MEET THE HANSONS

Part I

By Tobias Christopher

Days Earlier

“It’s nothing personal,” said ‘Little’ Glen Hanson as he stood in front of the young man tied to the chair. His face was bloody, and his left eye was swollen shut. “I just want a little information. I know you went to night school with Chip Carter when he was getting his G.E.D. I know you two kept in contact for the last few years. You’re the only one alive who knows his mind. Now, be a good boy and tell me what he’s told you about the Punisher?”

“He hasn’t told me anything,” the young man pleaded. “We just talk about casual stuff like movies and girls and stuff. He hasn’t told me anything about the Punisher, I swear!”

“Oh, I want to believe you,” said Glen as he dangled the knife in front of the man’s face. “But the sad fact is that it’s not up to me. My brother has to decide wether to believe you or not.”

The young man’s face went pale as his eyes fell upon ‘Big’ Doug Hanson.

“Do you believe him, brother?”

“No,” replied ‘Big’ Doug. “I don’t. But I know how to get him to tell the truth. It’s time we get creative with that knife…”

The young man’s blood curdled screams went unheard by the outside world. By the time ‘Little’ Glen left the room, he was covered in the young man’s blood, save for his ten gallon cowboy hat, which was completely stainless. “That was fun. Who’s next on the list?”

Days later, in a motel in Kansas, Chip walked through the door with breakfast. Frank was cleaning his guns as Chip tossed him his breakfast in a bag, along with the morning paper. The two were in town to catch a cannibal who had been slaughtering college students.

“Got extra cream cheese, just like you asked,” said Chip as he sat down in front of his computer. “Are you sure all you want is a bagel and coffee? It just seems so… bland.”

“Kid, we just spent the last few days dealing with a guy who calls himself Man-Pussy,” replied Frank as he assembled his gun quickly. “I welcome bland for a few hours.”

Frank picked up the paper and looked over at Chip. “You didn’t read the paper by any chance, did you?”

Chip walked back over and looked at one of the stories on the front page. “Gubernatorial candidates to be announced. So?”

It was then that he saw Howard Saint’s name and picture among the possible candidates. He fell back into his chair, the memories of that horrible day coming back to him.

“That’s the guy who killed your family, right?” asked Frank as he took a drink of his coffee. “So why haven’t you asked me to put a bullet in his head?”

“Two reasons,” said Chip as he leaned forward. “First of all, he’s a powerful guy with a lot of connections. I’ve heard rumors he used to be golfing buddies with the Kingpin. And second… I want to be the one to put the bullet in his head.”

“Guys with connections don’t scare me,” replied Frank. “They’re only maggots with a few extra guns to me. If you want this guy so bad, we’ll go get him. From what I know about this guy, he’s going to end up in my crosshairs the second I step into California, anyway. The guy’s into drug dealing, money laundering, gun running, you name it. It only took putting a bullet in a twelve-year old’s brain, and that of his little brother to officially put him on my shit list.”

Chip opened his wallet and took out the only picture he ever had of Morgan, taken when he was just a newborn. “He’d have been thirteen tomorrow.”

“He shares the same birthday as Lisa,” said Frank calmly as he finished cleaning his last gun. “She’d be graduating college this year, going on to practice law.”

“Frank… what did it feel like to kill the guys who took away your family?” asked Chip nervously.

“The death of my wife and kids left an empty hole in my soul,” replied Frank as he quickly assembled the gun on the table. “I thought revenge would fill that hole, but afterward… the void was still there. You can kill Howard Saint, you can kill his lackeys and associates, hell, kill his family if they deserve it, but it’s never going to fill that void inside you.”

“But what about Benji?” asked Chip as he looked at Frank. “Doesn’t knowing that you have someone out there kind of… make things better?”

“I have a son that I can never see, talk to, or otherwise contact because of the life I chose,” said Frank as he stood up. “If Benji can grow up and escape any of the pain or suffering that knowing me might have caused, then… you can ask me that question again in ten years.”

Killing several of Chip Carter’s old friends, not to mention several people who the Punisher saved over the years had led ‘Little’ Glen and his brother to Kansas. The last clue was an e-mail sent to one of Chip’s friends that was easily tracked to a café in Kansas. Now all ‘Little’ Glen and his brother had to do was follow the Punisher’s path of destruction.

“All of the missing college students were last seen at this bar,” said Frank as he showed Chip a surveillance photo. “They left with this guy. Thomas Callahan. He should be in there now, looking for his next victim.”

“So, um, what exactly is your plan for killing a cannibal who’s preying on college students?” asked Chip as he sat with Frank in the van across the street from the bar. Frank just glared at him.

“You’re fucking serious?” asked Chip as Frank continued to glare at him. “No, I’m not being your cannibal bait. No way, forget it. I’m not doing it.”

Twenty minutes later, Chip sitting in the bar across the street, eyeing the guy who they had been tipped off to. The only reason the authorities had never caught the guy was because he’d always managed to dispose of the evidence with no trace whatsoever. But once the son of an FBI agent went missing, his skull later appearing in a landfill, it became an FBI priority. From there it was just a matter of Griffen giving Frank the info he needed to go after the psycho.

The guy had noticed Chip eyeing him and had a drink sent over. It wasn’t long before the guy came over to join him. “Couldn’t help but notice you staring.”

“Sorry,” said Chip. “Guess you just caught my eye.”

“So, what’s your name?” asked the cannibal psycho. “My name’s Tommy.”

“It’s…,” said Chip, trying to come up with a name on the spot. “Armand. Armand… Hammer.”

“Well, Armand,” said the man. “What do you say we head back to my place for some… finger food?”

“Well, Tommy, you sure know how to disarm a guy,” Chip smiled. Frank better damn well be outside to get me out of this.

Frank was waiting outside the bar, waiting for Chip to lure the target out. He wanted to be sure they had the right guy first, so he’d follow them wherever they went and pull Chip out of the line of fire before he got hurt.

But what Frank didn’t realize was that ‘Little’ Glen was watching him from across the street. Picking up his violin case, he walked across the street, towards where Frank’s car was parked. Opening the case, ‘Little’ Glen revealed a tommy gun to get Frank’s attention. Looking over, Frank saw the man with the tommy gun and ducked behind a trash dumpster as ‘Little’ Glen opened fire.

Inside the bar, no one could hear the gunshots because of the loud music as Chip continued talking to Tommy.

“So, what do you say? This place is too loud to get to know you, let’s go somewhere where I can talk your ear off in peace,” said Tommy with a smile.

“Okay,” said Chip nervously as he stood up. Frank should just be outside, waiting to trail them. He just had to have faith that Frank wouldn’t let him get eaten by a cannibal.

By the time the two got outside, the gunfire had ceased. Thinking Frank was still in the car and would be following, he followed Tommy down the street. Meanwhile, around the corner, ‘Little’ Glen ran out of ammo and pulled out a knife.

“A knife? What the hell do you think you’re going to do with that,” asked Frank as he pulled his own gun out, just as ‘Little’ Glen grabbed a random woman who was passing by and held the knife to her throat.

“They say you protect the innocent,” ‘Little’ Glen said with a smirk. “Well, protect her.”

He pushed her out into the middle of the street, where an oncoming semi was barreling towards her. Frank quickly ran out into the street, pushing the woman out of the way, falling backwards onto his bed as the truck rolled over him. By the time the truck had passed, Frank had a few scratches on him, but was otherwise unharmed.

‘Little’ Glen by that time was already gone, having left a message in his violin case.

“That was just a warning shot, Castle. The real fun’s about to start.”

“Great,” said Frank. The cannibal would have to wait, he had to get Chip so they could find out who this psycho was. Walking into the bar, Frank saw no sign of his young partner. He walked up the bar where the bartender was washing out glasses. The bartender looked at the skull insignia on his chest and smirked. “I’m looking for a young man. About five foot, red hair.”

“Too late, someone else already left with your bitch,” said the bartender. “Should have kept closer tabs on him. But you know, if he’s not into guys like you, I could go for some punishment–”

Frank just gave him an icy stare. “Never hit on a guy with a loaded weapon.”

“Honey, that’s the only kind of guy I will hit on.”

“Think we got Castle running scared?” asked ‘Little’ Glen as he walked down the street.

“It’s going to take more than that to scare the Punisher,” replied ‘Big’ Doug. “It’s time to get creative again…”

It didn’t take Frank long to pick up Chip’s trail. It turned out Tommy was well-known around town, so getting the address of his apartment wasn’t difficult. He just hoped that being distracted earlier wouldn’t put Chip in any serious jeopardy.

“Care for a drink?” asked Tommy as he led Chip into his apartment.

“No, thanks,” said Chip as he looked around. The last thing he needed to do was lower his guard in a cannibal’s apartment. “So, do you live here alone?”

“Actually I have a roommate,” replied Tommy as he poured himself a drink. “But he’s out at the moment. It’s a good thing, too. He always tends to… steal guys I’m interested in. He comes in, wows them, then I never see them again when he takes them out.”

Tommy sat close to Chip, putting his drink on the table. “So… tell me about yourself, Armand.”

“Well, I’m a graduate student, going into banking,” Chip lied. “Come from a very well to do family that I have to check in with every day. In fact, I should be calling them to let them know I’m alright.”

Tommy took his hand as Chip started to get up. “It’s alright, Armand, I don’t bite…. much.”

Frank was on his way to the cannibal’s apartment when he heard a loud yelping from around the corner. Drawing his gun, he went to see what the noise was. As he rounded the corner, he was greeted by a horrific sight. Cats, dogs, and various other animals were impaled on fences, street signs, and whatever else they could be attached to. It was like he was being left a trail to follow. But he couldn’t follow it, Chip was in danger.

Then the thought hit Frank that if some sick fuck was doing this to animals, what would happen if they turned their attention to innocent people? Frank gave Chip the benefit of the doubt that he could handle himself and followed the trail of dead animals, hoping Chip was smart enough to stall.

Tommy had gone to change into something more comfortable as Chip leaned back on the couch. Tommy seemed like a genuinely nice person, but Chip knew that there was something else going on. Why was Tommy being pegged as a cannibal? It was then that the door opened as Tommy’s roommate walked in.

“I didn’t realize Tommy had company over,” said the man with a smile. “My name’s Hayden.”

In his room, Tommy was trying to decide what outfit to wear. He really liked Armand and wanted to keep this one.

“Bro, I’m taking Armand out for a bite to eat!” shouted Hayden. “Don’t wait up!”

“Wait!” shouted Tommy as he ran out of his room. But the two men were already gone. “Dammit!”

Frank followed the path of dead animals further up the street, until the carnage ended. With his gun drawn, he was prepared for anything except for where the trail led him.

“A retirement center? What the fuck?” asked Frank as he cautiously walked toward the front door. He kicked it in with his gun drawn…

Chip was lying unconscious on a table in an old abandoned building several blocks away. The place was condemned, so there was no chance of anyone walking in on Hayden’s dinner party. The place was set up with a stove, a large icebox, and various power tools and equipment, all of which were drenched in blood.

Hayden licked his lips as he picked up a knife and stood over Chip’s unconscious body. He’d tricked Chip into drinking a drug laced soda before finishing the job with chloroform. Then it was just a matter of carrying him to his car without being noticed, just like all the other guys Tommy brought home.

“Don’t you look good enough to eat?” asked the man as he put the knife to Chip’s clothed arm.

To be continued…