Chapter One

Marlinspike Hall was ablaze with morning cheer. The branches of the trees blew pleasantly in the light morning wind, the sun danced through the windows, and birds sang as if they didn't have a care in the world. The mansion itself looked grand as always, and the passersby outside sometimes halted their early morning walks for a second or two to admire its beauty.

Yes, thought Vicki to herself as she opened the curtains to her room. I'm lucky to live in such an impressive house. And that's putting it mildly. She smiled as she whirled around, her ginger hair flying, her light blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight. She loved Marlinspike, and the adventures and good times it had brought her.

Of course, it hadn't been so easy to find good times before that…

She shook the thought out of her head. It was a splendid morning, why worry oneself with the past?

Because the past is ever present.

Vicki sighed as she plopped down on her bed and closed her eyes. It wasn't her fault that her parents had been drug addicts, that they had forced her poor older brother, Tiger, to follow their example, that Tiger had become a different person. When her parents had died that night from too much marijuana, Vicki had felt no remorse at all. And she wasn't feeling guilty about that, either. Her parents had never cared a bit about her, or her brother.

Tiger had been sent to a drug rehab, and she had been sent to live with her cousin, Tintin, whom she had never heard of before. But when she had met him, she decided that he wasn't bad at all; in fact, he fought against drugs! Vicki smiled at this. She had been living in Marlinspike for about a month now, and gotten to know Captain Haddock, a retired sea captain, Professor Calculus, whom she often thought of as a mad scientist and rarely was able to hear exactly what was being stated to him, and Nestor, the butler.

And especially Tintin, who was the only family member Vicki had ever had that cared about her, that is, after her brother started doing drugs.

And who could forget Snowy? Vicki sighed happily as she thought about Tintin's loyal, little white dog. A fox terrier, she had decided. Snowy was the best, and Vicki played with him as much as she could.

And then there were Thompson and Thomson. Vicki grinned as she recalled the clumsy detectives who stumbled over their own two feet quite a lot. They stopped by once in a while to talk to Tintin about some case or another, and he always gave his sage advice which, when followed by the detectives, always seemed to work.

Vicki rolled onto her stomach. It was time to start another glorious day at Marlinspike. Her heart burst with happiness as she opened the door, not to her insane parents, or her insane brother, but to a beautiful mansion. She raced down the stairs to the breakfast table, where Tintin and Captain Haddock were already up and eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Vicki," greeted Tintin, smiling warmly as he gestured to an empty seat.

Captain ignored her entrance, which was odd, since he usually had a gruffer version of Tintin's acknowledgement. "I say, have you seen this article on…"

"Drug smuggling, yes," Tintin finished for him. "The Thompsons rung me late last night and told me they were on the case. Which means they should be here any minute now."

"Drug smuggling?" Vicki asked, intrigued.

"Yes," Tintin answered absently, staring out the window, his brow furrowed like it always was when he was thinking. "In South America. It's grown to be rather a big problem, and Interpol has decided to step in." He narrowed his eyes and began twirling his cereal spoon around in his bowl.

"Miss Victoria," called Nestor, rushing in. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Toast's fine. Thanks, Nestor," she said, taking the seat Tintin had gestured to. "Captain, do they know who's behind it?"

"No leads," Captain said glumly. He rustled the paper and flipped the page.

Vicki swallowed and glanced between Tintin, who was thinking so hard he had begun to mutter to himself, to Captain, who had settled back in his chair and seemed to be pondering something, hiding his face in the morning paper.

"Come on, what is it?" she asked. "I can tell it's not a normal case."

Tintin averted his cousin's eyes and gazed at the perfectly polished floor. Captain cleared his throat loudly and folded up the paper, raising his eyebrows at Tintin.

"Well?" Vicki prompted them.

"It's marijuana," Tintin said softly. "And the police have reason to believe it's the very same drug company that sold to your parents."

Captain settled back in his chair and lit his pipe. Vicki wondered if he was trying to ease the tension.

"Then…" Vicki gazed at her cousin. "I might be able to tell you some things."

"Yes," said Tintin eagerly. "I realize it's a sore subject, but please, Vicki, it would help the police out so much, and you still have access to your old house, you might be able to dig something up…"

Vicki bit her lip and glanced at Captain, who had buried himself in the paper again. Nestor entered carrying a plate of toast and set it on the table. From the floor, Snowy let out an exhilarated whimper as the cat always lurking around Marlinspike ran in, then retreated down the hall.

"I might not be able to remember it all," she said slowly. "But I'll help in any way I possibly can."

"There's a good lass," said Captain, who had been listening from behind the papers, obviously awaiting her response.

Vicki smiled nervously and opened her mouth to say something when the doorbell rang.

"And who would like to take a guess as to who that is?" asked Tintin, smirking a bit.

Captain grimaced and puffed on his pipe. "Here we go again, on another wild adventure. Out of all the reporters in the world, I had to meet this one."

Tintin grinned and raced for the door as Captain shook his head and rolled his eyes, and Vicki knew that he was just joking. She ran after Tintin and skidded to a slick halt in the entrance hall.

"Hello, Tintin!" said the two men as one, giving Nestor their hats and canes.

"Good morning, detectives," said Tintin, smiling as he led them to the sitting room. Vicki followed close behind, hoping that Tintin would let her stay for the interview.

"So, gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Tintin asked. Vicki hovered in the doorway, waiting to be invited in.

"Well, actually," Thompson started, then noticed Vicki. "Good morning, Vicki!"

"Good morning, sirs," she returned, entering and sitting by Tintin on the couch.

"It's about what we were telling you last night," Thompson continued to Tintin. "About the drug smuggling in South America."

"Yes." Tintin nodded and interlaced his fingers. "I read the article in the paper today. Did it contain all the facts?"

"The public ones, yes," Thomson answered.

"Give me the private ones," Tintin declared, leaning forward slightly, his eyes sparkling.

"The operation is run by a man you know well," said Thompson.

"Quite right, Thompson; the well is run by a man you know through operation," Thomson clarified.

"Who?" asked Tintin.

"I trust you remember our good friend Rastapopoulos?" inquired Thompson.

"Of course I remember Rastapopoulos," answered Tintin. "But I thought he had given up on drug smuggling."

"Wait, who's Rastapopoulos?" asked Vicki, glancing from Tintin to the Thompsons and then back again.

"Rastapopoulos is a drug smuggler, whose operation failed. He then tried to kidnap the millionaire Lazlo Carreidas, and that little scheme failed miserably. Not that I remember how," he added, slightly confused. "I have a feeling that he shouldn't be alive, but I just can't remember…" he shook his head slightly. "It's of little concern. We need to focus on getting him behind bars now."

"What's the plan?" Vicki asked Tintin.

"The plan is that we go to South America and see what awaits us," he said, a little surprised. "Whereabouts?" he asked the Thompsons, taking out some paper and a pen.

"Caracas, capital of Venezuela," replied Thomson.

"Brilliant. I should like to accompany you on your voyage," said Tintin. It was more of an order than a request.

"Of course, Tintin," said Thompson. "We shall be glad to have you along."

"Wait!" Vicki cried. "I want to come!"

The detectives and her cousin turned to look at her.

"I want to make sure they're stopped. I want them behind bars. I want marijuana to disappear off the face of the earth." She crossed her arms stubbornly and waited for an argument.

No one defied her, so she assumed that was a yes. "When are we leaving?" she asked

"I have tickets for tomorrow," answered Thomson.

"We'll meet you at the airport. See you then, gentlemen. Goodbye," Tintin called as the departing police grabbed their hats and sticks and promptly tripped on their way out.

Their argument became distant as Tintin and Vicki headed into the kitchen again. "Can't you watch where you're going?" "Where I'm going! You're the one who tripped, I was just following!" "Exactly, you were too close, how was I supposed to…"

Thank you for reading! Please review and tell me anything I did wrong. I will accept good and bad reviews! I tried to stick to everyone's characters, and I think I did a pretty good job staying consistent, but please tell me if I didn't. Thank you!