.Chapter two.
Final preparations were underway in the Ducks' changing room for the game that was about to begin.
"Ready team?" Wildwing asked.
The others just nodded their affirmative reply.
"Alright. Let's do this." With that Wildwing turned and began to lead the group out of the changing room.
The Ducks skated onto the ice to the raucous cheer of the crowd. They waved up to their adoring fans. Duke and Nosedive quickly scanned their respective sides for any sign of their new friends.
"Anything?" Duke asked, skating closer to Nosedive.
"Notta. I thought I caught a glimpse of Shiga, but… no sign of Agnus," 'Dive replied, still waving to the crowd.
Duke sighed disappointedly but then changed his mental track to the game, they had work to do now, but he couldn't completely forget about Agnus.
The two teams got into their positions and… the game began. Nosedive got a lucky move in and was able to speed the puck away from the opposition and towards the goal.
Unfortunately, his success was short lived when one of the opposing team's members whipped the puck out from under his beak.
He gritted his teeth and began to give chase with Duke and Mallory flanking him all the way.
Tanya and Grin readied themselves to defend the goal.
The crowd was noisy as ever, if not more so with the cheers coming from one particular seat.
"WOO! YEAH! Go Dive! Go!" Shiga cheered.
"It's like being eight again!" Tatiana, another friend of Shiga's, said over the noise.
"Yeah, 'cept… one of the eight-year-olds is missing," Shiga replied, looking at her friend a little sadly.
Tatiana just nodded, also feeling a bit sad about that particular aspect.
"Duke shoots! He scores!" the announcer's voice said over and above the noise of the crowd, snapping Shiga and Tatiana out of their thoughts.
"WOO-HOO!" they yelled.
When the game was over, the two girls headed through to the room that was printed on the backs of their VIP passes. Shiga knocked on the door and they heard someone say 'come in'. Opening the door they found the six ducks looking a little down. They had lost the match.
"Well, look who's here," Duke said, his mood lifting when he saw the two enter.
"We weren't expecting to see you seeing as we… lost and all," Nosedive added.
"Hey, we aren't 'fickle fans', Dive. Anaheim all the way," Shiga replied, trying to be sensitive to the Ducks' no doubt bruised egos.
"Who's your friend?" Mallory asked.
"Oh yeah! Uh, Ducks, this is Tatiana. My friend and soon to be award winning figure skater," Shiga replied with a smile.
"Oh please, Shiga. I'm just a figure skater. It is a pleasure to meet you guys," Tatiana said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you too, Tatiana," Duke replied with a smile.
"What happened to Agnus?" Nosedive asked.
"She had 'work' to do," Tatiana replied.
"Which means she's sitting in her rented room looking through the classifieds for work," Shiga replied, a little bit of irritation in her voice.
The Ducks just nodded.
"Anything particular that she's looking for?" Nosedive asked.
"Temporary work is what she usually does," Shiga replied.
"Only temp or… can it be a permanent thing?"
Shiga and Tatiana looked at each other and shrugged.
"Dunno. You'd have to ask the girl yourself," Shiga replied.
Nosedive just nodded.
"Why do you ask?" Tatiana asked, sensing that Nosedive had something in mind.
"Well,… there's a post coming up here. Janitorial work though. Semi-permanent. Our usual janitor's about to retire and they're looking for someone to replace him," Nosedive replied.
"Oh! We'll be sure to mention it to Aggie."
"Not like she'll be keen to take it though, Tat," Shiga said, folding her arms across her chest.
"Why not?" Wildwing asked.
"The location."
"Why? It's in a good neighbourhood," Duke said.
"Yeah. Has the best security this side of the world," Nosedive said, referring to himself and the other Ducks.
Shiga and Tatiana just smiled at the young drake.
"What's not to like?" he asked.
"You played a game of it tonight," Shiga replied.
"Hockey?"
Shiga just nodded.
"Come on. Just because people play a sport she doesn't like in an area doesn't mean she shouldn't work there," Duke said.
"Yeah we know. It's just…," Shiga started.
At that moment Phil walked in.
"Bubalas! Oh! Who are your friends or do I have to call security?" he asked, pulling out his cell phone.
"No, no, Phil. They're friends," Wildwing said, walking up to the girls and turning them to face the team manager, "This is Shiga and Tatiana."
"Shiga and… Tatty? Is that you?" Phil asked.
"Hello Uncle Phil," they replied in unison, to the surprise of the Ducks.
"Wow! Look at you two! Where've you been hiding? Oh! Hey, uh… sorry about that little security thing. You know what fans are like these days."
"No worries," Shiga said, waving the situation off.
"So, where have you been hiding? Have you heard from my niece recently? Y'know, I get so busy these days that personal calls… kinda don't happen."
"Oh really?" Duke asked before the girls could get a word in edgewise, "What about all those calls to your girlfriends?"
"They're business as well," Phil countered, "They're the receptionists of some guys I know."
Shiga and Tatiana couldn't help but giggle while Duke just rolled his eye at Phil's lame excuse.
"You haven't changed a bit, Uncle Phil," Tatiana said.
"Thanks, Tat. Now, questions. Answers," Phil replied.
"We've been around. Tat's learning figure skating and I'm… trying to figure out how I can get into the hockey business," Shiga replied.
"Interested in managing?"
"Sure. I'm exploring every avenue."
"I could give you some pointers if you like."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Tell you what," Phil pulled out his planner, "Meet me at the entrance to the Pond at… lunchtime Monday and we can talk over lunch. How's that sound?"
"Sure. Sounds great."
"Great. Are you still skating with Aunty Martha, Tatiana?"
"Yes. She's agreed to coach me as long as I need her to," Tatiana replied with a smile.
"That's great. You're in the best hands then. Now what else did I ask?"
"Had we seen your niece recently," the two girls replied in unison.
"Oh yeah! Have you seen, Aggs?"
"Yes. She's fine thanks," Shiga replied.
"Wait," Nosedive said, getting everyone's attention.
"What is it, Dive?" Wildwing asked.
"Agnus is your niece, Phil?"
"Yeah. Wait, you know her?" Phil asked.
"Yeah. Met her earlier today. She's manning the counter at Captain Comics."
Phil looked at Shiga and Tatiana who were trying to look as innocent as possible.
"My niece is in town and you didn't tell me?" he asked.
"Well, Aggs asked us not to," Shiga replied.
"Please tell me she's snapped out of that funk she got into a couple of years ago."
Shiga and Tatiana shook their heads sadly.
"Alright. We're going to talk to her tomorrow and you two are coming with me as back up," Phil said, putting away his planner and looking more serious than was usual for him.
"Could we have an explanation about what you're talking about 'cause…," Duke started, "We're a bit lost."
"Sorry guys. Confidential. Only those who need to know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some work to get to," Phil said.
"Okay, Uncle Phil," the two girls said.
"I'll see you outside of the Pond tomorrow morning. Then we'll go find my niece."
With that Phil began to leave.
"Yes Sir," the pair said, saluting the team manager.
He couldn't help but smile at them over his shoulder before taking his leave.
The girls turned back to the Ducks who were all looking at them for an explanation.
"So," Duke said.
"What's the deal?" Nosedive asked.
Shiga and Tatiana looked at each other.
"Hey!" Mallory said, raising her voice slightly, "'Confidential' is the polite way of saying 'none of your business'. So leave it."
"Sorry guys. Mallory's right. We can't say anything," Shiga said.
"We made a promise to Aggie," Tatiana replied.
"And we can't very well make you break that promise now can we?" Wildwing asked, specifically looking at his younger brother and the ex-thief.
"No," they reluctantly replied.
"Good."
Shiga and Tatiana smiled at the two, glad to be off the hook.
"So," Nosedive said, back to his usual bouncy self, "You girls got time for a late night snack?"
The other Ducks just rolled their eyes at the young drake while Shiga and Tatiana found it hard not to laugh while they nodded their agreement.
"So," Nosedive started through a mouthful of fries, "You girls into anything other than ice skating?"
Wildwing sighed inwardly. His little brother's lack of manners usually didn't bother him because he knew the others understood, but out in public… with new acquaintances… yeah not exactly easy to ignore.
"Not really," Shiga replied, also through a mouthful of fries, which sorta made Wing a little more relaxed about the whole manners thing.
"The three of us have been on the ice since we were toddlers. Aggie before that," Tatiana explained.
"Wait a sec," Duke said, getting everyone's attention, "Didn't Aggie say she didn't ice skate?"
"News Flash, Duke. Humans can lie," Shiga replied.
"Especially Aggie when it comes to anything hockey," Tatiana added.
"She lies to herself when it comes to that."
Shiga and Tatiana's moods immediately dampened.
"So, um…," Duke started trying to get the conversation going again, " You said she had been on the ice before you guys. Before she was a toddler."
"That's right," Tatiana replied.
"Her mom a skater then?"
"Sorta. It's more her dad."
"Really? What does he do?"
"Oh well…," Shiga started.
"We can't really say," Tatiana replied.
The Ducks looked disappointed.
"Another secret?" Nosedive asked, still with his mouth full.
"Dive. Swallow," Wildwing said, the whole talking-with-mouthful thing was getting on his nerves.
Nosedive complied and smiled at his brother.
"Thank you. Sorry, continue," he said to the two girls.
"No probs," Shiga replied with a smile.
"Yeah, another secret I'm afraid," Tatiana replied.
"I think I'm gonna come with you guys tomorrow when Phil goes to talk to her," Nosedive said.
Shiga and Tatiana looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes.
"Bad idea?" Mallory asked.
"Terrible," Shiga replied.
"No offence, Nosedive, but… having you there will cause more problems than otherwise would occur. The situation is…," Tatiana said, stopping only because she couldn't find the right words.
"Incredibly delicate," Shiga said.
"Precisely."
"You sure? I can be pretty good in delicate situations," Nosedive said.
"You?" the others, bar Wildwing, asked.
"Yeah. I'm the cuddly one of the group," Nosedive replied, hugging himself to emphasize the point.
Mallory, Duke, Tanya and Grin just looked at him with a mixture of disturbance and 'you're crazy'.
The two girls couldn't help but giggle. Nosedive's 'up' attitude seemed to melt from the response from the others.
"I'm sure you are, Nosedive," Tatiana said, trying to cheer the young drake up.
"But 'cuddly' isn't exactly what we need here," Shiga replied with a smile.
"Understood," Wildwing said, before Nosedive could continue to argue.
"Though maybe Grin would be interested in coming with," Shiga said, looking in the large drakes direction.
"Huh?" the others asked, including Tatiana.
"Yeah. Give Aggs a knock upside the head and hopefully amnesia. That way we can reprogram her."
The Ducks and Tatiana just smiled and shook their heads at her.
"I'm afraid I am a peaceful soul, Shiga. I could not do such a thing to anyone who does not deserve it," Grin said with a smile.
"Pity," Shiga said.
Just then Wildwing heard a familiar sound. Looking down the sidewalk towards the corner he found someone skating towards them and that someone was none other than…
"Aggie! Hey," he called.
Agnus stopped short and looked to see who was calling her.
Wildwing waved to her and she nodded.
"Good evening," she said, skating up to the group.
"Good evening," the Ducks replied in unison.
"I thought you had work to do," Shiga said.
"I did. Helping Mrs. O'Grundy. She's moving house soon and, being on her own, packing is a bit hard. So, I offered my assistance," Agnus replied.
"That was nice of you," Duke said.
Agnus just nodded a 'thank you' to Duke.
"It's getting late. I better be off," Agnus said, preparing to leave.
"What's the rush?" Nosedive asked.
"I have work in the morning. The comic store doesn't keep itself spic and span, Nosedive. Evening everyone." With that Agnus began to skate away from the group.
"Evening," the others replied.
"Is it just me or… did the temperature just drop?" Duke asked, watching Aggie disappear from sight.
"Don't be like that, Duke," Shiga said.
"Yeah. Aggs is a great gal when you get to know her," Tatiana added.
"If she wants to know you too I guess," Duke said.
"Ye-eah. Pretty much," Shiga replied.
Duke sighed before looking back to see if he could spot the frigid young lady, but she was gone.
"She did have a point though, it is getting late and… I guess you guys have to go on patrol or something," Shiga said, rising from her chair.
"Yeah. We've got to make our nightly sweep for Dragaunus. Take care you two," Wildwing said.
"We will. See ya 'round," the pair replied, beginning to head off for home.
"See ya," the Ducks replied in unison.
With a final smile and wave over their shoulders, Tatiana and Shiga took their leave of the Ducks.
"I would really like to know Agnus' problem," Duke said, tapping the edge of his beak with his hands clasped together and his elbows resting on the table.
"I'm sure we'll learn in time, Duke. We only met her today. Give her a couple of weeks," Wildwing said.
Duke just raised his eyebrows in reluctant agreement.