Chapter 12
Louie wasn't proud of what he did. He ran screaming down the street until he got back to his uncle's property. He stumbled behind a bush and crouched down to catch his breath.
Shortly afterward, he heard the van slow down and drive by the property line. He forced himself to swallow and keep calm, although inside he was still screaming for help.
He glanced longingly up the hill at the light spilling out on the lawn from the mansion. He'd never seen anything so welcoming in his life. He started to get up to go to the house, but his legs were shaking too hard. Then he remembered his cell phone and berated himself.
What did the Junior Woodchuck Guide Book say about emergencies? Always call the proper authorities first. Duh. He should have done that from the start. Now it might be too late.
Louie nervously fumbled with his cell and dialed the police.
"Hello! This is an emergency! I repeat, an emergency! My Uncle Donald and a little girl were kidnapped by a big goat in a suit! What? Who am I? What does that matter? I'm Louie Duck! My uncle was kidnapped!
"Yes, Donald Duck! Scrooge McDuck's nephew! Yes, I'm fine! I'm standing behind the fence looking out at the street from Uncle Scrooge's lawn! Yes, a goat in a suit! They were thrown in a van and driven away!
"No, I didn't see the license! I was too far away! I don't know what make the van was! It looked like any other black van! Um…"
Louie looked at the stars and calculated the direction.
"South. They went south toward the Interstate… Hey, there was also this lizard-looking duck thing. It had a long tail, long dark hair, I think… No, I'm not making this up! She was a chameleon of sorts. She kept changing into other people!
"This is for real! My Uncle, Scrooge's nephew, was KIDNAPPED! ...Thirty minutes? But by then there's no telling where Uncle D will be…! Huh? I know…Alright. I'm not going anywhere…"
Louie ended the call and sighed, staring longingly down the road. Why did Uncle D and Gosalyn have to get kidnapped tonight of all nights when Gizmoduck was out of sorts…? Who else could pull off a rescue…?
Louie tapped his bill thoughtfully. Something was coming to him…Of course! Launchpad! He was Darkwing Duck's sidekick! He ought to know where Darkwing was! Louie burst in the house, ignoring Scrooge's startled questions.
"Quick! Uncle Scrooge! What's Launchpad's number?" he held up his cell phone.
Scrooge took one look at Louie's face and obligingly thumbed through his address book.
Darkwing sighed heavily. He was bored out of his mind… He had patrolled the entire perimeter enough to memorize it. He'd double-checked all the traps, weapons, sensors, and cameras (and nearly set off a couple of spring-loaded hammers on the building sides. Hehe...at least he'd had some excitement avoiding those things...)
Too bad he hadn't allowed Gos to accompany him tonight. She would at least have been someone to talk to...
As much as he loved his narratives and alliteration, Darkwing could get tired of talking to himself. He didn't feel quite as clever bouncing brilliant prose off a brick wall as he did when he had someone listening to him, or at least faking it for his benefit. Pretending he was starring in his own documentary show didn't make him feel any better about himself.
He sighed and slumped against the wall. So much for his brilliant plans to surprise Gosalyn on her birthday... He'd laid everything out weeks in advance! He'd gotten tickets to the amusement park, complete with time slots for the roller coasters so they wouldn't have to wait in line. He had also picked up the package from S.H.U.S.H., along with some disturbing information he had shrugged off as a rumor. As if he had anything to worry about... Phineas Sharp indeed. If anything, Sharp needed to look out for him! Darkwing Duck was no Derek Blunt!
Darkwing smirked to himself and allowed his mind to wander a bit before getting up to once again double...no, make that "quadruple" check the perimeter.
As he walked along the fence, his thoughts returned to Gosalyn. He definitely should have brought her along. He had kind of been hoping she would ask about her presents sometime today. He'd collected everything ahead of time and tucked it away in the best hiding place he could ask for: the bolt hole off the main tunnel connecting his house to the bridge.
As far as he knew, neither Gosalyn nor LP knew about the hidden room yet, and he hoped to keep it that way for a while. He occasionally went there to restock the kitchen items and make sure the plumbing and portable generator were in working order. He also frequently swapped costumes so he wouldn't have one outfit smelling damp and musty next to his other suits...
He palmed his face. He was letting his mind wander again... That wasn't exactly conducive to guard duty.
Ugh, how did Gizmoduck do this every single night…? The monotony, the stillness of the lawn and the surrounding buildings, even the sounds of crickets chirping instead of cars on the streets were trying Darkwing's nerves. He was on 'guard duty,' for goodness sake! He needed something to 'guard' against! Was it too much to ask for a prowler? Or even a beggar?
He tugged on his hat brim, gritting his teeth. It was too quiet! Every little sound he normally would ignore on a camping trip made him jump. If he heard one more of those stinking bullfrogs ribbit, he would give it something to croak about!
As if on cue, a toad hopped onto the sidewalk in front of him.
Darkwing giggled maniacally and pulled out his gas gun. But just as he was about to give that fat, unsuspecting amphibian a mouth full of tear gas, "Gonna Fly Now" started playing from his pocket. Darkwing jumped, pulling the trigger. The toad bounded away, unharmed, but the steady breeze blew the gas back into Darkwing's face. He coughed and held up his cape to block the billowing gas cloud as he fumbled for his cell phone.
"Yes…" he choked, trying to move away from the gas and hold his breath while talking at the same time. He failed at holding his breath and went into a coughing fit when the gas took full effect. It took him several seconds before he understood what Launchpad had said.
"WHAT! Gosalyn was kidnapped! Who would dare? How? Where? When...? Sometimes why? ...Never mind! I've got to find her!"
Helper, Gyro's little light bulb robot, started tugging on the inventor's sleeve. He sat up to see what the matter was.
"What is it? Did I leave the Blendito plugged in all night again?" Gyro adjusted his glasses.
Helper slapped his head in frustration and pointed to the door. Gyro finally heard the tapping for himself.
"Alright, I'm coming."
He opened the door and found himself facing a gun barrel.
"Hey there, Pal..." Hammerhead grinned.
Gyro backed away.
Helper hid behind a waste/compost bin/paper shredder.
The goat grinned fiercely and peered around the workshop.
"So...this is where the creative genius starts, eh? Not much for decor, but," he shrugged. "To each his own. Me, I'd rather have a hammock on a beach and a personal caterer..."
"Wh-what do you want?" Gyro stammered, groping his hat nervously. "I don't have much money..."
"Oh I'm not here for yer money."
Before Gyro could react, the gun was shoved up against his beak.
"I'm here for you! Now, do us both a favor, alright, and come wits me quietly. I've got yer ride all set up for ya's." Hammerhead said in a friendly, yet menacing tone. He laid his broad palm on Gyro's shoulder and steered him to the door. A step later, he dug his fingers in and stopped.
Helper took advantage of the pause to scoot out of hiding and hide under the cuff of Gyro's pant leg.
Hammerhead didn't notice the robot. He looked around the house.
"Wait just a sec, here. Ya got any more o' that superpower formula stuff layin' around this joint?"
"NO! I got rid of it because it wasn't safe! You see, it alters the brain's patterns and..."
"Yeah, yeah." Hammerhead shoved him to the door again. "Save it for da boss."
"'Boss?' Who sent you?" Gyro tried to look over his shoulder at his captor.
Hammerhead poked him in the back with the handgun. "Don't worry, Pal...You'll find out soon enough!"
He opened the van doors and gestured with the gun for Gyro to climb in. Gyro exchanged glances with him and complied. He froze just inside the door when he noticed two other shapes wriggling in the front.
"Oh my sprockets! Not more hostages!" Gyro spun around to face the villain. "What have you done!"
"Just cleaning up some loose ends..." Hammerhead grinned malevolently, holding out a pair of hand cuffs. He slapped them onto Gyro's wrists and proceeded to tie the inventor up.
Gosalyn and Donald, recognizing Gyro's voice, redoubled their efforts to escape, grumbling threats around their noticed their efforts and yelled.
"Hey! Shaddup! And quit yer squirmin'!"
He climbed inside the van and glared down at the two small ducks.
"You two are lucky I didn't want to make too big of a scene back dere on the street..."
Grabbing Gosalyn and Donald under the collar, he hissed. "I may need reedy inventor boy over there, but you twos are expendable...!"
Donald gulped audibly.
Gosalyn glowered back into Hammerhead's eyes, unintimidated. He smirked and lowered his voice just so the two ducks could hear him.
"I like ditching extra baggage like youse two. One of da perks of being a villain and all..."
Gosalyn's eyes widened. Was he suggesting what she thought...?
Roughly tossing the ducks on the van floor, Hammerhead latched the back doors and went up front, starting the engine and pulling out onto the street. The momentum made the three avians slide across the floor, banging into each other. Hammerhead glanced at them through the rear view mirror and smirked.
"Enjoying the ride back dere?"
Donald and Gyro dizzily shook their heads. Gosalyn shot daggers at Hammerhead with her glare.
Hammerhead grinned. "Dat's what I thought."
Steering onto a quiet street, he continued in a conversational tone. "Ya know kid, I knews you'd be trouble after I'ds met yer grandfather! He was trouble too. Coulda cooperated with us. Coulda saved us a load of trouble. But he had to play a hero. Heh! And alls I was gonna do was ask him about dat picture on the hall table..." He raised his eyes to the mirror again.
While his eyes were on Gosalyn, Helper ducked out of sight behind Gyro's shoulder. The robot had finished loosening everyone's gags.
Gosalyn kept Hammerhead's attention by sticking her tongue out around the gag, making a disgusted face at him.
He smirked. "Still gots yer spirit, huh kid? Well keep it up, 'cause once we gets to where we're goin', you can kiss daylight goodbye. If yer lucky, dat's all you'll miss..."
His cell phone rang and he answered it with one hand. "What is it? Can't you tell I'm driving 'ere?"
"Mr. Hannigan..." Phineas Sharp replied. "I trust you have a good reason for leaving your post?"
"Yeah, in fact, make dat three reasons..." Hammerhead smiled after glancing in the mirror at his passengers again.
"'Three?'" Sharp repeated. "What on earth do you need with three?"
"Well, one's the inventor yer eggheaded friends were supposed to pick up. One's a witness and de other's personal. I got some history with her... Let's just say I'm eager to catch up on old times..."
Sharp was unimpressed. "Yes, well, as long as it's not on company time!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
"What about our rogue agent?" Sharp inquired.
Hammerhead wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Aah, she split the joint. Took off when I went to get de inventor. He and his little pals are having a nice reunion in the back. Speaking of which, remind me to tell you how I met this kid. See, her grandfather and I were having a little "head-to-head" and..."
"Some other time..." Sharp yawned and hung up.
"And he grabs me from behind!" Hammerhead continued talking into the receiver. "So I says to him, "Ya got a death wish, Old Timer?" And you know what that old fossil did?"
Hammerhead looked back again and saw a dark expression on Gosalyn's face. He grinned, directing his conversation to his passengers as he tucked the phone back in his pocket.
"He pulled a gun on me! The joik was loaded!"
Hammerhead laughed in amusement at the memory.
Gosalyn's eyes widened. She hadn't even realized her grandpa owned a gun, let alone carried one.
Hammerhead continued taunting his captives, steering the vehicle onto an unpaved road as he spoke. "So, in de name of self-defense, I gave old Gramps the what for, head-on. Just one little shove and BAM! Sent him flying halfway across da room! He got dis weird look in his eye and said 'You'll never get the code now...' and started coughing. Next ting I know, we hear someone runnin' from somewheres. I told those lunkheads to make sure we was alone, but of course dey messed up dat job! Me and de boys skedaddled. And what do ya know...?"
He met Gosalyn's eyes again. "If we'd a hung around five seconds longer, we coulda saved ourselves some trouble lookin' for ya's. You were dere all along and we didn't even know it."
He laughed. "Ain't dat somethin'? 'Course, when we went back for the professor later, we found his tings were gettin' packed up for good. Ha! The guy pulled a gun on me and he dies from a punctured lung. Gramps got off lucky, dat's for certain..."
Although Hammerhead was busy steering around pot holes and low hanging branches, he caught another glimpse of Gosalyn's face. What he saw festering in her eyes was enough to make him keep his eyes on the road for the rest of the drive.
Meanwhile, across Duckburg, a large lizard tail waved from a van with a lamppost laying across its roof.
Camille sat up triumphantly, holding the safety deposit box in her hands.
"At lasssst. The sssuperpower formula is mine!"
A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger, folks! Been having tons of problems at home that have delayed my progress on this story. Still plugging away at it! I've been aiming to have this finished by October and I should still reach that goal. Bear with me, and I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as BeecroftA and I have enjoyed developing and writing this story. Stay tuned! More chapters coming soon!
