If There's a Will

November 05, 2018:

Logan comes calling on Foggy for a new case.

Nelson & Murdock

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: None.


Fade In…

Equilibrium is a damned difficult thing to attain. Even when beset on so many sides by chaos, matters have a habit of evening out to at lease some semblance of expectation. The city, tormented by the demonic, at least has its protectors relegating some of the more vicious incursions to hot zones that are handled by various capes and their efforts. It's at the least given the city a breather… and a chance to approach something close to normalcy.
For one man in particular, however, it's given him the slim window of opportunity to try and get some things handled that have been hovering around at the edge of his awareness. The man known as Logan to some, The Wolverine to others, had focused his efforts against the demons. But now, early morning after the night's predations had been fended off, he'd arrived at the Law Offices of Nelson and Murdock seeking answers and perhaps taking a step towards resolution.
The entrance to the building didn't exactly scream success though it wasn't offputting at the least. And the ascent up the steps towards that law office only took a minute or two. It left the man standing outside the door, knuckle rapping on the glass even as he slips inside to the waiting area. Grim, haggard, doesn't exactly look like he's from the neighborhood and the reason he's calling might not be readable too easily in his body language. Though when his nostrils flare subtly and he catches the tell-tale scent of fresh brewed coffee his lip twists into a hint of a smirk.
"Mornin'." He calls out.

*

Foggy Nelson has not exactly been pulling regular office hours lately. He's up early, up late, he's open on weekends, he's open on holidays. So, it isn't all that unusual that Logan arrives to find someone in the office — even if it is just Foggy Nelson on his own, pouring over some recent documents that have come in on the Wilson Fisk case.

One is a deposition for Foggy Nelson's testimony. He's staring at it with a kind of half-focused expression, and he barely breaks through the half-thoughtfulness when he hears the rapt of knuckles against the door.

He almost frowns suspiciously before he starts to pull himself up to his feet, brushing his hands back through his leonine — cowardly lion, if you asked some — mane out of his eyes. "Um, here." Foggy shuts the folder on the documents, tucking them under a big book that looks like a boring lawyer tome. When he finally gets to the door to his office, he blinks in surprise at the sight of the person in his waiting room. "Um, morning." He hesitates before he steps forward. "Foggy Nelson of Nelson and Murdock. Can I… can I help you?"

*

Jeans, boots, black t-shirt and a brown leather jacket cover the man and give him a rather informal look to him. The stubble on his cheeks and chin not to mention the mutton chops gives him something of a look of the wild but his blue eyes might allay that sentiment somewhat. He meets Foggy's gaze evenly, then extends a hand towards the man as he closes the distance with a few strides. And if that hand's accepted then the handshake will be a firm grip of iron, not pushing but simply like grabbing a hold of a stone outcropping.
"You open?" He asks with a quick glance around the room, taking a breath and giving a small grunt as if having expected something else though the what of it isn't entirely clear.
Unless he's stopped he presses on, "Most people call me Logan," He steadily on at Nelson and then adds, "And I'm hopin' you can."

*

"Pretty much if someone's here, we're open. Office hours were so twentieth century… and firms larger than two dudes who only own two to three decent suits." The words are half-rambled, but he does take the hand in a rather modest grip which will of course be nothing compared to the deep ache that travels through his hand at Logan's handshake.

Damn metahumans and their show-off-ness.

Then he withdraws his hand, squeezing and opening his fingers several times before he glances back to his office, gesturing Logan in. "Come in, Logan…" He hesitates. "You a Kitchener? I've not seen you around the neighborhood." Which is a casual Foggy way to inquire: just how far have you come to get help from the Avocados at Law.

*

Walking in further, Logan lifts a hand to the back of his neck and continues to eyeball the place as if looking for something that might be out of the ordinary or just out of view. But nothing springs to the fore even as he looks back torwards Foggy. "No. No 'fraid not." He tilts his head to the side and murmurs, "Word on the street you folks tend to give some effort to kinda out there cases and mine's…" He scrunches up one eye as if trying to find the right word, "Mine's fairly out there to be sure."
He enters Foggy's office and without being offered will drop into one of the seats, but he only sits on the edge of it, leaning forwards with his hands joining and fingers interlacing. "I'm gonna level with ya, Mr. Nelson. My life's been all over the place and unfortunately some years back I had an injury that played havoc with my faculties." That can't be reassuring.
He flares his hands and murmurs, "So there's some years or so unaccounted for things. And you and yours come highly recommended. Also you have an angle on a PI or somethin'?" He asks but then presses on. "Any case, I don't want you guys to go crazy with the diggin' just I think there may be connections, assets, funds or whatever that might help to have on hand. Especially considerin' things that have been goin' down."

*

The door closes behind then, just in case Brown or another one of the interns shows up. It makes his small office more than a little cozy. He likes the small office, though. It is a nice juxtaposition to the office he could have had if he had never left to start his own firm with Matt. Foggy steps behind his desk once Logan has settled in, and he sits with a squeak of the hydraulics.

He hesitates a moment, reaching for a yellow legal pad and pencil. Then he settles back into his chair, nodding slightly. "Well, we are the firm who represented James Buchanan, so I guess you could say we have a reputation for the odd ones."

He listens to Logan's explanation, and he frowns slightly. "Yes, we use Alias Investigations… Ms. Jones comes highly recommended." His head tilts slightly. "… Are you trying to find out more about… who you are, Logan?"

*

Shaking his head, Logan says simply. "Not exactly." He holds up his hands as if trying to stave off Foggy's inquiry but there's a subtle fog in the man's gaze, that hint of a mind reaching towards recollections. "I think I know a good chunk of what went down. And I'll be able to send some information your way. Names, places, dates. I don't think it'd be good for you to dig too hard at some bits. But it's more…" He lifts one rough hand to the back of his neck and grimaces.
"More that with some of the things of late, if somethin' happens, it might be important for me ta be able to leave what I can to the people that I consider important. You understand?" This time he does pause as he looks across the way towards Foggy, his own eyes narrowing slightly as if seeking the depths of Nelson's gaze.

*

Not exactly, he says, but something about this case feels like that's exactly what this is. He frowns to himself, and then nods. "A will. You want to set yourself up with a will, in case something happens, and since this is probably odd, you think that there will be more legal issues than a typical write-up."

He pieces things together pretty well — or at least he hopes he has made the right call on what's happening here. He frowns to himself. "I understand… you'll need to really let me know what the parameters of the investigation is. Our PI can get, well, very dedicated to her job."

*

A grunt is given then a nod, "If ya don't mind, I'd like some words with the investigator afore I give the full go ahead." Logan leans forwards further, the chair complaining with a rough creak despite his frame seeming to not be too much to strain the thing. "But whatever headway you can make with whatever funds or accounts or whatever. But yeah…"
There's a pause as silence reigns for a brief bit of time before he adds, "A will." He lifts a hand to the side and murmurs as he lets his eyes slip away. "And I'd appreciate some discretion if possible. But ultimately results are more important." He then looks back, eyeing Foggy as if the man had suddenly sprouted a carrot on the end of his nose.
"You mind if I get some of that coffee?" He asks, holding up a fingertip in the general direction of the pot.

*

"Um, well… we're basically under the umbrella of client privilege now, so you can be rest assured that I'm going to be discrete, as will the investigator." Foggy makes a couple brief notes on his notepad, and any glance would show they are written in Foggy's unique shorthand.

He looks up slightly at the gesture, and then smiles a bit apologetically. "Oh yeah, man… sorry… I usually offer, but I've been here since 3 AM." He rubs at his forehead slightly before he takes a couple more notes. Then he looks up. "Once we have all the information we need, much of this is going to be a crazy ton amount of paperwork… and as honest as you are within the will, the better. It won't be public knowledge, and once done, will be sealed until you either want to change it, or… it is activated."

Until you die, in other words.

*

A nod is given as the weathered looking man rises from his seat and moves on out into the reception area and heads towards the coffee. It won't take him long to get himself settled with what mugs or cups are available and pours himself some brew. Once that's done he returns to Foggy's office, sipping at the steaming beverage as he stands there in the doorway, both hands on the drink.
"Hopefully won't be anytime soon, but yeah." His eyebrows lift as he looks at the cup and then back towards Foggy appreciatively, "This is damn fine coffee." He takes another sip and then moves over towards his seat again though still refrains from reclaiming it.
"3 AM, heavy workload." He observes then he nods again, "Now you start puttin' some elbow grease into this thing and you and yours get some push back. I want you to tell me and then go hands off. Some folks might not be pleased with the pokin' around. I'll handle it if needs be. Can you work under that term?"

*

Nelson waits until Logan comes back with his coffee. He's taken a few notes on his legal pad and he puts his pen down once Logan has returned to the office. He waits for Logan to sit, and when he doesn't, the man just sits back a bit.

"Thanks. Pepper makes good coffee." He smiles a bit to himself. "She's made it into an art."

Then he rubs his hands back through his hair until it is slicked back from his face once more, and he breathes out a slow breath that turns into a small smile. "More like there's lots of people who need a good lawyer… now that Fisk is out of Hell's Kitchen." He then hesitates, frowning slightly at the terms presented to him. He nods slowly. "Yeah… I think we can do that. And if we can't, we will reimburse and make sure everything we've found is handed over."

*

A nod is given, "Alright." Something about the way the man says that, the weight he imparts on that proclamation as if it sets everything in motion. Which, perhaps to his point of view, it does. He takes another draw from the cup of coffee and then sets it down on the edge of his desk. "You'll prolly get a decent sized email next few days. One of the people I work with will finagle somethin' and you prolly won't recognize the name but the information I'm givin' to you needs to be cleared as best it can since it might effect others."
He rests the knuckles of one hand onto the desk's surface and gives a nod towards the lawyer. "A list of names, places, times. Shouldn't take too much to track down what ya can. As for a fee, whatever you think is fair. I ain't exactly Daddy Warbucks over here, but figure whatever you track down a percentage of what you gain? 2%?"

*

Foggy blinks at the way the man leans in. Despite being almost the same height as the X-Man, there's no way that he's intimidated by the Wolverine. He nods slowly with an earnest, honest bob of his head. "Yeah, man… I'm tracking. Really." Then he hesitates at the offer. "Alright. But I'll only take 2 if I think that, that's fair. Otherwise, we can stay with base fees, alright? This sounds important enough… and honestly… I also accept pie as payment."

He smiles a bit, trying to show Logan that he's taking this seriously, but not too seriously.

*

For a moment the way the fellow gauges him, Foggy might well feel like he's being judged. It's all in those blue eyes and how they narrow and seem to somehow look through him. But then he gives a small exhalation that's close to a laugh and he nods his head as he looks down then back up towards the lawyer. "Pie. Alright. We'll figure somethin' out."
That said he turns away, leaving that coffee and the attorney behind him as he steps towards the door. "Right then, Mr. Nelson. I'll be in touch. Give my regards to your people. And whoever made that coffee." He steps to the door, holds it open and seems he's about to head on out. But he pauses to ask, "You want this open or closed?"
And whichever way the fellow wants, it's left that way even as the X-Man saunters towards the X-it.

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