~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Silence. Perry blinked, astonished.
His boss had the gun pointed directly at him, and was staring at him with a look the agent had never seen on him before. It was blank, determined, and chilling. However, as Perry's mind raced, he started to put the pieces together. The agent laughed, long and sarcastically as he lifted himself off the ground. "Come to finish the job, Francis?"
"This isn't what it looks like. I don't want to shoot you, Agent P. I'm sorry."
Perry growled. "Then don't shoot."
The man didn't say anything, simply cocked the gun and held it straighter. Perry held up his hands. "Whoa, now, can we just talk about this?"
"I.." The man's voice cracked. "I'm sorry." His hands were slightly shaking. The gun vibrated.
Perry bit his lip. "It doesn't have to be this way."
"Just shut up, agent." The man barked with a sudden volume that made Perry's heart jump. "Do you have any last words?"
The platypus's eyes widened. He felt his heart begin to race, and anger stir up in his mind. "Well if you're going to shoot me, I at least want a few of my questions answered."
"Like?"
"Like the fact that you've known I'm human for quite a few years now. You've known my real name is Zachary Tecton." The platypus-turned-human snarled.
Silence.
"My question is, why didn't you report it? You have a known, dangerous evil scientist, one whom everyone thinks is dead, actually, roaming the halls of your precious agency undercover, and you don't report it? You do nothing? I find that very odd.. Of course, until I looked further into Operation Cobra."
More silence. The major's eyes began to dilate. Obviously, the man had no idea Perry had gone through his files. "Listen, Agent P, I can explain."
"Well, you better start. Because I'm just beginning."
"I.. Look, I know you have a past. But I also know that you are extremely talented. I was waiting for you to just come to me.."
"Just come to you? Are you even listened to yourself right now?" Perry cried out, slamming his fist onto the ground.
"Perry-"
"No, you listen to me!" The man screamed. "I know that you were my father's nemesis! I also know that you were jealous of my mother for loving my father instead of you!"
"Agent P."
"So then.. So then.. You kill her?" Perry screamed. His eyes were alight with fire.
"I didn't-"
"For years, I believed it was my own father who killed her! And here you are, trying to cover your tracks! And you have the galls to tell me I should've come to you!"
"Shut up!" Major Monogram waved the gun around in anger. But he took a deep breath. "I didn't intentionally kill your mother, Perry. Your father.. He would always taunt me with winning her over. When I found out she'd given birth to his child, I just lost it. I meant to get him, but she got in the way. If only she hadn't gotten in the way.." The man's voice cracked.
"So then, you fried my father's brain and obscured evidence to make it look like he did it. Yeah, real sorry. And all for a job, huh?"
"What was I supposed to do?" The major snapped. "Your father was the real monster. Look what he did to you."
"You're right. He was a monster. And I guess so am I." Perry's face wrinkled with disgust. "I did everything I could to convince you. That I was loyal. That I had changed. That I am sorry." The man stepped forward. Francis winced. "And I thought I had, too. Do you really hate me so much, major?"
Silence again. He could have cut a knife through the thickness of the tension.
"That you had to have me killed?"
Francis snapped. "I never-"
"Please. I know you anonymously tipped off Dr. Gevaarlijk about who I was. I guess killing me yourself was just too hard, huh? You had to try to convince a bunch of evil scientists to do your dirty work for you. Is it because of your job, Francis? Or is it because you see my mother's eyes every time you look at me?"
By this point, Perry was so close to his boss's face, the pointed gun was softly touching his chest. Major Monogram stared back into the agent's eyes. The guilt was plastered all over his face. For a moment, his life flashed before his eyes.
Perry could visibly see the mental battle raging inside the man's mind. But despite a few agonizing seconds of tension, the man pressed the gun even closer to Perry's chest. "I have my own family to protect. This secret dies with you. I'm sorry."
But before the man could pull the trigger, Perry kicked him in the knees, sending the man sprawling, and the gun skating across the ground. Both men glanced at each other for a second, before both of them lunged for the weapon. Fortunately, Perry was quicker, and was able to wrap his hands around the gun. However, Francis's strength was too severe, and the man was able to wrangle it from his grasp.
Not without a fight, though. Perry forcefully bit the man's arm and managed to pummel him off his chest. Major Monogram held up the gun again, ready to shoot, but Perry had somehow ducked around a building and began running.
"Hey, Perry, you there?"
Peter. The platypus activated the communicator. "Kinda busy. What is it?"
"We got the rocket offline. But it looks like somehow has already hacked into it and seized control. It's starting to countdown! What's going on?"
Perry panted. "Dr. Tecton is dead. But I think I know who else is in control."
"He's dead? Wait, who?"
"Major Monogram. Ask questions later. Just see if you can dismantle that rocket!"
Perry used his rocket boots to jump into the air. They were now just a few feet from the outside of Danville. He could see FBI agents just beyond the harbor that surrounded the city. Perry went to fly over to them, but bullets began firing. One just barely missed his shoulder, singing his t-shirt. Perry growled and powered forward, but the next bullet hit him in the leg. The agent cried in immense pain, trying to keep the rocket boots steady. However, without his strength, they began to become unbalanced, and sent him to the ground.
Blood dripped down his leg. Perry forced himself to stop from screaming. The pain was unbearable.
Major Monogram approached him, sweating and panting, but still holding the gun to his head. "That was a bad idea." He spat.
"Dismantle the rocket." Perry shouted. "Dismantle it now!"
"Don't worry, I'm not really going to hurt anyone." The major shrugged. "I don't want to take over the world, unlike your kind. I just want to protect my family. And if that means using a bit of mind control here and there, I don't see why it should be a problem."
"They'll stop you."
"And who will they listen to? You? An evil scientist and a terrorist that should've been locked away for the rest of his life for what he's done?"
Perry growled. He was beginning to get light-headed. He activated the communicator. "Help! Please!"
"Don't think about it." The man sighed. "You'll be dead before they reach you."
The agent felt his muscles growing weak. There was no way he could travel in his condition. He had no weapons. The pain was unbearable. Anger pulsed through his veins. In a last attempt, he forced himself to stand and lunge at the man, but Francis punched him in the face, sending him to the ground once more.
Perry knew he was defeated. He groaned, flopped to the ground.
Forgive me, Heinz. I love you.
"Then please just make it quick." The agent gasped. "And tell Peter the Panda that I'm sorry I couldn't make it to his daughter's play."
Major Monogram raised an eyebrow, but said nothing further. With a nod, he held up the gun and cocked it.
He fired the shot.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Vanessa jumped awake. She looked to her left, and her right, and sighed, grateful to see her mother in the bed next to her.
Nightmare. It was just a nightmare.
They were now located in a safe house just outside of Danville's borders. FBI surrounded the entire area, guarding against attackers of any kind. Her dad was in the room next door, probably sound asleep.
She briefly wondered what was going on in Danville at this very moment. How were the agents doing? Who was winning? What was going on?
She hadn't heard from Orville, or any of his gang, although she knew she was probably going to hear from them any day now. Gripping the sheets, Vanessa sank her head back into her pillow and tried to shut her eyes.
It was going to be a long few days.