The Master of Sorrow
Chapter Six
The seemingly average-looking delivery truck drove along the back-country road that led from Duckburg to Saint Canard, hugging the winding corners as its headlights cut through the darkness of the night. Two plain-clothed security guards sat in the driver and passenger seat, the one on the right letting out a tired yawn. It was another uneventful courier job for them, and they could drive this route with their eyes closed if they had wanted. At that moment, there was nothing else they'd rather do. The passenger struggled to keep his eyes open, and neither of the guards seemed to notice in the review mirror a single headlight coming up behind them.
The sinister motorcycle came up fast behind the truck, and a grappling hook suddenly shot out and hooked to the back bumper.
CLANG!
Both of the guards were suddenly alert, jarred from their state of boredom.
"What was that?" the driver asked. He tried to look in the review mirrors. "Can you see anything?"
The passenger also looked but saw nothing. "I'll check it out," he replied as he unhooked his seatbelt. He climbed between the two seats to the door that lead to the back of the truck, stepped through, and it slammed shut behind him.
A few seconds later, there was a loud bang, followed by the muffled sounds of a scuffle. Then there was only the sound of the truck's engine humming.
The driver blinked nervously. "Uh…Johnny? You okay back there…??"
When he turned his head around to see what had happened to his co-worker, he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
"Get your eyes back on the road…" a deep voice demanded.
The driver did just that and gulped. He couldn't see the attacker's face, but he knew that his life was suddenly in grave danger.
"Throw your gun out the window."
Knowing that a gun was still pointed at the back of his head, the guard once again complied. He removed the small pistol from his belt, rolled down the window, and tossed it out.
"Good. Now, keep driving," the villainous voice demanded, and added threateningly, "If this truck stops rolling, you stop breathing…"
The poor guard that was now being held hostage had no choice, and his hands wrapped around the steering wheel in a white knuckled grip as he did as he was told.
Negaduck slammed the door shut that separated the back of the truck to the cab and struggled to see in the dark space. The only light was that of the moon that shone through the double windows in the back door. He carelessly stepped over the motionless body of the other guard and began digging through the unmarked crates and chests in search of what he had come for. He violently threw aside the worthless items until he came to a wooden crate which had the words 'SHUSH LAB' stamped in red on the front. He grinned and ripped the lid off of the crate like a child opening his presents on Christmas morning. Inside the crate was a smaller black box nestle in protective foam padding. Negaduck picked it up in his hands and opened the box to see the missing part for SHUSH's newest invention.
"Ahaha…You, my pretty, are my ticket home," Negaduck chuckled in triumph.
"I am the terror that flaps in the night!"
The villain blinked in surprise. Then he growled and gave an annoyed look in the direction of an expanding cloud of blue smoke.
"I am the pothole in the road of crime! I….am Darkwiiiiiing Duck!" the hero announced and outstretched his arms over his head in one of his flamboyant poses as the smoke cleared.
Negaduck stood with his arms folded across his chest, the box in his hand, and an unimpressed glower on his face. "Are you finished?"
"Ha! YOU'RE the one whose finished, Negaduck!" Darkwing announced dramatically and pointed at his nemesis for effect. "Now, surrender and hand over that plunder, you pilfering perpetrator!"
"Oooo, such quick wit! Let's see if your reflexes are just as fast!"
Negaduck raised the gun in his hand and pulled the trigger. When Darkwing managed to dodge the first bullet, he fired again. With each miss, the impact against the wall of the truck caused the vehicle to swerve, nearly knocking both mallards off balance.
After a dozen shots, the chamber of the gun clicked, announcing that it was empty. Negaduck blinked, then snarled angrily.
Darkwing stood up from his back flip and smiled smugly. "Ha! Is that the best you can do, Negaduck??
He was too busy gloating to see the next shot coming, and something small and hard hit Darkwing directly in the bill where it became lodged.
"Foul ball…!" Darkwing groaned dizzily.
Negaduck grinned, but it quickly faded when the realization hit. He had just thrown away the item he had been trying to steal.
"Dammit!!"
The vigilante shook his head, then spat out the small box into his own hands. When he noticed what it was, he smirked and struck a heroic pose. "Once again, Darkwiiiing Duck is successful!"
"Gimme that, you dolt!" Negaduck roared and leapt with his hands outstretched.
"HI-YAAH!"
Darkwing perfectly delivered web-kick to Negaduck's midsection, which sent the villain flying backwards. He grunted as he hit the wall of the van, which sent it on another dangerous swerve. But he was kick to recover, and Negaduck was quickly on his feet again. He grabbed a plank from the lid of a crate and swung it at Darkwing like a baseball bat.
"Yipes!" Darkwing yelped as he ducked and dodged one swing after another. "Strike one! Strike two! Strike THREE!"
"YOU'RE out, Duck!" Negaduck swung the plank, which made contact with the side of Darkwing's head. The impact disoriented the hero and caused him to lose his hold on the coveted box.
Negaduck snatched it out of the air with a triumphant laugh. "Ha! Victory!"
Just as Darkwing was wobbling his way to his feet, Negaduck darted to the back of the truck and kicked the loading doors open.
"I don't think so, Negaduck! Come back here!"
"Phht. Yeah, right…." the villain muttered in reply. The truck was still driving at a decently dangerous speed, the driver not daring to disobeying Negaduck's orders and facing the potential consequences.
Negaduck grabbed onto the rungs of a ladder attached to the side of the truck and climbed to the top. And Darkwing was not far behind. The black caped mallard sprinted across the top of the truck and came to a stop when he came to the edge. When he turned around, he saw his double climbing into view.
"There's no escape from me! Now, hand over that SHUSH property!" Darkwing demanded in an authoritative voice.
Of course, Negaduck remained defiant. He never surrendered to his look-alike, and he wasn't about to break that habit. "In your dreams, Darkwing---DUCK!!!"
Negaduck's eyes went wide as he turned his head and saw a low-lying tree branch coming at him. He managed to duck his head just in time and it sailed over his head. Unfortunately, Darkwing wasn't as lucky.
"What?" he asked in a confused voice. Then he saw the branch coming at him "Ack!"
Darkwing managed to dodge the tree's thick limb, but he was violently thrown off balance, and nearly thrown off of the moving vehicle. He managed to grip the edge of the truck with his fingers, and now he flapped off of the back as it continued to speed forward. His eyes averted downward to see the dark pavement speeding past at over fifty miles an hour and gulped.
"Eheh….That was close…!" he laughed nervously to himself.
"Not close enough…" growled a sinister voice.
Darkwing looked up to see the eyes of his double glaring down at him from behind the black mask. "Uh oh…." he groaned in dread.
"Time to go SPLAT, Ducky!" Negaduck said with a wicked laugh. He lifted a webbed foot, intent on smashing it down hard on Darkwing's fingers and send him into a bone-crushing tumble on the road.
But just as Negaduck slammed his foot down, Darkwing swiftly pulled his targeted hand away. In a quick move, he grabbed onto the villain's ankle and pulled him over the side.
"YAAAAHH!!" he shrieked as he tumbled forward through the air. As he fell, Negaduck managed to grab onto Darkwing's ankles. It stopped him from becoming road kill, but he nearly got the wind knocked out of him when he slammed into the back end of the truck.
Darkwing was beginning to lose his grip with the extra weight now pulling him down. He grunted painfully, his arms feeling as if they would be pulled from their sockets. "Sheesh, lay off the Hippo Burgers, Negs!" he seethed through clenched teeth. "And let go of me!"
He tried to kick Negaduck off, but he held tight to his ankles, determined not to be permanently scarred with traction marks from the pavement. However, Negaduck did let go with one hand so he could reach into his jacket and remove a small remote. He pressed one of the buttons and within seconds, the sound of a second vehicle's engine reached their ears. Negaduck turned his head to see his motorcycle coming up fast behind the truck.
"It's been fun, Darkwing, but I have an important trip to make!" Negaduck shouted over the whipping wind. As soon as the Troublemaker was within close enough range, he let go of Darkwing and jumped onto the bike. He landed effortlessly on the seat and gave his double a smug grin and wave before making a sharp turn off of the road.
Darkwing climbed back up onto the truck and faced the direction in which his nemesis had disappeared.
"Run while you can, Negaduck!" he shouted boldly as the wind made his cape flap violently. "But you won't be able to hide from Darkwiiiiing Duck!"
The hero was too engrossed in his dramatic declaration to see another low-lying tree branch, which hit him squarely in the back.
"Ah-whoa whoa-whoa-whoa!" Darkwing yelled as he was spun around the branch like a less graceful gymnast. When he slowed to a stop, he had his arms and legs wrapped around the tree's limb. His eyes were still spinning from the momentum.
"What a lousy place for a tree…" he groaned.
The lights in the hallways of SHUSH began to dim, one-by-one, as the last of the late-night workers began to leave for the evening. In ten minutes, the only personnel inside would be a few security guards.
The lab was finally empty, but it would have one last visitor that evening. The sound of uneven footsteps accompanied by the clacking of a cane echoed through the empty shadowed hallway, and the loan agent came to a stop in front of the lab's door. He scanned his security badge, and the red light turned green with an approving beep. The lock clicked, and he pushed the door open.
The remain undetected, he kept the main lights off and used the subtle light seeping in through the open door to find his way. Fortunately, he knew exactly where the item he sought was located, and wasted no time in retrieving it from one of the lockers on the far side of the room. He knew the code and successfully unlocked the locker, and retrieved the item.
He examined the Transporter, cradling it delicately in his hands. This device would provide him with the tools he needed to reap his revenge.
Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention, he pocketed the Transporter and made his way out of the lab, barely spending a minute inside.
And to remain less suspicious, he opted for leaving SHUSH through the main entrance. There was only a single guard at his post, and he nodded with a smile at the departing agent.
"Have a good night, Agent Mallard."
"Likewise, Jonah," he replied in a friendly tone.
Then Jacob Mallard slid out the front door of SHUSH.
Jacob returned to Negaduck's cryptic hideout only minutes after the villain had returned from his own task. He stepped into the garage just as Negaduck was entrapping his helmet.
"Have any trouble?" Jacob asked him as he strutted towards him. There had been a few occasions over the past couple of hours in which he wondered if the criminal would succeed or be stopped and hauled off to prison. But since Negaduck was standing before him, he had a good inclination.
"Nothing I couldn't handle," he growled in reply, referring to his run-in with Darkwing Duck. He jumped down from the Troublemaker and fitted his red fedora back on his head. Then he reached into his jacket and removed the small box he had nearly become road kill in retrieving. "But I think this is what you are more concerned about."
Jacob's eyes lit up excitedly. He approached and eagerly reached for the box. But before his fingers could grace its smooth surface, Negaduck pulled it away. Jacob blinked, taken aback.
"Come now, boy. Hand it over," he said and outstretched a hand expectantly.
But Negaduck narrowed his cold blue eyes. "Ha. Yeah, right. I didn't get to being Public Enemy 1 by making stupid decisions."
Jacob arched a brow. "The last I checked, you were 2."
Negaduck clenched his teeth together and growled loudly. "Give me the Transporter or I shove this thing down your throat."
With a shrug, the agent produced the Transporter from his coat and handed it to him. Negaduck angrily snatched it from his hands, his last comment still making his blood boil. He opened the box and removed the item he had stolen from the SHUSH truck, which was shaped like the magazine to an automatic pistol and fit into the Transporter in the same way. Negaduck shoved the piece into place and after a quick examination of the device, he deduced its operation. He pressed a couple of buttons and turned a dial. The device began to hum quietly, and a red bar began to turn green as its power fully charged.
Negaduck raised the Transporter in one hand, aiming it at the nearby wall. When he pulled the trigger, a green beam shot out and struck the wall. A small portal formed there, and slowly began to grow into a swirling vortex the size of a door.
Both mallards looked on with a sense of awe. But it was Negaduck whose eyes bore the most excitement. A wide grin spread across his face.
"Beware, Saint Canard…" he rumbled deviously. "I'm coming home…."