Learning to Bear It
Part 3
Gritting his teeth to keep from saying something he'd regret, Foggy walked along with them in silence for a few minutes, then thought to check his watch. "Oh, g-d, they're expecting to Daredevil to be at the office in just about an hour, and if they see me instead of him, I don't even want to think of what might happen!"
"Do they want to kidnap Daredevil, or just kill him?" his mother asked, and Foggy almost stumbled over his own feet. The thought of them assassinating Daredevil hadn't occurred to him. "Shit, what if they're setting up a sniper on a rooftop near the office right now, just waiting to take Daredevil out?"
"We could fly ahead and check," his mother offered.
"Yeah," said Foggy. "That might be best. Well, maybe just one of you."
"Too bad I wanted to be a hawk, instead of an owl," she said, "but I think I should be able to spot someone on a roof with a rifle. See you there."
She assumed her hawk shape without even bothering to check if anyone were looking, and soared into the night air. Foggy watched her disappear until his father asked, "And what happens if Daredevil doesn't show up? They torture Matt to death, and then they, what? Come after you?"
"Yeah," Foggy said. "I didn't want to tell Mom, but yeah. That's what they said."
He didn't mention the part where they'd threatened his family.
"I know you've spent years trying to deny it, but when it comes right down to it, you can be a big, strong bear," his father said, placing his hand on Foggy's shoulder.
"So I should let them kidnap me, take me back to their secret lair, then turn into a bear when they least expect it, and claw them all to ribbons?" Foggy asked.
His father was silent for a moment, and Foggy realized he was seriously considering the idea. "Dad!"
"Well, it's not the worst plan in the world," his father mused. "They definitely wouldn't see it coming."
"Because nobody expects the Spanish Bear Inquisition!" Foggy cried, but instead of laughing, his father simply said, "Yup."
"What if I kill somebody?" Foggy asked, more serious now. "I don't know if I could live with myself after that."
"Try not to," his father advised. "You're still mostly yourself when you shift, you know that. You can control your actions."
"I'm not used to being a bear! It could happen by accident!"
"Then it would be an accident, and not deliberate," his father said. "Go for their arms and legs. People can survive that … usually. And you're not premeditating murder here. You're just trying to rescue your best friend from people who are willing to torture and kill."
Caught up in the ethics of being a bear, Foggy had temporarily forgotten Matt. Now he remembered Matt's scream, and decided he'd do everything necessary to make sure that Matt never had to make a noise like that again.
Ahead of them, a hawk swooped into a dark alley, and a moment later, Foggy's mother walked out. She came towards them and announced, "All clear as far as I could see."
"It's not midnight yet," Foggy said, but it was still a relief to know that there wasn't a bullet out there with Matt's name on it. Yet.
"Did you speak to the kidnappers, or did they leave a message?" his mother asked. "What exactly did they say?"
Foggy thought back to the conversation. "They said … tell Daredevil to meet us at the door to your office."
"Meet us," his mother repeated. "So if they mean what they say, there will be at least one person there."
"Probably more than one," Foggy said, "and they'll all have guns, too. Or even a hostage. If they want to kidnap Daredevil, I mean. They could just want to shoot him there."
"If they just wanted to shoot him, wouldn't it be easier to just camp out somewhere where Daredevil's been seen before, and wait for him to show up again?" his father asked. "Instead of going to all this trouble to kidnap and torture somebody in the hopes of making Daredevil give himself up? Seems like a lot of unnecessary work to me."
"How would I know?" Foggy said. "I might be a lawyer, but I'm not an evil overlord. I don't even have a criminal mindset! Well, not much of one, anyway. Not more than anybody else. Any normal, mostly law-abiding citizen-body."
"All those elaborate plots only happen in books and movies," his mother said. "So I think we can make a reasonable assumption that they want to kidnap Daredevil and not just kill him. It's probably best if your father and I make ourselves inconspicuous and just watch, see what happens. I could turn into a squirrel and hide inside your coat, Foggy, with just my head poking out of your collar there."
"And if they shoot me, the bullet goes right through you?" Foggy was aghast. "No way, Mom! Be a hawk, get up high. Nobody ever looks up, you'll be safe up there!"
"Don't you 'safe' me, young man," his mother ordered. "I will turn into a hawk, but only because I can watch what's going on from up there, not so I won't get hurt. Team Nelson is in this together."
"If they come in a car, I could turn into a skunk and spray one of the wheels," his father said. "That'll help us follow it if they take you instead of Daredevil."
"That's a good idea! Eyes up high, nose on the ground, and together we'll get the bastards," his mother said.
"I think you forgot the Foggy-in-the-middle part," Foggy protested.
"Don't forget, you've got skills, too," his mother said. "Bear fur and bear skin are both very thick. You could almost think of it as armour."
"Not completely bulletproof, though," his father put in, and Foggy said, "Thanks, Dad."
"But did you know that bears can bite down so hard that they can crush bones?" his mother went on. "And don't forget your claws."
"Claws and jaws, got it," Foggy said. "A beary particular set of skills."
"By Jove, I think he's got it!" his mother exclaimed, and Foggy and his father both murmured, "Wrong film."
When they arrived at the right block, his father transformed into a skunk, then ran by Foggy, shot under a nearby car, and crouched beside one of the back wheels. Foggy also heard the flap of mighty wings as his mother lifted off, and though he didn't see where she went, he guessed it would be nearby, perhaps one of the buildings across the street where she could keep an eye on him. Approaching the door of their office building, he glanced up and down the road, and even went around the corner for a look. He could hardly transform into a bear here on the street, which made him wish he had a bullet-proof vest. And a bullet-proof helmet. And bullet-proof underwear.
But it was probably best to go around to the alley and let himself into the building through the back door. Instead of standing around and making himself a target for a drive-by shooting, he could wait inside. He took up position next to the front door and kept an eye on his watch, listening to the traffic outside, and tried to think of what to say if the kidnappers actually showed up. He wasn't sure he could convince them to let Matt go and take him instead, even with the debate skills that had served him well in law school. It was too depressingly possible that they'd simply grab him as well and send the next demand for Daredevil to Karen. Karen! He should have told his parents how to get in touch with her, just in case, but now it was too late.
Eventually, his watch showed that it was 12.15, and Foggy opened the door a crack and looked out. At first, all was silent, except for the occasional car driving by. There weren't any pedestrians at this time of night, not even the homeless. Then a black SUV pulled up to the curb and a man got out, holding a machine gun and bringing it up to point right at Foggy.
"Stop hiding and come out," he said in a slight accent that Foggy couldn't place. He was wearing a sweatshirt under his jacket with the hood pulled up, and a facemask with eye and mouth holes under that.
Foggy felt a flash of terror at the machine gun, but thought of Matt, and his parents, and pulled the door open so that he could step out. He didn't exactly raise his hands, but he kept them visible in front of him.
"I couldn't find Daredevil," he admitted. "I looked and looked, but maybe he's taking the night off. Maybe he's up at Avengers Tower hanging out with other superheroes for the night. Or maybe he got hurt and he's dying in a dumpster somewhere."
"Well, guess we'll have to take you, then," the man growled.
Foggy hesitated and glanced over to the car where his father was hiding, but couldn't see him, or even any movement. In that split second, the man lifted the machine gun and hit him in the side of the head. It wasn't quite enough to knock him out, but more than enough to knock him silly. He fell to the ground, unable to get up again, and not even able to think about resisting when the man tied his hands together. He was vaguely aware of the man pulling something over his head to cover his face, felt the man pull him more or less upright and practically drag him over to the SUV. Foggy sagged against the side of the vehicle, almost collapsing to the curb as the man opened the back. The man heaved Foggy upright and tossed him in, lifting his legs and trying to stuff them in, too. It wasn't far enough. When he slammed the hatch down, it hit Foggy's shin instead of latching shut, and Foggy discovered that he wasn't too helpless to scream. The man tried again, finally got his leg inside with a little help from Foggy himself, then shut the back, went around to the side and got in.
The car pulled out and drove off, and after a moment, Foggy became aware of the scent of skunk spray. He was vaguely aware that that was a good thing, but for a long time, he couldn't remember why. The men were talking, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. Eventually, however, his head cleared enough that he realized they were speaking a foreign language, and he could even pick out the fact that it was not Spanish. Or Punjabi. And … though that one was a stretch … probably not French, either.
And by the time he'd figured that out, the car had stopped and the doors were opening. Foggy was manhandled out of the back and onto his feet, which were slightly less shaky than before. Even through the hood on his face, the smell of skunk was strong enough to make his eyes water, and he wasn't surprised when the man hustled him away as fast as he could go. He hoped his father had escaped being run over after he'd sprayed, and was even now following the scent.
They went inside a building that gave off an empty and cavernous vibe, then down a flight of metal steps into a slightly smaller area. Here, the man pushed Foggy down onto his knees and pulled the hood from his head.
He glanced around. They were in a large room with two other men sitting in chairs near a desk with an odd selection of tools, fast food, and drinks on it. The rest of the space was empty, except for a hole in one corner and what appeared to be some kind of bundle next to it. Foggy didn't waste time examining more, simply demanded, "Where's Matt?"
The man behind Foggy slapped him across the back of the head, and one of the men sitting down asked, "Where's Daredevil?"
"I couldn't find him!" Foggy protested. "I looked everywhere –"
The man interrupted him smoothly. "Well, obviously, you didn't look everywhere, or you would have found him somewhere."
"Everywhere I could look in the time that I had," Foggy explained, making sure to sound desperate. "And if you guys let me go, I could keep looking!"
The man smiled a mirthless, shark-like smile. "Oh, no, you had your chance. Now you'll have to hope that your secretary can do what you couldn't. What was her name? Karen Page?"
He even rattled off Karen's number, but Foggy wasn't listening. Motion in the corner of the room had caught his eye; there was a ferret jumping back and forth close to the hole in the floor, running up on top of the bundle and racing down again, then circling around to the other side and back. After a moment, Foggy realized it was one of his parents, and they'd found Matt! He was down there!
Go to Part 4
"Do they want to kidnap Daredevil, or just kill him?" his mother asked, and Foggy almost stumbled over his own feet. The thought of them assassinating Daredevil hadn't occurred to him. "Shit, what if they're setting up a sniper on a rooftop near the office right now, just waiting to take Daredevil out?"
"We could fly ahead and check," his mother offered.
"Yeah," said Foggy. "That might be best. Well, maybe just one of you."
"Too bad I wanted to be a hawk, instead of an owl," she said, "but I think I should be able to spot someone on a roof with a rifle. See you there."
She assumed her hawk shape without even bothering to check if anyone were looking, and soared into the night air. Foggy watched her disappear until his father asked, "And what happens if Daredevil doesn't show up? They torture Matt to death, and then they, what? Come after you?"
"Yeah," Foggy said. "I didn't want to tell Mom, but yeah. That's what they said."
He didn't mention the part where they'd threatened his family.
"I know you've spent years trying to deny it, but when it comes right down to it, you can be a big, strong bear," his father said, placing his hand on Foggy's shoulder.
"So I should let them kidnap me, take me back to their secret lair, then turn into a bear when they least expect it, and claw them all to ribbons?" Foggy asked.
His father was silent for a moment, and Foggy realized he was seriously considering the idea. "Dad!"
"Well, it's not the worst plan in the world," his father mused. "They definitely wouldn't see it coming."
"Because nobody expects the Spanish Bear Inquisition!" Foggy cried, but instead of laughing, his father simply said, "Yup."
"What if I kill somebody?" Foggy asked, more serious now. "I don't know if I could live with myself after that."
"Try not to," his father advised. "You're still mostly yourself when you shift, you know that. You can control your actions."
"I'm not used to being a bear! It could happen by accident!"
"Then it would be an accident, and not deliberate," his father said. "Go for their arms and legs. People can survive that … usually. And you're not premeditating murder here. You're just trying to rescue your best friend from people who are willing to torture and kill."
Caught up in the ethics of being a bear, Foggy had temporarily forgotten Matt. Now he remembered Matt's scream, and decided he'd do everything necessary to make sure that Matt never had to make a noise like that again.
Ahead of them, a hawk swooped into a dark alley, and a moment later, Foggy's mother walked out. She came towards them and announced, "All clear as far as I could see."
"It's not midnight yet," Foggy said, but it was still a relief to know that there wasn't a bullet out there with Matt's name on it. Yet.
"Did you speak to the kidnappers, or did they leave a message?" his mother asked. "What exactly did they say?"
Foggy thought back to the conversation. "They said … tell Daredevil to meet us at the door to your office."
"Meet us," his mother repeated. "So if they mean what they say, there will be at least one person there."
"Probably more than one," Foggy said, "and they'll all have guns, too. Or even a hostage. If they want to kidnap Daredevil, I mean. They could just want to shoot him there."
"If they just wanted to shoot him, wouldn't it be easier to just camp out somewhere where Daredevil's been seen before, and wait for him to show up again?" his father asked. "Instead of going to all this trouble to kidnap and torture somebody in the hopes of making Daredevil give himself up? Seems like a lot of unnecessary work to me."
"How would I know?" Foggy said. "I might be a lawyer, but I'm not an evil overlord. I don't even have a criminal mindset! Well, not much of one, anyway. Not more than anybody else. Any normal, mostly law-abiding citizen-body."
"All those elaborate plots only happen in books and movies," his mother said. "So I think we can make a reasonable assumption that they want to kidnap Daredevil and not just kill him. It's probably best if your father and I make ourselves inconspicuous and just watch, see what happens. I could turn into a squirrel and hide inside your coat, Foggy, with just my head poking out of your collar there."
"And if they shoot me, the bullet goes right through you?" Foggy was aghast. "No way, Mom! Be a hawk, get up high. Nobody ever looks up, you'll be safe up there!"
"Don't you 'safe' me, young man," his mother ordered. "I will turn into a hawk, but only because I can watch what's going on from up there, not so I won't get hurt. Team Nelson is in this together."
"If they come in a car, I could turn into a skunk and spray one of the wheels," his father said. "That'll help us follow it if they take you instead of Daredevil."
"That's a good idea! Eyes up high, nose on the ground, and together we'll get the bastards," his mother said.
"I think you forgot the Foggy-in-the-middle part," Foggy protested.
"Don't forget, you've got skills, too," his mother said. "Bear fur and bear skin are both very thick. You could almost think of it as armour."
"Not completely bulletproof, though," his father put in, and Foggy said, "Thanks, Dad."
"But did you know that bears can bite down so hard that they can crush bones?" his mother went on. "And don't forget your claws."
"Claws and jaws, got it," Foggy said. "A beary particular set of skills."
"By Jove, I think he's got it!" his mother exclaimed, and Foggy and his father both murmured, "Wrong film."
When they arrived at the right block, his father transformed into a skunk, then ran by Foggy, shot under a nearby car, and crouched beside one of the back wheels. Foggy also heard the flap of mighty wings as his mother lifted off, and though he didn't see where she went, he guessed it would be nearby, perhaps one of the buildings across the street where she could keep an eye on him. Approaching the door of their office building, he glanced up and down the road, and even went around the corner for a look. He could hardly transform into a bear here on the street, which made him wish he had a bullet-proof vest. And a bullet-proof helmet. And bullet-proof underwear.
But it was probably best to go around to the alley and let himself into the building through the back door. Instead of standing around and making himself a target for a drive-by shooting, he could wait inside. He took up position next to the front door and kept an eye on his watch, listening to the traffic outside, and tried to think of what to say if the kidnappers actually showed up. He wasn't sure he could convince them to let Matt go and take him instead, even with the debate skills that had served him well in law school. It was too depressingly possible that they'd simply grab him as well and send the next demand for Daredevil to Karen. Karen! He should have told his parents how to get in touch with her, just in case, but now it was too late.
Eventually, his watch showed that it was 12.15, and Foggy opened the door a crack and looked out. At first, all was silent, except for the occasional car driving by. There weren't any pedestrians at this time of night, not even the homeless. Then a black SUV pulled up to the curb and a man got out, holding a machine gun and bringing it up to point right at Foggy.
"Stop hiding and come out," he said in a slight accent that Foggy couldn't place. He was wearing a sweatshirt under his jacket with the hood pulled up, and a facemask with eye and mouth holes under that.
Foggy felt a flash of terror at the machine gun, but thought of Matt, and his parents, and pulled the door open so that he could step out. He didn't exactly raise his hands, but he kept them visible in front of him.
"I couldn't find Daredevil," he admitted. "I looked and looked, but maybe he's taking the night off. Maybe he's up at Avengers Tower hanging out with other superheroes for the night. Or maybe he got hurt and he's dying in a dumpster somewhere."
"Well, guess we'll have to take you, then," the man growled.
Foggy hesitated and glanced over to the car where his father was hiding, but couldn't see him, or even any movement. In that split second, the man lifted the machine gun and hit him in the side of the head. It wasn't quite enough to knock him out, but more than enough to knock him silly. He fell to the ground, unable to get up again, and not even able to think about resisting when the man tied his hands together. He was vaguely aware of the man pulling something over his head to cover his face, felt the man pull him more or less upright and practically drag him over to the SUV. Foggy sagged against the side of the vehicle, almost collapsing to the curb as the man opened the back. The man heaved Foggy upright and tossed him in, lifting his legs and trying to stuff them in, too. It wasn't far enough. When he slammed the hatch down, it hit Foggy's shin instead of latching shut, and Foggy discovered that he wasn't too helpless to scream. The man tried again, finally got his leg inside with a little help from Foggy himself, then shut the back, went around to the side and got in.
The car pulled out and drove off, and after a moment, Foggy became aware of the scent of skunk spray. He was vaguely aware that that was a good thing, but for a long time, he couldn't remember why. The men were talking, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. Eventually, however, his head cleared enough that he realized they were speaking a foreign language, and he could even pick out the fact that it was not Spanish. Or Punjabi. And … though that one was a stretch … probably not French, either.
And by the time he'd figured that out, the car had stopped and the doors were opening. Foggy was manhandled out of the back and onto his feet, which were slightly less shaky than before. Even through the hood on his face, the smell of skunk was strong enough to make his eyes water, and he wasn't surprised when the man hustled him away as fast as he could go. He hoped his father had escaped being run over after he'd sprayed, and was even now following the scent.
They went inside a building that gave off an empty and cavernous vibe, then down a flight of metal steps into a slightly smaller area. Here, the man pushed Foggy down onto his knees and pulled the hood from his head.
He glanced around. They were in a large room with two other men sitting in chairs near a desk with an odd selection of tools, fast food, and drinks on it. The rest of the space was empty, except for a hole in one corner and what appeared to be some kind of bundle next to it. Foggy didn't waste time examining more, simply demanded, "Where's Matt?"
The man behind Foggy slapped him across the back of the head, and one of the men sitting down asked, "Where's Daredevil?"
"I couldn't find him!" Foggy protested. "I looked everywhere –"
The man interrupted him smoothly. "Well, obviously, you didn't look everywhere, or you would have found him somewhere."
"Everywhere I could look in the time that I had," Foggy explained, making sure to sound desperate. "And if you guys let me go, I could keep looking!"
The man smiled a mirthless, shark-like smile. "Oh, no, you had your chance. Now you'll have to hope that your secretary can do what you couldn't. What was her name? Karen Page?"
He even rattled off Karen's number, but Foggy wasn't listening. Motion in the corner of the room had caught his eye; there was a ferret jumping back and forth close to the hole in the floor, running up on top of the bundle and racing down again, then circling around to the other side and back. After a moment, Foggy realized it was one of his parents, and they'd found Matt! He was down there!
Go to Part 4