Chapter Twenty-One: Stone-Faced Tyler
The rest of the trip went quiet, Tyler did not even bother to answer Mark's lingering question. Mark was patched up and then discharged from the hospital in a matter of hours. And before they knew it, they were pulling up by the front door of Bim Trimmer's building.
The engine let out one last roar before dying down, along with the headlights gradually fading out. Mark realized that it was in the wee hours of the morning, the skies were in a blue hue lit by the rising sun.
Tyler pulled the keys out and rested an arm on the wheel, turning his head to look at Mark.
"How's your arm?" He asked, only half of his face illuminated by the streetlights outside.
Mark saw a hint of sadness in Tyler's blue eyes, a rare instance since he was always poker-faced - or Stone-faced as Mark dubs him.
"It still hurts a bit." Mark replied staring down at his right arm that was supported by an arm sling. He barely felt anything below the bullet wound in his shoulder, feeling minor pangs when he tried moving his fingers.
Tyler gave a weak smirk and nodded.
"Thanks for saving me back there." The YouTuber added, smiling, "How did you know I was gonna go to the pier?"
Tyler chuckled, "Heh, first of all, you said you were just going jogging - why the hell did you hail a cab right after stepping out of the building?"
"Ohh." Mark's eyes grew wide, he shrunk in embarrassment, "I should've been more subtle, eh?"
"Yes. And second-" He held up two fingers, "Felix knew Dark would attack you right in the heart by kidnapping the person you love... Er, what his men thought was the person you love."
Mark sighed, thinking about Seán who was randomly pulled into this clusterfuck of a mission. He shook his head, "W-wait, Felix knew?"
"Yeah. I placed a tracking device under one of their vans so we will know where they're going." Tyler smiled, bringing out a small, pen-shaped device with its tip blinking red, "Dark thinks he's two steps ahead but in fact, we're also on the same step as he is... you get the point."
"Clever guy."
He glanced at his watch, "Well, Bumbum, we should probably call it a day." He said avoiding Mark's gaze as he turned to face the door.
"Hold on, man." Mark spoke.
"What is it?" Tyler replied, looking back at him over the shoulder, hand already on the handle.
"You never answered my question." Mark sat still on his seat, staring at Tyler.
"What question?"
"You know what question it is, Ty." He furrowed his eyebrows, "You're just avoiding it."
"Goodnight, Fischbach." Tyler pushed the door open.
In an instant, Mark grabbed Tyler by the collar and pulled him back in the car with a powerful tug.
"For Pete's sake, Tyler! Just tell me what the fuck's going on!" He snarled, his voice amplified by the small space of the vehicle. "Ever since we got back from the warehouse you've been acting strange lately!"
Tyler was as rigid as a statue.
"I know something's bothering you, and what Damien said had something to do with it." Mark said, his hand still grasping his friend's shirt. But he immediately realized this that he let go. "Just... c'mon, dude, tell me."
A single tear slipped out of his friend's eye as he stared out the windshield and at the road.
"Before you were even brought in for training, Felix sent me to go after Damien." Tyler began, Mark sat there having a blank expression. "We almost got him in New Jersey. I had him cornered in his office, gun in hand ready to shoot," His voice faltered, "I fucked up, and he got away because of it. He was provoking me to shoot him, calling me offensive slurs, and it got to me, I dunno how but it did. It turned out he was stalling, stalling long enough for his men to break him out of there."
Mark's once expressionless face slowly turned into a frown.
"I guess I'm not as Stone-Faced as you say I am." Tyler sniffed, "After that Damien had moved forward with his plan. I blame myself for that, had I not given in we wouldn't be counting down to the end of the world."
Tyler was not crying, but his tone was shaky.
Mark sighed, putting a hand on his friend's back, "It isn't your fault, well... not entirely."
"What?" His head snapped at Mark quick.
"I mean, you don't have to be hard on yourself for that." Mark shrugged.
"I never do anything right, I'm afraid of fucking up if I get back out there."
"Don't be scared, Tyler. Everyone has a second chance at making things right."
"But what if I fail?" He mumbled, looking back into Mark's eyes, "What if I screw up again?"
"Three weeks ago you told me a simple phrase that has made a huge impact in me. And I've been using that to keep me going. Now, It's my turn to quote you quoting me," Mark placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze,
"Believe in yourself."
Tyler looked down at his feet, biting his lip and nodding slightly.
"I know it's so cliche, but you have to. Nothing will happen unless you make it happen. And believing in oneself is a very important aspect to it." Mark released his grip and turned to the door, opening it with his free arm and stepping outside, now feeling the cold breeze of the morning air. "We should get inside now, we should both get some rest."
Apocalypto exited the car, locking it behind them as they went up the stone steps to the front entrance.
Upon opening the door, they were greeted by Felix, who was in a casual attire, looking fresh as if he had woken up from a long, well deserved rest despite the time being four in the morning. He had his eyes on Mark then at Tyler.
"K." Mark greeted.
"Boys." He nodded, placing his hands behind his back sporting a wide grin on his face, "So Dark thinks he's outsmarted us, eh?"
"You knew all this time?" Mark asked.
"You've got a lot of guts, Bumbum. I knew you'd be perfect for the job." Felix turned around and walked up the main staircase. Mark and Tyler followed, "Of course I knew, do you think I'd give you that ruby that easy in the first place?"
They were now making their way back to the office.
"Tyler's right, we may have the ruby, but there's no stopping Dark from carrying out his grand scheme. Which is why I thought ahead, thinking of all possible outcomes that might happen after we've acquired the MacGuffin. Luckily, Dark went with the easier route: by holding someone for ransom. With proper timing," They stopped in front of Felix's office, the boss having one hand on the knob, "I had Ethan pick up Amy from the airport."
Hearing Amy's name had Mark's heartbeat going haywire.
As soon as Felix pushed the door inward, Mark saw a blonde-haired woman sitting on the couch chatting with Marzia, sipping on a cup of hot coffee.
"Amy... Baby?" Mark's chest pounded with anticipation.
Amy turned her head to his direction, practically jumped out of her seat and ran at Mark, flinging her arms around his neck and crashing her lips into Mark's. The agent wrapped his unbroken arm around her, kissing back with intense passion and longing, relieved that she was safe and sound.
She pulled away to take a breath, pressing their foreheads together.
"I-I'm so sorry I lied to you, Amy. I-I did it to protect you. Please forgive me." Mark said, words piling one on top of the other.
"It's okay." Amy replied, her fingers twirling the curls of his hair, "Oh God, are you alright? You're hurt!" She saw the sling around his shoulder.
"I'll be fine, I'm glad you're safe." He breathed, a smile across his face.
They leaned in for a kiss again.
"But seriously, you have a lot of explaining to do." Amy said, chortling.
"I know, and you better have a notebook to write it all down, it's very long story that it's probably at least twenty-one chapters... and counting."
They giggled.
"But, we're not in the big climax yet." Mark added, "Dark's still out there and he has both the ruby and Jack."
"Wait... Jack? As in Jacksepticeye?" Felix raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, apparently Dark's men not that bright." Tyler shrugged.
Felix roared with laughter, "Jeez, I hate to be Jack right now."
"Which is why we need to get Damien, who knows what he'll do to Jack." Mark replied.
Felix shuddered, "Hopefully not the fantasies of fangirls shipping Darkiplier-Jacksepticeye have."
Tyler and Mark cringed.
"We're doing whatever we can to follow Darkiplier." Ethan said, pulling out a tablet that displayed a map of Brighton that had a single blip moving about, "That's his current spot, we'll be monitoring his movements for the next few days."
"Great." Mark praised.
"We'll let you know if we find something unusual in his movements." The blue haired man said.
"Oh, and Mark?" Felix spoke up. The YouTuber turned around and saw Felix by the doorway, "There's still one more thing I have to show you."
"What is it?" He asked.
"You'll have to come and see." K motioned for him to follow.
Mark went after Felix as they went out and into the hallway, "What do you want me to see?"
"Just follow me. You'll find out soon once we get there."
"Could you please stop being so shady, K. My head hurts, I haven't slept in three days, I'm feeling woozy, and I've been shot. Why the hold up?"
Felix rolled his eyes, stopping in front of a different room a little ways from where his office was. He swung the door open revealing a small room where a man was laying in bed sound asleep and lacking a shirt, instead having bandages around his abdomen that a small bloodstain in the middle. As if right on cue, the man opened his eyes, and wiggled his bright pink mustache on his lip.
"I'll be damned." Mark mumbled, meeting his friend's gaze.
"Mark Edward Fischbach." Wilford spoke proudly.
"William J. Barnum." Mark replied.
Wilford slowly sat up, grunting, "Looks like we both took a bullet for Damien."