How To Tell A Lie (September 1983)

“Well I haven’t tasted a sauce like that in a long time,” he said as he came up to her. He leaned down and whispered. “And I really like that ‘thing’ you do when you’re on top.” he smiled and took up his trench coat. He kissed her goodbye and left soon after. Isabella had to get those dossier’s back to Lauren. When she finally got outside to hail a cab Frank was nowhere in sight.

When she arrived at the office Lauren wasn’t in her office and she just left the dossiers on her desk. She had a meeting with Thomas soon, her and her team always did once a week if not more often.

Thomas Redding’s office was on the 4th floor and as she got on the elevator. Renee and Alonzo had a few days off to recoup so it was just going to be her there...with Redding...alone.

His office had a small meeting room where they all usually met. This time though he was behind his desk as she entered. Thomas was a tall, fairly thin man, very athletic and ‘attractive’. He had short, well groomed blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He gestured for her to come to him with his fingers like he always did. He was writing with his other hand. “Close the door,” He said as he continued to write.

Thomas was the kind of guy that didn’t really care about much of anything. Her and her team had been injured in a serious fire fight and he didn’t even go to the hospital to check on them. He finished what he was doing then he sat back and looked at her for a moment then tossed a vanilla folder down in front of her. It slid to a halt and she saw the corner of a photo that had slid just outside the opening. When she opened it she saw a photo of Frank leaving her apartment building in his black trench coat so it had to have been this morning.

“Frank Castle, ofcourse I’ve known he was alive for some time now. There are several people who’d like to get their hands on him, including me. I think if I just keep an eye on you I’ll eventually find him, since your fucking him,” he said with a smug look on his face and he studied hers for any kind of reaction.

Isabella hated Thomas Redding. She had gotten a bad impression of him the day they had met and her hatred of him just grew over time. She thought it had reached its highest point when he hadn't come to visit her team in the hospital, but learning that he was involved in this case with Alan Hickman pushed it well past that point.

Most people found Thomas to be intimidating. Well, Isabella wasn't going to let him intimidate her today. She had the evidence and she planned on using it. She wasn't going to let these people get away with all they had done.

She walked into his office alone and shut the door behind her. She took a seat on the opposite side of his desk and watched as he tossed a folder onto the desk. It slid towards her and she could see the corner of a photograph sticking out from the side. She opened the folder and had to keep her expression steady when she saw the photograph of Frank leaving her apartment building. She knew that this had been taken that morning. She silently cursed herself, but kept her expression neutral.

She looked up at Thomas and decided to just confront him. "Frank Castle is innocent of killing his wife and child. Alan Hickman arranged to have Frank killed because Alan is running for that Republican Senate seat and didn't want the story getting out of what he ordered his men to do in Afghanistan. So, he decided to kill them off one by one. Unfortunately, in Frank Castle's case the hitman screwed up and blame was placed on Frank Castle's head. I have evidence to support all of this...including evidence that someone in this very building has been complicit in all of this and has been helping Mr. Hickman."

She didn't say his name but Thomas would know that she knew it was him.

Thomas narrowed his eyes at Isabella and shook his head. “A dead woman, you’re a dead woman Agent Corsetti. Do you know who pulls my strings? And if you think what little you have on Victor will change how it will end for you, you are mistaken. Lauren won’t be able to keep your ass out of the fire this time. No one takes you bitches seriously anyway.,” He said. “I hope I’m there when you watch Frank die! Get OUT of my office!” He demanded and stood up threateningly. Thomas was no slouch in hand to hand he could likely best her in a fight right then. “Get THE FUCK, OUT!” He demanded again.

Isabella did feel threatened by Thomas but she stood up and glared at him none the less. "You think I'M the dead one? Wait until all of this information comes out in court. Go ahead...try and intimidate me. It will get you nowhere. I'm not a bitch that can be easily pushed over."

She then turned and walked out of his office. She knew in that moment that both she and Frank were in serious danger. Unfortunately though she had no idea where Frank was. The only thing she could do was to go back to her apartment. She knew though that Thomas was having her place watched. However, there was a diner across the street. She sat down in a booth there. She had her handgun on her. She just had to wait and hope that Frank would come by her place tonight. Her plan was to intercept him outside and inform him of what was going on.

Victor Teagan had already began a plan to lure Frank Castle into the open. They were also very close to finding his accomplice, code named Micro Chip. The CIA had been given nearly unlimited resources to locate him, courtesy of Alan Hickman who wa sin town tonight attending a fundraiser for his campaign. Victor couldn’t say that he liked Alan Hickman but there were people high up in the Washington food chain that wanted him to get that Senate seat in a bad way. Getting Frank Castle had to happen and as he looked at the photos of Frank Castle in different places and also of Agent Isabella Corsetti, he knew that there was little he could do for her...now.

He had let slip that a high level Russian mob meeting was happening tonight and they were going to discuss the recent murders of their brethren by the hands of Frank Castle. Victor had initially thought to just let them have him and be done with him but Alan wanted him and Agent Corsetti on a dinner plate. He looked at his watch then heard his cell phone ring...it was Thomas Redding.

Isabella waited there for hours and there was no sign of Frank Castle. He hadn’t given her a phone number to call and she hadn’t given him hers for obvious reasons. The phone records, she knew, could be used in court and so any discussions she had with him could be used against her. As she waited she saw two, black unmarked sedans pull up. They had tinted windows so she couldn’t really see inside of them. After a little while two men got out and moved up to the diner and came inside. They were fairly large men and by how they moved she knew they were in body armor. They didn’t even look her way and took a seat near the door out. The only other door was through the kitchen in the back and as she looked out she saw two more men head that way. She was was as good as caught and if she used deadly force on these men she’d be a fugitive and likely a kill on sight risk. All the men had ear mikes and throat jacks so they were obviously in contact with someone. All four, likely working together.

Isabella knew the moment the two black sedans appeared that she was in trouble. She watched as two large men walked in through the front door and took a seat in the first booth there. Her immediate thought was the kitchen door, but as she started to move to get up she could see two more men walking back that way. She was trapped and though she had a gun with her she knew she wouldn't be able to use it. Her heart began to beat faster and harder in her chest and her mouth went dry. Her mind raced to think of other options but there weren't any. If she pulled out her cell phone to call Lauren those men would be on her. And so she just sat there, avoiding eye contact with the men. She refused to get up. Her only hope was Frank.

As her heart began to beat faster and her eyes scanned the night Frank did not appear. The waitress came up to her a third time. “You want anything else miss? We’re closin in a few minutes,” She said then gave the two men in black a look as she headed back behind the counter. The two men finally stood and the smaller of the two, he was a black man with a close kept afro stepped up to her. “Ok, the waiting games over Agent Corsetti, we’re supposed to bring you in, are you going to give me trouble? I thought not,” he said before she could answer. “Well, lets get this over with,” he said as he drew out a pair of hand cuffs..

Isabella watched as the two men near the front door stood up. Her body tensed up and her mind began to race. How the hell was she going to get out of this? She knew that these men worked for Alan or Thomas. If she was taken she was as good as dead. As the black man pulled out the handcuffs she stood up. She kneed him in the groin...hard and then grabbed him and slammed his hand against the table.

As she did the man that was with him hit her in the back, hard. “Get her!” He yelled as he felt her elbow in the stomach but with the body armor it didn’t do as much damage as she hoped and he head butted her. She continued to fight and struggle but as the other two showed up they managed to get her into the hand cuffs. As the black man straightened she noticed he looked quite angry with her. The other two held her arms and his fist lashed out at her and caught her in the jaw. She tasted blood immediately and it was a wonder he didn’t know teeth out with how hard he hit her. It rattled her brains and as he legs gave out they dragged her outside. As she looked around one last time for Frank her hopes were dashed as they shoved her violently into their sedan and covered her head with a black, felt hood.

The trip wasn’t terribly long, maybe 20 to 30 minutes. When the car stopped though it definitely sounded as if the car had pulled inside...something. A garage? A parking garage? Perhaps? They roughly pulled her out of the car when she struggled she was hit with something hard in the back of the head and her limbs suddenly felt like jello. They all but carried her inside...where ever inside was.

Isabella was trying not to panic. She breathed in and out and told herself to remain calm. She thought about Frank and knew that she had failed him. She had let him down and now she may never have the opportunity to tell him how sorry she was. Her jaw ached from where the black man had hit her. She remained quiet in the car and couldn't see anything due to the hood they had over her head. However, she kept an ear out for any distinctive sounds. It sounded like the car had pulled into a parking garage. There was an echoing when the doors were closed. As they yanked her out of the car she felt herself hit in the back of the head and then everything went black and she had to be carried inside.

When she came to it was to the sound of an odd sound and then a groan. The sound repeated and then she heard a growl and then a groan. As her eyes opened she knew she was in a chair and her hands and feet were zip tied to the chair that was metal. There was someone in front of her, no...there was a glass, a large glass in front of her and a tall man she thought she recognized hit another man that was tied into a chair like she was. As her senses began to right themselves she recognized the shirtless man in the chair. It was Frank and he was covered in blood. A man with his back to her hit him with some kind of weighted glove and the sound was of the glove hitting flesh. Frank groaned then spat blood at the man and looked defiantly at him. “I’m going to fuckin kill you!” Frank growled as the man hit him several more times. Her awareness was slow to expand and apparently not fast enough. She was hit in the face, hard suddenly. Thomas Redding was the one that hit her and he shook his fist as if the strike had hurt his knuckles. His fist hurt and once again she was lucky he hadn’t knocked a tooth out.

“I told you you bitch what was going to happen!” he said almost gleefully. Frank hadn’t seen her yet because his eyes were all puffed up from the blows he had sustained. Blood had dripped all down his chest, his sides and his back. His face was a mass of bruises and puffy flesh. It was clear they were going to beat him to death.

Isabella was aware of sounds first as she began to come to. She could hear a heavy, hitting sound followed by a groan. The sounds repeated over and over again as her eyes slowly began to open. She could not move her hands or feet and she knew that they were zip tied to the chair she was sitting in. She could see there was a piece of glass in front of her but through it she could Frank! He was tied to another chair and was being beaten by a man that had a glove that appeared to be weighted. Frank's face was bruised and swollen and she knew that the other man was going to kill him if something didn't happen.

She went to yell out to Frank, but before she could even open her mouth she was struck...hard. As she looked up at her attacker she saw it was Thomas Redding. She spit some blood in his face and glared at him. "Yeah, well this fight isn't over yet."

When the man that was hitting Frank turned to get a drink of water she noticed that it was Alan Hickman himself. He had on a suit but he had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves and removed his bowtie. His weighted gloves were bloodied and he looked at Frank. “It would have been much easier if you had just died Frank! If you had just died, your wife and son would still be alive! This is what being a first rate asshole gets you!” He said. “Fuck you Alan, everything bad that has ever happened in my life I hang at your feet...everything! He growled and struggled to get out of his bonds. He felt one of them was loosening, his right arm. Alan chuckled. “No one held a gun to your head Frank. Killing is what you do best and we gave you ‘permission’ to kill. No, blame yourself fucker!” he said as he began to take off his gloves. There was a small table near Frank and Alan stopped up to it and removed a small blade. “I’m pretty tired Frank and you’re not bleeding fast enough for my liking,” Alan said and stepped up to him.

Thomas held a knife up to Isabella’s throat. “No, no no,” he chuckled. “I don’t think you’ll be killed that quickly,” he said as he wiped the blood spittle from his face. He took his knife and began to cut her blouse from the middle near her neck. “I think I’m going to have some fun first. Maybe with the right amount of persuasion, you’ll be a good little bitch he said as he continued to cut down the front of her blouse.Eventually it was cut in two and then she felt his knife touch her flesh between her breasts. It was clear he intended to cut her bra off. Obviously he intended to assault her sexually and was decidedly pleased about that.

Isabella saw the knife Thomas had and she knew she needed to get her hands on it...somehow. She waited until he was close to her again and then she headbutted him...as hard as she could. She saw him go flying back and she watched the knife drop to the ground. He was momentarily unconscious and she knew she only had a short amount of time. She managed to tip the chair she was tied to onto the floor and she reached back with her hand and grabbed the knife. She winced as she twisted her arm as much as she could to cut the bonds. She could see Thomas starting to wake up. She finally felt the bonds release and she quickly cut away the ties at her feet.

As Thomas' eyes opened he would look up to see her standing over him with the knife.

"As I said...this fight isn't over yet."

Thomas felt blood trickle down his face as he came to. He sensed movement and as his senses returned he knew that Isabella was standing above him. He kicked her hard in the shin and as she fought to regain her balance He swept her legs out from under her. She managed to slice his arm but he eventually was able to get his weight atop her and he grabbed the wrist that held the knife. He squeezed it hard until she had no choice but to drop it. WHen she elbowed him again she felt a sharp pain between her shoulder blades and felt his weight atop her. He held her head down so that her cheek was on the floor and she felt him hiking up her skirt as he used his body to deflect her arms from doing any real damage. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” He said darkly as she felt her panties ripped away.

“No!” Frank growled as he saw what Thomas was doing. And then he howled as Alan dug the small, sharp blade into his chest. Not deeply, just deep enough to cause blood to leak out. Frank struggled again and again Alan removed the knife and plunged it back down into his flesh once more. As he struggled his right zip tie really felt loosened up.

“I don’t think you’re going to enjoy this...Agent Corsetti,” He said as he hit her again hard, between the shoulder blades.

Isabella struggled back against Thomas as he forced her head against the floor. Her eyes widened when she felt him hike up her skirt and then rip off her panties. Tears came to her eyes, but she refused to cry. She wasn’t going to give him the pleasure.

She then saw it...the knife on the ground. Thomas was distracted and she knew she needed to act quickly. She reached over and grabbed the knife and then in one quick movement she turned her upper body and then stabbed him in the chest. She had had so much force behind it that it had gone in to the hilt. She saw his eyes widen and he began to gasp as blood poured out.

Frank tugged hard and finally is hand was free. Alan saw it in a blink but as Frank’s hand seized the knife Alan tried to press it into his chest. Frank growled as Alan pushed and the muscles in Frank’s arm bulged as he slowly pushed the knife out of his flesh. Alan tried to regain his leverage but Frank headbutted him then sliced at his other bond. In a few moments he was free and Alan’s hands went right for Frank’s throat. Frank didn’t wait or try to drag it all out he drew the knife right into Alan’s left eye to the hilt. Alan screamed a blood curdling scream and As Isabella go onto her knees she saw 2 agents rush toward her. One grabbed at the arm that held the knife. The other kicked her in the hip. As the knife was wrenched from her grasp however There was a sudden huge crash and glass shards blew out toward them. Frank threw Alan’s body at one of the Agents and his hand went for the other’s throat. When his hand pulled away there was a distinct ripping sound and Frank’s hand was covered in the Agent’s blood. As the other agent pushed Alan’s corpse off of him Frank tossed Isabella Thomas’s sidearm then took the other Agent’s weapon.

Isabella caught the firearm and as the other agent rose to his feet she aimed and fired. She hit him right between the eyes and his body immediately dropped to the floor. Isabella looked around them at the bodies. None of them moved. She still held the gun in her hand as she approached Frank. She reached up and very gently touched his face. She didn’t say anything. There was nothing that needed to be said. Frank had gotten his revenge and they were both alive.

As they headed out into the garage Frank shot an agent as Isabella shot the other one that were by the doors. Frank felt light headed but his determination to get Isabella out of here kept him on his feet. He bent down and foraged on the agents pockets. He pulled out car keys and the opener for the garage. They raced to the black sedan that had brought them here and there appeared to be no one else there for them to have to deal with. “You drive!” Frank snapped and tossed her the keys and he hobbled to the passengers side. The door was unlocked and he slid in as Isabella started the car. He hit the garage opener and light appeared as the door opened. She drove out and then merged into the few cars that were coming her way.

Isabella ofcourse knew where she was, not very far from her apartment. Frank was in terrible shape and even now blood soaked the seat around him. There were few places on Frank right then that were not bleeding. He chuckled. “You did real good back there, really good,” He said right before his head slumped to the side.

Isabella glanced over at Frank as he lost consciousness. "Frank? Frank!" She muttered a few obscenities under her breath and knew she couldn't take him to a hospital. However, he needed more medical treatment than she could provide. A thought suddenly came into her mind and she quickly did a U-turn and headed towards her parent's house. They lived just outside of the city in a nice house. There was a cell phone in the car and she managed to call them. She didn't say very much, only that she was coming with someone that needed immediate medical attention. She knew her parents were going to freak out over her current state as well, but she only cared about Frank right now.

When she pulled up they were standing outside and both looked rather anxious. She got out and went over to the passenger side door.

"I'm really sorry, but I couldn't take him to a hospital."