HAI! Well, I can easily say that this is the longest chapter thus far in this story. You all also get to hear MY take on how Duke got the damaged bill! Won't that be fun?
*hears nothing but crickets*
...ya well...just read!
P.S. Despite the fact that this is my take on how it happened, I did do a little research by watching "To Catch a Duck" for the ump-teenth time. Mainly I was just listening for dialogue that would help me, like Falcone's lines against Duke or whatever
DISCLAIMER: I don't own MD:TAS, Scrabble, Monopoly, or the game of chess. If I did own one or all, I'd be rich
"Gin."
"Aw c'mon sweetheart, that's…the fourth time in a row!"
Mallory smirked. "I can't help it if you stink at the game."
The red-head of the group had come to visit Duke almost as soon as Grin had left, a deck of cards in a pouch on her belt. Whenever she came to visit, she'd usually bring cards or the occasional board game, like Scrabble, Monopoly, or even the chess board that the ducks kept in the Rec Room.
Today however, she was in a card-shark mood.
So the card games commenced.
Duke frowned as he handed over the grappling hook he occasionally wore on his wrist. Mallory took it and placed it with the other three items she had won; his communicator, a puck launcher he kept by his bed, and one of the supply carriers he usually wore over his left shoulder. As Mallory shuffled the cards, she asked, "What do you want to play now? I'm kinda sick of Gin."
The ex-thief thought for a moment. "How 'bout War?" he suggested.
Mallory started dealing the cards. "Alright, but this time if I win, I want the answer to a question. And no matter what it is about, you have to answer."
"Alright," Duke said warily. "What's the question?"
Mallory just grinned. "After I'm done winning, I'll ask," she answered.
So the game of War went on. After about half an hour, she had won. It sort of made Duke mad that he was losing so much, but he knew that it was a challenge in of itself to go up against Mallory when playing cards.
The red head was re-shuffling the cards, just for something to do. She looked at Duke. "Alright, you want to know what my question is?"
The former jewel thief half-shrugged. "Guess so," he answered. "What is it?"
Mallory placed the cards down on the rolling table before asking something Duke wouldn't have thought about.
"…Exactly how did you get that chip in your bill?"
Duke's breathing hitched. "Why would ya wanna know about that?"
"I said 'no matter what', remember?" she reminded. "You have to answer."
The ex-thief sighed. "Yeah, I rememb'ah," he answered. He averted his gaze however, as the red head sat in her chair, waiting for him to answer.
"So…?" she asked after awhile.
He took a deep breath, then looked at her. "First off, you gotta promise that what I'm 'bout to tell you will nev'ah leave this room," he said.
Surprised, Mallory nodded, wondering what was so bad that he was making her keep it a secret (not that she would probably ever find the need or want to tell anyone else, but still…)
"Second is that I think you deserve to hear the truth," Duke said. "Nosedive asked me that night after he had his appendix taken out how I got this particular 'scar', and I told him it was syphilis. He probably doesn't rememb'ah anymore since he was still kinda out of it that night-"
"Why syphilis?" Mallory asked.
Duke shrugged again. "First thing that came to my mind," he answered. "I didn't really wanna tell him, so I just made up the first thing that came up into my mind." He sighed. "So I guess I finally have to tell someone."
Mallory sat in her chair, waiting for an answer. When it came, she was shocked.
"Falcone gave me this chip in my bill."
"…w-what?"
"It happened a long time ago. Kind of a 'pre-greatest jewel thief' moment," he explained. "In the Brotherhood of the Blade, when the leader of the pack or the head guild members think someone is ready for their first heist - or really, whateva - they'd pair up two people who they think will work well togeth'ah.
"That's when I first met Falcone. I didn't really know him, only some rumors and stuff from the oth'ah members about his skills. Our first assignment togeth'ah was to steal from an exhibit that was in town at the time, though I can't even rememb'ah what the item was now."
Duke paused for a minute, Mallory just taking in what he was telling her.
Then he continued.
"So we were at the exhibit, sometime aft'ah midnight when everyone was gone. We had both snuck in, were standin' in front of whateva we were stealin'. I managed to cut the glass big enough to where one of us could reach their hand inside the case and just take the item; there wasn't a whole lot of security back then, not like what they do here on Earth or back home. So I reached in and took it. We were both sort of revelin' in our victory - I guess, - when he decided to bring out that sword of his. I asked him what the puck he was doin', bringin' it out when we had just gotten the item without any problems.
"That's when he started the duel that began his career as a two-faced son of a Saurian."
Duke paused again, putting his good arm over the one that lay in its sling. The ex-thief was starting to feel a little unbalanced, but he knew it was because he didn't look at the past that often.
After a moment, he started again.
"He came at me for no real reason that I could see - or rather can still see. We were both rookies. We didn't have a need to fight. But during the duel, he kept saying somethin' about how I was stoppin' him from 'being the best'. We both managed to get a few lucky shots at one anoth'ah, him more tryin' to actually kill me and me defendin' myself."
"Wow," Mallory marveled. "He just turned on you like that? I mean, I know you said before when we first found Falcone's feather at the museum that he was part of the Brotherhood, but I didn't know he went that route that early on."
"Believe it," Duke answered. "Though the leader at the time wasn't too happy about what happened after our assignment."
"What happened?" asked Mallory.
"Well, like I said, I was tryin' to defend myself more than strike him," Duke said. "I knew that if I did strike him like he was me, I could'a been killed by the mob leaders...or worse - have to go through training again for another few years.
"Aft'ah a few more hits, Falcone thought it would be fun to set the alarm off. So he did, running off with the fallen item we were supposed to steal. I ran aft'ah him, and managed to corner him on the roof. Both of us had our blades drawn, then…"
Mallory waited a few moments. When Duke didn't continue, she said, "Then what happened?"
Duke sighed. "I dunno how, but that son of a Saurian had 'acquired' a blade that only mast'ahs of the guild have," he answered. When he saw her questioning look about the blade part, he said, "When one is given their first assignment, they go with limited tools, and certainly don't have the kind of blades they get later. They aren't given a sword or saber like mine until after they finish the assignment successfully.
"Anyway, that overgrown chicken pulled out a blade that only mast'ahs are allowed. He sliced open my left leg from my knee to thigh. Then he thought it would be…fun…to cut off some of my bill. Somethin' about a reminder about our 'first assignment'."
The ex-thief sighed again, allowing Mallory to soak up all this information.
"The next thing I rememb'ah was wakin' up in the Brotherhood's infirmary," he finally said, but in a quieter voice. "The doc runnin' it at the time told me that 'my part'nah' had given a full account of what happened at the museum we were at. Meaning they got to hear about how 'Falcone' stole the item and 'rescued' me from the guards that were aft'ah us. The only thing the doc could nev'ah figure out was how I had gotten the slash on my leg or the chip in my bill. Turns out Falcone had hidden or ditched the blade he had used against me.
"So, the leader thought I wasn't ready. But since I was hurt - and the injury was pretty deep - I wasn't reprimanded for anything. They tested my skills again after I could easily walk on my own and I passed." Duke grunted. "But it wasn't my leg that both'ahed me all that time. It was my bill. It both'ahed me because every mornin' after that, I had to look in the mirror and see the reminder of that scoundrel. And I had to encounter Falcone a few more times before he finally left the guild for whateva he started to do aft'ah that."
Silence took over after he finished.
Finally, Mallory said, "Duke, I-I never would've thought-"
"It's s'alright Mal," he said.
"No! No it's not!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell the leader about what really happened?"
"How could I?" Duke asked. "Three days had already gone by when I woke up in the infirmary. The story was known throughout the entire guild about 'Falcone's success' by that time. I really did think about it for a minute or two, but when I did see the leader after I was finally released from the infirmary on crutches, he was saying how 'disappointed' he was in me and that I should watch how Falcone's career would progress."
RVRVRVRVRVRVRV
As Mallory made her way towards the kitchen a bit later, she thought about what Duke had told her.
His story did explain a lot; the chip in his bill, why he sometimes walked with a slight limp after some of their harder hockey games or fights with Dragaunus, or even why he felt the need to corner Falcone on his own. If she had known any of that story he had just told her before the whole incident with Falcone stealing the world's biggest jewels, Mallory wouldn't have accused Duke of what he did after finding that -falcon's - feather, because then she might have actually known what the ex-thief's motive was.
Guess I ought to make something special for dinner tonight, Mallory thought, a feeling of guilt hanging on her. And since it was her day to make the team's meals, she thought that Duke might appreciate something nice.
