Danger Close

[Marilyn Manson's "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" playing]

Your family's gone, but you're still my brother.

- I'm going. - Then I'm coming with you!

I mean, look at us.

Look at yourself.

I thought my friend was dead. Turns out he was. This man who's back...

he's a monster.

Frank Castle got lost somewhere along the way.

I don't know who this guy is.

What role, if any,

will you play in the apprehension of the Punisher?

Tracking him down is priority one. I just want to help any way I can.

Luckily, I have a very close relationship with law enforcement.

Bastard!

You don't get to do this.

One last question, Mr. Russo.

If Castle were standing here right now, what would you say to him?

What happened to you, Frank?

Thank you, Mr. Russo.

In case you're just joining us, that was William Russo,

president of Anvil Security, and longtime friend of Frank Castle...

You gonna talk to me?

I mean, I can fill in some of the holes from when I saw you last.

World knows you're alive.

City thinks you're a terrorist.

You had something to do with blowing up a hotel, I think.

Come on.

Uh, this is just a guess,

but it seems like your buddy Billy Russo turned out to, uh, be dirty after all.

Jesus.

Damn.

- -Stop.

I got it.

You know, I'm here. You can talk to me.

You need to talk to me.

Give me the stuff.

Good luck suturing those with that bum arm.

I'm assuming the plan is to go after Billy Russo

and kill him, am I right?

Charge back into the city where every cop in town wants to blow your head off?

One man Wild Bunch?

Give me the needle.

Frank, please.

Whatever happens next, let me stitch these holes up. Come on.

- -Hey...

Please.

Come on.

Thank you.

Thought I was gonna be a vet.

When I was a kid, I used to stitch up all the birds, and, uh, squirrels...

some cats, in my neighborhood.

Set up a little triage unit in my grandma's basement.

Then I discovered computers.

Look where that got me.

Frank, I can't imagine how you must feel...

knowing that Billy betrayed you.

He's gotta pay for that. And he will.

But we gotta be smart here, all right? You gotta be smart.

In reality, nothing's really changed.

Everything's changed.

Yeah, how's that?

You and me, we're still a team.

-What happens to you, happens to me. -Is that right?

Mm-hmm.

So you betrayed me. Do I betray you?

Talking about Madani?

We agreed to go to her.

Yeah, we agreed to do it together.

That was before you ran off after Lewis Wilson--

Get your hands off me.

I did exactly what you and I said we were gonna do.

I told her about Rawlins. I told her you're the witness she needs.

I told her everything I needed to so we can end this.

-'Cause this has gotta end. -Yeah.

This did end. You, me, this place, it ended.

I'm done.

This man is armed and dangerous.

If you see him, do not approach him.

Call law enforcement authorities at the number below,

or dial 911.

His name is Frank Castle...

Change the channel.

It's on every channel.

Mom, where do you think Pete is?

His name's not Pete.

Everything he told us was a lie. We're lucky he didn't kill us, too.

Hey, the two of you, let it go. I'm not telling you again.

You're the one who let him in.

Maybe you're not the expert on what we should do.

Keeping our heads down, our mouths shut. That's what we do.

If there's one thing your father left us, it's that lesson.

Do you think Pete really did all those things that they said?

-Do you? -I don't know, sweetheart.

Come here.

Come here.

Come in.

Thank you. You can leave us.

Thank you for coming.

Sure.

I've made a living out of being there when the government calls.

I thought you'd be accompanied by counsel.

Why?

Lawyers are for the guilty.

Have a seat.

-Should we begin? - Let's do it.

State your name for the record. Last name first.

Russo, William.

Mr. Russo, I'm going to share several crime scene photos with you.

Look at them carefully. Tell me if anything looks familiar.

Aren't you gonna Mirandize me, Agent Madani?

No need. Unless I decide to arrest you. We're just talking.

Why am I here, Dinah?

'Cause you're a murderer who's gonna pay for the lives you took.

The only reason I was there that day... was you.

I was there to take you home.

I remember driving you back to your place...

bathing you...

holding you all night

in the same bed that you and I had repeated sexual encounters.

Did you and Frank Castle conduct illegal covert operations in Kandahar?

Well, I'm sure you've perused my service record.

Does it indicate that I was in Kandahar?

Here's what I think's happened.

You're pissed Frank Castle got away, and you're looking to blame me,

so you sent your guys to come down to pick me up.

But now... now you're realizing that maybe that wasn't such a smart move.

Now, if this was official, you wouldn't be sitting there alone.

You wanna tell me that this room isn't bugged?

You can never be too careful.

I've got an offer for you. Best and final.

I'll guarantee leniency if you give me the executions, the tortures, everything.

And when I say everything, I need William Rawlins.

You didn't know I had Rawlins' name.

You killed Sam Stein.

And when I can prove that,

your life won't be worth the termination-of-parental-rights form

your mother scribbled her signature on.

I know...

that you must be haunted by the death--

Sorry, forgive me, deaths of your partners...

but that doesn't make me the guy that you're looking for.

You're right.

I'm looking for Frank Castle.

But who knows? Maybe I'll take my time finding him.

God, you remember how he looked at you in that stairwell?

He's gonna kill you, and he's gonna enjoy doing it.

Who knows? Maybe he was tipped off.

Maybe he's waiting right outside this building.

Nice suit.

Hope it's bulletproof.

Look, you don't have twins, Bill, so you couldn't understand.

You just couldn't.

I mean, if you've only ever had singles,

you couldn't possibly understand.

I mean, hell, Ella and Grace are my twins and I still don't understand them.

And now it's college admission time,

and both of these girls want to be in Manhattan.

Columbia University.

Great school.

Yeah, it's a great school, sure. Not a cheap school.

That why you're in New York? A bit of influence peddling?

No, no.

They're either good enough to get in, or they're not.

No, I'm meeting with the police commissioner about his son.

Turns out the little shit's quite the hacker.

-Hmm. -Got himself into some serious trouble.

We're gonna clear the slate on condition he comes to work for us.

Ah.

So, that's what I'm doing here.

The question is, Bill, as nice as this is...

what the hell are you doing here?

And why are we talking in the cold where no one can hear us?

You've heard the news about Frank Castle?

Sure, it's hard to miss.

He's a problem for us.

"Us"?

He has information that could be injurious to the agency if it ever came out.

The medal you gave me, all the intel I brought in,

much of it was gained via... let's call them unorthodox methods.

Illegally gained?

I did what was required to protect the country.

Castle was a part of it.

I thought he was dead, now he's not.

He tried to kill me.

-Why? -Because I tried to kill him.

I will not let him undermine the agency or undo what I've achieved.