The ride to the police station was a wild one, but it wasn't hard for Yakko and Dot to get through by reminding themselves there was a chance they might see their brother again. It was bustling inside, with people rushing back and forth and their loud voices overlapping with each other. Gerald quickly led them into a quieter room with a small TV.
"So what's going on?" Dot demanded, tapping her foot impatiently. "Do you have a lead or not?"
Harold turned and nodded, but his face was tense.
"The police received a security tape last night. It was from a recently installed camera, and that's probably the only reason we caught it. The camera picked up an abduction of three different toons. The suspects wore masks, but we can tell they were all human. The van they used had no plates, but after we put out an alert there were a few reports of where it went and we're tracking it now. It looks like it may be that toon-hating group, the 'Toon collectors' T.C. for short"
Yakko gulped. If T.C. was involved, then things were much worse than he originally thought. T.C. had a tendency to get very violent, and they were capable of almost anything.
Knots began to form in his stomach. The thought of Wakko being hurt or even killed was almost too terrible to imagine. Life without one of his siblings seemed impossible.
But he had to be strong. Not only for his own sanity, but for Dot's too. Being brave was the only thing that would help them get closer to finding their brother.
"You okay, kid?"
Yakko snapped out of his daydream.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry, we're just really worried about him."
Even if he wasn't going to cry about it, he certainly wasn't gonna bother pretending like he wasn't worried. Harold nodded, an understanding look on his face.
"Don't worry, Yakko. We're sending a S.W.A.T. team to the location as soon as possible."
Yakko had no doubt Dot's stunned look matched his.
"No offense Harold, but isn't S.W.A.T. a little much?" he asked. Harold shook his head.
"There is more at stake than just your brother. Several toons have been kidnapped around the area, and we could save lots of lives if we move now. T.C. is violent and not known to surrender easily. There will be fighting."
Both Yakko and Dot's mood seemed to instantly drop from bad to worse. If Wakko was found, there was no telling what state he'd be in.
Harold sighed. "Look, I know you're both worried, but our S.W.A.T. team and our investigators, including me, are highly trained. If anyone can find him, it would be us."
Dot sniffled back tears as Yakko put his arm around her.
"But… but what if he's hurt?" she whimpered. Harold looked down at her and his grim look softened.
"If he is, I will personally see to it that he gets whatever care he needs." A slight smile touched his face. "Believe it or not, I'm actually a big fan of your show."
Yakko blinked; he wondered how many more surprises they'd get before all this was over.
"We'll be leaving soon," Harold continued. "And I think it's best that you two stay here where it's safe."
Yakko nodded his head. Even though he and Dot were top notch with mallets and anvils, he doubted they could put up much of a fight against a gang wielding guns with dip-covered bullets.
"Okay…"
"The team knows what they're doing," Harold assured. "If your brother is there, we'll find him."
Yakko knew it was supposed to be encouraging, but the words sent a slight chill down his back.
What if he's not?
He tried to push the thought out; thinking negative wasn't going to help anyone right now.
"I've arranged for an officer to drive you two home." Harold said. "Just make sure to stay inside until someone calls."
Yakko hesitated, then sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks, Harold."
Even though the day was far from over, he already felt as exhausted as he could get. Getting some rest could do wonders for his and Dot's wellbeing. His sister frowned up at him.
"But we should stay here, shouldn't we?" she demanded. "For when they come back, so…"
Harold shook his head.
"Anyone rescued will be going straight to the hospital anyway. You'll be notified as soon as the raid is over, I promise."
Dot glared at him for a minute, then let out a soft huff.
"Fine."
"Alright, there is an officer waiting for you in the parking lot. Go get some rest, it will do you two wonders."
Yakko nodded, and took Dot's hand as they stood up.
Yakko already memorized where everything in the station was. He was good at that, memorizing things. His memory was always good.
My memories of Wakko might be all i'll have left...
Yakko shuddered. He tried his best to be optimistic, but it was difficult sometimes. He's always been the happy go-lucky kid with no real problems, or at least no real problems that anyone knew about.
He wasn't always as happy as he tried to make himself look. He had his issues. Hell, he had to raise two children when he was a mere child himself.
Yakko mentally smacked himself. From now on, he was only going to focus on the positives. He still had his sister, which was an incredible relief that she wasn't hurt too. He also had Harold, who he could tell was a very experienced investigator, and a fan of their show.
Yakko squinted as the bright sun beamed onto his face. Awaiting their arrival in front of the double doors to the Police Station was a basic police cruiser, which was a considerable upgrade from Harold's messy personal vehicle.
He crawled into the car next to Dot, placing a comforting arm around her.
Sorry it took so long to update. With the holiday season and all, both myself and Kayla have been busy. Anyway, I just wanted to get this chapter out of the way. It was supposed to be longer, but I didn't want it to take too long to update. Happy holidays everyone!
