Faced with Salomon's demands, Frank Castle still wore a "F*ck off" attitude, nearly making the fully armed Sophia raise her fists and fight him. What surprised Salomon even more was that Frank Castle did not recognize him at all, even though they had met once several years ago.
"Do you think I'm some trend-chasing kid who came looking for an urban legend?" Faced with this retired soldier, the Arcanist had no choice but to change the way he spoke. His language was so crude it could have made an etiquette instructor faint, with F-words practically filling every sentence. He was not about to take that "there are only two kinds of English in the world—English and wrong English" attitude with others. Frank Castle simply could not understand overly refined idioms; that would be asking too much of an American soldier who had only attended public school.
"I came here to offer you a proposal, one that benefits both of us. I know you hate people investigating you, but—don't pull your knife yet, you can't beat me—I've already found out everything you want. I don't care whether you want to rot away in alcohol or disappear under a new name. I'm offering you a job. If your brain can still remember what happened a few years ago, then you'll know my offer hasn't changed. It's all written on this paper."
Frank Castle took a drink on his own. He did not even glance at the contract Sophia placed on the bar. That glass of Glenkinchie Whiskey had claimed all his attention, as though every word Salomon spoke over the phone video call had been drowned out by the bar's noisy music. After a while, apparently growing impatient with Sophia standing beside him, he glanced at the phone from the corner of