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1Best if read while listening to "The Battle" on the Narnia soundtrack

Chapter 14

Stacking my Chips

The inside of a sack isn't the most comfortable place in the world, and certainly not the place I'd pick for thinking about things. Unfortunately, that was where I was, and I was there for a long time. I could judge the time by the amount of light that penetrated the sack. When Bubbles had thrown me in, it had been pitch-black, but now it had grown uncomfortably bright; the same kind of annoying brightness that you experience in a tent in the earliest hours of morning.

"Why?" I had asked myself all night. Why on earth would Bubbles go to such lengths to get rid of me; to the point of a grandiose scheme which put his own brother in mortal peril, and such extraneous persons as Jules and Sophia were dragged into it? Certainly, he had been spitting in rage when he was carted away from the Cola Cult, yelling at me, cursing me, but I hadn't really paid attention. Perhaps I should have.

Bad guys always tend to be put-off when we shut them down, but Bubbles was far too angry. Vengeful. Maybe it was because he was a big, brainless oaf who was used to getting his way and manipulating everyone. And me, of all people, a tiny little mouse girl, had managed to get the better of him. Maybe I could understand, after all. Being the boss, only to be bested by a goody-two-shoes girl.

I had to grin to myself at the thought. He had ticked me off royally, ruining my inventions and driving me away from the Rangers, my family. All the torment he had caused me the night I had decided to leave them. I had thought I was a good-for-nothing, a disappointment, a failure, a let-down, and was positive my dad would have been ashamed of me. That night had been the worst of my life. Rescuing my friends the next afternoon had been entirely rewarding.

But even taking that line of reasoning, there was more to Bubbles's thirst for revenge. I had killed his brother, albeit to save my friends and Sophia. And Jules. The irony of that one still stung bitterly. The Rangers and I had utterly taken Jules into our confidence, believing everything he told us, and befriending him. Chip and he had discussed Sureluck Jones for what, over an hour? And what's more, he had managed to implicate Sophia in his place! My mind throbbed hard, but I still failed to wrap my IQ around the fact that Bubbles wanted revenge for himself, not for his brother's sacrifice.

There were so many emotional variables to this case. Betrayal by one friend, gaining a new friend, cementing of current friendships, the return and revenge of an old enemy. And throughout all of it, teasing the idea of liking Chip. I wasn't sure how to feel. Seven hours ago, apprehension about the letter. Four hours ago, having a wonderful time at the party. How was I supposed to feel now? Betrayed? Frightened? Doomed? I should have knocked on wood when I told Sophia that trouble usually finds us, I mused wryly. Then again, there wasn't any wood in the plane.

I didn't really feel anything yet. I was still too overwhelmed and confused to feel. But I could think. With a clarity and steady flow that rarely graced my mind, I knew that the Rangers would be untied by the party guests and follow me in the Ranger Wing. And, in the event that Bubbles had sabotaged it, they could easily jury-rig it. I'd taught them all enough about the Wing to feel confident that any of them (with the possible exception of Zipper, who was too small) could do minor repairs on it. No, Bubbles couldn't stop the Rangers from getting to me. That was one good thing about them, they were dependable. Stubborn, even. Hadn't Chip once thrown us all in the way of a log mill saw to shake Monterey out of his depression? I had nothing to worry about concerning them. I just had to last until they got here.

The van we had been trundling along in thudded to a stop. I couldn't even begin to fathom how they had managed to get a human delivery van to, well...deliver exactly where they wanted. Doors slamming. "You awake in there Mousie?" Bubbles called, and he grabbed my sack and roughly hauled me up. I didn't answer him.

Bubbles threw me to the ground, and I felt the earth shift under my weight. Sand. He began undoing the knot he had tied in the sack, catching some of my hair in it. I held my breath, mentally steeling myself for whatever torture he had in mind. Don't give up on the Rangers. A large, grey paw fished inside the bag and found my arm. I let out the breath I had been holding. Don't give up on Chip. He loves me, he won't let Bubbles hurt me. I was yanked up into the harsh morning light, reflecting off the Atlantic Ocean and the white sand, and I closed my eyes against it. The back of my eyelids turned red and orange. I tried to open them and caught a brief glimpse of Bubbles, Jules and half a dozen other mice, all black in the bright light. I groaned and shut my eyes again.

"What did you call it, Mousie? 'Poetic justice?' Is that what it means to treat others as they treat you?"

"No," I snapped. "You're wrong." I opened my eyes a bit, squinting against all the terrible whiteness.

"That's a problem, honey. You seem to think everything I do is bad. That hurts. I'm not all bad, you know." He glared down on me. "All I wanted was to have it easy. You know, dough, money, lots of it. I would have gotten it if not for you."

"I find it interesting that you don't seem to care about your brother in all this. Just you."

He roared maliciously and straightened up. "I'm going to get rid of you. Understand? Right here, and right now. It's over."

"I'd like to see you try it," I laughed. Why was I laughing? I just couldn't digest all this... "The Rangers will-"

"The Rangers!" Jules cut in. "I shouldn't worry about them, dear. Bubbles learned his lesson the first time. After a few modifications," he laughed, "they shall be lucky indeed if your pathetic excuse for a plane falls off the roof, let alone flies. You women should not be trying to think so hard all the time. At least Sophia knows her boundaries."

I glared at him. Why on earth did a creep like him have to fall for Sophia? "You underestimate the Rangers. And women. Bubbles lost his brother because of that mistake."

"Yeah?" asked Bubbles, kicking at the sand. "Do you realize we're over sixty miles away from Sophia's house? They couldn't get here in time even if your silly little plane was working. It doesn't fly that fast." He stooped over and looked right into my eyes, his smile sickening. "I checked. In fact," he began circling me, "I'm amazed you even made it to the Anastasia."

"We probably wouldn't have if it hadn't been sinking. You can thank yourself for that," I murmured, bowing my head against the sun.

Bubbles stopped abruptly and grabbed my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his. "My brother was dedicated to his job. He set the ship on fire to make sure you'd catch it."

"So you do care about him," I whispered.

He screamed shoved me back into the sand. "We do it now! I'm sick of this little monster, Jules!" He spun on Jules, as if daring him to challenge his timing.

Jules merely nodded. "I quite agree." He smiled enchantingly at me. "Let the game begin."

"Just do whatever it is you're going to do," I muttered angrily. The sun was bothering me, and my head was starting to split. "I doubt any existentialist rodent-haters with pistols are going to be dropping by. I think I'm the only one the sun is getting to."

"Whatever. Don't worry, I'll make sure you have to suffer before it's all over." He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me towards the ocean where two of his ninjas were waiting beside a toy boat. "Coming?" He turned to ask Jules.

Jules looked at me primly. "I think not. I'm afraid I don't much care for small ocean craft. We'll be waiting for you on the ship, Bubbles." He smiled sweetly again. "Goodbye, Gadget. I'm very glad to have met you." And he turned and started back up the shoreline.

"Like heck you are!" I spat, twisting in Bubbles's grasp. "Why do they follow you around?" I asked him, looking at the ninjas. It seemed like a stupid thing to do, sticking with a guy who had already landed you in jail once.

"They're loyal, see? And these two didn't take so nicely to being belittled by your ridiculous crossbow," he growled.

The ninjas glared at me as I was pushed on board. Did all men carry grudges, or just the lot I seemed to be running into lately?

We pushed off from shore, the ninjas rowing with wooden paddles, and me still being held up by Bubbles. After about ten minutes, we stopped. To humans, it wouldn't have been very far out, but to a mouse, it was impossible distance. Bubbles lifted me up and out over the water. My arm was sore where he and his brother had bother had held me. If I made it through this, I'd have bruises there for weeks. I looked out towards the shore, hoping to see some sign of Chip and the Rangers. Nothing.

Bubbles swung me over the waves. I couldn't resist. "Is this your favorite tactic? Dangling helpless people over water?"

"This and worse, Mousie," he spat, and threw me.

I knew the water would be warm, considering our longitudinal location on the globe and the time of year, but I still expected it to be cold as I hit it. I bobbed back up, floundering a bit because of my sore arm, now instinctively wary of the blow I knew was coming. I had socked

the brother with an oar, and I knew Bubbles was planning to do the same.

Sure enough, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something coming at me, and I ducked back down. I watched from under the waves as a long heavy oar sliced through the water above me. I stayed under, swimming away from the reach of the oar before coming up for air.

"You won't get away so easily!" he shouted, thrusting his oar into the water, propelling the boat towards me. I couldn't out-swim it, and it would be pointless to try yet. I had to save my strength. When he saw that I had stopped swimming, he laughed triumphantly. "Giving up so soon? I thought you had more spunk than that!"

I laughed out loud at him. "I've got plenty of spunk, Bubbles! You won't get me so easily!" And I plunged under, diving deep enough that I hoped he wouldn't be able to see me, and made for the boat

It was just as I had hoped. The toy boat had a small indentation in the bottom of it, and it was full of air. I swam up under it, bracing myself against either side of the opening and getting my breath back. I couldn't stay under too long, or Bubbles would get suspicious. I could use this opening to breathe when he finally thought he had drowned me. Risky business, I knew, but it was my only choice. I was gambling on the Rangers to find me before I drowned.

I took another gulp of air and left the safety of the boat for the open water, bobbing up on the opposite side I had disappeared from. Let him think I was a slow swimmer.

"There you are!" he snarled, swinging the oar high over his head. "Lets get her, boys!"

All three of them, wielding heavy oars, began swinging at me viciously, yelling encouragement to each other. I was rather bewildered at his tactics, and utterly safe if he kept using them. This was almost going to be too easy. I swam carefully, pretending to look flustered and frightened. I gave myself a few narrow misses on purpose, a few not. Finally, Bubble's oar hit my sore left arm, causing me to cry out in pain and sink under.

He had hit the same arm he had been swinging me by all morning, and I felt it throb. I had been in the water for at least three minutes, and treading wasn't easy business unless you're used to it, and I wasn't. I needed to finish off my act soon, or I wouldn't have the strength to hold myself in the indentation under the boat.

I rose again, this time swimming in among the oars. I heard one of the ninjas yell that I was crazy. Bubbles shouted that I just wanted it over with. Glad that he had broken my spirit, he called his lackies off.

"You ready to be done yet?" he roared.

I was exhausted, I didn't have to pretend. "Yes," I quavered, foundering in the water.

Bubbles raised his oar again, and I realized my mistake. He alone was going to kill me, not his ninjas. Him. They were just helping him wear me out. With all three paddles going, I could have easily pretended to sink and drown, but Bubbles would know now if he didn't hit me. And then, he did.

Luckily for me, it was a bad aim. The oar only caught the side of my head, scratching down my cheek and hitting my aching arm. It was enough, and without acting, I sunk under the water, my face screaming in agony. I tried to get a hold on myself, but the hit had made me woozy, and the exhaustion was there in full force. I mastered myself somewhat and swam for the underside of the boat slowly, trying to look like I was drifting downward. I couldn't think well enough to judge their depth perception.

I found the indentation and worked my way into painfully; the boat was already moving steadily towards the shore. I realized, as I took deep breaths of the thick, humid air, that I wouldn't make it to the shore, even here. My arm was weak, and refusing to work. There was nothing to hold onto; the only way to stay put was to brace yourself with both arms.

In desperation I tried to brace myself using my back and feet, but that didn't last more than thirty agonizing, tiring seconds. I realized I was done for. My gamble was up; the Rangers weren't coming. Chip wasn't coming. Bubbles had killed me after all, despite all my planning and acting.

My wet paws slipped every second lower and lower, until I found myself completely submerged again in the salty water. I spluttered and tried to swim away from the boat. I came up quietly, trying not to draw attention to the fact that I wasn't dead yet, but it was difficult. The air was wonderful, but my legs and tail were fast going out on me. My left arm, covered in bruises, floated uselessly at my side.

I looked around me, realizing I hadn't even made it halfway to the shore. Behind me was a black rock jutting out of the water, and beyond it were more of the same, signifying the rocky part of the coastline. Frothy water spit and washed over my head as I bobbed closer and closer to the rocks.

I made a desperate effort to reach for the rock, but every wave pushed me up in the air and carried me away again. Choppy water shot around me, getting in my mouth, my ears, and into my lungs. I held the black rock in my vision, a ballast, but soon I couldn't see it anymore. I couldn't tread any longer. I held my breath and rolled onto my back, but the sun was there again, beating it warm, seductive rays into my battered body.

The sun was so warm...so was the water. Without conscious thought, I started breathing again, slowly, deeply, the way one does right before falling asleep in a deliciously warm and voluptuous bed. I began to sink into the inviting heated depths of the water; a blue blanket wrapping itself around me. Don't worry, Gadget. Just sleep, relax. Gadget! You'll feel better soon, just rest now... The world was going black...water washed over my head and I automatically kicked up for a second, long enough for one last breath before I turned over and slid under again. Two hands pulled at my shoulders, tucking me in. I smiled and gave myself over.

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