"You haven't answered my question yet: why are you here?" Duke told her.
He stepped towards her, causing her to step back. He narrowed his eyes at the movement as he managed to move around her.
"What's the matter Rene? You've never been scared of me before," Duke wondered.
"Before, I knew you weren't going to hurt me. Now is a different matter since I'm helping Dragaunus," she replied.
Duke gave a small smirk as he walked out to the ledge and sat down. He motioned for her to follow him, which she reluctantly did.
"Rene, you may be working for Dragaunus, but I came to ask you a few questions. Not to take you in or anything like that. I may be older and on the other side, but I'm not crazy. I've been through this before with the police back on Puckworld," Duke told her.
Rene nodded her head as she looked back down the ground.
"Duke..." she started.
"I simply want to know more about you, that's all. I never really did have a chance to get to know you better back on Puckworld since we didn't come in contact much," Duke explained to her.
"Duke, I wonder why you'd ever want to know more about me? My story is not worth mentioning or knowing. My parents were killed when I was a duckling. Then there was one woman who took care of me until I was four when Patrick took me in. What else is there to know?" Rene asked him. "Besides..."
She stopped and turned away from the older duck. Duke looked over at her yet remained quiet. He knew that she wanted to say something.
"Duke, you've always treated me differently than the other ducks. Is it because of my age or something like that? What is it?" she wondered.
Duke smiled at the question as he stared over the city. He shrugged his shoulders slighty.
"I don't know. Something about you seems - different. You seem innocent in a sense since you didn't know your parents. When you were brought into the Brotherhood when you were four, I was wondering how long you'd survive around us," Duke started. "I was there the day that Patrick brought you in. I thought it was strange to see you with him, let alone anyone. I've known Patrick longer than you were alive and that was unlike him."
"And it's funny but I've always gotten a strange feeling from you Duke," Rene told him.
Duke appeared surprised by this remark as he stared at the younger duck.
"And can you explain this strange feeling to me?" Duke asked her.
"I can't really. It's almost like - I've met you before the Brotherhood," Rene told him.
"Sometimes, life throws you a strange hand and you just have to live with it. Believe me, I know but it's impossible that we've met before you joined the Brotherhood. In the time that I was in the Brotherhood, when I was taking what I wanted, when I wanted, there's only one time that I actually became friends with someone who wasn't a thief and I don't ever regret becoming friends with her," Duke told her.
"What happened to her?" Rene asked.
"She - died, many years ago. She was murdered in cold blood," Duke replied, a sad look crossing his face.
Rene began to regret asking about it. She remembered in the back of her mind that he was on the other side, but was he? She had worked with him several times and she found him to be true to his word.
"That's in the past and I can't do anything to change it. All I can do now is find information about the from whoever was there that night. That is if I can find anyone who was there. I haven't yet," Duke said.
"Wait a moment. That's what you're trying to do!" Rene suddenly cried out.
Duke glanced around from side to side, appearing slightly confused at the accusation.
"What am I trying to do again?" Duke asked her.
"You're trying to make me reveal what Dragaunus' plans are without directly asking me!" Rene told him. "I should have known that was why you helped me escape from those people! I been warned about you!"
"No Rene, you don't understand!" Duke cried out to her.
But she didn't hear him for she had jumped off the roof and when she landed on the ground, she immediately began to run away. He jumped down and began to follow her. He wanted to tell her what he really felt but he figured that she wouldn't listen to him. What she just said to him proved his fear.
"Rene, if only I could have told you my story," Duke quietly told himself.
He absently raised a hand to his patched eye, remembering how he got it in the first place. He turned around and headed back into the Pond.
"If I ever found him, he'd be dead for what he did to them - and me," Duke said quietly.
He silently headed back to the Pond before any of the others realized he was gone.
00000
Nosedive ran outside and glanced around the area. He wondered what he was looking for as he headed down the street.
"Why am I getting so interested in her? I wish I knew why," Nosedive asked himself.
He wondered where he could start looking for her or either of her friends. He knew Patrick was even better than Rene and he doubted that their friend was going to be anywhere in sight.
"Man, Wildwing's gonna kill me once he finds out I'm gone and what I'm doing," Nosedive muttered.
He started to head away from the Pond. Nosedive found himself seraching every place he passed. He stopped in front of an alleyway and turned towards the building across the street.
"I don't even know why I'm doing this anymore. It's useless since I know they could be anywhere in town," he said.
He soon found himself being pulled back and his mouth covered. He found himself staring at Patrick and Rene.
"I'm glad I came across you Patrick. I found he was following me, whether he was realizing it or not. I don't like it when people follow me," Rene told him.
"We should take him back to Dragaunus. I know he'll have some fun with this one," Patrick replied. "I'll deal with you when we get back to the Raptor. Now where are we going to be taking him? Any suggestions?"
"As a matter of fact, I know of a place we could use," Rene replied.
Rene sighed as she grabbed her sabre. Nosedive watched as she lifted it up, bringing it down over his head. Everything went dark and he slumped to the ground.
00000
"... and I don't want you to go anywhere near that place again! Duke is smart and I know that he knows how to pry information from others," Patrick angrily said.
"I'm sorry but I couldn't stay away," Rene apologized. "There's something about that place that fascinates me."
"Maybe the reason is right here in this room," Patrick quietly said.
Nosedive opened his eyes slightly to find Rene standing around the room, her stare fixed on him. Patrick stood next to her, an angry look on his face. Rene stepped away from him and towards Nosedive, who found himself to be strapped down to a table.
"What do you want with me?" Nosedive wondered.
Patrick snickered at the comment as he stepped out of the room, waving his hand on the way as if saying 'he's all yours'. Rene stared at the door, lowering her head slightly.
"You're the perfect bait, that's why. Once your team finds out that you're missing, they'll come searching for you. They'll never find you. We will kill them and then we will kill you," Rene told him.
Nosedive looked her over from head to toe. He found himself feeling sorry for her and he wasn't exactly certain why.
"How could you grow up to be so cold?" Nosedive finally asked her.
"It comes with the company I keep. If you lived my life, you'd be cold too. I've lived most of my life around the thieves of Puckworld," Rene told him.
"Where did you live the other part of your life?" Nosedive asked.
"I was with Lory. She took care of me and gave me the best chance of a normal life I could get," she replied.
Rene started to walk towards him and then around the table. Nosedive began to think of the worst case scenario.
"It's ducks like you that have always hated my people. I only wished that you'd see our side of it but now, it's too late," Rene said. "It would take something drastic to change my mind."
She lifted her sabre from her ankle and it materialized before her. Nosedive gulped as he stared at it.
00000
Wildwing walked through the halls at the Pond, looking for his younger brother. After he found that Nosedive's room empty, Wildwing wondered where Nosedive could've possibly gone to. He soon arrived in the kitchen, where he found Duke preparing a sandwich.
"Duke, have you seen Nosedive?" Wildwing asked him.
"Not lately. Why? What do you want with him?" wondered Duke.
There's something I need to ask him," Wildwing replied.
"Don't worry about Nosedive. He's old enough that he doesn't need to tell you everywhere he's going. He probably just went out to see another movie or something like that," Duke told him.
Wildwing sighed at the thief's positive attitude towards the youngest member of the group. Wildwing turned away from Duke, who carefully watched the team leader.
"What's wrong Wildwing? You think something might have actually happened to him?" Duke asked.
Wildwing nodded as he turned back toward thief.
"I know that he's gone off on his own before but I have a feeling that something's different this time. The bad part is that no one's seen him in hours. He may be a bit rebellious but at least he lets me know where he is after a couple of hours," Wildwing sighed.
Duke nodded his response. They both suddenly heard a soft beeping noise coming from Wildwing's armour. He checked his com to see Tanya, a worried look on her face.
"Wildwing, you should come and see this," she told him.
"What going's on now? Unless it's something to do with Nosedive, I don't want to hear about it," Wildwing replied.
"Believe me Wildwing, it's about Nosedive," Tanya said.
That caught Wildwing's attention as he stared, wide-eyed at the blonde. He ran toward the door and headed for the upper levels. Duke soon followed him.
00000
Once the two arrived near the rink, the two found Grin, Mallory and Tanya in their bench area. Tanya was holding a piece or armour and a puck launcher. Wildwing couldn't believe it when he saw the two items.
"Where is he?" Wildwing demanded to know.
"With the Saurians," Mallory replied, handing him a note.
Wildwing read it and grew angry, balling it up and throwing it across the rink. Everyone was a bit surprised with the outburst.
"We have to go find him," Wildwing told them.
"Wildwing, we have no idea where they are. They could be anywhere in the city. It could be days before we find him and he could very well be - well-" started Tanya.
She hesitated for a moment and Wildwing picked up on that.
"He could be very well what? Killed? I won't allow that. These ducks are going to far. Taking one of our own as prisoner," Wildwing angrily replied.
Duke placed a hand on his chin, pondering the situation for a moment. He searched his memory, the current situation triggering a familiarity from a past experience.
"They could be anywhere, yes, but they won't be at the Raptor," he finally said.
The other ducks turned their stares toward him, waiting for him to finish.
"That's not how Patrick and Rene work, taking their prisoners back to base. Seeing as how Patrick signed this note, I know how they're going to deal with Nosedive," Duke explained.
TBC...