Punisher: The Master Torturer

by kenxepe

The Howling Commandos have been captured by one of the most sadistic men on the planet. Nick Fury asks Frank Castle for help. But is The Punisher too late to save them?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Punisher, and I make no money from this fan fiction.

#

The Master Torturer

by Rhonnel Ferry

I need a break.

For the past few months, I've been trying to eradicate the Hammer Gang, a notorious group of muggers. They're smalltime compared to the Mafia, the triad, or the Yakuza. I thought it would be a cakewalk.

It's been anything but.

Sure, I got shot at a lot, and my car got rammed by a street van. Twice! And while I was in it! That's fine. All part of the job.

But the last time I tussled with them, I inadvertently ran into the super villain, Mystique! Sure, as far as super villains go, Mystique is likewise smalltime. But I'm no superhero! I don't have powers. I'm not using any high-tech alien shit!

I still won. By the skin of my teeth. But I didn't come out of it unscathed.

So I'm taking some time off to heal. A tired soldier, an injured soldier, is an ineffective one. I don't usually drink, but I'm off duty. So I'm having a beer by the counter, watching an MMA fight on TV, in a local dive. That's when Colonel Nicholas Joseph Fury takes the stool next to me.

"I'll have whatever he's having," the grizzled war veteran sourly tells the bartender.

"How'd you find me, Fury?" I ask without taking my eyes off the match.

"How do you know I'm not just here for the liquor?" he asks back, then takes a sip of his beer, and grimaces at it. "Oh, that's how."

He puts the glass down, then continues, "Believe it or not, you're really not a hard man to find, Frank. Sure, you can run rings around the lowlifes and the Keystone Cops down here. But the higher-ups? Fuck, we always know where you are. We just don't give a shit. That's all."

"But you give a shit tonight," I say, looking at him.

He scowls, takes another sip, grimaces again. "The Howling Commandos. Sidewinder, Ruby Red, and Myers."

"What about them?" I ask, expecting the worst. I have fought both against, and alongside the Howling Commandos before. They're good soldiers. They have my respect. Perhaps even my friendship.

"Myers is dead," he informs me, looking back at his glass. "Sidewinder and Ruby Red got caught."

"By who?"

"You know Albert Guinto?"

I feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Guinto is a world renown master torturer from the dictatorial days of the Philippine Islands. Sidewinder and Ruby Red are in hell right now if Guinto's got his sadistic claws on them!

Fury sighs. "We received intel that Guinto was hiding out somewhere in the Nevada desert." he explains. "We sent the Howling Commandos in to capture him alive, but...we underestimated them. Myers got shot and killed in the ensuing firefight. He was the lucky one, if you ask me."

"Well then, what are you waiting for?! Get your people back! Send in the fucking Avengers already!"

"I'm sending you."

"Why?!"

"Because I want Guinto dead! You think the brass is going to extradite the motherfucker to the Philippines for war crimes?! They wanna give him a fucking job! The only reason they want him captured in the first place is so that they can be in a better bargaining position for negotiations!"

I knock back my drink. And before I finish it, I had already made my decision.

#

I follow Fury out of the near empty bar to a near empty parking lot, where he leads me to a beat up mobile home.

"Really?" I ask sarcastically.

He doesn't respond. When he unlocks the door for me, I see why.

I am greeted by walls ornamented from floor to ceiling with high-grade military equipment! Assault rifles and carbines, heavy caliber machine guns, every kind of hand grenade, night vision devices,... I think I even see a shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon sitting in the corner!

This is nothing like the second-rate crap I scavenge from my kills.

"Take whatever you need," he offers after shutting the door behind us.

"All of the it."

He laughs. "Fine. You kill Guinto, and it's all yours. But I keep the mobile home."

#

I choose an M110 designated marksman rifle, an MP5 submachine gun, and a Beretta 92 semi-automatic pistol. All three outfitted with suppressors. Then I take night vision goggles with a built in infrared illuminator, and some M18 smoke grenades. Fragmentation grenades would be too dangerous in narrow quarters. Finally, I put on a modular tactical vest that Fury had taken the liberty of embellishing with my skull symbol.

Gotta admit. It feels good to be properly equipped again. Like I'm back in the marines.

Fury drives us all the way to the Nevada desert. He gives me directions to a ghost town where Guinto and his boys are holed up. Or at least that's where they were yesterday when the Howling Commandos were defeated. Hopefully they're too stupid, or too over confident to immediately depart from the area.

"They're still there," Fury assures me. "I got a spy drone right above them. And that asshole isn't going anywhere! He's waiting for the American government to make him an offer. Which they will soon. So get your ass moving, soldier!"

"Yes, sir!"

I start jogging across the desert. Then I smile when I realize that I had called Fury "sir". Feels good to be a marine again. Like I'm wearing a comfortable, old coat that I haven't worn in years. It just fits.

#

Fury was right. These guys aren't planning on going anywhere. They've practically turned an abandoned two story warehouse or factory of some kind into a fortress! Chain link fences, reinforced doors, security cameras,... Good thing they don't have any guard dogs. At least none that I can see from here.

And by here, I mean on top of a small hill overlooking the ghost town.

"You got two lookouts on the roof," Fury informs me from my tactical earpiece. "One of them has a hunting rifle with scope. He could probably hit you from where you are, if he knew where to look. I'd take him out first."

I look up to see if I can spot Fury's spy drone. I don't. Nothing but dark skies. But it'll be daylight in a couple of hours, so I have to make my move now, while I still have the darkness on my side.

I set my marksman rifle down on its bipod, lay down flat on my stomach, then look down the telescopic sight. Two guys walking on a building rooftop. One with a hunting rifle, another with an assault rifle. I aim for the guy with the hunting rifle as Fury instructed, then squeeze the trigger. Blood explodes out the back of his head. His buddy takes a second to gasp, right before I blow his brains out, too. This is a beautiful marksman rifle.

"Nice shot," Fury observes. "You haven't lost your touch."

By the sound of his voice, I can almost see him smiling.

With the lookouts gone, I quietly trot into town and head towards the factory. There are guards within the enclosure, also. All of them armed with AK-47s. But I'm camouflaged in black, and, unlike me, they're not wearing night vision goggles.

I wait until it's clear, then I climb over the fence. I advance in a crouched position. There are motorized rotating surveillance cameras along the outer walls, so I have to time my movements. Good thing they're not using those auto object tracking security cameras.

There are moments when I am tempted to shoot down a passing, oblivious guard with the silenced MP5. But doing so would also include dragging their bodies into the bushes where the cameras wont see them. Which would increase the risk of being spotted by another roving guard or another camera hidden somewhere. So instead I choose to slip by them unseen. It took more time and patience than I'm accustomed to, but eventually, I make it inside the factory.

#

"Get your fucking hands off me!" I hear Ruby Red scream from within the room directly above the stairs leading to the second floor. "You better fucking hope I never break free, because I'm going to fucking kill all of you! You hear me?!"

Her furious screams are intermixed with the cruel laughter of several people.

"There are five hostiles in that room with her. Four of them armed," Fury informs me. "It's gonna be a tricky shot. One of them is directly on top of her."

Apparently that drone of his comes with a radar device that can see through walls.

I kick the door in. Ruby Red is spread eagled on a bed in the middle of the room. There are five hostiles surrounding her. Two women, three men. I shoot down the two in the distance first because they're facing me. The ones closer to me have their backs turned. When they see their allies fall, they draw their semi-automatic handguns, but are too late. I shoot them both in the back. The last hostile, the one on top of her, doesn't have a weapon. Or even clothes for that matter. I save him for last.

"No! Wait, don't shoot-!" he pleads.

I shoot.

I shove his carcass off her, and onto the floor. Then I use the Ka-Bar to cut her loose.

"Frank?!" she asks in disbelief.

"Where's Sidewinder?" I ask her hurriedly. I don't bother asking if she's alright. That will have to wait.

"They're holding him in one of the rooms on this floor. God, I heard him screaming last night," she tells me. "Gimme a gun so we can pay back these motherfuckers for Myers."

I hand her the Beretta 92, then I go to check the doorway.

"OK, they probably heard me kick the door in," I call to her behind me. "They'll send someone. I'll take them down, you cover my back."

She doesn't respond.

"Ruby Red?" I call again.

I am shocked by what I see when I turn around. Ruby Red is shaking on her feet, tears flowing down her eyes, the barrel of the gun I gave her pressed against her right temple.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" I ask.

"What that monster did to me,...no one should have to live with that."

"But, I heard you threaten them. You said that if you ever broke free, you would kill them all. You're free right now!"

"I was trying to get them to kill ME!"

"Don't do this. I know you. You're stronger than this-"

"Thank you. Frank."

I reach for the gun. She squeezes the trigger.

I don't make it in time.

I hear my submachine gun clatter on the floor, and I don't even remember dropping it.

What could he have done to her?! Aside from a few minor cuts and bruises, there's hardly a mark on her! Maybe he used medical torture. But I don't see any needle marks on her arms. Ruby Red is one of the toughest soldiers I know. He had her for less than twenty four hours! What the hell did he do to her?!

Standing there, looking down at this once brave warrior, I suddenly remember why I stopped being a marine, and became The Punisher. There is a need for The Punisher. I needed to become The Punisher. Because monsters are real. And someone's got to kill them.

"Frank?!" I hear Fury's alarmed voice. "Frank, what the hell just happened?!"

"I'll get back to you, Fury," I answer flatly, then remove the earpiece.

#

All the lights open outside the room. I can hear a lot of voices and activity. Maybe someone discovered the two corpses on the roof. It doesn't matter. I take off the goggles. Wont be needing them now. I don't pick up the MP5. Instead, I take two Desert Eagles from the stiffs nearest me.

"What-?" the first henchman through the door begins, at the sight of the carnage in the room.

I swing a handgun around. He raises his Uzi. I beat him to the draw, and put a .357 round in his chest. I don't let his body fall. Instead I push kick him into his buddies behind him. And with both guns, I shoot them right through him! They all tumble down the steps.

From the top of the stairs, I see more of Guinto's lackeys headed my way. I blast one man's skull with the gun in my right hand, shoot another in the face with the left. The others return fire. Some of the bullets hit the metal stair railing and the wall behind me. A couple of rounds hit me in the vest. But I don't even feel it. I'm completely numb.

I unload on them. The gunshots from my Desert Eagles sound like miniature explosions. And they might as well be, the way I'm dismembering my enemies. They lose rib cages, mandibles, sternums, craniums,... They prepared for soldiers. What they get is a madman, with hellfire erupting from both hands!

When I run out of enemies and ammo, and the warehouse becomes quiet,...only then do I realize that I had been screaming the whole time.

#

"Hey!", I hear Sidewinder yell from behind a door. "Hey, is anybody out there?! Help! I'm in here! I'm in here!"

I discard the empty Desert Eagles, and pry a Glock from a dead man's hand. I walk to the door. It's locked. I kick it in, and find Sidewinder tied to a chair.

"Frank!" he exclaims. "Oh, thank God! Quick! Untie me!"

I do as he says.

"Good," he says. "Now, gimme a gun-"

"No."

He gives me a look. "What?"

"I said no."

"What the fuck, man?! How am I suppose to defend myself?!"

"Stay close to me."

Then I walk out the door.

"Frank!" he calls after me. "H-hey! Hey, Frank-!"

He's in no condition to fight. I intended to take him to safety, and then go back for Guinto. But the door to the foreman's office suddenly swings open, and the master torturer himself appears! Guinto fires at me with a revolver! I dive behind some machinery for cover.

Then I get my second shock of the night.

Sidewinder, with arms wide open, starts slowly marching towards the war criminal! A bullet rips into his shoulder! Then another tears right through his thigh! He groans, he staggers. But he keeps marching forward!

I quickly tackle him to the ground, then shoot at Guinto! I hit him in the right side of his chest, and with a shout, he falls back into the office!

"He made me watch!" Sidewinder sobs. "All those things he did to her, and he made me watch!"

I don't have time for this. I knock him out with a pistol-whip before he can find another way to hurt himself.

#

I enter the foreman's office. Guinto is slumped against the wall, bleeding badly, and gasping for air. I kick his revolver away from him.

"The Punisher," he rasps. "Terrific. I don't suppose the American government sent you to make me an offer."

"What did you do to them?" I growl.

"Well, it's really hard to explain. Much easier to demonstrate, if you're willing."

He laughs, then coughs out blood. I say nothing.

"Physical torture is nothing," he wheezes. "There's honor in withstanding physical torture for one's country. Especially for soldiers."

He coughs again.

"Shame," he tells me, an evil smile on his bloody lips. "That's how you break them."

I still say nothing.

"You know, I hear you're quite the torturer yourself," he continues. "Were they friends of yours? Are you about to give me a taste of my own medicine? I guess I deserve it."

"You do," I finally tell him. "But I'm nothing like you."

I terminate him with a single gunshot through the eye. That's becoming a trademark of mine.

#

Fury and I strap the unconscious Sidewinder to a bed in the mobile home. We drive back to the city in silence. Sometime during the trip, Sidewinder comes to.

"Frank,...thank you. Thanks for the rescue. I wont waste the risk you took gettin' me outta there. Back at the factory,..." he explains feebly. "That wasn't me back there, you know? I would never... You know, I'm gonna come back from this-"

"I know," I answer. "Get some rest. We're taking you to a hospital."

"I'm taking him to a hospital," Fury corrects me. "But it's a military hospital, so you can't be there. I'll have to drop you off first."

"Then drop me off here. I'll find my own way back. The sooner they can get to work on him, the better."

I step out onto the empty dirt road. It's daylight now. Fury tosses me an army water bottle.

"Fury, after today, the higher-ups are gonna start to give a shit about me," I tell him.

"No, they wont," he assures me. "I'll cover for you. You had the good sense to use their own weapons to kill most of them. I'll say they turned on each other."

I nod in response. He drives away towards the military camp. I start walking back to the city.

Breaktime's over.

END

PS: I still take all of Fury's fancy gear, including the shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon. I even have him go back for the MP5 and the night vision goggles that I left at Guinto's warehouse. It may not be my style anymore, but that shit's free! I'm not a fucking idiot.