WHO: Frank Castle & Karen Page WHAT: Frank calls Karen after Michael leaves WHEN: Right after this WHERE: Somewhere near the river WARNINGS: Really vague mentions of Punisher murder? Idk man it's pretty tame honestly.
As soon as Michael was gone, Frank packed up his things and left the work site. He didn’t go home quite yet, though. He walked to the river, paced there for a while, trying to get rid of his thoughts, and then reached for his phone.
He dialed Karen’s number, hesitated, and then pressed the button to start the call.
--
When her phone rang, Karen looked over at it from where she sat on her bed, then smiled at the caller ID. Closing her laptop and setting it to one side, she picked up the phone and slid the green bubble up to answer, then lifted it to her ear as she stood to walk over to the window.
“Hey Frank.”
--
Just the sound of her voice made it easier to breathe. Frank closed his eyes, exhaled, and answered, “Hey.”
He opened his eyes again and looked out at the river. He shifted his weight, trying to figure out how to tell her what had just happened. He didn’t know how to start. “Sorry if this isn’t a good moment. I just…” He paused. “You know Michael? The one who said he was a fan of my work?”
--
“It’s always a good moment to hear your voice,” she replied, not caring if it was just a little on this side of cheesy. At his questions, she hesitated, thinking back before replying. “Michael. He’s that...demon, right? What about him?” Karen had noticed that little conversation, but hadn’t had the chance to step in - and Frank never needed her to protect him.
“Everything okay?”
--
“He just showed up at my work,” Frank answered, his voice flat. He did appreciate her sentiment, but if he stopped to acknowledge it, it would make it harder to get through this explanation. “Set up some kind of… illusion, so I thought I was somewhere else, in front of a seedy bar, and there was someone screaming inside.”
He tilted his head back and looked up at the sky, taking another breath before continuing. “I didn’t take the bait, but it was a real near thing. And I’m still pissed at him for it.”
--
Her smile disappeared as he spoke, and she breathed out a soft ‘fuck’ as he told her what happened. When he finished, she shook her head, hand tightening on the phone. “I don’t blame you. I want to kick his ass for doing that to you.” There was a pause on her end, this time, and then Karen continued.
“What did he expect you to do?”
--
“What do you think?” Frank asked, wryly. “He wanted to see the Punisher at work again.”
There was a fundamental misunderstanding there, of what the Punisher had stood for, not that the truth of it necessarily said anything better about Frank. It was not just about murdering anyone who was bad, that the police wouldn’t touch. He’d gone after people who had been involved in the murder of his family, specific gangs, not just any random gang member on the street. And then he’d thought he was done. He hadn’t been, but that was because it had been a lot bigger than gang members who’d gotten a little too trigger happy. “I wanted to go in for the woman that was screaming, but I didn’t want to play into his hands. I tried to convince him to get her out of there, instead. Eventually he dropped the illusion.”
That wasn’t the whole of it, though. “Apparently he’d made a bet with someone that I hadn’t changed. I don’t know who would take that bet.”
--
“Then he clearly doesn’t understand the Punisher,” Karen replied simply. While she had never liked the killing, never wanted him to do it, she could understand why he did it, and even Karen had come to realize that there were some people in the world who would never pay for what they’d done. She knew that Frank wasn’t a vigilante - if Matt had been in that situation, she doubted he’d have hesitated to go into that bar, fists swinging. But the things Frank had done back in their own world was far different from that.
Her eyes narrowed at what he told her next. “If someone is betting on the lives and decisions of our people, then they are seriously twisted,” she said, her voice tight.
“I’m going to come back tonight.”
--
Frank didn’t immediately say anything in response to her assessment of the situation; he didn’t really need to, because he agreed with her. It was a relief that he didn’t have to explain himself any further. She already knew.
But when she said she was coming back, he shook his head. “You don’t have to do that. I’m alright. I handled it.”
He wasn’t entirely sure that Michael had completely lost interest in him -- he was certainly still furious at Michael -- but Frank hadn’t played into his hands, and that meant the likelihood of something like it happening again was relatively slim. But the demon might still try something else.
--
“I know you did, but part of the deal here, with us, is that you don’t have to handle things alone. Not anymore.” Karen was already moving across her room to pull her suitcase out of the closet. “Besides - I’d be back in a couple days anyway. What’s wrong with coming back tonight?”
Her laptop was slipped into its bag, and Karen started to pull her clothes out of the dresser to toss them into the suitcase on the bed. “I’d like to see you, anyway.”
--
Frank managed a small smile, though she couldn’t see it. “As long as you’re not leaving anyone there in a hard spot, I guess I can’t argue with that.”
He let out a breath. It was true that he felt much more settled for having called her, and he did want to see her. “I’m gonna go home and start dinner. I’ll be there when you get back.”
--
“I have no doubt at all that Emma can handle the last two days in Disney without me.” Amidst her clothes, Karen carefully packed the presents she’d picked up for both Frank and Cassie, though she was still determined to bring them back there someday.
Karen smiled, glad he didn’t argue. “Good, I’m feeling a little hungry. I’ll use the bracelet and be back soon, once I finish packing and let Emma know.” She paused, a few other words right on the edge of her tongue, but chickened out at the last minute. “See you soon, Frank.”