"Well, what are you waiting for?" Skipper asked his team. They stood behind him with downcast expressions.
"Um, while you figure out whatever's going on, I'll let Izzy know you're looking." Savio said.
"Sure-wait WHAT?!" Skipper's jaw dropped.
"He got transferred to my room because of the new arrivals." Savio said. "He's a little eccentric, but nice."
"I swear I didn't know." Kowalski said when Skipper looked around at him. "He refused to tell anyone. I assume so you wouldn't interrogate him."
"You'd assume correctly." Savio replied. "He thought you'd be mad and stop Kowalski from being his friend."
"I wouldn't do that!" Skipper protested.
"You did it to the three of us." Kowalski said.
Savio put his hands up. "Hey, that's what he assumed. Right now, we're just worried about our roommate missing. He took his bike, but I'm not sure that was the best idea in the slush…oh man, what if he freezes? I'm going to start looking" He hurried off down the hall.
Skipper shut the door and turned to the team.
"What's wrong? I obviously don't want to, but I'm going to look for him. What's with you?"
"It's been an emotional day." Private said. "I know Allie's texted me, but I don't know what to say! I'm not about to tell her she's being suspected, but she'll be worried if we don't-what?" He noticed Rico's shifty eyes.
The oldest mumbled something.
"Rico, what happened?" Private asked.
Kowalski explained everything that Rico wrote down.
"We're in it deep, boys." Skipper said. "I'm not going to lie to you, we're in that whole sticky situation whether she's the spy or not and I have no idea how to get us out. But right now, we have a mission that doesn't concern her. We're looking for Hans."
I'm looking for Hans. Skipper pushed away his past voice. The team gathered themselves and got ready for a search. The leader made Rico change his pants first.
They asked around the apartments first. Many had no idea where he was. Some said he was pretty casual as he left the building. Some had no idea who Hans even was. Alice, of course, was no help.
"Skipper!" Julien's voice rang out before the boys left the building. Marlene and Hunter followed him.
"We're kinda busy, Julien, what do you want?" Skipper asked.
"We don't know where Josie or Nat are, they won't answer their phones." Marlene said.
"I thought you were showing her around."
"Yeah, but I got muddy at the park and Hunter was tired, so we left them with Allie. By the way, what happ-"
"No time. Where's Allie now?" Skipper asked. None of them missed the reproachful glare Private gave his leader.
"Home." Hunter said. "I waited with her until her dad picked her up."
Marlene rounded on the boys. "We're not skipping this conversation. Rico, what did you say to Allie?"
Rico blinked. "Uh- not much."
"It's more what he didn't say." Private said, earning himself a slap upside the head from Skipper.
"Private, not now! Hans is missing and now we have Josie and Nat missing."
Julien, Marlene, and Hunter looked at Skipper skeptically.
"Yeah, it's weird. We don't have time for this!" Skipper hissed urgently. "Hunter, stay here in case they come back. Marlene, Julien, follow us."
Hunter was about to argue, but Skipper shot her a look and she sighed in defeat. Izzy texted them saying they'd look around further in Central Park. He told them which store Hans had been going to.
They entered the store and began looking around.
"Hello, welcome to-Julien?" Skipper turned the corner to see Maurice. He forgot the older teen had a part time job here when he wasn't at the sub shop.
"Mo-mo!" Julien said, giving him a hug. "How ya been, buddy?"
"Good. What are you doing here?"
"Looking for Hans." Skipper said, cutting across Julien. "No time for idle chitchat, he's not responding to his roommate and we think he's gone missing."
"I didn't see him, but we can call him on the PA."
Julien pouted, wanting to catch up with his friend. Maurice promised he'd visit the apartments soon, he wanted to see how Mort was doing in person.
"Hans Riber to checkout 7." Maurice said into the PA.
Skipper and Julien went to look around some more.
…
"What's going on?" Marlene asked Private as they met in the deli section. Maurice had just called for Hans on the PA.
"Skipper basically told my friends he didn't trust them, but Allie was left out of the conversation. He was willing to trust Rocky, Rikki, and Kenny, but as soon as I mention that apparently I'm the bad guy." Private said.
"Oh dear. Why the sudden distrust?"
Private hesitated. "I can't really say. All I know is we reasoned that everyone except Allie is innocent."
"I'm pretty sure I'm one of the few students who's known her the longest." Marlene said. "Skipper finished fourth grade at home. I was here for all of fourth grade. Allie was in first grade and she was my 'little sister' for a class project. I think that's when she first met Ramona. So, honestly, I'm probably one of the few current students whose known both of them this long. We weren't super close after the project, but we talked from time to time."
"Anything you can say to help convince Skipper that Allie's not going to hurt us?"
"Besides the fact that she's done so much for you already and that she's three years younger than him and barely has self defense training?"
Private knew he couldn't mention the whole brainwashing thing. "Yeah."
"I mean she's helped with Spirit Squad stuff." Marlene said. "Other than that, she's a pretty good friend and always willing to see the best in people."
"She was the first to listen to Barry's side of the comment debacle." Private remembered. "And she really wanted us to be friends again. There was that one time Ramona and Barry were upset about something and Allie stuck by us. She also was with me when Barry ran off during the camping trip."
"If she wanted to hurt you, she probably would have done it when you were alone with her. The camping trip would provide the opportunity to do something and make it look like an accident."
Private looked surprised.
"Again, I've hung out with Skipper a lot." Marlene said. "He doesn't mean to be mean. He's just paranoid and concerned."
…
Kowalski saw Rico in the candy section, staring longingly at something.
"Meow-meows…" Rico said. He saw Kowalski. "Please?"
"It's almost my birthday, you buy me something." Kowalski said. "Wait, your birthday was literally on Halloween. Did you eat through that entire box I got you in almost three months?"
"Weeks."
"You ate it in three weeks…it was a double pack. Private also got you a double pack."
"Double double yum!"
"I am never buying you those again."
Rico gasped. "Take back!"
"Nuh-uh. I thought it would last you two months."
"One a day?"
"Precisely."
Rico burst out laughing. Kowalski rolled his eyes and pretended to be upset, but Rico's laughter was contagious.
…
"Sounds like a party." Julien said, hearing Rico and Kowalski laughing. Skipper hadn't said a word since they started searching again. "Hey, why are you so focused? I thought you didn't like the guy."
"I don't. But when someone goes missing out of my apartment building, it becomes my concern."
"Sorry to be the breaker of bad news, it's my building. My dad pays for it."
"Really, I had no idea." Skipper said sarcastically.
"Wow. You'd think this guy was your friend from your dedicating-ness."
Aw come on, Skipper. I thought we were friends.
You think after this, I'd want to be friends with someone like you?!
"Dedication. And he was, but that was years ago. He can't be here." Skipper suddenly turned and went back to checkout. Hans wasn't there. "Maurice, can you call the others?"
"Sure. Everyone who came with Skipper to the front, please."
They regrouped outside.
"Anyone have anything?" Skipper asked.
"I asked some workers and one lady said she saw a guy who matched my description, but he seemed normal. He just bought some stuff and left. She couldn't remember exactly what, but she thought she saw dairy." Marlene said. "So, he wouldn't take too long that he would risk it going bad, right?"
"Maybe. He can be unpredictable."
Why today, Hans? Why are we doing this?!
Oh, you know me, Mr. Unpredictable.
More like, Mr. Can't keep his MOUTH SHUT!
Must your response be violence?
You started with violence!
Did I? Did I really?
"Skipper, are you okay?"
"Hmm? yeah I'm fine." Skipper waved Marlene off. "He would have taken a bike, right?"
"Yes. There are bike tracks going this way." Kowalski said, pointing the opposite way of the apartments. "Hmm…" He looked hard at the tracks, then at the ones leading to the store. "They're the exact same, however it could be another identical bike, but the timing and fact that we haven't been told he's back mean that this is the best lead we have."
"Alright. Let's follow the tracks."
Using their cellphone flashlights, they followed the bike track for a few blocks until they came to the school. Then they saw the bike. It was haphazardly parked in a bush. Not like Hans didn't want anyone to see it, but it was as if it fell over and he just left it there. The groceries were spilled out into the bush.
"Really…at our school at night…in a bush?" Kowalski muttered.
Really, Hans? At our school? Did you just think you wouldn't get caught?!
You're complaining after what you just did?
I-that was-it's irrelevant!
Ooh, big word, you just learn it?
Cut the crap, Hans!
Language, Skipper! there are children around.
You literally used worse twenty minutes ago!
"Well, he didn't fall over into the bush, that's for sure." Julien's voice brought Skipper out of his memories. He saw Private look at him with concern.
"The bike is fine too. Nothing that would suggest it broke or that he lost control of it. I mean, he could have-."
I love when things spiral out of control
It's gone too far!
Duh, that's what out of control means.
I know what it means!
"-he abandon it? Was he injured? Kidnapped?"
"Right, so then what? Where are the footprints?" Skipper asked.
"It's a bit hard to see footprints and it's pretty cold." Marlene shivered. Julien was also shivering.
"Hold on, right here does seem like he could have fallen over." Kowalski said, crouching down to the front tire. "The snow is disturbed more than just parking it here. The groceries shouldn't have burst out like this. Even if the bag tore, there would be a pile on the ground." His cellphone beeped. "Izzy said Nat and Josie showed up. They went to B-dubs and lost track of time."
"Seriously? They chose to get wings without telling us?" Marlene said. "I'm freezing my butt off here worried about them."
"Nat's very spontaneous."
"I know."
"That settles that." Skipper said. "Private, accompany these two back to the apartments, the rest of us will look for Hans."
"What? No. I'm part of the team so I'm staying." Private said.
"Skipper, we'll be fine walking back." Marlene said. "I'll text you when we get there." She added at Skipper's look of disapproval.
"Fine." Skipper sighed.
The Penguins were left on their own yet again. Marlene texted a couple minutes later that she and Julien made it in safely.
"Hmm…why does it seem to link to the school?" Kowalski wondered. "Vague footprints lead this way, follow me!" The others followed.
"Skipper, are you alright?" Private asked.
"Huh? Me? Oh, I'm…fine. Just focused, why?" Skipper asked.
"You seem to space out a lot. Is something troubling you?"
"You seem more troubled than I am."
"That's not really a mystery, Skipper." Private said dryly.
"No. I…really shouldn't have treated a kid differently based on assumption. It really could be anyone who goes to our school. I'm sorry I broke up your friend group."
"We could have answered her when she texted."
"I guess just jumping to conclusions is something…I…do."
Jumping to conclusions again?
This time I KNOW you're up to something and I'm gonna find out before you do something stupid.
Unless you find out after. Here's a bright idea, fake sick and don't come to school tomorrow.
Not a chance.
Aw come on, you're always assuming I'm doing something bad.
Not always, just for the past month. What's wrong with you? What are you planning?
Wouldn't you like to know?
"SKIPPER!"
Skipper lost balance and started slipping on the ice. Private grabbed him from behind and Rico steadied him from the front.
"What just happened?" Kowalski asked once they deemed Skipper balanced enough.
"Thanks." Skipper groaned.
"We were talking and he spaced out again." Private said before Skipper could come up with an explanation.
"Again?" Rico asked.
"He's been doing it since we started the search."
"I'm fine." Skipper said. "Let's just keep going."
The other three looked doubtful that Skipper was fine, but walked on anyway. At some point, the footprints stopped at the curb. They seemed to indicate Hans got in a car, possibly voluntarily.
Where he went from there was a mystery. They went back to clean up the bush and took the bike too. Their minds whirling with possibilities, they talked about the different options.
Savio was waiting for them anxiously when they entered. His face fell at the bike and the grim faces. They told him they just didn't know where he'd gone next. Savio didn't know of anyone who was coming to pick up Hans.
"His parents, maybe?" Kowalski suggested.
Skipper shrugged. "The best we can do is hope he shows up and has a good explanation. Maybe file a missing persons report?"
"N-no." Savio said. "He said I should never do that."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, but he seemed serious."
Savio shakily went to his room. The Penguins trudged up to theirs.
They collapsed onto the couch and chairs. The question of where Hans was and the worry about Skipper's spacing out were unsaid. Rico and Kowalski went down to get food and brought it up. They ate in silence, then sat around for a few more hours.
Private was the first to go to bed, saying he wanted to sort everything in the morning. Kowalski followed suit as a well rested mind was a clearly thinking mind. Rico went to bed a while later, yawning.
Skipper stayed awake and out on the couch where he'd been earlier. He sighed. What was with his frequent disconnect today? Was it really because of what happened earlier? Was it Hans? Was he losing his touch?
Skipper shook his head. It couldn't be. There was no way he was just becoming washed up now. His phone buzzed with an incoming image from an unknown number. He looked at it and almost yelped.
Hans was unconscious, tied up, and on a linoleum surface, bloody and beaten. The text that accompanied it said: The old Wilson place. Come alone.
Skipper felt an old fear for a moment. When he was younger, he heard tale of the old Wilson place. According to Chris, his eldest brother, an entire family and a neighbor were murdered by their patriarch. The victims were: Wilson's elderly father, Wilson's wife, their five kids with the oldest at eighteen and youngest being twins under one year, the eldest kid's newborn daughter, his sister in law and her two kids who had been visiting, and a neighbor who was concerned by the screaming.
The man had given no explanation for his motives. They thought perhaps he'd been upset at his eldest's teen pregnancy, but neighbors all reported that he accepted his daughter and was preparing for his role as a grandfather. The distraught boyfriend of the eldest had confirmed this.
They say the house was haunted and no one's lived in it since. It wasn't even for sale, just sitting locked up on the corner of the street. He was older now. He steeled himself. It wasn't haunted and the guy probably just didn't want to explain that he just felt like murder.
Skipper gathered his things, attempting to stay as quiet as possible and left. He was going to look for Hans alone.
I need to face him alone, Rocky. Don't try to stop me.
I bet real penguins don't swim alone.
Skipper stopped at the top of the stairwell. Private's voice hadn't been in his flashbacks today, but this one was. Was this a mistake? Should he turn back and have his team come? What if Hans was tortured or killed because Skipper brought the others? It posed too much of a risk to the team and to Hans.
"I'm sorry."
A/N: Not exactly sure what I want to do with Savio just yet so for now, he's a concerned roommate.
