flirt.
"As someone working in this city, I prefer to cover all the bases. Which means I need to have a lawyer put on retainer." She sits again. "How much do you charge an hour?"
Matt Murdock uses the handshake as an even better way to get to know the woman in front of him, and of course his handshake too is firm, his hand being cured but, of course, not the hand of someone who wields just a pen and paper all day, for the careful observer. Sitting back down ain a comfortable but not inelegant way, Matt nods at Felicia's words, indicating his understanding. "Do you plan to need a lawyer anytime soon?" he asks, only half jokingly.
"That, usually, is accorded with the client depending on his or her resources, and how much value he or she places on my services. So, ultimately, I'll say the price will be set by you, based on how satisfied you'll be and what you feel your hour was worth" he explains serenely, maybe half of the reason his bank account is empty or almost? Or that generally his clients don't have a cent…
Ah, the game begins.
"Isn't it the way that few people realize they need a lawyer…until they need one?" She chuckles. "All right. I figure I need a lawyer who'll fight for me like he's being paid $1,000/hour. If I think you are giving me the runaround, I'll cap it at $200. But if you go to the mattresses for me, I'll sign off on $1,000/hour. Sound fair?"
Matt Murdock listens to the woman, and actually no expression shows on his face as he hears the numbers. "I usually base my effort on the worthyness of the cause and of who I work for, more than the pay…" he comments "but I suppose that is fair, if you are ready to pay that much I'll surely not complain!" he chuckles briefly now, placing both hands on the desk in front of him, palm downwards.
"eh well, some people know more than others that they will need lawyers, in this city…"
Felicia smiles. She puts her briefcase on the other chair, then opens it. She opens an envelope and takes out a certified check, then ponders and takes out another one. "I am choosing to trust you will hold to this agreement. But I recorded it anyway, and I'll email you a copy of the conversation." She places two certified checks drawn on a JPMorgan Chase account on the desk, pushing them towards Matt.
Each check is made out for $50,000.
Matt Murdock nods in understanding when hearing his words have been recorded, but doesn't comment on that, just aknowledging it and pulling out a visit card to slide on the desk. On it, his phone number, as well as the email address are easily findable, just to shorten the researches right? His hand then reaches for the checks, his fingers passing on them and reading effortlessly the content, but for the sake of appearances he can't surely just admit he can read by touch alone. So the next thing he'll do is pulling out his phone "if you will excuse me, miss Hardy, reading is a bit difficult now aday" he chuckles, snapping a photo of one of the checks. A soft voice, then, announces the content, coming from the phone itself, that then Matt will pocket again. "well that is, a lot of hours, it seems…"
Felicia chuckles. "I hope not to spend a dime other than for this initial consult, but hope for the best, prepare for the worst, yes?"
The best for her, the worse for her marks, but shall we split hairs? Surely not.
"Well, we've introduced ourselves, stipulated terms and incentives, and I've given you a retainer of $100,000. I assume there will be documents to sign?"
Matt Murdock leaves the checks exactly where they are, for now, doesn't look like he'd snatch money at the first occasion! "there are documents to sign, yes…" he opens a drawer, pulling out a precompiled serie of documents as well as a working, hopefully working, pen. Placing them on the desk in front of him he adds "I'd, however, like to know something about the person that just gave me 100000 dollars without blinking once, before taking said dollars or having that person sign…" he leans a bit backwards on his chair "for once, people this resourceful, rarely find lawyers such as, well, me…"
Felicia chuckles again. "Starting to feel like some detective out of a Raymond Chandler or Mickey Spillane novel, waiting for me to ask about a lost sister or for help in retrieving the Maltese Falcon?"
She stands up. She talks and walks, but it is more of a casual stroll than a pace.
"I tend to get a feel for people, it's something of a gift. I feel I am fairly lucky, in that regard. I don't want some fat-cat lawyer that is more of a manager than a lawyer, someone who acts like Henry II and dispatches lawyers like trained attack dogs." She stops in front of his desk, placing perfectly-manicured palm on the edge of the desk. "I want a trench fighter. I want an Army surgeon skilled in meatball surgery. I want someone willing to try anything. Have I found that lawyer?"
Matt Murdock follows Felicia's movements by listening and feeling her presence, but doesn't move his head, remaining almost perfectly still and listening to her words, even chuckling a bit at the fat cat lawyer description. "if you've unjustly accused of something, and law allows me to protect you, then I will do whatever I can to ensure it will be done as efficently as possible… If, you happen to murder someone and want me to defend you afterwards, I think I'll have to give your checks back." he calmly explains, offering a smile "I'm not saying you'll kill someone, of course, that was just used as an easily understandable example. I am not, lets say, a lawyer guided by monetary gain, I don't have even a secretary bringing me coffee, that means mainly I have morals and I'll stand by them. If you can accept it, then yes, you've found a lawyer willing to fight and even perform surgery when needed"
Felicia chuckles. "I'd never kill another person, Mr. Esquire. So don't worry about that. I just need someone to handle things if I am unfairly accused."
Or fairly accused, but let's not split those hairs, either.
She stands straight again, nodding slightly. a wry smile on her face. "All right, then."
Matt Murdock nods again at the woman, offering a smile in her direction, and gesturing towards the documents on the desk. "there are the things to sign, detailing pretty much all we said in a legally acceptable way that, surely, will be complemented by your records of the conversation." he explains, clicking the pen open and writing a few informations on the first page, probably going by memory for the position of the blank fields? "the pen should be working…" he says, dropping it so that Felicia could sign
Felicia takes a pen from the briefcase, a squat black pen with bronze fittings. "I'll use mine."
As she looks over the papers, which takes only a minute, it gives Matt time to "see" the word VISCONTI on the bronze clip of the pen, and HOMO SAPIENS on the band around the pen, just under where the cap and pen meet.
She nods, then signs on the requisite dotted lines. She passes the papers to Matt, then caps the pen. She looks at it for a moment, then slide the $700 pen over to rest on top of the papers. She closes the briefcase and stands. "Glad we could do business. Keep the pen, a good lawyer should have a good pen."
Matt Murdock of course doesn't see the writing on the pen, he's blind after all, but will probably notice them when taking it to finish signing the papers, that will then be placed again in a drawer. "I will send you a copy of all these documents, miss Hardy." he comments, smiling again "and thanks to the pen, that's worth almost a hour of my services, I'd say…"
Felicia nodded, then placed a card with her name and address, a penthouse in downtown Manhattan. "Maybe I'll also get you a Keurig for Christmas." She winks and laughs softly.
Matt Murdock places the pnn in a secure spot of his drawer, as well as the checks now that he has signed, then stands up too, closing the drawer. "ah well, don't spoil me now or I'll just forget how it's like to be a modest person!" he chuckles, and apparently the documents are placed in perfect order, not thrown in the drawer like many people seem to do.
Felicia hmms. "Some creature comforts should be indulged in. Coffee is one of them." She extends her hand to Matt and says, "Thank you again. Here's hoping we do as little business as possible."
Matt Murdock reaches out to grab the offered hand, if it wasn't for the obvious fact that his eyes arn't working, it'd be a bit suspicious the precision of his movements. "Of course, it was a pleasure meeting you, miss Hardy. And should we ever meet again in the future, hopefully it won't be because you'll really need me to defend you from anything" he offers with a smile
No searching around, no subtle flailing. Right into her hand. Then again, she had heard of the other senses sharpening when one is lost. Good. She needed someone sharp.
"I hope so, too. I tend to be a social butterfly, and I do hope we meet in less…austere surroundings? Although I must say you do run a tight ship. I've seen some pretty slovenly digs owned by people with 20/20 vision."
Matt Murdock chuckles slightly and retracts his hand, nodding at the affirmation that maybe they'll meet in a less austere place. "well this is sort of a temporary office, and then, decoration is just an unneeded thing most of the times… I mean if someone is sitting on that chair, talking to me about an issue they have with legality, it doesn't really matter if they're surrounded by opulence or anything… Plus you get to judge me more on what I do and say, instead of how things around me look like"
Felicia nods. "Another reason why I chose you. Well, if there's no further business?"
Matt Murdock shakes his head "we're done for now, I'd say…" he admits, actually passing a hand on his desk quickly to make sure there's nothing left out, then walking to a cabinet, on top of which lies a folded white cane that he is unfolding right now "and I think I will have to do a couple of things too, right now… It was really a pleasure, miss Hardy."
Felicia chuckles. "As it was for me." She opens the door for Matt, then heads out to the street.
The two guys are there, one of them sidling up to Felicia. "Hey, honey, what's your sign?"
Then a suspiciously-sharp heel drives into the man's shoe and he stumbles back, yelling in pain while limping.
"NO PASSING ZONE," she replies frostily.
Matt Murdock walks out the door, then closes it once Felicia has passed through it and locks it, walking down the stairs preceded by his cane and then out the door, offering Felicia a last wave as Matt Murdock as he walks along the sidewalk aiming he only knows where. The brief exchange between the woman and the guys outside, however, isn't at all ignored by him, maybe he'll even act on it sooner or later.
As the injured man is assisted by his friend, the black SUV pulls up and the driver gets out to open the door for Felicia. "Have a good day, Esquire," she says as she gets in, and then the driver closes the door. Matt can tell the man is carrying a six-shot Smith and Wesson revolver, the police model, but makes no show of it.
He gets in the SUV and it pulls away a few moments later.