Chapter 3: Busted Rangers

The Metropolitan Squirrel Squad, often abbreviated MSS or referred to as the Mets, worked fast and efficiently. The two squirrels who had watched LaWahini with what was roughly as big as the diamond which they found out was stolen reported their sight at their Headquarters. Their description, a female mouse with long blond hair, wearing coveralls, and using some contraption to fly through the air, described a certain Rescue Ranger perfectly. Although there were still strong doubts, the MSS had to take into consideration that the Rangers had changed sides, no matter for what reasons. The idea of capturing them in their Headquarters was largely feared, the MSS knew a lot of the Rangers' earlier cases, thus they had records about their equipment, and being an unarmed force, they wouldn't have fair chances against Gadget's many inventions. But reports of Squad members who had seen the Rangers at various locations in the city fortunately rendered this plan obsolete, and groups of squirrels were sent to the aforementioned locations.

Far enough away from the gallery to be oblivious of the recent events, Chip and Gadget were strolling through the park. The mouse mechanic let her view wander around. "I wish spring came so it got a bit greener. The park's not beautiful as it is."

"Who needs a beautiful park?" Chip laid his arm around her. "I've got beautiful you."

"Aw, Chip," Gadget said as they stopped and she came to stand in front of him, moving her hands up the collar of his jacket. Their kiss was rudely aborted in its preparation phase, though.

"Chip Maplewood? Gadget Hackwrench?" someone asked.

Chip pried his look away from Gadget's half-closed eyes which snapped fully open, too. They saw four squirrels in green and black surrounding them.

"Why, sure, that's us! Nice to meet our fellows from the MSS," Chip greeted the squirrels.

"You can't fool us, Maplewood. You're under arrest."

"Arrest?" Gadget wondered. "Why? We're the Rescue Rangers, what should we be accused of?"

"I'm surprised that this question comes from you, Hackwrench," the leader of the group said while two other squirrels were locking rodent-sized handcuffs around Chip's and Gadget's wrists. "All that surprises me is how you got here that quickly."

"Well, Chip and I took the Rangerwing which is parked over there and—"

"Shhh, Gadget," Chip told her, "don't make them believe even more in, um... what was it that we're accused of?"

"Heard of the diamond exhibition?"

"Sure, but that's far away from here."

"It was. The diamond was stolen half an hour ago. And your friend here has been seen flying away from there immediately after the crime took place, carrying something that resembled the stolen item. Now follow us to the MSS Headquarters."

Without further questions and awaiting their fate, Chip and Gadget obeyed the squirrel's order and followed. "There we go, Gadget," Chip commented, "tied up in handcuffs you invented years ago..."

Elsewhere in the park, on a branch up in a tree, Dale was catching up a bit on the sleep he had lost on the previous evening's late late night C-movie double feature. And he was doing so wrapped up in a pair of bat wings. Foxglove took the chance and snuggled up to him as if he was her personal life-sized Dale plushie. Every once in a while, her eyelids grew heavy, too, and a little nap got hold of her.

As she opened up her eyes again after one nap, she found a group of squirrels in green and black standing on the branch or clinging to the trunk. "Miss, wake up the chipmunk," one of them commanded.

"Shhh!" Foxglove said. "He needs some sleep."

The tone of the squirrel got much harsher. "Wake him up and take your wings off of him, or we're gonna do that!"

"Your manners leave a lot to be desired." Foxglove gently shook Dale. "Dale, cutie, wake up!"

The chipmunk pried his eyelids open. "Mmmmhuh? 'sup, Foxy?"

"I believe we're in trouble."

"You aren't, Miss," the squirrel explained. "He is."

"And why, if I may ask?"

"He's a Rescue Ranger. And the Rescue Rangers are suspected to have reformed into a criminal organization. Therefore we're here to arrest him."

"And the other Rangers? My friends?" Dale asked.

"They're being arrested now, too. Now let go of him, lady."

"Do you really have to take my Dale with you?" Foxglove asked.

"Yes. You can go wherever you want, but Mr. Oakmont is coming with us."

Foxglove removed her wings. "Alright, if it's your duty, arrest him. But I'm coming with you, too. Nobody takes my Dale away from me."

Another group of squirrels had been sent to the docks. They had a much harder task, and that was arresting Monterey Jack. A cheese ship from France had arrived that night and been unloaded, and the burly Australian adventurer mouse had of course been seen around the docks, too. Finding him was supposed to be easy, most probably, he would be in the warehouse where the cheese was stored. But even for the dozen squirrels out to get him, it would be difficult to take him down. To make it at least a bit easier, two squirrels carried a bottle which was small for humans but as tall as a squirrel. This bottle was filled with a strong sedative.

As they arrived at the door to the warehouse, they could already hear Monty crack open crates of almost any size and dig through masses of cheese. "We've only got a chance," the leader of the unit said, "when he's busy eating. Get the sedative ready." He pulled a rag out of his shirt.

Monty relaxed on a half-eaten cheese wheel and prepared for eating the other half. Zipper stood right next to him. "Zipper, I've said it so many times, an' I say it again. There's only one thing I like more than cheese. An' that's doin' nothin'. 'specially after 'avin' 'ad me share o' good French cheese."

He was fully unaware of the squirrels hiding behind a crate near him. The squirrel leader whispered, the sedative-soaked rag in his hand, "I hope he'll do just that now."

The very moment that he saw Monty stretch himself, he gave the sign to attack.

Monty hardly realized what happened when about a dozen squirrels pounced upon him. Each of his arms was pressed down by three of them, each leg by another two, and the eleventh pressed a wet, weird-smelling rag into his face. He could barely hear Zipper try to fly away before he passed out.

When he woke up again, he noticed a few things. His head was buzzing. What he was lying on neither felt nor smelled like cheese. And his surroundings had changed, too. Somehow, the walls and the ceiling were closer than before. "Blimey," he spoke, "either that cheese made me grow or the ware'ouse 'as shrunk." He took a glance around. "Wait. This doesn't look like a ware'ouse. Where am I, an' what's goin' on 'ere? Zipper me pally, are ya there?"

"Monty, you're finally awake!" he heard a familiar voice say.

"Strike me starkers, Zipper! I didn't know ya can imitate Chipper's voice!"

"Monty, it's me, Chip!"

The Aussie mouse heaved himself up and took another look around, this time, however, he had regained his senses enough to recognize that he was not wherever he thought he was. He rather found himself in what he was able to identify as a room carved out of a tree, much like the Rescue Rangers Headquarters. But it wasn't the Rescue Rangers Headquarters, for the Rangers did not have such uncomfortable furniture cut out of Styrofoam. The Rangers themselves were there, too, at least the original four Rangers besides him plus Foxglove. The room lacked windows, the only light came from a number of bright white LED lamps mounted into the ceiling. The only door was guarded by four squirrels wearing green shirts and black pants. Some more of these squirrels were sitting with the Rangers.

"Chipper, what's goin' on 'ere? What are ya doin' 'ere, an' above all, what am I doin' 'ere?"

"They didn't tell you?" Chip asked. "What happened to you then?"

"Well, as I told ya before I went, I was at the docks where that cheese ship 'ad jes' unloaded its delicious cargo. An' delicious it was. So I was lyin' on a cheese when these blighters attacked me. They were too quick an' too many even fer ol' Monterey Jack. I could swear I've seen them before, but before I could remember where, I got that knock-out rag pressed inta me face, an' everything went black. An' 'ere I am now."

"Welcome to the Metropolitan Squirrel Squad Headquarters, then," Chip said. "We were arrested by them."

Monty took off his aviator cap and scratched his head. "Wait, ya wanna make me believe the Mets arrested their do-gooder fellas, the Rescue Rangers?"

"Yes, Chip," Dale wondered, "ain't we their friends anymore?"

Chip explained, "As far as they told me, they believe that Gadget has stolen a diamond from a gallery."

"Correction," a voice said, "we are most certain that she has stolen that diamond."

The Rangers turned around and saw a squirrel with rather gray than brown fur and tidy gray hair enter the room. He was well-known to them, better than anyone else from the MSS, because he happened to be a close relative to one of the new Rangers, her father, to be more precise. And the Rangers were quite uneasy about meeting him under these circumstances.

"Chief Derek Chesnutt, good morning!" Chip greeted the squirrel and tried to keep himself under control the best he could despite the situation.

"Good morning, Mr. Maplewood." Chief Chesnutt sat down on the couch on which Monty had been lying and was sitting now. "Well, well, well. Looks like the Rangers have gotten themselves into deep trouble."

Gadget tried to defend herself. "Chief Chesnutt, I swear I haven't stolen that gem! I've been with Chip all morning, so he's my witness!"

"Sorry to tell you that, Miss Hackwrench, but we've got more witnesses stating they've seen you with what looked to them like the wrapped-up gem. And the direction you were flying in was away from the gallery where it was stolen. Besides, we can't trust a witness from the same team as you." The sigh he let hear seemed almost out of character for him. "It's such a pity what became of you. You used to be role models for my daughter Tammy, and now that she's one of you, you changed your ways..."

"We haven't changed ways, for Heaven's sake!" Chip almost began to burst out. "Not only was Gadget with me all the time, we also were in an entirely different part of the city! Allow me to answer one question, please."

The Chief was curious. "And that is?"

"What kind of device was it that your witnesses have seen that shall have helped Gadget fly?"

"According to the witnesses, it was a hang glider."

"See? We had the Rangerwing with us. Why do you think she should've taken the hang glider with her?"

"Why, for that burglary, of course. I know you can fold and unfold it. Tammy told me."

"Alright. You say some witnesses..."

"Including two Metropolitan Squirrel Squad members, as I may add," Chesnutt interrupted Chip's words.

"Anyway, they've seen a mouse that looked like Gadget with a hang glider that looked like Dale's and some object that remotely looked like the gem."

"Exactly."

"And you claim that's evidence enough to say it was Gadget?"

"Again, exactly. Or how good do you think the chances are that there's another mouse around who looks like Miss Hackwrench?"

Synchronously, the five Rescue Rangers came to the same solution. "LaWahini," they said in unison. "Gadget's twin sister," Chip added an explanation. "She's been living in New York City since Gadget and her parents brought her over from Hawaii last year. She and Gadget look almost the same."

Gadget's beautiful face frowned. "And I thought she'd be reverted to good now. I thought I could make a Rescue Ranger out of her. LaWahini, you've disappointed me. And you've certainly disappointed Mom and Dad." She turned to the elder squirrel again. "Chief Chesnutt... send your troops out and get her. If my calculations are correct, she's at our Headquarters now, because that's where she must have gotten her equipment."

"I hope you're right," Chief Chesnutt said. "I hope it for you all."

Upon his order, a group of eight squirrels left the tree and headed for another one.

In that other tree, LaWahini relaxed on the couch. She had put the borrowed pieces of equipment back in their places and changed into her trademark flower-printed sarong again. "Yes, this should make the other Rangers proud of me. I prevented one of Fat Cat's crimes all alone. Of course I'll bring the gem back once the danger's over. But until then, I think it's quite safe hidden in my room." Hidden wasn't exactly the best term to describe the diamond's current situation. LaWahini had been unable to close the door of her wardrobe since it was in there.

She got up to turn on the TV and see if there's some media coverage of the burglary. "They'll probably never find out that a mouse has taken the diamond. But I'd better be certain."

She was just about to push the on/off switch when a knock came from the door. "Great, right when I wanna watch some TV and no-one else is here." The fact that whoever it was didn't just come in told her that they were no Rescue Rangers, so she went and opened the door.

Before her stood four squirrels, all of them wearing green shirts and black pants. "Miss Hackwrench?" one of them asked.

"My sister Gadget's not there, sorry," LaWahini replied briefly.

"We know. She sent us to get you. Miss LaWahini Hackwrench, you're under arrest."

Visibly even for the squirrels, LaWahini's fur stood up. She didn't know whom she had to deal with, but she did understand that they were fast and efficient, and that at least some of the Rangers had somehow found out about her little heist.

"I guess you can't help it then..."

"No. Will you now please come with us? And get the diamond if possible?"

"Sure... yeah... Wait a minute, I'll just... get the diamond..." There was no lying. The squirrels even knew about the gem. LaWahini moved away from the door.

As soon as she reached a hallway in which the squirrels couldn't see her anymore, she began to run. Her knowledge about rodent life in New York City didn't go as far as knowing the Metropolitan Squirrel Squad, so she didn't trust these strangers, even though they seemed to be in some kind of contact to Gadget. She quickly got the diamond out of her room and went on running until she reached the hangar. "Ha! Even flying squirrels won't be able to get me once I'm in the air."

With Dale's hang glider ready for take-off and the diamond attached to it, LaWahini opened the post box lid that served as the hangar door—only to see another four squirrels step back and then forth again onto the open lid so she couldn't shut it.

"Well, Miss LaWahini Hackwrench," another squirrel said, "as you can see, there's no chance for you to escape."

"Okay," LaWahini shouted, borderline panicking. "Who are you, and why are you here?!"

"We are the Metropolitan Squirrel Squad. We've got evidence that you've stolen a certain diamond, we have witnesses as well, but as we didn't know about your existence, we arrested your sister Gadget first. Gadget then told us about you. Is this the diamond?" The squirrel pointed to the bundle under the hang glider.

"Where's my sister?"

"She's at our Headquarters, together with the other Rescue Rangers. And either of you must have committed the theft."

LaWahini took a deep breath and thought for a few seconds. These squirrels sounded like crime-fighters, much like the Rescue Rangers, but wearing a sort of uniform. Whatever they were, though, they had Gadget. And LaWahini figured that falsely putting the blame on her own sister for something she herself did in a good sense but then turned bad was not Rescue Ranger-like.

"So?"

The blond mouse sighed before she turned herself in. "You got me. Take the diamond, but make sure it's not returning to the gallery too soon."