Manfredi and Johnson.

Chapter 20 – Old hero in a sewer.

…

Johnson's log.

I don't know.

I just don't know, damn it.

I had everything ready. I had completely in mind how I was going to make O'Hara pay for what he did. And now this. I am incredibly happy that my old teammates are all alive, and they did well in all those years.

Rico became an official weapon's expert, and Kowalski got my old rank: first lieutenant. Even young Private has improved his fighting skills, though on the other hand he's still the one who acts like a child in the team.

I am very happy to see my friends again. So happy that they are a live.

And yet I have never felt so horrible. Because now that they are alive, what purpose do I have left? I wanted to avenge my teammates' death, but how can I do that when they are not dead? All my years of planning and research have been for nothing. I don't know what to do with the rest of my life.

I think this is going to be my last log entry. Because now that Skipper is alive, I'm no leader anymore. I'm not even first lieutenant, because I didn't want to throw Kowalski from his rightful place. He deserves to be lieutenant. I do not.

What the heck is even left of my life?

…

"Rockgut?"

The possum looked at Zoey with a frown. "You mean Buck Rockgut, the famous retired agent."

"Yes, how do you know?" Zoey said.

"Many here have heard of him," the possum said. "But I've never seen him. I actually don't even know what he looks like."

Zoey sighed. "Have you seen this penguin, then?" she asked, showing the possum the picture of Buck Rockgut that she had kept in het bag.

The possum took one look at the picture, and then started laughing. "Sure I have seen him," he said. "he's the old looney who lives in that old, blocked sewer pipe. There's an entrance under the bridge to the village over there. There you'll probably find him."

Zoey put the picture away again. "Thank you." She said, as she walked to the bridge.

Under the bridge was a round door, that was almost half under water. Zoey still managed to get it open and stepped inside a half-dark room.

"Close that door!" a low, hoarse voice said. "The water is getting in."

Zoey obeyed and closed the door. Then she looked at the direction where the voice seemed to be coming from.

"Mr. Rockgut?" she asked.

The penguins that was standing in the corner turned around, and Zoey recognized the old rockhopper penguin with the crazy-looking, red eyes from the picture.

"Special agent Buck Rockgut," the penguin said. "at your service, missy."

Zoey cleared her throat. Till so far, he didn't seem so bad.

"My name is agent Zoey," she said, stepping forward. "I've come…"

She couldn't finish her sentence, because Buck Rockgut was interrupting her.

"Agent, huh?" he said. "agent for what? Evil? So you like evil, right? You know who likes evil, too? The Red Squirrel!"

Zoey frowned. She had been warned not to talk about red squirrels with this person, so she decided to calmly continue her sentence.

"I've come to ask you a few questions, mr. Rockgut." The female Skunk said.

"Questions, huh?" Buck said. "You know who else likes questions? The Red Squirrel!"

Zoey's frown deepened. She was beginning to think that this penguin might be a bit on the crazy side.

"Okay, Mr. Rockgut." Zoey said. "I'm not here to talk about squirrels. This is about a penguin named O'Hara. Have you ever heard of him?"

For a minute, Buck Rockgut was silent and looked at Zoey with an astonished expression. But then his (slightly) paranoid expression returned.

"I do not just tell anything to anyone," He said. "How do I know you can be trusted?"

"As long as you are on the side of Manfredi and Johnson," Zoey said. "I am on your side."

"I don't know any Manfredi or Johnson," Buck said.

"Do you know four penguins called Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private, then?" Zoey asked.

That seemed to ring a bell. "Now you mention it," Buck said. "I do remember folks like that." He thought for a while, then he held up his flipper. "Of course, those were those soldiers that helped me find the Red Squirrel!"

"Oh, shut up about your Red Squirrel!" Zoey snapped at him, annoyed.

She realized she had done something stupid when she saw Buck Rockgut's crazy, widened eyes fixed on her.

"You know who else likes being angry?" he asked.

"The red squirrel?" Zoey guessed, her voice sounding a bit sarcastic.

"THE RED SQUIRREL!" Buck screamed. He looked Zoey straight into the eyes. "I knew it!" he said. "I knew you were his spy. But I've got you now."

Zoey took a step back. "Hey," she said. "calm down, old man. I'm not a spy. I don't even know this red squirrel, or whatever it is."

"You don't fool me," Buck said, taking a few steps forward.

Zoey wasn't sure if she was afraid or just confused. But she certainly didn't feel comfortable. This guy was completely bonkers.

But then her confusion and fear turned into annoyance and she slapped Buck Rockgut in his face, hard.

"And now I've had enough!" she said. "snap out of it!"

Buck blinked a few times, and then looked at Zoey in confusion. "Who are you?" he asked.

Zoey rolled her eyes. "I am agent Zoey Skunk," she said. "I'm helping a few penguins who you probably know, and in order to do that, I'm going to need your help, too."

"You're working with Skipper and his boys?" Buck asked.

Zoey was suddenly silent for a while, and she looked at the old penguin. Didn't he know?

Then she sighed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Rockgut," she said. "Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private have been dead for years."

Buck stared at her with his crazy red eyes, one eyebrow raised. "That's not possible," he said. "they helped me finding the Red Squirrel less than a year ago."

"How long have you been in this sewer exactly?" Zoey asked.

Buck thought for a while, then he replied: "half a year."

"Hm," Zoey said. There was something not right about all this. Buck Rockgut was crazy, but she didn't think he was imagining this. He was telling the truth, she could see that in his eyes. So, either there were four penguins who looked a lot like Skipper and his boys, or Manfredi and Johnson's old teammates were really alive.

But she would have time to think about that later. Right now, she had to think about why she came here: to ask Buck Rockgut about O'Hara.

"Listen, Mr. Rockgut," she said. "I'm really going to need to know how well you know e certain rockhopper penguin called O'Hara."

"O'Hara," Buck said. "How do you know about my cousin?"

Zoey blinked a few times. "What?" she said then. "Cousin?"

Now that was something she wouldn't have expected. Buck Rockgut and O'Hara were cousins?

"He was always the black sheep of the family," Buck explained. "I'm not surprised that he chose to become a criminal."

'O'Hara was the black sheep?' Zoey thought to herself. 'then I'm not sure if I want to know what the rest of the Rockgut family is like.'

"Hey, wait a minute," Zoey said, when she suddenly noticed something strange about this story. "O'Hara's name isn't Rockgut, so how can he be your cousin?"

"He's my first cousin once removed," Buck explained. "from mother's side."

Zoey counted the possibilities on her fingers. "Oh," she said then. "now I get it."

"Well, what has he done this time?" Buck asked.

Zoey sighed. "That's a long story," she said. "but I'll tell you."

They sat down at the table that was in the middle of the room and Zoey started telling her story.

…

"Johnson?"

Johnson knew who it was: it was Manfredi. His old, faithful friend Manfredi.

"Johnson, what are you doing? What is that gun for?"

Johnson sighed. Yes, there he was again. What was he actually doing? He wanted to be dead. He wanted to kill himself. But every time he was so close to actually doing it, something made him stop. He had to choose. Either had was going to do it now, or he would drop the gun that he had in his flippers now and never try to end his life again.

It was a hard decision. Johnson felt like he had nothing left in this life. His goal had been to take revenge for his friends' death. And now that goal was pointless. And so, his life had become pointless. But was it enough to kill himself for?

"Johnson?"

When Johnson heard Manfredi's voice again, he turned around. Manfredi looked at him with worry in his blue eyes.

Manfredi. Johnson thought. I can't leave him. I swore I would protect him, no matter what. And I won't break my promise.

Rebecca…

No, don't think about Rebecca. Think about Manfredi. Rebecca is dead, you can't change that. But Manfredi is still alive, Johnson. And you are the one who has to make sure he actually stays alive. No matter what.

"No matter what," Johnson whispered.

He dropped the gun on the ground. He cleared his throat. "I'm alright, Manfredi," he said. "I was just having… a down moment. But I'm fine now."

Manfredi looked relieved. "Okay then," he said, and he sounded happy again.

To be very honest, Johnson felt relieved too. He felt almost as if he was cured from his morbid thoughts. He knew they would never go away, but he knew he would learn to control them.

He smiled.