by Roaming Tigress and Shelley Inks, creator of Keleen Vanderchill
Chapter Seventeen:
The Fight
"Looks like someone got lost while touring our facilities . . . " Victoria muttered to her partner in crime, giving the intruders a look of disgust. She tried to get a better look of them, but Steelbeak stubbornly stepped out in front of her. He was ready to take any bullets that might be sent in her direction.
"C'mon mate, I just want a little peek!" Victoria playfully pleaded, giving him a poke to the small of his back. "I promise not to kill both of them. I'll let you off one."
"Dat's not de reason I'm formin' a barricade in front of youse," Steelbeak said as seriously as he could. "I care too much about youse to see youse riddled wit' bullets. I'd lay my life down fer youse."
"You take care of ze wife. I take care of ze rooster! " Javert whispered to his companion, feeling a surge of adrenaline rush through his veins. He wasn't quite ready to kill Steelbeak, but he was sure in the mood for a good fight with him. Knowing that violence breeds violence, he hoped for a blood feud tonight.
"Fine . . . " Keleen whispered back, focusing on Victoria. "What's the matter, Steelie? Your little wrench of a wife can't defend herself?" She asked with a sneer, seeing Steelbeak block any possible way of getting a bullet into the other she-duck.
"I'm more than capable, actually!" The Australian laughed, whipping out a handgun. She stepped out behind Steelbeak, and fired it at Vanderchill's direction.
The bullet had struck Vanderchill in the shoulder, causing her to stumble back slightly with a pained grimace. Strange blue blood poured out through the wound, and the burning pain she felt made her all the more combative. If it was a fight Javert wanted with these two, she'd remain by his side and go to battle with him.
"Now, who said I was defenseless?" Victoria asked, twirling her gun around on a finger. "You're bloody lucky my Firegun is out for servicing. Otherwise by now your mate would be attending to your cremation."
"Oh, please!" Vanderchill scoffed, daring the other to fire again. "I suppose the next thing you'll want to do with me is to tie me up and burn me at the stake!" While she was busy arguing with Victoria, Steelbeak had sneaked past her, watching his mortal enemy with great intensity.
"Keleen . . . !" Javert exclaimed with worry, inspecting the injury. By doing so, he had made his mistake by turning his back on his enemies. For a brief moment, killing the overgrown poultry and his family was not on his mind.
"Zis
is why I told you not to come along," Javert spoke worriedly, tearing a
piece of cloth from his blue jacket. He
dabbed the wound with
it, and became especially concerned when he saw the colour of her blood.
He didn't know this was normal for her.
For someone who had been raised to hate was feeling anything but that right now. "I knew you would get hurt."
"No, no, I'll be fine . . . Really!" Keleen shrugged, wanting to get on with getting her father's job back. "I've had much worse, no need to worry about me."
Steelbeak took this moment to make his first attack. All two-hundred and ten pounds of him were flung onto Javert's back, pinning him down hard onto the floor. The duck winced, feeling a few of his ribs crack from under the rooster's massive body. He had broken three ribs, and it was remarkable that he hadn't broken any more.
"Just before youse die, 'ere's a moral for youse -- nevah toin yer back on a rooster!" He rumbled, breathing heavily down his back.
Without a thought of her own safety, Keleen leapt on top of Steelbeak, pounding at his back and tearing at his thick feathers. The rooster was successfully distracted away from Javert, and she deftly stayed out of his biting range. She had seen Javert sneak away, and held him by his comb as an attempt to keep Steelbeak's direction focused on her. Desperately Keleen tried to keep his head to the ground, but he was too strong for her.
The rooster thrashed about violently, spinning around in a vicious, jaw-snapping whirlwind. He soon tired himself out, and Keleen took advantage of this. She clawed at his face, trying to gouge out his eyes when an attempt to strangle him failed. She could've easily generated ice to get an upper hand, but she was confident that her hand-in-hand combat skills would be good enough for now.
Seeing her husband's predicament, Victoria grabbed Keleen by her long hair and viciously yanked her head back. She had managed to pull her off of her husband and pinned her up against a wall. Keleen kicked her away and a vicious fight between them broke out soon after. Feathers flew as the two she-ducks were sent tumbling about on the floor. Strands of hair were torn out, and each sported a black eye.
While the girls were involved in their cat fight, Javert straightened his posture and circled the tiring Steelbeak. In spite of his injury he launched himself out at him, purposely letting himself get caught. He made a fake stunned reaction, letting Steelbeak throw some good hits in until he delivered a sharp abdominal punch. After that, he rolled away to catch his breath and wait for the rooster's next action.
"I think that's enough of that, ice-girl!" Victoria warned, smacking Keleen upside the head with her handgun. Another hit sent Keleen falling to the ground where she remained deathly still. She stood over her fallen form proudly, feeling accomplished for defeating such a bold intruder. Quickly the pyromaniac gave her a kick, wanting to see if she was dead or not.
"Foolish move you made there, mate!" She remarked with a baleful expression, seeing no movement from her. "I can be a nice girl when I feel like it, but guess what? You hurt my husband. When someone hurts my husband, I hurt them!"
"Hands and feet off my Keleen!" Javert ordered, weakly aiming his gun for Victoria's head. "In my short life I have taken the life of one hundred and nine people. I'm willing to make you ze hundred and tenth!" He pulled the trigger, but it missed her by a foot as she jumped back. The bullet had hit one of the chairs, and he cursed in French for not being able to hit his intended target.
The shadow of Steelbeak holding a chair approached him from behind, but he didn't notice until it became too late. The chair made a direct hit to the back of his head, and this combined with the throbbing pain to his rib cage was all too much for him. He collapsed onto the ground, out for the count. Once again, distraction got the better of him.
How dare he! Her anger billowing out of control, Keleen very suddenly and quickly jumped to her feet. She punched Victoria in the lower jaw, hard enough to knock out a few teeth. She sneered as her attacker recoiled in shock of suddenly coming to life. When F.O.W.L trains their agents, one of the things they learn is how to fake death realistically, and she proved to Victoria that she learnt this well.
"I took you by surprise, didn't I? You should've listened to what Javert had to say!" She taunted, seeing a trickle of blood pour down from Victoria's feminine bill.
The next move Keleen made toward her was a failed karate kick. Just a nanosecond before it came into contact with her, Victoria grabbed her foot and pushed her back into Steelbeak. He roughly grabbed hold of her by her dog collar, letting her go just before he'd get kneed in the crotch. He was too proud to admit he was fearful of her and simply acted out that he let her slip away by mistake.
"Grab hold of her again. We're tying her up and throwing her into the Audubon Bay Bridge!" Victoria growled, spitting out the knocked out teeth in Keleen's direction.
"Isn't dat a little cliche?" Steelbeak asked, smoothing his comb back with a hint of anxiousness. "I t'ought ya might've wanted to try somet'ing a little diff'rent wit' 'er."
"Oh damn it, Steelbeak, just do it!" Victoria snarled, so fired up from the brawl that she had turned her aggressions out on her husband.
"Better
to what she said, mate!" Keleen mockingly scoffed, delivering a sharp undercut
to the rooster's metal jaw as he
made another grab for
her.
Steelbeak shied back, protecting his face by bringing a hand up to his face. As she advanced toward him, he stepped back. He had seen the dumfounded look on his wife's expression and slunk out of the room. He had silently called it a day.
"I pity you for having such a cowardly husband," Keleen remarked, helping Javert stand as he started to stand. "Can't even properly keep hold of a girl for Christ sakes . . . "
How dare you badmouth my husband! Seething at the insult, Victoria smacked Keleen across the face. Reacting in a protective manner, Javert swung a punch at her and managed to hit the same place that Keleen had. Victoria was out cold and a few more teeth were knocked out as well.
"I'd love to see her dental bills after zis incident!" Javert laughed, dragging the black-haired duck with help from Keleen. Together they brought her out a back door and dumped the dame out into the cold November night.