Part XVII - Epilogue

The next day saw a rather large group staying together, though most of them sat nearby and and waited for Murdock to get off of the Small World ride with the kids. He had managed to teach Daiki the song in English so he was singing that while Dawn was belting it out in Japanese and Murdock sang in Spanish to round it out.

Bethany was along with them for the day as well much to the confusion of her sister who couldn't understand why Beth didn't want to go to Sea World with her. She'd thought she understood that morning when the van arrived to pick Beth up from their hotel and she caught a glimpse of Face. The puzzlement returned when a lanky man that looked like he'd been on the wrong end of a fight stepped out and Bethany went over to take his arm. Sighing, she went back inside to apply sunscreen to her son before heading out for the day. She never would understand that sister of hers.

Mother Baracus and the Ambassador had found the previous evening that they both had a love of baseball in common and were continuing their talk about some of their favorite players and teams. She even issued him an open invitation for he and his son to come to Chicago to come and see a live game with her.

The group hit all of the major attractions with a good deal of snacking along the way. The dinner that night was again courtesy of the Ambassador. Dawn and Daiki had exchanged addresses to become pen pals. Murdock had a address and phone number for later use himself from the woman that he'd come to describe as smelling like sunshine. While Bethany wasn't quite sure what that meant, she was quite sure that it was a compliment.

By the time they turned in that evening, Murdock paused long enough to prop up a framed photo featuring himself, Bethany, Dawn, Daiki and Goofy posing together on the bedside table. He smiled, running a finger along the edge of the frame before turning off the lights. As he snuggled his exhausted body gratefully down onto the luxury of fresh sheets on a soft bed, he gave a slight giggle just before sleep overook him. For the moment, absolutely everything was 100% perfect in Murdock-World.

Not so far away in distance but light-years apart in satisfaction, a former member of the Japanese Embassy sat in a holding area gingerly touching his sore face. His hoped for future career in politics was more shattered than his nose.

None of this was his fault, of course. His planning had been perfect and his timing immaculate. No - all of the blame for his disgrace had one source and one source only. That interfering American that they had called Murdock.

Looking toward the window, he thought about the future. His family would likely be able to prevent him from serving any jail time. There were businesses controlled by his family that kept out of the public eye and he would move into one of them. He might not get the fame and recognition that he craved, but he would get money. And along with money, he would get the thing he now wanted more than anything else. Revenge on that infuriating Murdock.