Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers: Old Flame, Old Habits

Chapter 2

While Monty, Gadget and Zipper were all thinking of going to bed, Chip began to wonder whether he wanted to wait up for Dale. Before he had made up his mind about this, Dale came home.

'Hi, Dale,' said Gadget. 'We weren't expecting you back yet.'

'Not much of a date, was it?' said Monty.

'Oh, it wasn't a date,' said Dale.

'So why did Clarice want to see you?' asked Chip.

'She wanted me to go with her to an audition for some musical. You know, for moral support. So I did. She got the part. She wants us all to go see it on opening night, but that won't be for a few weeks.'

'A few weeks?' said Chip. 'That doesn't give the actors much time to rehearse.'

'It doesn't?' said Dale.

'No. Rehearsals for these things are supposed to go on for months.'

'Oh. Well, it's only a little production, and everyone seems real keen to get started.'

'So,' said Gadget, 'I guess this means there was no reason for you guys to get so worked up about Clarice.'

'I guess not,' said Chip. 'Although I could wonder why she didn't want any moral support from me.'

'She probably thought you had better things to do,' said Dale, and suddenly Chip felt angry again about the whole thing.

'I think there's something you're not telling me,' he said.

'Yeah, well,' said Dale, 'I don't have to tell you everything.'

Having said this, he went to bed, leaving Chip to fume and the other three Rangers to feel awkward. They were silent for a long time. Then finally, Gadget said, 'Golly, Chip, maybe you guys just need to sit down and talk about your feelings.'

'Maybe Dale just needs to tell me what's going on,' said Chip. 'If he was getting… you know… involved with Clarice, I could live with that.'

'Really?' said Monty. 'You could have fooled me, mate.'

'Like you said, Monterey,' said Chip, 'old habits die hard. You're right, Gadget - I'll go and have a good talk to Dale about it right now.'

Chip went, and found Dale settling down for the night on his bunk. Chip sat down on the bottom bunk, and said, 'I'm sorry I've been ratty about this whole thing, Dale. It was just weird, seeing her again, and then finding out she preferred you was… well, it was a surprise.'

'She doesn't prefer me,' said Dale. 'She just wanted me to go to this audition.'

'Is that all it was? An audition? Because if it wasn't, I'd be okay with that.'

'Oh no, that's definitely all it was. I don't feel that way about her anymore, Chip.'

Chip, having come to realise that he didn't really feel 'that way' about Clarice anymore either, decided to be sensible and forget the whole thing. After all, if he didn't feel that way and Dale didn't feel that way, there was no reason for anybody to get upset, so Chip awoke the next morning in the best of spirits. His mood soon began to sour, however, when Dale developed a habit of sneaking off around lunchtime and then refusing to tell anybody where he'd been.

'Where do you go?' Chip demanded, more than once, when Dale got home just in time for dinner.

'Nowhere,' Dale would say.

'Well,' Chip said, after about the fifteenth time, when they were all eating round the table, 'you're going to have to stop going "nowhere" and start remembering that you're a Rescue Ranger. Monterey and I have been checking up on Fat Cat every now and then while Gadget and Zipper were at the police station.'

'Oh,' said Dale. 'Did you find anything out?'

'Fat Cat doesn't seem to be doing anything,' said Monty. 'He sends those minions of his out occasionally, but all they come back with are the day's papers.'

'Don't forget, Monterey,' said Chip, 'it's only been three of them. We haven't seen any sign of Snout since before we followed Mepps to that forest.'

Dale opened his mouth to speak, but didn't. Then he changed his mind, and said, 'It's not unusual for Snout to be missing. Fat Cat doesn't use him all the time.'

'Well,' said Chip, 'we're not worrying about him for now. I want to try and find out what's in the papers that Fat Cat's finding so interesting. Maybe it'll tell us if he's planning a robbery or something. So we're staking out his casino tomorrow night.'

'Tomorrow?' said Dale. 'Well, I guess I can do tomorrow.'

'You will do tomorrow,' Chip said, 'especially if the only other place you might have to be is "nowhere". Anyway, it has to be tomorrow, because the night after that we're going out.'

'We are?' said Dale.

'To Clarice's show,' said Gadget. 'She invited us a few days ago.'

'You'd know that if you were ever here,' said Chip.

'It should be a fun night,' said Monty. 'Have you ever seen Calamity Jane, Dale?'

'No,' said Dale, looking down at his plate and playing with his food.

'You do surprise me, mate, all the movies you've seen.'

'I haven't seen it either,' said Gadget. 'I guess musical westerns aren't really my thing. That is, I wouldn't think of watching one if I hadn't been invited. I'm not saying I don't want to go or anything. I'll be very interested to see Clarice perform.'

'See what all the fuss is about, eh, love?' said Monty.

Dale remained quiet for the rest of the evening, and then went to bed early, saying that he was tired.

'That's another thing,' Chip said to Monty and Zipper, when Dale had gone and Gadget had disappeared to her workshop. 'Why is he so tired all of a sudden?'

'I guess it's whatever he's been doing in the afternoons,' said Monty.

Chip frowned. 'Yeah, that's what I thought.'

'Don't worry about it, Chipper. Just watch a bit of telly with me and Zipper, and then tomorrow we'll all enjoy a nice stakeout together, all right?'

Monty's promise of a stakeout was fulfilled, although not everyone considered it 'nice'. Chip seemed content to watch the door of Fat Cat's casino from the Ranger Wing, parked under the water tower on the factory roof, all day. The others, however, began to tire of it after no one had been in or out for several hours.

'How long are we going to have to sit here?' Dale asked at length.

'Until something happens,' said Chip.

'Nothing's going to happen!' said Dale. 'Right now I could be…'

'What?'

'Nothing.'

Several minutes passed. Then suddenly Chip sat up a little, and broke the silence by saying, 'Everybody shush! Look, Mepps and Wart have brought up some newspapers. Zipper, go after them.'

Dale sat up and took notice as Zipper left his seat and shot off after Fat Cat's two henchmen, who were indeed struggling under the burden of two or three broadsheet newspapers. All too soon, however, they went through the door in the chest of the golden cat and were out of sight. The only thing to do now was wait for Zipper to return, hopefully with some information, and perhaps even a page or a cutting.

'Shouldn't you be getting your sleep, Dale?'

The voice came from above. The four Rangers looked up in surprise, and saw that Foxglove and her friend Liddy were hanging from a narrow bar above them. It was Liddy who had spoken.

'Hi, you two,' said Dale.

'Hi, cutie,' said Foxglove.

'Why should Dale be getting his sleep?' asked Chip.

'For tomorrow night,' said Liddy, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

'Tomorrow night?' said Chip, turning round in his seat to look at Dale. 'You can't go and do bat stuff tomorrow night, Dale. We're going to Clarice's show, remember?'

Dale looked uncomfortable.

'Clarice's show?' said Liddy. 'Wait… didn't you tell them, Dale? No way - you freak! Why would you not tell them?'

'Tell us what?' asked Gadget.

'He's in it,' said Liddy. 'That's right, isn't it, Dale? Clarice's show is your show.'

'Well,' said Dale, 'I wouldn't call it my show. It's not a very big part.'

'So that's where you've been sneaking off to,' said Gadget.

'Yeah,' said Dale.

'Why on earth didn't you tell us, mate?' asked Monty.

'It wasn't because of anything to do with me, was it?' asked Chip. 'Look, if you're in this show with Clarice… well, that's just swell. I mean, if you really think that's the best use of your time…'

'Oh, there, you see?' said Dale. 'I knew you'd be like this.'

'I'm not being like anything,' said Chip. 'So… how on earth did that happen?'

'I really don't know,' said Dale. 'I went with Clarice to the audition, because she said she wanted moral support, just like I told you. Then she persuaded me to audition as well, and I was given a part. That's all.'

'That's all, huh?' said Chip. 'Well, now I really wonder why Clarice asked you and not me.'

'Do you want to be in the show, Chip?' asked Foxglove.

'Not really,' said Chip. 'It's just… kind of weird that she asked Dale to do that.'

'I'll say it is,' said Liddy. 'Just who is this Clarice person, anyway? Is she going to be upsetting my girl? Do I need to kick her butt?'

'Liddy…' said Foxglove.

'Hush, Foxglove,' said Liddy, placing a wing gently over Foxglove's mouth. 'Come on, Dale, answer the question.'

'She's an old friend of mine and Chip's,' said Dale.

'What kind of old friend?'

'Well, if you really want to know, Chip and I were both desperately in love with her.'

'And now?' said Liddy.

'And now,' said Dale, 'she and I are appearing in a production of Calamity Jane together.' There was a note of incredulity to his voice as he said this.

'And that's all?'

'Is this any of your business, Liddy?' asked Chip.

'That's all,' said Dale, before Liddy could start getting angry.

'I can't wait to see it, Dale,' said Foxglove. 'I bet you're a wonderful actor.'

'Probably not really,' said Dale, 'but I do think it's a good part for me. The rest of the cast is fantastic - I really think you'll enjoy the show. The girl playing Calamity is really good.'

'You mean Clarice?' asked Liddy.

'No,' said Dale. 'Clarice isn't the lead, but she does have a big part, and she's great too. As a performer,' he added, catching the look Liddy was shooting down at him. 'I don't know why she was talking about getting up a trio of singing chipmunks - she can do way better than that.'

'Oh, she's a chipmunk?' said Liddy.

'Yes,' said Chip. 'So what?'

'No, nothing, I just, I didn't think you guys were into that.'

No one quite knew what to say to this. Then at last Gadget said, 'Well golly, Dale, I'm really looking forward to the show now. These things are always ten times more enjoyable if your friends are in them.'

'I just know you'll be terrific, Dale,' said Foxglove. 'I've been looking forward to watching you for weeks.'

'Really?' said Chip. 'Dale invited you weeks ago?'

'Don't be like that, Chipper,' said Dale. 'I just thought you might be weird about it.'

'And you were,' said Liddy.

'Sounds like Zipper's coming,' said Foxglove. 'I was wondering what had happened to him. Liddy, remember -'

'Not to eat him, I know.'

'Good work, Zipper!' said Chip, as Zipper flew back to the Ranger Wing carrying a rolled up sheet of newspaper. 'Did anyone see you?'

Zipper shook his head.

'Even carrying that thing?' said Liddy. 'They must be pretty stupid.'

'We'd better be going, Liddy,' said Foxglove. 'But we'll see you all tomorrow night at the show, I guess.'

'You bet, love,' said Monty. 'We'll all sit together - make a real party of it.'

Chip shot him a dirty look.

'Bye, cutie,' said Foxglove.

'Bye, Foxy,' said Dale.

She and Liddy took off. Dale watched them go, sure that Liddy was already beginning to voice all kinds of opinions and advice on Clarice's return and how Foxglove should feel about it.

'Hold this,' said Chip, and Dale found himself struggling under the awkward bulk of the rolled up sheet of newspaper. As Chip started up the Ranger Wing, Gadget turned round and helped Dale, Monty and Zipper to fold the newspaper down to a manageable size.

There was no attempt to take the double page inside headquarters. It would have taken up the living room at least, so instead the Rangers laid it out on the ground and weighed down the corners with Dale, Gadget, Monty and the Ranger Wing. It was a cool summer's night, with nowhere near enough breeze to blow the paper away, but quite enough to be inconvenient. Chip walked over the page, examining it carefully in the light from the Ranger Wing's headlamp, while Zipper hovered above him.

'So,' said Chip, 'we have the horoscopes, half an arson story and a page of snooty theatre reviews.'

'Not to mention what's on the other side,' said Dale.

Chip frowned, annoyed that he hadn't thought of that first. Then he looked at Zipper. 'Are you sure you don't know which part Fat Cat was interested in?'

Zipper shook his head, spreading his hands apologetically. As he had told Monty in the Ranger Wing, Fat Cat had taken out the double page, read something for a few minutes and then discarded it when someone came to tell him a fight had broken out in the casino.

'All right,' said Chip, 'so we need to try and get another one of his papers and see which parts match up. Dale and Monterey, I want you to get off your corners, and we'll help you flip the paper over.'

This feat was accomplished without too much effort, thanks chiefly to Zipper and his powers of flight.

'A sale on wedding dresses?' said Monty. 'How can they put this before arson?'

'I doubt Fat Cat wants a wedding dress,' said Chip. 'And if he did, a human-sized one wouldn't be much good to him. So… we'd better try and look at the other page.'

He thought this would have to involve moving the Ranger Wing, but then Zipper grabbed the folded edge of the paper and lifted it just enough for his friends (bar Gadget, who was still on her corner) to see what was on the other side. The page contained a few advertisements, and a trashy column about finding love in the city.

'Fat Cat could have been looking at any of this,' said Chip. 'Well, almost. It probably wasn't any of the girly stuff. Could it have been the reviews? Why is everyone obsessed with the theatre all of a sudden?'

'All right,' said Dale, 'I guess now is the time to mention it. You know that place where we followed Mepps to a few weeks ago?'

'Of course,' said Chip. 'What about it?'

'That's where we're doing the show.'

'What?'

'Don't go nuts - it's not a big deal.'

'It is a big deal!' said Chip. 'If you're sure you've got this right. It hadn't changed at all when I checked on it… oh. That was five days ago, wasn't it?'

'It took some guys a day and a half to set it up,' said Dale. 'It looks real nice. I've been there rehearsing almost every day since they built it, and there's been no sign of Fat Cat or any of his gang. If there was, I'd have mentioned it.'

'So,' said Monty, 'what does this mean? Fat Cat's developed a sudden interest in the theatre? What does that tell us?'

'Maybe he just wants to take in a show,' said Dale. 'Everyone needs to relax once in a while.'

'Chip,' said Gadget. 'Can I move the Ranger Wing now?'

'Just a minute, Gadget,' said Chip. 'Let's try and fold this thing up and put it somewhere safe. We might need to look at it again.'

Folding the newspaper up was a harder task than unfolding it had been, but they managed it eventually. Then Gadget and Monty stuffed the paper into the Ranger Wing and flew it up to headquarters. Zipper, Chip and Dale made their own way up the tree, the two chipmunks bickering as they went.

'You should have told us,' said Chip. 'This could be really important.'

'But nothing's happened,' said Dale, 'and the place doesn't smell of any animal except rodents. Anyway, you're all going to be there on opening night.'

'Oh, right,' said Chip, as they made their way inside. 'It's only opening night, isn't it? I didn't even think about that. So just how much is your showbiz career going to keep you away from us, Dale? Is it one of those eight shows a week things?'

'No,' said Dale. 'It's two nights and one afternoon a week for six weeks, and I'll have to go to a few more rehearsals and meetings and stuff, just sometimes. No one knows yet if it's going to carry on after that, but if it does, I won't stay with it.'

'I guess Clarice will want it to carry on.'

'Oh, I'm sure she'll be able to find something else. I mean, she's still… you know…'

'Yeah, she is.'

They held each other's gaze for a few seconds, smiling impishly. Then Gadget and Monty came in and broke the moment, Gadget saying, 'We stuffed it into the hole where you guys like to put your nuts. I hope that's okay.'

'That's fine, Gadget,' said Chip. 'We won't get the urge to start storing food at least until Dale's show finishes.'

'Why is it my show all of a sudden?' asked Dale. 'You're going to see Clarice.'

'I'm not,' said Gadget. 'I don't even really know Clarice, but I know you.'

'Same here,' said Monty.

'And here!' Zipper buzzed.

'I'm starting to feel a little nauseous,' said Dale.

'Are you nervous?' asked Monty. 'That's not like you, pally.'

'Clarice says nerves are a good thing because they mean you care about what you're doing,' said Dale. 'I was just doing it for fun - I didn't know I cared that much.'

Chip put his arm around Dale, and said to the others, 'I'd say he was hoping to impress someone.'

'Who?' asked Dale.

'I'm not sure. One of these girls who keep showing up and falling in love with you, I guess. Maybe all of them.'

'Don't exaggerate, Chipper,' said Monty. 'You mean both, at the most. Unless you think Liddy's fallen in love with him too.'

'She hasn't,' said Dale, 'and Clarice isn't in love with me either. She just thought it'd be fun if I acted in Calamity Jane with her.'

'I think there's more to it than that, Dale,' said Monty.

'Well,' said Dale, 'so do I, actually. I just can't quite figure it out.'

'You know what, Dale?' said Gadget. 'Liddy was right - you need your sleep. What time do you have to get up in the morning?'

'I have to be at the theatre by two thirty.'

'Go to bed now,' Gadget said, 'and I'll wake you at ten. That way you'll get your eight hours.'

'Okay, Gadget,' said Dale, in a faraway voice, and he went.