BarrenThin2
Senior Member
Frank Castle
The old man looked over to Orbeck. He hadn't ever spoken to the strangely clad man, and had pretty much filed him away as one of the people that verbally dog-piled Ellie after she shot at Time Baby. "The plan isn't to force his hand. It's to let him know we're looking for him, so that he'll find us. Again, make it seem like his idea." He nodded slightly in Blitzo's direction. "He doesn't matter. He's dead because he had it coming, and we didn't need him. Just a corpse now." As Moxxie and Millie rushed out, Frank's head turned to follow them. "They are the important ones. From what I've gathered about the target, he's powerful Maybe too powerful for us to fight. So we need to convince him to help us somehow. Can't do that if we don't know where he is."
With that, Frank set out. He stopped briefly when faced with Kendall, but didn't let any surprise show on his face if there was any to be had. Enjoying the show. Noted. Anything that took genuine enjoyment from a killing like that could be trouble. Whatever this creature was, it needed to be watched closely. Wordlessly, he stepped past it and listened to Ellie as she spoke. She was more present, but she still definitely wasn't all the way there just yet. The girl was saying the words - that he deserved to die, that that was necessary - but she certainly didn't sound convinced of them. Frank didn't immediately respond as he walked on. A simple "Yes, he did," probably wouldn't really help at all. Arguing for why he did would just deepen the confusion. It also just wasn't something Frank cared to do often anyways. To him, it seemed obvious why the demon deserved to die.
The walk through the lobby was quiet. It seemed their security was genuinely that oblivious, or really just didn't care. The girl behind the counter did nothing to stop them, staring at her phone in enthralled silence. Frank paused at exit, his hand visibly hovering near the holster at his waist. The hesitation wasn't whether to kill her, it was whether not to. She was a demon, but there was no footage of her in the advertisement. Given her behavior here, she may have had no part in the killings at all, preferring to laze about while the others did the work. It was a stretch, but it cast enough doubt on her guilt that Frank didn't just shoot her then and there. It took him a second to tear his eyes away, but he walked out into the street. Finally, he answered Ellie. "You didn't kill him. I did." He didn't elaborate, but the implication was there. It's not on you. It's on me, and I couldn't care less about it. No way to know how that would go over. Maybe it would be reassuring, maybe it would be frightening, or maybe it would make absolutely no difference. It was about all Frank had to offer on the topic, regardless.
Meanwhile, the ghost was confronting Ellie about it, for some reason, despite her not ultimately being able to kill the demon. "I'm the one that shot him. If you've got a problem, take it up with me, kid. Stop with the lectures. She's in shock," Frank said, his scowl setting on Lillith. "As long as people like that are in the way, I'm not slowing anything down. Get used to it." Or stop me, if you can, The old man thought, but didn't say. He had already had far more leeway here than most groups gave him, even Ross's Thunderbolts. Not a huge surprise, Jason didn't seem all that far off from him, but also it just seemed that most of the people here were willing to take it. Not all, but most. Mimaki had certainly stopped him from killing Kratos, and Lazarus had tried using reason. He was certainly wondering when the leash would tighten, if ever.
As he spoke to the pair, Frank began scanning their surroundings to find out where to go next. The only truly notable location in the area was a casino. It more or less fit the bill for what he had in mind. At least, as before, it would have been a good place to start if they were hunting a mob boss. Walking on, he stepped into the building. The standard barrage of senses washed over him. The music, the gaudy furniture and carpet, the smell of alcohol, the sound of people laughing and cursing as chips moved around the table. This really felt like he was back home, minus the fact that virtually none of the patrons appeared to be human, save their companions that were already present. The old man didn't immediately engage, stepping over to the welcome desk to wait and see if anyone would approach while he assessed the room. After a few seconds, he waved down a member of the staff. "Looking for someone. Name Alastor mean anything to you? Might know him as the Radio Demon. When's the last time you saw him here, if ever?" Obviously, from the way the I.M.P. behaved, they would know who he was talking about. It was more about drawing out a reaction than gathering information.
thatguyinthestore Necessity4Fun CutieBoop ConnorOfficials Laix_Lake Ellya QizPizza @casino gang gang
The old man looked over to Orbeck. He hadn't ever spoken to the strangely clad man, and had pretty much filed him away as one of the people that verbally dog-piled Ellie after she shot at Time Baby. "The plan isn't to force his hand. It's to let him know we're looking for him, so that he'll find us. Again, make it seem like his idea." He nodded slightly in Blitzo's direction. "He doesn't matter. He's dead because he had it coming, and we didn't need him. Just a corpse now." As Moxxie and Millie rushed out, Frank's head turned to follow them. "They are the important ones. From what I've gathered about the target, he's powerful Maybe too powerful for us to fight. So we need to convince him to help us somehow. Can't do that if we don't know where he is."
With that, Frank set out. He stopped briefly when faced with Kendall, but didn't let any surprise show on his face if there was any to be had. Enjoying the show. Noted. Anything that took genuine enjoyment from a killing like that could be trouble. Whatever this creature was, it needed to be watched closely. Wordlessly, he stepped past it and listened to Ellie as she spoke. She was more present, but she still definitely wasn't all the way there just yet. The girl was saying the words - that he deserved to die, that that was necessary - but she certainly didn't sound convinced of them. Frank didn't immediately respond as he walked on. A simple "Yes, he did," probably wouldn't really help at all. Arguing for why he did would just deepen the confusion. It also just wasn't something Frank cared to do often anyways. To him, it seemed obvious why the demon deserved to die.
The walk through the lobby was quiet. It seemed their security was genuinely that oblivious, or really just didn't care. The girl behind the counter did nothing to stop them, staring at her phone in enthralled silence. Frank paused at exit, his hand visibly hovering near the holster at his waist. The hesitation wasn't whether to kill her, it was whether not to. She was a demon, but there was no footage of her in the advertisement. Given her behavior here, she may have had no part in the killings at all, preferring to laze about while the others did the work. It was a stretch, but it cast enough doubt on her guilt that Frank didn't just shoot her then and there. It took him a second to tear his eyes away, but he walked out into the street. Finally, he answered Ellie. "You didn't kill him. I did." He didn't elaborate, but the implication was there. It's not on you. It's on me, and I couldn't care less about it. No way to know how that would go over. Maybe it would be reassuring, maybe it would be frightening, or maybe it would make absolutely no difference. It was about all Frank had to offer on the topic, regardless.
Meanwhile, the ghost was confronting Ellie about it, for some reason, despite her not ultimately being able to kill the demon. "I'm the one that shot him. If you've got a problem, take it up with me, kid. Stop with the lectures. She's in shock," Frank said, his scowl setting on Lillith. "As long as people like that are in the way, I'm not slowing anything down. Get used to it." Or stop me, if you can, The old man thought, but didn't say. He had already had far more leeway here than most groups gave him, even Ross's Thunderbolts. Not a huge surprise, Jason didn't seem all that far off from him, but also it just seemed that most of the people here were willing to take it. Not all, but most. Mimaki had certainly stopped him from killing Kratos, and Lazarus had tried using reason. He was certainly wondering when the leash would tighten, if ever.
As he spoke to the pair, Frank began scanning their surroundings to find out where to go next. The only truly notable location in the area was a casino. It more or less fit the bill for what he had in mind. At least, as before, it would have been a good place to start if they were hunting a mob boss. Walking on, he stepped into the building. The standard barrage of senses washed over him. The music, the gaudy furniture and carpet, the smell of alcohol, the sound of people laughing and cursing as chips moved around the table. This really felt like he was back home, minus the fact that virtually none of the patrons appeared to be human, save their companions that were already present. The old man didn't immediately engage, stepping over to the welcome desk to wait and see if anyone would approach while he assessed the room. After a few seconds, he waved down a member of the staff. "Looking for someone. Name Alastor mean anything to you? Might know him as the Radio Demon. When's the last time you saw him here, if ever?" Obviously, from the way the I.M.P. behaved, they would know who he was talking about. It was more about drawing out a reaction than gathering information.
thatguyinthestore Necessity4Fun CutieBoop ConnorOfficials Laix_Lake Ellya QizPizza @casino gang gang
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