WAREHOUSE/HQ FOR TATAMOVICH AND RASTOVILICH

0800 HOURS

"We need to take it to the next level." Rastovilich, leader of the mercenaries said.

"What do you mean?" Tatamovich, would be king of New York asked.

"We're at war. It's possible the authorities are on to us, besides Punisher and his allies, whoever they are."

"What do you suggest? We already tried to ambush Castle, that didn't work." Tatamovich said.

"True. We have to up the ante. And change our M.O."

"You have an idea."

"I have a few. I need your consent. You are, after all, my employer."

"As long as it helps me get closer to my goal. I want to sit in Fisk's former chair, Viktor."

"I think it will. We need to act fast."

And Rastovilich told his plan.

"I like it." Tatamovich said. "For Castle…He's an extraordinary threat. We need an extraordinary solution. And I also have a few ideas. Last resorts."

1032 HOURS

A high pitched shriek came into Franklin's consciousness. What..Who…

His cellular phone.

He answered.

"Franklin."

"Jesus Christ, Franklin." It was Feinstein, the FBI man in charge of bringing in Rastovilich and Tatmovich. "Been trying to reach you for hours."

The marshal had the mother of all headaches.

"I'm here now." He said.

"You sound like shit. Did you get shitfaced last night or something?"

"No…Something came up. I have news."

"Bad news?"

"The worst."

"Christ. What is it?"

"Not on the phone. You at One Police Plaza?"

"Yeah, we're here."

"I'll talk to you in person. This thing got even more fucked up."

"Shit. Ok, we'll be waiting for ya. We'll trade tips."

"Yeah."

Franklin cut the line and willed himself to his feet. He wasn't groggy, but his head hurt. He remembered perfectly what happened to him. And about the Interpol cops.

He found his car. He opened his glove box. He always had extra strength Tylenol. Always prepared. He swallowed four.

Feinstein probably wanted to tell Franklin about the prisoner. The guy Franklin saw getting tortured by Niemans and Danko was the merc he busted. He was supposed to be held in the Brooklyn cop shop. The fake INTERPOL dudes probably broke the bastard out of jail.

About forty minutes after waking up, Franklin was a couple of blocks from One Police Plaza.

He wondered. Should he have accepted Danko's offer? Now, he didn't have a goddamn lead. Should he have-

There was a flash of light. Like lightning. And a loud boom. What the-

"God…"Franklin whispered.

One Police Plaza, New York' Police HQ, exploded.

Fire, dust, smoke, debris, shrapnel was flying all over the street. Then, there were secondary explosions. Cars.

It was chaos. Sheer, utter chaos.

It was hell.

There was a cacophony of twisting metal, crumbling concrete, car alarms, screams, cries.

A thick cloud of smoke was covering the area.

Bloodied people rushing out of…Ground Zero, it was the only way he could…People with missing legs.

This was a sheer nightmare. There were no other words for that.

Franklin had to snap out of it. He got out of his car and rushed towards the epicentre of that small apocalypse. He tried to block out the sirens, the crying, the shrieks of the dying, the wounded, the widowed. Various iterations of horror came to him.

A young woman holding a dead child.

A middle aged man holding his dead wife, most likely.

A beheaded elderly woman.

A teenaged boy, disfigured. Trying to scream. No eyes. No tongue.

A young man, trying to keep his intestines inside of him.

The closer he got to the source of the blast He saw more charred bodies. More wounded. More terrified people.

He stopped running near One Police Plaza. His eyes were full of tears from the dust and smoke. There a was deep and wide smoking crater in front of the building. Cars were blown apart or turned over by the shockwave.

Car bomb. Or maybe a van. Parked in front.

Everything was burning. One Police Plaza was burning. People were yelling, the stench of burned flesh was overwhelming. They used fuel along with the explosives.

First, there was shock. Then horror. Then horror was replaced with rage. Bloodlust.

Whoever did this had to fucking die.

First. Help those in need.

Then hunt and kill every last motherfuckin' motherfucker responsible for this.

SHIELD OPS CENTER

1118 HOURS

"Jesus Christ…" Fury said.

The Punisher, Fury, Widow, Elektra, Silver Sable, G-Wiz, Crippler, Chen and Shotgun were watching the blast site on a giant monitor.

There was a minute of silent horror.

There were smaller screens in the control room. Also showing satellite pictures.

"It's them. Tatamovich and Rastovilich." Castle said. His voice seemed void of any emotion.

"How do you know for sure?" Fury said. The SHIELD commander tried to remain calm. 70 years of watching horrors like these…it still got to him.

"Look. On the other screens. There were other blasts." Castle said. "Brooklyn, again. Flatbush area. The Bronx. Even New Jersey and Atlantic City. Other places. This was a coordinated attack. They took out the Jamaican Posses, more goombahs, bikers…And the cops. All those places went up at the same time. All bombs. The gloves came off. Of course, the cops and the feds will panic. Maybe even the CIA. And while the rest of the world is thinking maybe Al Qaeda, by the time the dust settles and the law is still trying to recover, the Ivans take over. Sound strategy."

"Sound strategy?" Widow yelled. "You heartless son of a bitch, do you even realize what these bastards have done?"

"He understands them." Sable said. "It's what he would have done. Right, Castle? You're just like Rastovilich. Cold. Inhuman."

Castle said nothing for several seconds. Tension was rising the office.

"I don't give a fuck what you think of me." Castle said. "I only give a fuck about the task at hand. I'm not a fireman, or a paramedic. I can't help those people. What I am is a soldier. I can make sure whoever did this doesn't do it again. I thought that was what all of this was about."

"Christ, Castle, of course it is. " Fury said. "And you're right. There are healers for the victims down there. That ain't what we are."

"All we can do is avenge the victims. So their deaths are not in vain." Elektra said.

"What is our next move?" G-Wiz asked. "They changed their M.O. So should we."

"I'm with him." Shotgun said. "I say we stomp the muthafuckas now. Fuck the night time assault."

"They feel confident after this last coup. Now it is the time to strike." Amy Chen said.

Alarms started blaring in the complex at that exact same moment.

"What's that alarm, Fury?" Silver Sable asked.

An explosion rocked the building. The whole floor shook.

"Incoming." Fury said.

"Who knows we're here?" Castle asked.

"Nobody except us." Fury said.

All the warriors present readied their weapons. The doors to the control room blew up. They all took cover and got ready as the dust cleared.

A grenade landed on the conference table.

"I GOT THIS!" G-Wiz shouted as he tossed himself on the grenade and it went off.

"G-WIZ!" Crippler, his fellow Wild Pack member and friend screamed.

"Heroic, but useless." A voice said from behind the doorway.

"Fuck you!" Crippler said, he eyes welling up in rage and grief, "You're gonna choke on your own fuckin' balls, you fucker!"

"Sure." The voice said. "Whatever."

And then, the air filled with gunfire.