A/N: Get ready for a Secret Life of Pets cameo! :)
Chapter warning(s): 1 use of the word 'hell' and mentions of mating, but once again, nothing lewd or graphic.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Penguins of Madagascar and make NO money off this fic.
Though the show has long since ended, it still belongs to Nickelodeon, and as the spinoff of the Madagascar franchise, it also belongs to Dreamworks studios. Specifically, the canon characters and episode plots belong to Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell. I own NOTHING except my OC's which will be introduced at a later time.
Location: Central Park. Time: 1400 Hrs. (2:00 P.M)
It would seem that the zoo wasn't the only place having a slow day as the usually bustling park was relatively empty save for a small group of humans speckled around, and even then, they didn't seem too aware of what was going on around them, much less the small penguin that was ducking around trees and bushes. They were so oblivious that Private bet she could move out into the open and still not get a reaction.
Of course that wasn't a theory she was willing to test. While most humans may look unaware, there could always be those few that were silently watching, taking note of everyone and everything.
It would be a shame if she got picked up by animal control, and returned to the zoo before completing her mission.
It would also be a shame if Skipper was present when she was brought back to the zoo before she could complete said mission.
Not to mention, it would also be downright embarrassing, as she had assured Marlene that she could handle this on her own.
Private could just picture it… Marlene informing the blokes that Private had gone off to check on Fred, assuring them that she would be okay, only for animal control to arrive with little o' Private in a cage.
That would really impress Skipper…
Private shook her head. For the sake of her dignity, it would be best to avoid capture all together.
Speaking of capture, an approaching jogger was heading right in her direction!
Looking to her left, Private managed to leap into a large bush just as the human ran past her. She thanked her lucky stars that the man had been more engrossed with his phone than he was on the path before him. Had he been paying more attention, he would have definitely seen her. Heck, had it not been for his earbuds, he would have heard all the racket the bush made when Private dove into her hiding spot.
None the less, Private was grateful for her lucky break and watched the human for a moment before peeking out of her cover.
Fred's tree was in sight.
If Private had to guess, it was only about twenty meters from where she hid.
The penguin looked to her left, then to her right. There were a couple of bicyclists, but no one else was close by.
The small bird waited for the humans to pass before bee lining it towards Fred's tree. She made it in record time and collapsed against the trunk, gasping for air. A hoarse rasping sound emitted from her as she panted, but she didn't care. Not when there weren't any humans to hear her.
Eventually, Private managed to catch her breath and she pressed her back against the bark, sighing as she leaned against the sturdy post. 'One would think that with all the training Skippah puts me through, I would be in better shape.' She thought with a huff. She casually glanced up and her body gave a small jolt of shock when she saw that Fred was staring down at her through lazy, half-lidded eyes.
Nether animal said anything for about half a minute until Private figured that it would be up to her to break the silence.
"Hello Fred." She greeted cheerfully, pulling away from the tree.
"Hullo." He greeted in return, though his face held no recognition. Then again, that really shouldn't have been so surprising…
"Do I know you?" There it was.
"Yes, it's me…Private." She looked up at him expectantly, but her answer didn't seem to ring any bells, "From the zoo?" she tried.
Still nothing.
"…I'm usually with three other penguins?" She gave him a pointed look. 'How thick can one get?'
Fred scratched at his chin, "Penguins…"
Private nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! Penguins!"
"…and what's a 'penguin' again?"
Private's left eye twitched, "It's what I am! I'm a penguin! There are three other males that look similar to me! We're penguins!" she bit out, exasperated at the squirrels cluelessness.
Fred's eyes lit up, "Ooooh…yeah now I remember." He scratched his chest with a nod.
Private smiled.
"And you're which one?"
The smile dropped.
"Private." She answered. Why was she here again?
"Yeah, you said that, but I don't remember you sounding like a lady." He paused and looked upwards in thought, "Or did you?"
The bi-colored bird sighed and deepened her voice, "I assure you Fred, it is me"
The astounded look on Fred's face was enough to make her want to laugh, but she held it back in fear that he would think she was playing a prank on him. But that face, was just so priceless!
The squirrel's ears were perked straight up, his eyes wide, mouth agape, and his nose was twitching ever so slightly. Then, quick as a flash, he scurried down the tree and before she knew it, Fred was circling around her, sniffing her up and down, his eyes still wide with wonder.
Normally when it came to natural animal behavior, such as social grooming or full body inspection sniffing, there were certain protocols that most animals tend to follow. Said procedures varied between animals, but the shared rule between them all was that consent had to be given before anything else could proceed. There had to be that mutual agreement, without it was a break in etiquette.
It was like if a human were to go up to another human they didn't know and just randomly hugged them.
It's just all around awkward and made the receiving party incredibly uncomfortable.
That's how Private felt at the moment.
She didn't feel overwhelmingly violated, just…uncomfortable.
None the less, she couldn't expect less from Fred and let it slide…just this once.
Just as she came to this conclusion, Fred seemed to have finished his inspection and stood before the silent penguin, scratching his head in confusion. "How'd you make your voice all girly like that?"
"Because I'm actually a lady." Private replied bluntly. At this rate, everyone in New York would know the truth about her…
"Oh…okay…and you had a boy's voice because…?"
Private sighed, she really didn't have time for this, "It's complicated and I'm a little short on time, but I promise I'll tell you about it later. Right now, I need to ask you a few questions, is that alright?"
Fred looked nervous, "That depends…are they hard questions?"
Private was about to answer 'no', but knowing this particular mammal, she hesitated, "…nnnno…no they shouldn't be. You'll have to recall some memories, but nothing that should require an excessive amount of thinking." At least she hoped not…
This seemed to ease the squirrel as he visibly relaxed, his eyes returning to their usual half, lidded position. "M'kay. Ask away."
"Right then. Um…Fred?" She started, not sure how he was going to react to her line of questioning. What if he had PTSD from his encounter with Kitka?
"Yeah?" the squirrel replied.
Private glanced around, almost expecting Skipper to pop up and berate her for pushing the issue of whether or not Kitka actually ate Fred…
Seeing that her leader was nowhere in sight, Private relaxed and turned back to the mammal, "This may be difficult for you, but…do you by any chance remember Kitka?"
"Who?"
Private mentally slapped her forehead. Of course he didn't know Kitka by name. The attack was no doubt, random, and he probably didn't even know what was going on till it was too late.
"She's the falcon that…ate you…and…coughed you back up." Private paused when she took in Fred's blank stare. "…Do you remember that incident?" Maybe this was a mistake…maybe she should have just left after seeing him alive and unharmed…
What was she trying to prove anyway? That Kitka was a liar and a horrible animal? She already knew that. So why was she trying to make Fred relive that memory? To prove to Skipper that she was right all along? But what good would that do? Knowing his current attitude, he either wouldn't believe it, or ignore the fact all together.
"Listen Fred, if you don't remember-"
"I remember." Fred broke in, his tone soft, "What about it?"
Well…if he was the one that was going to push the subject, then there was certainly no backing out now…
Private thought over her words carefully, "Well…see the thing is…Kitka, the falcon, paid my team and I a visit the other day, and she was acting a bit…off…at least in my opinion, she was."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes, and one of the things she said was that she apologized to you for the incident." Private continued slowly, making sure that Fred was following along.
"She did?" the squirrel looked confused at this.
"Well that's why I'm here. I'm trying to confirm whether or not she was telling the truth, and if she did pay you a visit, I wanted to make sure you were okay and that she hadn't made an attempt to eat you again." The penguin explained. "So, that leads to my next question; have you seen her at all since that day?"
Fred was silent for a moment and Private allowed him to think it over.
"No, I don't remember seeing her lately. The last time I saw her was on top of that building…" He said at last before his eyes darted around in fear. The last time he had encountered the raptor, she had taken him completely by surprise. One second he was gathering acorns, and the next he was in the tight grip of the falcon before everything went black. Next thing he knew, he hit the ground hard and found himself surrounded by the black and white birds as well as their weird looking cat friends, and a large, orange falcon.
That was literally the first and last time he saw his attacker.
Private meanwhile, followed the squirrels line of sight before catching on and placing a calming flipper on the smaller, trembling mammal, "It's okay Fred, she's not here." she soothed.
"She's not?"
"No, and even if she was, I wouldn't let anything happen to you. You're safe." Private assured.
The squirrel calmed and nodded to himself, "O-okay…"
Private rubbed the Fred's back, "Are you alright?"
"I'm good." He confirmed.
"So…the falcon never approached you after that? She never tried to eat you again or apologized for trying the first time?" Private pushed, her voice still soothing.
Fred shook his head, "No…I almost got caught a few other times, but…I don't think they were her…"
"What about the apologizing? Has she ever approached to you for that?"
Fred furrowed his brow in thought, "No, I can't say she has." He shrugged.
Private nodded.
She was right. The lying falcon hadn't given a formal apology as she had claimed!
But what did that prove besides the fact that the raptor had told a 'little' lie? According to Fred, while she hadn't apologized, she also hasn't made any other attempts to attack him again…or so Fred says. To him, all falcons probably look alike, so for all she knew, Kitka could have possibly beenpresent during one of his recent encounters.
Unfortunately, that was just a theory.
A theory with no evidence, and thus one that Private couldn't use to back up her suspicions.
She had Fred's testimony, but she doubt that Skipper would take the word of an absent minded mammal- no offense to Fred!
Private shifted as she thought all this over. She didn't know what she could do with this information, but at least she had it.
"So uh..." Private blinked when Fred spoke up once more, "are we done or…?" Fred let the question hang. The bird had gone silent so he figured that maybe she was done talking to him. If that was the case then maybe she could let him finish his lunch.
Private nodded, "Yes. Yes I think we're done here. Thank you Fred, and I'm so glad you're alright."
"No problem. I'll see ya later, I guess." With that the squirrel scurried back up his tree and into his nest.
With the mammal gone, Private turned and began her trek back to the zoo.
'Why would Kitka lie about speaking to Fred?' Private wondered as she inched her way around a bush, effectively staying out of sight from the picnicking family.
'Was it to earn 'good girl points' to win back Skippah?' She pressed herself behind a trashcan as a young, squealing girl ran past. Private made to move only to quickly duck back when a boy around the girl's age darted past, wielding a water gun and laughing as he chased after the girl. The little female gave a small shriek, followed by a laugh as her back was drenched, and the chase continued.
Private chuckled at the children's antics. 'Oh to be young and innocent.' She thought. She turned to scan her surrounding and saw a familiar patch of trees that were located near the zoo. All she had to do was make it across the opening and she would be home free!
Seeing no visible humans, Private dropped down and began to belly slide across the opening.
She was half way to the safe point when a loud screech made her come to an abrupt halt.
Her heart and mind were racing as she quickly got to her feet. Most animals would have kept running, but in Private's mind, it would make more sense to see where the threat was coming from, that way she could be sure to run in the opposite direction.
She looked up and saw a raptor circling above her.
At first, she thought it was Kitka, and braced herself for a confrontation, but after taking note of the shape of the bird's wings, she found that it wasn't even a falcon at all. A falcon's wings were slender looking and ended with a point at the tip. These wings looked broader and were a bit rounder at the tip. If memory served correctly, these were indicators of a hawk.
The soldier shivered. Falcon, Hawk, Eagle, it didn't matter to her. A raptor was a raptor and it didn't hurt to be on the offense when dealing with one of these birds of prey. This wasespecially true when it came to small animals like Private; and as a small animal that could easily pass as a suitable snack for a hungry hawk, she was not going to take her eyes off the circling bird.
She wasn't going to give the predator the luxury of taking her by surprise. If this hawk really wanted her, it was going to have to work for its meal, because there was no way she was going to go down without a fight!
Private's feathers bristled as the hawk swooped down and landed about a meter from where Private stood.
The penguin tensed as the larger bird approached her.
Seeing him up close, she could now identify him as a Red-tailed Hawk…one of the largest breeds in North America. A breed that could literally wipe the floor with a penguin…
"You from the zoo?" the hawk inquired as he jerked his head in the zoo's direction.
"…yes…" Private confirmed reluctantly, switching to her male voice.
The hawk chuckled, "Of course you are. Not a lot of penguins wondering freely around New York are there?"
"Mmm." Jokes or no jokes, Private wasn't letting her guard down.
Seeing the penguins unwavering gaze, the hawk continued, "All business huh? That's fine, I'll cut to the chase." He took a step forward and Private took a step back.
She had already made the mistake of letting him come too close, she wasn't going to let him fill in the remaining gap.
The hawk saw this and took another step.
Private did the same.
She stared defiantly into the raptors eyes, her message clear. We're keeping this distance.
The raptor sighed, "Look, I'm not gonna eat ya…I'm not even gonna hurt ya. I just need to talk to ya."
Private narrowed her eyes, "So talk."
The larger bird huffed at her bluntness, "Pushy." He grumbled under his breath before continuing, "I can see you're a little tense, so let me start by sayin'; my name's Tiberius, and I'm here on behalf of a friend."
Private took another step back. That really didn't help his case and just made the penguin all the more weary. Meeting someone 'on behalf of a friend' sound an awfully lot like something a hitman would say to their victim shortly before an attack.
"A 'friend'?" Private repeated. If Tiberius so much as took another step towards her, she would be forced to use…well…force, and then she would book it back to the zoo where she could get proper help.
Tiberius nodded, "Yeah friend, but not the one you're thinkin' of."
"And just who do you think I'm thinking of?"
"Kitka."
Private blinked with a start. She had assumed that Kitka may have something to do with this…Tiberius bloke, but the fact that the hawk did know the falcon's name, much less, knew that's who Private was thinking of, did nothing to settle her nerves. What happened next made things ten times worse…
"Before I say anything else…you wouldn't happen to be that secret female I've been hearing about?" Tiberius continued.
Private's beak dropped as she frantically thought of a response. She wanted to immediately deny his inquiry, but being as frazzled as she was, she would no doubt come off as suspicious. If she flat out asked 'who wanted to know', that would also raise suspicions…
"I'm sorry, I don't know what female you're talking about." She lied. When in doubt, play dumb.
Tiberius regarded the penguin for a second before frowning, "Yeah. You're definitely her."
"…I…I don't-"
"My buddy said you'd deny it. He also said you'd have an English accent, and call me crazy, but you sure sound British to me." The hawk smirked.
Private wanted to ask how the hawk had so much intel on her, but she just couldn't get her beak to work.
Who was this bird, and what did he want?
Tiberius claimed that he wasn't going to hurt her and that he was there for a friend, but what if he was lying? What if he was just trying to get her guard down?
Alternately, if he wasn't working for Kitka, then who sent him? Who was this 'friend', and why did they send the hawk after her? How did they even know about Private's true gender? Did the news really travel that fast?
Was she being watched?
Knowing that there was no point in hiding, Private switched back to her female voice, "Who are you and how do you know about me? Who sent you?" She demanded, her feathers ruffled further.
If she was in danger, she had to know who was after her…given she could get out of this current situation.
Tiberius merely rolled his eyes, not at all intimidated by the smaller bird, "I'm trying to get to that, but you're not making it easy, which is a shame 'cause I think you're gonna wanna hear what I've got to say." He droned back with a pointed look.
Private clenched her beak as she regarded the raptor.
"If that's true, I rather have my team with me. If it's as important as you're making it seem, then they'll want to hear it too." Private negotiated.
Tiberius glanced at the zoo and then at the sky before shaking his head, "That would have been a good idea if I weren't in a hurry…my owner's waitin' for me." He gave Private a knowing smile.
"Owner?"
The bloke was a pet?
Tiberius' smile grew, "You didn't honestly think I was a wild hawk did you?" he shook his head at the thought.
"Actually…I did." Private admitted. This earned her a laugh from Tiberius.
"Oh trust me doll face, if I were…you'd be in my stomach by now."
Private shivered but Tiberius continued, "And if I were sent to kill you, I would have done it the second I saw you."
That made sense…
But then again, how many times had one of her enemies made 'small talk' before proceeding in their attempts to dispose of her or one of her team mates?
But then again…if he was a hitman, wouldn't he have dropped the act and have killed her by now?
The young soldier looked into the raptors eyes and sighed.
Against her better judgement, she was going to take his word that he meant no harm and she came to the decision that she would see what he had to say to her. Should he make any move to harm her, she would defend herself with everything she had and hopefully make it out alive.
Straightening herself to her full, unimpressive height, Private nodded, "Shall we talk here, or would you rather we go somewhere less conspicuous?"
"I prefer we weren't out in the open like this." Tiberius replied, though Private doubt he was talking about intruding humans. The way he kept looking at the sky told her that threat to this conversation would come from above, possibly an avian.
Kitka came to mind once more.
"Well…I suppose we can hide out in that patch of shrubbery." Private pointed to one of the hedges lining the edge of the park.
Tiberius regarded it with a shrug, "Eh, it'll do." With that, he spread his wings and glided to their improved meeting place.
Private cast one last glance in the zoo's direction before tobogganing after the mahogany and cream colored bird.
Her stomach twisted with anxiety as she headed in the opposite direction of the zoo. Her thirty to thirty-five minutes had come and gone and she had failed to return to her home. If Marlene had kept her word and informed the boys of Private's whereabouts, they would probably be coming out to find her soon…
They would have to make this fast.
She had no problem voicing her concerns as she squeezed her way under the bush, "My team will be out looking for me soon, so we'll only have a few moments to talk." She warned.
"I'll try to make it fast." Tiberius assured as he shifted his hunched form.
Private simply stood and dusted her belly off, "Then let's get to it. But first, you have to tell me exactly who you are and who sent you." She glared at the male. It was about time he started to give her some straight answers.
Tiberius moved a branch out of his face, "Like I said, the name's Tiberius. I'm a pet, but I work for no one!"
"Then why are you here?" Private crossed her flippers.
"I'm here as a favor to a friend. He would have come to you himself- in fact, he did try to get in contact with you, but uh…that didn't end too well."
Private furrowed her brow in confusion, "Your friend tried to get in contact with me? When?"
"It was about a year ago. You met him actually…or at least by what I've heard, it was more of an encounter than a formal meeting." Tiberius explained.
"I did?" Private thought over any new faces that she had come across in the past year. There were too many…
Who the bloody hell was Tiberius talking about?
"A Peregrine Falcon. Male. You're friend fought him and made him crash into a heating funnel." The hawk supplied.
The penguin's eyes widened. That falcon…the one that had kidnapped Julien and framed Kitka…that was Tiberius' mysterious friend?!
That's when it clicked.
Tiberius was here to get back at her and the boys for what happened to his friend!
Private took a step back and Tiberius shook his head, "Nonono, don't leave! I'm not here for revenge! I'm here to give you the warning he never got to pass on!"
The penguin stopped, "What warning?"
"The one about Kitka."
"Kitka? What does she have to do with all this?" Private asked.
"Everything. Look, why don't I start from the beginning." Tiberius shuffled closer and it took much of Private's will power to not plow out of the bush right then and there. "My buddy Gregor, that falcon you 'met', he worked for the C I double A, as in the Central Intelligence Animal Agency."
Private perked, "He's an agent?"
"Was an agent…I'll get to that in a bit. Anyway, Gregor was collaborating a case with the MIA6. He couldn't give me too many details, but what he did say was that there's some dame over in the U.K causing trouble and it's got the Brits pretty riled up." Tiberius paused to let that small bit of information sink in.
Private's brow furrowed again. This was certainly an interesting turn of events…
So this…'Gregor', was a secret agent, and he was in working a case with MIM6.
MIA6, short for Military Intelligence of Animals, Section 6, was the intelligence agency located in the United Kingdom, and it was also the agency that Nigel worked for.
Private looked off in thought. Nigel said he had to leave on a mission…was the female Tiberius mentioned, Nigel's target?
But what did any of this have to do with her? Why was Tiberius telling her all this?
"So Gregor's an agent and he's working closely with the English agency. That, I can follow. What I don't understand though, is how Kitka fits in with this. I mean, you still haven't fully explained why it has to be me that you're relaying this information to." She said, slightly more at ease.
Tiberius nodded, "I'm just about to get to that. Now listen, according to Gregor, Kitka's already got a bad rep of doing dirty work for some… unsavory animals. In almost every case in New York, Kitka's been involved in some way or another, working as an agent for hire for the CI double A's most wanted." The hawk held up a wing when Private's beak opened, "Hold on now, let me finish." When the penguin obediently closed her beak, he continued, "So like I was sayin', with Kitka's past record, you can see why the agents wanted to keep tabs on her, especially with the growing threat in England."
"And Gregor was assigned to watch her." Private cut in.
"Yes. At first, he would just watch her from afar, but then he noticed that she seemed to be a little too interested in your zoo. Then he noticed that she following you and your friends around. Then he realized that it was you she was following around. Whenever you guys went out on your missions, she was almost always watching from a distance. When you would break away from the group, it was always you she kept tabs with. Mind you though, it wasn't a love struck sort of stalking…it was more of a 'gather as much information as you can' sort of stalking. At least that's how Gregor described it." He paused at Private's distressed expression.
"She's been following me!" She repeated, going as far as to look around her. She began to wring her flipper's nervously.
Tiberius nodded, "Yeah, Gregor was pretty concerned for you. Not so much that he thought she would eat you, but because she seemed to be following you with purpose."
"Did he do anything?"
"Of course he did! He told his commanders, who told MIM6, you know as a precaution in case it could be something serious, and surprise-surprise, apparently you've got an uncle that's an agent there. I can't remember his name though…I think it was something with an 'N'…Nestor…Norman…Nathan…" The hawk's eyes squinted in thought.
"Nigel?" Private supplied.
Tiberius' eyes lit up with recognition, "Yes that the one! Nigel! Yeah when he heard about Kitka following you around, he was obviously worried and the agencies decided to keep you under surveillance for safety. Gregor stepped up to the plate since he was already watching Kitka, and since she was so keep on keeping you in her sights, he figured he'd be able to watch you two at the same time…you know that whole 'two birds and a stone' thing." He smirked.
Private gave a small chuckled before something else occurred to her, "Wait…if Gregor is such a fine bloke, why did he kidnap my friend." She paused, "He did tell you about that right?"
Tiberius nodded, "Yeah he told me about it, and how his plan fell apart."
"Plan?"
"Yeah, see, after Kitka made with the theatrics about a broken wing and all, Gregor knew that she had made her move to get to you. By the looks of it, he felt that she was trying to drive a wedge between you and you're team by keeping your leader distracted. When Gregor saw this, he figured he'd drive his own wedge between her and you all and staged a set up. He took your friend and planted him in Kitka's nest in hopes you all would think it was her doing. From there he would have filled you in on what was going on, but then that crazy dame came and…well you know the rest." Tiberius shrugged.
"He seemed awfully aggressive even before Kitka arrived." Private input.
"Eh that's just the way he was. Tough and intimidating, but a great and surprisingly funny guy once you got to know him. Of course he wasn't too happy once he got out of the heating funnel, but other than that, he was a good guy." Tiberius gave a sad smile.
Private felt a twinge of sympathy. Tiberius kept referring to Gregor in the past tense…did something happen to him?
"Where is Gregor now?" Private inquired, "You talk about him like-"
"He's gone."
"…gone? Gone as in-"
"He passed away."
Private gasped, "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! Was it-"
Tiberius glared out of an opening in the bush, "It was Kitka." he hissed. Making Private flinch.
"You…believe she killed him?"
"I know she did!"
The hawk's eyes darted back to Private and she gave a small yelp when they flashed dangerously.
Seeing the penguin's fearful gaze, Tiberius shook his head vigorously, "Sorry about that."
"It's all good." Private assured quickly.
The two fell silent.
After a moment, Private wondered if it would be alright to excuse herself when Tiberius spoke up, "You gotta watch your back around her." He said softly, "I don't know what she wants with ya, but it can't be good. That crazy broad's just downright dangerous."
Private nodded. She knew Kitka was bad news from the moment she saw her…something about that falcon had always rubbed her the wrong way, but hearing first hand just how twisted this bird was, it was…unnerving. The bird was stalking her and had killed an agent in the process.
Private looked up at her new informant, "Tiberius, everything you've just told me, you have to tell my Captain! He needs to know about this!" She stated. To her surprise, the hawk shook his head.
"Sorry doll, but I'm gonna have to leave that to you."
"What? Why?"
"Because now I think I'm being followed. It's no secret that Gregor and I were friends, and if Kitka sees me at the zoo talking to you or your friends, I'm done for. As it is, I'm taking a huge risk talkin' to you now." He cringed with another glance to the sky.
"Are you an agent as well?" Private wondered. He seemed to know an awful lot about what was going on, so surly he was part of some sort of agency. Tiberius surprised her once more when he shook his head.
"Nah, I'm just the stoolie. I guess Gregor knew his time was coming and asked me to pass along all this information." The hawk sighed, "I just wish he had gotten the chance to tell you all this himself before he bit the big one. I'm sure he would have been a better help than I ever could."
Private took a cautious step forward, "You telling me what's been going on, is a big help. If it weren't for you, I would still be oblivious to what Kitka's been doing. So thank you." She smiled and Tiberius returned the gesture.
"We would have told you sooner…in fact, Gregor was going to meet you, but I guess that falcon caught wind of what he was going to do and got to him before…" Tiberius head dropped. A pained expression on his face.
Guilt crawled its way through Private. An agent and a good friend was killed in his attempt to warn her.
"And you wanna know the sad thing?" Tiberius added, "Gregor was killed months ago, and here I am barley telling you right now!"
"Tiberius, it's fine-"
"No it's not! Something could have happened to you all because I was too scared to finish Gregor's job!"
Feeling bold, Private placed a flipper on Tiberius' wing, "But nothing happened, and the way I see it, it's better I received the news late than never."
Tiberius raised a brow, "You are one optimistic little penguin, you know that?" he smirked.
Private gave a sheepish grin, "Oh trust me, I've been told."
The two avians laughed before a sudden call caught their attention.
"Private!"
Private froze.
Kowalski…
They had come looking for her, just like she assumed they would. She turned back to the hawk, "I better get going…" she said.
Tiberius nodded, "Good idea, but hey listen,"
"Yes?"
"You know where Washington Square Park is?"
Private thought for a second before nodding, "Yes it's near Lower Manhattan."
"My apartment is about two blocks south of the park. Its eight stories tall and bright red on the outside with green stairwells…the top ledge is bright green too. It's hard to miss. You'll know it when you see it." Tiberius instructed.
"South of Washington Square Park, eight stories, bright red and green. Got it!" Private repeated with a single nod.
"Private are you out here?"
The voice was closer now. Private turned to Tiberius, "I'll see you another time then?"
"Definitely." Tiberius confirmed before moving to leave. Private held up a flipper to stop him.
"Tiberius wait!" The hawk turned back, "…Thank you…for telling me about Kitka."
"No problem doll face. It was the least I could do for you…and Gregor." He turned to leave.
"Be careful." Private cautioned.
Tiberius smiled, "You too." He squeezed himself out of the brush with Private following behind. He shook himself off before spreading his wings, "I'll see you around little miss." He said before launching into the air with a mighty flap of his wings.
Private gave a small wave. She turned and made her way around the bush only to come face to face with her Captain.
"Skippah!" she yelped as she stumbled away from the male, "I-I was just-"
"Private!" Kowalski and Rico appeared next to their leader, their worried expressions melting into ones of relief.
"Oh thank science you're okay!" Kowalski actually hugged Private as he said this.
Private returned the hug with a forced smiled, "Of course I'm alright. I just came out to see how Fred was fairing that's all."
"Is that why you were in a bush with another bird?" Skipper bit out.
Private froze as Kowalski loosened his grip. He looked down at Private, then to Skipper, and then back to Private, his brow furrowed all the while. "What were you doing in the bushes with another bird?" the scientist inquired while Rico watched on with wide eyes.
Private cringed. This couldn't be happening…
When would the awkward moments end?!
"It's not what you think!" Private insisted as she gently pried herself out of Kowalski's hold, "I really did come out to see Fred, and we did talk, and afterwards I was making my way back to the zoo but I got distracted by another friend that was filling me in on my uncle!"
Private couldn't believe how fast she was able to make up that lie about Tiberius.
Should she have been honest and told her team about what he had told her? Well…yes, but after what Tiberius told her about Kitka and how scared he was about being overheard, Private figured that perhaps this wasn't something she should discuss out in the open. In fact, going by how Skipper was currently glaring at her, it was probably best not to bring up Kitka at the moment.
Kowalski meanwhile was looking over the young female, desperately hoping that Private hadn't done anything intimate with a stranger. Obviously if she had, that was her own business and he had no right to tell her what she could or couldn't do. However, if she had done anything while in her primitive, lust filled state, then yes, there was a reason to be concerned. Either way, the thought of sweet, innocent Private doing the deed made his stomach churn.
While Kowalski was lost in his thoughts, Rico took this moment to give a sniff in the shrub's direction. Since he was the one most in tune with his natural tendencies, it was no surprise that he had the keenest sense of smell. This came in handy for times like this when scents proved more useful than sights, or in this case, words.
Rico took another whiff of the bush and even a small one in Private's direction, and knew instantly that she was telling the truth…at least in terms of not messing around in the bushes.
The Sergeant knew for a fact that a certain, distinct scent lingered in the air after mating. It also stuck to the individuals involved and acted as a giveaway of what had transpired.
Rico didn't smell any of that anywhere. Not in the brush, and certainly not on the young female.
He turned to his Captain and shook his head, "Nutin' 'appened."
Skipper, having heard his Sergeant's sniffing, was forced to take his word, though he still regarded the female with distaste.
Private looked between the three males, "I swear we weren't fooling around!" she insisted.
Kowalski put up his flippers, "Alright, we believe you-"
"No! You believe Rico!" She jerked a flipper in the mentioned male's direction, "K'walski, you know I wouldn't do something like that!"
"Can you blame us for thinking otherwise?" Skipper interjected.
Private blinked at her leader, "I-"
"Do you know how bad it looks to see you crawling out behind another bird, a hawk, after you disappear without telling us where you were going?" the leader lectured. He wasn't yelling, but his voice was still firm and intimidating and it was enough to make the female shrink in on herself.
"I told Marlene-"
"She is not part of the team!"
"-and I told her to tell you guys where I was going." Private continued, "I was just going to go check on Fred and then I was going to head home. Meeting a friend was not part of the plan! It just happened."
For a moment, the Captain and the Private merely regarded each other for a while.
"That still doesn't explain why you came out by yourself." Skipper said while crossing his flippers. "Don't you remember the Penguin Credo?"
Private nodded, "Yes sir, but…you all were resting, and I didn't want to be a bother."
Skipper gave her an incredulous look, "That doesn't matter! Do you know the danger you put yourself in?!" his voice had risen, but rather than looking angry, he looked more…distraught. "Someone could have hurt or killed you…or worse! You are an easy target do you hear me? If word gets out to our enemies about what you really are, they will come after you! I've seen it! I've been in battles where the women were picked off in combat before the enemy even thought about coming after the men! If anything happened to you I-" Skipper cut himself off and looked away, his breathing heavy.
His team stared at him in silence. They had never seen him get so emotionally worked up…at least not in this way.
Private in particular was lost, "Skippah-"
"I don't ever…want to hear of you leaving the zoo without an escort or without permission again, is that clear… Private?" Skipper demanded.
The female nodded in defeat, "Yes sir."
"Good. Now," He regarded his whole team, "let's start heading back." He sent another pointed look at Private, "I still wanna know who this 'friend' of yours is, but I feel a migraine coming on…" Skipper rubbed his temples was a wave of pain ran through his brain. He turned to leave when Kowalski spoke up.
"Uh Skipper?"
"Yeah?"
*"Is…can…" the scientist faltered as he glanced down at the female.
"Spit it out Kowalski!" Skipper snapped impatiently.
"Is Private still allowed back into the base?" The scientist rushed out.
Private's eyes widened as she looked back and forth from Kowalski to Skipper.
He spoke to Skipper about letting her back into HQ? And Skipper had said yes? Is that why Kowalski said 'still allowed'? She stared at her leader, waiting for his response.
Skipper turned and eyed the female, looking her up and down as if debating whether or not he should let her back in.
"Skipper, you said she could come back." Kowalski chided gently, putting Skipper on the spot.
The leader narrowed his eyes, "Only 'cause you kept bugging me about it!"
"So is it still a 'yes'?"
Skipper looked over the female in question before giving a reluctant nod, "…Yes…if only so we can keep an eye on her."
Private gasped, a large smile on her beak, "Oh thank you Skippah!"
"But I expect you to control yourself, is that clear?" Skipper warned.
"Crystal sir!" Private nodded enthusiastically.
Truth be told…she wasn't sure if she could control her urges. But then again…she hadn't had any strong urges in the past few days. Maybe whatever cycle she was in ended and she would be okay…at least for now. Obviously she would have to deal with this again in the future, but she would deal with it when the time came. For now, she just wanted to move on and repair her work relationship with Skipper.
"I promise I'll behave!" she reassured.
Skipper have a doubtful "Hm" before turning and leading his troops back to the zoo, "Well, let's get a move on before the humans find out we're gone." He announced.
The three subordinates followed dutifully behind him.
Rico sent a smile in Private's direction before falling in close to Skipper.
Kowalski and Private hung back a couple of feet away.
"Thank you K'walski." Private sighed as she gave the taller penguin a sideways hug.
Kowalsi returned the gesture with a smile, "You're welcome. I just couldn't let you go on another night looking for somewhere to sleep when you have your own bed with us. Plus, I missed having you around the base." Then his smile turned into a frown, "But in all seriousness, your actions today were incredibly reckless."
Private flinched, "I know…it was a stupid decision."
"Indeed, and I think a week helping me in the lab is an appropriate punishment." He smirked when Private gave him an unsure look.
"Help as in how? An in cleaning?" she asked, sounding hopeful at the end.
"Oh I'll think of something." Kowalski assured, "Unless you rather swim the fifty laps Skipper was originally going to assign you…"
"No no, helping in the lab is fine!" Private quickly assured, forcing a smile. Kowalski chuckled.
"Excellent!"
Private withheld her oncoming groan.
It was going to be a looong week…
A/N: So yeah…little minor role for Tiberius from Secret Life of Pets. It's a teeny, tiny little crossover, but nothing major that requires me to put this story in the crossover section. Tiberius serves as a cameo character and he's only got a few more scenes in this story.
In regards to the sound Private makes when panting; I saw a video on Youtube where two male penguins were fighting over a female, and in between their bursts of violence, they would pause and pant, making this funny little raspy sound. I don't know if this is something normal when penguins pant, but I thought it would be fun to add to this story, if only to emphasize Private's natural penguin biology/behavior.
Who else…Gregor. He's the male falcon from the same episode Kitka appeared in. I found his name on the Penguins of Madagascar wikia, though if that's his actual name or not, I don't know, but it's the one I'm sticking with. His backstory as an agent was another idea I had from the start, except at the time, I had him live long enough to warn Private himself before Kitka got to him.
Let's see, what else…
Oranizations: In this chapter, I introduced the organization CIAA, or as Tiberius likes to call it, the CI double A. As mentioned, this stands for the Central Intelligence Animal Agency, and is basically the animal version of the CIA.
MIA6 stands for Military Intelligence or Animals, Section 6. In other words, the animals' version of MI6. I've heard rumors/theories in the fandom that Nigel works for an organization similar to MI6 (perhaps it was confirmed in the series and I just don't remember…) so that's the organization he works for.
Well, I think that's it for now…
Stay tuned for chapter 11!