Author's Note: I have all chapters on my account except all after Chapter 18. For those of you reading have them saved or remember what was written, message me. Maybe we can do some editing together.

I Knew You Were a Weirdo

00000

VII - What's Up Danger?

A furious Rosita had her hands on her hips. "You left Johnny alone?!"

Ryan was thoroughly intimidated. "He was very insistent."

Having come back with the meds, alone, Ryan knew he had to be taken to task for leaving Johnny's side.

Nurse Sue wasted no time taking the meds and getting to work on treating an ill Nooshy.

Her condition was now so bad, she had to stay in bed and get as much sleep as possible.

After she was given her meds, her temperature started to break down.

She was still showing signs of delirium though.

As Sue was adjusting Nooshy's bedding, she heard the lynx mutter that was too low and incoherent to hear.

"What was that Nooshy?"

"I...heard...the most beautiful voice...in my dream," she croaked slightly.

"Oh?" Sue said, genuinely interested.

"Yeah...I think...it was...an angel...singing to me." Nooshy chuckled almost manically but she could not raise her voice due to her condition. "Nah...nah nah...angels don't sing Rod Argent. Do they?"

Sue blinked. "I...really couldn't say. How did it go?"

Nooshy blinked, searching back in memory. And then, a bit off tune, started to sing.

"Should I...try to hide...the way I feel inside...my heart for you? Would you say...that you would try...to love me too?"

Nurse Sue's eyes widened. She could guess who would be singing a song like that.

Tears started in her eyes. Her heart felt like it was melting. Omigosh. That is so sweet.

"O! M! G!"

Sue looked behind her to see three heads poking out from behind the open door. The faces of Ash, Porsha and Meena all bore looks of shock and awe.

"Do you mind?" Sue said, annoyed.

The three intrusive heads disappeared behind the door frame.

Nurse Sue groaned in exasperation. Sometimes they're worse than children.

Feeling movement on the bed, Sue saw the head of a piglet peeking over the bed. Said piglet then climbed onto the bed towards Nooshy, who didn't seem to notice him.

"Caspar, honey," Sue said. "Please get off the bed, Nooshy needs to rest."

"It's...ok," Nooshy said, barely above a whisper. "Let him stay."

"You really should focus on resting, Nooshy."

"He's...not hurting anyone."

Nurse Sue sighed. "Alright, but we have to leave soon."

The good nurse stood up and stepped out of the room.

Caspar, looking quite scared, crawled over to Nooshy, who sat up so she could properly pull the piglet into her arms. "Hey there, little mate."

"Are you going to be ok Nooshy?"

Nooshy chuckled. "Of course I will. It's just a fever."

"I heard Miss Sue say you were at a hundred and four."

Nooshy's face fell. So I didn't hear wrong. "Well...my fever is already starting to break, so don't worry Cas, I'll be fit as a fiddle in no time."

Nooshy's face scrunched up a bit. Fit as a fiddle? I must be sick if I'm talking like I'm in Wonderland.

As though her thoughts were prophetic, Caspar spotted something sticking out from under Nooshy's pillow.

He reached for it but Nooshy caught it before he did.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Is that a diary?" Caspar asked.

"No! I don't have a diary!" Nooshy held the book out of Caspar's reach as the piglet hopped on the bed, trying to grab it.

Seeing that trying to reach the book wasn't working, Caspar took drastic measures and poked Nooshy in her underarms.

Nooshy squealed, lowering her arms quickly, protectively putting her hands under arms, causing her to drop the book and a triumphant Caspar went for it.

"That's cheating!" Nooshy cried indignantly but she was smiling.

Caspar joyfully gasped. "I didn't know you liked Alice in Wonderland!"

"ALICE IN WONDERLAND?!"

Caspar and Nooshy looked up to see Porsha, Ash and Meena watching from the door, eyes open and mouths even more open.

Nooshy grimaced as she took one of her pillows. "GET OUT!" She tossed the pillow, causing the three peepers to flee, and it hit the wall, causing a picture to fall to the floor.

A splitting bolt of pain came up Nooshy's spine and into her skull. "Ow-how!" she cried, gripping her head. "My head is killing me."

Caspar was by her side immediately. He hugged her around the middle, which Nooshy gratefully and happily returned.

Hearing her cry of pain, Porsha, Meena and Ash came back in.

"Oh man," Porsha said, wringing her hands, alarmed to see Nooshy in so much pain.

"You can't overexert yourself Noosh," Meena said, putting her hands on the lynx's shoulders.

"I know," Nooshy said, through clenched teeth due to her uncomfortable position. "But it's not easy being cooped up and having to stay in bed all day."

"We're going to move soon, Nooshy," Ash said assuredly. "And Nurse Sue says you should be able to move about by tomorrow at best."

"At best?" Nooshy groaned frustrated as she laid back down. She looked to Caspar and his sad face caused all her anger and frustration to melt away.

"Where's Johnny?"

The others looked stricken.

"What? He came back didn't he? He's the one who brought me my meds."

Ash looked to the side, eyes filled with worry.

Meena twiddled her fingers, looking quite sad.

Porsha nervously twirled some fur on her head.

"What? What?! HEY!"

Nooshy got out of bed, being very careful not to push Caspar aside and took Porsha by the arms.

The wolf was startled as Nooshy looked up at her face, her own filled with foreboding anger.

"You better do more than just stand there, tell me what happened to Johnny!"

00000

Johnny stirred in his seat. His head was splitting. He tried to move but found he could not.

For some reason, he could not move his hands. And he could not move from where he was sitting.

He opened his eyes, again and again. His focus was out of whack.

He shook his head, trying to dispel the dizziness and lack of focus.

And then all was crystal clear.

He was in a moving car he did not recognize. He was in the passenger seat. He looked down and saw that he was tied to his seat.

Alarmed, he tried to call out but he found that could not. His mouth was taped over and judging by the cloth-like sensation in his mouth, he was gagged in such a way he could hardly make a sound.

"Ah, you're awake. That's good."

Johnny looked to his left and saw a large leopard in black driving the vehicle.

The young gorilla's blood ran cold. That face. It couldn't be. Giuseppe DiMarco was dead.

The leopard turned to look at Johnny. It looked like him but this one seemed less thuggish, not so rough, more polished and proper.

He seemed to read the look on Johnny's face and in his eyes. That look of familiarity and shock.

"You mistake me for my late brother. Name's Sean. Pleased to meet ya, Jonathan Mark Egerton." He spat the name out as though it was disgusting to him.

"Enjoy the ride, it just may be your last."

00000

Ryan looked down fearfully at a disheveled and livid Nooshy.

"YOU LEFT JOHNNY ALONE?!"

Pain shot through her head, which only served to augment her rage.

Ryan backed away from her, terrified. "I didn't want to, I swear."

Nooshy grabbed him by the front of his hoodie and pushed him up against a wall, a feat which was incredible considering that Nooshy barely came up to his chest and that she had fallen ill.

"Why?! Why did you leave him?! Why isn't he back yet?!"

"Nooshy!"

The furious lynx turned to see an unhappy Rosita with her arms crossed. "Let him go."

Nooshy breathed heavily, still beyond angry but the look on Rosita's face as well as the frightened and startled looks of her children looking at her, caused her anger to once again ebb.

She let go of Ryan's hoodie and slumped to her knees, exhausted and ashamed.

What is wrong with me?

Rosita went to her and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Hey you guys!" Ash cried from the next room. "Come quick! It's Johnny! I think he's on the tv!"

Nooshy and Rosita looked up with a start and rushed to the living room. Rosita's children followed.

Ryan, on the other hand, still deeply shaken, remained glued to the wall. "This job is getting more dangerous all the time," he said.

00000

"As you can see," a female reporter said presenting CCTV footage of what appeared to be a masked figure with a metal pole dispatching three thuggish looking men. "At the unfinished site of the Cole Partners office building, there appears to be an attempted murder in progress and then foiled by what appears to be a masked samaritan. The three men have been confirmed to be local gangbangers, all wanted for petty theft and armed robbery." Images were shown of mugshots of a tiger, a black bull and a gray wolf. "And multiple pieces of CCTV footage has confirmed that these three men, so named as Diego Leary, Rick Raynor and Jason Martin, had attempted to murder this young man." An image was shown of a young Golden Retriever.

Nurse Sue who watched from the side, gasped in horror, covering her mouth with both hands. "Jim!" she cried.

All who were watching turned to her in surprise.

"Sue, you know him?" Meena asked.

"He's my nephew."

The reporter continued. "This poor young man, one James Beadling, was unavailable to answer questions at this time. However, I for one would like to say that if it hadn't been for this Good Samaritan, poor James may have come to an untimely end."

Sue fell to her knees, sobbing.

Clay Calloway went to her and put a comforting hand to her shoulder.

"In fact, here is the full clip of the conflict in question for those of you at home who wish to have a better look and a better idea of who this man might be."

The picture changed to show the CCTV footage of the masked vigilante, presumably Johnny, standing before the three criminals, when the black bull, identified as Rick, approached him menacingly.

Johnny, with a steel pole in hand, swiped his weapon just as Rick reached for him. Rick fell backwards and then was knocked out when he struck in the face with the blunt end of the pole.

Everyone cheered, especially Nooshy, Rosita, Miss Crawley and Sue, despite her tears.

The clip continued to show a frantic wolf pulling out a gun and he took aim at Johnny.

"No!" Nooshy cried in horror.

But Johnny had already disarmed by swiping the gun away with the steel pole and then tripped him up too, causing him to fall on his face. He did not get up after that.

"Ouch!" Gunter said smiling.

Then the last one standing, the tiger identified as Diego charged at Johnny, who then countered his momentum, and used the pole to launch him over his shoulder and straight into the muscle car behind them, caving it in.

The cheers that erupted were deafening.

Ash was whistling loudly with both her thumb and forefinger.

Rosita was joyfully hugging Nooshy, who was crying and laughing at the same time.

Rosita's piglets were cheering, jumping up and down, yelling Johnny's name.

Porsha was cheering and jumping up in the air much like she did in Out of this World.

Meena was jumping up and down, causing the room to shake a bit. No one attempted to deter her.

Clay was laughing heartily as he held a trembling and sobbing Nurse Sue.

A distraught Miss Crawley had her face in her hands as Buster Moon held her comfortingly, grinning ear to ear.

The clip finished with Johnny pulling Jimmy out from the wet concrete pit and leading him out of the construction site.

"Atta boy," Clay said with pride as Sue continued to sob in his arms.

Rosita was laughing with tears in her eyes. She was still holding onto Nooshy. "Did you teach him that?"

Nooshy put her hands up. "Noooo."

"And did you see that getup?" Porsha said, giggling to herself. "What is up with that?"

"He was probably just trying to improvise," Ash said dismissively. "I wouldn't want bad guys to see my face either."

Meena looked with concern at the distraught Nurse Sue who was still on her knees, crying. Clay Calloway was doing his best to console her.

"Sue? Are you ok?"

Nurse Sue didn't answer. She just pulled out her phone and speed dialed.

She gasped in despair when there was no answer. She tried again and again.

Until finally, she left a voicemail.

"Jim, baby, this is your Aunt Suzie," she said in tears. "Just...just call me back as soon as possible, let me know you're ok...please."

She tried to put her phone away but in her distress, she narrowly missed a pocket and fell to the floor, but it was quickly caught by Clay.

"Sue, Sue, it's ok," Meena said, putting a hand on the nurse's shoulder. "I'm sure your nephew's ok. Johnny was just with him. I'm sure he'd never leave him to fend for himself."

"That's right," Nooshy said, nodding vigorously. Doing so seemed to have made her dizzy. Rosita helped her up and sat her on the sofa.

Julie entered the room with cellphone to her ear. "Ok? Ok. Good. Thank you." She ended the call.

"Who was that?" Ash asked, anxious for good news.

"Johnny's father. He's out looking for him now. He and his uncles." Julie gave a sympathetic look to Sue. "They'll keep an eye out for your nephew too."

Sue sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Thank you."

"Did you...did you try calling Johnny?" Nooshy asked.

"I did," Julie said sadly. "With a secure line, I can only talk with someone else for one minute at best before hanging up, to prevent anyone from hacking, but he hasn't answered. Plus, voicemail says that his phone service was discontinued. So either he discontinued it himself, which seems ludicrous, or something's happened."

All those in the room looked terribly distraught by this unhappy bit of news.

Miss Crawley started crying as Buster embraced her, his own face wrought with despair.

Ash clenched her eyes, her mind and heart overwhelmed with the fear for the safety of one of her best friends.

Meena covered her face with her large ears.

Porsha covered her eyes, slumping to the couch.

Sue covered her mouth as Clay held her tightly, himself looking every bit his age at that moment.

Rosita paled as she attempted to console her children, who were openly crying.

Nooshy sat on the sofa, shell-shocked, staring at nothing. Then she laid down as though she had no more strength to sit up.

Caspar, having no more strength to cry, climbed onto the sofa and laid down next to her.

Murphy entered the room, carrying a large satchel bag. "Everything's packed," the large gorilla said, looking weary and exhausted.

"Good, thank you Murph," Julie said.

Rosita looked up at the antelope. "What about Johnny? We're not leaving without him are we?"

"His father and uncles are looking for him now," Julie said grimly. "I've already talked with police captain Thad. He'll be on the lookout as well…" She looked to Nurse Sue. "...for Jimmy as well as Johnny."

Nurse Sue nodded in thanks before drying her eyes. "Can someone help load Nooshy onto the van?"

"I'll help," Meena said.

"Me too," Porsha said, drying her own eyes.

Very gingerly, Meena picked up Nooshy.

Porsha took Caspar in her arms.

The elevator doors opened and the Moon troupe started to file out.

No one spoke a word.

00000

Johnny looked up at the folded mirror on his side of the car. There was a family photo attached, there was an adult male black panther, a beautiful female Saluki, clearly his wife and two children, a black panther who had his mother's eyes and a Saluki who had her father's.

"Nice family. Too bad they had to lose their family vehicle."

Johnny sat back into his seat, his mind rigid with fear and alertness. Calm down, calm down, calm down. Just think. There must be a way out of this.

"You're probably wondering why I bothered to leave you alive," Sean DiMarco said, without taking his eyes off the road.

Johnny did not attempt to answer. He couldn't anyway since he was bound and gagged. Don't react, don't give him anything.

DiMarco was not fazed by Johnny's attempts to ignore him. "Call it a game. You piqued my interest. I've never seen anyone at your age dispatch enemies quite so well. Saved me some trouble. And I don't like anyone doing a job for me, right Jimmy?"

Johnny's eyes widened when he heard moaning whimpers from behind him. He turned to look in the backseat and was shocked beyond belief to see Jimmy, bound and gagged as well, the concrete below his midsection starting to dry and crack.

His nose was bloody and he was crying his eyes out.

Johnny helplessly watched the poor kid, weeping and moaning in despair.

When Jimmy opened his eyes, they widened to see Johnny there. He immediately recognized him and despaired even further to see the man who saved his life taken captive as well.

"Boys picked him up just before he made it home." Sean chuckled darkly. "Should've told him not to go home. I mean if we knew he worked at that site, don't you think we'd know where he lived?"

Johnny sat quietly in his seat, trying hard to work his way out of the rope that tied his wrists. He also reached into the seat, to find something that he could use to cut himself free. Anything.

And then he found something small, metallic and car-shaped. Johnny's heart sank, his stomach lurched.

Toy car. Their little boy. I hope this car was parked when he stole it.

The car lurched as it hit a pothole. Jimmy cried out.

Someone else did too. A woman's voice and a child's.

That got Johnny's attention. He looked to his captor who had a look akin to that of a child that has just been found out for a certain wrongdoing.

Sean chuckled. "That would be Bridget Myers and her little boy Mikey in the trunk."

Johnny was no longer scared. He was angry.

"It was their night out I imagine, life is full of disappointments eh?" Sean smiled as he reached behind Johnny. "Speaking of disappointments." He took the toy car and tossed it out the window. "Put that there for you, another game I like to play with my victims by giving them false hope."

Sean's menacing face immediately bordered on manic as he got in Johnny's face, his sharp teeth glistening in the lights of the city. "Don't bother looking for anything else in the seat, there isn't anything there."

Johnny was not deterred. We'll see about that, you monster.

Sean found Johnny's defiance amusing. "We'll be reaching our final stop soon. So hold your breath."

They drove onto the port that was named the Liberte Bay. Johnny looked forward to see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

His blood ran cold when he realized the implications. Oh no, he's going to drive us into the bay. He's going to drown us!

Jimmy was panicking now. He seemed to understand what was happening too.

Johnny worked the bonds on his wrists with greater effort, such effort that his wrists felt raw, but he didn't care.

"This is where we get off," Sean unbuckled and prepared to open the door, "well where I get off."

Before he could move to get out, a fist slammed across his jaw, and the car lurched as the brakes were slammed.

The car stopped just in time but now it was dangling over the edge of the pier, which was a 40 foot drop into the bay below.

Johnny pulled the emergency brake, ripped the rear view mirror off the windshield and proceeded to club Sean DiMarco over the head and across the face with it.

DiMarco was stunned but he recovered quickly. Enraged, he lunged at Johnny, pinning him up against the steering wheel, honking it repeatedly and incessantly.

The car was tipping, they would fall if they kept this up. Jimmy! Mrs Myers and her son!

Thinking fast, Johnny reached for the driver's seatbelt and wrapped it around DiMarco's neck and then flipped the emergency switch, locking the belt and effectively securing DiMarco to the car door.

He was beyond furious, DiMarco was raging and cursing, trying to reach Johnny as he kept his distance.

Johnny worked his way to the rear view window of the car. With one kick, it was shattered. He grabbed Jimmy around the middle and pushed him through.

A light suddenly shined in Johnny's face as another vehicle barreled down the pier towards them.

Johnny couldn't see who it was but he prayed they were here to help.

As his eyes adjusted, he could've sworn he knew that color scheme.

The truck stopped. "JOHNNY!"

Johnny gaped. "Dad?!"

"Hold on! I'm coming!"

Johnny saw the hulking shape that was his father rushing toward him at breakneck speeds.

The car's balance was starting to give as it was starting to slide over the edge.

Johnny could hear screaming and crying from the trunk.

"Dad! Dad! There's a family in this trunk! Help them!"

'Big Daddy' Marcus Egerton looked shocked at first but nodded. As soon as he reached the car, he grabbed it by the bumper, preventing it from falling.

"Barry! Stan! Get the kid and the people in the trunk, hurry!"

"Right boss!"

Barry and Stan acted fast. Barry grabbed hold of Jimmy, pulling him out of the car and placing him safely on the pier. Stan ripped the trunk open with his bare hands and carried out a tied up and gagged Saluki and black panther youth.

"Johnny, they're out! Get outta there! I can't hold it for much longer!"

Johnny nodded and he proceeded to climb out of the car, being careful not to cut himself on broken glass.

He was stopped when something grabbed his ankle. Looking behind him, he saw an enraged Sean DiMarco, still bound around the neck by his seatbelt, holding onto Johnny with a vice grip.

Johnny tried to shake him off but to no avail.

"Johnny! What are you doing?! I can't hold onto the car!"

"Dad! DiMarco's got me! I can't shake him!"

Marcus turned his head. "BARRY! HELP HIM!"

Barry reached for Johnny and his nephew took his hand but he wouldn't budge. DiMarco's grip was too great.

The car was starting to give. Stan had already untied Jimmy, Mrs Myers and little Mikey.

"Johnny!" Jimmy cried, terrified to see the young man who saved his life hanging on for his own.

Bridget Myers held her son close to her, terrified but relieved to be out of harm's way but now she was frightened for the life of the man who just saved her and her son from certain death.

Stan grabbed hold of the bumper of the car and with both his strength and the strength of his brother, they began to pull the car from over the edge.

BANG!

Stan fell backwards, grabbing his left arm in pain. He was on the ground, crying out in pain.

Sean DiMarco had shot him with a hidden revolver in his coat.

"UNCLE STAN!" Johnny screamed as he was losing his grip.

Marcus could hold on no longer and neither could Barry.

They both lost their grip and the car fell.

"JOHNNY! NO!" Jimmy screamed as he ran for the edge.

The car fell into the pier.

Johnny screamed and cried in despair.

Barry was by Stan's side, pressing a hand over the wound in his arm.

Mrs Myers consoled a crying and screaming panther in her arms while the Saluki herself was weeping hopelessly herself.

Marcus, on the other hand, dived in after the plummeting car which carried his son.

00000

Johnny's lungs felt like they would burst. No matter how hard he kicked, DiMarco would not let go.

He was under the water just as long as Johnny was. With the seat belt around his neck, he had less air than Johnny did.

And yet there he was, unrelenting, staring at him like he was a massive inconvenience he could hardly be bothered with.

Johnny kicked and kicked and kicked.

He had to get free. He had to escape. He promised her he would come back safe.

His lungs felt like they were on fire. Panic overwhelmed his mind. He was going to drown.

And at that moment, all he could think of was his friends, his father…

...Nooshy.

Noelle.

Nooshy...I'm sorry...I know I promised to come back safe...but...it looks like I'm going to have to break that promise…I lo...I lo...I lo…

He couldn't form coherent thoughts anymore, his oxygen deprivation was too great now.

He stopped struggling but DiMarco's grip did not falter.

His vision began to darken.

The last thing he felt was the grip on his ankle being forced off and a pair of large, strong arms grabbing hold of him around the middle.

And then he felt himself floating to the surface.

Darkness.

00000

Barry, Stan, Jimmy, Mrs Myers and Mikey watched from on top of the pier, watching with fearful anticipation for any signs of life.

For Barry and Stan, it was the longest five minutes of their lives.

"C'mon Marcus," Barry said through his teeth, looking down at the bay, fists balled.

Stan laid on his rear, gripping his bloodied arm. The gunshot wound was bound tightly by a scarf provided to him by Jimmy. He too was looking down, beginning to cry, not only from the pain in his arm but also anguish from the fear of losing his only nephew.

Bridget Myers looked down sadly with her Michael in her arms. These strangers came into their lives and saved them from a horrible end. They didn't know them and this young man risked his life for theirs. For her and her baby boy. He could've escaped but he waited to make sure they got out first. And now he might die in one of the most excruciating ways possible: drowning.

"Mommy, is that man going to die?" Michael asked.

"I...I don't know honey, I hope not."

Jimmy Beadling however, was taking it the worst. He was on his knees crying uncontrollably. Johnny, someone he had never met, risked his life twice for him. This was a situation of his own choosing. He decided to ask criminals for help. He needed money badly for his mother's treatment. And because he made a mistake, he was almost buried in concrete. Johnny saved him and he was caught along with him. And he saved his life again.

And now it seemed his savior was going to drown because he got involved with the wrong people. What would his mother think? Would this kill her?

"Hey look!" Michael said pointing.

Bubbles were starting to form in the bay.

They intensified.

And Marcus with Johnny in his arms emerged from the water.

Stan ran back to the truck and took a length of rope from the back. Tying the end around a wooden docking cylinder to secure it, he tosses the rope into the bay for Marcus to grab hold of.

Barry then pulled both his brother and nephew out of the bay and onto the pier.

Marcus was gasping, coughing up water, trying to catch his breath.

"You alright boss?"

"Never mind me!" Marcus snapped. "Is Johnny ok?"

Stan looked over from where he was sitting and all the color drained from his face. "He's...he's not moving."

Feeling his blood turn cold, Marcus turned his head as well. He gasped to see his young son was indeed not moving. Not an inch. No sign of breath, no sign of life.

"Johnny!" Marcus cried. He rushed over and turned him over onto his back. He checked for breath and found none. So he did the one thing he knew to do in this situation.

"I hope I still know how to do this," he said, more to himself than anyone else.

Using both hands, Marcus pressed down on Johnny's chest, giving thirty chest compressions like so in the CPR training session.

"Sir, let me help," Bridget said, putting her son down. "You're out of breath. You do the compressions, I'll give rescue breaths."

"Thank you," Marcus said, both touched and terrified at the same time.

Once the thirty compressions were done, Mrs Myers opened Johnny's mouth, tilted his head back and gave five rescue breaths before his father repeated the process.

Jimmy looked behind him to see a crowd gather at the dock to watch the scene unfold. Apparently, the ruckus had not gone unnoticed. And judging by the sirens, help would come soon.

"C'mon Johnny," Stan said, tears starting in his eyes. "Come back to us boy."

Clicks and flashes were seen and heard as civilians produced their phones and cameras to capture the terrible event of what could be a tragedy for all who adore the Moon troupe.

"Is that Johnny Egerton?" one civilian said.

"Is he breathing?" another said.

"I saw the whole thing, some guy tried to drive these people into the river and Johnny helped get them out."

"Who?"

"I think it was Sean DiMarco."

Marcus and Mrs Myers ignored the passerby's and continued with their present task of reviving the fallen Johnny.

So far, no response.

Some of those in the crowd were openly crying. There was no shortage of people who knew and loved the Moon troupe apparently.

"Is he dead?" one civilian said with tears in her eyes.

Bridget gave another set of rescue breaths. Still nothing.

"C'mon Johnny!" Marcus cried, his voice starting to break.

Suddenly, as Marcus got to the 25th compression, there was a gargling noise. Johnny violently coughed and vomited the foul water of the bay.

The crowd began to erupt with applause

"That's it," Marcus said, holding his son by the shoulders. "Breathe boy, breathe."

"Let us through, let us through please!"

The cheering crowd stepped to one side to let a group of paramedics through, each carrying med kits.

Marcus and Mrs Myers stepped back as the paramedics checked Johnny over but he pushed them away.

"Sir, we need to-!"

"No. Check them first," Johnny said, pointing to his uncle Barry, Jimmy, Mrs Myers and her son.

"Sir, we really need to-"

Johnny glared at the paramedics hotly. "There's a mother and two kids who got abducted and my uncle just got shot. They're in need of just as much as I! Now leave me alone and check on them!"

The lead paramedic looked ready to protest but thought better of it. "Alright, Sharon, Max, tend to the mother and child. Dillon, check on the kid. We'll see to Mr Egerton after."

As the paramedics got to work, Marcus helped Johnny to his feet.

Stan put a towel around his nephew so he could get warm and dry.

"We gotta get you to the penthouse Johnny," Marcus said, putting his arm around his son. "The nurse can take care of you."

Johnny grimaced. "What about Uncle Stan?"

"Barry will take care of him," Marcus said, smiling. "Now let's go."

"Wait," Johnny said flatly, stopping where he was. "We have to take Jimmy with us."

"You what?"

"DiMarco was after him. He was almost killed and I don't know if he's safe on his own."

Marcus paused in thought for a moment. He's right. Even if Sean is dead, his boys will try to finish the job anyway in case the kid knows anything.

"Alright."

00000

Porsha's phone hooked up to the 85 inch UHD flatscreen, the Moon troupe watched the civilian livestream as it showed both Johnny and Jimmy, both in towels being loaded into Mr Egerton's truck.

There were laughs, tears and applause.

But mostly tears.

Ash was crying hysterically on the intricate sofa, shaking terribly as Clay Calloway held her close, her face in his chest. He shed a few tears of his own as he laughed heartily.

Nurse Sue sat beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder as she wept quietly. "Oh Jimmy," she sobbed. "I was so scared."

Miss Crawley blew into a handkerchief that was already soaked with mucus and tears. Buster Moon had an arm around her. He wiped his eyes with his own handkerchief, smiling from ear to ear. "Johnny, you magnificent mammalite," he said to himself.

Meena sat on the sofa as well, with Alfonso by her side. He had his arm around her while she leaned into him, wiping her eyes with her trunk. Despite her shaken state, she was smiling albeit it was a small smile.

Gunter was being his usual drama king self, his head thrown back as he was wailing and blubbering like a baby.

Ryan sat in a corner, knees to his chest, face buried. He was happy beyond description but he was also overcome with guilt and shame, believing that Johnny was in this terrible peril because he had left his side, even if it was at his firm request.

Julie sat to his right, holding him close, doing what she could to console him. Sam was on his left, doing much the same.

Murphy, the hulking gorilla, simply leaned up against the wall next to them, watching the television, a somber but pleased look on his face. "Atta boy little Johnny."

Nooshy was perhaps the most emotional of all. She sat in the middle of the sofa, her face in her hands, trembling as though she had a chill, gasping and heaving miserable sobs.

She had never been more scared in her life and now, she had never been so happy. "He...he...he's ok," she rasped, her anguished, broken heart mending inside her chest.

Rosita sat next to her, having wrapped her arms around her. She was crying joyfully. "Oh thank goodness," she whispered. "Thank goodness."

Porsha cried as well on the sofa, a comforting hand on the lynx's shoulder and the other wiping her eyes. She had thought of making a comment to Nooshy along the lines of, 'What a stud huh?' or 'Now that is a man right there.' But she held her tongue. Such comments would be wholly inappropriate and she had learned the hard way on many occasions of why that is.

Standing in the back, her own eyes stinging with tears and wiping them off before any would notice, was none other than Nana Noodleman. She was a tough old bird and she was no stranger to tragedy at her age, and she may have developed a steely resolve over the many years she's been alive, and yet it never gets any easier when the unexpected happens.

Her grandson Eddie stood to her side, offering her fresh handkerchief. Smiling, she accepted it.

"You guys! You guys!" Julie cried, looking at her cell phone excitingly. Everyone in the room had the antelope's attention. "I just got word from Johnny's father. They're coming here right now, and they're bringing Jimmy with them."

Those with strength to cheer and clap did so. There were also deep sighs of relief, especially from those whose strength was drained by the events of tonight.

One person however, was not cheering.

Slowly, Nooshy stood up and walked out of the room.

"Honey," Rosita said, a bit alarmed. "Are you ok?"

"Yes," Nooshy said in a voice that was tinged with weary anger. "But when I see him," she said in a voice that was now filled with cold fury. "I'm going to kill him."

Those who heard were taken aback as though they were struck.

Gunter's eyes were wide open. "Heh heh, should 've be 'vorried?"

Ash shook his head. "Let's just hope that Johnny is badly hurt enough that Nooshy won't lay a finger on him."

"Oh, he will be!" Nooshy called out from down the hall.

…..