The story takes place no less than a week after a Gru steals the moon. During this short period, he faced another roller coaster of unexpected anxieties!
Having woke up one morning to a Server standing at his door with an assessment paper from theMayor himself! Gru was horrified to learn that he was getting sued by the city, for 2.5 million in damages for crashing his rocket in the street! The notice stated that if he didn't pay the fine within a month, he'd go to prison! And the timing from this couldn't have been more horrible. For he, Nephario, and the minions were flat broke, having sunk every dime into the rocket, which they were now threatening to scrap piece by piece! And what made matters worse was. . .that if Gru went to prison this time, he would lose the girls permanently. (Who he made sure didn't have a clue to what was really going on.)
And just the thought of that made him sick to his stomach.
Meanwhile, the word of his homemade rocket made the headlines all over the world. Which began to attract other interested parties.
Again. . .waking up to a firm knock on his door. Gru actually met Nephario in the living room, and slowly made his way to the door. Looking through the peephole, he felt his stomach turn to ice to the sight of two men in suits.
Gulping, he choked out in a cracked voice. "These is it. . .I guess they couldn't wait a month. . ."
Unlatching the door, he slowly opened it and faced the very thing he'd been dreading all week. Immediately, one of the two men asked,
"Are you Felonious Gru?" Eyes rolling upward from his first name being pronounced, Gru sadly nodded. "Yes. . ."
Now he noticed the way the guy looked toward the other fellow, then nodded. "Might we have a word with you privately, sir?"
Somewhat confused, he nodded and replied, "Sure. . .come in."
They hadn't even stepped inside when the taller of the two replied,
"Sir. . .we're representatives from the Kennedy Space Center. . ."
For a minute, Gru wasn't sure he heard him correctly. "W-What?"
"I said. . .we're from NASA. . ."
Now Gru found himself chuckling with disbelief. "Naw. . .Dis is a joke, right?"
Not at all amused, the shorter one replied, "Sir, we never joke. Not when it comes to sophisticated aviation. And we heard about your rocket. . .and your crises." He stressed, as Gru looked away from him. "The Mayor allowed us to board your vessel, and I must say that I was absolutely amazed with the technology that was extremely advanced. . .but very basic. You had parts on that ship that come from your own home. . ."
Rather mortified, Gru shrugged, "Ehh. . .Yes sir. We were a leetle strapped for money so. . .we used what we had."
"But that's what makes it so unique. The fact that it still worked is ingenious."
"Well. . . that doesn't really matter. " Gru irritably replied, as Nephario folded his arms with frustration. "Cause dey steel want to scrap it!" "
"Yes, we know. And we can't have that. That's why we're here. We wanted to know if you'd be interested in selling it to us. . ."
"What?!" they both chimed at the same time. Seeing the disbelieving looks on their faces, the man repeated,
"I said, we'd like to buy your rocket. . .and we'd even be willing to move it off the street for you. ..at no extra charge. But. . .there is one catch."
"Um-hmm. . .Here eet comes. . ." Gru muttered through his teeth.
"We want the rights too. With signed agreement stating that it's the only prototype, and that you no longer own it."
"Meaning. . . that. . .you can design as many as you want without our say so?"
"Exactly. . ." he stated, watching as Gru scoffed under his breath.
"Dat's a little steep, isn't it?" Now the guy raised an eyebrow.
"With all due respect, sir. So is prison time. . ."
Actually insulted, Gru's arms folded in a defensive manner. "Oh, really?" Just as quickly, he felt Nephario elbow him in the ribs. "What?"
"He's right. . ." he whispered, through his teeth. "Besides. .We can always design another ship."
"But. . .dat's not de point!" Gru crossly muttered. Yet before he could finish, Nephario actually turned to him. "Gru! Think! If they want to at least cover your damages, then that's a good thing! Compared to what you had before, which was nothing. . .and what you could lose if you don't!"
No sooner did he say that did Gru began to sense that they were being watched. This caused his gaze to shift up, until he was focusing on the three girls who standing in the doorway of the living room, staring toward them with some confusion. As Agnes held onto her unicorn, the sight of this suddenly snapped Gru back to reality. Staring ahead, he realized exactly what Nephario meant. As of right now his stupid pride was about to cost him a way out of this nightmare! It had Gru looking at the man with regret.
"My apologies. . ." he muttered, as the representative nodded with understanding.
"That's no problem, sir. But. . .will you except the offer?"
Staring ahead for a minute, a faint smile crept over Gru's face.
"Yes. . . . .It's a deal." As Nephario grinned with satisfaction, Gru firmly shook the mans hand. "Splendid." he replied, opening up the briefcase.
"Now. .. after touring over your rocket, we began breaking down everything from the inside-out, including the outer hull, the computer system, and the fuel tanks. . which we found very impressive. We began comparing it to our original equipment, and this is what we'd call a Basic advanced prototype. So here is the list broken down. . ." He said, as Gru now put on his tiny reading specs. "And this is the figure we come up with." The rep specified, now pointing to the 8 digit sum on the paper. Eyes widening, a high whimper escaped Gru's throat, causing Nephario to dart up to him with alarm.
"What, Gru? What's. . .Ohhh, my word. . ." he muttered, when he gaped down at the numbers.
Slowly Gru reached up until he was shakily pulling off his specs. "I. . .I don't believe dis. Are we reading this right? Because it says 65 million-"
"Yes sir. We know this isn't the full cost of what you invested. But we wanted to pay you no less than half. Do you find that satisfactory?"
Looking at Nephario, the two of them grunted, and started laughing.
"Satisfactory? Dis. . .dis is fantastic!" Gru replied, as the man nodded with a smile on his face. "I mean. . .you had me at an advantage. So, I wasn't expecting to be paid dis much. . ."
"Sir. . ." he cut off. "NASA doesn't cheat clients. Regardless of your present situation, both of you are still very talented, and should be compensated for your work."
"Who knows. . ." the taller one added. "You two may work for NASA one day."
This had Gru and Nephario looking at each other rather playfully. Simply because the representative didn't know that he was talking to two of the worlds most diabolical villains. Grinning at him, Gru playfully replied, "I seriously doubt that. . .But then again with me. . .you never know."
Within the hour. . .
Gru, Nephario, and the girls found themselves in City Hall, sitting inside of the Mayors office. As they watched, the two agents walked inside carrying a silver briefcase, of what Gru knew was his money!
Yet. . .there was one matter that still needed to be taken care of.
Looking toward him, the NASA agent replied, "Mr. Gru. . ."
Motioning the girls to stay, he stood up and walked to the desk. "You requested a cash? Correct?"
"Yes. . ."
"Well, here is a signed statement saying you received your payoff, minus the check cut out to the Mayor, for the damages to the city." He replied, as the Mayor nodded with approval. "Now if you'll just sign the bottom here, you'll be free to go." By then Gru's hand was trembling so much that he could barely get his name on the paper. Afterward, he shakily reached for the briefcase.
"You can count it, if you want. . ." The agent replied.
"No. . .No. I'll take your wurd for it. . ." he quickly replied. "Thank you, very much." Thereafter he nervously looked at the Mayor and nodded,
"And again my apologies. . ."
This had the Mayor leaning forward a bit. "If I were you, Sir. I'd use that brilliant streak of genius you've got, to do something a little less destructive, and more productive . ." Now the Mayor watched as Gru turned and looked at the three girls, who all had smiles on their faces. Proudly looking back at him, he nodded and said, "Believe me, Sir. I intend to do just dat. . ."
But first. . .there was still one more thing that needed to be settled. A final return to the very one who rejected him. . .The one who refused him the money for his rocket, who dared say he was too old, when all the while the motives were to undermine and betray him with his own idea!
For Gru. . .Perkins was about to get the surprise of his life. And this without a doubt would be the sweetest vindication ever!