Reservation Dogs (Rescue Rangers)

[ksharbaugh]

Author's note: In an effort to provide a little activity I've decided to post some of my non-smutty fanfics. This was the first and was written a long, long time ago. I can still remember how that music used to make me... wait... sorry, lapsed into American Pie there. Anyhow, as this was originally intended for a site with a G to PG rating, it's rather tame.

Reservation Dogs

Chapter One

It had been a fairly slow day. No new cases to solve, no unusual incidents to investigate, not much of anything, really. The Rangers were all engrossed in their own efforts to stave off boredom; Dale glued to the television watching a monster movie marathon, Monterey Jack in the kitchen experimenting with a new recipe, Chip and Zipper playing chess, and Gadget working on an invention (which had no particular purpose other than keeping her busy) in her workshop.

Outside, the sun had nearly set, the shadows in the park growing ever longer. A mouse in a fine suit hesitantly approached the door of the Rangers’ headquarters, trying to convince himself that he had no other choice, that there was really nothing else that he himself could do. He nervously knocked on the door, but received no response. You’re going to have to knock harder than that, he thought to himself, so he tried again. Again no response. Maybe they’re out... but the lights are on. He tried once more, knocking with more earnest effort. Still no response.

Inside, Gadget struggled to pop a gear into place. After numerous failed attempts to wrestle it into position with her hands she decides to resort to an old, yet still reliable, method. Grabbing the nearest mallet she gave the troublesome piece a few hearty whacks. “It’s in,” she proclaims to herself, “OK, what’s next.” However, before she can determine what her next step should be, that same defiant gear began to wiggle itself out of place. With a loud ‘sproing’ it went flying across the workshop, ricocheting off the opposite wall, and right out the door.

“Heads up, everyone!” Gadget shouted, “Waitaminute, maybe you should put your heads down, keeping your heads up when there’s something flying around really isn’t such a good idea.”

The others had become uncomfortably familiar with the potential dangers of Gadget with time on her hands, and despite their own involvements had, unconsciously, been awaiting the inevitable warning. They all dove for cover as the wayward gear made a quick tour of the living area...

The mouse in the fine suit had decided to poke his head though the door to see if there was, in fact, anyone home to hear his knocking... and received an impromptu haircut as the gear finally came to a stop, lodging itself in the wood above his head. “Perhaps I’ll come back tomorrow,” he yelped, and promptly backed out of the doorway.

“Wait!” Chip shouted as he climbed out from under the table and rushed to the door. As there was no immediate danger to life and limb, the others emerged form their hiding places and converged on the front door.

“Gadget, luv,” Monterey started, “do you think you could keep your door closed the next time you’re working on something?”

“Gosh, I thought I had,” she said while retrieving the gear, “Oh well, no harm done.”

“Yet,” Dale and Monterey said in unison.

Chip managed to catch their guest before he’d gotten too far and brought him inside. Zipper went to fetch a thimble of water as the still nervous mouse took a seat and prepared to explain his problem.

Before he could start, though, Gadget felt compelled to apologize, “Sorry about the incident with the gear, it kind of got away from me.”

Still somewhat shaken, the nervous mouse accepted, “That’s OK, my... my wife’s been after me to get a trim anyway.”

“Well, I mean,” she continued, “another three quarters of an inch and you would have been decapitated...,”

“Gadget...,” Chip interrupted.

“Sorry.”

Changing the subject to more relevant matters, Chip addressed their guest, “Is there something we can help you with?”

“I hope so, I... I’m not sure what to do,” he responded, “My name’s Walter by the way. I’m here because I think something terrible might have happened to my cousin, but I’m not sure... I guess I’d better start at the beginning.” Taking a deep breath he continued, “I sell wine, along with other beverages, but I get the wine from my cousin. You see, he distributes it, he gets it from vineyards in the Finger Lakes and distributes it to retailers like me, and I get a great deal out of it because I’m family. Anyhow, the prices started to go through the roof, and I wrote him to ask what it was about. When he finally did respond he talked about a gang moving into his area, that they were putting pressure on him. Here, I have the letter with me.” He reached into his coat and removed a folded letter and handed it to Chip.

As Chip and the other Rangers took a look at it, Walter continued, “I wrote back and asked if there was anything I could do, and this time got a much faster response. It was short, and just said that everything was fine and it was all just a misunderstanding he had with his new business partners. But this is where I’m concerned most,” Walter once again reached into his coat and produced another letter, “This isn’t his handwriting.” Placing the two letters side by side illustrated the obvious difference. “I didn’t know what to do, and I’m afraid my asking to help may have made things worse. I’m worried sick about this... I need help.”

“Well, you came to the right place,” declared Monterey Jack, “We’ll figure out what happened to your cousin, so there’s no need to worry!”

Walter was clearly relieved, “Oh... you, you’ll all have my eternal thanks for this! I just hope he’s all right!”

“So, where does your cousin live?” queried Dale.

“Um... Salamanca, it’s south of Buffalo in New York State. Not a very large place.”

“We’ll get right on it,” said Chip.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Two

At Buffalo International Airport the ground crew went through their normal routine of servicing passenger jets, doing all the little things that go unnoticed by passengers in general. But what went unnoticed by the ground crew was the emergence of a small rodent piloted aircraft from the forward landing gear housing. In a few minutes it had gained enough altitude to avoid unwanted attention by the humans below. The Ranger Wing plied it’s way through the crisp morning air in a southerly direction. The flat terrain of the Lake Erie coast slowly grew into the forested hills of the Allegany Platteau. The trek was blissfully uneventful for the most part, with only a short stop for lunch.

“That should be Salamanca up ahead,” Gadget stated, “Better get out the map that Walter gave us.”

As Chip reached beneath the seat to retrieve the hand drawn map that Walter had made, showing the location of his cousin’s home and business, there were two loud ‘bangs’ from somewhere below. Before anyone could get out the words “what was that?” they were caught up in a flock of panicked ducks.

“OUTTA’ MY WAY!” screamed many of the fowl, others were simply screaming in their mad dash to escape the gunfire below. Gadget wasn’t having too much trouble flying through the turbulence wrought by several dozen wings, but the duck that actually collided with the Ranger Wing was another matter altogether. After a moment, that seemed an eternity to the passengers, the aircraft leveled out.

The wind tousling Chip’s hair brought him a sudden realization and just as he began to feel around for his hat Zipper flew up to him with the truant headgear. “Thanks, Zip! Uh... you didn’t by any chance see where the map went, did you?” All the housefly could do was shrug in response as he hadn’t seen it after catching the hat.

“What do we do now?” asked Dale.

“Well, we’d better set down,” Gadget responded, “I want to make sure we didn’t sustain any major damage.” She landed behind a barn and immediately hopped out to begin inspecting the vehicle. The other Rangers soon disembarked as well, grateful to be on solid ground.

From out behind a loose board a local mouse emerged, “Hey there! You need some assistance?”

Chip turned to him, “Well, I’m not sure,” then turned back to the Ranger Wing, “Gadget, how does it look?”

“If we take off right now,” she started, “we’ll remain airborne for about two hours, fifteen minutes, and thirty six-seconds... after which the wings will fall off and we’ll crash.”

“You should have Dee Hawkfeather take a look at it,” the local suggested, “she can fix just about anything.” Motioning to the southwest he continued, “Ya head that way a couple ‘a miles, there’s an abandoned rail yard... her place is right in there... best mechanic yer ever gonna find.”

“Thanks for the advice, mate, but we got all the mechanic we’ll ever need in our li’l Gadget ‘ere,” Monterey Jack boasted, pulling his teammate to him in a chummy manner.

About this time a lady mouse appeared and called over, “Frank! Are you Hawkfeather’s ad man or my husband? Get back in here and help with these dishes!” Frank turned back from his wife, wished the Rangers luck, and slunk back inside as if to his execution.

“That’s why you’re never gonna see me get married!” Dale stated confidently.

“Don’t worry, Dale, I don’t think Foxglove’s going to make you do the dishes,” Chip quipped with a smile.

“Ha, ha,” Dale responded sarcastically, “I’ll have you know Foxy and I are just friends.”

“Sure thing, lad, whatever you say,” added Monterey.

Gadget climbed back into the Ranger Wing, “We might as well see if we can find this Hawkfeather person, it couldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of hands for doing repairs. Of course it would only help if the hands were actually attached to a person’s body, but I don’t know why her hands wouldn’t be attached to her body, unless she was involved in a terrible accident that...”

“Gadget, luv,” Monterey Jack interrupted, “are you sure we can find this person before the... uh... wings fall off?”

“Sure!” she replied cheerily, “As long as it doesn’t take longer than two hours, fifteen minutes, and thirty-six seconds!” With that, the others warily climbed aboard.

Lifting off, Gadget piloted to the southwest as the henpecked husband had suggested. Upon cresting the nearby hill, the small city of Salamanca spread out before them. Almost immediately an abandoned and heavily overgrown rail yard came into sight. Standing tall over the field of weeds and shrubs, the massive concrete coal bunkers were mute testimony of the economic prosperity the little city had known in years past. But hidden in the shadow of the mighty edifice was a small clearing, at the center of which was what appeared to be a miniature landing strip. At the edge of the clearing there stood a dilapidated structure of brick and wood.

Not wanting to be in anyone’s way, Gadget landed a few feet to the side of the landing strip. A red squirrel in a grease streaked smock emerged form the building that adjoined the clearing and approached the aircraft. The Rangers disembarked and proceeded to meet the diminutive squirrel halfway.

Once they had all approached close enough to have a civilized discussion, Chip began, “Excuse me but...”

“Are you Dee Hawkfeather?” Dale blurted out, much to his friend’s consternation.

The squirrel looked at Dale with obvious annoyance, then returned to his previous calm before replying, in a clear and proper British accent, “I most certainly am not!” followed by, “And who, may I ask, are you? Don Ho?”

The subtlety of the insult having been completely lost on him, he responded with a laugh, “No, I’m Dale!”

“Yes, well,” the British rodent said, turning to Chip, whom he assumed was of a somewhat higher class than the Hawaiian shirt clad dimwit he’d just encountered, “My name is William Worthington III. I am Miss Hawkfeather’s assistant.”

Before Chip could even open his mouth, Monterey Jack spoke up, “If you don’t mind my askin’, what’s a proper chap like yourself doin’ in a place like this?”

“If you must know,” William began, “I did not have the heart to see my beloved Britain Americanized bit by bit, so, for the sake of expediency, I simply moved to America. Is there anything else you would like to know about me?”

Chip managed to get his mouth open this time, but was cut off by Gadget, “Yes, achally...,” Chip simply covered his face in defeat as Zipper gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “We were wondering if we could talk to your boss.”

William was noticeably surprised by Gadget’s appearance, though the other Rangers ascribed this to nothing more than her usual, unintentional, effect on the opposite sex, “I- I’m sorry, but Dee just left. She went to drop something off on the other side of town and then to head straight home. She will not return until tomorrow.”

“Well, then can we get some parts to repair our plane?”

As the conversation continued between William and Gadget, a large, muscular mouse pushed his way through the weeds next to the decrepit building. With dark brown fur and straight black hair he was an intimidating figure, this was heightened by the dark glasses and black jacket. After brushing himself off he put his hands in his pockets and casually approached the group.

“I can’t do that,” William explained to Gadget, “My employer is very strict about what is to be done with her supplies... which is nothing. Even I am not permitted to handle most of it as I am only her assistant.”

“Maybe you’d be her partner if you weren’t always acting like her butler!” The large mouse, who had a thick Native American accent, gave William a hearty slap on the back (which nearly sent him to the ground) as he joined the assemblage.

“Hello, Bob,” William acknowledged, regaining his balance, “I suppose you are looking for your sister?”

“No,” Bob laughed, “I’m here to infite you to haf tea and crumpets with the queen, she wants to knight ya’, then haf yer baby!”

“Yes, Bob, very amusing,” William had never ceased to be irritated by Bob’s presence, but had also never ceased to maintain his calm demeanor, “Your sister has already left, you will most likely find her at her residence.”

“Huh, and how am I supposed to get there?”

“You might try walking.”

“Fery funny,” changing the subject, Bob motions towards the Ranger Wing, “This plane belong to any of you?”

Gadget immediately responded, “Yeah, that’s ours!”

Bob’s reaction to seeing her was much more noticeable than William’s, lifting up his shades to get a clearer view he simply said, “Wow.” After a few moments he regained his power of speech, though still seemed a little awkward, “Think you could gif me lift to Dee’s place?”

Chip, finally getting a chance to speak, responded for the group, “We were hoping to get some parts to repair it before doing any more flying.”

“If you can get as far as her place she can make whateffer repairs you need.”

“How far is it?” Gadget was becoming more interested in meeting this person, given all the talk about her mechanical skills.

“Just a couple miles t’ the south.”

Gadget thought for a moment, “I think we can make that.”

Chip was a little concerned, “Are you sure?”

“Sure, I’m sure, c’mon!”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Two continued...

The group boarded the plane, with Dale scrunched in between Monterey and Bob, while William returned to the workshop in the dilapidated building. Flying to the south they soon left the river valley in which the city had been nestled and entered the hills of the Allegany State Park.

Looking out over the expanse of woodlands, Monterey wondered if they would actually find their destination, “Doesn’t look like there’s much of anything out here except for trees. You sure you know where we’re going?”

“Yeah,” Bob responded casually, “Dee’s flown me ofer this enough to know what t’ look for. It’s right on the other side of this hill here. You’ll haf t’go in low though, she’s got the place camouflaged.”

Beginning to come in closer to the tree tops, Gadget wondered aloud, “Why would she have it camouflaged?”

“Because it’s part of an abandoned saw mill, without camouflage it’d be fisible to humans from abuff, some of them might decide to hike into the woods to infestigate the place.” Flying within feet of the higher trees, Gadget noticed a shelf of foliage under which there appeared to be a cavity. Before she can ask, Bob points it out, “That’s it ofer there. When you get in closer you’ll see a rectangular opening, go in on the left side of it... well, our left. That’s her hanger.”

Gadget slowly piloted the Ranger Wing into the hanger, and once everyone’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness they realized where the name had come from. All around the spacious enclosure were parts of aircraft in various states of assemblage, tools, workbenches, and a wide range of other equipment. But shortly before touchdown, a combination of cracking and tearing alerted the passengers to what was coming next, as the wings broke free. The fuselage dropped to the floor, only an inch below. The momentum of the propellers caused the wings to spin for a brief time before coming to a rest nearby.

“Golly, that wasn’t supposed to happen for another 45 minutes 30 seconds,” Gadget mentioned, “I must of underestimated the additional mass when we took off.”

“Well, we’re here!” Bob stated as everyone proceeded to disembark the crippled aircraft, “Oh, by the way, try not to touch anything till Dee gets here, she’s a little obsessiff when it comes to her...” he paused for a moment trying to think of the proper word, finally settling on, “stuff.”

Dale looked around in awe, “This is like the Twilight Zone, when you wind up in someone else’s head.”

Chip was in complete agreement, “Yeah, Gadget’s.”

“What?” the mouse mechanic looked up from one of the damaged wings, thinking Chip was talking to her.

“Oh, nothing,” he replied as he continued to look around.

Gadget stood up after assessing the damage to the plane, “I guess we’ll have to wait till Dee arrives before I can do any repairs.” Now that she had a chance to actually look around she was entranced. It was almost as if she were dreaming; pieces, parts, tools everywhere. As she wandered around in amazement she nearly tripped over something. Looking down she noticed a wire suspended just above the floor, and then another, and another, all running parallel to one another. “Golly! These are almost like the arrester cables they have on aircraft carriers!”

The others began to assemble around her to investigate. They soon became aware of a sound in the distance. It grew in pitch and volume to an ear-splitting, screeching, wail. Monterey Jack, who had been looking out of the hanger, yelled a warning to the others, “INCOMING!”

Bob suddenly realized what it was, and became acutely aware of the danger the others were in. “MOOF!” he bellowed as he ran across the landing strip bulldozing them out of the way.

Just as they’d cleared the side of the strip, Dee Hawkfeather’s prized jet, the Banshee, snagged one of the wires and soon came to rest at the far end. Out of the cockpit jumped a mouse whose jumpsuit and goggles exactly matched those worn by Gadget. It took a little longer for the next realization to sink in, but she even had the same hairstyle. The only visible difference was their color: Gadget had dark blond hair and her fur was peach, this other mouse had black hair with brown fur (the same as Bob).

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Three

“Dammit, Bob, what the hell’s wrong with you?!” she looked a great deal like Gadget, but certainly didn’t sound like her, her voice was a little deeper (and there was the matter of the vulgarity), “I could have taken yer damn head off!” her rage then dissipated somewhat as she added, “Not that you’d notice it was gone.”

Chip and Dale stood stock-still, frozen in their astonishment, she was every bit as stunningly beautiful as Gadget, and to top it off was dressed exactly like her. Monterey Jack was the first to find his voice, “Crikey, how many more Gadget look-a-likes can there be?”

“Let’s just hope this one doesn’t try to kill us,” Gadget responded remembering less than fondly the treatment they’d received from her Hawaiian double, Lahwhinie.

“It’s nice to see you too, Sis,” Bob said responding to the dressing down he had just received, he then proceeded with the introductions, “Dee, meet Chip, Dale, Monterey Jack, Zipper, and Gadget, they’re the Rescue Rangers. Efryone, this is my sister, Doohickey Hawkfeather, the most skilled mechanic and infentor in the Seneca Nation.”

Dee immediately walked over to Gadget, looked her over, then asked, “What’s your name again?”

“I’m Gadget Hackwrench,” she responded.

Dee thought for a moment, “Um... could you come over here for a second?” she asked as she began walking. After some hesitation Gadget followed, who in turn was followed by the other Rangers. When she got to a mirror Dee positioned Gadget next to her. “Damn, this is strange,” she commented as she and Gadget observed their reflections.

“Great, now there’s four of ‘em,” Bob joked.

Dee almost laughed, but was still a little too stunned. She eventually came back to herself, “Uh... What are you all doing here anyhow?” she asked as she tore her gaze off the unusual scene reflected in the mirror.

It took a little while but Chip finally responded, “Oh, uh... We came here hoping to get parts to repair our plane.”

“Oh, OK,” Dee said, “Where is it?”

“On the other side of the hanger.”

“Well, then let’s take a look at it,” Dee approached the Ranger Wing and, seeing the state it was in, said, “Looks like you’ve already started your repairs.”

“Well actually the wings came off just as we were preparing to land,” Bob corrected her.

Dee inspected the vehicle closely, then gave her estimate, “I can have this thing airborne in half an hour, I just have to get the parts out of storage.”

“Oh, you don’t have to go through the trouble,” Gadget said, “I can do the work myself once I have the necessary parts.”

“Lemme guess, you built this, right?” Dee was certain of the answer even before she asked, it just made sense.

“Correct.”

“Well, you’d be the right person to do the work then,” Dee conceded, “I know I wouldn’t like someone trying to reassemble one of my planes without knowing how it was supposed to look, let’s go find some parts.”

Dee led Gadget into an adjoining room filled to the ceiling with parts of various kinds. One pile was nothing but springs, another was screws, other piles seemed to have a miscellaneous theme. Turning to face Gadget, Dee said, “Tell me what you need and I’ll find it.” Gadget began running down a list and Dee immediately set to work going straight from one pile to another gathering the items. As Dee roamed from pile to pile Gadget began to follow and it wasn’t long before she became distracted by some of the things she came across. It wasn’t long after that Gadget began to openly debate whether to use the items she’d already requested or substitute them with items she’d seen while following Dee.

The situation was becoming a little irritating for Dee who had little patience for the scatterbrained. C’mon, she thought to herself, make up your mind! As Gadget became more engrossed in her own deliberations Dee became more concerned. I could let her find the parts herself. That thought sent a cold chill through her, she had put a great deal of effort in keeping things organized and didn’t like the idea of letting someone screw it all up. Dee just stood there, watching Gadget think to herself out loud, all the while trying to figure out what to do. When Gadget picked something out from one of the piles Dee stopped deliberating and watched. Put it back where you found it, not someplace else, not someplace else, don’t do it. Gadget walked over to the next pile and compared something she removed form there with the one she had grabbed earlier. Dee stopped breathing.

==

While waiting for Gadget and Dee to return the other Rangers occupied themselves by looking around. Their focus soon settled on the Banshee, and they gathered around to inspect it.

Running his fingers along the streamlined fuselage Monterey let out a whistle, “This is one smart lookin’ aircraft.”

Zipper dropped down into the cockpit to get a closer look at the controls as Bob walked over to give them a warning, “You should remember not to touch anything, Dee is a little goofy when it comes to anyone messing with her things.”

==

“Nope, that won’t work,” Gadget stated as she tossed one of the pieces over her shoulder.

Dee almost screamed, “Whoa... WHOA!” She ran over to Gadget and took hold of her before she could do any more harm, “Hold on, will ya’?” Dee then went to retrieve the discarded piece and returned it to where it belonged. She told Gadget in as polite a voice as she could manage, “Don’t touch my parts,” then said, almost to herself, “reminds me of my last date,” then returning to Gadget, “anyhow, everything here is ordered precisely, I’m the only one I allow to handle anything in here, OK?”

“Golly, I’m sorry, I guess I got a little carried away,” Gadget said, “I usually find what I need in junkyards, no one there minds if you make a mess.”

“I’m partially to blame for the misunderstanding,” Dee admitted, “I don’t get many guests so I’ve never had to warn anyone not to touch anything here, and since we looked so much alike I guess I unconsciously assumed you were as obsessively organized as I am. Well, live and learn.” With Gadget’s mind back on track they collected the last few items and returned to the hanger.

“You know,” Gadget started as they walked past the others, “when you said you don’t allow anyone to handle your parts it reminded me of your assistant, William...”

“Mm hm...” Dee mumbled.

“Well, he called your brother ‘Bob’; I would have thought he’d call him Robert. That is his proper name isn’t it?”

Before Dee could answer Bob attempted to change the subject to something he was more comfortable with others hearing, “Dee, maybe you could, uh, tell your guests about building the Banshee.”

Dee simply waved a dismissive paw at her brother as she answered Gadget’s question, “Bob’s real name isn’t Robert...,” Bob gritted his teeth, “it’s Thingamabob.”

“Thingamabob?” the Rangers repeated in unison, to which Dale added with a laugh (and without a thought), “How do ya’ get a silly name like that?” and after realizing Bob was glaring at him added sheepishly, “Not that there’s anything wrong with it.”

“The same way you get a name like Doohickey,” Dee answered, setting down some of the supplies by the Ranger Wing, “Our father was one of those who could never think of the right name for something when he had to, so he was always asking for a thingy, dealy, doohickey, whatchamacallit, thingamabob, or thingamajig. Mom thought it was cute... so cute in fact she named us ‘Doohickey’ and ‘Thingamabob’. I’d go with my Seneca name, but I prefer Dee, it’s nice and short.”

“You have an Indian name?” Dale excitedly asked, “Like ‘Dances with Wolves’?”

Dee nodded in acknowledgment, “Yeah, my name is Ye’shöni’. It means ‘She Invents’.”

“And what’s Bob’s?” Gadget asked.

“Ha:nege i:e,” Dee answered, “it means ‘He’s Drunk Again’.”

Bob felt the need to explain, so he added, “And it’s not because I drink...”

“Much...” his sister quietly interjected with a smirk.

Bob continued, “I wasn’t fery coordinated as a kid, I’d stumble around like I was drunk.”

“Gadget,” Chip asked, “How long do you think it’ll take to do the repairs?”

Gadget thought for a moment before answering, “Um, ‘bout half an hour.”

“I’m not sure I can wait that long,” Dale grumbled, “I’m starving.”

“I’ve got plenty of food here,” Dee mentioned, “C’mon.”

The Rangers, sans Gadget, followed Dee to the far wall of the hanger. The lower half of the wall was recessed. A rope hung from the center of where the upper half projected overhead. Dee gave the rope a tug and half of the lower wall slid to the side. The room revealed was furnished with chairs, a couch and a coffee table, the far wall was made up in part by a sliding glass door which opened onto a balcony. One of the walls was comprised of a television screen, and there was a door in the opposite wall.

Dee motioned to the others, “Through that door is the kitchen, the door to the right in the kitchen leads to the pantry, help yourselves ONLY if you pick up after yourselves... the other door leads to my bedroom,” Dee stopped for a moment, then continued, “I may as well tell you, in case you didn’t know, you NEVER enter a lady’s bedroom without her permission, I don’t care if you are my guests,” with that Dee entered her room, closing the door behind her leaving her guests to make do in the kitchen.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Three continued...

As Chip, Dale, Monterey, and Zipper set down in the living room with their makeshift meals, Dee emerged from her room. They all stopped eating when she entered the room. Dee had doffed her light blue jumpsuit for one of black, and the effect was quite profound. Up to that point the Rangers had unintentionally viewed Dee much as they did Gadget: bright, cheerful, helpful to a fault, and wholesome. Standing before them now was a stranger, and none of them had the slightest idea how to view her.

The black jumpsuit, accentuated by a dark blue belt and purple shirt visible at the neckline, provided a certain sensuality that they never knew Gadget lacked. Suddenly the two young chipmunks began to see all their fantasies of Gadget superimposed on this mouse, even those fantasies they would never admit to anyone in a million years. To Monterey Jack, Gadget was like his niece so he had never developed the type of fantasies his two companions had, but the physical similarity between Dee and Gadget wasn’t enough to stop his imagination at this point. Zipper’s reaction wasn’t quite as hormonal as his friends’ (he never was into mice anyway), but couldn’t help but be impressed by the impact Dee’s appearance had on the other three, I should probably tell Dale he dropped his sandwich, he thought, before someone steps on it.

Dee hadn’t anticipated the kind of reception she received. At no time in her life had she ever felt so conspicuous. It soon occurred to her that their stares were due to her change of attire and felt compelled to say something, “Um, I thought we’d all feel a little better if Gadget and I didn’t look quite so much alike,” they were still staring at her, “Uh, I’ll be working on my plane... if any of you need anything.” She took a step forwards, and noticed Dale’s sandwich on the floor, this helped bring her back to herself, “I hope you plan on picking that up before you leave.”

“Huh?” her polite scolding brought Dale back down to Earth and he realized his meal had escaped, “Oh, I wonder how that got there?” he said, managing a nervous laugh. As Dee left to do work on her aircraft Chip and Dale couldn’t help but watch as she strode across the hanger. They finished their meal in quiet reflection. Monterey scolding himself for having had the types of thoughts he’d had for someone half his age as Chip and Dale replayed how Dee walked in their minds over and over again. Zipper sat on the back of the couch and watched the two ladies working on their respective aircraft thinking how much Dee looked like Gadget’s shadow.

Upon finishing his meal, Monterey stood up and stretched, “Wonder what stations you can get around ‘ere?” he asked as he wandered towards the television.

“Maybe you should ask permission before you start playing around with her TV,” Chip suggested.

“Right ya’ are, almost forgot me manners,” Monterey responded, changing direction.

It’s going to be awhile before Gadget’s finished with the Ranger Wing, Chip thought to himself, maybe I can get a few more chapters out of the way. He left his seat in the living room to retrieve the detective novel he’d brought with him.

Dale was busy picking up the crumbs he’d left on the floor (he didn’t want to chance ruining anything with Dee) when he saw Chip leave. Oh no you don’t, I saw her first! he thought, assuming his friend was on his way to put the moves on their new acquaintance. He got up and hurriedly walked towards Dee, only to realize Chip was walking in Gadget’s direction. After having spent so much time competing with Chip for Gadget’s attention he instinctively changed direction.

“Sure, you can use my TV,” Dee said to Monterey, turning her attention away from her work, “but if you change anything other than the volume or channel,” she continued, as she brandished a screwdriver at him, “I’ll gut you like a carp.” She normally didn’t make threats like that (not so soon after meeting someone anyway) but was still a little uncomfortable following the reception she’d received after changing her clothes. She always preferred to keep others on the defensive, especially in her own home.

“‘Course,” Monterey said, in as nonchalant a manner as possible, “Not a problem!” He came up on Dale as he walked back to the living room, “Hey, pally, let’s see if we can find something good on the TV.”

“Uh, sure, Monty... in a second,” Dale said as he continued closely behind Chip.

Chip walked up to the Ranger Wing to retrieve his book and greeted Gadget as he passed. As she looked up to return the greeting they made eye contact. Looking into her beautiful blue eyes he almost felt he should apologize, he felt a little ashamed for the thoughts he’d had about her when he saw Dee walk into the living room. He awkwardly explained that he was going to do some reading to pass the time.

Dale walked up intent on being a third wheel. When he saw Chip pull out his book he couldn’t help but comment on his friend’s seemingly bizarre obsession with complicated, incredibly dull, stories, “Don’t you ever get tired of those detective books?”

Chip tried to explain, once again, what his interest in them was, “The mind is like a muscle,” then looking at Dale he added, “well, for most people the mind is a muscle, and without exercise it turns to mush, and I don’t want my brain turning to oatmeal.”

Dee’s ears perked up, she loved detective novels almost as much as building and inventing. She had always been a bit of a social outcast because of this, most of the people she knew couldn’t stand thinking. In fact, most of the guys she’d dated just wanted to ‘touch her parts’. She would pray at night for someone to come into her life who had the same love of problem solving as herself. “I’ll marry the guy who has a complete set of Sureluck Jones stories” she had once declared. She looked up from her work and watched Chip walk back to the couch.

Chip didn’t realize she was following him with her eyes. Actually, he was trying hard not to look at her, he wasn’t entirely comfortable knowing someone other than Gadget could have that strong an effect on him.

Not bad for a chipmunk, Dee thought, kinda looks like a squat Indiana Jones. She set down her work, Not bad looking, likes to pass the time reading... I have to check him out. The couch was arranged to provide a view out of the picture window opposite so anyone sitting in it would have their back to the hanger. Perfect, she thought to herself as she approached, I can read over his shoulder to see what kind of story it is. She read for a moment, barely breathing, and realized it was a story she was already acquainted with.

“Hey, I’ve read this one,” she mentioned.

Nearly dropping his book out of shock (having assumed she was still several feet away occupied with work), he managed some measure of language as he looked up at her, “Uh, what?”

“I’ve read this one,” she reiterated.

“Well, don’t tell me how it ends, I haven’t finished it,” Chip responded, still somewhat startled and, now, a little curious. He’d never met someone else who would find the time to read such a piece (and casually admit it). He was beginning to see more of a difference between Dee and Gadget, his teammate had rarely found time to finish even the shorter stories he had recommended, much less show enough interest in one to actually walk away from a contraption.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Three continued...

Though he had rarely ever felt compelled to mention it before, Chip remarked that he had already worked out how the crime was committed and by whom. Dee was becoming more interested in this particular chipmunk, and had developed a sudden urge to play. As he resumed his study of the text she leaned in closer, almost close enough for him to feel her breath as she purred, “Really?”

He was truly surprised at this development, no one had ever shown this much interest in his reading, and he began to blush quite noticeably. After fumbling for the right words he proceeded to detail his assumption. When he’d finished he looked up at her almost as if asking So, am I right? That’s what she had been looking for. She gave him a seductive glance, looked back at the text for a moment, and then began to slowly walk away as she patted his shoulder softly. So this is what it feels like to go fishing, she thought to herself, I like it! For half a second she contemplated curling the tip of her tail like a hook, Don’t overdo it, she told herself, and allowed her tail to glide naturally. She was smiling ear to ear, completely oblivious to her surroundings except for one thing: she could feel him watching her.

Chip sat there, dying for some kind of response as he watched her slowly glide across the floor. He was torn, he wanted to know what she’d thought about his solution but wasn’t completely sure he wanted an answer. There’s something about my conclusion she wants me to know about, he thought, should I call after her? Wait, if she says I’m wrong, the others will hear about it. I can go over and ask her privately... sure, that’ll work! Deep in the recesses of his mind, a little voice in his left brain was saying, “She’s teasing you, don’t play her game!” There was another little voice deep in the recesses of his mind, somewhere in the vicinity of the right brain, saying, “SHE KNOWS! I’VE GOTTA KNOW! DID YOU SEE THAT LOOK SHE GAVE ME?! WHAT A BODY!!” Despite his long devotion to listening to the logic of his left brain while keeping the right under some measure of restraint, she had pressed all the right buttons and his right brain was loose... and in control. He quickly marked his place in the book and began to walk after her.

Somewhere between the couch and her plane, Dee heard the rustling of pages, followed by quickly approaching footsteps. Got ‘im! She was barely able to contain a triumphant chuckle. This is too much fun, she thought, I’m gonna go to hell! She slowed down only a little.

“Uh... Dee?” Chip asked nervously; in fact, more nervous than he had wanted.

“Mm-hm?” Dee acknowledged, desperately holding back an idiotic grin as she turned to face him.

“Uh... What did you think of my... uh... conclusions?”

She had one last volley to fire, “If I told you that you were right... would you hate me for ruining the ending? If I told you that you were wrong... would you hate me for pointing out the failure of your deductive reasoning?” The second question sounded more like a statement, but she wasn’t concerned about hiding her amusement now. Yes! I’m definitely going to hell!

Chip was utterly unprepared for that response, and, for once in his life, was completely without a clue. His legs began to feel like jelly.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Four

Now yer just being cruel, she thought, better show him a little mercy. “You’re part right,” Dee finally confessed, “And I’m impressed, I hadn’t figured that much out until a lot later.” She led Chip back towards the living room, “I have a feeling you’ve read more than a few Sureluck Jones stories.”

“That’s an understatement,” Chip never thought he’d meet a lady with whom he could have this kind of conversation. “I’ve read, and memorized, all of them,” he boasted, “even the one that was never published.”

Chip now had Dee’s undivided attention, “Beg pardon?” The two of them sat down at the couch as Chip proceeded to regale his hostess with the tale of the Rangers’ unintended visit to Baskerville Mansion and the resultant adventure that led to the discovery of the unpublished manuscript. Monterey Jack, who was seated nearby, normally reveled in recounting such adventures, but chose to keep his peace and left this one entirely for Chip.

Gadget finished work on the Ranger Wing earlier than she had expected, in part due to Bob’s offer of assistance for some of the heavy lifting. Dale even helped out some, and received a particularly nasty shock while reconnecting some of the wires. Everyone was set to go except for Chip, who was still deeply immersed in conversation with Dee (and getting a little lost in her dark brown eyes). The polite efforts to get the attention of either culminated in Bob thrusting his paw between them and waving it around.

“What the hell do you want?” Dee asked, quite irritated at the interruption.

“Their plane’s fixed,” he stated bluntly.

“And we do have a case to get back to,” Monterey added.

“Oh, that’s right,” Chip quickly stood up, anxious to get back to work, then turned back to Dee, “Um, it was great to meet you, Dee,” then to her brother, “and you too, Bob.”

“Wait,” Dee called after him, hesitant to let him leave that easily, “It’s pretty late, you sure you... all wouldn’t want to stay overnight... and get started in the morning?”

The Rangers looked at one another, and as Monterey looked at Chip he broke into a broad grin, “I don’t see why not, eh Chipper,” and gave him a little nudge.

“Well, since we lost the map,” Gadget added, “it would make more sense to start early in the day.”

“Besides,” Dee jumped in, “maybe I can help.” Bob was a little surprised at Dee’s suggestion since she wasn’t the type to come right out and make such an offer, she preferred to let others come to her.

Chip turned back to face Dee, “Are you sure we wouldn’t be...,” he hesitated when he made eye contact with her, “imposing?”

“If I thought it would be an imposition,” she responded as she drew closer to Chip, “I wouldn’t ‘ave asked.”

Bob decided this would be as good a time as any to bring on the cold shower of reality, “They can’t all sleep in your bed.” Dee wasn’t at all that amused by her brother’s remark and the way she glared at him made it quite obvious. Bob seemed quite a bit smaller as he corrected himself, “I-I didn’t mean it the way it sounded...,” he continued as he took a step back, “I meant that you only have two beds here.”

Dee’s countenance softened (some) as she responded, “While we’re on that subject... Why are you here?”

“What, I need an excuse to visit my little sister?”

“She threw you out, right?”

“No, not this time,” Bob corrected, “The humans got a cat, so we had to move. She’s with her sister.”

“And she threw you out.”

“No,” he corrected once more, “She threw a crock pot at me... I left entirely on my own.”

“Right,” Dee turned back towards the Rangers, “I can find y’all places t’sleep, it’s not a problem,” she motioned for them to sit in her living room, “Now what’s this case yer on?”

Chip proceeded to explain what had brought them to the area, “Well, there’s a merchant back home who’s worried about his cousin here, he’s a wine distributer...”

Before Chip could continue Bob interjected, “You mean Rick Tanner?”

“Yeah, you know him?”

“Work for ‘im, I do security at his warehouse on weekends,” Bob answered, “Something happened to ‘im?”

“That’s what we’re here to find out,” Dale responded.

“He wrote ‘is cousin Walter about some toughs who had come around puttin’ some pressure on ‘im,” Monterey added.

Chip produced the letter in question form his jacket and set it on the table, “But this is what really worried him,” he said as he took a second letter out, “when Walter offered some help this is what he got back,” he set the second letter by the first, “a letter saying that everything was fine, it was all a misunderstanding, but in completely different handwriting.”

“That ain’t good,” Dee commented as she leaned in to get a closer look.

“Have you noticed anything unusual at the warehouse?” Chip asked, turning to Bob.

“Yeah,” Bob responded as he thought, “there were a couple new guys who started workin’ there, weren’t from around here. I asked ‘em what they were supposed to be doing here and one of ‘em said,” here he made his best approximation (which sounded like something out of a poorly made gangster movie), “‘We’re here cuz the boss don’t know if he can trust youse yet’ and that was it.”

“Have you seen your boss recently?”

“I’fe rarely seen ‘im period... that’s not really fery odd considering I’m only there on weekends.”

“Do you know anything about the new guys you’re working with that might help?”

“Huh,” Bob leaned back in his chair, “Can’t think of anything,” he gave the matter a little more thought, “Dafe might know something though.”

Chip had never heard of anybody named ‘Dafe’ and wanted to make sure he had heard it correctly, “Dafe?”

“Dave,” Dee corrected, accentuating the ‘v’, “Bob’s exaggerating his accent again,” she explained, “There’s no ‘V’ sound in the Seneca language, like there’s no ‘L’ in Japanese.”

Chip continued his questioning, “Does Dave also work security at the warehouse?”

Bob nodded, “Yeah, I’fe seen ‘im talkin’ to the new guys off and on. Come to think of it, he’s not been talkin’ to me as much. Not that I really cared, I do haff more interesting people to spend time with, so if he wanted to talk to the new guys it’s no fur off my back.”

“Do you think he’d talk to us about his new friends?”

Bob shrugged, “I dunno, I guess we won’t know unless we ask ‘im.”

“We should probably try to find him tomorrow then,” Chip concluded, “It’d be better to know something about these people before we start poking around too much.”

Everyone was in silent agreement. No one really had anything more to add to that particular discussion. Now that Chip’s mind wasn’t focused on the case at hand his mind began to wander and he became more aware of his immediate surroundings, in particular the fact that Dee seemed to be sitting unusually close to him on the couch. He turned his gaze slightly to see just how close she actually was, and noticed that she was also looking in his direction. Chip began to silently pray for something to break the intolerable silence. Unknowingly, Gadget came to his rescue.

“Oh, Dee?” everyone looked to Gadget as she began to speak, “Do you think you can show us the Banshee now? That is your plane, right?”

Dee had indeed been watching Chip out of the corner of her eye, and when Gadget broke the silence she wondered if any of the others had noticed. “Uh... sure,” she responded, “C’mon.” Dee grabbed Chip by the arm and led the others back into the hanger. Bob stayed behind to watch some TV.

“Now I didn’t see any propellers,” Gadget started, “Is it rocket powered?”

“Only for liftoff,” Dee answered, “I need to pick up speed fast to get the ramjet lit.”

“This must be the air intake then,” Gadget said as she stuck her head into a prominent opening in the front, “What do you use for fuel?”

“This,” Dee responded as she handed a bottle of clear liquid to Monterey, “G’head take a swig.”

Monterey held the bottle to his face and took a deep whiff, “Whoa... I think they were serving this at a bar in Davao.”

Gadget took the bottle, “Alcohol?” she asked as she prepared to take a tiny sniff, then quickly drew her head back, “Ugh!”

“It’s an old family recipe,” Dee mentioned, “When I decided to build a jet I remembered being told that you should never drink any of that near an open flame. Gramma used to tell us kids ‘bout a time when her brother and a friend a’ his were getting loaded on that stuff, and decided to have a belching contest... they were a little too close to a bonfire when they did it. She swore that her brother’s friend got blown to pieces.”

Gadget had passed the bottle to Chip, who took a very small sniff. Zipper flew in to investigate, inhaled a little too much, and soon ‘forgot’ how to fly. Fortunately he bounced into Monterey Jack, who promptly caught him before he could hit the floor, “Heh, guess we’re gonna hafta’ keep you away from any open flames for awhile, eh Zipper?”

When Dee noticed Gadget climbing into the cockpit she offered a helpful warning, “Don’t push or pull any buttons or levers, if you accidentally activate the ejection system you’d go crashing head first into the ceiling... that’d be none too pleasant.” She climbed up beside Gadget and gave her a review of the controls, reminding her periodically not to touch any of them. Before long they were talking in detail about aeronautics, engineering and other topics only the two of them would consider of interest.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Four continued...

In time the other Rangers joined Bob in front of the television. The tranquility of viewing soon was interrupted while Bob flipped through the channels, “Wait, go back!” Dale shouted, “That was ‘The Marriage of Dracula’, it’s a classic, I’ve only seen it three times!”

“You’fe gotta be kidding!” Bob responded.

“I know this probably won’t be a popular suggestion,” Chip offered, “but we could watch the local news.”

“Local news?!” was the universal response.

“Wait! Pro wrestling! That’s even better!” Dale yelled.

Bob groaned in frustration, “Please, there has to be a football game on somewhere.”

Back in the hanger Dee and Gadget continued their discussions. When Dee brought up the fact that the prototype for the Banshee was named The Screaming Eagle, the discussion veered off from engineering matters. When Gadget pointed out that her father’s plane had the same name it opened a new venue for conversation. Gadget began to reminisce about her late father, and some of the bittersweet memories brought her to tears. This was another point of fact that separated the two.

“You’re lucky to have such fond memories of your father,” Dee mentioned as Gadget wiped away a tear, “I don’t have any.”

“You don’t have any fond memories of your father?” Gadget asked incredulously.

“I don’t have any memories of him at all,” Dee responded, “He left shortly after I was born. Mom always told me that I should never blame myself for causing him to leave, it was just that he was lousy person and we were better off without him.”

“That’s a horrible thing to say,” declared Gadget who, being as kindhearted as she was, found it hard to disparage anyone.

“Would you rather my mother told me it was my fault?” Dee responded with a laugh.

“Well... you know what I mean, it’s just not a nice thing to do, to tell your child their father was a lousy person,” Gadget defended.

“For all either of us know he could’ve been a wife beating child molester,” Dee pointed out, “And if he were I’d rather not know. In any case I know my mother may have had reasons of her own to badmouth ‘im, so I don’t fully believe he was a lousy good for nothing, he’s just my father.” She thought for a moment, “Or was my father, he could be dead for all I know.”

Gadget saw Chip walking over and greeted him with a cheery, “Hi, Chip.”

Dee turned about, “Well hello there,” she said, giving him a coy smile, “anything I can do for ya’?”

“Well, uh... no,” Chip replied with a nervous laugh, “I just thought I’d come over and see how the two of you were getting along.”

“Oh, we’re getting along great,” Dee replied enthusiastically, “Hey, why don’t ya’ tell me ‘bout some of the other cases you’ve been on?” she asked as she hopped down off of the Banshee.

“Uh... sure, why not,” Chip said as Dee took his hand and led him back towards the living room. After a while Gadget jumped down from the Banshee and proceeded after them.

Arriving in the living room Dee was welcomed by an unusual scene: Monterey Jack and her brother were kneeling on either side of the coffee table making various guttural noises as Dale and Zipper looked on intently.

“What’s going on here?” Dee asked bluntly.

“Monty and Bob are arm wrestling to figure out what we’re going to watch,” Dale explained, “If Monty wins we watch wrestling, if Bob wins we watch football.”

Dee leaned close to Chip and whispered, “This is the real reason you came over, right?”

Chip’s answer was short and to the point, “Uh-huh.”

“My TV, my decision,” Dee declared as she changed it to the Weather Channel.

“Spoil sport,” Bob mumbled as he and Monterey returned to their seats.

Dee sat Chip down beside her on the couch, “How ‘bout you tell me how y’all got together?”

“Well, Dale and I grew up together,” Chip started, “We met Monty, Zipper, and Gadget on our first case, that’s when we all became the Rescue Rangers...,”

Dee was riveted as Chip recounted the Rangers’ myriad adventures. Only rarely did she shift her gaze from the him. Periodically Monterey would interject with his own colorfully boastful comments, and Dale could always be counted on to add sound effects (almost as if he were a living comic book). It wasn’t long before Dee understood the reason why they’d all been affected by her appearance, especially the two chipmunks who had so often competed for the love and attention of a lady who looked so much like herself. She was slightly amused by their tendency to fight over which one was more pathetic and childish in behavior when it came to Gadget. Dee would sometimes question the validity of the tales, but as they confirmed one another’s stories she ruled out the possibility that they were making it all up on the fly. Bob had, at first, thought that this would be a good time to catch up on his sleep, but was soon engrossed in the tales nearly as much as his sister.

“My life sucks,” Dee commented with a laugh, which drew everyone’s attention, “Nothing ever happens around here!”

“Maybe you should get out more,” Gadget responded innocuously.

“Oh, about getting out,” Dee mentioned, “I was just thinking: since we don’t know who or how many people we’ll be dealing with in order to find...,” she paused as she tried to remember the name, “Rick, we should see if we can get a little more muscle on our side. Just in case.”

“I don’t suppose it could hurt to have reinforcements,” Monterey responded.

“I agree,” Chip commented, then turning to Dee, “What kind of reinforcements are you suggesting?”

“I have some friends in the area who could be of enormous help if anything gets too physical,” Dee answered.

“You mean Romulus and the others?” Bob asked.

“Yep!”

“Don’t you think that’s a little oferkill?”

“Nah!”

Bob shrugged, “Ok... If no one minds, I’m heading t’bed.”

As Bob wandered off Dale asked, a little concerned, “Who’s Romulus and the others?”

“Just some friends of mine,” Dee responded with a smile, “You’ll get to meet ‘em tomorrow.” Before anyone could ask anything further she continued, “Anyhow, it’s gotten pretty late, I’ll go find ya’ stuff to sleep on.”

Within a few minutes Dee had prepared makeshift beds in the hanger. After closing the hanger doors she began to turn things this off for the night. With the obligatory exchange of ‘good night’s Dee retired to her room as the Rangers worked out who was sleeping where.

After they went to their respective beds, Dale turned to Chip, “Are you sure we can trust her?” he whispered.

“What?” Chip asked, also whispering.

“Well, I mean, how do we know she’s not leading us into a trap, how do we know this Romulus person and his friends aren’t part of this gang... or whatever it is?”

“I think you’ve been watching too many spy movies again, Dale.”

Monterey rolled over and joined the discussion, “I think Dale’s gotta point. We haven’t exactly had the best ‘a luck with women: Lahwhinie, Desiree...”

“And Foxglove,” Gadget added, “Well, I don’t mean she was bad, but the people she worked with certainly were.”

Chip was surprised he hadn’t thought of that possibility earlier, as it now seemed quite logical, “Well, there’s nothing we can do right now, we’ll just have to wait and see.” I just hope she doesn’t turn out to be ‘my’ Desiree, he thought to himself. His bed didn’t feel quite as comfortable as it had before. He kept replaying in his mind how Desiree Delure had used her feminine wiles to turn Monterey against them. Is that what’s happening now? Women don’t usually throw themselves at me like that... well, Tammy, but she’s just a girl who had a crush on me. He tried different positions, but just couldn’t get comfortable. Maybe if I get up and walk around a bit...

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Five

Looking around the hanger he was surprised by the amount of light. Must be a full moon out, he thought. Chip walked into the living room, careful not to make too much noise as his friends seemed to be sleeping soundly. Out of the sliding glass door he could see the moon in a crystal clear sky. He halfheartedly tried the door, and to his surprise it opened. Why not? he thought as he walked out onto the balcony. Outside he saw that it led around the outer wall of the pantry. His curiosity drove him around the corner. A little ways down the wall there was another sliding glass door, and it was open. That must be Dee’s room. There weren’t any lights on inside, and a voice in his head was daring him to go over and take a peek. But a more rational voice, and his innate sense of decency, told him to head back to the living room.

Dee walked out onto the balcony from her room, and caught a moving object out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t accustomed to there being anyone on her balcony this late at night, even the local bats had learned to keep their distance. As she turned to confront whoever it was, she realized it was Chip, on his way back to the living room. “Well, hello there!” she called.

Out of shock, Chip was momentarily airborne. He turned about to see Dee approaching him. “Uh... Hi... Dee,” he managed as all the blood left his face.

“Sorry, didn’t mean t’scare the hell out of you there,” She said as she leaned up against the wall beside him, “Couldn’t sleep?”

“I-I thought taking a walk would help wear me out,” he answered as the blood slowly began to return to his face.

“Hm,” Dee nodded, “Well, while you’re up and neither of us have anything better to do I’d like to show you something.” She began to walk back towards her room, “C’mon.”

Chip slowly began to follow her. Dee walked past the door to her room, which eased his mind a little. She turned a corner, and when Chip made the turn himself he saw her ascending a flight of stairs. Dee stopped and looked back over her shoulder to see if he was indeed following her. She smiled and motioned for him to continue. As Chip began to climb the stairs Dee disappeared into a door on the left. He wasn’t completely comfortable with this and continued slowly. Chip passed through the door.

The room had a floor that slanted down to the left and had a soft carpeting of moss. The ceiling was made of camouflage netting through which the moon brightly shown, drawing strange patterns of shadows. Dee was seated on the moss in the center.

“C’mon, sajë:h,” Dee said as she patted the moss beside her.

“I suppose that means ‘have a seat’ in Seneca?” Chip asked as he walked over.

“Mm-hm,” she acknowledged with a smile. Dee noticed he seemed a great deal more nervous than he had been earlier, “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna bite ya’...” she assured him, then added with an inviting smile, “unless you want me too.”

Chip gave a nervous laugh, then asked, motioning to the rest of the room, “Is this what you wanted to show me?”

“Nope, this is,” she responded excitedly. She quickly reached to her right side with her left hand and grabbed something. Chip’s heart stopped for a moment. Then the ceiling of camouflage netting lifted up and back allowing an unobstructed view of the sky. “What do you think?” she asked motioning to the sky, “Can’t get a view like this in the city, too much valley fog and too many lights.”

Chip couldn’t measure the kind of relief he felt. This is Dale’s fault, he thought, he had to go and bring up the possibility of a trap. As it happens, Dee was leading him into a trap, just not the type he would have anticipated. He began to feel a little embarrassed by how nervous he had become. Looking into the moonlit sky all he could manage was, “Wow.”

“I was coming up here anyway,” Dee admitted, “I always do when there’s a full moon. I figured I might as well have some company.”

After a few moments of silence Chip decided to strike up some measure of small talk, “How do you say your name in Seneca?”

“Ye’shöni’.”

Chip tried to repeat it, but couldn’t quite make it.

“Try it like this: the first syllable is the word ‘yeah’ with a glottal stop, the second is pronounced like ‘shown’ without the ‘n’, the last is the word ‘knee’ with a glottal stop, also the last syllable is stressed,” Dee explained.

Chip’s second attempt was more successful.

“Not bad for a jiho’gwais,” Dee mentioned with a smile.

“And what is that?” He asked.

“Chipmunk!” she responded giving him a playful poke on the nose, “and I’m a jinöhdaiö:’.”

Chip laughed, “I’m not even going to try to repeat that. It’s ‘mouse’, right?”

“Yep!” she squeaked, “‘Hello’ is hae’, that’s where the word ‘hi’ came from, and it’s the easiest word to learn.”

“Isn’t that a word in Japanese too?”

“I think so, but I’m not sure what it means,” Dee answered, “Anyhow... there’s no ‘good bye’ in our language, the closest is ë:sgögë i:e, literally translated it means ‘I’ll see you again’.”

Chip worked that phrase over, and managed to get a hold of it with Dee’s assistance, “So if I were to leave I would say: ë:sgögë i:e Ye’shöni’.”

“Very good, jiho’gwais!” Dee leaned in a little closer, “another useful phrase is ëgögwayö:’.”

“And what does that mean?”

Dee leaned over and pressed her lips to his. For Chip, care and grief grew dim as he became lost in that moment. For Dee, however, it was the zenith of anxiety as she awaited his response. She was unsure how she would handle a negative reaction. What man doesn’t like getting a kiss from a beautiful woman? she reassured herself. But her analytical mind promptly concocted numerous reasons why. She quickly reprimanded herself, You didn’t get to this point just to second guess yourself, so shut up and enjoy it! Dee lingered for a moment more in that kiss before leaning back and opening her eyes. Now to see if I’ve made an ass of myself.

Chip had nearly forgotten where he was. When he opened his eyes it all came back to him. The moonlight painted lines of silver through her hair, shimmered in her deep brown eyes, and there was no mistaking the look he found there. This time he was the one to lean over. As their lips met a second time she put an arm around him and drew him down with her. The myriad voices of doubt in Dee’s mind had been silenced.

But another voice was sounding opposition. Wait a minute! Chip heard himself think, You’re on a case, stupid! Snap out of it! He pulled himself up a little, and looked down on the sensuous female mouse laying beneath him. Her eyes opened, soft and inviting. Chip couldn’t count the number of times he had dreamed of sharing such a moment with Gadget. But this isn’t Gadget, he told himself, I hardly even know who this is! He almost had to force the words out, “I think I’d better head back to bed.”

Dee thought, and almost asked, Yours or mine?

“We have a lot to do tomorrow,” he added.

Chip couldn’t miss the disappointment in her eyes, nor in her voice as she responded, “Yeah, yer right.”

As they stood up Dee tugged on a lever. The roof of camouflage netting swung back into place restoring the bizarre patchwork of shadows. Walking back towards the door Chip heard an unusual cracking from behind. He swung around, “What was that?”

“What was what?” Dee asked in surprise.

“That cracking sound, didn’t you hear it?”

Dee suddenly realized what he meant, “‘Course I heard it, I made it!” She rather enjoyed the puzzled look on his face, “I was cracking my spine.” To emphasize the point she tilted her head to the side and promptly cracked her neck, which produced a similar sound as before.

“Oh,” Chip didn’t bother to mention the fact that seeing such a demonstration made his skin crawl.

Dee and Chip walked back to the balcony in an awkward silence. After passing her room Chip heard Dee call after him, “Ë:sgögë i:e, jiho’gwais.”

Chip turned to his hostess, who was standing just outside her door, “Ë:sgögë i:e,... Ye’shöni’.” He continued back to the hanger where the other Rangers were still fast asleep. How am I supposed to get to sleep now? he asked as he slid into the makeshift bed.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Six

Everyone except Bob was up by the time Chip awoke. He staggered into the living room as if he were half drunk. It wasn’t just the drowsiness he experienced every morning, he was still trying to sort out whether what he had experienced the night before was real or just a dream.

“Mornin’ Chipper,” Monterey greeted him, “Looks like you could use a cup ‘a joe, careful though, this stuff’s stronger than a rhino on steroids.”

Before Chip could head off to the kitchen to fetch himself a cup Dee walked in from the balcony, “Good morning, jiho’gwais.”

The way she breathed the words as she sashayed past him settled the question of whether or not it had been a dream, but he wanted to be absolutely sure, “Uh, that means ‘chipmunk’, right?”

Dee turned, “Hey, you remembered!” she cheered. She then turned back and continued into the hanger.

As Chip turned to head for the kitchen he met the combined gaze of the other Rangers. When nothing was immediately said (or asked) he proceeded on his quest for caffeine, albeit quite self consciously. Reentering the living room with a full cup he once more became the center of attention. He tried not to notice the four pairs of eyes watching him as he took his first sip of coffee, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. The attempt to appear absolutely normal failed once he got a good taste of the dark brown liquid in the cup. He swallowed a certain amount of pride as he choked down that first mouthful of the foul tasting brew.

Monterey was the first to break the silence, “Now, I know it’s really none of our business... but did anything happen last night that the rest of us, sleeping as soundly as we were, would be unaware of?”

“Yeah,” Dale broke in bluntly, “what did you and Doohickey do last night?”

Chip’s ears began to feel as hot as the cup in his hand, “Nothing,... We just talked.”

“Really?” Dale asked, taking a certain amount of sadistic pleasure in watching his friend squirm. He finally had a chance to pay him back for all the similar exchanges they’d had after he would return from a night out with Foxglove.

Fortunately for Chip, Bob lumbered into the room on his way to the kitchen, nearly falling over as he tripped on the coffee table. This provided a temporary distraction. It didn’t seem as if Bob’s eyes were even open. He angrily mumbled something once he had regained his balance, but no one was able to decipher what was said, not even Bob.

Gadget returned everyone’s attention to Chip, “So what did you talk about?” she innocently asked .

Before Chip could answer Bob once more provided a distraction, “OH YEAH!” Everyone was taken by surprise due to Bob’s reaction to the coffee. “This is the way coffee’s supposed to taste!” he proclaimed as he walked back into the living room.

As Dee walked in from the hanger Chip tried to further distance himself from the previous discussion, “Dee? What did you put in this coffee?”

“You think that’s coffee?” she asked as a worried look crossed her face.

Bob’s response was rather direct, “What the hell are we drinking then?”

Dee waited to get a concerned look from everyone. A Kodak moment if I ever saw one, she thought triumphantly. “Oh it’s coffee,” she confessed, “I’m just surprised you recognized it,” her mischievous smile widened into a grin, “I haven’t cleaned my coffee maker for years.” Chip and Gadget both got up to dump what was left of their alleged coffee down the drain while Dale suddenly felt a little queasy as he stared into his empty cup. Monterey Jack and Bob simply shrugged and kept drinking as Zipper made a mental note to bring a thermos of real coffee with him next time.

Upon rejoining everyone in the living room Chip steered any further discussion towards the case at hand. It was soon determined that they would split up; Monterey, Gadget, and Zipper would go with Bob back into town to meet with Dave while Chip and Dale would go with Dee to meet with Romulus.

As they began to form up into their respective groups Chip pulled Dee aside, “Um, that last phrase you mentioned last night...,” he paused since it was hard for him to admit he couldn’t figure out what it meant, despite some obvious assumptions.

Dee realized what it was he was attempting to get out. “You don’t know what it means?” she asked, then playfully added, “What kind of detective are you?” She leaned in close, “It means,” she started before getting closer to whisper into his ear, “‘I’m going to kiss you.’” She promptly followed this with a peck on his cheek. Chip nearly lost his balance.

==

“Everyone in?” Gadget asked to her three passengers. Seeing that they were seated and strapped in she prepared to take the repaired Ranger Wing into the air. After leaving the hanger Gadget turned to Bob, “Where should we start looking for Dave?”

“At this time of day he’d be at the ‘Hole in the Wall’,” Bob answered, “That’s the bar closest to his place. Once we’re in sight of the city I’ll give ya’ directions.”

Having followed Bob’s directions Gadget set the Ranger Wing down on the roof of one of the buildings downtown. “The humans’ got a bar down at the street lefel, the ‘Hole in the Wall’ is right underneath,” Bob said as he disembarked. They all proceeded to descend the fire escape when something occurred to him, “Gadget, you should probably stay with the plane.”

“Why?” she asked.

“You look a little too much like Dee,” Bob explained, “Since just about efryone around here knows what she looks like, seeing you walk into a bar might draw more attention than we want.”

“Don’t worry, luv, we’ll be back before ya’ know it!” Monterey reassured her.

Bob and Monterey walked into the subterranean establishment, the song “Bubba Shot the Jukebox” was playing loudly in the bar above them. Being early in the morning there wasn’t much of a crowd and Bob quickly located his coworker.

“That’s him ofer there at the table,” he said pointing out a dopy looking grey mouse, with slightly drooping ears wearing a worn out jacket over a white shirt, to his companion. He was seated between two other mice who looked a shade more alert and intelligent, “Looks like he’s with the new guys.”

“Ya’ mean the two blokes in cheap suits?” Monterey asked.

“Yeah, that’s them. Not sure we want to ask too many questions with them right there next to us,” Bob thought for a moment, “You haf a hearing problem, right?”

“What?” Monterey wasn’t quite sure what Bob had meant by the question.

“Perfect, c’mon,” Bob said motioning for Monterey to follow him. “Hey, Dafe!” Bob called as he approached the table, “This here’s Monterey Jack, I told ‘im he just had to meet you.”

Dave looked up at the portly Aussie, and gave a nod, “Hey, how ya’ doin’?”

By now Monterey understood what Bob had in mind and played along, “What was that, mate? I can ‘ardly hear ya’!”

“Sorry, he’s a little hard a’ hearin’,” Bob stated, “It’d be easier to talk if we were outside.”

Dave looked to his two companions, “That’s alright, we were just leavin’,” one of them said, “We’ll meet you at the usual place, David.” Dave’s companions stood, nodded to Monterey and Bob, and proceeded to leave.

“Well, le’s go,” Dave said as he got up.

Zipper, who was waiting outside of the bar, watched Dave’s two companions pass by as they left. You don’t usually see people dressed like that walk out of a place like this, he thought, they look like the type of people Bob was talking about last night. He watched them walk up the street and disappear around a corner. Shortly thereafter Monterey, Bob, and Dave emerged.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Six continued...

“Dafe, Monty and I were wondering what all you could tell us about yer friends there,” Bob said.

“Yeah? Like what?” Dave asked.

“Well,” Bob thought for a moment, “For one thing, why would Mr. Tanner hire goons like that when he’s got goons like us?”

Dave answered without thinking, “Rick didn’t hire them.”

“Then who did?” Bob asked.

It suddenly dawned on Dave that he had said something he shouldn’t have and did his best to cover, “Uh... His partner, his new partner.”

“What’s this partner’s name?” Monterey asked.

Dave couldn’t think of a way to answer and desperately grasped at a diversion, “Ya’ know,” he blurted out, “I hafta get something back to my apartment. Once I get that outta the way I can stay and talk longer. Ok?”

“Sure thing,” Monterey said, “We’ll wait right ‘ere.”

Dave couldn’t hide the immense relief he felt, “All right! I’ll be right back!” He quickly turned and hurried off in the direction his two companions had gone.

Monterey called to his winged partner, “Zipper, keep an eye on ‘im.” Zipper gave a quick salute and sped off after Dave.

When Dave turned the same corner as the two other mice had Zipper concluded that they most likely were the people Bob had mentioned. His target ducked into the recess of a door, and started talking to someone, Zipper stopped on the wall just before the door and listened to the ensuing conversation.

“You gotta problem, David?” one of the voices asked.

“Yeah, Bob and this fat guy are askin’ questions about you guys,” Dave answered.

“What kinda questions?”

“Why you were hired. Who hired ya’. Stuff like that.”

“Isn’t this Bob the brother of that mechanic... Dee?” asked another voice.

“Yeah.”

“Ya’ know, I heard this chick has some kind of factory out in the woods, she can build just about anything.”

“We could use someone like that,” the owner of the first voice mentioned, “You think we should send Dave to check these people out?”

“Yeah, see what this chick has in the way of resources, and find out more about this ‘fat guy’ and why he’s taken an interest in us.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Dave asked.

“What do you want... a script? Tell Bob you wanna go ask his sister for a date or something.”

“Ok, I think I can do that,” Dave muttered.

“Hey! You will do these things, got it?”

“Of course.”

When the talking ended Zipper made his best time back to Monterey and Bob. He’d barely had time to tell them that Dave had met with two others before Bob signaled that Dave was on his way back.

“So, Dafe, what about Rick’s new partner?” Bob asked.

Dave still wasn’t sure what he should say, on the short walk back he had run through a couple ideas but nothing seemed workable. After an awkward couple seconds frantically thinking of what to say, he finally answered, “Tell you what, Bob, I heard your sister has this great place in the woods... if you can take me there I’ll tell you everything you wanna know.” He hoped that on the way there he could come up with plausible answers to give them. Zipper had discretely flown behind Dave and motioned to the others that it wasn’t a good idea to agree to the proposition.

“No,” Bob flatly stated, “My sister doesn’t like unexpected company.”

Dave just stood there, unintentionally looking pathetic, desperately searching for a ‘plan B’. Then one popped into his head, and he jumped on it before thinking it through, “Ok, I’ll level with ya’... These aren’t people I wanna piss off, they don’t know where your sister lives so if I can hide out there I’ll tell you what I know.”

Zipper didn’t have any advice this time since he wasn’t sure if Dave was sincere or not. Bob decided to take him up on the offer, “Ok... c’mon.”

Upon reaching the roof where Gadget was waiting with the Ranger Wing, Dave was a little surprised, “Uh, Bob? Is that Dee?”

“No, that’s Gadget,” Bob answered, “Strange isn’t it?”

“Uh... yeah.”

==

As Dee prepared to take Chip and Dale to meet with Romulus she left a note for the others prominently displayed in the hanger. She led the two chipmunks down a staircase into a larger section of the mill. They passed through a room with topographical maps spread out on the floor and hanging on the walls, then passed through a sliding door into a much more dimly lit room. There were piles of blankets scattered about, bones that clearly had once belonged to large animals, and a television.

“What do you use this room for?” Dale asked warily as he was rather concerned by the decor.

“I don’t,” she responded, “This is where Romulus and the others stay when they’re not out hunting.”

Chip inspected one of the bones as he passed. He was able to discern marks left by the teeth of a large carnivore. It didn’t take long for him realize who had left them, But there aren’t any of those in this part of the country, he thought, not outside of a zoo anyway.

Dee led them out of the mill at ground level by an opening just large enough for a large dog to squeeze through. She continued along a narrow path that led into the surrounding forest. Their trek was, for the most part, uneventful with Dee having to periodically reassure Dale that she did, in fact, know where she was going. They would stop occasionally as Dee sniffed intently at the air.

“Ah, this way!” she proclaimed as she began to push her way under some bushes. They emerged in a small clearing that was obscured from above by the prodigious branches of the surrounding trees. Scattered throughout were several large wolves, all soundly sleeping.

“I take it these are Romulus and the others?” Chip asked.

“Yep,” Dee responded as she calmly walked into their midst. “Actually this one’s Gary,” she mentioned as she passed one of the large predators, “That’s Romulus over there.” Dee walked straight towards one of the slumbering giants. This wolf lay on his side stretched out, as if he had been walking along and suddenly fallen asleep. From the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail was a broad swath of dark grey hair along his top, there was a fringe of tan separating this from the light grey that covered his underside.

Dee walked up in front of his face, “Hey, Rom!” There was no movement beyond his rhythmic breathing. “They must’ve just eaten,” she reasoned.

“I certainly hope so,” Dale said as he came to a stop near the end of the wolf’s snout.

Dee called out louder, “Romulus!” There was still no noticeable movement. She proceeded to climb up on to the side of his head.

“Are you sure that’s safe?” Chip asked.

“Yeah,” Dale joined in, “‘Let sleeping dogs lie.’”

“Sure I’m sure,” Dee reassured her companions as she pushed trough the hair around one of the pointed ears, “And you shouldn’t call any of ‘em ‘dogs’ to their face, they consider it an insult.” She leaned in towards the ear, “Hey, wake up!” Still no movement. Dee tried again, “WAKE UP!”

Romulus’s head suddenly lurched forward, knocking both Chip and Dee off their feet. After the flurry of movement all was quiet once more. Chip picked himself up off the ground as Dee’s head popped up out of the thick forest of hair.

“I didn’t know the adults hiccuped, I know the pups do... quite a lot actually,” Dee mentioned as she climbed back down.

“You all right, Dale?” Chip asked, “Dale?” Dale was nowhere to be seen, “Dale?!”

“HELP!” Dale’s cry was heard to be coming from inside Romulus’s mouth.

“DALE!” Chip ran up to the wolf’s lips, unsure about what he could do. Logically he knew there was no way he could pry a wolf’s jaws open, but to save his friend he was willing to try. Romulus shook as he began to snicker, his amber colored eyes opening slowly.

“Oh, real cute, Romulus, real cute,” Dee responded sarcastically, “Now spit ‘im out.”

Romulus lazily rolled onto his belly, his head flat on the ground. He opened his mouth and rolled out his tongue like a red carpet. Out rolled Dale, moist but none the worse for wear (at least in the physical sense).

“Dale? Are you ok?” Chip asked as he came to Dale’s side.

“Now I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of one of Monty’s cheese attacks,” the shaken chipmunk responded. Romulus resumed his snickering.

“THAT WASN’T FUNNY!” Chip yelled as he marched up to the amused carnivore, just barely able to see over his snout.

“Oh please, it was a riot.” countered Romulus who was now finding a measure of humor in how bold this particular rodent had become.

“Hey, Rom,” Dee started, “we could use your help.”

“No kidding,” the wolf responded as he turned his eyes to his petite friend, “This guy has absolutely no sense of humor.” Chip was on the verge of socking Romulus in the nose, even if it did mean starting a fight with someone more than a hundred times his size.

“Sense of humor or lack thereof aside,” began Dee, “we may have need of your help.”

“Really?” Romulus’s ears perked up.

“It seems a mouse in town has gone missing, it’s possible there’s some kind of mob involvement. The problem is that, including me and Bob, there’s only seven of us. We don’t know how many people we might be up against, what weapon’s they might have, or even what these people are... though in all likelihood they’re probably rodents.”

Romulus lowered his ears to the side, and did his best Godfather impression, “And you want us to make them an offer they can’t refuse.”

“Yes, ‘Don Lupini’,” Dee responded in keeping with the theme, “that’s it exactly.”

Romulus sat up and, gesturing with his paws, continued, “It would be my pleasure to do this thing for you, you have always been a good friend of the family. Now if you don’t mind, I must discuss this matter with my associates.” With that he stood up and sauntered off towards the rest of the pack.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Six continued...

Making their way back to the mill, Chip brought up a couple questions that had been pestering him since realizing Dee’s friends were large meat eating predators, “How did you make friends with a pack of wolves? For that matter, what are they doing here? I thought wolves were extinct in this part of the country.”

“As far as the humans know, wolves are extinct in this part of the country, and Romulus and his pack have gone to great lengths to avoid any contact with irrational gun-toting bipeds,” Dee answered, “As far as our friendship is concerned... The first night I stayed at the mill I heard this sad plaintive crying, I decided to track down whoever it was as soon as it was light enough out to look around. I eventually came upon a cluster of large boulders which was being circled by very agitated adult wolves. It took a while, but I found that one of their pups had fallen between two boulders and gotten stuck, wedged between ‘em in mid air. None of the adults were slender enough to get at it and the rest of the pups were too young, so it just hung there crying for it’s mother, crying for food, and sometimes just crying.

“I had just moved in and didn’t want my first week or so in my new home to be dominated by listening to a scared child crying as it slowly starved to death with the family within sight but unable to do anything. I did some estimates of the resources at hand, unpacked my tools, and went over to see what I could do. I was hoping that the adults were so preoccupied with worry that they wouldn’t snarf down a tasty little mouse morsel. I managed to get Romulus’s attention and explained that I had some ideas that could help. As it happens, he flatly declared that there wasn’t anything I was capable of doing since I was only a mouse and told me to get lost. I wasn’t about to let it go at that, I wanted to help that pup and I wanted to get even... in a morally acceptable way.

“The pack more or less ignored me as I began dragging pieces-parts to the top of one of the boulders. After a while some of them began to ask me what I was doing, eventually, Virginia, Romulus’s mate and the pup’s mother, heard about what I was trying. She pressured Romulus to get the pack members to help out. Now that I had more muscle power, the winch I was trying to build could be a lot larger and stronger. When it was done, some of the pack held the contraption in place on top of the boulder while others did the pulling, I nearly bought it when I went down to hitch the pup into the harness. We did get him out though, and Romulus and Virginia adopted me into the pack. I even let them move into the unused portion of the mill, and got them a cable hookup... Virginia is still a little sore about that since the pups and Romulus spend so much time in front of the TV.”

==

Gadget guided the Ranger Wing to a safe landing in Dee’s hanger. As the passengers disembarked Zipper pulled Monterey aside to tell him about what he’d overheard earlier. Dave looked around in astonishment at what Dee had made for herself out in the middle of nowhere.

“Chip?... Dale?... Dee?” Gadget called out and hearing no response assumed the obvious, “They must still be out.”

“Ok, Dafe,” Bob began, “What do ya’ know ‘bout those people?”

“Hm?” Dave muttered as he turned to face Bob.

“Those people you’re so afraid of, what do you know about them, and what they have to do with our boss?” Bob reiterated.

“Huh? Oh! They were hired by his new partner.”

“You said that already, you couldn’t think of his name, then you implied they were dangerous,” Bob was slowly losing his patience, “What is it?”

Before Dave could answer Monterey tapped Bob on the shoulder, “‘Scuse me, mate, there’s something Zipper just told me I think you should hear.”

“Hold on a minute,” Bob said to Dave. He walked with Monterey until they were sure Dave was out of earshot, Bob continued to face Dave while Monterey turned his back to him to discourage any attempt at lip reading. Gadget, who had found the note left by Dee, walked over to show it to Bob but listened in before saying anything. After hearing about Dave’s clandestine meeting they all turned to look at him, which caused him a great deal of worry. At this point Gadget mentioned that the note asked for them to wait in the ‘map room’.

“Hey, Dafe!” Bob called, “Dee’s gonna meet us in the map room, c’mon!”

Dave felt a wave of relief since he believed this could be another distraction. Bob led all of them into the room filled with maps that Dee, Chip, and Dale had passed through earlier. Once inside the room Gadget proceeded to inspect the maps intently as Bob and Monterey continued Dave’s interrogation.

“Ok, Dafe, Rick’s new partner, who is it?” Bob asked bluntly.

“William... William Wallace,” Dave answered confidently.

Monterey Jack and Bob looked at each other, “Our boss’s new partner is a dead Scottish war hero?” Bob asked incredulously.

“And a human no less,” Monterey added.

Damn! Dave thought, Knew I shoulda’ gone with Rick Blair! “Uh... Well, his family had a great deal of pride in their Scottish heritage,” he responded.

“Ok... Why are these people so dangerous then?” Bob asked, now convinced Dave was just feeding them a line.

“Oh, they aren’t,” Dave answered lightly, “I just wanted you to get me here so I could ask Dee out for a date.”

Dee had just arrived in time to hear Dave’s latest attempt at a lie, “Who the hell are you? And why should I go out with you?” she asked, completely unaware it was just a ploy that was about to be blown out of the water.

“He didn’t come here to ask you out, luv, he came here to check you out,” Monterey responded, turning to Dave, “right, mate?”

“Whattaya mean?” Dave asked as he desperately tried to cover for himself.

“We know about the talk you had with your associates,” Bob stated.

“What talk?”

“Stop being stupid, Dafe, you know what talk,” declared Bob, “Now who are these people and what did they do with our boss?”

Dave finally accepted that his efforts at deceit had failed, “He didn’t wanna cooperate, so they took care of ‘im.”

“They killed him?” Gadget asked in shock.

“They will,” Dave corrected, “once they no longer have a use for ‘im.”

“Where are they keeping him?” demanded Chip.

“Why the hell should I tell any of you? Not like any of ya’ can do anything,” Dave responded arrogantly, “Get in their way and you’ll wind up dead,” he warned.

“How ‘bout if we make you talk?” Monterey asked as he cracked his knuckles.

“Heh! None of you have the guts. Not even you!” Dave countered as he gave Monterey a soft jab in belly. He walked through the middle of the group as he began to boast about the strength and ruthlessness of his new allies. Dave stopped after he had gotten to the opposite side of the assembled party. He turned and continued to boast with his back to the door leading to Romulus’s den.

At this point Romulus came swaggering in, Dave was too wrapped up in his speech to hear him. The enormous canine sat down, towering behind the flop eared mouse (much to the astonishment of Monterey, Gadget, and Zipper), and listened in. Dave then proceeded to compare the criminal organization to which he belonged with a pack of wolves, ravenous and unstoppable, at which the resident wolf rolled his eyes. The bluster reached a crescendo as Dave, arrogant as ever, asked, “What do any of you think you can do to make me talk?!” Romulus bent down and gulped him up, and sat back up with a smug look on is face and Dave’s tail hanging out of his mouth.

Dale laughed, “He was right, it is funny!”

“Yeah, just as long as it isn’t happen to ya’,” Dee commented.

A few moments later there was a terrified shriek form Dave who suddenly realized where he was, followed by what sounded like, “LEMME OUT, LEMME OUT, I’LL TALK, I’LL TALK!!” Romulus promptly spit him out.

Dave rolled to a stop amidst the crowd he had tried to impress, and all he could manage was, “Teeth, s-so m-many teeth...”

“Now,” Chip leaned over, “you were going to tell us where your associates took your boss?”

to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Seven

“W-what?” Dave muttered weakly.

“Our boss, Rick Tanner, where is he?” Bob asked.

Dave hesitated for a moment, still trying to recover from his recent experience, “Um, they said they took him to the mine.”

“What kind of mine?” Dee asked, “Coal mine, iron mine, land mine?”

“I dunno,” Dave answered, “they just said it was a mine.”

Chip turned to Dee, “Do you know if there are any mines in this area?”

Dee shook her head, “I’ve never heard of any.”

“George might know,” Bob mentioned.

“Yer right.”

“Who’s George?” Chip asked.

“He’s a historian,” Dee answered, “has a place under the Seneca Nation Museum in the west end of town.”

“Then that’s where we’ll head to next,” declared Chip.

“Perfect,” Dee said as she took Chip by the arm, “I was waiting for a chance to take you up in the Banshee.”

“Would it be all right if I came along?” Gadget asked, “I’d like to see how well it flies.”

Dee’s hopes were a little deflated, but she didn’t want to be rude, “Eh, sure, why not.”

“Wowie-zowie! Can I come too?” Dale chimed in.

Dee sighed, “Bob? Monty?”

“That’s all right, luv,” Monterey responded, “somebody has to stay behind to keep an eye on our friend, Dave ‘ere.”

“Yeah,” Bob mentioned in agreement.

“You go ahead, we’ll have a high old time,” Romulus said as he pulled Dave over with a menacing chuckle.

Up in the hanger Dee, Chip, Dale, and Gadget were taking their places in the limited seating provided by the Banshee. Dee informed her passengers that the small handle on their right would eject their seat in the event of an emergency. “Hey, these seats are pretty comfy,” Dale commented as he leaned way back in the foam padding.

“They have to be,” Dee responded, “or the takeoff would be very uncomfortable.” She checked over the controls, “Y’all strapped in?” When her passengers responded in the affirmative she pulled back on a lever. A couple of matches were struck as they were thrust from a rear compartment, and the resulting flames lit the fuses on the model rocket motors. As the fizzling started Dee called out, “Hold on!”

FOOOOOSH!!

All were buried deep in the foam padding as the Banshee launched out of the hanger. Having had a chance to inspect the aircraft in detail, Gadget knew what to expect from the sudden acceleration. Chip and Dale, on the other hand, had to wait for their stomachs to catch up with them. Dee hit a red button on the side of the control panel and with a ‘POW’ the ramjet ignited.

The trip was quite short despite the roundabout path Dee took. As she approached the city Dee doused the engine and prepared to deploy the brakes. The plane’s speed decreased considerably as slats emerged from the wings, creating a whistling sound. Buildings sped by beneath as they descended. Dee began to circle near the landing site behind the museum before touching down. She deployed the landing skids and the Banshee surfed along the grassy field towards the wooded area nearby. Her passengers gripped their seats. They continued to slow more and more as the trees drew closer, then passed right by. The Banshee bounced over a few half submerged roots before coming to a complete stop.

“Perfect!” Dee declared, “Now we won’t have to drag it into the woods!” She unhitched herself and hopped out of the cockpit. Gadget was right behind. It took a little while for the boys to pull themselves together.

Finally disembarking from the aircraft, Chip reprimanded Dee, “You know, you could have warned us you were going to land that close to the trees.”

“I would’ve, but I didn’t know I was going to until I actually began to land,” she replied honestly, “this is the first time I ever tried landing here.”

“Dee?” Gadget asked.

“Mm-hm?”

“Why didn’t the Banshee sound so much like, well, a banshee when you landed this time?”

“Well I noticed, after the fact, that the landing siren was a little too conspicuous for landing in the city, especially since I land somewhere in the city nearly every day,” Dee explained, “I had to redesign it so it wouldn’t go off every time I came in for a landing.”

“It’s a good thing you used it when you landed that first time,” Dale commented, “or we all woulda’ been creamed.”

After crossing the field that separated the woods and the museum Dee explained that they had to go through the museum to find the entrance to George’s archives so they would have to be as inconspicuous as possible. They had made their way past and behind several displays before Dale stopped to look at one. There were several intricately carved wooden masks painted in bright colors hanging on the wall, many of which were comical in appearance. Dale laughed as he imitated one of them. The others stopped when they heard him.

“You’re not laughing at a ‘False Face’ mask, are you?” Dee asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

“Uh, why?” Dale asked in response.

“It’s bad luck,” Dee answered, “very bad luck.”

Dale became noticeably concerned, prompting Gadget to intervene, “Dale, there’s no such thing as bad luck,” she reassured him as she took his hand and began to lead him back to the others. This was followed by a loud ‘thunk’. They all turned back around to see one of the masks laying on the floor with Dale pinned beneath it.

“Told ya’,” Dee mumbled.

“C’mon,” Chip shouted, “We’ve gotta get him out form under there before any humans come to see what that sound was!” They managed to wrangle Dale loose and scurry behind a display just as a security guard rounded the corner.

The four entered a room containing a cutaway reproduction of a long house. Dee led the group over the floor of false dirt and under a bunk made out of branches and fur. She pulled aside a cover of bark to reveal the entrance to a tunnel. Compared to the cool atmosphere of the museum the subterranean tunnels were down right frigid.

After entering the chilly passages underlying the structure Dee called out, “George?!”

A few moments later her call was answered when an elderly packrat wearing a moth eaten old vest and bifocals came shuffling out from one of the side tunnels. “Yes... yes, I’m coming, hold on a minute,” he stammered. Hobbling over to the group he proceeded to greet them, “Hello, hello, how may I- Oh!” he stopped a moment upon recognizing Dee, “Doohickey, it’s a pleasure to see you again, dear... Tell me, how’s your mother?”

Dee looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “Dead,” she bluntly stated.

“Oh... OH! That’s right!” George konked himself in the head a few times, “I was at the funeral, how stupid of me! I’m sorry. Sometimes I’m amazed I even remember to get dressed in the morning.” He turned to face the others, “These must be friends of yours.”

“Yeah... Chip, Dale, and Gadget,” she said motioning to each in turn.

“Very nice to meet you,” he greeted, then taking a good look at Gadget, “Ah! This must be your daughter!”

Dee growled through her clenched teeth, “I don’t have a daughter!”

George’s eyes widened as he looked at Dee, then remembered, “Oh, that’s right. Sorry. What brings you all here?”

“We need to know what kind of mines there are around here,” Dee asked having suddenly returned to her previous calm.

“What kind of mines?” George asked.

“Iron mines, coal mines, gold mines...,” Dee rambled off.

“Yes!” George proclaimed.

“Yes what?” asked Chip.

“There are gold mines in this area,” he answered, “six of them I believe.”

“Really?” Dee responded in amazement.

“Yes,” George stated, “come.” He proceeded to hobble down the tunnel with his guests following close behind. Passing by several side passages George stopped at one in particular, “This should be the one we’re looking for.”

The room they entered was filled with bookshelves and desks from model homes, all of them overloaded with papers, scrolls, and various objects. George began to sort through a pile of pages that were yellow with age. He eventually found the documents he was looking for and began to read off the relevant information, “Now there’s Kyser’s Mine on South Mountain, a mine along Bucktooth Run, and there’s one below Fentier Village. Of course none of these proved to be profitable and were quickly abandoned.” George set down the papers and turned to face his guests, “The other three, however, were rumored to be far more valuable, but since they were located on Seneca and State owned land further commercial mining was forbidden by law and all official records of their locations were destroyed.” He walked over to one of the desks and lifted the top (causing a number of papers and files to slide off) and pulled out a folded sheet of high quality paper, the kind reserved for official government records, “As it happens, my grandfather, Randolf, came across this while rooting through an office up in Buffalo,” George began to unfold the document which soon occupied a great deal of space in the room, “Since it was scheduled to be destroyed he figured the humans wouldn’t mind if he kept it.”

Chip looked it over, then pulled a notepad and pencil from his jacket. He recorded the geographical coordinates detailed on the document pertaining to the mine locations. “We should be able to figure out where these are with the maps back at your place,” he mentioned to Dee as he returned the notepad and pencil to their proper location. “Are those the only mines in this area?” he asked George.

“Sure are,” George answered as he began to fold up the sheet of aged paper.

“Nya:wëh, this’ll help us out a great deal,” Dee said as she helped him finish the folding.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Seven continued...

“Well I’m glad to help, of course.”

Upon returning to the Banshee, Dee immediately set to work getting it ready for take off. After ejecting the spent rockets she replaced them with fresh ones from a compartment in the nose. “Y’all mind helping me drag this into the field?” she asked her companions.

As they helped pull the aircraft from hiding Chip asked, “Dee, if you’ve never landed here before, how do you know you can take off from here?”

“She should be able to,” Gadget responded, “there’s more than enough room in this field, provided we don’t hit any depressions or rocks obscured by the grass.”

“Now that’s a reassuring thought,” Dee sarcastically mentioned.

After an uneventful return to the mill, Dee, Chip, Dale, and Gadget disembarked the Banshee and proceeded down to the map room. Bob, Monterey, and Zipper greeted the others as they entered the room. Dave was tied to a chair in a far corner.

“Where’s Rom?” Dee asked.

“He got tired of terrorizing Dave and decided to watch TV in the den,” Bob answered.

“So, what’d ya’ find out?” Monterey inquired.

“There’s gold in them thar hills!” Dale responded enthusiastically.

“There are six gold mines around here, three of which don’t officially exist,” Dee added.

“But we know where they are,” Chip stated as he pulled out his notepad, “at least we will once we find the coordinates on a map.”

“We should probably put him someplace else while we do our plotting,” Dee suggested motioning towards Dave.

“Right ya’ are luv,” Monterey stated, “Hope ya’ like mid afternoon talk shows.” He grabbed the chair Dave was tied to and proceeded to carry him upstairs. Setting the hapless mouse in front of the television Monterey flipped through the channels till he found Jerry Springer. “You enjoy yourself now,” he said as he left for the map room.

Reentering the map room Monterey found Chip calling out numbers as Dee walked across a topographical map marking mine sites with little X’s. “Y’know, I almost feel like Paul Bunyan here,” Dee mentioned as she crossed entire valleys with a single stride, “Shouldn’t I have an ox then? Hey, Bob, get on out here on all fours and ‘moo’ for me.”

The thought gave Monterey a good chuckle, “Heh, ‘Bob the Blue Ox’!”

“How ‘bout I just stand here and ‘moo’?” Bob responded.

“Sure, that’ll work,” Dee agreed as she marked another site on the map.

“Moo,” Bob said.

“There, that should do it,” Dee stated marking off the final site.

“Moo,” Bob repeated.

Chip walked out onto the map beside Dee, “Now to see if we can figure out which one of the mines would be most suitable for a hideout.”

“Moo,” Bob agreed.

“I think we can write off the three nearest the city,” Dee concluded, “those first three that George mentioned.”

“Moo,” Bob concurred.

“How do you figure?” Gadget inquired.

“Moo?” Bob asked.

“If they’re keeping someone prisoner they’d do it someplace fairly remote,” Dee began.

“So if their prisoner escaped he’d be less likely to find help,” Chip finished.

“Moo,” Bob mooed satisfactorily. Chip was starting to grow weary of Bob’s continual bovine commentary.

“Besides,” Dee continued, “I’m pretty sure anything left of the mine below Fentier Village would’ve been destroyed when they built the expressway...”

“Moo,” Bob pointed out.

“They blew away practically the whole north face of the hill,” Dee finished.

“Moo!” Bob blurted out in astonishment.

“So it’d be one of the mines we just marked on the map here,” Dale pointed out.

“Moo,” Bob agreed.

“Now cut that out!” Chip shouted.

Bob hung his head and made one final, dejected, “Moo.”

Zipper squeaked out a suggestion, which Monterey wholeheartedly endorsed, “Zipper’s right, maybe one of the wolves ‘ave seen something.”

Dee walked over to the door to the wolves’ den, “Hey, Rom!”

“Can this wait for a commercial?” the leader of the pack responded. This was followed shortly by some scuffling and snarling, “Hey! OW! Ok, ok, I’ll go.” Romulus walked into the map room, “Never marry a she-wolf.”

“Has anyone in your pack noticed anything unusual at any of these sights?” Chip asked motioning to the map in the center of the floor.

The wolf sat down at the bottom edge of the map to take a look, “Ok, where are we?”

“The map room,” Dale offered innocuously.

Chip promptly bonked him on the head, “No you dummy, he means where on the map!”

Dee pointed out their location for the large canine. “Ah, let’s see...,” Romulus leaned in close to the map. “Right here,” he stated as he pointed out one of the X’s with his paw, “there were beavers working on something here a couple weeks ago, it didn’t make any sense since they weren’t near a stream or anything.”

“Someone will have to go there to check it out, see who’s there and what kind of defenses they have,” Chip thought aloud.

“We can do that,” Romulus offered, “A pack of wolves wandering through the area wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary, besides, what would they do? Ask us to leave?”

“That’s assuming everyone there is smaller than you are,” Gadget pointed out.

“The only two species we defer to are humans, who don’t live anywhere near there, and wildcats, and they’re extinct in these parts,” Romulus responded.

“Zipper, you should go with them,” Chip suggested, “to get a look at the place from above.”

Romulus turned to Zipper, “Ok, fly-boy, let’s go.” As he started to enter the wolves’ den Romulus looked back, “Hey, Dee, you’re gonna hafta’ pupsit for us, ok?”

“I was planning to head upstairs to get the Banshee turned around,” Dee responded.

“That’s ok, the pups are watching TV right now,” Romulus explained, “Just come down and tell ‘em a story or something if they get fussy.”

“Sure thing.”

Once Romulus, his pack, and Zipper departed the mill, Dee, Bob, and the remaining four Rangers retired upstairs. Dee immediately set to work cleaning off the Banshee from it’s previous landing in a field as well as preparing for it’s next liftoff. Monterey, Dale and Bob set down to watch TV with the captive Dave while Chip set his mind to do some reading.

Dee was digging grass out of the Banshee’s landing skids when Gadget approached with a request, “Dee?”

“Yep?” Dee responded without looking up.

“I was thinking of doing some work on the Ranger Wing and wanted your permission before I started looking for parts.”

Dee was getting used to Gadget being around, though she was momentarily startled when she looked up at a pale version of herself. She’s a nice enough person, Dee thought, I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. “Sure, just two rules first: try not to make a mess... and if you don’t use a part, put it back where ya’ found it.”

Gadget easily agreed to Dee’s terms and departed for the storeroom. Walking among the ordered stacks and piles she took stock of the parts available. It wasn’t long before a random thought floated into her head, This reminds me of the time Chip organized my workshop, my first birthday since moving in with the others... he wanted it to be a surprise. She began collecting parts for her current project. Well, it was a surprise, I just didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d misplaced everything. Of course he didn’t know he’d misplaced everything. Golly, a Duralux .60 Flex Joint! I’ve been looking for one of these for months! Chip and Doohickey seem to be getting along pretty good. Maybe it’ll be good for him to spend time with someone as organized as he is. Whoops... better put that back. Who knows, maybe she’ll get him to loosen up a bit, then maybe he won’t be so hard on Dale all the time.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Seven continued...

When Dee finished work on the Banshee she tried to think of something to do to keep her mind off of the fact that Gadget was going through the storeroom unsupervised. Her gaze soon settled on her favorite chipmunk. Wonder if he’d be interested in a game of chess, she thought to herself as she walked towards the livingroom. As Chip read he was completely oblivious to the rest of world and therefore was completely unaware that Dee was reading over his shoulder... again. She contemplated how best to get his attention, and soon settled on an idea. Dee draped her arms around him as she snuggled her cheek against his, “Hello there!”

Chip’s book flew a fairly good distance before gravity reasserted it’s dominance, causing it to land with a ‘clop’. “Oh... hello... Dee,” he nervously stammered.

“I was wondering if you’d be interested in doing something a little more... stimulating.”

Chip’s entire body went numb for moment. He gulped, then asked weakly, “Like what?”

“Well,” Dee began, “no one has ever beaten me in a game of chess. Think you have what it takes to be the first?”

Having recovered slightly from his shock Chip let her offer sink in. He, himself, had never been defeated at chess either, so this invitation proved utterly irresistible. “There’s only one way to find out!” he declared as he accepted Dee’s challenge.

“Perfect! Just gotta get my set!” With that Dee dashed off to her room. She emerged a moment later with her chess set. “Over here!” she called to her opponent as she went to one of the workbenches in the hanger.

Dee excitedly set up the pieces which, to Chip’s amusement, had been crafted out of screws, nuts, bolts, and various other items. Should’ve figured, he thought to himself as he took a seat opposite Dee at the workbench.

Just my luck, Dale glumly thought, we meet a beautiful woman, and she turns out to be just like Chip. His spirits rose when he saw Gadget emerge from the storeroom. Wait, if Chip is playing chess with Dee, then he’s not doing anything with Gadget! “Ya’ know, I think I’ll see if Gadget would like a little help,” he mentioned as he hurriedly left the livingroom.

“If only Gadget were as interested in comic books,” Monterey observed.

“What’s that bat’s name...” Bob thought aloud, then answered himself, “Foxgluff.” Turning to Monterey he asked, “She put’s up with that?”

“What, ya’ mean Dale hittin’ on Gadget?”

“Yeah,” Bob answered.

“He doesn’t,” Monterey started, “at least not when Foxglove’s around. I think he ‘as a soft spot for her, he just hasn’t realized it yet.”

Bob stood up, “If none of you mind, I hafta’ use the facilities.”

“Well, seein’ as how it’s a commercial I may as well get myself somthin’ to eat,” Monterey mentioned. “Anything ya’ want me to bring ya’ back?” he asked Dave.

“A knife?” Dave responded with a little chuckle.

“Nice to see ya’ have a sense a’ humor ‘bout all this,” Monterey commented as he left for the pantry.

Dave looked back over his shoulder to be sure no one was watching. Prefect! he thought as he began to twist his hands. The entire time he had been in front of the television while all the others were in the map room he had managed to loosen his bonds. Almost got it, almost... THERE! Dave had finally freed his hands, and immediately reached for the knife he kept in his jacket. Can’t believe these idiots didn’t search me, he thought to himself as he cut loose his feet. Now for a hostage. Dave knew it would be impossible to escape to the ground level, what with a wolves’ den in the way, and decided the only way out was the way he had come in... by air.

Chip and Dee were too involved in their cognitive competition to notice that Dave was loose. The only warning they had was when Dave actually grabbed Chip from behind. He now had his left arm tight around Chip’s neck, and as the chipmunk tried to wrestle himself free Dave slashed at his hands with the knife. Dee began to advance on the two, but the instant Dave saw her move he brought his knife behind his captive, “Don’t get any closer or the chipmunk of your dreams gets it!”

By now everyone in the hanger was aware of what was happening. Dave quickly backed up pulling Chip with him, the knife point slowly drilling a hole in the back of his bomber jacket. As soon as everyone was within his field of view Dave stopped. “You!” he yelled to Dee, “In the plane... NOW!” She moved slowly towards the Banshee. Once she had taken her place in the pilot’s seat Dave pushed Chip into the passenger seat behind, then took the next seat back himself. “Now take off!” he commanded.

Not three seconds after the Banshee had taken to the air the wolf pups began whining. “They would have to start fussing now, wouldn’t they,” Gadget groaned.

-to be continued...