Ten
Busted

While Dash fished out his FentonWorks keys, the girls waited at the bottom of the steps with Fenton and Foley slung over their shoulders, already playing the part. For some reason, Fenton still hadn't thrown up, but there was nothing they could do about it now except hope the alcohol smell and the sticky punch residue would be enough to sell the story.

As quietly as he could, Dash unlocked the front door and swung it open into the darkened living room, but before he and Nick could even step over the threshold, a girl's voice cried out: "Danny, don't come in here! The Guys in White—" Fenton's cousin, Dash barely had time to register before she was cut off, and then there were some scuffling sounds in the kitchen.

Dash and Nick quickly stepped into the house and shut the door behind them just as the light came on and Operative O. came barreling into the room. "Daniel Fenton, you are—" He stopped short when he saw Nick and Dash. "Wait. You're not Daniel Fenton. Who are you, and how did you get in here?"

"Uh... I'm Dash Baxter. I work here." He held up his keys by way of explanation.

Nick put more alarm into his voice. "And I'm Nick Reilly, a friend of the family. What are federal agents doing here? Where are the Fentons? Is something wrong?"

"Nick?" That was Jazz, calling out from the kitchen. "What are you doing here?"

"Quiet!" another deep voice ordered, also from the kitchen. Operative K., obviously.

"Jazz!" Now Nick was upset, and Dash couldn't tell if it was real or just a great performance. He rushed toward the kitchen, but O. blocked him. The best Nick could do was peer over the agent's shoulder. "Jazz, is everything all right? What's going on?" He turned his attention to O. "Let me in there!"

"Might as well bring them in," K. called from the kitchen. O. took a moment, glaring at Nick, before he stepped aside, letting him rush past. Dash followed, looking as nervous as he could manage. Of course, given what they were trying to pull off, it didn't exactly take a degree from Julliard for him to seem jumpy.

Once in the kitchen, he saw the Fentons—Mr. and Mrs., Jazz, and Danielle—all seated around the kitchen table with K. standing behind Danielle, his hands clamped down tight on her shoulders as she struggled to get free. There was something odd about the way she was trying to get out from under him, not using her hands, but instead keeping them behind her back in the chair. Frowning, Dash walked a little ways around the table until he saw what was wrong: her hands were cuffed behind the chair with glowing, green handcuffs.

Nick noticed too, and his alarm amped up considerably, but it was Jazz that he went to. "Jazz, are you guys all right? What's going on? Why are the Guys in White here, and why does Danielle have ghost cuffs on?"

"She was causing trouble." K. glared down at her.

"And they don't carry regular handcuffs, so they had to use ghost cuffs on her, even though she's a human," Jazz added, giving Nick a significant look that Dash couldn't interpret. "They're looking for Danny. They—"

"Quiet!" O. ordered. "We'll do the talking. You, the big guy. What are you doing here, and do you know anything about the whereabouts of Daniel Fenton?"

"Uh..." Dash tried to regain his bearings and remember his lines, such as they were, but he couldn't help but notice Mrs. Fenton giving him an odd look, a sort of mixture of fear and dread and confusion in her face, but... hope, too? Did she know that he'd been here? Had Mr. Fenton found a way to tell her?

He tried to give her just a flash of a reassuring smile before getting back into character. "Uh... I don't know where Fenton is, but I'm sure he wasn't doing anything he wasn't supposed to be..." His voice was high and squeaky, the words just a little too fast.

O. pounced on this seeming weakness. "You know something, don't you?"

"Who, me?" Dash took a nervous step backwards. "I don't know anything! I'm just the security guy!"

K. gave up struggling with Danielle and came around the table towards him behind his partner. "You always show up at work at midnight?"

"I, uh..." He looked at the family who were watching him intently, and he was sure, now, they were waiting for some sort of sign from him as to what the plan was. All of them but Danielle, anyway, who was still trying to get free of the cuffs and glaring daggers at the feds' backs. Dash's eyes flicked back to them as they advanced on him. "Sometimes I work night security?" He took another step backwards.

"You know what I think? I think you know exactly where Daniel Fenton is, and you're protecting him. What do you think, O.?"

"I think you're right, K."

"And do you know what we can do to you if you hinder a federal investigation?" O. leered at him.

"No? I—" Dash stopped short. The game had gone on long enough. "All right, all right! I know where he is!"

Mrs. Fenton gasped. Jazz and Mr. Fenton both looked like he'd slapped them, and he was pretty sure if Danielle wasn't handcuffed to her seat, she'd probably be tackling him right now, judging by the death glare she was giving him. Crap. Played the part too well. Now they think I'm actually giving up Fenton...

Nick came to his rescue. He was standing behind the Guys in White, so he took the opportunity to hold up his hand in a gesture of reassurance to the family before stepping in. "Dash, wait—" He stopped, as if weighing something, now that he had the feds' attention, then gave a dramatic sigh. "Okay, you're right. We can't lie to federal agents, and whatever they think Danny was doing has to be worse than what he really was doing. Maybe it's for the best anyway. The more we help him hide it from his parents, the more we enable him."

Mrs. Fenton blinked as if trying to read between the lines. Jazz obviously trusted Nick completely, however, because she didn't even hesitate. "You're right, Nick. It's time the truth came out."

Dash had to admit he was impressed. She had no idea what they were going to say, but she'd managed to back up Nick and play perfectly into their story.

Mr. Fenton still looked a little bewildered. "Jazz? Maybe now's not the time—"

"No, Dad. Nick's right. He knows what he's doing." She looked at him. "Tell them the truth, Nick."

"Actually, it's my fault." Dash hung his head a bit, as if guilty. "I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. F. I'm the one who invited him out the first time."

By now, even Danielle had caught on that they were telling some kind of cover story and she sat still, watching him. But it was Mrs. Fenton more than anyone he had to get into the act as smoothly as possible. She had to be completely onboard with the plan before she saw her son bent over and unsteady on his feet. "Fen—Danny, I mean, was at a party tonight, him and Foley. Kwan, one of our old classmates, was throwing a big going-back-to-school bash. And Danny... well, he got kinda... drunk."

Mrs. Fenton's eyes widened in surprise. "Drunk? Danny?"

"Yes, ma'am. Him and Foley both. And, well... it isn't the first time. I called him at around ten-thirty because I had to ask him something about work. He said he was at Foley's playing video games, but I could tell he was wasted. A little bit later, I remembered Kwan was having that big party tonight, so I called him to check if they were there, and sure enough..."

K. snorted. "A party? You're saying Daniel Fenton was at a party tonight? All night?"

"Kwan said he got there kinda near the beginning, so since eight-thirty, maybe? I'm not sure about that, though. I just know he was there when I called Kwan—" He dug out his phone and looked at his call logs. "—ten forty-two."

Nick looked from O. to K., narrowing his eyes. "Why? Where did you think he was?"

"Never mind that. How do you fit into the picture? Were you also at this alleged party?"

"No. I got a call from Danny. I think it was a butt-dial, because he didn't talk to me, but I could tell he was at a party and he was... well, pretty trashed. So I called Sam, and she called Valerie, and we all went out to go get them. Dash ran into us there."

Dash nodded. "Nick brought us all home in his car. The guys and their girlfriends are out on the front porch right now. Me and Nick were supposed to make sure the coast was clear, then the girls were gonna get Foley and Fenton—Danny up to his room and let 'em sleep it off here. We were gonna text Foley's folks from his phone and say he was spending the night here 'cause they were out ghost-hunting late and he was tired."

Mrs. Fenton stood up. "Danny's here?"

Again, Nick moved to intercept. "Yeah, but you're not gonna like seeing him this way. He's, like, falling-down drunk. He had his face in the punch like he was bobbing for apples or something when we showed up."

"Trash Can Punch," Dash explained. "Everclear mixed with Hawaiian Punch and grape Kool-Aid. Nasty stuff."

"He can't even stand up straight." Nick gave Mrs. Fenton a pointed look. "But he's okay." He put extra emphasis on the word okay. "He just needs to sleep it off."

There was a flicker of understanding in Mrs. Fenton's eyes for just a moment, and then her face hardened into a mask of anger. "You bring him in here right now. Tucker, too. I have a few words for them, worrying us sick with the Guys in White here! They think they were out ghost hunting with Danny Phantom! We had no idea where they were! And they were out drinking? They're not legal!"

"You have got to be kidding me." Danielle sighed loudly and slumped back in her chair in disgust. "Here, I'm thinking my cousin's a big hero 'cause he's out helping Danny Phantom catch ghosts, and he's just getting sloshed at some stupid party? Lame."

O. and K. exchanged looks, not convinced, before O. turned to Nick. "We need to speak with him and his friends. Now."

Nick nodded, looking cowed. "Yeah. They're waiting on the porch for me to tell 'em the coast is clear." He turned and headed back to the living room, and everyone else moved to follow, but Danielle called out to K.

"Wait! Can you uncuff me first? It's not like I have any reason to try and get out of here now or anything."

K. stopped. "Fine."

Dash followed behind the Fentons as they went to the front foyer, where Nick opened the front door and poked his head out. "Uh, sorry guys, we're busted. The feds are here. I guess they think Danny was out ghost hunting with Danny Phantom or something? They want to talk to him."