-----Chapter 13-----
"So you were sent to kidnap me?" Camdyn asked after a few minutes of silence. The only answer she got was a shake of the mutt's head.
"So you weren't sent to kidnap me?" she asked. This time she got an irritated glance from him.
"Would you shut up? I'm not supposed to talk to you."
"Why not?"
Mad Dog looked over his shoulder at her.
"You don't get it do you? I'm NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK TO YOU!" he shouted.
"Okay! Okay! You don't have to yell." Camdyn sighed. She didn't like not knowing where she stood with the pirates. It was a strange feeling, she'd been getting somewhat used to the way they operated. Now she just sat fearing the worst as Mad Dog landed on top of the Vulture. It was a hair raising experience, but she just trusted to blind luck and Mad Dog to not get them killed by running into the huge airship's props.
Mad Dog climbed out and stood on the wing of his plane and yelled something that Camdyn couldn't understand. She wriggled a finger in her ear and listened to him again. But no, she still couldn't understand what he was saying. But from his gestures, Camdyn surmised that it wasn't anything too kind. She wondered who he was yelling at, then noticed what had to be Trap getting ready to land her plane.
As Trap did so, he started yelling back at Mad Dog.
"Shut up with the freakin' Aridian...no one can understand you when you do that." Trap snapped, he looked irritated.
Mad Dog retorted with something else in what was, apparently, the language of Aridia.
"Would you care to translate that?" Trap snarled, dangerously.
"Well excuse me. I said that you should get down to the hangar since you're sitting on the platform." Mad Dog said in his typically whiny voice.
Camdyn stared at him a moment before climbing down from the plane.
"I see you at least managed to get the stupid vixen here without getting killed. It's a damn good thing that I came in with Zoll or we would have had to send someone back for my plane." Trap continued his babbling. Camdyn frowned.
There was a loud noise as Mina and Zoll arrived and Camdyn realized it was the beak being opened.
-----
Samuel, tabby radio operator extrodinaire and father to Kelly and as-yet-unnamed kitten, was lounging when a sudden burst of radio communication caught his attention.
"Open the door! Come on! Hurry...there's a bear out here who has a eye out for a new rug!" Zoll shouted. Sam scrambled for the intercom and called down to the hangar.
"Would someone mind opening the beak? I think the plan didn't go so well." Sam said, sounding entirely unphased.
Down in the hangar the two dogs supposed to be watching for the returning pirates jumped up and acted like they hadn't been sitting there half-asleep. Which was true...since they had actually been asleep. But one of them had the good sense to push the button to open the hangar doors. They both looked at each other, and when seeing nothing coming, went to peek out. That was their first mistake. Zoll came zooming up out of nowhere, Mina right behind him.
Zoll flipped his plane up and into the hangar, doing some strange imitation of a landing and getting out of his plane before it came to a complete stop. The door guards stood there for a moment staring in disbelief as Zoll ran screaming into the ship and Ratchet had to jump onto the CT-37 and stop it before someone came to serious harm. That was their second mistake. Only flattening themselves to the deck plates saved them from being run over by Mina, who actually stopped her plane before jumping out to pursue the fleeing Corgi.
The two guards lay face down on the floor, and one of them mumbled "Hey, wasn't there supposed to be one more?"
"Yeah, and I ain't moving until I'm sure they're done goin' crazy." The other replied.
Sensibly, Ratchet threw an old oil filter at them and informed them that Mad Dog had landed on the roof. Just as the two guards were picking themselves up, Mina came storming back out.
"Where is she?" Mina demanded.
"Who?" Ratchet asked.
"You know very well who..."
"Oh, look. It's one of the three bears come home to roost." a snide voice said behind the bearess. Mina turned to find a jaguar standing there. He was black from head to toe and when he smiled it was disconcertingly like watching the Cheshire Cat. "Looking for something?"
"Where'd you come from?"
"Where does anyone come from, Mina?" the jaguar asked. Mina didn't get a chance to answer because Karnage had appeared behind him, followed by a disheveled looking Camdyn, along with Mad Dog and Trap.
"You...I would have to say you came from the woody-work Captain Grimmo." Karnage stated. The way he said the word 'captain' made it sound as if it were a replacement for a much nastier word.
"Woodwork?" Grimmo asked, sounding thoroughly lost.
"Si. Just like the other cockeroaches."
The jaguar growled, but apparently thought better of attacking Karnage in front of so many members of his crew. Especially when said crew was eyeing him like he was some sort of fishbait waiting for a hook. The tension was not lost on Mina. She reminded herself to see what exactly had been going on in her absence.
"Now, now, Captain Karnage. That's such a naughty thing to say. Grimmo isn't like a cockroach. He's much more sophisticated."
"Yeah, sophisticated like shower mold." Mad Dog mumbled under his breath. Camdyn couldn't help but grin a little. She covered her mouth and pretended to have a coughing fit. Unfortunately, the she wolf had heard him.
"Excuse me...I'm not sure I've heard you correctly. Would you care to repeat that last turn of phrase so that the rest of our comrades can hear your eloquence?" the she-wolf smiled nastily.
"I didn't stutter." Mad Dog said, this time speaking out plainly.
"Oh, but we would be so enlightened by your display of imminent intelligence."
Mad Dog glanced sideways at Camdyn. She picked up that the wolfess was intentionally trying to throw Mad Dog with impossibly long words. Camdyn nudged him.
"She just wants to hear that sexy voice of yours again." Camdyn stage whispered to Mad Dog. She thought she saw Karnage stifle a grin.
"Excuse me? I hardly believe that I would ever find the vocals of that mixed-up half-breed simpleton stimulating."
Camdyn looked at the she-wolf as she was speaking. She had platinum blonde hair and the sort of false sugary voice that made you wonder what kind of rat poison she was underneath the candy coating. Karnage looked from Camdyn, to the she-wolf, then back again. This was going to be interesting. He wondered for a moment if the vixen even realized that she was technically a prisoner.
"That was a lot of long words and I'm just a pirate-in-training. Good thing I have a dictionary." Camdyn said. The wolfess looked at her as if challenging her to show her the book. Camdyn reached into her pocket and pulled out a very grubby dictionary.
"Really..." the wolfess rolled her eyes.
"What? You were expecting her to be lying like the sleepy dog who is too old to teach new tricks, Della?" Karnage asked. The wolfess gritted her teeth.
"Let me see...mixed-up..." Camdyn actually went through the trouble of looking up a few of the words Della had used on Mad Dog.
"OK, Official Piratical Translation...Mad Dog, according to Della you are, "A stupid mutt. A mutt so disgusting she can't possibly think about having your children. You make her vomit." Camdyn stopped. "Have I gone far enough?"
"Yeah, I think I got the general idea." Mad Dog said, glaring at Camdyn.
"So?"
"So what? It's true. He is a stupid, filthy, flea infested, mangy mongrel who's parentage, I fear, is in serious question." Della snapped.
Mad Dog scratched behind his ear for a moment then clapped Della on the shoulder.
"I don't think truer words have ever been spoken." Mad Dog turned and started to walk away.
"Wait...Mad Dog, you are in charge of the vixen. She is not to leave your sight, comprendé?"
Mad Dog looked as though he'd like to shove Camdyn overboard.
"Yes, sir...come on." He grabbed Camdyn's coat by the collar and started off.
Della stared after them with an expression that said she'd be dangerous later on. Camdyn gulped. She hadn't really meant to go so far with her joke, but she hadn't quite been able to resist. As she followed Mad Dog around the ship, she wondered where he was going. Well, Karnage said she wasn't allowed to leave his sight, so she guessed it really didn't matter where he was going.