Poor Rusty.  Locked in this prepubescent state… never able to escape!  That Mark and Cherry get to be forever in their early-to-mid-thirties,  which if I had an age where I was to be “stuck,” that wouldn’t be half bad…  They clearly have the better end of this deal.

As Mark looks wistfully into the Central American sky, he now ponders that which had not even crossed his mind…

So go on, Cherry, you rock that zebra-print bikini… and keep on wondering about whether Mark has ever had “the talk” with his son… and quite frankly whether either of you actually need to…

Careful, you are taking a terrible chance with your alabaster skin tone, Mark and Cherry.  I hope you have loaded up on you SPF-max!

And Cherry, isn’t it your turn to keep track of the boy?  I mean, Mark is all tuckered out from punching bad guys and exacting revenge!

Even from the side, her hooded, sleepy countenance and delusional thinking suggests that she’s had a few!  Ever since that pool scene in Hawaii I’ve had my suspicions!  Or maybe I am just imagining an Umbrella Drink…

Again with the vacation references!  Seriously!  If you don’t work, then what constitutes vacation?  Sleeping somewhere other than home?

Well, good luck Rusty on that Snorkeling thing…  I predict a riptide in your future!

Did he get his phone back?  Where’s Mara?

For a story that moved as slowly as a Leatherback on land, we finally reached the end.  I think.  This has to be uncomfortable space for our writer… What’s our next move?  I can hardly stand the suspense…

Mark is always up for making a statement!  See how his mood has lifted??  Why, he’s positively beaming!

Yesterday and today is an interesting study the use of “Trailamation.”  The Auto-generation of various Mark faces to display a (limited) range of Trail-motions…

Sandwiching Jose, we see Mark play the role of the classic greek dramady icons…

As we are treated to a couple of classic “Grim Mark Trail” head shots from opposite 3/4 vantage points, do we have to now spend a few days recounting the Cave Adventure?

I guess we do…

…and the Toucan seem more riveted by this than any of us, that’s for sure!

… but of course in the Trailverse, there’s no doubt as to what is the more egregious offense…  Human Trafficking doesn’t even hold a candle to artifact smuggling… why, it’s right up there with Rhino Horns!   (I know it’s repeat reference, but still one of my favorite installments!)

So are we really wrapping up here?  Remember that the Trails have only been in Mexico a day or two!  They still have a vacation to take… Not that anyone really works or earns a paycheck.  When one is perpetually “off” what meaning does vacation even have??

Poor Cherry!  Always being kept in the dark!!

But really?  How sad.  “Don’t tell your mother, or else we are all in trouble!”  Complete with the trademark “finger-waggle” and there you have it!

Let’s remember though that the last 6 months of “story” only covered half a day in the Trailverse… Cherry probably just finished her facial…

Gray?  Silver??? I don’t get it.

So all’s well that ends well, huh?  Despite this journey into the absurd, it was pretty standard Mark Trail fare, complete with punching.  That (long) story lines are tied together and bad guys are brought back into the picture seems to be a (growing) hallmark of the Allen Era (AE.)

I work with a lot of Allens, or Allans, or Alans.  It’s a frustrating name in that it’s spelled many different ways, can be a first- or a surname, and I have to constantly check to make sure that I am spelling it correctly…  stay warm everyone!

I guess we can add wet nursing to Raul’s many skills, including tearing through markets on his motorcycle and  jumping through unopened windows… Are we going to break out in song here?

How he managed to gain the trust of the youngsters is beyond me, but hey, we’ll probably never mop up all the inconsistencies of this storyline, including first and foremost, how did driver Jose get hooked into taking the kids on a tour in the first place?!  I mean there’s deep undercover, but then there’s plain dumb luck!  Please, please, let this be a wrap!

…

…

And Mark’s not even trying to make a joke here…

OK, so we are on day n of “Mad Mark…”  I have lost track and once again evidence that we can’t not let a good idea go overused and exploited…  Maybe the kids will turn up by Friday?

Mark looks like he’s about to punch out Jose…  which probably wouldn’t be a very good idea… considering he’s a peace officer and all.

Still utterly confused… the kids had the door slammed in their face…  How can they be “inside?”

Mark is still hoppin’ mad!  My son!  My son!  He’s not your son!  But it’s nice that you think of him that way… By the way, his name is Rusty, and there is another young soul that you might want to be concerned about…

The Old Library… Isn’t that where they are right now??

There has to come a time in every felon’s life when he or she realizes they strayed from the path that had been hoped for them… even families steeped in crime must have expectations of not getting caught and going to jail…

Oh Juanito…  ¡Lo siento mucho!  ¡La plantilla está arriba! Vas a ir a la carcel… 

But there is more to unravel here… What about Becky?  Is Professor Carter in on this or has he been duped?  What other authorities need to get involved?  Or do we just get to wrap this turkey up and go home?

I guess Juanito wants to add ‘resisting arrest’ and ‘assault on a peace officer’ to his rap sheet…

…and as Captain / Officer Jose gets his face rearranged in today’s installment, there is an odd yellow thing that appears in the middle panel…  what is that?

OK, yesterday, Juanito was across the street and under full gait when Captain Jose noticed him and decided that he should give chase…

…and today, by the third panel, he has (literally) placed the long arm of the law on Juanito’s shoulder…  which means that (either) Captain Jose can bend time or Juanito is running in place…

Really?  Mr. American Gothic is going to go after Juanito the Mule?  Where is Raul?  He seems much more up to that task…

And what of the two that Mark punched out?  Looks like Jose II is coming around… and I doubt that he will simply stay down…

As Mark continues to pummel and pontificate, the bad guys can’t even hear him at this point… Difficult to listen when one is knocked out cold…

Three straight days of fisticuffs…  I think we get the point.  Mark doesn’t get enough “release” in his life…

Let’s just say that Mark is not the “forgive and forget” kind of guy…  I am sure he never expected to be face to face with these desperados, and he wastes little time in showing them “how we do things downtown…”  I mean, good heavens, look at the aura that Mark is putting off!  He is PISSED!

This is certainly a two-fer.  Not only do we get to bust an antiquities smuggling ring, but we get to witness payback for a heartless act that left Mark, and us readers, in the dark (aided by mysterious bioluminesce and gypsum) for Months!  Our first introduction to the  r e a l l y  s l o w  roll of story arcs to come…

Well, once again, we have lived for months in the same day in the Trail-time…  I wonder if we will be treated to a sunset?  Do they get to enjoy the rest of their vacation?  I mean, the Trails just got there!!