AN: Hello everyone. Left you all with a bit of a cliff hanger with the last chapter. Thank you all for your support. Writing is cathartic, so it helps. Thanks to NeoTyson, Cellgress, kobevilla, and KingPlotBunny. Your reviews make my day.

Chapter 9

Black Cat was in a different position than normal. Being handcuffed to exposed plumbing on a rooftop was actually new to her. Sure, when she was still a naughty girl (well, naughtier than she was currently) the only two people who caught her were Spider-Man and The Kingpin. Though the Kingpin usually let her go after he blackmailed her and forced her to do a job. Spider-Man would let her go after a few minutes of flirting, and a night of sex. The Punisher was different though, he stayed and worked, and checked up on her to make sure she didn't try to escape. Any attempt to escape, while not likely to be lethal, would certainly be foolish. The Punisher would certainly beat her in a one on one fist fight.

Cat noticed that his work was practiced and methodical. His demeanor, attitude, and lack of conversation put the cold in cold blooded killer. As Black Cat's first interaction with the notorious killer, she was almost worried. She didn't think that Castle would actually kill her, as he typically had a 'take no prisoners, shoot first, ask questions later' policy when it came to people interfering in his operations.

He had taken off his balaclava and opened up a black duffel bag. He currently had a large SLR camera with an adjustable zoom lens. The bag was still big and bulky enough to have a lot more in it. Cat knew from personal experience he was planning something, and that he didn't want to leave anything to chance. She recognized his behavior from her previous experiences casing places for jobs as a thief.

Curiosity may kill the cat, but satisfaction bring them back. She wanted to get inside this man's head. When it came to hero's, they were usually driven by something powerful. Something strong enough to make them throw away a life of ease and comfort for difficulty and danger.

The best way to start a conversation is to give a reason to start talking. "Hey Castle, quick question? You kill criminals, why didn't you ever go after me when I was still taking things that weren't mine?"

Frank pulled his head away from the view piece on his camera. "Never thought about it."

"Really? Master criminal? Couldn't be caught by police?"

"You weren't a threat." He said calmly. He pulled out a portable printer from his bag.

"The millions I stole in jewelry, art, and other shiny or valuable things I stole seemed to make me a public threat." She countered.

"You weren't a threat to anyone's life. You were never close to pulling a trigger. I would also like to point out that Web Head caught you plenty of times, eventually got you to our line." The Punisher said. He plugged a USB cord from the camera into the printer. He printed off two photos. One of the front of the garage with the door open, one with it closed.

"Yeah, I don't want to talk about him." Cat said, looking away.

Frank Castle pulled out a rifle magazine and a box of 7.62mm armor piercing ammunition. He began to load to bullets in. "Whatever he did, it isn't that bad."

"Oh! and you're an expert?"

"No one is an expert in relationships." Castle said. He pulled out a Knights Armament SR-25 sniper rifle. He had made the simple modification of a bipod and an adjustable stock for a more stable and precise rifle. "But I was married at one point, kids and all, so I think that I have some insight."

Cat smiled. She had him talking at this point. "So answer me this, we've been taking down bad guys for a while now. Why would he go ahead and go after guys without me?"

"That's easy." Franks said as he slid the magazine into the magazine of the well of the rifle. "Were you around when he left to go after those gangbangers earlier?"

"Well…no." she said.

"His decision wasn't emotional, it was professional. He discovered the location of bad guys and their money at the start of a gang war. He needed to move fast to make sure it wasn't taken out." The anti-hero explained. He reached into his duffel and pulled out a 40mm grenade, and a few 40mm flares. "You had an argument, didn't you?" He asked.

"…yeah." She said sadly.

Frank shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure you two will get through it."

"That certain, are you?" Felica said dryly.

"Listen. I fought and argued with my wife every week, sometimes twice a week. As close as two people can be, they are still two people, with different views on the world. But if they really do love each other, then they find a way past all of their differences, and that in turn brings them closer." Frank explained. He had pulled out a pair of binoculars, and was looking down the street left and right.

"You're lucky" He continued. "The bug works with you and I assume shares his personal life."

"Well, yeah." Black Cat said.

"He shares his whole life with you. As much as I loved my wife, I couldn't tell her everything that I did with MARSOC."

"MARSOC?" she asked confused.

"Marine Corps Special Operation."

"Oh." Black Cat realized that at one point, The Punisher, was Mr. American Dream. Wife, kids, and a badass job."

"You two are closer than most couples. You'll be fine."

"What happened? To your family? You said you were married."

The Punisher lowered the binoculars. "Gang hit. Killed in a crossfire." He said with a mixture of pain and anger.

"That's why you do this." Cat stated.

A SUV came down the road and pulled into the garage. The Punisher got a look at Max Greene, the vice president of the Dogs of Hell before the garage door lowered.

"There is a class of criminal too dangerous and powerful for the police, but not big enough for super heroes. They cause a lot of pain for people." Castle explained as he readied his rifle. "I'm just trying to stop as much as possible."

Black Cat thought she understood The Punisher now. He didn't want anyone to go through what he did, and he would do it at any cost. "I'm sorry." She said.

"I manage" The Punisher said.

He put on the skull balaclava. He looked at the two pictures that he had taken earlier. Using the two he compared where he need to shoot to target the gas cans, oils drums, and tanks of vehicles and motorcycles inside. He calmly pulled the trigger, and shot through the closed door. From his perch, he heard the sounds of shouting and yelling coming from inside. Bullets coming through a wall tended to scare the shit out of people.

He emptied the magazine, and set down the rifle. He reached back into his duffel bag and pulled out a Brügger & Thomet GL06. The single shot, break action grenade launcher looked like a modern version of the Vietnam War era M79 'Thumper'. He loaded up a 40mm HE round and used it to blow a sizable hole in the door of the garage. He then took several 40mm white phosphorous flare and fired them from the grenade launcher into the garage. The amount of flammable fluid that was on the ground now because of the earlier sniper assault caused an explosive inferno.

The whole place was ablaze in seconds. Dogs screamed as they began to burn, some were escaping, but all were all on fire. The Punisher didn't give them a second thought. He began to load up all of his equipment into his duffle bag. He then walked over to Black Cat, still flex cuffed to a pipe. He pulled out a combat knife and cut the cuff.

"You can go beat those guys up if you want now." Castle said as he walked away.

"What are you going to do next?" Black Cat asked with some concern. As much as she wanted to take down the Dogs of Hell, and the Rolling Sevens, she didn't want to kill them.

"I can to town to take stop a gang war. I've taken out the money, the guns, and a couple key leaders. If the war continues, you and Spider-Man can stop it. I'm going back to LA. Before I left, one of my sources said that the Hijos del Diablo cartel was sending a group of sicarios to start making a mess. Gotta get back there." He said simply.

Punisher started to walk away while Black Cat was rubbing her wrists. "And talk to your boyfriend." He stated. "He wants you around, but he may place innocent lives over making you totally happy from time to time. Some guys would rather live with a broken heart, rather than guilt." He said.

Black Cat knew he was speaking from experience, because Frank Castle lived with both.

AN: The conversation between Black Cat and The Punisher was heavily inspired by the diner scene from Daredevil Season 2. I felt that it was actually the best scene that season because it showed a remarkable depth to Frank Castles character that most people seem to forget about, that and the fight choreography is brutal an intense. This chapter also sets up a possible Punisher story idea, but after my small Agent Venom story, I think i'll wait until after the Punisher's Netflix series comes out so the character can get more popular. Also some translations Hijos del Diablo translates to Devil's Sons, and a Sicario is a cartel hit man.