Back at the safe house, Wylda, now out of her disguise, was sitting at the table having some hot cocoa with Bentley and Murray. It was definitely cold where the gang were at, and drinking some hot cocoa couldn't have been any more perfect. Murray tried taking a sip but it was much too hot, "Aaah! My lips!" he yelled in pain. Wylda rolled her eyes in annoyance, "You've got to blow on it first, Murray. Like this," She brought the cup up near her mouth and blew lightly into it. The hippo listened to her advice, blowing into his cup and taking another sip, "Mmm. Hey, this isn't bad. The Murray would like some more!" He drank the rest of his hot cocoa in one swig and wiped his lips, sighing in content.
"Bentley, were you gonna drink your hot cocoa? It's getting cold," Wylda asked as Bentley was still typing away at his computer. He then contacted Sly, who was now at the top of the mountain near the satellite dish. "Yes, this is great! We've got access to the train's GPS system, it's all right here in my computer. Head back to the safehouse. I'll crunch some numbers and give you and Murray the rundown,", Bentley said.
"On my way," said Sly.
Wylda's mind was now on something else, and began to think about Jean Bison, "You know guys, this Jean Bison, in my eyes really isn't all that bad. He just needs to change with the times," she said. Bentley and Murray were unsure of what to think. Jean wouldn't immediately grow accustomed to the new technology nowadays, especially not after being frozen in a block of ice for 150 years. He remained stuck in his old-timey ways. Just then, Sly came in through the door.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Sly said before shutting the door. He walked over and sat down with them, resting his arms on the table.
"Oh we were just having some hot cocoa," Wylda said, "I can make you some if you'd like,"
"Yeah um, how about later, Wylda? Right now we gotta get down to business," Sly said. He didn't seem interested in taking any breaks and only wanted to get the job done as usual.
Sly looked over at Bentley, "So what's the plan now, Bent?"
Bentley started up a slideshow,"Well, thanks to your efforts, Sly and Wylda, we now know the location of all three of the local Clockwerk parts: two lungs and a stomach. Jean Bison grafted each piece to the engine in one of his trains, allowing them to run all night and day. It'll be difficult breaking in if they aren't stopped. Instead, while they're moving, the only way to get in is through a hatch on top of the caboose, which has been locked down." He crossed out one of the locks in the picture,"Those need to go. First, Sly will collect the spice gas in front of the balloons above town, and then land on the back of the caboose to blow those locks off. Once the way is cleared, I'll jump into the first train while it passes near town. Within a few hours we'll have the first Clockwerk lung," He ends the slideshow.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Sly said. "Let's get going, shall we guys?" He got up from the table, as did Murray and Bentley. They were about to head outside, but Wylda stopped them and stood right in front of the door, "Wait! Aren't you guys gonna bring me along?"
Sly was hesitant to answer, but then he spoke up, "Look, Wylda, we go through this every time us three head out for our jobs. It's too dangerous and I-we don't want you getting hurt. Remember, you're only good for a handful of jobs,"
"Well what am I gonna do here then?" Wylda asked.
"Same thing you always do, hold the fort down," Bentley said. They were right, someone had to occupy the safehouse while they were gone, in case any guards lurked around. If Wylda was to go out she would of course have to don her disguise to look like one of Jean's men. She nodded, "Ok, I understand now, just...don't leave me alone here for too long,"
"Oh you don't have to worry. We'll be back lickity-split!" Murray said, pointing to himself. Wylda stepped aside and let them pass through. She watched them leave and shut the door.
About 15 minutes later…
Wylda paced around inside while periodically drinking her hot cocoa, waiting for the three to return. There was nothing for her to do at the safehouse, and she was thinking about going out for a walk before she became stir-crazy. What if the guards find out I'm actually a girl?, Wylda thought, but she shook her head, No, no they for sure thought I was a guy. Still, how did the tights and flats not give it away?. She was unaware of that one goose guard who secretly called her a 'strange fellow' when he took one look at her legs, but still he was under the impression that she was a man whose fashion choices were questionable.
A few moments later, Wylda got up from the table and headed towards the door, grabbing her disguise and putting it on. "It's alright, I mean I'm only gonna be out for a couple minutes, and that's it, nothing else," Wylda said to herself right after she zipped up her winter coat. She walked outside and went towards the town. She saw some guards standing behind one of the buildings: A mountain goat, moose, and two geese, one in a blue shirt and the other in red, drinking liquor of some kind. The bottles were purple and had the traditional maple leaf insignia that you'd find on the Canadian flag.
One of them, a moose, spoke out from the group, "Howdy there! Want a drink, eh", he said, holding up his bottle. Wylda could tell from the slur in his voice that he was drunk, but not to the point where he couldn't think rationally. "Umm..y-yeah, i could use a drink right about now," she said in her trying-to-sound-manly tone. And to think that I just had hot cocoa, she thought.
Wylda slowly walked over to them and grabbed one of the bottles that was sitting in a wooden crate, amongst many other crates, "Any reason y'all are hidden' back here?" she asked.
"The boss doesn't like it when we drink out on the job. This is where we keep our secret stash," said the mountain goat, "But shh, don't be tellin' him that, eh?". What a bunch of alcoholics, she thought.
"You gonna start drinkin' or not?" said the geese in blue, who had a nasally voice. The other goose remained silent.
"Oh, r-right," Wylda stammered as she twisted the cap off. She took a small sip, but coughed. Obviously she wasn't used to the nasty taste of it, but the men simply brushed it off thinking she took it down the wrong pipe. "You ok, partner?" said the mountain goat.
"Who, me? Why yes of course I am,' she coughed again, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Went down the wrong pipe? Don't worry, it happens to me ALL the time," slurred the drunk moose, who was having trouble keeping his balance.
How do you guys even drink this sludge?!, she thought, looking at the bottle.
"How come we ain't ever seen a guy like you 'round here? What's with the tights?" the goat asked, gesturing at her legs.
Wylda didn't know how to respond, so she came up with the dumbest excuse possible, "They're um…they feel pretty darn good on my legs. These here flats are much easier to walk in than those bulky boots,"
"These boots ain't as uncomfortable as ya think. In fact, they're good for some hard lumber carryin'. I don't see a 'feller like you walkin' back and forth in the deep snow with them nice shoes," said one of the geese.
The other goose in the red shirt beside him, who looked more suspicious than the rest, spoke up, "You wouldn't happen to be, by any chance...homo?" His accent sounded a lot more generic than the others.
Wylda became tense after hearing his question, "N-no! I can assure y'all men are definitely not my hot cup of tea-er, I mean, cocoa. I just dress differently, that's all. Is it bad that I'm doing something different?"
The geese in red wasn't buying any of it, "It's the wrong kind of different," He drank from his bottle.
"By the way, have you seen a thief runnin' 'round here, eh? Bison said he stole them hidden Iron Horse blueprints from the cabins, right under our noses!" asked the moose, sobering up a little.
Wylda lied and shook her head, "Nope. I haven't got the slightest clue on who youre talkin' bout," If she revealed anything about their whereabouts, it'll ruin the whole operation.
"Well if you do see 'em, give us a holler. We ain't got the slightest clue!" the goat told her. Wylda didn't say anything in response, instead nodding her head. She was clearly very nervous being around them and debated whether it'd be a good idea if she stuck around for much longer, not wanting to divulge much information. Wylda began to back away slowly, "Well, it's been nice hangin' with y'all and I wish I could stay for a little while longer but-" She bumped into the goose in the red shirt behind her.
"Why are you leaving so soon?" He asked with a threatening tone of voice, narrowing his eyes at hers, "We were just getting to know ya,"
"Um…"
"Now, let me ask you this," He leaned in closer to her face, "Are you really one of us, or are you an accomplice of these thieves while trying to blend in with the rest of us?" There was fear in Wylda's eyes, but remained silent.
The moose tried to break up the confrontation between them, "C'mon pard, let's not be-", But he was cut off by the goose, "SHUT UP!" He turned his attention to Wylda, holding the end of his shovel near her face "You better give us a straight answer. None of us wear tights and flats to work in the cold Canadian weather, and I never fell for your stupid justification behind it. Choice is yours, but make it quick. I'm slowly losing my patience,"
Wylda stood there for a few more seconds, then, without warning, smashed the glass bottle into his face and took off, "YE-OW!" He yelped, "Urk! After him, her, whoever they are!" He ordered the moose. Wylda stopped and hid under the docks, and made the desperate attempt to contact Sly via her binocucom, but she was having trouble reaching inside her oversized coat, "Come on, come on!" she panicked. Just as she pulled it out, the moose had finally caught up with the wolf and pinned her to the ground, causing her snow cap to fly off, and the binocucom to tumble and sink into the cold waters. "NO!" Wylda cried out.
"Looks like you don't have to give us an answer, miss. You already have," the moose told her with a smug look on his face. Wylda struggled to break free from his grasp, but to no avail. "You guys won't get away with this, not even Bison!"
The mountain goat and the other goose jumped off the docks, and walked up to the two, "I caught her. I caught her, guys!" the moose cheered happily.
"Yeah, good job partner. Them other thievin' varmints may still be out there, but at least we got her out of the picture," The mountain goat said, "Why don't you tie the nice lady up and take her to one of them boats,"
"Sure thing!" The goat grabbed some rope and handed it to the moose. He spread his legs on top of her torso, placed her hands behind her back and started to tie them together. "What? W-where do you plan on taking me?" Wylda worriedly asked.
"Because the boss ain't there at the moment as he's busy with other stuff, we'll have you house sit for him back at the lumber camp," The moose said. "But hey, at least you won't be alone,"
I won't be alone...?, she thought.
After he got done he placed Wylda on her feet before the goose walked up behind her and poked her back with his shovel, "Better get a move on, princess. The boat's just 'round the corner," Wylda gulped and did as she was told. What's gonna happen to me now?, she thought as she boarded the boat.
Some time later…
The sun was beginning to set. Sly and the gang had returned back to the safe house after they had stolen the first Clockwerk lung from one of the Iron Horse trains.
"Great work, guys!" Sly said, who was holding the lung, "We'll work on getting the rest of the parts tomorrow. Let's settle down for the night,"
"Good idea, I'm totally bummed out," Bentley said as he sat himself down on the chair.
"Yeah, thanks for saving me back there, pal! I knew you'd rescue the Murray from Inspector Fox's clutches. What a tight space that was!' said Murray.
"Hey, you're safe now buddy, just be careful when taking any more snack breaks. Here-" he handed him the lung, "Put that in the van," Murray nodded and headed out to the van, opening the back doors and setting the lungs inside with the rest of the parts. He went back inside and immediately went to the fridge like he always does. "Hope you guys dont mind, but I'm gonna make the best sandwich ever!"
"Oh Murray, you always make the best sandwiches ever," Sly laughed.
Murray looked over his shoulder, "Wylda, do you want any-" he paused. Him, Sly, and Bentley noticed Wylda was nowhere to be seen.
"Wylda?" Sly called out for her, but there was no answer. He looked over at his hippo friend, "Murray, did you see her anywhere outside when you went to the van?" Murray shook his head in response.
"Try using your binocucom, you could find her that way," Bentley suggested.
Sly got out his binocucom to try and contact her and waited for her face to pop up, but all he got was static on his screen. He began to panic and placed his hands on the back of his head, "No, no, no, no, NO!" he yelled. "Where is she? She couldn't have been captured, when she's left alone she never goes anywhere, she stays right here!"
"Oh no! How are we gonna find her?!" Murray desperately asked.
"I don't know, OK?!" Sly snapped.
"Sly calm down! If her screen was all staticky then either she lost her binocucom, or whoever found it on her destroyed it, to ensure that we'll never find her." Bentley said, trying to prevent the argument from escalating.
"Oh please, I'm going with the latter. How exactly does one lose their binocucom, Bent?" Sly said, walking towards him. "What are the chances of you setting it down on the ground and parting with it forever? She's been captured, I know she has!" Tears began to form in his eyes.
"Listen, Sly, I know you're worried sick about her, but we still have a job to complete here. I'm positive that she's not in any real danger,"
Sly walked over to look out the window and sighed, finally calming himself down, "You're right. Jean wouldn't hurt her even if he wanted to. Still, she knows going out on her own is risky, and so…" he looked down, "...she took that risk," He set his cane down, turned the lamp light off and rested himself sideways on the couch cushions.
"Good night, guys," he said in an emotionless tone, and drifted to sleep.
The room was dark except for a fire that burned in front of the blue-furred wolf, who was lying unconscious on the ground. Wylda slowly opened her eyes to find out she was inside a cabin. The flooring beneath her was nothing but smoothed-over dirt, but the rest was made of wood. Above the mantle of the fireplace appeared to be a large gun.
"Sleep well?" asked a thin figure in the corner, obscured by the shadows.
And done! So, Wylda's been captured, but she isn't gonna be alone? Hmm I wonder who this person could be. An old friend, perhaps?
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