Louie's nostrils twitched at the distinct scent of 14-carat gold. He rustled in the blankets and pried his eyes open, yawning.
A big gold chain swung in front of his cloudy vision. His eyes shot wide open. Gold? He rubbed his eyes. I better not be dreaming.
But when he tried to grab it, it flew out of his reach.
"Finally! It's like trying to wake a grizzly bear from hibernation."
Louie groaned and threw the blanket over his head. I know that voice. He used to hear it all day long, to the point where it haunted his dreams.
"Come on. Get up."
Louie got the blankets yanked off of him. He sat up, his body aching from all the caffeine he had had the night before. He glared at the big, broad goose before him with slippery hair and an even slimier smile.
"Llewellyn."
"Gus." Louie yanked his hood over his head and walked past him, trying to scan the RV without looking like a scared kid. Where's Huey and Dewey?
"So, where is it, Greenie?" Gus stepped in front of him.
Louie glanced at his watch before glaring up at him past the top of his hood. "I still have an hour."
"You're telling me you can get what I want in just an hour? Pfft! Be real." Gus plopped himself into the booth and smiled at him with his hand pressed into the table.
"Don't patronize me. I'm the Silver-tongued Serpent, remember?" Louie grabbed a Pep out of the fridge. It popped open with a fizzz.
"Oh, that's right. I must have forgotten when you tried to drop out of our deal."
Being a genius again, I see. Louie raised his eyebrow as he swallowed a sip. "Drop out? What are you nuts? I never said I was dropping out."
"Well, you stopped returning my calls… and then right when I say I'm coming to collect my share, you flee the state. Sounds like you chickened out to me." Gus narrowed his fiery eyes. He clenched his fist on the table. "And you know how I hate chickens."
"Come on… that was a total coincidence. My brothers wanted to go on a road trip before college. You really didn't think this through, did you, Gussy?" Louie paced around the RV, peeking through the curtain for either of his brothers. Nothing. Where are they? He better not have gone near them.
"Don't play with me, Serpent. I've had eyes on you for the last month and you know what I've seen? Nothing. You're not what you claimed to be. You're not some grand con artist. You're a lazy layabout that mooches off his parents." Gus smashed his hand into the table. "Otherwise, you'd have the money by now."
Louie rolled his eyes and leaned back against the kitchen counter. "Haven't you ever heard of the long game, roomie? There's an art to it. What, you think Uncle Scrooge was going to let me anywhere near his money bin after I got out of juvie? Forget it!" He pushed himself off the counter and took another sip of soda.
Gus's face grew tomato red. "That was our deal! I gave you the protection of my gang in return for a share from your uncle's gold-lined pockets. You've had two years. Now I'm out and I want my money. You said you could scheme the richest duck in the world out of some cash, now where is it?"
"Calm down, Gus. I told you I have to play the long game with him." Louie shrugged, rolling his eyes. "He's taking me to the mansion for the rest of the year and making me his intern or something dumb like that. I promise, you'll get a share of my next score. Just give me more time."
Gus growled and leaned closer. "More time? I made you my right hand man… I gave you protection from the Quacker Gang. You had control no newbie to juvie ever gets because of my generosity and that silver tongue of yours!" He grabbed Louie by the strings of his hoodie and pulled him face-to-face. "And now I'm thinking of cutting that troublesome little thing out of your mouth."
Louie cringed and tried to pull back but it only made his hoodie close in around his beak.
"What do you say? Should we see if that tongue of yours is really made of silver, oh great Serpent?"
Nope! I kinda need that. Louie grabbed the strings and yanked them out of Gus's hand. He stumbled back and wrestled his hood off, fixing his hat. "What'd you do with my brothers, Gus?"
Gus smirked and fell back into the booth and tapped his fingers against the table. "I'm tired of waiting. Where's my money?"
Heat bubbled up in Louie's stomach. He clenched his fists and narrowed his gaze at the big lug. "Oh, I'll get your money. But my brothers aren't a part of this. If you laid even a finger on them? You're done. Now, where are they?"
Gus scoffed and pulled open the blinds behind him.
There they were, in some elaborate swimming pool, having the time of their lives. Louie let out a breath. The tightness in his stomach relaxed. They're alright… Dewey must have gotten us to Uncle G's this morning.
Gus stood up and went for the door. "If you don't have the money in an hour, those two are dead." He leaned over to look him straight in the eye as he dragged his finger across his neck. "Playing gang was all fun and games in juvie compared to the outside world, Llewellyn. You were toast the moment you stepped off the compound." With that, he left Louie alone in the RV.
Louie stared out the window at his brothers in the pool, the war in his mind commencing in the silence. What have you done, Louie? You've gotten yourself into a bigger pickle than ever before. Gus is right, prison was nothing compared to this. What was I thinking?!
That's the thing, doofus! You weren't thinking! It's just like Mom said… your schemes only hurt the ones you love.
Louie squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He dropped to the floor and scrambled to the back, searching through the baggage. He pulled out his violin. With shaking fingers, he began to play.
But that's all I'm good at! I'm nothing without the con and the con is nothing without me.
Then you made your choice. You're the con artist. The criminal. The fraud. You said it yourself, you can't change. You're going to that internship in Duckburg only to pull Uncle Scrooge into one of your cockamamie schemes.
He hugged the violin to his chin and tried to focus on the notes coming from the strings through his storm cloud of thoughts.
He wants to trust you… they all want to trust you. Why trade that for gold?
He played harder and harder until his fingers hurt.
Because even though they want to trust me. None of them do. Huey doesn't even trust me. He knows me too well for that. I'll never be good at anything else. I've tried. I'm not good. I'm not.
I'm the evil triplet.
His bow clattered to the floor. He lowered his violin and stared up at the ceiling.
But that doesn't mean they have to pay for it. I have to get that money.