Chapter 12: All's Well That Ends
Zim couldn't hold his breath very well, but he managed to hold it until he found himself grabbing something big that brought him floating to the top. He gasped for air as he clung to . . . was this the ruins of a plane? How did that happen?
"Goddammit," Reddington said. He sat on top of the plane. "I was really hoping you'd be dead."
"Don't worry, Reddington," Glen said from the other side of the plane. "I'm alive, too."
"Dear God."
"I'm still alive, too," D-Dolla' said from inside the plane. "What the hell happened? What did I miss?"
"I wish I had a gun," Reddington said. "I don't know who I'd use it on. Probably myself just to get away from you people."
Minutes later a helicopter arrived to airlift them out of there. Zim tried to get on first, but Reddington pushed him back down. D-Dolla' went next, and for a second it looked like Reddington would kick him off the rope ladder. When all were aboard they flew back to the mainland, where Fitz and Brandon met them.
"Elizabeth and Ressler?" Reddington asked.
"And my money?" Glen asked.
"They didn't make it," Fitz said. "The tsunami flooded the casino. The entire island has been wiped off the face of the earth."
"With my money?!" Glen scowled, his tiny hands balled into fists. "Reddington, you still owe me. And make it double. I lost the battleship and the score I was planning."
"Glen, just shut up."
"What, no reminiscences? This doesn't remind you of something else?"
Reddington hauled back and punched Glen in the face. Glen fell back and hit Zim in the chest, causing Zim to fall even further back. He hit a plank, which had a steel weight on it, causing the weight to fly up into the helicopter's rotors. It then flung the steel weight into Reddington's face, removing his head with the greatest of ease.
"Goddammit, Zim!" Brandon yelled. "You killed Reddington!"
"No I didn't!" Zim roared. "He did!" Pointing to Glen.
"I . . ." Glen trailed off. "Wow. I never thought the old bastard would die. Especially not like this."
"Fuck this," Zim said. "Let's go home."
They took a plane back to the US, and on the way Fitz and Brandon briefed Aram about what had happened on and around Cutthroat Island. Harold then came on the phone. "So the Blacklist ends. The team is no more." He paused. "It's a shame about Agents Keen and Ressler. We'll have to have a ceremony for them. As for Reddington, it's probably for the best."
"Great going, Zim," Brandon said. "We still had more Blacklisters to catch. Do you know how much more dangerous you've made the world?"
"No," Zim said. "This is stupid."
"You're stupid," D-Dolla' said. Somehow he still had the hat with the Confederate flag on it.
"Don't call me stupid," Zim said.
"Oh shit," Fitz said. "We need to lock the cockpit door!"
"You're stupid!" D-Dolla' shouted. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
"DON'T CALL ME STUPID!" Zim yelled. He dove into D-Dolla's back, and they pushed through the cockpit. The pilot screamed as he was shoved forward into the controls.
The plane took a nosedive and crashed into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
THE END
ZIM WILL HOPEFULLY NEVER RETURN! But he probably will. Unlike Crime Story, which that ending is based on, I don't think I'll leave it like this. But you never know.
