Thought I had abandoned this fic, didn't you?? Sorry it took so long to work on it, it's been a rather busy month. Only about three more chapters left to go so bear with me! Thanks for your reviews and once again I don't own any of the Darkwing Duck characters; Disney does.
CHAPTER 11
Darkwing, Draco, and Megavolt stood atop a hill that overlooked the harbor of the Audubon Bay. The boat they had been instructed to invade later that evening was docked alongside the pier. Several shady characters gathered around the ship while others kept a look-out on the docks. The three waited patiently until they saw a small stream of water snake up the hill from the shore towards the group. It stopped at their feet and took the form of a canine.
Darkwing tilted his head eagerly. "Well?"
"Four out of five master criminals would agree that the situation is a logistical nightmare!" The Liquidator announced regretfully. "Close quarters, no advanced layout, several dozen FOWL eggmen and agents!"
"So what??" Megavolt suddenly chimed in without a tone of fear in his voice. "I'm going in this for the money!"
"And the Liquidator would agree!" Liquidator added proudly.
Draco blinked and turned to stare at the two other criminals, taken aback. "Have you two been paying attention at all? This is practically a suicide mission."
"Welcome to the real world of professional criminals!" Megavolt sneered down at Draco as if he were preaching to a small child. "If I'm going in there, I want a chunk of the money!"
"And the Liquidator…!"
"We know!" Megavolt snapped to cut off his watery comrade.
Darkwing sighed and kept his gaze averted to the boat below rather than on the three criminals. His judgment on the situation was clouded by dozens of thought flowing through his mind. His adopted daughter, Gosalyn, whom he left at home with his sidekick, Launchpad. His career as the fearless crime fighter of St. Canard, fighting to protect the city he loved even if he didn't get the appreciation he solely deserved. And Morgana. His true love. What would she think if she found out that he had stooped to the criminal level? But he had decided. Darkwing had to do this for the protection of the ones he loved. He now knew what carnage Negaduck was capable of.
Draco stared at Megavolt and Liquidator, shocked by what he had just heard. He looked to Darkwing, as if awaiting his decision. The cold store from the crime fighter was the answer. Draco heaved his shoulders in defeat and slowly shook his head.
"I just can't believe we're going to walk into certain death…."
The full moon reflected off of the dark water of the Audubon Bay in the night. The large boat, sleek and yacht-like, was now moored to the pier. Several eggmen scurried about the docks, conveying conversations to one another in indistinct murmurs. Other eggmen and FOWL agents lined the pier and deck of the boat, armed and dangerous while on guard.
Behind am old weathered boat in dry-dock, Darkwing and Draco sat crouched in the shadows. Draco was dressed in black to conceal his bright white feathers while Darkwing was clad in his usual purple costume with the cape and gray fedora underneath a large tan trench coat. The two kept their eyes on the ship and watched the FOWL employees carefully.
Meanwhile, Megavolt was sneakily climbed up a ladder alongside of a boathouse. In the harbor below, a few out of place waves lapped up against another large boat docked at the pier. A pair of dark eyes formed in the water that watched as a van pulled up to the docks. Four FOWL agents dressed in suits climbed out of the van, three of them making their way over toward the guarded boat while one moved to the back of the van where he stopped and remained standing. As the three agents joined up with a group of eggmen and began ton mutter amongst themselves, the Liquidator took advantage of the opportunity to slid out of his hiding place in the water and took his form in the shadows behind the boat. He glanced to the side and made direct eye contact with Darkwing from his hiding spot and nodded.
Catching the Liquidator's signal, Darkwing reached into his jacket and pulled out a walkie-talkie. He pressed the button and spoke in a low voice. "Alright Sparky, you better be ready up there."
"Don't call me Sparky!" Megavolt's voice snapped quietly back over the static of the radio. "And I've been ready! I've been waiting for you and puddle-head to get set up!"
Darkwing ignored Megavolt's complaining as he turned to Draco. He stared at him sincerely and spoke to him in a low, firm voice. "I want you to stay here."
But Draco's eyes went wide in response and shook his head. "But I'm supposed to cover you!" he whispered back and nodded at the large gun in his hands.
"If we don't make it out, I want you to take the money and go."
"Darkwing, I can't just…!"
"I want you to find Morgana and Gosalyn," Darkwing continued and disregarded Draco's protest. "The three of you find someplace safe. Tell them what happened…everything. She'll know what to do. If we can't get McIntyre my way, she'll get him her way."
"But what if…??"
"Just do what I tell you," Darkwing insisted pleadingly. He paused before sighing and getting to his feet. After taking a few cautious steps forward, he stopped and glanced back over his shoulder at Draco, he being the only one of the criminals he found himself able to communicate with. "Tell her I tried…"
Before Draco could respond, Darkwing had disappeared into the dark shadows of the night, stealthily making his way towards the pier. He began to make his way towards the ramp to board the boat but only made it a few yards before the first eggmen spotted him. The eggman muttered to his cohorts and pointed to the approaching figure in the gray fedora and trench coat casually approaching them. The group of eggmen pulled out their firearms and held them at the ready as they began to coolly approach Darkwing. Even as they were approaching, Darkwing remained undaunted with his hands in the pockets of his coat a she finally came to a stop, the eggmen surrounding him.
From above, Megavolt poked his head up from the edge of the boathouse's roof and spotted Darkwing in the circle of FOWL eggmen. The electro-charged rodent lifted his hand and positioned it as if it were a gun, extending his index finger and aiming it down at the group below.
"Ready…Aim…ZAP!" Megavolt announced as he pulled back his thumb like a trigger. A glowing white bolt projected from his index finger and sped through the air, hitting the eggmen that had been standing directly in front of Darkwing. The yellow-suited mallard wearing the white helmet crumpled to the ground as the electrical bolt surrounded him and disappeared within a split second. Before the other eggmen could react, several more bolts of electrical fury tore through the air, each one hitting their mark. One after another, the now panic-stricken eggmen began to fall to the ground as Megavolt continued his accurate fire from the rooftop.
"Take that! And that! And this!" Megavolt shouted triumphantly as the last eggmen fell. "I'll be Public Enemy Number One by the end of the week!"
Once his way was cleared, Darkwing threw off his trench coat to reveal his crime fighting attire and bolted up the ramp to board the boat. The commotion caught the attention of another group of eggmen at the other end of the boat where the Liquidator was keeping himself hidden. He waited until the group of them scurried down the pier to assist before sliding out of the shadow sin a sleep stream of water sliding across the docks rotting boards towards the van that was parked on solid ground.
When Megavolt caught sight of Liquidator moving towards his target, he glanced at the boat once again and eyed the area of the keel where several dozen oil drums were stacked. A wicked grin quickly spread across the rodent's face.
"Bada-boom!" Megavolt cackled as he pointed his finger, aiming at the center of the oil drums and fired a swift bolt of lighting that sped downwards through the air. The drums exploded into a large ball of fire the second the electricity sparked the tin barrels. Screams from the FOWL workers as the stern of the ship was engulfed in flames, attracting their attention and allowing Darkwing to sneakily make his way on board the opposite side of the ship.
"Elvis has left the building!" Megavolt announced triumphantly from his perch atop the boathouse. He snickered giddily before he grabbed a hold of the ladder and swung himself over the edge of the roof, quickly descending downwards to the ground. He stopped when he eyed the mooring cable suspended in the air just behind him and made a quick leap from the ladder. His blue gloved hands grasped the cable tightly as he took a few seconds to gain his balance before climbing hand-over-hand across the cable towards the ship. Once he made it to the starboard side of the ship, he hopped over the railing and onto the deck.
Shouts of panic were still coming from the opposite side of the ship where the fire was still burning brilliantly. Dozens of eggmen and agents were moving quickly in every attempt to put out the flames, giving Megavolt and Darkwing the distractions they needed to get inside the ship and find the money said to be on board. When the task was accomplished, they would leave the ship to be destroyed by the fire with the gun parts inside.
The agent left to stand guard at the van could only glance at the chaos in puzzlement. He knew he couldn't leave his post. His attention was directed towards the flaming boat and did not notice the puddle forming at his feet. Slowly the water began to rise from the puddle and take form of the menacing canine standing directly behind the still unaware agent. Before the agent could know what was about to happen to him, the Liquidator's arm shot out to wrap tightly around his face, covering his nose and mouth. The agent flailed his arms and let out a gurgled scream as he attempted to pull himself free from the villain's surprisingly vice-like grip. His eyes began to vibrate back and forth rapidly while he began to feel dizzy from lack of air.
Finally, the agent's eyes rolled back into his head and went lip in Liquidator's watery hold. The villain scoffed and let the lifeless body slump to the floor.
"One should wait one hour after swimming before engaging in criminal activity to avoid death!" Liquidator quipped smugly as he turned towards the van. He reached out to take a hold of the latches of the van's rear doors and pulled them open. But when it was revealed what was being securely guarded inside the van, Liquidator instantly frowned. There was no money. Or guns. Instead, there was several bags and crates full of fertilizer.
Before Liquidator could get another thought about the situation, his vision suddenly became clouded. He coughed as he tried to clear his eyes and stared down at his hands to see a gritty gray substance quickly spreading throughout his liquid anatomy. Realization hit him and his eyes went wide as he let out a startled gasp. Cement. QUICK drying cement.
He spun around to face his attacker, but his movements were already beginning to become slow and sluggish. Slowly, he managed to lift his head as his head while his body turned a light, solid gray from it's pure bright blue. As Liquidator stared into the face the one responsible, his brow furrowed into a fearful and shocked expression. His body completely solidified before he could utter another gasp, now frozen as a cement statue.
CRASH!
A sledgehammer suddenly came plowing down on the top of the Liquidator's head. The force was intense enough to shatter the statue into thousands of pieces. Liquidator's demise.
Megavolt ran like a wild man across the deck, heading for the hatch and unaware of Liquidator's end. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Darkwing entering one of the ship's quarters, his gas gun drawn. The rodent looked quickly to either side of him before darting towards the left. Rounding the corner, he bumped into a suited FOWL agent, causing the both of them to stumble backwards.
"Megavolt!" the agent exclaimed. The shout achieved the attention of four other eggmen that hurriedly made there way towards the two.
As the agent reached for his own gun inside of his jacket, Megavolt pulled out his electro-gun and fired without aiming. But it was a good shot which hit the agent directly in the chest. He instantly crumpled to the ground and gasped, a spasm tearing through his body before he went lax. The eggmen who had been rushing to the fallen agent's aid instantly skidded to a stop and stared with wide eyes at Megavolt.
Megavolt held up his electro-gun with a smirk, sparks dancing around its pointed tip. The eggmen gasped simultaneously before frantically trying to retrace their steps to retreat. But in their panic, they only succeeded in bumping into one another. Megavolt snickered wickedly before holding his electro-gun up once again.
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP ZAP!
The four bodies slumped to the floor in a heap on top of one another. Seeing no other confronters in sight, Megavolt stuck the gun back into the holster on his utility belt and eyed a ladder that descended into the boat's turbine room. Without hesitating, he scampered over to the ladder and made his way below.
Meanwhile. Draco still remained at the edge of the pier in his hiding place, clutching the large gun in his hands tightly. He was wrestling with what to do. The shouts and sounds of Megavolt's weaponry echoed through the air over the roaring of the blaze still burning at the ship's stern.
His conscience got the better of him. Draco got to his feet and glanced cautiously from behind the boat to be sure that he would not be seen. No one in sight. Taking a deep breath, he limped as quickly as he could to the other side of the boathouse, trying to make the dragging sound of his limp foot as quiet as possible. An agent suddenly stepped out from behind a pillar of crates and spotted Draco shuffling across the docks.
"Hey!" the agent shouted and quickly pulled out his gun to take aim. Draco's eyes went wide and he let out a stifled gasp as he heard the gunshot. Luckily, he managed to duck just in time. The bullet pierced a barrel of gasoline from behind him.
The agent was preparing to fire again, seeing that he missed his target. But Draco was quick to retaliate and lifting his own gun. With his single uncovered eye, he took accurate aim and pulled the trigger. The agent yelped and his arms flailed to his sides. The gun in his hand clattered to the ground as he stumbled backwards and over the edge of the dock. A splash followed as the body hit the water.
Draco paused and stared, as if making sure that the agent was dead. Finally, he turned and continued his way down the ramp leading from the dock to the pier. But he stopped as he heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching. He quickly ducked behind a guardrail of the ramp as three more eggmen ran past, not taking notice of him. When they were out of sight, Draco stepped out from behind the rail and came to the parked van.
He stepped around the back corner of the van but stopped when he heard a discrete crunching sound from underneath his feet. Draco lifted his foot up to see that he had been stepping on small shards of concrete. A perplexed expression appeared on his face until his eyes fell on a much larger piece of cement. When he bent down to get a better look at the markings on the chunk of concrete, his eyes went wide. The Liquidator's face. Frozen in a permanent stare of fright. Draco stumbled back several steps and glanced around frantically in fear.
"Why didn't you run?" Cujo asked with curious suspicion in his voice.
Draco gave his shoulders a short shrug, keeping his stare downcast on the carpet of the office. "I froze up. I thought about Quackerjack and how he looked when we buried him. And then I though about Darkwing. He looked as if he might pull it off."
There was a knock at the door. Raden stuck his head inside and made eye contact with Cujo, motioning for him to step outside. Cujo looked down at Draco, who did not look up at him, and then followed Raden outside of the office and into the hall, closing the office door behind him.
Agent Bear came around the corner and joined the two in the hall, handing Cujo a thick manila folder. Cujo raised an eyebrow curiously before he began to thumb through the folder. "What's this?"
"A boy came across a body on the beach this morning that was thrown clear when the boat exploded," Bear informed somewhat reluctantly. "He as shot twice in the head. Some guys from the FBI just identified him."
"And?"
"Remember Dr. Reginald Bushroot? The university scientist-turned-mutant plant duck?"
"Yes. What about him?" Cujo asked exasperatedly.
"Well, that body WAS him. He reeked of burning vegetables when he was pulled out of the water this morning. Apparently, the bullets he was shot with were pumped pull of weed killer which killed him almost instantly."
Cujo stared at Bear for a long moment, waiting for him to say it was a practical joke. "But Bushroot hasn't participated in criminal activity for years now."
"Exactly," Bear confirmed with a nod. "Word has it on the streets that he was working on reforming and redirecting his life towards botany. But he was having a little bit of trouble getting back on the good side of society. So he confided in a St. Canard local who was also an ex-villain. A witch or sorceress."
There was a short pause. Cujo looked up at Bear knowingly. "Morgana?"
Bear nodded to confirm. "Yes. Apparently, she was quite determined to help Bushroot, believing that he could really reform. She even went through the trouble of tracking down a lawyer suitable to help him rebuild his reputation and erase his criminal history in St. Canard."
"McIntyre?"
This time Raden nodded and continued to explain. "I called in to the county to receive a copy of Bushroot's testimony. He was a rat, a stool pigeon. That was the only way he was going to receive the acceptance he wanted from the city. He was so desperate for acceptance and opposed to going back to prison that he informed on close to fifty top criminals. Guess who he named in finale?"
Cujo read over one of the pages of the file in his head and blinked before raising his gaze. "Negaduck?"
"And there's more," Bear added. Cujo seemed to sigh as if this case would never end…
Cujo walked back into the office and sat in front of Draco on the top of his desk. He leaned forward until he was eye level with the mallard, his eyes narrowed in an annoyed stare. Draco stared at him, puzzled.
"I'll tell you what I know. Stop me when it sounds familiar," Cujo sneered and leaned even closer. "There were no guns on that boat…."