The knowledge that someone unfamiliar might be watching him in Hell's Kitchen had Matt horribly on edge. Even worse, the watcher had the codename Hawkeye which, if it meant anything at all, implied great vision. The fact that his weapon of choice was a bow and arrow heavily implied good eyesight as well, but knowing whether or not it was enhanced was a matter Matt knew nothing about. If his vision was as good as any of Matt's senses, there was no way of knowing he would observe Hawkeye before the man made him. Matt didn't know entirely how to be assured he was not watched and opted instead for taking the most roundabout paths and detours to and from his apartment. If sight was Hawkeye's strong suit, then it would be hampered by twisting detours around corners and in dark alleyways. Just the fact that that someone was watching, however, wasn't enough to prevent him from going out during the nights. He couldn't ignore the cries in the dark even if he tried—he had tried that before.

Between breaking up fights and protecting late-night stragglers caught out on the streets, Matt spent as long as he could perched on roofs, simply listening. It had taken almost a week of patient nights listening for any signs before he heard the first whispers of HYDRA in the city. It was almost nothing, but as he was about to call it a night, he heard the echo of a quiet 'Hail HYDRA' from several blocks away and was on his feet in an instant, moving towards the source. By the time Matt was close, he had lost the exact location of the sound though he knew he was close. Settling down again, he continued to listen—all exhaustion was gone, replaced with adrenaline. However there was no more talking and no hints to tell him where exactly HYDRA might be. Matt memorized the area anyway before returning home.

The next night Matt returned to the same roof, passing by several opportunities he potentially could have helped. HYDRA settling into Hell's Kitchen took priority over petty crime. Again there was no indication of anything underhanded going on. The area was quiet. It was two days later and he was about to give up on the lead when a large vehicle—a van he was fairly certain from the sound of it—parked outside the building across the street from where he was waiting. There was a loud grating and then suddenly noise came to Matt's ears. A ramp to a basement had opened up and he realized it had been soundproofed. If he had known what to listen for, he might have been able to hear, but only listening for the normal sounds of people in buildings, he hadn't thought to try harder.

There were at least three people in the basement, moving boxes and then unloading the van. No matter how he tried, Matt couldn't tell what exactly it was being unloaded and no one was talking except for a few short, barked commands. The ramp shut and Matt had to strain to hear even the faintest of noises from inside. He hesitated for a long while, wondering before he made a decision and slipped his burner phone from his pocket, dialing the number Natasha had given him for Hawkeye.

"Daredevil." A man's voice greeted, answering only after several rings. "Nat said you might call."

Matt hesitated for a moment, knowing it would be entirely possible to try and match his voice. But that was something Natasha could have easily done if she hadn't already. "I found a pocket of HYDRA. I haven't been able to determine what they are doing, but they are taking shipments of something delivered in vans." There was silence on the other end. "Have you heard anything new?"

"Nothing you haven't already been told. If HYDRA is good at anything it's hiding. You need backup?"

"I'm going to watch. If I go in now I might not find out what they are up to. It's an abandoned warehouse." Matt gave the address. "I'd appreciate it if you let me know if you find anything."

"Keep us updated. And if you need backup, call." Matt hung up the phone and returned to trying to listen.

The next night, when Matt returned to his roof, it was occupied already. He hesitated a moment before determining that the person was observing the HYDRA location. He doubted it was coincidence, so he walked over calmly. "Hawkeye." He greeted simply, listening. The man's reaction gave away that Matt had guessed correctly. Matt slipped into a more hidden position near the other man. "Have you seen anything?"

"It's quiet." Was the answer. Matt was aware of the man observing him and made a show of looking over at the building.

"Whatever is going on there, it's in the basement. There is a ramp that they can open from the roadside. Everything is soundproofed." A nod was the only answer Matt got for his comment. They sat quietly for a long while, but it seemed that nothing would happen that night. Several hours had passed without incident when Matt sighed and stretched.

Hawkeye glanced over at him. "You're certain it's HYDRA?"

"One-hundred percent." Matt answered, not wanting to tell the man how he knew. "If I call anyone from your team for backup, I want to know there will be no killing."

"Can't promise that." Hawkeye answered, and Matt frowned at him. After a minute of staring at each other, Hawkeye sighed. "I'll talk to the team. No killing if at all possible."

Matt frowned even more. The first part of his statement was the truth, but the second was a little off. "You're lying." Surprise from the archer was suddenly evident to Matt. "I don't kill, and I won't work alongside people that are killing. To me it's the same. I want a promise or I won't call."

There was a long moment of consideration. "I promise that—"

"Mean it." Matt demanded.

A sharp inhale greeted his command and he was certain that Hawkeye was trying to figure him out. He wondered for a moment if he had given too much of himself away, but Hawkeye gave no indication of observing anything strange. There was another wait before Hawkeye spoke again. "I will speak to them and we will do our best to prevent fatalities in a fight if you call us. I promise." Matt observed, waiting for any tell that the man wasn't being honest but there was no sign. He gave a sharp nod—that was as good as he was likely to get—before getting to his feet and leaving for the night, listening carefully to be sure that he wasn't being tracked. He trusted Black Widow to respect his secret identity, but Hawkeye was yet an unknown. However, as he listened for any signs that he was being tracker there were none. And so he cautiously returned to his apartment.