pairings: frank x livia (platonic) , billy x livia (exes), matt x livia (snippets)
summary: Livia finds herself caught amidst another two sided war. With the reemergence of Billy Russo and a new brutal threat, she takes up her vigilante mantel yet again.
(1) Ghosts - Peace never lasts long for vigilantes, even when they run from their city. Ghosts reappear and draw Livia back to her home, but it also draws out Exodus.
(2) I Don’t Forgive You - Groundwork for the coming battle is laid out but the goal may not be as clear as it once seemed.
(3) Strangers - Small moments, far from normal, help to build trust before the inevitable.
(4) We’re Not Alike - A confrontation that was meant to end it all fails, but that tension snaps in an unexpected way, leaving two allies in a short standoff.
(5) Vicious - It all boils down to killing Russo, but what happens when he comes to her? Livia confronts him in the last place she thought he’d be.
(6) I Feel Like a God - One attack after another, Livia finds herself wearing down. What seems like an entire shift of world hits, how can she and Frank handle the potential disaster?
(7) Bad Idea, Right? - Beaten but unbroken, Livia manages to uncover a truth that keeps Frank from falling off a precipice. But as a result, she ends up caught.
The ride in the ambulance was hectic. Brett was ranting about how what he was doing wasn’t normal for him. He was weaving and gliding through traffic and Frank, the bastard, was as calm as ever.
You sat quietly, running your thumb over the bit of your pin sticking out the cuff. You knew it just needed a little nudge and the cuffs would pop open, but freeing yourself now did no good. You weren’t going to knock out Mahoney while he was going full-speed down a busy highway, so you waited.
“Hey.” Frank nudged your shin with his foot while Brett yelled on a phone call to Dinah. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“Just wondering if I can convince Matt to take your case again.” You shrugged and he broke into a grin.
“What about you?”
“I can sweet talk Mahoney into letting me go. You, however, are always a different story.”
“That regret I hear?”
“Never that.” You smiled.
The impact to the ambulance jarred you, causing your rigged cuffs to pop open from the sudden movement you recognized as a car collision. You were thrown into Frank while Brett yelled something about not letting Frank go. He used his free hand to help you back to your feet and you saw Brett’s head whip around to see you free. You shook the cuff off your wrist and offered an apologetic smile. He simply glared at you before turning back to the road. You held a hand to Frank, the other slipping to the gun at the back of your belt.
“Do you got me?” You asked quickly.
“What?”
“Do you got me?” You emphasized and shoved your hand towards him.
“Yeah, yeah, I got you.” He nodded and grabbed your wrist tightly.
You offered a small nod before throwing your weight back into the seam of the ambulance doors, busting them open and balancing precariously on your heels as Frank countered your backwards lean. You lifted your other hand and fired three shots at the window.
The bullets sent spider-web-like cracks through the glass but didn’t penetrate. You quickly realized it was a cop car, meaning bulletproof glass. You sighed and scanned the car quickly. You needed a new target and your first thought was the gas tank, but that was probably under the rear bumper. You aimed your gun again and fired two shots into the back tire.
The car swerved before flailing wildly out of control before you could get a good look at the driver. You were pulling yourself back into the ambulance when the car slammed into the side again, causing your footing to slip and you to fall from Frank’s grasp.
You heard him scream your name as you bounced off the asphalt, the terror he yelled it with was so real you wished it was enough to catch you. For a split second, you wondered if he was thinking of that run for guns when Lieberman crashed into Dinah and you went dragging across the road in a similar fashion.
You closed your eyes as you rolled across the road, feeling the searingly hot road tear through your clothes and leave burning scrapes across your skin as your permanently unstable rib seemed to snap yet again. You’d never wished for that protective long sleeve more.
You climbed to your hands and knees, shaking the vertigo and blinking hard to clear the small rocks from your eyes. The muffled sound of a car horn and skidding tires drew your attention up, which hardly gave you time to get out of the way. You tried to turn away but the front fender knocked into your shoulder.
The collision sent you rolling across the road again and you nearly fell over the now broken edge. You managed to crawl to the ledge and look over. Seeing the ambulance completely tipped, you felt something shatter in your chest.
“Frank!” You cried out and the desperation you said the single syllable of his name with scraped your throat like sandpaper.
Instinctively, you went for the wire from your Bites, but you didn’t have them. You slammed a fist against the ground and tried to calculate the distance to the street below, if you could survive a fall from that height. It was unlikely the landing would be pretty, but how the hell else were you supposed to get to Frank?
You hurried to your feet and reached into the window of the nearest car. They asked quickly if you were okay but you flashed your badge before breaking off their passenger seatbelt. Their eyes went to something behind you but didn’t dare look. You just hoped Matt’s God was looking out for you.
You rigged one end to an exposed piece of rebar and wrapped the other end around your hand before you stepped off, hearing the hollow thud of another car collision. When you ran out of slack, the sudden stop yanked on your shoulder and you felt the deep pop and your arm went limp. You bit your cheek to keep in your cry as you had to cut yourself free and your knees buckled once your feet hit the ground.
You vaguely heard Dinah’s voice from above and you said quiet thanks to her appearance. You staggered across the distance and knocked on the ambulance’s side. You heard heavy thuds on the other side and the relief you were flooded with could’ve swept away New York if it was a real tide. You didn’t care to stop the tears as you hurried, and nearly fell, as you got to the back of the ambulance.
You pried the doors open and reached in to help Frank out. He wrapped one arm around you and you did the same. After a moment, he pulled away and put that hand on the side of your head. He scanned you for injuries but found only the array of small, surface level scrapes. You put a hand to your dislocated shoulder and Frank nodded towards his other arm, which you realized was hanging limply at his side.
“Just had to copy em, huh?” You tried to joke and he gave you a weak smile.
“Shit, I’m just glad you’re alive, Princess.”
He guided you to the side of the ambulance and slammed his arm back into the socket. You braced against it and he forced yours back in the same way, at which you cried out loudly. You looked around and saw the dripping gas, the lapping flames of the engine.
“Brett.” You whispered, putting a hand on Frank’s shoulder as you passed him.
You climbed back into the ambulance and drew your knife. Your footing faltered when you saw Brett’s limp form but you had to keep pushing. You forced yourself deeper into the ambulance and sawed through the seatbelt. Frank was at your side and helped you haul Mahoney out while the man mumbled about locking you both up.
The explosion went off only seconds later.
Then you and Frank parted ways. He was going after David Shultz and you were going home. You kept thinking about the man in the cop car but as you held on to the memory, forced it to replay, you could just make out who it was. The man from Ohio.
You decided to go home, not to hide, but to arm yourself. You were done hiding or running from that man, so you would be prepared to fight. To end it all. Him, Billy, anyone else who dared stand in your path. With the way you were feeling, you thought you might even cut down Matt if he tried to intervene.
You showered away the incident on the bridge, letting the water take away the small bits of gravel still stuck to your skin. It burned the fresh wounds but you let the pain sit there until your skin closed itself. You could’ve sworn you felt your rib shifting under your skin to try and right itself. There was a distinct scraping feeling just below the surface, like something was burrowing between your muscles and your lungs. It was a terrible pain, enough to make you nauseous as tears stung your eyes, but you forced yourself through it. The bones would never fully mend but it would be enough. You’d continue to put yourself back together until that ability failed you, which you knew it inevitably would. It had once, but luckily you had people who cared to bring you back. You may not always have that.
You debated your suit. You packed your staffs, belt, gun, Bites, mask, and shock disks into a bag while you thought. You wanted to wear your suit and feel it all come together, but you couldn’t fully bring yourself to it. This wasn’t something Exodus started. Livia did, and Livia would stay to see the hard work done.
So you wore fitted pants with your vigilante boots, a dark compression shirt, your usual gloves, and your long sleeve. You thought if you should go after them directly, track them by their fear or arrogance, but your mind kept wandering to Amy.
Had she gotten out of the hospital? Did she make it to the trailer? Or had she looked into Matt Murdock and gone to him? To her, he was just a name but you knew she understood what he meant to you, just how much you trusted him. Would she trust him the same?
You were reaching for your door handle when you were slammed by fear. It beat against the inside of your chest like a battering ram against a steel door, reverberating through your ribcage to a point where your breath stuttered. You backed away to your kitchen and spit in your sink. You hit the tap and tried to rinse the taste off your tongue but it wouldn’t leave.
It wasn’t your fear. It was from somewhere distant, from someone familiar. Your first thought was Frank but that man didn’t know fear, only anger. Revenge. It wouldn’t be Billy. You hadn’t felt his emotions in over a year. It couldn’t be Matt. He wasn’t involved in any of it, charged with keeping June out of trouble while you were away. That only left…
Amy.
You hurried to your door and threw it open, sprinting down your hall and down the stairs. You thought about your car but by the time you found your keys, got into your car, started the car, and pulled off, she could’ve been long gone or even dead. So you gripped your bag’s strap and ran.
You ran as fast your legs could take you, shouldering past people in front of you and mumbling apologies. Some threw curses at you, a few pushed back, but no one tried to stop you.
Night had fallen by the time you got to the trailer. As you were running up the dirt path, Frank pulled in beside you and you nearly ran into the front fender. You squinted through the headlights and saw Frank throwing his hands towards you and complaining. You scoffed and turned back to the trailer. Your eyes caught on the light coming from underneath.
Frank came up beside you and began to lecture you about running in front of moving cars, but he silenced when you reached out for him. You hand closed around the fabric of his sleeve and he reached for your elbow. He gently pulled you forward and you followed him inside.
Frank tended to Curtis, who was lying on the floor in pain, and you hurried to the back room. You checked the bedroom and bathroom, but both were empty. Your own panic began to close your throat but you had to force it down. You could feel Frank on the edge of a breakdown so you cleared your thoughts. You closed your eyes, took a deep breath, and used both hands to force your power through the room.
You saw the wisps move like fog, breezing through the small trailer and then fading out. Frank was calmer, though still frazzled, and Curtis was basically the same.
You heard Curtis explain that she ran and you felt some of the tension loosen in your chest. Frank used Curtis’ phone to call Amy but the phone was ringing from outside. Without thinking, you threw yourself through the door, a naive sense of hope flooding your veins. It ran icy when you found her cell abandoned on the ground.
You wanted to scream, but kicked the taillight out of the nearest vehicle instead. Frank went and dragged his hostage out the car and into the RV. You leaned quietly against the sink while Frank did what Frank did.
Your fingers drummed against your crossed arms as your brain flipped through questions like a rolodex.
Where could she be? Where would that man take her? How did he find her? What would you use to kill him? Why didn’t you give her the tracker like you did Lieberman’s daughter? Was she okay?
You dreaded the thought that maybe she was dead. Logic told you she wasn’t. She was leverage, bait even. Ohio Man wouldn’t waste that, not unless he had something better. But truthfully, nothing would be better to get you and Frank in the same place as the possibility of Amy being in danger.
“He’s truly scared of you.” You commented when the silence grew thick. “I can see it.”
“Good.” Frank said flatly.
“Listen, David.” You pushed off and crossed the room, leaning your hip against Frank’s shoulder. “Russians paid for these photos and then someone else found out. Suddenly… Everyone involved gets killed. Now you don’t seem the person to do that…” You looked him up and down and smiled slightly as his fear climbed and the yellow fog rumbled with new fear. “No, you don’t have the stomach for it, but I’m thinking that you know who does.”
Recognition crossed his features, quickly shifting to despair.
“No… No they- They wouldn’t.” He tried quietly but it was clear he was trying to convince himself.
“Who?” You urged, plucking at his restraint. “Tell us who it was and this ends so much sooner.” You coated your voice in fake sympathy. “I know you’re hurting, David. I know you’re scared, but just give us what we need and it can all end.”
“I swear to you I’m not part of this. I would never do this.” The man was near tears. You shoved off and patted Frank’s shoulder before going back across the room. You dropped into a chair near the table and leaned against the wall.
You were tired. You missed your friends. You wanted your kid back. You closed your eyes for a moment when you got a text from Dinah.
- need backup at dumonts. meet me? -
You raised a quiet brow and glanced at Frank. He was so enthralled in whatever he was doing that he didn’t notice. You stepped around Curtis and out the door. You headed to meet Dinah, quick strides but not quite a run. There was an urgency in her text you didn’t miss, but you were still so distracted with wherever Amy was. Your head might be for helping Dinah but your heart wanted to tear through New York till Amy was with you again.
But you knew Frank would get what you both needed. He’d get a location or a name. By the time you got back, he’d have everything ready to go. You had your gun out of your bag and a knife at your back. It wasn’t much, but to back up Dinah against a psychiatrist, it should be enough.
You could hear the fight as you approached the apartment. You loaded a comment about starting the fun without you and kicked the door open. You had less than a minute to learn the layout of the apartment. Rooms to your left, living room and kitchen to your right.
The fight was in the kitchen.
You got inside and saw Krista had Dinah’s head nearing the flame of the kettle. You reached for the kettle and knob simultaneously. Her head snapped up and you smiled in greeting before swinging the kettle at her. She screeched in panic and ducked, dropping her hold on Dinah.
You didn’t make contact but the hot water came out the spout and hit her arm, making her cry out again. From her position on the floor, she lunged for your legs. You sidestepped quickly and dropped to press your knee against her spine. You placed your hand firmly at the back of her head and forced her against the ground.
Dinah scrambled to the next room.
Krista thrashed beneath you and began elbowing the ankle you had on the ground. You rolled your eyes and leaned into the knee on her back to lift and slam your foot down on her hand. You pulled your blade and shifted your foot, only to drive it down and through her hand.
She cried out. You didn’t care.
You looked up to find Dinah and Krista threw the entirety of her weight to the side and you were thrown off. You hit the cabinets hard and she was able to get to her feet. You heard the squelch of her flesh as the knife was removed. Her hands scrambled over the countertop and she came back brandishing a steak knife in her bloodied hand. She looked down at you and the murderous intent was clear, but you didn’t miss the underlying motive. Protection.
It wasn’t hard to figure out that she was trying to protect Billy, and she was clearly willing to do whatever she had to. She wouldn’t stop until you and Dinah were dead. You expected a fight, but Krista had turned it into a death match.
She let out a loud cry and she fell to her knees in front of you before jabbing the knife forward. You caught her wrist and shoved her aside, forcing the knife’s tip into the cabinet door. You slammed your elbow against her jaw repeatedly until you heard the crack of splitting wood which told you she had freed the blade. Your head whipped towards it, which was a mistake, and as she pulled the knife back, the serrated edge skirted your cheek. You cried out and shoved her away.
You got to Dinah quickly, but before you could say anything, Krista slammed into you both. The three of you hit the ground hard and your shoulder smacked the edge of her coffee table.
At least she abandoned the knife.
You looked around and caught Dinah’s eye. She nodded to the window and then looked pointedly at Krista, who was groaning as she climbed to her feet. You nodded and moved to the other end of the couch while Dinah went for the other woman.
They struggled, shoving back and forth and reaching for throats. Dinah finally broke Krista’s hold and kicked at her chest, throwing her into your grip. You smiled as you latched onto her arms. With a small swing, you slammed her face first against the window.
Immediately, her fear was visible. You kept a hand at the back of her head, face squished against the glass, and she squirmed under your hold. With your free hand, you pulled your gun. You shoved off her, hearing a whimper as a response, and aimed. You fired four shots, two on either side.
Krista flinched at the sound and shakily turned to face you. You saw her bloody handprint on the glass before you slammed your shoulder against her chest.
The glass shattered with an echoing sound. Her scream filled any gaps for silence and you watched her limbs flail as she went down. You put your gun away as you did. Her body smacked the concrete hard, with enough force for her to bounce and hit again. The crowd gathered almost immediately.
You backed away from the window and grabbed Dinah’s arms. You spun her and tried to push her to the door but she seemed frozen.
Shock, you realized. Dinah was in shock.
You made a noise to yourself before checking the window. The crowd grew but no lights. No sirens.
You still had time. At least, you thought you did.
Your eyes locked with a hooded figure and the despair slammed you like a punch in the jaw. However, it quickly melted into rage, pure hatred. You backed away in a hurry and grabbed Dinah’s hand.
You yanked her with you, paused only to shove her jacket into her hands and tuck your bloodied knife away. You realized the fire was still on, and while you considered leaving it, you didn’t want to burn the entire building down. You hustled to twist the knob and looked back to Dinah.
There was no more time. You could feel Billy coming down the hall.
“Dinah.” You grabbed both her arms and shook her. “Come back. Come on!” You urged.
He was only a few doors down.
“Billy’s coming.” You shook her again. “I can’t fight him and look out for you.”
No response.
You groaned and quickly looked around, spotting the tip of Dinah’s gun under the table. You scrambled for it quickly and shoved it into her hands. She looked at the gun, then you, then it seemed to sink in what you had said. She nodded vigorously and you breathed out in relief.
It didn’t last long.
Billy slammed through the door, firing blindly and screaming. You dropped to the ground and slid around the corner, brandishing your bloodied knife, while Dinah spun to take cover in a room off to the side. Once he stepped into the living room, you acted.
You kicked out his knee and he buckled. His rage turned on you and you swiped the blade, catching his stomach. and he growled. You caught a glimpse of Dinah coming back into the living room.
You planted a hand on the ground and leaned into it, allowing you enough balance to swing your foot and kick at the slice. Your foot hit hard and he crumpled a little more. You dropped the blade and dove forward, tackling Billy to his back.
You had a comment loaded about a familiar view and different circumstances, but you ignored the opportunity. Instead, you made sure the gun slid away before you started slamming your fist against his face. His head jerked to the side with the impact and you watched the blood splatter out of his mouth and onto Krista’s hardwood floors.
He caught your next punch and twisted your wrist outward, his thumb purposefully digging into the bullet scar. You whined before he yanked down and pulled you off him. You hit your elbow on the ground first and before you knew it, Billy had you pinned. Both his hands closed around your throat and you grasped one of his wrists, fighting to get your other hand behind your back for your gun.
“You had to make it about her.” He said angrily, venom lacing his words as the hatred in them burned against your skin.
“I should’ve-“ You choked out. “Killed you at- At that ap- Apartment.”
The shot firing broke the silence and you flinched slightly. Billy crumpled against you for a moment and you took the chance to throw him off you. You scooted away quickly and freed your gun, quickly firing into his leg before he could get to his feet.
You felt Dinah’s hands under your arms and you let her help you to your feet. Your eyes scanned the area and you couldn’t find your blade. That made your stomach pitch, even briefly considering Billy using it, but you forced the thought away. Just because you didn’t see it didn’t mean Billy had it. Maybe it was just under the furniture.
Immediately after you had the thought, he proved you wrong. Your blade came through the side of your leg, angled down towards your knee, and you fell back to the ground. You scooted yourself away as Billy tackled Dinah to the ground. Every movement of the joint sent a jolt of pain and you bit your lip hard trying to keep your noises down.
You yanked your blade out roughly and used it to slice a strip of the curtain off. You tied it around your wound as tight as you could and gripped your knife’s handle. You leaned on the couch and you came around and found Billy on top of Dinah, both of them gripping the other’s throat. You rocked back a bit and threw yourself against Billy’s side.
He fell away and your instinct was to look at Dinah, just to see if she’s alive, but you couldn’t risk it. Instead, you slid on the side of your leg and got to Billy’s side. His eyes met yours and you turned your head to spit on the floor. Then you looked back and drove your blade into his stomach.
Once, twice, thrice.
He sputtered, blood trickling out his mouth, but you quickly slammed a fist against the side of his head and he fell limp. You dropped to a seat and heaved a sigh. As soon as you stopped moving, your adrenaline died and the pain flared.
Your knee felt on fire. Your cheek stung. Your elbow throbbed. Your throat burned. You leaned against the arm of the couch and gave in to the pain. You whined to yourself as you felt it grow, felt it sit under your skin while your body tried to mend itself. You could feel the edges of the slice on your cheek and the gash on your knee reaching for the other side, the tissues in your throat reforming after the swelling, the bruise on your elbow breaking apart. It was familiar, the pain of healing, but it was too much at the same time. You closed your eyes, only intended for a moment, and you felt yourself fall into unconsciousness.
It wasn’t long until you came to. The pains across your body were dull aches and you could see the lights of police cars on the street. You didn’t know where they were so you had to run. You ignored Dinah laying beside you but you couldn’t ignore the pool of blood. It wasn’t yours, but it had grown far enough to reach your pant leg.
You pushed to your feet and saw Billy was missing. You looked up and cursed God again for taking that victory away from you. Your knife was gone with him and you hoped that if he dared to pull it out, it’d take the last bit of strength he had. You ran a hand down your face and came to sudden realization that there was no mask to hide behind.
Your stomach pitched at the potential danger you were in. Billy Russo gone, Krista Dumont on the sidewalk in a pile of glass, Dinah Madani unconscious at your feet. It was a massacre and you were at the center of it. Your head was ringing, like someone was aggressively shaking a bell in your skull, when you realized it was your implant. Someone calling.
You snuck into the hallway, hearing the officers coming up the stairs. You went the other way down the hall until you found another stairwell. You inched the door open, heard no one, and darted inside. With a new and temporary limp, you made your way down the stairs and to the back alley.
You reached up to call back but no one answered. You shook your head, crept closer to the street to get your bearings, and made your way back to the trailer.
You’d reconvene with Frank, take a few hours to finish recovery, gear up fully, and go after your kid. You still had to find Amy.
You didn’t know how long it took you to get back. With the limp, seemingly having grown worse as you went, and the only moving via alleys, it felt like you took hours to get back. It could’ve been less than one. The moon was still out, that was all you knew.
You came through the door and Curtis stood immediately. He practically ran to your side when he saw you limp, taking on most of your weight until he got you to the closest chair. He examined the healing wound on your knee then promptly went off for a kit to clean and stitch it. You were grateful for it and the stinging of the needle was a welcome distraction from the vaguely familiar man staring at you with a pathetic plea in his eyes.
You looked at Curtis with a raised brow but he simply shook his head. You glanced back at the senator and found it wasn’t necessarily fear anymore. More apologetic, ashamed even. You said nothing.
The silence dragged on for what felt like an eternity until finally the stitches were done. Curtis patted your leg and you smiled in thanks. Quietly, he got up and left, taking Frank’s captive with him.
You rubbed the joint gently and winced as the blossoming bruise protested your touch. You limped to the bathroom and found a long wrap. You worked it around your knee and fastened it tightly, both enjoying and hating the compression it offered. It was a little while longer until Frank came back.
“Where is she?” You managed, though your voice came out raspy.
“He has her. She followed him, called us for help, and he took her.” Frank said.
He was angry and it unfortunately was pointed at you as well. It didn’t take a genius to know that the call you had gotten earlier was Amy. You missed a chance to get her, a chance to end that battle, because you were fighting Billy. All of that and you didn’t even know if Billy was dead. He was also angry at himself, for not being able to keep her. And he was angry at her for getting herself caught.
“And where the hell were you, huh?” Frank asked and the accusation was hard to miss.
You glared at him slightly, wondering what he thought you were doing that was enough for you to miss Amy’s call and come back with a bloody leg, but you kept your thoughts to yourself. You didn’t have it in you to argue.
“Took a shot at Billy.” You admitted. “Don’t know if it’s done but he left about half his blood on the floor… I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Yeah…” Frank sighed, coming over to your side. He dropped a hand to your shoulder and gave a small squeeze. Your head fell against his forearm and you reached up to pat his hand. “You gonna be alright?”
“Always am, Frank.”
Frank stepped away to take a call. He was gone less than a minute but came back with that look you’d come to expect from him. A fight was coming and it was coming fast. You gestured for Frank to give you his hand and he helped you out of the chair.
You made your way to your bag, which you had left on the small kitchen table, and began fitting equipment into place. Your belt clipped easily around your hips and you filled its sheaths with the appropriate weapons. You slung your pack over your shoulders and you decided to leave your mask behind. Your Bites fit securely to your wrists and the blue light from them loosened a knot in your chest.
When you were ready, you and Frank decided to wait outside. He sat on the little step leading into the trailer and you positioned yourself along the junk cars. You were kneeling in the dirt, drawing figures on the ground out of boredom when the car finally pulled up.
Frank and the Man had their exchange with Amy in the middle. When she finally caught your eyes, you saw the shock make her pupils go wide. You held a finger to your lips to keep her quiet and she gave you a small nod.
You crept around the cars until you were behind their exchange. You stood and revealed yourself, flexing your hands to wake your Bites. You heard Frank tell the man - who’s name you finally learned to be John - to point the gun at him because he’d do anything for Amy.
Frank’s eyes met yours for a second but you didn’t need words for his intent.
Not yet.
You recognized that John’s gun was too close to Amy’s head, his finger too close to the trigger. So you waited, tense and ready to fight. To protect Amy and Frank, whatever the cost. You knew Frank wasn’t bulletproof, even if he believed he was, but your shirt at least was. You’d put yourself in front of whatever bullet was intended for them, because they were your family.
You’d do anything for them.
“Where’s your friend?” John asked and your head tilted.
You backed away slowly, though your weapons remained ready. You kept moving until you were able to crouch behind the car.
“Let the girl go.” You called finally. “Come on, John. You just said you have kids. Let her go, I’ll come out, and we’ll settle this.”
You didn’t look up but you felt the relief from Frank and Amy. You smiled to yourself, blinking away the tears of your own relief, before you stood. Your hands were raised and John’s gun found aim at your chest almost immediately. You kept his gaze and he frowned at your outfit. You wondered if he recognized the top, but you also couldn’t remember if that was the one you wore when you fought him last time.
You were pulled from the thought when Amy’s arms wrapped around you. Immediately, you hugged back and allowed yourself to forget John’s presence.
“I’m sorry.” She mumbled against you. “I’m sorry, Livia. I tried to call but-“
“Hey.” You stepped back enough to look her in the eyes. “It’s not your fault, okay? Listen, I’m gonna give you an address. You drive straight there and knock on his door. Don’t stop knocking until he answers.”
“But Frank said-“
“I’m not worried about that.” You cut in. “You tell him that I sent you. He’ll look out for you till I come get you, alright?”
“Who is it?” She sniffled.
“You finally get to meet Red.” You smiled slightly and guided her into the car. You leaned across her to put in Matt’s address in the GPS. You scribbled his apartment number on her hand with a pen you found on the center console. “June should be with him. Tell them I’ll see you all soon.”
“Don’t die.” She whined and your heart broke. You were painfully reminded of how young she really was.
“We won’t.”
You shut the door and walked to Frank’ side with your hands raised again. You felt John’s gun following you, but it was the least of your concerns. When you heard the horn, likely part of Frank’s orders, you felt like you could breathe again.
“Where’d you send her?” Frank asked quietly.
“Red.” You replied in the same low tone. “He’ll watch out for her.”
“He still looking out for your mini?”
“Yeah.” You smiled slightly. “She’s in good hands.”
“I know.” He nodded.
Frank and John had a quick exchange about David. Both men took dangerous steps towards each other and your whole body tensed. Once John was close enough, you acted.
You dropped a knee and shot a wire around his ankles. As you yanked his feet out, Frank was there to make sure he hit the ground. Frank pounded away at the man so you ditched the wire and hurried to kick the gun away from John’s reach. However, that didn’t stop John from hurting Frank with an old car part.
You reached behind and pulled both staffs, twisting them together quickly as John collected a new weapon of his own. Frank was regaining his bearings when you stood in front of your shared opponent.
He swung it at your head and just got your staff up in time to block it. You twisted around to force the weapon, what looked like a shovel, to the ground. Your foot slammed on top of it and you jerked the edge of your weapon to hit his jaw. He staggered and you jammed your knee up into his stomach.
His hold on the shovel fell. You kicked out at his chest to force him back against the closest car. Without hesitation, you moved in and pressed your staff against his throat.
You wanted him to die. You watched to watch the light fade from his eyes, to feel him struggle for his last breath. You wanted to kill him for everything he had done to you, to Amy, to Frank.
The thought brought out something long buried, something you didn’t want to fight against. You let that floodgate open, let the rage and pain and anger spill out.
The red haze across your thoughts and your vision served as enough of a distraction for John to use against you. One of his hands grabbed your arm and the other landed on the side of your head. He jerked you to the side and slammed your head against the car’s windshield twice. He kept you pinned, leaning his weight against your skull, and you had to squeeze one eye shut. The glass spidered beneath you and he twisted your head, slicing razor thin lines open across half your face.
Vaguely, you wondered if that was only a small fraction of the pain Frank inflicted on Billy back at the carousel with the mirror.
The pressure suddenly disappeared and you slid down the car. You dropped into the dirt, fresh blood seeping from the thin wounds. You blinked it away but you couldn’t quite tell if it was out of your eye, given the red tint the scene had taken on.
Frank had stepped in while you tried to regain control. You weren’t trying to fight the manic rage in your head or the burning sensation through your muscles. You were willing to use it, but you needed to direct it. You needed focus.
With a flex of your hands, both Bites ignited while you scanned the scene in front of you. The bright blue shifted to red and you could all but feel the electricity in your blood. It was the only thing that seemed to ground you into the present moment. That and the stinging pain down half your face.
John had just thrown Frank to the ground and was reaching for a length of chain. You twisted the long staff apart and threw one piece, ricocheting it off the ground to smack John in the throat. He stumbled away and you ran at him again.
You slipped the other staff into the pack before you shouldered into his side with enough force to head a crack. He hit the ground and rolled a few feet away. You heard the clink of the chain behind you, John coughing and wheezing in front you, while you patted your belt for a quick inventory.
Shock disks. Bites. Staff. Gun.
Your knife had disappeared when Billy did. Your retractable was long since gone. That was a weapon you didn’t think you’d miss.
You slipped two shock disks between your fingers and tightened your hands into fists. John stood unsteadily but still came at you. He landed a few heavy hits to your jaw, knocking you off balance slightly. He grabbed your chin, forced you to look at him as he raised his fist for what he intended to be a finishing blow. You took the opportunity to slam your fist into his stomach.
His entire body tensed with the electricity, gripping tighter to your face. You pried his fingers off with your other hands and shoved him away. Frank was at your side within moments, kicking at John’s head before helping you get some distance.
“You alright?” You asked before moving your jaw around. You felt the familiar throb of pain but it was still in place.
“Yeah.” He mumbled, pretending like he wasn’t covered in blood. Whose blood it was, you couldn’t say. “You?”
“Never better.” You smiled.
Frank threw himself back into the fight before you could. Fighting with Frank was starkly different than fighting with Matt. You and Matt fought in tandem, alternating punches with complimentary styles. You two moved like a pair of dancers or figure skaters, lifelong partners that could anticipate each other’s moves.
You and Frank fight in waves. His ambush would come, then while he took a retreat, you attacked. You two would alternate, creating a never ending barrage of offense. Neither of you stayed down too long because the other one always found a gap to haul the other up. You two fought like the soldiers you were.
It came to be your turn when John tackled Frank to the ground.
You took a short running start to slide on your knees around the fallen man, firing both Bites as you went. He convulsed with the sudden shock as your momentum stopped. Bracing your hands flat against the dirt, you slammed both feet forward to send John to his back.
Your previously discarded staff was close by so you scooped it up, swiped the rotating mechanism, and heard the distinct sound of the blade releasing. You jammed it forward but John managed to avoid the impalement, suffering a gash along his side instead. You shifted to a kneel and slashed upwards, cutting across the fronts of his legs as he tried to stand, then you threw the weapon like a javelin. It buried itself in his shoulder and he cried out.
You got to your feet before searching for Frank. Losing focus was your mistake. John had yanked out and discarded your weapon before he tackled you. His bloodied shoulder slammed your rib cage and the disconnected bones shifted suddenly. You screamed at the pain but John didn’t ease up. He kept pushing until your back hit a car and he could yank you over the hood.
You tried to push yourself up and get some distance, but the sharp pain made you collapse, your back flush on the hood and your head hanging off the other end. John took the opportunity to slam his elbow against the center of your chest, hard enough that you practically flipped over yourself.
Air was knocked out of your lungs. You were dizzy from the pain. Your head hurt. Your leg still hurt, even more now. The bruise was already forming across your sternum. You could barely hear the thunks, thuds, and grunts as Frank and John continued the brawl.
You wanted it over. You were just so damned tired.
You pushed yourself up and forced your feet to move. You limped over, practically dragging the useless leg behind you. Frank had gotten John to his knees by then. You stood behind John, gripping a suspender in either hand. Hard yanks allowed you to cross them over opposite shoulders and you pinned your knee between his shoulder blades while you pulled the strips of material back.
“When you- kill them-“ John choked out. Frank hesitated to listen and you rolled your eyes. “Don’t hurt- my boys.”
Frank looked at you, a silent request for you to wait. You considered it, put yourself in John’s shoes. If it was the other way around and John was going to kill you, you wouldn’t want him to go after your girls. If your last words were asking for June and Amy’s safety, you’d be okay dying.
You let go of the suspenders and John greedily gasped for air. Frank offered you a hand and you limped around to stand beside him.
“I know who you are.” John looked between you both. “You are Death.”
“What if…” Your voice was a rasp so you cleared your throat. “You mentioned your boys. What about their mother?”
“God called her home while I was here.” He confessed, nearing tears.
The red haze broke apart and you blinked at the clarity. You also understood you couldn’t orphan those boys.
“They did that on purpose.” You knelt in front of John. Frank’s hand landed on your shoulder. “They took you from your boys and your wife when they needed you so even if you failed, they had what they wanted. They’ll turn your boys into what they’ve made you. If I can keep my girls from becoming like me, I’d do anything… What if there’s a way to bring you back to your boys and end this?”
“You fight with the Devil in your eyes.” John said calmly. “But you have a good heart.”
“What do you say, John?” Frank asked. “Let’s go get your boys, eh?”
John sniffled then nodded. He looked at you both with tears shining in his eyes.
You knew you made the right choice.
The next morning, your body was stiff as you climbed out of bed. The deep purple bruise took over your chest. The stitched wound at your knee was red and swollen, making bending the joint hard. The white of your eye was red but the thin slices had healed. Your rib was less painful but you could feel it shift with each breath.
When your phone rang with the unknown number, you hesitated to answer it. Curiosity took over.
It was Billy. He confessed he was bleeding out, said he didn’t want to die alone. He didn’t expect you to forgive him. He just wanted company.
Something long since buried made you go to him. You did, however, have enough sense to text Frank to meet you there just in case.
You walked into the building and immediately knew you two were alone. Your gun was a comfortable pressure against your hip as you found the room he was in. You made a point to sit on the floor well out of his reach.
“How the mighty have fallen.” You commented.
“I didn’t think you’d actually come.” He smiled weakly. “It’s good to see you, Livs.”
“Was it worth it?” You asked instead of acknowledging his sentiment. The worst part was that you could feel he actually meant it. “Abandoning the people who cared about you?”
He scoffed slightly, which turned to a cough and more blood spilled out his mouth. “We both know you didn’t- didn’t actually care.”
“I did.” You nodded. You figured it was about time to confess it all, especially if he wasn’t going to live much longer. “Bill, I would’ve… I thought you were going to be the one to bring me back after I lost Matt. I was scared of admitting I loved you because everyone I love gets hurt. I had just lost someone that meant everything to me. I wasn’t going to risk anyone else like that.”
“Do you remember when I said we could get married?” Another small smile.
“Yeah, we were both drunk off our asses.” You chuckled slightly. “You said there was a chapel not too far from Anvil and it’d be fun.”
“You didn’t say no.”
“Because I was trying to decide if it was worth the risk.”
“Livs-“
“Don’t call me that.”
“Livia.” He corrected. “Everything I’ve done to hurt you, I don’t expect you to forgive me.” He spoke with an unexpected genuineness that threw you for a moment. l
A deathbed apology was usually just to clear a guilty conscious in your experience. But Billy said those words knowing you’d be unlikely to forgive him. You felt compelled to hear him out.
“I’m not sorry for what’s happened to you.” You said plainly. “I did love you, Billy Russo, but I mourned that man a long time ago.”
You reached into your pocket and withdrew the watch he had given you. You flipped it over, ran your thumb along his etched initials, then tossed it to him. It landed atop one of many blood stains on his shirt.
“That was one of the last things you gave me.” You explained.
“Why’d you keep it?” He asked, pupils blown wide as he fought to stay. “If you hated me so bad.”
You sighed slightly, your thumb running over the bullet scar. “I guess I used to hope that when I saw you again, you’d look the same. Like you did before everything… I thought I’d see my Billy, not whatever Rawlins made you. But honestly, I’m not even sure what you became.”
Frank came in before Billy could respond. He stood behind you like a guardian taking post. Billy tried to say he was happy Frank was there and apologize, but Frank didn’t let him get the words out. You flinched at the gunshots but said nothing. You felt nothing.
You had already mourned Billy Russo, so seeing his dead body stirred nothing. Just a faint sense of relief at the thought of a threat eliminated.
“You alright?” Frank asked as you two left.
“Yeah.” You nodded slightly.
The night came sooner than you expected and it was time to put an end to the Schultzs’ plans. You didn’t know their son David enough to care about his career or his life falling apart over the pictures. You didn’t even care about the pictures themselves. It was about going after the people who sent someone for you and your family.
So long as they lived, your family’s fate was unknown. You wouldn’t stand for that.
Amy went in first but you refused to let her in alone. You ignored the mask, wanting them to look clearly into the eyes of the woman who’d end them. Frank was beside you while Amy did her talking. You two took post in the next room. angling yourselves for a clear sightline.
When you saw the wife make a move for Amy, you fired your weapon. Your bullet went through her hand and the knife clattered free. Frank’s gunshot came next, blowing a hole through her head.
The husband screamed in terror while you two marched in.
You stood quietly one protective step in front of Amy while Frank made his threats. Amy warned of going to the Bulletin with her evidence. You knew that Karen wouldn’t hesitate to run the story with or without her editor’s approval, and you’d be by her side throughout whatever backlash came from it.
“It’s your choice.” You said flatly, tossing an empty gun to the table. You pulled out a single bullet, examining it thoughtfully as you continued. “You take that gun, put it in your mouth, and blow out the back of your head. Be with your wife.” You looked at the man. Yellow fog surrounded him like a blanket and you smiled. “Or you live. Live with the truth of what you’ve done.”
You carefully placed the bullet on the table before leaving. Amy was right behind you and Frank followed after, a neat line as you left the Schultz estate.
You weren’t even out the driveway when the gun went off.
The last exchange with John was silent, understanding nods before he loaded his sons and left.
The next day, you and Frank were at the bus depot with Amy. She tried to convince Frank to go with her but he refused, saying he didn’t need her on his conscious.
“Does that means he cares?” Amy teased, looking at you with faux shock.
“Even the Grinch’s heart can grow.” You laughed and it got a chuckle out of Frank. “You’re young, Amy. Go have fun, be a kid.”
“I care about you guys, too.” She said genuinely. “I owe you pretty much everything.”
“And you’ll repay me by living your life, okay?” You squeezed her hand.
“Yeah.” She nodded with a forced smile before looking to Frank. “Why did you come after me in the bar that night?”
“The tougher you acted, the more scared you looked.” He shrugged.
“And you?” She focused back on you. “Why’d you stay?”
“You reminded me of someone.” You smiled slightly. “I couldn’t save her, but I could save you…”
You glanced around while Amy and Frank shared a hushed conversation. You caught sight of a familiar figure standing a few benches away. She met your eyes and offered an understanding smile. You nodded and she came closer.
Suddenly, you were pulled into an embrace. One of Amy’s arms was around your neck and the other around Frank. You felt Frank grab onto your arm tightly as Amy was sandwiched between you two. There was a cold chill throughout the embrace and you could hear her sniffles.
“You’ll be okay.” You told her quietly when you pulled away. Gently, you wiped a tear from her cheek.
“She’s lucky to have you.” Amy said sadly. Your brows furrowed and she gave a weak laugh. “June.”
“Take care of yourself.” You smiled sadly.
Frank reached for your hand as Amy went to climb onto the bus. You slid over to sit beside him and a new presence filled your old seat.
“What are you doing here?” You asked her.
“Thought you two would want some company.” June said softly. “Hey, Frank.”
pairings: billy russo x livia yersova (former widow!oc) , frank castle x livia yersova , punisher x exodus
summary: with daredevil dead, exodus returns from Quantico unsure of who she should be. fighting nightmares and deja vu, small sparks threaten to revive something saved for matt murdock before a shocking betrayal rattles New York’s two most dangerous vigilantes.
(1) - deja vu : Being back in the Kitchen almost immediately pulls her back into a fight. But without Matt, what has she become?
(2) if he had been with me: Further and further her humanity goes as Livia commits herself to Frank Castle's crusade. Small moments threaten to bring her back, but how can she when there's nothing worth it... Or is there.
(3) haunted: Can’t breathe, can’t turn back. Livia continues to walk the fragile line of her morality while finding an uneasy comfort in the presence of Billy Russo, despite being haunted by Matt Murdock’s memory. But reuniting with Frank Castle makes it little less miserable.
(4) aftermath: A quick run nearly turns disastrous when a bold move goes wrong. An attempted reconciliation between friends turns nasty, all because the aftermath of Midland Circle still lingers in Livia’s actions.
(5) build god then we'll talk: Temporary alliances form on one side before fighting off an ambush from the other. All the while, dots are connecting for more than one player as the game grows more and more dangerous.
(6) so what now? : Limits are pushed and more secrets pile up as she continues to pretend on both sides. When they creep closer to one another, can she maintain all of her lies and save face or will she be forced to pick what relationship matters most?
(7) so it goes… : All eyes on her, a skilled illusionist. Playing the field for information gets what she needed but could threaten the relationship keeping her afloat.
(8) beautiful liar : A breaking point, new alliances, and seeds of mutual trust show Livia who is and who isn’t on her side.
(9) bad omens: Lingering omens finally register and truths are revealed through blood, bullets, and betrayals.
(10) is it over now?: A long time coming, one fight comes to a bloody conclusion. Another lurks in the near future, and the connection between two friends and two lover is severed.
(11) sinner: It all comes down to one final night, where’s it all began. One who thinks he’s a god versus the one who once scared the Devil and the Punisher. The Devil wasn’t wrong after all to fear the evil she delivers.
(epilogue) i know it won’t work: After a couple weeks, Livia decides to open Frank’s letter.
Summary: Peace never lasts long for vigilantes, even when they run from their city. Ghosts reappear and draw Livia back to her home, but it also draws out Exodus.
A familiar bed from another life. Familiar arms around you. New nightmares filling your dreams.
You thought going to London would be some relief, and it partially was. Your hands didn’t feel constantly slick with a culmination of everyone’s blood. You didn’t dream of Midland anymore. Elektra’s weapon didn’t pierce your chest and Matt’s bloated corpse didn’t mock you as your late friend killed you. Instead, Billy tormented your nights.
His voice lingered in an otherwise normal dream, an omen of the nightmare barreling towards you that you couldn’t stop. His body pinned you down after he made you watch him shoot Frank in the head. His eyes stared into yours as he turned your own knife against you and buried it deep in your neck and you woke up choking on nothing more than an illusion. After those nights, you went through the morning with the tingling sensation of electricity in your wrist. A few nights you had even screamed in your sleep, waking up Marc or Steven in a panic. That always made you feel guilty and a little embarrassed.
It was always worse when it was Steven. Not because of anything he would do but because you couldn’t tell him everything. He knew it was something gone wrong from an FBI assignment but he didn’t know Billy’s name or his relationship to you. He didn’t know your connection to the Punisher and your alter ego. He didn’t know what really happened and why that had such deep and dangerous hooks into your subconscious.
You attributed the uptick in nightmares to the recent news from your bureau. In the time since the incident, Homeland Security had been working behind the scenes to erase themselves from the narrative. The pending possibility of a court case was now based on your evidence and testimony and the investigation into his work with Rawlins and Schoonover. Dinah was only the agent that arrested Billy, not the one who unofficially contracted two deadly vigilantes.
The idea of it being you against him caused you to somewhat fall apart. You began to reconsider your body, trying to find some place of you - literal and figurative - that he hadn’t touched. The muscles in your arm would twitch if you lingered in the thought too long, as if your brain wanted to bring the memory of that night to the surface. As if you needed another reminder of that tragic relationship, like the scar on your wrist wasn’t enough.
You had pushed the memory away for the most part. Dex and Fisk served as a fair distraction to keep you from wondering when he would finally succumb to his injuries and die in the early months after the incident or maybe you would’ve been more like Dinah, showing up to taunt him as a ghost of his former self. But that news never came and now that the more pressing threat was away from your focus, that idea began creeping back in.
Marc recognized that shift in you and took extra care to keep you mentally with him. But he never spoke on it and for that, you were grateful. He took you out to dinners, watched your favorite shows and movies with you, went out with you on late night walks when you couldn’t sleep. Steven would ask you to read to him, quiz him on Egyptian trivia, or walk you around the Egyptian wing of the museum and tell you all his favorite facts. They both would convince you to let them help you in the kitchen, and you recognized it as an excuse to keep an eye on you since sharp objects were involved.
During that time, it was easy to remember why you loved them and why you’d never deserve them.
You were sitting on the counter in the kitchen while Marc was doing dishes when you got the call. An unknown number.
You had been getting a lot of calls since you were in London. Some you answered, some you didn’t. Karen, Foggy, and Matt of course. Dinah once or twice, even Nat. You always listened to their messages after and the familiar voices felt nice to hear even if you never called them back. The little updates on their lives made you feel a little less disconnected from them, even though it was your own decision to seclude yourself.
“Hello?” You answered plainly.
“Hey Princess.” Frank said on the other end and your eyes went wide. “How you been?”
“Holy shit.” You laughed slightly.
“It’s good to hear your voice.” He said honestly and you smiled to yourself. “How you been holding up?”
There was the background noise of hard thuds that made your brows furrow.
“Hanging on by a thread as usual. You missed a lot.” You admitted. “What’s going on on your end?”
“Hey… What’s with the new crazy?” You faintly heard the young female voice in the background.
“And who’s that?”
“Long story.” He grumbled. “Listen, I hate to do this to you, but I think I’m gonna need your help.”
“Okay, um..” You glanced over and saw Marc was already looking at you in question. You simply held up a hand as a signal for him to hold his questions. “How soon?”
“How soon can you get here?”
“Where’s here exactly?”
“Somewhere around Michigan… Kinda.”
“Ah shit.” You muttered to yourself. “I hate the midwest.”
At that, Frank laughed.
“It’s almost a nine hour flight to Detroit.” You spoke out loud. “I’d probably have to land in New York first so-“
“Hang on. You left New York?” He cut in.
“Yeah, long story.” You said simply. “I can probably be there sometime tomorrow. Can you keep yourself and the girl good till then?”
“Honestly Livia, I have no goddamn clue. She won’t tell me what the hell’s going on.”
“Maybe she doesn’t know.” You shrugged. “I’ll call back when I get to New York and then when I get to Detroit so I can find you.”
“Thanks, Princess.”
“It’s what I do.” You ended the call.
“What was that about?” Marc asked. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah.” You breathed with an apologetic expression. “A friend of mine needs help.”
“What friend?” He pushed.
“A friend from New York.”
“But you said Detroit.”
“Yeah, I also said my friend was from New York, not in New York. It’s not a big deal anyway.”
“Sounds like it is.”
“Can we not do this? I’m sorry to just up and leave but I’m going. You’re not gonna stop me.” You blurted out, moving quickly around the small space to collect your things. The only thing that stopped your frantic movements was the scoff that Marc let out.
“I never understood what you saw in him.” He complained, not bothering to hide his disdain.
“What are you on about?”
“One call from Matt and you drop everything.”
“It wasn’t Matt.” You countered.
“Oh, it wasn’t? Who was it then?”
“It doesn’t matter. I still have to go and you still don’t get a say.”
“Right.” He nodded and the sarcasm dropped from his words. “Y’know, I thought you would’ve figured all this out by now but you’re still running yourself in circles for a guy you’re not even dating.”
“It isn’t like that.” You said tightly and began your packing again. “I promised I’d be there to help when he needed it. I can’t back out on that.”
“Anything for your precious Matt, right?”
“Give me a break!” You shouted suddenly. “You don’t even know him. You’ve made damn sure of that.”
“Good thing, too!” He yelled back and you couldn’t help rolling your eyes. “Cause if I did, I probably would’ve kicked the shit out of him by now!”
“I would love to see that.” You scoffed. “How do you think I stayed alive this long with all the bullshit I got caught up in?”
You ground your teeth as the familiar burn of your anger creeped through your veins while Marc went off on a rant. You did nothing with it, letting it sit under your skin as you continued your packing. You knew you had to keep Frank’s secret. You trusted Marc but saying that it was in fact Frank, the infamous Punisher who was allegedly still at large, that was an admittance that you weren’t allowed. It wasn’t your secret to tell. Even if you were telling it in a completely different country to someone who couldn’t care less if the Punisher was free or not.
By the time you were listening again, Marc was still talking.
“Enough, Matt!” You snapped without much thought. “What do you want me to do?”
“Matt?” He scoffed and your stomach dropped.
“Marc.” You corrected. “You know what I meant.”
“You know what, Livia?” He took a step closer and you didn’t back down. “When you came back, I thought it was cause you wanted to be here with me or with Steven. But it’s never gonna be enough, is it?”
“You think it’d be fair to Steven for me to be here and constantly have to lie to him? About myself and about you? Jesus, Marc, do you hear yourself?”
“You chose to lie to him about yourself.”
“Oh, right.” You scoffed. “Because the guy would’ve been able to stomach the fact that he was in love with a killer? Because he wouldn’t have seen the blood when he looked at me?”
“You’re the one who came back here. You could’ve gone anywhere and you chose to come back.”
“That didn’t automatically mean we’d get back together.” You argued loudly.
“What else am I supposed to think when you’re in my bed every night? I’m enough for you to sleep with again but not good enough for you to stay?”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to! Jesus, Livia, it’s all over your face.”
“Marc, I care about you and you know that..” You tried but you knew it wasn’t enough. “I'm not gonna keep arguing about this but it isn’t about Matt. I give you my word, alright?”
“Then what is it?”
“I can’t… Y’know what, yeah. Maybe I never should’ve come back here…”
“Maybe you’re right.”
You said nothing as you grabbed your bags. He scoffed and went around you, holding the door open for you.
“At least I know you’re leaving this time.” He commented as you stepped into the hall. As he went to shut the door, you turned and blocked it with your foot.
“I left before to protect you.” You said firmly.
“Move your foot.”
“No. Yel and the other Widows would’ve mowed you down and not thought twice.”
“You want to know what’s the worst part of all this?” Marc commented off-handedly, as if he was going to make a casual remark. “I wish I could hate you. Do you understand how guilty I feel to say that? Or how it feels to want to hate someone you would’ve done anything for?”
“It’d be easier if you did.” You agreed. “And yeah, I do… I used to wish there was a worse side to you, just so I wouldn’t feel so bad leaving… But you could hate me, you know. I could make it that way.”
“No..” He shook his head and put a hand gently to your cheek. “Cause I’d know I really don’t.”
“You’re better without me.” You tried with a nod and took his hand away, though you kept a loose hold of it. “Thank you for everything. I owe you and Steven so many explanations and apologies…”
“You can send him a letter.” He said when he noticed your expression fall. “Do all of us a favor and take care of yourself through whatever this is.”
“You know, if you ever come through New York again…”
“We’ll use your bed instead?”
“Shut up.” You laughed. “Till next time.”
“See you around, baby.” He tapped under your chin before stepping back inside the apartment. You moved your foot and smiled sadly before turning away and heading to the airport.
Your stop in New York was supposed to be quick. Just as you were arriving at your building, a dark vehicle rolled up and you stopped for a second.
A second too long.
“Been too long, Yersova.” Brett called as he got out and came around the sidewalk.
“Hey.” You breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, after Fisk I needed a break. I’m actually on my way out but-“
“Out the country again?” There was a small accusation in his tone.
“Can you really blame me?” You laughed slightly. “With Fisk locked up again and no official case against mush-for-brains there was no necessity to hang around.”
“Speaking of…”
“There’s a case now?” Your brows raised and your arm nearly twitched.
“Not yet. But he did remember something.”
“What?” Your stomach tightened in anticipation for the accusation of your alter ego.
“Your name.”
“My name…” You repeated, realizing that Brett’s appearance may very well be for an arrest.
“Mhmm. Out of the blue, he said ‘Livia’. ”
The knot in your stomach unraveled quickly and your body relaxed.
“Is that why you’re here?” You kept going, careful not to linger too long on any one response. “Would I even be able to see him?”
“You want to?”
You thought for a moment. It was a terrible idea, to come face to face with the man who nearly killed you.
No. You had to remind yourself that he did kill you.
Yeah, your heart stopped. Blood loss, they said. Your partner was able to get you started again but it was one of the worst minutes of my life, y’know.
The memory sent a shiver down your spine and you had to swallow the rising bile. You tried to quickly weigh the pros and cons but you did wonder if seeing him - just the once - would let your mind rest. You could understand what was left of the man you had potentially seen yourself truly caring about. You’d know if he was something to fear, the threat lurking in shadows and behind corners, or if he was useless. A pathetic remnant of who you once knew.
“Why the hell not.” You finally answered.
Brett took you to the hospital after that.
As you were heading to Billy’s room, you passed a window leading into a physical therapy room. You glanced in but one of the patients caused you to freeze. His back was to you and his hair had grown out some but you could still tell who it was, especially after spending months working with him.
“He didn’t die either then?” You said flatly as you stopped to watch Dex. Small movements, sitting upright on a stool and turning his upper body. Any threat of retaliation from him was miles away.
“He asked about you once.” Brett said from your side. “Wondered if you ever came to see him.”
“He should be glad I didn’t… I would’ve smothered him with his pillow once the nurses left.” You shrugged and kept moving.
Finally, you were led into Billy’s room. Two armed officers waited at the door and you were patted down before allowed to enter. Their attention caught on the hard object at your waist but you lifted your sweater’s hem to show the badge. As you were ushered in, the woman you assumed was his psych ripped apart the velcro holding him in place.
“You can’t be in here.” She tried but you didn’t look at her.
Instead you looked at the man on the bed. Your eyes traced the thick black lines that adorned the plastic white mask he wore. You could barely see his eyes and that made you uneasy. Your hand twitched at your side and was begging to form a fist, to shatter the plastic mask and connect firmly with his face.
The part of the Red Room that would always live inside you wanted to see his scars. You wanted to know how you and Frank had broken him, the new patterns of his skin that you and Frank carved out using that shattered mirror. You wanted to see if fear would fill his eyes, the taunting yellow haze that appeared only to you.
The click of the door closing snapped you back to the present.
“Livia.” Billy said softly, so softly you had barely heard it behind his mask. “Hey, beautiful. Jeez, you’re even… prettier than I remember..”
“No.” You shook your head, barely finding your voice. “You don’t get to-”
“Oh.” The woman said suddenly. “Livia, of course. I’m sorry. I’m Dr. Dumont and I’ve been working with Billy for the past few months.”
“It’s Agent, actually.” You told her. The title meant nothing to you but she didn’t need to know that. “Agent Yersova.”
“Right.” She nodded with a rehearsed smile. “Well I’m glad you could join us. I assume you got my letter?”
You hummed slightly and dared a couple steps deeper into the room.
“What’s under the mask, Billy?” You asked plainly. “What do you look like now?”
“We try not to-“ The doctor tried but you kept going.
“Who did that to you?”
“I don’t…” He whined. “I don’t know. All I know is there was a… a skull and a mask.”
The skull was what he could remember of Frank. The white spray-painted skull across the black bulletproof. His memento mori as David Lieberman had once said. But the mask was another thing. You hadn’t worn your mask that night, had you? No, you were almost certain you didn’t have the time to put it on but he had seen you in it before.
Maybe his brain really was mush, combining different fights into one night.
“I’m guessing you don’t remember what you did to me.” You said honestly.
“I shoot you too?”
“Too? You know what you did to Agent Madani?”
“She comes by quite often.” Dumont added. Her uneasiness began to seep into your skin and you shivered in an effort to clear it.
“I know what I’ve been told but it doesn’t feel like I know anything.”
You held out the scarred wrist and moved another step closer.
“You shot me here. Twice. The first one didn’t penetrate so of course, you did it again.” You explained. “I was also stuck with a faulty taser that was frying the nerves in my hand.”
He said nothing, just turned his face away.
“You hung me by my wrists so tight, they bled.” You sneered, the memory serving as fuel for your words. “You watched and wanted me to beg for you to let me live. What kind of a man does that?”
You could feel the emotions mixing in his head, swirling into something you couldn’t describe. Neither could he and it ate at him, which you loved.
“Does it hurt?” You pressed, nothing other than sadism pushing you to speak. “Your face? Your body? Does it hurt to know that you wanted me dead?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Look me in the eyes and say that.” You said firmly. “Look at me and tell me that you don’t remember the way you wanted me to bleed out in front of you. The way you screamed for me to beg.”
The shadowed eyes met yours and you felt something strange from him. Uncertainty, self-pity, maybe even self-hatred. He didn’t know whether or not to believe your words. You smiled slightly and leaned away, putting your hands up slightly in a mock surrender.
“I didn’t come to torment you, Russo.” You said simply. You glanced at the other woman in the room and noticed she was nearly shaking, uncertain of how to react to your hostile presence. She seemed like she was about to run, throw open the doors and scream for the officers to take you away. “I know you got what you deserved. I just came to see how much of a man was left.”
“No.” The woman finally spoke and you turned with raised brows. “You didn’t deserve this, Billy.”
“You weren’t there.” You said flatly. “You didn’t see the hatred in his eyes when he looked at me, a woman he claimed to love.”
“It doesn’t matter. No one deserves this.”
“Maybe.” You shrugged. “But it happened, and I’m sure the ‘skull’ and the ‘mask’ don’t regret it.”
“You’re cruel.” She said quietly, a shocking revelation.
“No.” You pursed your lips and shook your head. “I’m mean, sure. I used to be more tame and gentle, but this damn circus-life I led made me meaner… Anyways, enough about me.” You waved a hand dismissively. “You’re not quite lost, are you?” You looked back at Billy.
“That what you want?” He lifted his chin.
You simply hummed, a sound of indifference as you headed towards the door. Dr. Dumont tried to call you back but you ignored her.
You could tell there were gears turning in Billy’s head. Dots were connecting, though nothing was staying. Flashes of memories, coming and going but never staying. For the time being, he was still just a man, but you had a feeling that if he did gain his memories, he’d be a threat again.
And he would come for you and Dinah.
You went to your apartment after the hospital, which was still full of unpacked boxes and your haphazardly laid out furniture, and exchanged your bags for a new one. You took only a carry on, a duffel with a couple handguns, extra bullets, and two knives. You tucked an extra jacket and a change of clothes and your phone charger with the weaponry before digging through the labeled ‘PERSONAL’ box to find the x-ray blocking pouch. Your hand caught on the long sleeve top from Matt, the gift from the first night you fought Fisk still stained with various blood splatters. You tucked your weaponry into the bag and shoved both into the duffel. With your practically useless badge to your belt, you headed back to the airport.
There was an envelope on your floor that caught your attention. It was labeled from the office of a psychologist, Dr. Dumont. It was stamped urgent but you had no need for it. You ripped it in half and threw it away.
As you were leaving your building, you received a call from another unknown number.
“This is a collect call from Larkville Sheriff's Department. Do you accept the charges?” The automated voice said and you almost laughed.
“Yeah, I accept.” You answered and after a few seconds, the tone clicked and it was a live call. “Collect call, huh?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He grumbled. “Where are you?”
“New York, heading back to the airport. You’re gonna owe me for going to Ohio of all goddamn places.”
“I tried Madani already but she pretty much told me to fuck off so…”
“So I’m all you got.” You nodded. “Any information on what I’m walking into?”
“Hell if I know.” He muttered. “Maybe your daughter’ll tell you something.”
“My daughter?” Your brows furrowed.
“Yeah, your daughter.”
There was some light shuffling before someone else took over the call.
“Hi, mom.” She said, equally as confused as you were.
“Hey, sweetie.” You answered kindly enough. You pressed your scar to put the call in your head while you moved your phone to text Dinah. “How’d you end up in Ohio?”
“I don’t know.” She confessed. “I don’t want to be here.”
“I don’t blame you.” You laughed.
-i know he called you- you typed quickly.
“Listen, I need you to trust the guy you’re with, okay?” You tried.
“Seriously?” She scoffed. “He tied me to a bed!”
“But has he hurt you?”
No answer.
“Has he shot at you or cut you or tried to kill you? Or has he saved your life?”
-not my problem- Dinah answered and you rolled your eyes.
-mahoney told me about you and russo. maybe we can work out something that benefits us both. i’m tired of waiting too- you typed furiously. Whether or not you and Frank dealt with Billy, you weren’t even worried about.
You were worried about Frank and the kid he was with. You knew he wouldn’t have called you unless it was something serious so you had to pull every string you had.
“Listen, hon.” You focused back on your phone call. “I’m gonna see you soon… Trust him and trust me, okay? But you have to tell me what you know when I get there.”
“Okay… Thanks, mom.”
“And let him know that I’m gonna stop to talk to her and try to convince her so I’ll meet you guys tonight.”
Almost instantly when you ended that call, Dinah called you. You two went back and forth for what felt like hours. She said Russo was faking it, you said you didn’t know. She said she could see it in his eyes, you said the ghost of him still stung your skin. She said she wants to hear him confess, you said you’d like him to stay powerless. She said Frank wasn’t her problem, you said he could be useful. An eye for an eye, trade favors.
Finally, you got her to agree to go to Ohio.
When you two met up at the helipad, some Homeland location she picked you up for, she explained that Russo had escaped that morning. You were partially glad because at least there wouldn’t be any expectation for you to visit again. It did leave a feeling of dread in the back of your mind, like another fight was barreling towards you.
But you had to think this time the fight would only come if you went looking for it. So you focused on whatever hell Frank ended up in.
You changed your tops as the helicopter got closer. Out of habit, you reached for your mask but came up empty. You tucked one knife under your fitted sleeve and the other at your back. You put a handgun at either hip and the extra clips in the front of your waistband.
“Drop me within a mile.” You instructed calmly. “Without the mask, I need to scout before I get too close.”
“What are you gonna do?” She asked loudly, straining to be heard over the whirling blades.
You offered her a slight smirk before scooting to sit at the edge of the open door and letting your feet hang out. You leaned slightly and watched the ground get closer and closer, mentally calculating for a safe jump. You vaguely heard Dinah’s voice but you slid down before you could actually process her words. You rolled through the landing and groaned slightly when you landed against a tree.
The sound of automatic gunfire almost immediately took your attention. You focused in as much as you could, trying to count the rifles. A dozen was your best guess
You damn near ran at that point.
You could see the Sheriff’s department and the gunfire continued inside the building. You found easy cover among the trees and tried for a recount of the gunners outside.
A lot to take on by yourself.
You opened yourself for a quick survey and found a calm confidence among them all, one standing out among them. Confident in himself and his purpose but an underlying darkness. You could only assume he was in charge but he was in the middle of the herd. And he wasn’t your mission.
No, you needed to find Frank.
You redirected your focus on the sheriff’s station. Panic, fear, uncertainty. All the expected emotions wafted from the small building. Underlying it all was what you were looking for. Confidence, comfortability among the chaos, and anticipation. Keeping low, you bolted towards the building.
The back door was blown off and you hesitated at the entrance. You reached to your hip and grabbed one of your guns. You held it comfortably between your hands and whistled, two sharp familiar notes that were usually answered by one of your cousins. After a second of silence, you whistled the two notes of response and stepped into the building.
You moved through the dark building carefully, grimacing at how the rubble crunched under your feet. You wished for a moment that you had your Exodus boots but wishing did you no favors. You swallowed the thought and found the collection of remaining deputies. A gun was raised at you quickly and you let both hands shoot upwards in surrender, though your own handgun didn’t leave your grip.
“Who the hell are you?” One of the female officers asked sharply.
“Relax.” You tried simply. “I’m here to help. You’ll thank me.”
“How many are out there?” A different man asked.
“Too many.” You shrugged as your eyes scanned the room. One deputy down, a younger girl with panic in her eyes, a few more officers, and Frank.
The down officer argued against turning over Frank and the girl and you smiled slightly to yourself. You moved across the room and knelt at his side while tucking your gun away. You rubbed your hands together and allowed yourself to absorb some of the anger in the room. Anger at the men outside and inside. You forced it down your hands and let it settle in your palm.
You nudged the other set of hands aside and pressed your now ignited skin against the wound. He groaned loudly and the faint smell of burnt flesh permeated the small space before you pulled your hand away. The bleeding had slowed substantially and you allowed an influx of his pain. He looked at you with wide eyes and you simply nodded.
“You’re the woman from the phone.” The young girl said from your side. “You really came.”
“Yeah.” You smiled softly and wiped the blood along your shirt. “Told you I would… You doing okay?”
“We can’t just sit here.” She said firmly, though she had no idea what to do. “They’re gonna kill us.”
You were going to answer, to reassure her that with you there, they wouldn’t get close. But outside, you felt life draining, slowly and painfully. He killed one of his own.
“Get her into a vest.” The sheriff commanded but you waved him off. “You go out there in a spandex-“
“It’s bulletproof.” You said flatly. “And it’s withstood more than this building has. Listen, Sheriff, let me take him-“ You gestured to Frank. “And we can take care of it.”
“And just who are you?”
“Special Agent with the FBI.” You said, a twisted truth but not a total lie. “I’ve done more missions than you can count and I know for this one, I need his help.”
“He’s in no shape for it.”
You glanced at Frank and he simply lifted the makeshift cast around his forearm. You shot him a glare and he shrugged.
“He’ll manage.” You answered finally. “If you don’t set him loose, this building will fall. Your deputies and that little girl will die. Do you want that?”
“Got any black tape?” Frank asked and your head snapped towards him.
You let out a small sigh and put up your hands. You turned on your heel and offered one last look to the girl.
Why hadn’t you asked her name? You decided quickly that you’d have to get the job done just so you could ask.
You gave a sharp nod and she pressed her lips into a line before her eyes fell. You didn’t turn around, heading to slip back out the back door instead. You made your way around the side of the building and habitually reached to tap your mask, making contact with your bare skin instead. You cursed the failed gesture and began moving around the side of the building again.
You saw two men rushing towards the entrance and you quickly palmed a knife before kneeling in the front bushes. You flipped it in your hand and pinched the tip before drawing back. The ignition of flames became an easy target and you threw the blade quickly. It smashed the bottle, triggering a bright explosion and igniting the two assailants. You stepped out proudly and watched the men burn before collecting your blade. You stood, illuminated by the blaze, and again whistled the two short notes. Your call was answered from somewhere within the trees and with confirmation that your friend was there, you bolted into the tree line.
Automatic rifle fire filled the silence as you moved, a blade in one hand and a handgun in the other. You moved quickly, at a truly deadly pace and you felt more yourself than you had since Matt came back.
You swiped you blade in a long line along a man’s back before you kicked out and he landed on his face. You flung the blade down and it buried itself in the back of his shoulder. When he cried out, you ducked into nearby shadows. You waited as two men came to help him and as soon as they grabbed the fallen man’s arms to haul him up, you fired. Two quick shots, two quick deaths. You came out to kneel on the man’s back, yanking your blade free and pressing your gun to the back of his head.
A single shot to make the third death.
Your assaults continued on either side, automatic fire from one and isolated shots from the other. You made use of the knife more than the gun. You enjoyed the thrill of throwing the small blade, took pride in the precision your hands still held. An unexpected comfort, but a comfort nonetheless. As you moved, you came across the sniper. You wondered for a split second who his target was but your instincts told you it was the girl.
You whipped the blade through the air and it dug into the man’s hand, at the base knuckle of his trigger finger to be exact. You were on him before he could cry out in pain. You dropped your shoulder and slammed into his side, tackling him into the nearest tree. He jammed the butt of his rifle at you and you took the hits to your ribs, refusing to fall back. You gripped his shirtfront with one bloodied hand and slammed the other against his face. Heavy hit after heavy hit until the bones cracked under your fist. He sputtered out blood instead of words and you threw him to the ground. You planted a foot on his chest and fired before dropping the empty clip and replacing it.
You collected your blade and tucked it away before you grew still. You listened for the gunfire but heard nothing. You listened for cries but heard nothing. At that point, you let yourself feel. Then a faint smoke seemed to show you the exact path to Frank. With your gun firmly in hand, you ran.
You were coming up behind him when you came up on another sniper. You froze for a second and looked around him, only to realize he had Frank in his sights. You instantly sprinted towards him and once you were close enough, your arm hooked around his neck. You yanked him backwards as he pulled his trigger and the shot went wide. You shifted your position so he would land facedown in the leaves with your knee digging his back.
You dropped the gun in your hand and gripped the shoulder of his shirt. You fisted the material and pulled, choking him with not only your arm but his own clothes. You pushed the other foot forward and kicked the rifle away as the Homeland helicopter loomed overhead. It’s spotlight shone down on you and you had to decide what you’d do.
Kill him, save the girl and likely end up on Dinah’s shit list.
Walk away, maybe Dinah takes him into custody and her justice system can do something.
You gut told you there’d be a way for him to get out. The justice system you once studied and wanted to defend had failed enough times that you didn’t hold your breath. You shook your free hand and allowed the hidden blade to fall into your palm. You adjusted your grip and raised your hand to slam it into the man’s temple when you felt a hand around your arm.
Your head snapped up and you saw Frank looking at you. He shook his head once and you took a deep breath before releasing the man. You slid the blade back up your sleeve and climbed off. You went to follow Frank, but not before kicking the man in his ribs.
As you two were heading back, your own ribs began to burn with their familiar pain. At that point, you were regretting not getting pins after the fight with Billy. You sat with Frank on the curb and you leaned onto his shoulder, rubbing the eternal fracture while he spoke to Dinah.
“Billy Russo broke out of the hospital.” Dinah told Frank and you felt Frank shift to look down at you so you sat up.
“You know ‘bout that?” He asked you. There was accusation in his tone, but not that you didn’t tell him. He didn’t seem to care about that. It was about whether that news had anything to do with your actions that night.
“Yeah, how do you think I got her to give me a ride?” You answered flatly. “You missed a lot.”
Dinah moved to talk to the Sheriff and you blew out a sigh.
“Never really ends for us, does it?” Frank muttered.
“No.” You laughed sadly. “No, it does not… You enjoy the time on the road at least?”
“Yeah.” He nodded as he stared ahead. “You?”
“Do you remember when we were in that cemetery after saving your ass from Kitchen Irish and I was talking about the place I was raised?” You glanced over when he didn’t answer and saw he was looking at you already. “My cousins and I, we got a chance to go after him. I thought he was dead this whole time but… He wasn’t. One of my cousins had been there the whole time.”
“You got yours then, hmm?” He gave a small, proud smile when you nodded. “Good for you, Princess.”
“Then I went to London, met up with an ex. But all of that was after my FBI partner tried to kill me and Red came back.”
“Red? Thought he died.”
“Yeah, I thought so too. The bastard survived the building and was hiding for months.”
“What got him to come back?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“Let’s go.” Dinah said sharply as she walked by.
You quietly mocked her as you stood and the sheriff came over. You gestured to your spot on the curb and saw the girl coming out of the station. Her eyes went wide for a second and you knew it was the blood on your hands. You gestured for her to come with you and she hesitated. You could see it in her eyes that she was surveying her options.
“We can keep you safe.” You said honestly. “I never caught your name?”
“Rachel…” She said carefully. “Yours?”
“Livia.” You smiled as she came to your side.
Frank eventually met you two at the helicopter, where Dinah sighed and stared pointedly at the girl.
Summary: Beaten but unbroken, Livia manages to uncover a truth that keeps Frank from falling off a precipice. But as a result, she ends up caught.
You were screaming. Armed officers had escorted you and Frank out of the room and they kept yanking on your arm, pulling you away from Frank. You jerked in their holds, kicking and screaming and throwing every curse word in every language you had. You didn’t care that it made your wound leak blood. You didn’t care how it hurt.
“He didn’t do this! He didn’t hurt me! Let me go! Let me go!” You kept screaming, kept thrashing, until finally one of their grips faltered. The officer made an exclamation about the blood on your arm but you didn’t care.
You hurried to the gurney they were putting Frank on. The adrenaline must’ve crashed and all of his injuries were catching up to him. Yours were threatening to take you down as well, but you pushed through, using all your strength to keep your eyes open. Hands were on your arms again and you yanked hard. Your elbow smacked the railing while an exasperated sigh sounded from behind you. You refused to look, refused to budge, refused to speak. Instead, you took Frank’s hand in yours and willed him to live.
Paramedics talked around you while they loaded Frank. You tried to go with him but a stern hand on your shoulder stopped you. Your head snapped, rage now simmering in your tear-filled eyes, but you knew there was nothing intimidating about a woman crying her eyes out. Brett sighed deeply and gave you a once over. He motioned one of the medics over, said something that you couldn’t focus on, and stepped aside to let you up. You nodded gratefully and sat at Frank’s side.
The paramedic he had talked to came to your side and asked you a question. It didn’t register so when you didn’t answer, she pointed to the various injuries. You simply nodded, allowing her to reposition your body to whatever would be easiest for her to work with.
“Он не может умереть. Пожалуйста, не позволяйте ему умереть. Не он, не сейчас.” You mumbled, but you weren’t exactly sure how quiet you were. (He can’t die. Please, don’t let him die. Not him, not now.)
Was that what Frank felt when you were dying in his arms at the carousel? When you were bleeding out, staining him with the little you had left? When he begged and cursed and demanded you lived? You felt gutted. You had felt guilty enough in the coming days that you had nearly added another name to the death roll of that cursed attraction, but to now know what it felt like, it was almost enough to make you physically sick.
It was all such a bad idea. Going after Billy. Confronting the man from Ohio on your own. Coming back to New York before you had fully settled your head. You never should’ve gone to see Billy, maybe then he would’ve forgotten about everything between you two.
Everything since had happened aggressively fast.
You arrived at the hospital and were taken to two different rooms. An entire team of E.R. staff flocked to Frank, while you had two nurses. It wasn’t important how many caregivers you had, so long as Frank lived. Quick stitches in various places and replacing the gauze you had already bled through were done while your focus was in the next room.
Please, God, don’t take him.
You were mildly surprised you let the thought come as a prayer. You truly were desperate, to turn to an entity that had turned His back on you and, despite having several chances to take Frank, didn’t seem to want him.
Hopefully you don’t want him this time either.
You were so lost in your prayers that you didn’t realize Brett was standing in front of you. Your nurses were long gone, but a prescription for antibiotics was in your hands.
“What?” Your brows furrowed as the hospital around you came back into focus.
“I just need a quick statement.” He repeated but there was something hesitant in his expression, like he knew you weren’t all there.
Clearly.
“Statement?” It was your turn to parrot. “No. No, there is no statement to give.”
“C’mon, Livia.”
“I need Matt or Foggy before I do that.” You shook your head. You folded the paper and tucked it into the waistband of your skirt. “Call my lawyers.”
“You're not under arrest.”
“I didn’t think I was.”
“Just tell me what you two were doing there.” Brett tried instead. “He was pointing a gun at you, Livia, but you still want me to believe he’s not the bad guy?”
That seemed to reel you back to reality. The sting of your wounds started to nag at you at the same time.
“He wasn’t going to shoot me.”
“Like he shot those other women?”
“No, something wasn’t right about that.” You confessed. “They shouldn’t have… Frank was looking for Russo.”
“And you?”
“Also looking for Russo.” You nodded.
Brett scoffed slightly but you noticed he didn’t have anything to take down your statement. That conversation wasn’t supposed to be happening, not like that at least.
“Good way to get yourself killed.” He nagged and you refrained from rolling your eyes. “Seems a habit with you.”
“Yeah, well, God doesn’t want me and neither does the Devil.” You shrugged. “Hopefully they don’t want him either.”
“You can’t save this guy, alright? Whatever you think you owe him, you don’t.”
“You weren’t there.” You said flatly but your voice sounded miles away, lost in the memory. “At the carousel. You didn’t see the way Billy looked at me, like I was just something to get rid off. To throw away and not worry about again… But Frank, he wouldn’t leave my side. You may not think I owe him anything but I owe him my life, Brett. How do I repay that?”
“Maybe you don’t.” He shrugged. “Man’s got a rap sheet that can cover the globe. That’s not the kinda guy you need to run around with.”
“You’d be surprised the company I keep.” You pushed off the bed and groaned as your leg buckled slightly, fresh pain throbbing in your stitched wounds.
They’d be healed by morning, whether your body’s doing or yours.
“You shouldn’t go till the doctor discharges you.” Brett tried.
“I’m not gonna sit around and wait for some guy in a coat to tell me I can leave.” You countered. “The nurses did their jobs. They’ll bill my insurance. Everyone still gets paid.”
“Livia-“
“No.” You said firmly. “You say I don’t owe Frank anything. You don’t owe me anything so stop trying to protect me. I was FBI SWAT and before that, something worse. I’m fine.”
“Okay, clearly you need a concussion eval because there’s something going on.” He complained. “Stay put. I’m finding a nurse for you.”
You blew out a sigh and watched him go. Once he disappeared down a hallway, you left. You wandered the emergency area, peeking into rooms until you found Frank. You couldn’t and it made a hole in your gut. You cursed yourself and then found a small collection of nurses, muttering about having treated the Punisher and how they were glad he had moved to another unit.
You found your way to the hospital gift shop and were able to get a clean shirt and shorts. The lady at the register, after her eyes flicked to every stitched wound and shadowed bruise she could see, said she would add it to your existing bill. She reached over to scan the bracelet and sent you on your way. You changed in the closest bathroom and decided to take the long walk to your apartment.
When you got there, you took a warm shower. You felt the remaining blood washing away, soaked your hair and scrubbed it firmly. You wanted to stay in the water, to pretend there was no war against Billy outside your apartment. Pretend the man from Ohio wasn’t hunting you as well. Pretend there wasn’t a terrified teenage girl counting on you. But you knew that your apartment wouldn’t be safe forever.
So you got out, finished getting ready, brought yourself to tears forcing the slashes to heal, slipped the stitches that were still wet with blood, and left. You wore a short sleeve compression shirt with your vest over it. You hid it all under a loose fitting button up and blazer. You clipped the badge to your waistband on one side and slipped your gun into the back of your belt. You slipped a small switchblade into your pocket and grabbed your purse before returning to the hospital, almost as a whole new woman.
“Sorry, ma’am.” The posted officer said easily, stepping in front to block your path. “Hospital staff and police only.”
“I’m with Nelson and Murdock, Castle’s legal team.” You countered and went to pass. He stepped in front again and your head cocked in annoyance. “What do you want, my Bar license? I have a right to see my client.”
“Sorry.” He shrugged. “Strict orders.”
“Hmm.” You nodded, tongue pushed against your cheek. Your eyes flicked to the name pinned to his chest. “How about now, Officer Smith?” You shifted your blazer to show your FBI badge.
“I could also pull out the Sixth Amendment from the Bill of Rights. Neither my bureau nor your precinct can deny a person legal representation. Due process and all, but hey, this is great grounds for a mistrial.” You continued, a shrug of your own. “Or I could just have your badge now. Your choice.”
“Alright, just go.” He groaned and waved you on. As you passed, he muttered something about the second ‘know-it-all bitch’ to come for Castle.
Karen beat you to it then.
When you stepped inside, Karen was sitting silently in the closest chair.
“Livia…” She gasped and sat a little straighter.
You were suddenly thankful you had taken care of yourself before you came.
“It’s good to finally see you.” She continued.
“Right, well, things have been busy.” You nodded and went to Frank’s other side. You slid off your blazer and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m just glad he’s alive.”
“Well what about you? Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“Does um- Does Matt or Foggy know you’re back?”
“They saw the news about the ReadyQuick check place.”
“I know they’d love to-“
“I didn’t come back for a reunion, Karen.” You sighed.
It wasn’t fair to be mean to Karen. You knew that and you knew you should apologize. There was too much going on that she didn’t know that had your focus. Amy. Billy. Frank. The man from Ohio. The bounty on you all. There were pieces that you weren’t even sure how or if they fit anymore. Dinah. Dr. Dumont. Curtis. Your mind was too busy, too locked in on your mission, to worry about pleasantries.
“I came back because he needed me.” You looked at Frank. “Because he and…”
You knew Karen was trustworthy. She had kept your secrets until she physically couldn’t anymore. She kept Matt’s secret, even in his alleged death. She kept Frank’s in his. But telling her about Amy felt more vulnerable than anything. Instead, you trained your eyes on the cuffs around Frank’s wrist. You wondered if the pins in your hair would be enough to trigger the pins and release them.
“Livia, what the hell happened?” She asked and the fear in her voice didn’t go unnoticed. “I saw the news.”
“Billy.”
“Did he… Did he see you two coming?”
“Don’t.” You sighed.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t get involved this time. Look at what it did to him, and you don’t even know what it did to me.”
“She’s right.” Frank murmured and you felt the relief roll through you. He wouldn’t look at her, barely even looked at you. “Walk away, Karen.”
“What? You two think you can scare me off that easy?”
“It’s not about scaring you.” You sighed. “It’s about keeping you alive.”
“I don’t think you want me to go.” She shook her head and stood.
You sighed and got to your feet. You angled your body so you could face them both and you kept a hand on the side rail.
“It’s a tough situation.” She continued and you raised a brow. “But nothing we haven’t dealt with before. We just have to figure out what to do about it.”
“What to…” Your brows furrowed and you took a few tentative steps forward. Karen shifted but didn’t move. “Karen, we don’t do anything. You think there’s a firm in this country that can do anything? We’re fucked on that front.”
“I did it.” Frank said quietly.
“Shut up.” You said sharply.
“I killed three women.”
“Shut up!”
“Why?” He scoffed and you turned quickly. “You’re not gonna fix this. Neither of you are. What you’re both gonna do is turn around and walk out that damned door, alright? You’re gonna get as far away from this and from me as you can.”
“Look me in the eyes and tell me to go.” You threatened. “I dare you. I’m not leaving until you actually have the audacity to pull the trigger on me.”
Karen went back to her seat and took a gentler approach. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
“It should.” He said quietly.
“It doesn’t.”
Was that what you and Matt looked like, when you were practically begging for him to hate you for what you’d done? You could remember the way his expression shifted everytime you brought up the blood on your hands. He had cringed, not at what you had done but at what you thought you were. He never thought you the villain and you would never understand what you had done to deserve that. Something in a past life, maybe, but when you stood and watched Frank bully himself for something you weren’t convinced happened, you knew he deserved that same treatment.
You didn’t see bad in Frank. He had done admittedly bad things, illegal things, but you were no better. Call it whatever name, you and Frank were still soldiers, trained to fight whatever war found you. This wasn’t one you’d let him fight alone.
You all sat in silence for a little while. You played the scene of that night over and over, trying to picture the wounds on the women, but so much had happened so fast. You hadn’t gotten a good enough look. You couldn’t say for absolute where the bullets came from but you were willing to bet it had nothing to do with Frank. It was something Billy did. You were sure of it. But how the hell were you going to prove it?
After a long while of silence while Frank tried to sleep off his injuries some more, Karen spoke.
“What about you?” She asked carefully.
“What about me?” You replied tightly.
“If this is what happened to him, I can only guess how you were hurt.”
“Few slashes, bullet graze, more bruises than anything.” You shrugged and thought of the deep purples and blues that covered your body from your fight against the Ohio man. You wondered how much was still there. “I wasn’t wearing anything so he made sure to take the brunt of it. Most of it just hurts from before.”
She nodded and you could see she wasn’t sure how to segway into what she wanted to talk about.
“There’s a reason I haven’t seen anyone.” You said plainly. “This fight with Billy and-“ You shook your head. “It’s too much to risk to see them.”
“Would they make that choice?”
“I know Matt would, and he’d also agree that Foggy doesn’t need to be dragged into this either. You’re the only one insisting.”
After that, you went to get a coffee from the cafeteria. You had to argue your way back into the room when a new officer was posted, but the flash of your badge and your ID let you through. When you got back to the room, you stayed out of sight for a moment while you listened.
Frank was awake, telling the full story of the carousel. He mentioned the way his kids looked at him and you could hear the pain in his voice, feel it crawling under your skin and freezing your veins. You shivered and the warm drink in your hand felt as if you had pulled it from the fridge.
The blue fog in the room was growing thicker with every word, making it harder for you to breathe. Tears you hadn’t realized were building fell down your cheeks and you had to take a few shaky, labored breaths before you managed to find control of yourself and your powers. You knew you were growing more tired and in turn, your abilities were more sensitive, but you’d expected to break down over your inability to be done with Billy, not the Castle family’s tragedy.
You came fully into the room and wiped at your eyes with your sleeve. You set the coffee on the far table and sniffled slightly. Karen looked at you with her own tears forming and Frank’s eyes were glassy as well. You knew there was nothing to say about his family so you didn’t. While you were thinking of something, anything, to try to explain your theory, the door opened and a nurse’s cart was pushed in.
Your head snapped and your hand went for the switchblade. As your fingers found the metal, the “nurse” turned out to be Amy. Frank grumbled in annoyance and you laughed in relief.
“Thank God.” She sighed with a smile and you smiled back, but then her suspicious eyes latched onto Karen. It almost made you laugh. “Who are you?”
“Easy, killer.” You teased.
“I’m Karen Page and I’m guessing you’re not a nurse. Who are you?” Karen answered, taking a defensive stance in front of Frank.
“Nobody. She’s nobody.” Frank answered.
“Hey.” You snapped and glared at Frank, who purposefully looked away from everyone.
“Yeah, I’m the nobody that came to get you out.” Amy answered and went to the cuffs opposite of Karen. You shook your head with a small, amused smile before following behind her and staying at her side.
She fiddled with the locks before Frank tried to snatch his arm away. You grabbed his wrist purposefully and sent a flare of anger towards your palm, enough that he groaned and offered you a glare of his own. Amy explained to Karen the bounty on all of you when Dinah Madani walked in.
“Fucking hell.” You muttered, turning to the woman and crossing your arms.
“Gang’s all here.” She said in greeting.
“What do you want, Dinah?” You asked sharply while Frank insisted on Amy being taken away and protected.
Karen and Dinah went back and forth about the situation and Amy. You didn’t intend on stepping in, given both women had a right to be annoyed with so much that they didn’t know, but a snide comment about Amy’s sticky fingers made you.
“Okay, you know what.” You commented loudly. “She may be a little klepto, but if you’ve got a problem with anyone in this room, you can take it up with me. You don’t get to sit on a high horse anymore, got it?”
“You really wanna do this now, Yersova?”
“You say that like I need backup to knock you on your ass.”
“Not like you fair well without it.”
“Look at that.” You smirked. “All it takes is you getting shot in the head and a skeleton out the closet for you to grow a backbone. Tell me, again. Who was the one that actually drew blood from Russo?”
“Enough.” Karen tried but that didn’t stop the hand that was already on its way to your pocket. “Why are hitmen after you?”
“It’s a long story.” You snapped, not looking away from Dinah.
“And she’ll tell you when you get her and the kid outta here.” Frank continued and you scoffed. “You know I’m right, Livia. It’s not safe for any of you to be here.”
“I don’t need safe.” You argued over your shoulder. “What I need is for y-“
“Can’t you just-“ Amy tried loudly. She came around you and stood in between your standoff with Dinah. Hesitantly, you withdrew your hand and took a step back. “Can’t you wave your stupid badge around and get him out?”
“No.” She said firmly.
Amy turned to you, desperation hiding behind her eyes. “Can you?”
“My badge doesn’t mean shit anymore, kiddo.” You answered sadly. “Otherwise I would’ve had everything cleared by now.”
She let out a loud sigh of frustration and went back to fighting with the handcuffs. “Then someone’s gonna need to help me get him out. Otherwise he dies either way, in here or in jail.”
Karen and Amy began muttering a plan when Dinah stepped aside for a call. You watched her for a moment and the tension in her body gave it away. You snapped your fingers to get the conversation behind you to stop and you snatched Dinah’s phone from her hand. You put it on speaker and Billy’s voice came from the other side.
“…no matter how many cops you surround him with. Are you gonna visit him every day?” The broken man taunted. “Like you visited me?”
You opened your mouth to speak but Dinah beat you to it.
“So why don’t you come here, Billy? Join the party?” She asked.
“Can he hear me?”
“Yes.”
“How’s it feel, Frankie? To be locked up in a cage like an animal? To be confined to a room with nothing but your miserable thoughts to comfort you? Nothing temporary about that pain. It’s like a waking death, like you’re burning in hell… Yeah, yeah, you’re your own devil now, Frankie Boy. And you are no better than me.”
Your head cocked in interest. You're no better than me. Why did that matter to Billy, if Frank was or wasn’t, or even if Frank believed he was or wasn’t?
“You done, Bill?” Frank finally spoke. His voice was cold, distant. Miserable, almost.
“No, you. You’re done!” Billy screamed. “And every day you’ll remember that I’m the one that put you there.”
“But you didn’t.” You spoke up, brows knitting as you remembered that night. “The guys you ran with did more damage than you did…”
“There she is.” He sounded almost proud. You hated that he felt he knew you still. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised you’re still at his side. Not like you have anyone else, right? No place in the world. Isn’t that what you said?”
You could feel three pairs of eyes on you. Karen, Dinah, Amy. Frank was still looking at the phone.
“Right.” You agreed tightly. “But you realize that doesn’t bode well for you.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Nothing’s stopping me from burying a knife so deep in your chest it’ll come out the other side.” You threatened. “I can put so many bullets in you that no one would recognize what’s being buried. I’m sure you’d want a closed casket anyway, given those nasty scars.”
He laughed dryly and your empty hand clenched into a fist. “When are you gonna give it up, hmm? I win, Livs. I win.”
“Not yet. Not until I’m dead.”
The call ended after that. You handed Dinah her phone without looking at her. Instead, you waited for Frank to meet your eyes. He wouldn’t and all it did was deepen the divide you could feel growing between you two.
Frank was punishing himself for those women, but in your bones, you knew it was wrong. That certainty was seering through you, sharper than you had felt anything before. You tried picturing the scene but everything seemed to be missing pieces. Where were the blood splatters? Where were the entry wounds? Were the women lying in puddles of blood when you found them?
Your chest began to rise and fall quickly and the certainty shifted to something else, something wild. Trying to piece together the missing facts played into the unpredictability that came with Billy’s return and it tightened around your throat. It constricted your chest until you felt you couldn’t breathe.
You slipped out of the room and away from everyone until you made it outside. You took a deep breath and tried to focus, to see through the blurring scenery around you, but you couldn’t. You felt trapped. You dropped to the nearest bench and bent over, putting your head between your knees.
Your eyes closed and behind your lids, gray wisps danced and teased you by creating the outlines of the dead women. If you were alone, you would’ve screamed. Instead, you forced all of it down to your palms. It stuck to the circular scar on your wrist instead. Your other hand grabbed it as you righted yourself and leaned against the building.
Your scar seemed to pulse with the intense emotions but you didn’t know what to do with them. You could turn it to anger but what would you burn? Sadness but what would you cool? Fear but what would the bitter taste change? You let go of your wrist and looked down at it in defeat. Beneath your skin, you saw the rolling waves of gray moving like water. It made you shiver.
“Everything okay?” Karen asked. Your head snapped up and your friend was looking at you with concern in your eyes and Dinah in tow. “You snuck out.”
“Just needed to think.” You shrugged as each woman took a seat on either side of you. “Something’s not right about this.”
“Yeah..”
“Why would it matter to be better than Frank?”
“It’s a game, Yersova.” Dinah said firmly. “You know Billy just wants to get back at you and Frank so he’s messing with your head.”
“I can’t stop thinking that it was all planned.” You continued. “The women at Valhalla get escorted out the main room. Why were they in that office? And why did Billy lead Frank there? If he didn’t have the women leave, he would’ve known they were there.”
“There’s a lot about the crime scene that doesn’t add up…” Dinah agreed.
“And Billy calling like that. It means something, right?” Karen looked to you.
“I think so.” You nodded. “If I had just looked closer at their bodies…”
“It’s Mahoney’s case.” Dinah added. “He’s not gonna let either of us in close enough. I know I wouldn’t if it were the other way around.”
“If there is even the slightest chance that Frank didn’t do this, we have to check it out.” Karen urged. “C’mon, Liv, you owe him that much.”
There it was again. Someone saying you owed Frank something. You weren’t really sure if you did or didn’t when it came down to it. Sure, he could’ve killed you when you first met, but it was in his best interest not to. He could’ve let you die at the carousel, but he fought tooth and nail for you to live because it was his vendetta too. He could’ve left you at Valhalla, but he took the beating so you didn’t have to because it was his unfinished business. Yet every time, the first priority seemed to be your wellbeing. Your survival.
“Dinah, you talked to his psych.” You turned to her. “What did you talk about?”
“Just that to understand one you had to understand the other.” She shrugged. “We talked about their differences and how Frank was better than Billy because-“
“You’re no better than me. That’s what Billy said on the phone.” You pointed out firmly. “She knows where he stays and she still talks to him. You gave her exactly what Billy needed.”
“What are you saying?” Karen asked.
“It’s the center of gravity approach. You don’t attack someone directly but you go after what’s most important to them. For Frank, his code. For me…” You rubbed the tattoo at the back of your neck. “It’s the same tactic Fisk used against me. It’s something I used for years. It works, clearly.”
“Frank seemed pretty sure back there.” Dinah countered.
“But it doesn’t feel right.”
“Besides, you know you can’t accuse Krista of aiding and abetting or collusion without proof.”
“You’re on a first name basis now?” You accused and she sighed slightly.
“What if I can get us in the morgue?” Karen offered. “To take a look at the bodies.”
Your brows furrowed for a second before you nodded quietly. She returned the gesture and you both looked to Dinah. Her eyes went between you two in confusion before she sighed and agreed with her own nod. After a moment, you all followed Karen.
She took you to the morgue and introduced you - as FBI Special Agent Yersova - to the man at the desk, Ed. You smiled politely and shook his hand, but you were distracted by the man’s lack of shoes. Karen began to convince the man but he was still hesitant.
Before you could work magic of your own, Karen agreed to some unspoken request. You quirked a brow at the man’s giddy response but opted to stay quiet, if only to ensure you didn’t ruin anything. She turned and offered you a tight, uncomfortable smile, and you found some relief in knowing that what she had agreed to was a last ditch effort. You nodded and Ed guided you three to the bodies.
He gave a quick rundown but you tuned his words out. Everything inside the small room seemed to buzz, filling your head with an expectancy that manifested as pressure. No taste, no tingle, no colored mist. Just suffocating, engulfing pressure that felt like it would break through your ribs if you breathed too deeply.
Karen’s voice cut through the buzzing but the words didn’t make it to your ears. You dared to lean in closer, gently prodding near the bullet wounds. Ed reached out to stop you but you batted his hands away. As you palpated the dead woman’s stomach, you felt a twist of nausea. This was still a person, after all. You shook your head slightly and willed yourself to focus, to see past the lost life and find the evidence you needed.
“Gun powder.” You muttered.
“Yes!” Ed’s voice came to you like the ringing of a church bell and you almost winced at the sudden clarity. “The grains of it on her skin means she was hit at close range. Any of these would’ve been fatal.”
“But Castle wasn’t…” You trailed off, gently pining your arms back to your side. “What about the trajectory?”
“Exit wound was straight out, parallel to the ground. Someone stood right in front of this girl and unloaded right into her.”
“And that’s the same with all three?” Dinah asked. Another voice too loud. This time your head cocked and you winced mildly.
“Yeah.”
You pressed your lips together into a tight line to keep the relieved laugh down. You nodded in thanks to Ed before gesturing for Dinah and Karen to cross the room with you.
“Those women were executed.” You said quietly. “Frank didn’t do this.”
“Well, is this enough to convince him?” Karen asked.
“It’d hold up in court.” You nodded. “It has to.”
You and your friends tried to leave but Ed blocked the doorway. He kept his eyes downward, at your feet. You rolled your eyes slightly and had to refrain from kicking him in the shin. He just might like it. He was rambling about some no-so-nice nickname but you simply shoved past him with a quiet apology. You assumed Dinah was quickly behind you but you didn’t look back to see if Karen was with you or holding up whatever bargain she struck with Ed.
You nodded to the few workers on the floor, but you passed the officer that had been posted at the door. He told you about the shift change and to show your Bar ID to the new guy. You didn’t show it, but that feeling of something out of place settled in your stomach. You moved a little faster but the shouts from Frank’s room drove you to a full-on sprint.
You brandished your switchblade as you came up to the door. You threw your shoulder against the man that had Amy pinned to the ground and you two tumbled a few feet before knocking into the wall. You heard Amy’s coughs as she scrambled to her feet, Dinah and Karen talking over each other, Frank shouting for the man to go back to him. You were stuck under the faux officer’s weight and he kept a firm grip of the wrist for the hand holding the switch. You winced as his finger dug into the scar but your free hand scratched at his throat.
Deep red lines followed the path of your nails and he cried out, jerking his head to get away from your reach. His other hand pushed down on your throat and for a second, you were hit with the memory of a fight that felt like a lifetime again. Pinned under a fake officer, hands at your throat, all for someone that was the game changer you needed. Only there was no Man in the Mask coming to your rescue.
You blinked away the memory and turned your head to find your small knife. You wiggled it around in your fingers until you were able to change the angle of your blade. You watched the tip press against his wrist and you jerked your hand, shoving the sharp metal through his skin and bone. The very tip poked out the other side and the man cried out wildly. You slammed a knee upward and connected with either his stomach or his groin but his position faltered and you were able to throw him off. You righted yourself quickly and grabbed his head, slamming him to the floor until he fell unconscious.
“Yeah, thanks for the help.” You wheezed, glaring at Dinah.
Amy kicked the unconscious man with a made up not-quite curse word and you laughed breathlessly. After that, she fell against you and you wrapped one arm around her shoulders while the other hand rubbed your throat.
“What was that, huh?” Amy stepped away and yelled. Your brows raised at the outburst but you said nothing. “You were just gonna let him kill you?”
“What the hell, Frank?” You added, a rasp still in your voice.
“Frank, you didn’t do it.” Karen explained quickly.
“What are you talking about?” He asked tightly, but you didn’t miss that underlying hope.
“They were dead before you got there.” Dinah added.
Frank turned to you for confirmation.
“Exit wounds were straight through. Gunpowder still on their skin.” You nodded.
“But I- We were…”
“I know.” You urged. “It was a setup. I can’t prove this but I know Billy killed them. I thought those ladies were being escorted out before I met with you but they were walked to their executions.”
“You sure about that?” Frank finally met your eyes and the suffocating grip deep in your chest loosened enough for a full breath.
“He wanted to break you. He wanted to take away what mattered most to you and he damn near did.”
“You’re not the monster, Frank.” Karen added gently. “You never were.”
“This is great and all but what is that gonna for us right now?” Amy asked tensely. “That was a cop that just tried to kill him! What’s next, a nurse?”
At that point, everyone began talking over each other. Frank wanted out of the cuffs to kill the cop. Dinah was calling him an idiot. Karen wanted a plan. Amy was looking between everyone like a deer in headlights.
“Just shut up!” You shouted. You saw the white wave roll out of your chest and hit everyone in the room and you immediately regretted the lapse of control. Your power took hold of all four people and settled them to an eerie level of calmness. “Sorry.” You muttered when the glassy look left their eyes and they were in control of themselves again.
“What the hell?” Amy mumbled.
“Give us the room.” You told Amy and Dinah. “Just a minute, okay?”
Hesitantly, they left so you and Karen were the only ones in the room.
“Does that Matt Murdock know you’re here?” Frank asked Karen.
She looked to you and you gave a small shake of your head. Of course Matt didn’t know where you were, just the vague idea that you were in town and stuck in the middle of a dangerous war.
“What does that have to do with this?” She answered. “Come on, Karen.” He sighed. “He’s good. Don’t throw that away for me, either of you.”
“Matt trusts me to make my own choices as to what fight I’m in.” You said sharply as Karen undid the cuffs. “I expected you to do the same.”
“And it killed you last time, didn’t it?” He spat back before focusing back on Karen. “Walk away, Karen.”
She said nothing.
“Look, I know you both.” He began and you rolled your eyes. “You’re brave. You’re strong. But you’re both so goddamned stubborn that you will throw everything away for me and I cannot let that happen.”
You took a step forward but Karen reached for your arm.
“So they can risk everything but not me?” She said then gestured to you. “Not her?”
“Don’t do that, okay? That kid needs me to stay alive. Madani, she’s as batshit and lost as I am. And Livia?” He locked eyes with you. “Billy beat her so bad her heart stopped. He gets the chance again, no one’s gonna be able to restart it.”
“Да пошла ты.” You spat. (Fuck you.)
Karen continued trying to reason with him but you put your hands up in defeat, letting them fall back against your legs. You began pacing while they talked, registering their voices but not their words. You looked down and noticed she was barefoot, Was that what she agreed upon with Ed? Her shoes.
No wonder they called him Creepy Ed.
“I gotta walk outta here and you can’t do it with me.” Frank said quietly and when you looked back, he was standing a few inches from Karen.
You wanted to give both of them the push they needed, to admit that unspoken thing between them and finally break the tension, but it also felt wrong to do it to friends. You had no problem in college playing up on a new couple’s emotions. Back then it was like your special version of people watching, but it just felt like crossing a line to do it to them. Luckily, the door opened before your power could start reaching.
Karen left first, offering you one questioning look. All you could do was nod. You retrieved your switchblade and wiped it on the officer’s uniform before you tucked it back into your pocket, replacing your blazer to hide your gun. You helped Dinah get Frank to the stairwell while Amy played her role as a nurse to blend into the crowd. Dinah split from you at the base of the stairs and you kept with Frank.
He leaned heavily on you and you were just outside the hospital when Brett cut you off. You cursed quietly while he yelled instructions to drop your weapons. You released Frank so he could drop the cop’s belt and you put your hands up in surrender, slipping your fingers to pull two pins from your hair. The small pieces of metal dropped down either sleeve just before Brett snatched one of your wrists. As he pulled your arms down and behind your back, the pins slid out and landed in your palms. You slipped the thin metal into the latch for the cuffs so they didn’t quite lock while he was muttering about obstruction and how it was only a matter of time before he had to cuff you.
He locked Frank’s other cuff around one of the handrails in the back before he shoved you inside. Frank met your eyes with an apologetic expression but you smiled.
Summary: A confrontation that was meant to end it all fails, but that tension snaps in an unexpected way, leaving two allies in a short standoff.
You didn’t blame Dinah for her obsession with taking down Billy. You were sure if he had shot you in the head and you survived that you’d have one hell of a bone to pick with him, too. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t hold grudges of your own. Daredevil, Fisk, Dreykov, Dex. But you never obsessed over any one man enough to lose sleep, to torment them day in and day out.
You tried to chalk it up to trauma but it was more than that. A vendetta at the very least. It made you worry but not enough for you to spring into action.
Curtis gave Frank the information he knew and sent him on his way to track down Billy Russo. You told him to call if he wanted or needed help. Until then, life would continue.
Billy Russo may have stopped Dinah’s world from spinning but you’d be damned if he got that power over you.
You spent the day doing one of the many things you’d neglected since you got back. You were unpacking your apartment. You washed and put away dishes, arranged the furniture in your living room, unpacked your decor, and organized your clothes. You went through your case and found the broken mask, chipped edges and stained lens. That mask had seen two of your more brutal fights in New York and you wanted to both frame it and burn it.
Frank and Curtis called you that night and asked you to come on their stakeout, something about a bar they knew Billy and his new crew frequented. At that point, most of your belongings were back in place and it was almost as if you had never left.
The nostalgic feeling didn’t last long, especially once you caught a glimpse of yourself. Your shorts left you with bare legs, littered in scars varying from just faint discolorations even you hardly noticed to still raised lines across your skin or divots where your body just couldn’t replace it. You didn’t want to think of the marks across your back, chest, or stomach.
You didn’t go with them that night, but that didn’t stop them from reaching out the next day. No calls or words, just an address.
You dressed in fitted pants, high top shoes, and a black compression shirt. Your vest fit neatly over and you covered it all with a pullover. You slipped a knife under each sleeve and a gun at your back, mask in your pocket just in case, and left.
“…SERE course. Bad news is I took it too. It ain’t gonna work, not today.” Frank explained as you made your way inside the small apartment.
A man sat tied to a chair in the center of the living area while Frank stood on the opposite side of the room. After a few more words, Frank brought up Billy.
They spoke some more and you moved further into the small space. It was then when you noticed Dinah and Curtis on Frank’s other side. Subtly, you reached under your sleeves and pushed the blades up higher.
“I know who you are.” The man, Jake, told Frank.
“Do you know me?” You spoke, allowing your voice to change to the accented, slightly deeper tone Exodus used. “Or… Do you know what fear does to a person?”
You moved closer, gesturing as you spoke while the yellow fog collected across your palm.
“Fear, it can choke you. Freeze you. Enough of it can break you.” Your hand pushed forward and the fog acted accordingly, slithering around the man’s neck and creeping up his skin like a snake. “You know the expression about choking on fear? I can make it very real for you. One way or the other, Jake, every man has his limit… And I think yours isn’t as far as you want to believe.”
Frank put a hand on your arm and pulled you back a few steps. The calm contact was enough to snap your focus and your fog dissipated. Jake made a few smart mouth comments about Dinah and Curtis being there, mouthing off that you and Frank wouldn’t be so tough if he was untied. You scoffed and when Frank looked at you, you nodded.
He moved to cut the tape and you shook your arm to let a blade fall. You watched Dinah’s eyes drop to your hand before she met your gaze with an expression you didn’t quite understand. Before you could dig deeper, you heard the scrape of the chair.
You turned and saw Jake coming at you. He drove his knife towards you but you easily controlled his wrist and spun him back to face Frank. You kicked out a knee and he fell to the ground, just before Frank slammed his foot against the man’s chest. He doubled over and you moved in a slow circle, flipping your blade as you moved.
“Это тот парень, с которым бежит Билли?” You laughed slightly before you kicked the knife away from Jake’s reaching hand. “Как упали могущественные.” You clicked your tongue in disappointment. (This is the guy Billy runs with? How the mighty have fallen.)
You hauled Jake up by the back of his shirt and threw him over the small table. You grabbed a hand and flattened his palm against the table. You glanced over your shoulder and Frank nodded as he moved closer. You gripped the knife firmly and drove it through the back of Jake’s hand. You kept your grip on the knife handle, twisting it to add on to the pressure Frank was putting. Your head cocked as you watched the man’s eyes grow wide until Frank backed off. Dinah yelled for you both to stop and you yanked your blade out. You wiped the blade across Jake’s sleeve to clean it before Frank gently pushed you out to follow Dinah.
She nagged that you two were out of control, that you were going too far. You said nothing while Frank told her to walk away. He told her she couldn’t do it and she needed to let whatever would happen happen. You didn’t care to listen to what she said next.
You went back into the apartment and pulled Jake to his knees. You took your blade and pressed it against the soft skin of his jaw, balling up his shirt with the other. You trailed the tip along the bone and down his throat until it sat at the small vulnerability at the base, right where the collarbones met. You looked at him for a moment, seeing the fear in his eyes and you willed it higher. The tip of your blade broke skin and as the yellow covered his eyes, he broke.
“They’re hitting the ReadyQuick check-cashing spot.” He confessed and you withdrew your blade while he spilled the information like a broken faucet.
You hummed to yourself in satisfaction and concealed your blade.You pushed yourself to stand and led your group out once you had enough.
“Wait. I can’t let you do this.” Dinah tried and you tilted your head up and muttered to the sky.
“Not asking for permission.” Frank shot back and opened the car door for you.
“I felt bad. I did, okay? Everything that was done to you.” She continued and you leaned on the open door with raised brows. “So I swallowed a mountain of shit because I felt like I owed you. But I owe myself, too.”
She came closer but you put yourself in front of her.
“When I met him, I felt I owed him, too.” You said pointedly, head nodding as you spoke. “I tried to help him, too, and it blew up my goddamn law firm.”
“Get out of my way, Yersova.”
“No.” You laughed.
“I took an oath.”
“Yeah? So did I. A few, actually. You wanna know what oaths get you? Knives in your stomach, bullets in your wrists, men cutting into your body to place trackers or remove your reproductive system or initiate pheromone blockers.”
Every example was another step closer, backing her up a good distance.
“The only oath I ever took that was worth a damn was the one to myself… And maybe to Daredevil.”
“I’m calling Mahoney. Let him take Billy down.” She continued and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. “Frank, you need to get out of New York before they come looking for you.”
“Do what you need to do, Madani.” Frank said flatly. “You coming, Princess?”
“The law didn’t stop Wilson Fisk. Daredevil and I did. It didn’t stop the Punisher. No one did. It didn’t stop Ben Poindexter or Billy Russo or the Yakuza or the Russians. I did… It won’t stop him now either.”
You backed away as Dinah scrambled for a response. You shrugged slightly and climbed into the backseat.
Thanks to your little disagreement of morality with Dinah, the three of you missed the caravan leaving the warehouse. Meaning you had to take it to the ReadyQuick if you wanted to get him. And you’d have to dawn the mask.
You slid it into place on the drive over and pulled your hair out of your face. You tapped the side and it hummed to life, small icons and messages flashing quickly before regulating the usual idle display. You pulled your sweater over your head and you reached for your wrists instinctively but the joints were bare.
You left your Bites.
You sighed to yourself and shook your head in annoyance. You tucked your blades between your pants and your belt. You tightened the strap of your vest and focused back on the drive when you realized you were pulled over.
Frank and Curtis went back and forth quickly but it was ultimately decided Curtis would stay.
“I’ll look after him.” You promised before you got
out. “And if she ends up going to Madani, call Matt Murdock. Tell him I sent you.”
Frank revealed himself first while you were crouched behind one of the parked cars and there was something from Billy’s that wasn’t there last time you spoke to him. There was an edge, an uncertainty that bordered insanity. You knew that you cultivated an aura of unpredictability as Exodus, but what you could hear and feel from Billy was the only thing you thought could ever compare.
The thought sent a chill down your spine, a twitch at your scarred wrist.
You groaned to yourself in frustration and grabbed the joint firmly, allowing your own anger to soak your palm and you let it sit on the scar. You forced the heat to burn out the twitch and instead, the anger took its place. Anger that he had the audacity to live after what he’d done. Anger that he had left a permanent mark on your body. Anger that he didn’t know who you were or what you were.
Death was your shadow, ghosts and wraiths were your teachers. And Billy Russo would do good to remember that about you, if nothing else.
You came into view when the gunfire rang out, despite Frank trying to pull you out of the way. You maintained eye contact with Billy, and lucky for you, his men were more worried about the Punisher. You palmed a blade when a bullet whizzed past your head, causing your attention to snap upwards. You saw the sniper on the roof and your lip curled into a slight snarl.
You couldn’t hit him with your blade. The height of the building left too much time for him to dodge your blade, no matter how hard you threw it. You could shoot out the scope, maybe take his eye out with it, but he had a perfect shot at you. He’d likely clip you before you could get your gun out.
“We gotta move, Ex!” Frank yelled and it pulled you back into the fight. You heard tires screeching and turned to see Frank climbing into a car.
You jumped in the passenger side and the chase began. You had to duck and evade the sniper’s bullets coming through the window, once having to reach over and push Frank down. Rounding a corner led you straight into Billy’s gunfire and you had to drop to the footwell. You rattled around as the car crashed and you felt a hand on your shoulder. Frank looked at you with wide, worried eyes as Billy was yelling something.
“I’m fine.” You said sharply and pushed yourself up to climb into the backseat.
You opened the rear driver side door and climbed out, now feeling a growing ache in your ribs. You scooted further down to allow Frank to follow you out. The sounds of sirens filled the silence before Billy spoke again.
“Did you do this to me?” He yelled, seemingly more confident in the idea.
“You’re goddamn right I did!” Frank yelled back and you slipped around the car. Your pistol was gripped in your hand as you maneuvered the crashed vehicles and kept your body low to avoid the next round of automatic gun fire.
The incoming sirens grew louder and it felt like the timer was ticking down at the same time. You were able to get behind Billy and you had to act quickly if you wanted the chance before the NYPD got too close.
Move, Exodus. You thought. If you don’t, you’ll miss your chance.
The incoming officers served as a perfect distraction.
You forced yourself to vault over the hood of the car you were crouched behind. You landed softly, soundlessly even, and reached out. You yanked Billy back by the hood of his jacket and his bullets immediately ceased.
You threw your arm around his neck and pressed your gun under his chin.
“Скучаешь по мне?” You said lowly in his ear. (Miss me?) “You should’ve died.”
“Should’ve done it yourself then.” He growled back and grabbed your arm.
He pulled you over his shoulder and your back hit the ground. He quickly put a knee on your chest and reached for the gun in your hand. You searched for the foot he had against the ground and slammed your elbow against the ankle. His foot skidded and he was thrown off balance so you could roll away.
You planted one foot on the ground and turned to slam the opposing heel into his kidney and he fell to his face. You rolled him to his back and used your knees to pin his arms down at the shoulders. Your gun had fallen away so you pulled a blade instead.
“Say my name.” You ordered, accent dripping off the simple syllables.
He stared at you with no fear. Either he didn’t care if he died or he didn’t believe you’d do it.
“Say it!” You commanded again, your anger heating the knife in your hand.
“You’re just a Mask.” He taunted and your lip curled. “Without it, you’re nothing.”
“Without it, I owned you all the same.” You spoke plainly.
You raised your knife overhead, pushing his head to the side with the other hand, when the bullet grazed. The knife clattered from your hand and the metallic sting burned a line against the back of your hand. You clutched the injury and turned quickly to find the shooter. An NYPD officer. If it wasn’t just a man doing his job, you would’ve fired back.
The second your attention shifted, Billy threw you off and ran. You collected your discarded weapons quickly and saw Frank motioning for you to follow.
A new car had arrived and the driver dragged Billy away. You slammed a hand against the ground before you ran after Frank. He waited for you a few blocks over and took off again once he saw you’d match his stride.
You dared one look over your shoulder and saw Mahoney a few paces behind you.
You rolled your eyes slightly and faced forward. You knew Mahoney was a good guy but you wished he’d chase someone else for once.
You and Frank ended up cornered in an alley. Before you could get the lock off, Mahoney had found you.
“Drop the gun, Frank.” He ordered and you kept your back to him. “Drop your weapons, too, Exodus.”
You felt Frank tap your arm in reassurance so you lifted your already empty hands. You looked over and saw Frank was moving closer to Mahoney and you followed suit. He fell to his knees as Brett ordered and you did the same.
“Been a while from either of you.” Brett said carefully. His gun never wavered.
“Nothing big enough after Fisk.” You answered, intently letting your accent coat your words.
“Explains the downgrade in outfits.”
Your neutral expression shifted to a glare at the comment.
“How is his little Bullseye, by the way? Shattered spine is no joke. Shame he still lives.”
“I thought you only come out when Daredevil’s around.”
“He’s not my keeper:”
“Yeah.” He scoffed slightly. “Didn’t think you had one.”
You shrugged as a bullet hit the wall behind Brett. Your eyes darted over and saw Curtis with a rifle. You quickly pieced together that he had taken out the sniper from the rooftop. You nodded in thanks and stood carefully, allowing the boys to talk.
“Сожалею об этом.” You said with a sharp nod. (Sorry about this.)
When Brett looked your way, you threw a hard roundhouse that sent him slamming into the dumpster behind him before collapsing to the ground. You grabbed Frank’s hand and you two took off behind Curtis.
As you were leaving, you felt the wave of emotions coming for you. It was from the direction of the warehouse you had checked before going after Billy. He was remembering that night in better detail. He was remembering you and Frank. You liked that he was tore up about it. You wanted to make that worse, to drive him insane, but two things stopped you.
One, he was too far. Your influence likely wouldn’t reach or it would impact someone else. Two, you didn’t know exactly how he’d react if you truly broke him. It made you think of what happened to Dex, the way he attacked you and Matt at the church, the knife - your knife - burying itself to the hilt in your stomach.
No, you weren’t convinced you’d survive that again.
So you sat in the backseat of Curtis’ car and took off your mask. You hid your vest under your sweater and simply looked in the direction of the waves while your hand sat on the scar on your stomach. The burn seemed to shift to the back of your hand and you finally turned focus to the bullet graze against the bony area.
You brought your hand closer to your face and examined it. You took a deep breath and willed it to hurt. You forced that emotion nagging at the back of your mind to move across your skin and mend the shallow wound. It caused you to clench your jaw as you saw the imaginary bubble of pain sitting on the back of your hand, waiting for its job.
For a moment, you let it hurt.
Then you clamped your other hand down on top and popped the imaginary bubble. The skin under it was warm but the wound had healed. Now it was just another scar.
When Curtis got you and Frank back to the trailer, you stepped out first. You put yourself in front and whistled the two notes you had taught Amy. You waited a second but got no reply. The potential made your stomach drop but you pulled a blade either way.
You tried your whistle again and were met with another silence. With worried eyes, you looked to Frank.
“Kid!” He tried. “It’s Frank!”
Silence.
“Kid!”
Frank turned to you and you simply shrugged. Both of you had given your indicators and yet there was no response. You glanced around and saw no footprints. No tire marks. There was no blood or bullet holes or any signs of struggle. Has she gone that easily?
“Open it.” You said lowly, letting the blade flip over your knuckles to face the other way.
Frank gave a quick nod and opened the door. He stepped in first and you were right behind him. Your brows furrowed as worry gnawed at your stomach. You gripped your blade tighter just as a tennis ball came over yours and Frank’s shoulders.
You turned and lifted the other hand defensively. The figure went for Frank first and when he flipped the attacker over his shoulder, you realized it was Amy. You dropped your knife instantly and then regretted it.
“What are you doing?” Frank yelled as he kneeled over her. “You out of your mind?”
“Get off of her!” You shouted.
“You think it’s a game?” He ignored you. “How about now?” He put his gun against her jaw.
Suddenly, for a split second, you were a scared little kid again. You were training in the Red Room. One of your teachers, a man with a cold hand and an empty look in his eyes, had his cold hand around your throat while he slammed you to the ground.
At that, something inside you snapped.
You reached forward and grabbed his arm. You twisted it towards you and pulled his hand towards the floor. You leaned into it and swung your legs, letting your knees collide with his chest. The move took you both to the ground and you heard the small whimpers as Amy clambered away in a panic. Vaguely, you heard Curtis’ voice either trying to console Amy or get you two to stop.
Frank tried to shove you off but you kept a firm hold of his jacket. His other hand grabbed at the back of your sweater and he rolled you two so he would pin you down. You shoved a knee between your bodies as the position changed and flattened the other foot against the floor. You kicked off the ground and then extended the knee to flip Frank over your head and you followed suit.
He landed with a heavy thud and you pulled your second blade. You yanked the excess fabric of his jacket and slammed the knife through it and into the floor. You knew it wouldn’t hold long, but it was enough for you to get to your feet and hurry to Amy’s side.
The girl was practically vibrating with panic and you felt it jolt through your own bones as she threw herself into your arms. You dropped all your walls and let her panic seep into you. She cried against you and you said nothing, just gently rubbed her back while you glared at Frank.
He angrily stared back with your knife in one hand and his gun in the other. You were hyper aware of your own handgun waiting at your back.
“She’s gonna get herself killed.” He said lowly.
“She shouldn’t have to worry about it from you.” You shot back, wrapping your arms around Amy a bit tighter. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“Don’t give me that shit. You see how close I came to killing her?” He fired one shot into the wall and Amy flinched. “That’s her head all over that wall.”
“Enough.” You said sharply.
Another shot. “Just like that!”
Amy yelped but the sound was muffled by your sweater.
“I was just-“ She hiccuped. “I was just practicing the move you showed me!”
“Bullshit!” Frank continued. “Bullshit! Quit your goddamn crying!”
You moved Amy behind you and reached your hand to rest on your gun. Neither you or Frank backed down. He threw your knife at your feet and you planted your foot on top of it. You knew your other discarded blade was somewhere between the two of you, but looking away to find it wasn’t an option. Not when Frank seemed so erratic.
“She’s. A. Kid.” You said firmly. “You can’t talk to her like that. You can’t treat her like that.”
“This isn’t a goddamn game, Livia.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“She needs to know that. We make mistakes and people die. They die!”
“I know!” You shouted. Elektra, Sam Stein, Father Lantom, Matt - or so you thought, at least - other Widows you grew up with.
“A man died today because I dropped the ball, and you did too.”
You scoffed. “Some dickhead guy running with Billy. Is that supposed to make me feel bad?” You offered a mock pout.
“She needs to know she could wind up dead.”
“You pinning her down and pointing a gun at her isn’t going to teach her that.” You continued and Frank rolled his eyes.
You gently removed Amy’s hand from your sweater and took a couple steps forward. You made sure you slid the knife further behind you as you did so.
“You try that again, and my knife won’t go through your jacket.” You warned quietly. “Get your fucking head on straight or I do this without you.”
“You think you’re that goddamn tough, huh?” He asked in the same low tone, standing toe to toe with you.
“If that cop didn’t graze me, it would’ve been over already. I’m not afraid of Billy or the man from Ohio. And I’m damn sure not afraid of you. I don’t think you really want to see what it looks like from the other side when I go after someone.”
Frank shoved past you and went outside. Curtis was right behind while the two bickered about the keys. You collected your second knife and went after them.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Amy panicked and grabbed your hand. “You’re coming back, right?”
“I promise.” You nodded. “Just stay here and don’t do anything stupid. Call me if something happens and remember that shotgun.”
She nodded vigorously as the tears welled in her eyes. You patted her cheek and shut the door behind yourself.
Summary: Small moments, far from normal, help to build trust before the inevitable.
Developing the photos became the first priority once Frank and Amy had cleared out of Dinah’s apartment. You had offered your place, promising it’d be safe since no one knew your address other than your friends. Frank said Curtis had somewhere they could go and while you were grateful they wouldn’t be out on their own, you wished he hadn’t gotten Curtis involved.
The three of you were standing outside an unmarked building. Amy dressed in an outfit meant to highlight how young she was while she instructed you to wear something sleazy. You didn’t like the idea of her subjecting herself to it, even if it was a ruse to get through the door, but you played along. A dark bustier with tight fitting jeans and six inch heels with two knives at your back as usual. Hopefully you drew more attention than she did.
The man behind the door slid the hatch open and abruptly slammed it. After another set of hard knocks and a flash of cash, he stepped aside. You swallowed the bile in your throat as you followed the man in. He went on what sounded like a rehearsed spiel about how his business worked and once he was done talking, you threw a roundhouse that landed him on the floor.
Frank sent Amy to develop the photos after he kicked the man in the ribs. You pulled a knife from your back and flipped it in your hand while you and Frank waited with the man. Every flip of your knife pushed his fear higher and higher until it looked like he was sitting in a puddle of it.
Your head tilted as his right hand shifted, inching under the sofa he was leaning on. He pulled a short shogun but Frank was on it before you had to move.
“You like taking pictures of little girls, huh?” Frank asked lowly.
You kicked his legs apart and knelt in front of him, your knee pressing against his stomach. Slowly, you placed the knife against the side of his throat and watched the skin sink under the pressure.
“Men like you are part of why I still do this.” You spoke simply, letting your familiar accent coat your words. “You take advantage. You exploit… I think it’s my turn to take.”
You pressed down with your knife and the tip pierced his skin, a thick bubble of blood escaping.
He pleaded for his life when Amy came out but you didn’t move.
“Wait outside.” You told her over your shoulder, not looking away from the blubbering man under your knee. “Now.”
“Listen, he’s a total creep but it still seems a little borderline. Even for you two.” She reasoned.
“He won’t stop. They never do.”
“Please.” She said softly and reached for your shoulder. Her hand was only on you for a second before it disappeared and you assumed Frank moved her. “What if you just… I don’t know. You can burn the place down.”
“C’mon, Ex.” Frank tried and tapped your arm.
You growled slightly and yanked your knife, tearing a long line down the man’s neck to his chest. You didn’t care to burn the place down but that creep wasn’t necessarily the man you wanted dead either. At least the man would see the scar everyday and know that you knew who he was, that you could come back and finish him at any moment. You wiped the blade against the man’s shirt before replacing it at the back of your waistband and pushing past the duo to get outside. You leaned against the wall for a few minutes while Frank set the fire before you all left.
You threw on a old Fogwell’s t-shirt from your trunk before the three of you followed Poloznev’s schedule. You watched him get breakfast with his daughter and then went to check out the daughter’s private school. Frank and Amy on the bench and you sat up on the ledge beside them. You were glancing around with quiet hopes of something more interesting when a sudden rush of cold caught your attention. You turned to the source and realized it was Frank. You also realized they were talking about his daughter.
You sighed to yourself and hopped off the ledge. You stood beside Frank and put a hand on his shoulders. He looked up at you and you could’ve sworn there were tears in his eyes. You offered a knowing smile and he nodded quickly before he dropped his eyes again. He put his arm around your legs and leaned slightly into you.
“What about you?” Amy asked you. “What were you like at 15?”
“Опасно.” You answered with a small shrug, knowing it was a true yet rehearsed answer. After a second’s pause, you spoke again. “И одиноко…” (Dangerous. And lonely…)
“I don’t..” She shook her head. “I have no idea what you said.”
Frank snorted a laugh and you smiled to yourself.
“Yeah, he doesn’t either.” You patted Frank’s shoulders. “I taught Red some Russian.”
“Yeah?” Frank looked up at you. “How’d that go?”
“Oh, he butchered it at first.” You laughed. “But he got it, enough to argue with me at least.”
“Sounds like Red.”
Once all the kids were inside, you all parted ways. Frank promised he had somewhere safe to take Amy and you gave him your phone to type the address into your notes. They headed back to the trailer they were staying at and you told them you’d meet with them the next morning to make a plan. You also decided you’d need to give Curtis something for all his help.
The next day came quickly enough. Your mask was in your bag, along with your Bites, a blade, and a gun. The fitted vest was in place under your t-shirt, which showcased a crudely drawn stick-figure Daredevil and Exodus. You liked it because it reminded you of the doodles Wade would do.
“Oh! So, I’ve been thinking.” Amy added when she came back to the living area. You and Frank were seated at the small table examining the photos. “This Red you guys keep talking about is Daredevil, right?”
You hummed in agreement.
“But you know him, right? Like that’s the guy, your guy.”
“You could say it that way, sure.” You nodded.
“That’s the guy you married then. You married Daredevil.”
“We’re not married.” You shook your head. “It’s one thing to run a law firm with your spouse but another to be vigilantes together, right?”
“Law firm…” She trailed off. “You’re a lawyer?”
“Yeah, or I was. Am? Honestly, I’m not sure if they got the firm going again while I was gone.”
“So what’s the story between you two then?”
“She always asks this many questions?” You glanced up at Frank.
“Believe it or not, this is less than normal.” He joked while examining a handgun. “She’s not gonna stop.”
“Loss of curiosity is a loss of humanity.” She defended and you sighed, flattening the photos to the table.
“Him and I, Daredevil, we went to Columbia and got our degrees. That’s where we met.” You explained. “My past caught up to me so I left, but he had a girlfriend anyway so no skin off my back. Did some mercenary work, met a different guy and had a thing. Past caught me again so I left and ended up back in New York. I started the vigilante thing and met Daredevil when he was still just the Mask and I met up with him as just a person.”
“So you always knew?”
“No. Me and the Mask are constantly fighting but me and him are fine. Fast forward a little bit and I feel like he betrays me so I basically tell him to fuck himself. Little while later, Exodus is established. Daredevil is established. And a new guy, this guy-“ You pointed to Frank. “-comes to town. I reach out and offer to help, mainly to piss off Daredevil. All that’s going on when Red’s ex-girlfriend comes to town and turns out, she’s kind of like me but also not. I start to piece it together that Red is who he is and then when all’s said and done with the Punisher and the ex, we tell each other and I join the FBI.”
She stared blankly for a moment while your words sank in.
“But you still didn’t get married?” She asked slowly.
“No.” You laughed. “His ex came back to life and tried to kill us, only for him to get stuck under a fallen skyscraper and everyone thinking he died too. That leads to what got me and Frank to mutilate Billy and send him on the run in the first place. Red comes back and my partner goes off the rails, tries to kill us both, ends up paralyzed. And now we’re here.”
“Hang on.” Frank cut in. “Your partner, the guy who fell at your side that night and damn near broke down when he saw you, he tried to kill you?”
“Yeah, turns out he was a ticking time bomb.” You nodded, rubbing your hand over the scar at the center of your stomach.
“Guess you have a type.” Amy mumbled and you spun in your chair to face her. Her eyes were wide, as if she said nothing.
“Red isn’t like that.” You defended. “He’s a good man, better than I deserve.”
Frank made a sound of disagreement and your brows raised expectantly.
“You’re a good person, Livia” He said simply, waving the empty gun in your direction. “Better than most people around here. What is it you want, huh? You want forgiveness?”
You scoffed lightly.
“Fine, I’ll give that to you. You’re forgiven. Everything you’ve done is cause you had to. You’re good, Livia, and nobody gets to tell you otherwise.”
You wouldn’t admit it, but it did make something in your chest loosen.
“I…” You began but thought better of arguing. Instead you just smiled softly. “Thanks.”
“Maybe…” Amy spoke and you turned in your chair. “Maybe I should have a gun.”
“A gun by itself is useless if you don’t know how to use it.” Frank scoffed and you tilted your head in quiet agreement. “Last time I gave you one you didn’t do shit.”
“You could teach me.” Her eyes met yours.
You sighed slightly and turned back to Frank. He showed you the empty clip and slid it into place before he put it in your waiting hand.
“Empty gun, empty clip.” You announced and gestured for her to stand. “I’ll have Frank teach you if you can take it from me.”
“Really?” She smiled in excitement.
“Mhmm.” You nodded and lazily held the gun pointed at her.
She made a move for you, grabbing your wrist and the gun. You pulled away easily and sidestepped while pushing her past you. Frank laughed as she tripped over her feet. You stifled your own giggle and gestured for her to try again.
She hesitated and you could read her moves before she even knew what she would do. She came at you again, basically the same way as before. This time, you put a hand at the back of her neck and pushed down while you stepped behind her. You shifted that hand to loosely wrap around her chest while you let the gun touch her temple.
You redirected her to the small couch and pushed her to sit.
“Frank.” You called.
“Yeah, I’m coming.” He grumbled.
You two stood face to face and you checked that Amy was watching. She leaned in a bit as you handed the gun back to Frank.
“Keep distance, okay?” You began explaining. “You get too close they can put a bullet in your stomach before you can do anything.”
She nodded.
“First thing, get the gun off line.” You reached out and pushed Frank’s hand to the side. “Grab the top and push outwards.”
She stood and moved in closer.
“Next, get control of the wrist.” Your other hand came in and tapped Frank's wrist. “Don’t just grab it. Come from underneath and twist. You go for the joints and use your legs, okay?”
You released both hands and allowed Frank to reset. He pointed the gun at you, more enthusiastically than you had pointed at Amy. You took one small breath before you moved, your usual disarming technique which was admittedly different from what you had shown Amy, but you moved quick enough that she wouldn’t have been able to tell.
You tossed Frank the gun and motioned for Amy to take your place. She went through the move slowly and looked to you for encouragement. You nodded with a slight smile, which seemed to give her the confidence she needed. She went through it and successfully disarmed Frank.
“That’s it!” You cheered.
“Attagirl. Look who’s got a gun.” Frank added with a smile of his own.
“Yeah, I got a gun.” Amy nodded proudly.
“Listen.” You sighed. “The third part can be the hardest.”
“What do you mean?” Her brows furrowed.
“You just took a gun off someone who wanted to use it on you.” Frank added. “What do you do?”
She stared in silence.
“You use it on them. Doesn’t matter who they are. You do not hesitate. You pull that trigger, got it?”
She nodded slightly.
“Here.” You pointed to the center of your stomach, ghosting the knife scar. “Here.” You pointed to your heart. “Here.” The center of your thigh, right on your femoral. “Even here.” The pointer fingers on either hand touched their respective lungs. “Hurt like hell and can kill them if you need… Amy, you need to be willing to take that shot and protect yourself. Tell me you can do that.”
Her eyes went wide for a second before she swallowed hard and nodded.
“Okay. Show me.” Frank said and she took up a hesitant stance before the hollow click of an empty gun. “Attagirl.”
Frank patted your back as if to confirm that she would be okay before he turned back towards the small table. You blew a small sigh and leaned against the wall.
“I bet you were a real good dad, huh?” Amy said kindly.
He said nothing.
“Yeah, he was.” You answered.
“You ever think about kids?”
“In another life, maybe.” You nodded sadly. “Red’s talked about it but it just won’t work… Whenever I come here,” You tried to change the subject. “I’m gonna do this little whistle thing I had with my cousins. I do two notes and then one of you will answer with two notes.”
You pointed to yourself while blowing the first two notes then pointed to both of them while blowing the second set. You pointed to yourself for the first two again and then to Amy so she did the second two. Frank gave her a set of instructions for his comings and goings before he hid out in the small bedroom. You moved over to Amy and put a kind hand on her shoulder.
“You’d think I’d be use to that by now.” She joked sadly.
“You remind him of who she could’ve been, that’s all.” You admitted in a quiet voice so Frank wouldn’t hear. “Grief’s one hell of a burden, kid, but he’s convinced it’s his to bear… You won’t talk him out of it. Trust me, I’ve tried. I love him but he can be difficult.”
“I noticed.” She laughed slightly and put her hand over yours. “Thank you. For everything.”
“It’s what I do.” You gave a small smile and a shrug. “I’ll be back, okay?”
She nodded and you gently pulled your hand away before taking off. She asked if you were going to help with Poloznev but you assured that he would recognize you. She asked for clarification but you refused to say anything else. She whined something else so you promised you’d meet them after they got Poloznev away. Until then, you went to a diner for breakfast.
It wasn’t even a diner you frequented or even liked all that much. It was usually loud and overcrowded but the prices were good and it was close by. You were glad you went, however. After a little while and you had finished your meal, you watched a man get up and follow Dinah, who had stopped in for a takeout coffee.
You paid your bill and followed soon after. You shot Dinah a text as you kept a fair distance between you and the man.
-don’t react but i think it’s the man from ohio-
She turned a few more blocks to a secluded street and stopped. Once the man rounded the corner, she pulled her gun and you pulled yours from your bag while staying behind him.
“Clocked you at the cafe, asshole. Who are you?” She announced, only glancing at your presence but you could feel she relaxed. If only a small percentage.
“Relax.” He tried and you suddenly felt more on edge since he seemed so in control. It made you wonder what he was up to and if you should’ve been paying closer attention to him. “We have a mutual acquaintance from Ohio… Frank Castle… Would you prefer Peter Castiglione?”
“What do you want with Castle?” You asked flatly and he spun quickly, surprise flashing across his features before it disappeared.
“A man has to earn a new life.” He spoke in the same calm tone. “A new identity.. What did Castle do to earn his?”
Dinah said nothing but grew more frazzled. You noticed a slight tremor in her hand.
“I can keep your secret and maybe it’s yours too.” He gestured to you. “If one of you can tell me where to find him. And the girl.”
“Or we can arrest you now.” You kept your gun aimed while you lifted the hem of your shirt to show your badge. “See what shakes loose, if anyone comes knocking for Konchevsky’s killer.”
He hummed with a slight nod.
“Seems I’ve underestimated you.” He said, looking towards you now. “Agent…”
“You seem good at your research. You figure it out.” You spat back.
“In any case, what charge could you arrest me on?” He shrugged. “Guilt and shame will eat you alive, Dinah. unless you face your actions before God and truly repent.”
“О, черт возьми. Он хуже Сорвиголовы.” You muttered to yourself. (Oh, hell. He’s worse than Daredevil.)
“Russian.” He smirked slightly, as if it was a clue into who you were. “I take it you’re not a religious woman.”
“Hardly.”
“I’m sure we’ll speak again soon.” He tipped his hat and began to back away. “You’re an easy woman to find and you…” He looked back to you. “You have given me much to think about.”
“I’ve still got the shot.” You told her once he went around the corner.
“How?” She scoffed.
“Agent Poindexter showed me how to shoot ricochets.” You explained before you lowered your gun and faced her. “I know you didn’t want to deal with Frank’s fight too, but I could use your Homeland connections right now.”
“Who was he?”
You shrugged. “Guy in the woods in Ohio is all I can tell you.”
“What does he want with the girl?”
You shrugged again. “She won’t talk about it still but we’re following leads.”
The statement reminded you of where you needed to be.
“Please, Dinah.”
“Find me Russo.” She countered.
“Have you tried the doctor?” You asked honestly. “They seemed rather… close.”
Her eyes lit up with realization before she practically ran off. You blew a sigh and hailed a cab.
You unclipped your badge and shoved it in your bag. You pulled your mask and hung it around your neck, tucking it under the collar of your shirt. You tucked the knife at one hip and fit your gun to the other. You neglected the Bites since you didn’t have the sleevage to cover it. You paid the driver when he dropped you at the waterfront, just as the black-out vehicle was approaching.
You quickly got into the warehouse and found a corner to stash your bag. You pulled your shirt over your head and shoved it inside, exchanging the fabric for your Bites. You fit the familiar weapons on and slid your mask over your eyes. The familiar blue lens tinted your vision while you tapped it to life and the quiet hum put you at ease.
You righted yourself as the two men appeared.
“… My own arrogance had brought me here.” Poloznev said and you faced him.
You watched his eyes scan your face, recognition growing behind his eyes.
“You’re one of Dreykov’s.” He said with a small step back. “He sent you for me?”
“Dreykov’s dead.” You spoke flatly, accent in full swing through your monotonous tone.
“I didn’t think you’d come after me, even after you killed Kazan.”
You looked over his shoulder at Frank.
“We didn’t kill Kazan.”
“If you didn’t, the same people coming after you are coming after me. Fate makes us allies, not enemies.”
“And what has being your ally done for me?” You challenged. “It didn’t give me any power. It didn’t free me from Dreykov. I want names, Poloznev. You can give them or I can take them.”
“Anderson and Eliza Schultz.” He spoke with hands slightly up in surrender. Frank came around to stand by your side. “Testament Industries. Factories, oil and chemicals, farming, all over this great country of yours. The Schultzes plan to run America Inc.”
“They have an attack dog, don’t they? Likes to preach and quote their Bible to people. They send him to do their dirty work.”
“Same as Dreykov sending his Widows.” He nodded.
“And what of the photos?” You asked.
“How do a couple photos change that?” Frank added.
“The photos are of their son, David Schultz. All his life, his parents have been grooming him to become the next president. There’s only one problem… David prefers the company of men.”
“The Schultzes are heavily religious, aren’t they?” You asked.
Poloznev nodded. “And if his orientation doesn’t sink him, the fact they hid it and lied would.”
You stared at Poloznev for a second while Frank circled the space.
“You don’t want to stop David.” You realized. “For that to be the plan, you’d kill him. You want to own him.”
“Smart girl. I can see why Dreykov favored you.”
Your hand flexed and the Bite hummed to life. His hands went up again in surrender.
“I can pay you handsomely for the photographs.” He tried. “Make sure you two and the girl get safely out of country.”
“Call me old fashioned. I don’t work with Russians.” Frank said and you almost laughed.
“What do you call her?”
Frank sniffled and glanced at you, thought for a moment, then back to Poloznev.
“That’s just Exodus.”
At that, you smirked to yourself.
“On your knees.” You ordered and drew your gun, aiming at his head.
“I ask only one thing.” He spoke quickly as he went down. “Not in the face. The man in the woods, they made sure his mother didn’t recognize anything she buried. I would spare my wife and daughter that at least.”
You groaned and shoved your gun away while the men got into a small back and forth about the daughter. You had reached for your knife when you heard Frank’s warning, for Poloznev to take his family and leave New York. You left the weapon where it was but kicked out at his spine, slamming him to his face in the concrete.
You grabbed your bag from the corner and left with Frank.
Later that night, Curtis called you. You showed up first, then Frank, then Dinah. She was quick to start throwing accusations and yell at Frank as soon as she saw him.
“He came at you?” Frank asked.
“Yeah, he came at me!” Dinah continued.
“He didn’t come at you.” You cut in. “He tailed you, sure, but if he was coming at you, Dinah, you’d be in a hell of a lot worse shape than this.” You gestured to her.
“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re off your goddamn rocker!” You nearly yelled. “You’re so fixated on Billy that you’re losing your mind. If you would just-”
Curtis’ sharp whistle cut off your words. You bit back the annoyed response and sat in one of three chairs. Dinah and Frank took seats as well while Curtis explained what he knew about Billy.
He made himself a small clique of vets, some from Curtis’ group. You hadn’t been in a while so you assumed there were more new faces than anyone you’d recognize. He said Billy was visibly crazy and that didn’t surprise you.
Billy was walking a very thin mental line when you had seen him. Of course he had snapped by then.
You let the three of them go back and forth on their plans. Frank said he’d deal with the man from Ohio but Curtis said he couldn’t fight a war on two fronts. Billy had to take priority and Frank agreed he had to end it.
“You’re quiet over there.” Curtis pointed out, nodding to you.
“The man from Ohio.” You said flatly. “He’s a problem but Billy is, too. I personally don’t see Billy as top priority right now.”
“What the hell is then?” Dinah scoffed.
“The girl.” You said firmly. “She’s young and she’s scared and she’s in danger. If the man from Ohio gets to her, she’s dead. It doesn’t have to matter to you, Dinah, but it matters to me.”
“We’ll need you if we’re going after Billy.” Curtis said honestly.
“When Billy comes after me, I’ll go after him.” You countered easily before looking to Frank. “You can finish old work all you want. I’m watching out for her first.”
“Yeah.” Frank said lowly. “I figured as much. But listen to me, Livia. If Bill comes after you in any way-“
“I’m putting a blade in him.” You cut in quickly. “The second he gives me a reason.”
“Attagirl.” He smiled slightly.
Your words triggered the police response in Dinah and she went on a small tangent on how psycho yours and Frank’s way was. She said you two killed people too easily but Frank was quick to defend both his and your actions.
“It won’t end.” You said, matter of factly. “Not until Billy’s dead. That’s what we’re doing here, right? To convince you it’s okay and to promise you won’t have to do it.”
“No.” She said firmly. It almost felt like she was trying to convince herself more than any of you. “No.”
“Fine.” You stood. “Keep telling yourself that, Dinah. But I promise you, if your little pet psychopath comes for me and you aren’t there to be in my way, I will do everything - and I mean everything - in my power to put that son of a bitch in the ground. That clear enough for you?”
Summary: Groundwork for the coming battle is laid out but the goal may not be as clear as it once seemed.
Hatred. White hot, burning hatred.
That was all that was left in your head when you thought of Billy Russo. When he hung your from your bleeding wrists, any sentiment left bled out. When he screamed for you to beg, any regret for what was to come fell away. When he shot through your wrist, he shot any chance of redemption.
Now, when you thought of the man you once thought you could love, you wanted him dead. No matter how twisted his memories, how broken his mind, you’d never forgive him.
Dinah brought the three of you back to her apartment. It was nicer than yours, but on a Homeland SAC salary, of course it should’ve been. She said it was up to you three to decide living arrangements and she’d go to a hotel. You offered your apartment for her but she insisted that Billy would go there at some point. She didn’t care to listen to the fact that you had moved since Russo had last been where you lived.
Rachel asked a million questions in what seemed like one breath, then it turned into a long ramble about the state of Dinah’s apartment.
“You can take the bedroom.” You answered when she gave pointed looks to you both after asking who either of you were. “Gives you some privacy.”
“I’ll take the couch.” Frank nodded.
“What about you?” She sighed.
“I have my own place.” You nodded. “Or we can cross that bridge if we come to it. Go get some rest.”
Once the door shut behind her, you dropped on the couch beside Frank and let out a heavy sigh. Frank flipped on the TV and you let your head fall against the back of the couch to stare at the ceiling. Frank’s channel flipping led to a news story about Billy’s escape and the mention of his name ignited something under your skin.
Something feral, vengeful.
You had never, never wanted someone dead more in your life.
“How’d you end up with the kid?” You asked after he changed the channel again.
“Those people, they followed her into the bar I was at… I tell you, Princess, if it was a grown man, I wouldn’t have looked twice. But since it was a goddamn kid…”
“She’s crying.” You said instead, feeling that cold sensation hit your skin and mimic tears on your own face. “She’s so scared, Frank.”
“I know..”
“We’ve gotta protect her.” You said quietly and sat up to face Frank.
“Yeah…”
“I want him dead, but I don’t give a shit about going after him right now. Until he comes after me or remembers more than a goddamn logo of who attacked him, I don’t fucking care. That girl-“ You pointed to the bedroom. “-needs to be priority number one… Who the hell were those guys in Ohio? He killed some of his own men.”
“I don’t know. She don’t know either.”
“We can’t wait for them to come for her again. Did she tell you why they were after her?”
“Some pictures.” He shrugged. “Said she doesn’t know what’s on them but won’t let anyone touch ‘em.”
“Weird.” You confessed before looking at him again. You noticed how exhausted he seemed. “Hey… Get some rest, okay? I’ll raid her kitchen and put something together for you guys in the meantime.”
“You don’t gotta-“ He tried but you were already standing.
“Rest, Marine.” You said firmly. “Something tells me this is gonna get real fucked real fast.”
“Yes, maam.” He teased as he shifted to lay on the couch. “Livia?”
“Yeah?” You were halfway to the kitchen.
“My kids would’ve loved you.”
You turned quickly, absolutely shocked by what he said. You took a step closer and saw his eyes were closed. The man must’ve been half asleep before the thought had fully processed but the words still made your chest tight. It made you feel some strange sort of responsibility, to live up to that idea.
It made you wonder if that was possible for you.
You busied yourself in the kitchen in better off dwelling on the thought. You made a simple meal of chicken, rice, and veggies since you weren’t sure what Rachel’s diet was or if she’d come out to eat anytime soon. You made up three plates and packaged the leftovers, just as Dinah was getting home.
The sound of her closing the door woke Frank so you left two plates on the counter while tucking the third into the oven. You scribbled a quick note that there was a plate for her and slid it under the bedroom door to Rachel, then you returned to the kitchen and gathered the plates and silverware. You handed one to Frank and sat beside him with your own.
“Just make yourself at home then.” Dinah said sarcastically.
“Someone has to feed them.” You shrugged. “But by all means, don’t let me interrupt.”
You were barely listening as she filled in Frank on what was going on with Billy. Instead, you were looking at the bedroom door, hoping the kid would come out to eat. You looked back when you heard the light thud of something landing in Frank’s hand.
You looked over and saw the panicked sketches of the skull Frank had spray painted onto his bulletproof and the vague outline of your mask. The shapes would overlap sometimes, take up full pages other times. But every scribbled stroke of the pen was doused in emotion that you couldn’t look at it for long.
“… lulled them into thinking he was harmless.” Dinah ranted.
“Maybe he was.” You shrugged and Dinah stared at you like you were crazy. “What I mean is maybe your visits and mine, both of us telling him what he did, it triggered something in him. For all he knew, he was powerless. Then two women come in and tell him that he nearly killed them, despite said woman being in positions of power… You’d be surprised what an inflated ego can do for a man.”
Dinah turned away and opened the closet behind her, pulling out the bulletproof from the carousel. She tossed it at Frank and you watched his face for a reaction.
“That blood is yours and it’s mine and it’s hers and it’s his.” She said, using more desperation with each word. “If you’ve moved on and you’ve got closure, good for you. He hasn’t. Has she?” She gestured to you.
“When I looked into his eyes, I saw nothing of the man he was. If you’re right and it was a ploy, there’s no emotions to hold him back this time. You pick a fight with him, he won’t hesitate like you did.”
“The hell is that supposed to mean?” She scoffed.
“You had the shot. You didn’t take it.” Frank added in annoyance. “What do you want from me?”
“You think I don’t know that?” She damn near yelled. “I went to see him in the hospital every day once I was recovered. Because I wanted to hear him admit what he did.” She turned to face you. “I trusted him just like you… Maybe that’s why you couldn’t kill him either.”
“Excuse me?” Frank snapped while you stood quickly and loudly said “What did you just say?”
“That’s why you couldn’t kill him either!” She screamed back at you both.
“Killing him would’ve been too easy.” Frank countered, calmer than you were.
“Yeah, or too hard.” She continued to argue.
“The only reason I didn’t kill him was because I had lost too much blood.” You reasoned tightly, trying to shut down the burning anger throughout your veins. “If I had been in better shape, I would’ve slit his throat.”
“But you didn’t.” She sneered and you almost slapped her for it.
“That why we’re here, Madani? To take the shot you couldn’t?” Frank argued and you felt his presence behind you, standing at your back.
“Just give me names.” She backed down. “Name. Places. Anything I can use to find him.”
You and Frank said nothing. You both slowly backed away to the couch and she sighed in defeat before leaving. You blew out a sigh and let your head fall to Frank’s shoulder.
“You saw him?” Frank asked quietly.
“Only once. Mahoney caught me outside my building and dragged me over.” You explained. “His shrink thought it’d help…”
“It did something.”
“Nothing good, it seems.”
Later that night, Frank was dressed to go out. When you asked, he simply said for you to stay back and keep an eye on the girl. You waved him off and said for him to tell whoever he was visiting that you said hi. He laughed, patted you on the shoulder, and took off.
The next morning, Rachel began banging on the inside of the bedroom door. You shot up from your spot on the couch and Frank moved with you. He unlocked the door and she came out screaming, hitting and pushing Frank by his chest. You went up behind her and wrapped your arms around her, effectively pinning her arms to her side while you dragged her to the other side of the room.
You let yourself absorb her anger and panic, feeling it burn your skin and jolt down your spine. Almost instantly she relaxed in your arms and you let her go. You turned away from them both while you gave the sensations a moment to clear. With a deep breath, you were through it and you gestured for Rachel to sit down.
With a gentle nudge, you got her to talk about how she ended up on the run.
“Who’s he?” You interrupted her story. “Who came back?”
“Look, I really think we should just get out of here.” She said instead and you and Frank exchanged a look. “That’s what Fiona would do. ‘If you think your cover’s blown, just run’ .”
“Fiona…” You repeated with a nod. “Melina said that your cover’s not blown until you blow it. And once it is, fight back. Who’s Fiona?”
“Who’s Melina?” She shot back defensively.
“My aunt, helped train me and my cousins. Your turn.”
“I worked for her, me and the others… She took care of us and we did jobs for her.”
“The kind of jobs that got people trynna kill you?” Frank commented. “Doesn’t sound like she cared about you that much.”
“Well you didn’t know her, did you?” She retorted quickly.
“Angry little thing, isn’t she?” You almost laughed.
“Be nice.” Frank said, holding back his own laugh. “How’d you end up with her, living a life like that?”
“I don’t know. How does anyone end up doing anything?”
“I was taken as an infant.” You shrugged. “Can we get back to your story?”
“Okay…” She nodded and righted herself. “Next thing I knew, I was under the bed in this motel and my friends… They’re all bleeding out on the carpet. And I wanna run but I can’t, because that guy , the one with the vest and the old times preacher shirt…”
“Yeah, I saw him.” You nodded.
“He came back in and I couldn’t run. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t… I couldn’t do anything because he was literally standing right there.”
“So what was it, a job gone bad?”
“Mhmm. Fiona snuck us into some catering crew for this funeral in Chicago. We had to take pictures of these guys and I felt super weird about it because they were, like, hugging and kissing and crying but…”
Frank let out a sigh as the information sat amongst the three of you.
“He killed everyone I ever cared about. How do you think that feels?” She challenged Frank loudly.
“Don’t pick this fight, kid.” You warned calmly. “We’ve had our fair share of loss, alright? We get that he’s dangerous and we get that you’re scared.”
“What do you wanna do about it?” Frank asked, but you could feel that grief still inside him.
“Do about it?” She repeated in shock. “They’re gone, dead. And he wants to kill me too now, us. What we should do is split up and get the hell out of here. There’s this girl I know, Shontel. She’s here in the city and she used to run with us. She’d hook us up, I know she would.”
“Or sell us out.” You looked to Frank. “Guy like that has to have a higher up that’s pissed, enough to put a bounty on all three of us.”
Frank hummed in agreement.
“I could talk to Red.” Your hand went to the chain tucked safely under your shirt, still adorned with the ring you found.
“Nah, you know how this is gonna end and he ain’t gonna be able to do it.” He shook his head and you gave a short nod in agreement. “I get the feeling you two aren’t on great terms at the moment anyway.”
“Just…” You dropped your hand and looked back to Rachel. “The good thing is that we still have some anonymity from the guy. He has a fake name for you-“ You pointed to Frank. “-and I’m starting to think you too.” You pointed to Rachel and she hesitantly nodded. “He has a face for me but I think it was too dark for home to really see me. I'm sure he’s running all the checks he can to connect us, regardless.”
“Hello!? Why aren’t you listening to me?” She loudly cut in.
“You’ve seen what this guy can do.” Frank said lowly. “You know he’s not gonna stop. You’re gonna run? You’re gonna hide? He’s gonna find you. He seems pretty connected.”
A beat of silence while she processed the explanation.
“You go to your friend, she’s as good as dead.” You agreed. “You’d be risking not just your life and hers, but both of ours too. Could you live with that?”
“Sometimes, kid, you gotta fight.” Frank added. “You take the fight to them.”
“I’ll make breakfast.” You nodded and headed to the kitchen.
A little while after everyone was eating, Dinah came home. The first thing out of her mouth was about Billy. You listened to their conversation but didn’t add anything as they talked about some guy from Billy’s childhood. Rachel shot you a concerned look at the conversation continued and her interjection was immediately shot down. You smiled apologetically and gestured to the food in front of her.
The sudden knock on the door halted all conversation. You ushered Frank and Rachel into the bedroom before you tucked yourself in the space under Dinah’s kitchen island. You crouched down and pulled the chair in enough to seem inconspicuous while your hand pulled the gun from the back of your waistband. You kept it tucked against your hip while the other hand flattened on the ground to keep yourself stable.
Some of the tension in your body melted when you heard the voice. It was just Brett. You listened in and were unsurprised to find out that Dinah had swiped Billy’s journal.
A few moments after the door closed, your phone buzzed.
-meet me there-
You sighed slightly as you came out from your hiding place. Frank and Rachel came out soon after and you exchanged looks with your friend. He had a mission in mind, that much you could tell. But you didn’t know exactly what and while you wanted to help him first, you knew there was a certain level of compliance you owed Dinah.
You left before Frank did, hailing a cab to your building. You hustled to your apartment and changed. Your badge was at your hip, your FBI bulletproof across your torso, your gun at your back. You tucked a blade into the waistband at the opposite hip before throwing a jacket over the vest and heading out.
You had gotten there a few minutes before Dinah so you took a quick lap around the property. You kept yourself open as you did so but there was nothing. No fear, no anger, no regret. You weren’t convinced there was anybody in the house by the time you made it back to the front.
No one alive at least.
“Feels empty.” You told her as she approached.
She said nothing, just brushed past you and drew her weapon. You sighed to yourself but pulled your gun all the same. You followed her up the short porch steps before you kicked the door open together and entered the home.
You let her lead the way but your head stayed on a swivel, just in case something wicked lurked in the shadows. Her small exclamation drew your attention so you looked over her shoulder and saw the man’s body, impaled through his chest.
“Это нехорошо.” You said to yourself. (That isn’t good.)
That threat suddenly felt much closer than it did at the hospital.
A creak of the floorboards behind you caused you both to quickly spin. Dinah fired her gun before you did and the man yelled but there was no blood. You took the first step closer and realized it was Brett.
“Dammit, Madani.” You scolded as you shoved your weapon away and moved to Brett’s side. You helped pull your friend to his feet while he tried to catch his breath. “You alright, Brett?”
“Shit, that hurts!” He exclaimed and you cracked a small smile.
Him and Dinah began another back and forth about Billy. You bit your tongue and looked back at the man. If what Billy had said about him was true, then he deserved to die. You couldn’t find it in yourself to feel bad for the corpse.
You did, however, find something else you felt.
Dinah had moved in to play some sort of power card over Brett and it made you act.
You put yourself between them and forced her to step back.
“You may be SAC, but you can’t intimidate me.” You warned lowly and you watched her eyes dart between yours, looking for something you couldn’t place. “Know your place, Agent Madani.”
She stared at you for a few more seconds before she scoffed and stormed away. You let out your pent up tension through a sigh and it appeared to you like a little puff of smoke. You turned and nodded to Brett before leaving, ignoring the questions he was throwing out.
When you got back to Dinah’s apartment, Frank and Rachel were in the middle of a serious conversation. You stood quietly by the door but Frank acknowledged your presence with only a glance.
“My name isn’t Rachel, by the way…” She confessed. “It’s Amy.”
“Suits you better.” You said kindly as you came around to stand beside Frank.
“Okay.” Frank nodded.
“Okay.” She agreed.
“So no more running?”
“No more running.”
“Alright then.”
“Can I ask you something?” She turned to you and you nodded. “I saw you were his lawyer… How’d you end up doing this?”
“I’m…” You glanced at Frank and he only offered a small shrug. “I’m former FBI, but even before that, I was trained from a young age as a child assassin. One of the most deadly in the world.”
“But you went to law school?”
“I wanted to help people.” You explained with a defeated shrug. “And I did help some but by being this version of myself I can help more, so I do both when necessary.”
“Who is this version of you?” She asked carefully, afraid almost.
“Exodus.”
“Read about her, too.”
“Yeah? She scare you the same way he did?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“Good.” You smiled slightly.
Later that night while you were making dinner, Frank and Amy were playing a card game at the island while they talked. You went to the island to rinse your hands and looked over to watch her hands. You smiled to yourself when Frank picked the wrong card again.
“Three card monte.” You laughed. “You’ll never get it.”
“Ah, shut up.” He said to you with a small laugh. “You think you could do it?”
“It’s a scam game, Frank. You’re the mark that thinks he can beat anyone no matter how stacked the deck is. Frustration keeps you playing because you think you can outsmart the dealer. It’s part of why I went for you in the first place.”
“Went for him?” Amy turned to you quickly. “Wait, did you guys-“ She began to ask before Frank cut her off.
“Come do it then!” He said and pointed to the cards.
“Let’s talk about our situation then.” You nodded and gestured for Amy to deal. “What is it and how’d we get here?”
“It all goes back Konchevsky, right? The guy who hired us.” She began and flashed you the three cards. “I call him for help and suddenly there’s goons everywhere. So, I don’t know, maybe he didn’t want to pay for the job.”
“Too simple.” You shook your head, though your eyes were trained on her hands. “You’re a kid so not paying you wouldn’t be worth this.”
“Maybe he didn’t want witnesses?”
“Seems extensive for a set of pictures.” You tapped your card choice and she flipped it to show the queen. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” You deadpanned.
“What?”
“Three card monte is a sleight of hand.” You explained. “It rides on the mark watching the wrong thing. The queen never moves, right?”
“Bullshit. Show me.” Frank insisted and you laughed as Amy did the move slowly.
“Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place too.” You continued. “Konchevsky wanted photos of someone and someone else didn’t want him to get ‘em. It’s not about who wants you dead, Amy. It could be about who wanted to get to Konchevsky.”
“What, you wanna go after him?” She asked you incredulously. “The creepy old Russian gang dude?”
“I’ve got a history with Russians.” You shrugged and went back to making plates.
Later that night, you and Frank went to find an old friend. He waited in the backseat of Turk’s car and you were crouched behind the back in your vigilante suit.
You had to admit it was nice to be back in your costume, mask across your eyes.
Once the man got in, you stood fully and waited outside the door. You saw him pull out his phone and begin dialing 911 so you threw your elbow against the driver’s side window. You reached in and wrapped your hand around Turk’s throat.
“Kazan’s Gym in Brooklyn.” The man gasped and your grip released. You leaned into the open space and his fear spiked. “You wanna take them out, the gyms best place.”
“Why?” You asked with your accent tinting the single syllable.
“No one's packing in there.”
You hummed in interest while the two started going back and forth about what was going to happen. You didn’t quite care for whatever meeting Turk would set up, using Amy and the photos as bait. You could walk in just as easily, fall into your Red Room persona and let Exodus take over. You’d own the gym in minutes based on accent and confidence alone, but you decided to let Frank set the plan in motion.
“You should go see him.” Frank said as you two were walking away.
“See who?” You asked despite knowing the answer.
“Murdock.” You could practically hear his eyes roll. “You haven’t talked to him since we got here, have you?”
“No.” You confessed. “I moved back into my old apartment before I took off with my cousins…”
“Trouble in paradise?”
“Seems like it’s always more trouble than paradise.” You laughed sadly. “No, I can’t see him now. If Billy remembers any more about me, he’ll remember that apartment so the further I am from it, the safer he’ll be. Hopefully.”
“You can’t hide from him forever.” He glanced over at you.
“That was his plan.” You reasoned with a shrug. “He’s better off without me for now. I’ll come by in the morning, alright?”
“Hey.” He said softly, reaching for your arm to stop you. “Don’t do that, alright? Don’t shut down on him. He made a mistake. He probably does that a lot, huh?”
You snorted a small laugh.
“But he loves you. Anybody can see that and you have him back. You wanna be pissed off, be pissed off at someone who deserves it.”
“Someone like Billy?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Or the Russian bastard that’s messing with your kid.”
“She’s not my kid.” You shook your head with a small smile and started walking again.
“She’s got an attitude like you.” He joked.
“If she was my kid, she wouldn’t wanna run.” You defended. “And she wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.”
“We’re gonna get her out of it.”
“I know.”
The next morning, Dinah beat you back to the apartment. Your loose Columbia Law tee concealing your plated vest while your mask sat safely in your front pocket, two blades at your back and a handgun at the front of your waistband. When you walked in, it was a very tense argument. Amy was standing at kitchen island with the look of a deer caught in headlights. You raised your eyebrows in question and she pressed her lips into a line.
“…right back to my doorstep.” Dinah’s voice fell off. “And you.”
She glared in your direction.
“Who’s goddamn side are you on?”
“Talk to me like that again and you’ll be eating through a straw. I don’t give a damn about your title. You can’t have my badge, right?” You warned briskly. “Russo is a dead end until he decides to do something that catches attention. So long as he’s under the radar, I have other priorities.”
Her upper lip curled into a small snarl before she closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them, tears formed out of frustration. You simply shrugged, silently asking what she was going to do next.
She warned Frank to get out of the city and clean up his mess before she stormed out.
“You’ve got a big mouth, kid.” Frank sighed. “Gotta watch out for that.”
“You guys are welcome to come stay at mine.” You offered. “Especially considering I’m the one that told her we’d do something about Billy.”
“Seriously, Livia?” He groaned.
“Hey, I needed a lift to Ohio.” You reasoned. “But I never said it’d be immediate. Anyways, we should go check out that gym.”
After finding breakfast for the three of you, you and Frank headed out. You let him lead and it took you two to a rooftop across from the gym. You sat on the roof with your knees tucked up to your chest while you two quietly waited. It didn’t take long for Turk to make his way in.
You made a move forward when you saw one of the men wrap their arms around Turk‘s neck but Frank caught your arm. When you turned to look at him, he offered you a knowing look. You sighed to yourself and sat back, knowing Frank was right. Going in there to save Turk world blow everything, give away your anonymity.
Instead, you two went back to the apartment.
It was littered with shopping bags and takeout delivery. Frank lectured her when she revealed Dinah’s credit card after she handed each of you a bag. Frank continued his rant while you reached inside and pulled out a black hooded cloak with maroon trim. You laughed slightly and she smiled proudly at you.
“I’ve always had a flair for dramatics.” You joked with a shrug as you dropped the accessory back into the bag and received a glare from Frank. “I’ll pay Dinah back for it, relax.”
His rant was quickly cut short when he realized the pizza box on the far counter. You and Amy swapped small smiles as he went over, just before his phone rang. You helped him get it out and out it on speaker so you both could hear Turk’s call.
“Guys lying through his teeth.” Frank said simply.
“I’ve been thinking.” Amy began as she jumped on the counter.
You reached across Frank for a slice of pizza.
“None of the angles add up here.”
“How so?” Frank asked.
“That bar in Michigan, all those scary guys showed up like ten minutes after I talked to Konchevsky on the phone. So why didn’t he just come take care of me quietly by himself? And all those guys that showed up-“ She turned to you. “None of them were Russian.”
“So it wasn’t Konchevsky’s guys.” You confirmed. “Which means he’s probably dead and that means there trying to trap us.”
“Probably.” Frank nodded.
“And you’re still going?” She asked with wide eyes.
“It’ll be our trap.” He looked to you and you nodded.
“At least we know it’s coming.” You agreed and turned back to Amy. “But if something happens, you need to ask Dinah to help you get to Nel-“
“Stop it with that.” Frank cut in. “Nothing’s gonna happen.”
“She needs a backup plan.” You said firmly. “They can-“
“They aren’t needed. And you’re the one who said you didn’t wanna put him at risk. Didn’t you say that?”
“We’re plan A but we need plan B and C and… You know how the alphabet works, right, Frank?”
“Your boys are plan Z.” He said firmly before pushing past you.
You blew out a sigh and gave Amy an apologetic look before you dropped into the now vacated chair. You pulled your phone and saw some text messages from Karen and Foggy. They asked how you were, as usual, and said they missed you. They loved you. They wished you’d text back.
You stared at the screen and wondered if you should text them back, warn them that you might need to send a kid their way. She would just need somewhere to lay low while you took care of it but her voice snapped you back to the present.
“Who’s him?” She asked softly.
“Hmm?” You raised your brows as you caught her gaze.
“The guy you don’t wanna risk… I saw the ring on the necklace the other day. Are you married?”
“Come back to me when you figure it out.” You patted her leg and stood to move towards Frank.
You crossed your arms and nodded to his arm.
“You either need to lose that or go to hospital and get it done right.” You said flatly. “Duct tape isn’t exactly a solution.”
“You got a blade?” He answered.
“Don’t I always?” You pulled your knife and he held out his wrist to you, allowing you to slide the blade under and cut through the makeshift covering.
“Looks like shit.” You said honestly as you put the blade away.
“It’s fine.” He shrugged. “C’mon.”
Without another word, you followed him out.
In the alley across from Kazan’s, you waited until the van of goons was loaded and on its way out before you two headed inside.
Your entrance drew everyone’s attention and the excitement buzzed through your muscles. You felt every set of eyes on you as you kept your gaze forward. You mentally counted every person you passed until someone finally spoke.
“I think you’re in the wrong place, my friends.” One of the men told you.
“Потому что это разрушает твои планы, верно?” You answered, a small smirk growing at the shock on his face. (Because it ruins your plans, right?)
“Wonder what’s waiting for us at Turk’s, huh?” Frank added as he casually glanced around the room. “What could that be?”
“What does the Punisher have to do with my business in Chicago, huh?” The man looked to you. “You kill Konchevsky?”
“No.” Frank answered while you shook your head. “Did you?”
“Dima is my nephew. I wouldn’t lay a hand on that boy.”
“Так кто же преследует девушку и фотографии?” (So who’s chasing the girl and the photographs?)
“Откуда мы знаем, что ты не та девушка?” (How do we know you’re not the girl?)
“Потому что мне не нужно было бы зовать на помощь.” You smiled and his eye narrowed. “Скажи мне, что ты знаешь, и я не буду перекрашивать спортзал твоей мужской кровью.” (Because I wouldn’t need to call for help. Tell me what you know and I don’t repaint the gym with your men’s blood.)
“I’m not the one who’s gonna be talking.” He said sharply.
He turned to one of the bigger men coming towards you and muttered that he wanted you two alive. You sighed to yourself and reached behind to double check your knives.
“Тогда давай.” You beckoned one of the men closer. (Come on, then.)
Clearly, your taunting pissed him off because he quickly moved in. Your fingers wrapped around the blade and you freed it from behind you. You ducked under his swinging arm and swiped your blade, a shallow split across his ribs.
You righted yourself as a second man stood in front of you and you quickly threw your foot against his chest. He stumbled backwards over a nearby bench and crashed to the floor.
A thick set of arms wrapped around your torso from behind and pinned your arms to your side. You flicked your knife downward and it buried into his foot but he only screamed in pain. Another man came up and landed heavy body shots, causing you to cough roughly as the haunting ache in your rib ignited and slowly started to burn up your side.
When the man in front of you came to hit you again, you tucked your knees to your chest and kicked out with all your strength. The impact sent you and the man pinning you into the squat rack behind and the barbell hit the center of his back, resulting in him dropping his hold on you.
You hit the platform with a thud but refused to stay down. You scrambled to yank your knife from his foot and then spun to your back and slammed your heel against his nose, effectively knocking him out while you put your knife away.
The two earlier men came at you again and hauled you to your feet. You fisted one of the men’s shirts before sticking your foot between his to take you all down. You dropped that shoulder so you flipped over one man and continued to roll until you had space. At that point, you saw Frank out the corner of your eye swing a dumbbell and it gave you an idea.
You moved quickly to pick up the nearest 25lb plate and used it as a shield at first, forcing the man to slam his fist against the heavy metal circle. You smiled slightly as he cried out before you swung the plate against the side of his head and he fell.
The last man came at you hard and fast. He grabbed the plate and forced you backwards until your shoulders hit a nearby barbell. That didn’t stop his pressure, forcing you to bend over it. You wanted to drop the plate but your grip and your push was the only thing keeping the metal from crushing your sternum. So you did the only thing you could do.
You reared back and slammed your forehead against his nose. The impact stunned him so you did it again and his pressure faltered. You pushed all your strength forward and drove him off you before you threw the plate to the side. You drew your knife in a quick motion and sent it flying, burying itself into his chest.
You took deep, scratchy breaths as you looked around to find only one man left standing. The biggest one and he was still locked in with Frank.
Your mind raced to come up with a plan but you only had two ideas, kill him or distract him. You mentally shrugged and decided it didn’t matter which so you moved.
Your arm hooked around his neck and you threw yourself into a half spin to throw him to his back and allow you to face him. Your hands planted flat on the ground and you kicked out with both feet, landing hard but allowing him to catch your feet.
You yelped slightly as he yanked you closer before a large hand was the base of your throat. He leaned a knee against your stomach so you couldn’t reach the other knife behind you. You coughed as you clawed at his wrist and forearm, looking for some sort of grip to try any maneuver that could get you out but you came up empty.
The edges of your vision blackened as you watched the man raise a hand above his head.
But he froze. The only movement was his eyes widening.
You smiled as you saw the yellow fog thickening around his hand and across his eyes. You still struggled to breathe but he was paralyzed with fear. You focused on the haze and willed it to move, to creep across his skin and travel down his throat. When he coughed, you smiled wider.
Frank came crashing a few seconds later and tackled the man off you, a small plate in hand that he began beating on the man with. You rolled to your side and coughed hard, forcing air in and out of your lungs. You held your ribs and you stood and grabbed the man you had originally talked to.
“I’m not your enemy.” He tried desperately as you grabbed two fistfuls of his jacket.
You yanked hard and threw the man to the ground, your foot on his chest. You let go of his jacket and pulled your gun, holding his face in one hand and pressed the barrel to his forehead with the other.
“The photos.” You said sharply, allowing your accent to soak your words. “Someone paid for them. Who?”
“They would kill me if I told.” He whined and the haze began to thicken, almost like he laid in a yellow puddle.
You shifted the gun and fired right beside his head, holding back the smirk as he flinched. You put the barrel back against his forehead before you spoke again.
“And I’ll kill you if you don’t.” You warned lowly and shifted your weight more against his chest.
“Poloznev. Nikolai Poloznev.”
“Where do I find him?”
“Try the internet.”
You offered a sarcastic expression before you slammed the butt of your gun down and he went limp.
“Жалко.” You muttered to yourself. (Pathetic.)
You stood and surveyed the fallen bodies. You blew some loose hair out of your face and Frank held his hand out to you. Looking down, you saw your blade in his hand, stained to the hilt with Russian blood.
Oddly poetic. Or maybe ironic was the better word.
Frank tapped your arm and nodded for you to head out. You were at the front desk where a plain zip up sat so you reached over and snagged it. You threw it on and zipped it to cover the blood on your shirt and arms. You flipped the hood and kept your head down as you walked.
You noticed Frank was careful to keep a few dozen feet of space between you two. You assumed to was to throw off anyone who could be looking for a duo but really, as time would prove, who stood a chance against Exodus and the Punisher?
Not William Rawlins. Not Billy Russo. Not whatever remained of Konchevsky’s men. And the preacher man would come to learn that too, should he come for Amy again.
Maybe she was your kid after all.
When you two got back to Dinah’s, Frank filled in Amy while you trashed the jacket and rinsed your hands in the kitchen sink.
“Yknow, when I was younger, Poloznev was a state policeman that was close to the president.” You explained as the memory rattled in your brain. “Dreykov worked with him a few times for our missions to go unseen.”
“Sounds like the same guy.” Amy added as you looked to see her with her laptop open. “Former Russian state policeman turned industrialist with interests in oil, gas, and shipping valued at several billion dollars. A friend of the Russian president with homes in several countries but currently resides in New York… So what now? Not sure this guy plays three card monte.”
“First, we get you guys out of here.” You explained. “Everything else can come later.”
Amy nodded and disappeared to collect her things.
“You need a hospital for that.” You gestured to his hand as you passed by.
“You need one for that.” He reached up and knocked his hand into your ribs, causing you to groan loudly.
