The Makings of A Killer
by Roaming Tigress

Chapter Five:
Mrs. Blare




Five o'clock the next morning, Javert was ready for school. The duckling laid curled up under the bedcovers, looking as innocent as can be. To anyone who had seen him now, no one would suspect how he would turn out. He was dreaming a good, happy dream. He was chasing after a clown throwing candies, and catching them in his little bill. A moment later, he was cuddling a kitten and a puppy who happily came bounding over to him. The happiness he had in this dream was joyfully surreal.

"Time for school, Javert!" Seige yelled as she came down the hallway and into his bedroom. When he did not stir, she pulled up the blinds. Still, the toddler slept. 'Bloody hell, this kid would sleep through a world war!'

"I said, time for school!" She growled in impatience, shaking him slightly and finally awakening him. Quickly, she changed him and took him down to the kitchen for breakfast. The High Commander could not wait to have him out of her sight for half the day.

"Mommy, I had a funny dream last night!" He beamed, drinking a glass of lemonade and getting it down his new school clothes.

"Really?" She mumbled while wiping the juice from his face and dabbing at the wet stain on his shirt. "Er, what was it about?"

"I was playing with kittens and puppies!" He exclaimed, fidgeting with hyperactivity. As it is with any child of his age, sitting still was something Javert just didn't do for too long. "And I was eating lots and lots of candy! A silly man with a big nose an' funny face gave them to me!"

"That's lovely, Javert . . . " Seige said in a slightly disappointed tone. These were not the dreams she was hoping she would hear about. Still, she wasn't giving up on the orphan yet. The child was still naive about what was right and what was wrong, and besides, it was just a dream. The tutor which she hired for her 'son' was the best one she could find in St. Canard.

As soon as the toddler gulped down the last mouthful of cereal, he was quickly whisked out the door by an Eggman. From there, he was walked down a long set of stairs. Halfway down the staircase, his legs began to ache and he pled to be carried the rest of the way. His pleadings were ignored by the duck who had a seemingly permanent growl frozen on his face. Seige believed that forcing him into the exercise would help build character, and that anyone who carried him would be punished.

Javert wasn't the only one going down the long, winding path of stairs. Steelbeak too was on his way down to collect ammo and check in with his daily duties. He took one look at the youngster, and with a devilish smirk he stuck a foot out to trip him. The cocky rooster laughed raucously as the child went tumbling down. Before he would get into trouble by High Command's matriarch, he started to sneak off to the Ammo Room.

Not surprisingly, Javert cried his lungs out. A baby tooth was knocked out, and a little blood trickled down his chin where he had bit his bottom bill. The Eggmen let go of the squalling child to cover his ears and didn't notice the child had quieted down. It was a strange calm that came upon the child, one that not came from comfort, but rather, hatred.

Balling up his little fists, Javert came rushing over to Steelbeak and leapt onto his back. He gripped ahold of his jacket and kicked his back with all his might. The startled rooster jumped back like a wild bronco and managed to fling him off. His hackles raised up, he gave the child a powerful backhand smack upside the head. "DON'T YOUSE EVER DO DAT TO ME!" He roared. Abuse from the rooster's childhood had caused him to be react violently to being taken by surprise, and it made no difference in the world if the attacker was child or adult.

"I HATE YOU!" Javert wailed, sitting down on the ground and throwing a temper tantrum. Quickly, the eggman responsible for bringing the child to school grabbed ahold of him by the arm and dragged him around the corner of the hallway. This incident was the beginning of an eternal struggle between the two avians.

"Feelin's mutual, kid . . . " Growled Steelbeak as he looked on momentarily, straightening out his jacket. He lowered his hackles, smoothed out his comb and sauntered into the Ammo Room which he had intended on going in the first place.

"Ahhh . . . So this is Javert!" Said a well-dressed female Blue Jay upon seeing Javert brought into a small classroom. She was around the age of sixty, with short, steel-grey hair and a pleasantly plump built. For years she was a English teacher in Duckburg, but when the school burnt down she went from school to school,

"I am Mr. Blare and I will be your teacher!"

Javert looked up cautiously at the tall, aged bird and scowled. He was still very much upset by the run-in with Steelbeak, and would feel this way for quite some time.

"Hi . . . "

"Not a friendly fellow, are you?" Mrs. Blare chuckled, seating Javert in front of a small blackboard. He handed him a piece of manilla paper and a package of crayons and took a seat next to him.

"Now, Javert, I want you to draw a picture of what you want to be when you're grown up!"

The duckling looked up at her defiance. Never in his life had anyone but his mother tell him what to do. This would take some getting used to.

"Make me!"

"You will do as you're told to do!" The blue jay ordered, raising his otherwise soft voice into stern tone. He could tell the child was becoming quite the un socialized menace.

"You're not my mother!" Javert yelled, tears streaming down his face. In spite of acting like a child who hadn't got his way, he was confused, and scared.

Mrs. Blare smoked a cigarette as she looked out a window. She spoke calmly, hoping that the toddler would pick up on her mood.

"I know that, Javert, but I am here to help and teach you new things."

Javert started to cry again. Being dragged out of bed after a fun dream, tripped down a flight of stairs and being brought into a new environment was just too much for him.

"I want my mommy . . . " He whimpered. Finally, Mrs. Blare broke down and gave the child the first hug he would ever receive. He clung to her, sniffling as the crying had died down as she gently stroked his back. She knew it this was forbidden, but what she didn't know was this was on surveillance.

Back in the High Command Chamber, tempers were flaring. Seige bitterly dug her nails into the palms of her hands hard enough to draw blood. Not able to control her anger anymore, she punched a hole in the surveillance monitor.

"I should've known better than to rely on her to teach my son!" She fumed, turning to her companions. "Get the execution squad out NOW! Before she turns my son into some goody-goody sap who wants to save the world!"

At her order, Jerold picked up the phone. "Execution squad, execution squad . . . " He mused to himself, punching in the code numbers 666. "Send in the firing squad PRONTO!"

"But why?" Asked a perplexed voice on the other end. "Security breach?"

"Worse."

"F.B.I?"

"No. It seems as if someone thought it would be 'cute' to cuddle a High Commander's son," explained Jerold, rubbing a finger through his thick eyebrows. "Tyson caught sight of it on the surveillance camera. Not good."

Meanwhile, in the classroom, Javert had drawn a picture of what he wanted to be when he grew up. Not a villain as his mother and her organization had in mind, but rather, a police officer. After his drawing, he scampered over to a bin of toys were he had found a policeman's hat and placed it on his head.

Mrs. Blare couldn't help but to smile. It was hard for her to comprehend such an adorable child would be wanted by F.O.W.L. In spite of her age she wished she could adopt him and raise him properly, just like she had raised her son.

"You are under arrest for breaking F.O.W.L High Command orders!" Barked a voice from outside the classroom door. Shocked, she clasped a hand to her chest as if she had a heart attack. Javert took to hiding underneath a desk and shivered as he watched two burly ducks burst in and violently drag his tutor out.

"Don't take her away!" He cried. Upon seeing his mother step into the room, he ran over and clung to her legs. "I don't want them taking her away! She's too nice to me!"

Seige looked down at Javert with indifference, grabbed ahold of the hat and tossed it in the garbage bin. "Being nice was her fault."

"What does that mean?" He asked tearfully, looking his mother right in the eyes.

"It means . . . That from now on, I'll be your teacher." Seige replied, leading him down the hallway and up the stairs. Gunfire started to go off within earshot, and he jumped at this sound. The only noise he heard similar was that of fireworks, which he enjoyed. He tried to scramble over to the nearest window, but was pulled back and into the apartment.

His beloved teacher was being executed, and it was best that he didn't see it happen.