Chapter I: Christmas Comes But Once a Year

The morning after Thanksgiving, everyone slept in, including Gadget, for once. The previous evening's task had tired her out even more than casework, it seemed. She used this experience to decide one major thing…she and Chip would be taking most of their meals with the rest of the Rangers, where someone else cooked.

She was still asleep around nine o'clock, when Tammy started knocking on the door.

"Come on, Gadget! We're going to the after-Thanksgiving sales! No woman ever misses them!"

The young inventor pulled her pillow over her head.
"I knew I should have brought my traps with me from the 'Eagle." She got up, and quickly slipped into her coveralls. "All right, I'm coming!"

Grabbing her goggles from the bedside table, she slouched into the kitchen, where Monterey Jack was fixing breakfast.

"Mornin', Gadget luv! Bonza great day to be alive, ain't it?"

"Just peachy, Monty. Please tell me that the percolator's still working."

He placed a thimble mug in front of her, and filled it with steaming liquid.

"Black an' boiled to sludge, just how y'like it."
She grabbed the cup, and took several long swallows from it, allowing the warm steam to bathe her face.

"Croikey, nevah get in the path of a caffeine addict."

"Isn't that the truth," Tammy said as she sat down. "Any eggs, Monty?"

"Oi scrambled some just a coupla minutes ago, luv. Them ought to be done by now." He checked several pans that sat at the back of the stove. "Aha! Here we go." With a small spatula, he flipped several pats of scrambled egg onto a plate, and sprinkled them with a bit of powder from a small jar. "Eggs a la Monterey, m'dear."

"With black walnut, like Mom used to make! Thanks, Monty!"

"Wot can I say? Can't let me girls go 'ungry."

He looked over at Gadget.

"So, where you two wild dingo pups off to t'day?"

"A little shopping, I guess. Or so Tammy says."

"Oh come on, Goldilocks, you need a day away from the bears!" Tammy laughed.

As the coffee filtered through her system and woke her brain cells, Gadget realized that a day out was probably a good idea. Besides, there was a new hobby store she wanted to visit. She'd had several ideas for new Ranger vehicles, and the wave of do-it-yourself model stores that had begun opening in the past year made for a plethora of parts and concepts.

Tammy sighed.

"The day after Thanksgiving rush is the best time to Christmas shop. There's so much to do, it almost makes you wish you could be in two places at once!"

She looked at Gadget's expression, and fell silent. While they were in Britain, the Rangers' enemy had been none other than Gadget's twin sister Lawainie Lait, who had nearly killed her. While Lawainie now rested securely in the hands of the mouse version of MI-6, it still made the subject uneasy to talk about.

Gadget brushed the memories off, and fortified with her coffee and a donut, stood up and went for her jacket.

"Come on Tammy, you got me up for this, let's go! I need to pick up some parts anyway."
"Aww Gadget, does this mean we're spending the day at the hardware store?"

"Not the whole day," was the teasing response. As the two left, Monterey smiled.

"The daughter an' granddaughter oi nevah had," he said.

As Gadget and Tammy made their way downtown, Chip, Dale and Sparky were involved in a different kind of treasure hunt. In the police station, they sat atop a low-hanging ceiling fan, which was suspended just above Detective Spinelli's desk.

"Keep your eyes open, everybody, we might get a case!" Chip reminded.

"Um, Chip, wouldn't it be a good idea to wait till after Christmas to start looking for new cases?" Dale asked. "After all, you remember what next week is."

"Believe me, I haven't forgotten. Work just helps keep me from getting too nervous! But maybe you're right…it might be a good thing for the Rangers to just kick back this holiday season."

Below, officers Kirby and Muldoon were standing in front of Spinelli, giving a report.

"I tell ya, Spinelli, there was no sign of human interference anywhere!" Kirby said. "Its like that truck and tree just vanished into thin air!"
"Truck and tree?" Chip mused, looking down.

"And what about those break-ins at Duncan's and McClaren's?" Muldoon continued. "Same thing. Its like somebody's tryin' to take down Christmas in this city, and all we can find is a bunch of cat tracks! Why would a guy do that, it only comes once a year as it is."

Just then, another officer came racing in.
"Spinelli! Report just came in, the cathedral nativity down at Madison Square just got vandalized!"
"See? What'd I tell you?" Muldoon said.

"All right, all right," Spinelli groaned. "Listen, you two, get squads out on this. Look into the toy stores, but the church and the Rockefeller tree take priority."
"Holy cow," Dale said, "somebody stole the Rockefeller Center tree?"

"Sounds like we've got a new case, whether we wanted it or not," Sparky said.

"I know," Chip replied. "This reeks of Fat Cat. But why is he trying to destroy Christmas? I thought even gangsters liked the holidays."
"Yeah," Sparky thought. "We really do need to look into this, Chip. The tree and the robberies were bad enough, but he went too far messing with a church."

"I agree. Seems like nothing's sacred in this town anymore." Chip threw a line and grappling hook (in reality a paper clip) over to the nearby filing cabinets, and the three slid down it and made for a knothole that they used as an entrance.

As they ran out onto the roof, Chip loaded an acorn into the mousetrap looking device that sat on the ledge. Attached to it were three catapults with seats…Gadget's fast transport system to and from the precinct.
"Let's hope she got around to tightening those springs," Chip said. "Monty and I almost didn't make it to the tree last time."

"Now you tell us!" Dale shouted, as the acorn dropped and triggered the lift.

"Rescue Rangers away!" Chip yelled as they flew through the air.

As half of the Rangers flew back to headquarters, two others were very busy window-shopping. While the Rangers procured most of their supplies from human sources, there was a district of small sized establishments, usually contained over top of popular human stores.

Tammy stood in front of one of these, oohing and ahhing over a dress in the window, while Gadget's eyes glazed over with boredom.

'This is worse than getting captured by the Cola Cult,' she thought acidly.

Unlike most girls her age, Gadget was never very preoccupied with 'pretty things' and fashion statements. She'd hardly ever even owned any jewelry, save for the engagement ring that now sat on her hand.

"C'mon, Gadget!" Tammy said. "You're gonna love the next place."
"I'm sure."

The next place, to Gadget's surprise, happened to be a bridal boutique. She looked at Tammy questioningly. The squirrel shrugged.

"What? Did you forget that you had a dress fitting here at eleven o'clock?"

The fact clicked in Gadget's memory at about that moment.

"Thanks, Tammy. You'll need to stay too, though."
"Sure, but why?"

"Because my maid of honor has to be fitted out properly, you know," her friend smiled.

Tammy squealed, and threw her arms around Gadget.

"Do you mean it? Oh gee, thanks!"

"Golly, Tammy, calm down, don't cry! Come on in, we'll be late."

Once inside, the two were immediately attended by an older female mouse, who was obviously in charge of fittings, a tape measure draped around her neck. Over the next hour, she showed books and layouts, what seemed like hundreds of designs. Finally, it was time to actually try something on.

"Come on, Gadget, the suspense is killing me!" Tammy called, standing outside the dressing rooms.

"Okay, I just feel…well, goofy somehow."
"You're getting married, it's normal! Now come on."
A few seconds passed, and the door opened. Tammy gasped, and clasped her hands in an impressed gesture.
Gadget was clad in a sparkling white gown, with full sleeves and a long train, made in an old Victorian style. The white complimented her light complexion, and seemed to make her eyes shine even more brightly.

"Well?" she asked.

"It is gorgeous, girlfriend!" Tammy bubbled. Gadget turned in front of the mirror, considering it. She grinned, and started to giggle along with Tammy.

"You're right, it is pretty. I think this is the one."

"Madam has made an excellent choice," the salesmouse said. "Your measurements are on file now, and we can begin work right away. It should be ready for you in three days."

They were there for another hour or so, getting Tammy kitted out in the bridesmaid's lavender that Gadget had picked. Afterward, as they left the shop, Gadget looked up at the clock that hung over a nearby bank.

"Golly, it's two already! We'd better check in with the boys after I pick up my parts."

Rob's Hobby Store had opened several weeks before, and already the alley behind it was a wonderland for a small mechanic like Gadget. She nosed around in a large cardboard box while Tammy picked through another area.

"Gadget! Get over here, you've gotta see this!"
Alarmed, she jumped down from the box and ran toward Tammy's voice.
"Are you all right?" She asked. "What is it?"
Tammy poked her head out of a box.

"Look at this, isn't it beautiful?"
Sitting at the bottom of the box was a model kit for a 1969 Dodge Charger. The scale was larger than usual, making the body a perfect fit for mice, chipmunks and other small animals.

"It's die-cast, too," Gadget breathed. "We've never had anything like that! It'd sure be able to take more of a beating than the Rangermobile. There's naturally going to be some parts missing, that's why its out here, but I can build whatever it needs I'm sure! Good eye, Tammy!"

"Thanks, just keep Dale away from it with any paint. We don't want it color schemed like the one on that TV show."

"True enough. Still, I have to admit that when I watched it with Dale, it was entertaining seeing them do all those stunts." She continued to think out loud.

"You know, with the proper electric motor, this thing will really pull some speed! Of course, we'll have to reserve part of the trunk for the battery."

"And this will naturally give you something to keep your mind off of your upcoming nuptials, and your nerves in check," Tammy said knowingly.

"How is it that people know me better than I do?" Gadget asked playfully.

Just then, a whirring sound became audible overhead. They looked up, to see Monty and the Rangerplane above.

"Look alive, girls! We're regroupin' back at headquarters, we got an important case!"

"Figures," Tammy said. "Why can't Chipper take a break?"
"If he's putting us on the case now, it must be important," Gadget hypothesized. "Monty! Send the cargo winch down! I want to get this back to the tree!"
"Croikey luv, is that a car?"

"It will be!"

"Now you see why we need to be on this case," Chip said later to the assembled Rangers.
"Golly, it does sound like Fat Cat wants to ruin the holidays," Gadget said. "He gets worse all the time."

"But 'ow did Fat Cat steal somethin' the size of the Rockefeller tree?" Monty wondered.

"Simple," Sparky answered. "Same principle as the humans use. Get enough lift, you can move anything."

"The moving company helicopter that was stolen from the midtown precinct last month!" Tammy exclaimed.

"Excellent deduction, Dawson," Gadget said, quoting one of her ancestors. "And we all know that Fat Cat can raise a virtual army of cats and other lowlifes at any time to do his bidding, he's done it lots before."

"Too roight, we saw that the night we 'ad to rescue Tammy an' Bink from 'is casino," Monty remembered.

"Well we did help a little," Tammy said in some embarrassment.
"Oh yeah, you were working under cover," came an amused whisper.
"Gadget!"

Tammy had never been allowed to forget the time that she had tried to prove herself to Chip, running off to Fat Cat's headquarters to retrieve the Maltese Mouse statuette.

"Well, all past experience aside," Chip snickered good naturedly, "we need to get a plan of action down. Since Fat Cat moved his hideout from the cannery, we'll have to rub some shoe leather and find his new one."
"But Chip, you don't wear shoes," Gadget pointed out. The Rangers' leader looked at his fiancé in fascination. Was she joking…or had that question actually run through her mind?

"We gotta get 'er tested for A.D.D.," Monty muttered. If Gadget heard the comment, she made no reply.

"Well Rangers, we've got our task cut out for us," Chip said. "But I think we're up to it. Let's hit the streets."
"While you guys are out, I'll start working on the new Rangermobile," Gadget said. Chip looked back over his shoulder.

"New Rangermobile?"

She started shooing him out behind the others.

"It's a surprise."

He looked at her, pleadingly.

"And no, the puppy look won't work, you can see it when it's finished!"

"Rats," Chip joked, "it always worked for Dick Tracy."
"Out!" Gadget said, and then she kissed him. After a moment, when Chip pulled back, he looked ready to faint.
"What was that for?"
"For good luck. And because I wanted to," she answered. "A girl has to keep in practice. Especially when she's had as little practice as I've had."

He grinned. "Then I'm your ready and willing test subject."

She laughed and swatted at him with a shop towel she was carrying as he walked out the door.

"Men," she chuckled, and jumped into the chute that led down to the garage.