"Sometimes protecting the people you love most means keeping the hardest of secrets."

Granny was right. The life of a spy makes for some tough choices.Webby swallowed hard, looking up into Dewey's eyes that were glazed with mistrust. She rubbed her elbow. "I didn't want to ruin things with you and your dad."

Dewey's hands dropped to his sides and his mouth fell slack. "You mean to tell me… this whole time… you were spying on my dad?"

Webby clenched her hands into fists and raised her chin. "Just… hear me out, please. We have reason to believe that F.O.W.L. has been rebuilt. There's evidence that things have been going on behind the scenes for the last seven years. This is huge."

"We as in S.H.U.S.H.?"

She nodded, her throat tight. "They selected me as a lead investigator on the case."

He glanced at Launchpad. "And you?"

Launchpad rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the ground. "To be fair, I didn't even know you had a dad until today, and it's a lot to process for me right now sooooo…."

Dewey's gaze hardened as he turned back to Webby. Silence hung in the air, thick and heavy.Nothing good ever comes from Dewey being quiet.

She cleared her throat. "Alright… for the last few years, S.H.U.S.H. has been keeping tabs on all the ex-F.O.W.L. agents. Now that wildcards like Bushroot are in play, they aren't letting anything slip through the cracks. When I found out you were looking for your dad, I reported it to S.H.U.S.H. and they tasked me with keeping an eye on him. Apparently, they also notified Darkwing and he put LP on our trail."

Crossing his arms against his chest, Dewey stood up and turned his back.

Every inch he moved away from her, chipped a piece of her heart to the floor. "Dewey."

"How long have you known?"His voice was low, controlled, but the tension in it was unmistakable.

Her spine tingled. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Dewey turned around, his brows furrowed, lips pressed into a firm line. "You said S.H.U.S.H. was keeping tabs on all the ex-F.O.W.L. agents. How long have you known about my dad?"

Webby bit her lip, a few tears edging to the corners of her eyes. "Dewey, please… it was never meant to hurt you. If I had known-"

"So this was all just an act?" Dewey threw his hands in the air. "You pretended not to know who our dad was or that he was a part of F.O.W.L. or where he was… you were playing us this entire time?!" His eyes widened. "You didn't come on this trip to help us. You came on this trip to babysit! But not for Scrooge—no, you were babysitting us for S.H.U.S.H. so we wouldn't mess up your investigation!"

Webby's breath hitched. Her fingers curled around her skirt. That was it. A little river of tears started down her cheeks.I didn't have a choice… I had to put the mission first… I had to.But the betrayal etched across her closest friend's face knocked the foundation out from under her carefully built tower of moral justifications, sending it crashing down around her.What have I done? I hurt Dewey. He hates me.

For a bone chilling second, she thought she saw a hint of the Duke spread across his face. "I can't believe you guys. F.O.W.L. was created to destroy my family. You knew and didn't say a word. And now you're both investigating my dad like he's some kind of evil war criminal!" He looked straight at Webby, his voice cold and somewhat broken. "How could you?"

Launchpad busted in, frantic and clearly scared of losing Dewey's friendship. "We didn't know! I swear!"

Dewey reached over and set his hand on Launchpad's shoulder. "It's alright, LP. You may not have known. But she did."

"Dewey, it's not like that. If I was that suspicious of him, I wouldn't have let him out of my sight. I trust you and I want to trust him but-"

He put his hand up. "I've heard enough." He lowered his head and sighed, starting to walk away.

Webby's heart pounded. She ran ahead of him and stood in his way, tears still streaming down her cheeks and wetting her vest. "Regardless of how you feel, this is dangerous. F.O.W.L. is enacting their plan as we speak. Who knows how Cosmo plays into it. Maybe he's not a player at all, but how can we know for sure?"

Dewey glared at her, his arms shaking and his stance wide. His stare made her heart quicken as she waited for him to say something. Instead, he swerved around her and maintained his course towards the gas station.

Launchpad also stumbled after them. "Dewey, wait! You forgot your cheeseburger! Do you want me to eat it for you or…"

She tried to keep up with him. "I'm sorry! You have no idea how sorry I am. But it doesn't change the fact that this is serious stuff, Dew. Your family could be in grave danger…"

He walked faster, his hands balled into fists.

"Or did you forget that they're my family too?"

Dewey stopped dead in his tracks.

Webby waited with bated breath.

He lifted his head. Without looking back, he muttered over his shoulder. "Just stop. I don't need this. I don't need the opinion of a S.H.U.S.H. agent, Darkwing Duck's sidekick, or even my brother. He's my dad and I'll judge for myself." With that, he kept on walking, leaving her in the dust.

Webby wiped at her tears, watching him go. "What did I just do?"

Launchpad came up behind her, staring down at the aluminum wrapped cheeseburger in his hand. "I don't know but I'll tell you whathejust did… he just let a perfectly good Hippo Burger Deluxe go to waste!"

Webby sniffled, barely able to process his words over the sound of her own breaking heart. The beeping from her tracer device in her back pocket grew louder until she couldn't ignore it.

"Well,say la vegan." He unwrapped the burger and took a bite.

She took out the tracer and looked up at him, pulling it away and then poking his stomach with it. Just as she suspected, the beeping pointed straight to Launchpad.Just my luck. I lost Dewey, and now we don't even have a way to find Louie."This is the worst."

Launchpad, mid-chew, looked down at her, oblivious. "Huh, what? This? Oh, trust me, Dewey would've wanted this."

She dragged her hand down her beak and sighed.

Just as Launchpad prepared for another bite, a sudden roar of engines filled the air. A plane took off overhead. Launchpad's eyes bulged, and food shot out of his mouth as he pointed up. "Hey, would you look at that! The Sunchaser is flying itself!"

By itself–Webby froze, ice traveling up her spine. Her throat tightened. "Aw, phooey."