Note: Unfortunately, I own nothing associated with Disney's Ducktales…cuz if I did, that would be totally kickass:)

Beagle Without a Mask

Chapter 3

Walking the Streets of Duckburg…

"I don't see what the big deal is," Jennifer whines over at her roommate, struggling with two heavy paper bags full of groceries. "You trust me, right?"

Bonnie, also having trouble with her own load, gives an exasperated sigh. "Yes…but it's not that I don't trust you, okay? It's just a very touchy subject for me." She keeps looking forward, studying the ground in front of her, hoping she doesn't lose her footing. "But just because I don't want to introduce you to any of my family doesn't mean I don't trust you." She pauses, looking over at her briefly. "I just don't think they're ready to meet someone like you. It's, hard to explain." She shakes her head at her hurt expression. "Yer just gonna have to take my word for it."

"But you've met my family and they loved you," she almost pouts. "Plus, you turned out okay, so they can't be that bad."

"Thanks…but, my family isn't like yours. They're what you'd call, socially challenged ." She says this last word a bit hesitantly, not exactly sure if that's the right term to go with.

Jennifer lets out a small groan, rolling her eyes in frustration.

Bonnie glances over at her. Jennifer Anne Baronski; one of the few people she'd ever had the pleasure to call a best friend, despite their many differences. Bonnie Beagle had grown up in a family with a criminally obsessive mother and seven older brothers with an outstanding reputation as the most ruthless family of thugs this town had ever seen, which was mind-boggling to anyone she actually cared to tell. With her mother always preoccupied with breaking her sons out of prison or trying to screw over Scrooge McDuck, and her brothers all stuck behind bars or acting as guns for hire most of her younger years, Bonnie had to grow up fast, learning to take care of herself, which hadn't been easy. Life had been rough at times, though she always felt that she'd been made stronger because of it.

Jennifer on the other hand had lived a rather privileged life; with a lawyer for a father and an anthropologist for a mother, to say that she'd grown up financially well off was a bit of an understatement. Not only that but she was also too perfect to be real; young, pretty in the face, slender body, gorgeous dark red hair, and a set of green eyes that made some men weak in the knees when she'd flash them a smile. As if that wasn't hard enough to believe, Jennifer was also the sweetest and most caring and understanding individual she'd even known, which was probably why they'd become friends in the first place. With Bonnie's family name, it wasn't easy keeping the same group of people around for too long. But Jenny never saw the reputation; just her. Bonnie.

Yep, she was a regular shoe-in for Miss America. So far, the only flaw Bonnie could find was that she was a little on the short side, but only by a few inches when compared to her own height of 5 feet 3 inches.

The conversation they'd been having was started by Jennifer once they'd began shopping for groceries for their new apartment. It'd gone on longer than it should have, in Bonnie's opinion. And it was making her a little uncomfortable.

"Alright, fine!" Jennifer finally sighs, as she moves aside to quickly avoid bumping into a passer by. "Let's say I never get to meet all of your relatives; cousins, uncles, aunts, or even your parents. I can live with that." She shrugs, then looking over at the brunette hopefully, giving her a sly smile. "But what about…you know." She looks around to see if anyone is actually listening to them as she whispers, "them?"

Bonnie shakes her head, clearing her throat. "Them who?" she asks casually, knowing all too well who it is she's referring to. She too glances around, not enjoying them speaking about her relatives out on the open street, worried about attracting attention from the wrong people.

Jennifer nudges her playfully, giving her a wink. "Ah, come on, you know who!" She lowers her voice as a talkative couple walks past them, laughing. "The boys themselves…or should I call them your bros?"

Bonnie glares over at her friend. "Why do I even bother telling you these things? I should have known you'd try to do this."

"Why, Bonnie! Whatever do you mean?" Her tone resembles that of a child playing innocent, obviously up to no good. "I have nothing but good intentions for wanting to meet the ones who branded you with that adorable little nickname of yours-"

"Don't, you, dare." Bonnie states, still glaring.

"What? Oh, you mean, Bon Bon?" she laughs, always getting a kick out of the name. "Aw, but I think it's cute!" She re-positions her grip on the bags, reaching up a free hand to pinch Bonnie lightly on the cheek. "They must've really liked you to name you something so sweet."

Bonnie steps out of her reach, her smile slightly faded as she continues to look forward. "Yeah…I guess they did."

Jennifer, seeing this, stops laughing. "Seriously though…all joking aside. I really do wanna meet them. I know they're, um…" She gets closer to her, "convicts and all," then stepping back, speaking normally. "But they are your brothers, and you've mentioned that a few of them aren't so bad…just mixed up with the wrong crowd." She pauses before adding "Ya know, I can't officially call myself your best friend if I don't get to meet at least one of your brothers!"

"What're you talking about?!" Bonnie scoffs at this. "Meeting my brothers has nothing to do with our friendship status!"

"No seriously," Jennifer argues. "Think about every chick-flick you've seen involving two female friends like us."

"Oh, kay." Bonnie raises an eyebrow at her. "What about them?

"Well," she continues. "More so than not, at least one of the friends has a few brothers that hang around them. Sometimes both of them do."

"So? What exactly are you getting at?" Bonnie never understood how Jennifer would suddenly come up with random knowledge like to try and justify an argument. Probably from her father's side of the family.

"My point is," she says with a look of surprise. "Is that the majority of the time, one of the girls fall for her friend's brother! Or, the other way around-"

Bonnie stops abruptly, looking on at her with pure horror. "Wait." She shakes her head. "I might be hearing things…you didn't just suggest that you wanted to hook up with one of my brothers, did you?" she asks, appalled.

"No!" Jenny responds, a bit too defensively. "I'm just saying it happens… in, in the movies." She turns a bit red. "It's not entirely impossible, ya know…not like it'll ever really happen…I mean, it could-"

Jenny is pulled off of the sidewalk and around the corner, just outside of an alleyway in order to avoid being overhead by the usual foot traffic. Bonnie's frantic tone comes out in a hiss. "Are you insane?! This isn't a movie! These are wanted criminals, Jen; goons, hired thugs, kidnappers, you name it! I know they're my family, and what I told you is true. Some of them usually are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, mostly forced along for the ride!

"Now, don't get me wrong; I love my brothers, I do…and not just because I'm obligated to, either. I genuinely do care about them, even if they are a bunch of greedy, lowdown, sneaky bastards who'd sooner take your wallet than say hello to you on the street!"

Bonnie sighs at her child hood memories, actually witnessing such things, but being too young to know what was happening at the time. She'd never shared this with her, and she probably never will. "Just trust me when I tell you, to…well, to be careful." She didn't want to tell her that it was impossible, since stranger things have happened before. A few of them really weren't too bad to have around. Still, she wasn't about to get her friend's hopes up, or do anything to put her in harm's way.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do here. It's you're life, and if you want to end up with an ex-con, then by all means, go for it if it makes you happy!" Her tone softens. "Look, if I promise to introduce you to them, you have to promise me that you'll keep an open mind about this. I want you to remember that being conniving liars and taking advantage of someone's trust is what most Beagles do for a living. It's just who they are."

She pauses, observing her friends eager look. It didn't matter what she said in order to try and scare her out of wanting to meet them. She was set determined on it, not appearing to change her mind anytime soon, which had always thrown her for a loop. She'd confronted her about it once, wanting to know why she insisted on making such a fuss about it. The young woman admitted that she'd been a huge fan of the hit single that some of them had come out with a while back called "Boogie Beagle Blues", something that Bonnie had totally forgotten about, mainly because the four Beagles involved in performing the one-hit-wonder refused to talk about it.

"But hey; maybe it won't be so bad." Bonnie gives a slight grin. "If there's one thing I know about them it's that they do tend to have a soft spot for any friends that happen to stick around." She shrugs. "Well, the ones that haven't freaked out about them being the Beagle Boys, anyway."

The two friends laugh at this.

"Okay." Jennifer gives a brisk nod. "I promise I'll be careful…and to stop bothering you about this." She gives a salute, holding out two fingers. "Woodchucks honor."

They both laugh again, Bonnie almost dropping one of her shopping bags, just barely catching it.

"Uh, how 'bout we get this stuff home and put it away before an accident happens?" she says. "Don't want anything bad to happen to this ice cream before we've had a crack it."

"Why, heavens no!" Jenny expresses mock fear. "Perish the thought."

They continue walking down the sidewalk, apartment building still a couple of blocks away. They don't take hardly five steps before Jennifer starts up again;

"Just to clarify; this does mean I get to meet them, right?"

Bonnie gives her a swift kick in the rear end.

Bigtime flips up the lapel on his jacket, attempting to cover his face from anyone he passes on one of the many ritzy streets of Duckburg. He'd finally buttoned up the front of it if only to hide his numbered placard. That, and a cold wind had started to blow. He shoves his sore hands in his pockets, the pain making him wince. He cursed himself inwardly for how he'd acted barely three hours ago. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried like that. He was also trying to recall the last time he'd tried to knock out an inanimate object; not just any object, but a tree!

Bigtime looks on either side of the road to make sure it's clear before crossing it, pulling the bill of his hat down further as a man in a suit walks toward him. Fortunately, he's distracted from speaking into his cell phone. He doesn't even acknowledge the criminal as he walks briskly to the other end of the street. Once he reaches the sidewalk, Bigtime looks up at the street sign on the corner, frowning; Mallard Street. This wasn't it, either. Her new apartment had to be around here somewhere.

Swan Boulevard was the name of the street he needed to find. The only reason he remembered it was because he'd thought it was a sissy name for a street when she'd mentioned it last year. At the time, she'd been waiting for a friend to finish her last semester of college so they could move in together; Swan Heights was the name of the building. Just another ludicrous name he happened to remember.

He watches the ground pass below his feet, still not entirely sure what he's doing back in Duckburg. He could've just called her…but somehow it wouldn't have felt right. Not to mention the fact that he was still trying to blow off some steam after the whole incident with Bankjob; he was nowhere near ready to face the others after nearly being choked out so easily. It wasn't so much the embarrassment of the situation that irked him, but at the increasingly bad attitude of his aggressor. He had a feeling his older brother wouldn't let him live this night down for a while.

He glances up briefly, eyes widening at the building he's walking past, surprised he hadn't noticed it much sooner; a police station. He no longer wished for the solitude of a prison cell, quickening his pace just enough to be clear of the front entrance. He catches sight of a few wanted posters tacked onto a bulletin board on the front door. Naturally, the majority of them are of him and several members of his family. He groans at seeing his own snide-looking picture glaring out over the street.

"Ugh." He mutters aloud to himself. "Do I always look like that?"

Before he's far enough away, he notices the poster most recently added, causing his teeth to grind; Bankjob Beagle. He wanted more than anything to march across the street, rip down that picture and take it inside to show the proper authorities, saying, "You want this guy? Well, I know where to find him!" But that would never work, since they were looking for any member of the Beagle clan. He'd be tossed behind bars before finishing what he'd gone in there to say! Plus, his burglar mask was a dead giveaway that he wasn't someone that could casually stroll into Duckburg P.D. precinct.

He looks to his left, startled at his reflection in the windows of a convenience store. With all of the lights turned off they served as the perfect mirror substitute. He grimaces at his appearance again. He doesn't like what he sees, but stops to observe it anyway.

He looked terrible, worse than he normally did. The bags under his eyes looked heavy, and eyes were bloodshot, probably from crying earlier. He rubs under his chin and on his throat, finally noticing bruise forming on his neck, courtesy of Bankjob. With this in mind, he brings his hands up, unable to hold back a grimace at the damage he'd manage to inflict. Despite the slight sting he feels, he ignores it; he'd worry about cleaning them up later. For now he continues to inspect his appearance glumly.

Bigtime does a quick perimeter check to make sure the coast is clear before getting back to his image. He takes off his cap, running a hand over his head as he thinks about what he's actually looking at. It might be better to make himself look a little more presentable before he confronted his younger sibling, not even sure if it really made a difference or not. He rubs at his eyes furiously in an attempt to clear them up a little. He knew Bonnie wouldn't admit it, but she'd definitely inherited some of Ma Beagle's more maternal qualities; if she detected anything that wasn't right about him she'd immediately fuss over it, despite any of their differences. Showing up with a clear sign of having been brought to tears before coming to see her was bound to bring on an avalanche of questions that he just wasn't in the mood to answer.

He frowns. Despite his best efforts, he still didn't look fit to be seen in this part of town. He continues to study his appearance, trying to think of something else he could do. He rubs at his five o' clock shadow; he could definitely do with a shave. Too bad it couldn't be helped, though. The longer he stares at himself, the more something becomes fairly obvious. He brings his hands up to either side of his face, lightly grasping onto the signature trademark of his family.

Although their matching outfits and numbered placards are a clear statement of who they are, this little piece of fabric is what really defines him as what he is; a wanted criminal: a ruthless thug for hire: a Beagle Boy.

Bigtime Beagle takes another cautious look around, breathing deeply before slowly removing the black material from around his eyes…

Holy crap! A Beagle Boy…taking off his mask? What's this story coming to?! Well, don't worry, Bigtime's just going through some stuff right now. He'll come back to his senses eventually…I hope. :(

Poor guy.