Chapter 9

Penelope watched from the bedroom window as nightfall swallowed up the last trace of dusk.

"I hope he's okay." She remarked, thinking about Snoozy, who had left for the hospital three hours ago.

Just as she spoke the phone rang and Sylvester snatched it up.

"Snoozy?"

Penelope turned away from the window, her gaze fixed anxiously on Sylvester and the phone call as she hoped everything was okay.

While her back was turned she didn't see Clyde's car slow to a silent halt outside the Moonlight Bar, nor did she see the glass bottle filled with gasoline or the rag stuffed into its neck, or the spark of his cigarette lighter as he prepared to light the homemade fire bomb...

"Oh that's great!" Sylvester exclaimed as he spoke on the phone, then he listened again and laughed.

One look in his eyes told Penelope he was feeling relieved; the hospital had given Snoozy good news.

"No, no –"Sylvester began, "I don't mean it's a good thing you have a mild concussion – I mean it's a good thing that's all you have! And they said you can come home in the morning? That's great. Okay, well you get off to sleep. We'll both be here in the morning when you come home. Goodnight, Snoozy."

Then he put the phone down.

"That was Snoozy. The hospital's keeping him in overnight just to be on the safe side, but he should be out in the morning. He's okay."

Penelope smiled.

"I'm so glad he's okay!"

Sylvester quickly hit speed dial and called Sparks.

"I'd better let him know what's happened with Snoozy." He said.

The phone rang and reached voice mail and Sylvester briefly told Sparks that Snoozy was in the hospital, and that it was a long story, but he was going to be okay. The he said he'd explain everything properly as soon as he got in touch, and then he hung up.

And just as he put the phone down there was a sharp sound of breaking glass that suddenly split the air as tires squealed and a car took off at speed.

Sylvester ran to the window and looked out.

"What the hell was that?" He wondered, seeing no one about now.

Penelope's eyes widened.

"That sounded like one of the windows..."

Sylvester felt a flicker of alarm; this bar was set apart in a large plot of land and the sign had been turned to Closed for hours now ...if there was any kind of trouble going on, who would know to come and help?

"I'd better check it out." He told her, and headed for the apartment door.

"Wait for me!"

He heard the clicking of Penelope's high heeled boots as she hurried after him.

Sylvester stopped by the closed door and turned back and smiled at her.

"I'm sure it's nothing! Why don't you go and have a lie down, you've been through so much stress lately!"

Her eyes hardened.

"I'm coming with you!"

He gave a sigh.

"Okay..."

Sylvester opened the apartment door.

Heat raced up the stairway, along with ghostly flickers of amber light that leapt up the walls from the ground floor, throwing up a hellish glow.

The flames were burning high and crackling and black smoke was billowing up the stairs.

Sylvester put his hand to his mouth and coughed as it seemed like the smoke was eating up all the air in the room.

Flames licked around the bottom of the stairway and Penelope screamed as she stepped back.

Sylvester slammed the apartment door, shutting out the smoke save for a ghostly wisp that snaked into the room and brought with it the smell of burning.

Penelope looked at Sylvester with big, terrified eyes.

"The bar is on fire! We have to get out!"

She reached for the door but he grabbed her hand, pulling her back.

"No, not that way! There's too much heat and smoke – we'd never make it!"

Sylvester thought quickly:

This place was old, it would go up like a matchbox...it was only a short matter of time before the flames burning downstairs got through and the ceiling caved in the upper floor...

"We can't go down the stairs. We'll have to get out of the window."

"What?"

Penelope ran after Sylvester as he hurried back into the bedroom and threw open the windows.

He looked down and saw a drainpipe that ran next to the window, but far below the walkway was narrow and beyond it the river was flowing fast.

"We can't jump." He told her.

"Why?" She demanded.

Sylvester felt a little bit uncomfortable to be admitting this at the worst possible time.

"Because I can't swim..."

She stared at him surprise.

"And here was I thinking you were such a hero, Sylvester!"

He briefly smiled.

"I'm your hero? You never said that before... I could get used to that..."

"Hurry up!" She told him, glancing back and seeing a thin trail of smoke creeping through the apartment.

Sylvester scrambled out onto the ledge, closing his eyes as he shakily reached for the drain pipe.

As he grabbed it and clung on and gingerly inched down it, Penelope gave a sigh.

"You don't like heights either?"

Sylvester still had his eyes shut tightly as he shook his head.

Penelope gave a sigh.

"Wait for me!"

She turned back from the window, hooked her umbrella over her arm and then climbed out, swinging over to the pipe so that she was right behind Sylvester.

She stayed close to him, so close that if he fell, so would she...

There was a boom as a window blew out and flames licked at the air far down below.

"Come on Sylvester!" She said as she stated to climb, "I can do this and so can you. When I was at college I was a champion swimmer so if we don't make it to the ground, if we fall in the river, I can get you out of there. I know lifesaving. And I can climb this pipe too – I used to go rock climbing every other weekend!"

Sylvester's hands shook as he moved further down the pipe following Penelope.

Then he looked down and the ground span dizzily far below and he held on tighter, catching his breath as the pipe shuddered and gave a groan.

"I don't think this thing can hold two of us..."

Penelope looked up, and as she looked up she saw the pipe bend further away from its fixing as it gave another groan.

She looked down at the steep drop below them.

"We'll never make it!" She exclaimed, and clung to the pipe with one hand as she held out her umbrella and pushed a button, popping it up.

Sylvester glanced up at the open umbrella - a big pink canopy edged with lace - and he stared at Penelope.

"I don't care if its going to rain, we need to get down from here!"

"And we will!" She promised him, climbing level with Sylvester, "Put your arms around me, close your eyes and let go when I tell you to!"

As he looked at her, he wondered if he was in love with a crazy woman.

"And then we'll both plummet to our deaths!"

"No we won't!" She exclaimed, "We will float safely to the ground!"

Sylvester felt the pipe shift and groan again and he put his arms around Penelope, feeling sure they had no chance to get out of this mess now...

"This is scientifically impossible, Penelope Pitstop! It's like something you see happen in a cartoon! We will fall down, the umbrella will turn inside out and then we will fall to our deaths!"

Penelope kissed him.

"Let go of the pipe, Sylvester!"

The pipe groaned again and as it came free from the side of the house he had no choice but to let go.

He gave a yell as they fell downwards.

Then the wind caught beneath the umbrella and they began to slowly float.

Penelope's eyes were sparkling.

"I told you it would work!"

Sylvester clung to her and laughed.

Then his laughter stopped abruptly as he stared at the moving water below them.

"But the wind has carried us over the river!"

Then the wind dropped - and so did the umbrella.

"Oops!" Penelope exclaimed, and they both landed in the river with a splash.

Snoozy had been sleeping in a comfortable hospital bed.

Then someone came into his room and sat at his bedside.

Snoozy gave a sigh and turned his face away as the bedside lamp snapped on.

"Leave me alone, I hurt all over.." He murmured.

"Snoozy."

On hearing Spark's voice, he opened his eyes and looked at him.

Sparks looked back at him with deep concern in his eyes.

"What happened? I got a message from Sylvester, he said you were in the hospital and he'd tell me the rest later. Who did this, Snoozy? Tell me everything and don't leave anythng out, okay?"

Snoozy took a deep breath.

"Well it's about Clyde McDonald, youve heard of him?"

Sparks nodded.

"I'm listening."

Snoozy blinked as his eyes blurred.

"This is such a mess." He said tearfully.

Sparks took hold of his hand and spoke quietly to him.

"Calm down, take a deep breath and tell me everything, I'm listening."

Snoozy took that deep breath, then as Sparks continued to hold his shaking hand, he told him everything and left nothing out...

The river was freezing and the current was strong.

Penelope grabbed at Sylvester's hand but the flow of the water dragged him further away.

He was coughing and spluttering and trying to keep above the water and she was sure it was only the fast moving river that had him its pull that stopped him from sinking straight to the bottom.

"Hold on!" She called out, taking a deep breath and diving forward, swimming into the powerful current as she tried to reach him again.

The water washed over him and he coughed and spluttered but she grabbed him and held on tightly.

"Don't struggle!" She yelled, "I'll get you out of here!"

And Sylvester clung to her as she slowly made her way through the fast moving water, fighting to get to the riverbank in the distance.

As Penelope struggled in the water, the flames from the burning bar lit up the night sky.

And Clyde turned his car around.

He took the long route around the wooded area that surrounded the place, taking a road that would lead him over to the other side of the river bank, because he was sure he could see at least one person struggling out there in the dark water and at this time of night with the wind fanning the flames in the opposite direction, it made visibility poor.

He was also pretty sure he would be a lousy shot with his gun under these circumstances, so instead he planned to wait by the bank and see if either of them made it out of the water...

After hearing all about what had happened with Clyde, Sparks had thanked Snoozy for telling him everything.

After Snoozy had finished explaining, he had told him to stop crying and stop worrying, because no one was mad at him for keeping a secret- he knew Snoozy, he didn't doubt his loyalty –but he also knew the guy was not tough and certainly no fighter and it was understandable that he would be afraid of a guy like Clyde McDonald, a guy whose reputation went before him...

Sparks left the hospital and got back into the waiting limo, then he glanced at the small, dark man who was sat in the driver's seat.

Yak Yak was so short he could barely see to drive without sitting on a cushion...

"Where to, Mr Sparks?" He asked him.

"The moonlight bar. And step on the gas."

Sparks was already checking his gun was loaded.

"I think there may be a problem." He added.

And Yak Yak, understanding this kind of business was a time when no yakking was allowed, silently nodded and the limo set off in the direction of the Moonlight Bar.

Penelope dragged in another breath as she fought to hold onto Sylvester and push past the current that kept trying to wrap around both of them and pull her back.

She was exhausted by the time she crawled up the riverbank, dragging Sylvester with her.

Then she breathlessly sat on the grass at the top of the bank and took in some more breaths, barely noticing the cold or her soaking wet clothing as she turned Sylvester on his side and shook him.

"Sylvester?" She said in alarm.

He was motionless and for one terrible moment she wondered if he had drowned.

"Sylvester!"

She slapped him hard on the back.

Sylvester coughed and spewed out water and a very small fish, then he coughed again and dragged in a breath.

"Did...did we make it?" He said as he gasped for air.

There was click and they both looked up to see a hooded figure standing over them with a gun in his hand.

"I'm afraid not!" He exclaimed, smacking Sylvester across the back of the head with the weapon and knocking him out cold.

Then he took a step towards Penelope, who tried to stand but slipped in the mud and screamed loudly for help as the Hooded Claw reached for her...

"What do you want to do, Mr Sparks? Shall I go over there and waste McDonald? Shall I waste him now? How about I slice McDonald up and give him to the fishes, he's burned your bar, Mr Sparks, tell me what to do!"

Yak Yak bounced up and down on the cushion that helped him see over the wheel as he spoke.

"Wait." Sparks said as he watched the hooded figure drag Sylvester into the back of the car and then do the same with a struggling Penelope," Lets watch and wait – he's not going to do anything here because sooner or later the fire will attract attention, so he's going to take them somewhere else. Let's follow him."

Yak Yak started up the engine.

Then they watched further down the river, and as Clyde's car took off, the limo began to follow behind at a distance.

When Sylvester regained consciousness he remembered the water and panicked as he dragged in a lungful of air.

Then he weakly sat up as his head throbbed and he blinked to clear his vision.

"Where are we?" He said aloud, looking at the cold metal walls held together by rivets.

The hooded man stepped out of the shadows.

"You're down in the cargo hold of a ship." He informed him, "But the goods are gone. All that remains now is to dispose of you and Penelope Pitstop."

As his head throbbed again, Sylvester sank back against the wall.

He glanced over at Penelope, who was tied to a post.

She glared at the hooded man.

"What sick fiendish plot have you thought up to kill me this time, Hooded Claw?" She said bitterly.

Sylvester gave another sigh as he rubbed the back of his aching head.

"I think I can answer that one - he's going to kill us both?"

The hooded man stepped closer, one look at Sylvester told him that he had knocked him out too well for him to be planning on going anywhere for quite a while, Sylvester couldnt even get up...

Then he turned to Penelope.

"I am the Hooded Claw." He stated,"I'm the man who came out of your bad dreams! I'm real, I'm here and I'm going to kill you!"

Penelope gave a sigh and rolled her eyes.

"As traumatic as I've found your attacks on me, I think I can safely say I'm not afraid of you any more!"

He stood there listening, confused by her statement.

Then Penelope's eyes blazed with rage.

"I know who you are, I know what you did! You're a cowardly bastard who killed my parents while they slept in their bed! I hate you for that! I'll see you dead before you lay a finger on me, Clyde McDonald!"

The Hooded man tensed as he filled with rage.

Then he reached up and ripped down the hood that had hidden his face.

Penelope stared at him.

She knew he was Clyde, but seeing his face behind the hood still came as a shock because there it was right in front of her; the whole truth of the matter was laid out in that split second:

There was no Hooded Claw, there never had been.

There had only ever been Clyde...

He gripped the gun furiously as he waved it about while he launched into a rant, stepping closer so he could yell into her face:

"You had to go and ruin everything, didn't you, Penelope! There I was, playing the nice guy, being your boyfriend, I could have lived with that, I mean, you're a hot girl! I could have married you and been okay with doing that. I never would have had to hurt anyone! But you had to find things out, Snoozy had to open his mouth and - "

He gestured to Sylvester.

"- that loony had to get let out of jail!"

"Excuse me?" Sylvester said, "Since when did I become a loony? My behaviour was a one off event caused by a brain tumor- but you make a habit of dressing up in that cape so what's your excuse, pal?"

The gun briefly wavered in his direction.

"Shut your mouth!" Clyde said sharply.

Then he turned back to Penelope.

"I'm really going to enjoy killing your boyfriend!" He told her, then he reached in his own pocket and pulled out a pill bottle and rattled them at Sylvester.

"I realize you feel too shitty to move right now because I knocked you out a while back, but just let me know when you want your meds, because I'm not giving them to you! So you can just lay there and have another one of your seizures..."

And he placed the pill bottle on a shelf behind him, far out of Sylvester's reach.

The he turned back to Penelope once more.

"You want to know all about my fiendish plan?" He wondered, "Well actually it's not all that fiendish. It's rather basic - but a lot of fun for me! I cleaned out the drugs before I put you two in here. My shipment is waiting in the trunk of my car, it's home and dry. And I've planted a small explosive deep in the bowels of this ship and it's going up when I press the button. But it won't kill you right away. Instead it's going to flood the ship as it sinks and take both of you down with it."

"You're right, that is basic." Sylvester remarked, but Clyde ignored him as he kept his eyes fixed on Penelope.

"I got the idea when I saw the look of terror in your eyes when I had you tied up in the bath tub! It's a shame I won't be around to see you both drown but I have places to go, I'm a busy man..."

And Penelope tried in vain out of Clyde's sight to loosen the rope that tied her to the post, but the rope held fast...

As Clyde continued to speak, his voice echoed down the narrow walkway that led to the cargo hold.

Two shadowy figures quietly made their way closer, pausing to listen to what he was saying.

In the dim light of electric bulbs that glowed low to light the way, the two men looked as different as their shadows did as the light cast them against the wall:

One was tall and powerfully built; the other was stocky but little more than a midget.

Yak Yak looked up at his boss who stood pressed hard against the wall with a loaded gun in his hand.

"Shall we go in there now, Mr Sparks?" He whispered.

Sparks shook his head.

"Slowly." He said in a low voice, "He's armed. We don't want bullets flying about in there and bouncing off the walls. Sylvester or Penelope might get hurt..."

And Yak Yak nodded, and the two men continued to slowly creep along the corridor, heading for the door at the end of the cargo hold.

Clyde took off the cape and threw onto the floor.

"I won't need this any more!" He announced, then he laughed as looked at Penelope.

"How could you be so stupid? Hooded Claw? A figment of your imagination? How could believe for a second that something you imagined could come to life? What's wrong with you?"

And he gestured with his gun, waving it in Sylvester's direction.

"You're as crazy as he is! I can see it now - you belong together! Shame you won't have much time left to enjoy it...I'm blowing this place as soon as I walk out of here!"

Sylvester tried to stand up but Clyde turned sharply, aiming the gun at him once more.

"Don't even think about it!"

Sylvester put his hand to his head as he weakly slipped back down again, leaning against the wall as he looked up at Clyde.

"If you lay one finger on me Frankie Sparks will have you killed! You'll be a marked man!"

Clyde smiled on hearing him say that.

"Sparks? I've got no quarrel with him- besides, I heard he went soft a long time ago. Must have been all that time he spent in jail."

"I shared his cell."

Clyde shrugged off that remark.

"And I wonder what he thought of you." He said as he looked down at him, "He must have hated you – I mean, look at you - Sylvester, you can't even fight your way out of a paper bag! You can't even save your girlfriend either!"

"He taught me how to survive."

Sylvester's eyes had turned to ice and Penelope stared at him, wondering what was going thorough Sylvester's head as he glared at Clyde.

"I can't imagine what he could have taught you." Clyde replied, "You're useless, Sneekly!"

Penelope was still trying to loosen the bonds that tied her to the post, but as she worked at the rope nothing shifted.

Then Clyde looked back at her and she fell still once more.

"By the way," Clyde told her," I never loved you, Penelope. I could have been fond of you in time- but never love, it was always about your money. I wanted control of Pitstop Shipping. I would have been a dealer with a fleet of ships; can you imagine how much power that would have given me?"

And then he stepped closer as rage filled his eyes.

"And you RUINED it for me!" Clyde yelled, "You wrecked everything! All because of your stupid loony boyfriend who came back into your life! I'm glad the pair of you are going to die, I couldn't have this end any other way!"

Then Sylvester drew in a sharp breath as he sat on the floor leaning harder against the wall.

Penelope glanced at him and he glanced back at her, but before she could catch the look in his eyes it was gone and he was fixing his gaze on Clyde once more.

"Please..."He said weakly, "I'm not feeling too good. I need my meds. Please don't let me have a seizure - you knocked me out a while ago, I could get very sick if I had one right now."

Penelope was still tied firmly to the post and the ropes wouldn't budge as she turned her head and looked at Sylvester.

He was leaning against the wall taking in a deep breath.

Then he blinked several times and Penelope blinked away tears as she realized he was about to collapse.

"Please don't do this!" She said tearfully, "Please Sylvester- try and hold on, I need you..."

"I'm sorry..." He murmured as he tried to clear blurring vision, "I can't stop this, Penelope... I can't..."

She looked pleadingly at Clyde.

"Please let him take his meds! Just give him one of his pills, you've hurt him, he won't fight you, look at him!"

Clyde smiled.

"I am looking at him." He remarked,"What a mess your boyfriend is in. Yeah, he's going...he can't stop it happening; he's just going to crash down on the floor and have a seizure. That's all he's good for."

Penelope gave a sob.

"What ever you've got planned for me doesn't matter any more! Just don't treat him like that, don't torture him, Clyde! Please help him!"

Her words echoed up the corridor.

As they neared the doorway both men stayed tight against the wall, then Yak Yak made a move to dart forward but suddenly the collar of his jacket was being clamped tightly and he was going no where as his legs kicked at nothing and he was lifted up in the air by Sparks, who held him easily with one hand while he wagged a finger in his face.

"Not yet!" He whispered, "You stay put. You wait until I say the word, understand?"

Yak Yak nodded and Sparks set him down again right beside him, tight up against the wall.

"But if we don't make a move..." He hissed.

"Trust me." Sparks told him in a low voice as he peered through a gap in the door, "I know what I'm doing... just wait a few more minutes..."

"Why?" The little man wondered as he looked up at his boss.

A knowing smile played about Spark's lips.

"Just trust me." He murmured as he took another look through the gap in the door, "We wait..."

Sylvester slowly turned his head.

"I don't feel so good, Penelope..." He said weakly, "I need my meds...I can't focus on anything..."

Penelope gave another sob as she glared at Clyde.

"Give him his pills, Clyde! You don't have to let him suffer like this! Please don't do it!"

Clyde shrugged, looking at Sylvester who was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall barely able to focus.

Then he indicated to the shelf on the wall behind him.

"He knows where they are. If he wants them he can always stand up and walk over there and get them."

"He can't stand up!" Penelope yelled, "Don't do this to him, you bastard!"

Then she looked at Sylvester, who was struggling to focus on her face.

"I'm sorry..." He murmured,"I can't stop this..."

Sylvester slid to the floor, his eyes closed as his body started to shake.

Penelope blinked and more tears ran down her face.

Clyde glanced back at Sylvester, who was still convulsing on the floor and then he turned his back and stepped closer to Penelope.

He smiled as he looked into her eyes.

"Looks like that's the end of your useless boyfriend." He remarked, "No one can save you now, Penelope Pitstop..."