Berlin, Germany
Rooftops
4:08 p.m.
Frank’s attitude was always pleasing, Murdock sarcastically imagined.
Matt Murdock, still dressed in his Daredevil attire, remained on one knee, his eyes facing the large buildings that composed the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, and the location of Frank Castle. He had remained hidden, lost the sight of any wavering news choppers or any other citizens who had seen him crash the van earlier. It had been an interesting time since then, but for now he managed to find some peace and quiet.
All except for Frank Castle’s… amusing first impressions with the other Avengers and equines. Knowing full well that Frank wasn’t going to be controlled by them, Matt realized that if they let Castle get close to Barnes, he won’t hesitate to kill the Winter Soldier. He tightened his fist, his glove’s leather stretching in agitation.
The Avengers were going after the Winter Soldier one way or another. Some of them anyway. Others, like Captain America, were going to protect him, if what the conversation Steve Rogers had with Tony Stark meant anything. Another man who could be innocent would die if they let Frank near him. Matt couldn’t let that happen.
He… he needed to find them, the Captain and the other Avengers on the lam. It was the only way to tell them that Barnes was in serious danger. And also…
He gripped the little red book in his other hand, studying the silver star on its cover.
The doctor had it when he corrupted Barnes. He read from it that brought out the Winter Soldier. He needed to know just what it meant.
With that, Murdock found his way off the rooftops, into the alleys, completely unseen.
Vienna, Austria
11:48 p.m.
The sudden knock at the door nearly frightened Karen Page out of her skin.
It was late, the cries of the city being the very few sounds Karen heard that night, aside from the constant tapping of her fingers against the keyboard on her laptop. The yellow light from the nearby lamp was all Karen had to see in the dark hotel room, especially after she closed her laptop to approach the door.
Unlocking it, Karen pulled the door open and gasped at the sight of him. “Matt!” she whispered, being certain to keep her voice down. Standing right in front of her was Matt Murdock dressed neatly in his suit and cane, dark glasses, his suitcase in one hand and a red book in the other. He had bruises across his face, dried blood to go with them.
Without another second to pass, Karen wrapped her arms around him and brought the man into a strong hug. Matt grunted, but returned the hug as best as he could. For a moment, Karen didn’t want to let go. It had been days since Matt’s been gone, chasing Frank, nearly getting caught. She had been keeping up on the news, what with the large flat screen TV in her room, how else would she follow Matt’s actions?
As he stepped into the room, Karen let him go and looked him over. “Are you okay? Do you need a drink or anything?” she asked, waiting as Matt turned to face her. She gasped once more, finding the little light in the hallway to offer little detail of his face, but with the lamp light she got every inch and corner she needed. “Oh, God, Matt, your face…”
Wary of Karen’s hand reaching for his bruises, Matt learned back and said, “I’ll be fine, Karen. But… I think we have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
He sighed, reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a little red book, a silver star on the front cover. Karen stared at it for several seconds, unsure what to make of it. Luckily, Matt explained everything when he said, “Take a look at this. I took it from the doctor who evaluated James Barnes, but apparently he wasn’t even there to evaluate him.”
Bringing her eyes up, Karen asked, “What happened?”
“Whatever the doctor read in this book,” Matt said, holding the book up then letting it drop on the desk near Karen’s laptop, “caused Barnes to unleash the Winter Soldier. I’m gonna need your help in translating it.”
Karen stepped forward to her desk, letting her hand fall on the cover. Studying the book in her palm, feeling the rough texture of the cover, followed by the smoothness of the star, Karen finally nodded. She instantly went to her laptop and booted it back up. While she waited for her computer to respond, Matt took the time to lay his suitcase and cane on the bedside, sighing and rubbing the bruises he acquired over the past couple days.
“Okay, what page do you want me to translate?” she asked, flipping through the pages blindly.
Matt came to her side, flipping to a certain page and stopping. He pointed at the top of the page, saying, “Here. I recognized these words that the doctor used to brainwash Barnes.”
“Brainwash?” Karen repeated, turning to face Matt. He looked down to her, remaining silent as she asked, “So, Barnes could actually be innocent?”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet.”
With that, Karen nodded and turned back to her computer, finding the Internet icon and tapping on it twice. Matt returned to the bedside, listening intently to the tapping of the keys, to the flipping of the pages, to the soft muttering under Karen’s breath.
As Karen typed away word after word, Matt took the time to address his wounds. Walking over to one of the cabinets near the sink, he took out the first aid kit that each hotel room came equipped with and began. He opened the small box, pulling out the alcohol bottle and the roll of bandages. Matt took off his coat, shirt, and glasses, revealing long, black and red scratches, probably from the van crash. His suit may take most of the punishment, but sometimes the smaller wounds managed to seep through. Taking a few cotton balls as well, Matt dipped the alcohol bottle onto the cotton and began dabbing his wounds. Karen continued to type, Matt wiping away the dried blood and sealing the wounds with a fresh cloth of bandages.
After nearly ten minutes of silence from both ends, the typing finally stopped, followed shortly by: “All right. Matt… I think I got something.”
Having wrapped up his torso and forehead, Matt came next to her bare-chested, Karen casting his abs a quick look before turning back to the book. “Apparently on this page you wanted translated, it says that these are trigger words to bring about the Winter Solider.”
“That would explain a lot,” Matt muttered, staring at the burning Russian language. “What else does it say?”
“Well… it has other sets of trigger words, about five of them actually.”
Matt stared at her, at her fiery features. “What?”
Karen nodded. “Yeah, look.” She flipped the pages, revealing other sets similar to the page prior. She stopped on the last page, pressing her finger down hard on the paper. “You see? Five other sets, and when I translated the bottom text after the last set, it read ‘The Winter Soldiers will follow orders corresponding to their exact trigger words. Until then they are to remain on ice’.”
She brought up her finger, but stayed on that page. She and Matt exchanged a look, one that each knew nothing good would come of it. “Matt, do you realize what this means?” she asked.
“There are more Winter Soldiers just like Barnes,” Matt breathed. Karen breathed even harder, thinking back to the UN catastrophe, but much worse knowing that there were others just like Barnes. Matt, on the other hand, thought back to the airport, to where the doctor was headed. “Did you find anything on where this book was written?”
“No, but there might be something here in the first few pages,” Karen said. She flipped through the pages, all the way to the first few. She paused once she recognized what appeared to be a date, time, and other Russian language. “Yeah, right here,” Karen said, tapping away on her computer. “It seems like it translates to… ‘Siberia’.”
“Siberia…” Matt mumbled.
“There are exact coordinates, too,” Karen added, typing away.
To her surprise, Matt tapped on the book and said, “Translate them and write them in the book, Karen.”
“Why?”
“I know where the doctor’s going. He took a trip to the airport today, a one-way ticket to Moscow. What else would he be going there for?” he asked, causing Karen to freeze halfway through her sentence. She turned away from the computer, facing Matt head-on, practically sharing his same thoughts. “God, Karen, he’s gonna release the other Winter Soldiers.”
Her worst thoughts were becoming reality. The amount of damage five individuals just as highly-trained as Barnes could do was unthinkable. She mindlessly continued to type away, her thoughts always alluding back to that awful reality. After Karen had finished translating and writing the coordinates in the book, Matt swiped it from her.
“I have to tell the Captain,” he said, placing every piece of first aid he used back into the box and back under the sink. Karen stood up.
“The Captain?” she asked, watching Matt’s movements carefully. “Wait… you mean… Captain America?”
Matt nodded, stepping up to his clothes strewn on the bed.
Shaking her head, Karen asked, “How are you even gonna find him? Unless you’ve been keeping up on the news, the entire country is trying to find him, and they haven’t gotten anywhere.”
Matt put a new shirt over himself, straightening it out so it covered all of his bloody bandages and scars. It mattered little; his plain white shirt barely hiding the blood stains. Grunting, he said, “If I don’t get this information to him, then they’re not gonna know about the other Winter Soldiers until it’s too late. Heck, they’re probably still trying to find Barnes right now.”
As Matt tended to himself, Karen just stood there, watching him go and playing with her hands. Finally managing to stop him, Karen stood in his path, forcing his eyes into hers. “Matt, these aren’t thugs on the street.” He lowered his arms, his shoulders falling. “They’re not The Hand. These… gods… they’re unlike anything you’ve faced. If you get caught up in their conflict… or worse… if you get caught… you’ll lose everything.”
Seeing the desperation in her eyes, laced with the flames that surrounded her body, Matt looked away, thinking of the circumstances of this choice. All he needed to do was give the information to the Captain and stop Frank, and that was it. He didn’t need to go to Siberia, he didn’t need to fight any other Winter Soldiers, he didn’t have to fight their war.
He didn’t want to. But he did need to help them.
Reaching forward, Matt gripped her hand with his own.
“Then I won’t get caught,” Matt whispered, offering an assuring smile that impacted little.
Karen looked away, bringing her hand with her. Waiting only a few moments, Matt reached for his coat and placed it over himself. He then went for his suitcase, checked to see if all of his Daredevil attire was in order, found his weapons, and closed the suitcase. Grabbing his glasses, he turned back to her. “I have to do this, Karen. No one else can. Head back to Hell’s Kitchen, take your passport and get back home. I’ll meet up with you again.”
Grabbing his suitcase and cane, Matt stopped just in front of Karen. Her eyes met his again, the blank stare of Matt Murdock looking right through her. “Please…” he told her.
She could feel the desperation in his voice. The whole reason they came to Vienna was to stop Frank, and now Matt was entangled in this whole conspiracy over the Winter Soldier. He didn’t want her to be the same, and Karen realized this. She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, whispering, “Just come home when you’re done.”
As she broke away, Matt nodded to her. “I promise.”
Stepping aside, Karen watched as Matt grabbed the book and placed it into his coat pocket. With his cane and suitcase in each hand, he opened the door and stood out in the hallway. He stopped, however, and held the door open to cast one last glance at Karen.
She was uncertain, scared, maybe, but standing strong, nodding to him.
He brought up his hand barely holding the suitcase and placed his glasses back where they belonged. And with that the door closed between them.