Chapter 19
Memory. Hate. Love. Family. Chimichangas.
"So there it is," Leon said, as the chopper flew towards the former site of the Nakatomi building. "That's where D's father's holed up." Chris and Honlon were already circling the upper floors, the blown out helipad their point of entry, as a ring of LAPD and walkers closed on the building. "You know he's probably waiting for us, right?"
"We have gas masks ready for everyone," Chuck said, holding one out for Leon. "From what you've told us, we're going to need them to protect against the incense he uses to create his hallucinations."
"So he did deal drugs?" Riggs said, looking at Orcot with disbelief. "I always thought this guy had his head up his ass with that." Then Riggs saw the look Leon was giving him, and shrugged. "What?"
"He did, but completely legal," Schroder said. "These materials he used were completely street legal, but combined in a powder that created audio-visual hallucinations that altered perception. Since D was such a proponent of animal rights, anyone with him would see animals as equals, as people, with the proper goading."
"That still doesn't explain what my brother saw," Leon said. "How'd he go from seeing a little Chinese girl to a three-headed dragon?"
"We'll find out eventually," Lucy said. "Right now, let's just focus no taking these bastards in."
"Detective, I'd recommend having the dragon let your brother off on the ground and having an officer escort him back to the stadium," Chuck said. "If the dragon turns on us, it would be disastrous."
"Yeah, you got it," Leon said, as the choppers came down to the hole. Patty went down first, after Val and the others forced her to promise she wouldn't push them out. Linus was the last out, and the chopper peeled off, Leon signaling to Honlon and Chris. The dragon glided down, and Chris jumped off, patting Junrei on her head. "Yeah Leon?"
"Chris, I want you to listen carefully," Leon said, drawing Chris away from the dragon. "I want you to have the dragon take you down to the ground and ask one of the police to take you back to the stadium, and you have to order, order, Honlon to stick around the building, okay?"
"Uh, sure, Leon…" Chris said, suddenly jumping up and wrapping his arms around his brother's waist. "Please come back," he whispered.
Leon smiled softly and ruffled his little brother's hair. "Don't worry, Chris. I won't leave you ever again." Letting Chris down, the child ran back to the dragon and told it what to do. Two of the heads nodded and flew off, dropping the boy off with Powell, who quickly ordered one of the nearby officers to take the boy to safety.
"Masks on," Chuck said, the group quickly donning the gas masks. Finding the door to the service stairs, they moved down single-file, scanning the stairs ahead for any enemies. As they did, a thin veil of smoke formed around their feet.
"You sure this stuff can only mess you up if you breathe it?" Grady said, seeing the smoke rise as they went further down.
"No," Leon said, following Chuck. "But it's better than just going down like idiots."
An animal's shriek brought them to a halt, but Burt and the others brought their weapons up, scanning the stairs. "Graboids," Burt whispered. "They're got graboids!"
"Another floor down," Chuck said, moving. Opening the door to the 37th floor, they froze, Burt and the others frozen in shock. On the thick concrete floor, five graboids lay still, shrieking and wriggling like fat sausages.
"They're about to hatch," Earl said. "We've gotta kill'em, we can't let those shriekers loose!"
"You read my mind, Earl," Burt said, loading the Grizzly, only for Chuck to put his hand on the barrel. "What!"
"We should leave one of them alive for study," Chuck said. "There have been rumors of similar creatures for centuries in Mongolia, if we can study a live graboid, we can know how to combat them."
"Are you crazy!" Val snapped, ripping Chuck's hand from the Grizzly. "You know what'll happen if the shriekers get loose! Unless you've got a fire extinguisher, we're not gonna get outta here alive!"
"They're practically extinct, having one to study-"
Burt didn't wait to hear Chuck's counter-argument. He went to one knee, shouldered the Grizzly so he wouldn't be floored by the recoil, and fired.
The blast was amazing, the others forced to cover their ears from the sound. If they had been able to watch in slow motion, the round entered the first graboid with a rather anticlimactic hole, the same size as the .50 BMG round. Inside the graboid, the cavity left by the round compressed the organs against each other, the infant shriekers crushed. The exit wound was a good foot and a half wide, as it slammed into the second graboid. The round slammed head on into the graboid's beak, small fissures running out from the impact point. It ran straight down the monster, through the shriekers, and out the tail end, the liquefied organs following. The round finally stopped when it slammed three inches into a concrete support beam. Val, Earl and Grady fired on the other three, shotgun pellets and 5.56 ripping through the leathery hides of the graboids, the shriekers inside torn apart as well.
"What the hell are you thinking!" Chuck shouted, grabbing Earl and turning him around. "We could have used those!"
"Those things should be extinct!" Earl shouted, fighting Chuck off. "What happens when they eat someone else, should we try and capture that one too!"
"He's right," Burt said, walking up behind Chuck. "I don't care how many of these things are left, there's no place in any food chain for them."
"Hey, there's time to argue animal rights later, let's just get these bastards!" Murtaugh said, stepping between the agents and the handymen. Silently, Chuck stormed down the stairs, the team following him. As they descended, the incense thickened, forcing the Peanuts to switch on the weapons attached to their flashlights.
"Hey, Rog, you hear that?" Riggs said, freezing in place. "Sounds familiar, don't it?"
"Shit, you're right," Murtaugh said, listening. "It's 'Nam."
"Nam?" Schroder said, pausing. Turning his head around, he nodded. "It does sound like there's a tropical rainforest nearby, 33rd floor."
"Entry team, this is Powell," the radio suddenly crackled, making them all jump. "Barricades are in position, we're hitting the spotlights now." Even over the radio, a hint of fear seeped through.
"Powell, you okay?" Murtaugh asked.
"No…No, I'm scared to death," Powell said. "I don't think any of us can take much more tonight."
"Powell, you feelin' okay?" Riggs asked. "You're the same guy who blasted apart a…what was it, a regenerator? Yeah, you blasted one of those apart during the Nakatomi incident!"
"At least they were only in it for the money, Riggs," Powell said. "If we'd just let'em escape, we probably wouldn't hear from them again. But these guys…" Powell shuddered. "They want to kill me, my family, just for existing! That scares me, Riggs. Scares me a helluva lot."
"Don't worry, Powell, once we take these bastards down, it'll be the end of it," Leon said. Finally, they stopped on the 33rd floor, the former site of the executive longue for the Nakatomi corporation, the same area where, on Christmas 1988, a dozen men seized the building and nearly killed thirty civilians. The LAPD got a collective shiver over the fact that another madman had taken the building as his own. Surrounding the door, Riggs looked down to see that plumes of incense smoke were billowing from the jam. Nodding to the others, he waited, then threw open the door, Chuck and his team moving inside, the detectives and handymen following.
The interior of the floor was a small jungle, palms and ferns growing high towards the ceiling, as smaller plants covered the concrete.
"Shit," Murtaugh said, looking around. "You were right Riggs, it is 'Nam." Turning, he found his partner had vanished. "Riggs? Where'd he go!"
"He was right behind us," Grady said, the last one through the door. As he spoke, the door slammed shut, vines creeping over it. Panicked, Grady and Val ran to the door, trying to pry it open, only for the vines to nearly cover them as well. Leaping away, they went to shoot at the door, only for Burt to grab them by the shoulders. "Don't!" he whispered. "You'll give away our position too soon! For all they know, we're well on our way inside!"
"He's right," Chuck said. "Spread out into a line, we'll move forward and take him in one go."
Creeping through the recreated rainforest, the team froze when they saw D, standing silently at a window, staring down on the barricades as a half dozen search lights crisscrossed the building's façade. Leon didn't think, he just roared, running at D and tackling him, D shocked, Q-chan flittering around, squeaking in futile protest at his master's treatment.
"What were you thinking!" Leon shouted, clocking D across the face. "You take me in, take in those people, just so you can save their Goddamn pets!" Another cross, D's nose running with blood. "Were you gonna kill all the people! All of us! What about you, D! Aren't you a human too! What about Chris!" Punch after punch, D's face bruised and bled, D putting up no protest.
"Officer Orcot, I ask that you please stop beating my son," said an older and more annoyed voice from ahead. "Or I will be forced to charge you with police brutality."
Looking behind him, Orcot saw a dais a few feet away, the others standing ready to shoot the man standing on it. He was slim, despite the billowing Asiatic clothing he wore. His hair was short, jet black, his eyes mismatched, like D's.
"Detective…" D gasped. "I'd like…to introduce…my father."
"Careful with him," TSgt. Kalo said, as the LA Airbase security forces guided Deadpool towards a waiting base chopper, which would take him to the supermax for holding. "He's got some kinda power, he's able to regenerate from any wound."
"Bull," one of the airmen said, keeping his weapon ready.
"No, I prefer chicken, actually," Deadpool said, before the airman behind him shoved his rifle into the small of Deadpool's back. Grumbling, Pool walked forward, hands cuffed in front, legs chained. Slowly, the airmen marched him up the steps of the plane. Finally in with him, the sergeant closed the door to the chopper. "Alright, pilot, take us up!"
"Oh, I think you should all know one small thing," Deadpool said, before shoving one of the airmen into the chopper door. He kicked the sergeant in the face, grabbing for his pockets. Taking out the keys, he headbutted the other airman, and quickly undid the cuffs, punching out the pilot and copilot. Before he could open the door, he was shot in the back of the head. "Oh, come on now! Was that really necessary, Mr. Author?" Turning, he grabbed the terrified Kalo by the lapels and glared. "Just for that, I'm taking you with me."
"Hotel India 1-4, we are seeing you haven't lifted off yet, is there a problem?" the tower operator said, looking down at the chopper. To answer his question, the doors opened, and the two pilots and three airmen that were on the chopper were tossed out in a pile. "Crap! Someone get security forces out there, he just overpowered the escort team!"
Running out to the tarmac, the S.F. teams were too late to prevent take-off, the downdraft from the chopper keeping them from getting a decent shot off. Winking at them, Deadpool jerked the stick hard right, swerving in and out of the L.A. skyline and power lines, out of the base's sight.
"Wow, that was fast," Italic said. "So do we take care of the rest now, or what?"
"No, we have to wait for the scene to climax at Nakatomi," Deadpool said, as Kalo struggled against his restraints. "Don't worry, in this story, I can't really kill government."
"Yeah, that makes me feel real better!" Kalo barked. And who the hell were you talking too!"
"I didn't say I couldn't knock you out," Deadpool said, squeezing on the NCO's shoulder. "Now, let's find that autopilot."
"Your…father?" Leon said, staring at the man. "But…he looks exactly like you!"
"Yes, a special trait of our line," D's father said, plucking a strand of hair from his head. Blowing it, it broke apart into a powder. As some of the particles passed by Leon, he knew he was going nuts, because each on appeared to have D's face on them. "Isn't that right, father?"
Silently, Leon and the others watched as Q-chan squeeked, then morphed into an even older version of D. "You still will go on with your plans, will you?"
"Is this plan why you worked with Millenium!" Chuck shouted. Turning, D's father smiled coyly.
"These vampires do not attack animals," he said calmly. "And they too will be destroyed after I unleash my virus. I tire of interrogations, agent. I suggest you play with my allies." At those words, a savage roar sounded from behind the group, a large tiger leaping out and swiping at Murtaugh. Even with his years of training and experience coming back, the swipe knocked his mask away, and he was quickly overtaken by the fumes, seeing not a tiger, but a Viet Cong melt into the forest.
"Detective, are you alright!" Linus shouted, before a red arm grabbed his mask away. A long trunk batted Patty and Marcy's masks away. Stumbling about, the jungle to them seemed to grow, engulfing yard upon yard of land that couldn't possibly exist.
"I am sorry, detective," D said. Before Leon could react, D tore his mask away, leaping up from underneath Leon and disappearing into the incense.
Slowly, one by one, the team lost their masks, seeing only jungle. The concrete was gone, replaced by small streams and trees taller than the roof. The sounds of a jungle at night attacked their ears, their eyes unable to see in the darkness.
"Now you can see," a distant voice said to the team, split up among the trees. In the distance, a red glow burned, and Murtaugh screamed out, "Napalm! The forest is burning down!"
"That burn killed my family," the voice said. Spinning towards it, Murtaugh fired at what he thought was it's origin, only for mocking laughter to greet him. "You Americans and your guns. You really think they can solve all your problems?"
"They sure as hell do a good job of it!" Burt shouted, shouldering his M16, scanning the brush. "You can't hide forever!"
"We can try," a gravelly voice said to his left, Burt spinning and firing at it, only to hear more laughter, from at least a dozen voices. Grady was so focused on the voices, he didn't see a root above the ground, sending him sprawling, his gun flying from his reach. Scrambling, he tried grab it back, only for a smooth, cold sensation to start winding around his legs. Looking back, he saw a man, dressed in a black Viet Cong's outfit, a jet black coolie hat on his head, wrapping his arms and body around Grady.
"You jussssst got sssssssssuckered," the man said, his tongue shooting out. Grady tried to force a scream from his throat, but just felt a weak gurgling.
Patty and Marcy kept together, Marcy keeping her eyes trained to the rear. "Sir, do you think we'll be alright without the masks?" she asked.
"You know what? Forget it, I'm done correcting you," Patty said, poking at a nearby bush with her weapon. "We should be fine, just shoot at anything that's Viet Cong."
"But sir, how can we tell if they're an animal easily wounded by ballistic weapons?" Marcy thought she heard an answer, but a rustle of leaves cut it off. Looking to where Patty was, Marcy froze. Her Patty had disappeared. "Sir! Sir, where are you!"
"Right here," the gravelly voice said, followed by thundering footsteps. Out of the bushes, a large Viet Cong, seven feet tall, stepped out, Patty being squeezed to death by his large hands. "Now drop your weapon, and I'll finish her quickly."
Murtaugh was still trying to tell himself it wasn't real when a large arm batted him five feet back. Trying to clear the stars from his eyes, he saw a man with slit eyes walked out of the brush. He tried to calm himself with the fact the man wasn't armed, until he saw the Viet Cong's fingernails grow out to a half a foot. "What are you," Murtaugh whispered, feeling around for his gun.
"An enemy of you Americans," the Viet Cong growled. Sneering, it stepped over to Murtaugh's weapon and kicked it away. "And you," he sniffed the air and smiled, baring incredibly sharp teeth to Murtaugh. "You smell like a warrior of this country. Your death will be most sweet."
"Great, now we're separated," Val grumbled. "Why don't we just have Scooby and Shaggy come in and tell us that we need to find Velma!"
"I'd say that's the gas talking, but you've always been that dumb," Earl said, poking a nearby bush with his weapon's barrel. "I say we make back for the windows, try to shoot that queer and finish this fast."
"Yeah, he's sure not a human being," Val said. "Keeping graboids like that? Not right at all."
"I know, and HOLY SHIT!" Earl shouted, as a huge muscled arm swung at them from the bushes. Nearby, someone started to shoot, but it was impossible to tell who. Backing up, Earl and Val saw a massive man rise out of the bushes, his coolie had a dark red. "Who the hell are you!"
"Your warriors called my kind 'rock men'. An insult to be called human," the Viet Cong said, spitting. "You are both as guilty as they."
"We'll see 'bout that!" Val shouted, raising his SPAS and firing away. In the time it took Val to raise his weapon, the man jumped forward, tackling Earl and knocking the man unconscious. Screaming, Val felt something slam into his gut, knocking the wind from his system. Looking up, he saw another red hated guerilla standing over him, smiling as he rose a huge rock to slam onto Val's head. Coughing, Val gasped, "Even after that…I'll still be better looking than you…"
With a roar, the Viet Cong readied to slam the rock down, as a series of rounds slammed into his back. The Viet Cong collapsed, his partner running up to attack the intruder, only for Riggs to jump down from an overhanging tree and break the man's neck. Still in his mask, Riggs walked over and helped the two up. "You guys okay? Those apes were about to mess you guys up!"
"Apes?" Val coughed. "What apes?"
"Those ones, you knucklehead," Riggs said, pointing to the bodies. Val blinked, seeing two misshapen apes now lying where the Viet Cong had fallen.
"But how…when…what!" he shouted. "When did they turn into animals!"
"I guess that gas really did get to you," Riggs said. "Don't worry, you guys just help the others!" With that, Riggs practically melted into the foliage again, leaving the two alone to help each other get situated. Hoping from team member to team member, Riggs killed everything from elephants to oxen. He used a sharp rock as best he could to cut a five foot python from Grady, the poor man nearly suffocated. Still, there had been no sign of Riggs, and the flames grew closer.
"You really think I'm wrong for doing this, father?" D's father said. "After all they have done? They still deserve life?"
"You are misguided, my son," Q said, his voice as placid as his son and grandson's. "They make mistakes, true enough, but no creature deserves such a horrid death."
"They nearly killed our line," D's father said, his calm façade starting to waver. "This will be the moment where Earth once again comes into balance!"
Shimmying up a tree, Riggs looked down to see a bull Asian elephant, it's trunk wrapped around one of the female agents, it's foot ready to crush the other. Pulling out his beretta, he tried to aim for the right spot, but cursed. Any way he saw it, shooting the elephant would bring it's full weight down on the agent, taking her out of the fight if not outright killing her. Then, gunfire echoed in the distance, shotguns and automatics. The elephant moved in surprise, backing up from the fire. Moving away from the woman on the ground. "Perfect." Firing at the creature's eye, the round struck true, piercing the thick skull and entering the brain, the mad creature not able to react before it collapsed, it's tusks keeping it's head from crushing the woman. It's trunk, however, was not as cooperative, throwing the first woman on top of the second.
"Uh, sir, c-could you please, um…I mean, not that I'm not…what I mean…"
"Don't let me interrupt," Riggs said, jokingly as he landed on the ground, only for Patty to shoot up and slap punch him hard on the shoulder. "Ow!"
"That'll teach you, ya pervert!" Patty growled, helping Marcy up. "You okay?"
"Yes, si-Patty," Marcy said, holding herself close to Patty, Patty rubbing Marcy's arm to calm her. Nodding, Riggs moved on, running through the bushes like a ghost. Then he froze, seeing something amazing.
Murtaugh was ducking and weaving, a large tiger swiping and biting at him. Unable to get at his revolver, Murtaugh was bobbing and weaving like a champion boxer. A quick jab at the animal's jaw sent it back, a growl answering. Still, an unarmed man against a tiger was not often an even fight, and Murtaugh was slowly forced back. Waiting, Riggs checked his magazine and cursed, three rounds left in the chamber. Without another thought, he ran out and screamed, "Rog!" Both Murtaugh and the tiger looked behind them to see Riggs throw the beretta, the weapon heading straight for Murtaugh. With a roar, the tiger swiped at Murtaugh's midsection, just as his fingers closed around the gun. Screaming, Murtaugh fell to the ground, not moving. Grabbing his partners revolver, Riggs got two shots off before the gun clicked, both rounds slamming into the tiger's ass. Looking backwards and growling, the tiger turned back to Murtaugh and turned him over, only to see that it had ripped apart a bulletproof vest and dented a section of plating. "Technology over terror," Murtaugh said, before he fired the three rounds into the tiger's head.
"Holy crap, Rog, you okay?" Riggs said, running up. "I mean, wow, you took on a tiger, man, that was incredible! In all my days with special forces I never, I mean never saw a guy take on a tiger bare-knuckled, you really are crazy pal!"
"Riggs, just help me up, dammit," Murtaugh growled, holding his hand over his wounds.
The team quickly regrouped, deciding to forget their masks and rely on Riggs for guidance, which Murtaugh briefly argued against. Slowly, they made their way back to the windows, where D's father and grandfather were busy glaring at each other. "Alright, pet shop's closed," Riggs said, leveling his weapon at the two. "You're both under arrest."
"We do not bow to the laws of man," D's father said disgustedly. "Nature's laws are what we abide by."
"Yeah, well Nature's a bit of a bitch," Earl said, rubbing at the back of his head. "So what happens, you let that virus loose and kill every human being on Earth?"
"That is what will happen," D's father said. "Nature will rebalance herself."
"Oh, so nature's gonna take care of those nuclear power plants too, huh?" Riggs said. "And all those nukes that're gonna go off once the Russians and Chinese realize there's nothing left to lose?"
"They would not-"
"Oh, they wouldn't, huh!" Burt said, cutting off D's father. "You really think that humans won't take the world to the ashes if they think they're gonna die out!"
"And what about the oil riggs out at sea!" Orcot said, seeing D's father's face start to fall apart, stoicism replaced with a steadily growing anger. "I don't think saltwater on metal works so well, and oil in the ocean doesn't mix well with the dolphins, huh!"
"Humans may have created many problems," Chuck finally said. "But they also know how to fix those problems quickly. How long does it take nature to fix an oil spill compared to mankind?"
"Enough!" D's father screamed. As he did, the spotlights shifted from the window to the now approaching shape of Honlon. Turning, D's father raised his arms, holding in his hands the contract between D and Chris. "Mighty dragon! I free you from your bondage," he shouted, tearing the contract in two. "Now destroy these humans first, then finish the lot of them! Starting with the stadium!"
The three heads nodded, Kanan grinning evilly, Shuko and Junrei merely opening their mouths, ready to kill the team.
Before they could fire their lightning, Burt fired the Grizzly's last round at Shuko's open mouth.
One second, the dragon was gathering it's power. The next, Shuko and Junrei screamed, the back of Kanan's head erupting into a red mist, falling limp. As it did, missiles and gunfire erupted from the ground, peppering the underside. Shuko and Junrei shrieked away, flying atop the roof, only for Bravo three to open with it's minigun again. With another roar, the dragon curled itself inside the roof, black hawks circling it.
"No," D's father whispered. "No! You killed it! A dragon, a rare creature!" He turned, ready leaped at Burt, ready to kill, only for Leon to shoot him in the chest. The man looked confused for a second, feeling at his quickly blood soaked chest. D nodded solemnly, then disappeared into the rainforest, Q-chan looking at the team. "You killed my son."
"Can we just get out of here please!" Grady shouted. "I just wanna get paid and get home!"
"Agreed," Marcy said, backing away from the windows. "Incoming!"
Looking outside, the team saw a helicopter, light gray, speeding at the building, specifically the floor they were on. Following Riggs, they ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over each other, almost breaking their necks and legs, past the point of exhaustion but still running.
"You underestimated them, my son," Sofu D said, kneeling down to comfort his son. "You were mistaken."
Powell could only watch as the chopper slammed into the windows, erupting into flame a split second later. Pieces of chopper and glass rained to the ground, walkers and police backing away. Hearing screaming, he looked back to the ground floor, and saw the entry team running out, collapsing as they ran past Powell. "What happened!" Powell said, waving EMTs over. "What happened up there!"
"A bad…flashback," Murtaugh said, as he slowly let himself fall asleep.
8:52 AM. L.A. was under a loose control, police, National Guard, and Iscariot auxiliaries patrolling the streets, eliminating any loose ghouls and helping any survivors get medical attention. Looting was at a miraculous minimum, many just grateful to be alive. Outside Dodger's stadium, Leon and the others took a small rest, as Valkyrie squadron was quickly loaded onto their Galaxies, police and Guard collecting as many cameras as they could find, each one thrown into a collection bin for analysis and destruction. Murtaugh was currently busy calling his wife, telling her that they were going to have guests over for breakfast.
"Yes, baby, I love you too…What? You're cooking bacon? I'll tell them to eat beforehand…Ha, yes, I know…Love you too baby, bye." Hanging up the cell, he smiled as he took a drink of water. "Sorry, everyone, but you've all been invited to sample my wife's cooking. If anything, this'll be the thing that kills you."
"He's not kidding, either," Riggs said. "I still have flashbacks of that first Christmas, Rog."
"Shut up, you," Murtaugh said, kicking at his partner.
"How bout it, Chris?" Leon said, ruffling his little brother's hair. "As one of the good guys, a home cooked breakfast sounds good, right?"
"Yeah," Chris said. "But where's Shuko and her sisters?"
"I guess D finally took'em away," Leon said. "Don't worry, we'll find them. Someday."
"Your wife won't mind the Grizzly, will she?" Burt asked, sipping from his canteen. "I just don't want to let it too far outta my sight."
"Hell Burt, the NRA would mind that thing," Earl said, Val and Grady sniggering. "Can't you just leave it in the car?"
"Not in my car," Murtaugh said. "It's messy enough."
"So, Grady," Val said, turning away from the conversation. "Still think we should put this stuff in Monsterland?"
Grady shook his head. "Nah, I learned my lesson, Val," he said. "That was…way too scary. Scarier than the graboids, actually."
"Thought so," Val said, patting Grady on the shoulder. "We'll educate you yet, kid."
"But we can still charge for the graboids we killed, right?" Grady said excitedly, Earl and Val looking at each other, at first confused, then smiling.
"Guys, I've got some important news!" Powell said, running up. "That guy in the red, Deadpool? Air force lost track of'im, we're searching the area now."
"What?" Patty said, shooting up from where she and Marcy were sitting. "Where'd he go!"
"We found one of the airmen transporting him, a tech sergeant. Found him strung up from some dead powerlines. Said that Deadpool pushed him out, then set the chopper to slam into the Nakatomi building. After that, he doesn't know."
"Boat," Chuck said. "With all that's happened, a ground escape would be too obvious. Check the nearest marina records, that should turn something up."
Powell nodded, then felt his stomach rumble. "Um…maybe after breakfast?"
Chuck looked around at his team. "Well, guys, do you think Deadpool's that big a danger?"
"Not as long as he doesn't try and take my blanket away again," Linus said with a grin.
"Hm. What do you say, Marcy?" Patty said.
"Whatever you say…Patty," Marcy said, pecking Patty on the cheek.
"The odds of Deadpool being a danger to innocent people are pretty low," Schroder said. "The odds of us all dropping from hunger are much higher."
"Then it's settled," Riggs said, jumping up. "Now c'mon, let's just get this over with."
"Hey, you'd best stop insulting my wife's cooking, or I'll make you have seconds," Murtaugh said, as the group walked to their cars.
"I'm sorry, Shuko," D said, as his ship sailed the sky. "I didn't think…"
"It's alright, D," Shuko said, solemnly burning a stick of incense for her lost sister. "We all must pass. It was her time."
"So what now?" T-chan growled. "We just wait up here until they're ready?"
"Unless you would like to be discovered, we all must stay here," D said. Going to the rail, D looked down and sighed. "Farewell, detective. I will miss our little talks."
Chapter 19 up! But that's not the last, folks! One more to go! Review as you can, and let it be heard!