The Punisher: Blood Feud (Book 1)

-Prologue-

-LACEY-

I stepped out of the terminal, and I head straight outside to be picked up by Erykah, my roommate. There was no way in hell that I was going to be some small town transport cliché. I've been here before to secure my job and new apartment. I made sure to sell the house I'd lived in, and settled all of my affairs. I have a job to do, and shoes to fill. Karen Page was leaving The Bulletin, and out of hundreds of applicants, I was chosen.

That means that I need to have my shit in order. I'm ready to come in and work. I scan the pickup area until I spot her car, a 1969 Chevy Impala...and yes, she had it custom made to match the Winchester vehicle. She's a huge Supernatural fan. She's a fan of a lot of things, which is why she moved out here. Ever since the Battle of 2012, she's wanted to be close to the action. Aside from my job, I moved here to keep an eye on her.

"Hey," I greet her as I get into the car.

"How was your flight?" Erykah replies, closing the visor after checking her makeup.

"It was good," I inform her. "I used the money from selling my car to fly first class. Why not? It's a one-way trip."

"As you should," she affirms. "Are you hungry? We're meeting Karen for lunch."

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm ready to work."

As we pull into the busy lane to leave the airport, she sighs in a way that tells me that I'm in for a lecture.

"Get it out of your system," I murmured, amused.

"Just promise me that you won't bury yourself in work," she appealed to me. "Don't use it as an excuse to avoid things."

"There's nothing to avoid," I insist. "He was killed in action."

"...In some classified operation that they couldn't tell you about!" She argued. "They never even found his body. Not even his tags...they won't even tell you how or why...You're a reporter! You know something isn't right!"

"What do you expect me to do about it?" I demand.

"Since when do you back off of a story?" She shot back. "He was your husband! Don't you want to know what happened?"

"I don't know if I'm ready to," I admit. "What if I find something that ruins my memory of him?"

"Why would you?" She asks in a softer tone.

"...I did look into it a bit," I continued. "He served in the same unit as Frank Castle and Billy Russo...headed by Schoonover and Rawlins! I think someone had Frank's family killed because he knew something! There's no plausible explanation for three separate gangs to operate in a public park! Why would they? The entire unit is dead, except for Billy and Frank. What if Dean had found out too, or worse...what if he had been a part of whatever they're trying to cover up?! You remember the cover-up! They didn't finish the job with Frank, they lied about what happened to his family! But why?"

Once I get rolling, it's hard to stop. Once I find a lead, it's hard to let go. I forced myself to drop this one. I wasn't prepared for what I might find...but Erykah was right. I needed answers, or I won't find any peace...

"First of all, breathe. You'll get through this," she consoles me. "Second, you've got me and truth be told, you could pick Karen's brain about it, too. She's still gonna be here for a few hours. If anyone knows about Frank and his story, it's her."

We pull up to the diner where we're to meet her, and I took a couple of deep breaths. I checked my appearance because I hoped that I didn't look as messed up as I felt, reliving all of this. My dark red hair was tied back loosely for the flight, but it was presentable enough.