The Punisher and The Assassin

10

"Where are you right now?" Frank asked her. She smiled and imagined him lying flat on his bed as he talked to her. She could picture his apartment and the drab bed sheets she begged him to get rid of. She could picture how his feet dangled off the too short bed.

"Well outside my window, I can see the Eiffel Tower."

"Shit, really? You told me you were in Ibiza."

"Both of them were lies, I'm looking at vineyard in Italy."

"Knock it off." Frank said, his accent popping out.

Alex laughed a little to herself and leaned against the window. She stood by the window of an hotel room she used to stalk her next target. She wondered what time it was there. "You could have joined me and figured out which one was true."

"Eh, Europe isn't me." Frank replied with a smile in his voice.

"How do you know?"

"Too fancy."

"I can't argue with you there. You'd look good in a suit though."

"In your dreams sweetheart." Alex laughed and closed her eyes. It's an odd sensation to miss someone's voice. It's like the sound of them endlessly echoes in your mind, never quite clear until you hear them again and all you want (crave) is that clarity. Even with the beautiful view outside her window, she didn't want to be there anymore. She wanted to be with him in his apartment, with a street view of New York's dirty streets.

"Speaking of dreams, it's probably late there. The sun's just rising off the Thames River."

"Fuck off Al." Frank chuckled rubbing his eyes. He imagined her smiling and standing by the window overlooking some spectacular view. He didn't care where she was, not really, he was just happy to hear her voice. To know that she was out there enjoying the world in a way he just couldn't anymore, was all he needed sometimes.

"You should get some sleep, Frank. What are you doing calling me at such an hour?" Alex teased playing with the hotel curtains. She and Frank didn't do calls if they didn't have to. She tried not to worry about him because it took up too much space in her head. He was a big boy who picked, and fought his own battles.

"I just wanted to hear from you." Frank admitted. He found himself missing the sound of her voice. He missed waking up next to her and realizing he wasn't alone.

His eyes following a couple men that went into an empty building. Some of them weren't even pretending to not be part of a criminal organization. Their jackets and tattoo signaled as much.

"It's good to hear from you Frank. I'll be back in New York soon. Just give me a month or two. I think I'll be staying awhile too. I just need a break."

"I'll be waiting."

"I swear to God, if I show up and you're all beat to hell, then I'll just finish the job."

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

"Firstly, you know I only make promises. Secondly, that's an over used line. Be in a good condition Mr. Castle, so I can ruin you myself."

Frank swore to himself and chuckled. He shook his head before he could even think of a reply. "No promises. Maybe if you got here sooner, there would be less chances for me to get beat up."

"No one can save stupidity, Frank. But I'll see you soon. I promise."

"I'm holding you to it. Bye, I'll see you soon." Frank ended the phone call. He smiled looking at the photo of her he kept on his phone. He kept it in a secret app on his phone like fucking perverts do with porn. She didn't like her photo taken, she called it an occupational hazard. But she had asked him to take it for her new cover. In the photo she looked a lot more put together than she usually was. Her eyes were the only wild part of the photo. Frank sat in his car staring at the building full of Neo-Nazis and for a split second he considered turning his car around to catch some sleep like had Alex told him to do. He wondered if he put his guns down if she would follow. He could almost imagine the weight of her in his bed. He could almost see the vision of them doing normal shit like going to the grocery store. But instead he got out of the car, and grabbed his guns.