"Daredevil?"
Matt's sensitive hearing caught the word, and his expression changed instantly.
"How did he know?"
In that moment, Matt felt as if he had walked straight into a carefully laid trap. He wondered if John had been waiting for him at the gates of Hell and Heaven on purpose. Who was this man, and when had he been exposed? What was the purpose of getting close to him? What seemed like a coincidence now felt premeditated.
After John's words, the bodyguard at the door gave John a long, searching look, then turned, opened the door, and walked inside.
John glanced back at Matt, a little surprised to see the lawyer so troubled.
What was he confused about?
John had no idea that a single sentence had sent Matt into a spiral of suspicion.
Night Stalker was John's nickname back at school. To this day, Slytherin students at Hogwarts still whisper the legend that the Night Devil would eat any little wizard wandering after curfew. For John, it was just a throwaway line to help him get inside and cast a spell. Even though he knew a bit about Marvel, he was not popular enough to remember every detail.
Matt, however, was still caught up in his own worries about secret plots, even as the bodyguard returned and said, "You can come in."
John said to Matt, "See? That was easy."
Matt tightened his grip on his guide stick and forced a smile. "Of course." He was ready for a fight.
John nodded and walked inside. He knew Legilimency, but it required eye contact, and you could not make eye contact with a blind man. All he could sense from Matt was a vague unease, which he assumed was just nerves about meeting Simon.
They followed the bodyguard through a corridor. The first people they encountered were Simon's men, who watched them in silence, their presence heavy and oppressive. John remained impassive. Matt, blind, moved forward with quiet confidence.
At the end of the hall, another door opened, revealing a lavish office. Simon, the owner, sat in a comfortable chair, wearing a floral shirt and smoking a cigar. He looked to be in his forties, with a black beard and a sneer on his lips. His eyes flickered between the two visitors, mostly ignoring Matt and focusing on John.
"Night Devil?" Simon asked, his tone mocking.
John ignored the tension in the room and walked up to Simon, looking him in the eye. "I have a question for you. Why did you blow up my car?"
Simon scoffed, "Blow up your car? Who do you think you are, that I would bother with you?"
He did not know John's identity, but the word "Daredevil" had been enough to let them in.
"Oh?" John feigned confusion. "That's not what the fried chicken guy said."
At that, Simon's expression changed, and he stared at John. "Who are you?"
"You do not even know the person you tried to kill?" John shook his head, his eyes shifting to vertical pupils as his voice deepened. "My name is John Wick."
"Wick?" Simon's face went pale as he heard the name.
He reached for a drawer, but a pencil suddenly pierced the back of his hand.
John said calmly, "You are a little naughty, and I do not like that."
"Now, tell me, who paid you one hundred million?" John's shadow loomed over Simon, those vertical pupils filling him with terror.
Cold sweat broke out on Simon's brow. He tried to speak, but fear locked his jaw, and even his fingers would not move.
Finally, Simon managed to stammer, "The Ten Rings Gang!"
The fear faded as quickly as it had come, and Simon slumped in his chair, gasping for breath.
John left the pencil in place, straightened his sleeves, and smiled. "Now, where are those people?"
"I do not know!" Simon blurted.
A second pencil plunged into his other hand. John slowly took a pen from the holder on the table.
"You have one more chance," John said, his casual manner making Simon tremble even more.
With two holes in his hands and a pen cap clicking open, Simon's fear reached its peak. He did not know why he was so afraid, but he was sure the pen would end up in him just like the pencils.
Driven by desperation, Simon dipped the pen in his own blood and wrote an address on the back of a piece of paper.
"Thank you for your cooperation," John said, capping the pen and returning it to its holder.
He stepped aside and gestured to Matt. "It is your turn."
"What?" Matt was taken aback. He had been ready for a fight, but John's swift and decisive actions had left him with nothing to do.
John said meaningfully, "Are you not worried about a case, Mr. Lawyer? Bliss Certificates."
Matt understood immediately. He took a deep breath, the hero in the night, and realized this was the first time he had seen such evidence so easily handed over.
John gave a friendly warning. "Try not to make too much noise. People will come."
"No, no!" Simon shook his head wildly. He could not understand why the bodyguards had let these two in. He had completely forgotten his original plan to meet Daredevil. He did not realize that Daredevil and the Night Devil were not the same person.
Matt paused. He was not the sort of hero who killed indiscriminately.
"Let us go," Matt said.
"Maybe if you hurry, you can save one, or maybe a dozen girls," John said, fixing Matt with a steady gaze. "Do not let your kindness slow you down."
Matt turned his head in John's direction and asked, "What about you? Why do you not do this yourself?"
John smiled. "Because I prefer to see other people's choices."
It was a bit of dark humor. Once, someone had tried to force John to make a choice, and he had simply thrown that person into a cage.
"Don't kill me; I can pay a lot of money," Simon begged, his right foot inching toward a button under the table. His hands were pinned, but he still managed to press the button.
The soft click was almost inaudible, but both John and Matt noticed.
Simon's face twisted into a sneer. "You two are dead men!"
The door burst open and bullets flew in.
Matt and John dove behind the table without hesitation. The gunmen outside finally realized their boss was in danger.
John grabbed two pencils from the table.
Simon tried to escape, but John grabbed his ankle and yanked him back. With one hand, he slammed Simon's head into the floor. Simon died instantly from the blow.
John wiped the pencils on Simon's shirt and said casually, "Alright, Mr. Lawyer, maybe I really do need you for a lawsuit."
By now, Matt knew John had figured out his identity. There was no point in hiding anymore.
The sound of bullets ricocheting off the walls painted a vivid picture in Matt's mind. When the shooting paused, he sprang into action. His guide stick transformed into a whip, smashing guns and breaking bones with each strike.
In the narrow corridor, the blind man moved like a tiger among sheep, his fighting skills quickly overwhelming Simon's men.
John slipped his wand away and shrugged. "This lawyer is quite brave."
As they moved outside, Matt leaped up, kicked off a wall, and punched another attacker. He was breathing heavily. Even with his extraordinary senses, he was still only human.
John said with exaggerated cheer, "It seems lawyers are under a lot of pressure these days."
"Stop pretending!" Matt snapped, hearing more footsteps. His tone was serious now. "You know who I am!"
"Who are you?"
"Daredevil!" Matt gripped his guide stick tightly.
John paused, then said, "Would you feel better if I told you I was talking about the Night Stalker?"
"It is all the same!" Matt was angry. Now his identity as Daredevil was likely exposed, and even Foggy could be implicated.
He pointed to his ear. "I heard everything. Since you showed up at Hell and Heaven, you have been approaching me and using me!"
John thought about it. "Well, Daredevil was not in the Avengers, so I did not recognize you."
"Alright, what if I told you Night Stalker was just my nickname in school?" John said, looking at Matt with sympathy.
"Your… nickname?" Matt listened closely for a lie, but John's heartbeat gave nothing away. Still, he sensed something different in John's tone.
"Then why did you say Night Devil?" Matt pressed.
"We needed an excuse to get in," John replied matter-of-factly. "It did not work as well as I hoped."
Matt fell silent. If this was all a misunderstanding, then he had just exposed himself for nothing.
At that moment, more footsteps approached from the other side of the door. Simon's men were coming.