Hi everyone. I'm back with a brand new chapter of The Loud Without Fear.

Chapter 17: Summer Chaos

Inside Lincoln Loud's one bedroom, the blind hero sat on the bed with both hands folding together like he was pondering on something. Despite being blind, Lincoln focused on the evidence he collected, all in a single file. A file he kept in secret from the family. The frown on his face links with what was on his mind.

Over two months had passed since Lincoln's investigation with the drug rings that were plaguing the entire town. Since the Covid-19 started, everyone on the entire planet has been on high alert. With numerous deaths rising and the people being infected, everyone is in a high time panic. The fear of catching the disease (or being dead after being diagnosed) sent them to buy a drug called ANVIC-20. The drug is said to cure anyone who has the disease. It did; however, it caused those to have an overdose. The drug was manufactured by a drug ring and run by a doctor in Royal Woods County Hospital. Lincoln, dressed as Daredevil, shut down the drug ring permanently and confronted the doctor. The doctor revealed out of desperation he was only in charge of the drug ring; the real man behind it was an alias who goes by the name Kingpin. Before Lincoln could get more answers out of the doctor, the man killed himself.

Lincoln searched for any connections between the drug rings and the supposed Kingpin that scared a lot of drug dealers. In the end, he came back with empty hands. He shut down most of the drug rings, while he, too, was protected from the virus. The virus had taken a toll on his crime fighting days. He can't leave the house without any protection from the Covic-19 or get in trouble with the law for violating the curfew. Things couldn't get a lot worse since the whole pandemic started. Michigan's death toll was 342; it jumped high during two months before the start of Summer. There were now 241 who are infected, and 188 have been cured. Everyone is scared that the virus is infecting 100 people each day.

Lincoln's focus on the file is interrupted when he hears the buzzing sound of his phone next to him. A news article was shown on the screen as Lincoln pressed his thumb on the screen. Using his earphones, Lincoln press plays to hear what the news article is about. It was another death case regarding the illegal drug. Seven people have died from the drug. Lincoln frowned deeply; he was stuck in the house before nighttime and he couldn't do anything about it.

Lincoln uttered something about what he felt about the situation when he was cut off by the screaming of his sisters.

"BUT YOU PROMISED TO TAKE ME, LORI!"

"THE ANSWER IS STILL NO, LOLA!"

A bitter sigh escaped the blind boy's lips. Lincoln wonders what's all the commotion about. Lincoln grabs his walking stick and exits the room.

Lincoln made it close to the end of the stairs by stopping at three steps. There, he was a witness of another brawl between siblings. The challengers are Lori and Lola. The rest of the sisters are in the living room as also witnesses.

"I can't believe you're totally being unfair, Lori!" Lola shouted at Lori.

"I'm not being unfair, Lola! I'm doing this for your safety!" Lori replied back with a narrowed look.

"What's happening?" Lincoln asked Luna what the fight was about. The rockstar sibling was leaning against the stairs.

"Lola wanted Lori to take her to the mall like she promised," Luna answered. "But Lori is backing down on the promise."

"I'm not backing down anything. I'm saying I can't take Lola for her own safety," Lori argues breifty with Luna as her intention in why she wasn't taking the diva princess to the mall.

"But the mall is open! We can be allowed to go back in!" Lola added.

"Just only a minimum of 100 people as what the ordinance said," Lisa corrected; she was sitting on the couch with a book in her hand. "But I did what our eldest sibling had said. Have you been catching up on social media?"

"I'm sorry, Lola, but I can't risk you or anyone infected by leaving the house," Lori explained her reason more. "You saw how the virus is spreading around lately."

"It's not fair!" Lola slammed her foot to the ground as she whined. "We barely get to go out anymore since this stupid virus started!"

"At least the stores are open up," Luan said, adding to the point where the argument is about. "And not all of us can't be there in one spot."

"But none of them can't survive in business longer. They're on the verge of bankruptcy," Lynn Jr said, which was a heavy point she made. Some stores returned to business after being closed for a temporary short of time. The only thing they had to listen to was to only let a small number of people in. But a few of them are close to filing bankruptcy due to not many people coming in and salaries are being cut off dramatically. Summer had started over two weeks ago, and most stores can't keep up with the new changes involved. They have to be closed down permanently.

"And Funny Business Inc. was one of them when parents asked to cancel their appointments," Luan said sadly.

"And our babysitting gig," Luna added.

"At least Reininger is still open, though I don't see that many people inside" Leni said in regards to her job in the mall. "Ms Carmicheal insists we all try to keep people from not trying on clothes."

"Don't forget about dad's restaurant," Lucy started from behind the dizzy sister, scaring her. "We're making money with deliveries."

"It's not nearly enough to cover salaries for the employees, but we all gotta cut back," Lana added.

"This is going to be a sucky summer," The sport addict loudly grumbles, crossing her arms.

"You're just upset because you can't see any of your sports games," Lola bragged to her fifth big sister.

"Don't remind me, prissy!" Lynn warned with an index finger at her. "It's bad enough my school has canceled all of their fall games, the entire sports session is canceled! And what about you, upset you can't win another one of your pageants?" She mocked at the bratty sister.

Fuming, Lola marched over to Lynn at the statement but Lori held her back. Lincoln stopped Lynn from giving Lola a pounding by blocking her with his cane. "That's enough," He said. The blind boy senses some hostility from both Lynn and Lola. "We know you two are tired of being inside the house for about three months now. Like Lori said, it's for your safety. It's not just people drying from the virus; they're also dying from the drug they've been taking."

"Why are people literally buying it if they know it's going to kill them?" Lori asked about the concept of people buying the illegal drug to cure the disease they have.

"Drug rings are at the top of criminal activity, Lori," Luna said. "How much money people are spending on hospitals to treat the Covic-19? Every room is filled up to keep them away from contaminating others. This drug is their only solution instead of dying without being treated from doctors."

"But they're buying it from the streets that are made illegally and not administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Not even prescribed from an actual doctor," Lisa scoffed.

"Daredevil shut down most of the drug rings he can find," Lincoln said, keeping in check of his secret identity as a hero.

"And they keep on growing like weeds," Luan remarked. "This ANVIC-20 drug is big money."

"They won't stay hidden anytime," Lucy said. "Sooner or later, they'll get exposed to the virus, and their whole operation is shut down."

Lori's phone suddenly buzzed after Lucy spoke. Picking it up, the caller I.D showed it was her mom. Lori held it over her ear, "Yes, mom? Uh-huh. Got it. We'll be there," Once Lori ended her call, she addressed the entire siblings. "That was mom. We gotta head down to the restaurant."

"Any problems, sis?" Luna wondered.

"There's a mob outside of the restaurant demanding to be let in. We gotta go down there to control the crowd before things get literally worse," Lori briefly explained. With no time to argue with Lori, the entire siblings rush to Vanzilla. Lori started the engine and drove to Lynn's Table.

It didn't take long for Vanzilla to show up; Lori, who was steering the wheel, saw a large group of people outside of her family's restaurant.

"Blimey!" Luna cursed at the sight of the mob.

After parking Vanzilla, the loud siblings got out of the car and went around the restaurant without being spotted. They entered the building from the backdoor.

Lori spotted her mother who was with Grant and Kotaro. "Mom, what's going on?" She asked.

"Look at this!" Rita gestures at the mob outside of the restaurant. "I've never seen anything like this!"

"They started showing up after the last customer went inside," Grant explained. "I told them they have to wait until a few customers leave. Next thing later, everyone demanded to be let in."

"We have to close down the restaurant," Grant added, nearly flinching at one person slamming the window with his fist. "Hey, stop doing that!" When the Loud siblings entered the restaurant, several customers were seen inside. At what both Lisa and Lincoln can estimate, it was ten people. The blind loud boy senses the customers heartbeats growing from being locked inside from the angry mob.

"Did you call the police?" Luan asked.

"Forget the police; call a squad!" Lynn Jr shouted, her fist tightening to go in there to fight anyone who dare smash a window.

"I called the police when they refused to leave," Rita said, shaking her head. "We told them we can deliver food and are required to form a line, but that didn't solve anything."

"Looks like they didn't want to stay in their houses any longer," Lucy said. More people started pounding on the locked entrance. The youngest sisters step back and huddle next to their big siblings. Things are looking to get out of hand by Lincoln's perspective.

"That's it, I'm dealing with them," Lynn declared, cracking her knuckles.

"You most certainly will not!" Rita bellowed her daughter.

"If the police don't get here, we'll have to deal with it. Who's with me?" The sporty tomboy sibling turns to the rest of her siblings.

"I'll talk to them," Lori answered instead of Lynn's suggestion of handling the angry mob. The family and staff watched the eldest sister unlock the doors. Setting she needed backup, both Lynn and Lincoln went after behind Lori. The crowd backed away to give Lori some space.

Giving the crowd a firm glare, she ordered "Everyone either have to form a line or go someplace else! You know the rules of letting in that many people!"

This got a negative response from the angry mob. Words shouted "We don't wanna go!" and "I'm hungry! Let me in!" reach to all three of the Loud siblings. Lincoln flinches at how aggressive the crowd is. His ears twitch at the shrill volume.

"Hey, if you all don't like it, take your asses at some other restaurant!" Lynn shouted back. Lori put both hands up to ease the crowd. Lincoln stands there at Lori's right side. He took in small breaths from the loud shouting invading his sensitive ears. Despite the crowd causing a huge ruckus outside of his dad's restaurant, Lincoln couldn't blame them. Being under quarantine for four-five months can break a person's mentality. The pandemic affected schools, businesses, jobs, and others. They couldn't get out anymore; all they could do was protect themselves from others in fear of containmenting.

As Lori and Lynn are trying to defuse the situation with their different ideals, Lincoln remains still and does not utter a word to stop the crowd. His ears then picked up something that was coming to the right. He could guess it was the police who are finally going to do all the talking.

Except he didn't hear sirens.

Lincoln walked outside of the angry mob to hear the strange car with no sirens. The noise was getting closer. He stopped to see a car that was picking up speed. The car then slowed down as the window from the passenger door was rolled down. Lincoln then hears the tiny sound of a gun clocking. The blind loud boy ran through the crowd to tackle his two sisters as he uttered two words.

"GET DOWN!"

From the loud yell of Lincoln Loud, thousands of bullets rained out of that car. The angry shouts turn into loud cries. The Loud family, staff, and customers are duck down as the bullets shatter the windows and hit the interior. The bullets kept firing for a full minute.

The bullets had stopped. The shooter yelled at the driver to flee the scene immediately. The driver compiled.

Lincoln was the first to get up after the bullets were seized. He turned to both Lori and Lynn and sighed that they're fine from their heartbeats, which was beating quickly. But he wished he could say the same thing to the crowd. Lincoln utters a horrified gasp as several dead bodies are laying on the ground with bullet holes. The crowd followed Lincoln's expression with shrieks. The Loud family and staff exit out of the building to consult the children and the crowd. Rita hugged Lincoln out of fear he got here before she saw what was underneath her blind son. Lincoln stands there with his jaw open out of shock at what has happened. He ignores his family's cries of snapping out of his daze, the crowd's loudly expressing the dead bodies, and the police sirens heading here.

The police corner around Lynn's Table in response to the shootout that happened. The dead bodies were loaded into ambulances. When they arrived at the scene to respond to the angry mob outside of the restaurant, the officers immediately noticed the mob screaming in a horrified tone. Nineteen people were slaughtered. The rest of the crowd showed no injuries; Lori, Lynn, and Lincoln are among those who survived the shootout. The officers went inside the restaurant to deal with the customers, staff and the Loud family. They, too, didn't have injuries. They were then questioned by the officers with the staff and Loud family providing extra details.

Lincoln was calm after being a part of the shootout. Though he was silent and standing still like a statue that shook his family. Leni and Luna worked with him to snap their little brother out of his daze. He was sitting on a chair with his siblings around him. Lori provided a glass of his favorite drink.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine," Lincoln repeated. After snapping out of his daze, he told his sisters and mother that he was ok. Except they think he wasn't. They think he was still in shock after the shootout.

"How can you be fine when you almost got killed, Stinkcon?" Lynn said, her tone indicates worrisome that her little brother was outside dealing with the crowd with the tomboy and Lori before the incident happened.

"Lynn," Luna scolded her a little for the nickname.

"You should be scared. You were right there," Lucy said, her voice quivering.

"I got everyone to duck down, but I wasn't quick enough," Lincoln said, reminding his sisters he saved the crowd. His voice trails off in slight anger; he couldn't save those who were killed.

"Nobody will hold it against you, Linky," Lori pat Lincoln on the left shoulder in concern. "You did save me and Lynn."

Lincoln replies with a sigh that both his big sisters are saved. The twins hugged their big brother by the arms.

"You must have been scared out there," Lola said, her head resting on Lincoln's left arm.

"I wasn't scared. I was shocked this happened, outside of our restaurant," Lincoln reassured her little sister. Their conversation was interrupted by the presence of an officer.

"Lori Loud? Lynn Loud Jr May I have a word with you two?" The officer asked. Both of the aforementioned sisters nodded their heads. "I spoke to some of the people who were part of the angry mob, and they said your brother told them to duck down when he saw the car. Can either of you recall anything? Did you see anyone in the car?"

Both Lori and Lynn rattle their brains at what occurred an hour ago. They were trying to defuse the angry mob of not letting them inside the restaurant in accordance with the new ordinance. Lincoln offered to help them with no objection. The sisters tried different methods to handle the crowd, and Lincoln walked outside of the crowd without any of them notice it. It was then Lincoln saw the car driving up to the restaurant, and that's when he told everyone, including his sisters, to take cover.

After a full minute of retracing their steps, both of them shake their heads with Lori saying "No. Sorry. We kept our heads down throughout the entire time."

"Do you know anyone who wants to attack the restaurant? According to your mother and staff, there's been repeated incidents that happened," The officer asked, reading off the notepad he gathered from Rita, Grant, and Kotaro. The time where their restaurant was under attack by some unhappy individuals caused the entire siblings to tense.

"We can name a few. Disgruntled former employees who lost their jobs. Enforcers who want to "protect" our restaurant," Luan scoffed as she listed the two type of criminals they had dealt with ever since their deceased father's restaurant started taking off. It was then Lynn utter a name that came into her head.

"Tetherby. It was him," She said.

"Lynn, that can't be a coincidence-'' Lisa pointed out, and she was cut off by the tomboy grease mechanic.

"No, it had to be him, Lisa! That old jerk is always trying to get the restaurant out of dad's hands!" Lana shouted, adding her two cents in Lynn's theory. The officer wrote down Tetherby's name on the notepad and thanked the siblings for their help. As the entire Loud sisters are discussing whether or not Tobias Tetherby was responsible, Lincoln ponders if this small info was accurate based on what the old man tried to do before.

With Lynn's Table closed down for repairs, the family are at home to resume their daily activities. However, a certain sister is still on board with her prime suspect.

"Lynn, for the last time, drop this," Lori spoke from the couch with her eyes narrowed at the sporty tomboy who is currently pacing.

"But it's him, Lori! Aren't you a bit suspicious? You're the oldest!" Lynn shouted.

"That information isn't one percent accurate based on Mr. Tetherby's actions of trying to claim ownership of the father unit's restaurant," Lisa said on the floor. After Lynn suspects it was Tetherby who ordered the shootout, some of the sisters aren't sure it was the old mad. Even Lisa herself has doubts that said person is responsible.

"It could've been anyone, Lynn. Remember how dad's restaurant took a toll on other restaurants and several employees got lay off?" Luan recalled how former employees try vandalizing the place as an act of revenge.

"This was more than revenge, Luan; it was a gosh darn shootout!" Lynn yelled at the comedian. "They wanted us dead!"

"At least Linky saved you and Lori and the crowd," Leni reassured as she was holding a fashion magazine in her hand. The ditzy blonde glanced at her little brother. Lincoln was supposed to be bedridden after that horrible shootout. But the blind white haired boy was lending against the chimney to stare at the wall, right next to Lucy. "Right, Linky?" She asked Lincoln; the boy snapped out his daze to hear his second big sister.

"Huh? Sorry Leni. I was lost in my thoughts," Lincoln apologies.

"You should be staying in your room, bro," Luna advised Lincoln in concern. She, too, was shocked he was involved in the shootout. The white haired loud shook his head sideways.

"I'm fine, Luna. As what Lynn said, I agree with her," Lincoln added, surprising the whole gang. "They could be former employees, yes, but paid off by Tetherby. What better way to pay someone to do your dirty work?"

"That's a good logical conclusion, Lincoln," Lisa praised her brother for the thought.

"Are the cops going to find them?" Lola asked about the people who murdered several people and damaged the restaurant.

"Thanks to the security cameras Lisa gave to the officers who were talking to us, I guarantee they'll be locked away," Lori spoke to the diva princess with a nod that the bad guys will be brought to justice.

"If they don't get off on a stupid fake story," Lucy muttered, her voice is venom of the likely possibly those men will get off.

The door of their parent's bedroom opens, and Rita exits out of the room. When acknowledging her presence to her children, her face expressed some relief. "I just got off the phone with the chief. They got the people who shot the restaurant."

"Who were they, mom?" Lana asked.

"Desperate people who try to earn money in this time of crisis," Rita revealed, her tone was a mixture of disappointment and anger.

"Were they paid off by Tetherby?" Lynn asked her single mother.

"They're still questioning them. Still can't believe this happened," Rita expresses her frustration how the day ended with a violent shootout that resulted in nineteen people dead and destruction inside the restaurant.

"At least we're insured. The restaurant will be back on its feet in no time," Lori said, standing to embrace her mother. "What matters is that we're alive. Hey, if you don't feel like cooking, why don't we order in?"

"Nonsense Lori. I can still cook a heavy meal for my kids, even after a shootout has happened, but thank you," Rita smiles after hugging her back. The single mother of the family asked her kids if they would like to prepare the meals and set up the table. The kids agreed, and started helping their mom. The sisters and Lincoln all smile at their mom's courageous manner. After dad died, her mom went to hell and back to set herself back together. She was keeping a smile to hold the family from breaking up. No matter what horrible event had occurred, Rita Loud was a strong woman.

The next day had arrived at the Loud House. Lincoln was the first to wake up with no signs of staying in bed. He chose not to go on patrol after the shootout; his family is still in shock. He made his way down stairs to greet everyone in the living room. The blind boy marches to the kitchen to prepare his breakfast.

"Morning Lincoln," Lori greeted, stopping the boy from getting an empty glass.

"Morning Lori," Lincoln replied back; his nose picked up the smell of freshly cooked eggs. He continued grabbing the empty glass and filled it with orange juice. As he sat down, Lori placed the meal on the table, two sunny side up eggs and two pieces of toasted bread. "Thank you," Lincoln pokes one of the yolks to insert the piece into his mouth. Before he can scoop another, he was cut off by Luna.

"Dudes, come look at what's on the news!"

Lori hurriedly exits out of the kitchen while Lincoln gets up to follow her. The rest of the siblings and Rita are looking at the television as the screen show of the event that happened outside of Lynn's Table; based on Luna's reaction, this wasn't good news.

"This is Katherine Mulligan with this startling news. Yesterday an angry mob was outside of the restaurant when a shootout happened, resulting in nineteen people being killed. Lynn's Table is closed down for repairs. The criminals were apprehended following the massacre. But peace hasn't resolved yet. The criminals are identified as several former employees from Jean Juan's French Mex, all were fired from recent cutbacks due to the Covic-19 pandemic. I'm getting word now that a riot is happening. Here's footage of the riot," The news is switched to the scene of the riot. "No doubt people are furious of the people who died in the shootout. Stressed by the financial burden and the layoffs, the people of Royal Woods are on the streets as they are tired from the changes that have happened. Police are responding to deal with riot, but that would only aggravate the problem further if they use martial force..."

"This is nuts!" Lynn shouted in dismay.

"The law enforcement is only to cause more problems. People have become distrustful of local authorities due to the manslaughter of George Floyd. It's a simple butterfly effect that started when the virus has become an epidemic" Lisa said, recalling the tragic day that shook the entire nation.

"And with how nineteen people are dead from the people who are gunned down, they have a right to be mad," Lori agrees with the prodigal genius. As well as the entire nation who was affected by the death of George Floyd, the Loud family share the same expression as the entire town. When they learned of the tragic murder, the whole city was outrage and protest against the police force, labeling them being corrupted and unlawful. Lincoln can hear the sound from the footage of the riot. He kept a clam expression, but inside of the blind hero, he felt some anxiety building up. It was scary. This was going on right now; he sensed the entire family's heartbeat responding to the news.

Something has got to be done with these changes.

A man, whose attire was a black and white suit, opened the door to speak to his boss. Said boss was watching the news as well; his back facing the bodyguard.

"Mr. Fisk, your limousine is ready," He spoke bravely to the man.

"Excellent," The man known as Mr. Fisk answer.

"Should I provide more guards to protect you?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary, Wesley," Mr. Fisk turned his head to Wesley. A smirk forms on his face. "I'm ready to shake the town out of its foundation."

I'm sorry it's not much. This chapter was based on Covic-19, the effects from the pandemic, and a little bit of the George Floyd aftermath in the end. I haven't put much thought in this chapter since I'm always tired from work. I can only do one to two pages of a chapter after I get back from work. The next chapter is where Wilson Fisk making his full appearances in the chapter. I like to point out that a few months ago when I started watching Netflix Daredevil and finished it. Then I went to Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. However, as I was watching halfway to season one of Iron Fist, the app stopped responding. So far, the shows I watched are good. I don't have plans who will be who in this story or if the characters are making an appearance in HercuLOUD. I have a couple of new stories in my profile. Come check it out and see what you think. If you have any questions regarding this story or you wanna chat, send me a message. Till then, I'll see you later. Remember to stay safe and keep your distance from others. NiteOwl18 out.