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"You ready, Link?" Rhett asked.
"Ready. Let's go!" Link replied.
"Got it." With the team all on board, Link took to the skies with the Blue Lagoon. Link did a double cross, taking multiple hits and landing back on the ground safely, but Rhett couldn't miss.
While Link did his very best to pull off a ruse to fool Rhett, Rhett was able to get the upper hand on Link.
Rhett had Link cornered.
However, Rhett and his team had members that were better than Link and the team could be completely wiped out if this were to be the case.
Rhett got his team member to assist him, and their assistant, with their first kill. Before going into a rescue mission in the tower, Ryan and Rhett head off in a Huey to determine where the third mask might be.
There they find a second Masked Man waiting. Just as they reach the tower, Wray, and Barry, reveal themselves, and fire a grenade at the Huey. This detonates and sends them running back down into the tower. This leaves Rhett and Ryan alone to fight off the two masked men. Eventually, Rhett breaks out the third Masked Man, who breaks into a fight with Rhett, resulting in the two confronting each other. After a long, but dramatic fight, Rhett won. Using his distraction, Rhett ran towards Link to save him, but the specter-meathook cut him down before Link could get to him. The Knight-Commander attempted to arrest Rhett, but Rhett used his master eye to distract and sneak around the large pair of police, who weren't able to catch him.[14]
However, he also let Link in on his plan of "listening" and "smelling out" the Spectres so that he could plan a counterstrike. He had the Spectres use a special ship to catch up to Link and Rhett, but he then removed the stern lock on his ship and let his long cloak over the vehicle, making it disappear just as Link, and Rhett were approaching.
Link was confused. So was Rhett. So was everyone. They'd seen and heard the earlier Galaxy Notes, but the upcoming 2nd volume was news to them. What was coming? While the net-comic story ended with a cliffhanger, the plot of 2 isn't a surprise. Dave has still been tracking him ever since the previous volume and says he's getting close to tracking him down. However, Dave had some "gotcha's" to share with him. He says that Rhett just recently started using a new costume and a new voice, and has been making a lot of off-color comments. Dave theorizes that Rhett might have put a word or phrase in his speech that he believed was a racist epithet. Naturally, Rhett would think no such thing. He was in love with Link, after all. *********************** THE LOBSTER ***" LOBSTER!" A bottle of milk beeped. Rhett had just picked up the phone. A nurse's voice sounded in his ear. "Sir, they're just about ready to release you. Do you have anything to drink?" "No. I'll have to go to the bathroom now. I'll see you in a few minutes." "I see you're well and pleased with your capture. Is there anything else I can do for you?" "I'm fine now, thank you. I'm worried about my mother." "I understand your concern. If you would be so kind, please sit down."
Rhett sat in his cell and thought about Link. Not for a second did he think that police would come and investigate him for something he'd done, but the boy had sent a message, and he would never forget it. Back at the office that afternoon, EJI shared the latest results of Link's DNA. Although most of the analyst's team didn't have a positive match, his group did have a DNA profile from the best sample they had. More importantly, though, was that they had a high degree of confidence about the match.
"Mr. Halbach's DNA came from someone with no connect to Teresa," Lisi said. "But I don't know if that's bad or good or what the significance is."
As Rhett sat in his cell, he heard a noise and realized Link was busting him out. "Come on!" Link whispered. "Let's go get the three-ring competition. Ha ha." After wrapping up the barrier building, they immediately took to the streets. The girls were busy figuring out where Link was taking them to get safe. Although Link seemed in no hurry, they had to hurry.
"See? That is Link!" Rhett yelled out as he found two girls running around next to a certain building. "He has a girlfriend and can drive us there!"
"No, we're not going to get him!" Alice called back.
The three friends ran up to the girl and showed her Link's message.
"I'm so sorry I had to betray you like this" Link's message said. Rhett couldn't hold back the tears.
Link's body was burning.
Khan Zhangji paused in the middle of the road as he said, "It was all my fault. You were gone for two months without anyone telling me, only to wake up with a pair of nonexistent limbs. You need to be driven to a hospital. That's what the hospital needs to know before they will use the rest of your precious blood. What's going to happen to you when you get there?"
"I can't die" Link's voice came from Rhett's shoulder. "That is the first time since I was born that I wished I was dead."
"But it'll all be over soon." Rhett said. "I love you, Link."
"Love you too, Rhett." Link replied, smiling.
"I knew it. Just go on back to the army, you'll be fine. Bye."
Link then waddled away, leaving Rhett alone in the study.
"You can start at the beginning," he said, grinning broadly.
By coincidence, Theo had been lying in bed upstairs, waiting for someone, and had started keeping a journal. Rhett had stopped by the table in front of him and written his notes. He didn't know if it was anything of note, but he thought it was so quaint.
"You know," he said, "in a society where the whole culture has gone to seed, and everyone we know is like our second cousin twice removed, it feels like that time is coming for us all sooner than later."
And for about five days after Theo made that comment, Rhett wondered if that was true.
