Disclaimer: I own nothing. Taylor Braydon belongs to Alive Riva.

Author's Note: This is actually a prequel of sorts to my one-shot from chapter 2, "Chocolate Factory".

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"Self-Destruct"

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"What do you think the chief has for us?" was the question on both of men's minds as they walked closer and closer to Chief Quimby's office. Inspector Gadget glanced over at his blonde friend, regarding his well-asked question with a smile.

"I'm not sure, Taylor, but whatever it is, should be better than patrolling and catching speeders!" the inspector replied.

Deputy Taylor Braydon nodded full heartedly. "You've got that right! Sitting out there in the middle of nowhere on the highway with no one but the Gadget Mobile as company—"

"Hey!" frowned Gadget. "Gadget Mobile is my friend!"

"I know! But I don't think he likes me much!" complained Taylor.

The two of them weren't able to say much more as they reached Chief Quimby's door. Gadget opened the door for them, stepping in first and stopping in front of Quimby's desk respectively. Taylor copied him and stood at his side. They both had their hands behind their back.

Chief Quimby, who had been reading something from a file, looked up at them, a weary look on this face. He leaned back in his chair. "Alright boys, I actually have an assignment for you two."

"An assignment? Like an actual case?" beamed Taylor, getting excited.

"Cool it, Braydon" growled Quimby with a sneer in Taylor's direction. "It's just a security assignment." He showed them a small piece of paper and handed it over to Gadget. A wave of déjà vu came over the inspector as he remembered the good old days when Quimby would hand him little notes with his assignments on them, determining the next move Dr. Claw would be making. A shiver of excitement ran through his cyborg body at the memories of those times.

Taylor leaned over, practically shoving himself next to Gadget's face so that he could get a look at the note as well. Gadget didn't seem to notice though and read what was on the note. To anyone who was watching, both inspector and deputy didn't move as they read, their eyes, scanning back and forth across the notes as they read, the only part of them moving.

Gadget read aloud: "Greetings: We are happy to announce that we are in need of your assistance. Our chocolate factory is going to be having a press conference and we wish for your best men to be there in case the crowd gets rowdy. We are revealing a new type of candy and there are dozens of candy companies who would love to get their hands on the recipe. We are afraid something might happen at the press conference, so we wish for you to be there for back up. Thank you and good day, Mark Russet, - Factory Owner."

Taylor made a sound of interest, still looking at the note, as Gadget looked up at Quimby. "Was it really necessary to send us a note like this? Don't they call?"

Quimby shrugged. "Evidently not."

Taylor, who had still been looking at the note, spoke up. "Hey, you forgot the last bit!" He read from the note, "'P.S. This note will self-destruct.' Taylor paused and though about that a moment. "Cool!"

Quimby frowned at this and leaned further into his chair, remembering all the times Gadget would carelessly throw the self-destructing notes at him.

But neither inspector nor deputy seemed to notice. "Don't worry, chief. We're on it!" assured Gadget, the hand from his hat coming out and giving him a salute.

Taylor watched the hand retract back into Gadget's hand and silently wish he could do that as well. Instead, he just gave a normal salute. He snatched the note from Gadget's hand. "This'll be neat! We're actually going to be doing something! I wonder if we'll get to taste any of the chocolate!"

"I don't know, Taylor, but I can tell you one thing—" He wrapped an arm around Taylor's shoulders as they turned and stepped out of Quimby's office. "This reminds me of the times when there was actual crime in Riverton and just about every day I was faced with different assignments involving Dr. Claw himself!"

"Really? I heard about all that! Tell me about some of the stuff you used to do!" cried Taylor happily like a little kid wanting to hear a story. Now focused on Gadget's stories, he crumpled up the note and tossed it over his shoulder, both of them having completely forgotten about the warning Taylor had read out at the end of the note.

Quimby flinched as he watched the note be tossed through the air and when it landed on his desk, he quickly tried to get up from his chair to avoid it, but his belt got caught on the arm chair and the note self-destructed before he could do anything. It gave off a small bang and smoke filled the office as he was covered in soot. He growled in anger. "Ughh…..Why did it have to be a self-destructing note….I got rid of those for a reason….."

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Author's Note: Just was just a quick one. This is lightly based off the cartoon and how Gadget always threw the self-destructing bombs at Quimby. I thought it would be fun to do it with these two.