The Punisher: Vendetta

I pull off my heels with a sigh of relief. One thing I don't miss about the job is dressing up for it. I should have kicked off these death traps as Erykah did...and I'm wondering how she became such a proficient fighter in weeks.

I do not doubt Noah's ability to train anyone...I barely survived one gym session with the guy, and I take fitness very seriously, especially with what we're up against. But something is off about her. The way she fought tonight...she took down men twice her size as if they weighed nothing, and even then, it felt like she was holding back.

I noticed her concern when I spoke to Lacey about Erykah during our shopping trip. Lacey believes that her friend has been affected by the attack in the subway and what Russo put them through, but she doesn't seem ready to talk about it yet. She chose to bury herself in the job.

We can't push her to talk, but I damn sure wanted some answers. She went from reading comic books to fighting like one of the Avengers. I'll file it away for later because I've got data to sort through as of tonight. I take a quick shower, throw on sweats, and prepare for a long night when there's a knock on my door.

I grab my weapon and reach the door, ready to fight now that I'm in regular clothes. I glance in the peephole, and I open the door.

"Dean?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

I wasn't prepared for him to kiss me.

"I should have known that my dress wouldn't last," I joke, tossing its tattered remains off the bed.

"You knew exactly what you were doing," Frank insists.

"Maybe," I replied in a glib tone. "It was worth it, though."

"You okay, Red?" He asks seriously, and I know what he's referring to.

"I'm okay now," I admit. "It just took me by surprise. It makes me wonder if he ever lost his memory. It makes me wonder if he's been planning this the entire time?"

"I'll beat the answers out of him," he assures me. "And he's not going to put his fucking hands on you again!"

"I believe you," I assure him. "But there's one more thing that I want to know."

"What's that, Red?" He asks me, pulling me closer to him.

"How did he convince his therapist to go along?" I wonder. "He had to get her approval to be let out."

"Even with scars, he knows how to manipulate women," he grunts.

"That shit didn't work on me," I huffed. "And that was before you gave him what he deserved!"

"Damn right, it didn't," he chuckled. "It drives him crazy."

"Good," I shrugged. "Hey, I want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Have you noticed anything different about Erykah?" I ponder.

"Eh, she was a badass tonight," he answered back. "Noah must be one hell of a trainer."

"I can't help but feel that there's more than that," I admit. "What scares me is that I can't get her to talk, and that's never happened before!"

"This is different," Frank surmised. "She's been through shit you've experienced a small taste of. This might be her way of dealing with it."

"...You're right," I murmured. "What happened in the subway might have triggered what she went through in China! What the hell was I thinking?"

"You're worried about her," he amends. "You're used to taking care of her, but at the same time, she wants to be the one to take care of you. I recognized the look on her face that night. She felt helpless...now she's far from it. That changes a person."

"I just don't want her to go down the rabbit hole any more than she'd have hated it if I had gone," I confess.

"You won't let her," he assures me. "Why don't you call her? That might help."

This is why I love him...well, partly why. The same man who can kill without a second thought is the same man who can blend into a crowd at a party and have a heart-to-heart conversation with me. I lean into his chest to make the call, hoping she will be all right.

I've been given a nerve center in a safe house near Zack and Leo's school. I told Homeland Security I would NOT leave my family in the dark again, and they agreed. My family is watched around the clock, and I've been given space to work.

Their new director is unorthodox. She wanted us to take them down our way...and they were even gathering an armory. Frank will like that, even though he's clarified that he's not theirs to hire. They should know by now that he can't be bought...but he'll take full advantage of whatever he can to destroy our enemies.

"So, what have you found so far?" Noah asks, handing me a cup of coffee.

"Not much," I admit. "But I've barely cracked the surface. Both of these chips are encrypted. If you don't have to know where to look, then the untrained eye would be fooled by surface data."

"That's intense," he mutters.

"Where's my partner in crime tonight?" I wonder. "I figured she'd want in on this."

"She said she had a lead to follow," he replies. "She said she'll see you tomorrow...later today."

"Krista DuPont," I recalled.

I typed her name in the database and chuckled.

"What is it?" Noah asks.

"We've been getting her name wrong," I realized. "Or she gave a fake name, and we never thought twice about it. Her last name is Dumont."

"Alright," Noah sighs, sitting down next to me. "What have you found out?"

"...She's been through a lot," I murmur. "Her father tried to take her with him when he committed suicide when she was eight years old..."

"-Jesus-"

"-It's what drove her to become a psychotherapist for veterans," I continue.

"He must have found a way in," Noah guessed. "He's playing on her desire to help people."

"We've got to stop him," I agree. "Call Erykah. If she's headed for Krista, then she should know this."

"Already on it...voicemail," Noah groans.

"She's smart as hell," I tell him. "She'll know what to do. But uh...how's she doing? Really?"

"I'm not sure," he confessed. "Sometimes it feels like she's not here. She's not pulling away in the sense of our relationship, but there's something wrong. Something she's not telling me...and the way she fought tonight? I didn't show her half of it."

"Maybe she's got another trainer," I reasoned. "You trained with Stick in the past. Who's to say that she's not doing something similar? As for the secrecy...I've sat with her occasionally in front of these monitors. I don't think she's as okay as she pretends, especially with the Triad in the picture. Keep that in mind."

"I will," he nods after a while. "Thanks, Micro."

"Anytime," I reply into my cup as I drink my coffee. "We're a team."

His phone sounds off, and it's Nathan. Whatever happened, his face paled after he hung up.

"What's going on?" I question him.

"Krista is dead," he laments. "They haven't seen Erykah, either. I've got to go. This could have been Billy-"

He tore out of the room, and I immediately searched the city through the cameras. I didn't call Frank this time. He needs to tend to Lacey. They need their time together because I felt things would worsen after our win tonight. As I searched, I thought about my conversation with Noah.

Even though I reassured him, I still have concerns of my own. I've been keeping tabs on every one since she was attacked alone so that I could call for backup if it ever happened to anyone again. I've seen her on CCTV following up on Karl Malus. The guy is practically a butcher obsessed with Enhanced Humans.

As far as we know, Jessica Jones is his only successful...patient. I don't want to use the word "experiment." He's psychotic, and from what I've gathered, he managed to get his hands on Wilfred Nagel's super-soldier serum, which had been destroyed in Madripoor...or so we thought. If Erykah was on his trail, she needed to be careful. I don't know what we would do if we lost her.

My eyes snap open, and I'm in an alley somewhere. My head is pounding unmercifully, and I taste copper. I pulled myself into a seated position, fighting the bile that rose in my throat and the jarring way my vision swam. Everything felt off, as if none of it was real, even though I could feel my grip on the bricks as I made myself stand up.

I realize that I'm in the torn remains of my dress...I also feel the sharp pins I used to secure my hair. I gingerly pulled them out, and the pressure in my skull eased a bit. As I try to gain my bearings, I'm wondering how the fuck I ended up being here. The last thing I remember was my offer to look into Krista DuPont.

Was she working with Russo, after all? Did they somehow attack me? Unless either of them took the serum, I'm unsure how they could have done this. I would've noticed. So, what the hell happened to me?

I inspect my hands, and they're bloody. But if there had been any defensive wounds, they'd healed. There was dried blood under my fingernails...it looked coagulated. Whatever had happened, it had been long ago. Through the tattered remains of my skirt, I see that they're unmarked. No blood. It's as though I've gotten in a fight.

It doesn't explain why I woke up here, and I can't remember what I might have done! I pushed myself away from the wall and realized I was near our apartment. My clutch was nestled under my legs. I picked it up, and I made my way inside. I froze in front of the door. How am I going to explain this to Noah?

I pause for a moment as I press my ear to the door. I'd almost forgotten that my hearing had improved. After a few moments, I realized that he wasn't home. I let myself inside, and I take a shower. Blood and grime swirl in the steaming water as I try to put the pieces together.

I can't remember a godamn thing. After I got out and made myself presentable, I mechanically threw my dress, shoes, hairpins, and clutch in the incinerator. Some part of me told me that I should.

After that, I scrub the bathroom and tidy up the apartment. I noticed Noah had left me a single rose and a note telling me he was working with Micro before heading out to meet Nathan.

I wouldn't say I liked the idea of keeping whatever this was from him, but until I figured it out for myself, there wasn't any point. I found I was hungry, so I decided to raid the fridge. As I explore, my phone goes off. It's Lacey.

"What's up?" I greet her, trying to decide between building a salad or looking in the freezer instead.

"Krista DuPont has been murdered," she informs me point-blank.

"Uhh, what?" I exclaimed, grabbing something random and closing the appliance.

"Yeah," she continued in a shaky voice.

"You okay?" I ask her. "I mean, you don't think it was Frank or something? Why are you upset? No offense, but the way she cornered you-"

"-It wasn't him," she gently broke in. "The coroner reported that she had been killed a few hours ago, and Frank was with me. He still is. He hasn't left since Billy accosted me at the gala."

"Okay, yeah, no," I realized. "That makes sense. So what's going on with you?"

"The way she was killed..." I heard her audibly swallow. "...it had to have been someone with abilities. There wasn't much left to identify, and from what I hear, Billy has Valhalla searching for her killer."

"He won't be able to do much," I remarked. "Unless he's done playing the fucked up victim...hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he killed her himself. He doesn't need her anymore."

"Why are you being so cavalier about this?" She asked. "She was your lead! What if you had been there when she was killed?!"

She was right. For some reason, I didn't have an emotional response to the murder. I didn't answer her, as I could hear the wheels turning in her mind. I'm more annoyed that I never got any information from her. Hm.

"Wait...did you ever get to her last night?" She ponders aloud.

"No," I rattle off quickly. "I was exhausted...Noah was right; I've been hitting the martial arts too hard. I got home and passed out."

"Well, it was impressive, to say the least," she murmured. "Get some rest. Nathan was assigned to her case. I'm sure you'll learn something, being his sister-in-law before I do."

"Ha-ha," I mutter dryly. "You have a good night with your tall, dark, handsome bodyguard."

"I plan to," she purrs before she hangs up.

I noticed several missed calls from Noah. He must have heard about the murder, and if I remember correctly, I was meant to look into her. Shit. I called him back, and he answered immediately.

"Where are you?" He demanded as an involuntary shiver sped down my spine.

"I'm at home," I replied. "I was exhausted after the gala. When I woke up, I missed your call, and before I could call back, Lace had called to tell me about the murder."

I could almost hear him sag in relief.

"I knew you would talk to her," he sighed. "I didn't know what to think."

"I'm sorry, Noah," I apologize. "I'm here. I'm safe."

"Good," he sighs. "I'm on my way to the crime scene to meet Nathan. I'll tell you what we find when we meet tomorrow."

"Okay," I replied, yawning. "Be safe. Love you."

"Love you, too," he replies before he hangs up.

Now that I'm alone, my head is spinning. There's a killer out there with abilities...and their victim was an enemy...did we have another vigilante on our side? Maybe this person has the info I need? Great. So, another mystery! On top of that, I needed to figure out why I was losing time and what I might have done!