Hi guys!
We're heading into the final straight! There is going to be 38 chapters now, as I thought I should add that last chapter.
There is going to be a sequel to this story, it's called Resist, Rebuild, Revive and is mostly going to deal with my OC's during the occupation.
TFG
Chapter Thirty-Six
The scenery flashed by so quickly that it was past dawn before Ella noticed that she was no longer in Central City. She had gone onto autopilot when she saw the body of the murdered guard on the roof of the building next to the museum. She just jumped into the nondescript car and sat quietly in the backseat as the rest of the car's occupants celebrated.
There were several bottles of expensive champagne being passed around, with the all the drakes drinking straight from the bottle. Except for Rick, as he was driving. There were many toasts and much joyous laughter as they threw caution to the wind on the road out of the city.
"I would like to propose a toast, to my little sister, Ellie!" Duke suddenly yelled holding up his half drunk bottle of expensive champagne.
"To Ellie!" came the chorus from the other occupants, drawing Ella into the conversation by force.
"My little sister! She's come back to me! And, she stole the most heavily guarded jewel on her first job back! Ellie, kiddo, I knew you wouldn't let me down. I knew you would come back to me and be my partner again. To Ellie! The best partner, and the best second-in-command any master could ask for!" Duke continued, not noticing the looks of horror being sent his way by Ella.
Her entire life had suddenly begun to flash before her eyes, and not the life she had lived, the life she had now resigned herself to by stealing the Mallar Emerald. She could see Wildwing leaving her, she could see the nights alone in hotel rooms, she could see her friends being hurt.
She could see Wildwing being murdered, like her father.
She could see her child growing up without a mother, like she did.
She could herself sinking so deeply into crime that she would not recognise herself, like her brother.
It was a life that she could not live, and not just for her, but for the child that was now growing inside her. She had to do better, for their sake. She had to be on the straight and narrow, she had to reform. She had to get away.
"Stop!" Ella yelled, causing Rick to slam his foot on the breaks and throw everyone from their seats.
Before anyone could say anything, Ella had leapt from the car and began walking the road back to Central. She was still wearing her jumpsuit but she didn't care, the only thing that she had to disguise herself was a black trench coat that Duke had thrown over her shoulders when she got into the car.
The road back to Central was long, but it was a very busy road. There were several vehicles driving up and down the road, so hitching a ride should be easy enough. There were large fields of blue-grass stretching towards the horizon on either side of the road, making the road seem like it was floating on an endless sea of water. Ella had to walk in the dirt ditch on the side of the road to stop herself getting soaked by the morning dew on the blue-grass.
"Ellie, what the fuck do you think your doing?" came Duke's angry voice from behind the upset hen.
"It's Ella, you fucking idiot! Not Ellie, not Kiddo, it's Ella! It's been Ella for five years now! Ella is the girl who built a life after she got out of prison. Ella is the person who has someone who loves her. And Ella is the person who is going back to Central, and away from you!"
"What! Are you crazy! Back there, in Central, that's where your life is going to end again. If you go back there, you're gonna get arrested again!" Duke yelled, the two standing meters apart and yelling on the side of the road, not caring about the traffic going past or the troop of thieves watching.
"No, unlike you, I'm thinking clearly! I can see what this, this stupid gem has done to you, to our family!" Ella said, pulling out the green gem and yelling at her brother.
The look of fear that crossed her brother's face would have been immensely humorous, if Ella hadn't been so angry. Both at him and at herself for actually going along with his plans. All she wanted to do was get as far away from him as she could, but he was still her brother.
"I'll give you a choice Duke. One choice. It's either me, your only living relative or this, this cold piece of rock. That's it. If you choose this, then I'm out of your life forever. I'll owe you absolutely nothing. You will not be my brother anymore. I can't, I can't watch you be this, this demon. It hurts too much, and I don't want anyone else to suffer because of you!"
"Eleanor, please, think what you are doing and asking. This is what we've worked for, for our entire lives! Me and you, together, that's the dream. Ellie, don't do something stupid."
"That's not an answer Duke. It's me and my family, or this stupid rock!" Ella said, pulling her arm back, and threatening to throw the gem into oncoming traffic.
"Ellie, no, don't, just give me the gem and we can talk!" Duke cried, surging forward to stop his sister.
"This jewel means more to you than us, doesn't it? We'll always be second best, won't we? I need to leave you, I need to do this for us, because you're never going to change," Ella said, tears in her eyes as she realised that her and her unborn child would never have a relationship with her only brother.
"Ellie, what the fuck are you talking about? Who are you talking about? The jock? Fine, I can be nice to him, we can bring him along, I could teach him. But please, kiddo, just come here and give me the Emerald," Duke said, inching his way forward with his hand out.
Ella looked down at the green stone in her hand. She could see herself reflected in the surface, and she could actually see herself. She could see the girl who worked hard for the life she had and had a future in front of her. Yes, she was going to have a lot of difficulties, but she would get through it, as now she had so much to live for.
Unlike her brother. The only thing that he had to live for was notoriety and the stone in her hand. He would go through his life, going from crime to crime, until he got so deep that he caused his own destruction. And Ella and her child would not be part of it.
"You want this stone, Duke," Ella said holding up the stone in her hand.
"Yes, please just give it to me," Duke replied, relaxing slightly as he strode forward.
"Then, go and get it," Ella said plainly.
She swiftly drew her arm back and threw the green stone as far as she could into the oncoming traffic. The assembled thieves followed the trajectory of the stone as it flew through the air and hit an oncoming truck, causing it to jack knife across the road and cause several vehicles to skid to a halt and crash.
The scream of horror that tore from the beaks of the troop of thieves was almost glass shattering. The four of them almost instantly shot out onto the road, causing more traffic to screech to a halt as they dashed across the road to find the most precious jewel on the planet.
In the meantime, Ella had dashed out towards a fallen motorcyclist. She pushed the rider to the ground, and grabbed hold of the bikes' handles. She kicked the bike into life and before anyone could stop her, she had started down the road back towards the Central City.
She didn't have a plan as she sped away. The only thing that Ella could think of was getting as far away from Duke as she could, especially when he actually realised what she had done. If she was anywhere near him, then he might not care that she was his sister, and just kill her. Family obviously, not meaning anything to the drake.
And then Calford Thunderbeak came to mind. The drake was a prime example of how much family could mean to someone. If she got to him, then Ella was sure that he would help her. For Wildwing's sake at least.
With a destination in mind, she decided on her plan of action. She would confess everything to Cal, and comply fully with any police investigation of the Brotherhood. She no longer felt any familial loyalty to her brother and his order, her loyalty was now to her child. She might have to serve some time for her part in the robbery, but she hoped that whoever was prosecuting would take her condition into consideration.
Meanwhile, her brother and his cronies were still searching the road for the green stone. The long blue-grass sea on the side of the road was hindering their search, as was the multitudes of pissed-off drivers of the crashed vehicles.
Rick had even gotten into a fist fight with one the truck drivers whose rig had jack knifed across the road. And Lex had attempted to jump on the truck driver to help Rick, while both Jesh and Duke hung back trying to find the green stone.
As Duke was crawling across the road, ignoring the yells, on all fours he spotted a slight green glint just at the edge of the grass. Almost falling over his own limbs, he managed to get to the glinting stone as quickly as he could.
He picked up the stone and was completely horrified to see that the one smooth surface of the stone had shattered and chipped. Fractioning and shockingly glinting in the morning sun. He almost cried out in sheer terror that the most precious jewel on the planet was now ruined.
Holding it tight in his hand though, Duke noticed that the stone had started to warm up. This was not right, he thought, a gemstone should be staying cold for a lot longer. It should not instantly start warming up despite how close he was holding it.
Duke then held the stone up to his patched eye, which could see every facet of a jewel. And with his expensive prosthetic he could see that what he was holding in his hand was thick, green glass and not a priceless jewel.
His sister had thrown him off with a decoy, which had been his idea in the first place. He had made her take two glass jewels in her pouches, in case one broke during her break in. She had obviously only needed one to act as a decoy at the museum and kept this one.
"Fucking decoy!" Duke yelled, crushing the glass stone in his hand, causing it to crack and splinter.
"Boss, your hand!" Jesh exclaimed as he saw the blood dripping from Duke's hand.
Looking down at the cursed glass, wanting to throw it further than his sister had, Duke saw his own reflection in the surface. And he was suddenly horrified at what he saw.
He finally saw his face, having been destroyed by his life of crime. His outer self-matching the inner self, the one that had destroyed his sisters' life. He had seen his face before, but never reflected in something as grotesque to him as the broken decoy of the Mallar Emerald.
It wasn't this stupid stone that had destroyed his family. It hadn't caused his father to be murdered or his mother to commit suicide. It hadn't caused him to leave his sister and made her take a guilty plea. It hadn't caused his sister to hide from him for three years. It hadn't caused his sister to cause a sixteen-vehicle pile up and run from him.
He had caused that. Him and the greed that has infected his family and the Brotherhood.
"Boss, you okay?" came Lex's voice timidly from Duke's right-hand side.
"What, no, yes, I don't know. Where is Ellie?" Duke asked, looking at his three colleagues who were looking at the bloodied, broken, worthless piece of glass crumbling in Duke's hand.
"She stole a motorcycle and took off back towards Central. You think she actually has the Emerald?" Rick asked as he pointed in the direction of Central City.
"Yeah, she does," Duke answered, looking towards Central. He was sure that she the jewel, she might have decided not to carry on with him and the Brotherhood, but he knew she would want to see if she could actually steal it.
"What's the plan, Boss?" Jesh asked uncomfortably and causing the other two to shift their weight nervously. They all knew what the actual punishment was for betraying Duke and the Brotherhood.
"Lex, you can track her, right? Good, you get in that car and get back to Central. Rick, you drive him to where he needs to go, then head back to the Seat. Ellie seemed to get on well enough with you Lex, but she won't appreciate us being there. Me and Jesh will head back to the Seat now, I'll call Dags to come and pick us up, I don't think he's that far from us now," Duke said, looking to each member of his crew.
"What about Ellie?" Lex inquired, very nervous about the answer but needing to know.
"I need to talk to Ellie. Keep me informed about what's going on, now get going," Duke said finally, taking out his phone and calling Dags, another driver for the Brotherhood.
He watched as Lex and Rick got back into the car, the other vehicles on the road were starting to move as well. At least the ones that could still move were starting to resume their commute. He could also hear several sirens getting closer, and he knew that he better get moving.
The two drakes started to walk down the side of the road, having already informed Dags that they would meet him at a crossroads about two kilometres away. The two walked in silence for several moments, getting as far away from the pile up as they could, until Jesh asked Duke what he was thinking.
"I don't know. I really don't. She's my sister, I can't just let her go without a fight, I have to talk to her. And I know, I know, she might not want to talk to me, but I need to let her know that she was right. I should have left her alone. I should have let her lead her life. And, if something bad happens before I can see her... I don't know what I'll do," Duke answered, looking up to the sky.
Dags managed to pick up Duke and Jesh without much fuss. The driver then started to drive them back towards the Seat, which was just on the outskirts of Central City, in one of the most expensive suburbs of the city.
In Central City, Lex had managed to track Ellie to the Downtown Central City Police Department. Which was a terrifying choice, as Lex knew that this was the station that Ellie had been taken to as a child and is also the station where her boyfriend's best friend's father worked.
"How the fuck do you know that?" Rick asked as he set Lex up at the coffee house just across the street from the station.
"I did the research, I have files on everyone, from Senior Detective Calford Thunderbeak to third year DuCaine student Wildwing Flashblade, that's the drake she is most likely going to see now and her boyfriend of over two years, by the way. I also have all the information of everyone in between," Lex explained, turning on his laptop and sending another message to Ellie.
"Did Duke read all of your 'research'?" Rick asked, looking towards the police station and getting nervous. They had, after all, just committed the biggest grand larceny in Puckworld history.
"Did he bollocks! He didn't even look at the names I dug up. I think he just doesn't want to admit that his baby sister is essentially married. As far as I know he hasn't even looked at a photo of Wildwing, only calling him 'the jock'. I think he thinks if he doesn't acknowledge his presence then he just doesn't exist. Now, get out of here, your distracting me. I'll keep everyone up to date on Ellie," Lex said, waving off his colleague.
Rick was about to say something to the younger drake, but choose not to. Over the years they had developed a great sense of camaraderie, despite their differences. Rick had tried to look after his back, and didn't like the idea of leaving him alone next to a police station with a loose cannon in the building. But he had no choice. They had their orders and Rick needed to get back to the Seat to see what else Duke needed him to do.
Instead, Rick wished Lex luck and climbed back into the nondescript car that he was still driving. It would take him a while to get back to the Seat, and he hoped that the road had been cleared by the time he got out of the city. And hopefully, Lex would not be stuck at the cop's coffee hangout for too long before he managed to get Ella out.
After he ordered a large, extra hot latte, Lex set up his computer and watched the front door. He had managed to hack into the security system of the building and managed to find Ella sitting in an office on the seventh floor of the building. This was the floor that housed the most senior detectives.
Lex then saw a duck that he recognised walking into the coffee shop. She was about medium height, middle-aged hen, still wearing the bright pink hospital scrubs of the Downtown Central City Intensive Care Unit. Her short blonde mane pulled back into a tiny ponytail.
She looked tired as she ordered two large coffees to go and made a call to someone. As the phone was ringing Lex quickly hacked into the connection, and saw that Magda Flashblade was calling her eldest son, Ella's boyfriend, Wildwing.
"Hi sweetie, how are you doing this morning?" Magda asked her son as she waiting for her coffee.
"Hi mom, I'm fine. Managed to get Dive out of bed and across town on time. We're just at Uncle Peck's garage now. He's having a look over the bikes now, and, once he's convinced that Dive won't blow his up as soon as he switches it on, then we can head home."
"And is your Uncle Peck trying to push back the inspection until later today, so that he has free labour for the day again?" Magda said with a smile, knowing exactly what kind of drake her brother was.
"If you know the answer to the question already, why even ask. I'm trying to push him to hurry up though, Ella should be coming through later today and I don't want her to wait too long at the station like last time," Wildwing answered, as Magda picked up the two coffees.
"Well, I'm just meeting Cal, then I'll be home. Just get her to call the house and I'll pick her up if you're not back yet. Did Canard get off to the base okay today?" Magda asked.
"Yeah, he left before we managed to get off. He messaged me a little while ago about the base, he seems impressed. Some general or major or something was talking to him."
"Okay, I'll let you get back to Peck. Love you, sweetie," Magda said, balancing everything on the way out of the coffee shop.
"Love you too. Bye mom, I'll see you later," Wildwing answered before hanging up the phone.
As soon as she had hung up the phone, Lex was on the phone to Duke to let him know what he had found out. He still didn't use their names though, as Duke refused to hear them. He merely told his employer that Ella was at the Police Station talking to the senior detective, and that she was planning on visiting the boyfriend that day.
After he hung up, Lex watched as Magda left the coffee shop and walked across the road to the police station. He added Magda's phone signal to the tracking system that he had up on his laptop and watched the red labelled dot ascend the stairs and wait.
The green dot that was Ella had not moved from the office that she occupied. Lex tried to get the actual camera footage of Ella's trip into the station. He did manage to get most of it and watched as Ella snuck past the front the desk and jogged up the stairs.
He did notice a self-recycling code as he tried to get through the security system, which didn't seem to be only on the police security system. He noticed it when he was hacking into Magda's phone line. But it seemed to be reducing to almost nothing, so Lex didn't pay much attention and just traced Ella's movements from when she arrived to where she ended her journey.
It had been easy for Ella to get into the police station and past the front desk. There seemed to be a lot of chaos on the ground floor, with several lawyers and journalists floating around and asking questions. The officers were more concerned with trying to corral those ducks rather than stopping a duck who had a key card for the door. She had slipped it from one of the police officers' pockets as she walked in.
Ella knew exactly where Calford's officer was, having been there a few months ago. Calford had been very insistent that everyone come and see his office, and when they were there that they would help him personalise it.
So, with this knowledge, she managed to confidently stride up the stairs to the seventh floor. She was stopped a few times, but not by people asking her why she was there. She was stopped by a few detectives and officers who recognised her as Wildwing's girlfriend.
During these conversations, she was very polite but quite short. She had a goal in mind and she knew that she had to get there. She was probably being observed by one of her brother's cronies right at that moment, and they were probably trying to work a plan to get her out of there.
As Ella entered the seventh-floor open office space, she was waved over by the department secretary. The plump, middle-aged hen was all smiles to Ella, inquiring after every aspect of her life as Ella looked around the floor trying to find anyone she knew.
"Um, where is Detective Thunderbeak?" Ella asked a little exasperated at the overly friendly duck.
"Oh, he's in his office dear, they've been a huge meeting this morning. Apparently the Mallar Emerald's been stolen. Oh, but I shouldn't have told you that. It's need to know information. So, don't repeat that please," the secretary said, looking suddenly nervous.
"You have my word. Can I go through and speak to Detective Thunderbeak, it's kind of urgent," Ella said lowering her voice as if they were co-conspirators.
"Oh, absolutely! I'm sure he would love you to come by before you head off to the Flashblade's home. Head on in and I'll call him and let him know that you're coming," the secretary said as she buzzed through to Calford's office.
Ella could hear his stressed-out voice over the intercom, and almost faltered. If he sounded that stressed already, having just gotten to work a few hours ago then it might not be the best time to see him. But this could be the only time that Ella could see him.
She was absolutely sure that Lex was probably watching her, she had passed several security cameras and she knew that he could hack those easily. He had hacked into a system that was often touted as being impregnable.
Knocking almost softly on the door and waiting for an invitation, Ella felt her heart beating faster. She didn't know how she was going to go forward from this point. All she could do was hope that Calford was willing to listen.
After what felt like an eternity Cal's voice boomed out of his office, giving permission for Ella to enter. When she opened the door, the older detective looked almost shocked to see Ella standing in his doorway, looking at him.
"Hi Cal," Ella said nervously, fidgeting with a lock of her wavy brown and silver mane. She had pulled it out of it's tight bun when she got off the motorcycle in front of the station.
"Ella, what are you doing here?" Cal asked, the shock evident in his voice.
"I need to talk to you. So, can I come in?" Ella said, to which Cal nodded his consent after a few moments of staring blankly at the girl.
Ella felt incredibly uncomfortable as she crossed the room and sat down across from Cal. Not just because she was still carrying the most precious jewel on the planet and was about to confess to the crime, but she also felt that Cal could see that she was pregnant. Almost as if the foetus in her stomach was glowing through her stomach.
After several moments of both ducks silently staring at each other, Ella let out a large sigh, reached into her pouch and pulled out the Mallar Emerald. She set it down on the desk in front of Cal, who just looked at it completely dumbfounded.
"Barbara, I need you to hold all my calls. And I'm not to be disturbed, by anyone, for the next few hours. Only call if the world itself is about to end," Cal said sternly down the line.
He hung up before the other person could say anything. He got up, walked towards the door and locked it. He also closed all the blinds for good measure, ensuring complete privacy. He walked back across the office and sat down in his chair before gesturing for Ella to begin her story.
"I don't know where to start," Ella said sadly, finally looking Cal in the eye.
"The beginning is always a good place to start," Cal said with a small half smile. He reached across the desk and gave the scared girl's hand a gentle squeeze. It was a small, reassuring gesture that meant the world to someone who had been starved of such gestures for most of her life.
It was then that Ella went through her story as factually as she could. She did stop and start a lot, sighing and subconsciously stroking her stomach. She answered all the questions that Cal asked honestly, she didn't see the point in lying anymore. This was her only way out of the mess that she was in and she needed Cal to be on her side.
"So, what made you come in?" Cal asked after a few minutes of silence.
"I don't want that life. I don't want to be hopping from district to district in search of the next big heist. I don't want to look in the mirror one day and not recognise the person that I've become. I want to be me. I want better for… for others," Ella said softly as she looked down and gently stroked her lower abdomen. She couldn't stop the small smile that graced her beak or the sad but contented sigh that escaped it.
It took maybe two beats for Cal to understand what Ella meant. He had seen his wife look like, and one of his best friends. It was the look every female got when she was carrying a child.
He didn't know what to say. Wildwing was like a son to him and he was far too young to be a father. He was only going to turn twenty-one in three days' time. Plus, he had just finished his third year of university which he attended on a scholarship. And Ella had only just starting going to community college as she hoped to go on to university later. It was not the right time for them both to become parents.
"Does, does Wildwing, does he know?" Cal stammered out, trying to process the information that had just been presented to him.
"No, I've never told him," Ella said looking up to meet Cal's eye.
"No, does he know?" Cal asked again, emphasising the word 'know'. And Ella quickly understood his meaning and looked a little startled. She then looked back down, embarrassed.
"No, I only just found out, um, yesterday. And I wanted to tell him in person. This isn't the type of thing that you can say over the phone. I mean, how do you explain something like this?" Ella explained with a small smile and sad eyes.
"How far along are you?" Cal asked, concern obviously lacing his words.
"I'm not sure, maybe a month or two," Ella said slightly embarrassed again when Cal let out a startled yelp. That was close to a full trimester and she only just found out yesterday.
"I know, I should have realised sooner. But, with everything that was happening, I just lost track of my courses. I should have realised sooner."
"Don't worry too much about it. It happens. It took Holly about a month and half before she realised," Cal said with another reassuring smile.
The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, as neither knew what to say. It was a very unusual situation to find yourself in. There were questions that just circulated around Cal's head that he needed to ask but didn't know how.
"Why? Ella, just tell me why you never told Wildwing?" Cal urged. It was hard to believe that the girl in front of him had managed to keep something so big from her boyfriend for so long.
"I didn't know how. I was ashamed. He was so good and so wonderful. And I just, I didn't want him to stop looking at me the way he does. With so much love in his eyes. I thought that he would look at me differently if he knew. Or that he wouldn't want to see me again. I don't think I could have handled losing him. And, the longer I kept it hidden, the bigger the secret became to the point where I just couldn't tell him, it was too late. How could he ever forgive me for keeping something like that from him?" Ella explained.
Cal nodded his head in understanding. He had seen the way that Wildwing looked at her. And the way that she looked at him. It was a big risk, coming clean with something so deceitful. But Cal knew Wildwing. And he knew the drake would be understanding as well. Though, Cal didn't know if Wildwing could have forgiven the deceit. That was the problem, not the lie itself, but the fact that she had kept the truth hidden for so long.
"What do you want to do now, Ella?" Cal asked, unsure of what to do or where to go next.
"I want to turn myself in. I'm willing to accept whatever consequences that there might be," Ella said simply.
She was now staring straight ahead, not looking at Cal or anything else in particular. She might have been looking at the long stretch of years in prison that were now facing her. For, she was a repeat offender and she had committed such a large crime. A crime which everyone, including himself thought impossible.
"I also came to you, because I knew that I could trust you. I want to give you information. About the Brotherhood. About Duke, all of it. I don't want anything to do with it anymore," Ella said, finishing with a hard edge to her voice and surprising Cal.
No one had ever betrayed the Brotherhood and lived to tell anyone about it. There were leaks in both the Department and in the D.A.'s office that still had not been plugged up. And Cal said this to Ella, as plainly as he could. He wanted her to know exactly what she was saying and what she was propositioning.
"He wouldn't hurt me. He's my brother. He loves me, in his own twisted way, but I know he still loves me," Ella said, the hard edge having disappeared.
"Then why are you turning him in?" Cal asked. He couldn't imagine doing anything to hurt any of his family, and that did include Ella.
"It's because I love him too. I don't see the brother I knew anymore. He's become too absorbed in this world, and if he doesn't get out soon, I think I'll lose him forever," Ella answered, the sad smile returning to her face.
Now, that Cal could understand. He would do anything to stop the people he loved from getting hurt. And he knew that Ella's brother had been hurt a lot over the years. He had lost an eye and had had a chip cut out of his beak. And the previous Brotherhood master had been slashed right across the face. If the drake continued on the path, he was going down he might not live long enough to see his niece or nephew grow up.
"I want you to really think about what you're doing Ella, really think about it. This could be dangerous. Duke might not want you hurt, but others may not be so considerate," Cal tried to explain as calmly and plainly as possible.
"I know. I think this is the best option though. I remember the D.A. and the other detective told me, the first time I was here, that if I gave evidence against the Brotherhood it would help me. Is that still true?" Ella asked, hope filling her voice and eyes. If the same deal still stood, after all these years, she might be able to still have a life. For both herself and her unborn child.
"I don't know Ella. I don't have the authority to offer that kind of deal. I would have to run it by both the Chief of Police and the District Attorney. But I promise I will try to help you as much as I can," Cal said, taking Ella's hands and given it a tight squeeze. Which Ella returned with small smile.
Cal let go of Ella's hand and called Chief Baucane. He quickly explained that he needed to meet with him as soon as possible. And that it was very pertinent to the case and should be kept as confidential as possible. And that was why Cal couldn't explain any more over the phone, in case someone was listening over the other end. The Chief was a little confused, but told Cal to come to his office in five minutes.
"Okay," Cal said when he hung up the phone, "I'm going to go and explain what's happening to the Chief. He'll probably have to call the D.A., but I think we can arrange something. You might still have to do some time, but with your record, and condition, we might be able to negotiate it down. Now, about Wildwing."
"I need to tell him. I can't let him find out, about everything, through someone else," Ella said, once again looking over at the photo of them.
"I'll go, see the Chief. Then we can call him. I doubt you're going to be able to leave here any time soon. You're either going to have to tell him over the phone, or you're going to have to do it here," Cal reasoned quickly. If Ella was going to turn over state's evidence on such a high-profile crime syndicate, they couldn't let her out of their sight. And if she didn't give evidence, then she had just confessed to grand larceny and he couldn't let her go.
"I can't tell him this over the phone. I owe him that much to tell him, everything, face to face," Ella said decidedly.
Cal just nodded. He agreed that it was best to talk about such big things face to face. And he respected Ella for finally coming clean, even if it had taken a long time and a life changing event for her to do it. Though, he did not envy that conversation. Hopefully it would all work out between the two. Especially since there was now a child involved.
The older drake put his hand on Ella's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. He hoped that the gesture would help put her at ease. He then told her to stay in the office and not to let anyone in while he was speaking to the chief. She agreed quietly and watched as the detective left the office and closed the door behind him.
That was when Magda came into the office, completely shocked that Ella was there. But the shock didn't last long. The older hen managing to put things together faster than Cal did and demanding answers from Ella as to why she could do what she did to her son and her family.
And that was when a destructive laser tore through the police station, destroying the world as everyone knew it and changing everyone's lives in a way that no one could have seen coming.
Everyone in the station had to quickly fight for their lives, as they were targeted by the Saurian Raptors from the sky. As was the courthouse down the street and the City Hall three streets over. Many of the ducks in the vicinity did not make it through that day.
Wildwing and Nosedive were captured by hunter drones as they tried to move a fallen car from on top of their Uncle Peck. The poor drake died from his injuries as the hunter drones obviously didn't think he was worth the effort of moving the car from on top of his chest.
Rick's car was almost hit by a monitor tower as it tried to stop anyone from leaving the city. He barely escaped with his life, but lost one of his hands on that day.
Duke and Jesh managed to avoid everything, disappearing quickly into the destruction, and making their way to Ella's last known location. They managed to get to the Police Station, startled by the level of destruction and death they were confronted with.
Duke almost lost all hope when he saw a young hen with a laser shot that had gone straight through her chest. It was the clean slice marks on the hideous robots that gave him hope that his sister had survived the initial onslaught and gotten herself out alive.
The two drakes heard the noise of more robots, and decided it was in their best interest to get out of there and fight another day. They were woefully under prepared for an alien invasion. As was the entire planet.
That was the day that the Second Saurian Occupation of Puckworld began and the theft of the Mallar Emerald was completely forgotten.
I hope I did the invasion some justice, I hope I conveyed the sense of just mind numbing panic that would come over the planet when a group of aliens invaded.
Rocky704: the reason why Duke doesn't know that Wildwing was Ella's boyfriend is pure and simple denial when they were on Puckworld. He just refused to look at any information on him, feeling that it just wasn't worth it.
Palacegirl: thanks, I'm excited to have finished!
starrat: thanks for the continued reading.
TFG