Castle sat at the corner table in the medium sized bar. There were enough patrons that a gun fight would get nasty, but a confrontation seemed unavoidable since he'd been pointed out in a very vocal way.

"Yeah, I know who the hell you are," the fat, bearded biker shouted at him. "What've you got to say for yourself, huh? I'm gonna slaughter you for what you did to them on the freeway!"

Fear, Castle thought to himself. The longer you can stay put, the more they'll fear you. He flashed a sly smile, which quieted the biker and put an expression of disbelief on his face. Yes, fear is for the enemy... fear and flashbangs.

Castle kicked the disc at his feet towards the biker, and it exploded, blinding everyone near him. Frank didn't wait to follow up. He quickly stood up, approached the large man, and picking up a metal napkin dispenser, struck him in the temple. The biker was out cold.

The crowd cleared from around Castle as he turned to look at them. Solemnly, they all diverted their eyes... except for one man, who Frank immediately glanced at. His short hair was slicked back; the man was in his early forties and had a remarkable build, perhaps even more disciplined than Castle's own. Something about it didn't look real.

"Impressive, sir. Just as I knew you would be," the man said with a latin accent.

"I don't have time for games. Who the hell are you?"

The man stepped closer to Frank, and spoke very quietly. "You ruined a very lucrative trade. Do you know how hard it is for me to find the automatic weapons they were providing? You have stepped in it royally this time, my friend." The man swung his arm at Castle with a chop; it wasn't difficult for Castle to block, but the shot would almost certainly leave a black bruise on his arm. The man spun his body and with a closed fist, swung with the opposite arm. Castle ducked the attack and coming up, tried to deliver an uppercut to the man's face. The man had moved far away enough that Castle's shot had missed completely.

The two stepped back, and circled for a moment. The crowd was getting in to it, their entertainment being provided only at the cost of the alcohol in their bodies. "Sure, play it stupid, Punisher... I dare you to brawl with me." As if the man's swift movement and carefully calculated attacks weren't enough evidence, his words certainly indicated this was a professional. Castle drew the large knife from his back holster and hoped to catch the man off guard, but as he lunged, the man stepped to the side, put his foot behind Castle's own, and efficiently threw him to the ground.

Is it too late? Did I screw it up already? Castle wondered. He had to get back in the fight somehow. He took whatever target he could get, and managed to plant the knife in to the man's thigh... the knife stopped short, however. Body armor?

The bar's female owner shouted at the patrons, "Everyone clear out! I called the cops, you've all had enough. Go on, pay your tabs and scram." The patrons all cleared out in a hurry. "Aw, shit, nobody paid. Great."

Meanwhile, the fight continued. Castle absorbed several hard punches to the face before falling dazed to the ground. The man slid the knife from his thigh armor and stowed it behind his own back. Castle lunged for a bar stool and hurled it towards the man. He deftly blocked it with his arm, and catching the stool, flung it towards the bar. The owner ducked out of the way and screamed as glass bottles broke and booze ran freely down the shelves.

"Yes sir, full body armor. I'm sure you've noticed by now." The man could tell he had surprised Castle. "Normally I'm not so forward with threats to the organization, but this is fun!" The man cracked his neck.

"What a cliche," Castle said as he climbed to his feet. He raised his fists and braced as the man approached him. As the man kicked towards his hip, Castle caught his leg; the man attempted to bring up his other leg but was dropped to the floor. Castle pointed his wrist towards the man's face, and pressing on his arm with his other hand, fired his ballistic knife at him. The man raised his own arm, which absorbed most of the blow as the slim knife sliced through his sleeve. "Are you bleeding yet, mongrel?"

The man laughed and climbed to his feet, half in pain and half in surprise as a small spot of blood appeared on his sleeve. "Strong ballistic knife, I have to give you that one. Try mine." The man raised his own arm; Castle braced to move, but he wasn't expecting what came next. The man stepped towards him, and with his heel pointing at Castle's ankle, the knife shot out of the bottom-back of his boot. It didn't hit Castle's ankle directly, but the slash of the blade was sharp and drew its own blood. Castle yelled out in pain as he quickly hopped away from the man.

Ready to end the fight, Castle finally drew his sidearm. His opponent had the same thought and drew at the same moment. The two stared fiercely at one another. Finally, the other man backed away towards the door as a siren approached. He fired a single shot at Castle, who in anticipation was already diving to the floor. "Predictable," Castle uttered as he fired three shots at the man. All three struck the fleeing stranger in the back. The man fell to the ground, but caught himself with his hands and quickly resumed his escape.

Castle wasn't going to let him get away that easily.