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Chapter 13

Blowing Bubbles

The night was different in front of the chateau than it had been on the balcony with Chip. The wind didn't seem gentle, it was insistent and oddly foreboding and fitting. The scene was straight out of a B movie. The dark, the girl, the villain. I had to wonder if real life would play out in my favor.

Our shadows stretched out in front of us, long and lanky, in the light from the hallway doors. I could hear the rest of the guests scurrying to the doors to watch whatever was going to happen. I chanced a glance backwards. Indeed, everyone was congregated in the doorway, nothing but black silhouettes in my sight, except for the Rangers and Sophia. They were inching along behind us, Chip in the lead, all of them waiting on tenterhooks for a new development. Bubbles was huge, bigger than his brother, and all of us knew we couldn't take him out. Where was the Golden Horn Bay when you needed it?

We stopped abruptly, and Bubbles swung me around to face him. "You know what you did to me?" He snarled, leaning down into my face. He reminded me of nothing so much as a big, mean, playground bully.

"Yes," I shot right back. "Do you realize what you've done to me, my life? And what about what you've done to yourself?"

He glared, leaning in. "I'm going to give you nothing but what you deserve, you little brat!" He pushed hard, and I fell back, colliding hard with the ground. I heard murmurs from the house. "And as for what I've done to myself, you don't know what you're talking about."

"No, you don't know. You'd still have your brother if not for your decision to send him instead of coming to find me yourself!" I took a breath, hardly believing the words coming from me. "You knew if he got caught he'd be in big trouble. You're a coward for not coming for me in the first place. You shouldn't go beating around other people to get to me!"

Bubbles growled in rage, shaking. He lumbered over me, his shadow falling beside me like his twin. "You've ruined my life, Mousie. I was gonna get rich off the Cola Cult, but you had to come in and ruin that. I was gonna be set! On easy street! But no. You: goody-two-shoes you had to come along with your stupid inventions and bust me! Ooh! When I think about it! The humiliation, the embarrassment!"

"So the lack of swimming lessons is a family trait, then?" It was Monterey. I was surprised. Even to a hardened criminal, I wouldn't have expected that of him.

Bubbles eyes were about to bulge out, he was so mad. He whirled around in the dark, searching for Monterey. He was standing a few feet away with the Rangers, Sophia, and Jules, who had joined them. Jules looked composedly at the pair of us.

"You know, Bubbles, the young lady is entirely right, as usual. Your brother would not have been there if not for you," he said softly. And then he turned and looked me in the eye. "And you, my dear, would not have been there if you and your overly-anxious friends hadn't actually believed me."

"What!"

"Jules!" Sophia's face was ashen with horror.

Jules turned on her. "I'm so sorry, my dear. But I must admit, I share Bubbles's view of women." He squared his shoulders. "You are nothing anymore but a lot of interfering fools. To think," he looked over at me, "that the likes of you should get the better of Bubbles? It was high time you were taught a lesson, Gadget. Women should not be inventing things, they should be doing something useful, like making films." He gave Sophia an oily smile.

I was at a loss. Jules had been Bubbles's informant? "I don't understand," I said, my detective's mind trying to wrap everything together.

"You'd better be quiet, Jules. You know the only thing you and I agree on is Gadget. I don't care about her," grumbled Bubbles, waving a had at Sophia. "There's not time for chit-chat. We should be leaving."

"Now, now, we agreed to put our differences aside, and I shall," placated Jules, smiling. "We are in complete control, are we not? I think the ladies should be able to hear exactly what happened, don't you?" He bowed condescendingly to me, then turned to face the Rangers and Sophia. "You see, I met Bubbles nearly a year ago, right after his first run-in with Gadget. Quite naturally, he wanted revenge. And so together, we devised a plan to lure Gadget out into the open where he could dispose of her. I had just been, hem, released from my former position as butler elsewhere. I knew that Miss Marskov, whom I had just been contracted to, would be an excellent choice for the job. You see dear," he bowed humbly to his mistress, "I rather adore you, so I thought you would be a mutually beneficial choice."

"Mutually beneficial!" Sophia screamed, lunging forward. Dale restrained her.

Jules sighed sadly. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Sophia." He shrugged and continued his narrative. It was quite simple from that point: Bubbles began sending the hate mail, Sophia got scared, I, the loyal butler sent her off on a ship to be protected, and Bubbles's brother moved in to do the actual dirty work."

"But why not just come for me yourself?" I heard myself ask.

"Why on earth would I want to come near you?" Bubbles answered. "I'm only here now because I have to be. Come on, we're going." And he grabbed my left arm and picked me up.

Jules laughed lightly. "All right, but I believe it's time we took care of her friends over here. Gently," he finished, gazing pointedly at Sophia.

Several of the ninjas went for the Rangers and Sophia, and they were all tied, gagged, and down on the ground in less than thirty seconds. I gulped. I was defenseless. No inventions or buckets of soda to save me this time. I didn't even have a wrench in my pocket. Some inventor I am, devoid of tools when I need them most.

Bubbles grinned maniacally and grabbed me like a marionette. Just like his brother in his handling of me. I tried desperately to swing around and bite his arm, too, but he was too quick for me. "No, no, Gadget," he reprimanded. "You're coming with me. Lets see how you like being thrown into the ocean and getting whacked on the head, huh?"

He strode off with me, encircled by his cola ninjas. Jules followed close behind us.

"You like Sureluck Jones!" I heard Chip shout. He had chewed through his gag.

Jules laughed behind me. "Sorry about that, old chap, but you know, the funny thing about Sureluck is that even his adversaries admire him!"

Chip was shouting his disapproval and rage. "Poetic justice, Bubbles?" I asked, squirming.

"You could say that. Here." We reached the gates of the chateau. There was a human deliver van idling nearby. He picked up a bag that was lying in the dirt and shoved me into it. "Say goodbye, Mousie. It's the last you'll ever see of your friends." He laughed as he pushed my head down into the sack and picked me up.

My masochistic plan seemed to be working well for everyone else, but things didn't look so great for me.