Homecoming | The Punisher

11. Grand Theft Auto - Punisher Mode

Words: 2290

LC didn't realize she was holding her breath until she saw her father emerge from the floral shop with Mrs. Zhou at his side. It was only then that LC released a long needed sigh of relief and its effects were astonishing. Her muscles relaxed, the tension in between her eyes vanished, and the ringing in her ears decreased to the point where she could think clearly for the first time in a long while. 

The two of them were alive. Though the quality of the picture wasn't the best, LC could tell that her father wasn't injured, but she couldn't say the same for Mrs. Zhou. Her caretaker was pretty banged up. The only reason why LC wasn't worried was that Mrs. Zhou was yielding a gun. LC knew her caretaker was fine; shouting some bad guys was probably therapeutic for the old lady.  

"Shit. Crap!" LC turned her attention from the screen to Micro who was furiously typing away on the keyboard, fixated on a different screen. "More are coming. Great. Just great," Micro said, muttering to himself. 

LC could read what he was saying. She followed his gaze to the farthest monitor from here. It showed a map with multiple dots coming towards the center of it, which LC could tell was the floral shop. "Who are they?" 

"More Triads, maybe neighbouring local gangs; you name it. The whole shebang is gonna zero in on your dad in T-minus two minutes." And with that, Micro made a timer pop up at the bottom of the screen with the map so that he and LC could countdown to the impending doom. 

"Can we do anything?" LC instantly asked, scanning all the monitors for any options. One other monitor was blank, showcasing a lack of signal. That one was supposed to be the audio to her Dad's earpiece which he so graciously cut off. 

"Already on it," Micro exclaimed, scrambling on his keyboard. LC saw the view of the perimeter of the floral shop change angles, and directions as Micro scanned for an option. LC couldn't tell what Micro was looking for until she saw lights flash from a sedan across the street from where her dad and Mrs. Zhou stood. 

"Into the Tesla, buddy," Micro encourage despite his communication being cut off from the Punisher. "You can do it, pal. Just get in there," Micro cooed. 

Miraculously, LC saw her dad and Mrs. Zhou jump into the car without questions asked. The moment the door closed, the vehicle accelerated out of its parking space and floored forward. 

At the same time, LC saw Micro furiously typing away on the keyboard. 

"What the hell are you doing!" 

LC jumped up in her seat, shocked by the sudden sound of her father. Her eyes jumped to the first screen which previously showed no signal. Now, the screen showed that it was a connection to the Tesla. 

"Give me control of the car, David." She heard Frank order through the screen. She also heard gunshots. Though they were in the distance, they were loud enough for LC's ears to pick up.

"No, can do," Micro answered. "Besides, it sounds like you needa take care of things on your hand. I'll handle the driving." 

LC glanced to the monitor with the map. The map was moving quickly, following the Tesla. The Tesla's dot was red, but there were at least over a dozen other black dots tailing the red one. All of a sudden, she saw Tesla's dot swerve. 

"Oops. My bad," Micro said, cringing slightly.

"You're gonna get us killed!" Frank roared from the other end. 

LC heard Mrs. Zhou agree with Frank. She was thankful that her father and David didn't speak Mandarin because Mrs. Zhou's choice of words was anything, but uplifting.