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Jimmy thought it over.
If those two really were Frank Castle's wife and child, then protecting them made sense. Not out of sentiment, but practicality. Someone like Castle did not forget debts. And you never knew when that might matter.
After all, Castle was the Punisher. Widely regarded as the peak of human solo combat. Jimmy did not collect heroes out of habit, but he had already saved Big Daddy, arguably one of the weakest so-called superheroes out there. One more would not hurt.
---
Outside, a red pickup smashed through the Jeep blocking the road. The moment the attackers spotted Jimmy's house, they opened fire on the windows.
"Down."
Glass exploded inward.
Before the echoes faded, a large bundle of explosives, its fuse spitting sparks, was hurled inside.
Jimmy cursed under his breath. He grabbed Maria and Will, vaulted through the window, and cleared the house in a single motion.
Boom! Boom!
The blast was absolute.
What had been a house, along with the police station across the street, collapsed into burning wreckage. Wood, concrete, and fire swallowed everything.
Maria struck her head during the jump and went limp in Jimmy's arms. Will stared back in horror at the flames consuming what remained of the building.
Jimmy led them into the trees behind the house, keeping low.
The red pickup sped off toward the pier, apparently drawn by something else.
Moments later, a motorcycle roared past.
Frank Castle.
Will opened his mouth to speak, but the bike was already gone.
Jimmy crouched and looked at the boy. "Can you walk, champ?"
Will nodded.
Jimmy hoisted Maria over his shoulder. The three of them moved through the sparse forest, slipping away while everyone's attention was elsewhere, until they reached a location Jimmy had prepared days earlier.
A fallback point.
Horus had discovered the place first. An abandoned structure, nothing left above ground except rubble, but the basement was intact. Jimmy had cleaned out one room in his spare time and turned it into an emergency shelter.
"Alright," Jimmy said quietly. "We're safe for now."
"Horus," he added, "perimeter watch. Alert me if anything moves."
The bird took off without a sound.
---
"Come on, tough guy," Jimmy said, kneeling beside Will. "Let me see your arm."
Jimmy did not need medical training. But he had learned enough to avoid making things worse.
The arm was swollen. Painful. But not catastrophic.
He administered a local anesthetic, tested the joint carefully, and then nodded. "Just a hairline fracture. You'll be fine."
He set the bone, applied a splint, and helped Will onto a makeshift bed.
Maria was still unconscious, but her breathing was steady. No visible injuries. She had been running moments before the explosion. The impact alone had knocked her out.
---
Later that night, Maria still had not woken up.
Will had.
Jimmy turned when he heard movement. "You're awake."
Will startled, then relaxed when he recognized him.
"Thank you," the boy said quietly. "Really. Thank you, May I ask your name?"
"No need for thanks," Jimmy replied. "I'm Jimmy. Jimmy Halstead, Just call me Jimmy."
"My mom…" Will asked, fear creeping into his voice.
"She's still unconscious," Jimmy said honestly. "If she doesn't wake up by morning, that's not good But for now, she's stable."
He paused, then added, "I'm not going to ask whom you crossed, Whoever it is, using explosives like that means it's not something a kid should be dragged into. Knowing less will keep you safer."
Jimmy glanced at the dim light above.
"A plane's coming for me tomorrow. Back to New York, you're both coming with me."
Will nodded without hesitation.
After what he had seen during the day, bodies on the sand and gunfire everywhere, fear had already burned itself into his memory. Without the anesthetic, he doubted he would have slept at all.
His mother was unconscious. His father was gone.
Right now, the only person he could rely on was the man who had pulled them out of the fire.
And for Will, that was enough.
"Thank you, Mr. Jimmy. When I see my dad again, I will make sure he thanks you properly."
Jimmy waved it off, telling him not to worry about it.
---
Will's world had already collapsed.
It was hard to process. One day he had a whole family. Next, almost everyone was gone. Only three of them are left. And even that might not be the end. There was no way to know if retaliation would come later.
Thinking about that, Will looked at Jimmy and tried his best to act grown-up.
"Mr. Jimmy… what are you, exactly. You can even have a plane come pick you up."
Jimmy glanced at him and smiled faintly. "Kids don't need to be that curious. You'll understand once they arrive."
He looked up at the night sky, waiting.
A shadow swept down.
Horus landed on his shoulder and reported quickly. After blowing up the police station, the attackers had torched the gas station as well. Frank Castle had been blasted into the ocean and swept away by the current.
Horus had dragged the unconscious Frank to a distant reef and hidden him behind the rocks. The plan was to retrieve him once the attackers fully withdrew or after nightfall.
The attackers searched briefly, found no one, and eventually most of them left. Two stayed behind to keep watch.
---
By morning, the area was swarming.
Military units. Police. Stark Industries security.
The two men left behind saw the scale of the response and tried to flee from the opposite side of the island.
It did not matter.
This incident involved Tony Stark's nephew. The owner of Jimmy Biotech. A high-profile author with enormous public visibility.
Aguadilla Bay was sealed completely. Even if those two slipped through one perimeter, another waited beyond it.
Horus cried out.
Jimmy fired a signal flare into the sky.
---
On television, Tony appeared, openly condemning the attack.
"I strongly denounce these terrorists. And believe me, you do not want me finding you."
He looked furious. And when Tony Stark was angry, consequences followed.
---
Maria was rushed to the hospital.
Internal bleeding in the skull was compressing a nerve. Money cleared every obstacle. She was placed in the best ward immediately.
It was not a major operation, but the brain was unpredictable.
She might wake up tomorrow. Or the next moment. Or in a week. A month. A year. Or never.
Will was sent to the laboratory complex under Jimmy's arrangements. That place was secure beyond question. After that, Jimmy did not interfere further.
As for hunting down the people hiding out in Tampa with Frank Castle.
No.
Jimmy still had instances to clear. Flying halfway across the country for revenge did not fit his style.
Asking Tony to quietly track down Frank Castle's phone number, though. That was reasonable.
---
Soon enough, everyone knew one thing.
Tony had a nephew named Jimmy.
Rich. Well-connected. Backed by Stark himself. Rumored to be researching drugs that could reverse aging.
With the Blood Orchid masks already proving miraculous, the idea no longer sounded impossible.
And that changed everything.
Jimmy could die, sure.
But not before the medicine was finished.
Because if he died too soon, who would their miracle come from then?
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