Chapter 37: What? Why? How?

"Why did I call you by your own name?" Jenna turned to Dewey and smiled. She tucked a finger behind her messy red hair. The volume of her hair flew forward, and a long, white braid spilled from the back of her head. She held the red, curly wig with one finger and pulled off the face eyebrow piercing.

"Cause you're much smarter than people give you credit for, Dewey." Winnie said.

Dewey ran and punched Winnie in the thigh.

"Ow! You little shit! What the fu-"

"What are you doing here? Why are you in disguise? How did you know that I knew that you were Jenna?"

"Jeez, kid. One question at a time!" She rubbed the spot where Dewey punched her.

"Why?" Dewey spat.

"'Why' what?" Winnie asked. She unbraided her hair and shook the strands free.

"Why are you disguised as my Uncle Donald's boss?"

"Dude, I am your uncle's boss. This store is just a front." Winnie said. "I pulled some strings so I could be undercover in Duckburg."

"But, why?"

"I swear…you kids and the word 'why.'" She bent over and smirked. "Why do you think?"

Dewey looked at the door that led back into the store. Webby's laugh could be heard from inside.

"Webby." Dewey said. "You're spying on Webby."

"And people say Huey is the brains." She rolled her eyes. "People should give you more credit."

"But why spy on her? You could literally go up to her and-"

"I can't, Dewey. I just can't." She picked up the flattened boxes and carried them to the loading bay door.

"Can't, or won't?"

Winnie chuckled. "Do you realize how cliché that sounds?" She entered the code into the keypad by the door. "Who started that phrase anyways? It's like in every movie and soap opera on T.V." The door rolled up. The cold outside air blew into the stock room.

Dewey ran up to her. "What is it?"

"What's 'what,' kid? Gotta be more specifi-"

"What's keeping you from talking to her? The government? The Unicorn Illuminati? An enemy spy organization?"

"It's nothing." She said bitterly, carrying the boxes down the loading ramp.

"It's something." Dewey said. "I know it. If I can figure out that Louie has a crush on Webby-"

"Wait, excuse me? Stalker hoodie boy has a 'what' now on who?" Winnie turned around, her face disgusted. "Ugh...God, he has a type…that's gonna get him killed in the long run."

"Listen here." He ran up and cut her off from the base of the ramp. "You are gonna tell me everything."

"And if I don't you'll reveal my identity?" Winnie chuckled. She walked past him and opened the lid to the recycling dumpster. She chucked the boxes in. "You're a kid. A kid with a secret talk show, an active imagination, and a need to be noticed. You suffer from 'middle-kid syndrome.' People will just think you're doing this for attention. No one is gonna believe you-"

CLICK! FLASH!

Winnie looked at Dewey. He dangled his phone in the air.

"What did you do-"

"Did you know that today is International Selfie Day?" Dewey said slyly. "And I have yet to post my photo yet!" He showed the screen to Winnie. Dewey's face covered most of the picture, but Winnie was caught in the background, putting the boxes in the dumpster.

"Dewey, you can't-"

"OOOHHH! I wonder what filter I should use!" He swiped through the phone.

"Dewey, no! You absolutely cannot post that photo!"

"And why not?"

"Because technically… this set up with the store is all illegal." She blushed.

"Wait what?"

Winnie sighed. "I…I wanted to see Webby, but with what happened in Angorabah, I couldn't risk being seen back in Duckburg. I have...enemies. People who would like to take advantage of me having a little sister who I would probably kill over." She crossed her arms and sighed. "Look, you remember that agent that debriefed you the last time we met? Dawson?"

Dewey nodded.

"I asked if she could pull a few strings with S.H.U.S.H. to get me a hideout for a month or two…just enough to check in on Webby. We faked a report that we needed some intel at this mall so I could get the funds to keep up a small boutique and stuff…"

"So you abused S.H.U.S.H. funds to hide out and check on Webby?"

"It's not something I'm proud of." Winnie's eyes went wide as she stared off into the night. "Besides, knowing them, they'll try to swindle me into a contract or something so I'm stuck working for them. I do not like working with an organization with that much paperwork. I absolutely hate it!" She went on and on, her words picking up pace.

"You have to fill out overly specific paperwork, theres all these protocol and rules you have to follow! S.H.U.S.H. is sooooo constraining! And my God, some of the agents… I would hate to cross paths with Gryzlikoff again…that guy is the worst!"

Dewey burst out into laughter. Winnie looked down in confusion.

"You are definitely Webby's sister! You even ramble on like her! With the big eyes and everything!" He kept laughing.

Winnie smilled and ruffled his hair. "Thanks. I mean, we get it from our mom, but I'll take the compliment." Dewey wiped the tear of laughter from his eyes and looked up at her.

"Please…don't tell Webby." She asked. "She has so many questions and I…I can't answer them all alone."

"You don't have to…I mean, Mrs. Beakl-"

"No. I…I can't, I can't tell her anything with Granny there. She…we didn't end on good terms." Winnie wrapped herself in her arms and walked up the ramp.

"What happened?"

Winnie put her hand up to her shoulder and clutched herself tighter. "I left."

"Why did you-"

"Mom and Dad died when I was fourteen. Plane crash on an island. I survived." She whimpered. "For four years…through all of high school…it was just Granny, Webby and I. And every time Granny would take a mission for extra cash, I was at home taking care of Webby. Granny took a lot of missions until…"

Dewey stepped up the ramp. "Until?"

"I graduated high school and left." Winnie shrugged. "I was gonna go to University. I got a scholarship for music and dance, but I didn't take it. I left town and became an international free-lance spy. Something Granny didn't want me to do."

"I mean, by how she trains Webby, I'm pretty sure she would be okay with you being a spy-"

"It wasn't the spy stuff, Dewey. If I stayed here, I could have still been a spy. She would have just trained me more." She sighed. "She wanted me to stay here, in Duckburg. Where I was safe, where I wouldn't die… where she could look at me and see my mom in my face and..."

She turned around. "You've seen the pictures. You know. I look exactly like my mom. I couldn't stay and be held back, only to be some copy of my mother for her to remember her by. She would never have gotten over the grief."

Dewey bit his lip. " I get it."

Winnie's head perked up.

"Uncle Donald…He says…I'm a lot like my mom."

"Is she-?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Gone, missing, dead… We don't know, and no one has told us anything."

Winnie grabbed Dewey and held him close. He wrapped his arms around her legs.

"I get it if you don't wanna stay here and stuff." Dewey mumbled. "But Webby deserves to see you."

"Does it have to be now?" She snickered.

"Nah, it can wait-"

GRIND! CRASH!

Winnie pulled herself from Dewey and jumped into a defensive stance. He looked at her stance and copied her.

"You heard that?" She asked.

Dewey nodded. They ran back up the loading dock. It was shut. Winnie bent over and pulled up.

"Damn. Its locked." She stood back up. "And my kit is inside the office."

"Isn't there a skylight on the roof?" Dewey asked. Winnie smiled.

They climbed up the fire escape on the side of the dock and crawled onto the roof of the mall. Puddles of dirty rain water and peeled paint was splattered everywhere. Air vents were smeared with dirt and dust. They ran to the streaky pyramid of glass above the mall and looked inside.

Hordes of Beagle Boys filled the interior of the mall. Large carts and tubs were being filled with merchandise from various stores.

"It's the Beagle Boys!" Dewey exclaimed. "What are they doi-"

"Shhh! Come here!" Winnie ran to the edge of the skylight and pulled the edge. The glass lifted lightly.

"C'mon, boys! Ma ain't gonna get herself a Mother's Day present!" Big Time said.

"This is abso-tively posi-loutley the best gosh darn Mother's Day shopping trip ever!" Said a Sixth Avenue Friendly.

Dewey gasped. "Are they-"

"Mmhmm…and look." Winnie pointed to the fountain. Donald and the kids were tied up and sat atop the edge of the fountain.

"Crap." Dewey said. "What are we gonna do? Call the police?"

"They wouldn't be able to get here in time. The Beagles would just take whatever they wanted and go. Donald would get swept up in the drama with the cops. It could bring trouble with social services later down the road." Winnie pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Who you calling?"

"This is Dawson…What do you nee-"

"Beagles. Mall. Hostages. Can I have clearance to kick their ass?" Winnie said.

Dawson sighed. "You have ten minutes. I'll expedite the authorities. Disarm them and get them apprehended. No murder."

"Copy that." Winnie hung up and lifted the top of the glass.

"You coming, Dewey?" She stepped atop the frame of the skylight.

"What are we gonna do?" He asked.

"Kick some Beagle Boy ass." Winnie smiled and jumped down into the mall below.

A/N: KICKING ASS AND TAKING NAMES! YAAAA

Anyways, I really liked writing this chapter. I'm not gonna lie, but Dewey is my favorite triplet. If I could adopt him, I would. So with this chapter, I wanted to hint how much of a big sister Winnie could possibly be towards the boys.

And now, it is time for the third clue to the Senzu Showdown!

The third clue is: The kids will get separated from Scrooge and (Clue #1) in Senzu.

And there you go! Please favorite, follow, and review!

Thank You!

~Alex