Ch 969 - Riley’s Alive

Everyone stared at the mysterious figure in the doorway.

Todrick Dangles boldly stepped into the room. "Oh, you already know me, Ms. Wheeler."

Yvonne threw her head back and groaned. "Oh, come on! Dingle Dangle? I thought you were dead!"

Without a word, Todrick shrugged.

Yvonne crossed her arms. "What's with the eyepatch? Cat got your eye?"

Todrick rolled his remaining eye at the childish remark. "You're going to pay for what you've done. I'm putting an end to you for good, Yvonne Wheeler."

After the man threatened Yvonne, Flora whimpered. "Oh, please! It's too much!"

Dangles rolled his eyes. "Too much? I've only just begun."

Tears welled in the older woman's eyes.

Todrick jerked forward in Flora's direction, and when he did, Flora fainted.

With a gasp, Gideon scooped her up in his arms. "Flora! Flora, it's okay!" He fanned her with his hand. "It's going to be okay, Flora!" He gritted his teeth and pointed at Dangles. "You're going to pay for this, you freak!"

Yvonne, however, wasn't phased by Dangles in the slightest. She pushed up her sleeves. Then, she discreetly picked up a vase behind her. "You know what? This is payback for what happened in Riley's lair."

Yvonne lunged forward and lifted the vase over her head. She cracked it over Dangles' skull, causing dirt to fly everywhere. Then, Christopher backed her up by kicking him in the chest. Dangles tumbled to the ground, whining as he rolled around in a pile of dirt.

With her adrenaline pumping, Yvonne chuckled and latched herself around Christopher. "Oh, my gosh! That was incredible! You are incredible!"

Christopher peered down at his fallen foe. "I'm incredible? Look at you! You cracked a vase over his head. Now, that was incredible!"

Even though Yvonne's sudden embrace almost gave him whiplash, Christopher joyously wrapped the woman in his arms. He smiled down at her. "Yeah, we make a great team."

Yvonne tilted her head up, gazing into Christopher's dreamy eyes. She shifted so that she was standing on her tip-toes. Then, she pressed her forehead against Christopher's.

Christopher leaned in ever so slightly, but then, Tom Sawyer jumped to his feet. "Guys! Dangles is escaping!"

The couple let go of each other in an instant. Yvonne whipped her head around to see Dangles staggering out of her home. She gently pushed Christopher back. "Oh, no he doesn't!"

Yvonne chased after the man. "Get back here, Dangles!

When Todrick realized Yvonne was chasing him, he picked up the pace. He panted as he ran at full speed. "I'm not letting her get near me." He looked over his shoulder. "Catch me if you can, freak!"

Yvonne was far from a track athlete. She knew she wasn't the fastest person out there. She couldn't keep up with Dangles. She panted as she sprinted as fast as she could. "He's faster than he looks."

But then, a bright idea popped into her head.

She brought her fingers to her mouth and whistled. "Gary!"

At the sound of Yvonne's voice, the stallion majestically dashed out from behind the house.

In a few giant strides, Gary caught up to Yvonne. She braced herself, then took a literal leap of faith. Miraculously, she was able to hop on Gary's back. She grasped onto the horse's mane, using every muscle in her legs to help steer the horse. "Okay, Gary, catch Dangles! I hope he knows what meaAHHH!"

As the words left her lips, Gary rushed forward at a breakneck pace. He was headed straight for Dangles. Yvonne held on for dear life. "Ah! Good boy! AHHH!"

Gary trotted forward with immense force. After a few minutes, Dangles was in their grasp. Yvonne cheered. "Aha! Yes, Gary! Go get him, boy!"

When Dangles heard Yvonne, he glanced behind him. The sight of Gary alone made him trip over his own two feet. "Not that dastardly horse!"

As Gary and Yvonne were closing in on Dangles, the man struggled to find a way out. I could run into the forest, he thought. But, they'd catch me. Wait, HALLE said Yvonne's house was by the river. That's right!

In a flash, Todrick veered to the right. He dashed forward through a small patch of the forest until he reached the banks of the river. When he got to the edge of the body of water, he hesitated. "Am I really going to do this?"

Gary neighed behind him, stomping through the forest like a horse on a mission.

Dangles swallowed hard. "I don't have a choice."

He dove into the Patapsco River. When his body hit the water, he disappeared. The rapids were raging, cascading off rocks and flowing a powerful current. He dove into the water head first. He tumbled through the rough waters of the river.

Yvonne pulled Gary back as they reached the river. "Gary! Stop!"

She clumsily dismounted the stallion and glanced all around. "Oh, my gosh. Did Dangles jump?" She covered her mouth. "Wow, he's going to get dumped out into the Chesapeake Bay."

Yvonne patted Gary on the back. "Talk about polluting our oceans with trash."

***

At an Enrichment, Riley waited patiently for Alex. He stood perfectly still in the middle of a hallway on the third floor.

As he mulled over his plan of attack, his phone went off, interrupting his train of thought. He pulled out his phone. "A text from Dangles. What does that idiot want? 'Hey, Riley. Sorry that I couldn't kill Yvonne, sad face. I had to escape and jump into the Patapsco River. Sad face, sad face, sad face. I'll try harder next time. Winky face.' Ugh! What an absolute fool."

Riley shoved his phone back into his pocket. Then, he fiddled with his smartwatch. "HALLE, scan for Alex Ambrose, now!"

Before HALLE responded, a voice echoed throughout the hallway. "No need to do that."

Riley pivoted around to see Alex, Louis, and Ken Stokes. "Well, well, well. Look who finally found me."

Shocked, Alex rubbed his eyes to make sure what he saw was real. "You're alive. How is that possible I saw you–"

Riley held up his hand. "You saw me blow up? Yes, funny how that worked out. You see, when I detonated my pharmacy and secret lair on Learner Ave., I gave myself enough time to sneak through a secret underground passage. I survived, along with Dangles, my cat, and my precious research."

Alex tilted his head toward the ceiling and let out a heavy sigh. "So, what? Am I going to fight a bunch of super soldiers now?"

Reluctantly, Riley shook his head. "No, my current boss doesn't see the value of my superhuman army. Yet. However, we have much bigger plans for you, Alex." He extended his arms out. "You'll face a much more formidable foe."

Louis glanced around the hallway. "Who?"

Riley stomped his foot. "Me, you idiot! Me. You'll fight me."

It all felt familiar. Same story, different setting. Even though he knew it was fruitless, Alex reached out to Riley, trying to reason with him. "I just want to save Debbie, Riley. We don't have to do this."

Dissuaded by Alex's plea, Riley reached behind his back. From the inside of his suit jacket, he pulled out a pair of nunchucks. He lamely shook them in front of his face. "You know that we have to fight, Alex."

Then, Riley tried to swing the nunchucks around his body. He obviously had no idea how to use the weapon. One of the sticks smacked him in the face. "Ouch. Ignore that." He held the nunchucks above his head. "Bring it on, Ambrose."

As the words leave Riley's lips, two security guards appear behind the trio. They grabbed Ken and Alex.

As Alex and Ken fought off the guards, Louis ran at Riley.

In a nervous panic, Riley tried to strike Louis with the nunchucks, but he was no match for the martial arts master. Louis wasted no time as he ripped the nunchucks out of Riley's hands.

As Louis stole Riley's weapon, Alex knocked both security guards to the floor. In an instant, Louis threw the nunchucks to Alex, and he caught them without even looking in Louis' direction.

Without any super soldiers to protect him, Riley panicked. As Louis looked back to Alex, he fled to the nearest office. He stumbled as he frantically tried to look for something to protect himself. He opened desk drawers and tried to pick up chairs. Nothing was going to work.

The door to the office creaked open. Riley grimaced. "Shit."

Alex stood in the doorway with Riley's nunchucks in hand. "You sure you don't want to let bygones be bygones, Naysmith?"

In a frenzy, Riley grabbed the first thing he laid eyes on, a stapler. He held the office supply in front of him as if it were a shield. "I'll never put this past us, Ambrose. I'd sooner die."

Alex was unflappable. He coolly strolled toward Riley. "Suit yourself, Naysmith."

When he was close enough to Riley, Alex held one end of the nunchuck in his hand. His eyes darkened as he glared at Riley.

In an attempt to deter Alex, Riley shot a staple out of the stapler. However, the staple limply fell out from the mechanism, not traveling very far.

Alex laughed as he swung the nunchuck, knocking only the stapler out of Riley's hand.

Riley tried to back away, but he had nowhere to go. He was caught between two desks.

As he cowered down, Alex made a figure-eight motion with his arm. He struck Riley with the nunchucks repeatedly. He didn't stop until Riley was lying on the floor, bruised and beaten.

Louis ran up behind Alex. "I think you got him."

Slowly, Alex backed away. Riley lay on the ground, unmoving, not breathing.

Alex took a deep breath. He threw the nunchucks to the floor.

As Alex marched out of the room, Louis followed behind him.

After the two left, Riley's black and blue eyes fluttered open; however, he didn't get off the floor. In fact, he didn't move a muscle. He knew that if he played dead, he would live to see another day.

Back in the hallway, Ken Stokes stood alone, breathing heavily. He was relieved to see his two friends return from the office unharmed. "Oh, thank god."

Louis, Alex, and Ken stood in a circle.

"Was that it? Was Riley the last of them?" Louis asked.

Alex shook his head. "No, definitely not." He grabbed Louis and Ken by the shoulder. "You two need to get out of here. I have a feeling that wasn't the last fight."

Alex looked off into the distance. "And, I think I know who's behind this."

But right now, that didn't matter. Alex had one goal. He needed to find Debbie.