Chapter 13

Scrooge McDuck stared at the computer screen as he watched the little red blip that was Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera as he left the perimeter of the Duckburg Mental Institution. He wasn't on edge. He wasn't concerned. He knew that Crackshell-Cabrera wouldn't find anything there. He was barking up the wrong tree.

"Mr. McDuck, I've just heard an alert being sent out on the police radios," Gyro said from the computer.

It was amazing to Scrooge that one device could be computer, TV, and phone all in one. And what was even worse was that the same applications could be duplicated for a smaller version, one that people could wear around their wrist, no bigger than a watch. What was the world coming to?

"Apparently a patient of the mental hospital had escaped," Gyro informed his employer, sounding concerned. "Perhaps I should make an anonymous call about the intern. The patient could be with him."

"No, it's not him," Scrooge said.

"What?" Gyro asked, what Scrooge said not adding up.

"The escaped prisoner. It's not who you think it is," Scrooge said. "It's not Fethry."

"You can't know that," Gryo said. "You may have all the confidence in the security within the hospital, but do not underestimate a man of science. My intern may be a little…green and really annoying at times, but he graduated at the top of his class."

"Be that as it may, I am not wrong," Scrooge said. "It's not Fethry."

"How do you know?"

"Because Fethry was never there to begin with," Scrooge said. "The hospital may have his records and have assigned him a room, but that is all a ruse."

"What?" Gyro's voice was incredulous. "Then—then where is he?"

"Fethry isn't your concern," Scrooge said. "Your job is to make sure that reckless young man doesn't pry where he isn't wanted and keep him away from any more mermaids. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes sir," Gyro said, uncertain. "I'll do my best."

"Be sure that you do," Scrooge growled. "Because I worked far too hard to keep Duckburg safe to let another ninny tear it all down. If you can't control that intern of yours then I'll have to take care of him just as I did with Fethry."

Gyro was strangely silent before saying softly, "I'll let you know if anything else is out of the ordinary."

Scrooge heard the phone call on the computer end, and he gave a sigh. He was so tired. So, so very tired. It had been so long since he had a good, proper rest. In all reality, he should be resting much more peacefully than he had been, especially at his age.

Scrooge McDuck shut the computer down before creaking out of his chair, careful of his aching limbs and popping joints, groaning and moaning as blood rushed back into parts of him that weren't getting enough in a seated position. If he had been a little bit quieter or quicker, he might have caught the small spy that had been listening at the door.

Fenton arrived home late once more, and lucky for him, his mother was also working late and he didn't have to explain why a police officer dropped him off. He was even luckier that his mother hadn't been called in to search for the escaped mental patient, Pepper, that night as well. All around, he felt really lucky between meeting the mermaid and not having his mother find out that he broke his promise to her.

Knowing that things might be a little tender between him and his mom, especially after the fight they had, Fenton wasn't sure what he should do. Normally with the time he had to himself, he would clean up the house. While his mom was a great cook, she wasn't that much of a cleaner and often left that to him. But he worried that if he cleaned the house as normal, she would find that suspicions. After some debate, he decided to scrub down the bathroom but leave the kitchen in the ruins it was, which wasn't saying much.

He was contemplating vacuuming and doing a load of laundry when he heard a knock at the door. He answered, expecting a neighbor with a problem with how late it was, but was surprised to see Huey Duck on his doorstep.

"Huey? What are you doing here?" Fenton asked, looking beyond his walkway to the street for an idling car. There were a few parked cars but none that looked to have Della or Donald sitting behind the wheel and waiting for Huey.

"Fenton, I have to warn you," Huey said, his voice high and fast. "It's an emergency. You have to be careful before you end up like Fethry."

"Fethry? But what—Where's your mom, Huey?" Fenton asked. He was used to the boy showing up at the lab without parental supervision, but there was something wrong about Huey knocking at his door at night all alone. He should send Huey on his way, but the boy seemed agitated.

"No, you don't understand," Huey said. "They're watching you. And if you don't stop doing what you're doing, they're going to send you away like Fethry."

Fenton couldn't ignore that kind of warning. With a worried glance down the street, he opened his door wider and invited Huey inside. Before he closed the door, he looked up and down the street; Huey's talking of someone watching him made him paranoid.

Huey didn't need an invitation. He sat on the couch, gazing around the room like any curious boy. His eyes continued to wander as he talked. "I overheard Uncle Scrooge talking to Gyro. They've been tracking you since you left the lab this afternoon."

"What? But…How? I've never even met Mr. McDuck," Fenton said.

"Gyro," Huey answered.

And suddenly Fenton's world turned upside down. He had only kept his suspicions from Gyro just because he didn't want his boss to think he was crazy, but there was no way he thought that Gyro knew anything about the mermaids.

And Fenton figured the rest out on his own now that Gyro was in on everything. He had left all his personal belongings in the lab while he took the submersible. They could have put one or more bugs or trackers on his phone, his bag, or Gyro could have even put one on his clothes. Or even easier, Gyro probably hacked his phone. As to any questions as to why, he had been forewarned before: by Donald. He had entered the sights of the most powerful man in Duckburg. And Fenton doubted that any moral issues about invading Fenton's privacy didn't apply to Scrooge McDuck. He did as he pleased.

"So, he knows I tried to visit Fethry," Fenton said.

Huey's eyebrows had a permanent worried look since arriving at Fenton's doorstep, and this only deepened. "Is it true that Fethry isn't at the hospital?" He looked hopeful.

"He's not there," Fenton confirmed.

"Then…then Uncle Scrooge lied to me," Huey said, and suddenly he was looking away and rubbing his eyes.

Fenton didn't know what to say. When he went seeking the mermaid, he hadn't expected to uncover all of these dark secrets of the McDuck family. And he definitely didn't want to hurt a little kid.

"I'm sorry about bringing you into this. I just wanted some answers to a mystery, and things just got out of hand," Fenton said. "I didn't think I would get you involved. Thank you for warning me that your uncle is tracking me, but I think you should go home. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"But it's not just that," Huey said. "Uncle Scrooge said that if you don't stop what you're doing, he's going to take care of you the same way he did to Fethry." He hiccupped.

A chill ran down Fenton's spine and he felt as if his body's temperature lowered several degrees. He had no doubt that that wasn't a bluff.

"Does that mean that Fethry's dead?" Huey looked horrified. His world had been changed in a single moment, and his thoughts went to the worst case scenario.

Fenton tried to be delicate. After all, accusing Scrooge McDuck of murder could have other consequences other than breaking the bond he had with Huey. "I don't think so. I have a…friend who is looking for Fethry. I don't think he's dead."

I hope I'm right, Fenton thought.

"Your friend? Is it the mermaid?" Huey asked.

"What? Who said anything about mermaids? That's ridiculous. Mermaids aren't real. Why are we talking about this?" Fenton spouted out a series of sentences like vomit, covering up anything to do with the mermaid. To emphasize his point, he blew out air in a carefree way and waved off the concept as if it were nothing.

"I know about the mermaids," Huey said. "I've been told about them all my life."

"Yeah, we all grew up with stories about mermaids," Fenton said, still pretending. "That's a Duckburg thing."

"No, not just the fairy tales and bedtime stories," Huey said. "And not the mermaids from Uncle Scrooge's stories. Fethry had seen them, too. He communicated with them. He wrote stuff about them in his journals, recorded things he learned from them, and he was even looking for ways to go visit them in their underwater cities."

Fenton knew that the right thing to do was to pretend that Huey was lying or making a joke. Huey shouldn't be involved in all of this. But it seemed that the child knew a lot more than Fenton had guessed. Should he confide in Huey? Did Huey know something that would help Fenton? Or more importantly, could Huey find out what happened to Fethry and if he was still alive, to find the missing duck's location?

No, neither option sounded right. He didn't think leaving Huey in the dark would be helpful; the young duck already knew enough that he would know that Fenton was lying. And he couldn't use Huey to go spy on his family.

"Okay, yes, I met a mermaid. And she's looking for Fethry. And…and things have just gotten so out of control and I don't know what I'm doing," Fenton rattled on. "But I know that she's not the villain that your family has her out to be. And…and something is going to happen to Duckburg…I think. She can't talk but from what I've learned about the city's history, it's going to be bad."

Fenton realized just how much he unloaded on the pre-teen and grimaced. But when he looked into Huey's eyes, he saw a reflection of his own emotions. Confusion. Worry. But mostly the desire to do what's right.

"It sounds like you have a lot to tell me," Huey said, making himself comfortable on the Crackshell-Cabrera couch.

Fenton had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "No, I can't get you involved. Your uncle has targeted me. I can't let someone else get hurt because of me."

"Uncle Scrooge won't hurt me," Huey insisted.

"He did something to your cousin Fethry. I'm not sure of anything right now," Fenton said.

Huey's beak pressed together. "Then I won't go back. If you think my life is in danger, then I'll stay with you."

"You can't stay here. Your family's going to call the police when you don't come home, and my mom's a cop," Fenton said, feeling as if things were spiraling out of control.

"Then you better start talking, because if you don't spill, I'm staying here," Huey said, holding onto the armrest as if preparing for Fenton to yank him out of the house, kicking and screaming.

Fenton ran his hands through his hair over and over again until he was worried he might pull it all out by the roots. And he finally decided to give into Huey's request. He sat down and told everything from that late night in the lab when he saw the mermaid for the first time down to finding Fethry's room in the mental institution completely empty. He left a few details out, mostly how he felt about the mermaid and her appearance, and the meeting spot location. He didn't doubt Huey's sincerity, but he couldn't risk anything happening to the mermaid. The guilt of bringing a child into this mess lingered inside him and wouldn't dissipate.

Huey remained silent, his eyes locked on Fenton, and despite not moving, he was working out the details, memorizing and connecting the dots.

When Fenton finished his story, he was tempted to wave Huey away back home so that he could rest and plan his next strategy, but then he realized that he had a fountain of knowledge. Huey hadn't been surprised at the thought of mermaids. And Fenton had already guessed that the McDuck family had had prior knowledge of mermaids for several generations, perhaps even concrete proof that they existed, so Huey must know something that he didn't.

But he had just said he didn't want Huey involved. If he started asking the child about his family, that would certainly get him involved.

In the end, Fenton said, "It's time for you to go home. I'll call you a cab." He would have to use what little cash he had left to get Huey home, but he couldn't let the kid walk home in the dark.

"So, what are you going to do next?" Huey asked.

"I don't know," Fenton said, telling a half truth. He had several ideas, but none of them sounded like good ideas.

"I think you should go to the orphanage," Huey said. "Obviously, that was an important location for Fethry, both as a child and as an adult. Did you know that the beach near the orphanage was where he was found?"

"I didn't know that," Fenton said, not replying to Huey's suggestion.

"It must be important," Huey said. "Maybe that's where he hid his journals."

Fenton had also left that detail out of his story. He knew that the mermaid had Fethry's journals, and he didn't need Huey zeroing on that detail and be even more determined to follow Fenton around.

"Actually, I thought I would look around the lighthouse some more," Fenton lied, giving Huey a false trail. "I found some interesting old boxes the other day, and I thought Fethry might have left some things in there. Not to mention, I still have to go to work."

"You're going back there?" Huey asked. "But Gyro works for my uncle. He's—"

"Still my boss," Fenton interrupted. "And I don't want to lose my job. That's if I still have a job after the whole submarine incident. But I have to go. Besides, I doubt there's anything at the orphanage. He didn't live there very long, so why would he have left anything there?"

He hoped he was persuasive, because he intended to do just what Huey had suggested. He just didn't want Huey to follow him or report back to Mr. McDuck about his whereabouts. And mostly, he wanted Huey out of this and out of danger.

"Oh," Huey said, looking disappointed. "I guess I'll go then."

"Hold on. Let me call you a cab," Fenton said, grabbing his phone.

But it was too late, Huey was already out of the door and running away. He hadn't even bothered to close the door behind him. Fenton ran out to persuade him to come back, but the kid was already gone. Somehow, he had either ran fast enough to be out of sight or he was hiding, otherwise Fenton would have caught sight of his bright red shirt.

With a sigh, Fenton went back inside, his stomach churning as he went through all his worries. It helped him to list them.

1. The mermaid—Not only was he worried that he had hurt her feelings after their last encounter, but now he had to worry about her safety. If Scrooge McDuck had a tracer on him, there was absolutely no way he could meet up with her the next day at sunset.

2. Huey—No matter what he did or how he saw the situation, Huey Duck was involved in this. He may have chased the kid away, but he knew how intelligent and tenacious Huey could be. If he thought that would be the last he saw of Mr. McDuck's nephew, then he was a fool.

3. Fethry Duck—If he wasn't in the mental institution, then where was Fethry? Logically, if his family had him committed legally, then why the ruse? It only meant that Fethry was being held against his will somewhere else because he wasn't crazy, or the guy was dead.

4. His mother—He had already broken his promise to his mother once, and he had plans on continuing. And worse, she was a cop, so she had the instincts to sniff out lies and conspiracies, so he would have to avoid her as much as possible while making it look like he wasn't avoiding her. For the first time, he wished that he was actually paying rent somewhere instead of reaping the benefits of being a stereotypical Millennial that lived at home.

5. Duckburg—The mermaid had warned him that something was going to happen to Duckburg. What was going to happen? How would it happen? And when? If it wasn't the mermaid that was causing all these disasters, then who or what? Because it was now obvious that all the disasters were connected and weren't natural.

6. Himself—Yes, he had to worry about himself now. He didn't care so much about his job but Mr. McDuck now had him on radar, and it made him nervous to have the attention of the richest duck in the city. He had heard of stories of what happened to those who had crossed a McDuck. History was riddled with them. The Beagle Boys. Glomgold. Mark Beaks. The bank. A few presidents. That one guy from the 1920s who tried to set up a speakeasy but was never found again. Yep, there were just too many people who regretted meeting a McDuck for Fenton to take this lightly.

He had wasted enough time that night, and if he was going to get a good night's sleep, he had a lot of work to do. First thing's first, he took his phone into the bathroom and dropped it in the toilet.

Technically for him to ruin the GPS and whatever bugs were planted on it, any water would have worked, but he wanted it to be authentic.

Leaving the device in the ceramic bowl, he went to his room and pulled out the bins and bins of old electronics, sifting through the parts for everything he needed. He was certain he couldn't sleep unless he found every single bug on him.