Post by liquidsword34 on Sept 2, 2012 9:13:38 GMT -5
All-Star Punisher Noir #3
First Week In Hell Part 2
First Week In Hell Part 2
10:00AM, January 29th, 1946
The Castle Residence
Frank still couldn't fall asleep in his bed. He'd spent the time since his family's death using the couch to rest, and even that was difficult, knowing his family had died in the same house he slept in. He'd wake up at night and walk past his sons room, hoping he'd look in and see Frank Junior asleep in his bed. It never happened.
Frank stood in front of the bathroom mirror, pondering on whether or not to shave. Why should he? His wife used to tell him how she hated when he didn't, but why did that matter now? The only human contact he'd really had since his family's death was Micro, and he didn't exactly care about Frank's stubble one way or the other. Dejected, Frank dropped his razor back down onto the side of the sink and looked up into the mirror.
"You think you'll fit in with the Gerries looking like that?" Yorkie joked. "Even Adolf's boys shave, they're not total monsters, Frank!"
"Fuck off Yorkie" Frank muttered. "You're not even real, I'm not crazy".
"Fair enough" the young Scotsman replied as he buttoned up his SS officers jacket, a smile still spread across his face. "But why do you care? What's even real to yah anymore?"
"FUCK OFF YORKIE!" Frank roared while swinging around, flinging himself into the hallway punching the air. After a few seconds Frank calmed down and sat against the wall. He wanted to cry, but stopped himself. He was at war. He couldn't show weakness during a war.
---
Two hours later
New York Harbour
Seagulls circled over the construction site, chirping away while swooping amongst the metal support beams of the towering structure. A set of office buildings were being built down by the harbour and after calling in a few favours Carlo Gnucci managed to get control of the area for a few days. At least twenty mobsters were sat amongst the building materials waiting for Carlo to make an appearance while talking away. In the very centre was Barracuda, his M2 machine gun propped up against a stack of bricks with at least three belts of ammo next to it. His white jacket and pants were still perfectly clean, namely because none of the gangsters were willing to get within ten feet of Barracuda, who had been dropped off by Eddie Gnucci half an hour ago. Barracuda was a gun for hire, doing most of his work for smaller Harlem based gangs, but when needed he'd go across to another borough. Carlo Gnucci made his way through the rabble of mobsters looking weary and paranoid. Every time he heard a noise he'd jolt his head around and reach down for his glock. He sat down next to Barracuda without making eye contact.
"I've told the boys it's just a normal handover. The union pay their share, we move and let them get back to work. Castle knows I'm here, so all we have to do is wait for him to take his shot. These mooks are low grade, feel free ta' slice through them to get to that fuck Castle".
"Don't have to tell me" Barracuda joked. "But I got another question for yah...why's your momma using you for bait? Her and Eddie had Frankie's family killed, right? But now you're up for it?"
"It's family 'Cuda, I do..."
"Naw, family don't do family like that. Yaw momma's messed up and now you might get blasted 'cus of it. You're her number one son, right?" Barracuda turned to Carlo. Despite what Carlo thought, Barracuda was very intelligent and more importantly, a great actor. He also knew Carlo hated being thought of as anything less than the alpha male. "Would you do your kids like that? 'Cus I mean, if I was your daddy..."
"My dad's dead, you know that yah stupid p...", Carlo spat angrily.
"Whoa whoa whoa, touchy subject I see," Barracuda chuckled while cutting off Carlo. "My point is if you were in charge, you wouldn't set Eddie up tah get dumped in the Hudson, right?"
"Right...right". Carlo sighed. "And your point?"
"My point? Your momma's making you look like a fool".
Carlo jumped out of his chair and grabbed Barracuda by his jacket, putting his face close to Barracuda's. Despite this, Barracuda kept staring off into the distance, a smile spread across his face. "You're payin' me well so I'll let this go, but if you wanna keep that hand you best get it off me". Carlo slowly took a step back.
"Listen you prick" Carlo growled, "I'm not nobodys fool, you hear!?"
"Your momma clearly don't see it that way" Barracuda replied, clearly enjoying how angry he was getting Carlo.
"FUCK MA!" Carlo roared angrily. "SHE THINKS SHE CAN TREAT ME LIKE THIS? KILL ME LIKE SHE KILLED PA?" Carlo paced around, his face a dark shade of red. "Double..no TRIPLE the normal rate to kill her!" he yelled at Barracuda.
"Atta boy, show her you've got some balls".
"Oh I've got balls!" Carlo replied excitedly. "I'll get the money now, don't move an inch!", Carlo strode off towards the foreman's office where he'd set up shop.
"Dumbass" Barracuda muttered to himself. "You guys hear all that?" Barracuda called over to the group of gangsters, most of whom nodded. "Good". As he leaned back in his chair Barracuda started whistling an upbeat tune, content with his work.
---
11:00PM, January 29th, 1946
New York Harbour
The construction site was almost completely silent as every man in the area laid in wait. Carlo Gnucci sat in the foreman's office clutching his shotgun in one hand while sipping a bottle of whiskey with the other. Barracuda sat across the desk from him, machine gun in hand. "Castle gonna come right at us or try bein' quiet 'bout it?" Barracuda asked. Try as he might, Carlo couldn't find any fear in the big man's voice.
"Dunno, the prick's only attacked us once since he came home from the war. When he was a cop he was a fuck to deal with though. Always coming in shootin' first asking questions later. Doubt it's changed".
The two sat in silence for almost half an hour, Carlo nervously swigging his drink and Barracuda patiently waiting. The shooting started just before Carlo's bottle emptied. An Enfield sniper rifle rang out through the silent night, the bullets aimed at the men on top of the half built structure. Frank took his time with each shot, making sure to hit them in the chest. No need for a head shot with a powerful rifle, but just being shot in a limb might not be enough to take some of them out.
"He's here!" Carlo yelled out in a panic, dropping his bottle and fumbling to cock his shotgun. Barracuda chuckled while lifting up his machine gun.
"Calm your scrawny ass down".
"But he's go..."
Barracuda grabbed Carlo by the neck and threw him under the table they were sat at. "Stay there".
"Carlo!" Frank roared as he made his way onto the construction site, throwing down his Enfield and pulling a tommy gun out from his coat. Micro was parked just outside, ready to pick Frank up once he was done. Frank ducked behind a low wall as a gaggle of thugs made their way towards him, each armed with only a handgun. They were scared, tired, uncomfortable and cold. Easy for Frank to pick off. When Frank started firing, they didn't stand a chance. The ones who even tried to shoot at Frank found themselves putting holes in their own men or sending bullets whizzing off into building materials while blindly trying to fire back. About three-quarters of the loaded ammo put all ten down for the count.
"CARLO!" Frank called again while tossing a grenade off into the distance beyond his vision. Any civvies who had been in the area would have ran off at the first sound of gun fire, just like many of Carlo's goons, so Frank wasn't worried about his grenade killing any innocents. Frank quickly reloaded his tommy gun while advancing steadily, surveying his surroundings and making sure not to rush. He could hear guns dropping, people running away. Carlo's cannon fodder was too scared to even do that for him. Ahead Frank spotted a trio of thugs creeping towards him and dropped to one knee, looking down the sights.
"Hey Frankie," a deep voice called out from the darkness. A volley of gunfire flew over Franks head as Barracuda's M2 roared out, spitting its deadly payload. The trio of thugs fell to the concrete, the contents of their stomachs spewing down their clothes through the holes Barracuda's M2 had made in them. "You dead pal?" Barracuda called as he walked out of the darkness, stepping over his dead "allies". His white suit made him an easy target for Frank, who responded by unloading the rest tommy gun straight into Barracuda's chest, dropping him.
Frank walked over to Barracuda slowly, checking to see if he'd killed Barracuda or just wounded him. As it turned out, the answer was neither. "Yah think I'm dumb?" Barracuda yelled out as he swung his gun up, smashing it into the side of Franks head. Barracuda didn't rush to hit Frank with another strike and instead took his time getting to his feet and aiming. "I wear some thick armour under this here jacket," Barracuda motioned to his white jacket, which had a group of holes in it from Franks bullets. Barracuda swung his machine gun at Frank again as The Punisher tried to dive at Barracuda, hitting him in the same part of his face again. Frank felt like his head was about to collapse inwards, or maybe explode outwards. Either way, he knew he couldn't try to stand and fight.
"Which end you wanna die from?" Barracuda asked, motioning to both the butt and the barrel of his gun. Instead of exchanging banter Frank spun around and sprinted off into the darkness, a hail of gunfire and curses following him. A bullet clipped Frank's shoulder as he got behind a pile of sandbags and pulled his Colt revolver out from his jacket pocket. The wound would have to wait, because Barracuda wasn't giving Frank time to recover.
"Get out here yah motherless piece of shit" Barracuda yelled to Frank. The shipping yard was littered with enough building supplies for Frank to sneak around, going from one piece of cover to the next through dives and rolls. A grenade would be risky with such little light, and simply firing at Barracuda would start a gunfight Frank had no chance to win. Ducking down, Frank started making his way closer to Barracude, keeping low as much as possible.
"I can't see yah Castle, but I don't have to", Barracuda started firing into the darkness, spraying bullets in as many directions as he could before the belt ran dry. Frank hit the deck but a handful of bullets still drove into his gut. The angle made it just a flesh wound but the pain was indescribable. Frank crawled along the concrete, feeling chips of wood digging into his hands and blood trickling down his arm as he clenched his teeth, trying to block it all out.
"Come out, come out, where ever you are" Barracuda taunted while trying to change the ammo belt quietly. Frank responded by diving over the pile of bricks, gun raised. Frank fired at Barracuda and hit him in the thigh and leg enough to draw some blood but not much else. Barracuda responded to the bullets like they were flea bites and turned to fire at Frank, at this point clearly angry about Franks refusal to die. As Barracuda fired Frank ducked down, tackling the giant to the ground and disarming him.
"Where's Carlo?" Frank yelled through gritted teeth. Barracuda stayed silent while grabbing Frank by the throat and throwing him down onto the concrete with all his face.
"Not even gonna ask my name huh? Well it's Barracuda just, so yah know". Barracuda stomped on Franks hand, crushing it underfoot like it was nothing. "You took it personal that Ma Gnucci decided to take out yah brat and woman. That was your big mistake".
"Yours was being too cocky," Frank replied coldly while jamming his knife into Barracuda's shin and twisting it. Barracuda howled like a wounded animal limped away from Frank, yanking the knife out of his knee and tossing it down as he went.
"You've done pissed me off now, Castle!"
"Thought I had" Frank muttered as he slammed a wooden board across the back of Barracuda's head, dropping him to his knees. "Now, where's Carlo hiding!"
"Fuck you!" Barracuda spat as he pulled himself up using a metal support beam, ignoring Frank whacking the board across his back twice more. At least three stories worth of metal girders were above the pairs head, and just Barracuda grabbing onto one of the beams made the whole structure shake like it were under gale force winds. Frank grabbed his knife from the ground and brought it down towards Barracuda's eye, driving the blade into the mammoths face. Barracuda roared as Frank blinded him in one eye and flailed his arms, eventually grabbing Franks wrist. "Nobody fucking stabs Barracuda!" he roared while squeezing Frank's wrist, crushing bone like it were dust. Barracuda twisted his whole body and surprised Frank with a judo style throw, planting The Punisher on his back. Franks stomach lurched around inside him as he swallowed blood, choked up vomit, and then vice versa.
"Spent 'few years in Japan during the war, learnt a few things. Did some business, stayed for the pleasure. All the men out the country, women got lonely, yah know?", Barracuda chuckled while pulling the knife from his eye, cursing as most of his eyeball came with it. "Hell, your wife probably got a bit lonely while you were running your ass around Europe. Look on the bright side, bet that brat wasn't even yours! " Barracuda knelt down next to the Punisher and drove a fist into his face in the same spot he'd smashed the machine gun into, shattering the bone around Franks eye socket. Barracuda kept going, cutting off the vision in one of Franks eyes at least temporarily by driving his fists down over and over with the force of a jackhammer. "Lets see yah face", Barracuda pulled Franks mask off and put it into his pocket for proof of his work before grabbing the support girder. "Yah gave me some trouble, boy. But nobody beats Barracuda!"
Barracuda heaved, yanking the girder loose before turning and casually walking away, whistling to himself as the sound of sirens became audible in the distance. The large metal beam creaked and came tumbling down from above, creating an ear splitting racket. The first girder slammed into Frank's ribs, cracking at least two of them. Frank curled up and narrowly avoiding having his head squished under the shower of girders raining down on him.
---
9:30PM, January 31st, 1946
The Punisher's Warehouse, Manhattan, New York
Frank woke up on a make-shift bed made from an old frame Micro found in an alley and an old mattress he had at home. His shoulder still ached, but at the very least he could see out of his eye again, unlike Barracuda. His ribs were cracked in multiple places with bandages holding them in place. His stomach had been stitched up quite well and healed quick, but it still stung every time Frank exhaled. Frank's clothes were balled up at the foot of his bed, soaked in blood and dirt. Nothing he hadn't been through before.
"You awake then?" Micro asked rhetorically.
"Yeah...how long was I out?"
"'Bout two days or so. You had some head trauma, few cracked ribs, and whatever hit you in the shoulder was military grade for sure".
"M2" Frank responded, the fight still fresh in his mind. "The prick was lugging it around like it was a football or something. You were right, they were expecting me. Hell, they were baiting me". Frank winced in pain as he reached down and picked up a carton of orange juice Micro had left by the bed. "It didn't go well".
"I can tell, I dragged you out from under all those girders". Micro sighed while pulling up a chair next to Frank. "Listen, Frank. With that girl saying your name, the thugs last night working for the same family as the ones you killed in front of her and the one who killed your family, what happened with your family...I mean word spreads, Frank, and well...".
"The police know I'm the killer?"
Micro nodded slowly.
"Good."
"Good?", Micro raised his brow. "You sure your head's no..."
"Maybe now they'll see how soft they are. That they don't have to sit back and let the Gnucci's fuck this city for all its work. Hell, maybe they'll realize why I'm doing this and let it happen. Just let me do what has to be done".
Micro nodded in understanding. They both knew Frank would most likely end up getting ID'd, but not so quickly, and Micro didn't think Frank would be so accepting of it. "I took the bullet out your shoulder, who the fuck put that thing in?"
"Guy by the name of Barracuda. Hired gun I think, sounded like he was from Harlem. You know anything about him?"
"Yeah", Micro took the bandage off Franks shoulder and cleaned up the wound gently. "Mostly works over in Harlem nowadays, but before and during the war he was all over the world, killing for the highest bidder. Heard the horror stories about him. If you plugged him the world would be a much better place, you know?"
"Yeah," Frank muttered while hauling himself up off the bed. He managed no more than three steps before buckling, clutching his ribs.
"You're gonna need a few days to rest, Frank. Relax, the Gnucci's ain't leaving town, you still have your shot".
Frank sighed and laid back down, allowing Micro to finish putting the bandages back on.
"I've got to get back down to the station, shift starts in half an hour. Don't move, OK?"
Frank grunted in the affirmative as Micro made his way out the warehouse. Besides the bed Micro had left food, water and medical supplies as well as fitting a catheter and IV. Frank was left alone with his thoughts, the one thing he was still scared of.