AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you, reviewers! I appreciate the reviews VERY much. I'm sorry it took longer to get the next installment uploaded and I'm sorry to disappoint everyone with such a short chapter. However, the next chapter will be a long one, I promise. But it will probably take some time to write. I'm being kept very busy this summer and don't get much time to write. But please be patient, I promise it will be worth it.

DISCLAIMER: Drake Mallard and the Darkwing Duck realm are © Disney. Jake Mallard, Abigail Mallard, and all other characters mentioned are © me.

CHAPTER 5

My voice was caught in my throat. I could hardly believe what I had just heard. "What do you mean you're selling Mallard Enterprises?"

"The power struggle between Mallard Enterprises and other major corporations is leaving a nasty mark on the economy," Flannery explained to me and the rest of the board members. "It's not really so much with many other corporations, but mainly just one."

I immediately opened my bill to ask which other corporation was responsible for the downfall of mine. Before I could get a word out, another member at the briefing table stood up. My gaze shifted to the left and when my eyes fell upon the man, they instantly narrowed in resent.

"Mainly, me."

Todd Swanson. Founder and president of Swanson Incorporated, and my biggest rival. In the years passed, I had always managed to pull ahead of his business, but not by a lot. No matter how much the canine tried to look like a winner with his slicked back hair and Gucci suits, he always came in as number two.

"Swanson?" I asked, dumbfounded, and turned to Flannery for an explanation.

"The only way to end this competition is to merge the two major competitors," Flannery informed, sounding somewhat regretful. "And a merger can't occur without some expense. It just doesn't work that way. And Swanson Incorporated made us a tender offer that we just can't refuse. Swanson is buying out Mallard. With the two businesses combined, revenues and stock will go up sky-high. It will be unstoppable."

My mouth was agape but no words were coming out. "B-but wait a minute! What about…?" I managed to stammer. But I paused to inhale sharply and finally regain my voice.

"You can't do this to me. I started this company…" I passed my gaze to each person in the boardroom, looking for a sign of agreement. But every face was a blank stare. Seeing that I would get no help from anyone, I grew defensive, and my face hardened into a fiery glare. "Do you know how much I sacrificed for this business! How much I had to give up?"

"Now hold on a minute, Jake!" Todd interjected in a sickening, cheery voice. "This isn't the end of the line for you. You'll still hold a major position in the corporation. I wouldn't think of having anyone else as the vice president of Swanson Incorporated."

My eyes narrowed hatefully. Swanson's offer wasn't meant to be a complimented offer. It was an insult.

I sneered back at him in response. "I'd rather lose everything before working alongside YOU."

"Are you sure that would be wise, Jake?" Todd asked with a tilt of his head. The concern in his voice was disgustingly transparent. "But then again, look who I'm talking to," he added with a smirk.

My bill twisted into a snarl and I began to move towards him until Flannery's voice interrupted. "Gentlemen, please! This is a boardroom! Let's handle this civilly!" He passed me a scowl in warning.

I retreated a step. At this point, I was staring at Flannery pleadingly. "James, PLEASE."

"I'm sorry, Jake. The board is unanimous. We can't refuse this offer," he replied regretfully and held his hands up for emphasis. "Now, you won't be out of a job. That will be secure with the sell of Mallard Enterprises. And you always were an asset to the corporation."

"WERE an asset."

Barely audible, but I managed to pick up the three words that came from Todd's mouth. My hands slammed down on the table with an echoing boom. I needed to defend myself and this was my last chance.

"I'm STILL an asset to the corporate world!" I boasted insistently. My eyes darted from one board member to the next as I paced back and forth in front of them. "I've always managed to stay ahead of him in significant numbers! Agencies have always come to Mallard Enterprises before Swanson Incorporated. Besides, what military branch or police department is going to want to buy an automatic rifle with the name 'Swanson' on it?"

I saw Todd's eyes grow wide before jumping out of his chair. "Now hold on a minute!" he snapped and advanced towards me. He stopped when we were close enough to see the fire in each other's eyes. "Getting a little defensive, are we, Mallard?"

The tension in the room had escalated. I was a volcano ready to erupt. It took every ounce of energy for me now to hit the man in front of me at that moment. The board members were watching with wide eyes and mouths agape, anxiously awaiting what would happen between the two rivals.

I motioned to several of the board members with my hand for emphases. "YOU and your corporate proprietors. Oh you cool, considerate men! You hang to the rear of every issue so that if we should go under, you are to still remain afloat!" I sneered and turned away to pace in the opposite direction.

Todd stared after me in shock. "Are you calling me a COWARD?"

I stopped and turned around to face him with my eyes narrowed defiantly. "Yes! Coward!"

His face hardened in response and returned my scowl. "Madman!"

"Loser!"

"Prude!"

"WANNABE!"

"HAS-BEEN!"

Before I could think to stop myself, my hand balled into a fist and shot forward. Pain shot through my hand and up my arm when my fist came into hard contact with the side of Todd's face. He was flung backwards from the force of my punch and collapsed to the boardroom floor in an unconscious heap.

"The fiasco that took place today in an executive board meeting at Mallard Enterprises is said to have been the result of a dispute between two well-known St. Canard CEOs," the female reporter announced. Footage of me, enraged, being dragged out of the Enterprise by two police officers played with her narration. "Jake Mallard, President and founder of Mallard Enterprises, was escorted from the building by police this morning after he allegedly attacked Todd Swanson of Swanson Incorporated in the middle of a board meeting. It is rumored that the highly successful Mallard Enterprises is to be bought out by its biggest rival, which didn't sit well with CEO Mallard. More on this story as it develops."

Abby clicked off the television. She folded her arms across her chest and turned to face me with a scowl, not looking the least bit amused. I was slouched in one of the easy chairs in the living room and returned the scowl to her.

"That's nice, Jake. Very impressive," she said to me, her voice sarcastic. It was the first thing she had said to me since she picked me up from the police station. "Please, tell me. Do all well-to-do executives behave like that when something doesn't go right?"

"Oh give me a break, Abby," I groaned with a roll of my eyes. "I didn't attack him. That reporter is exaggerating."

Her eyebrow raised. "You punched him in the face and broke his nose."

I scoffed. "Not my fault he's so delicate."

"Jake, how can you be so nonchalant about this?" Abby asked, beginning to lose her patience. "Haven't you considered the consequences of this mess? You're lucky Swanson decided not to press charges."

"Yeah, because he knows he would have gotten in just as much trouble with the board for provoking me," I pointed out.

"Is that so? What about your job?"

A defeated groan escaped my throat. "I'm still employed but….I don't have my job anymore."

Abby frowned when she saw the forlorn, defeated expression on my face. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that the deal is final. Swanson now owns MY Enterprise." I deliberately explained the situation to slowly with a snide voice to make it perfectly clear how painful it was for me to explain my loss. "Therefore, he's now the one in charge, not me. I'm now nothing more than a typical, common, EMPLOYEE!" I finished in disgust as my fist slammed down on the chair's armrest.

Her eyes went wide. I had never spoken to her in such a manner before. The scowl returned to her face and she opened her bill to retaliate against my behavior towards her, but the front door opened. Our heads both turned to see Drake trudge through the door. He was dragging his backpack on the floor and his head lowered to the ground; he didn't even notice us as he walked past.

"Hello, Drake," Abby greeted with a warm smile as if the day's events had never happened. "How was your first day of school, sweetheart?"

Drake stopped and only turned his head towards us. "The other kids made fun of me and called me 'the rich kid.' No one likes me or talks to me very much," he sadly told us before he continued past us. Without another word, he ascended the stairs.

"Oh, honey…" Abby started after him but stopped when she heard the upstairs bedroom door close. She sighed and shook her head. "One of us should talk to him."

After a brief pause, she turned and stared at me. I returned her stare carelessly. "What?"

"You need to go talk to him," Abby insisted.

"No, I DON'T," I shot back. "In case you haven't noticed, Abby, I am NOT in the mood. Besides, this is nothing! He won't be teased and called 'the rich kid' much longer!" I pointed out, putting my problem first.

"Jake!"

I sighed and pulled myself from out of the chair. I snatched my coat from the coat rack and stormed towards the door.

"Wait a minute, where do you think you're going?" Abby demanded as I passed by her without a glance.

"Out."

"Jake, you can't be serious! What about Drake?" she asked as I pulled the front door open.

My head turned and I glowered over my shoulder at her. "YOU handle it."

And with that, I slammed the door behind me. I needed some time to clear my head and decide what to do next.

That was the first time I ever walked out on a confrontation with my family. And it wouldn't be the last. At the time. I thought I was at my life's low point and things couldn't get any worse. But my life would only continue to go downhill from that point. I was in for far worse and, unfortunately, so was my family.