✔ᵉⁿᵍˡⁱˢʰ War Dogs [The Punisher | Frank Castle]✔

─⌖❖ 17

The order came from above. All the way from the top. Moreover, someone was pissed off, exceedingly pissed off, otherwise the Dollmaker Copycat Killer case would not have been taken away from Page; passed on to colleagues who still had to 'prove themselves', although these, had been with them for some time and ordered to a meeting to which exclusively ten agents were called.

First thought was Page would now get the hassle of her life and at the end of it, be told she was fired. Gone.

However, things turned out a little differently. In the conference, one of the monitors showed the hotel where the Senator was attacked; then several newspaper articles about the Punisher, such as his arrest, his escape, his death, about Castle being alive after all, and last but not least, a listing of all the 'actions' that were nothing more than vigilante justice.

"Yes, you're looking right and since we're full up, I can begin," wasting no time and getting straight to the point without a little introduction, that was typical Ryan, "I don't think I need to tell any of you who Frank Castle is and what he did. We assumed he was dead, but now, it's a matter of getting him back to prison. Not to Ryker's Island, where his friends are, like Wilson Fisk, for example. Currently, there is still discussion as to whether he should go to the same prison where the good Toomes is currently sitting, but until that is resolved, we will have him."

"Question," Page spoke up, sitting low in her chair and twisting back and forth with her hand raised, "Are we even allowed to do that? I mean, yes, Castle falls under our jurisdiction because of all his crimes, but the same will be said of Homeland, thanks to the hit on Senator Ori, because he's being blamed for it."

"Which weighs more heavily.  A senator who is still alive, for which there is still no solid evidence as to who committed the assassination, or the forty murders, where the real number is not even confirmed, where among the dead were not only criminals, but also civil servants and public officials?", Ryan replied with which the issue was settled right away and looked around., "Good, then this was also clarified."

"Second question," again Page raised her hand, getting a sobering look from her father, "When do I get my case back? I'm not busting my ass so someone else can take credit for it in the end? Guaranteed not."

"Then you'll be happy to know that as soon as Castle is in our care, you'll get him back. Which I wouldn't assume if I were you, though, thanks to a dig that none of us would have allowed," and for that reason, because Page knew no one would agree, she'd been to a judge, "But since you're full of beans, you can deal with Homeland."

Being fired would have been clearly preferable to her then, because arguing with Homeland about who was entitled to Castle was not something Page wanted to do. Not because she would lose, but because this was another inter-agency squabble that no one needed.

It got better all around, because Frank Castle had long been in custody at Homeland. It was never about tracking him down, as it sounded at first, but merely about messing with Homeland. Nice.