Pure insanity on the author's part...
Ducky
Jack Hudson had just finished his run. He was in the process of getting ready to shower when his email alert sounded. It was from Sue.
Jack,
You said to let you know if I ever needed anything, anything. Well, I need your help right away. Please come.
Sue
Sue needs me. He grabbed his keys and ran out the door.
The doorbell rang and Levi let Sue know. She went to the door and opened it only to find a half-dressed Jack standing there.
"Wow, that was fast and you are dressed for the job. Let's go."
"Where?"
"To the pond."
"What? I…"
"I need you to fetch Levi's ducky. It got stuck in the muck."
"Oh."
"Think you can handle it?"
"Sure, but I was…"
"You were what?"
"Nevermind."
The half-dressed, highly trained agent walked down to the pond in the park with Sue and Levi. Wrinkling his nose, Jack waded out in the muck, hoping not to get stuck while fetching the duck. The Golden decided to join the fun, splashing in and out, waiting for the dark headed man to return with his beloved toy.
Jack found the ducky after much searching. It's plain brown appearance blended in with the weeds and reeds. Shaking his head, he turned and made his way to the shore. Sue stood waiting with a towel. He handed her the ducky, which she proceeded to rub clean and dry with the terry cloth.
He stood there amazed until she was done. Levi came up and shook next to Jack, adding more wetness to the agent's confusion. He aimed his sad brown eyes at Sue.
"What about me?"
"Oh, Jack," said Sue, mortified. "I'm not going to rub you clean and dry you off. Besides," she looked into his big brown eyes, "I think you're ducky just the way you are…."
"Excuse me, sir?" Jack turned from looking at Sue to see a middle aged man standing patiently. "I saw your brave rescue of the ducky. Could I have your autograph?"
"But it's a rubber ducky…"
"Oh, I know." The man stood there, waiting.
Jack scratched his head, grinning at the strange turn of events. A single brow went up over a brown eye. "I guess I can."
The man held out his own rubber ducky, a white one with black splotches. He handed Jack a permanent marker.
"Do you go around carrying this, waiting for duck rescues?"
"No. I was over at the carnival and won it."
"Oh."
The beleaguered FBI agent finished signing his name and turned back to Sue. She stood there smiling as she called for Levi.
"Thanks for coming, Jack. Levi just loves his ducky."
A small crowd started to gather around.
"Say, what's going on here?" a voice asked.
The man from earlier shouted, "He rescued a ducky from the pond. It was stuck in the muck."
Murmurs of "Ohh" and "Awww" were heard as well as "Look at those abs."
Jack began to feel very uncomfortable as he remembered his half-dressed state. He turned to look for Sue but she was gone. In a hurried but graceful manner, he managed to escape from the growing crowd and made it back home.
He shook off the events and finally took his shower. When he came out, he turned on the t.v. to see the latest news.
And in a spot of good news, casual park go-ers wanted to recognize a Good Samaritan for his courageous rescue of a stuck duck. Apparently, the plain brown duck was stuck in the gooey muck and he waded out to free it. Several bystanders have taken up collection to give the ducky a new home but no sign of the rescuer or duck can be found. If you know one Jack Hudson, please let him know the ducky has several new homes waiting for it.
Just shoot me now. He reached for his home phone, quickly unplugging it. His cell was next. He couldn't turn it off due to work. I will never live this down. I just hear it now. I've gone from Sparky to Quacky.
He decided to hide.
A quick check of his accumulated days off revealed he had sixty-four. A second check of his passport and the first available flight to the Bahamas showed he was going off the deep end. Running a hand through his still damp hair he muttered, "How bad could it be?"
His cell rang. Oh, no. "Hudson."
"Hey, Sparky, heard about your latest save. Good going, mate."
Jack didn't miss the glee in the Aussie's voice. "Yeah, thanks."
"D wanted me to tell you to come on in when you have all your ducks in a row."
The dark headed man held the phone away from his ear as the laughter was maxxing out the sound chip. He pressed the off button. It rang again.
"Hudson."
"Ah, yes, Mr. Hudson. I am Dr. Mallard over at NCIS. I heard about your little rescue on the news. By any chance was the specimen a domesticated brown mallard with black and green markings?"
"Why is NCIS calling me? About a rubber duck?" Jack closed the line. It was then that he heard the pounding at the door. Now what?
He looked through the peephole and saw no one. Opening the door, there was only crackers spread in a thick layer in front of his apartment. Another door opened down the hall.
"Hey, Hudson! You gonna have to clean up this mess."
"Yeah, yeah." He retreated back into his home. The trip to the Bahamas was looking better and better. Could it get any worse? He cringed as he thought it. Now I've done it.
Sure enough, the doorbell rang. It was the mailman standing in the crackers. "Mr. Hudson, it seems like you have an abundance of bills today. Big ones, small ones, fowl ones…" The man snickered and handed Jack his mail. The agent just glared.
That's it. I'm going to bed and not getting up. He went to his bedroom and buried his head under the pillows.
A hand on his shoulder roused him from his slumber. "Leave me alone! It was just Levi's rubber ducky!"
"Last time I checked, our fair Golden favored his 'bunny' over said rubber objects." The tall Bostonian gave Jack a perplexed look.
"Wait, where am I and what day is this?"
"Oh come on, mate. You took a little power nap after lunch. You've been going on and on about muck and stuck and quacky and bills. Anything we should know?" Bobby perched on the corner of Jack's desk.
"I'm never having the spicy duck from Lo Meins again."