Keep me in the loop
Karen Page tapped her fingers on her desk, the steady rhythm barely audible over the quiet hum of The Bulletin’s newsroom. It was a familiar rhythm, one she would hear the next time Frank gets uncomfortable.
It was late, later than she should still be here, but Ellison hadn’t said anything. He never did when she got like this—chasing something, even if she didn’t know what it was yet.
Across the room, he leaned against the door to his office, arms crossed, watching her with a look that wavered between approval and concern. When she finally looked up and met his gaze, he sighed and pushed off the doorframe, walking toward her.
“You’re stuck on something,” he said, more statement than question.
Karen glanced at her laptop, at the scattered notes and articles pulled up across her screen. “I don’t like not knowing things.”
Ellison smirked. “No kidding.”
She rolled her eyes but let it slide. “This new guy. He’s out there, and we don’t know who he is. Or what he wants.”
“The city’s full of players, Karen. Could be a vigilante, could be a killer. Could be both.”
She frowned.
“That’s what I don’t like. The Punisher, Daredevil, even guys like Fisk—you knew who they were. You knew the rules of the game. This? This is something else.”
Ellison sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Look, if this is gonna be a story, we do it right. We dig, we investigate. But you—” He pointed at her. “You don’t go running headfirst into another goddamn shootout.”
Karen scoffed. “That was one time.”
“It was more than one time.”
“Semantics.”
Ellison gave her a long look, then shook his head. “You’re a pain in my ass, Page.”
She grinned. “But I get results.”
He sighed again, but there was fondness in it. “Yeah, you do.”
The moment stretched between them before he cleared his throat. “Alright. If we’re doing this, you’re not doing it alone. Your lawyer friends probably have a million contacts. Talk to them. And I know you won’t admit it but I’m pretty sure you have the Punisher on speed dial so use him.
Karen nodded, already pulling up her phone. “You won’t regret this.”
Ellison grumbled something under his breath about already regretting it, but he let her go.
The bar was quiet for a change. Josie’s, as always, smelled like stale beer and bad decisions, but tonight it had an air of calm. Karen slid into the booth across from Foggy and Matt, setting her phone down on the table with a sigh.
Foggy arched a brow. “That bad?”
Karen shrugged. “Not bad. Just… confusing.”
Matt tilted his head. “New player?”
She nodded. “I don’t like unknowns.”
“Neither do we,” Foggy muttered, swirling his drink. “You think this is someone we should be worried about?”
Karen hesitated. “I think we should find out before it’s too late.”
Matt leaned forward. “Do you have anything solid?”
She sighed. “Not yet. Just a feeling.”
Foggy groaned. “Oh, great. That’s not ominous at all.”
Matt tapped a finger on the table, thoughtful. “I’ll look into it.”
Karen met his gaze. “Yeah?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Matt.”
They lingered for a while, the conversation shifting into easier topics. It was good to sit with them like this, to feel normal for a little while.
But normal never lasted.
Frank Castle watched the city from his rooftop perch, the cold biting at the exposed skin of his neck.
He saw her before she saw him. Karen. She was walking with purpose, shoulders tense, head on a swivel like she already knew she was being watched.
He clenched his jaw. She shouldn’t be out here.
Before he could stop himself, he was moving.
Karen barely flinched when he stepped out of the dark alley, just narrowed her eyes. “Really? We’re doing the whole lurking thing?”
Frank huffed. “You shouldn’t be out here.”
“I could say the same to you.”
Frank crossed his arms. “This ain’t your fight, Karen.”
She squared her shoulders. “It is if I say it is.”
He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “You’re too damn stubborn for your own good.”
She smirked. “I learned from the best.”
Frank ran a hand over his face, frustration warring with something else—something softer. “Just… be careful, alright?”
Karen stepped closer. “You worried about me, Castle?”
He met her gaze, and for a moment, the world narrowed down to just them. Then, quietly, “Yeah.”
Karen swallowed. “Then don’t shut me out.”
Frank didn’t answer, but he didn’t leave either.
The city moved around them, but for now, they were still.
Karen let out a breath, tilting her head. “If I promise to be careful, will you promise to keep me in the loop?”
Frank let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. “You’re somethin’ else, Page.”
She smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
A siren wailed in the distance, and Frank’s head snapped toward the sound. He sighed. “Go home, Karen.”
She studied him for a long moment before nodding. “Alright. But don’t think for a second this conversation is over.”
Frank watched her go, the tight coil in his chest refusing to unwind.
He needed her safe.
He just wasn’t sure he knew how to do that.