"to burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves."
- Federico García Lorca
Staying out of trouble is not Frank Castle's strong suit. But is Jenavieve Howlett more trouble than The Punisher can handle...
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"call me when you need me, call me anything you want, darling, believe me" - Remain Nameless, Florence + the Machine
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My eyes follow Frank as he stands up from his bed.
"How did.." he starts, frowning perplexedly.
"Like I said.. I'm not particularly fond of restraints." I tell him.
Frank looks me up and down, displeased with my response. He gives his head a little shake as he sits back down on the edge of his bed.
A small sigh escapes him as the air between us turns serious.
"You know, you.. you got a lot of people killed last night." he says lowly, pinning me in a stare.
I tense my jaw and ashamedly drop my eyes to the ground. "I know.."
"Let's do this one more time, okay? Just once." he says after a moment of silence. "Who are those people? And why are they comin' after you?"
I lift my head and look into his eyes.
"You're hiding something. What is it?" he asks. His voice is quiet and calm, but I can tell he's done with my shit.
I have to give him something. If our positions were reversed, the lack of answers would be driving me insane, and the trust would dissipate very quickly.
I want to be someone he can trust.
A deep exhale escapes me as I ready myself to divulge some truths.
"..They work for a man, who wants me to work for him." I tell Frank, who's watching me intently. "But I don't want to. I tried to tell them last night, but-"
"You think they wanna talk to you?" Frank interrupts, squinting at me. "Let me explain something, the only reason you're here right now, is because of me."
"Well duh, you drove me here." I stupidly remark.
He scoffs and shakes his head as he stands up. "They're coming after both of us now. That's where you got lucky." he continues. "See, the way I operate, the way I handle situations like this- I kill the enemy before they get to me. That's what I do."
"Mmm, real sustainable." I comment sarcastically.
"Works for me." Frank shrugs.
"Says the guy with a bullet hole in his ass."
He looks at me for a moment, then snickers humourlessly, shaking his head as he walks over to his bag.
"Guess I'm old fashioned.." he comments, digging aimlessly through his bag. "If it had been a man those assholes were goin' after, I'll tell you what, I would've bought a beer, I would've sat back and watched the show." He comes back and sits on the edge of the bed, opposite me. "But see, they came after you." he looks at me, tilting his head. "And I had to get involved."
