"God-fucking-damn it all!" Chief Wallace roared, knocking a stack of papers over. "Fucking Castle struck again!"
It'd be a bit of an understatement to say that Wallace was pissed off. He looked over at Skye.
"What the fuck? I thought you had this one!" Wallace yelled. "Not only did Rene Lucas and his bodyguards get blasted, but Castle even managed to smash a drug deal that their limo driver was involved in."
"Chief, it's not like Castle announces when he's going to swoop down on criminals," Lieutenant Skye replied.
"Well, you're just gonna have to be a step ahead of Castle, won't you?" Wallace retorted.
"Yeah. Frankly, I'd rather wait to see what Wade Keys is going to do," Skye replied. "Maybe let him blow up whoever's left. But my thing is, how did Castle get so close to the Lucas family limousine? And not just that, he was able to detonate a pretty good amount of Semtex and get past their bodyguards."
"Christian, those guys are nothing compared to Castle," Wallace shot back. "They've never been up against anything like the Skull. So it was easy for them."
Skye: "Well, the next thing would be to figure out who he's going after next. We've got Aaron Gray, Richard Frasier, and Wade Keys."
Suddenly, the door to Evan's door burst open. He looked up and saw a white man about in his late 30's to early 40's. The other guy was a large black man, light-skinned, looked to be about six and a half feet tall.
Skye: "Yeah, Chief. In order to bust Castle, you have to think like him. So I called up Detective Soap after the double murder. He and Agent Budiansky here agreed to lend a hand on this case."
Wallace got up, shaking hands with both Soap and Budiansky.
Budiansky: "Lieutenant Skye here was pretty enthusiastic about asking us to help out. We've been having difficulties across the bridge trying to keep Castle locked away."
Wallace: "The Lieutenant's one of my best officers on the force. Christian, I'll allow you to have Agent Budiansky and Detective Soap to go along on the case. Now tell us, gentlemen, who do you think Frank Castle will go after next?"
Soap: "I'm not the best cop that ever walked New York, but I can tell you this, Chief Wallace: Frank Castle is going to save your Wade Keys for last."
Skye: "So we've gotta babysit Frasier or Gray."
Wallace: "Send patrol cars to both of their residences. Take no chances and make no assumptions."
MIDNIGHT
HIGHTSTOWN, NEW JERSEY
HOME OF AARON GRAY
Soap, Budiansky, and Lt. Skye were in the living room of the Gray Family, assuring them that their son would be safe. However, Evegenia Gray wasn't satisfied.
"How can you be so sure that nothing will happen to my son?" she demanded. "We've heard reports about this Punisher. He's one of the most talked about people in the media."
Budiansky: "Madam, I understand your concern. However, Frank Castle has been captured before. We'll see to it this time, that he stays locked away."
Skye: "Mr. Gray, would there be any places your son would go? Things he would do?"
Roland Gray: "About this time, Aaron would be at the local pool hall with his friends. Personally, I don't like them. They're nothing but thugs."
Before Soap could reply, he heard burning rubber. A vehicle, speeding away.
Soap: "Oh, shit! Paul, let's go!"
Skye hopped up, overturning tables in the vicinity as Soap and Budiansky ran outside with pistols drawn. Unfortunately, their ride had been stolen...