Justice is Not Blind ☠ The Punisher

Chapter 2: The Descent

Dani had barely made it through the door when she returned to her apartment before the phone started ringing. All she wanted to do was collapse, but something inside her kept her going to the phone as Max went to find his spot on her living room couch. She picked it up after the fourth ring. "Hello?"

"Is this Danielle Castle?" the female voice on the other end asked.

"Yes," she replied. "Who is this?"

"This Monica from Metro-General Hospital. You are listed as the next of kin for Frank Castle."

It was starting. "Yes. Is he okay?"

"He took quite a beating, but the doctor believes he'll make a full recovery. Is there any way you can come in?" she asked her.

Dani nodded, though she didn't know why as the other woman couldn't see her. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

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It was an absolute circus getting to him. Dani wondered how the media could have found him out so fast. Then again, he was the city's most wanted criminal. She just wished she had a little privacy as she made her way through the crowd of cameras and reporters to get into the building.

Once inside, she was greeted by a whole new crowd of people. Cops. When she told them who she was and who she was there to see, it became a whole new kind of frenzy. Hopefully, no one would come after her to try and get information on Frank. She'd have to hire a guard or something. At least she had an idea on who to call.

One of the officers, after she checked her for anything that could help their prisoner escape, led Dani upstairs on the elevator to the private area they set up for Frank.

Dani wasn't shocked when she saw the what the cops had on them in case Frank tried to make a break for it, not that he couldn't figure out how to get out of a situation like this. Many of them were heavily armed and standing at attention. A group was huddled down the hall as another cop came to check her once more for weapons. As if she had time to arm herself in the few minutes it took to get there when someone was by her side the entire time.

Once she was done, the cop went over to the group, whispering in the man's ear. The entire gang of suits shot a look at her, sending a chill down her spine as she tried to straighten herself up, appear taller despite her being the shortest there.

The first to get to her was a dark-skinned man, the one that had arrested her brother earlier. Only now he was in an ill-fitting suit. He must have gotten a promotion for bringing in the most dangerous man in New York. He held out a hand to her.

"Danielle Castle? I'm Detective Mahoney and this -" he motioned to the woman next to him, wearing an equally ill-fitting suit "-is my partner Detective Dolan. You're Frank Castle's sister?"

"Yeah, I am," she replied. "I want to see him now."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that." Another woman appeared behind the Detective, her heels making the taller woman tower over them all. "I'm the District Attorney Reyes. Your brother is seeing his lawyer now."

"What lawyer? I haven't hired anyone to represent him yet. If my brother has any kind of head injury, he might not be able to make a decision that could benefit his interests. I need to see him now."

"Ms. Castle," Reyes told her.

"No," Dani interrupted. "This has to be against some kind of law. You can't keep me from seeing him or talking to him."

"Oh, but I can," she told her. "You are also a person of interest in this case."

Dani shook her head. "Then I'm not saying another word until I get a lawyer. And don't bullshit me with that whole 'if you cooperate, we'll go easier on you' crap. My uncle was a cop and that was the first thing he told me when I was old enough to understand was what snakes are in our justice system. And I won't be getting any decent lawyer until tomorrow. You tell my brother I'm getting him someone who can actually help him."

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It had been one of those days and the bartender could see it all on her face as he was attentive to her, making sure her glass was always full. She should've told him to stop, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Hopefully, she wouldn't have a bad enough hangover to not get done what she needed to the next day done.

Unlike everyone else at the bar, who seemed to know well enough to avoid her general area, someone pulled out the bar stool next to hers and take a seat. She polished off her glass, ready to tell them to buzz off when she heard his voice, "Of all the bars she could've chosen, she had to walk into mine."

Dani smirked as her glass slammed down on the bartop. "Drew, I'm going to need a round for me and my friend here."

"You must be hammered if you're calling me a friend," Billy said with his infamous smile as Drew worked on getting their drinks.

"It's been a hell of a day," she answered.

"I heard," he said.

He paused, unsure of what to say. It wasn't every day that happened and Dani was going to take advantage of it. "Wow, Billy Russo speechless. Mark it in the books ladies. His silver tongue isn't going to try and work it's so-called magic tonight."

"The night's still young," he replied. Dani had a way of getting him to open up that even impressed her brother. Billy wasn't the type to talk too much about himself, even for someone who did love talking about himself. But the person he showed the world was superficial, a mask. And it was something Dani hated and she made sure he knew it when they first met at that barbeque all those years ago. Ever since then, when she wouldn't fall into his arms or his bed, at first sight, he had been trying to win her over in any way he could. She had a feeling that was going to work to her advantage now.

"They won't let me see him," she told him as the glasses filled with whiskey was set in front of them. She picked it up, swirling it around in the glass before she brought this to her lips. It warmed her throat as it went down, doing what little it could to drown out the vents that only just happened. "The damn DA was there. She is like a shark who just got the biggest fish in the ocean. And to top it all off they gave him a crap lawyer. I looked into him. The guy's been practicing law for five minutes. He's practically a newborn. Frank isn't going to get anything good out of this guy. Watch, next thing you know, they're going to leak it to the media that I exist and then I'll lose everything."

She let out a shaky breath as she finished her glass. As she raised her hand to get another round, Billy pushed her wrist back down, the bar a bit sticky as they rested their hands against it. He didn't remove his from where it rested on top of hers. It was the most comfort she had felt since... well, she couldn't remember now. Frank had barely hugged her since the massacre and almost every other touch since then felt empty, hollow of emotion. Even the hugs from Curtis or Claire didn't make her feel less alone in all of this.

His voice was quiet, only loud enough for her to hear above the noise of the other patrons. "Do you have a plan? You are Dani Castle. You always have a plan."

She looked to him, his dark eyes inquisitive. She nodded. "I'm going to go see those lawyers that tried Fisk. I met one of them the other day. I think if anyone could help my brother out, it's him."

"But first?"

"But first," she continued, "you are going to get me a cab home so I don't flirt with the prettiest girl in here and sweep her off her feet before you do."

He chuckled. "Really, jokes? At a time like this?"

"Hey-" she shrugged "- it's all I got. Now, are you going to get me that cab or what?"

"I'll do you one better," he said, waving Drew over with his credit card. "I'll pay for this and I'll get you home myself."

"Mr. Russo," she said in the worst Southern Belle accent she could muster up as her words slurred. "What will people say when they hear I brought a gentleman caller home without my brother's approval."

"That you're the luckiest girl here," he said. "Now, let's get you home."