Chapter Twenty Four: Returning the Favor
It had taken a bit of maneuvering and some driving over rough terrain, since their location was off-road, but eventually the North Wind had found the tunnel system where Eva's tracker had indicated that Kowalski was located (and, in extension, hopefully the rest of the Penguin Eyes). By then, Hans couldn't so much as sit still, his anxiety palpable and reflected by some of the North Wind members.
They found a taxi parked outside, which Classified surmised probably had been used to get there. The cab driver was no where to be found, and though none of them said anything, they were aware that this probably meant it had been stolen. Being that it was empty, this also probably meant that they were already inside the tunnel maze. Alone, without any equipment or weaponry. This level of unprofessionalism was a decently clear sign that Skipper was leading them.
Classified turned to his team. "All right, Eva and I will scout ahead. Shortfuse, contact Nigel, tell him what's happening. Corporal, you and Hans c-"
Before he could finish his command, a loud explosion interrupted him. The ground shuddered, causing their van to creak and tremble before settling. The five of them looked to the tunnel system in shock - it was beginning to collapse in on itself from the outside. Someone had detonated part of it from the outside, and it was caving in.
"Skippar is still in zere!" Hans exclaimed in mortification, and he burst out the van door and ran outside before any of them could stop him.
"Wait, Hans-" Corporal started, but it was too late. Hans had already disappeared inside of the tunnel system.
"Oh great," Classified groaned, running a hand over his weary visage. Things were not going as planned. "Eva, contact Nigel immediately. Tell him the situation and send him our coordinates. Ask him what his orders are."
She nodded and began to type away at the integrated computer system on the wall of their van. Classified sighed; they didn't have the proper equipment for this sort of task and probably wouldn't be able to aid Skipper or Hans, unless they too wanted to endanger their lives. All he could hope for was that the two of them would be reunited and would manage to rekindle their uncanny ability to survive almost everything (internally, he accentuated the word 'almost'). If only he had the right tools and protective wear for this job...
Shortfuse was squinting out the window, into the darkness, before his eyes suddenly widened. "Look!" He pointed.
Outside the window of the van, where Shortfuse was frantically gesturing to, stood a man that was holding a detonation device. Within seconds, Corporal had bolted from the door and unleashed his strength upon the mysterious figure, apprehending him knocking the remote from his hand.
There was a bit of a struggle between them, but Corporal overpowered the much shorter man with relative ease and brought him back into the van. He really did live up to his credentials. Lucky for them, whoever it was had not pressed more than one button, which meant most of the cave was still in tact, assuming that he hadn't detonated a particularly crucial part.
"Excellent work, Corporal." Classified nodded to him snidely before he turned to the man who'd been attempting to blow up Dr. Blowhole's facilities. "Now then, who are you and what exactly were you hoping to accomplish?"
"The name's Parker," he muttered, and his eyes slid back to where he'd left his device, wanting to get it back. "And what do you think? I was gonna kill Blowhole."
Classified sent him a very unamused stare. "Ah, so this is the infamous attack-dog that Blowhole is so fond of. Yes, you have quite the name among mercenaries... Why were you trying to off your master then?"
"Master!" Parker laughed derisively. "I hate that man, always have. He likes the work I do, and I like the money he pays me. But I've had enough - he's gone too far this time, done something I'm not going to forgive this time around..."
Classified and Shortfuse exchanged a surprised and rather confused glance, before the North Wind's leader spoke up. "...How do you mean?"
Parker's smile was bitter and sardonic. "He killed someone who I didn't want to be killed, and so I was just going to return the favor… Since Blowhole loves favors, and the only one he cares about is himself, killing him seemed like the best idea."
Inside the tunnel system, the roof was collapsing due to the explosion. It crumbled above them, and Skipper pushed Maurice out of the way in the nick of time, but of course, the cave-in separated him from the rest of his group. The last he saw before cut off by the avalanche of stone was his brothers' fearful eyes. Now alone, he growled at the wall of rock and dirt that separated him and everyone else he'd come with. Dust floated around him and he stepped back, attempting not to inhale any of the debris. Just what they needed! An obnoxious setback.
"Skipper! Skipper, are you okay?" Kowalski's concerned muffled voice called to him from the other side.
"Yes, I'm fine!" He shouted back angrily. "Just - separated now, I guess… I'll find another way. I'll meet you on the surface. Try to find Julien, and don't get caught!"
"Right," Kowalski replied nervously. He was never good at leading, but he did as Skipper wanted. His voice and footsteps drifted away, along with the rest of the group, and as he left Skipper heard his fading voice comment, "...Perhaps the other tunnel wasn't a dead-end after all. Let's see what's…"
He trailed off and Skipper was left completely alone and in the dark. Just wonderful. He sighed heavily and looked around. Without Kowalski to analyze the passageways around him, it wasn't very easy to figure out which way he should go. He wandered for a bit, running into about three dead ends before he found one tunnel that seemed fruitful. Whoever said that process of elimination was a poor method?
Oh right, Kowalski had.
Well, Skipper had made it so far. All he could hope for was that Julien wasn't dead yet, though he wasn't sure why Blowhole would keep him alive any longer than necessary. The odds weren't in his favor; he knew that above all, Julien was probably already buried deep beneath the earth, never to see the light of day again. Probably tortured violently up until his final moments, as was the Blowhole method. The idea was horrific; as soon as he thinks he's found romance again for the first time in over a decade, it's viciously ripped from his hands the moment he feels as if he's taken hold of it.
He decided, to himself, that at the very least - assuming that perhaps Julien was already dead - he could subject Francis Blowhole to the most gruesome, agonizing torment possible in exchange for taking away Skipper's happiness. There was one thing that Hans had told him to remember if he'd ever died, as he had, and that was that life continues to go on. Hans had drilled that into his own mind once his parents died, and he told Skipper it was the most positive aspect of truth available to mankind. Life goes on, even if everyone around you dies.
Skipper realized, in that moment, that he hadn't followed Hans' most prophetic piece of advice. He hadn't allowed his life to go on, because he'd been so caught up in Hans' death. Eleven years he'd ignored the remaining applicable suggestion Hans had for him. And he realized, even more, that when he'd willingly kissed Julien, he'd finally allowed himself to let go. Julien was his push in the right direction. Julien was the key to letting Hans rest in peace. Julien was the ultimate sense of reason and health for Skipper, the one thing that could make him put down the bottle of scotch for good and learn how to laugh again for real.
He wouldn't let Dr. Blowhole remove his final source of happiness. If Dr. Blowhole wanted to send him down to hell, then Skipper would drag the villainous madman right down with him.
Back outside, Parker was still apprehended within the North Wind's vehicle. Though he continued to glance out the window, he made no attempt to escape and instead fiddled with his poisonous diamond rings. Corporal kept a close eye on him and made sure he didn't pull any fast moves, but Parker didn't even seem interested in leaving the comfort of their mechanically advanced van. In contrast, he actually seemed to enjoy their plush seating and air-conditioned vehicle.
Eva had just finished contacting Nigel, and though she could confirm that he'd received her message, none of them were sure whether or not he'd actually read it as he had yet to respond. It was frustrating to no end to Classified, wanting to do something but not knowing what he could do, seeing as none of them felt comfortable running blindly into a caving tunnel system without equipment or orders. He needed Nigel to direct him, to help him differentiate from what was wrong or right.
"Hey so, I saw someone run in the tunnels earlier," Parker commented boredly. "He came from your van. Who was he?"
"Oh, that was agent Hans," Shortfuse replied easily.
Classified sent him a glare. "Shortfuse, you know that that's private intel. Do not give out information to the enemy."
"I wouldn't call us enemies," Parker huffed. "I'm guessing you guys aren't Blowhole's biggest fans either, and did you say… Hans? As in, CIA agent Hans, the one who supposed to have been dead for eleven years but has actually been in Blowhole's captivity?"
Classified eyed Parker in suspicion now. "...You know about all of that?"
"Of course I do. Dr. Blowhole isn't the best at keeping secrets, not from me anyway." Parker's humored expression suddenly became sullen and a bit disquieted. "...Wait. You came here for Julien, right?"
"Maybe." Classified's eyes narrowed. "Why, what do you know?"
Parker stiffened significantly and his face became a pale white. "I… Julien's dead, as far as I know. I heard a gunshot down where Blowhole was keeping him. But sending Hans in… Even if Julien were alive, that'd be the craziest idea you CIA guys have ever come up with."
"Catfight, catfight!" Shortfuse grinned.
"No." Classified rejected Shortfuse's comment immediately, before he turned back to Parker in agitated seriousness. He paced forward and leaned over him in the most intimidating manner he possibly could. "Why do you say that? Hans and Julien have no connection, aside from Skipper, and I'm fairly positive that neither of them know about the other. So why?"
Parker stared up at him with the most sincere expression of astonished disgust available. "...Wow. They really do train you CIA agents to never ask questions, don't they? That's amazing. You just… Accept what you're told as if it's the truth, all the time - as long as someone with a higher rank tells you that that's how it is."
Before having met Hans, the North Wind would have vehemently objected to this statement. But now that they had, and had been exposed to the true nature of the situation and the amount of cover ups that went on behind closed doors, none of them could do much more than glare at the well-trained assassin before them. He looked as if he wanted to smile, but couldn't quite bring himself to, not with the subject matter behind what he was discussing. He shook his head with a sigh and looked back down at his rings.
"You just don't have a clue, do you?" He asked, not particularly directing the inquiry at the elite CIA team surrounding him.
"What?" Classified snapped petulantly. "Just tell us what you know!"
Parker glared up at him. "Agent Clover, the woman Hans killed eleven years ago, was Julien Hira's adoptive mother."
