Kowalski was the first to shake off the shock of Manfredi and Johnson being alive as assassins. He punched Rico's stomach and Rico burped up a flamethrower. Kowalski pulled the trigger send a comet of fire in front of Manfredi and Johnson, separating them from Skipper. "Run Skipper!" He shouted. He was going to do whatever he could to help Skipper.
"Kowalski no!" Skipper Screamed back. Kowalski was going to get himself killed! What was he thinking?
"RUN!" Kowalski shouted more forcefully.
Manfredi pulled out his net shooter and shot it at Kowalski. The foolish penguin was caught in the net within seconds. Kowalski dropped the flamethrower and the fire disappeared.
Rico jumped in with his bazooka. He shot it at the two traitors. Hastily. They weren't going to get to his friend without taking him down first. He wasn't going to let it happen.
Manfredi and Johnson dodged every one of Rico missiles. They were too fast.
Manfredi dodged a missile and charged at Rico with a sward drawn. Rico quickly threw the bazooka to private and pulled out his chainsaw. He started the motor and ran at Manfredi. He was ready to kill. He ran at Manfredi with hate filled eyes. Wild eyes. He was ready to battle this maniac. He was one. Maniac on maniac. That seemed fair. But he was wilder. It was time to put that wildness to good use.
Private caught the bazooka and just stood there for a minute.
"Shoot Private! Shoot!" Kowalski shouted trying furiously to escape the net. It was wrapped around him many times. He had to get out. He looked over at Skipper. He was still standing there. "GOD DAMMIT SKIPPER! RUN!"
That seemed to kick Skipper into gear. He took off.
Skipper knew he wouldn't be able to stop Rico, Private or Kowalski from protecting him. And it killed him to leave them on their own against Manfredi and Johnson. But he had to keep going. He had to find Julian and get the heck out of there. He ran around the corner and into the lemur king. Without saying a word, Skipper grabbed Julian's arm and pulled him. He saw Alice loading a truck with crates.
"One more Phil." She said.
Skipper ran faster. He only had one shot at this. He needed to jump into the truck as Alice pulled the back closed. If he missed it, he'd be stuck on feet. They needed to get as far away as possible, as quick as possible.
Johnson turned to run after Skipper. But an explosion went off right in front of him. He turned to see Private.
Private was scared. But he knew what he had to do. He held his fear in and shot at Johnson. There was no way he was going to just stand there and let Johnson go after his best friend. He shot again and again. Not thinking. Watching where Johnson went and shooting. He wasn't focused on his thoughts. He focused on his target. He pictured Johnson as a big moving red target. He wanted a bulls-eye. It was easy to think that way. Until the target started shooting back.
Johnson was shooting at Private with his desert eagle. He missed the boys head by a few inches the first time.
He didn't have to shoot again. Private was now a target. He had to move. He shot at Johnson again, then jumped to the side dodging a bullet. He quickly learned to shoot while rolling to the side. Skipper had told him once that learning from experience was a very effective way to learn something. He was absolutely correct. Private was able to see where the barrel was pointed and roll out of the way of the bullet before it ever came out. He was filled with fear and adrenalin. But he was also fueled by anger and disgust. And he didn't want Johnson to hurt Skipper. Under normal circumstances he would be hiding in a corner. But these weren't normal circumstances. Skipper's getaway was depending on how well he was able to keep Johnson busy and how long. He was going to make sure Skipper and Julian got away. Far away.
Rico met Manfredi seconds after he took off towards the assassin. The blade of his chainsaw grinded at the sword. The pulled away from each other. Rico didn't hesitate. He attacked Manfredi aiming for the neck and chest. Manfredi was good. He was able to block all of Rico's attacks. Rico was just as good. Manfredi's blade couldn't touch him. Rico blocked every attack. He kept Manfredi busy for a long time.
But the chainsaw was starting to get heavier. He pushed away from Manfredi and coughed up a sword. He threw his chainsaw to the side and held the weapon with two hands.
Manfredi ran at Rico. He was going to take the crazy penguin down.
Rico had the same thought in mind. He charged at Manfredi.
Alice threw the last crate into the truck. She grabbed the door to the back of the truck and began to pull it down.
Skipper ran faster than he thought he could. Pushing his legs to run like his life depended on it. His life did depend on it. He had to get into the back of that truck. He had to get himself and Julian into the back of that truck. It was their only chance of a successful escape.
Julian was skipping behind Skipper, unable to keep up. Skipper was fast. Julian never knew Skipper could run so fast. He was just hoping that Skipper would get them out of here fast. His crown had fallen off a while ago when Skipper grabbed him and took off. He was scared. He wanted to get as far away from those killer penguins as possible.
They came up on the truck fast. Skipper pushed himself off the ground, taking Julian with him. He didn't know if they made it or not at first. He heard a metallic click right before he hit cold metal. He squeezed his flipper and felt fur.
They made it. They were safe.
The truck lurched forward. They were on their way to… somewhere away from here.
Skipper let go of Julian and sat down against the wall out of breath and shaking. He worried about them. Were they ok? They could've died. Manfredi and Johnson were assassins. They killed people for a living. A few more souls wouldn't have mattered to them. Skipper just hoped they were still alive.
The swords created metallic clinks and clanks as they hit one another. As they blocked and attacked. They whistled as they cut through the air. Flying towards their target. They grinded against each other. Metal on metal. Psycho on psycho.
They were both masters. Handling their swords as if it was another body part. Knowing exactly where it had to be to block an attack. Never losing their grips.
Until Manfredi changed his approach.
He jumped away from Rico. The crazed penguin did the same. Out of breath holding his sword low ready to charge again. But before he was able to, Manfredi pulled a tranquilizer dart out and threw it at Rico.
Rico didn't have enough time to react. The dart hit him in the shoulder. He dropped his sword as he felt himself fall unconscious. He tried to fight it. He lay on the ground using the last of his energy to stay awake.
Manfredi walked up to Rico. "You're good kid. But not good enough," He said flatly, out of breath.
Rico fell into blackness hoping Skipper and Julian were getting far away from here. To somewhere safe. He knew Skipper was worried. Skipper always worried about them. That didn't stop just because he was a target of assassins. Rico knew that until he saw them again, Skipper would worry.
Kowalski bit through the rope net that trapped him. He sawed at the netting with his beak. It had taken him a while, but he finally broke free. He looked around. Private was still shooting at Johnson. But Johnson was shooting back. He had a pistol. Private had a bazooka. Kowalski was glad that he put the unlimited ammunition maker into the bazooka last week.
He saw Rico lying unconscious on the ground and Manfredi running towards Private with a sword drawn. He bolted to Rico and grabbed the sword. He had to save Private. He had to at least save him from Manfredi. He ran as fast as he could towards Manfredi.
Private saw Manfredi running towards him out of the corner of his eye. He shot another missile at Johnson and jumped to the side and back. He dodged both the bullet and Manfredi. Kowalski flashed in front of him. He didn't take time to wonder why. Johnson was recovering and he had to move. He jumped away again, dodging another bullet. He shot another missile at Johnson as he rolled to the side.
Manfredi turned around a quickly blocked Kowalski's attack. He didn't know Skipper had trained them so well already. Johnson had been monitoring them. Why didn't he tell him how good these guys were getting?
Kowalski had seen that Rico was untouched by Manfredi's blade when he grabbed Rico's sword. But he still had to keep Manfredi busy.
"You're making a mistake," Manfredi grunted as he tried to push Kowalski's blade away.
Kowalski pushed his sword into Manfredi's trapping him temporarily. "You're the one who's making a mistake," he hissed. Manfredi was here to kill. Kowalski wasn't going to let him. While running for Rico's sword, Kowalski had seen two figures jump into the back of a truck. Skipper had escaped. Now he had to make sure Skipper and Julian got far away from here before Manfredi and Johnson could even start to worry about them. He jumped back, glaring at Manfredi. "You want to kill him," he stated.
"I do," Manfredi replied.
"Then you're going to have to go through me first," Kowalski growled charging.
"Gladly," Manfredi countered, bracing himself for the attack. He blocked Kowalski's attack and swung at his neck.
Kowalski batted Manfredi's blade away with his own sword and attacked again. The attack was blocked. He found himself furiously blocking and attacking with his blade. He wasn't afraid. Oddly, he was angry. He normally would've contained his anger. But it was working for him this time. He released his anger and used it as fuel along with adrenalin to boost his stamina. He was on both offense and defense, working to slow Manfredi down.
It was working.
Manfredi couldn't believe how long these guys kept going. Private was still shooting at Johnson and rolling away. He hadn't been hit yet! Johnson never had a gun fight this long before. He himself had never had such a long duel. Kowalski never backed off. He was fueled by some unknown power. Manfredi couldn't free himself long enough to grab another dart or anything else! He had to stay focused on Kowalski. Skipper had really trained them well.
But Kowalski and Private weren't experts just yet.
Manfredi and Johnson had more experience. They had more stamina than Private and Kowalski even if Kowalski and Private were fueled by anger. They had the upper hand. More practice.
Private was growing tired, his vision blurring. He was too slow once. Just once.
Johnson aimed and fired. He hit Private in the shoulder making the boy drop his weapon.
Before Private was able to pick up the bazooka he was thrown and restrained against the wall. Metal horseshoe-like restraints held him against the wall. He couldn't move his head arms or legs. He was out of breath and couldn't see straight anymore. His throat was dry and his heart was racing with fear and exhaustion. Johnson walked up to him.
"Skipper trained you well. Better than a thought possible. Don't take this personally Private. I'm better than you. I'm better than Rico and Kowalski, and I'm better than Skipper. You may have helped him get away. But I'll catch him. I promise you, you'll never see his face again," Johnson whispered evilly in Privates ear.
"No!" Private screamed pulling at the restraints. He was going to see Skipper again. He didn't believe Johnson. He was too exhausted to keep his mouth shut. He wasn't good at that anyway, "Skipper's better than you! Ten time better than you! You won't be able to kill him!" he shouted. He believed it too.
"Like I said don't take it personally," Johnson said calmly. He hit Private on the side of the head with the butt of his pistol. He pulled the metal restrain off the boys head and let his head fall limp. Johnson smiled. Two down one to go. He wasn't going to kill these three. That wasn't part of the assignment. He put the desert eagle away and pulled out his crossbow.
He walked closer to Kowalski and Manfredi. He watched for a few minutes. Kowalski was good. Better than he thought the scientist would be. Skipper had worked wonders on him. Turned him from a scared weakling to a brave swordsman. It was amazing to Johnson how well Skipper was able to move on and become the teacher.
Johnson shook it off and aimed the bow at Kowalski. "Kowalski. Stop," He ordered.
Kowalski jumped away from Manfredi and turned around. He was out of breath and tired, but he'd do anything to help Skipper get further away.
"It's over. You knew we'd defeat you sometime," Johnson said calmly.
"I did," Kowalski replied unemotionally. "But that doesn't matter now. I know you'll go after them too. But they have a good head start now. We were able to keep you two busy enough for a long enough period of time for them to make a successful escape. We can't do anything else," Kowalski said calmly still holding the sword tightly. He didn't know what they were going to do. And he didn't care anymore. He pushed his fear away. Skipper was safe. Julian too. That was what mattered at the moment. He looked over and Rico, he was still unconscious. He saw that Private was unconscious now too. He was held up against the wall with blood dripping out of the side of his head. Kowalski was able to tell that the wound wasn't caused by a bullet. There wasn't enough blood. He was still terribly concerned about Private. But the zoo would open soon and he'd get the medical help he needed.
Johnson laughed. "You really believe that don't you? It doesn't matter how much of a head start he gets. We'll find him and his little furry buddy. You won't see either one of them ever again."
"You're wrong," Kowalski replied calmly. He was anything but calm on the inside. He didn't believe Johnson for a single second. But the Gentoo's words still made Kowalski's heart race. What if he wasn't wrong? Kowalski didn't have time to think about it. He felt a sharp pain in his back. His body became numb and dropped to the floor.
"Good-night, Kowalski," Manfredi whispered into his ear.
Kowalski's world went black.
"Let's go," Johnson ordered. "We have a lot of ground to cover."
"We don't even know where they went," Manfredi replied.
"We'll find them. They can run, but they can't hide," Johnson snapped. "We'll find them. Skipper has to mess up sometime."
"I'm sorry," Skipper said solemnly. He said it to Julian and the guys. They didn't need to do what they did. It was an act of bravery he wouldn't have wished upon them in the worst of times. He did remember one thing that helped his worries. Assassins only kill their targets. It was the rule. That didn't mean they couldn't critically damage the ones who got in their way. So they weren't dead. That was a good thing. But Skipper thought of many things that Manfredi and Johnson could've done to Rico, Kowalski, and Private that would make death a warm welcome. It almost brought him to tears.
"Sorry? Skipper, you are saving my life," Julian replied shocked. He didn't know how he recognized that. How Skipper shouldn't be sorry. Now that he was safe, however temporarily the safety was, he realized that Skipper was risking his life to save him. Skipper wasn't being selfish. Julian knew that he'd just slow Skipper down. He knew that Skipper knew that too. But Skipper was still going to keep him safe. He was more heroic than Julian ever gave him credit for. "Ehh… why are you saving my life?" He asked.
Skipper thought about that for a moment. "Because," He finally said, "As much as I dislike you, I can't say I hate you. You annoy me. But I don't think you deserve to die. I'm not going to let you just die. That wouldn't be right," He explained. "Besides, if you died I wouldn't have anyone to argue with," He added.
"True," Julian agreed. If Skipper died he'd have no one to fight with. He and Skipper spent a lot of time fighting a disagreeing with each other. It was un canny. It was good to know that Skipper had a heart behind that card case.
Silence fell between the two for a while.
Skipper couldn't get his mind off of them, Kowalski, Rico, and Private. The humans had probably opened the zoo by now. He knew that the humans probably took all three of them to the infirmary and fixed them up. He knew that they were alive. He was worried about how much pain they were in.
He didn't know that the only one who went to the infirmary was Private. He didn't know that the worst pain for Private was a splitting headache. He didn't know that the worst pain was in the heart for Kowalski, Rico, and Private. He didn't know that they were just as worried about him as he was about them. He didn't know.
And they didn't know where he was. Or that he was still ok. They didn't know that he was close to falling apart worrying about them. They didn't know that he couldn't get them out of his mind. They didn't know how much he really worried about them. They didn't know.
And that was how it was going to stay. For a while.