Chapter 020

"What?" 

It took some seconds for Alex to take in the words that he had just heard. He looked around the coffee shop to see if someone was looking at them or not, then pushed his head closer to Markus.

"Your brother is charged for murder?" He said in a hushed tone.

"Yeah well." Markus's face tightened. Then, he swallowed before continuing, "Yeah, just a day ago. He was arrested by the police for a murder. My mom's a mess after knowing about it and I didn't know what to do."

"Who's the victim?" Alex asked with a hint of curiosity.

"A woman. I don't really know. The police didn't let us meet him."

Each word Markus said made Alex more curious about the murder. He wasn't a fan of them but his intuition was telling him this was not just a simple murder.

There was definitely something more going on. Something sinister.

After all, it was New York. Things were never simple here. At least not in the universe filled with superheroes.

"Why did you come to the Chikara dojo then?"

"I don't like that place but there's something peaceful about it." He said, releasing a deep sigh. "I thought I would calm myself down by practising."

Alex agreed with that.

He himself had come to the Chikara dojo to practice because it was one of the most peaceful and serene places he knew. Aside from the regular sound of trains passing by.

"Have you appointed any lawyers yet?" Alex asked. "It's better to get lawyers as soon as possible."

Markus shook his head, "My mom talked to some of them but no one is ready to take the case." 

"Why?" He asked sceptically.

"Some of the lawyers we can hire just straight out refused, making excuses. I don't know why but they seemed scared. The others, well, we can't afford them."

It made sense that Markus' family was struggling with money. Judging by the clothes he wore and the phone he used, it was an easy guess that his family wasn't doing well in finances.

But the weird thing was that some lawyers had straight up refused to take the case.

'Is it because there's too much conclusive evidence against Markus's brother? No, a lawyer will still take up the case for money.'

Alex tapped the table in annoyance as he pondered over the strange case.

Trying to get more information, he asked, "Is there anything else you know? Anything about your brother?"

Markus thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. 

"My brother, Clive, is a good guy. He worked hard through high school and college and got a job at Ally constructions." 

"Ally constructions?"

"It's a big construction company in Hell's kitchen."

Alex quickly took out his phone and started searching about it. Google was still one of the best things in the world and it only took a second for the Wikipedia article to open.

Reading through the article, Alex found that Ally constructions was just a subsidiary. More elaborately, it was the subsidiary of a subsidiary.

The main parent company was actually Fisk industries.

'Kingpin.'

He thought as he read the name of Fisk industries. Publicly the chairman of Fisk industries was Wilson Fisk but only a select few knew of his real identity.

Alex was one of them thanks to his past life knowledge.

'Like I thought, it's definitely not a simple case.'

He took another look at his phone, searching something up before looking up at Markus. If the case really involved Kingpin, then he knew someone who could solve it.

"I think I can help you out."

"How?" Markus asked, surprised by his words.

"Well, I know a couple of lawyers."

* * *

"We should have taken that case!" 

A distressed sigh oozing with frustration filled the room as Foggy Nelson looked at his partner and best friend who had just rejected a case that would have paid enough for a renovation for their office and if they could save some money, there was enough to even get a coffee machine.

"That man was clearly lying to us. And you knew it wasn't his first rodeo."

Matt Murdock shook his head as he justified his action to his partner.

"That doesn't matter, Matt. We should have gotten a lot of money." Foggy clicked his tongue. 

"I don't want to be a lawyer who just works for money. I want to take up cases that actually help people. "

"Matt, I know that. But we don't even have proper office equipment. Moreover, this place reeks of a weird smell." He countered, taking a look around the office space.

They have gotten the place for cheap but there was a lot of stuff that the place lacked. It didn't even look like a proper lawyer's workplace.

Added with the sense of justice that his blind friend had, Foggy wasn't sure whether their firm would actually be able to make a name for themselves or not.

After all, lawyers aren't in the business of justice but in the business of law.

"Do you think we did the right thing? If we had gotten the job at Landman and Jack, maybe it would have been better?"

Foggy asked, unsure of whether his actions were right or not. He had rejected a lucrative offer to start Nelson and Murdock with Matt.

Both of them wanted to help the people in Hell's kitchen. They had grown here and the place was as close to them as anyone but looking at their bills and no good cases in their hand, Foggy really doubted the decision.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure we will soon get a good enough–"

Knock! 

As Matt was speaking, there was a sudden knock on their door. Foggy looked at the door with surprised but excited eyes as a knock meant there was a new client.

"I will see who it is." 

He said, walking towards the door and opening it up.

It revealed two faces that looked too young to be in a law firm. One of them took a step ahead and opened his mouth.

"Is this Nelson and Murdock?"