Chapter Text
In a desolate cell deep in New York’s penitentiary a man with a ruined face was doing push ups next to his cot.
“58...59….” He counted in between his breaths.
The cell was bare save for the cot and a toilet and sink in the corner. On the wall the man had used a small pebble to mark the number of days of his imprisonment.
The day of his arrest and everything that came after had been humiliating.
Up until then the only people who had seen his face were hospital staff, his ANVIL boys, and Karen page and Frank Castle. And another, whom he had barely seen. Dressed in a skintight red suit.
Since then the media had plastered his face all over the newspapers and the reaction had been cruel. The guards made fun of him every time they came to his cell to escort him to questioning or to the showers or to whatever shitty thing he had to do.
“They’re calling you Jigsaw,” one of them had said to him, “You know? Like a jigsaw puzzle?”
The other guard had laughed so hard as if it had been the funniest joke he had ever heard. It had taken all of the willpower Billy could muster not to hit him.
“77...78...”
His arms ached but he persevered.
He had heard from another guard that Jeremy had died on the scene. His most loyal assistant, the most useful out of all of his ANVIL employees, had taken a bullet for him.
“80...81...”
Soon court proceedings would begin. Soon he would be found guilty and thrown into the prison’s general population.
There he could find Gutierrez. There he could gather a group around him. There he could begin again.
“98...99…”
But for now he did pushups.
And bided his time.