August 16th, 2023
Specialist Lukas "Amp" Weiss
West Coast Rainbow HQ.
Portland OR. USA
"DERRICK, STOP!" Tina shouted at Derrick's back as he went to climb into a chopper. Lukas and the others had raced over here as fast as they could. It turned out to be just in time. Derrick stopped and turned to face the 5 of them. He couldn't see his buddy's charismatic smile or personality anymore. Lukas saw a broken man.
"What are you doing here?" Derrick snarled before he rounded on Lukas. "YOU! YOU TOLD THEM?!"
"Of course I told them! Where the hell were you?" Lukas asked.
"Did you go to that camp alone?" Meghan asked him fearfully. Derrick meanwhile was glaring at Lukas with his teeth bared.
"Derrick, answer m-"
"THREE MONTHS MEGHAN. I WAS TORTURED FOR THREE. FUCKING. MONTHS! I BEGGED FOR YOU TO COME SAVE ME WITHIN A FEW WEEKS! BUT HE TOLD ME YOU DECLARED ME DEAD WITH NO BODY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE DID TO ME?! YOU TOLD ME THAT YOU'D ALWAYS HELP ME BUT YOU LEFT ME TO GET MY BACK TORN OPEN AND MY CHEST BURNED! YOU FUCKING LIED TO ME!" Derrick suddenly shouted at his sister. Lukas turned to look at Monika. It was what they all feared. Derrick was suffering from an extreme form of PTSD. Eliza recoiled upon hearing Derrick yell.
"Derrick…" Lukas began.
"DON'T SAY SHIT WEISS ASS! YOU'VE BEEN FUCKING HER HAVEN'T YOU?!" Derrick yelled at him and pointed at Tina. Tina shook her head vigorously.
"Derrick, please, why would I do that to you?" Tina said although Lukas could tell she was on the verge of tears. Monika had to hold Meghan at bay as she was trying to get to her brother.
"SHUT UP! HOW LONG DID YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU FORGOT ABOUT ME?! HOW FUCKING LONG COHEN?! A DAY? A WEEK?! I TRUSTED YOU, AND YOU LEFT ME TO DIE! I SAW YOU MAKE THE CALL TO LEAVE ME BEHIND! I WAS 10 YARDS FROM YOU IN THOSE TREES! AND YOU LUKAS?! HOW LONG DID YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU SLEPT WITH HER?!" Derrick screamed. Eliza however turned to Lukas and nodded. Lukas nodded back.
"Derrick….this was a suicide mission wasn't it...you intended to die…" Eliza said. Derrick stared at her but didn't answer. Meghan nearly broke out of Monika's grip as she heard this.
"Oh my God…"
"No…"
"Jesus Christ…"
"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU ALL CARE ABOUT ME NOW! I'VE SEEN ALL OF YOU! AVOIDING ME, GIVING ME THE SIDE EYE, PUTTING CAMERAS IN MY ROOM AND ALL OVER THE BASE TO WATCH ME! YOU KNOW SOMETHING COHEN, I SHOULD HAVE JOINED NIGHTHAVEN, MAYBE KALI WOULDN'T HAVE LEFT ME TO FUCKING ROT IN A CELL AND ACTUALLY LOOKED FOR ME!" Derrick shouted at Eliza.
"That's right Mr. Castellano. They never cared about you, remember?" a new voice said. Lukas saw that 5 men were approaching them. 4 of them had rifles and the one in the lead had a single pistol. His white mask was scratched and he was also wearing an apron. Lukas remembered seeing this man on the day he had saved his buddy. It was the Butcher. Lukas and his comrades went to draw their pistols but the leader placed his pistol against Derrick's head.
"Ah ah ah, no. Drop them on the ground and slide them over or I blow his head off. Now," the Butcher said. The Butcher fired his pistol in the air when they didn't comply and placed it against Derrick's head again.
"Now," he repeated. This time Lukas and the others complied. They withdrew their pistols and slid them over to the Butcher and his allies and put their hands behind their heads. Meghan was glaring at the Butcher with the same amount of hatred Lukas saw in Derrick's eyes. The Butcher motioned to his allies to hold Lukas and the others at gunpoint. 2 of them held their rifles at Lukas and Monika and the other 2 held their rifles at Eliza, Tina and Meghan.
"Well well well, Mr Castellano. We meet again. You left a right mess at my camp back there. I must say, now I know why they call you Loki with that device of yours on your arm. I saw you on the camera you failed to notice in the holding cell area. I let you escape with those hostages. The car you stole was marked you pathetic moron. I followed you here. You led me right to your employer," The Butcher said, still holding the pistol to Derrick's head. Derrick said nothing.
"Are these your friends? Let's see if I can figure it out. The redhead I know, that's Eliza. I was there when she abandoned you. The blonde one also with tattoo sleeves must be your precious sister. The other 2 blondes must be siblings and they look German so they must be...Monika and Lukas. And that leaves the Asian one, Tina. What's wrong? You all look so surprised to see me...wait...oh no...did he not tell you about the fun we had? I should thank you Eliza, after all you basically gave him to me. Luckily, I came prepared." The Butcher said and took off the back pack he was wearing. The gun was no longer pressed against Derrick's head but he still didn't move, instead he fell to his knees. The Butcher took out a laptop and opened it, entered a few commands and turned the screen towards Lukas. A video played of Derrick, tied to a chair and sporting a black eye. This looked like it happened right after he crashed in the forest and was captured
"What is your name?" the Butcher asked on the video.
"Ligma," Derrick answered. Lukas could tell he was still basically his old self.
"Ligma?" the Butcher asked.
"LIGMA BALLS DOUCHEBAG!" Derrick shouted. A bat came from off screen and hit Derrick in the stomach. He grunted.
"Fine, it's Jass. Hughbert Jass," Derrick said through his pain.
"Hugh Jass?" the Butcher asked. Derrick gave a bloody grin before the bat hit him in the stomach again. Out of the corner of his eye, Lukas could see Meghan begin shaking with fury. The video switched to another one, this one looked as if it was a few days or weeks later. Derrick looked pretty beat up now. His shirt was off in this video too.
"I will ask you again, who do you work for? And don't give me that comic book shit you tried last time," the Butcher on the video asked before a whip cracked against Derrick's back 3 times because he remained silent.
"I told...you...you'll get nothing from me," Derrick answered. Lukas heard the Butcher sigh before he saw Derrick's eyes widen with fear.
"No...No...No…." he said. A red hot poker came into view and it was pressed against Derrick's bare chest. Derrick screamed.
"AHHHHHHH! MEGHAN! ELIZA! PLEASE! HELP ME!"
"MEGHAN IS NOT COMING TO HELP YOU! YOU ARE PATHETIC! YOU ARE WEAK! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK SHE WANTS TO SAVE YOU!" The Butcher shouted back and pressed the poker to Derrick's chest again.
"TINAAAAAAA! LUKASSS! MONIKAAA! SOMEBODY!" Derrick screamed as the poker burned his chest. Lukas could not believe what he was seeing. He was so angry at this piece of shit that if he even got near him, Lukas would rip his head off. He also felt extremely guilty. He couldn't really see how his comrades were reacting but Meghan shouted.
"I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!" The Butcher (the one in front of them) laughed and pressed a key and the video changed again. Derrick was being suspended by his wrists and his shirt was off again.
"Yet again Mr. Castellano, who do you work for?" the Butcher on the video asked.
"Bruce FUCKING Wayne," Derrick shouted. Lukas heard an awful cracking sound followed by an electric shock. Derrick grimaced in pain.
"Oh, that one looked like it's gonna leave a mark. If you continue to give me cheek, I'll make it worse"
"Meghan..." Derrick said weakly. The Butcher whipped Derrick across the back 10 times in a row before he shouted
"SHE IS NOT COMING TO SAVE YOU! GIVE IT UP YOU FUCKING PUSSY! IMAGINE THIS, A 29 YEAR OLD MAN STILL RELYING ON HIS SISTER TO HELP HIM! GROW A FUCKING PAIR!" He whipped Derrick so bad that Derrick started yelling for his mother instead. That nearly did it for Lukas and Meghan. Both of them made movements towards the Butcher.
"One step and we see the color of this pussy's brains," The Butcher said, closing the laptop and put the pistol against Derrick's head again. "Now that your apparent 'friends' have guns pointed at them, talk Castellano. What is this Team Rainbow?" Derrick remained silent and the Butcher violently pistol whipped him in the face.
"I SAID, FUCKING TALK!" he shouted in Derrick's face. Derrick proceeded to speak in rapid German to the Butcher. He was saying absolutely abhorrent things to the man that made the last 3 months of his life hell. The Butcher pistol whipped Derrick again.
"Was that German again? You, German bitch. What did he just call me?" The Butcher pointed at Monika.
"He called you a fat piece of garbage," Monika lied. That was not at all what Derrick called him. There were a lot more swears in the sentence Lukas had heard.
"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot you can't understand words over a 2nd grade level. But I'll speak slowly so you can understand, I told you to chop your own needle dick off and GO FUCK YOURSELF WITH IT!" Derrick shouted. He got up and attempted to hit the Butcher in the face but Derrick was knocked back to the ground and the Butcher fired 2 shots. One at Tina and one at Meghan. Both missed. Warning shots. The Butcher placed his boot on Derrick's back and the gun to his head again.
"See how they aren't saving you when you're right in front of them? You mean nothing to them. Your sister could give a fuck about you. She never came for you did she? And you screamed and screamed for her. She's ashamed to be the sister of someone as pathetic as you. And Tina? Where were you Tina? You didn't come to help him either. He told me that he loved you but you don't seem to feel the same way. Five bucks you was busy fucking the giant German guy while Monika and Eliza did nothing either. Hold on a second...I figured it out! Meghan's a dyke isn't she? Monika must be one too by the way she was looking at Meghan when you were yelling at them. They were too busy being fags to come save you huh? Meghan cared about herself more than you little Derrick" The Butcher taunted. Derrick threw the Butcher's boot off of his back, got up and wrapped his hands around the Butcher's neck.
"NOBODY CALLS MY SISTER THAT WORD! NOBODY!" Derrick shouted in his face. The Butcher wriggled free and aimed his pistol between Derrick's eyes. He turned toward Lukas and he seemed to be making calculations in his head.
"Wait a minute…a giant German guy...with long blonde hair like a woman...YOU'RE THE GUY WHO KILLED FLAK! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" The Butcher shouted at Lukas. Lukas smirked at the Butcher. He remembered that Flak had taken a phone call from his "big bro" and mentioned the Butcher before Lukas had killed him.
"Oops, did I do that," Lukas taunted, hoping that using Flak's catchphrase would get under the Butcher's skin. It did.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" The Butcher shouted and turned the pistol on Lukas instead. Derrick took the opportunity to stare at Lukas. He could see the rage building inside of him. One push would send him over the edge. Lukas continued to taunt the Butcher, giving him a taste of his own medicine.
"YOU THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THAT?! Meghan's brother survived what you threw at him. Yours didn't survive my onslaught. I made quite sure of that. What were his last words again? Oh yeah, 'Brother, help me' Where were you? You didn't come save him. And he screamed and screamed for you to help him before I blew his fucking brains out. The sound his neck made when it snapped was cathartic," Lukas said menacingly. He needed a plan. He needed to find a way to eliminate these people and save his buddy.
"After I blow this pussy's head off in front of his sister and girlfriend, you're next you fucking Kraut bastard" The Butcher snarled at him before turning to Derrick again. "Did I or did I not warn you that if I found out if any of your friends had a hand in my brother's death I was going to make you suffer. Now I know who did it. And I know just how to make you suffer Castellano. You, grab the blonde...no you idiot, the one with the tattoos. Perhaps this pathetic whimp of a man will talk if I torture her in front of him. Maybe I'll just kill her." Something inside Derrick Castellano broke. Lukas saw it happen in his eyes. His buddy was no more. Derrick must be seeing red. Someone had just threatened his sister with murder. Derrick spoke with a voice dripping in so much anger and rage that it scared Lukas when he heard it.
"NO! GET AWAY FROM HER!" Derrick shouted, grabbed the Butcher's coat, turned him around and punched him squarely in the face with enough force to shatter his mask into pieces as well as the Butcher's nose. The Butcher screamed in pain as Derrick shouted
"I'LL RIP YOU IN TWO!" before he engaged him in vicious hand to hand combat. The Butcher's allies had been so terrified of Derrick's vicious attack that Lukas was able to draw his knife, stab one in the neck, grab his rifle as it fell and throw it to Monika as he threw the knife into the other guy near him. Monika took 2 shots and the other 2 White Masks dropped dead. All 5 of them ran forward to hold Derrick back. All of them held him as he had been pummeling the Butcher with such intensity that his knuckles were bloody. The Butcher high tailed it out of there, in the direction of HQ but that wasn't important, Derrick was beyond reason.
"HE'S GETTING AWAY!" Derrick shouted, still in that demonic voice.
"DERRICK, STOP!" Monika shouted.
"I'VE GOT YOU DERRICK!" Meghan shouted.
"DERRICK, STAND DOWN. PLEASE! IT'S OK! WE'RE GOING TO HELP YOU!" Eliza shouted.
"DERRICK, LOOK AT ME!" Tina pleaded.
"DERRICK, IT'S ME, IT'S LUKAS! WE'RE YOUR FRIENDS!" Lukas himself yelled. But it was no good. Lukas, who had the best grip on Derrick, felt him lunge forward and out of his grip before he shoved everyone else to the ground, let out a warcry and sprinted full speed after the Butcher. Lukas helped Monika and Eliza to their feet.
"Oh my god...Oh my god!" Monika was saying. Meghan was already sprinting after him alongside Tina. Both of them were shouting at Derrick to stop. Lukas turned to Eliza who had her finger to her earpiece.
"Jordan, rally everyone NOW! We found Derrick. The Butcher? He tortured Derrick for the past 3 months. Luke, Monika, Tina, Meghan and I just found that out. It explains Derrick's behavior the past few days. The guy followed Derrick here and he just threatened Meghan and...Jordan...he's suicidal! We need to help him before he hurts himself! He's on his way towards the base, we are in pursuit! MOVE!" He and Eliza sprinted after Derrick and the others.
August 16th, 2023
Specialist Derrick "Loki" Castellano
West Coast Rainbow HQ.
Portland OR. USA
Kill. Murder. Massacre. Annihilate. Eliminate. Terminate. Slaughter. That was all Derrick thought about as he chased the man that just threatened his big sister. Why he was even doing so was beyond him but his insides had told him to stop the Butcher from hurting her. He could see the tubby son of a bitch about 30 yards in front of him. He saw him turn back to look at his pursuer. The Butcher's face showed an expression of absolute terror. Good.
"RUN RUN RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN, THERE IS NO ESCAPE! YOU'RE A DEAD FUCKING MAN!" Derrick insanely shouted at him as he jumped over various objects in his pursuit. He could also hear 2 women calling his name from behind him but they weren't on his kill list. This piece of shit had just made him relive everything that happened as he continued to chase the Butcher towards the base. In the distance he could see more people running in his direction. The other idiots at the base. No. The Butcher was his kill. Derrick took aim with his knife and hurled it at the Butcher's back. It got him in the shoulder blade and he dropped to the ground while screaming in pain. Derrick caught up to him shortly after and viciously stomped on the Butcher's hand and his already broken nose. He picked him up by the neck.
"Call for anyone. They aren't going to come save you. To them, you are a dead man!" Derrick snarled and punched him in the face for good measure.
"M-Mercy...please…" The Butcher begged. The fucking nerve of this piece of shit for asking for mercy right now.
"YOU DARE ASK FOR MERCY?! AFTER EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE?! AFTER THREATENING TO HURT HER IN FRONT OF ME?! SORRY, I'M ALL OUT OF MERCY! TIME TO JOIN YOUR BROTHER IN HELL! DIE!" Derrick shouted. He removed the knife from the Butcher's shoulder and slammed it into his stomach. Derrick then proceeded to stick his thumbs into the Butcher's eyes as he screamed in pain. Derrick then grabbed the top of the Butcher's head as well as his chin and wrenched his hands in opposite directions, snapping the Butcher's neck. The Butcher fell onto his back, dead. Derrick, however, was not done. He didn't even care that he could hear more voices now besides the 2 female ones from earlier. He drew his Deagle and fired every .357 cartridge in the magazine into the Butcher's face as he screamed in rage. When the gun clicked empty, Derrick looked up to see all of his "comrades" staring at him in horror. He saw Jordan, Craig, Ela and Elena in front of him and turned to see Meghan, Lukas, Tina, Monika and Eliza had caught up to him. All of them had their respective pistols drawn.
"You gonna shoot me?! HUH?!" Derrick asked them all while turning on the spot. "COME ON! DO IT! FUCKING SHOOT ME! FUCKING COME ON!" None of them responded to his command. Fucking FINE. If you wanted anything done around here, you'd have to do it yourself. Derrick unloaded the spent mag of his pistol, slapped in a fresh one and the slide clicked forward. Derrick placed the barrel of the weapon against his head. Immediately he heard a cacophony of voices.
"Derrick, stop! We're your friends! You just saved my sister!"
"And my wife! Derrick, drop it!"
"Think about what you're doing!"
"Derrick, it's not worth it! Stay with us! You also saved my niece! Zofia says she owes you everything!"
"Derrick, please! Please stand down! I'M SORRY! IT'S MY FAULT WE LEFT YOU!"
"Derrick, your life is worth more than what he said it was!"
"NO! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT! YOU ALL LEFT ME TO DIE! NO ONE HELPED ME! YOU ALL PREFERRED IF I WAS STILL DEAD DON'T YOU!" Derrick shouted over the noise. Again the others shouted but Derrick still kept the pistol against his head. He even thought he heard the man he just killed egging him on and calling him a pussy and weak again. I'LL BE JOINING YOU IN HELL TUBBY, Derrick thought to himself as his finger twitched on the trigger. One pull of it, and it would be over. Still the voices shouted at him to stop.
"Buddy, we don't want you dead! We want to help you!"
"DERRICK! PLEASE! IT'S TINA! I LOVE YOU! LET US HELP YOU! COME BACK TO ME!"
"LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!...Der-wick." Derrick turned at the sound of that name to face the person who had said it, Meghan. She had used the name she called him when she was a little girl. Meghan bravely walked forward and she motioned for silence from everyone else and silence fell. She addressed her little brother.
"Listen to me. He LIED to you. I cried EVERY damn night when we thought you were gone. Every. Damn. Night. Tina did too. I can't even begin to describe how much I missed you. I know I said I would always protect you and that I've always got your back. I'm sorry I didn't help you. I'm sorry we never looked for you. I'm so sorry I wasn't the one that found you and brought you home. Your buddy Lukas did though. And when you came back...Derrick...you can't even fathom how happy I was to see and hear you again. Remember how hard I hugged you and how hard I cried? I simply did not want to let you go. I wouldn't hug someone like that unless they were very important to me. Remember how happy Mom and Dad were when they saw you? How about Josie? Or Lukas? When he found you, what did he do? Call you a weakling? Or did he call you his buddy and take you home? He spent 2 weeks tracking down the guy that shot you with the RPG and he got him too. And you think he hates you and slept with Tina? Tina. Loves. YOU Derrick. We can all tell she does. She was wearing your dog tags and spoke to basically no one but me and Lukas. Because he and I were the ones closest to you. Remember when she saw you in Oceanside? She was crying so hard that she was shaking and clutching you as if you were fading away from her again. I've never seen someone other than me love you as much as Tina does. She wouldn't sleep with your best friend. She told me about how you treated her. She told me that you loved her and I believed it because I know you. Eliza? She blamed herself for what happened to you. She had to tell mom that you supposedly died. She wasn't able to look me in the face for weeks. She spent HOURS looking for you at the impact site afterwards. Do you understand how happy she was when she heard your voice? I know you think she abandoned you but we all saw how broken up she was about your supposed death. Monika told me that she hugged you when she and Lukas found you were still alive. Eliza NEVER hugs people under her command or while on duty. And speaking of Monika, do you know how happy she was when she saw you in that cell? You are her brother's best friend other than herself. You were teaching me German so I could be closer to her, remember? Because you found out that she was the person I was crushing on for a few years and you wanted to make me happy like you have done for literally your entire life. Ela? She began to talk to Zofia more because of what you told her about you and me. You are like one of two people on this planet that can make Zofia laugh and you just saved her daughter. Elena? The amount of times she turned to where you used to work as if to speak to you were astronomical. She also couldn't look me in the face for weeks. Craig and Jordan? You were their firing range buddy. Craig recruited you for his ToC team for a reason. Because he saw your potential. Jordan values your input on a lot of things and didn't you help him with his own relationships? All of us missed you. All of us were ecstatic when you came back. Why the FUCK would I want you to stay dead? Don't take what that maniac said as the truth. I was never ashamed of you. Ever. Think about what you've done. You've saved so many people. Those two kids from the building a few months ago, those hikers from the mountains, Master Sergent Williamson, Tina, Jana, Elena's sister, Craig's wife and Ash's niece and nephew to name a few and...and...you just stopped him from hurting me. I love you Derrick. You're my brother and one of my best friends. Please, let us help you. We don't think you're weak and pathetic. You survived everything he threw at you and still managed to insult him at every chance you got. He was the weak one, not you. You made us all laugh and forget about our problems. You always said you liked hearing the ones you love laugh. What did you make me, Tina and Eliza do after we all hugged you? You made us laugh. You made us cherish the fact that you survived. Please. We can't lose you again Derrick, not when we can help you this time," Meghan reached her hand out towards Derrick and his mind quickly flashed between a few memories.
Derrick peered into the car wreck as his mother yelled at the other guy about something. He saw his big sister in the passenger seat holding her arm at a funny angle and crying.
"I've heard of backseat driving but this is a bit ridiculous. Remind me never to get in a car that you're driving ever," Derrick said to her leaning against the door of the car. Meghan looked over at the sound of his voice and smiled. Derrick offered her his hand and he gently pulled her out of the car. He examined her arm. That was 100% broken.
"Oh boy, that shouldn't bend that way. Excuse me, officer? Mind if I take her to the hospital? Do you need her here?"
"And who are you?" the officer asked.
"That's my son," his mother explained. The officer nodded while reading his mom's driver's license.
"Castellano? There's a Marine with that name nearby. Is that your father young man?" she asked Derrick.
"Yes ma'am that's him," Derrick said.
"That arm looks broken. You are in quite a lot of trouble sir," the officer said to the drunk guy who was passed out. "You can take her to the hospital young man"
Derrick nodded before turning to Meghan.
"Come on Megs, let's go to the hospital. Meet you there ma! I'll call Pop from there too,"
"I'm not that fussed to be honest. I think want to do something else with my life," Meghan said as she held her broken arm painfully
"You better not do anything that involves being funny. That's my job. Mayhaps you can try joining the Army like Pop. The Navy maybe? They swim, right?...oh my, I just thought of SO MANY JOKES!" Derrick said as Meghan laughed.
Derrick sat on the hill overlooking the airport watching the planes take off while wiping his stinging eyes. They had all betrayed him. She had been kissing his best friend behind his back for weeks now apparently. What happened to the time they had spent together at the movies or on the beach? Did he mean nothing to her?
"Hey," a voice behind him said. Derrick turned to see Meghan standing there with 2 ice creams. One in a cone and one in a plastic cup. Derrick could tell it was his favorite flavor even at this distance. Mint chocolate chip. Meghan walked over, sat down next to him and handed him the cup of ice cream. He didn't hate cones, he just preferred eating ice cream with a spoon.
"Thanks," Derrick sniffed. Meghan put her other arm around him.
"She didn't really care about you. I never liked her anyway," she said.
"But…" Derrick began. She was his first girlfriend as well as his first kiss.
"She wanted to have her cake and eat it too. She won't bother you anymore. I made sure of that. Mom and Dad are gonna kill me but whatever. I don't like seeing you being mistreated like that. You deserve someone that actually wants to be with you Derrick," Meghan said. Derrick gave her a smile and she returned it.
"I'll always care about you little bro"
"Derrick, I have to tell you something," Meghan said. The pair of them were sitting on the same hill on another bright and sunny day. Derrick was watching some helicopters take off and Meghan had joined him. The family dog, a German shepherd named Shadow, was sitting next to Derrick and was getting his ears scratched.
"Yes?" Derrick answered not taking his eyes off the Black Hawk helicopter that just took off. One day he was going to fly one of those bad boys and call himself Clark Kent. He'd find his Lois Lane too. He felt that she wouldn't betray him either.
"It's about me...Um...I...I like girls. Like...like dating wise," Meghan said. Derrick didn't respond immediately. He knew this already. His father had suspected this and Derrick overheard him talking to his mother about it. Plus he himself had witnessed Meghan looking at some of the attractive female Marines at their father's base too. He was touched that Meghan told him first though. He had his response primed and ready.
"So do I, your point?" he said and turned to face her. Meghan looked like she was about to throw up for some reason. Gross.
"What? Don't you get it? I'm not straight. I'm a lesbian,"
"MJ, contrary to what everyone says, I am able to comprehend things people say. Why the hell would you being who you are make me love you any less than I already do? You're my big sis. Why did you think I would hate you because you like girls?" Derrick answered and smiled at her. Meghan smiled back.
"You know what this means right? It means we can talk about HOT CHICKS!" Derrick said, giving his sister a hug. Meghan shoved him but still grinned at him.
Derrick sat among the other dignitaries watching Meghan's graduating class receive their diplomas. He had contacted the dean of students a few weeks ago about his plan to surprise Meghan and was currently in disguise; wearing a graduation gown and cap over his Air Force attire and holding Meghan's diploma. It happened to be a rather large graduating class so Derrick leaned back in the chair he was currently sitting in to make himself more comfortable. The person on his left looked at him quizzically. The guy must have seen his boots.
"Uh...who are you?" he asked in a low voice.
"Meghan Castellano's brother. She thinks I'm still in Germany. Shh," Derrick answered at the same volume. The guy smiled and nodded and looked forward again. Derrick's phone buzzed and he took it out to see that his mom had texted him. "Are you here?"
"Yes, I'm in the back row on the right in the blue and wearing sunglasses" he quickly texted back. Derrick spotted Meghan in one of the rows and his heart began to race with excitement. This was going to be AWESOME. After watching a handful of people receive their Computer Science degrees, Meghan was called forward. The Dean stopped her and turned to the crowd
"Now I want to stop here for a second and address Meghan here. See, someone very important to her wasn't able to attend today's ceremony because he's still in Germany. He did, however, record this for you." Derrick watched as Meghan watched the short video he recorded for her on the screen in front of her. While it played, Derrick got up and slowly took off the robes he was weaning while holding a finger to his lips and made his way towards Meghan. The video showed him standing in front of a fake backdrop of the air base he was stationed at. It looked passable but not 100% right. In reality, he had recorded the video about 15 minutes before the ceremony began.
"Guten Tag from Germany! I'm Airman 1st Class Derrick Castellano, younger brother of the outrageously unfunny Meghan Castellano. I unfortunately am unable to attend her graduation as I am stationed at the Ramstein Air Base. They do allow me to blast Rammstein songs while flying helicopters in case anyone was asking. I would like to send her my congratulations and that I am incredibly proud of her. I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you to celebrate this event...hang on a sec...my sources tell me that I am, in fact, a dirty liar. Hey Megs, turn around." The real Derrick draped his right arm and Meghan's diploma over her shoulder and pointed at her with his left hand. She turned to face him, immediately hugged him and began crying.
"DERRICK!"
"That's my name, hold the applause," he said as he hugged his big sister. "Guess you don't want this expensive piece of paper do ya?"
"YOU'RE A JERK!" she cried but continued to hug him.
"Well now, that's RUDE!" he said, before giving the applauding crowd a 2 fingered salute and wave of acknowledgement.
Derrick also remembered other things but not as vivid as the others. He remembered Meghan sitting with him one day when he was sick and just watched TV with him. He remembered Meghan surprising him on his graduation day from the Air Force. He remembered surprising her on the aircraft carrier where she was stationed once. He even remembered being a little kid and being scared of the loud fireworks one year before Meghan comforted him by giving him a hug and sitting on the rooftop with him to watch. Derrick's mind stopped it's highlight reel of his life and he saw that Meghan was still standing in front of him with her arm outstretched towards him. He looked in her eyes and he could tell that she meant every word she had just told him. She did miss him. She did love him. His friends love him. Tina loves him. Derrick let the pistol fall from his hand onto the ground and he reached toward his sister. The person that had always been there for him. His best friend since childhood.
"M...MJ...help me…"
The next thing he knew, Meghan was holding him like a sister would and took him away from the Butcher's mutilated corpse. She had made sure there were no more weapons in his vicinity and held him tightly. Monika held Meghan's pistol and knife and was being supported by Lukas. Tina was also holding onto Lukas and looking incredibly relieved. Craig and Jordan had moved in to remove the Butcher's corpse with help from Elena and Ela.
"Meghan...he wanted to hurt you...like he did to me...I had to stop him…" Derrick said weakly.
"It's ok Derrick, I'm safe. You got him. You. Are. Not. Weak. Do you understand me? He's not going to hurt you anymore," Meghan said, grabbing Derrick's face. Derrick nodded and began to cry but he tried to hide it from everyone else.
"Let it out little brother. I've got you," Meghan whispered. Derrick watched Eliza walk over to him.
"Derrick, I want you to stay here tonight OK?" she said in a calming voice. He could tell that she was also extremely relieved that he hadn't blown his head off. He nodded.
"Am...am I fired?" Derrick asked as if he was a child. Meghan released Derrick and Eliza took her place. He could tell that she was crying too as she hugged him. Derrick felt like he was her friend.
"No, but I'm taking you off field duty for a bit," she said.
"About...about what I said…"
"You had every right to be angry. We didn't know. If we had...fuck...Derrick I'm so sorry I left you. I thought you died… Come on Meghan, take him to Tina," Eliza said and released Derrick. Meghan embraced him again and began to lead him over to Lukas, Monika and Tina.
"I...I could...I could have killed you too…I'm...I'm crazy" Derrick said.
"The only thing you are is safe with us Derrick," Meghan said.
"Don't leave me," Derrick suddenly said.
"I won't Derrick, I promise," Meghan said.
"Why are you taking me to her? She's got to be terrified of me now," Derrick said. Tina walked up to him and kissed him on the lips softly. Derrick raised his hands and hugged her as she did so.
"No Derrick, I love you. I've had a crush on you since Greece and you made me fall in love with you shortly after I asked if you wanted to be a couple. I was so angry at myself that morning. I'm angry at myself now for not kicking that bastard's skull in myself. I'll help you recover from what he did. I promise,"
"But I…"
"Derrick, listen to me. I will say this as many times as you need to hear it. There is no way in hell that I would do anything to hurt you. That includes sleeping with your best friend. You are safe with me sweetie. It's okay. I've got you," Tina said gently running her fingers through Derrick's hair before adding "I love you so much." Over her shoulder, Derrick could see Meghan looking at Tina with a look that read "I will hold you to that Canadian". Derrick turned to face Lukas, his buddy. The person he resented for the past few days.
"Luke…"
"It's alright buddy, I know you didn't mean what you said. You're my friend. I wouldn't betray you like that. I'll help you recover too, I promise," Lukas said, walked over and patted his buddy on the shoulder. Derrick looked around at his friends to see that they all meant what they said.
"Friends?" Derrick asked as if he just woke up from being in a coma for 4 years. Tina still had her arms around him and Derrick felt her squeeze him.
"Yes Derrick, we're your friends," Meghan said. "We love you."
August 16th, 2023 & Early Hours of August 17th, 2023
Specialist Lukas "Amp" Weiss
West Coast Rainbow HQ.
Portland OR. USA
It was almost midnight by the time Lukas and the others brought Derrick back inside and sat in one of the lounges. He was there with Ela, Tina and Monika. Derrick was sitting on one of the couches next to Tina staring at his hands while Tina rubbed his back gently and was whispering something to him. Lukas turned to Ela.
"How's Zo?" he asked.
"Alright now I think. You should have seen her when I brought Jana to her. Haven't seen her cry like that in years. She would have come when Jordan rallied us but she stayed behind until her husband was informed. I think the others are speaking with the other hostages Derrick saved," Ela explained.
"See Derrick, you are Superman. I know you always liked comic books," Tina said gently
"Does that make you Lois Lane?" Derrick asked her. Tina smiled and nodded.
"That means I'm Batman right?" Lukas asked. Derrick flashed him his old smile.
"Dorks, actually Jana said something about Derrick being Scooby Doo and Shaggy," Ela said, smiling at Derrick. Tina did too.
"That explains the haircut he used to have," Tina said.
"Like yeah," Derrick said as Shaggy. Meghan came into the room holding 2 ice creams. One of them was green and in a plastic cup with a spoon. She sat down next to Derrick and handed him the cup. Derrick took it and gave his sister another hug.
"Everyone else is all right, Eliza wants us all to watch you Derrick. Is that ok? Or do you just want it to be me, Tina or Lukas?" Meghan asked. Derrick nodded, however he was frowning at his ice cream.
"What's the matter? Wrong flavor?" Monika asked. Derrick shook his head while still staring at the ice cream. He took a sniff of it before he grimaced in disgust. He turned to Meghan and motioned for her to do the same. Meghan frowned herself and moved her ice cream cone to her own nose...only for Derrick to lift it upwards into her face. Derrick grinned at her and started to chuckle to himself. Everyone else did too. Meghan removed the ice cream cone from her face and wiped some of it off. She was also smiling and she rubbed her hand on Derrick's face.
"EWW! GROSS! COOTIES!" Derrick said. Meghan looked at her brother and gave him a one armed hug. Derrick looked over the top of her head at Lukas.
"Thanks for bringing me home Luke. I missed you guys," Derrick said.
"No problem," Lukas responded as Monika gave him a hug too just because. The pair of them exchanged the same expression they had done back in early March. "Overprotective sisters am I right?"
An hour later, Derrick had fallen asleep on Tina's lap and she was gently caressing his head as he slept. Derrick looked like he was sleeping like a baby against the woman that loved him. Everyone else was still awake and conversing in low voices. The topic was the Butcher and what he had done to Derrick. Meghan, who had been all smiles while Derrick was awake, was fuming with rage again.
"Did you see that? He...he hurt my little brother...he abused him…he nearly drove him to suicide…" Meghan said. Monika, who had her head on Meghan's shoulder, said
"Yes but you stopped him from doing so." Tina nodded at her while she continued caressing Derrick's head. Eliza and Elena stopped by a few minutes later.
"How is he?" Elena asked, looking down at Derrick's sleeping body.
"I don't know how to answer that really. He seems alright now that Tina's with him. Those underlying trust issues he had must have been amplified because of what that guy told him," Lukas replied. Ela had been dozing off against his shoulder in the meantime. She smiled when he said "amplified."
"He was so angry at that man. I thought he was going to damage his vocal chords with how loud he screamed when he shot him," Elena said. Tina continued to gently stroke Derrick's head as he slept. Lukas could see that she was silently crying to herself.
"Those were some of the scariest 30 minutes of my life," Eliza added. "Did you hear him when he snapped?" Lukas nodded. He didn't think he'd ever get that voice out of his head.
"I thought I lost him again," Tina said and sniffed.
"I have never seen someone that mad before and that was just towards his sister. Imagine if that Butcher fuck threatened Tina," Lukas said.
"Your arm would have been broken in multiple places, Duke Boy," Derrick said sleepily from the sofa still with his eyes closed. Tina placed her hand against his head again.
"Shh sweetie, go back to sleep. Get some rest. I'm right here ok? So is everyone else," she said.
"Mine?" Derrick asked in the same tired voice and gently grasped Tina's arm.
"Yes Derrick, I'm yours," she responded.
"Megs? Lukas?"
"I'm over here Derrick, it's ok," Meghan responded.
"Me too buddy," Lukas said. Derrick drifted back to sleep again.
"So what's the plan?" Lukas asked Eliza.
"Well, Six is coming. I told him about Derrick's behavioral changes but now...we'll talk in the morning. Meghan, I'm not firing him. He's still Rainbow," Eliza said. Elena walked over to Derrick, knelt down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks for saving Carmen Derrick. I'll see if Six will put you with me in R&D," she said in a carrying whisper. Derrick mumbled something that sounded like "de nada." Elena smiled and left the room with Eliza. Lukas looked around the room. He saw that Monika had fallen asleep on Meghan's shoulder and Ela had finally passed out against his own.
"Go ahead and sleep, Lukas. We've all had a long night," Tina said. Lukas nodded, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep as well.
Mission Report:
Derrick killed The Butcher and almost committed suicide before he was talked out of it by Meghan.
