self_inflictedexhile | open rp } { dc/marvel smash

[nodding, Matt steps out of the door of his office and gestures her in]

Why don't you come sit down? We can talk about it.

[It feels weird, being in a different attorney's office, but at least this practice doesn't make her skin crawl the way that Horvath's does. She makes her way inside, before moving to sit in one of the chairs across from his desk, ready to get right to the point.]

I'm sure at this point you've heard about Hope Shlottman?

[Matt trails his knuckles along the wall as he heads back into his office. when he reaches his chair, he puts his hands on the back of it, briefly, before turning it around so he can sit. he wheels back around to face her, and as she continues, nods]

The girl that supposedly murdered her parents, right?

[he uses the word supposedly intentionally. he's not sure he's sold on the fact that someone like Hope could do something like that, but he's also not sure he believes in mind control, either. still, he's willing to believe that there's something more going on here]

[She nods first before her brain registers (Oh. Blind guy), and she speaks.]

Yeah. Though supposedly isn't really the word for it. I was there. She shot them. But it wasn't her fault.

[She just wants to be upfront about the kind of uphill battle he'll be fighting here.]

[he arches his eyebrows at that]

Sounds like one of those riddles.

[one of those seemingly impossible ones, unless you can pick up on one small detail. and again, while, yes, he's aware that mind control might be that small detail, he's still not sold. maybe if she outright says it, if he can listen to her heartbeat when she does, he might buy in a little more, though, so -- consider that a prompt, Jessica]

[She purses her lips together, before swallowing.]

The man who took her, the reason why he's missing in the first place? His name is Kilgrave. And he has the ability to control people's minds.

[She'll pause to see if he'll laugh at her or throw her out.]

[Matt tips his head to one side as she starts her answer, seemingly attentive, more than, using his senses to look for the lie. he finds none; she honestly believes what she's saying is true. the possibility made probably reality makes him all at once a little sick to his stomach for any number of reasons]

Would you believe me if I said I believe you?

[Her eyebrows go up a bit at that because that might be way too easy.]

I'd ask what the catch is.

No catch. [a beat] Half the city was destroyed when aliens rained from the sky. A supposed god, a guy who's been legally dead for more than half a century, a -- [whatever the hell the Hulk is] -- and Tony Stark stopped it.

[he shrugs] More things in heaven and Earth, right?

[if he wasn't willing to go with mind control, just because he knows she's not lying, he'd be selling himself on it, now. shit happens in New York. why not mind control, too?]

[Well. That's ... more open minded than most of the people she'd met with. She'll take that as a win.]

The problem is, I don't have proof.

We can work on that.

[he pauses, reaching into one of his desk drawers] Why don't we start at the beginning? How you got involved. How Miss Shlottman did, in the first place. That kind of thing. [anything he can use, himself, or throw at Brett]

And uh -- do you mind if I record this? [he holds up the voice recorder he fished out of his desk. it'll be easier than him trying to type it all out, as she talks]

[She pauses for a moment, before glancing back over her shoulder. She doesn't want this to go into evidence, to turn herself into a victim in the eyes of everyone, but she has to start somewhere.]

This is privileged, right? Client confidentiality? Some of this stuff I'm not gonna testify to in court.

[he nods, setting the recorder on the desk without turning it on. he won't touch it until she gives him the go ahead]

No one hears this but me and my partner.

[She takes a deep breath, before nodding and settling back in the seat. This was going to be a really long conversation, and she doesn't trust Hogarth with this information, but they at least seem a little more trustworthy.

Maybe it's the fact that Matt believed her without needing her to defend it. So once he starts recording:]

First thing you should know about me is that I'm gifted to. Not with mind control, but ... I'm a lot stronger than I look. Have been since I was a teenager, and the story of that is not really something I want to get into, but it's important, because it's why Kilgrave was interested in me in the first place.

[that's worrying, all things considered. for not the first time, he's grateful that he's not on many people's radars, as far as what he can do goes]

I take it he has some kind of thing for the gifted?

Not exactly. He has a thing for me. But that's one of the first things that caught his interest.

[She should just ... tell the story.]

About two years ago, I was trying to help a guy who was getting mugged. Kilgrave happened to come upon me in the middle of the fight and he was ... suitably impressed. I didn't think anything of it at the time, just some guy talking to me, but then I started answering questions I didn't want to answer. Telling him things I didn't want to tell him. And when he asked me to have dinner with him, I went, despite the fact I didn't want to go.

After that, I basically disappeared from my friends' lives for a year while Kilgrave had me under his control.

[Matt winces, albeit minutely, at that. he can figure out where this story goes, between her having dinner with him and when he let her go or she broke free, whichever, and it doesn't thrill him. it bothers him more, in fact, than his potential stake in this, than his worry about whether or not Kilgrave has a thing for the gifted. he's going to feed this guy his teeth, if he ever finds him. for all that he's slept around since Elektra, it's always been consensual. you don't do that to a woman]

[and he would apologize to her, for what was done to her, if he felt like she'd accept it -- if he felt like it would help anything. since that doesn't seem to be the case, though, he just sits there for a moment, quietly fuming, and then blows out a breath, shifts in his seat]

[focus, Murdock]

And Hope? Why her?

[that seems -- easier than asking how she got free]

[She purses her lips for a moment.]

She ran track. Her event was the long jump. I think ... I think he was trying to replace me without actually having me. She told me that he used to make her jump as high as she could, but always told her she was never as good as me.

[makes sense, even if it doesn't thrill him]

Why have her kill her parents, though?

[She gives a small shrug.]

Because he wants to ruin people's lives? Make me suffer? Who knows.

[Matt hums. a clearer motive would be nice, but -- whatever. it's ultimately unimportant, from a legal standpoint, right now and for any number of reasons]

Okay. [a beat] Do you have anything else you wanted to add? [and another] And would it be possible to talk to Miss Shlottman?

[She pauses before shaking her head.]

That's all I know for now. And yeah, you can try and talk to her. I've been trying to get Jeri Hogarth to take the case, but she's being a bitch about it and I'm officially out of patience.

[he's heard stories about Hogarth, none of them good, and so he smiles tightly]

Well, now you don't have to worry about that.

[he'll take the case. and yes, he'd like to try and talk to Hope]

[She exhales slowly and nods. Maybe it's the fact that they took on Fisk, or maybe it's the fact that Matt believes her without her having to justify it, but she actually feels like Hope might stand a chance with this guy.

Hope is not a thing she's used to - neither the adjective, or the person.]

Thank you. I can meet you where they're holding her tomorrow?

You're welcome. [a beat] And, uh -- what time?

[not that he won't clear his schedule for this, but he doesn't want to leave Jessica waiting all day, either]

open rp } { dc/marvel smash

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