[ he knows the frustration because, hell, that'd been him at the very start of this for months, was still him even now when the games they threw at them were ludicrous enough. frank castle's always looked for any method of presenting a big "fuck you" to anyone who's tried to get a hold of him, and it certainly wasn't ending while he was here.

except sometimes it had to. when there's people to protect, sometimes you have to play along. ]

Hey, hey, hey — [ he reaches out with his free arm, palm clasping at her opposite shoulder, not to necessarily grab her but to halt her enough to stop fidgeting. ] First, take a breath? You keep up with that, you're gonna end up choking us both. Shit gets tighter every time you move.

[ and he's not about to be declared "death by t-shirt". ]

You ain't gonna learn anything at all by rocking back and forth in this thing. Take it a step at a time. Observe your surroundings and see all of your options. Take notes, consider your advantages, and proceed from there. [ spoken like a soldier, through and through. ] Promise you, making a scene while you don't got the right shit to fight back is only gonna fuck you.