Reformation
Chapter Thirteen
“Where are we going??” Negaduck demanded from the passenger’s seat of Jacob’s Jaguar. The sports car weaved treacherously through the winding, unlit roads of Saint Canard’s outskirts in the night.
“I’m taking you back to your hideout,” Jacob declared even as he seemed to effortlessly maneuver the car. He couldn’t seem to bring himself to look at the younger mallard sitting beside him. “You’re going to get in that hideous jet plane of yours and get out of here before they catch up to us.”
“And go where??”
“Anywhere! Anywhere but here, Drake. Even you can see that it’s not safe here for you now,” Jacob pointed out the obvious. “Thanks to Jake, SHUSH no has a price out for your head, and everyone will be after you. You may beg to differ, boy, but you will not last a day in Saint Canard.”
Negaduck scoffed and rolled his eyes. Who would dare suggest that he, the public enemy, could not handle anything? But then again, this was certainly a new situation, challenging him in several ways. He turned to look at Jacob. “But what about my drugs? Won’t I need them when I--??”
“No,” Jacob sharply cut him off. “You won’t need them. Those pills don’t work.”
The masked mallard blinked questionably, wondering if he had just heard what he though he’d heard. “What are you talking about? They work! I need you to--!”
“Passidone doesn’t work!” Jacob said in a more assertive voice. He turned his head from the road to give him a convincing stare. “You were taking sugar pills the whole time, Drake. You were in the control group. It doesn’t work.”
Seeing the disbelief in the younger mallard’s eyes, Jacob returned his gaze to the road. But Negaduck was still staring, flabberghasted. But then his shock turned to anger. His eyes narrowed spitefully.
“You knew this whole time??”
“No, I didn’t!” Jacob immediately shot back defensively. He had expected such an accusation. But he quickly calmed himself, and took a deep breath. “I didn’t know. I just found out. If I had known, it would have compromised the way I had treated you.” He then passed the villain an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry, Drake.”
He turned his head away and glowered through the windshield in front of him. Negaduck was enraged, in denial, and confused. “So that means that I…?”
He didn’t want to finish and looked to Jacob to finish the question for him. Jacob opened his bill to answer, but he stopped. Both ducks could hear the familiar sound of a motorcycle coming up from behind. Negaduck turned in his seat and looked out the back window of the car, and saw the lights of the Ratcatcher closing in.
“Your feeble attempt at fleeing is futile, you felon!” shouted Darkwing over the roaring engines of both vehicles.
“Oh great!” Negaduck snarled in defeat. With determined glower, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pistol. “I’ll handle this…” he growled as he rolled down the window.
But Jacob wisely intervened. “No. Don’t, Drake,” he insisted firmly. Negaduck passed him a look of disbelief, but his elder remained calm and confident. “Let’s not make this any worse than it is.” He paused and passed him a solemn stare. “Prove Jake wrong.”
Negaduck didn’t say anything. He didn’t argue or protest, and sat back down in his seat. Then the wise old SHUSH agent redirected his eyes back to the road. “Besides, we’ll be able to lose him with a bit of defensive driving.”
Jacob shifted the powerful sports car, and it began to accelerate. But Darkwing quickly retaliated by easing on the gas of his motorcycle.
“It’s no use! You can’t outrun us!”
Both Jacob and Mallard blinked at one another questionably. ‘Us?’
Then the sound of another vehicle approaching began to grow louder. Jacob looked up in the review mirror and saw another set of headlights coming up dangerously fast. They belong to a black BMW sedan. And behind the steering wheel, a pair of narrowed green eyes locked onto the target.
Negaduck scowled at Jacob. “Well? Now what?”
“Now? Now you hold on for your life, boy.”
The gears shifted again, and Negaduck was thrown back into the leather seat. Both cars and the motorcycle weaved through the treacherous unlit dark road, turning blind corners and nearly diving into ditches. But no matter how many skillful maneuvers Jacob pulled, both Darkwing and Jake stayed close on his heels. There was the ascending vroom of the BMW’s engine, and then a loud bang. Both Jacob and Negaduck were violently jerked forward as Jake forcefully ‘nudged’ the fender of his car into Jacob’s car. Jacob grit his teeth and clenched his fingers tightly around the steering wheel. And then they were slammed again from behind as Jake continued to try and run them off of the road.
“This isn’t working!” Negaduck pointed out with his voice full of frustration. Then there was the distinct clang noise. “What was that?”
They both shifted their eyes to their review mirrors. There, flapping ten feet behind Jacob’s Jaguar, was Darkwing Duck, holding onto his gasgun while the grappling hook on the opposite end held fast to the car’s bumper.
“Whether you come quietly or loudly, Negaduck, I’m taking you in!” Darkwing shouted against the whipping wind.
Negaduck bared his teeth and growled loudly. He rolled down the window and stuck his head out to glare back at his double. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that hitch-hiking is dangerous, Duck??”
“You’re the dangerous one, Negaduck!” Darkwing shot back as he began to reel himself in toward the car. He was struggling to keep himself steady through every turn. He knew that if he lost his hold, he would be thrown violently onto the pavement, and under Jake’s car which was not far behind. “I’m bringing you back to prison where you belong, and then, this time, to the gas chamber! And nothing is going to stop me!”
Negaduck tilted his head. “Did you say nothing?” he challenged with an amused twinkle in his blue eyes. “How about Mother Nature??”
Darkwing continued to pull himself forward, and narrowed his eyes at his eternal enemy. “What are you talking about, you larcenous lunatic??”
Just then, Jacob pulled the steering wheel hard, bringing them quickly around a sharp corner. The rope to which Darkwing was holding onto to swung the hero around like a tetherball, and a split second was all he needed to see the large tree coming at him.
“Yipes!!”
WHAM!!!
The thick elm splinter under the impact, and the masked mallard found himself embedded into the tree’s trunk. “Ouch…” he groaned painfully.
Negaduck laughed wickedly as he pulled himself back inside the car. “That takes care of that pest!”
But the pair of headlights behind them had not lost any distance, and stayed in pursuit. “We’re not out of the woods, yet,” Jacob pointed out grimly.
The chase continued on, rounding tight corners on the narrow, unlit roads of Saint Canard’s outskirts. But no matter how many clever maneuvers Jacob pulled, they were not enough to lose Jake, whose own driving skills matched those of his double.
“Dammit!” Jacob cursed loudly upon his conclusion that he was unsuccessful in evading his enemy. “I can’t lose him!”
Then, the stakes were raised even higher as Jake made bolder moves. The black Beamer accelerated like a rocket and pulled up along the driver’s side of Jacob’s vehicle. Now the two cars were speeding down the dark road at high speeds, with Jake in the oncoming lane. He looked through the passenger window at Jacob, an insane and determined look in his eyes.
Before Jacob had the chance to think of a defensive trick, Jake once more pulled on his steering wheel and slammed the side of the BMW into the Jaguar. The latter nearly went off the road and into the ditch, which would have been fatal at speeds of over 80 miles an hour. But Jacob used his skills to quickly correct his car. The tires squealed against the pavement in protest, but he managed to regain control and stay on the road.
Then Jake struck again, this time more aggressively. Negaduck grunted and cursed loudly as his head hit the window. His spite and desperation momentarily taking control of him, Jacob scowled back across the lanes at Jake, and retaliated by side-ramming him in return. But he had no such luck of losing Jake when he was just as quick to keep on the road.
“This isn’t going to work!” Negaduck shouted over the revving engine. “Let me take him out!”
“No! That’s not going to help you in the end!” Jacob snapped in return. He turned his head to see Jake still speeding steadily in the lane beside him. The two look-alikes locked vengeful eyes. Staring into his enemy’s cold, heartless stare made the hatred pump through Jacob’s veins.
“You got a better idea??” the villain asked snidely from the passenger’s seat. Then he saw something glint in the light of the headlights past Jacob. From across the lanes of the road, Negaduck saw Jake pull out a large Magnum and raise it in their direction. “Look out!”
Jacob’s eyes darted to see the gun pointed directly at him, and he could even see Jake tighten his finger around the trigger.
BLAM!!!
Immediately following the gunshot was the sound of an explosion. The Jaguar jerked violently across the pavement, and Jacob desperately tried to regain control. But the front tire had been blown out and was already riding on the rim. The next thing the two of them saw was the guardrail coming right at them.
“Hang on!” Jacob shouted and braced himself for the impact.
The sports car plowed through the feeble rail and flew off of the road. Unfortunately, there was no obstacle to stop them, and the car sailed through the air and crashed into the neighboring lake with a tremendous splash.
Cold water quickly began to flood the interior of the car, and within seconds, it was full to the roof. The vehicle began to sink deeper and deeper into the dark abyss of the lake. Negaduck struggled to see through the darkness while he held his breath, but he managed to find the handle for his door. With a quick jerk, he pulled back the handle and pushed the door outward against the water so that he could swim out.
But Jacob was not so lucky. His door was jammed shut from the side-swipes endured during the chase. He let out a muffled grunt as he thrust himself as hard as he could against the door, hoping to break it free, but to no avail. The air was growing stale in his lungs and his chest was beginning to hurt. The icy cold water was unbearable and beginning to make his fingers go numb.
The dark around him was quickly beginning to consume him. Jacob fought to keep his eyes from rolling up into his head, but he was losing the fight. But then he felt a hand tightly grab onto his shoulder from the right, and he was quickly pulled across the seats and out through the passenger side door. An arm wrapped tightly around his torso and began to slowly pull him up toward the surface.
Seconds later, two heads burst through the surface. Negaduck inhaled sharply and Jacob coughed water out of his lungs. He took deep heaving breaths, ridding himself of the dizziness that nearly turned to unconsciousness. With his strength slowly seeping back into him, Jacob paddled his way back toward the nearby shore. Once a superb swimmer, his cripple leg made the task all the more difficult. But he managed to make it to the shoreline at the base of the hill that led up to the road. Negaduck staggered out of the water behind him, and even assisted in helping him keep his balance.
Still coughing and trying to regain his breath, Jacob stopped and turned to face the masked mallard. He stared at him through the drenched feathers that dangled in front of his eyes. “You need to get out of here.” He reached out and placed a hand on the masked mallard’s shoulder. “I don’t care how, but you need to get out of Saint Canard. Go far. Go back to the Negaverse. I’ll do what I can here to keep the authorities off of your tail, but if you stay, there is no stopping them.”
Negaduck nodded quickly as he removed the sopping wet fedora from his head and wringed out the water. “It was all you, old timer,” he concluded as he put the hat back on his head. “It wasn’t the experiment or the drugs that changed me. It was you…” he finished with a hint of surprise in his voice.
But Jacob shook his head. “No. It was you, Drake. You changed yourself.”
Younger locked eyes with elder. Jacob’s eyes showed that he was reluctant to let the villain go. The two had developed a strong bond over the couple of months that the experiment lasted. A bond that the two of them had missed for years.
Still, Jacob knew there was not much time, and nodded urgently. “Now go. Go!”
Negaduck took a couple of steps backward, knowing that it was possible that the two may never cross paths again. Then he turned and began to make his quick retreat.
BLAMBLAM!!!
“NO!!!”
Jacob leapt forward and caught the villain as he was thrown backward to the ground. He sank to his knees with the masked mallard in his arms, and he could feel the sticky warm liquid already covering his hands. His wide, black eyes looked down to see blood pouring out from two bullet wounds in Negaduck’s chest.
“No. Hang in there, kid,” Jacob urged him as calmly as he could, but he couldn’t hide the frantic tone in his voice. “I’m going to get you help, alright?”
But Negaduck only stared up at him with dark blue eyes. Despite feeling the strength slowly seep out of him there was a strange sort of calm in his eyes. Images began to pass in front of him. Memories. He saw a familiar young mallard try to stop his father from beating his mother to death. Then the child was tied to a chair and repeatedly beaten. From there the scene changed to an old orphanage, where the same boy was being picked on by the other children, and then locked into a janitor’s closet. The memories skipped ahead several years. Now he was grown and donned a mask and cape; and he burst into a bank and robbed it at gunpoint, even firing a few warning shots just to frighten the women and children.
Negaduck weakly tilted his head as the last image flashed in his mind. A young girl with red hair, and wearing a pink dress…
“Drake? Drake!”
Jacob vainly tried to stop the bleeding and pressed a hand down hard over the wound. But even his hope was quickly fading. The old mallard, who had experienced so much hardship and loss in his life, was beginning to feel that familiar sense of hopelessness. He looked down at the villain, almost pleadingly. “Come on, son. Hang on…” he whispered quietly as he cradled him in his arms. “I’m going to take care of you…”
Negaduck struggled to swallow, and his throat was constricted to the point that taking in the slightest breath was impossible. But a small, devious smile appeared on his bill.
“Thanks…for the…second chance, old man…”
The words took the last of his strength to say. He couldn’t even force himself to pull another breath into his lungs, and his eyelids grew heavy. Slowly, his eyes closed behind his mask. His head lolled to the side and came to a rest against Jacob’s chest.
Jacob stared in disbelief. No longer could he feel Negaduck’s chest rise and fall beneath his hand. He didn’t call out his name again, knowing the only response he’d get would be silence. Instead, the senior agent wrapped his arms protectively around the villain and held him protectively against him, rocking him back and forth in his embrace.
Up at the top of the hill on the roadside, Jake stared down at the shoreline, the gun still clenched tightly in his hand. His eyes were transfixed on his enemy, who was holding the fallen public enemy in his arms. Jake clenched his jaw tightly, feeling his resentment boil up inside of him once more. He wrapped his finger around the trigger of his gun, and was about to raise his weapon to rid himself of his double. But then there was the sound of sirens approaching not far away, and he heard the engine of the Ratcatcher as it pulled up behind him.
Seconds later, Darkwing Duck sprinted up to his side. “Alright! Let me at that no-good Negaduck! When I get my hands on him, I’m gonna--!”
Receiving no recognition from Jake of his presence, Darkwing looked up at him and blinked. Then he followed his gaze and saw Jacob and Negaduck down below at the shore. “Hey, what happened?” Then, taking a more observant look, the hero put the pieces together and looked up at Jake questionably. “Did you…You shot him??”
“If it hadn’t been me, it would have been somebody else,” Jake grunted without any reservation. Then he holstered his weapon just as the flashing red and blue lights came into view. “Thanks for your help, Darkwing. I can take it from here.”
Jake walked away, leaving Darkwing where he stood. The hero watched him saunter over to the arriving police cars, and he suddenly had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Perhaps it was the fact that his idol had seemed to so mercilessly shoot down his own son, even though Negaduck had tried to kill the both of them on several occasions. Or perhaps it was the fact that he was seeing his own father protectively cradling his eternal enemy…as if he were his son. Or maybe it was because he wasn’t the one to finally bring Negaduck down. It filled Darkwing with mixed complicated feelings. Even from where he stood, he could see the heartbroken expression on Jacob’s face.
Jacob gently caressed the black mask of the public enemy with his fingertips. He fought back the tears that threatened to spring to his eyes. The overwhelming feeling of loss consumed him. Once again, Jake had managed to take away what was precious to him. A tear escaped his eyes, and slid down over his bill and dropped onto Negaduck’s cold cheek.
“I’m sorry, Drake. I’ve failed you,” Jacob whispered in regret. Then he removed the red fedora from Negaduck’s head, and then slipped his fingers into the knot of his mask. Gently, he pulled the strip of black material from around his face to reveal the face of the notorious criminal.
Jacob could feel his blood run cold as he gently brushed his fingers over the feathers of the villain’s face. He choked back on a sob and pulled him closer.
“Sleep now…”