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Chapter 5- At the docks
Pier 74, Earth-199999
Frank had arrived right on schedule. The Russians had to be running the subway system. Brandishing his assault rifle, Frank walked around the place.
At that moment, he heard a woman shouting, "Let go of me!"
"Take her inside", he then heard someone say, "Find out what she knows."
"I know that voice", Frank muttered, referring to the woman. And he did because he had worked with her quite a few times.
Frank then snuck up behind two thugs. He cleanly sliced the throat of the first and before the other could react, he stabbed him in the throat. Both of them were dead.
As Frank then snuck around between some crates, he heard a man ask, "Boris! What was all that shooting?"
"They took a spy", the thug who was called Boris said, "Some Russian woman."
Frank jumped out of his hiding place and shot them all down with his assault rifle. Only one was left alive. Frank grabbed him and dragged him to the edge.
Shoving him towards the water, Frank said, "This is where you tell me everything you know."
"I know nothing!" the man said. But then Frank shoved him a little more and he blurted out, "Grenades! Under the dumpster! Let me go!"
"Very poor choice of words", Frank said calmly before throwing him into the water.
He then went to the dumpster and picked up the grenades, "Can never have enough grenades."
He then walked further and ended up outside a door.
"Where did they find her?" he heard a thug asking.
Before anyone could reply, Frank kicked the door open and threw his grenade. It exploded, killing them all.
Another one arrived but Frank disarmed him with a shot before he could fire. Frank then smashed his head on the wall and roared, "Where is she?"
"I don't know!"
Frank smashed his head again.
"She's in restaurant!" he blurted out, "At end of pier!"
Frank shot him in the head and continued on his way. He shot down anyone he saw. He then kicked open the door to the restaurant and sure enough, there she was, held at gunpoint by one man while the other two aimed their weapons at him.
Natasha Romanoff! The Black Widow!
As Frank debated his next move, she kicked the man holding her hostage on the knee before grabbing his gun hand and flipping him over her shoulder. Before the other two could react, Frank shot them both dead. Natasha picked up the man's gun and pointing it at him mocked, "Persuade this, comrade."
She then shot him dead.
Turning to Frank, she asked, "What are you doing here, Castle?"
"You're welcome", Castle said.
"I let them capture me", Natasha revealed.
"Why?" he asked.
"A stolen Russian nuke is coming in by freighter tonight", she said, "I'm here on behalf of the Avengers and I'm taking it back. What are you doing here?"
"Just hosing down the docks", Frank said casually.
"I have your back", she assured him as the two moved out of the place.
They immediately came under fire and hid behind a dumpster.
"Push it", Natasha said, "We use it as cover."
Frank pushed the dumpster as Natasha brandished her Glocks and shot down the three thugs.
They then opened a door to see some Japanese men waiting for them. And in International crime, there was only one Japanese organization that could be involved.
"Yakuza", Frank said.
"What are they doing here?" Natasha wondered.
"Let's find out", Frank said as the two rolled away to avoid gunfire.
Frank shot down two Yakuza while Natasha wrapped her feet around one and flipped him to the ground before kicking him out. She then swept another's feet from under him and then flipped on him, knocking him out.
Frank grabbed one's hand as he tried to fire and smacked his face with his gun, putting him down before shooting him on the face.
Natasha wrapped her feet on another thug and hit him with her Widow's Bite on both sides of the head, killing him. She then brandished her Glocks and killed two more men.
Frank disarmed the last man and slammed his face on the wall, "What are the Yakuza doing here?"
"I won't tell!" the thug said defiantly.
"You know what we are capable of?" Natasha asked threateningly while Frank smashed his head again.
"The docks!" he confessed, "We're taking over the docks!"
Frank then executed him with a headshot.
Before the two could walk through another door, Natasha said, "Wait!"
As Frank stopped, she said, "Listen!"
"The shipment has arrived?" they heard someone ask.
"As scheduled", another person said, "And it is as promised."
"I guess the Yakuza haven't heard about the nuke", Frank said.
"Perhaps he was lying to you", Natasha referred to the thug Frank had interrogated.
"Doubtful", Frank said, "How did you hear of it?"
"Informants", she said, "Reliable ones. A nuclear device is being delivered to Pier 74 tonight."
Frank then kicked the door open and shot down the two people before seeing a boat leave the docks. He shot at it a few times and there was a small explosion which destroyed the boat.
"You idiot!" an exasperated Natasha chastised him, "What if the nuke had been on board?"
"There would have been a bigger bang", Frank said causally which made Natasha roll her eyes.
He then ran up some stairs as Natasha said, "You take the stairs. I'll join you soon."
He then walked further and shot down the thugs who attacked him. As he ran downstairs, he killed two more thugs who fired at him and disarmed the third. The thug ran from him in fear bur Frank grabbed him by the back of the collar and dragged him to the edge.
A shark was swimming closer to them.
"I need info, and you need to live", Frank threatened, "So let's talk."
"Fuck you, Punisher!" the man said.
Frank started shoving him into the water as the shark came closer.
"No, you won't! You won't!" the man said in fear.
"Looks like you don't know me that well", Frank said causally as his grip loosened.
"No wait!" the man said, "At warehouse door, use code 7-7-2-9, won't set off alarm."
Frank then lowered him into the water as the shark leapt up and grabbed him by the legs. He screamed in pain and terror as Frank let him go and backed off as the shark slowly chewed his legs and ate him up while swimming back inside.
"Chum's served", Frank said dryly.
Frank then walked through another door when he heard Natasha yelling, "Castle! Watch out!"
Frank ducked in time to avoid a gunshot as Natasha shot down the attacked with her Glocks.
"About time you got here", she said, "Let's move."
Frank shot another thug down and smacked another's face with the gun before brandishing his knife and stabbing the man in the face, killing him.
Natasha punched a man and elbowed him in a rotatory motion before flip kicking him away. He rushed her but she sidestepped and grabbed him in a chokehold before snapping his neck.
She then brandished her Glocks and shot down two more thugs.
As the two walked towards the warehouse door, Natasha revealed, "I was given a code for this door, but it's not working."
"A chum told me to try 7-7-2-9", Frank said and she punched in that code. That code made the door open.
As they walked through it, Natasha said, "The two of us must split up for a while."
"Got a lead on the nuke?" Frank asked.
"Perhaps", she said.
"Well then", Frank said, "I'll look for more Russians to kill."
"They'll be expecting you now", she pointed out.
"Then they'll be expecting to die", Frank said and the two parted ways. Frank continued walking further.
He ran up some stairs and saw some Russians talking. He threw a flashbang grenade. Before they could run off, the grenade exploded and they were all blinded.
Frank shot down two of them and stabbed another with a knife. Shoving him towards the edge, Frank asked, "Where is the nuke?"
"I know of no nuke", the man protested.
Frank loosened his grip and he blurted out, "All I know of is a tank! Please, let me go!"
"Okay", Frank said and let him go. He dropped into the water.
Frank then continued sneaking around the place. He climbed up using some ladders and saw a crane he could operate. There was another boat, all ready to go.
"Time to make the shipping business unprofitable", Frank said as he operated the crane. He brought it down on the boat multiple times and it hit the explosives, destroying the boat.
"Bon voyage", Frank said as he got out of the machine and climbed back down.
As he walked further, he saw Natasha garroting a thug to death.
Frank shot another thug who was trying to sneak up on her and she swept another's feet from under him before shooting him dead.
Frank grabbed a thug and threw him under a crate that had been held up via support.
"How do I destroy the tank?" Frank asked.
"What tank?" he said.
Frank smashed his face with his foot, breaking his nose.
"Explosives!" he said as he yelled in pain, "That's the only way!"
Frank kicked the support away and the crate fell on his head, splattering it into a bloody smear.
"Now my boots are all sticky", he grumbled as Natasha said, "That warehouse is next. Let's go!"
Frank pulled a lever, making the door move up and the two walked toward another door.
"Ready?" Natasha asked him.
"Ladies first", Frank quipped.
She rolled her eyes as the two moved closer. Suddenly, the door went up and the tank fired a shell.
"Shit!" Natasha cursed as the two jumped away but were hit slightly by the blast which sent them down.
"I'd almost rather see a nuke", Frank grumbled as the two got up.
There was a small crate nearby with launchers in it.
"Well, that's interesting", Frank said and Natasha added, "Very."
The two picked up the launchers and dodged another shell before firing simultaneously.
The blasts managed to damage the tank. They fired again simultaneously and the tank was on fire.
"Now that's done", Frank said.
"There are two Russian freighters arriving tomorrow night", Natasha then revealed the info she had gotten, "One of them has the nuke. I do not know which one."
"One for each of us", Frank said.
"You investigate the Igor Baltivsky", she said, "I will take the Red Guardian."
"Just wondering", Frank said, "If you want to neutralize nukes, why not get some help from your buddy Nuke?"
"About that", she said, "Let's just say he is on an assignment."
Next night, The Igor Baltivsky
Frank rowed a boat towards the ship. The Russians were trying to do a little nuclear blackmail. New York needed some purging, but not like this. He needed to sink that ship before it reached the harbor. Natasha was onto the Red Guardian.
He had brought enough C4. And thanks to the fog, he hadn't been spotted yet. He threw up a ladder and climbed up the ship.
Two thugs were there unaware of his presence. Frank grabbed one of them from behind and as he struggled, Frank sliced his throat.
He then sneaked up on the other one and grabbing him from behind, stabbed him in the back of the neck with his knife which protruded from the front. Frank then yanked it out and the man fell down, dead.
As another thug arrived, Frank grabbed him and hung him on a hook. The thug screamed in pure agony as he tried to remove the hook but in the process, he ended up shredding the back of his neck and head and was dead.
Frank kicked a door open and threw a flashbang grenade, blinding the thugs there. He then used his assault rifle to shoot them all down. Grabbing the last thug, he shoved him onto a rotating spiked wheel and it ripped him apart.
Kicking the engine room open, he ducked to avoid some gunshots. Getting up, he shot down two thugs before tossing his rifle to the third. The thug caught it and looked at it in confusion. During that time, Frank stabbed him on the face with his knife before yanking it out and taking the rifle back.
He grabbed another man and slammed his head on the gear repeatedly, shattering his skull and coating the gear with blood.
"Just a little more lubricant for the gears", he quipped before planting some C4.
He then ducked to avoid another gunshot and looked up to see the captain. He ran around to avoid some more shots and threw his knife. It hit the captain in the shoulder and he dropped his weapon in pain. Frank then shot him with his rifle multiple times and he was dead. He then took back his knife and ran out of the engine room.
He then ran down to the lower levels of the place. The thugs fired but he dodged and found himself near a crate. A flamethrower was inside. Picking it up, Frank fired at them. The flames burnt the men and they screamed in pure agony as they were reduced to crisps. In the lower levels, Frank planted some more C4. But the nuke was nowhere to be found.
He then came back up and returned to his ladder. He climbed down to his boat and rode it away.
When he was at a safe distance, he pressed a button and the ship went down in a huge explosion. The waves rocked due to its intensity. The ship was gone.
That moment, his phone rang. He accepted the call.
"So I'm guessing you destroyed the ship", Natasha said from the other end.
"Yeah", he said, "And you destroyed yours. But there was no nuke."
"That's funny", she said, "Because I didn't find any nuke either."
"This thing sounds fishy", Frank said.
"I did find out who are behind this operation though", Natasha revealed.
"It's a General Kreigkopf", she said, "The thugs told me when I interrogated them. And they say that there is a mercenary too that works with him. Some Kane Wolfman."
"Kane Wolfman?" Frank asked just to be sure, having known who the name belonged too.
"Yeah", she said, "Why? You know him?"
"No, it's nothing", Frank said before cutting the call.
As he reached the docks, he dialed another number.
"Hello", Matt Murdock said from the other end.
"Red, I need you to contact Oliver and Slade", Frank said.
"Why?" Matt asked.
"Let's just say I got a lead on Joe", Frank said.
"You want me to help?" Matt asked.
"No", Frank said, "I think me and Slade would be enough. Tell Oliver to send Slade to my apartment."
"Okay", Matt said and the call was cut.
Later, Frank's apartment, New York, Earth-199999
Frank put his weapons on the table and changed into casual clothes for the time being. His vest was inside his cupboard while his trenchcoat was on a hanger. He now wore a white t-shirt and blue jeans.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Thinking it as Slade, Frank walked towards the door. Turning the knob, he opened it-
Only to receive a punch to the face which made him stagger back. Regaining his bearings, Frank saw it was a huge, muscular, blonde Russian man of 6 feet and 3 inches. As he tried to punch again, Frank put the door in the way and his fist made a hole in the door.
As he tried to free it, he punched with his other arm but Frank ducked and punched him in the gut. To his horror, the man was barely affected.
Frank punched him on the face and in return, received another fist to the face which sent him on the ground.
As he crawled towards where he had kept his weapons, the man freed is hand and punched him on the back, sending him down again.
The man then grabbed Frank by the back of the collar and lifting him into the air, threw him away. Fortunately, Frank caught a chain and used it to swing back and give the Russian a kick to the face, making him stagger back.
He dropped back down as the Russian marched towards him. Frank suddenly picked up a switchblade and stabbed the man near the shoulder.
To his horror, the Russian gave him a smug smile. Grabbing his hand, the Russian pushed it back which also pushed the bloody knife out of his body.
He then grabbed Frank by the throat and pinned him to the wall. As Frank struggled, the Russian started moving his knife hand towards his shoulder, intending to stab him.
Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind and pushed him off. Before he could recover, the man kicked the Russian on the face and he staggered back again.
It was Slade, wearing his Deathstroke armor, with his mask on him and his sword strapped on the back. As the Russian struck again, Frank and Slade jumped in different directions to avoid. Frank then grabbed him from behind as Slade kicked him on the chest which made him stagger a little.
As he threw Frank off, Slade brandished his sword and sliced him across the abdomen. Before the Russian could react, Slade drove the blade to the side of his abdomen. He yanked it out but to his shock, the Russian was still standing.
That moment, Frank charged at him from behind and smashed his head into a TV. Before he could react, the two grabbed him and continued smashing his head.
Using their combined strength, they lifted him into the air and carried him over to the window from where they threw him off.
"Dasvidanya", Slade said dryly.
"Thanks for the save", Frank said to Slade.
"No problem", Slade said, "Now, about my son-"
"Yeah", Frank said, "About him. Based on what I heard earlier today, he is in league with a Russian general called General Kreigkopf. And he is going by Kane Wolfman. They plan to smuggle weapons into the city."
"I would have said I can't believe my son would do such a thing", Slade said with a sad sigh, "But unfortunately, he is capable of such things."
"Don't be that hard on yourself", Frank said, "He saw you kill someone, that's not his fault. But how he chose to deal with it, that's his fault. But do you believe he can be brought back?"
"I-I don't know", Slade said sadly as he took off his mask, "But he is family. He is my boy. I can't turn my back on him."
"I know the feeling", Frank said, "So let's get going."
"Where?" Slade asked.
"I heard from an ally of mine that the General is on Grand Nixon Island", Frank said, "So hopefully, we'll find your son there."
"All right", Slade said, "Let's get going."
That moment, Frank looked out of the window and to his horror, the Russian was not there. But there was a blood trail leading away from the area. Slade followed his gaze and was shocked by the sight too.
"That's not good", Frank grumbled.
"Not at all", Slade grumbled.
Hope you liked the Black Widow cameo.
I must say, Frank vs the Russian in the 2004 movie was one of the most one-sided brawls in the history of movies. But Slade was here to help out a brother fortunately.
So Frank and Slade finally team up to do their thing.
But unfortunately, this story is going to be on a one week hiatus because of exams. So no updates till then. But after that, there will be a nice amount of updates.
Please review. I always appreciate your feedback.