By: RedSwift
Chapter 14
Chip sat going over everything he knew and was frustrated he couldn’t think up anything. Tommy had since came into the conference room and sat looking depressed in a chair. Chip looked his way and knew what the kid was going through. *There’s so much I can’t answer yet until Tammy comes to. Who did it, why would this person be interested in Linda?* Tommy hadn’t answered when Chip asked for his parents’ whereabouts, so his and Linda’s parents couldn’t be contacted about what was happening. This infuriated Chip at Tommy, but he didn’t let it show. He sat there thinking like that for a few hours.
“Where’s Dale and Foxy at?” he suddenly asked out of the blue.
“They went out together, said they’d be back around an hour ago,” Monty whispered so as to not wake Bink.
Chip dismissed this since the two always tended to lose time on their own, get them together, and they could be gone for days…
Just as everyone got settled back into their routine, a knock sounded at the door.
Gadget looked around and seeing that no one was answering it, got up and opened it up to Darice and Støy, both looking out of breath and worried.
“Oh Gadget, I need your help, my little brother and sister have come up missing!” she cried, throwing herself around Gadget.
Gadget immediately hugged her back, patting her on the back reassuringly. Støy just walked in, and narrowed his eyes when he saw Tommy. Tommy saw this and curled up his legs against him, shaking in fear.
Støy just looked away and turned back towards Gadget and Darice. “Darice, your brother is right over there,” he said matter of factly.
Darice threw herself out of Gadget’s arms and stormed over to her brother. “Why didn’t you come find us and let me know where you were?” she yelled at him. “Støy and I looked all over the park for hours trying to find you!”
“I just forgot, I’m sorry Darice!” Tommy cried, holding his hands over his face.
Darice calmed herself and finally looked around the room. Her eyes stayed on Tammy for a few seconds, but she still didn’t see Linda. “Where’s Linda?” she asked to no one in particuliar.
“We don’t know,” Tommy answered meekly, and he related his tale to Darice and Støy.
Darice hung her head and cried into her hands while Støy crossed his arms and stared at nothing. Gadget tried comforting Darice. Everyone else just looked down, not wanting to really see her cry. Suddenly, a moan from the couch caught everyone’s attention.
“Uhh, where am I?” Tammy moaned as she tried to sit up. Suddenly her stomach hurt and she laid back down.
Mrs. Chesnutt bent over her daughter and tried to soothe her, cradling her head, “Sssshhhh, you’re at the Rangers’ tree, safe and sound.”
“Tell Darice I’m so sorry, I tried, but they beat me pretty bad.”
Darice broke from Gadget and sat on the floor next to Mrs. Chesnutt. She took Tammy’s hand and held it. “Its OK Tammy, you tried your best.”
Tears welled in both of their eyes and Darice bent over and hugged Tammy. Tammy tried to, but cried out in pain as she got her arm up. Darice patted her shoulder, then stood up and walked away.
Chip watched all this in silence, waiting for his chance to question Tammy about her attackers. As he began to stand up, Gadget shot him a disapproving look and pointed to the kitchen. Sighing, he went into the kitchen and she followed him, closing the door behind her.
Before he could ask her what this was about, she began, “I know what you want to do Chip, but right now is not the time to go asking Tammy questions. Let her rest up first.”
Chip was peeved that he couldn’t ask Tammy what he wanted to, but he also saw Gadget’s reasoning, “OK Gadget, I won’t ask anything of her yet, but waiting too long isn’t too good of an idea in this situation.”
“I know Chip, but if whoever took Linda is serious, they’ll probably contact someone in her family for ransom or whatever they want. You don’t just take a child for no reason.”
“I’ve thought of that Gadget, but I’m worried since they haven’t tried contacting anyone yet.”
As soon as Chip finished his sentence, a loud “THUMP!” was heard against the front door. Everyone jumped, and Chip and Gadget came cautiously into the conference room. They saw everyone staring at the door. Chip walked up to it and slowly opened it. Once he got it all the way open, his heart fell down into his stomach. There on the door was another note affixed with a smiley face pin.
Chip tore down the note before anyone could read the front and held it before him. The front read: To the Current Inhabitants of RR Headquarters. Chip opened up and read it to himself and walked around the room as everyone looked at him. As he read it, his face got longer and longer until his hand found the arm of the couch and he slumped down at the end of it. He folded the letter and just stared off into space.
This scared all his friends, and they looked worried at him. Gadget finally walked over to him, “What is it Chip?”
“Here,” he said with no emotion, robotically handing her the note, never moving anything except the arm with the note in it.
Gadget now read it to herself, letting out a little gasp.
“What is it luv?” Monty said, getting up and walking to Mrs. Chesnutt. He handed her Bink’s sleeping form and went over behind Gadget, reading over her shoulder. “Not good lass, definitely not good,” he said as he finished it.
“What’s it say?” Darice pleaded to Monty.
“Well, they got yer sister fer sure, but he also says he got our Dale and Foxglove too.”
“Who’s got them?” she said, her eyes filling with worry.
“That there drug dealer we were fightin’, ‘parently those were his thugs at the factory, and he’s mad at us and for some reason you.”
“So to retaliate he took my baby sister? That sick monster!” she screamed, pacing the room furiously.
“Now calm down lass,” Monty soothed, “we’ll get her back, you forget this fella has two o’ our teammates too.”
“I know that Monty. I just remembered, my parents need to know what’s happening!”
Shaken out of his reverie, Chip followed this exchange, “Don’t worry Darice, I’ll go get them and bring them here, then we’re going out and bringing this guy down!”
“What about my other friends, will he go for them too?”
“I didn’t think of that, good thinking Darice, we’ll go check on them along the way, then come back here and get some planning done.”
With that, Chip went down to the hangar and left the tree to pick everyone up. Darice went over to the note and sat down, reading it to herself.
Dear Mr. Maplewood and “friends”
As you probably know by now, I have a beautiful little girl here by the name of Linda. I have taken her for the actions of one Darice and her friends in helping after my gang was defeated. I know that is not much of a reason, but she inadvertently messed with my plans. What you do not know is that I also hold two of your teammates, one Dale and Foxglove. I now hold the lovebirds and Linda at my base of operations. Now, Mr. Maplewood, the rest of this letter is for you to follow, no one else. You are to be in the office of Fat Cat’s Casino at midnight tonight. Use the front doors, no sneaking in. Once there, you will receive your next set of instructions. If you come with help, I will call off the meeting and set up a second one. Understand I have no reason to kill my captives yet, they are worth more alive right now then dead. Please don’t give me reason to reconsider the value of their lives. Have a nice night!
Smiles
As Darice finished the letter, her blood began to boil. She scowled at the smiley face at the bottom of the letter. *How dare he take my Linda for something I did, let him come to me!* She sat there thinking of all the things she would do to this Smiles guy…
About an hour later, Chip sat at the head of the table. Gadget, Monty with Zipper on his shoulder, Darice, Mrs. Chesnutt, Tommy, Marcus and Valerie sat at the table. Tammy sat propped on the couch within hearing distance. Støy, Rex, and Adrian stood in a corner. Everyone had serious looks on their faces as Chip opened up the impromptu meeting.
“OK, the note told me to meet someone in Fat Cat’s office, alone, about getting Dale, Foxy, and Linda back. I’ll go in the Ranger Wing alone to the meeting. Gadget, you and Monty take the Plane and stay at a safe distance and don’t let anyone see you,” Gadget and Monty nodded in agreement as Chip continued, “everyone else, much as you’d like to come, its probably going to be way too dangerous to come along.”
“You’re down two team members, and I want to come along, one of them is my little sister,” Darice rebuked.
“That’s not much of a good idea,” Chip said, “I don’t really want you getting hurt or worse.”
“I’ll be careful, you’re not keeping me out of this.”
“No, you’re not going,” her mother pleaded with her, “leave it to the Rangers, they know what they’re doing!”
“No mother, I feel responsible for what’s happening to her, I’m going, and no one will stop me.”
“Well, if Darice is going, we’re going too,” Støy said, waving his arm, including Rex and Adrian.
“Yeah, we feel responsible for the kid too,” Rex put in energetically.
Chip threw up his hands in frustration, “Well, if you all want to go and put yourselves in danger, go ahead! Just don’t come crying to me when you get hurt or think things aren’t going well!”
Darice looked back at her friends, and they all nodded their heads, “OK, we’re going with you then.”
“Now that we got that settled,” Chip growled, “let’s get started planning. We know Fat Cat’s inside and out. Gadget, Monty, you take Darice and the rest through some way that Smiles won’t know about and get a vantage point of the office. I’ll go to the meeting as scheduled. Zipper, you go on the lookout for any sentries or watchers and let Gadget and Monty know of any you see.”
He looked around the group and everyone nodded understanding of their part, so he continued, “If the hostages are there, we’ll try and rescue them. If not, we see what Smiles wants next. If possible, I’ll try and discreetly follow whomever I’m meeting back to Smiles.”
“Sounds like a good plan, mate!” Monty said vigorously, pounding his fists together, “This time its personal!”
The small group got up from the table, said their good-byes to the friends and family that would await their return in the tree, and headed off for their task.
Disclaimer: The Rangers, Foxglove, Tammy, Bink, and Mrs. Chesnutt are Copyright Disney. Used without permission but with the utmost respect. Darice, Rex, Adrian, Støy, Marcus, Valerie, Tommy, Linda, and Smiles are figments of my imagination trying to get out. You may post this story in any way, so long as you don’t modify my words or gain profit from it. (Boy, isn’t all this legal mumbo jumbo fun?)