Cold Steel

Cold Steel is the eighth episode of the first season of the television series The Punisher.
==Synopsis==
Russo opens up to Madani about his past, Sarah shares her concerns about her son with Frank, and a decoy operation takes a turn.
==Plot==
Billy Russo visits his mother Carla in the hospital, despite Carla abandoning her son when he was a child, Russo keeps paying for her hospital bills. While Carla is unresponsvile, Russo talks to her about the return of Frank Castle, and although he is Russo's best friend, he has too much to lose for him to stay alive. Carla wakes up and starts to freak out, so Russo injects her with a sedative, saying that he is grateful for his harsh childhood, since it made Russo who he is now. Russo tells his mother that he would give her anything she ever wanted in this world, if only she ever wanted him.
Micro analyzes a picture from Castle's scope and identifies Agent Orange as William Rawlins, the CIA's Director of Covert Operations. Micro is concerned that since he's been looking up about Rawlins, the CIA might target them, but Castle tells him that the CIA will not go after them. Since Rawlins was acting off-record, nothing about the Kentucky firefight or Fort Bryon break-in ever surfaced, which means Rawlins is too scared to go after them officially. Micro then finds out that the camera feed at the Lieberman Residence is down, so he demands Castle to get there and make sure that his family is safe.
Dinah Madani and Russo have sex and talk about their scars and wounds. Talking one of his scars, Russo tells Madani that when he was young and lived in the group home, the volunteer expressed sexual interest in him, and when Russo refused, the volunteer broke his arm. Madani is taken aback by Russo's story, as she did not know that he grew up in the care system, but Russo mostly laughs this off, saying that his experience shaped him. Madani thanks Russo for sharing his personal life with her, to which Russo says that Madani should admit that she likes him.
Castle goes to the Lieberman house where he meets with Sarah Lieberman and gives her some flowers, so she would not get suspicious at his sudden visit. He notices the disabled Internet router and Sarah says that she unplugged it to teach Zach a lesson, although she did let him go to play with his friend. Castle then turns on the router, reactivating the cameras, allowing Micro to see what is happening at the house. Castle and Sarah then drink some wine and talk about their lives, during which Sarah kisses him, but Castle gently rebuffs her advances and returns to the hideout. He finds Micro rather drunk and he tells Castle that he does not blame him or Sarah for that kiss.
At Homeland Security Headquarters, Madani talks to Sam Stein about a lead on Castle, claiming that he had reached out to Jack DeLeon to buy the ammo for his arsenal. As Rawlins listens to them via the bug, he meets with Russo to discuss their plan to eliminate Castle once and for all. Russo is concerned about interfering with the government operation, but Rawlins argues that allowing Castle to get caught and speak up is much more dangerous to them. Russo warns Rawlins that he cannot use any contracted Anvil agents after losing the unit in the search for Gunner Henderson, so he will need Rawlins' money to hire outside operators.
Back at the hideout, Castle drinks with Micro, as the two talk about how they met their wives. The two have a good laugh together but then Micro suddenly brings up Madani and suggests that they should stop hiding from her and come clean, so the Homeland Security could take Rawlins down, and they would be free. Castle quickly shots down the idea, as he needs Rawlins dead and not in prison. Micro lashes out on Castle, calling him a war-obssessed psychopath and goes to call Madani regardless. Castle goes to stop him and although Micro tries to swing at him, Castle easily knocks him out.
Madani and Stein are aware that the people who are gunning for Castle will come, so they set a trap on them by using the fake tactical plan. After a briefing with the agents, Madani gives them the physical copies of the real plan, while Stein uploads the fake on into their system. Madani says that since their enemy has bugs in her office, they should also have access to the computers, so they will take a bait. Russo meets with a group of ex-Anvil contractors who were wanted by the United States Department of State for killing civilians in Iraq during their mission. Russo offers them to participate in the operation in the city, promising that if they successfully kill the target, the payment will allow them to move into the country with no extradition.
When Micro wakes up, Castle sets it straight with Micro that he never wanted Sarah and they will not go to Madani. Sarah calls Castle, asking him to help with Zach, as she found a knife in his backpack and thought that he planned to hurt someone. Worried about Zach's behavior, Sarah asks Castle to talk to him, so he tries to break ice with Zach. He does not want to talk, but Castle intimidates him with his knife, so Zach admits that he feels scared and wanted someone else to feel bad for once. Castle comforts Zach and the two play football, however, Castle then notices Micro watching them in person. Castle demands Micro to leave, as his presence only puts Zach and the others in danger, but Micro insists that his son needs him. Castle then promises that they will speak to Madani and gets Micro to leave.
Concealing their faces with masks, Russo and his team arrive at the Abandoned Warehouse and search for Castle, however, they get ambushed by Madani, Stein and the Homeland Security agents. In the subsequent firefight, numerous Homeland agents and all of Russo's team get killed. Russo tries to escape but he gets cornered by Stein, who unmasks him and gets shocked, seeing Russo's face. Russo uses his distraction and stabs Stein, before fleeing from the scene. Madani finds Stein and desperatly tries to call for help but Stein bleeds to death in her arms, being unable to tell her about Russo. Devastated by the death of her partner, Madani returns home and Russo washes the blood off her body in the bathtub.
==Cast==
Main Cast:
*Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher
*Ebon Moss-Bachrach as David Lieberman/Micro
*Ben Barnes as Billy Russo
*Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani
*Paul Schulze as William Rawlins
*Michael Nathanson as Sam Stein
*Jaime Ray Newman as Sarah Lieberman
Guest Stars:
*Kobi Frumer as Zach Lieberman
*Graham Wolfe as Tom Weems
*Quincy Chad as Spencer Geiger
*Andrea Leigh as Carla Russo
*Porter Kelly as Nurse Katie
*Patrick Michael Walsh Jr. as Jim Pruitt (uncredited)
*Kage Yami as Mike Bashille (uncredited)
==Appearances==
===Locations===
*New York City, New York
**Micro's Hideout
**Dinah Madani's Apartment
**Homeland Security Headquarters
**Lieberman Residence
**Abandoned Warehouse
**
**Ray of Hope (mentioned)
*Arlington, Virginia (mentioned)
*Roanoke, Virginia (mentioned)
** (mentioned)
*New Haven, Connecticut (mentioned)
**Yale University (mentioned)
*Wallingford, Connecticut (mentioned)
** (mentioned)
*Harvard University (mentioned)
*Kandahar, Afghanistan (mentioned)
*Uruguay (mentioned)
*Kentucky (mentioned)
*Fort Bryon (mentioned)
*Albany, New York (mentioned)
*Iraq (mentioned)
*Vietnam (mentioned)
===Events===
*Cerberus Concealment Conspiracy
**Ambush at the Abandoned Warehouse
**Attack on William Rawlins (mentioned)
**Attack on Gunner Henderson (mentioned)
**Infiltration into Fort Bryon (mentioned)
**Assassination of Morty Bennett (mentioned)
**Robbery of the Greek Mob's Arsenal (mentioned)
*Operation Cerberus (mentioned)
===Items===
*Billy Russo's Hidden Blade
*Bulletproof Vest
*O'Harren's Scotch Whisky
===Vehicles===
To be added
===Creatures===
* (mentioned)
* (mentioned)
===Organizations===
*United States Department of Homeland Security
*Anvil
*CIA
*FBI (mentioned)
*Rawlins Logistics Corp (mentioned)
*New York Bulletin (mentioned)
*Greek Mob (mentioned)
*United States Marine Corps (mentioned)
*United States Department of State (mentioned)
* (mentioned)
===Mentioned===
*Morty Bennett
*Matthew Ellis
*Farah Madani (photo)
*Arthur Walsh
*Jack DeLeon
*Maria Castle
*Gunner Henderson (photo)
*Frank Castle, Jr.
*Lisa Castle
*Leo Lieberman
*Mario Castle
*Louisa Castle
*Dinesh
*
*
*Wu-Tang Clan
==References==
==External Links==
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*
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Category:The Punisher Episodes