Welcome back! :D Just a quick note: The penguins tend to change bunks from episode-to-episode, so I'm using the bunk order from "Assault and Batteries" (from top to bottom: Kowalski, Rico, Private, and Skipper). The last two will switch in a few moments.

Penguin HQ, 2200 Hours

"Lights out, boys!" Skipper ordered, heading for his bunk. The other penguins yawned and stretched, waddling towards their bunks as well. Kowalski and Rico climbed up into their beds and put their nightcaps on. As Private came over to climb into his bunk, Skipper stopped him.

"Hold on there, young Private. You can sleep in my bunk." He gestured toward his bed on the bottom.

"Why, thank you, Skippah." He slipped into Skipper's bunk while the leader climbed into Private's.

"Goodnight, boys." Skipper said. The lights in the HQ turned off and everything was quiet. Eventually, the sound of tiptoeing broke the silence. The lights came on and Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico stopped in their tracks.

"What are you doing?" Private inquired.

"Uh, we were just getting some, uh, water, Private," Skipper made up. "See?" The trio went over to the refrigerator and drank glasses of water.

"At the same time?" Private asked.

"Well, of course! What's getting a glass of water like without your teammates, am I right?" Kowalski replied, laughing awkwardly.

"Right. . ." The private responded. Skipper decided to end this strange discussion.

"Alright, back to bed, boys." They put the cups away and climbed back into their bunks. The lights turned off again. A little while later, another noise sounded through the HQ. The lights came on again. Rico and Skipper jumped and turned around.

"Why are you two up?" Private questioned. Rico rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of a reasonable answer.

"Uh, Miss Perky."

"I think I saw her over there." The little penguin pointed to the far corner of the room by the television set.

"Ooh. Thanks, Pwivate." Rico waddled over to his doll and hugged it. Private stared after Rico, then turned his attention to Skipper.

"Uh, and I was just going to make sure the fish hatch was locked." The leader added. He climbed up the ladder to examine the entrance and quietly unlocked it so they could exit without waking Private up, that is if he ever went to sleep.

"I thought it automatically locks when you initiate lights out, Skippah," Private stated. The leader mentally slapped himself for not thinking of a better excuse.

"Oh, right. I knew that." He said sheepishly as he climbed into the bunk a second time.

Meanwhile, Private smiled to himself as he heard Rico give Miss Perky soft kisses and gentle murmurs. He turned off the lights and flipped over so he was facing the wall opposite from the rest of the room. Rico looked to see if Private was still facing him and, realizing he wasn't, quietly went and laid down in his bunk. Finally, the penguin habitat was completely peaceful. . . until it wasn't. Private switched the lights on yet again.

This time, it was just Kowalski.

"What's wrong, Kowalski?" The young cadet questioned. The tall penguin glared at Skipper.

"Aw, come on! That's not fair!"

"What's not fair?" Skipper asked innocently. The lieutenant sighed.

"I was just going to check on my lab equipment." He told Private flatly. The tall penguin went into his lab and closed the door. Sounds of frustrated yelling and grumbling could be heard as the scientist ranted on about something that Private couldn't quite make out. After a minute, he stepped back out and returned to his bunk. This time, the others didn't bother to attempt leaving.

Penguin HQ, 2250 Hours

A full forty-five minutes had passed since the penguins had tried to leave the HQ, and Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico were now waiting until Private was fully asleep before trying again. Their previous attempts were ruined by Private turning the lights on and asking irritating questions. They needed to get to their planned rendezvous point so they could put an end to The Graveyard Eight's nightly run. Skipper glanced at the young penguin and, seeing that his eyes were closed, slowly got up and climbed the ladder, followed by Kowalski and Rico. Since Skipper had unlocked the hatch earlier, he was able to silently push the fish bowl out of the way, and the three made it topside without interruption. They closed the hatch behind them.

"Ugh, finally!" The leader whispered, relieved. "I thought he would never fall asleep!" They saw the time on the clock tower.

"We have 10 minutes, at least," Kowalski pointed out. "Should we go on foot or take the car?"

"How long would it take us if we went on foot?" Skipper asked. The tall penguin took his abacus out and slid the beads back and forth.

"About five minutes."

"And with the car?"

"Four point 99 minutes." Skipper stared at the lieutenant in disbelief.

"Seriously, Kowalski? We save one second if we take the car!?"

"Technically, one nanosecond."

"Whatever. The faster we get there, the better. Rico, get the car."

"Whoo!" Rico slid over to the garage. In a moment, all three were heading to the scene of the hit-and-run.

Back in the HQ, a certain penguin was lying in bed, and his eyes were open.

Shoot. Private is still awake! :O What kind of plan does he have up his metaphorical sleeve? Will the others be able to stop The Graveyard Eight? Well, the first question will be answered in the next chapter! :)