Chapter 6
Leatherhead drove the van away, glancing at his review mirror. Jack was sitting down next to a Black Labrador, and the Labrador started to engage him in conversation. Leatherhead rolled his eyes and then nervously consulted his watch.
"OK – we're fine. As long as that young fool stays where he is; no need to worry."
Taking a few deep breaths, Leatherhead turned the van down a side-street, heading for the motorway and back to the hideout.
"Your crutches do suit you, you know." Stella observed Jack's crutches by his feat. The tiger gave her a brief smile, but his eyes were fixed to the coffee cup in front of him. Stella watched him as they sat in a silence for a moment; slightly awkward, but mostly pensive.
"Sorry," Jack suddenly said, "I guess I'm not too good at this sort of thing."
Stella smiled kindly. "You're fine. I understand."
Jack glanced up at her, once more slightly surprised by Stella's friendly nature; it was slowly becoming clear that the Black Labrador was big of heart. Before Jack could contemplate this further, a waitress came over to their table, notebook in hand.
"Ready to order?" she asked.
"Salad for me," Stella told her quietly. Jack, about to order a cheeseburger, blinked at her.
"Is that all you're having?"
The Black Labrador shrugged. "I need to cut down."
Jack laughed slightly. "No, you don't."
Stella cocked her head to the side with a small smile. "Don't flatter me."
"No, I'm telling the truth! You're fine the way you are; you're really pretty."
As soon as he had said it, the tiger gave an inward groan and put a hand to his forehead, hiding his reddening face. Chancing a glance from behind his fingers, he caught sight of the waitress, who had one eyebrow raised in amusement. Stella, however, was watching him with an unidentifiable expression. Then she turned to the waitress.
"Scrap the salad – I'll have the hamburger."
"Cheeseburger for me," muttered Jack.
The waitress seemed to be hiding a smirk – she wrote the order down and then quickly hurried away. Stella was still staring at Jack.
"Sorry," the tiger said again, "I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"You didn't. That was a nice thing to say." Stella's mouth curled upwards in a smile.
"Yeah… well…" Jack glanced down at his hands. "It's the truth." Then he added hastily, "I'm not mocking you or anything – I mean – oh gosh. I'm just going to shut up now."
"Jack – " Stella held up a hand. "I know what you mean. You're a nice person."
Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. Stella's smile broadened.
"It's funny you should say that," Jack said cautiously, tapping his fingers on the table, "I dunno – I'm just not used to – hearing that kind of thing."
"You've had a rough past," Stella offered.
"Yeah. I've got no brothers or sisters."
"I didn't – but now I've got my step-brother. He has a good word for everyone."
"Really?" Jack perked up, and glanced at her.
"Yeah," Stella rested her head in one of her hands, looking pensive but happy. "He makes situations fun; he can get a little angry but most of the time he's just a protector – he makes me feel safe. He takes me for picnics in the park, or just on walks – he shows me a good time."
"My Mum used to do stuff like that with me," began Jack, and he went on to describe some of the outings that his own family had been on, with Stella listening politely. They then contrasted their holidays, which led on to funny stories of what their friends had done and where, which in turn led back to their own lifestyles. The conversation seemed to flow; every turn there was something new to talk about, and Jack found himself living in his own words. Maybe it was because of female company, but for the first time, he felt normal... alive.
"Thanks for the lift." Woodruff sat alert in his seat as the Mark III swooped down towards a London carpark near the food-store.
"Don't mention it. I need to do some shopping. Have you got the list, Penfold?" DM glanced over at the hamster.
"Yes sir – one packet of chocolate biscuits, two bottles of lemonade, one packet of shortbread – "
"Penfold, I think you'll find that's a two-year-old list for a Christmas party." DM rolled his eyes. "Check the other pocket."
"Oh! Erm – right." Penfold dug deep and brought out another piece of paper. Woodruff read it over his shoulder as the Mark III landed in the carpark.
"Two large chocolate cakes, Haribo sweets, five galleons of Coke – "
"WHAT!" cried DM, as they skidded into an empty space. "Let me see that list!"
He grabbed it out of Penfold's hands and scanned it, before sighing resignedly; Woodruff had been joking.
"Take it easy, would you?" Woodruff said good-naturedly as they all got out of the car. "I know you're on the edge, but – "
" 'Relax' – I know." DM led the way across the road and stopped outside the food-store. "Right, the Corner Café is just down the road. Penfold and I will get the groceries, and then we'd better get back to the pillarbox."
"Yeah, we'll get a taxi," Woodruff nodded. "Thanks, mate. See you later."
With a wave of his hand, he jogged down the road and disappeared around the corner. DM waved Penfold into the store.
"Right, first things first. Where are the prunes?"
"Thanks for this," Jack told Stella, asthey stood up from the table. The Black Labrador smiled and handed him his crutches.
"Always a pleasure. We'll have to do it again, some time."
Jack knew it was almost time to go, but he had one more question that had been nagging him all afternoon.
"Why did you agree to see me?" he asked, as the two left the Café and stepped out into the street. "I mean, I'm not exactly – y'know, thriving."
"I told you before, you're fine." Stella slung her bag over her shoulder. "And don't put yourself down. Life isn't all bad, you know."
"I – suppose not…" Jack said cautiously. Stella smiled, though it wasn't sympathy. It was more – understanding.
"I know you had a rough start. But your future is out there; my advice is don't waste it. Try your best all the time, and get every piece of opportunity you can out of it. OK?"
Jack nodded, still a bit doubtful, but appreciating the kind words all the same. At that moment, he saw the van pulling up.
"Gotta go. I'll email you." A quick smile to Stella, and he hobbled towards the van.
"HEY!"
Jack, Stella and all the people around them reacted; Woodruff was walking down the street with a murderous look on his face.
"Woodruff?" Stella asked, confused.
"Don't let him get away!" the collie was yelling. "The police are after him!"
Immediately, people started to close in on Jack from all sides. Stella was caught in the crowd, and was unable to get close enough to the tiger. Woodruff pushed through the threatening engulf; at the same time, DM and Penfold, two bags in hand, came hurtling up the other side of the street. On seeing the crowd of people surrounding Jack and backing him up against the van, they dropped their shopping and made their way over.
"Sorry – excuse me – watch out - you, stay put!" DM barked at the tiger as they reached him.
"What's going on?" called Stella; but no-one paid attention to her. At that moment, before DM could react, the van doors opened and Leatherhead reached out with both hands to pull Jack inside. As soon as the tiger was out of sight, the doors slammed shut and the van sped away, with several people chasing it to the end of the street until it turned the corner and disappeared.
"What were you thinking!" Leatherhead hissed at Jack when they were several miles away.
"I didn't know that that collie was her step-brother – she didn't tell me!" Jack argued. "Anyway, we're safe, aren't we?"
"Don't you get it!" the crow cried, turning to him angrily. "This is going to be all over the news tonight! If the Baron catches wind of this, he'll know you went behind his back! We have to hope – no, pray – that he won't find out! And right now, chances are pretty remote that he will! Why did you have to take the risk?"
"Because someone wanted to meet me," murmured Jack, almost to himself, "Someone took an interest."
"Right now, lover-boy, your only interest should be your own life. Do you know what the Baron could do if he finds out you double-crossed him?"
"It was only lunch!" cried Jack, who was starting to feel as though Leatherhead wasn't as kindly as he had first made out to be. "And you agreed anyway."
"Oh, shut up!" snapped the crow, and the two were silent for the rest of the journey.
"Invading him from all sides? Attacking him? How could you do that, Woodruff – how could you do it?" Stella cried at the Border Collie's back. Kim put a hand to her shoulder, attempting to calm her.
"I did it to protect you," Woodruff snarled. "You don't know what he's like."
"Woodruff, I think we need to discuss this calmly." DM put a hand on the Border Collie's shoulder, silencing him before walking across to Stella. Seeing how angry she was, he spoke in a polite, soothing tone.
"Jack is an escaped criminal. He was supposed to go to prison after being discharged from the hospital. His cohorts have helped him escape."
"I can't believe that!" Stella snapped, furiously wiping at her eye. "He was so nice today – and in the hospital."
"It might well have been a front, Stella, it's easy to do that," DM said quietly. "I'm sorry – but I feel that this is a lost cause. It's for your own safety."
"Don't say you know him," Woodruff growled as Stella opened her mouth. "Look, Stell, you're great at trying to explore people and see their good side, but that stuff's wasted on Jack. He's made a complete misshape of his life."
"His father cheated on his Mum – she was killed of alcohol poisoning," Stella argued, her eyes starting to brim over.
"That's not a valid excuse," DM said gently, although he was starting to sense that it was pointless. "He had a choice."
Stella shook her head wordlessly, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I still can't believe it."
"Look, Stella," Kim said quietly. "Come to my room for a while and have a lie-down; I'll fix you a drink."
Stella nodded; Kim put an arm around her and steered her out of the lounge, in the direction of her bedroom. Woodruff watched her go, mouth agape.
"I don't know who she thinks she's kidding," he said, rounding on Danger Mouse. "She can't believe that there's some good in him."
"There might be," DM said reasonably.
"What!" The Border Collies glanced at him, looking alarmed. "But you said it yourself – he's a lost cause."
"That's just my own feelings," DM replied, "I don't know him; I'm just looking at him from the agent's point of view. She may see something in him that's genuine and true. We can always learn a few lessons from sources that we least expect."
Woodruff groaned and sat on the sofa.
"I'm not angry with her," he said, staring up at DM. "You've seen what she's like – she's got a huge heart, a smile for everyone; there's nothing quite like her."
"I can see that," DM smiled.
"But I'm just scared that it's going to be the very thing that endangers her. I just…" Woodruff groaned. "Do you reckon she could be right?"
"Well, you could give her a chance," DM offered fairly. "My agent instincts have stopped playing me up – now I feel as though something will happen. But it doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be something bad. I'll make us a cup of tea."
"Dolt! Idiot!"
Jack felt something large hit him against the back of the head, and realised with a sinking feeling that he was standing in front of the Hit-Box. Shaking the stars from his vision, he stared at Baron Greenback. Leatherhead was right. Greenback had seen the reports of Jack's sighting on the news. And now Jack was probably going to pay the ultimate price.
"I gave you a place to call your own," Greenback snapped. "And this is the thanks that I get! You're an ungrateful piece of scum! What are you?"
"An ungrateful piece of scum," Jack echoed hollowly, feeling even lower as he heard Nero squeaking with glee.
"I should get rid of you right away, you mangy, flea-ridden cat!" the Baron continued.
So why don't you shut up and do it, you fat tub of lard, the tiger thought bitterly.
"… But I'm not."
Jack blinked and his head snapped up. "What?"
"I'm not going to get rid of you," the toad said. "I'm going to give you one last chance." He held up his index finger. "One."
Jack nodded, feeling relief wash over him. "Yes, Baron."
"Don't answer back! I never want to see you go out without my permission again, you hear?"
"Yes, Baron."
"Good." The Baron's face cleared, and his face was arranged into what Jack could only identify as a grin. He tried not to grimace at the toad's yellow teeth.
"So – haha – get back to work, lad." The Baron waved at him in a gesture to leave the office. "Good work. Haha – goodbye!"
Jack was a little mystified by the strange behaviour, but decided not to push his luck. He turned and hobbled towards the door, but then stopped and glanced around.
"Thanks, Baron. I mean, sir."
"Think nothing of it, dear boy." Greenback watched until the door had closed behind Jack before picking up the phone on the desk. Typing in the work-shop number, he waited for someone to answer.
"Hello, Stiletto? Yes, can you get Leatherhead on the phone? Good." The Baron waited a few seconds, then spoke again. "Hello, Leatherhead… yes… look, dolt, I want to know what exactly Jack was doing in town? Who was he meeting? Oh… oh, really? Well, that's interesting… come up here right away, I need to discuss this with you!" With that, he hung up again. Nero giggled as Greenback stroked him.
"I have a feeling we might be having some fun with Jack's friend before long, my pretty," Greenback told him. "It's always nice to have a female around the place…"