AN: Well, this is another short chapter. I decided to go ahead and upload this now because the story is supposed to be taking place in real time. Who's excited for tomorrow's update?
March 24, 1997
"That one looks nice." Nosedive casually pointed to a square cut amethyst ring in the glass case before him.
"Nah," Duke shook his head, immediately dismissing the jewelry.
"What? She wears a lot of purple. I think it'd look good on her."
"Emerald would be better. You want something that's going to stand out, not blend in."
"Afternoon," a suavely groomed gentleman stepped up to the counter to help them. A small, gold name tag told them his name was Carlo. His short, dark hair was slicked back. The perfectly trimmed mustache hiding under his nose was pencil thin. Despite the tailored cut and obvious expense of the dark suit he wore, it was the diamond encrusted ring that perched on his little finger that drew attention to itself. An expensive gold watch peeked out from under his shirt sleeve. "How can I help you?"
"Just casing the place," Duke joked, casually leaning on the counter and studying the many necklaces, bracelets, and rings held within. The open-mouthed stare he received was exactly the reaction he'd hoped to elicit.
"Can I see that one?" Nosedive asked, pointing to the amethyst ring. He did it more to draw attention away from Duke than from any real desire to see that particular ring.
"Certainly." After unlocking the case and removing the ring, he handed it to Nosedive. Half his attention was kept focused on Duke, who he obviously wasn't sure if he should trust or not.
"Nice." He nodded a little as he held it up to the light, appreciating the shine.
"Telling ya, amethyst's not her stone." The gray drake didn't even bother to look at the ring; instead, he continued to focus on the other jewelry in front of him.
"If I may," Carlo broke in. "What is her complexion?"
"Um…" Nosedive had never really considered that.
"Spring," Duke filled in for him. He knew they didn't really want to give a name and, technically, either girl could be a spring in complexion.
"Ah," Carlo nodded. "The amethyst would be good, but this one is too light." He replaced the ring Nosedive handed back to him and guided them to another case. The amethysts in this one were rougher cut and much darker in color, more of a deep violet than pale lavender.
Nosedive made a face at them. Somehow, they just didn't seem right. Nothing in there really caught his eye. Looking around some more, he spotted deep red gems. A little sign proclaimed they were garnets. Some of the gems were such a dark red they bordered on black.
"What about these?"
Duke glanced at them and frowned. He crouched down, staring intently at the jewelry, clearly not pleased with what he was seeing. Moving back and tilting his head a little, he focused very intently on a pair of earrings. After a moment, he stood and shook his head.
"Come on, Nosedive. We'll try somewhere else."
"What?" The blond drake was extremely confused by Duke's sudden dismissal of everything in the store.
Carlo narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Duke, his posture tense. After a moment, he huffed and turned his back on them, clearly insulted.
"You don't want to buy anything where they're trying to pass off glass as garnets."
"I never!" Carlo turned around to cast a death glare at the former jewel thief. "Everything in here is of the highest quality. I assure you, there is no glass in here other than the cases."
"Really?" Duke crossed his arms and met the indignant human's gaze. "Prove it."
Almost angrily, Carlo immediately unlocked the case and pulled out the earrings Duke had studied so intently. Retrieving a small, pen shaped tester from the inside pocket of his suit jacket, he touched the tip to the earrings. A series of lights lit up from red to yellow and one light into the green.
"See?" Carlo proudly showed. "Two. Glass does not have such a high reflective index."
"Yeah." Duke nodded before taking a step closer. Reaching into one of the pouches on his shoulder, he retrieved a small magnet. Holding it an inch away from the metal edging of the case, he let go and it flew to the metal, gripping tightly. Satisfied that he had demonstrated the strength of the magnet, he pried it free and held it next to the earring Carlo had just tested. The stone remained motionless, not moving from the glass surface on which it rested.
The human stared at the gem, expecting it to move. His brow furrowed as Duke gradually closed the gap between gem and magnet with no sign of movement. Frustrated, he nudged Duke's hand, forcing the blood-red stone to touch the magnet. Duke lightly pulled the magnet away and the gem remained on the glass surface, unmoved.
"Last time I checked," Duke smoothly reminded, "Garnets were magnetic."
Carlo gaped open-mouthed at the stone, then the duck, then the stone once more. Banishing the astonishment from his face, he managed to regain his composure and stood straight.
"How could you tell, just by looking?" the clerk demanded to know.
"I've got my ways," Duke shrugged. "Come on, Dive. There'r a few other places I'd like to look."
With that, the two ducks exited, leaving behind a very stunned employee.
0000
"Seriously?" Nosedive scoffed at the Pepto Bismol hued building Duke had brought him to. He'd finally agreed to let Duke pick their next store after coming up empty for two hours. "You want me to buy a ring here?" Ornate wrought iron covered the windows, slightly obscuring the neon sign that declared Dave & Diane's Jewelry and Pawnbrokers open.
"Can't hurt to look." He opened the bar-covered glass door and stood aside for Nosedive to enter before him.
The inside wasn't exactly what Nosedive had expected. He hadn't been in many pawnshops before; none, to be exact. Movies and TV shows always portrayed pawn shops as dark, cluttered, and full of junk. The clerk was supposed to be fat, unshaven, odoriferous and nefarious. If the media had any credibility, and Nosedive knew that was doubtful, this was where criminals brought stolen goods to get a quick buck. Then again, it was a former criminal bringing him here.
"Hey, Dave!" Duke greeted as he paused by the baby gate near the back of the store and reached over to pet the overly excited poodle mix. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Penny."
"Duke!" Wrinkles appeared at the corner's of his eyes as the lone human behind the counter smiled. "Been a while since I've seen you around. The only sword I have right now's that cheap China crap all the anime kids keep buying."
"Ah, that's okay." Duke and Dave shook hands. Throwing a nod towards Nosedive, he made introductions. "This here's Nosedive, our left wing. He's lookin' ta buy a ring, if ya catch my drift. Dive, meet Dave, one of the best pawnbrokers this side of the Rockies."
"Pleasure," Nosedive greeted as he too shook the meaty hand offered to him. The neatly laid out jewelry in waist high, glass cases may have been their main objective for coming here but the wall of VHS, DVD's, CD's, and books was demanding at least a little of his attention. Beanie Babies stuffed in random corners were nothing more than a distraction from the orderly shelves.
"Engagement rings are over here." Dave directed them to the case next to the baby gate and quietly whining dog. "Who's the lucky lady?"
Resting his elbows on the glass, Nosedive inspected yet another grouping of rings. "We're keeping that quiet until the wedding announcement," he said. Nothing really stood out to him. They were all diamonds in various cuts and sizes; pretty, but ultimately nothing special.
"Don't lean on the glass," Duke muttered, gently pulling his shoulder back. "It's rude."
Nosedive stared at him in confusion. Duke had been leaning on the counters at just about every jewelry store they'd been to! Nevertheless, he took a step back and removed his arms from the case.
"Hey, Dave, got anything you haven't put out yet?"
"Yeah…" Biting his lips, the sandy haired human looked down, not really seeing the assortment of rings and bracelets before him. Fingers tapping on the metal edged case, he thought. "Ricki hasn't been in for a couple weeks, so I've got quite a bit that needs to be appraised. You can go through that if you want." Turning, he vanished into a back office.
"Sure you don't want a sarang?" Duke asked his teammate while they waited.
"Yeah." An emerald ring the next case over caught Nosedive's attention. "We need something humans will understand. Rings seem to be a pretty big deal." Smiling deviously, he continued. "Besides, I could always get her a sarang when we get back to Puckworld."
"Yeah, just keep thinkin' that."
"Here we go," Dave announced as he set two black boxes on the counter. Removing the locking lids, he reveled several pieces of jewelry and watches. Each case had velvet lined dividers to separate rings from bracelets from necklaces from earrings.
"Not bad." Duke nodded appreciatively as he selected a ruby necklace. Removing a jewelers loop from his pocket, he inspected it closer.
"Find anything you want a closer look at?" Dave asked, moving closer to Nosedive.
"Yeah. Can I see that one?" He pointed to a gold ring with a green stone flanked by two blue ones.
"Ah, a very nice ring," Dave agreed, unlocking the case and removing the requested jewelry.
Nosedive held it up for a better look. Light sparkled off the vibrant green rock. He was beginning to see why Duke liked gems so much, not that he'd take to collecting them himself or anything.
"Hey, Duke. What do you think about this one?" He held it out for the gray drake's approval.
Duke carefully considered the emerald ring before him. The deep green of the pear-cut stone shone brilliantly in the gold setting. Two round topaz added their blue tone to the beauty of the piece. The color combination was beautiful, but Duke still shook his head in disgust and rejected the piece.
"Whoever cut this was was so incompetent they couldn't cut the cheese if they ate a pound of beans. Idiot shoulda cut that stone in a marquis."
"Um… Okay?" Shrugging, he handed it back to Dave. "Guess not."
"Don't let that old pirate make all your decisions for you," Dave joked. "If you like it, and if you think she'll like it, then ignore him."
"He know's what he's talking about." Nosedive didn't want to go into any detail about how Duke knew so much about gems. Still, he knew Mallory would go straight to the former jewel thief for his opinion on the ring and quality of the stone. It was better to get something he knew Duke would approve of than to disregard the expert's advice and get yelled at for it later.
Moving next to Duke, Nosedive looked through the box of unpriced jewelry. His eye was instantly drawn to an open style ring. The thin, gold band curved around itself rather than connecting into a circle. Delicate, square cut emeralds nestled into the gold in a solid stripe. When Mallory wore the ring, it would give the illusion of being two.
"This one." He knew it. Mallory would love this ring. It was every bit as unique as she.
"Whoa." An unmistakable look of approval settled over Duke's face as he took the piece from Nosedive. "I think we found it." Humming positively, he studied the gems with his jewelers loop and set the ring down. "Still, can't hurt to keep looking."
"What size do you need?" Dave asked, pulling out a metal pole with measurements etched into it. The tapered tip grew thicker at the base, allowing any number of ring sizes to be gaged.
"Um…" Suddenly, Nosedive realized exactly what he had forgotten to find out before leaving this morning.
"Don't know, do ya?" Duke smirked.
"Small?" Nosedive offered hopefully.
"Figured as much." Reaching into his interior pocket, Duke removed one of Mallory's power gloves. She almost always wore the purple, fingerless glove on her right hand. Small electrodes embedded in the back of it helped increase her punching strength.
"Dude, she's going to kill you if she finds out you've been messing with her gear!" He hated to admit it, but Duke's idea had been a good one.
"So? Never stopped you from screwing around with her shoulder pads or skates." He turned his attention back to the pawnbroker. "Mind if I see that?" he asked, motioning to the mandrel. When Dave handed it over, he slid the glove over it and pinched the ring finger at the appropriate spot. Lifting the fabric up with his other hand, he double checked the numbers. "Right hand's a five, so we'll need a four."
"Not a five?" Nosedive was confused. "Won't that be too small?"
"She's right winged. Off hand's always a size smaller. Unless," he chuckled lightly, "you're ambidextrous. My hands are the same size."
Dave took the mandrel back and slid the ring over it. Graying eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It's actually a five."
"Good." Duke continued to look through the two boxes of jewelry in front of him, dismissing the potential engagement ring. "Can't really size somethin' like that too much. How fast can ya get it done?"
"I could have it in about two weeks. Ricki's on a mission trip in Costa Rica and won't be back until next week. He's the guy who does my appraising and sizing."
"I need it quicker than that." Nosedive had a tight schedule to keep and there was no way he was going to let sizing the ring throw a wrench in his plans.
"Could always give it ta her now and get it sized later," Duke suggested.
"How much?" That was the ultimate question. He hoped it wouldn't be nearly as expensive as what they'd looked at in the jewelry stores. Some of those rings cost as much as he made in three games combined.
"Well, seeing as how Ricki hasn't appraised it yet…" Dave trailed off in thought. "I know Duke's an honest guy. What'd you offer?"
"Eight." He didn't even look away from the sapphire bracelet he currently held.
"That seems kind of low." Dave rubbed his two chins. "I supposed I could go fifteen."
Fifteen thousand? Nosedive frowned. He could afford it, but it seemed absolutely insane to spend that much money on what was essentially a rock.
"How bout ten?" Duke finally looked up from the small pile he had separated from the selection Dave had brought out.
"Not sure I can go that low without Ricki taking a look at it," Dave pondered.
"Twelve?" Nosedive offered. It hurt to offer that much, but it was better than fifteen thousand.
"You birds drive a hard bargain," Dave considered. "But, I'll go twelve hundred. How would you like to pay?"
Nosedive's jaw dropped in surprise. Twelve hundred? That was nothing compared to what they'd been looking at earlier! Heck, he almost made that much off one of Phil's stupid publicity stunts. "It's not stolen, is it?" The words left his beak before he realized he'd said them. Face heating in embarrassment, he tried to play it cool.
Duke burst out laughing the moment he saw the small feathers around Nosedive's face fluff out. "Don't worry, kid. Only idiots bring stolen stuff ta pawn shops. Too easy ta track."
"Um, cash, I guess." Nosedive pulled out his wallet. Finally, they had found the right ring.
"I'll take these." Duke gestured to the sapphire bracelet, ruby necklace, and diamond cuff links he'd set aside.
Nosedive browsed the movies and music while Duke and Dave haggled some more over the unpriced jewelry. He had no idea what Duke was going to do with the necklace and bracelet. Who was he to question a former jewel thief about what gems he actually purchased?
"So," Duke clapped a hand on Nosedive's shoulder as they left the store, purchases in hand. "Ya ready for the big question?"
"I guess." Nosedive swallowed around the unexpected nervousness dancing around in his stomach. Somehow, he hadn't expected to be so anxious about it.
"Better be more sure than that when ya ask her," Duke admonished. Storing the bag of jewelry under the seat of the duckcycle, he tried to sooth the teen. "Relax, she's not gonna bite your head off. We're ducks, not praying mantis'! Sides, worst she could do is say no, right?"
"Thanks, Duke." Nosedive rolled his eyes and buckled his helmet in place.
Together, they sped off towards the Pond to begin preparations for the big question.
End AN: Garnets really are magnetic! I have some and double checked with a neodymium magnet. You can tell a real garnet from a fake just by looking. It requires a bright light and the proper angle, but garnets will only reflect one rainbow and will have a distinctive green band and a very thin yellow band. This site explains it better: facetingacademyDOTcom/learn-faceting/learn-faceting-free/gem-identification/
If you want to see the ring they ended up buying, check out bkgjewelryDOTcom/emerald-rings/573-18k-yellow-gold-emerald-ringDOThtml
