"You did what you had to do. I don't see any problem with that at all," said a mellow, female voice. Samantha Ramirez partnered Castle for two years in the Paragon DEA.
Both Frank and Samantha stared at the lifeless body of Eddie Barini as two medical workers carted his corpse away. Frank's remorse ate at him like tigers over raw meat.
"Sam, Eddie was only 19. He could have done something with his life." Frank's husky voice covered his inner penitence.
"Are you kidding? Fast Eddie B suddenly changing his life around? Frank! Eddie was one of the top drug and arms dealers in Paragon. Not to mention that his dad is one of the biggest criminals this city has ever seen. Frank, he shot back at you."
"That's still no excuse. I'm not a killer of children."
"Frank! Think about your wife and kids! It was either Eddie's life or your own." Through closed eyes, Frank saw his beautiful wife Maria. He remembered the day when he first met her at Reginald Park, the tulips in full bloom. He recalled their wedding day and their honeymoon to Puerto Rico where the two consummated their love.
"Frank! Frank!" Frank snapped himself out of his stupor. Samantha stared back at him in a strange worry. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
"Well, Brock wants to see you." Samantha left promptly leaving Frank by the police cars that were still at the scene.
Brock Bones was a talkative DEA agent, another main agent with Sam and Frank. A young and scrawny type, he had a personality with an arrogance that would make roosters die of disgust.
Most of the time, Bones had a smile, whether it was smug or sincere. However, he was frowning now, a sight Frank hadn't seen in a long time.
"What the hell were you thinking!" yelled Brock in anger. "That's Vincenzo Barini's son! If he gets word of this, we're all going to be swimming with the goddamn fishes." Frank, extremely perturbed at Brock's confrontation, attempted to keep his emotions in check.
"Fast Eddie had me on the ropes. He could have killed me."
"You think just because you went to shoot a bunch of commies in Venezuela that you can blow everyone's head off? Frank, wake up! You're making us look bad! It's bad enough that you're dealing with your PTS by blowing us--"
At that moment, Frank delivered a swift but strong punch directly to Brock's face. Brock's mirrored sunglasses shattered and he fell to the ground in confusion, fear, and rage.
"I need a fucking vacation," muttered Frank as he walked away.
"WHAT!" cried out an angry voice that shook the large Barini House from its foundations. Vincenzo Barini, the patriarch of the Barini household, discovered the news that he dreaded since the day of the birth. Edward Jonathan Barini was dead, killed in a drug raid by DEA pigs. Vincenzo's wife, Livia Saint, sobbed uncontrollably and eventually fainted from exhaustion.
A few hours after Livia was rushed to the hospital, Vincenzo stared angrily at the Paragon skyline, a few miles away from the Barini Manor. Inside the large study room where Vincenzo did his dirty work were two associates. One was a balding man with mirrored sunglasses. He held a stoic expression as a sinister aura surrounded him. He was Quentin Glass, Vincenzo's long time confidant and right-hand man.
The other person was a young, thin, and confident looking person. He wore silver-rimmed sunglasses as he stared emotionless back at Vincenzo Barini. He was Johnny Barini, the other twin son of Vincenzo. The three of them began to deliberate among cigar smoke and booze.
"I want to find the bastard that did this. Not only did he kill one of my best friends, he killed my son!" Vincenzo howled in rage. Glass immediately took off his sunglasses and stared back at his close friend.
"Joe Providence was like a brother to me. I swear to you Vinnie, I'm going to find this motherfucker and feed him his brain while he is still living." Vincenzo glared.
"You can talk all you want Quentin but I want something to be done now!" Glass grinned.
"I know just where to start."