A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but here we are! Chapter 9 of The Odds And Ends Of Friendship! I have nothing else to say, so ENJOY!
Chapter 9:
So Close, Yet So Far
The next morning, the two had told Ryder that Private came from Central Park Zoo in New York, so he agreed to send him there himself. Private was elated to finally be able to go back home, but something keeps bugging him, telling him that he forgot something. He just shook it off as they prepared to leave for the airport.
"Come on Dad! Can't I come along?" asked Austin. His dad told him that he would be sending Private to the Central Park Zoo personally, but he also said that he couldn't follow.
Ryder shook his head. "Sorry mate, I've only got enough for one; bringing you along means I have to buy another one, and I don't really have time and money to do that," he explained. "But, you can still say your goodbyes right now."
Austin nodded understandingly and went over to where Private was at; in the shotgun seat of the car. "Hey there mate," he started, grabbing Private's attention.
"Hi Austin," Private replied with a smile. "Can you believe it? I'm finally going back home!" Private added. His elated smile soon turned around when he noticed Austin looked a bit upset. "Austin? Are you ok? You look a bit...sad," he asked.
Austin nodded and faked a small smile. "Top of the world. I'm just...you know...gonna miss ya and all..." Private then climbed over to him and gave him a great big penguin hug. Austin's smile soon became real as he returned it, lifting the little penguin up a few inches.
"I'm gonna miss you too Austin. You're a great friend and you've done more than I could ever ask for," he said. "I promise I will try to visit you at least once a month as best as I can. I promise..."
"I'm gonna miss you too mate..." Austin replied wholeheartedly. "I want to follow you on your way back home, but my dad said I couldn't. I will try to visit you guys when I could. Just tell your friends I said hi, alright Private?"
Private nodded in response as Ryder entered the driver's seat. "You ready mate?" he asked Private. Private nodded again as he buckled his seatbelt. "Wow, you are one smart penguin," commented Ryder, impressed with Private's knowledge of human devices.
With that, Ryder started the car and away they went. "Bye!" Austin waved as the pickup truck disappeared into the distance. Jin then ushered Austin into the house and he complied. He went straight to his room and picked up a feather that he had from when Private was being bandaged up. He already washed the blood off, so it was pretty much blood-free.
He reached under his bed and pulled out a worn-out scrapbook made of, well, scrap paper. It was slightly greenish-brown, mostly brown, and it was binded together with string. The cover of the scrapbook was covered in paper mache and had the words Austin's Best Memories.
He took a piece of tape from his desk and turned the pages of his scrapbook till he found an empty page. He attached the feather onto the page with the tape and used a fine-tip black marker to write "My Best Animal Friend in the Whole World, Private Riley Goodwin".
Then, a noise made him turn to find three figures standing outside his window.
A few minutes ago, Skipper, Rico and Marlene barely got hit by a car. "Hey! Watch it buddy!" Skipper yelled after they rolled to into a nearby bush, safe from other cars and trucks that passed. They had been walking for quite a while that morning had already came. Rico managed to pickup the scent again, and they were hot on the trail.
After a bit more of intense hiking, Rico found where the scent came from. It was coming from a quaint white house with a second floor and possibly an attic. There was a red pickup truck that just left with a blonde boy waving and yelling "Bye!" They watched and waited for the boy to enter the house before advancing any further.
"Are you sure he's in there Rico?" asked Skipper. Rico simply nodded and Skipper gave the signal to advance. Stealthily, they made it to some bushes nearby and tried to form an action plan.
"Skipper," Marlene started, catching Skipper's attention. She was looking at a half-open window on the second floor. Beside it was a pipe they could use to get there. "We can get in through there..."
Skipper nodded in response and they made their way to the pipe. Skipper went up first, followed by Marlene and Rico. When they made it to the windowsill, they peaked inside to find the blonde-haired boy inside. He was holding onto a brown book of some sort and in his right hand laid a single jet black feather.
"Skipper, is that..." Marlene's sentence was cut off by Skipper's flipper over her mouth. Apparently, the boy noticed their presence when Marlene started whispering and immediately turned around to meet their surprised glares.
"Oh, fish sticks," Skipper said. "We've been compromised..."
Austin turned to find two penguins and an otter looking at him just outside his window. An all-too-familiar otter. "Hey, you're Marlene," he said as he approached to open the window for them. Faces of confusion filled the three's faces as they got into their defensive positions. The mohawked penguin had a stick in his flipper, holding it threateningly.
"Back off human! You'll regret it!" Skipper commanded, even though he knew humans couldn't understand them. It was merely a habitual reflex to him. The boy backed up a little, showing empty hands to them. What he said next surprised them more than possible.
"Whoa, watch the paranoia mate! Sounds a bit like what a leader would say. I'm guessing you're Skipper, am I right?" Austin said coolly. "And you look like you know what you're doing with that stick. You must be the weapons expert, Rico."
The three exchanged shocked expressions. The human could understand them? Impossible, they all thought. And him knowing their names? Skipper immediately snapped into full paranoia mode.
"SPY! CODE RED!" Skipper snapped. "RICO!" In an instant, Rico regurgitated a length of rope, jumped him and tied him up. Surprisingly, nobody else heard Skipper's earth-shattering yells.
"Hey! What are you blokes doing! Untie me right now!" The three of them jumped down into the room and stood at Austin's feet, glaring at him.
"Not until you tell me how you understand us," ordered Skipper.
"I have a gift I got from my mom. Got a problem? Now, untie me!"
"No. Rico, check that feather and see if it's Private's..." Austin instantly perked up at the mention of Private's name.
"Private? Oh that's why you guys are here!" he said. The three turned back to face him.
"Is he talking about our Private or another?" Marlene thought out loud. Austin simply nodded in response.
"Yes we are. He about this tall, a bit on the chubby side and has a distinct British accent," Austin described. "Oh, and yeah, he also a penguin."
"He's here? Where is he!" Skipper demanded, shaking Austin with his flippers.
"Whoa, calm down! He's alright. My dad is on his way to send him back...to New...York. Oops...I didn't think his friends would come looking for him..."
Skipper looked at him in disbelief. "What! How are we supposed to believe that he wouldn't think we..."
"He got amnesia from hitting his head somewhere and got a gash that was bleeding heavily. I found him half-drowned when I was surfing and I brought him here so my mom could fix him up. She was a vet before just so you know. When he finally woke up, he couldn't remember anything, so I helped him remember enough to find out where he came from, which was Central Park Zoo in New York, am I correct?" Austin explained.
Skipper and Rico looked at him skeptically. "Guys, I think he's telling the truth," Marlene suddenly interjected. The two shifted their gaze and stared quizzically.
She facepawed and pointed at the words on the book he was holding onto before. "Because, this says right here, 'My Best Animal Friend in the Whole World, Private Riley Goodwin'." The two penguins continued staring. "What? Don't tell me you didn't know I could read human..."
"It's called English, lassie."
"Whatever..." Marlene said. "What I mean is: Private trusts him, like a good friend, and friends are always out there for each other," she explained, making the two think twice about Austin.
Could they really trust a human? Especially one who could understand them? The idea was a risky one, due to all the consequences if he was a spy working for one of their enemies. But, if someone like Private trusts this human, even if he did have amnesia, then he is the only lead to finding Private.
But wait, he said Private was on his way to New York. Was that a good thing? No, it's not a good thing! If he did have amnesia, he wouldn't remember that he was supposed to not get Alice suspicious, especially if he is outside the zoo. Plus, this boy's dad will explain that he was in Australia, which would blow our cover!
We need to stop him, fast.
A/N: If you guys didn't notice, the last few paragraphs are Skipper's POV. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this story so far, because it is soon coming to an end! Another one or two chapters and this is complete! So, as always, R&R if you love this story, or if you have nothing better to do…