The Other McCawber Girl
by Amanda Rohrssen
Chapter Nine
I hardly know you
Face to face
On the brink of the grave
I won't persuade you
Like the snowflakes we will fly
A dying dance, a silence cry
We're at the peak now
Face to face
On the brink of the grave
Don't turn around now
To step into the light
Falling down
To step into the light
Falling down
~Masterplan, “Into the Light”
The line was moving slowly, as it usually did during the last fifteen minutes of every Thursday due to the rush of employees wanting to deposit or cash their weekly paychecks.
Ariana was among them.
Despite an awkward yet curious start, she had quickly grown accustomed to depositing and withdrawing from her personal checking account, which gave her the tiniest spark of pride because it was a sign of normalcy and independence. She did not yet fully understand direct deposit – it felt much more reassuring and safe to be able to hand deliver the funds to the appropriate bank and obtain a printed slip proclaiming its addition to the monies already in place. Seeing the number increase every other week also encouraged a sense of accomplishment, although the job from which she received the payment did not.
It seemed that no matter what she did or how she did it, it was wrong, and every other day she found herself in Mrs. Pennyfeather’s office being shrewdly berated for things she could never seem to get right. If she wasn’t greeting customers properly, she was taking too long on her lunch break. If she was cleaning displays she wasn’t using the right cleaner or wiping in the correct manner. She could never figure out what she was doing wrong because it changed every day. It didn’t take very long for her spirit to break. She no longer tried to argue, but accepted criticism whole-heartedly and did her best to adapt to the ever-changing rules and expectations. What little self-confidence she had crumbled.
Gloria and Josephine noticed this and began shirking more of their responsibilities whenever one or both of them worked with Ariana. While in her mind Ariana was painfully aware of how unfair this was, she did not have the will to do anything about it. She felt hopelessly trapped, and the only thing she could do was keep telling herself that one day, things would change for the better. But the more it dragged on, the less belief she was able to put into those thoughts.
“I can help the next person over here,” the teller to the far left called.
Ariana snapped out of her daze and started to move toward the counter when a slightly shorter figure in a trench coat and fedora shoved his way past her. She glared indignantly after him, but her eyes widened like saucers when she saw him pull out a rifle.
“I believe I’m next!” a low, dark voice snapped, shoving a burlap bag at the teller. “I’d like to make a large withdrawal! And if anyone’s got anything to say about it, they’re gonna get their mangled limbs shoved into any orifice I see fit! Got it?”
The teller gulped and snatched up the bag to begin shoving it full with the money he had in the drawer. “Got it.”
The burglar whirled on the crowd and smiled twistedly when met with gasps and cries of panic.
“Well, well, well,” he crowed, “looks like I’ve got myself some hostages…”
The people nearest the doors tried to flee, only to find that the exits had been chained shut. There was no way out.
“I’m counting on the cops showing up, so you can go right ahead and press that silent alarm button all you want, sweetheart,” he said to the teller farthest away from him, who had indeed been pressing the silent alarm. “The more the merrier! This town needs to realize that I run things around here.”
The trench coat was flung off of his body, and the brown fedora was quickly replaced with a bright red one.
Ariana inhaled sharply. It was the same duck who had nearly shot her at the wharf. The same duck who had pushed her off of the rooftop…and, she believed, the one who had saved her.
“Everybody on the ground, now!” He fired one shot into the ceiling, and immediately all of the customers and employees were on the floor, watching the crazed public enemy with terror. “Those of you behind the counter, get out here where I can see you! Don’t make me play duck, duck, dead…”
He watched them crawl into the open with satisfaction in his cold blue eyes, then he cocked his rifle.
“Now…who knows how to open the vault…?”
Twenty minutes later, Negaduck had an enormous sack of loot at his feet, and he was staring out of the window impatiently as the wail of police sirens drew closer. “It’s about
time those bloated blue buffoons showed up! Bay News 9 can’t be far behind!” He chuckled and whirled on his audience with malicious glee. “Everybody be sure to smile for the
cameras…!”
“All right, Negaduck!” came a shout from outside over what sounded like a bullhorn. “Release any hostages you may have and come out with your hands up! We have the building surrounded!”
Negaduck…? Ariana thought with interest. So that’s his name…
“Oh yeah?!” Negaduck challenged loudly through a window he had shot out earlier. “You think you blubberheads scare me? I’m running the show now, and I say that if I don’t get two thermonuclear warheads by midnight tonight, you’ll get your hostages back in pieces!”
“You don’t want to do that, Negaduck,” the officer shouted through the megaphone.
“The hell I don’t! It seems you’re not taking me seriously. Perhaps I’d better just start shooting…” In plain sight through the glass doors, Negaduck sauntered toward the cowering captives, cocked his rifle, and casually aimed it at different individuals. “Eenie…meenie…miney...!”
“Stop!” the officer yelled frantically. “Don’t shoot! I’ll…see what I can do.”
Negaduck smirked, lowered the weapon, and replied through the broken glass, “That’s more like it. Clock’s ticking, chief. Better get a move on before I lose my patience.”
With a whip of his black cape, the criminal turned to regard his prisoners, casting an unsettling and almost psychotic gaze over them. The way their bodies quivered filled him with more satisfaction than all the money in the world. The only thing better would be the addition of their terror-filled screams. In time, he told himself, the screams would come. Right now, these people were his leverage.
Looking from face to face, carefully instilling horror into each heart with his cold blue stare, he was met with one set of silver irises that made him pause. The blonde they belonged to was studying him quizzically, as if trying to solve a riddle. His satisfaction soured.
“What are you looking at?” he snapped.
Instantly her eyes broke away from his. “N-nothing…”
“N-nothing?” he retorted sardonically. “Look at me like that again, and I’ll burn out your pretty little eyes with a blowtorch!” When she neither moved nor reacted, Negaduck placed the end of the rifle beneath her bill and forced her chin up. Her eyes stayed down and averted from him. He chuckled darkly. “Good girl…”
The tail of his cape brushed her cheek as he stepped by her. Ariana trembled inside, but remained stark still on the outside. She had learned long ago that showing too much fear only heightened the severity of dangerous situations.
“Let’s see if we made the evening news, shall we?” said Negaduck nonchalantly, flopping into a nearby office chair and putting his feet up on the counter. He set the rifle down next to him, close enough that he could grab it in less than a second should anyone make a move.
Silently the group watched the television suspended from the ceiling flicker on, and the nasally yet charismatic voice of Tom Lockjaw filled the room.
“…at the scene of what appears to be a tragically fatal, yet mysterious, accident. A motorcyclist lost control of his bike and collided with a nearby streetlamp. The lamp then fell across the road, blocking the traffic across Downing Street for hours. Sparks from the electricity started a fire, which ignited the motorcycle, and rescue workers have been unable to recover a body.” The camera zoomed in on the twisted, flaming metal of a red and purple motorcycle, most of it charred and smoking. “Although the driver has not been found, it is apparent from the flames and wreckage that the individual could not have survived. Back to you, Paul.”
Negaduck erupted into a fit of gleeful guffaws. “It worked! I knew he’d never notice if I disconnected the brakes on that idiotic bike of his. Now I’m rid of that buffoon once and for all, and no one can stop me from becoming Public Enemy Number One!!”
He allowed himself another minute or two of gloating and cackling, while the hostages glanced nervously in confusion at one another. Who was he talking about?
Abruptly he silenced himself and sat up when his mugshot filled the screen. The news had moved on to the next live report.
“…villainous Negaduck, a rising threat to the innocent populace of St. Canard, is currently holding hostages at gunpoint inside of the Sitting Duck National Bank.” The camera panned from the live reporter to a shot of the bank. “According to police, no one inside has yet been hurt but this madman could be capable of anything. Police are not reporting what his demands are or the identities of the hostages, but are proceeding with caution. More information as this story develops. I’m Bianca Beakley, Bay News 9.”
The channel changed. Negaduck was apparently looking for more news channels that may be covering the story. While he was occupied, Ariana took the opportunity to resume her scrutiny.
What would make someone steal from other people? Why him? He seemed more interested in threatening them than in the money itself. And he had used that word again earlier… ”pretty”. She seemed to be running into him a lot lately.
“Negaduck! I have the mayor here to talk to you.”
With a snarl, the masked mallard stormed over to the window and glowered into the fading sunlight. “This had better be good…” he muttered.
“This is Mayor Trufflebottom. Are all of the hostages okay?”
“The longer you flap your gums, the less chance of that there is!” Negaduck bellowed. “Where are my warheads??”
“We’re getting clearance for them from the Duckburg military base as we speak.”
“Blahblahblah, talk is cheap!”
“But there are regulations to abide by… Rules! A chain of command.”
“Chains were made for breaking! You’re wasting my time, bud. Waste my time again, and I’ll waste one of these pathetic peons!”
Negaduck’s attention diverted for the time being, the hostages began whispering among themselves. Some wanted to make an escape plan while others pleaded to stay put. Ariana listened silently until a movement caught the corner of her vision. Two men dressed in black padded uniforms crept toward them. One put his finger to his lips and glanced toward Negaduck, who was still yelling out of the window, while the other motioned them toward him.
Gradually the other hostages noticed the two men, who must have come in through the back door. One woman unwisely cried, “Oh, thank God! The S.W.A.T. team!”
“What?!” Negaduck screamed, whirling around. He lumbered away from the window and dove for his rifle, a second too late in snagging it as one of the citizens snatched it up. “You’re gonna pay for that, bub…” the villain snarled.
“Stop right there, Negaduck!” one of the S.W.A.T. officers barked, moving in front of the hostages and aiming a tazer at the villain.
Negaduck didn’t stop. “You think I need a gun to take care of the likes of you two? Ha!”
“Not another step, Negaduck, or I’ll be forced to use this on you!”
“Oooooo, I’m really scared.”
“You asked for it.” The officer pulled the trigger, but at the last second, the public enemy dodged, and the twin wires attached themselves to the second officer, who had been sneaking up behind Negaduck. The second officer’s eyes bulged, and his entire body began convulsing as he collapsed to the flood. “Sorry, Fred…” his partner mumbled.
“You were saying…?” the masked duck said slyly, moving toward the black-dressed figure.
“Everybody cover your faces and run!” the officer shouted as he pulled a small canister from his belt and threw it on the ground.
A loud hissing sound erupted from the small can, combined with two streams of bright yellow gas. In seconds the room was shrouded in the yellow mist. Ariana’s eyes welled up with tears, and it felt like all of the air was being sucked from her lungs. She heard others gasping for air and stumbling toward the back of the building. The gas made her feel light-headed and dizzy, and her body threatened to shut itself down. Blind gunshots and feeble screams rang through the air in a cacophony of sound, and in the back of her mind she wondered what would happen to the mallard in the yellow suit.
She didn’t have to wonder long.
As she staggered to her feet, she felt an arm wrench around her neck and yank her backward, cutting off her air supply. Her pulse quickened, and she could feel herself begin to sweat with cold fear. The barrel of a gun was pressed against her temple.
“You’re not going anywhere…” a deep menacing voice hissed. It sounded muffled, as if he had something over his face.
She struggled to inhale as her captor pulled her backward toward the teller stalls. What air she managed to get in remained tainted with gas, and she gagged, trying hard not to vomit. He dragged her behind the desks, pushed her to the ground, and crouched over her, a finger pressed warningly against his beak. She nodded, fighting unconsciousness.
“Stay back!!” Negaduck snarled as two more officers entered, guns drawn and gas masks over their faces. “Drop your weapons, or she dies!”
The policemen immediately dropped their guns and put their hands up, backing away slowly. “I thought his gun was taken away…”
“You think I’m dumb enough to carry only one?”
“Think, Negaduck…you don’t really want to do this…” one of them tried to reason.
“What is WITH you people? I’ll do whatever the hell I want! Now shut up and tell your chief that no one comes in here without my say-so! No more hide-and-seek, no more clever little plans to bring me down. Get me my warheads or she dies.” As if to prove his point, he pulled back the hammer. Ariana calmly closed her eyes, and the dizziness began to subside. She felt far away, detached and inexplicably safe.
As the cops retreated, Negaduck picked up the sack full of money with his free hand and pointed Ariana toward a back room. The air was clearer in the rear section of the bank, but the fresh oxygen to her lungs didn’t make Ariana feel any better. They reached the elevator and rode it to the top floor in silence. Ever present in her mind was the pressure of the gun against her body and the cold glint in his eyes from above the red turtleneck he’d covered his bill with. She didn’t protest, didn’t struggle, didn’t attempt to escape. As soon as he’d shoved her into a small corner office and followed her inside, he began chuckling darkly to himself.
Pulling the red material from his beak, he regarded her cruelly. “Looks like it’s just you and me, sweetcheeks. As long as you do whatever I tell you, you may get out of this…mostly alive.”
Artificial light from both the streetlights and the police spotlights was the only thing illuminating portions of the tiny corner office they’d been sitting in for the past
few hours. Bathed in partial shadow, Ariana had made doubly sure to do as Negaduck had ordered and not look at him, though the darkness gave her ample opportunity to steal a
few fleeting glances. Something about him intrigued her. It was obvious that he was dangerous, someone not to be trifled with. And yet…if that was all there was to him, why
would he have he hesitated to gun her down in the warehouse? Why had he rescued her from falling?
An edgy scoff startled her. For a moment she was afraid he’d caught her peering, but his eyes were on the officers stationed below.
“Five hours and those idiots haven’t budged,” he muttered lowly. “Do they really want to test me? I’ve got plenty of bombs back at the hideout to show I mean business…” He smirked and raised his pistol to the glass, closing one eye to aim. “Or maybe I could just assassinate the mayor…” He made a mock gunshot sound with his bill and chuckled.
“What are you going to do?”
Startled, Negaduck pulled back from the window, eyes wide for a second before he remembered his hostage. “I almost forgot about you…” he said forebodingly. With a sly smirk he moved closer to her and sat on top of one of the filing cabinets.
“What are you going to do when you get what you want?” she repeated, a little firmer this time. She had no idea where she was getting the nerve to even speak to him.
“Oh gee, you know, I thought I’d take the warheads and make ART out of’em. Whaddaya think?? First thing I’m going to do is blow up the capitol and put ME in charge.”
“But…wouldn’t the radiation…?”
Negaduck stopped to ponder this for a moment, then bristled defensively. “I’ll kill everyone and then build my empire elsewhere!”
“Kill everyone? Then who’ll be left to - ?”
“No, no, I’ll only kill those who oppose me!” He chuckled darkly at the thought of the mangled bodies of his enemies strewn across the landscape. “Everyone else will serve me and fear me on pain of death!”
She was quiet for a moment, and for that he was grateful. He didn’t like people questioning him, especially little blonde bimbos.
Finally she looked back at him, trying to understand. “But no one will want to serve you if – “
“QUIET!” he roared. In one leap and two stomps he stood glowering mere inches from where she sat. “Unless you want me to paint the walls with your brains…”
Confusion crossed her face. “Then how will you get the warheads?”
He ground his teeth together and spun away from her with a snarl, storming back to the window to glare down at the law.
She watched him quietly, unable to believe what had just happened. What had made her say those things? She was trembling on the inside, terrified of what he might do, yet she was challenging him. This wasn’t like her at all, and that fact scared her even more than he did. The last time she’d confronted a madman, it hadn’t ended well for her at all.
“Those blockheads have two hours,” he muttered. “Then it’s bye-bye birdie.” He popped out the barrel of the pistol and swung it listlessly, enjoying the metallic clicking as it spun off of his palm. A thought struck him, and he emptied all but one bullet from the weapon and smiled slyly at Ariana. “I know what we can do…a little Russian roulette!” He snapped the barrel back in and aimed squarely at her head. “Wanna play…?”
When she didn’t show any reaction except to look up at him somberly, he scoffed.
“What’s with you? Trying to convince me you’re not afraid of dying?”
“Of course I’m afraid to die,” she murmured slowly. “But I’m no longer afraid of how it will happen.”
“Don’t tell me you’re not afraid of me!” he snapped. “I’m Negaduck!” He pulled back the hammer, his brow knitted in an intense, merciless glower. “Soon to be Public Enemy Number One! There’s no one in this city that isn’t afraid of me!” He readjusted his grip on the pistol, but his aim was steady. His voice lowered into a growl. “This will be my city, and if people don’t fear me, I will make them fear me! Starting with you…”
His finger tightened around the trigger, and Ariana’s body tensed, awaiting the shot. Instead of gunfire, however, a dull click sounded from the weapon, and Negaduck sniggered as she tentatively opened one eye that had been tightly shut.
“Bravado doesn’t suit you. Now, let’s see if you make it through round two…”
“Negaduck!” The mayor’s voice over the bullhorn startled the criminal and causing him to fire the gun again, this time propelling a bullet through the floorboard, just barely missing his right foot. “We have the warheads as you asked! Now let the hostage go!”
The criminal chuckled and scanned the street below eagerly as he threw open the window. “I wanna see them! Now!”
“First show us the hostage!”
A scowl embedded itself across his beak, as he hastily beckoned her to his side. Ariana stumbled over toward him and peered out of the window. The city streets were bathed in moonlight, and down below was a whirl of red and blue. She could hardly make out the shapes of the officers.
Just as her eyes were adjusting to the extra light, she felt Negaduck’s rough hand on her shoulder, and he shoved her backward.
“There! You’ve seen her! Where are my warheads??”
“They were too large to bring into the city, Negaduck. They’re sitting just inside of the bay. You’ll need to come out here and we’ll take you to their location.”
The villain’s lip curled back scornfully. “How stupid do they think I am?” As he was about to retort, a thought struck him, and he suddenly smiled. Ariana felt a chill go down her spine. “All right…” he muttered. “Let’s go on a little field trip.”
With deftness, Negaduck reloaded his pistol then pocketed it before snatching her by the wrist. Apparently she wasn’t enough of a threat to him to even bother keeping a weapon pointed at her, a fact which Ariana was grateful for. She followed him obediently, though she had some difficulty keeping up with his wide gait, and found herself wondering what he had planned that he would walk into such an obvious trap. He didn’t seem unintelligent; in fact she thought him quite shrewd, but his instability kept her questions silent.
Once they’d arrived back on the first floor, Ariana was surprised to find it empty and silent. Negaduck was unfazed, however, and continued dragging her through the lobby toward the front doors. Grinding his teeth in a sinister grin, the criminal pulled something round and black from his pocket. “Those idiots will rue the day they -- ”
Before he could finish he was violently thrown backward, and it wasn’t until she saw the red stain spreading across his shoulder that Ariana registered the sound of breaking glass. A sniper bullet had pierced the window; she could see the tiny hole, and beyond that the S.W.A.T. team barreling forward, taking their chance while the enemy was down.
Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. The bomb slipping from Negaduck’s limp arm, his body crashing backward onto the marble floor, the cries of the officers telling her to run outside -- nothing was making sense. Everything was so gradual, yet it was all happening too fast. The blood darkened against Negaduck’s yellow suit and his eyes squeezed shut in pain behind the black mask. Two more bullets ripped through his feathered skin, one in the chest, the other in the thigh. A roar exploded from his beak, filling the air until it was the only thing Ariana became aware of.
It wasn’t until that instant that she knew exactly what she had to do. Seeing the officers were mere feet away from the bank entrance, Ariana bent beside the fallen villain and grabbed him under the arms. Obscenities spewed from him as more pain shot through his body and his blood began to escape with renewed effort, overwhelming him and eventually causing him to completely black out.
“Aperio prodigium ad claustrum!” she shouted desperately, pulling his limp frame up enough that she could drag him. Just as the black-uniformed posse broke through the main doors, a tremendous wind kicked up, forcing them back, and a glowing light blue gateway appeared out of thin air. Before they knew what was happening, Ariana had heaved Negaduck and herself through it, mustering all of the strength she had to do so, then yelled, “Termino!” before the S.W.A.T. officers could follow.