"Recently, a rumor has been quietly circulating in New York's legal circles: a group of people—probably more than thirty—have approached nearly every law firm in half the city, searching for a lawyer brave enough to sue Kingpin."
"I suppose you're one of them, aren't you?"
Holden Bradley, who was bald except for a tuft of hair at the front that he gelled and combed back evenly to mimic a sparse head of hair, asked with a smile.
Batman, who had left the abandoned subway station and continued his search for a lawyer, nodded with a smirk, his voice a bit sharp.
"Do you have any lawyers to recommend?"
He was dressed in a green shirt and purple suit, with a green wig on his head, a slight hunch in his back, unsteady steps, and a pale face that matched his posture.
Batman wouldn't be foolish enough to visit New York's law firms as Peter Parker.
Just as when buying various tools, he had prepared over thirty sets of clothing in different styles, each with matching hairstyles, postures, habitual movements, and accents.
Since the raw materials for the ultra-thin bionic mask he had used in Gotham couldn't be bought on the open market, Batman chose to control his facial muscles and use colored contact lenses to alter his appearance.
This whole act, in the eyes of the lawyers, created the impression that "a gang of over thirty members, all holding a grudge against Kingpin, was inquiring about lawyers everywhere."
"If you'd come a day earlier, I might have told you 'no.'"
The sparsely haired Holden Bradley said with a smile.
"But as luck would have it, there's a law firm that hasn't landed a single case since opening, and they seem interested in this one. He told me to give you this address."
As he spoke, Holden handed Batman a slip of paper with two lines of text: the top line read "Nelson and Murdock Law Firm," and the bottom was a detailed address in Hell's Kitchen.
Batman, with an exaggerated gesture, performed a knight's bow to the sparsely haired Holden, then hurried away with unsteady steps.
"Ah, if it weren't for the pressures of life, no one would want to take on a case against Kingpin, right? He's the gang emperor who controls the entire Hell's Kitchen underworld."
Holden watched the green-haired, purple-suited guy leave, sighing with emotion.
"Precisely because no one dares to take it, we have to step up and do it. Once we win this lawsuit, 'Nelson and Murdock Law Firm' will make a name for itself in New York."
Matt Murdock, wearing dark red glasses, casually sipped his tea while speaking to his colleague and partner, Foggy Nelson, who had been complaining all morning.
"Look at you, talking so lightly." Foggy Nelson gesticulated wildly, wishing he could drop to his knees and beg his good partner. "We're in Hell's Kitchen—don't you understand what the word 'Kingpin' represents?"
"Bloodshed, cruelty, gangs, fire... Which one of those labels sounds easy to deal with?"
Compared to the agitated Foggy Nelson, Lawyer Matt was incredibly calm, even finding time to brew another pot of tea. His blindness didn't affect his ability to accurately place the tea bag into the cup.
"As long as the person determined to accuse Kingpin has enough criminal evidence against him, I believe the law will ultimately be on our side."
Foggy pursed his lips. He'd spent the entire morning trying to dissuade his colleague and partner without success. For their safety, Foggy decided to try a different approach, like getting Matt completely drunk at a bar tonight.
It was better for the law firm to stay closed than for them to be found by a gang late one night and turned into a pile of minced meat for stray dogs to drag around the next morning.
After leaving Holden's firm—the one run by the guy one step away from full baldness—Batman removed his disguise in an empty alley.
The green wig, purple suit, and green shirt were all burned to ashes in a fire. He wiped away the pale makeup on his face with pre-prepared tissues.
Batman reverted to his identity as Peter Parker and headed straight for the abandoned shipyard, then donned a black and gray Batsuit and swung between skyscrapers, arriving at the twentieth-floor office building where Silver Sable Security was located moments later.
He hadn't forgotten that in the eyes of both Black Cat and Silver Sable, he was Batman in a black Batsuit, not Peter Parker.
Similarly, Batman couldn't personally come forward to collect criminal evidence against Kingpin and file charges to force him to withdraw his investment from Osborn Group; he needed a suitable proxy to do this for him.
Batman currently knew few people connected to both Kingpin and Osborn. Besides Black Cat, Silver Sable was the only suitable person to act as the accuser.
Batman wasn't going to let Black Cat come forward to accuse Kingpin; he needed Black Cat to continue lurking within Kingpin's gang as a possible backup plan if the accusation failed.
For various reasons, Batman once again climbed in through Silver Sable's office window.
"...I said, could you knock next time before coming in?"
Silver Sable, who was supposed to have set off to find Hulk, had halted her operation due to the exposure of Osborn Group's human experiments. She was currently sitting with her legs propped on the office desk, her upper body sunk into her office chair, humming a tune.
Batman's sudden appearance startled her; she reflexively sprang to her feet, adopting a fighting stance. After seeing it was Batman, she relaxed her guard and couldn't help but complain.
Batman looked down at his angular, sharp-edged Batsuit but said nothing.
Silver Sable shrugged and spread her hands, also saying nothing as she looked at Batman.
After a few seconds of silence, Silver Sable couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere and spoke first.
"Last time you came to find a lawyer—what are you here for this time?"
The last time Batman came, he provided Silver Sable with information that the military force behind Osborn Group belonged to General Ross. Silver Sable investigated afterward and found that Batman hadn't deceived her.
This significantly reduced Silver Sable's wariness toward Batman, and she spoke less cautiously than last time.
"I want you to be my helper, to accuse Kingpin in court," Batman said in a low voice.
Why?
This was the first thought that came to Silver Sable's mind, and she didn't hide it at all, speaking directly.
"Why?"
As the CEO of Silver Sable Security in New York City, Silver Sable naturally knew the reputation of Kingpin, the underworld emperor, and was aware of his continuous expansion of territory and influence.
But what did that have to do with her? Lowering some of her guard didn't mean she would risk her life for him. Even if Batman paid, her security company wasn't the kind of place that provided such services.
"You don't think that just because I couldn't stand Osborn Group conducting human experiments and offered to find Hulk, you've mistaken me for some warm-hearted, naive girl, have you?"
Silver Sable reclined in her chair again, propping her legs heavily onto the office desk.
Bang!
Her combat boot collided with the desk, making a dull thud.
She said nothing more, quietly waiting for Batman to offer a convincing reason, though Silver Sable thought it unlikely.
Batman seemed to ignore Silver Sable's posture; his gaze showed no emotional fluctuation, yet what he said next completely surprised Silver Sable.
"I have reasons you cannot refuse. And more than one."
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