February 24, 2007. 12:57 PM. Russian airspace.
I’m back in Lily’s jet sitting in a chair while John patches up my wounds. Thankfully nothing is too deep. Salve, bandages, and painkillers will do for now. John recommended stitches, but there’s no point in getting stitched up now if I’m going to keep fighting.
I emailed the contents of the USB drive to Lily via an onboard computer and she’s been digging through them for the last few minutes while John and I flip through various news channels. There’s… a lot. A missile was shot down en route to Hawaii, but all the newscasters say it was from China. The story is that a group funded by the CCP launched an experimental hypersonic missile at the United States. All the newscasters delivered the exact same story using the exact same words with the exact same pacing and cadence. They all sounded rehearsed, as if they had spent the whole weekend practicing for this.
I turn to John. “I assume there wasn’t a second silo going off somewhere?”
“Correct.” John nods while pinching the bridge of his nose. “All my remaining contacts at the DOD never mentioned a second bogie.”
“I see.” I chuckle. “Didn’t know I was being funded by the CCP.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.” Lily interrupts. “Our reps loooove taking bribes from anyone they can.”
“So what did you manage to find in that USB?” John asks.
“A lot.” Lily’s smug smile grows ever more audible. “It confirms what that Tsukijin told Will. All nukes on the Old World should be deactivated.”
“Temporarily?” John asks.
“No. Forever. They’re dead. Done. Decommissioned.”
“What else was there?” John takes a deep breath. “Any info on what my brother is planning?”
“Yes. He’s got a bunch of false flag operations planned in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Russia, and Vietnam.”
“Oh dear God.” John looks as if he aged 10 years in 2 seconds.
“When are those supposed to go off?” I ask. “We need to alert the governments and-”
“Breaking news.” The TV interrupts us.
“Well speak of the devil.” Lily speaks.
A lot was reported. I don’t know what details are true and which are exaggerated, but allegedly there’s been a military incursion into Vietnam, some torpedos hit Taiwanese boats, a Chinese missile hit the coast near Busan and killed and injured a few hundred, and another missile bound for Japan was intercepted by U.S. anti-air systems. “Hey… Lily? Is there any way you can confirm any of that?”
“I’ll see what my eyes on the ground have to say. In the meantime, let’s go intercept David.”
“You know where he is?” David asks.
“Yep. Plans and a tracker were on the USB as well. There’s even a list of David associates that the Tsukijin was aware of.” Lily replies. “He’s on the Nimitz en route to the East China Sea. Left from the Philippines about 40 hours ago.”
“Damnit…” John leans forward in his seat with his elbows on his knees and his hands folded near his mouth. “Did the USB say what David’s goal is?”
“No.” Lily replies.
John sighs. “Take us to the Nimitz.”
“Where do you think we’ve been headed?” Lily asks. “I’m not letting a fed get away with more false flags.”
“Please tell me you have an entrance strategy.” John looks at the intercom system. “The Nimitz’s radar would detect this jet in a heartbeat and there’s bound to be a fleet protecting it. We won’t be able to get within a few miles of it without getting shot down.” John turns to me. “Even if we do get onboard, there’s at least 5,000 other American soldiers onboard too and I don’t think the rest of the crew would take too kindly to us killing their boss.”
“Any chance you can convince them to betray David?” I ask.
“No.” John shakes his head. “I’ve been trying for the last few minutes. All my personal comms are blocked.”
“Any chance we can call on some Heroes to help us?” I ask. “Don’t you have some connections to the Department of Heroes?”
“I do… but they’re likely on the Nimitz right now.” John says through his teeth.
“...” I lean back in my chair. “Any mercenaries we can hire?”
John responds with only a sigh.
“Relax.” Lily speaks up. “I got this covered.”
John looks up at the jet intercom again as if he were looking up at a demon. “How?”
“Ever hear of Meteorman?” Lily asks.
The child in me awakens and I smile ear from ear. “That Meteorman?”
“Him and all the other Alumni.”
“Galaxy Girl?” I ask.
“Mmhm.” Lily replies.
“Satellite Son? Marincess? Golem Grandma?!” I ask.
“All of them.” Lily replies.
I know this is the least appropriate time to feel giddy… but I can’t help it.
“They’re en route as we speak. Make yourselves presentable. Just listen to what they say and we’ll get you on the Nimitz just fine. Over and out.” Lily’s voice cuts out.
John falls back and goes limp into his seat. “The Alumni, eh? To think I’m getting bailed out by that bitch of all people…”
“Should I know something?” I ask.
“No.” John offers me a bag of peanuts. “You got enough to worry about. Just focus on keeping your strength up.”
I do just that while I think of something to say to Meteorman. What should I say? What can I say? I don’t want to annoy him or appear weird… but I really want to make my appreciation known. I need to let him know how he started me on this path towards being a hero. I need to let him know how he inspired me and makes the world a better place and-
FWOOOOOOSH
The back of the jet opens up and everything not fastened down flies out the back of it. Stray bags of peanuts and napkins fly past me and out the jet. A few seconds later, the back door closes. I turn around and see the Alumni… the 12 greatest heroes American children have ever known. Everyone is here. Galaxy Girl, Golem Grandma, Sergeant Shark… - some others I’m less fond of - and most of all, Meteorman. Front and center of the group with his fists on his hips… The one and only. Thick heavy boots capable of kicking any evildoer with the force of a meteor. Stunning silver cape that glistens like stars in the moonlight, and a space helmet that looks straight out of a 1950s pulp scifi novel. I had a short speech prepared and planned how to approach him down to every last motion and detail… and all of it vacated my brain the second I saw the Alumni.
“Hello, citizens!” Meteorman points at me with a smile that oozes charisma. “Are you ready to save the day?”
I get out of my seat. “You know it!” I jokingly wind up a punch. “Meeeeeteormash!”
“Meteormash!” Meteorman reciprocates with a fistbump.
This moment alone made this entire mission worth it. I keep looking at the variety of childhood icons before me and am simply overwhelmed. I don’t know who to look at or what to ask first, so I just… look at everyone like a dumb child.
“Do you want an autograph, young man?” Meteorman flashes his toothy grin that’s as brilliant as the moon.
Meteorman is talking to me. He’s talking to me. Right now. Me.
“Is he okay?” Meteorman turns to John.
“Don’t mind him.” John chuckles as he approaches me. “He’s just a big fan.”
“Ah, well let me give you a little good luck autograph.” Meteorman takes out a marker from his pocket and signs my shirt with stark black ink. “This autograph will keep you safe even if you travel among the stars!” Meteorman graces my chest with a gentle fistbump. “Carry on my starpower wherever you go!”
I feel my legs give out. I’m never washing this shirt. I might not even take it off. “Thank you, sir! Thank you! Thank you all!” I look upon my heroes. “Thank you all for everything you have done for me and America! I love you all!”
All the Alumni respond in bashful, admittedly cute ways. Golem Grandma smiles and nods. Satellite Son rubs the back of his head with flushed cheeks. Galaxy Girl rubs her arm with a shy smile. Not Meteorman though. He stands as tall and proud as ever. “Thank you, William! I strive to be the best hero I can to protect the American youth!”
“He called me William…” I mutter.
“Alright everyone!” Lily’s voice erupts from the intercom. “It’s showtime. Will, John, Meteorman, and Golem Grandma will take the Nimitz. The other Alumni will keep the rest of the fleet busy. Remember everyone, do not kill any of the soldiers. Understood?”
“Ma’am.” All the Alumni nod in unison.
“Good.” Lily opens the back door again. “Give the feds hell and stay alive.”
Meteorman picks John and me up under his arms, jumps out of the jet, and starts flying through the air. It’s cold… but feels so liberating. This feeling of weightlessness, absolute freedom to go wherever whenever… If I were born again, I would love to have a flying Tech. Within a few minutes of flying, we see the fleet and fly through them faster than their guns can follow. Sure there’s some discharge, but none of the shots even come close to hitting us. We soon see the Nimitz with a single man dressed in a white dress shirt, blue tie, and black pants standing on the flight deck. That’s David. No doubt about it. Meteorman drops John and I on the flight deck of the Nimitz and begins distracting an adjacent destroyer. Within seconds of landing, masses of soldiers and heroes emerge from below deck and start firing at us.
A great ring of stone falls from the sky to separate John and me from everyone else and protect us from all the fire. Golem Grandma falls right next to us, causing the Nimitz to creak and groan under her. Imagine a sweet old lady that’s been fused with bedrock and an armadillo that could probably withstand a nuclear bomb. That’s Golem Grandma. “I’ll keep the youngins busy.” She adjusts her glasses before rolling away. “You deal with David.”
David adjusts his glasses. “You boys really think stopping me will stop this?” He asks with just about the smarmiest grin I’ve ever seen.
John snaps his fingers.
BABOOM
Heat and smoke erupt from where David was standing. When the smoke clears, I see David covered head to toe in pitch black soot. The only part of him that’s visible is his eyes, which appear completely undamaged. He shakes himself off like a wet dog and the soot comes right off. No injuries. No burns. Even his clothes are completely fine. “Really, John? How rude.” David turns to me. “He must’ve planted a bomb in me a while back. I suggest you get yourself checked out. My brother doesn’t like his toys going rog-”
John snaps his fingers again.
BABOOM
David’s head explodes, but there’s no blood, no brains, no skull, nothing. There’s just a comically large femur sticking out of his neck hole. The femur slides back into his neck and gets replaced with another fresh head. “Gosh darnit. I swore I got that one removed. Just how many did you pu-”
BABOOM
David’s head explodes… again. His head is covered in soot and looks deflated. David puts his thumb in his mouth and reinflates his head back to normal.
I lean over to John. “How are we supposed to kill this guy? I feel like we’re fighting Bugs Bunny.”
“... I’m working on it.” John snaps his fingers a dozen times, causing David’s body to erupt in twelve different places.
What remains is a pile of ashes with John’s eyes laying on top of it. “Why do you insist on interrupting me?” David somehow talks despite not having a mouth, or lungs, or anything besides eyes. “I know mama raised you better than that.” David’s arm rises from the pile of ashes with a comically large wooden pencil clutched in his fist and starts re-drawing his body. His arm moves faster than I can see and his entire body is redrawn in seconds. David stores his pencil back in his back pocket and extends his arms out. “Got any more, brother? I can do this all day!”
John narrows his eyes, aims his fingers at David’s stomach, and snaps them once more.
David’s torso inflates like a balloon for a few seconds before his cheeks begin to swell. “BWOOOOOO!” He breathes a torrent of fire like a dragon right at John.
I manage to dodge out of the way, but David takes a direct hit, gets blasted off the edge of the Nimitz, and falls into the ocean.
He’ll be fine. John told me he survived worse. I wipe sweat off my brow and raise my blade.
After David finishes spewing fire, he burps and his proportions return to normal. “Geez…” He beats his chest. “Be careful what you eat when you get older. Heartburn’s no joke.” A little bit of smoke escapes his lips.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Why are you doing all of this?! Why launch false flag operations in allied countries?!”
“You think I’m the one doing this?” David’s grin grows wider, really wide. Twice as wide as his face. His teeth are obnoxiously shiny. “Son, the government’s the one that wants this war!”
“What?!”
“Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing.” David starts counting corporations with his fingers. As he does so, each finger turns into a big foam finger. “Each and everyone of those sons of bitches in Congress owns stock in all of those corporations and stands to make a pretty penny from this little war.”
“But why go along with it?” I ask.
David’s foam fingers return to normal. “It’s only right for an empire to protect its vassal states, is it not?”
“Cut the crap. I know you want this war just as much. Why?”
“The Old World has been mired in despotism for far too long. We’re going to bring Democracy to our enemies and make the world safer.”
“Safer?” I ask.
“Yes, safer.” David’s face softens. He looks legitimately somber. “The rise of Communism unleashed a new horror on the world… The Stalin purges, Mao’s Cultural Revolution, the Khmer Rouge… Hundreds of millions dead and we; the United States of America, just watched it happen. Those limpdick soldiers and chickenshit politicians let this world fester for far too long. You cannot reason with evil. You cannot peacefully coexist with it. You must kill evil-” David curls his hand into a fist. “before it takes root.”
I can’t help but listen to him… but I keep my blade at the ready. “That doesn’t justify funding and provoking homegrown terrorists and false flag operations.”
“William, if you could sacrifice a million people to save a billion people, wouldn’tcha?”
“Ends don’t justify the means… but I wouldn’t expect a fed to understand that.”
“Attaboy.” Lily whispers in my ear.
“Says the Angel of Death.” David starts approaching me slowly, but menacingly. “What happened to you, boy? You used to be such a good soldier.”
I try to strafe around David, but his casual pace outstrips mine. “How many civilians have to die for your goal? You don’t know how much damage this is going to cause.”
“It will cause less damage than the C.C.P.” David stops. “William! You’ve seen the dredges of humanity. You’ve seen the worst shitholes on Earth. Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Arabia… These people cannot rule themselves. They cannot liberate themselves from their tyrants. Even the worst I’m capable of is a mercy compared to the generations of tyranny these fine people have had to endure.” David taps his temple. “Think about it Will… a peaceful world flourishing under America’s guidance. No more communism, no more tyranny, no more wars. No more angels of death.” He extends his hand 20 feet until it's mere inches away from me. “Whaddaya say?”
“Putting the fate of the world in the hands of war profiteers is your idea of peace?” I back up a little in case he intends to grab me.
“Oh no no of course not.” David’s eyes start to slosh as if they were made of liquid. Almost looks like they’re moving independently from him. “After I liberate Asia from tyranny, I plan to liberate the Americans. Evil and greed have infested our government head to toe… and I need to snuff it all out.”
“You’d turn on your own people… your own country. That’s treason.”
“Those bastards in Washington are the real traitors… Sending good men like you off to become killers. They need to answer for their sins.”
“Even President Robin?” I ask.
“Robin…” David sticks his thumb in his mouth and inflates it until his hand is bigger than him. “I can break that geriatric puppet in half with my bare hands.” He casually slams his enlarged fist into the flight deck with enough force to shake the entire carrier.
“What do you mean puppet?” I steady myself to avoid falling over.
“The man can barely talk or walk by himself. Do you really think he’s running the country? Him and his cabinet have all been handpicked by The Elite.”
“Come now… you really think The Elite are real?”
“I’m in charge of the C.I.A. I know they’re real. Bankers, businessmen, princes, figureheads… They saw the post-WW2 power vacuum and have been playing America and the rest of the world like damn fiddles ever since.”
“That’s absurd…”
“No no, Will.” Lily interrupts. “He’s right on this one.”
“Then who are they? Give me some names.”
“I have no proof yet, but I got suspicions… and Shanghai and Beijing are bound to have juuust the kind of dirt I need to confirm those suspicions. Come on, William.” David extends his hand a little further towards me. “Help me purify this world from tyranny.”
I stare at his hand, but I just can’t do it. There has to be another way. I can’t have any more kids become Angels of Death. “How do you know this isn’t part of The Elite’s plan?”
“How do you know you’re not?” David asks.
“Heh…” That actually manages a chuckle out of me. “Doesn’t matter. I’m tired of being a pawn. I’m not working for you, the government, or anyone else… I’m just fighting to save the kids.”
David’s extended arm deflates like a balloon and lies limp on the floor. He looks at me with sullen eyes and sighs through his nostrils. “Very well. If you change your mind, let me know. I hate to see such talent go to waste.” David’s eyes extend out of his sockets and sharpen like knives. “Farewell.” His eyes shoot at me like Spetsnaz knives, but I’m able to dodge out of the way. Despite shooting as if they were spring loaded, the handles of the knives have fire and smoke erupting out of them as if they were missiles.
I slash the eye-missile-knives and watch them deflate like balloons.
David’s eye sockets are only empty for a little bit before liquid fills his sockets once more and gives him a fresh pair of eyes. “I see what you did there.” David laughs before pulling out a comically large revolver out of his pants. The cylinder is wider and the barrel is taller than he is. How and where did he even store that thing? “You got a real good eye for this!” David aims the gun at me and shoots.
I expect a giant bullet or some kind of missile to shoot out… but no, it’s a giant boxing glove attached to a spring. My sword cuts the fist in two, but the two halves still crash into me and send me flying, skidding, and rolling across the Nimitz flight deck. “Hnnngh…” I inhale through my teeth and slowly get up.
David pulls his chin down to his stomach, sticks his 6 foot long tongue out, and waggles it at me. “Nah nah nahnah nah. Wubwubwubwuwb.”
I sharpen my entire body and sprint right at David.
David pulls out a hammer the size of a jet out of his pants and swings it horizontally at me.
I fly right through the hammer and collide right into him. No blood. No splatter. No bones or meat hanging off of me. It sounded and felt like I just ran through a paper banner before a high school football game. No scream, no squelch. No noise indicating that I just eviscerated David inside and out. I stop running, look back at where David was, and find a bunch of small David’s lying on the ground. They all quickly get up and run around before merging together and recreating David once more.
“Why won’t you die?!” I yell and point my blade at David.
David grabs the shoulder of his suit and manages to fling his shirt, suit, vest, and belt off in one clean motion. He doesn’t tear it off or anything. Just… removes it all in one clean motion. Sure. Why not? This isn’t anywhere near the weirdest thing I’ve witnessed… so why is it bugging me so much? “You can’t hurt me, Will. I’m more than a man. I’m an idea!” David’s upper body is exactly what you think the body of a 50-something bureaucrat would be.
“Just shut up and die already!” I resume sprinting back towards David.
David sticks his finger into his mouth and starts blowing. His flabby, pale body quickly buffs up and becomes ludicrously swollen with muscles.
Riiiip
While his new form may look impressive, I’m able to reduce him to ribbons just by sprinting through him once more. This time, he gets reduced to a pile of ribbons with little googly eyes resting on top. Unfortunately, he reforms within seconds.
“Now you’re just being rude.” David pulls out a spherical cartoon bomb out of his pants, lights it with his finger, and rolls it at me like a bowling ball. “Have a ball, kiddo!”
This is bad. I can cut through blunt force… but not explosions. I throw my sword at the bomb and it too deflates like a balloon. “No thank you.” I rush towards the bisected, defused bomb and retrieve my blade.
David reaches into the front of his pants, pulls out two bigger bombs, and rolls one while keeping the other one unlit and cradled in his arms.
The bomb rolls right towards me, but I hide behind a nearby jet.
BABOOM
Half the jet gets totaled and lights on fire, but I’m fine. A bit toasty, but fine.
ring ring
My ear begins to buzz, so I press my finger to it. “Can it wait?” I peek out over the corner of the jet and see David light his other bomb and throw it over the jet towards me. I rush down David and slice him in half horizontally, but his upper half jumps out of the way of my blade as if he was two people in a trench coat.
“No.” Lily responds. “How’s it going?”
“Awful.” I slice downward and cleave David’s body in half, but his two halves pull each other back together by applying an unusually large stick of glue to his interior. “I can’t kill this guy. Do you have any intel on David’s Tech?”
“Unfortunately not. His records have been pretty tight.” Lily replies. “But what’s his Tech like? Maybe I can ballpark something.”
I keep slicing and slicing David, but he always reforms. Explosions don’t work either… He’d probably be fine if he was crushed or thrown into the ocean too. Heck, I’m sure he’d find some way to survive being shot into space. “Feels like I’m fighting a cartoon character.”
“Really now? How so?” Lily asks.
“He’s inflating himself, pulling bombs and weapons out of his pants, sticking his tongue out wildly. It’s hard to explain without seeing it yourself.”
“No, no. I get what you mean.” Lily affirms. “Tell me, have you ever seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
David reforms again, throws a pepper into his mouth, and spews fire from his mouth while spinning around. “Owowowowow!!! Hot hot hot!!!” His face is crimson red, but continues spitting fire.
I get hit with some of the flame, pat myself to unsharpen my body, and am pushed backwards from the sheer force. I roll around to extinguish some of the fire as David starts running around wildly like a complete idiot.
“No…” I find a puddle of ocean water on the deck to roll around in. It’s shallow… but it's better than nothing. “Why?”
“Are you kidding me? That film’s a classic. I need to have you watch it lat-” Lily stops herself. “That’s not important right now. Just try to survive for five minutes. I’ll have something ready by then. Over and out.”
“Alright… alright…” David fans himself with his massive hand. “I’m done wasting my time.” David tapes several lit bombs to himself and sprints right at me.
I glance at him, then at the flight deck beneath me. I plunge my blade into it, spin it in a circle around me to create a hole, then fall below deck. I find myself in the air operations office surrounded by soldiers trapped in bubbles. I look up and see that David has tripped over the hole and is now lying on the flight deck with the bombs staring right down at me. I spin and create yet another hole to fall into the hangar. I rush out from under the holy for some cover and-
BABABABOOM!!!
An explosion large enough to send the Nimitz rocking and creaking a bit soon erupts from the flight deck. A pillar of smoke and flame erupts from the hole above and engulfs the ceiling for a moment before dissipating. The hangar got a bit toasty for a second and I wouldn’t be surprised if the back of my clothes got burned off. I pat my butt just to confirm and feel relief wash over me when I feel denim instead of a burnt butt.
Jets, various equipment, and chaos surrounds me. The Alumni and U.S. navy personnel are duking it out in every direction I can fathom. While the Alumni are indeed fearful, the navy personnel manage to hold their own just fine from the sheer number of them. Even Meteorman gets shot a few times, but manages to keep on fighting… I need to do the same. I can’t let a single explosion scare me.
“Willyboy.”
I hear David’s voice right behind me and start booking it through the carrier interior. Through the fueling bay, machinery room, thaw room, bakery, the switchboard. As I run, I avoid the various brawls, cleave through or dodge past the countless variety of projectiles thrown at and around me, and knock things over to try and slow down David. I don’t know what he looks like or how fast he’s moving right now. That’s not important. The only thing that matters is outrunning him… and I seem to be doing that just fine.
A lot happens. Too much happens. There was a room where gravity was reversed, a room where everybody turned into chickens upon entering - myself included, a room that lacked a third dimension, and a room where everybody could only communicate in French. When I’m about to run out of breath, I hear Lily once again.
“Will. It’s ready. I have an agent on standby. Lure David onto the flight deck.”
“Understood.” I hook a right and begin ascending up a staircase.
“Hooooo you’re making me work for this one, aintcha?” David whistles as he gains on me. “Staying faithful to your case even in the face of the inevitable… I respect it. The world needs more men like you.” I hear another small series of explosions erupt between David and I and blindly swing my sword behind me to try and mitigate any damage before throwing it at David to try and slow him down a little. I burn my hand and drop my sword, but David’s top half slides off his bottom half, buying me enough time to make it back up to the flight deck and make some space between him and I.
I’m standing on the center of the flight deck beside the flight control tower clutching my scorched arm and catching my breath. I can’t run anymore. My ears are still ringing, my skin is tender and scorched, and my legs are about to give out. I glance up at the sky while waiting for David to approach me and find half a dozen helicopters surrounding the flight deck. If those were David’s, I’d be dead by now… so they gotta be Lily’s… right?
A guy in the helicopter beside me chucks a gas mask down at me and offers me a thumbs up.
I nod and put it on without hesitation.
Twenty seconds pass and David emerges from below deck and starts sprinting at me once more covered in bombs.
The helicopters begin flying over the flight deck and start carpet bombing it with a goopy green liquid. David pays it no mind… until it hits him. His bombs, legs, and even flesh begin to melt away little by little. “AAAAAAGH!!!!” He falls forward screeching and writhing as more of the green liquid hits his skin. “How… HOW?!” David grits his teeth and reaches up towards the sky only for his hand to slide off his wrist and begin to dissolve into his chest. “Come… on…” David pulls out his pencil and tries to draw himself back together, but the graphite won’t stay. “What… why?!”
“That liquid’s a mixture of turpentine, acetone, and benzine.” Lily informs me. “All paint thinners.”
“Right…” I feel my skin crawl by watching David melt, but am unable to look away. “You can’t kill a toon… but you can erase them.” I trudge over to David and look down at him.
“Why…?” David looks up at me with one of his eye sockets full of indescribable liquid. “Why would you doom millions to tyranny?”
“There’s enough killers in the world. Enough war orphans. We don’t need to make anymore…” I sit down next to him.
“Not to mention the ensuing power vacuum might end up making things worse.” Lily continues.
“Oh yeah. I never even considered that.” I nod.
“William…” David grabs onto me with his melting hand, but he isn’t clutching it. He doesn’t intend to hurt me. “You may have delayed the inevitable… but remember this. The seeds of evil planted long ago are going to sprout. A storm is coming.”
“I’m no stranger to storms.” I nod at him. “I can take it.”
“Will… There are people who want you poor, dead, and brainwashed… and they’ll think it’s funny. Don’t reason with evil. Don’t tolerate it…” No more flesh remains on David’s face, only a skull. “Just kill it… before it can corrupt any further. Do you understand?”
I nod. “I do.”
“Good… Take care of America for me.” David’s skull continues to talk without any vocal chords or lungs. “The world needs liberty now… more than ever.” Even without eyes, his sockets manage to stare into my skull. “And if you have to kill some people to keep people free, then so be it. The tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants.”
I keep nodding.
“That goes… for my brother too…” David motions his skull towards me. “Get yourself checked out when you can… My brother doesn’t like… his assets running wild…”
“Noted.”
David’s decaying arm holds up a usb stick. “And… here…” David’s voice has slowed considerably. “Here is all the information I’ve found on various Elite members… Give them hell for me…”
I take the usb stick and store it in my pocket. “Right.”
“Attaboy…” David’s body fully melts away into the paint thinner mix.
Intercoms from the helicopters blast a warning. “Attention all rogue American forces, your commander David Eagleburger is dead. I repeat, your commander is dead. Lay down your arms and surrender.” The same message gets relayed to the various fleet ships surrounding the Nimitz.
boom boom boom boom
A short series of smaller explosions erupts from the side of the Nimitz.
I turn to face it and see John climbing up the other side of the carrier soaking wet and exhausted.
“John!” I rush over to help him up with my good arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yes…” John gets to his feet and smiles at me. “Just swallowed a little salt…” He gags before smiling and patting my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.” His hand lingers on my shoulder a little longer than normal. “Where’s David?”
I point to the goop puddle behind me. “Melted him in paint thinner.”
John pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Good work, Will. Did he give you any intel?”
“No.” I shake my head. “He died before I could get anything out of him.”
John nods and pats my shoulder before limping over towards the flight deck. “C’mon, let’s get you patched up. We got a long flight back home.”