*** The empty bobbins ***

* They tell you and you don't believe it: sometimes there are empty bobbins. What for? No idea, but they are. Like some's skulls. *

.

Skipper was in another meeting with Madeleine, talking about the mission as if nothing had happened between them. Or trying, at least. Anyone would have noticed that between them there was a connection, some tension, something. Both were avoiding the mutual stares, and when their stares crossed there were sparks. Then, at least one of them shaked the head. Skipper sunk his stare in the documents that they had been checking the previous day a long while before had happened... what had happened.

"Eh... Skipper... there's a little detail left."

Skipper raised his eyes from the document saying nothing.

"I have to introduce you to your two teammates."

"What?"

Skipper didn't understand it: he had already teammates. Yes, Private was not available. But Kowalski and Rico could have accompanied him. Why did he have to go alone?

"You will go with two new recruits," Madeleine said as if she had guessed (halfway) what Skipper was thinking. "Have this, take a look at their files. This is Johnson's... and this is Manfredi's."

The first of them included the photo of a penguin who looked a lot like Kowalski, but with a mohawk like Rico. Skipper hoped that, the same as he seemed to be a mixture of both physically, he was pragmatically too.

"What will he contribute to the team?" Skipper asked.

"Johnson can contribute a lot of things. He's an engineer, and you will need one in Denmark."

"I had already one," Skipper reminded her.

"No, you had a scientist. Kowalski knows a lot about machines, but not as much about computer science as Johnson. Johnson qualifies better in this mission."

Well, for once... Skipper could accept it.

"But..." Madeleine continued, "it's not easy to deal with him. He's an unruly, rebel and quite grumpy soldier."

Skipper had the unpleasant feeling that they were making him take the heat with the loose cannon of the class so that he straightened him out.

"I'm not appeased by knowing that," Skipper said. "I suppose it wasn't your idea to choose him, was it?"

Madeleine shook her head.

"Yeah... as always. Well. Let's see the other."

Madeleine gave him Manfredi's file. Judging by the photo, he was a really heavy penguin. He wasn't precisely the golden medal in the Penguin Olympics, that was for sure.

"And what does he have special?" Skipper asked.

"A lot."

"Yeah, sure. Another unique specimen?"

"Well... according to his file, he won't give you any discipline problems. We have chosen him because you will need someone very imaginative and creative."

Skipper frowned. "We're going to a diplomatic and military mission, not to record a videoclip."

"Now you'll meet them and they'll explain it better," Madeleine said, standing up. "Take the two files and follow me."

Madeleine opened the door next to her office. There were the two recruits: the one that Skipper recognized as Manfredi was lying on the floor, trying to raise his legs in the air. Opposite him, Johnson was staring at him with his flippers crossed and a very serious gesture.

"Is this normal?" Skipper asked.

"Yes." Madeleine noticed Skipper's annoyed gesture. "Good morning, gentlemen. I'm bringing here the one who will be your commander in this mission, captain Skipper."

Both stared at Madeleine and Skipper.

"Good morning, princess," Johnson replied getting closer to Madeleine and taking her flipper. "Allo-"

Manfredi had put himself between Johnson and Madeleine.

"Whoa! You are a very weird penguin! You have silver feathers!" Manfredi flapped Johnson so that he let Madeleine's flipper loose and he could observe her closely. "I like that dye a lot. Can I see the roots?"

"Why do you step in, you bumpkin?" Johnson protested.

"Because you are flirting with her," Manfredi answered.

"You would do the same, scatterbrained."

"Well, yes... but not with your dandy tricks. I'm made another way."

Madeleine knew that it was going to happen. With her flipper in her beak, she let out a whistle that left them both half deaf. The same with Skipper.

"And now that we remember that I'm the one in charge here, do us the favor of listening to Skipper."

"To me?" Madeleine had caught him by surprise. "Now, Madeleine... I thought you were going to explain everything."

"But it's your team."

Skipper sighed. "Now, recruits Johnson and Manfred."

"Manfredi," the mentioned corrected.

"Whatever. Manfredi." He had started well. "I suppose you have been told what we are going to do in Denmark."

"Pse, so-so," Manfredi said.

"So-so you have understood it," Johnson blurted out. "Luckily I have understood something. You are so absent-minded, dude."

"Are you always arguing?" Skipper asked.

"Most of times," Johnson answered. "Manfredi always wants to be right... but he's an idiot."

"Well, you know what?" Manfredi told him. "That, if you start to argue with an idiot, you lower yourself to his level. So hey, idiot."

"Don't be mistaken, I don't argue with you. I try to enlighten you. And you need it, you are the penguin darkness." Johnson turned his back on Manfredi.

"Oh yeah, and you think with the darkest thing you have which is your -"

"You two stop!" Skipper yelled. "You are under my command. And under my command you cannot argue about silly things. When someone argues I quarter him, I freeze him and I eat him little by little."

Both stared at Skipper with astonished expressions.

"Now," Skipper went on waddling from side to side in the room with his flippers on his back, "I want to know which abilities you have. You start, Johnson. I've been told that you are an engineer."

"That's right. Engineer, computer technician and mechanic. Well, this is more my passion than anything else," Johnson said with a smile. "I know I'll have to hack systems, possibly to improvise tools... I'm good at those things."

"I like that," Skipper said. "And you, Manfredi?"

"What?"

"What can you do? What are your abilities?"

"To snap my fingers." Manfredi always said the first thing that crossed his head.

"To snap your fingers, you utter idiot?" Johnson told him. "You have flippers, not hands! You are despairing, really. I still don't know why I'm your friend."

"Are you friends?" Skipper asked.

Manfredi smiled. "We are the best friends in all the wholy whole world."

"No, no way." Johnson was staring at him in displeasure. "I saved your life once and I still feel in debt to you because I'm silly. But I'm only silly for this, let's be clear."

"And the truth is...?"

"That they are cousins," Madeleine said.

What a family, Skipper thought. "Now seriously, Manfredi: what are your abilities?"

"Being a clown," Johnson said before him.

"That very thing," Manfredi said triumphant. "I perform imitations, I tell jokes... and I have very imaginative plans."

"Madeleine," Skipper addressed his superior not worrying about Manfredi hearing them, "Manfredi is in this batch because he is Johnson's relative, right?"

"No, no, no, no... I have very imaginative plans, more than the ones you may have," Manfredi said, and he nodded next approving himself.

"Yeah, but... it just so happens that I'm the leader and the plans must be thought by myself."

"Then, accept my suggestions. You won't regret it." Manfredi winked at him.

"I'll leave you with them," Madeleine said giving Skipper a cell phone. "For anything, use this. The numbers are already recorded." She looked at Manfredi and Johnson out of the corner of her eye. "I think you'll need it."

She patted Skipper's back and left the room.

Right after the door closed, both recruits started to laugh.

"Mister Skipper," Manfredi said. "That beauty has patted your butt. Is there anything that you haven't told us? Because she, in any case, would pat my face. And strongly."

"Everybody would do it. Even cripples would kick you so that you shut up," Johnson replied.

Skipper stared at them wanting to kill them. "No. There's nothing I haven't told you. And watch what you say, what you are suggesting is very serious."

Manfredi nudged Johnson. "That means yes, dude," he told him.

"I know," Johnson replied. "The two lovebirds."

Skipper killed them with his stare. They riled anybody up! He had always thought that he had a lot of patience, but he had been for five minutes with them and he couldn't take it anymore. And he had to take them to a mission? He would have to arm himself with patience, to study the plan in real depth and to be careful with what he said and what he didn't say. He went to the desk and opened a folder with some papers. He spread them on the desk and made them a gesture to get near.

"Gentlemen, let's revise the plan."

"What?" Manfredi asked.

"Come, look, listen and shut up," Skipper replied before sighing.

.

It had been two days in which the three penguins had revised the plan thoroughly.

"We'll leave tonight towards Denmark, okay?" Skipper started to say. "And -"

"What if I don't want to go to Denmark?" Manfredi asked. "It's so cold there, why don't we better go to -"

Johnson slapped him. "We go to Denmark, period. Go on, Skipper. My cousin is an idiot, and the more you know him the more idiot he'll look for you."

"To know me is to love me," Manfredi said.

"Yeah, whatever you say," Johnson replied to him with a glacial stare.

"As I was saying, we have some hours and we must memorize the plan because we can't take these documents with us. Our mission would be compromised if someone saw them." Skipper looked at the two recruits: Johnson seemed to be following him, he gave up on Manfredi. "We must get all the possible intel about a possible self-government referendum in Greenland in order to prepare a contingency plan in case Greenland become more self-governing or totally independent."

"And what's the reason why we are going?" Johnson asked. "This is a human issue."

"I asked the same the other day," Skipper answered. "If Greenland was independent, its natural resources and fauna would be unprotected and available to any country."

"Understood," Johnson said. "Then what we have to do is to infiltrate in two ministries."

"Ministry of Open-Faced Sandwiches?" Manfredi interpreted when he looked at the drawings in the report.

"They are coded names," Skipper explained. "This is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Open-faced because they refer to outside."

"Then, the Ministry of Healthy Diet and Proximity?" Johnson asked.

"Ministry of the Interior and Health," Skipper answered.

"And are these names okay? I mean: I've heard that there were elections not long ago," Johnson said.

"Yes, these ministries were presented the other day."

"It's a pity that we can't take these maps with us," Manfredi intervened.

"No, we must memorize them too," Skipper said.

"I just said it because they're quite cool, honestly."

Johnson stared at Manfredi very seriously. "Really?"

"You can't complain... At least I see the positive side of everything. You don't, you're always complaining. Sourpuss."

Johnson grabbed Manfredi by the neck.

"Call me sourpuss again and I'll send you to auntie's house stewed with vegetables."

"Not with vegetables, please."

"Stop, you two!" Skipper shouted. "Memorize the documents in silence."

"Can we eat them?" Manfredi asked. "That is done in movies."

"Stop, I've said. Eat them, let's see if you suffer an indigestion and stay on the ground."

Johnson bursted out laughing. When seeing Skipper's serious demeanor, he made a peace gesture and looked at the documents again. They didn't raise their heads again until well into the night; the three took their baggage and got into an aircraft going to Copenhagen. They were so tired that they fell asleep right after taking off.