The Makings of A Killer
by Roaming Tigress

Chapter Three:
Only Time will Tell




Four and a half years had past since Javert was adopted by F.O.W.L High Command. Although he was essentially a happy and healthy child, he was a confused one who wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. The toddler didn't understand why he was shoved away when he instinctively hugged his adoptive mother. He had seen children on television being cuddled by their parents, so why couldn't he do the same?

From that point on, television was strictly limited. The last thing the organization wanted was for him to get "ideas" that would discourage him from becoming a hardhearted villain. His adoption was kept top secret. The last thing F.O.W.L wanted was to have a reputation for being charitable.

No amount of crying or pleading would give him the attention he wanted, and often needed. These were cries for love, and for help. He was given attention only when his adoptive mother felt it was necessary. As much as it seemed is if he was being neglected, Siege Any physical discipline or manhandling was out of the question. The reason for this would be the possibility of him turning his back on the organization as he become older.

Javert's living quarters were as barren as his upbringing. A dingy beige carpet and sterile white walls replaced the usual pastel colours found in a young child's bedroom. Also lacking were soft toys, jack-in-the-boxes, and other childhood playthings. Perhaps the most colourful object in the room was a large poster of the evil organization's logo. Written under it was Remember Who You're With: Today, St. Canard, Tomorrow, The World. He was too young to understand what this meant, and being the curious toddler he was, decided to ask his mother.

"Mommy, what does that mean?" He pointed to the poster, a twinkle in his silver eyes.

The grey-feathered, black-haired duck sneered for a brief moment, took hold of the pudgy duckling and sat him on her lap. For a brief moment, she gave him a hug. "My dear son, one day, you will learn."

"But I want to know now!" Javert insisted, tugging at his mother's blouse. When she ignored him, he got a little bit louder, but cheerfully so.

"Now! Now! Now! Now! NOW!"

"SILENCE!" She suddenly snapped, yelling loud enough to be heard in the F.O.W.L apartment's hallway. "You respect your elders, do you understand me?!"

"Jeesh . . . What crawled up her butt and died?" Scoffed a passing agent who was passing by the apartment door. "Must be on the rag!"

"Beats me, Frederick . . . " The other agent snickered. "She's been that way since the kid came into the picture. Maternal instincts don't seem quite what they're cracked up to be!"

Stunned by his mother's sudden show of anger, Javert could only nod as he cringed submissively in her lap. "Y-Yes, mommy . . . "

"Very good . . . " She murmured tonelessly, helping her son off her lap. "Do not pester me anymore, Javert. Tomorrow you will be starting school."

"What's . . . School?" Javert asked, somewhat still shaken and half expecting to be yelled at for asking a question. "Is it a game?"

"No, it's not a game you stupid git . . . " Siege said between gritted teeth. "It's . . . A place where you go to learn things and make you smarter. "

"Were is this place, mommy?" He could not contain his curiosity any longer.

"It's . . . At where mommy works, Javert," Siege replied, suddenly calmed down from her outburst. "You will have a teacher who will teach you different things. Writing, reading, mathematics, villainy - - "

"What's . . . Villainy?" He asked with an innocent grin.

Siege kneeled down beside her son, and grinned as she brought her face up to his. The child was too young to see the evil that was in her hazel eyes. "You'll find out sooner or later, Javvie!"

"B-But I don't want to leave you, mother!" He whimpered, clinging to her legs. "I don't want to go to school! I love you mommy!"

Siege looked down at her child and firmly pried him off of her. "Sometimes, kid, you have to do things you don't want to do. You can't get your way all the time."

Javert looked up at Siege while fidgeting with a F.O.W.L keychain. He had not noticed the look of disappointment that was on his mother's face. "Will there be other children, mommy?"

"No . . . " She replied, again tonelessly. "No, there won't be any children at school, Javert. It will be just you, and your teacher."

"Why?"

His mother gave out an exasperated sigh while going through her filing cabinet. There are times when she wished she hadn't adopted the orphan, and this was one of them. "That's just the way it worked out. If you don't go to school, you'll have a very hard time learning things and you won't be smart like your dear mom. "

That night, when his mother was asleep, Javert crept over to the small bedroom window that overlooked St. Canard Harbor. Tearfully, he wondered what would become of him, and wondered if his mother really loved him the way a mother should. What would the future hold for such a small child, one that had no father, and without a proper upbringing? Only time would tell.