Daredevil (2015) s03e08 Episode Script
Upstairs/Downstairs
[MATT.]
Who are you? [DEX.]
I'm Daredevil.
[MAN.]
Hey, you can't be here! [CLAMORING.]
[GUNSHOT.]
[DEX.]
Hello, Karen.
It's nice to see you again.
I'm Daredevil.
[ECHOING.]
[MERCER OVER RECORDING.]
Your internal compass isn't broken, Dex.
It just works better with a North Star to guide you.
[YOUNG DEX.]
What if I can't find one? [MERCER.]
Then you'll rely on our structure.
A tidy physical space.
A disciplined vocation.
You will build your life on pillars of order.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING.]
[MATT.]
If you'd just wake the hell up instead of playing right into Fisk's hands.
He's using you - Morning.
- [LIM.]
Morning, boss.
[MATT.]
and I think you know it.
So let me ask you this, Agent Nadeem Who do you think is the danger here? The man who attacked the Bulletin dressed as Daredevil he's in the FBI.
[DEX.]
Hello, Karen.
It's nice to see you again.
[MAN.]
Hey! Julie! - Dex, stay away from me.
- Please, just hear me out.
I'm doing this in public so you'll feel safe.
I'll stay right here.
I'm not coming any closer.
Okay.
I am so, so sorry about how things ended the other night.
I'm sorry for scaring you.
I just wanted to explain myself.
When we worked together at the suicide hotline, I saw the way you were with other people.
Patient, compassionate, and I [PANTING.]
I really need that right now.
My life is out of control.
I have no family, and I'm about to lose my job Please.
I just want to talk.
Anywhere you choose.
And if you say no, I'll understand and I'll never bother you again.
[MATT.]
Agent Nadeem.
You're late.
I was early, but I needed to be sure about you.
What's his name? Yeah, well, I need to be sure about you, too.
You have a history of hurting people.
I'm not handing you a federal agent - if you're gonna kill him.
- I don't do that.
The agents you beat up the other day? One of them is still in the hospital.
All of them just doing their jobs.
If they'd arrested me, there'd be no one to take down Fisk.
If you're right about him, taking Fisk down is our job.
Oh, really? Because we both know where he's sleeping these days.
But I understand.
If there's one thing we agree on, Nadeem, it's the greater good.
Like house incarceration in exchange for good intel.
Sometimes you and I have to hurt one person to save another.
So what's his name? I need your word that you won't touch him.
My word can't mean anything to you.
But I need to hear you give it.
Well, I need him to testify against Fisk, so you got it.
We're gonna slip into his place.
Look for any evidence that ties him to the Bulletin attack or to Fisk.
If we find any, we leave it where it is.
And we set off his fire alarm on our way out.
The fire department arrives, and you circumvent a search warrant.
But if we don't find anything, - the guy goes on with his life.
- Spit it out.
Who is he? Special Agent Ben Poindexter.
A small decaf and whatever she's having.
I've got mine.
Thanks.
- My regular, Richie.
- [RICHIE.]
All right.
So, I don't know how to say this without it sounding like an insult.
I was never actually into you.
Or not the way you might have been thinking, anyway.
I didn't know how to talk to you.
Okay.
I wasn't I wasn't stalking you.
Although, I completely see how it could have come across that way.
I just I wanted to be more like you.
Do you realize how creepy that still sounds? You are so good.
And kind.
And You save lives as your job.
The FBI, the army before that they helped keep me on the straight and narrow path.
But now, without that, it's all [SIGHS.]
I'm drowning in deep water, and I don't know whether I'm swimming for the surface or the bottom.
[BREATHES DEEPLY.]
Dex, you need air.
Breathe.
See, that's that's what I'm talking about.
You help people right themselves.
I've seen you do it a hundred times.
All I'm asking, just treat me like someone on the other end of the line.
What happened at the FBI? The bureau needed a scapegoat.
[IMITATES BLEATING.]
[CHUCKLES.]
[BOTH CHUCKLE.]
[DEX GROANS.]
You know, what you really need is a good therapist.
I had one.
She died.
Oh, I I'm so sorry.
Okay.
I'll help you, Dex.
But, please, do not make me regret this.
I promise.
Promise I will not.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATING.]
Excuse me.
[KNOCK ON DOOR.]
[FOGGY.]
Hi.
Whoa! - Did you get any sleep at all? - Yeah.
No.
- You need coffee.
- Yeah.
You ever have one of those days where you're just, like You break it down, step by step? Just, uh "Put your feet on the floor, Karen.
Just get to the sink.
" Sure.
Generally speaking, I don't call myself Karen, but Actually, no, I don't do any of that.
[KAREN SCOFFS.]
How are you not at the bottom of a bottle right now? Because I have a theory.
Jeez.
Must be a hell of a theory.
Fisk is giving up criminals involved in corruption.
He's planning to step into the void and become the sole source of government protection for all criminals in Hell's Kitchen, maybe the city.
And that theory makes you want to not drink? Yes, because I also have a plan.
No.
No, no, Foggy, you don't have a plan.
Do you know what happens when you make a plan? Fisk has already thought of it, and he's made it part of his plan.
Except he has no idea that I'm onto him.
He couldn't.
I discovered this while looking into Marci's briefs.
More ways than one.
- [GROANS.]
Foggy.
- Sorry.
The point is she was prepping for a deposition of a corrupt IRS official who was providing fraud and money laundering services - for the Albanians - No, stop.
I can't.
Just one more article, Karen.
That's all it'll take.
[SIGHS.]
All right.
What's this? The terms of Fisk's house incarceration.
If he violates any of these, zappo.
He's back in prison.
"Zappo"? Is that a thing? Number three is the key.
"Committing or conspiring to commit a felony.
" No, no, wait.
What about number six here? All this stuff about being charged with a crime that predates the agreement? - Number six is not the plan.
- We have a good number six.
I mean, Fisk killed his father.
That's murder.
There's no statute of limitations.
And his mother told Ben Urich about it.
A dead woman told a dead guy something.
- That's not proof.
It won't stick.
- [SIGHS.]
Yeah.
You know what will? Publicizing my theory.
So the FBI sees that Fisk has violated his agreement, they're forced to put him back in prison? And they can't ignore it if we splash it across the front page.
And by "we," I mean you.
The Bulletin won't just let a journalist make unsubstantiated claims.
That's not news.
But it is news if a candidate running for district attorney makes unsubstantiated claims.
In a public forum.
Debating the incumbent DA.
You're gonna debate Blake Tower? At the Hell's Kitchen Club.
Well, it's supposed to be prepared remarks.
- Huh.
- They're endorsing him.
I'm not actually on the agenda, but Nelson's Meats is a member of the club, so You're just gonna confront him, out of the blue? Why not? I'll catch him when he's not expecting it.
Throw this stuff at him Yeah, you get him worked up, emotional.
Provoke him.
It could work.
Yup.
So, you'll cover the meeting? Yeah, I would.
I just, um I lost my job.
So What? Ellison loves you like family.
What did you do? I refused to give him Daredevil's identity.
Yikes.
Okay, well, Ellison wants Fisk as badly as we do.
Just tell him our plan.
Watch how fast he gives you your job back.
Then we'll hook up at the dinner later.
You're my plus one.
I got you the salmon.
Hey.
Did the landlord let you in? [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
Dex.
Thanks for coming.
You made it pretty clear I had to.
What's this about? I have someone here who wants to talk to you.
Follow me.
Dex, this is my old friend Andrea Morales.
She's an attorney.
The guys took up a collection to pay for Andy's services.
Now if you're up for it, she's going to sue the bureau for wrongful suspension on your behalf.
- She can do that? - [MORALES.]
I can.
And having reviewed the details of your case, I fully believe that I should.
She's on a retainer.
Starting now.
And I'm not cheap.
The guys must really like you, Agent Poindexter.
You've had my back through all this? I don't know how to thank you.
The guy that saved our lives doesn't ever have to thank us for anything.
Well, figure out the next steps, and, uh I can't wait to have you back on the team.
I've prepared the argument.
- [RAY.]
You find anything? - [DOOR CLOSES.]
[MATT.]
He's neat.
He likes order.
So does my wife, but she wouldn't fit in your suit.
Everything I have on Dex is circumstantial at best.
I just left him.
He was solid.
I don't see a decorated agent falling for Fisk's bullshit.
Yeah, well, that's what Fisk does.
Finds a weakness.
Hits it hard.
When you're already on your knees, you've got no choice but to fall for his bullshit.
I bet you guys are paying for his room service, too.
The suit's here.
I can smell it.
What, you can smell it? [MATT.]
GSR and latex.
Shit.
I can't call a crew to crack that.
What, you can do that? [MATT.]
Not if you keep talking, I can't.
The suit was here.
He must've moved it.
Well, it isn't now.
And you smelling eau de suit won't exactly sway a judge.
I'm telling you, Poindexter's the guy.
It was him.
There's nothing here tying him to Fisk or the Bulletin.
We got jack shit.
[YOUNG DEX.]
When the crows come to the birdfeeder, I kill them with rocks.
[MERCER.]
What does it feel like to watch them die? [MORALES.]
It probably won't even get as far as an arbitration.
The government tends to balk once folks lawyer up.
[CHUCKLES.]
This is amazing.
How long do you think this will take? If we do everything right, you'll be reinstated in six months.
- Six months? - But we'll get you back pay.
I don't care about back pay.
What am I going to do for six months? I know it seems like a stretch, but you've got a bright future ahead of you in the bureau.
Play the long game.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATING.]
Oh.
I'll be right back.
[BREATHING HEAVILY.]
[LINE RINGING.]
[AUTOMATED VOICE.]
This number has been blocked.
[CALL DISCONNECTS.]
[MERCER.]
Have you been doing our exercises? [YOUNG DEX.]
Yes, but then the neighbor brought home a box of stray kittens.
They were in the yard.
I killed them with rocks, Dr.
Mercer.
I tried not to, but I liked it.
[DISTANT FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING FAINTLY.]
So the guy has issues.
Serious issues.
But that doesn't mean [MATT.]
He's here.
You should go.
No, we had a deal.
No evidence, you don't touch him.
- [MATT.]
I found evidence.
- The kind that holds up in court.
He's gonna use the suit again.
I got the jump on him.
I can get him to tell me where it is.
- [RAY.]
You gave me your word.
- [MATT.]
Yeah, well, I take it back.
- We'll never get another chance like that.
- What if you're wrong? - I'm not wrong.
- [GUN COCKING.]
[RAY GROANS.]
The shot came from across the alley.
[GROANS.]
I think it came from downstairs.
[GUNSHOT, RICOCHET.]
He's He's ricocheting the bullets.
- [RAY.]
Go for the front door.
- [MATT.]
He's by the window.
He's waiting for a better shot.
How do you know? [GUNSHOT.]
He's only got three more rounds.
I'll tell you when he reloads, and then you go.
[PANTING.]
Okay.
- He's not calling for backup.
- No.
And he won't.
But the neighbor called 911.
God damn it, Dex.
[GUNSHOTS.]
Okay, now.
Go, go, go! [DEX GRUNTS.]
[DISPATCHER OVER RADIO.]
Third floor, 2312 King Street.
Two suspects, violent.
[OFFICER 1 OVER RADIO.]
Roger that, dispatch.
2312 King Street [OFFICER 2.]
Police! Hands in the air! I'm FBI.
I have ID.
If you look in my pocket, you'll find my wallet.
Two armed suspects broke into my home.
[YOUNG DEX.]
tried not to, but I liked All right, all right, everybody, settle down.
We're getting to the good part of the evening.
[MAN.]
You mean dessert? [CROWD LAUGHING.]
[SPEAKER.]
As if you need another freakin' cannoli, Mikey! [CROWD LAUGHING.]
[SPEAKER.]
Our agenda tonight is simple.
Our endorsement of a candidate for district attorney [ON RECORDING.]
It's Karen.
You know what to do.
Karen? Where the hell are you? [ELEVATOR DINGS.]
[METAL DETECTOR BEEPS.]
- How did you get up here? - I checked into a room.
This floor FBI is personnel only.
Hi, I'm Karen Page.
I'm with the Bulletin.
We know who you are.
Well, I'd like to talk to him.
[LIM.]
Not gonna happen.
[SCOFFS.]
Under his agreement, he's entitled to speak to the press.
Unless you two wanna make the call to violate that? Fisk and his lawyers have to sign off on all press requests.
They tell all you people to screw off.
You're wasting your time.
All right.
Well, why don't you call his lawyers and tell them I want to give Mr.
Fisk a chance to comment on a story that I'm writing about a Marlene Vistain? That's Fisk's mother.
Shit.
He actually had one? Go ahead.
Call his lawyers.
I'll wait.
[TOWER.]
Prosecutions aren't the whole story.
The vast majority of our caseload never sees a jury, because we bring such strong cases to bear that defendants plead guilty voluntarily.
Which means more bad guys in jail for less money.
Something we all can agree on? Until you let them out of prison again.
Isn't that right, Mr.
Tower? Because you sign off on both kinds of deals, don't you, sir? Is that Foggy Nelson? Uh Sure is, Mr.
Gerlach.
What are you doing, Foggy? I told your girlfriend if you ain't on the ballot, you can't speak.
But the Nelsons are members, too, and this is an endorsement meeting.
Members can ask questions, isn't that right? It ain't gonna change the vote, Foggy.
You're just holding up dessert and pissing people off.
[CROWD LAUGHING.]
I apologize to everyone.
This won't take long.
Said every lawyer ever.
[LAUGHTER.]
We can be long-winded, sure.
But I'm not billing anyone for this.
I'm running my own write-in campaign for DA.
Most of you know that by now.
I'm not running 'cause I expect to win.
I'm running to hold him accountable.
Debate is the soul of democracy.
So why aren't you talking about Wilson Fisk? Are you running for office, Mr.
Tower, or are you running away from responsibility for his situation? We've been here before, Mr.
Nelson.
Do you still claim to have no influence over his release from prison to live among us here in the city again? The powers of my office are limited to state law.
Wilson Fisk's situation is entirely under federal jurisdiction and [FOGGY.]
You mean crimes he's already been sentenced for? - Of course.
- But you can prosecute for crimes he's committing right now, can't you? What crimes? The man is locked up in FBI custody 24 hours a day.
In a five-star hotel.
Because he made a deal with the feds.
Living in luxury as long as he gives up major underworld figures.
Which Fisk has done, time and again, making this city safer.
Or making his competition disappear.
That's right.
Wilson Fisk is informing on carefully-selected targets.
Using the government as his private army to reclaim his position at the center of this city's criminal underworld.
This is fantasy.
No, it's a harsh reality.
There are government officials who are controlled by various criminals.
What Wilson Fisk has done is take all those criminals and turn them over to the FBI.
And keep all those corrupt officials for himself.
He's planning to turn himself into a one-stop shop for bribery and protection.
It's all right here.
[TOWER.]
Mr.
Nelson.
As district attorney, you can't just pander to a crowd.
You have to prove your case.
- I can.
- [TOWER.]
No, you can't.
My turn.
At your fancy law firm, what they teach is, "Create a fiction.
" What story does a jury need to hear? Not what facts.
I have been prosecuting for 13 years, and I can tell you this is not how criminal law works.
Moving speeches impress a crowd, but they don't stand up in criminal court.
I don't have your experience, Mr.
Tower.
It's true.
But then again, I'm not jaded from doing the same thing for too many years, either.
I'm still passionate about what the law can do.
And that's a very powerful tool to work with.
Because when you get beyond the cold facts and really get worked up about what you're doing, you can Holy shit.
I can't hear you.
You can do what, Mr.
Nelson? Freeze up in front of a jury? [TOWER LAUGHING.]
[KAREN SCOFFS.]
We'll be watching.
- [DOOR CLOSES.]
- You gotta be kidding me.
[FISK.]
Ms.
Page.
I must admit, I'm surprised you're here.
I suppose this qualifies as hard time? Yes, I'm sure all of this is offensive to you, given our personal history.
You mean the times you tried to have me killed? Crimes for which I'm still paying.
Yes.
It's offensive.
Tea? No, thank you.
I'm not here for tea.
Sit down.
You came for words, at least.
Yeah.
Let's Let's have some words.
You are not writing an article about my mother.
I'm not? I could.
To what end, Ms.
Page? My distress? [KAREN.]
Hmm.
Doesn't actually sound that bad, now that you say it.
I do not welcome intrusions into my privacy.
Yet you invited me in? You worked for Ben Urich, didn't you? I believe he mentored you.
Yes, before he was murdered.
A final lesson.
One you seem not to have understood.
Is that a threat? It's an observation.
Well, you're right.
I'm not here to talk about your mother.
I'd rather talk about what she told Ben.
Actually, really, rather, what she told us.
See, I don't think you know, but I was with him.
It probably wasn't fair.
Two trained journalists working on a feeble old woman like that.
It's easy to push her.
Get her to say things she doesn't want to.
Your point? She remembered a lot about your childhood.
They say the oldest memories stick around the longest.
She remembered a lot of little things.
A lot of embarrassing things.
Seems like there were a lot of those, weren't there, Willie? I'm sure your readers at the Bulletin will be as entertained as you are.
No, we would never print those.
We just pass them around the office.
How is it around your office? I heard about your misfortune.
Before it even happened, I'm sure.
No, the story that we will print is her very detailed description of your father.
And how you murdered him.
[INHALES SHARPLY.]
A hammer.
At that age? Is there any part of you that isn't broken, I wonder? [INHALES DEEPLY.]
[EXHALES DEEPLY.]
[FISK SIGHS.]
You asked me why I let you in.
The reason is, Ms.
Page, I have a few questions of my own.
You are a respected journalist, but at one time you were merely a secretary at a law firm.
To Matt Murdock, yes? Office manager.
Intimately involved in his affairs, huh? His business affairs.
Of course.
Tell me, so at what point did you learn about Mr.
Murdock's secret life? Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms.
Page.
[SOFTLY.]
Okay.
Okay.
You want secrets? I can tell you a secret, Wilson.
Okay if I call you that? I feel like we know each other well enough by now.
- [FISK.]
As you wish, Karen.
- Great.
James Wesley.
What was it like for you when he disappeared? Really, it's those first 24 hours that are the worst, aren't they? When you call and you call and you call, and there's just no answer.
It becomes an obsession.
The calling.
The never-ending loop of a ghost's voice mail in your ear.
You worry.
You wonder.
You swear, "God damn it, if he's still living, I'm gonna kill him myself.
" Is that what it was like for you? Did you rage at him? 'Cause you thought he betrayed you? Because I wonder what would be worse for you.
His duplicity or his death? [FISK BREATHING SHAKILY.]
[SOFTLY.]
He died quickly.
If you were wondering.
Didn't suffer much.
You see, Wilson, Matt Murdock isn't the person you should be worried about.
I killed Wesley.
I shot him seven times.
Because the clip ran out.
He deserved more.
[YELLS.]
[WELLERS.]
Don't move! [YELLS AND GROANS.]
What? What? Foggy? Think of it as a compliment.
That they actually thought I would try to kill him? - I had to tell them something.
- No, Foggy, you didn't.
You ruined it.
I had him.
Had him? Fisk would snap you like a twig.
At least they'd have it on video.
Was that really your plan? God damn it, Karen.
Don't turn into Matt on me.
Look, I didn't want him to kill me.
Just come after me.
Oh, good.
- Well, I got the idea from you.
- Me? All that talk about Tower and catching him off guard, and I thought, "Yeah, just get Fisk to stop thinking and reacting emotionally instead.
" I figured you were thinking something like that.
Not a bad plan, actually.
Except for the part where you have to hope the FBI comes in before that monster beats you to death.
- Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? - [ELEVATOR DINGS.]
How did you even know I was here? I know you.
When you didn't come I thought of some possibilities and this was my nightmare scenario.
So I pretty much counted on it.
At least I took my shot.
You took a shot.
Tomorrow, there's gonna be an army shooting back.
The report, for your insurance.
Thank you.
[KNOCK ON DOOR.]
Come with me.
Yeah, yeah, another late one.
I know, babe, but they're filing charges against the Albanians tomorrow, and I never reviewed my account.
Yeah, I'm not gonna make it home tonight.
Kiss Sami for me.
I love you, too.
[BREATHING HEAVILY.]
[GRUNTS.]
[LINE RINGING.]
Boss.
Nadeem.
Sorry to wake you.
We need to talk.
[ELEVATOR DINGS.]
After you.
This was here the whole time? [FISK.]
Yes.
We, um I have a problem.
Nadeem knows.
I know he does.
We will take care of the problem.
Dex rage cannot stay inside.
It needs to go somewhere or it becomes a poison.
It will kill you from within.
I find that when this rage cannot stay buried in me for one more second that a primal scream is the only satisfying release.
Yes.
Yeah.
[SCREAMS.]
[YOUNG DEX OVER RECORDING.]
I like making things happen without anybody knowing it's me who did it.
[MERCER OVER RECORDING.]
Let's do our exercise.
Close your eyes.
[MATT.]
He didn't have any parents.
[YOUNG DEX.]
I'm digging a hole.
Spent a lot of time fighting.
[YOUNG DEX.]
Buried my anger in the ground.
- [MERCER.]
Good.
- Angry.
- [MERCER.]
Now cover it with dirt.
- [YOUNG DEX.]
Okay.
But, Dr.
Mercer? - Go ahead and say it.
- [YOUNG DEX.]
I want to open the box.
I promised to keep my mouth shut.
- But you want to say it sounds familiar.
- Does it? I didn't have anyone either, but I'm nothing like him.
The tapes make it sound like he was a killer at a young age.
The guy's a psychopath.
And I had a chance today.
A shot to catch him off guard, and I blew it.
You did what you thought was right.
You kept your word to Agent Nadeem.
Yeah.
And how many people will die because of it? I don't know if I have the strength to get through this.
[MATT GRUNTING.]
He's so stubborn.
Full of fury and foolish pride.
Please watch over him.
Keep him from making the same damned mistake that took you from us.
Our son is too much like you, Jack.
Mom? Mom.
No.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING.]
Who are you? [DEX.]
I'm Daredevil.
[MAN.]
Hey, you can't be here! [CLAMORING.]
[GUNSHOT.]
[DEX.]
Hello, Karen.
It's nice to see you again.
I'm Daredevil.
[ECHOING.]
[MERCER OVER RECORDING.]
Your internal compass isn't broken, Dex.
It just works better with a North Star to guide you.
[YOUNG DEX.]
What if I can't find one? [MERCER.]
Then you'll rely on our structure.
A tidy physical space.
A disciplined vocation.
You will build your life on pillars of order.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING.]
[MATT.]
If you'd just wake the hell up instead of playing right into Fisk's hands.
He's using you - Morning.
- [LIM.]
Morning, boss.
[MATT.]
and I think you know it.
So let me ask you this, Agent Nadeem Who do you think is the danger here? The man who attacked the Bulletin dressed as Daredevil he's in the FBI.
[DEX.]
Hello, Karen.
It's nice to see you again.
[MAN.]
Hey! Julie! - Dex, stay away from me.
- Please, just hear me out.
I'm doing this in public so you'll feel safe.
I'll stay right here.
I'm not coming any closer.
Okay.
I am so, so sorry about how things ended the other night.
I'm sorry for scaring you.
I just wanted to explain myself.
When we worked together at the suicide hotline, I saw the way you were with other people.
Patient, compassionate, and I [PANTING.]
I really need that right now.
My life is out of control.
I have no family, and I'm about to lose my job Please.
I just want to talk.
Anywhere you choose.
And if you say no, I'll understand and I'll never bother you again.
[MATT.]
Agent Nadeem.
You're late.
I was early, but I needed to be sure about you.
What's his name? Yeah, well, I need to be sure about you, too.
You have a history of hurting people.
I'm not handing you a federal agent - if you're gonna kill him.
- I don't do that.
The agents you beat up the other day? One of them is still in the hospital.
All of them just doing their jobs.
If they'd arrested me, there'd be no one to take down Fisk.
If you're right about him, taking Fisk down is our job.
Oh, really? Because we both know where he's sleeping these days.
But I understand.
If there's one thing we agree on, Nadeem, it's the greater good.
Like house incarceration in exchange for good intel.
Sometimes you and I have to hurt one person to save another.
So what's his name? I need your word that you won't touch him.
My word can't mean anything to you.
But I need to hear you give it.
Well, I need him to testify against Fisk, so you got it.
We're gonna slip into his place.
Look for any evidence that ties him to the Bulletin attack or to Fisk.
If we find any, we leave it where it is.
And we set off his fire alarm on our way out.
The fire department arrives, and you circumvent a search warrant.
But if we don't find anything, - the guy goes on with his life.
- Spit it out.
Who is he? Special Agent Ben Poindexter.
A small decaf and whatever she's having.
I've got mine.
Thanks.
- My regular, Richie.
- [RICHIE.]
All right.
So, I don't know how to say this without it sounding like an insult.
I was never actually into you.
Or not the way you might have been thinking, anyway.
I didn't know how to talk to you.
Okay.
I wasn't I wasn't stalking you.
Although, I completely see how it could have come across that way.
I just I wanted to be more like you.
Do you realize how creepy that still sounds? You are so good.
And kind.
And You save lives as your job.
The FBI, the army before that they helped keep me on the straight and narrow path.
But now, without that, it's all [SIGHS.]
I'm drowning in deep water, and I don't know whether I'm swimming for the surface or the bottom.
[BREATHES DEEPLY.]
Dex, you need air.
Breathe.
See, that's that's what I'm talking about.
You help people right themselves.
I've seen you do it a hundred times.
All I'm asking, just treat me like someone on the other end of the line.
What happened at the FBI? The bureau needed a scapegoat.
[IMITATES BLEATING.]
[CHUCKLES.]
[BOTH CHUCKLE.]
[DEX GROANS.]
You know, what you really need is a good therapist.
I had one.
She died.
Oh, I I'm so sorry.
Okay.
I'll help you, Dex.
But, please, do not make me regret this.
I promise.
Promise I will not.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATING.]
Excuse me.
[KNOCK ON DOOR.]
[FOGGY.]
Hi.
Whoa! - Did you get any sleep at all? - Yeah.
No.
- You need coffee.
- Yeah.
You ever have one of those days where you're just, like You break it down, step by step? Just, uh "Put your feet on the floor, Karen.
Just get to the sink.
" Sure.
Generally speaking, I don't call myself Karen, but Actually, no, I don't do any of that.
[KAREN SCOFFS.]
How are you not at the bottom of a bottle right now? Because I have a theory.
Jeez.
Must be a hell of a theory.
Fisk is giving up criminals involved in corruption.
He's planning to step into the void and become the sole source of government protection for all criminals in Hell's Kitchen, maybe the city.
And that theory makes you want to not drink? Yes, because I also have a plan.
No.
No, no, Foggy, you don't have a plan.
Do you know what happens when you make a plan? Fisk has already thought of it, and he's made it part of his plan.
Except he has no idea that I'm onto him.
He couldn't.
I discovered this while looking into Marci's briefs.
More ways than one.
- [GROANS.]
Foggy.
- Sorry.
The point is she was prepping for a deposition of a corrupt IRS official who was providing fraud and money laundering services - for the Albanians - No, stop.
I can't.
Just one more article, Karen.
That's all it'll take.
[SIGHS.]
All right.
What's this? The terms of Fisk's house incarceration.
If he violates any of these, zappo.
He's back in prison.
"Zappo"? Is that a thing? Number three is the key.
"Committing or conspiring to commit a felony.
" No, no, wait.
What about number six here? All this stuff about being charged with a crime that predates the agreement? - Number six is not the plan.
- We have a good number six.
I mean, Fisk killed his father.
That's murder.
There's no statute of limitations.
And his mother told Ben Urich about it.
A dead woman told a dead guy something.
- That's not proof.
It won't stick.
- [SIGHS.]
Yeah.
You know what will? Publicizing my theory.
So the FBI sees that Fisk has violated his agreement, they're forced to put him back in prison? And they can't ignore it if we splash it across the front page.
And by "we," I mean you.
The Bulletin won't just let a journalist make unsubstantiated claims.
That's not news.
But it is news if a candidate running for district attorney makes unsubstantiated claims.
In a public forum.
Debating the incumbent DA.
You're gonna debate Blake Tower? At the Hell's Kitchen Club.
Well, it's supposed to be prepared remarks.
- Huh.
- They're endorsing him.
I'm not actually on the agenda, but Nelson's Meats is a member of the club, so You're just gonna confront him, out of the blue? Why not? I'll catch him when he's not expecting it.
Throw this stuff at him Yeah, you get him worked up, emotional.
Provoke him.
It could work.
Yup.
So, you'll cover the meeting? Yeah, I would.
I just, um I lost my job.
So What? Ellison loves you like family.
What did you do? I refused to give him Daredevil's identity.
Yikes.
Okay, well, Ellison wants Fisk as badly as we do.
Just tell him our plan.
Watch how fast he gives you your job back.
Then we'll hook up at the dinner later.
You're my plus one.
I got you the salmon.
Hey.
Did the landlord let you in? [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
Dex.
Thanks for coming.
You made it pretty clear I had to.
What's this about? I have someone here who wants to talk to you.
Follow me.
Dex, this is my old friend Andrea Morales.
She's an attorney.
The guys took up a collection to pay for Andy's services.
Now if you're up for it, she's going to sue the bureau for wrongful suspension on your behalf.
- She can do that? - [MORALES.]
I can.
And having reviewed the details of your case, I fully believe that I should.
She's on a retainer.
Starting now.
And I'm not cheap.
The guys must really like you, Agent Poindexter.
You've had my back through all this? I don't know how to thank you.
The guy that saved our lives doesn't ever have to thank us for anything.
Well, figure out the next steps, and, uh I can't wait to have you back on the team.
I've prepared the argument.
- [RAY.]
You find anything? - [DOOR CLOSES.]
[MATT.]
He's neat.
He likes order.
So does my wife, but she wouldn't fit in your suit.
Everything I have on Dex is circumstantial at best.
I just left him.
He was solid.
I don't see a decorated agent falling for Fisk's bullshit.
Yeah, well, that's what Fisk does.
Finds a weakness.
Hits it hard.
When you're already on your knees, you've got no choice but to fall for his bullshit.
I bet you guys are paying for his room service, too.
The suit's here.
I can smell it.
What, you can smell it? [MATT.]
GSR and latex.
Shit.
I can't call a crew to crack that.
What, you can do that? [MATT.]
Not if you keep talking, I can't.
The suit was here.
He must've moved it.
Well, it isn't now.
And you smelling eau de suit won't exactly sway a judge.
I'm telling you, Poindexter's the guy.
It was him.
There's nothing here tying him to Fisk or the Bulletin.
We got jack shit.
[YOUNG DEX.]
When the crows come to the birdfeeder, I kill them with rocks.
[MERCER.]
What does it feel like to watch them die? [MORALES.]
It probably won't even get as far as an arbitration.
The government tends to balk once folks lawyer up.
[CHUCKLES.]
This is amazing.
How long do you think this will take? If we do everything right, you'll be reinstated in six months.
- Six months? - But we'll get you back pay.
I don't care about back pay.
What am I going to do for six months? I know it seems like a stretch, but you've got a bright future ahead of you in the bureau.
Play the long game.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATING.]
Oh.
I'll be right back.
[BREATHING HEAVILY.]
[LINE RINGING.]
[AUTOMATED VOICE.]
This number has been blocked.
[CALL DISCONNECTS.]
[MERCER.]
Have you been doing our exercises? [YOUNG DEX.]
Yes, but then the neighbor brought home a box of stray kittens.
They were in the yard.
I killed them with rocks, Dr.
Mercer.
I tried not to, but I liked it.
[DISTANT FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING FAINTLY.]
So the guy has issues.
Serious issues.
But that doesn't mean [MATT.]
He's here.
You should go.
No, we had a deal.
No evidence, you don't touch him.
- [MATT.]
I found evidence.
- The kind that holds up in court.
He's gonna use the suit again.
I got the jump on him.
I can get him to tell me where it is.
- [RAY.]
You gave me your word.
- [MATT.]
Yeah, well, I take it back.
- We'll never get another chance like that.
- What if you're wrong? - I'm not wrong.
- [GUN COCKING.]
[RAY GROANS.]
The shot came from across the alley.
[GROANS.]
I think it came from downstairs.
[GUNSHOT, RICOCHET.]
He's He's ricocheting the bullets.
- [RAY.]
Go for the front door.
- [MATT.]
He's by the window.
He's waiting for a better shot.
How do you know? [GUNSHOT.]
He's only got three more rounds.
I'll tell you when he reloads, and then you go.
[PANTING.]
Okay.
- He's not calling for backup.
- No.
And he won't.
But the neighbor called 911.
God damn it, Dex.
[GUNSHOTS.]
Okay, now.
Go, go, go! [DEX GRUNTS.]
[DISPATCHER OVER RADIO.]
Third floor, 2312 King Street.
Two suspects, violent.
[OFFICER 1 OVER RADIO.]
Roger that, dispatch.
2312 King Street [OFFICER 2.]
Police! Hands in the air! I'm FBI.
I have ID.
If you look in my pocket, you'll find my wallet.
Two armed suspects broke into my home.
[YOUNG DEX.]
tried not to, but I liked All right, all right, everybody, settle down.
We're getting to the good part of the evening.
[MAN.]
You mean dessert? [CROWD LAUGHING.]
[SPEAKER.]
As if you need another freakin' cannoli, Mikey! [CROWD LAUGHING.]
[SPEAKER.]
Our agenda tonight is simple.
Our endorsement of a candidate for district attorney [ON RECORDING.]
It's Karen.
You know what to do.
Karen? Where the hell are you? [ELEVATOR DINGS.]
[METAL DETECTOR BEEPS.]
- How did you get up here? - I checked into a room.
This floor FBI is personnel only.
Hi, I'm Karen Page.
I'm with the Bulletin.
We know who you are.
Well, I'd like to talk to him.
[LIM.]
Not gonna happen.
[SCOFFS.]
Under his agreement, he's entitled to speak to the press.
Unless you two wanna make the call to violate that? Fisk and his lawyers have to sign off on all press requests.
They tell all you people to screw off.
You're wasting your time.
All right.
Well, why don't you call his lawyers and tell them I want to give Mr.
Fisk a chance to comment on a story that I'm writing about a Marlene Vistain? That's Fisk's mother.
Shit.
He actually had one? Go ahead.
Call his lawyers.
I'll wait.
[TOWER.]
Prosecutions aren't the whole story.
The vast majority of our caseload never sees a jury, because we bring such strong cases to bear that defendants plead guilty voluntarily.
Which means more bad guys in jail for less money.
Something we all can agree on? Until you let them out of prison again.
Isn't that right, Mr.
Tower? Because you sign off on both kinds of deals, don't you, sir? Is that Foggy Nelson? Uh Sure is, Mr.
Gerlach.
What are you doing, Foggy? I told your girlfriend if you ain't on the ballot, you can't speak.
But the Nelsons are members, too, and this is an endorsement meeting.
Members can ask questions, isn't that right? It ain't gonna change the vote, Foggy.
You're just holding up dessert and pissing people off.
[CROWD LAUGHING.]
I apologize to everyone.
This won't take long.
Said every lawyer ever.
[LAUGHTER.]
We can be long-winded, sure.
But I'm not billing anyone for this.
I'm running my own write-in campaign for DA.
Most of you know that by now.
I'm not running 'cause I expect to win.
I'm running to hold him accountable.
Debate is the soul of democracy.
So why aren't you talking about Wilson Fisk? Are you running for office, Mr.
Tower, or are you running away from responsibility for his situation? We've been here before, Mr.
Nelson.
Do you still claim to have no influence over his release from prison to live among us here in the city again? The powers of my office are limited to state law.
Wilson Fisk's situation is entirely under federal jurisdiction and [FOGGY.]
You mean crimes he's already been sentenced for? - Of course.
- But you can prosecute for crimes he's committing right now, can't you? What crimes? The man is locked up in FBI custody 24 hours a day.
In a five-star hotel.
Because he made a deal with the feds.
Living in luxury as long as he gives up major underworld figures.
Which Fisk has done, time and again, making this city safer.
Or making his competition disappear.
That's right.
Wilson Fisk is informing on carefully-selected targets.
Using the government as his private army to reclaim his position at the center of this city's criminal underworld.
This is fantasy.
No, it's a harsh reality.
There are government officials who are controlled by various criminals.
What Wilson Fisk has done is take all those criminals and turn them over to the FBI.
And keep all those corrupt officials for himself.
He's planning to turn himself into a one-stop shop for bribery and protection.
It's all right here.
[TOWER.]
Mr.
Nelson.
As district attorney, you can't just pander to a crowd.
You have to prove your case.
- I can.
- [TOWER.]
No, you can't.
My turn.
At your fancy law firm, what they teach is, "Create a fiction.
" What story does a jury need to hear? Not what facts.
I have been prosecuting for 13 years, and I can tell you this is not how criminal law works.
Moving speeches impress a crowd, but they don't stand up in criminal court.
I don't have your experience, Mr.
Tower.
It's true.
But then again, I'm not jaded from doing the same thing for too many years, either.
I'm still passionate about what the law can do.
And that's a very powerful tool to work with.
Because when you get beyond the cold facts and really get worked up about what you're doing, you can Holy shit.
I can't hear you.
You can do what, Mr.
Nelson? Freeze up in front of a jury? [TOWER LAUGHING.]
[KAREN SCOFFS.]
We'll be watching.
- [DOOR CLOSES.]
- You gotta be kidding me.
[FISK.]
Ms.
Page.
I must admit, I'm surprised you're here.
I suppose this qualifies as hard time? Yes, I'm sure all of this is offensive to you, given our personal history.
You mean the times you tried to have me killed? Crimes for which I'm still paying.
Yes.
It's offensive.
Tea? No, thank you.
I'm not here for tea.
Sit down.
You came for words, at least.
Yeah.
Let's Let's have some words.
You are not writing an article about my mother.
I'm not? I could.
To what end, Ms.
Page? My distress? [KAREN.]
Hmm.
Doesn't actually sound that bad, now that you say it.
I do not welcome intrusions into my privacy.
Yet you invited me in? You worked for Ben Urich, didn't you? I believe he mentored you.
Yes, before he was murdered.
A final lesson.
One you seem not to have understood.
Is that a threat? It's an observation.
Well, you're right.
I'm not here to talk about your mother.
I'd rather talk about what she told Ben.
Actually, really, rather, what she told us.
See, I don't think you know, but I was with him.
It probably wasn't fair.
Two trained journalists working on a feeble old woman like that.
It's easy to push her.
Get her to say things she doesn't want to.
Your point? She remembered a lot about your childhood.
They say the oldest memories stick around the longest.
She remembered a lot of little things.
A lot of embarrassing things.
Seems like there were a lot of those, weren't there, Willie? I'm sure your readers at the Bulletin will be as entertained as you are.
No, we would never print those.
We just pass them around the office.
How is it around your office? I heard about your misfortune.
Before it even happened, I'm sure.
No, the story that we will print is her very detailed description of your father.
And how you murdered him.
[INHALES SHARPLY.]
A hammer.
At that age? Is there any part of you that isn't broken, I wonder? [INHALES DEEPLY.]
[EXHALES DEEPLY.]
[FISK SIGHS.]
You asked me why I let you in.
The reason is, Ms.
Page, I have a few questions of my own.
You are a respected journalist, but at one time you were merely a secretary at a law firm.
To Matt Murdock, yes? Office manager.
Intimately involved in his affairs, huh? His business affairs.
Of course.
Tell me, so at what point did you learn about Mr.
Murdock's secret life? Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms.
Page.
[SOFTLY.]
Okay.
Okay.
You want secrets? I can tell you a secret, Wilson.
Okay if I call you that? I feel like we know each other well enough by now.
- [FISK.]
As you wish, Karen.
- Great.
James Wesley.
What was it like for you when he disappeared? Really, it's those first 24 hours that are the worst, aren't they? When you call and you call and you call, and there's just no answer.
It becomes an obsession.
The calling.
The never-ending loop of a ghost's voice mail in your ear.
You worry.
You wonder.
You swear, "God damn it, if he's still living, I'm gonna kill him myself.
" Is that what it was like for you? Did you rage at him? 'Cause you thought he betrayed you? Because I wonder what would be worse for you.
His duplicity or his death? [FISK BREATHING SHAKILY.]
[SOFTLY.]
He died quickly.
If you were wondering.
Didn't suffer much.
You see, Wilson, Matt Murdock isn't the person you should be worried about.
I killed Wesley.
I shot him seven times.
Because the clip ran out.
He deserved more.
[YELLS.]
[WELLERS.]
Don't move! [YELLS AND GROANS.]
What? What? Foggy? Think of it as a compliment.
That they actually thought I would try to kill him? - I had to tell them something.
- No, Foggy, you didn't.
You ruined it.
I had him.
Had him? Fisk would snap you like a twig.
At least they'd have it on video.
Was that really your plan? God damn it, Karen.
Don't turn into Matt on me.
Look, I didn't want him to kill me.
Just come after me.
Oh, good.
- Well, I got the idea from you.
- Me? All that talk about Tower and catching him off guard, and I thought, "Yeah, just get Fisk to stop thinking and reacting emotionally instead.
" I figured you were thinking something like that.
Not a bad plan, actually.
Except for the part where you have to hope the FBI comes in before that monster beats you to death.
- Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? - [ELEVATOR DINGS.]
How did you even know I was here? I know you.
When you didn't come I thought of some possibilities and this was my nightmare scenario.
So I pretty much counted on it.
At least I took my shot.
You took a shot.
Tomorrow, there's gonna be an army shooting back.
The report, for your insurance.
Thank you.
[KNOCK ON DOOR.]
Come with me.
Yeah, yeah, another late one.
I know, babe, but they're filing charges against the Albanians tomorrow, and I never reviewed my account.
Yeah, I'm not gonna make it home tonight.
Kiss Sami for me.
I love you, too.
[BREATHING HEAVILY.]
[GRUNTS.]
[LINE RINGING.]
Boss.
Nadeem.
Sorry to wake you.
We need to talk.
[ELEVATOR DINGS.]
After you.
This was here the whole time? [FISK.]
Yes.
We, um I have a problem.
Nadeem knows.
I know he does.
We will take care of the problem.
Dex rage cannot stay inside.
It needs to go somewhere or it becomes a poison.
It will kill you from within.
I find that when this rage cannot stay buried in me for one more second that a primal scream is the only satisfying release.
Yes.
Yeah.
[SCREAMS.]
[YOUNG DEX OVER RECORDING.]
I like making things happen without anybody knowing it's me who did it.
[MERCER OVER RECORDING.]
Let's do our exercise.
Close your eyes.
[MATT.]
He didn't have any parents.
[YOUNG DEX.]
I'm digging a hole.
Spent a lot of time fighting.
[YOUNG DEX.]
Buried my anger in the ground.
- [MERCER.]
Good.
- Angry.
- [MERCER.]
Now cover it with dirt.
- [YOUNG DEX.]
Okay.
But, Dr.
Mercer? - Go ahead and say it.
- [YOUNG DEX.]
I want to open the box.
I promised to keep my mouth shut.
- But you want to say it sounds familiar.
- Does it? I didn't have anyone either, but I'm nothing like him.
The tapes make it sound like he was a killer at a young age.
The guy's a psychopath.
And I had a chance today.
A shot to catch him off guard, and I blew it.
You did what you thought was right.
You kept your word to Agent Nadeem.
Yeah.
And how many people will die because of it? I don't know if I have the strength to get through this.
[MATT GRUNTING.]
He's so stubborn.
Full of fury and foolish pride.
Please watch over him.
Keep him from making the same damned mistake that took you from us.
Our son is too much like you, Jack.
Mom? Mom.
No.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING.]