The Punisher faltered, but the next second he kicked the table up in front of him, knocking Brucie's hand aside.
If the dagger had pierced his throat just then,
the Punisher would already have been a corpse. But it hadn't. A moment's hesitation, and a killing blow made without accounting for his opponent's next move,
could lead to a very different outcome.
Unlike him, his opponent seemed to have some rule against killing.
The Punisher sized her up in an instant. He reached out and snatched his pistol from the air.
He aimed it at Brucie.
The Punisher wouldn't hesitate. He had once wanted to join Captain America's side of the Avengers, though they had turned him down.
Because he had shot two criminals. Two bastards who had used their special powers to commit crimes.
That alone had been enough to keep him out.
But to him, a fight was a war. One side lived and the other died; until it was over, neither could count on surviving!
"Get down!"
Miao Mu's voice rang out behind her. Brucie threw herself to the floor at once, moving fast.
The gunshots came a beat too late.
The Punisher saw a vicious Hellhound leap toward him. His bullets tore through the monster's head
and passed straight through its body of energy.
Damn it. A magical construct.
The Punisher's expression changed, but he kept firing. Bang, bang, bang, bang.
The Hellhound landed on him. He fell backward, seized its body, and hurled it away.
It struck the wall with a crash. A flowerpot toppled from the balcony and shattered on the floor, spilling soil everywhere.
"Don't move!"
Brucie picked up a gun from the floor and aimed it at the Punisher, her finger curled around the trigger.
But he rolled to his feet without