[i do not & never will own fireman sam. My OCS are to me and me alone]
CHAPTER 9: Defeating The Thugs
The thugs started having a whale of a time in Pontypandy.
Jackson was robbing Dilys' shop of it's produce - and not even paying for it.
Barge bashed over some trash cans on the quay, spilling rubbish everywhere.
Spanner High-jacked Neptune, and rode it out across the sea.
Norman was at the fire station, feeling very guilty.
"What have I done?" he muttered. "I let some criminals come to Pontypandy, and now they're launching a raid on the town!"
At that moment, he heard the loud sirens of Jupiter.
"That sounds like Fireman Sam!" he exclaimed.
And it was.
Norman could see Jupiter pull up, as well as Trevor's bus, Officer Luke's police car, Mike Flood's van, and finally, Helen Flood's ambulance.
Everyone got out the vehicles.
Dilys was the first to notice Norman. "Norman!" she cried, as she ran over and hugged Norman.
"Oh, my little treasure, you're alright! I was so worried about you!" she said. "Did those nasty thugs hurt you?"
"Well, i did get barged over by Barge." Norman said.
"It doesn't matter." Dilys said. "I'm just glad you're safe."
Fireman Sam headed to Norman, followed by everyone else. Norman was the first to notice him.
"Oh, Fireman Sam! I'm so glad you're back!" said Norman. "Something terrible has happened!"
"I know." said Fireman Sam.
"Some thugs are in Pontypandy, and now they're starting a raid!" Norman said.
"I know." said Fireman Sam.
"It was my fault!" Norman added.
"I know." said Fireman Sam.
"All because I ran away from home!" Norman said.
"I know that, too." Fireman Sam said.
"How do you know all this?" Norman asked.
"Tom Thomas told me what happened." Fireman Sam said. "I never thought we'd have to face thugs before."
"It's not just that." Norman said sadly. "They kidnapped Station Officer Steele as well!"
Everyone's jaws hung.
"What?!" said a shocked Fireman Sam. "He kidnapped Steele?!"
Norman gave a sad nod.
"Tell me this isn't true, Norman Price!" Dilys said sternly.
"It's true, Mam." Norman said sadly. "Bertrand Gruffston, the leader, did it to get his revenge on Steele for expelling him from Newtown Secondary School years ago!"
"How did you know that?" Elvis asked.
"He told me in the last chapter." Norman said.
Dilys became very angry, like she had been in chapter 1 of this story. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! Just wait till I get my hands on those thugs!" she said crossly.
"We'll stop them, Dilys." Penny said. "So," she said to Norman, "Where are the thugs?"
"I think I know." Norman said. "They went all over Pontypandy to start their havoc; Spanner's gone to the boat house on the quay, and I think Barge went with him. And I think Jackson was at Mam's shop."
"Right." Sam said. He turned to the others. "The best way to deal with them is to split up; we'll cover more ground that way." he said. "So, Elvis, you and Dilys head to Dilys' shop to stop Jackson. Charlie, Penny and I will go after Spanner and Barge, and then we can go and find where Bertrand Gruffston is holding Steele. Officer Luke, as soon as the thugs are dealt with, you arrest them. The rest of you; stay here and wait for news."
"Roger that, Sam!" everyone said.
Sam dashed into the fire station to open the doors so Elvis and Dilys could get into Venus. Sam, Penny & Charlie got into Jupiter, and the others watched the rescue vehicles head off.
"Don't worry, Norman." Helen said, comforting him. "Fireman Sam will stop the thugs."
"How did those thugs get into Pontypandy, anyway?" Mike Flood asked.
"That's something I want to know, too." said Officer Luke.
"Well..." Norman said remorsefully, "I was the one who brought them here."
With that, Norman told the citizens of Pontypandy, and Officer Luke, all about running away from home, meeting the thugs, and the heist he'd done with.
Whilst that was going on, Elvis & Dilys arrived at the Cut Price Store. Dilys saw what Jackson was doing, and she was mad, like she had been in chapter 1 of this story.
She burst into the shop, and shouted, "STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU... SCOUNDREL!"
Jackson immediately dropped his goods.
"HOW DARE YOU MESS UP MY SHOP PRODUCE!" Snapped a very ticked off Dilys. "You're gonna pay for this!"
"Oh yeah?" said Jackson. "How are you gonna stop me?"
"With this!" Dilys said. and she whacked Jackson hard with her bag, knocking him out cold.
"That's took care of him." Elvis said. "I wonder how Fireman Sam and Penny have dealt with the other 2 thugs."
At the quay, Sam, Penny & Charlie were dealing with Barge. Sam chased him into the alley behind the Wholefish Café, and with the help of Penny, and Charlie, cut off his escape routes... or so they thought.
But Barge, being short & stocky, was able to barge Charlie to the ground, but he didn't get far till he ran into Jupiter, which was parked outside the café. Penny soon picked him up, and tied him to the lamppost next to the toy shop with one of Jupiter's hoses.
Then, Sam changed into his ocean rescue uniform, and joined his brother on his fishing boat to chase Spanner, who had hijacked Neptune.
It didn't take very long to catch up with him, and as soon as Charlie's boat got near to Spanner, Sam threw Charlie's fishing net on top of Spanner, trapping him.
"Oh, great[!]" Spanner snapped. "Just when it was getting exciting too!"
Charlie and Sam dragged the captured Spanner onto Charlie's boat, and kept him there whilst they took him and Neptune back to Pontypandy, where Elvis and Dilys were waiting. They'd taken the unconscious Jackson with them, so Officer Luke could arrest the thugs as soon as Gruffston as captured.
"Now, where's your leader, you horrible ruffian?" Dilys snapped at Spanner.
"He took Steele to the Floods' house, keeping him hostage there!" Spanner said.
"Good." Sam said. "Officer Luke, Gruffston's in the Floods house. I need your help to stop him." he said via Jupiter's radio.
"On it, Sam." Officer Luke's voice said via his police car radio.
"I'll go ahead." said Sam, and meet Officer Luke at the Floods, after I get Mike - he'll have his key to get into the house."
Sam jumped into Venus, and sped off to the Fire Station to pick up Mike Flood.
It took Sam & Mike no time at all to get to Officer Luke at the Flood's house. When they got in, they found Station Officer Steele, bound & gagged on the sofa, with his mouth duct-taped shut.
"Sir, are you alright?" Fireman Sam asked; helping Steele out of his bounding ropes, and ripping off the tape on his mouth.
"I'm fine Sam." Steele said, gasping for breath.
"Where's Gruffston?" Officer Luke asked him.
"He made his escape." Steele said. "I saw him bolt out when he heard Officer Luke arrive. He's heading off to the forest."
"Well, he won't get far." Sam said. He spoke into his radio, "Tom, bring the double harness - it's time I've got a thug to catch."
"Roger that, Sam." Tom's voice went through the radio.
Tom, riding his helicopter, flew above the Floods' house, and lowered the double harness for Sam. Sam slipped into one of the harness loops, and held on tight as Tom flew off in the direction of the forest.
"I see him, Sam!" Tom said. Sam looked, and there he saw Gruffston making his escape.
"We need to catch him now, Tom!" Sam said. "If he makes it into the forest, we might not be able to find him!"
"OK, Sam." Tom said via his radio.
Gruffston was running towards the forest. "Ha ha!" he laughed. "That pathetic excuse for a fireman will never catch me!"
But Gruffston was wrong. As soon as Fireman Sam got close, he threw the other harness loop around Gruffston, capturing him.
"Got you." Sam said to Gruffston. he made the harness loop tighter, so Gruffston was not able to escape.
"Oh, great." Gruffston sighed.
"You and your thugs have been dealt with, Gruffston." Sam said sternly. "It's over."
Tom flew Sam & Gruffston back to Pontypandy, so Officer Luke could arrest Gruffston and the thugs.
Gruffston & his thugs were quickly arrested for the thefts and damage they caused in Pontypandy.
Officer Luke sent for Deputy Maddie to send a police van over to Pontypandy to take away the thugs, who, as it turned out were also part of the breakfast heist from the cafe in Newtown.
Once the police van arrived, Deputy Maddie, a tall woman with dark blonde hair, and fair skin, and blue eyes, wearing a police deputy uniform, helped Officer Luke take the handcuffed thugs to the van to take them away to Newtown Prison for their crimes.
"You were brilliant, Fireman Sam!" Norman said.
"That's what I'll always be here for, Norman." Fireman Sam said.
"Excuse me," said Gruffston to Officer Luke, "may I have a moment with Norman?"
"5 minutes; no more, no less." Officer Luke said grimly.
The handcuffed Gruffston went up to Norman. "I really did like you, Normie." he said. "Why, with me and my thugs' skills, we coulda had everything we wanted on a silver platter."
"Yes." said Steele. "But now that silver's turned to iron bars, Bertrand Gruffston."
"And I woulda gotten away with my vengeance on Station Officer Steele, if it wasn't for that meddling firefighter!" Gruffston snapped.
"Let that be a lesson to you, Bertrand Gruffston; Crime doesn't pay." Fireman Sam said firmly.
'I second that motion.' Norman thought to himself.
"Don't hate me, Norman." Gruffston said.
"Oh, I don't hate you," Norman said. "It's just that... well... somewhere throughout all of this, I learned the difference between wrong and right." He looked at Gruffston, and said, "You're wrong." and he then looked at Fireman Sam. "He's right."
Gruffston stared at Norman, as Officer Luke put him into the police van, and then the people of Pontypandy watched as the police van drove away, with the motor home towed by a tow truck following behind it.
Norman looked remorsefully at Fireman Sam. "I'm really sorry, Fireman Sam. For everything." he said sadly. "I shouldn't have ran away."
"Exactly right, Norman." Sam said sternly. "Running away from home is very dangerous and a very bad idea. You could've really hurt yourself."
"That's right." Steele said grimly. "Your actions nearly doomed Pontypandy to be vandalized by the thugs. You should consider yourself really lucky that we came back in time to stop them."
"I know." said Norman sadly. "I thought those thugs were my friends. I can't believe they betrayed me like that."
"Thugs are thugs, Norman." Fireman Sam said firmly. "They do nasty things to hurt other people, and they don't care about the consequences of their actions."
"I know." Norman Said sadly. "And believe me, Fireman Sam, I will never ever EVER run away from home again in future!"
"That's good to hear." Fireman Sam said.
"That's right." Dilys said. "You're still my little treasure, and nothing can ever change that."
"But," she added sternly, "our trust is something you're gonna have to EARN back."
Norman knew that was true also.
and throughout the rest of the month, he offered to serve his grounding by making up to everyone in Pontypandy, by clearing up the mess the thugs made.
It was hard, but Norman soon got through it.
And these events soon lead up to the ceremony, as seen in the ending of the 2009 Fireman Sam film 'The Great Fire of Pontypandy'.
A/N:
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