Azrael #69

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE PURSUIT McGog begins to come to after being pummeled and Jean-Paul Valley (New Earth) confronts him for the murder of an innocent woman who quite possibly could have been his mother. McGog laughs at Jean-Paul's anger because if Jean-Paul really wanted to kill him then he wouldn't waste time talking to him. Jean-Paul tells McGog that he would rather see McGog suffer in prison for the rest of his unnatural life then give him a quick death. Nomoz tells Jean-Paul that need to head to the Order's abandoned laboratory before the sunrises and they die of dehydration in Saudi Arabia. Jean-Paul attempts to wake up and restrain the Faux-Azrael but the imposter throws some sand in Jean-Paul's eyes then kicks Jean-Paul. McGog takes advantage of the scuffle by freeing himself from Nomoz and makes a run back to his base. Jean-Paul reacts quickly by countering the imposter's assault and throws him at McGog.   Jean-Paul tells Nomoz to disarm the imposter by putting his costume into Jean-Paul's bag. Jean-Paul restrains his prisoners and buries the woman in an unmarked grave. Jean-Paul pays his final respects to the woman and begins to wonder if the woman was defending the imposter instead of him. Nomoz tells Jean-Paul to not let doubt cloud his judgment about the woman's sacrifice and they need to get going. McGog offers Jean-Paul and Nomoz to be treated with leniency if they return him to his camp. Naturally, Jean-Paul doesn't believe McGog and Nomoz pushed the general to keep moving.   Meanwhile, McGog's soldiers receive word from Dhabar. They are concerned because the general should have been back from executing the prisoners. Two soldiers take the armored Hummer and drive to the general's location. The soldiers find the woman's grave and follow the foot prints left in the sand which are heading away from the camp. The soldiers catch up with Jean-Paul and Nomoz. They begin to open fire and Jean-Paul reacts quickly by doing a back flip thereby landing on the back of the charging Hummer. Jean-Paul knocks out both soldiers and causes the Hummer to flip a couple of times before finally crashing in the sand. Jean-Paul grabs a canteen of water from one of the soldiers and leaves them behind.   Jean-Paul hands the canteen to the imposter and Nomoz first before giving it to McGog despite his requests of being first. McGog commends Jean-Paul for being an excellent warrior who shows no quarter for his prisoners but McGog mocks Jean-Paul for not being more tactical. Jean-Paul failed to destroy any chance for the soldiers to communicate with the base. All of a sudden, they begin to hear the thunderous sound of incoming helicopters. Nomoz tells Jean-Paul that the Order's laboratory is over the next rise if they can make it. McGog tries to escape again by throwing the canteen at Jean-Paul's head but Jean-Paul dodges the canteens and knocks McGog out. Jean-Paul puts the unconscious McGog on his shoulders and makes a run for the lab. Jean-Paul hopes that McGog's subordinates will not shoot because they run the risk of killing their leader.   Jean-Paul and Nomoz make it to the lab with their prisoners. McGog taunts Jean-Paul by telling him that eight of his most highly trained soldiers are on those helicopters and they have automatic artillery with coated bullets that can cut through kevlar. Jean-Paul has no other choice but to rely on the imposter in order to survive and he tells Nomoz to give the imposter his Azrael costume. Jean-Paul and the imposter make short work of McGog's subordinates once they exit the helicopters. McGog is shocked that his men didn't stand a chance. Nomoz loads McGog onto the helicopter and starts it up while Jean-Paul looks for the imposter. The imposter had vanished after defeating McGog's soldiers.   Jean-Paul takes McGog to the nearest American military outpost so that the general would answer for his crimes. Unfortunately, since Jean-Paul isn't a recognized officer of the law and McGog is out of their jurisdiction, the military police have no choice but to let McGog go. McGog leaves with a smirk on his face but again commends Jean-Paul for being a warrior. Jean-Paul leaves the outpost shortly after with anger and disappointment.