Like a Windy Day

By Sharan McQuack, Launchpad's wife.

Attention:Pugloveryotwo...I'm trying to control my rotten temper here. You have Launchpad crash planes. How many times have I stated I do not like that, don't think it SELLS and don't think it was EVER funny? You scooped out his brain and served it on toast. Would you like it if I made Mr. McD out to be an idiot? No, you can't use "me" in one of your stories. Why would you want to if you don't want to listen to me?

This really started when Mr. McDuck was forced by the Authorities to put an additional air shaft in the Money Bin. Mr. McDuck installed it on the side of the Bin, too far from the roof to be reached by the roof, especially because of a wall running around the roof of the Bin.

The Beagles found out about it and schemed to use it to rob the bin.

"Duckburg's annual kite festival is coming up. I'll be flown up in a giant kite to the air shaft, get into the air shaft and lower a rope so you guys can follow me." Big Time said.

A few days later, Duckburg's annual kite festival began. Three whole days were everybody in Duckburg is flying a kite. Kite fanciers from everywhere come to Duckburg to fly kites. Kite flying contests go on, prizes are given. Everybody has fun and Mr. McDuck makes lots of money selling kites, kite merchandise, hotel room for visiting kiters...you get the idea.

One more kite, even a giant red kite somehow went unnoticed, even near the Money Bin.

MEANWHILE, the Trins and Webby wanted not only to enter the kite contest but to win. They asked Launchpad to help them build a kite.

"Our Unca Scrooge gave us some material and sticks to make the kite out of." Huey said.

"But he's too busy to help us build one. And we want this kite to be special, so we can win." Dewey said.

" We want it to be a great big kite. Unca Scrooge expected us to cut up the material and sticks and make a lot of little kites...we want one great big one." Louie said.

"OK. What about you, Webby? Do you want me to make you a kite, too -or do you want in one the boys' kite?" Launchpad said.

"I want my own kite. Gramma gave me some material and some sticks, too. I want to make a normal size kite since I can't handle a big one, anyway. And I want it to be pretty." Webby said.

"Well, I can build two kites, one big and one small, easily enough." Launchpad said.

"And I can help make Webby's kite pretty. I'm fairly artistic." I said.

So Launchpad built two strong kites. I prettified Webby's kite. Then Launchpad took the leftover material and made two tails for the two kites, just the right size for each kite.

Then we took the kites to Mr. McDuck's HUGE backyard and the kids started flying them.

"Hey, there's another big red kite, right near the Money Bin!" Huey said.

"Even bigger than ours is!" Dewey said.

"Weird cowinkadink." Louie said.

"Not really. There are people who came all the way from China- kite flying is very popular there- who came to Duckburg to enter the contest. And red is a lucky color in China. And there's a prize for the biggest kite." I said.

"You're not supposed to fly a kite so close to the Bin." muttered Launchpad. "And whoever is flying that kite keeps moving it closer!"

"There's somebody hanging onto the kite! Like a hang glider!" Webby said.

"What?" Launchpad asked and he grabbed a pair of binoculars. "My god! It's Big Time Beagle!"

Launchpad has hung around Webby too long to dismiss her as an over-imaginative kid.

We all ran to the Money Bin to alert to this latest threat on it.

"Halt! Come no closer!" said guard on duty.

"Relax, I'm Launchpad McQuack. I work for Mr. McDuck. Where's Gizmoduck? The Beagles are trying to rob the Bin yet again." Launchpad stated, pointing towards the kite.

"With a Kite? Yeah, right." the guard mocked.

"Big Time Beagle's riding it like a hang glider!" Launchpad claimed "Here, look for yourself!"

And Launchpad handed the guard the binoculars – or, rather, he tried to.

"Even if he is, so what? How's he going to break into the bin with a kite? How's he going to get the money out with a kite?" sneered the guard.

"Where's Mr. McDuck? Where's Gizmoduck? They'll understand." Launchpad asked.

"Mr. McQuack. Mr. McDuck and Gizmoduck are at the port, supervising the unloading of ships bearing silk and other valuables from China. " Duckworth began.

"Most of the kiters from China are mixing business with pleasure and brought goods to sell here. VERY valuable goods." Duckworth continued.

" So Mr. McDuck went with Gizmoduck, fearing the Beagles would strike there." Duckworth finished.

"And the port's a dead zone. No bars there for a cell phone." Launchpad muttered, who having lived in Duckburg for some time now, knew that little annoying fact.

So, Launchpad went into Mr. McDuck's office, and used the landline in there to call the port office which has a landline (1)and asked them to page Mr. McDuck.

Soon, Launchpad was talking to Mr. McDuck. But this took awhile, and in the meantime,

Big Time reached the new air shaft and grabbed the grate covering it.

Big Time let down a long string, and Bicep grabbed the string and tied a rope to it. Big Time wound up the string until he reached the rope tied to it. Then, Big Time tied the rope to the grate

Soon, Bicep and Burger had climbed up the rope and had reached the grate. Once there, they blew the grate partially off the wall and Big Time climbed in.

However, the Bin's security guards heard the explosion that blew loose the grate and ran and shot at the Beagles. The Beagles somehow scrambled into the air shaft, out of reach.

Don't ask me how anybody bigger than Big Time managed to fit in there, but once the security guards started shooting at them, they found a way to fit. And head towards the treasury part of the Money Bin. Where the MONEY is.

Mr. McDuck all but teleported to the Money Bin. When he arrived, he was yelling at Gizmoduck.

"I TOLD you I need somebody else to be Gizmoduck so I can have one on guard at the Bin 24/7!" Mr. McDuck screamed.

"And where are you going to find somebody you can trust NOT to use the g-suit to rob your Bin?" Giz inquired.

"I'm going to hire somebody who used to guard Fort Knox! There are security guards who used to work there who were forced to retire at 65! In perfect health! What nonsense!" Mr. McDuck roared. (2)

"Better make sure that's why they retired! And they can learn to work this suit at that age! YOU have trouble with some tech!" Giz replied.

"Just stop those blasted Beagles, or I'll fire you here and now!" Mr. McDuck insisted.

"How's about opening up the Bin for me so I can get at them?" Giz asked.

" And hold the door open while the Beagles escape with my money?" Mr. McDuck sneered.

So Giz went thur the airshaft to stop the Beagles. And Launchpad went to talk to Webby and the boys.

Unable to get into the Bin any other way without breaking it, Giz went down the air shaft after the Beagles. However, the Beagles had prepared a booby trap for Giz.

Once Giz arrived in the vault section of the Bin, an avalanche of small change: pennies, nickles, dimes buried Giz. Worse, Burger had poured maple syrup, ketchup, mustard and mayo all over the coins.

The coins got in the way, giving Giz no traction. The dimes slipped into vents in the g-suit. Worse, the seasonings dripped and drabbed into the g-suit, making it malfunction.

Giz tried to stop the Beagles, but his buttons were all gummed up. Even when Giz could reach a button (and his arms were so clogged with gunk he couldn't reach very far) the button didn't DO anything.

"Ha! Told ya that booby trap we rigged would turn Gizmodork into a metal candy ball!" laughed Big Time.

"I'll find a way to stop you!" vowed Giz.

"Shut ya yap or I'll let Burger eat you!" threatened Big Time.

And then, the Beagles ignored Giz and started stuffing bills, preferably large denominations, into loot sacks.

"No coins, Bicep!" ordered Big Time " No small change!"

"But these coins is Krugerrands!" Bicep objected.

"Oh! Thems you can take!" Big Time retracted.

Giz felt awful. Then he thought:()()Candy BALL?()()

And Giz shifted his weight and moved his arms as far as he could, pushing along until he started rolling like a ball. Right towards the Beagles. Like a bowling ball heading towards pins.

A sticky, gummy bowling ball heading towards "pins" who were trapped between the walls of the bin and hampered from running because of all the money in the way.

Soon, all the Beagles EXCEPT Big Time were stuck and gummed to the walls of the Bin. However, Big Time climbed up the piles of money, scrambling up like a monkey. Even clambering up over his brothers when Big Time had to.

In rolling, Giz's helmet fell off his head. However, Giz's face was so gummy, this did not endanger his secret identity. Especially since the Beagles didn't know Fenton from a hole in the wall. (3)

Big Time grabbed Giz's helmet as he climbed.

"Thanks! I was wondering how I was going to get out of here! " Big Time snorted " And now I don't gotta share this loot with my idiot brothers!"

And Big Time donned the helmet and activated the beanie copter feature of it.

Giz seldom uses that feature any more, what with his jet packs, but just in case the packs ever malfunction or run out of fuel, it's still there.

Now, Big Time used it to fly up the air shaft, carrying two large sacks of Mr. McDuck's money.

Only to fly into a large net kept up right over the exit to the air shaft by four kites. Kites Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby were flying close to the air shaft. Webby was handling the net.

Big Time was caught in the net. He tried to fly thru it, only to get hopelessly tangled in the net and it's strings.

Mr. McDuck and Launchpad were likewise each flying a kite equipped with a net near the Bin lest the Beagles flee thur the Bin's entrance or burst thur the wall somehow.

Later, after the cops have carted the Beagles back to jail...

"Thanks for ungumming me, Mr. McDuck...I'm sorry about what happened." Giz said.

"I'm impressed you managed to stop the rest of the Beagles, Gizmoduck, despite them hamstringing you the way they did." Mr. McDuck said.

"Then you're not going to fire me? Or hire more Gizmoducks?" Giz asked.

"Well...I spoke to the guards who were "forced" to retire from guarding Fort Knox at 65. And most wanted to retire. They were sick of being security guards. Most would not take the job of guarding the Bin." Mr. McDuck began.

"Certainly not at the salary you're willing to pay them" muttered Launchpad, who had overheard some of these conversations without meaning to.

It was impossible for Launchpad to have NOT heard, given how loud Mr. McDuck had been yelling at the retired security guards.

"Others have found second careers or cannot operate complicated machinery like the g-suit. So I'm hoping you'll stay. Just one Gizmoduck." Mr. McDuck finished.

"Thanks for that net trap of yours." Giz told the kids.

"It was Launchpad's idea. He helped us rig it." they chorused.

"I'm always willing to help others be the hero if they want to." Launchpad said.

The End.

(1)I don't see how we can do away with landlines altogether until we do away with dead zones altogether.

(2)Attention, Snark -N- Moon :Keep reading.

(3) I don't think the Beagles knew Fenton's name in "Liquid Assets", and they've probably forgotten about him by now.