Guardian
Chapter 13
What happened to Griz?
--Duckberg, Gyro's Workshop
Hooter stood paralyzed as the news sank in. "Grizzlikof was inside?" he thought over and over again as the roaring fire continued. All he could do was watch. All his years of training and experience as director of the most secret organization on the planet were worthless as he watched.
Quiverwing heard what the agent said, and her heart went out to Hooter. But in her 10 year-old head, just because the agent was inside when the bomb went off, that didn't mean he was dead. Griz could still be alive! Her eyes narrowed as she made a dash for the fiery door, just like she had done the previous day. Only this time, something prevented her.
Quiverwing jerked back, as if her costume was caught on something; indeed it was. Scrooge had noticed the change in the young lady and when he saw her take off, he quickly extended his cane, as naturally as extending his own limb. It tangled in her cape. She looked pleadingly at him.
"There's been enough casualties today, I'll not add you to the list of them!" Scrooge responded to her expression. His eyes dared her to try and escape him. It was almost the same look her father had always given her when he told her to stay in the Ratcatcher instead of busting the bad guys with him. She knew that look, and just like with her father, she knew how to ignore it.
She quickly unfastened her cape and continued for the door, leaving an angry Scrooge in close pursuit.
Quiverwing didn't get far before she stopped dead in her tracks. In her delay with Scrooge, Gizmoduck had taken the initiative to enter the building himself. Now the duckling stood as the mecha-duck emerged from the doorway carrying a heavy load on his shoulders. Giz slumped the poor agent on the ground, right outside the building which soon collapsed.
Everyone gathered around the injured bear: Quiverwing, Giz, Scrooge, and most importantly, Hooter. The old owl ran up, pushing through the crowd. He knelt down and checked to see if the heart was beating, and then put his ear to Griz's snout to check his breathing. Grizzlikof was doing neither...
--Duckberg Hospital, right outside the morgue
A doctor from the hospital stood in the doorway of the most solemn place in Duckberg. Hooter's expression was one of great frustration. A large body was in the back, but it was covered up so no one would see it. The doctor held the paperwork of his most recent 'guest'. "Everything's in order, Director. Please let me know if you need anything else."
"I don't mean to offend you, good doctor, but I doubt you can help us any more than you already have." He took the file and bid the doctor a good day.
Hooter began to head for the elevator, but before it arrived, the doctor shouted down the short hallway, "Do you have any idea who could have done this?"
"I'm beginning to fear that I do," Hooter really didn't speak load enough to give a proper answer; he more or less mumbled it to himself.
The elevator arrived and Hooter entered it, the frustration gone, replaced with worry.
--Duckberg Hospital - 3rd floor - ICU
Hooter exited the elevator and moved along the floor. No one stopped him, or questioned him. The staff had been briefed not to disturb the owl. He walked up to a room that had SHUSH guards posted in front of it. One of the guards was the agent Griz had thrown out of the building, moments before the bomb went off.
Before Hooter entered the room, he gave a loud sigh and looked at the file. "I really do hate it when this happens...so much paperwork to follow through on..." With that final complaint, he entered the ICU room.
On the bed laid the bear. A blanket kept him warm, and a breathing mask kept oxygen in his lungs. Most would think he was asleep right now. And truth be told, Griz liked it that way. No one would dare disturb any resting SHUSH agent who had been injured in the line of duty. So Griz was a little annoyed when he heard the door open. His annoyance quickly vanished when he realized who was disturbing him.
"Hello, old friend," Hooter said with a slight smile once he realized the large agent was, in fact, awake.
"Director?" A once strong voice, now weak from injury, whispered through the oxygen mask.
"You're very lucky, you know."
"To be the victim of an assassination attempt, and now struggling to breathe?" Grizzlikof replied sarcastically with a small chuckle.
"To be alive," Hooter finished for him.
Griz sighed. "Yes I know...I thought I was dead back there."
"We all did, but as I said, you are lucky. Lucky Gizmoduck keeps a defibrillator in that suit of his. I swear he has something for just about every situation imaginable."
"Well...Agent G did design it. He also designed a breathing mask I found after the bomb went off. It kept me alive until Gizmoduck found me. I dare say, that G is the biggest reason I'm still here, talking to you now."
"We'll find him, Grizzlikof. I swear it!"
"Part of me doubts it, but if G is alive, I have faith he'll think of something to get back to us." Grizzlikof became distracted at the sight of a rather large file in Hooter's hands. "What is that?" he asked.
"You know how I hate paperwork, Agent. That's part of the reason why you've risen through the ranks these past many years. This, my friend, is a lot of red tape you've caused me. This is your death certificate," he said bluntly.
"But, Director..."
"Quiverwing found some kind of monitoring system in the wreckage. It appears the device was remotely triggered. Whoever is responsible for this was waiting for you, and only you. Because of that, I'd rather that person believe he succeeded in killing you then try another attempt. Fortunately, the morgue had a John Doe big enough to pass for you. No offense."
"None taken," Griz said with an even bigger chuckle, this time, hurting his side.
"Careful, old friend. You just got out of surgery. Do you really want to go back?"
"No, I'd rather not. I'd rather this case be solved, and you and I drinking coffee with G back in St. Canard."
"I'm afraid we're a bit far away from that." Hooter shook his head. "Quiverwing and Gizmoduck are still looking for clues at the site. McDuck is helping out as much as he can. I dare say, he has every cop, fireman, security officer, and Girl Scout in the whole city looking for Gyro. It just doesn't make any sense. Whoever this person is, they're targeting just you and Gyro. Not the Money Bin, not SHUSH, not any weapon, or even a valuable artifact. It's a mystery, Grizzlikof. And we have no idea who is responsible."
"I do..." he coughed through his mask. "Back at the workshop...Two roses were placed on G's desk...Only one person in all of SHUSH's database files ever did that to his victims."
"That's impossible, and you know it. He died...years ago...You and G were there." Hooter still didn't want to believe it. He headed for the door, as if to avoid facing the truth.
"We never found his body, Director. And if he is still alive, I imagine that he still holds the same grudge he did, so long ago."
Hooter gave one last look back at his best agent. "If it is true, then you and Gyro aren't the only ones he'll target..." And with that Hooter left the room.
--Duckberg, Gyro's Workshop (what was left of it, anyway)
Quiverwing eyed a blade of grass through her magnifying glass. It had been a present from her dad last year, intended to be used for science class, but the duckling now used it the same way he did, to look for clues. "Nothing. Not anything. Whoever did this, he's a real pro. Didn't leave any tracks all."
Gizmoduck had been on patrol around the site, mostly taping it off and preventing the gathering crowd from interfering. Of course, at the sight of the superheroes, most people just got even more excited.
Neither of the heroes noticed the buzzing sound of the Flash Quack until it was almost on top of them. It quickly approached and startled Quiverwing, who answered it immediately. This usually meant SHUSH had something important to say, but there was the small chance it was her dad, calling to say he was on his way home, and the mission was a success. She got her hopes up at seeing her father, but they were quickly dashed.
Hooter came on the screen and Quiverwing took a stance almost like a military officer. "Director?"
"Yes, Quiverwing. Have you and Gizmoduck uncovered anything yet?"
"No, Director. What I do know is that this isn't a rookie. He has a good knowledge of explosives, and access to them. We've already determined it was triggered from a remote location..."
He cut her off, "Can that location be tracked down?"
"Maybe if I had Arrow Kid here, or Gyro."
Hooter sighed. "Then I have no choice. Quiverwing, I want you and Gizmoduck to meet me at Duckberg International Airport, immediately. Gizmoduck is to escort you there."
Gizmoduck heard his name and headed over. The sight of Hooter immediately got his attention.
Quiverwing made a face of confusion and disgust. 'Did he just say, what I think he just said?' she thought. After it sunk in, she tried to clarify, "What?!"
"The situation in Transylvania is getting out of hand. The United States government will not have the magic world in such chaos. It could, in theory, rip a hole in the fabric of our reality. Because of this, I'm sending you to help Morgana out. Gizmoduck will continue on with the investigation here, alone." It was a lie, yes. But telling the young duckling that it was too dangerous for her to remain here would never work.
Quiverwing knew something was up immediately. Hooter would never just take her off this case. Especially with Gyro involved. "But Director... All the leads you have are because of my detective work."
Gizmoduck spoke up. "I agree Director. It would be foolish to pull Quiverwing off this case. Plus, last I talked with Morgana, she said she had the situation under control."
Hooter didn't need this. With everything that had occurred that day with his daughter and Fenton, only to find out that his top freelance agent was missing, and then to see Grizzlikof pulled from a burning building, he was stressed beyond belief. And now this. Arguing protocol with a 10 year-old.
"Quiverwing, I repeat, you are to head to the airport at once. I won't have any arguments. And if Darkwing were here, he'd agree with me." The fact of the matter was, if Darkwing were here, he, like his daughter, he would get suspicious and not listen to the owl.
Quiverwing was a little taken aback by Director Hooter's tone. He'd never spoken that way before, at least to her. 'He must be totally stressed out,' she thought. Even though she had been incredibly excited for her first solo case, part of her right now really wished her dad were here. If he was here to begin with, maybe Gyro would have never even gone missing.
She suddenly became aware that Hooter was waiting for an answer. She knew he'd expect nothing less than 'Yes, sir,' but something told her there was a lot more going on. Still it would be better to play along for now. "Okay Director, I got to go get my things from Giz's headquarters and then I'll head to the airport."
Hooter eyed the young duckling. 'That was a little too easy,' he thought. "Gizmoduck, see to it she arrives."
"Yes sir!" Giz replied, not trying to show his personal feelings at that moment. It wouldn't be the same without Gos there.
"Good!" Hooter was quite firm on the matter. He hung up the line and the Flash Quack flew off, leaving two very sad heroes.
Giz tried to break the awkward silence that was forming. "Well I guess...that's that... We should get back to the trailer..."
Quiverwing didn't want to show her disappointment and above all, didn't want to show her planning of a way out of this. "I guess so..." With that, the two heroes headed for the Duckberg trailer park.
--Nagakwan River (Oilrabia's only river)
Neptunia was getting frustrated, but then again, she almost always did when she was in fresh water for this long. It didn't help that the river folk were talking in circles. It was a draw-back for being smarter than your average fish, she supposed.
At first, she had had her doubts about this mission. She didn't like going above the rest of Justice Duck's heads, but Hooter was very clear. She was to stay in the river, and avoid any interaction with anyone that approached. And if anyone saw her, she was to act like a normal fish and swim away. She wasn't to enter the Death Fortress (which stood next to the river), only observe and report if needed to SHUSH. And what angered her most, is that she was not to make contact with Darkwing or Launchpad.
It didn't help that yesterday she saw them both captured by Slug's minions. She couldn't do anything - only watch. Unfortunately, Grizzlikof didn't appear to be answering his line at SHUSH's headquarters. Neptunia couldn't explain it, but she had a bad feeling in her gut.
She tried questioning the fish again. "Okay...repeat that again."
The small fish began to tell his story, for the third time, about what had transpired nine days prior.
"Alright," Neptunia, who understood what the fish was saying, tried to clarify, "so a bunch of supplies were stashed away in the fortress. Any idea what they were?"
The fish answered.
"Explosives? How many?"
He tried to put into words how many, but he didn't know how to count.
"Well it's stupid to store that many in this area. One missile from Oilraba's main defensive line, and…Ka-Boom. I don't know what Slug is thinking..."
Suddenly the fish shook his head and tried to correct her.
"Slug didn't store the explosives... Someone smuggled them in under his nose... Who?"
The fish described the person responsible.
"A fire...man? Do you mean a fireman? That doesn't make any sense...but then again, I'm a talking fish, so I shouldn't criticize."
All of a sudden, every fish in the river, including the one being questioned, began to scurry and swim with the current, which lead to the ocean. "Hey, wait up!" Neptunia tried to bring back her witness, but he was smaller, and quicker, and soon gone. "Well that was interesting. Wonder what's going on..." She stopped talking to herself and started listening to the frequencies in the water. She suddenly got this feeling of dread she couldn't explain; it was rooted in what was left of her fish instincts.
Cautiously she swam to the surface. It was a deep river and took longer than she'd like. She knew she was breaking protocol, but something inside her said there was danger. Carefully she surfaced, revealing only her head.
Nothing could not have prepared her for the sight that awaited her. The sudden shock hit her like a blue whale. Slug's Death fortress was no more. Gone. What was left of the structure was now a burning heap of rubble. She was so deep in the river and so caught up in questioning, that she didn't hear the explosion go off. The other fish did though.
Shock hit her again. "Darkwing!" Neptunia leapt up out of the water and onto land, forgetting that there was any rule against it. She ran up to the fortress, the heat quickly dehydrating her. But she didn't care. She began to circle it, hoping to find a way in, or to see if her friends had made it out alive. The heat was getting to her, and she could feel herself beginning to get light-headed.
In a defeated state she stopped running and tried to catch her breath. It was no use; there was no way in.
Suddenly she heard someone cough over a sand dune. She ran to see who it was. There in the sand was a beautiful girl, covered with ash and dirt. She looked heartbroken for some reason. Maybe she had seen what happened.
"Excuse me," Neptunia approached. "Did you see the building explode?"
The girl was a little taken aback by this fish woman's appearance, but she eventually did answer. "Yes." She coughed again. "I barely escaped."
Then it hit Neptunia. This wasn't any ordinary girl. "Princess?"
The girl nodded.
The fish ran up to meet her. "Where's Darkwing? Launchpad? Did they make it out?"
She was silent.
As if sensing her discomfort, Neptunia tried to clarify, "Look, I'm a friend, and a part of their team. I just wanna know if they're okay."
Finally she answered.
"Darkwing was fighting Slug last I saw. He gave Launchpad and me the time we needed to get out. But…Launchpad wanted to help his friend and…" She started to cry, "now Launchpad and Darkwing..." She buried her face in her hands, sobbing, leaving a very stunned and equally sad Neptunia.
AUTORS NOTE:
WOOOOHOOOOO!! Finally getting back into this. I still dont have a computer, which is the biggest reason why this took so long. I also moved, and got another job. So lots been going on. I will work on getting more chapter for you guys. This is kinda of a Hooter heavy episode, more Gos in the next. Thanks again for all the reviews and the feedback, I do enjoy them a lot.--BQ