[Vol. 3] Chapter 13: A Witness Secured

After crossing several rooftops, Finn and Daredevil crouched on the balcony of a tall building.

Daredevil pointed. “I ‘see’ Marcus Leonard. He’s hiding behind the water tank on that roof, spying on someone through binoculars.”

Finn’s eyesight was excellent. Looking in the direction Daredevil indicated, he spotted a dark figure huddled low on the rooftop. The man held a pair of binoculars trained on the window of an old detached house across the way.

Warm light shone from inside. Through the window, they could see a young woman and a little girl.

A black gun barrel slid into view beside them, followed by the Punisher’s cold voice.

“Why aren’t we putting a bullet through that scumbag’s head? What are we waiting for?”

Daredevil pushed the barrel of the Punisher’s sniper rifle down. “What are you doing here? Leave my witness alone!”

Suddenly, Marcus Leonard climbed down from the roof and ran toward the old house. Carrying a dark box, he hurried along with his body bent low, keeping out of sight of the street’s security cameras.

“Once a scumbag, always a scumbag,” the Punisher muttered. “He’s going to rob the place!”

“Let’s grab him!”

Daredevil stepped forward, ready to jump down. Before he could, Marcus set the box on the doorstep, rang the bell, and hurried away.

The young woman opened the door. Finding no one there, she looked down at the box and picked it up in confusion.

“Mommy, who is it?” the little girl asked, running over.

Watching through his scope, the Punisher gritted his teeth.

“Shit! That box has to be a bomb! They’re going to get blown to pieces! Their deaths will be on you, Daredevil!”

Daredevil said nothing, his fists clenched. The thought struck him that if the box really did contain a bomb and killed the woman and child, he would share the blame. If he hadn’t stopped the Punisher from shooting Marcus, they wouldn’t have died.

Before either man could act, the young woman carefully opened the box.

“Money!” she exclaimed.

She counted it, cast a wary glance outside, then closed the door.

Marcus Leonard climbed back onto the roof and took out his binoculars again to watch the mother and daughter. This time, he stared for a long, long while, until the lights in the house went out.

He let out a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry, Emily,” he whispered.

Putting away his binoculars, he turned to leave, his shoulders slumped—only to find someone blocking his path.

“Looks like we can add escaping custody to your charges, Marcus!”

Daredevil drove a fist into his face.

Marcus went down, blood streaming from his nose. Terrified, he scrambled up and tried to run.

Daredevil caught him by the collar.

“Why did you give that woman money?” he demanded.

“Please, leave her alone! Don’t take her money! She’s my ex-girlfriend. She’s innocent, and the money’s clean! It’s legal!” Marcus blurted out.

Daredevil didn’t believe Marcus had any clean money. He frowned.

“What’s the little girl to you?”

“My daughter.” Marcus sagged, all the strength draining from him.

“You have a daughter, too?”

Guilt filled Marcus’s face. He spoke quietly.

“After my ex, Beverly James, and I broke up, she had our baby. Emily. I was working for Kingpin, doing things that couldn’t stand the light of day. I had a lot of enemies. I didn’t want to drag them into it, so I never openly acknowledged Emily as my daughter.

“Beverly’s had a hard time raising her alone. All I could do was send her money to make up for what I’d done. I’ve let them both down. I’m a useless father!”

“Why not just transfer the money into her account? Why sneak around like this?”

Daredevil loosened his grip on Marcus’s collar a little, though his tone remained harsh.

“I can’t let Kingpin find out I’m connected to them,” Marcus said fearfully. “He’ll kill them!”

Daredevil nodded, accepting his reasoning.

A pregnancy outside marriage, a single-parent family, a mother raising a child alone... He couldn’t help sighing.

He turned toward the shadows behind him.

“I’ve told you before, Punisher. Abusing violence isn’t the answer. If you’d fired just now, you would have killed a little girl’s father.”

Cradling his sniper rifle, the Punisher gave a snort but said nothing.

Only then did Marcus notice the two figures standing in the darkness. One was the Punisher, with a white skull painted on his body armor. The other was a tall, straight-backed man in a black trench coat whom he didn’t recognize.

The moment Marcus saw the Punisher, his legs began to shake. He grabbed Daredevil’s hand and pleaded, “Don’t kill me! Put me in prison! I don’t care how many years I get!”

Daredevil tied Marcus’s hands and dragged him to the police station. There, he called over Blake, an officer he knew, and stressed that Marcus needed to be kept under close guard—especially against any attempt by Kingpin to silence him.

Blake was an honest cop who also served as an assistant to the district attorney. He promptly promised to keep a close eye on Marcus Leonard until he was safely in prison.

...

Early the next morning, back in his civilian identity as Matt Murdock, Daredevil went to the police station as a lawyer and sought out Marcus in his holding cell.

“Mr. Murdock, please get me moved to another cell! One with a security camera!”

Marcus gripped the bars, his voice frantic.

“Why?” Matt was puzzled by the request. Most people resented security cameras invading their privacy, yet Marcus was asking to be watched.

“I’m only safe if I’m on camera!”

After considering it, Matt agreed. He spent a long time arguing with the officers before they finally consented to move Marcus into a cell with a camera.

Matt then offered to act as his defense attorney, on the condition that Marcus provide evidence of Kingpin’s crimes and agree to testify in court.

At first, Marcus refused without hesitation. He was certain Kingpin would kill him.

But Matt appealed to his emotions, suggesting that his cooperation could earn him a reduced sentence. He could get out sooner, have a family, and enjoy life with them.

Matt also repeatedly assured Marcus that he would be safe. He would apply for the federal Witness Protection Program, with U.S. Marshals protecting Marcus before, during, and after the trial.

After a great deal of thought, Marcus agreed. Perhaps he was remembering all those hours spent staring through binoculars at his daughter, watching her grow up without him. He promised to take the stand and testify against Kingpin.

Matt immediately contacted the FBI to apply for witness protection on Marcus’s behalf. Since he had prepared the necessary paperwork in advance, approval came quickly.

“You’re safe now. Please have faith in the justice system. Kingpin or anyone else—no one can threaten you anymore,” Matt said earnestly. “All you need to do is stay here at the station and wait for the FBI to arrive.”

“You don’t understand Kingpin’s reach.” Marcus shook his head with a bitter smile.

He looked up at the security camera above him.

“Let’s hope you’re right.”