Chapter Nine

Frank's silence on the other end seemed to allude impending doom. David just hoped it wasn't going to be directed his way.

"Did...did you not hear me?" he murmured, hoping that delivering such weighted news in a soft tone would somehow also soften the blow.

The continued silence was unbearable. David almost wished he could just decipher Frank's response in person to gauge how bad this was, though he wasn't that much of an idiot.

"Frank?"

"Why," he whispered with great restraint.

"Why am I on the phone with her, or why is she calling?"

"Jesus Christ, Lieberman, both!"

"Right, right," David stood up from the living room chair and began to pace, already feeling his blood pressure rising. "She's calling me because she wants to track someone's last whereabouts. And Frank, you're not gonna like who."

"Tell me, or it's your funeral."

David swallowed. "It's Edward Drogan."

Another excruciating pause.

"...Eddie?" Frank's voice sounded like he hadn't heard the name in years.

"Yeah, he was one of the guys who worked with you in Operation Cerberus."

"I know that you dipshit, I was there," Frank growled. "What the fuck is she doing asking about him? Why does she want to know where he is?"

"I don't know, she just called two minutes ago!"

"Well ASK HER."

"ALRIGHT!" David angrily pushed the hold button. Then, taking a few more breaths, composed himself. "Hello? Karen?"

"It's him, isn't it," Karen stated. "You guessed Frank, cut me off before I could say his name, and then put me on hold. All in the same moment."

"...Yes," David confirmed, the tight knot in his chest somewhat loosening. "And there's something else. I told him you were on the other line."

"What? Why?"

"Well, he's concerned about you," David stated like it was obvious.

Karen laughed spitefully. "Right. Here to warn me of the danger I'm placing myself in. Well, you can tell him I am well aware of the situation, and I'm still going to find out what happened. With or without your help."

David cringed, already imagining the colorful ways in which Frank would receive this news. "For my sake and his, please don't do this."

"I know why he cares. Why do you?" she asked quizzically.

David slowly lowered himself back into the chair, trying to control his tone down to a calm, rational cadence. "Because I was with him the day you went toe to toe with Lewis. He and I both heard you over the radio speaking to that boy. You came at him again and again, provoking him instead of trying to understand his motives."

"He bombed a building in the heart of New York City! People were calling it the next 9/11!" she said defensively.

"It was personal for everyone that day!" David shouted, wincing when he realized, and continued in a strained whisper. "Not a soul in the City didn't feel raked open that day. But you didn't see Frank's face. You didn't see the anguish it caused him to hear you goad Lewis, taunt him, humiliate him. I know Frank's murderous state. This was something much deeper. He was on the ragged edge hunting that boy down to ensure your safety."

"I know," Karen replied more calmly than he expected. "He called me and told me how he was going to take care of it. And I told him not to do it and say it was for me."

David shook his head. "Can't you see? He will do anything for you. Even derail his and my entire plans to take down the men who murdered his family and ruined my life. Jeopardize everything we worked for. He put his own vengeance aside for you, Karen. For you."

"I…" she paused. His words stung.

"He's calling me again," David glanced at his phone. "Please…don't put him through that a second time. If anything happened to you…I think that really would kill him."

David put her on hold once more, wondering if she'd hang up, and answered, "Hey, Frank."

"Well? You left me waiting long enough," his voice sounded irritated but also resigned, like he already knew what the answer to his question would be.

David felt his shoulders sink. "I tried my best to convince her, but you know her better than most. What are the chances she'll actually listen to me?"

"Slim to none," Frank sighed.

"Well," David propped his feet up on the ottoman, "I suppose you could try convincing her yourself." He could audibly hear Frank glower at him for suggesting such a thing.

"Are you being intentionally dense, or did you forget that someone has ordered a hit on me?"

"Neither," David chuckled, "She's surprisingly still on hold."

"What?"

"Tell her yourself," David motioned to merge the calls.

"Don't!" Frank barked. "Don't you fucking do it."

He faltered at Frank's ominous tone, but David's courage rallied. "You know what? No. I'm sick and tired of playing intermediary. You're both adults. Figure it out. This may be your only chance to convince her, or are you mulling over the idea of doing this in person?"

"I…" Frank's voice trailed.

"Didn't think so," David grinned.

Several items crashed over the phone line, along with a slew of swear words.

"Do it," he growled begrudgingly.

David cleared his throat. "Karen? It's David…and Frank. He-"

"Karen," Frank murmured, his voice sounding half strangled. "I know…" he took in a calming breath. "I know I'm probably delusional in thinking I can convince you to drop a lead. Hell, I probably am half mad trying to stop you from solving a case, considering the lengths you will go to. In fact, no one wants you to find out what happened to Eddie more than I do. He was my brother. But going down this road to find another member of my team killed a lot of people last time, almost including me. I cannot, in good conscience, let you walk into that."

David held his breath and in so doing noticed that Karen had sniffled a few times while Frank was speaking.

She's either holding back tears of joy from hearing his voice, David thought, or she's already made up her mind and knows the pain her choice will cause him.

And what it will cost.

"Karen, please," Frank whispered, "Don't do this."

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

A dial tone played through the line.

"Karen?" Frank's voice sounded stunned. "What happened? Did you lose her?"

David shook his head, already bracing himself. "No. She hung up."

"GOD DAMNIT!"

A loud crash came through the phone, followed by a few more and a whole slew of new swear words. David pulled the phone away from his ear and lowered the volume.

"Frank, calm down," he tried.

"No, you listen to me," Frank snarled, "Right now someone is coming after me and I can't watch over her while I'm being hunted, or I risk her life. Everyone who worked on Operation Cerberus is dead now because people hunted them down. Every goddamn one. So if she's poking around, then someone is going to notice, and if something happens to her…I…"

Another crash sounded over the phone.

"You mean everyone being dead but you," David clarified.

"I AM dead! Frank Castle died two years ago!"

Without hesitation, David stated, "Well then. What is Pete going to do about it? You once told me Karen is family. What do we do for family?"

At the heart of it, David knew Frank would do anything for Karen. That was made painfully clear when Frank was willing to compromise their work on Rawlins a few years back. So there was no way in hell that Frank was going to let Karen walk into this alone either. All of this shouting and throwing things here and now was just a reflex, a physical manifestation of the rage and frustration she stoked within him. But ultimately, it didn't matter. No matter how many things Frank threw across the room, no matter how many swear words uttered, he would always come to the same conclusion.

"...She's gonna be the death of me," he grumbled and hung up.