Ch 21:
Chloe's hands clenched and unclenched on the steering wheel, her palms sweating in her stupid gloves. Jay was sitting up front with her, directing her on which way to go since she didn't have a lot of experience driving in Auradon. Sitting on the floor between them was Motley, Jay keeping a firm hold of her leash just in case. Motley was leaning against Chloe's leg, a reassuring pressure that kept Chloe grounded as she drove.
She was relatively okay until they crossed the magical bridge to the Isle. She couldn't even really enjoy the amazement of crossing a magical bridge. She'd been unconscious the first time she crossed it. Next thing they knew, they passed through the barrier and were back on the gloomy, dreary Isle.
Chloe tried to control her trembling as she drove through streets and alleys, following Jay's directions, but she just ended up making herself tense. Her jaw hurt from how hard she was clenching her teeth.
"Okay, turn here. You remember where the pier is?" Jay checked, to which Chloe nodded curtly. "Park under there."
Chloe nodded again, following his directions. The car hit the third pothole since crossing the barrier and Chloe flinched violently.
Flashback
The loud crash of yet another pothole made Chloe flinch, hunching even more over the steering wheel to brace herself for the inevitable.
"You little brat!" Cruella screeched, reaching up from the back seat to smack violently at Chloe's head and shoulders, "Watch where you're going! My baby is a classic! I won't have you giving her a dent!"
Chloe leaned as far forward as she could, stuttering apologies as she tried to focus on driving instead of the bruises her mother was likely giving her. Unfortunately, the distraction made her hit yet another pothole in the deteriorating street.
"What did I just tell you?!" Cruella screeched, grasping Chloe's hair in her fist and using that grip to slam Chloe's face into the steering wheel.
End of Flashback
Chloe flinched, the steering wheel jerking in her hands, when something touched her leg. She glanced down, trying to keep most of her focus on the road. Motley had scooted even closer to her legs and had started pawing at her.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Chloe reached down to stroke Motley's soft head, forcing herself to take deep breaths and calm herself down. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jay watching her.
"You good?" he asked quietly, making sure only the pair of them could hear.
Taking another deep breath, Chloe nodded, though she was sure Jay knew it wasn't that simple.
It was only a few more minutes before Chloe pulled the car in under the pier like Jay had mentioned before. She saw Mal and Evie waiting as she pulled in just past them, parking the car so that the back was close to the pipe they would take to the docks. Everyone started piling out of the car before Chloe even parked the car.
Chloe sat back against the seat, taking more deep breaths to try and keep hold of that calm she'd managed. She was distracted by someone grasping her hand and pressing something into her palm. She glanced down and then up at Jay, who had pressed a folded up tactical knife into her hand.
"Use this if you need to. Keep the windows rolled up, keep your eyes on the mirrors to watch your back, keep the doors locked, and maybe keep the car running. Got it?"
Chloe nodded, lifting her chin slightly and squaring her shoulders. "Got it. Thanks."
Jay nodded, petting Motley once before getting out of the limo to join the others. Carlos came around and opened the driver's door, giving Chloe a tight hug from where she stayed sitting in the car.
"Be careful." Carlos whispered before letting her go.
"You're one to talk." Chloe retorted, forcing a small smile. Carlos returned it.
"Carlos, your mutt snuck into the trunk." Jay called, causing the twins to look toward the back of the car, where Jay lifted Dude out of the trunk before getting out the swords. Lonnie was with Mal and Evie while Dude scampered up to Carlos and Chloe.
"I told you to stay!" Carlos complained when Dude reached them.
"I flunked obedience class." was Dude's response while Chloe turned in her seat, letting her feet hang out of the open door.
"You're lucky I love you." Carlos told him, making Chloe genuinely smile in amusement at their banter.
"Chloe, you came?" Mal asked in astonishment as the three girls approached the driver's door, the whole group gathering together.
Chloe nodded, not making any eye contact with the two girls. "Yeah, I wanted to help. So, I'm the getaway driver, I guess." she answered.
Carlos passed the fake wand over to Mal, who looked it over in approval.
"It's almost noon." Carlos announced after checking the watch on his wrist.
"Are we ready?" Mal asked, glancing among everyone. Everyone nodded or answered affirmatively, Evie lifting up Mal's purse, which likely held the smoke bombs. "Let's do this."
"And you, stay here." Carlos ordered, lifting Dude up and plopping him onto Chloe's lap in the car, making Dude groan in disappointment. "We'll be back soon." Carlos told his sister.
Chloe nodded, holding Dude on her lap while watching them all disappear down the pipe toward the docks. Sighing, Chloe pulled her legs back into the car and pulled the door closed, setting Dude on the seat next to her. Motley was still sitting calmly on the floor. Chloe watched through the side mirror, then the rearview mirror inside the car, basically trying to watch every direction at once.
"Man, this is boring." Dude complained.
"Well, you probably should have stayed in Auradon then." Chloe told him.
"But Motley got to come. I didn't want to be left out." Dude complained again.
Chloe chuckled, scratching his ears. "You're such a baby."
"I am not." Dude argued, affronted. "I'm older than you."
Chloe eyed him dubiously. "You are?"
"In dog years." Dude added, making Chloe snort. She opened her mouth to respond when she saw movement past Dude's head, outside the passenger-side window. She leaned forward a bit, trying to see what it was.
Only for the driver's window by her head to shatter, sending bits of glass flying around her head. The next few seconds were chaos, Chloe felt panic jolt through her chest as she tried to get away. An arm reached in and unlocked the car door, and next thing Chloe knew she was being dragged out of the car by the back of her jacket. She screamed and kicked and writhed, trying to break her captor's grasp on her jacket.
She was yanked back until she was being held tightly with her back to someone's chest, a hand grasping her hair while the other was wrapped around her throat to constrict her breathing.
"Well, Horace me lad, look what we have here!" a familiar voice laughed, and Chloe felt her stomach drop in terror. She heard frantic barking and growling and opened her eyes. Her mother's fat henchman Horace was dragging Motley from the car by the collar while Dude bolted from the car, disappearing from view. The tall, skinny form of Jasper was the one holding her in place. "Looks like the brats have come home. What happened? Them goody-goodies throw you lot out?"
"Jasper! Look what I got!" Horace called, still dragging a panicked Motley across the pavement. At the sight of her dog's panic, Chloe renewed her efforts to escape.
"Well, well. Ain't that sweet?" Jasper smirked, tightening the pressure of his arm against her throat, cutting off more of her air supply. "She brought her dear old Mummy a present."
"No!" Chloe shrieked, barely getting some air in. "No, don't hurt her! Let her go!"
At Chloe's obvious panic, Motley doubled her efforts to escape, twisting and yanking in an attempt to get free, practically pulling Horace in circles and making him call for Jasper to help him.
"Oh, just clobber it over the head, you idiot." Jasper ordered, actually struggling a bit to keep Chloe still. She'd actually gained some weight and muscle in the past six months, no longer a scrawny, malnourished runt.
"No! Leave her alone!" Chloe shrieked, clawing at Jasper's arm around her neck before, in her panicked mind, she remembered what Jay had given her.
Still holding Motley's collar with one hand, Horace lifted what looked like an old pipe, preparing to bring it down on the struggling Dalmatian. Chloe caught a glimpse of movement behind the fat henchman at the same moment she slashed out with the knife Jay had given her.
Jasper yelled in pain, jerking away from her at the same moment Diego smashed a wood plank over Horace's head. Chloe heard a dull thump behind her and spun around in time to see Jasper hit the ground, Harry and Jace Badun standing there, each with a fireplace poker and rusty pipe respectively.
Chloe was still breathing hard, staring at the two cousins who bared strong resemblances to their dads. But then Motley, free from her captor, rushed to Chloe's side and hopped up, pawing at Chloe and practically wrapping her forelegs around Chloe's torso in a hug. Relief crashed over Chloe and she dropped to her knees, the knife falling to the ground so she could hug Motley around the neck, burying her face in Motley's fur.
"You hurt anywhere?" Diego asked, causing Chloe to look up. All three boys were looking down at her, mixtures of worry, wariness, and curiosity in their expressions.
Chloe took a deep breath, shaking her head in answer. "No, I don't think so."
Harry pointed to his own face and neck. "You've got some cuts there."
Chloe pulled away from Motley to carefully feel her neck and face with her hands. She felt the small nicks in her skin, drops of blood pooling on the surface and smearing against her fingers. "They broke the car window. Some of the glass must have got me." she explained, gesturing to the still-open car door. "I'll be fine. It could have been worse."
Diego grimaced slightly. "It could still get worse if Cruella finds out you're here. What are you even doing here?"
"We shouldn't be here long." Chloe explained, standing up. "It's a long story, but basically,…well Uma's holding the King hostage, so Mal and the others are dealing with that. I'm essentially the getaway driver."
Harry and Jace exchanged a wide-eyed glance while Diego glanced toward the pipe that lead to the docks.
"Bringing you probably wasn't the best idea." he admitted, making Chloe flinch and cross her arms, glaring at him. Diego held his hands up peacefully. "No offence, cuz, but neither you or Carlos belong here. You probably don't remember this, but the last time I saw you, you were practically dead with a bleeding and oozing leg after getting caught in one of Cruella's bear traps. You've clearly thrived in Auradon." he added, looking her over and taking in the obvious differences.
"I wouldn't say I've thrived." Chloe countered, looking down at Motley, who was sitting and staring back up at her. "It's…It's been a long road." she finally admitted, feeling stupid. After all, she would have been dead six months ago if she'd stayed, she had no right to complain about her life in Auradon.
Diego nodded slowly, his eyes watching her as if searching for hidden answers.
"You got a Dalmatian." Harry abruptly announced.
Chloe smiled slightly, reaching down and petting Motley's head. "Yes, I did." Her eyes went wide with panic. "Where's Dude?" she demanded, spinning around and looking all around the alley. "Did you see where Dude went?"
"The little brown dog?" Jace checked. "He ran off into the pipe there, toward the docks."
"You said Carlos and the others are down there, right?" Diego asked when Chloe's shoulders slumped slightly with relief.
"Yeah, they are. So, he should be fine. Actually, he probably ran off to get help when he saw Horace and Jasper attack me." Chloe admitted. "If all goes well, they should be back any minute. And I should probably be ready and waiting behind the wheel."
Diego nodded. "Hey, before you do that, are you close with the King? I know Mal's dating him."
Chloe eyed him warily before nodding. "Yeah, we talk and stuff. Why?"
"Any chance you could talk to him about the embargo he set up over here?"
Chloe tilted her head. "Embargo? I think I vaguely remember hearing about that, but I don't know the details."
"Yeah, well it limits the amount of things shipped over here. Less stuff here from Auradon, which means less work for some people and goblins, lost jobs, and less stuff for us to trade and use."
Chloe nodded in understanding. Her and Carlos were two of the many people who used to sneak down to the docks and look for things to use in Carlos' inventing or building, or for things to trade and use.
"Anyway, if you could talk to his Royal Highness about that, that'd be great." Diego added.
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I'll definitely mention it to him when I can."
Diego nodded again before he and the Baduns glanced past Chloe's shoulder toward the pipe, where a few voices were echoing against the metal walls. Chloe turned and watched as Dude came racing from the pipe toward them. He slowed to a stop, glancing from the bodies on the ground, to the boys, to Chloe.
"So,…how's it going?" Dude asked casually.
"They're on our side. They took out the bad guys." Chloe explained briefly. "Where's everyone else?"
"Fighting the pirates, but I told Jay you were attacked and he was right behind me." Dude explained, sitting down and looking over his shoulder at the pipe. Sure enough, the loud echoes of pounding footsteps preceded Jay, who leapt down from the pipe only to slow to a jog when he saw who was all there. He took in the scene with a quick glance before approaching Diego and giving him a fist bump.
"I take it you guys took out the would-be kidnappers I was told about?" Jay asked as Lonnie came running from the pipe. Realizing the others would be following soon, Chloe ordered Motley into the front seat, trying to brush as much of the broken glass from the seat as she could.
"Yeah, but only after Chloe slashed at Jasper." Diego admitted, lifting up the knife Chloe had dropped and passing it to Jay, who pocketed it and smirked toward Chloe.
"Good job."
Chloe grinned sheepishly. "I hardly did anything. Horace would have still bashed Motley over the head if it wasn't for Diego and the others."
Jay nodded, passing Lonnie his sword so she could put them in the trunk. "Well, thanks guys. We really appreciate it. I'll be sure to let Ben know how much you helped. But for now, you might wanna get out of here. We need to be ready to take off as soon as everyone's here, and Uma's crew is going to be pissed. Don't want them to think you're connected to what went down today."
Diego smirked, but started backing away. "What-and give up the bragging rights?" he joked before turning and leading the others toward a side alley.
Carlos chose that moment to jump down from the pipe. "What-how-what-" he stuttered, approaching the car but staring and gesturing at the bodies on the ground. "Chloe, what the hell happened?!" he demanded, rushing up to her.
"Not now, Carlos. Everyone get in the car or get ready to get in the car. We're just waiting on Mal, Evie, and Ben." Jay ordered, shoving Carlos toward the back seat and ushering Dude in with him. Chloe got behind the steering wheel, shutting the door and waiting anxiously to leave, Motley sitting by her feet once more. Jay moved to the front passenger door, opening it and waiting while watching the pipe for the others. Chloe glanced in the mirror and saw Lonnie waiting by the trunk to put the swords away.
Evie showed up, running from the pipe to the trunk, into which she tossed her sword before getting in the backseat with Carlos. Ben arrived a few seconds later, but he stopped and called back into the pipe, probably for Mal since she was the only one who hadn't shown up. Chloe began to impatiently drum her fingers against the stick shift, ready and waiting to shift it into drive.
Finally, Mal arrived and the two shoved their swords into the trunk, which Lonnie slammed shut before all three climbed into the backseat of the limo. Jay did the same in the front passenger seat. As soon as the doors all slammed shut, Chloe peeled out of the alley and toward the bridge.
AN: Well, like I said, she was only the getaway driver, but she had her own excitement. Hope everyone liked this chapter, please review and let me know. If I get at least four reviews this week I might update an extra chapter this week.
The next chapter has the VKs having a long, much-needed talk, and Chloe and Anthony have a talk, too. So, if you want to see that a bit sooner than next Saturday, you might want to leave a review.
Thanks!