2012-08-12 Sue Storm needs a Lawyer

It is midafternoon and the sun's beams are just making their way through the window in the waiting room of Nelson and Murdock. A pretty young woman sits at the desk in the room typing into the computer and answering the phone when it rings. To one side, the office of Foggy Nelson appears to be dark and unoccupied. Murdock's office, however, has the door open and the blind lawyer of Hell's Kitchen can just be seen running his fingers over a large law book on his desk.
Matt appears to be fairly relaxed at the moment. He is wearing a simple dark suit. His reddish glasses obscure his eyes from view. His walking stick sits against the desk next to him.
Sue Storm has been searching for a lawyer she feels she can trust, and one of the octogenarians she was visiting earlier today directed her toward this office in Hell's Kitchen. She was honestly a bit leery about it, but the little elderly lady was adamant. So, here she is. Just in case, she's hidden her '4' necklace under the collar of her t-shirt and is dressed VERY casually.
Stepping into the office, she offers the young woman at the front desk a smile as she says, "Hello. May I make an appointment to see Mr. Murdock?"
The young woman looks up from her desk to offer a warm smile to Sue. "Good afternoon. Of course." She flips open a leather book, glances at the pages, and then up to Sue. "Actually, this afternoon's appointment just cancelled so he is open now." She turns in her desk to press a button on the phone. "Matt, there is someone here looking to speak with you." The speaker can be heard on low volume in Matt's office.
Rather than push the button, Matt calls out, "I'll be right out." He gets up from his desk and gets the walking stick at his side. He moves a little slowly, but confidently, around his desk and out into the waiting room. He turns to face towards Sue from practice in his own office. "Good afternoon. I'm Matthew Murdock. How can I help you?"
Sue Storm is very pleasantly surprised and turns to smile a hello to Mr. Murdock. "Good afternoon. I was wondering if you'd have time to help me with something hopefully very simple?" She takes a step toward the lawyer and offers her hand, having missed that he's using a cane. 
While she likely appears to be very normal to the receptionist, she probably seems a little... burlier than her voice would imply to Matt's way of perceiving the world.
There is a slight tilt of Matt's head as he regards his newest potiential client. He remains quiet for a moment, and while he is quite aware that Sue's hand is out, he plays the blind man and keeps both hands on the cane which he plants in front of him. "Of course," Matt says with perhaps just a slight bit of puzzlement in his voice. "I hope I can help." He lifts one hand up, gesturing back towards his office. "Please come in and take a seat."
Sue Storm gets the hint that the man is actually blind and lowers her hand again. When he gestures toward his office she nods out of habit. "Thank you, I hope so too." She waits for him to enter his office first.
Tap. Tap. Tap. The walking stick is in front of Matt although he only cursory uses it here in his office. He walks into his office and moves to take a seat behind his desk. His mouth is set in a some what thin lin as he waits for Sue to come in and take a seat. He sniffs slightly at the air. Either she doesn't believe in perfume, which would be odd for someone with a young voice albiet thicker than one might expect, or else something is blocking it. Either way, Matt tenses slightly as he sits in his chair ready in case this is a trap. "Now how can I help you, Miss....?" he asks as they settle into the office.
Sue Storm follows Matt into his office and settles lightly into one of the chairs there, the chair itself preventing the receptionist from seeing that she's actually about an inch or two away from the chair itself. "Well, I was looking at my finances the other day, and I thought it might be a good idea to establish a power of attorney in case something should happen to me."
Matt nods slowly. He sets his cane down against his chair. His hands tap against the top of the desk for a moment as he picks up a tiny recorder and sets it in the middle of the desk. He presses the record button before settling back into his chair once more. "I hope you do not mind that I use the recorder? I'm afraid pen and paper are not really my forte." He offers a slight smile to Sue. He calls out in a slightly louder voice, "Karen, could you please see to some coffee for the young lady and then close the office door?" 
Karen gets up from behind her desk and is soon busy getting coffee together. In the meantime, Matt once more focuses on the mystery woman in front of you. "You will forgive me, but you do sound young. I find it unusual that young people spend much time thinking about power of attorney. Is there any particular reason you are concerned with something befalling you?"
Sue Storm thinks about that for a moment. Does she reaveal to this lawyer who she is? Any other lawyer would have already known, so it's only fair. "Well, to be honest, I am. My name is Susan Storm."
Indeed. That does explain a great deal. Of course her body appears muted. She must have a personal field up as we speak. Matt does just a very slight nod. "Ahhh. I see. The famous Invisible Girl. I am surprised that Karen did not recognize you immediately. I have heard her speak of all the Fantastic Four have done in such a short time." His body relaxes slightly as he doesn't feel this might be a trap any longer. Karen does come in now with the coffee. "Do you like cream or sugar in your coffee, Miss?" She obviously didn't hear the revelation nor is she looking that closely at Sue.
Sue Storm smiles up at Karen. "Cream, please." She relaxes a bit in her chair as Matt's own posture seems a little less tense, and she knows she made the right decision in telling him who she is.
Karen adds a touch of cream to Sue's coffee and sets the mug on the desk by her. She smiles and heads out with the service and shuts the door behind her. "I am flattered that you chose to come here, Miss Storm. Could I ask what brought you to my firm here in Hell's Kitchen? I do not get a great many celebrities down here," he says with a soft laugh.
Sue Storm smiles at that as she picks up the coffee cup and takes a sip, the forcefield apparently disappearing like a soap bubble to allow this. "Honestly? I was about to approach one of the big name firms downtown, but Ms. Ball from that brownstone a few blocks down told me you'd be the best possible person to contact."
As the shield drop, a rush of sounds and scents come to Matt. He takes her measure without a word and then nods with a smile. "Well, that is always good to have a bit of word of mouth advertising. We are certainly not a high volume firm, but you will be dealing with me or my partner Foggy Nelson. No staffers. No run around. You've already met two thirds of the firm right now." He smiles again and then leans forward slightly in his chair. "So you wish to set up power of attorney." His voice takes on a business tone. "Do you have a benificary in mind already?"
Sue Storm nods out of habit again as she sets her coffee cup back down, the forcefield returning the moment she lets go of the ceramic container. "I do. My aunt in Connecticut. I've alraedy talked with her about it on the phone. She's not thrilled with the idea, but said she would."
And she is muffled again, but having heard her heartbeat for the moment, Matt can hear the muffled beat's rhythm even through the shield now. Always helpful that one. "Let me guess. She feels it is too morbid or just does not wish that kind of responsibility?"
Sue Storm chuckles softly. "You called it on the morbid. I just... know what's out there." Her tone becomes a bit more serious at that last bit, and she sits back in the chair. "I really do hope that this is a frivolous exercise, but I'd rather be prepared, you know?"
"Certainly," Matt says with a nod. "I know of enough just here in my little corner of the world, Miss Storm. I can only imagine some of the things you have come across." He reaches with his left hand into a drawer on the desk. His finger tips play along the tabs on the manilla folders within, reading the slightly raised dots on each. He stops and pulls out a form. He slides it over towards her. "Since you are fairly young, it is a faily simple thing to get the power of attorney assigned."
Sue Storm leans forward again to take the paper and look at it. "Really. Well, that's a relief. I was expecting the worst. Will I need to fill this out here and now, or do I take it home and return it to you when it's completed?"
"Take that home. Fill out all the details to the best of your abilities. We need to know exactly what position you are in now so we can make sure all of your wishes are fulfilled in giving power over to your aunt." Matt sits back. "If you could have that back to me within the week, I should be able to have your request done within tend days."
Sue Storm ahs and nods. "I can do that easily enough. Thank you again, Mr. Murdock. I very much appreciate this."
SEVERAL DAYS LATER:
What a day. Sue had been on her way to meet with Mr. Murdock again with her paperwork when that bakery mess happened, and it delayed her by a good three hours as she was the only person who stuck around long enough to explain what happened to the NYPD. But, she finally arrives, and with a gift that will hopefully appease the law firm's staff -- a box of cupcakes that the bakery owner insisted she take as thanks for minimizing the damage to his shop and customers.
Matt runs his fingers over the face of his watch as he checks the time. "Karen, any phone calls yet?" He is standing in the main waiting room next to the receptionist's desk. "I believe my appointment was several..." He pauses as he turns to face the door. "Never mind. It would appear she is here now. And it smells like fresh baked goods too." He opens the door to the office as Sue approaches to knock. "Miss Storm, I presume."
Sue Storm smiles apologetically as the door opens just as she's about to knock. "Yes. Sorry about the delay, Mr. Murdock. There was ... a bit of confusion at the bakery. Would you like a cupcake?"
"It is New York City, Miss Storm. I can understand how things can come up." Matt smiles and makes way at the doorway so Sue can enter the office. He does take an offered cupcake. "Yes, thank you." He lifts it slightly towards his nose. "They smell quite fresh and none of that stale air smell of a supermarket either."
Sue Storm steps into the office. "Yes. The baker said he'd made them just after the lunch rush."
Matt walks towards the desk and leans his leg against it for a bit of support as he begins to unwrap the cupcake. Karen also gets up from the desk and comes over to the young lady. "Thank you, Miss Storm," she says as she takes a cupcake. "They look very good." She smiles before returning to her desk. Matt has bitten into his and lets out a small sound of pleasure. "You must tell me the bakery, Miss Storm. Karen will probably revolt against me after tasting hers." 
Sue Storm chuckles softly with a gracious nod to Karen and offers the name and the address of the bakery. "They're going to be closed for a few days while their doors are replaced, but then let them know I sent you." She also lets the secretary take the rest of the box as she settles into a chair at Murdock's desk. "And I was told that they also make breakfast kolaches in the mornings."
Karen takes the cupcakes as well as the name of the bakery. It will find its way into Matt's voice intenary. Matt follows Sue into his office and makes his way around to his chair where he sits down. "No one was hurt I hope?" he asks as he settles into his chair. "I will be sure to pass on the recommendation as well, but I'm afraid all I ever really have time for in the morning is just coffee much to the chargrin of Miss Page out there and my partner."
"Thankfully, no, because of the quick actions of a few brave individuals." Sue doesn't mention that she helped. "So, I have the power of attorney documents here..?"
"That is good to hear. I know that New York City can get a bit of a bad reputation, but in my experience, there are plenty of people willing to help each other when the time comes." Matt reaches with his right hand and pulls open a drawer. Fingers play along the files, reading the braille tabs, until he finds the one he wants. He pulls it out and opens it on his desk. "Very good, Miss Storm. Did you have any questions about any of it as you were filling them out?"
Sue Storm says, "Not really, no. They were pretty straightforward." She doesn't mention that she asked another lawerish friend of her aunt's look them over and got word back that they're basic stock legal documentation. "I hope I filled in everything necessary." She even took the care to press on the papers harder than is her habit, to leave impressions that the lawyer might be able to detect. Hopefully. She sets a folder on Murdock's desk where it's not on top of anything else and easy for the lawyer to reach, making sure it lands with a little of a slap on the surface."
Matt's hands reach out and take the folder off of his desk. He leans over to an intercom and presses a button. "Karen, can you come in here for a moment." After a beat, the door opens and Karen comes in. "Can you tell me if this document is signed here," he gestures, "here", and again, "and here." While Matt could read with his fingertips he does put on the show for others. Karen leans over his shoulders looking where he tells her too. "Yes. All signed." Matt smiles. "Thank you, Karen." She heads back out of the office. "So your aunt was agreeable to being made your next of kin I take it?"
Sue Storm nods, out of habit. "Yes. She wasn't thrilled as I'd predicted, but she agreed to do it." She shakes her head a little. "She even said in passing that she'd been waiting for me to approach her about it since that shuttle mission."
Matt makes no mention of her nodding even as he can hear the change in where her breathing is as her head moves. "I take it that it made you a bit more releaved that she was expecting this talk? I probably should have volunteered to come with you to answer any questions she might have had as well."
Sue Storm says, "It's all right. And, yes, it did. She insisted on having her own lawyer look at the documents, and he said everything looked on the up and up. Thank you, though. I would certainly have called if I'd felt it warranted."
Matt nods. "It is always good to have a second look at any document like this. I trust that I have built a little confidence within you now so that if you do have further legal needs that Nelson and Murdock is certainly here to assisst you."
Sue Storm chuckles softly at that. "At this point, I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else. And I'll be sure to recommend you to everyone I can."
Matt smiles at this and offers his hand to Sue. "That is all I can ask for then. Unless you have any further questions or neccissities, Miss Storm? I will keep the documents here plus have copies in a secure location so that there is no doubt about the legalities if anything were to happen to you."
Sue Storm smiles and takes Matt's hand, the slight difference of her forcefield around her hand possibly a little disconcerting to physically touch. "Thank you again so much, Mr. Murdock. This is a huge relief."
The field almost feels slippery to Matt's touch. He files that sensation away for later use if need be. "Of course, Miss Storm. I'm glad I could help. Good day, and thank you once more for the cupcakes."
Sue Storm moves to stand then. "Have a good day, and thank YOU for accepting them. I really didn't want to take them home. You know?"
Matt stands and chuckles softly. "You would have more fights over who got the last one then it is worth it, I assume?"
Sue Storm can't help but laugh lightly at that. "Exactly. And those fights can sometimes turn ... ugly, if you get my meaning."
Matt opens his office door and walks with Sue through the waiting room with a nod. "I understand you perfectly. Hopefully at some point, I will get to meet the rest of your unusual family, Miss Storm. Karen is hoping for a picture of Johnny at some point in the future."
Sue Storm follows Matt back to the lobby, amused by the mention of Johnny. "I'll see what I can do about that, then."
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