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The theft

Since the day the Ravagers stole one of his belongings, Phalbar was plotting a suitable punishment for Yondu Udonta. He waited for the right opportunity almost fifteen years and now the blue pirate was going to pay for crossing the Xandarian mob boss in the most severe way possible. To be fair, Phalbar was far from calling it a vengeance, the thing he was planning for Yondu was more like… an exchange. Their stolen goods for his stolen goods. Plain and simple. Even those lowlifes could understand the concept.

And Phalbar already knew what he was going to steal from Yondu.

The Ravager's ship landed on Xandar after really long trip and its doors opened. The first person, who came out, was Yondu. He took a deep breath and looked back at his men, crowded behind him.

"Well, boys, you know the drill." He began. "Me and Horuz are going to take care of business, while rest of you can do whatever they want."

The bunch of red-coated bandits gave a gleeful screams. They were eager to get on the ground already, but before Yondu let them leave the ship, he added:

"Except Kraglin, because you're going to take care of Quill."

"But Yondu…" The mechanic began, but his boss cut in:

"You want to argue with me, Karglin?"

"N-no, of course not, captain. I just want to know why…?"

"There are two reasons, Kraglin." Yondu showed him his two fingers and started to explain: "One: because we can't let the kid run around just like that; and two: because I say so. Any questions?"

"I don't need a babysitter!" Peter called from behind. "I can take care of myself!"

"Sure, you can. Just like the time when you've almost got yourself killed by Imperials on Sakaar." Said Yondu.

"Hey, they were gonna steal our ship and all of you were drunk off your asses. Someone had to do something." Peter responded.

"Enough, Quill!" The blue alien didn't like they way, where it was going. "You're staying close to Kraglin, until we meet again in Garlog's Bar. Do you understand or do I have to handcuff you both?"

"No." Said Kraglin and Peter.

"Well then, let's go."

So they left the ship and everybody went their way. Some of the Ravagers directed straight to the Garlog's Bar, others – to the alley that went to the black market. Kraglin, on the other hand, had an appointment with his fellow mechanic, Palder. Kraglin wanted to purchase few parts that were damaged from the battle with some space pirates, stupid enough to try and attack the Ravagers.

Either way, he dragged Peter to the workshop. The kid tried to follow him, but Ravagers' mechanic was at hurry and Peter had trouble to keep up with him.

"Hey, hey, slow down, Kraglin!" The boy called.

"I have a small business with old Palder, so you better be quiet and don't go anywhere."

"Oh, with Palder?" Peter's face lit up. "There's a shop with working arcades next to Palder's place. I can go there while you will be talking with him."

Kraglin suddenly stopped at looked at Quill. The man's eyebrows raised with interest.

"You know, kid, it's not a bad idea…" Suddenly the responsible part of him kicked in. Kraglin kneeled before the boy and, with a frown on his face, he waved his finger warningly in front of Peter. "But you must stay in the shop. And don't talk to strangers. Also try not to get yourself into trouble. Remember that I'm outside, so if anything happen, you call help, do you understand?"

"Geez, it was one time, you were all drunk and they wanted to steal our ship! Will you ever let me live it down?!"

"Kid, this is important." Kraglin put his hands on Peter's shoulders. "I'm responsible for your safety and if anything happens to you, Yondu will be mad. And we both know that mad Yondu, is a bad Yondu."

Peter sighed.

"I will be careful, I promise." He said with resignation.

The mechanic smiled to him, patted jovially his shoulder and stood up.

"So let's go."

When they got to Palder's place, Kraglin had walked Peter into the shop and repeated his earlier warnings. Only when the kid (half-heartedly, because his eyes and mind were fixed on the arcades) assured him that he understood the instructions, the mechanic let him go. For a few seconds he observed as the boy ran to one of the machines and started to play it. And then Kraglin finally exited the shop to make business with Palder.

But neither Kraglin, nor Peter knew that from the moment they've left the ship, someone was following them from the distance, observing their every move.

The spy was a tall Arcturan with a stubble on his face. He was actually expecting more trouble with fulfilling his task but he welcomed the fact that both Ravagers went separate ways (even though, they were still in approximately close distance). He still had to do few things to make his mission accomplished, however, it seemed that he wasn't left with much work.

The spy contacted his boss and reported him about the situation.

"Yondu must be very confident with his man's abilities." Phalbar said." I do not believe that he would be so reckless."

"May I speak openly, sir?" The spy asked.

"I know what you want to say, Dorr." His boss replied. "You are not sure if the plan will evoke… right reaction. Did I guess?"

"Yes, sir. That's what I wanted to say."

"Even if I am mistaken about that one aspect, the other factors will work on our favor. Remember that there is no greater shame for a thief than to be robbed of. Now," Phalbar's voice got more serious. "do not disappoint me, Dorr."

Dorr frowned.

"I will not, sir."

Yondu had already traded the things he stole (or found out… let's face it, sometimes you're just lucky to gather weird things from space), and now he was observing the stock on the broker's shelves. Few of them were really interesting and he knew that he must purchase at least one of them.

At the same time he couldn't wait to meet his men in Garlog's Bar. A cold beer would be a really good crowning moment for this whole escapade with pirates. Old Garlog was probably dying to find out about their latest adventure and this time they had a really good story to tell. Even Peter had his fair share in it.

The arcades in the shop weren't arcades per se, but they were reminding Peter of their Terran counterpart. The major difference was that the graphics were quite impressive and many of the games were controlled not by buttons or levers but by sheer movement of the player. Whenever Ravagers were staying on Xandar, Peter were looking for arcade games in their neighborhood. He managed to play most of them and he still didn't have enough. He could spent the whole life here if it weren't for Yondu who – sooner or later – was dragging him back to ship or place they've stayed in.

Right now Peter was so absorbed by the game that he didn't care who was entering the shop. He also didn't realize when Dorr came in and joined the line-in behind the boy. That way the Arcturan could observe his target without rising the suspicions of other customers or even the Ravager outside the shop.

The red coat – an unofficial dress code of the Ravagers – seemed to suit this normal looking boy well. Dorr has been informed that the kid is eleven years old and he's from little background planet called Terra. Terran children were quite weak, even if they were already eleven. Still, for some reason he became a Ravager. Yondu must have been crazy to take a useless youngling who could not defend himself from danger and meant only an additional mouth to be fed. Yet, for some reason he did and now there was a Ravager-in-training on his team.

There had to be something about that kid. Something that made Yondu take him from Terra.

Dorr's mind returned to his main goal. He looked around the shop for any ideas as to how fulfill his task. He had a few things that could be proven useful in theft he was planning, but first there was the tricky part.

Suddenly his eyes landed on the shop's bathroom and then – on the guy who was standing next to Peter and cheering for him, while holding a bottle of soda. Dorr smiled as his plan gained an outline.

"This one looks really nice." Yondu pointed out at a pottery figure of bunny-like creature with antennas.

"Ah, yes." The broker responded, a bit nervously. "It's actually a handmade. A really skillful crafter worked on it."

You always had hard time dealing with customers like Yondu Udonta. Customers like that one time seemed to be genuinely interested in some product and then suddenly reveal that they were looking for some information, you know better to give up… While other time they spot some weird things no other customer wanted to buy, and you never know if they are really interested, or if it's a prelude to some nasty interrogation.

"Just tell me the price." Yondu said, eyeing the merchant.

"Of course, of course. 50 units."

Dorr extended his arms and gave a fake yawn. Then he went away from the line-in and ordered a soda. He opened the bottle and, taking one sip, approached the guy next to the boy. When the Arcturan was close enough, he tripped, letting both his and the other guy's soda spill all over Peter. Later everything went just as Dorr has predicted: the kid had to stop playing due to him being all wet and sticky from soda. He could not return to the game, all the scores has been lost. The kid was very pissed. He even cursed: "Damn it!" and gave both of his accidental assailants an angry look.

"Look what you have done!" He yelled at them. "This is just disgusting!"

Kraglin, alarmed by Peter's sudden outburst, peaked through the shop's door and raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, it is disgusting." He commented. "Although, not as much as that time when a Badoon threw up on you."

"Thanks for bringing that up." Peter growled at him angrily. The he gave a soft sigh. "What should I do?"

"I don't know, kid. Maybe you should try to dry it up?" The mechanic suggested.

"There is a full body drier in the bathroom." Said the owner of the shop.

"But I don't know how to use that thing!" Peter exclaimed.

Kraglin didn't like the fact that he would have to help the kid with drying himself up. He had been just interrupted with really heated and really important bargain. He only wanted to go back to Palder and haggle a good price for a brand new condenser.

But someone offered to dry Peter instead of him.

"Let me help you, kid." Dorr said, trying to look very apologetic. "I feel stupid for what happened."

"I should go too." The other guy added but Dorr turned to him and replied:

"No, you don't have to. I am the one who tripped on you and made it all happen."

And before the unnamed soda drinker could say anything else, Dorr took Peter by hand and directed him to the bathroom. That was the moment when Kraglin started to suspect something. The Arcturan was too nice…

"Do you buy it or not?" Palder turned the mechanic's attention on the condenser.

Kraglin went back to making the bargain. He had to take care of it or a good deal will miss him. Besides – Peter knew what he should do if things got nasty.

Later the Ravager's mechanic will consider this decision as one of the most stupid decisions he had ever made.

Yondu had already bought five figures and seriously considering buying another one, this time one depicting a pretty girl in long, colorful dress and with a sheep. The blue alien remembered that his Terran cargo-turned-Ravager told him once about dolls called Barbie, which were weird and wore a really stupid clothes, but somehow female younglings on his planet liked to play them. Right now Yondu wondered if the thing in front of him was actually a Barbie doll.

And then a really weird thought crossed his mind. Maybe he should buy something to Peter… It was a funny thought, because generally he was mostly buying kid clothes and food… and sometimes even some medicine. The practical stuff. A doll like that wouldn't be practical at all.

"Yondu, are you sure, you want to buy that?" Horuz spoke to him. "Because it's not worth your month's earnings."

His captain had to admitted that the guy was right. Nevertheless, he decided to spent some time to just admire broker's collections more.

In the bathroom, Dorr directed Peter to one of shower-like cabins. There – instead of shower – was row of pipes and fans, coming from various directions – little ones on the ground and sides, and a bigger ones on the ceiling. The problems started with "navigation" of this device. The buttons on the door had a weird writing Peter could not decode, even with his translating chip.

"Okay, I'm inside. What should I do, now?" He asked the Arcturan outside.

The man opened the door, clicked some code and closed. Suddenly a breeze of hot air washed over Peter. He still felt sticky but less so than when he was wet. He didn't realize that a foreign gas got through the crack between the door and the floor.

Kraglin made a good deal, but he felt that something wasn't right. Heavy with new equipment, he entered the shop and started to look for Peter. The owner told him that the kid was still in the bathroom, so the mechanic went there immediately.

He found neither him, nor the suspiciously nice Arcturan. He checked all the driers and all toilet stools, but no trace of Peter. He did, however, smelled a trace of a certain chemical scent, and Kraglin's mind quickly got into right conclusions. Soon his search led him to the back exit of the shop, which were opening on the alley. He ran outside and started to shout after the Terran boy, at the same time looking around for the Arcturan man.

It was like they vanished in the air, but Kraglin knew they couldn't. There was only one solution – he came too late. But this thought didn't let him down. The mechanic started to look for another clues as to what could have happened.

And the more Kraglin was looking, the more scared he was for his life if Yondu would ever find out. But he will find out either way and telling him immediately could prove to be more practical and less suicidal than letting him find out from outside sources.

"It's good to make business with you, mister Udonta!" Said the broker happily. "I offer myself for the future trades."

Yondu and Horuz went outside and then they directed to Garlog's Bar. It didn't take them long to get there but when they did and spotted the rest of the Ravagers at the bar, Yondu already knew that something was wrong. That something was… missing. And he didn't have to check the list of his comrades, to know who wasn't there.

Right when he was going to look for his mechanic and the youngest member of his crew, Kraglin busted frantically into Garlog's Bar and exclaimed, panic clear in his voice:

"Yondu! Something… horrible happened! The kid…!"

Ugonta's eyes were fixed on Kraglin, waiting for him to spill it up. He did, however, raised his eyebrow and asked the mechanic:

"Is he… dead?"

"No, boss! He has been kidnapped!"

As some of you can see this is a story mentioned in "Of father figures" (also it is my first multi-chap to Guardians of the Galaxy fandom). At first I planned for Dorr to buy Peter drinks, so he would have to go to pee, but decided against this idea for various reasons (one of them being the fact that it was a stupid plan). I probably also made both Peter and Kraglin idiots in this fic.