The Opened Life-or-Death Sniper Duel (Third Bonus Update, Please Subscribe in Full)

The next day.

While Lake was working in his office, Tiffany knocked and walked in. "Sir, Kate Beckett from the NYPD says she wants to see you."

Not long after.

Beckett walked in.

The lounge area.

"Here."

"Thanks."

Beckett took the coffee Lake handed her and said, "Thank you, Lake."

Lake smiled, crossed one leg over the other, and sipped his bourbon. "You’ve already thanked me once. Remember?"

Beckett nodded. "I know, but I still have to say thank you."

The reason?

After Councilman Braken was arrested yesterday afternoon, the district attorney’s office had immediately submitted the evidence for prosecution to the court. The case was basically ready to proceed, but this morning, Councilman Braken, who had been taken to the court prison to await trial, suffered a heart attack and died on the spot.

This…

Was great.

Beckett had come to thank Lake for that.

After all, after hearing the evidence on the tape, Beckett had honestly wanted to beat Councilman Braken to death when she went to arrest him during a television interview. But Beckett hadn’t been able to.

The reason?

Perhaps Beckett was more of a law-enforcement officer than even Lake and George were. Under no circumstances—not even in her own cases—would Beckett allow her personal feelings to override so-called legal justice.

That might have been why, just as Beckett had said to the person who traveled back from the future, Beckett had been able to become a senator with the highest approval rating on her very first campaign.

Huh?

Wait.

Lake suddenly remembered something. If Beckett and Cassel didn’t exist, traveling back from the future might have been nothing more than a sweet dream. But after Beckett and Cassel appeared, traveling back from the future no longer seemed like an absurd fantasy.

It was something that had actually happened in a movie.

And…

Parallel worlds!

He was getting off topic.

Although Beckett had come to thank him, Lake and George certainly wouldn’t admit that they had done it. The reason was simple: they were law-enforcement officers, not super vigilantes. Determining whether someone was guilty was the court’s job, not theirs.

Lake smiled. "The last time George and I met, he couldn’t stop talking about that high-end Japanese restaurant at Yuan Cross."

Beckett instantly understood. "Really?"

Lake shrugged.

A week later.

Beckett invited Lake and George to the high-end Japanese restaurant at Yuan Cross that they had mentioned before—and they brought their families along.

The large Japanese-style private room was missing George’s children. They had hired a babysitter to watch them at home. After all, it was better for children to eat less Japanese food.

The remaining three little ones were whispering among themselves off to the side.

Lake, George, Cassel, and Beckett sat together.

George inhaled the unique aroma of the sake in his cup and took a deep breath, looking utterly intoxicated by it. He looked like a cat that hadn’t eaten fish in years and had finally spotted one.

Seeing this, Lake teased Helen, George’s wife, who was sitting beside them. "My God, Helen, you’ve been treating poor George like an alcoholic going through withdrawal."

Fortunately.

Lake had once envied George for having such a gentle and virtuous wife as Helen. Luckily, he had come to his senses in time and understood that a whole forest was worth more than a single tree.

Otherwise.

Lake shuddered at the thought of what might have happened if he hadn’t come to his senses—if he had sheathed his claws for the sake of one tree and turned himself from a tiger in the forest into a house cat.

I am who I am.

I have never changed.

Helen didn’t take Lake’s teasing seriously. "Actually, if George holds out for five more days, he’ll earn the one-hundred-day sobriety medal."

Lake raised an eyebrow at George. "Damn, you really are addicted?"

George smiled bitterly. "A little. That’s why I’ve always been curious. How come you’ve never gotten drunk?"

The three little ones, who had been chatting, glanced over as well.

Gwen noticed Alexis and Skye seemed to laugh at that. She quietly asked them why, and after thinking about it, Skye and Alexis whispered the reason Lake drank every moment he could yet had never become addicted.

Because Lake only gave people facts they could see and believe.

After hearing that, Gwen’s eyes widened.

Skye and Alexis hurriedly waved at Gwen, signaling her not to tell anyone. After all, if Gwen did, the topic would undoubtedly shift back to the story of the two of them drinking and getting horribly drunk.

Lake shrugged.

Speaking of which, it was strange.

Alcohol addiction was considered a very dangerous problem in the Federation, while the even more dangerous over-the-counter narcotics seemed to be treated as a trivial matter.

It was truly fascinating.

Whatever the case, since an old friend had developed an alcohol addiction, Lake still dragged the sake in front of George over to himself. "Then hold out for five more days."

George: "…"

The one-hundred-day sobriety medal was quite rare. Secretary Kelly was a good example. Every time he drank, he would take out his fifty-day sobriety medal, look at it, sigh, and then silently drink his bitter liquor.

George was different from Secretary Kelly. George still had two little boys at home—no, three, actually. So if George could quit drinking, that would be a good thing.

Lake didn’t want his old friend to end up in Spider-Man’s hands, only to fall to alcohol addiction instead.

Especially now, when his relationship with Hell was so strained. If George went to Hell before Lake devoured it, and then received special treatment there because his identity was exposed, that would be an absolute disaster.

Right.

Lake suddenly remembered something.

Speaking of which…

When Lake had sent Skye to Midtown High School back then, he seemed never to have seen that Spider-Man guy.

What was Spider-Man’s name again?

Peter…

Peter Parker?

After dinner.

When Lake and Skye returned home, he remembered the question and asked Skye, "Skye, is there someone at your school named Peter Parker?"

Skye frowned, thought about it, and shook her head. "I don’t think so. Is he in our grade?"

"Not sure. Probably."

"Then no."

Skye shook her head. "There isn’t one in our year. Most of the students in the same grade know each other. The person you mean is probably in a lower grade. Why?"

Lake shook his head.

Damn.

Had Peter Parker vanished?

Something was wrong. This world had Osborn Bio.

"Then what about Harry Osborn?"

"The heir to Osborn Bio?"

"Yeah."

Skye nodded. "When Gwen interned at Osborn Bio, she did mention him. She said Harry Osborn might transfer to our school from London next year."

Lake raised his eyebrows.

Damn.

Spider-Man had vanished, but the Green Goblin was arriving right on schedule. Had Little Spider simply vanished from the face of the earth?

Amazing.

The next day.

Little Spider’s disappearance didn’t affect Lake’s decision to begin his vacation at all. Early that morning, Lake took a plane to Washington, D.C., and began his holiday.

And then…

He began operating on two fronts. His duplicate also went to Immortal Castle. Fortunately, the time difference between the two places gave Lake room to work both sides.

Lake also had a feeling that in a few years, this two-front operation would become a three-front operation. It might even turn into four fronts.

At that thought, Lake faintly felt even his iron kidneys beginning to ache.

Still, Lake enjoyed himself.

When he finished his vacation and returned to Starlight Tower, even Skye was startled when she saw him.

Looking at Lake as he came through the door, Skye couldn’t help saying, "My God, why do you look so haggard?"

Lake rubbed his face, and his energy instantly returned to its peak. "I swear, starting next year, I’m giving myself six months of vacation."

Three months in one place.

Six months in two places.

That would be great. It would be less likely to have problems than operating on two fronts.

The problem hadn’t been Rachel’s side but Emilia’s. News from Hungary might not reach Washington, but news from Washington would reach Hungary. Especially after Emilia saw that there was also a Lake in Washington, she immediately understood.

Fortunately, Lake’s main body and duplicate could now switch freely. Otherwise, he genuinely wouldn’t have known how to explain things.

"By the way."

Lake looked at Skye. "After this year, you’ll be an illustrious twelfth-grader."

Skye rolled her eyes. "I’ve already chosen New York University. As long as I maintain an A average in twelfth grade, the scholarship is mine."

Lake still wasn’t ready to give up. "How about considering Yale? I contacted Yale’s dean of students last month."

Skye looked at Lake curiously. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Lake blinked. "Why would you say that?"

Skye spread her hands. "Yale is in New Haven, Connecticut. I definitely couldn’t come home every week."

Lake’s heart stirred. "All right, New York University it is. Being closer is better anyway. New York is our territory, after all."

Forget it.

New York University might not be especially prestigious, but it had the advantage of location. One couldn’t deny that this was a major benefit.

The next day.

Lake and Skye drove different-colored Porsche Cayennes out of the underground garage one after the other. Lake headed toward the Department of Homeland Security Building, while Skye turned off and drove toward Gwen’s house first.

The road near Gwen’s home had been under construction the previous week, so the school bus had stopped there. George had originally planned to drive Gwen to school every day, but Skye had a car, and she was happy to pick Gwen up along the way.

New York Homeland Building.

Lake arrived at the conference room and smiled faintly at the several men in black seated inside. "Gentlemen, welcome to New York!"