As they entered Doctor Quantum's creepy warehouse laboratory, Philbert stuck close to Louie. As they passed by shelves stacked with dozens of chemicals and bubbly vials, Phi continued to have flashbacks of seeing Dad outside Louie's RV. Did he do the right thing? What if Louie didn't have things under control?
He stared at the back of the green hat above him as it bobbed with each step. Maybe I should have told him what I left in the RV. It could mess up his plan.
"I thought I told you not to come." Quantum came around the corner, his fingers twisting together and his eyes darting around. He gave both Louie and Phil a once over before turning back to Gus. His voice dropped to a whisper but Phil could still make out his words. "Unless you were alone… with the formula. What are they doing here?"
Gus grabbed Quantum by the shoulder and ushered him into a room that was full of laboratory equipment. It looked like Phil's homeschool chemistry set multiplied by a hundred. Gus pushed him into a chair. "You want proof that the formula is the real thing? Sit and watch."
Louie dropped the violin case in Philbert's hands and pulled out the instrument, giving Gus a single nod. Gus dropped a pot with a single flower in it by the window and slipped the green bubbly vial out of his pocket.
Philbert watched with bated breath as the giant goose popped the cork off the bottle and ever so delicately dripped a smidgen of the serum in the soil. In seconds, just the dandelion back at the grocery store parking lot, the flower twisted and then shot up. It grew wider, taller and in an eighth of a second, it broke through the window and towards the sun.
Quantum nearly fell out of his chair. "That's it… that's really it, isn't it?" He scrambled to his feet and ran to Gus, grabbing the vial from his hand. Both of his wrists trembled as he lifted it to the light and watched the bubbles trickle to the top.
Philbert turned to Louie. What's some violin going to do? The serum did its fast growing thing without any help. Was he bluffing?
Louie tilted his chin and slid the violin into place. He ran the bow along the strings in one slow cord that drew all eyes in the room to him.
Phil bit down on his lip.
Suddenly, Louie's elbow started to dance through the air as he dragged the bow back and forth across the strings and formed a melody with each note. Music glided through the air and after a minute, the leaves in the flower began to twitch. After a few more notes, the entire stem squirmed and wriggled until the flower bent back through the window and grew across the room to face him.
Philbert swallowed hard. What in the world is happening?! This is just like the movie, Attack of the Alien Plant Monsters!
Louie glided his fingers up the violin's neck, changing pitch. The flower turned and snaked around Quantum's leg before grabbing him and raising his leg up to the ceiling.
Quantum stared at the twisting vines in the flower, slack-jawed. "Astonishing! The formula not only accelerates the growth process but it also accelerates the plant's natural affinity for music. It's attuned to the sound so much so that you can actually guide its growth and movements."
Louie ended the song and set the violin back in its case, winking at Philbert before turning back to Quantum. "Precisely. And this is just a taste of what going into business with Gus and I will look like. We're both here to make a profit and we'll stop at nothing to make sure this enterprise runs smoothly. You can count on that."
Philbert looked up at him. It was clear the whole car ride there that he didn't want a part of Gus' plan, yet, here he was, making a flawless sales pitch. Man, he's good!
Quantum got down from where the plant had pinned his foot to the ceiling with Gus' assistance. "That's all fine and dandy. But I already told Gus, what assurances can you make that the formula doesn't get traced back to Von Drake's lab and we don't get sent to prison?"
Philbert looked up at Louie who just shrugged and leaned back against a countertop with his arms crossed.
"McDuck Enterprises will most likely launch an investigation since they finance Von Drake's work. But they have no proof that Von Drake's Supergrowth Formula didn't just fall through the cracks after the Bushroot incident. They didn't find it in the lab or on Bushroot. At this point, they have no idea where it is. There are only three loose ends that saw me with the formula. I can personally guarantee that none of them will be a problem."
"How can you possibly guarantee that?"
Louie raised a brow. "Because, two of them are my brothers. Neither of them want to see me back in prison and I can convince them to stay quiet. Gosalyn? She can try to accuse me all she wants. There is no physical paper trail to link that formula to Von Drake's lab. Just hearsay." He took a step towards Quantum and leaned in close. "And didn't Gus tell you? I'm the Silver Tongued Serpent. You've heard the name. Trust me when I say that I thrive in the little he-said-she-said game."
"Do you now?" A deep voice rumbled from behind them.
Phil nearly jumped out of his skin. The violin case clattered to the floor and the violin tumbled out, breaking one of its strings and dropping a resounding off-key note into the silence.
A giant cyborg bull stood towering over them with his single horn scraping against the popcorn ceiling. The bull fixed his tie against his broad chest and straightened his suit. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Llewellyn. However, I'm quite positive that we will not be in need of your services from here on out."