"Stay down, Matty." "Don't get up." "You need rest." "No, no!" "Morning, sunshine." "Someone better be getting my car." "Bundy's five minutes out." "Keep the press out of here." "No statements or photos until we get this place spotless." " We control the narrative." " Of course." "And before you leave, Mr. Nelson and Miss Page wanted a word." "Ugh." "Just one?" "Can I get that in writing?" "Oh, because written agreements suddenly mean something to you?" "You wanted your client in witness protection, right?" "My offer's still valid for 23 minutes." " Grotto's gone." " Too bad." "You used our client for bait!" "That's a pretty big allegation..." "Allegation?" "Look around!" "This was a shit show!" "He could have died." "Let's be real honest here." "No bullshit." "Your firm is small-time." "Your 15 minutes were up after Union Allied." "Right now, you are way out of your league." "Won't take much to sell that you're the ones that compromised this operation." " What?" " Say that story goes public." "The story that your incompetence endangered the life of your client, neighborhood civilians, and the brave officers of the NYPD." "You are saying that you would blame us for this?" "I never said that." "Did I say that?" "I didn't hear it." "Stay away from this case." "Nothing?" "Hmm?" "Not even a little support?" "All the legal kung fu in the world wouldn't have won that fight." "Her office could bury us." "We shouldn't have pushed it." "Yeah, well, you didn't push anything." "I know how these assholes operate." "We have to play it their way." "Just for now." "But then what next?" "All right, Matt promised Grotto we would protect him, so did I!" "I'm gonna call Matt now." "Let's see if he's..." "recuperated enough to help us out." "All right, I'm gonna go back to the office." "I'm gonna see if I can find a way that Reyes doesn't skin us alive." "They say you don't hear the bullet that gets you." "Always thought that sounded like a bunch of bullshit to me." "How about you, Red?" "When I cracked off your forehead the other night... did you hear that?" "Ahh!" "You can bash against your chains all night." "Only way you get out of here, only way you walk free, is if I want you to." "Know that." "Why didn't you take my mask off?" "Don't give a shit about who you are." "You killed everyone else." "Why am I still alive?" "Huh?" "I got in your way twice now... and you don't strike me as someone who just lets that happen." "Military grade hardware." "You seem to know your way around it." "And you sure carry yourself like a soldier." "What are you gonna do with all this?" "I'll do what's required." "Yeah." "We've been waiting six hours!" " Come on, lady." " Come on!" "Claire, damn it, pick up." "If you get this, I'm in the ER." "We need to talk." "Holy shit." "Why don't you stop hassling' me and go after the psycho who blew away my crew!" "That's him!" "That's the guy!" "Excuse me, I'm looking for a nurse named Claire?" " I believe she works the night shift." " If she's here, she's busy." "Could you just point me in the right direction?" " Are you injured?" " No." "Do you wanna be?" "Mr. Carver?" "We can see you now." "Why you telling me to wait?" "You've been telling me this for like an hour already." "Hey, get your hands off me!" "I didn't say nothin'." "Come on!" "Oh, man, that's our boy." "He got jumped." "I know your cousin." "I know where you live." "No, he's no good." "I'm sittin', man, all right?" "I'm not startin' nothin'." "Just relax, all right?" " That's what you tell me?" " I'm not gonna tell you again." " Quiet!" "Sit down!" " Yeah?" "We're not startin' nothin', man!" " He's the one that started it, all right?" " You keep it up, you're out of here." "You're a dead man, you understand?" "As soon as you get out." "Hey, listen up." "Police are waiting to take you into custody." "The last thing I need is for you to come back here in two weeks, asking what happened, and blaming one of our people for your mistakes." "Hey, so let me put this simply." "Yesterday, you had five fingers." "But tonight, you got loaded and decided to hit up a rival clubhouse." "So now you have two." "We're at war, lady." "Listen to me." "Had five." "Now two." "Your fault." "That clear?" "Good." "The meds should kick in soon." "Claire." "Foggy Nelson." "We have a mutual friend." "Remember me?" "Shit." " Nelson and Murdock, may I help you?" " What the hell was that?" "Grotto?" "Grotto, where are you?" "Like I'd tell you shit after what went down." " Are you hurt?" " Forget all that." "You gonna help me out or not?" " Uh, yeah, uh, we'll try..." " Try?" "Look, you have to believe me, we had no idea what Reyes was planning..." "Shut up!" "Shut up!" "Goddamn lawyers, you're all alike." "Runnin' your mouths, all that fancy talk..." "All the time you're just stickin' it to guys like me." " Grotto..." " You made promises, lady!" "You broke every one of 'em." "I know." "I'm sorry." "Listen, Grotto, the police are coming after you." "You have to come in." "All that shooting', it was..." "it was 'cause of him, wasn't it?" "The psycho from the hospital?" " Yeah." " Shit." "Shit." "He's never gonna stop." "Look, the DA knows she screwed up." "We can go back to her." "We can lock in witness protection..." "I'm done makin' deals, sweetheart." "I've got my own plan now, gettin' outta this hellhole while I'm still breathin'." "You tell that donut of a lawyer and the blind man, they can kiss my ass." "Grotto, please..." "You can go to hell." "This another one of your missions?" "That's why we're here, isn't it?" "How many will this make?" "I'm guessing you've done this, what... ten, maybe 20 times?" "How long's it been?" "Six months, a year... or your whole life?" "Something tells me you don't take breaks." "You know, no one else has to die." "You could stop now." "Walk away." "Walk away?" "Could you do that?" "Could you walk away?" "Yeah." "What is that, midnight?" "St. Matthew's." "You a Catholic?" "Once." "From New York?" "Once." "You still go to Mass?" "Stop now, Red." " Stop?" " Stop digging." "Ah." "You know, a funny thing about New York... few people are actually from here." "The ones who are... they don't leave." "They can't, they, uh..." "They feel like the city's a part of them." "You know?" "Until one day, something changes." "Maybe they get older." "And then they have to leave, they have to get out." "See the world, maybe." "Maybe they enlist?" "Where'd they send you?" "You a shrink, Red?" "Now, come on, you must be something when you're not wearing the long johns, right?" " I'm just a guy." " Yeah?" "You ever been to war?" "No." "Yeah... then don't talk about it." "I've seen some fights." "Sure you have." "Well, I almost had you beat." "You talk about trading hands on a rooftop, Red." "I'm talking about shit, okay?" "Shit that you ain't been in." " I know one thing." " What's that?" "War changes people." "Sometimes they see things they can't unsee." "Come home to find home's not there anymore." "It changed." "Or maybe they did." "Yeah, fair enough." "I'm just saying, I know it can be hard." "Do you?" "You know it can be hard?" "You run around this city in a pair of little boy's pajamas and a mask." "You go home at night, right?" "Take that mask off, maybe you think... it wasn't you who did those things, maybe it was somebody else." "Well, see, soldiers... we don't wear masks, yeah?" "We don't get that privilege." " You know what I think?" " What's that?" " You're still at war." " Oh, for crying out loud." "So, you charge by the hour, doc, or what?" "Why am I here?" "Everything you do out there in the streets, Red, it doesn't work." " Did you know that?" " Oh, and what you're doing is better?" "What I do, I just do." "It's out of necessity." "Come on." "You know you're not the only one, right?" "Who did you lose?" "Huh?" "Was it someone you loved?" "Well, boo-hoo." "Let me tell you something, buddy." "Everybody's lost someone." "Doesn't mean you have to do this." "Well, loss doesn't work the same for everybody, Red." "Yeah, that's right." "It's clearly not working for you." "Maybe not." "We don't get to pick the things that fix us, Red." "Make us whole." "Make us feel purpose." "My moment of clarity?" "It came from the strangest of places." "What kind of name is The Devil of Hell's Kitchen, anyway?" "I mean, really?" "I didn't ask for that name." "I'm sorry, I don't see you running from it." "I don't do this to hurt people." " Yeah, so what is that, just a job perk?" " I don't kill anyone." "Is that why you think you're better than me?" " No." " Is that why you think you're a big hero?" "It doesn't matter what I think or what I am." "People don't have to die." "Come on, Red." "You believe that?" "I believe it's not my call, and it ain't yours either." "Somebody ask you to put on that costume or you take it upon yourself?" "You know what I think of you, hero?" "I think you're a half-measure." "I think you're a man who can't finish the job." "I think that you're a coward." "You know the one thing that you just can't see?" "You know you're one bad day away from being me." "Yeah." "Someone's coming." "Shit." " Guess I'd better make a run for it." " Hey, don't hurt him." "Yeah?" "Let's hope he doesn't give me a reason to." "What's all that noise?" "If it's you damned kids again, I swear I'm callin' the cops!" "I'll say this once, Red." "You make one sound, and I'll open his head up all over this roof." "Hello?" "This is really not a good time." " What's going on in here?" " You tell me." " I have patients stacked up in four halls." " Look, I get it." "You're up to your eyeballs." "But I got a problem too, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't good and goddamn urgent." "I'm looking for a certain mutual friend of ours." "Ouch!" "Careful, bitch." "I haven't seen him." "I've been on ER duty all month." "No breaks." "I haven't been able to walk outside of these walls lately." "Sounds like you pissed somebody off." "Yeah, I'm getting really good at that." "You rip that, you're gonna have to re-stitch it yourself." "So he hasn't been here?" "He have a reason to be?" "Well, you know, our friend is fond of extreme sports." "You can cut the shit." "I know who you're talking about." "I thought maybe he came to you for help again." "The last time he came to me for help," "I wound up elbow deep in our mutual friend's blood." "I'm never doing that again." "Well, maybe you can help me check records." "See if he's come in anywhere else." "Look..." "I know why you're worried." "He's been building himself quite the rep lately." "Is this something I want to hear?" "Yo, lady, where the hell am I supposed to go now?" "You want the ER perspective?" "Victims love him." "Victimizers?" "Want him more dead than ever." "Look, if you're gonna follow me around... at least make yourself useful." "Here... look around the other side of the table." "I'm not sure I'm qualified for this." "You're breathing, you're not in cuffs, you're on the team." "Spray when I say." "Look, I care about our friend." "I believe in what he's doing, I believe the city needs him." "But the truth is, I can't help anymore." "I've got this shift from hell 'cause I helped another friend trying to do good." "Big guy." "Stronger than our friend." "And yet I'm the one who got the shaft." "I'm just trying to keep my head down, do my job... stay sane." "Spray." "Trust me, I don't like being a part of this any more than you do." "But I need to find him." "I'd do it myself, but I'm out of ideas." "Listen, as close as he gets, Matt's... pretty good at not getting himself killed." "I'm not so sure about that anymore." "Easy, dumb-ass." "My leg is killing me." "So, you've probably been pulling in lots of DOAs lately." "Criminal types?" "There's been a serious uptick in gunshot wounds, now that you mention it." "Something's really got the gangs riled." "It's a "someone."" "And the freak responsible is the one Matt's up against." "I'll be out of your hair before you know it, but, please... he's my best friend." "I just need to make sure he's okay." " You son of a bitch!" " See what you got, punk!" "Come on!" "Come on, get over here!" " I'll crack your stupid head open!" " Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" " Somebody call security." " Calm down!" "Who the hell are you?" "Frank." "What are you doing up here, Frank?" "Well, the truth is, um, I'm pretty sure that this here roof, right here, this is the, uh... this is the last patch of real estate in the entire goddamn United States where a man can just have a little peace, be by himself, and... have a smoke." "Never seen you around." "Yeah, no." "I'm, uh, in town just visiting my crazy sister." "Betty in 2B?" "I see you've had the pleasure." " Can't say I blame you." " Nah." "My wife's the same." "Made me quit a long time ago." "You know what they say." "It's for our health." "What about the enjoyment of life?" "Guess they'll worry about that when they're dead." "What was that?" "Uh, it's just... just a rat." "We exterminated." "Lot of guys..." "they half-ass it." "Remember my uncle used to tell me that all the time." "He fumigated." "Hard work." "Yeah, well." "It's all he could get after the war." "You know, curse of a soldier." "Ain't that the truth." "Yeah." "You serve?" "'Nam, 3rd Marine Division." "Fighting 3rd, huh?" "Goddamn right." "You?" "Yeah, yeah." "Iraq, Afghanistan." "Welcome home." "Thank you, sir." "I gotta go down right now, but, you... you smoke as much as you like, son." " Thank you, sir." "All right." " All right, son." " Hey, Marine!" " Yeah?" "Semper Fi." "Frank." "That's your real name?" " You get off threatening innocent people?" " He was only in danger because you squealed, because you can't follow orders..." "You had a gun on him." "You thumbed back the hammer." "Yeah, well, that was for you." "Part of the show." "What does that mean?" "I really have to spell it out for you, Red?" "Huh?" "I'm disappointed." "Listen carefully, okay?" "You listening?" "Yeah?" "How 'bout now?" "You listening?" "Feel it?" "I'm not a bad guy, Red." "You wanna explain that to the orphans and the widows of the men you killed?" "For Christ's sake, that's what you think?" "I'm just some crazy asshole going around unloading on whoever I want to?" "Yeah, that's exactly what I think." " That it?" " You think you're anything else?" "I think that the people I kill need killing, that's what I think." "You left men hanging from meat hooks!" "They got off easy, in my opinion." "You shot up a hospital." "Yeah, and nobody got hurt who didn't deserve it." "Oh, yeah." "What about you, Frank?" "What happens the day someone decides you deserve it?" "I'll tell you what, they better not miss." "Come on, you run around this city like it's your damn shooting gallery." " You think you do..." " Yeah, what do you do?" "What do you do?" "You act like it's a playground." "You beat up the bullies with your fists." "You throw 'em in jail, everybody calls you a hero, right?" "And then a month, a week, a day later, they're back on the streets doing the same goddamn thing..." "Yeah, so you just put 'em in the morgue." "You're goddamn right, I do." " You ever doubt yourself, Frank?" " Not even for a second." "Really?" "Really?" "You never think for one second," ""Shit, I just killed a human being."" "That's being pretty generous." "A human being who did a lot of stupid shit, maybe even evil, but had one small piece of goodness in him." "Maybe just a scrap, Frank, but something." "And then you come along, and that one tiny flicker of light gets snuffed out forever." "I think you're wrong." " Which part?" " All of it." "I think there's no good in the filth that I put down, that's what I think." " And how do you know?" " I just know." "Look around, Red." "This city, it stinks." "It's a sewer." "It stinks and it smells like shit and I can't get the stink out of my nose." "I think that this world, it needs men that are willing to make the hard call." " I think you and me are the same!" " That's bullshit, Frank, and you know it!" "Only I do the one thing that you can't." "You hit 'em, and they get back up." "I hit 'em, and they stay down." "It's permanent." "I make sure that they don't make it out on the street again." "I take pride in that." " Let me ask you this." " What's that?" " What about hope?" " Oh, fuck." " Come on, Frank..." " You wanna talk about Santa Claus?" "You wanna talk about Santa Claus?" "I live in the real world too, and I've seen it." " Yeah?" "What have you seen?" " Redemption, Frank." " Ah, Jesus Christ." " It's real." "And it's possible." "The people you murder deserve another chance." "What, to kill again?" "Rape again?" "Is that what you want?" "No, Frank." "To try again, Frank." "To try." "And if you don't get that, there's something broken in you you can't fix, and you really are a nutjob." "What did you say?" "You're..." "You're unhinged..." "Frank." "You are." "You think God made you a one-man firing squad." "But you're wrong." "There is goodness in people, even in you." "And you're gonna have to kill me, 'cause I'm never gonna stop coming for you, until I take you down." " You wanna know why?" " Why's that?" " Because you're insane." " Hmm." "Late night?" "What are you doing here?" "Protecting our client, who is still out there, alone." "You're talking about him like he's a... a lost puppy." "Mr. Grote is a convicted criminal and lucky we gave him the time of day." "I'd forget about him if I were you." "We promised to protect him." "Maybe you shouldn't have." "Your boss said she could take down a firm like ours pretty quickly." "She wasn't lying." "Huh..." "So, she could also take down someone like you?" "ADA Elliot James." "Took the fall after Reyes mishandled informants in the, uh, Teller case about a year ago." "Nicole Kent got booted from your office after she failed to quiet the EnSynth scandal." "Chris Davidson... did you ever meet him?" "Fired after the State Supreme Court disqualified your entire office from the Pell case due to "widespread misconduct."" ""Widespread."" "But not everyone got fired." "See, Reyes walked out in one piece." "She's good at throwing people to the wolves." "So, sure, she can take down Nelson and Murdock this month, but how long before you are getting pulled into the shit with the rest of us?" "You trying to scare me?" "I am here to show you that you and Reyes are not on the same team." "Where would you even find this shit?" "I want protection for Nelson and Murdock." "We're small." "We can't survive getting thrown to the wolves." "Not without your help." "After what happened today, someone's gonna crash and burn and I need to know that that won't be us." "What makes you think I can help you, even if I wanted to?" " You have information on the Punisher." " That's classified." "Do I look like I'm gonna post it on YouTube?" "Your boss is threatening to disbar my friends and dismantle our law firm." "Yeah, my boss is a piece of work." "Look, how will the Punisher files, assuming they even exist, help you stop that from happening?" "I'll let you know." "Unbelievable." "So, you expect me to implicate the DA on purpose?" "Listen very carefully." "You cannot come into my office, asking me to betray my boss, throwing around allegations about this department you cannot substantiate." "So I'm going downstairs to get security." "And you will not contact me again." "No emails." "No phone calls." "Nothing." "Good night, Miss Page." " You're dead!" " Go to hell!" "They found Freddie Bones with ten slugs to his chest!" "That wasn't us, prick." " This happen often?" " It's been a bad week." "Shit." " Put it down!" "Put it down!" " Back off!" "There's innocent people here!" "This ain't got nothin' to do with you." "You're gonna hurt somebody." "I'm not gonna tell you again." "Put it down, now!" "Hey, asshole." "How many priors you got?" "What'd you say to me?" "I asked you about your priors." "Yeah, keep talking shit." "I'll check you into ICU myself." "You got face tattoos, friend." "That's like telegraphing, "I know what prison meatloaf tastes like."" "You just better step back, now." "I'm not gonna ask if you know what happens when you get charged with assault." "I got a hunch you got more mug shots than baby pictures back home." "Man, who are you?" "I'm the pro-bono suit you'll try to retain after you go down for this." "Only not even my soft-hearted partner will take your case, or any other self-respecting attorney in Hell's Kitchen." "Not because you're so badass, but because you're just that stupid." "You got a big mouth, asshole." "You forget, I do this for a living." "I could ask you to look at the faces of the other patients." "Every last one of 'em scared to death, because the two of you can't keep it in your pants." "But I'm guessing that neither one of you could give a collective shit." "So I'm gonna do what attorneys do best and appeal to your selfish natures." "Simply put, if you carve each other up now, in front of these witnesses, with cops right outside, you're screwed!" "I can't just walk away, man." "I'm not asking you to lose the oh-so-serious stink-eye." "Just don't fight!" "Put 'em down." "Let these people do their jobs." "Come on." "You all right?" "Son of a bitch." ".357, one round in the chamber." "Some things, they just..." "They feel right in your hand, huh?" "I know what you're thinking, Red." "You could put a round in my arm, in my leg, but it's not gonna work, 'cause I'm all geared up." "Only way you stop me is with a head shot." " I'm not gonna shoot you." " Nope." "Not yet, you're not." "Time to put a face to all your fancy talk about redemption." "Elliot Grote, a.k.a. Grotto." "I don't wanna die." "What did you do to him?" "I caught this piece of shit stealing a car, trying to skip town." "I was scared." "I'm sorry, I was running for my life." " Shut up." " Stop it, Frank." "He doesn't deserve to die, just 'cause you caught him stealing cars." "Is that what you think?" "It's up to the law, not me and not you!" "Why don't you tell him a little bit about yourself?" " You have no right to do this!" " I'm nothing." " I'm just nobody." " Oh, yeah?" "That all?" "I pour their drinks." "I drive their cars." "You were doing a little more than that a few months ago." "What are you trying to prove, Frank?" " You're trying to step up." " No." " No?" " Who are you?" "Lafayette Street, 2nd floor." "Why don't you tell him what happened?" "Please, I'm sorry." " Please, please, I'm sorry." " You tell him now." "Frank, I'm not gonna shoot you, Frank." "Nothing happened, I'm sorry." "I'm only gonna ask you one more time." "Ahh!" "I didn't know!" "It was an address!" "This guy, I didn't even know his name." "He... he got wobbly with the wrong people, owed something to somebody, 'cause the order came from on high." "Yeah?" "What orders?" " The sort you can't say no to." " Say the words!" "You say it." "Do you hear me?" "You don't understand these animals." "You can't back out." "You can't..." "Just shut up!" "Stop talking, Grotto." "You say it." "I won't ask again." "Say the words, asshole!" "I did it, I killed him!" "I killed him." " I put two in his head." " No!" " But, I swear to God..." " Oh, God damn it." "I didn't know..." "I didn't know the old lady was in the house." "What old lady?" "What did you do?" "I didn't know she was in the house." "She wasn't supposed to be in the house." "She started screaming." "I begged her to stop." "What did you do?" "She saw my face." "I had no choice." "Old lady left a husband." "Dead man, wife and kids." "You gotta understand me." "I had to do it." "You still think this piece of shit is worth saving?" "I'm not gonna shoot him." "Yeah, okay." "I will if you don't kill me first." "Not here." "And he's not uptown, either." "Nothing in the morgues." "Wherever our friend's spending the night, it ain't in a hospital." "Guess that's as good a news as I'm gonna get." "Hey, man, with friends like these..." "He's gonna be fine." "I've seen him in action." "I'm gonna go." "Thanks." "You know, you're good with people." " Yeah, I'm a real charmer." " I'm serious." "The only thing I ever saw stop a thug mid-fight... was a bigger thug." "Yeah, I like to keep it thuggish." "And our mutual friend?" "I wish things could've been different between us." "He's a very complicated man... and that, I don't need." "But maybe this city needs him." "And I know he needs you." "Matt made a mistake when he let you go." "What makes you think he did?" " I'm losing patience, Red." " Don't you dare shoot him." "That's a bad idea." "You see, he'll kill again." "Can't live with that, Red." "Can you?" "I'll leave the city." "I won't come back." "Shut up." "Shut up." "Take the shot." " Go to hell." " Too late." "Why are you doing this?" "'Cause you need to understand that pieces of shit like this ruin people's lives." "Killing him's not gonna bring anybody back." "No, but it will keep him from hurting anybody else." "No, I won't do it again, I swear." "I'm gonna count down." " Five..." " Look, shoot him." "Shoot him!" " Four..." " Look, shoot." "Hey, I'm gonna hand him over to the police myself." "I'm gonna make sure he pays for what he's done, Frank." " Three..." " Shoot him!" "Do it!" "Take the shot, Red, take the shot." " No." " You don't do it, his death's on you." "Either way, you're a killer." " Two..." " What kind of choice is that?" "The kind I make every time I pull the trigger." "The kind I'm gonna make right now." "Help me." "Oh, God." "I'm dying." " God, I'm dying." " Stay still." "Stay still." "I'm gonna get you out of here." "I'm gonna get you out of here." "I'm gonna get you out of here." "No, put me down." "Why didn't you stop him?" "I'm sorry." "What the hell was that?" "Come on, let's go!" "Everybody on me." "Come on!" "Let's go!" "Come on." "Let's go!" "One batch, two batch." "Penny and dime." " There he is." " Come on!" "You're done, now, Red." "They're coming for you." "Only way you get out of this, is if you grow wings." "Open the goddamn door!" "Now!" "Come on!" " There he is!" " What the hell's going on?" "Shut up, old man." "Drop the gun." "Drop it!" " You okay, sir?" " Yes." "Get in your apartment." "Lock the door." "What about you?" "I'm good."