Splitting Ways

Now, with the threats and the VIP hostages let loose, Gabriel, the terrorist leader, decided to just fuck it all, and ordered all his soldiers to hunt them down.

"Call in everyone!" He talks with his subordinate through the walkie-talkie.

"Sir what do you mean-"

"CALL IN EVERYONE! EVERYTHING WE HAVE! Drones, Choppers, even the ones that are holding hostage! Call them back! We cannot let them escape! Not with the President! NOW!!"

"YES SIR!!"

"And where's L?!"

"He's coming your way, Sir!"

"Good."

Then he turns off the walkie-talkie, places it on the table, grabs his axe from the same table, and then rushes out of the room in anger.

"I swear, I'm gonna kill you myself, Neil."

Gabriel mumbles as he heads towards the elevator, aiming to reach the rooftop before them. He knew Neil wouldn't be foolish enough to leave the forcefield machine alone if he wanted to get the President out untouched.

And he is right. Right now, Neil is dashing up the rooftop with Chad and Roy using the stairs, and every single second is valuable to them.

"Hurry up, we don't have much time!"

As they raced up hundreds of stairsteps without pausing, exhaustion started to catch up with Chad, while Neil had never been better.

"Why don't we just use the elevator?!"

"Too dangerous, all of us would be dead if some terrorists happened to push the button. To think of it, that armband force field would have been very useful, too bad they took it away."

"Yeah, another bad thing is these horrible suits are still useful."

Chad complains about the awful stench emanating from the black terrorist suits, filled with the smell of corpses, which they decided to use again since it had almost worked last time.

"Come on! Just a few more steps."

Feeling that they had walked up high enough, Neil decides to open a nearby door to slip onto the floor and continue moving from there.

But then he rolls the handle, pulls, pushes, and even punches it, the door stubbornly refuses to open.

"Damn it!"

While Neil tries to figure out a way to get the door to open, Chad and Roy sit on the stairway, breathing heavily. Exhausted from running up hundreds of steps without stopping, they take a moment to catch their breath.

"Screw it guys, let's keep moving."

"Aww, man! Are you serious?"

"The door won't open, buddy." Neil shrugs.

And while Neil and Chad are arguing with each other, Roy notices a strange sound coming from below.

"Wait. Do you guys hear that?"

...

"Shhh..." Neil shushes the other two and proceeds to move towards the stairs, looking down below to identify the source of the footsteps.

As he looks down, Neil sees a small black figure emerging, a man in a total black suit from top to bottom, who has never said a single word since they first met. The man who was told to be a deserted American soldier who switched sides, L.

Neil is shocked to see L, realizing that L must also have been searching for them. However, it appears that L doesn't know their exact location-

"Guys."

Until now.

"??"

"Once I say, run up as fast as you could."

L is looking up directly at Neil as if he knew that Neil was also looking at him.

...

"Run!!!"

Then the chase begins.

As soon as they started running, Neil realized that with L's athletic ability, being a veteran and experienced soldier, compared to the out-of-breath Chad and Roy crawling up the stairs, running was not an option.

"Chad! Roy! Keep moving! I'll hold him here!"

And he decides to stay and fight.

"But-"

"JUST GO!!!"

"..."

Now, with the two teenagers no longer weighing him down, Neil can only hope that they make it to the rooftop safely. His focus shifts to eliminating the imminent threat posed by someone who is a well-trained, combat-hardened, cold, brutal, and ruthless soldier, just like him.

Without hesitation, Neil walks straight down the stairs, rifle prepared and ready to confront him head-on.

"Come here, motherfucker."

And rushes down the stairs as fast as L was running up, and the two meet, immediately exchanging gunshots. After a few seconds, the gunfight turns into hand-to-hand combat, with both of them attempting to grab the other's rifle and throw it away.

Quickly enough, loud BANG BANG gunshots echo throughout the stairs, slowly transitioning into the grunting noises of two men fighting each other.

Now, it's a duel to determine who is better, stronger, and more experienced, and ultimately, survives.

While an intense battle erupts in the Empire State Building, Nick's team successfully escapes the area in time, out of the terrorists' sights.

When he feels they have run far enough, he gathers the team in a dark alley to discuss an important matter.

"OK. We'll split up here."

That is to separate their ways.

"Wait, you're not going?!" Jenny is puzzled.

"The terrorists are getting on their trucks and could come here in no time. It's risky for all of us to go in the same direction, which makes it easier for them. I'll hold and distract them while you guys find a place to hide."

"But, it's not safe to go without you!"

"Don't worry, I'm not the only one who could protect you two."

He silently glances at President Mikael, who responds with a nod. Nick then proceeds to approach and grabs his shoulder.

"Mister President, once Neil's team has destroyed that barrier, the military will rush in and this area will become a battlefield. Once that happens, you need to immediately call your acquaintances, and tell them to send in a bird (helicopter) to take you out.

But before that, I want you to take three of them as far as possible from here, and hide where they can't find you."

Then Nick releases him, however, responding to Nick's request, is the President's worried face.

"What if they don't make it?"

"Who?"

"Neil and the other two?! What if they fail?"

Nick falls silent for a moment, then eventually comes up with an answer.

"... then... keep staying where you are, and pray."

...

Hearing this, all of them fall into silence, finally understanding the severity of the situation they are in and realizing just how powerless they truly are.

"This is the best thing we can do, Sir." Nick expresses.

"... I understand."

The president, living up to his title, always grasps the circumstances and acts very quickly.

"Thank you. Best of luck."

With that, Nick bids his farewell as he begins to walk backward into the light and onto the street, prepared to confront the terrorists all by himself-

"Wait!"

"???"

Suddenly, a voice emerged, and it immediately grasped everyone's attention and surprise. Mike, the scaredy-cat black dude, is raising his hand.

"I'm coming with you."

"Are you sure?" Nick concerns.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Fine."

Quickly, Mike's confidence gives way to fear and hesitation once again.

"Wait, you agree? No denial, no hesitation? No 'You should stay?!'"

"Yeah. Better with more help than none."

"Shit. I'm starting to regret this."

"Then are you going or not?!"

"..." He hesitates. "Yes! Of course, I will! I'm not a VIP or... girls. I'm a totally fearless non-combat-combatant!"

"Yeah..." Nick smirks.

"Damn it!"

"Come on, let's go."

"Goodbye, guys."

"Yeah, you too."

...

They say their goodbyes as fast as they start moving, once the two of them are out of the alley, into the streets, and ready to engage the terrorists, worries start to fill the minds of the ones who remain.

"Do you trust them?!" Selena asks the President, and in response, the President gazes into the distance with peaceful eyes.

"I trust my soldiers."

------------Author's Note------------

Nah, I don't.