Chapter 3
Minnie walked down the hall of the first sleeper car, wondering where Fanny and Julius had walked off to only to find them walking out of the room next to the room she had been sharing with Ortensia.
"Thank you so much, I would never have gotten to that without you." Fanny said as she smiled at the cat.
"Of course, they should never put a shelf so high in a lady's room." Julius smiled as he tipped his hat. "Will you excuse me, I should get back to my wife." The cat walked away, passing Minnie with a polite nod before disappearing into the next car.
"How'd it go with Mrs. Julius?" Fanny asked, turning to look at the mouse.
"Can we go into your room?" Minnie asked.
"Um, sure." Fanny opened the door and let Minnie in first before shutting the door behind herself.
Minnie took a seat in the fold down chair off the wall across from the bed and watched as the rabbit sat in front of her. "According to Cleo, Julius took her purse shortly after we left Klondike."
"Why would he want her purse?" Fanny asked, only for it to show on her face. "Unless he used it to try and knock her out."
"Or she did it." Minnie offered. "Ugh, I just wish I could find her."
"Too bad we can't just skip to the end of the book." Fanny joked. "Then we could find out where she is."
"Or maybe the beginning." Minnie said, something hitting her as she stood up. "Come on, I wanna check something in the old room."
Minnie led the rabbit into the room next door and started straight towards Ortensia's bed. She dropped down to her knees to look in the small place in between the bed and table before pulling out a used match. "I thought so." She said, holding it up as she got back to her feet.
"Could you explain?" Fanny asked, lost.
"When I first came in here after Ortensia went missing, I noticed a smoky smell. A smell of cigarette smoke." Minnie explained as a smile appeared on Fanny's face.
"Julius, he's the only one on this train that smokes." Fanny realized.
"Come on, they're still eating." Minnie lead the girl back out, into the hallway and snuck into room 6.
"You don't think they're both in on it?" Fanny asked, watching as Minnie looked around Julius' side of the room.
"I don't want to totally write her off, but I think Julius is doing this on his own." Minnie admitted. "I'm just trying to find anything that would say where he's keeping Ortensia."
"What does he have against her though?" Fanny asked, opening the closet to find something to help. "I mean, what's his motive?"
"I've been trying to figure that out." Minnie admitted only for the two to freeze as the door opened.
"Really, Minnie, I thought you'd figure it out quicker than this." Julius said as he stood in the door way.
"Where is she, Julius?" Minnie growled, her hands in fists.
"Obviously not here." Julius said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it before taking a puff. He looked at the two girls in his room with a smile before saying, "Come on, take a guess."
"We can show them." A deep voice laughed as Putrid Pete walked into the room with a gun in his hand.
"There's your motive." Fanny stated, slowly holding her hands out.
"Come on, Minnie, put your hands up." Julius said, eyeing her. "Let's make this quick and easy."
Minnie sighed, knowing she was no match to a gun as she slowly raised her hands, palms out.
-.-.-.-
"Hey, I've got an idea. Get us close." Oswald said, getting back to sitting on the edge of the plane.
Mickey obeyed, flying a few feet away from the roof of the first passenger car. "If you actually land this one, I'll go ahead and fly ahead to warn the police in Burbank." Mickey said, glancing over his shoulder.
"Who knows what Pete's done while we've been trying to get on." Oswald admitted. He looked down at the train and jumped. As soon as he was in the air he started twirling his ears, hoping to steer himself down to the train's room.
As soon as his feet hit the roof he dropped down and glanced upwards, throwing Mickey a thumbs up. Mickey waved back before flying higher and speeding up. Oswald held on as he tried to gain some balance before getting to his feet. The wind whipped his ears behind him as he struggled to find a way inside. He trudged forwards, to the end of the first passenger car and found a ladder leading down to a doorway. Hoping for the best, he climbed down the ladder and opened the door only to find himself in a luggage car. The sound of a peg leg got him to quickly take cover behind people's cargo.
"Ortensia!" Minnie's voice exclaimed, getting Oswald to pear around the boxes to see the mouse being forced into the luggage car through the other end with a rabbit at her side. Behind her Pete held a gun to their backs as a cat smoking a cigarette walked behind him.
"Minnie." Ortensia's week voice said, her body hidden from Oswald's view.
"Hey, careful, you idiot!" The rabbit exclaimed as she was forced to the ground by Ortensia's voice.
"Well, congrats, Minnie." The cat said with his cigarette in his fingers as he leaned closer to the mouse. "You found her. Pete and Me, in the luggage car, with the pocket book."
"What have you done to her?" Minnie asked, her words growling behind her teeth.
"She did that to herself." Pete shrugged with a smile. "She wouldn't come easily."
"And neither will I!" the rabbit exclaimed as she jumped up at Pete only for the bear to shoot a bullet at her, sending her back to the ground with a cry of pain.
"This is enough!" Oswald said, jumping to his feet as he pulled out his pistol. He walked over to the two holding the girls captive, keeping his gun on Pete. "Pete, you're under arrest." He turned to the cat still smoking with a nonchalant expression. "You, what's your name?"
"Julius."
"You're under arrest too." Oswald said before turning to Minnie. "What happened?" His eyes fell onto his wife and the rabbit only to freeze. "Ortensia."
Before him was a cat holding her left arm close to herself, patches of fur missing all over her body and a bump growing on her head. Beside her the rabbit held her ear close to her, blood running down a hole now pierced in the ear. Minnie dropped down to her knees to help the rabbit, trying to get the ear to stop bleeding.
"You wanna join them, you Universal trash?" Julius growled, as he exhaled his smoke onto Oswald's cheek.
Oswald waved the smoke away before pointing his gun at the cat. "Why do you hate me, I don't even know you."
"You used to." Julius stated. "I helped you while you were learning how to act. Before I knew they were ending the Alice Comedies."
"So I should call you Winkler trash, huh?" Oswald smirked as he watched the cat's face turn red.
"Why you!" Julius flicked his cigarette to the floor before throwing a punch at Oswald, hitting the rabbit square in the jaw.
Oswald's head twirled around from the force before slowing to a stop back where it started. Oswald growled at the cat before throwing his own punches, his gun forgotten on the floor.
Minnie noticed it and quickly picked it up, standing up and pointing it at Pete. "Drop it, Pete." She ordered, pulling the hammer back.
Pete looked at the mouse holding the gun only to laugh at the sight. "You know, the other Pete was right. You do look sexy when you're feisty."
Minnie blushed but kept the gun pointed at Pete, not faltering in her aim as Oswald and Julius' fight started wearing down. She stole a glance over only to duck as she did as a carpet bag flew over her head, a projectile from the men's fight. The bag made contact, getting her to turn back to Pete only to smile as the bear saw stars above him.
Pete fell to the ground, his gun falling from his hands as his senses left him. Minnie quickly took the opportunity and used a quick tie that had been left by the porters to tie Pete's hands behind his back. She pulled him over to the side to have him sitting up before putting his gun in her waist band.
"And that's for what you did to Ortensia!" Oswald panted, knocking Julius one last time before the cat dropped to his knees in defeat. The cat found himself falling to the floor, not able to stop himself as unconsciousness took over.
"Here, this might help." Minnie offered, taking another quick tie from the container and handing it to Oswald.
Oswald looked at it before looking at her in surprise. He leaned to look around the mouse only to see Pete knocked out. "How'd you…?"
"I can handle my own." Minnie said, avoiding the fact that it was really the carpet bag that had done it.
Oswald took the quick tie and tied Julius' hands behind his back before pulling him over to sit next to his partner. "We need to have someone watching these two, for when they wake up."
"Sure, but first Ortensia needs help." Minnie said, going back to her friends still on the floor. She kneeled down in front of the cat and asked, "Ortensia, can you let me look at your arm?"
Ortensia bit her bottom lip as she held it closer to her chest. "Can we just keep it at, it hurts?"
"I know some first aid, I can help it until we can get a doctor to look at it." Minnie tried. "I'll be very gentile."
Ortensia nodded, closing her eyes as she moved her arm forwards so Minnie could feel it. After a moment of Minnie lightly running her hands over the arm and a squeak from her friend, Minnie turned to Oswald and said, "It's broken, we need to find something to make a splint with."
"I have a cane in my room. We can break it in half to protect her arm." Fanny offered, surprising Minnie.
"You use a cane?"
"Fanny?" Oswald asked, finally getting a good look at the rabbit.
"You're still a bit slow, Oswald." Fanny smirked, looking up at him. She turned back to Minnie and admitted, "I'm close to blind so I use the cane sometimes, but she needs something sturdy."
"Tell me where it is, and I'll go get it." Oswald offered.
"Room four, the cane's resting against the night stand on the right side." Fanny informed.
"Right side, room four, got'cha." Oswald nodded before turning around to leave.
"And tell the conductor." Minnie called, catching him before he left the car.
"Can I go to sleep?" Ortensia asked, leaning her head against Fanny's shoulder.
"Not yet." Minnie said, carefully placing Ortensia's left arm on her lap before grabbing her friend's chin. "Look me in the eyes."
Ortensia did as ordered, fighting her eye lids as they wanted to close.
"I was afraid of this." Minnie said. She looked at Fanny and explained. "She's got a concussion. We've gotta make sure she doesn't go to sleep."
"Great, this is going to be a long night." Fanny rolled her eyes only to flinch as her ear moved.
"Come on, Ortensia, stay with us." Minnie tried. "I know it's getting late, but you need to stay awake."
"Where's Oswald?" Ortensia asked, looking around.
"He's coming, don't worry." Fanny tried. "Once we get your arm secured we'll head out to the dining car and play some games."
"Ya, I think I saw Taboo sitting in there. We can play that." Minnie said, trying to get Ortensia to react. "Don't you like that game?"
"It's fun." Ortensia nodded.
"Here they are." Oswald said as he opened the door with the conductor standing behind him. He hurried over to Minnie and gave her the cane and a hair ribbon.
"Oh, thanks for the ribbon." Minnie smiled before taking the two things. She quickly broke the cane in one of its joints and placed the pieces against Ortensia's arm. "Can you hold this for me?"
Fanny held the pieces in place as Minnie wrapped the hair ribbon around Ortensia's arm. Quickly tying it off, she stood up and got Oswald's help in lifting Ortensia to her feet.
"Come on, Ortensia, we gotta keep you up and running." Fanny said, standing up herself.
"Ortensia, how many hours until we get there?" Minnie asked.
"Expected there at six in the morning." Ortensia stated, being forced to walk in between Oswald and Minnie through the small halls to the dining car with Fanny following close behind.
"That's eight hours from now." Oswald realized. His face hardened with determination as he looked at his wife. "Eight hours you have got to stay awake for."
"Don't tell me that." Ortensia said, her head rolling towards Oswald. "It just makes me wanna sleep."
"Come on, Kitty, I need you to stay awake." Oswald tried, pushing her head up wards.
-.-.-.-
Oswald tried to turn his head away as another yawn broke his face. He turned back to the game they'd been playing since four in the morning and asked as he leaned back in his chair to rest it on only two legs, "Who's go is it?"
"Mine." Fanny said, her ear covered in tissues where the bullet went through. She reached forwards and pulled out the card on top and leaned over to Ortensia next to her.
"Go." Minnie said, her eyes barely able to stay open as she turned over the sand timer.
"Um, what happens here stays here." Fanny said, trying to come up with something for Minnie to recognize. "It's east of here."
"Vegas!" Minnie exclaimed, it hitting her a tad later then it should have.
"Pete's gone missing!" the conductor exclaimed as he opened the door to the dining car.
"What!?" Oswald exclaimed, falling out of his chair as it flew out from under him.
"How could he?" Ortensia asked, waking up at the news as she eyed the man from her chair.
"I must have dozed off." The dog explained, almost panicked. "I'm sorry. One minute they were there, the next they weren't and the door to the outside wasn't shut."
"Great, they jumped." Oswald said, crossing his arms in frustration. "One day I'm going to actually kill that bear. That'd be the only way to finally-"
"Oswald, you know you couldn't." Ortensia noted.
"How long is it until we get there?" Fanny asked, her eyes shut as she leaned against her hand.
"Just an hour left." The conductor admitted.
"You wanna join us, then?" Ortensia asked, offering a card towards the man.
"Sure."