[i do not & never will own fireman sam. My OCS are to me and me alone]

CHAPTER 8: The Thugs in Pontypandy

The thugs parked their motor home in Pontypandy, RIGHT BEHIND Dilys' shop.

"Wow." said Barge, as the thugs exited the motor home, "so this is where you were from, Norman Price."

"Yes." Norman said. "Now, I'm gonna give you the tour. It was worth the wait for this chapter."

"Yeah." Gruffston said. "Now, before we go on with your tour, I'd like to present you with a gift, Norman."

"A gift?" Norman said.

"Yup." Gruffston said. He presented Norman with a waistcoat that looked like Spanner's, but without the dust and raggedness, and the spanners on the chain, and it was Norman's size.

"Wow!" Norman said, amazed. "Thank you, Gruffston!" he said, taking off his coat and putting the waistcoat on. It felt different, but surprisingly comfortable. And it felt so nice. 'Mandy and the other kids would be so jealous.' Norman thought, moving around to get the feel of the coat.

"Think nothing of it." Gruffston said. "We figured it'd be a nice addition, now that you're part of us."

"Well, thanks, all of you." Norman said.

"So, now that we've cleared that up," Spanner said. "Is there anything we'd like to see on the Pontypandy Tour, Norman?"

"Sure is!" Norman said. "I know all of the best places in Pontypandy. Follow me and I'll show you the sights."

"Uh, we don't have any money." Barge said.

They walked round the corner to Dilys' shop.

"First on the tour," he said, "Mam's shop, the Cut Price Store."

"It looks so amazing; innit." Jackson said, staring at the shop products in the window.

"Sure is." Gruffston said, writing something on a notepad.

Then, Norman took them to the quay, where the Wholefish Café was. "Here," he said, "is the Wholefish Cafe. Sarah & James' mam works there. It does the best food in Pontypandy."

"And over there," he said, pointing to the boathouse, "is the boathouse that houses Neptune, the rescue boat Fireman Sam sometimes uses for ocean rescues."

"A Rescue boat?" Spanner said, incredulous. "I'd love to try driving that!"

"I'm sure you do." Norman said.

Next, they went to the hill which overlooked the Floods' house.

"And over there," he added, "is where my friend Mandy Flood lives with her family."

"Yeah, um, quick question," Gruffston said, "Normie, where is everyone? I thought you said this town was full of people who wanted to meet us."

"Oh, er," Norman said, anxiously, "I guess they must have gone out for a bit. Maybe out for a nice summer's drive, or something."

"Why'd they do that?" Barge asked Norman.

"I guess the plot called for it." Norman said. "Now, how about we go to the final stop on the Pontypandy Tour - the Fire Station?"

"Brill idea, Normie." said Gruffston.

Norman led the thugs all the way to the fire station.

"And this is the Pontypandy Fire station." Norman said to his new friends. "That's where Fireman Sam, Pontypandy's firefighter, works. He's good at putting out fires. a few days ago, Chief Fire Officer Boyce gave him a medal for a daring rescue at the lighthouse last month."

"Really?" Spanner said. "I read about it in the news."

"Well, if you could ask Fireman Sam," Norman began, "I'm sure he'd be very happy to tell you-"

"NORMAN PRICE!" shouted a sudden abrupt voice.

"Uh-oh." Norman said to himself. he turned round, and there was Station Officer Steele, glaring at him. "Norman Price, how could you have ran away from home and worried us like this?! We've been out looking for you all day yesterday, and-"

"Well," said Gruffston suddenly, seeing Steele, "if it ain't Norris Steele!"

Steele turned to see Gruffston, and the other thugs, all grinning at him.

"Bertrand Gruffston?!" said a gobsmacked Station Officer Steele. "Is that really you?!"

"Your name's Bertrand?!" said Norman, just as gobsmacked and surprised as Station Officer Steele was.

"Yes, yes it is." Gruffston said.

"Who are these guys?" Steele asked Norman.

"Oh, these are my new friends," Norman said. He introduced the thugs to him. "This is Spanner, Barge, and Jackson, the crew of the leader that's called Bertrand Gruffston." he said. Then, Norman said to Steele, "Gruffston told me he used to live in Pontypandy long ago, long before I was even born."

"Exactly." Gruffston said. He turned to Steele, and said, "Long time no see, old friend."

"Wait." Norman said, "You two know each other?!"

"Afraid so, Norman Price." Steele said sadly. "You see," he explained, "He was my rival at school."

"What?" said a confused Norman. "You used to go to college, Steele?"

Steele nodded. "Many years ago," he said to Norman, "long before I became the Station Officer of Pontypandy Fire Station, and of course, like you said, Norman, long before you were even born, I was the best student at Newtown Secondary School, but, I also developed a rivalry with Bertrand Gruffston. He was a bully, who liked to pick on the other kids. One day, on the last day of school term, the year before I was due to leave, He planned a prank on the leavers assembly, by setting off the fire alarm with the janitor's keychain, and framing me for the crime!"

"He planned to do that?!" Norman said, stunned. "Even I never saw all of this coming, and I've read the script!" said Norman to the viewers.

"Yes." Gruffston said crossly. "And I woulda gotten away with it, if 'Nosey Norris' hadn't seen my fingerprints! He informed the head teacher, and she caught me, and I was expelled on the spot, and barred from returning there again! And ever since that day, even when I moved out of Pontypandy to Newtown, I swore vengance on Norris for his actions, and vowed I'd get back at him one day."

"And," he added, turning to Norman, "thanks to you, Norman Price, that day has come!"

"WHAT?! But, but you never told me that!" Norman said, quite shocked that Gruffston had kept this secret from him.

"Why did the boss say his meeting at Newtown Beach was 'adults only'?" said Jackson.

Norman's jaw dropped.

"What the boss means, Normie," Spanner said, "if you hadn't ran away from home, you never woulda met us, and we never woulda gotten a good recruit for our breakfast heist!"

"Breakfast heist?" said a confused Steele. Norman looked uneasily at him. That was something he was gonna have to explain.

"Well, Norman," said Gruffston, "I'd like to thank you for bringing us to Pontypandy." He turned to his fellow thugs and said, "Now c'mon, boys - it's raid time!"

"What about me?" Norman said, "I'm part of your gang now, am i?"

"Not anymore." Barge said. "You were just a pawn in our master plan. We don't need you now!"

And as if to prove it, he barged Norman hard with his belly, knocking him to the ground.

Norman could only watch as the thugs raced away to start the raid, and Gruffston grabbed Steele by his uniform. "Where d'you think you're going?" he said. "You're coming with me!"

Norman felt terrible for what he had done - he'd let a bunch of total strangers into Pontypandy, and now, they were gonna mess it up! All because he'd ran away from home. There was only one thing for it.

"I need Fireman Sam! NOW!" Norman yelled.

He bolted into Steele's office, and found the radio.

In the Mountain Rescue Centre, Tom Thomas was just refuelling his helicopter when he got the radio message.

"TOM!" Norman's voice sounded through the radio. "Call Fireman Sam! Some thugs are in Pontypandy, and they're gonna start a raid!"

"Flamin' wallabies!" Tom exclaimed. "Stay where you are, Norman! I'll send the message and I'll be on my way soon!" He changed transmission to Jupiter's built-in radio. "Sam, we've got some thugs leading a raid on Pontypandy." he said.

"Thugs?!" Fireman Sam's voice sounded through the radio. "Great Fires of London! This is something we've never been to deal with before! We're on our way!"

Indeed they were.

Fireman Sam, Elvis and Penny in Jupiter, Trevor's Bus with Charlie, Bronwyn, Derek, Sarah, and James, and Mike Flood and Mandy Flood in Mike's van, followed by Helen Flood in her ambulance, led by Officer Luke with Dilys riding with him in his police car, ALL headed back to Pontypandy. They were all very worried about Norman.

But nobody was more worried than Dilys.

"Don't worry, my little treasure," she said, "Mummy's coming."

A/N:

Will the people of Pontypandy stop the thugs and save Norman, and their home?

Will the thugs wreck Pontypandy to rubble?

Will Norman admit his mistake of running away to everyone?!

Did the chicken come before the egg?

For the answers to these questions, and some that shouldn't be answered, and some you haven't even thought of yet, stay tuned to the final chapter of this fanfic!

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