Previously on O.W.C.A. Academy:
After hearing about Herman the Hedgehog's hypothesis about the accident in the laboratory being a crime committed by one of the agents Perry can't miss out the opportunity on putting his bill into business. Though, solving crimes might acquire some assistance from a certain gossip-telling duck, who you don't really get along with very well.
10. A Feather from a Duck
"How come you had access to the lab the day before the accident?" Herman eagerly asked Darren right when we got out of the classroom.
"Dr. Larsson had asked me to take a blood-sample that day", the duck told.
"Oh! Right!" the hedgehog exclaimed, suddenly realizing. "Agents can get a temporary access pass if it's for science service! How come I didn't think of that?"
"Do you know if anyone else also had access that day?" Manny asked the waterfowl.
"I know a few, not everyone though", Darren told. "But wouldn't there be some kind of register over that?"
"Yea, that seems plausible", Herman reflected.
"D'you think we're allowed to take a look in it?" I asked all charged up.
"Hm, I don't know", Herman said quite skeptically. "That might count as private information that's not allowed to be given out without permission from those involved."
"But this is about a crime", I remarked. "Aren't there any rights for that?"
"Yea, but we don't really have any proof on that it really was a crime that was committed", Herman pointed out.
"Aren't there also rights for 'suspicions about crime'?" Darren wondered, who seemed to be as interested in the case as we were. Or maybe he's just looking for some more juicy gossip to spread.
"Yeah, it should be…", Manny pondered thoughtful. "Well, it doesn't hurt to at least ask."
"Hi guys! What are you doing?" Terry, who suddenly showed up, asked.
"One of the agents is a thief!" Darren immediately revealed.
The turtle looked very baffled and stared puzzled at the four of us.
"Uh… Alright, now what did I miss?" he asked.
We told him about the film from the security camera and about Herman and Manny's theory.
"So, you believe that this mysterious being, that many first thought was Perry, actually was a burglar?" the turtle asked presuming.
"Yes, and if it hadn't been because someone", Manny said and indicating glared at Darren, "had led everyone on the wrong track we might have found out about this earlier!"
Manny almost screamed out the last word in frustration. Darren grinned embarrassed and laughed a bit nervously.
"Well… heheh… i-it's not like my suspicions made completely no sense. After all, like I said, I was in the lab that day so, well, I kind of thought that…"
The wild drake cut himself off and glanced a bit abashed at me for a mare second.
"You know, this is actually really awkward, I don't know what I thought!" he quacked hasty and quickly avoided my eyes while hastily gesticulating with his wings. "Ca-Can't we just, please, forget this whole circus? It's actually quite embarrassing."
Wait! What did he thought!?
"Well, you have no one to blame but yourself. It was all your fault", Manny spat out at him.
"No, Manny, it was actually everybodies fault", Herman admitted. "We should have known better than not questioning him from the start. Wellwell, nothing but to try to make something good come out of something bad. After all, what's the point of doing mistakes if you can't learn something from them?"
But… What did he thought!?
"You believe the thief could have been one of the agents that had access to the laboratory the day before?" Terry continued the discussion.
"Well, it's our best shot right now", Manny said and shrugged.
"Some of them might at least me able to give us some clues", Herman said.
"Who do we ask for permission to look in the register?" Terry wondered.
"Probably one of the division leaders", Darren assumed.
"I can go and ask Major Monogram", I volunteered, eager to do something useful.
"That would be great! Then we can go and start off the interrogation of some of the suspects already", Herman propounded and then turned to Darren. "You did say you knew a few of them, right?"
"Yes, I think I remember at least some of them", the mallard confirmed.
"I go with you, Perry", Terry offered.
"Wonderful! Then we'll meet up later", Herman said before Terry and I went off to Major Monogram's office, there I had been a few times before I started here at the academy.
"By the way, where's Pinky now again?" I asked Terry while we walked through the building.
"Oh, right! I was going to inform you about that, he was going to try to find that poodle we met before", he told.
"Ah, I see!" I said, getting the picture.
When we came to the department where my boss was working, we almost immediately met up with Carl, the intern.
"Oh, Agent P and Agent T! What brings you two here?" he asked us.
I gave him a yellow post-it note there I already had written down our request about seeing the boss on.
"I'll go see if he's available", the intern said after he had read it. "Come here!"
We followed the red-haired teenage boy through the division area. On our way, we passed by several cubicles where fully trained agents were working by their computers. In one of them sat Enid, who happily waved at us when we passed by.
"Do you think that we are also going to get one of those cubicles when we have finished training?" Terry asked me hopeful.
"Yes, but I sure hope that we're not going to have to spend too much time in them. I'd rather work on the field", I admitted.
We stopped in front of a blue-gray door that led into Major Monogram's office.
"Wait here outside!" Carl told us to before he walked into the room. After just a few seconds he came out again.
"The Major is on the phone right now, but he'll call you in as soon as possible", the intern informed and then he went away to do whatever he's supposed to do.
While we waited, we took the opportunity to write down more exactly what we wanted to ask the boss about on a white A4 paper. I did my best to try to formulate our request, and our reasons for it, as professional as possible.
"Hey! Is this how you spell 'conclusion'?" I asked Terry and showed him the letter.
He stared hesitantly on what I had written so far.
"Well… Yeees, but with your handwriting I guess it does not really matter how you spell it", he said teasing.
"Very funny!" I said and smacked him lightly on the overarm.
After a while, the blue-gray door opened, and at the threshold stood a man with black hair, a black mustache and a black monobrow. Terry and I respecting lifted our paw and front foot in salute.
"Agent P and Agent T, you can come in now!" the Major announced and stepped aside so we could get in.
"I hope everything's alright at the agency's training school", he said a bit anxious.
Terry and I eagerly nodded and smiled to reassure him that everything was well.
"Whew! That's good to know!" he sighed in relief. "I truly want to make sure that you're happy here at the agency. I certainly don't want you to have to experience what I had to go through at… the academy..."
The last word, he uttered in a low and gloomy tune, and suddenly he looked quite sad.
"Hrmhrm! Well, now, what is your errand?" he suddenly asked, pulling himself together, and went over and sat down in his office chair behind the desk.
Before I even got the time to lend over the paper, the phone on the table suddenly started ringing.
Major Monogram sighed bothered.
"Will you excuse me, please?" he said and lifted the phone to his ear. "Major Monogram?"
Out of the receiver, the sound of a man with an unusually high-pitched voice and a foreign accent was heard relatively loud and clear.
"Yeah, it was just one more thing", the man said. "I would actually consider something semi-aquatic, like a… Oh I don't know, a beaver or a duck, but nothing THAT convenient though…"
The Major groaned irritated and placed his forehead in his free palm.
"Heinz, how many times do I have to tell you this, we won't send you any agent until the agency sees you as a big threat enough", he tried to convince the man while he patiently rubbed his monobrow between his thumb and index finger. "Will you, please, stop bothering me? I'm in a meeting right now."
"You know what? ONE DAY I will manage to build a truly evil inator that I will try to take over the tri-state area with. And then, you will HAVE TO send over your best agent to try to stop me!" the man claimed at the other end of the line, probably offended over being overlooked.
"I already feel sorry for that poor guy who's going to have to deal with you", Major Monogram said. "Heinz, I don't have time to listen to your constant babble, I have others here waiting so good bye!"
"Bye", I heard the man say weakly before the Major frustrated hung up.
"Ahrm! Sorry about that!" he excused himself as he turned back to us. "Now, how can I help you?"
I handed him the note and let him read it through. His eyes followed the text and after a while he raised his monobrow in interest. When he was finished he laid down the paper on the desk.
"Hm, so you think you'll be able to find out more about the laboratory incident if I let you in on which agents had access to the lab the day before?" he asked us. I couldn't really tell whether he liked the idea or not.
Terry and I nodded confirming.
"Hmm...", he mumbled and furrowed thoughtfully with his monobrow, then he turned to the computer and began pressing the keyboard.
What if he says no! Then what do we do? He seemed quite dubious, I thought. Maybe this was a bad thing to ask for. After all, we were actually asking to infringe on others privacy. Maybe we've just made completely fools out of ourselves!
"There! Okay, Carl can show you to the printing room", he said suddenly and turned back to us. "The printout should already have started so you can just go and pick it up right now."
Wait! Does this mean we actually did get permission!?
"I got to tell, your engagement in this investigation is very remarkable", he praised us. "That's just the kind of initiative we seek here at the agency."
I was so happy that I had to force myself to not put on a too ridiculously big smile. It always felt good to get praised by the boss.
"I hope you manage to find something that can be of any value", he wished. "Good luck, agents!"
Terry and I saluted and went off to leave the office.
"And, erhrm! By the way!" the Major inflicted before any of us even got to open the door. I heard a rustling sound behind me, and when I turned around I saw Major Monogram firmly holding up the paper I had given him.
"I don't know who wrote this, but I expect that person to work on his handwriting."
I heard Terry failing a try to suppress a laugh next to me. A little embarrassed I nodded apprehending at the boss before we left the room.