I spent two days moping around at home. I didn't have to work, the other girls were more than understanding about my brush with death, and I'd done enough favours for them that my shifts were all covered.

The morning of the third day, I got an idea.

I did some research, and found out where the federal office Madani probably worked in was. As I was getting my bag though, I sighed and sat back down.

There was no way I could just march up to a federal office and say I wanted to talk to the Punisher.

I had a second idea, and did a little more digging.

An hour later, I was outside a small apartment building in the heart of downtown, looking up at a window with a flower vase on the sill.

I went inside, and upstairs to knock on the door.

"Just a minute!" A voice called, and a minute later Karen Page opened the door. "Can I help you? I'm running a bit late for work, so you'll have to make this quick."

"You're the writer behind all of the Daredevil and Punisher articles, right?" I had to double check.

"I am." She said slowly.

"I'm Celeste. I was at the Punisher warehouse attack a week ago. I need to talk to you, if you have a minute."

She debated for a second, then let me in. "This counts as work. Make yourself comfortable."

I walked in and sat down on the couch as she grabbed a notebook and pen, and sat in an armchair nearby.

"Is this all on the record?"

"It can be, in exchange for information."

"What kind of information?"

"I need to talk to Frank Castle. I have information about… the real killer, of those girls."

"What makes you think I can find him?"

"Hunch? Hope? I don't know how else to."

She sighed. "Answer some questions for me first."

"Sure. Okay."

"What were you doing there?"

"I'm a… I'm a stripper. Places to practice are expensive, and the warehouse had a room with a bunch of poles in it. I set it up with some mirrors and used it for a practice space. That day was pretty much like any other day for the past couple months, I was just showing up to practice. I saw Castle going downstairs on my way in and followed my dumb curiosity."

"You said you'd been going there for months. Had you ever seen anyone in the warehouse leading up to the attack?"

"I've been using the warehouse as a practice space for almost a year now. When I said that, I meant that's how long… there'd been other people using the building too. That I had to share with."

"Did they know you were there?"

I nodded. "They found me walking in one day. Said they were gonna kill me, in case I was a cop or something. I had to dance for… the leader, to prove I wasn't, I negotiated that he'd let me keep practicing there and not kill me in exchange for me not ratting them out to anyone."

"Are you worried about your safety right now?"

I slowly shook my head. "Things got more complicated, in a way that hopefully keeps me alive."

"Complicated how?"

"I think that the leader and I fell in love. It's… a complicated relationship, he paid me one time to try and seduce information out of a guy they kidnapped so they didn't torture him, he ended up being a child predator and they killed him, but I did that, and… they hired a bunch of strippers to perform at a party or something they were having and got me in the bunch, and… he didn't warn me about the hallway trap downstairs that I nearly ended up dying in. He saved me, but he didn't warn me, and… he killed the prostitutes that were in there. He told me so himself. That was two days ago, I've been crying at home since then."

Karen got all of that down, and stood to move her vase of flowers further out the window. "Do you know who it was? Name, address?"

I slowly nodded. "Russo."

"Billy Russo? This was him too?"

I nodded again. "Yeah. I'm guessing you know about him? Before and after the amnesia?"

She nodded. "There's a very good chance he was just using you. I'm sorry."

I sighed and curled up a little, and she sat next to me and put a hand on my arm. "I'm gonna make a call. See if I can't find Frank. You stay here. Do you need anything? Water, coffee?"

I shook my head, and she rubbed my arm a little before going to the next room.

She came back a half hour later. "He's on his way."

"Thank you."

"Of course. Just a few more questions, if you're okay?"

"Sure, of course." I sniffed and settled in a little.

She asked me for more details, of the attack and of what I knew about Billy and my history with him. I told her everything, every detail, everything that had happened between us. It felt so good to finally tell someone that I couldn't help it.

I only stopped when there was a knock at the door, and Karen got up to let in Castle and Madani, who pulled her gun when she saw me.

"Stop. She told me everything, she's here to help." Karen insisted to her immediately. Madani sighed and lowered her gun. "Here. I took notes, you can take pictures of them if you need to save it. Saves you from having to repeat yourself." She added to me, and I smiled gratefully.

Castle went to the window first, pulling the flowers back in, before turning to me. "What made you change your mind?"

"He… actually killed them. He looked me right in the eyes and told me he killed them before they even screamed. Not just that his guys did it, or that they did something to him… he did it, just to frame you."

"She's vulnerable right now Frank, be gentle." Karen muttered to him as she passed him to set a mug of coffee down and sit back in her armchair.

"I'm going after him. He's got something else planned, I'm going to take care of it soon. I'm putting him down, and he's not going to bother you again."

"I want to talk to him. If I'm there, if I can be there. If you're fighting and you have to kill him whatever, but… if it's possible, I want to… I want to say goodbye."

"Sure. If it's possible, I can let you do that. Just don't get in my way."

"I won't."

"It says here you know where he's staying?" Madani asked me, looking up from Karen's notes.

I nodded. "He's staying with a woman named Krista. She's his psychologist."

Madani slammed the book down. "I knew something was fishy about her."

"Go check out her place. Russo shouldn't be there now, he's on the other side of town." Castle ordered, and she put her gun away and nodded. "I'm gonna go head him off. Can you defend yourself?"

"I can, but I can't come with you right now if that's what you're asking. I have to work tonight."

"I'll come find you if I get him. Your address?"

I gave it to him, along with my phone number. "Just let me know."

"You got it. Let's go. Thanks Karen." He hugged her briefly, and she smiled a little before they left.

"Do you need a place to crash?" Karen offered.

"No thanks. My place should be good enough, until I head to work anyway." I stood, and she nodded.

"If you need anything, just call me, alright?"

"Alright. Thanks." I smiled a little, and she smiled back.