RUSTY | frank castle

TWENTY SIX

Rusty, seeing the tweezers on the table, walked up and took them in her hand. She looked at Curtis, who looked as scared as ever. 

Curtis shook his head. "No, Rusty. What are you doing? You two go. Just go. Rusty, just go. Frank, just go, man."

Rusty hushed him, crouching in front of him to take a look at the bomb. 

"Rusty, just go."

"Hey, look at me, Curtis." Rusty took the white wire between the tweezers. "Its the three of us, now. Okay?"

Rusty put a hand on Curt's cheek as Frank put his hand on Rusty's shoulder. 

"It's just us." Rusty braced herself, apologising to everyone if anything bad happens. I'm sorry, Lexi. I'm sorry, Fender. I'm sorry, Frank. I'm sorry, Curtis. I'm sorry. I'm sorry . . . 

 . . . 

 . . . 

 . . . No bang. No explosion. No death. 

Rusty released a shuddered breath, throwing the tweezers away. Frank grunted, and so did Curtis. Both of them relieved; as was Rusty. 

The sirens were so close now. 

"Shit." Rusty looked to Frank. "We gotta run."

Frank nodded. "Quickly, get the dogs and I'll distract them. I'll meet you on the way."

Rusty nodded, jumping out of the window and running to the van. The police cars were on the other side, facing backwards, but Rusty couldn't take the chance of being see. She put on her hood as she crossed the road, opening the van quickly and putting a finger to her lips as the dogs looked at her. "We run."

Frank zipped his hood up, walking down the steps of the house before turning around at the sight of police cars pulling up. There was even a lorry. He walked casually the other way. 

"Stop right there!" An officer called. 

Frank sprang into a run, jumping onto a car from the steps and running down the street. 

"He's heading east, towards Pine Street!"

Rusty heard the call by the officer, seeing Pine Street right in front of her. She broke into a sprint, her dogs following her fast, strong legs. She ran onto the road, seeing police cars coming her way. Rusty ran in the direction of an alleyway, nearly crashing into Frank in the process. 

They pushed past a woman, running out of the alley and onto an empty street. They stopped running after they turned a corner, putting their hoods up before they four broke into a run again at the sight of police cars coming their way. 

"Shit!"

They ran past some houses, Rusty leading the way with Frank and the dogs close by. She crossed a road, running into another alleyway. Her breathing was slightly harder, due to the running; Rusty heard Frank's footsteps and the panting of her dogs so she didn't have to stress that they were caught. Frank was a tall man and the dogs were very fast, so she didn't worry about them not being able to catch up with her speed. 

She jumped over a metal fence, the dogs clearing it easily and Frank following right after. She ran further down the alley, next to the sides of a few houses. She neared a tall fence, but stopped, crouching over so that Lexi and Fender could jump onto her back and over the fence before she cleared it herself. 

She looked around, not recognising the street she was on. Rusty turned to Frank, her bright hair tousled; he nodded left, so they wealked that way. 

Not even a few seconds later, a police car with its siren on pulled up in front of them. The officer hid behind his car door, holding a gun to them.

"Freeze!" The officer shouted. "NYPD! Don't move assholes!"

"Whoa!" Rusty said, putting her hands up lazily as Frank picked up a brick from the ground. They walked forward. "No need to be so fuckin' rude, matey."

"Don't move! Hands on you head!"

They broke out into a run, the dogs following Rusty's command to bark so the officer would be disoriented as Frank threw the brick in his direction. They all ran and the officer groaned. 

Rusty skid over the hood of the car, kicking the door into the second officer, making him groan. She punched him and slammed the door against him again and again. She pushed him to the side after punching him again, making him fall onto the road.

"Get in!" Rusty shouted to Frank as she sat in the driver's seat, not even closing her door as she rolled open the back windows. Her dogs knew what to do already, jumping through the windows into the back of the police car. She skidded back and then straightened the car onto the road, riding down the road as the tires squealed frantically. 

The woman panted, turning the wheel as she led the car around a corner. Frank grasped the window, panting heavily as the two large dogs had their tongues out, catching cool air. 

"We have to ditch the car somewhere." Rusty said. 

"Yeah."

   •••    

Rusty slammed the door of the van shut, the sound echoing in the garage. She opened the back for Fender and Lexi to jump out, then slammed that door, too. 

Frank followed her up the few stairs that led into the main part of the garage. To the left was David's computer area, and to the right, the bedroom. Rusty entered the kitchen, getting two bowls and filling them with water before she laid them on the floor, leaving her dogs to gulp the liquid down.

There was a bunch of news reports that were playing on the numerous screens. They were pissing Rusty off. "Frank, can you turn that shit off?"

The tall man entered the area slowly, frowning as he looked at every one of the screens and monitors. The news feeds were overlapping each other, and the words were indistinct. 

"R-Rusty?" Frank called to his best friend. 

"Yeah?" The fiery-haired woman walked up to Frank, her walk slowing as she saw what was displayed on the screens. 

The headlines were bullshit:

'THOUGHT DEAD - PUNISHER TERRORISES NY'

'FEMALE MARINE BACK FROM THE DEAD'

'VIGILANTE OR TERRORIST?'

'THE PUNISHER, AN EX-MARINE, AND TWO DOGS'

Rusty saw herself skidding on the hood of that police car, Frank behind her and Lexi and Fender just visible on the screen. 

There was a fucking dashboard camera.

Rusty could barely catch her breath. Years - years, she was dead. Nobody knew of her existence. Years. And now, her face is on every fucking channel on TV. She is officially 'WANTED'.

Rusty's breaths suddenly became rushed. She started to feel restricted, like she couldn't breath.

Not now. Not now. Not now. Not now. Not now!

She stumbled a little backwards, resting her weight on the desk behind her. Some objects clattered and Frank rushed to his friend.

"Rusty?"

The woman put a hand to her chest, as if she could subdue the panic attack with her hand. She was finding it harder and harder to breathe as the seconds flew by. Frank supported her so she wouldn't fall; her knees were trembling.

"I-I can't . . . can't b-breathe."

Frank pushed his body not to panic. "It's okay, Rusty. Just look at me."

Rusty gasped, feeling her knees buckle under her. She lost her balance and Frank lowered her to sit on the floor, resting her back against the metal frame. Fender and Lexi heard their owner's harsh breathing and ran up to her. Lexi put her head under Rusty's hand, making her stroke the canine.

"It's okay." Frank said. "Just pet Lexi. It'll be okay. Look at me."

Rusty's vision was blurry due to the unwanted tears, but she looked at Frank. His eyes were so calming. "You're okay." He said.