James Griffen was sitting at his desk at the FBI in Washington when the fax came in about the murder in the Bahamas. He recognized the fake names of the Martonis and realized who the victims were immediately. Frank had trusted Griffin with the information of where his illegitimate son was so he could help keep an eye on him through his FBI contacts. Not seeing young Benjamin on the list of the deceased, he immediately dialed the private number to get in contact with Frank.

Chip had managed to rig an untraceable cell phone for Frank so the two could remain in contact if seperated. Griffin was the only other person who had Frank Castle’s private number. He waited a few rings, wondering if Frank would answer.

“Can’t talk now,” said Frank, having just left the airport to go get Chip.

“Is he alive?” asked Griffin. If Benjamin Castle was dead, Griffin knew there would be a literal bloodbath in the streets. Enough to where he wouldn’t be able to help Frank.

“Don’t know, but I’m going after the man who took him,” replied Frank coldly. “And for every hair that’s harmed on that boy’s head, Howard Saint will suffer 100 times.”

“Don’t do anything rash, Frank,” Griffin warned. “Saint’s a powerful motherfucker. Don’t just go charging in–”

“If you’re so concerned about Saint’s hide, I’ll mail it to you after I’m done killing him,” replied Frank as he hung up.

SAINTS AND SINNERS

Part I

By Tobias Christopher

California

“The Punisher was spotted in the Bahamas less than a day ago, around the same time as our guys were there,” said Quentin Glass, Howard Saint’s chief bodyguard. “Only one of our boys made it back alive. The rest were killed.”

“If he got any info at all out of our guys, he’s on his way here now,” said Saint with a sigh. “Everything to stop the Punisher’s failed up to this point, so now we’re going to have to fall back to plan C.”

“What’s plan C?” asked Glass.

“We use the Punisher’s weaknesses against him,” replied Saint. “And Glass, one more thing–“

“Yeah, boss?”

“I want Chip Carter alive and unharmed,” said Saint with an evil glare. “He doesn’t get the easiness of a quick death. He’s going to suffer slowly and painfully.”

One state over, Frank entered the safe house and found Chip sitting at his computer, a cup of coffee at his side. “Are you rested enough to make the trip to California?” asked Frank as he looked at his young associate. He looked at Chip’s hand and noticed a silver finger piece on Chip’s pinkie finger. “What’s that?”

“It’s a metal finger piece,” replied Chip in a low tone. “I need it to type since my finger’s lying in a cannibal’s stomach. I needed a replacement. I’m ready to go whenever. I just want this to be over.”

“Then we leave in twenty minutes,” Frank told him as Chip continued staring at his screen.

“I’m sorry,” said Chip. He knew what had happened to the Martonis the second the bodies were reported and word hit cyberspace.

“For what?” asked Frank as he stood there.

“Benji’s in trouble because of me, because of my vendetta,” replied Chip. “Saint took your son because I asked you to help me take him out. I’m responsible if he gets killed.”

“I don’t blame you for what that monster’s done,” replied Frank. “Odds are that Saint would have fallen into my crosshairs eventually. And we’re getting Benji back.”

“And then what?” asked Chip. “The kid’s foster family is gone and you’re obviously not going to raise him.”

That was the question Frank didn’t want to ask himself. Once his son was safe, he was going to have to find a new home for him, somewhere where no one would ever find him. “We’ll cross that bridge once he’s safe and away from Saint. Now, get your shit together, we’re leaving. Do you have all the info on Saint?”

“As much as I could gather without physical intel,” replied Chip as he handed Frank a file. “Names of bodyguards, places Saint owns, pretty much everything we need to take him out.”

“It says here he has two sons and a wife,” said Frank as he read the file. One biological son, John, and one adopted son…Morgan.

“I just glossed over that part, figured you didn’t care about the kids as long as they were out of the line of fire,” replied Chip.

“Uh…Chip, I think you really need to read this file–”

“No time, have to get my stuff so we can head out,” said Chip as he closed his laptop. “See you in the car.”

As he left, Frank looked down at the file. There were no pictures, only the names. “It has to be a coincidence.” Closing the file, Frank went to get some supplies out of the kitchen.

Washington

Griffen was getting ready to leave the office and board a flight to California. He had to make sure that there were as few casualties as possible when all hell broke loose. The Punisher going up against Saint would be like an unstoppable force hitting an immovable object, and that would surely mean a lot of death spilling out onto the streets.

“Griffen, where are you going?” asked Director Miller.

“Heading to California, they need help with a case out there,” replied Griffen. “The file’s on your desk.”

“Well, there’s going to be a slight change of plans,” Miller told him as a younger agent came up to him. He had short brown hair, and looked to be fairly well built. “This is Michael Barrie and he’s your new partner.”

“I don’t do partners,” replied Griffen.

“You do now,” replied Miller. “Barrie’s the best new recruit, fresh from the academy. You’re the best agent I’ve got. That means you get to teach the new kid the ropes.”

“I’m on my way out of town,” replied Griffen.

“Then Barrie’s going with you,” Miller ordered. “That’s final, Griffen.”

Miller just wanted the new recruit out of his hair and was willing to pawn him off on anyone he could set his sights on. Miller walked away as Griffen looked at the younger man. “Pack your bags, kid, we’re going to California.”

“So, how do we do this?” asked Chip as the car pulled off the interstate into California.

“We kill every last one of Saint’s men until we get to Saint himself,” Frank told him.

“And what’s to stop him from killing Benji?” asked Chip as he stared out the window.

“I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he’s a coward like all the rest,” said Frank as he watched the road. “He’s going to use the kid to barter for his own pathetic life. While I’m taking out his forces, I want you to find out where he’s keeping Benji. Once he’s out of the line of fire, I’ll go after Saint himself.”

“Don’t you mean ‘we’?”

Frank stopped the car and looked at Chip. “This is going to get messy, Chip; I’m not doubting you can handle what we’re about to dive into but, now that the kid’s in the mix, I’m trusting you to keep him safe. If anything happens to me, I want you to take Benji and give him the life he deserves. You’re going to take all the money we’ve got left over and you’re going to start a new life, one that’s untainted by this life.”

“But Frank–”

Frank gave Chip an icy stare. “I can count the people in this world that I trust on one hand, kid, and you’re one of those people. You get Benji and you get him somewhere safe until I come for you. If I don’t come…you’re all he has.”

“Fine, I’ll…take care of him, just like you want,” promised Chip.

Frank started the car again, not realizing they’d already been spotted.

“Call Saint,” said the informant. “I’ve got the make and model of the car they’re in.”

Livia Saint walked in holding her bags from a day of shopping. She was dressed in a tight white dress that left little to the imagination. “Howard, I’m home. Where are the children?”

“John took Morgan to the park,” said Saint as he sat in his office. “It’s great that John still wants to spend him with his kid brother, isn’t it?”

“That boy’s loved Morgan since the day you brought him home from the orphanage,” said Livia as she kissed him.

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t stand the thought of that kid being abandoned,” said Saint slyly. “So, are you heading out again?”

“Got to get ready for the luncheon at the Garden Society,” said Livia as she looked out the window. “Have you seen the pool boy? It looks like he hasn’t even started cleaning the pool yet.”

“Oh, yeah, he got a better job offer elsewhere,” replied Saint. “I’m going to hire a replacement tomorrow.”

“Oh,” sighed Livia as she headed for the door. “I’ll be back in time for dinner.”

As she exited, the phone rang as Saint answered. “He’s here already? Good. Let the games begin.”

Saint hung up and dialed another number. “Get me the chief of police. Tell him Howard Saint’s on the line and it’s urgent.”

Griffen and his new partner were sitting at the airport, waiting for their flight to be boarded.

“So, I hear you graduated at the top of your class,” said Griffen. “It’s rare to see someone with a record as dedicated as yours.”

“Being in the FBI and catching the biggest bad guys has always been a dream,” said Michael as he looked at his watch.

“It’s not all about the excitement, kid,” replied Griffen. “A good chunk of it’s just doing the paperwork, so don’t get too worked up about catching bad guys.”

The flight started boarding as the two walked toward the plane. “I won’t.” As long as you lead me straight to the Punisher, we shouldn’t have any problems.

“This is where we start,” said Frank as he armed himself. “You sure you’re up for this?”

“I’ll be guiding you from two blocks away,” Chip told as he put on his headset. “Good luck.”

As Frank finished loading up with ammo he tossed a gun to Chip. “Just in case; just don’t accidentally shoot yourself.”

“I thought you said I still needed more training,” said Chip.

“Training time is over,” Frank told him as he headed for the door. “If Saint’s men find your location while I’m gone, either you man up and protect yourself or you die.”

Chip watched Frank leave as he opened his laptop and got ready for the first fight in the war against Howard Saint.

The Punisher arrived at the first warehouse and snuck around to the back.

<Security systems have been turned off,> Chip told him. <You’re clear.>

Frank picked the lock on the door and entered the building, trying to keep the element of surprise. He wanted to keep things quiet and take out as many of Saint’s men as he could before Howard Saint could realize what was happening.

As he made his way through the building, he started to realize that something was off. The building was surprisingly empty for being an active warehouse, which was a front for one of Saint’s money laundering locations.

“Something’s not right,” said Frank as he thought he saw something. He moved closer and saw someone in a chair turned away from him. Holding his gun, he walked toward the chair. Turning it around, he saw that it was a young man whose throat had been recently cut. It was Howard Saint’s former poolboy. “What the hell?”

<What’s going on?>

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it,” replied Frank.

<Oh, shit! Frank you’ve gotta get out of there!> shouted Chip. <Cops are on their way!>

“I thought you cut the security system,” replied Frank as he headed for the door, but found it was locked.

<I did but someone called them from outside the building. I just tuned into the police frequency. They’ve been on standby; they must have known where you were headed. I don’t know how, but–>

“Saint’s played us,” Frank realized as he looked around. “We’ve been set up.”

“You know what the difference is between me and every other mobster out there?” asked Howard Saint as he stared out the window with a glass of wine in his hand.

“What’s that?” asked Glass.

“I do my research,” replied Saint as he took a sip. “The Punisher doesn’t kill innocent people, and he doesn’t hurt cops, either. The minute I heard that Chip had hooked up with Frank Castle I dug up every piece of info on him, no matter how obscure, going all the way back to his childhood. Castle probably thinks I’m just another Nicky Cavella or Don Martoni, someone who’s way too focused on the big picture to think about the small details.”

Saint turned around and smiled at his associate. “Castle’s about to learn the hard way that you don’t fuck with Howard Saint, because right now I know the Punisher better than he knows himself.”

To be continued…