*** 28 ***
The six penguins were crowded in the car, three at the front and three at the back. Skipper drove in the same hurry as the previous time, but he didn't reach the same speed as then. The engine had to deal with the extra weight of two penguins. But it was that or nothing. The car roared running on the streets at 45 m/h. Skipper dodged cars and buses and, when he could, ignored the traffic lights.
The trip went by in silence, except for the accurate directions given by Blowhole. In general, Skipper knew the way to Coney Island... but he didn't know where Blowhole was waiting for them. He hated being given orders by a villain, but it was what he had to do that night. It was better that he drove instead of Rico, as he wouldn't avoid greater chaos. When he started to come to his senses, halfway through the trip, his glare frightened more than his explosives.
"Pay more attention from now on," Blowhole said. "You are on Ocean Avenue. A very suggestive name... don't you think? Go ahead till the end and don't turn, although you'll see it ends in the middle of nothing. Well, humans... so they are. They make roads which end at walls and fences, they're not very intelligent."
"What do we do when we arrive at the end of the road?" Skipper asked.
"Park next to the last streetlight. You'll do the rest of the trip by foot. I'll tell you when you park."
Skipper parked next to the streetlight.
"What now?"
"Do you see the broken metallic fence? First go under it, then go to the gray fence at the jetty. I'll take you there."
"Here there's no gray, you moron... we're at night," Johnson said.
"You're a pain in the ass, Johnson," Blowhole replied. "I get sick just by hearing your voice, seriously."
"Don't worry then, you won't hear it much more," Johnson replied.
"We're not going to argue with him for such nonsense," Skipper cut them while he was raising a part of the broken fence to let all go to the other side.
After the fence there was a little corridor. The penguins slid on it and reached the corner. As they didn't know which one was the gray fence (as both looked gray), they would wait for Blowhole there. He wouldn't be late... right? At that moment, no-one could be seen.
"And why is it called Island?" Private asked. "We haven't crossed any bridges."
"It was separated from the rest of Brooklyn by a tidal river, but it was refilled with earth and it's not an island anymore," Kowalski replied.
"It makes no sense to call it so if it's not an island," Manfredi said. "It's as if we called you simply egg because you were one instead of egghead, which is what you're now."
"Skipper... permission for throwing this idiot to the sea?" Kowalski asked with a complaining tone.
"Permission denied," Skipper answered. "You'll do it when we have defeated Blowhole."
"And Coney?" Private asked again.
"Because it was full of rabbits," Kowalski answered, looking askance at Manfredi. "Now you say nothing, huh?"
"There aren't at all," Private observed.
"Maybe Blowhole is a rabbit," Skipper said.
The others laughed.
"A rabbit? Really? Rabbits are adorable creatures... a rabbit would never be a villain," Kowalski said. "Having come here, I imagine a fearsome marine creature such as a kraken."
The others looked at him incredulous.
"Yes, of course... and his girlfriend is the little mermaid from the movie," Manfredi added.
"And his food will be you," Kowalski finished making Manfredi lower his head and shut up.
"Blake!" Rico shouted.
"Gentlemen, Rico is right," Skipper said seriously. "We've come here to defeat a villain and rescue our teammate. No more jokes."
The six penguins turned around and looked silently towards the sea. It was calm and that was great luck, as it would be very rough if the storm of the last two days hadn't finished, and any wave would have swept them away.
After two endless minutes calm finished and something broke the sea's surface. A sphere made of metallic segments in two colors that they couldn't distinguish rose in front of them and opposite them a collapsible hatch opened.
"Let's get inside, gentlemen," Skipper said.
"There?" Kowalski asked in a high-pitched tone. "It looks like a ufo... he could be a kraken from Mars."
"And you a penguin from Saturn," Skipper replied to him with a slap. "Everybody inside!"
The hatch closed after them and the corridor they had just entered got completely dark. A strange drowsiness took control of them.
.
"Eh... have we... had he put us to sleep?" Manfredi was confused, he had been the first to wake up. "And... am I vertical? I'm not a bat, I don't like it!"
The next to wake up was Rico. He complained energetically, but Manfredi didn't understand him.
"Hey! Slowlier! Or say a keyword!" he told him.
"Tied!" Rico managed to say.
"No, not tied," Kowalski explained. "I'd say we're hooked to the wall by shackles."
"And cold, huh?" Johnson complained. "These damned shackles are bloo-"
"Johnson, language!" Skipper shouted. "Private's here! Because you are with us... right?"
"Yes, Skipper," Private replied. "And Blake, I suppose... I guess we all are kept together."
But Blake, if she was there, didn't reply. Bad... very bad.
And that... was that an earthquake? The wall moved with them hooked. When the movement stopped, the six penguins were in a lit room full of computers. They had turned 180 degrees and they knew they were at a considerable height.
"Welcome to the ITC course by Professor Blowhole," Manfredi started to say, imitating the villain's voice... or he thought that. "Today we'll learn to use the program imasuckervillain dot exe."
"If I were you, I wouldn't make jokes," he heard say, and that was really Blowhole's voice. "To be the group's fool is over."
They all looked to one side and then saw him appear. Was their eyesight teasing them? He was riding a segway... and he was...
"A dolphin? Our villain is a dolphin?" Skipper asked, surprised.
Now Kowalski understood why Blowhole's laughter sounded so familiar to him! How couldn't he have noticed?
"Are you surprised, pen-gu-in?" Blowhole asked, standing opposite Skipper.
"To be honest, we didn't expect a dolphin," Kowalski commented. "Dolphins are intelligent creatures, quite promiscuous and with an undeniable halo of adorability."
"Yes... so what?" Blowhole asked, staring at him. "You are pen-gu-ins. Everybody thinks that you are adorable. And it turns out you are an elite team. And do I complain?"
"You'll complain when you see us in action," Skipper answered.
"Are you sure?" Blowhole asked him. "For now, you're hooked to the wall. I don't know if you can do anything that way."
"Oh, that's true," Private said, annoyed.
"It goes in one ear hole and out the other," Manfredi reminded, and they all nodded.
"Blowhole," Skipper said curtly to grab his attention. "You've got us here. We've come to ruin your plans and take Blake home."
"About plans... we'll say, said a blind man," Blowhole replied. "And Blake... she's not here."
"Skipper, look..." Private said. "Next to me there are empty shackles."
"I have told you... she's not here. You can see I was waiting for her, just like I was waiting for you."
"But you had said that some Red Seven had taken her..." Private replied.
Blowhole clapped twice. Several lobsters appeared in the room.
"These are my employees. Their names indicate the order they got at the selective process. The one who put the cameras is Red Four."
Red Four waved.
"I understand you don't wave back with your flippers trapped. This time we won't take it badly due to circumstances," he continued. "And now we'll tell them who Red Seven is."
The lobsters looked at each other.
"Well... they don't like to talk about that. Red Seven disobeyed me and ended up bathed at 212 Fahrenheit degrees. Since then we have named him a lot. When we want to laugh at something, when someone makes a mess..."
The lobsters pretended to laugh seeing the dolphin's glacial stare.
"Then... doesn't Red Seven exist?" Kowalski asked.
"Exactly, genius," Blowhole answered sarcastically.
"And why have you told us that he had taken her?" Skipper asked.
"Ah... that was a joke. I have no idea about where the lady is. I thought you would take her. I would have loved you to have taken her. I haven't been with a girl for a long time."
Rico growled outraged by Blowhole's comment and tried to break loose unsuccessfully.
"I don't believe you." Skipper looked at him frowning. "We'll defeat you and we'll take her out of here."
"And we'll take the deactivator key," Kowalski added.
"Oh, yes... the key." Blowhole showed them a silver chair hanging on the segway left handlebar. "Here it is... you can come and take it. Ah, no! You can't!" He guffawed.
"And your evil plan? What does it consist of?" Skipper asked.
"Hold your horses! How direct and impatient you are!" Blowhole approached him. "Everything has an aim... and this is the most important thing. Here what matters is not my machine, yeah... I know, it's wonderful as all what I plan and do. Here what matters is the aim. I guess you want to know."
"Well, the truth is... no. I want to stop you, I don't need your life story."
"And I don't care." Blowhole turned into Red One and Red Three. "Bring the machine. Meanwhile, I'm going to tell our guests a story."
Skipper turned his head to Kowalski. "Kowalski... options?"
"None as long as we can't break loose, and I still don't know how."
"We'll get this demented started while we decide a plan. He's giving us time," Skipper said.
Red One and Red Three had just arrived with the machine transported on a platform trolley. It was something like a dish antenna full of circuits and bigger than the dolphin himself. Blowhole had heard everything, of course, but he didn't care. He cleared his throat and continued speaking.
"The aim, yes... I think you'll identify yourselves with me. You live in a zoo and you leave when you want... there must be a reason, I think... and I broke out from an aquarium. We have in common much more than you think. The resentment to the humans who deprived us of our freedom to use us as their entertainment," he concluded, closing his eyes and clenching his right flipper as a fist.
"Yes, we're similar... we eat fish and we have flippers and we're moody," Skipper replied.
"Don't -" Manfredi tried to intervene.
"Schhhhh... Kowalski is analyzing the situation. Give him time... we'll play along with this dumb-ass."
"I still think it's a bad idea, we must act now," Manfredi replied.
"Yes, but... do you remember who's in charge?"
"You, but -"
"That, then."
Manfredi lowered his head downhearted and worried.
"Skipper," Private said. "Don't you think Manfredi is right?"
"My young and innocent Private... we must be strategists. You have lots of qualities, but you're not a strategist. Let this to the ones who have experience," Skipper answered.
Private and Manfredi exchanged glances. They had a bad premonition. Kowalski was looking everywhere and was calculating mentally, speaking in a very low and unintelligible voice. Rico was trying to break loose using his strength. Johnson was trying to do it too, he wanted to kick Blowhole's ass... although dolphins have no ass, but Johnson was Johnson and he didn't care.
"May I continue?" Blowhole said getting them all out of their thoughts. "Doesn't matter what you plan, you only have two options: become allies or you see how I switch this wonder on."
"And why should we be your allies?" Johnson asked defiantly.
"Because, as I was saying, we have a lot in common. You surely used to live free too... in Antarctica, I guess, before humans bumped into your lives and took you to a zoo. You may think that in the zoo you are safe from predators..." he saw the penguins' apprehension gestures, "but the truth is that humans got in your lives to wreck them. Is it a worthy life with safety but without freedom?"
"Do you really think that humans wreck our lives?" Skipper asked him.
"It's obvious: they interfere with our destinies. Where would you be if you hadn't been caught by humans? Have you ever thought about that? I suppose you have because, if not... Why did you try to run away from the zoo? Now you leave and go back when you want, but then you wanted to leave forever. It would be for a reason, right?"
That reflection left the penguins thoughtful.
"Humans interfere with our destinies," Blowhole continued. "All what happens to us is a direct consequence of human actions, who don't think about us. Do you want an example? Blake..."
Rico let out some furious and unintelligible swearing in his particular language.
"Hey, lunatic, don't interrupt me," Blowhole complained. "I'll go on." He was wandering from one side to another on his segway, staring at the penguins. "Did you know that the Bronx zookeeper was going to take Blake to the other end of the world? Would you allow such interference from humans?" He smiled... that was his secret card, played in an unexpected way... but played anyway. "Wow, you seem surprised... didn't she tell you? How bad... Well, it doesn't matter because my team has worked to avoid it, you should thank us," he said, winking at Red Eight. "But oh... she did wrong by not telling you. You cannot live with secrets if you are a team... right?"
Blowhole analyzed the penguins fast. He was very quick-witted and knew who had a secret to hide... because they showed it getting tense, hardening their stares: Skipper, Kowalski and Private. Would it be what he already knew? He could piss them off and distract them with that, but on the other hand he knew that Rico was dangerous. If he said something, he'd unleash the beast. Manfredi and Johnson remained immutable... curious specimens.
"Well, let's go to my aim -" he said, trying to change the topic chosen by himself.
"No, let's go back to ours," Skipper said. "You have confessed it, you have Blake. Set her free."
"I haven't said that," Blowhole replied. "Besides, I don't care. My aim is for everyone: dolphins, pen-gu-ins... This is why I think you should listen to me and decide if we become allies." He was sure that the penguins were listening to him... but they didn't, and he wasn't hearing their whispers. "Animals must confront humans and end up with their hegemony. And for that I want your support, not your annoying interference."
Skipper and Kowalski looked at each other. Kowalski nodded.
"Well... maybe," Skipper said. "Can you show us your machine?"