Chapter Twelve: Justice

June 2nd, 2019.

Rigby groaned in pain and fell over, like a ragdoll. Felix screamed, almost like a girl.

"Why would you do that!?" Felix shouted.

"It didn't feel as good as I thought it would…" Eric rubbed his handgun.

"Why would you do that?!" Felix asked, for the second time.

"I…I thought he'd shut up." Eric answered.

"Are you serious? You've just killed him!" Felix shouted.

"No I didn't, he's still alive." Eric pointed.

Indeed, Eric was right, Rigby was still moving.

"Why're you doing this?" Felix asked.

"This isn't about money anymore, is it?" Felix asked.

"It never was." Eric shook his head.

"What? So you lied about you son being killed?" Felix was shocked.

"I never had a son…that was just a lie…" Eric continued to stroke his handgun, slowly and steadily.

"Then, why're you doing this?" Felix asked.

"All these continuous questions are getting on my nerves." Eric said.

"So, SHUT UP." Eric ordered, putting the handgun to Felix's head. Felix glanced at Rigby, who was still groaning in pain, bleeding out as they spoke.

"Ple-..."

"What did I say?" Eric asked. Felix shut his mouth and sighed.

Not too long later, Mordecai and some of the police officers were standing beside Riley's hospital bed.

"How long was she out?" Officer Sam asked the doctor.

"It seems she was only out for a few hours. She wasn't dead, she was just unconscious, and otherwise the life support machine wouldn't be working." The doctor explained.

"Pulse?" Mordecai asked.

"Normal. Though when we brought her in it was a bit over-average." The doctor answered.

"Any fingerprints on the body, indicating she was man-handled?" Officer Johnstone asked.

"Yes, actually. But we didn't get proper fingerprints because the assailant was wearing gloves." The doctor explained.

"Before you ask any more questions, I have other patients to attend to. Nurse! Can you watch over this one?" The doctor called.

"Yes Doctor, go ahead." A nurse walked in and the doctor walked out.

"Will she make it?" Mordecai asked.

"Well, she's still breathing and her hearts still beating, so there's a good chance she'll survive." The nurse said, examining some of the machines around Riley's hospital bed.

"Officers. Do you think we should go find my other friends?" Mordecai asked.

"Yes, we should. Officer Sam, can you stay with Riley?" Officer Johnstone asked.

"Yes. Go along with the bird." Officer Sam answered. Mordecai rolled his eyes and walked out of the hospital with Officer Johnstone.

"Why do I feel like I know your face?" Mordecai asked.

"I don't know." Officer Johnstone shrugged.

"Wait, are you a friend of a guy called Muscleman?" Mordecai asked.

"Muscleman?" Officer Johnstone got into the driver's side of his police cruiser.

"Mitch." Mordecai said.

"Yes, I do." Officer Johnstone answered. Mordecai just nodded and walked over to the police car and got into the passenger's side.

"So, where are we going?" Officer Johnstone asked.

"I don't know…um…the bridge I guess?" Mordecai suggested.

"Alright then." Officer Johnstone sighed.

"Ahhh…gurrhh…" Rigby groaned in pain.

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Eric groaned.

"Well, you did shoot him." Felix shrugged.

"Shut up, Morgan." Eric said.

"I don't go by that name anymore." Felix argued.

"Whatever. So…if you're not gonna get me my money, what am I gonna do with you?" Eric asked himself.

"You could let us go." Felix suggested.

"No…it's too late for that…" Eric muttered.

"OH! I got it!" Eric shouted.

"What?" Rigby groaned.

"I'll hold you hostage!" Eric laughed.

"Oh for god's sake." Felix shook his head.

"I don't see anything." Mordecai said, looking at the bridge.

"Any trace of someone being here?" Officer Johnstone asked.

"Actually…I see oil." Mordecai pointed.

"Shall we follow it?" Officer Johnstone asked.

"Definitely, let's go!" Mordecai exclaimed. Officer Johnstone put his siren on and they began to follow the oil tracks.

"You think we'll find them alive?" Mordecai asked.

"I sure as hell hope so." Officer Johnstone sighed.

Half an hour later, the police car was in the countryside.

"Why are we out here?" Officer Johnstone asked.

"Not sure, let's just hope that this oil track actually belongs to the people who took my friends." Mordecai hoped.

"Same here." Officer Johnstone muttered.

"Look, the oil tracks lead to a cabin." Mordecai pointed to the left.

"Let's go there then." Officer Johnstone turned off onto a dirt road.

"Shit! I hear police sirens…" Eric said.

"Finally…" Rigby groaned. Eric ran out the back door of the cabin and noticed a delivery van.

"I have three boxes of pizzas for a Mr Eric Freight." A man said. Eric pulled out his handgun and shot the man in the head.

"Now we've got a van." Eric said, walking back inside.

"Come on! We're leaving, get up and walk out the back!" Eric shouted.

"Rigby can't walk." Felix said.

"Then carry him!" Eric shouted, pointing the handgun to his head.

"Undo my binds first." Felix said. Eric rolled his eyes and shot open the binds that were tying Felix's hands together.

"Now do it!" Eric shouted. Felix stood up slowly and picked Rigby up.

"I'm sorry kid…" Felix sighed.

"Outside! NOW!" Eric shouted. The sirens outside were getting closer to the cabin. Felix walked outside with Rigby in his hands.

"Into the back of the van!" Eric shouted.

"It's a pizza van?" Felix chuckled.

"Shut up!" Eric exclaimed. Felix placed Rigby in the back of the van, then sat beside him.

Eric ran up to the back of the van and shut the doors of it. Eric pulled out his cell-phone.

"Tom, bring some of the guys along, we have tresspassers in the cabin. Do something to get rid of them." Eric said into his phone.

"Yes boss." 'Tom' answered.

"And no shooting, we don't want to attract attention." Eric said.

"Fine." 'Tom' hang up. Eric noticed a couple of tanks of petrol beside the cabin and had a great idea. He quickly ran into the cabin and emptied the tanks and came back out. He got back out his cell-phone and called 'Tom' again.

"Tom, I've spread petrol in the cabin. I think you know what to do." Eric said.

Eric was still out the back with Felix and Rigby, and the van when Mordecai and Officer Johnstone arrived. Mordecai and Officer Johnstone ran into the cabin.

"Hands up!" Officer Johnstone shouted to no-one in particular.

"There's no-one in here." Mordecai said.

"Damn." Officer Johnstone holstered his gun.

"This place stinks." Mordecai said.

"It smells like gas." Officer Johnstone coughed.

"Look, there's something over there." Mordecai pointed to a nearby wall.

"There's blood here and bullet-holes." Mordecai said.

"I can see that." Officer Johnstone walked over to it.

"There's also some bit of rope here." Mordecai picked it up. "

Think it was used to strangle your friends?" Officer Johnstone asked. "

There's no blood on it." Mordecai pointed out.

"Oh." Officer Johnstone said. Suddenly, their search was interrupted by the sound of cars approaching.

"What the?" Mordecai said. Suddenly, glass bottles, with a match lit inside them began to be thrown through the front windows.

"The gas! The gas! We have to get out of here right now!" Mordecai shouted, frantically. Officer Johnstone and Mordecai tried to get through the cabin, as large amounts of fire continued to ignite the cabins' insides. Suddenly, Mordecai noticed a stove in the kitchen of the cabin, and a propane tank next to it.

"Look! By the stove! Shoot the tank!" Mordecai shouted. Officer Johnstone un-holstered his gun and shot the propane tank, causing it to explode. Officer Johnstone and Mordecai ran through a newly-made hole they'd just made from the explosion. They noticed that they were out the back.

"Look!" Mordecai pointed to the van.

"TPPD! Stop right there!" Officer Johnstone shouted.

Suddenly, the van drove off. "Get in the cruiser, we're going after them!" Officer Johnstone shouted, running out to the front of the cabin and jumping into the police car with Mordecai. Officer Johnstone switched on the sirens and began to pursue the van.

The van drove down the back of the cabin's driveway and onto the road that lead out of Twin Peaks.

"FUCK! WHAT DO I DO!?" Eric screamed.

"Oh wait…if I can get them over the border…I might be able to lose them!" Eric exclaimed. Eric suddenly turned around and drove past the cruiser and into Twin Peaks.

"Turn!" Mordecai shouted. Officer Johnstone stopped slowly and turned around. Quickly he caught up to the van.

"How're we going to stop it?" Mordecai asked.

"We can't shoot the tires or hit the van, because there might be people in there." Officer Johnstone said.

"Call it in?" Mordecai asked.

"Good idea!" Officer Johnstone exclaimed and picked up his radio.

"This is Officer Johnstone! Can anyone hear me? Over." Officer Johnstone asked.

"Officer Johnstone, this is HQ, what's wrong?" A voice over the radio asked.

"I'm pursuing a possible kidnapping suspect on the back roads leading to Twin Peaks. It's a big red 'Pizza Capers' Van." Johnstone explained.

"License plate?" A voice over the radio asked.

"66 FA 41." Officer Johnstone answered.

"Do you need a helicopter, or backup?" The voice over the radio asked.

"I'll need some backup and possibly a roadblock, we have a feeling he's trying to cross the border to go up north." Officer Johnstone said.

"Alright, we'll send in some backup, please keep us posted." The voice over the radio said.

"Roger that." Officer Johnstone put the radio down.

"TPPL, OFFICER JOHNSTONE IS IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE, CRUISER 41 IS PURSUING A POSSIBLE KIDNAPPING SUSPECT ALONG THE BACK-ROADS LEADING INTO TWIN PEAKS, AND APPROACH WITH CAUTION, THERE MAY BE CIVILIANS INSIDE. CODE FIVE, I REPEAT, CODE FIVE." The radio spoke.

The van sped its way through Twin Peaks and onto the free-way, leading towards Cartlyn Falls. The van sped past hundreds of cars trying to get to their destinations, almost causing several accidents in the process. The van turned left onto Freeway 65, leading towards California. Suddenly, a few other police cars joined the pursuit, including some of the black SUVs from earlier.

"ALL UNITS, ALL UNITS, WE HAVE TWO NEW SUSPECT VEHICLES, TWO BLACK CADILLAC ESCALADES ARE TRYING TO ASSIST THE RED PIZZA VAN, USE CAUTION AND USE OF DEADLY FORCE IS AUTHORISED IN TAKING DOWN THE TWO SUSPECT SUVs. ANY OTHER UNITS, STAND BY FOR FURTHER." The radio spoke.

"Call in a roadblock! I've seen all those cop movies!" Mordecai shouted.

"Those were just cop movies, are you sure?" Officer Johnstone asked.

"Yeah, do it." Mordecai assured.

"Cruiser 41 here, we're gonna need a roadblock across the Twin Peaks Freeway 65, a few kilometres from our location." Officer Johnstone said into his radio.

"How far are you along Freeway 65?" The radio asked.

"Two kilometres from west of Twin Peaks." Officer Johnstone replied.

"Alright, I'll send it in." The radio said.

"It's been sent in, hopefully it'll stop this chase." Officer Johnstone said.

"And keep them alive." Mordecai replied. Officer Johnstone nodded and continued the pursuit.

In the back of the van, Felix was trying his best to keep Rigby alive and breathing, though there wasn't much to do, seeming as they were in the back of a van full of Pizzas.

"You still alive, little guy?" Felix asked, using his hands to cover the hole in his chest, which was created by the bullet piercing it.

"Don't…take…out…the bullet…" Rigby groaned.

"I won't." Felix replied.

"Shit!" They heard Eric shout from the front seat. Suddenly, the van began to skid, the Pizzas in the back of the van got thrown around, staining the walls. The van suddenly came to a stop.

"What the?" Felix asked himself.

"We got 'im!" A voice over the radio shouted, cheerfully.

"Yeah!" Officer Johnstone laughed. Some of the cruisers boxed the van in, while the other cops dealt with the other SUVs. Mordecai opened the door of the cruiser, stepped out and slammed the door frantically.

"Hey! That's my cruiser!" Officer Johnstone shouted.

"Sorry!" Mordecai shouted. Mordecai and a couple of other officers pulled open the back door of the van, while a few other officers apprehended Eric and the rest of his men in the SUVs.

The back door was opened and Rigby and Felix were finally seeing the light of day again. Rigby's vision began to fade, he was about to pass out, he could only make out a couple of sentences before passing out.

"What happened to him…?"

"Oh god…call…c-call the ambulance…"

"Wake up man…wake up…"

Two days later, Rigby was back in a place that was all-too familiar for him; the hospital.

"I'm so tired…" Rigby groaned.

"I know, but you can't sleep yet, they still need to remove the bullet." Mordecai rubbed his friend's paw.

"Is Riley alright?" Rigby asked.

"Yeah…she's on crutches." Mordecai answered.

"That's good…" Rigby sighed.

"This place seems to be a habit of ours, eh?" Mordecai chuckled.

"Yeah, it seems like I live here now. I know all the doctor's and nurses' names." Rigby said, without laughing.

"Sorry, I can't laugh…it hurts too much." Rigby apologized.

"It's fine." Mordecai answered.

"Why did that man take you and Felix away? And almost killed Riley?" Mordecai asked.

"Ask Felix." Rigby replied.

"I can't he's-…"

"I'm right here." Felix said, walking in.

"Nice to see you." Rigby greeted.

"Same here, kiddo." Felix grabbed a chair and sat beside Rigby's bed.

"How're you feelin'?" Felix asked.

"Better than yesterday, without you guys, I'd be eating hospital food. Now…that's something I wouldn't want wish upon my worst enemies." Rigby chuckled.

"What would you do without us?" Mordecai smiled at him.

"So…what were you going to ask me?" Felix glanced over at Mordecai.

"Just wondering, why were you guys kidnapped?" Mordecai asked, for the second time.

"It was complicated…I don't even know…" Felix lied.

"Guess we'll never know, eh?" Mordecai sighed.

"If you don't mind, Mordecai. I'd like to talk to Rigby for a minute." Felix said.

"Alright, let me know when I can come back. I'll be right outside the door. Love ya." Mordecai chuckled, petting his friend on the head and tapping Felix on the shoulder.

Mordecai walked out the door and sat outside.

"You…promise not to tell anyone?" Felix asked.

"I promised. I don't want to promise again." Rigby said.

"I'm happy I can trust you." Felix smiled at Rigby.

"Thank you." Rigby thanked his friend.

"Why did you take it anyway?" Rigby questioned.

"It belonged to me in the first place." Felix said, pulling out a small diamond from his pocket.

"Well, alright, but isn't your life more important than a diamond?" Rigby asked.

"Maybe, maybe not." Felix shrugged.

Rigby sighed.

"What's up?" Felix asked, noticing Rigby's sigh.

"I don't know, I just wish this didn't always happen to me. Is it because I'm small? Is it because I'm a raccoon? Do I have bad luck? I dunno." Rigby sighed.

"There's no need to think like that." Felix pet his friend on the shoulder.

"Sorry." Rigby apologized.

"Don't apologize, Jesus Christ. That's the only issue with you, you're a pushover." Felix plainly said.

"Wow, thanks for dampening my spirits." Rigby sighed.

"I'm sorry man, but tell me it isn't true." Felix smirked. Rigby sighed.

"I'm gonna go check on Riley, it seems everyone's in the hospital these days. Get well soon, dude." Felix said, walking out. Rigby was obviously saddened by Felix's statement. He sighed and said to himself.

"I'm not a pushover…I'll prove it."