Chapter Three
By: Winston deLeon
The next morning at breakfast, unlike the relative quiet of yesterday, there was plenty of conversation. Everyone had their own ideas about the case, and the Rangers spent a long time over breakfast exchanging them with one another. Monty, in particular, was convinced that the note was a hoax intended to distract them, and he spent most of his time arguing the issue with Dale, who was unshakably convinced that the whole thing was a double-fakeout and that the diamond was the real target after all.
"Naw, mate. I'm tellin' ya, I knew this old wombat, a true grandmaster of a checkers player he was, and he always won by faking one way and then goin' another." Monty argued.
"But haven't you ever watched a game of basketball?" Dale asked in response. "You see it all the time. The guy with the ball goes one way, then fakes another way, then goes back the first way again."
"This isn't exactly basketball, pally." Monty replied.
"It's not checkers, either." Dale smugly came back.
"Golly, you guys," Gadget interrupted them, "there's no way to know for sure. It could just as easily be either possibility." That statement, coming from the acknowledged highest IQ of the group, seemed to quell their argument - or at least it did for a little while, until Dale turned to Tammy.
"Which one do you think it is?" Dale asked her, obviously hoping to be lent support for his theory. He didn't seem to want to let the issue drop, which struck Chip as odd, since Dale usually let simple disagreements die once they'd run their immediate course.
"No idea." She said distantly, without looking up from the piece of cheese omlette that she was slowly but systematically ripping into little pieces with her fork. She seemed distracted by something. Chip briefly considered asking her what it was, but Dale interrupted him before he got the chance.
"What about you, Chip?" He asked.
Chip, however, decided swiftly that he wasn't going to let himself be drawn into taking sides. "I don't know." Chip shrugged. "All I'm sure of is that after breakfast, we'd better head back to the museum and see if anything new's developed since yesterday." With that, he went back the morning paper he was scouring, searching it on the off chance that there might be something else in it concerning the diamond. He found nothing, which was about what he expected. It was a strange feeling to be working a case and the only lead available was one that was intentionally given to you by the prospective criminal. Or, possibly there might be more than one person behind it, he considered. There was a lot they simply didn't know. Still, what choice did they have but to follow it and hope that something useful revealed itself?
As it turned out, the rangerwing had mechanical problems, and, as fate would
have it, they had no alternate transport because Gadget had just taken apart
most of the rangermobile early that morning for maintanence and hadn't planned
to have it back in one piece until tomorrow. She could put it back together
in a rush, but that would still take hours. They were stuck waiting either for
one to get rebuilt or the other to get repaired. After weighing the options,
Gadget informed them that repairing the rangerwing would be the quicker of the
two, but even so, it was a long job and the Rangers didn't manage to make it
to the museum until late that afternoon. One positive thing came out of their
delay, however. Foxglove came over to visit them, and they were able to fill
her in on recent events and enlist her help. When they finally arrived at the
museum, captain Leitman seemed to be expecting them, as he was there to greet
them as the rangerwing landed. Chip stepped out of the 'wing and greeted the
captain, asking if anything new had come to light.
"We had people examining every inch of the museum, inside and out, all night yesterday and all day today, and they turned up nothing suspicious in the least." The captain told him. "I've discussed this with the administrators, and not to just dismiss your warning, but we're going to open to the public as planned."
"I understand. What's the schedule you've got planned?" Chip asked.
"We only open the museum to the rodent public at night, once all the humans have left. It's the only safe way to do it, of course. The museum closes to the human public at 7 PM, and normally we'd open about then, but there's a private VIP party being held at 8:30 tonight for various financial backers and contributors to the museum, probably ending around 10." Captain Leitman informed them. "Once that party is over and the human crowd has disbursed, then we're going to start allowing rodents in to see the diamond. It's a late start for the opening day, but it's better than nothing, I suppose. After tonight, we should be able to open around 7 PM for rest of the week, however."
"If that's the case, then the person making the threat is using some strange timing." Chip commented to no one in particular. "Waiting until the public is gone, but before the VIP crowd arrives... I wonder if it's just a coincidence, or if there's some purpose behind it."
"You think there might be some other intent on the part of whoever's making the threat?" The captain asked.
Chip thought about it for a moment, and it seemed like a rediculous idea. The only reason someone would take the risk of commiting a crime is to gain something, and in this case the comparisons of value for any alternate target in the immediate area just didn't work out. "No... Anything else that a thief could gain here would be chump change compared to the Devil's Eye." Chip said, half to himself and half to the captain. "That diamond has to be it."
Chip looked around at nothing in particular, lost in thought for a moment or two, until he finally made up his mind on what he thought was the best course of action. Or, he considered, what was really the only course of action, given how little they had to go on. He turned back to the captain. "I don't want to make any inconveniences for you, but would you mind it if we Rangers kept a watch in the museum tonight? Or at least until 8 PM comes around?"
The captain looked a tiny bit irritated at the request. "I think that perhaps you underestimate my security force's skill, Mr. Maplewood..."
Chip suddenly realized with embarassment that it did rather sound as if he were second-guessing the security team's effectiveness and he could imagine how it could have been taken as an insult. He silently cursed his momentary ineptness. "No, no, not at all!" Chip hastily explained. "It's just that we're extremely curious about the situation, and, hypothetically, if something does happen, I would like my team to be on the scene."
The captain put his hand on his chin, looking as if he were carefully considering the situation. There was a tense silence for some time, as Chip nervously hoped that the captain hadn't taken his blunder too badly. "If it was anyone else," He said at last, "I probably wouldn't allow it. But given your group's excellent record, I don't think there could be any harm done. I'll tell my guards to expect your team's presence."
"Thank you, captain." Chip said, relieved.
"If you'll excuse me, I have some important things to check on." The captain said. "If you have any trouble finding your way around in the museum, just ask any of the guards, they can direct you to anywhere you need to go. Let's just hope this turns out to be an uneventful night."
"Of course. That's what we're all hoping for." Chip replied as the captain left them.
As soon as the captain was gone, the other rangers immediately started consulting among themselves, allocating the museum into different areas to keep an eye on.
"I'll keep watch around the perimeter." Monty said. "In case someone tries to sneak in." Zipper buzzed and signed, making it understood that he'd help Monty with the perimeter.
"I'll help watch the front door." Dale said as he glared at Monty, "In case the thief wants us to think they're going to sneak in but then fakes us out by doing the obvious." It was a subtle, yet unmistakable, jab aimed at Monty, and coming from Dale, it caught Chip by surprise.
Why would Dale do that? Chip puzzled as he began to get a bit worried. Dale wasn't normally the type to hold a grudge longer than a few minutes. In addition, it was more his style to say something outright if he was going to say anything at all, he only usually used subtle affronts like that on the rare occasions when he was beyond merely annoyed, but was genuinely angry with someone. Did Dale and Monty recently get into a fight of some sort that I don't know about? Chip wondered. First their argument at breakfast, and now Dale takes a dig at Monty over what area of the museum to watch...
"I'll take the roof." Foxglove suddenly volunteered, derailing Chip's train of thought for the moment. "It seems like the most sensible place for me to be - you know, me being the only one here with wings..." She smiled.
"I'm going to help watch the control room." Gadget announced.
"Where should I go?" Tammy asked uncertainly.
"Help Monty and Zipper take the perimeter." Chip said. "It's a lot of ground to cover. More people will make it more likely that we'll get some advance warning of anyone trying to sneak up."
"Right." She answered. "No problem."
"I'll be inside the museum, watching the display room." Chip informed the others. "Now, let's get to it!" He said enthusiastically. Everyone signaled their agreement and the group split up as everyone went their separate ways and headed to the posts they'd decided upon.
It was already late and the wait to closing time wasn't very long, but even
so, Chip quickly found himself getting bored as he patrolled around inside the
walls, occasionally peeking out into the museum. There wasn't much to do. Chip
tried to pass the time by meticulously going over the facts they had so far
in his mind, but it didn't help much, there wasn't a lot to go over. He also
mulled around some thoughts of what Dale and Monty's problem could be, but it
more than likely wasn't any of his business and it would probably work itself
out without his meddling... if there was really anything to work out, that is...
he really couldn't be sure if there really was a conflict or if he was just
interpreting the signals wrong. I've been known to do that before, he reminded
himself, and decided to just let the matter alone for the time being.
At last, the museum closed. Over the course of the next ten minutes or so, the last few human visitors made their way out of the building, and after it was empty, most of the lights were shut off for the night. The human guards locked the two doors leading in and out of the room containing the diamond. It seemed to be the end of their shift, and they prepared to leave. Before they left, another shift of guards arrived and took their place, holding positions outside the diamond's display room.
A half hour passed in almost unbroken silence, until at 7:30 the lights in the room adjoining the diamond's display room were turned back on and preparations were being made for the special VIP exhibition scheduled for that night. Several tables were set up and laid out with various foods that one would expect at a high-class party. It seemed like it was a pretty important event, the items being set out included expensive champaign, caviar, and various other things, some of which Chip couldn't even readily identify.
Preparations continued. At 7:45 Chip decided to take up watch inside the display room. He made his way back through the walls and stood in the small rodent's doorway, next to the regular rodent guards. There were four of them, just as captain Leitman had said there would be at every entrance and exit. Chip spent the time nervously waiting and watching.
One tense minute after another rolled by. Chip focused on trying to sense anything out of the unusual. He listened for strange sounds, and continually monitored for any strange smells. There was nothing. Five minutes passed, then ten. Finally, 8 PM came around, and there was still no trace of anything amiss. Seconds seemed to tick by impossibly slowly for a time, as Chip waited, tense as a spring, sure that something would happen soon, if at all.
Nothing did happen. All was calm and quiet. Workers in the other room continued preparing for the party that was half an hour away. Another five minutes passed, and Chip began to calm down. It started to seem that the threat really was a hoax after all.
I wish I wasn't wearing this bright pink shirt, Tammy couldn't help but think.
Even though it was pretty dark by now, the color was still much too visible
for her liking. If someone was going to try and sneak up to get into the museum,
it certainly only made her easier to see and avoid. But what are the odds of
something actually happening here? She asked herself. Not very good, was the
only answer she could venture, since she personally tended to subscribe to the
theory that their "lead" was just a red herring to distract them.
It was shaping up to be a boring night, especially since she'd finally chalked
up her bizarre dream to tension over the case she was working on. She often
had dreams concerning cases she helped with, but they were never anything more
than that. Just dreams. Nothing to put much stock in, she convinced herself.
Growing tired of walking around in a patrol, she headed for a nearby tree and clambered up, taking a seat on one of it's lower limbs. She still had a decent view of the expansive museum grounds, but the height and partial leaf cover in the tree made her less visible to someone on the ground. Surveying the scene, she decided that her view from one end of the building grounds to the other was sufficiently wide to cover any approach attempts made from this side, and Monty and Zipper had the other side covered quite well. With any luck, she thought, she might not have to leave her newfound observation post at all for the remainder of her guard duty...
What was that? Off in the distance, Tammy could have sworn she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, someone in dark clothes. She lost it for a moment in shadow, and after a few seconds she wasn't sure it had been anything at all. Everything was motionless, at least what she could see. She continued carefully watching the area just in case. Fifteen seconds or so passed. Just when she was about to look away, there it was again. It was just a quick dash from one pool of shadow to another, but this time Tammy could clearly see a rodent, complete with a faint shadow being cast by a streetlight as whoever it was moved swiftly from one concealed area to another. A few more such movements, and it became clear that they were weaving their way towards the museum. As they got closer, she could see that whoever it was carried a small backpack and that their face was masked to conceal their identity. In fact, their whole body was covered, they were wearing a black uniform that resembled something out of a lousy ninja movie.
They haven't seen me yet... maybe I can take them by surprise, Tammy thought as she climbed swiftly down the tree's trunk. Staying as low as she could, she started slowly working her way to where she'd last seen motion. She spotted movement again, and saw the rodent more distinctly this time. She froze and dropped to the ground, motionless, concealed by some low-growing weeds, watching it's movements. It definately seemed to be headed for the museum. Tammy could see the path it was trying to keep to - a long bank of shadow that cut a trail on the grassy ground that led almost the whole distance to the museum's wall. From there, it would be a fairly simple matter to get into the museum itself through nearly any small opening, and she didn't want to let that happen. Looking around, Tammy saw a cover she could use - a tree that grew right along the edge of the shadowy path. She picked herself up off the ground, staying low, and swiftly ran behind the trunk, waiting for the rodent to get closer so that she could make an ambush as whoever it was tried to pass the tree.
Nervously she waited, peeking around the trunk of the tree every few seconds. Her heart was pounding. This was the most dangerous part of trying to stop a crime - the part where you actually confront a criminal. It didn't help her confidence any that she was alone. Usual procedure was that someone should never work alone, she should have gone to warn everyone and get the assistance of at least one or two others. But whoever it was was approaching fast, and there didn't seem to be time. Besides, she convinced herself, there was only one of them, with no weapons as far as she could see, and yesterday at Fat Cat's she'd been alone and done just fine. I can do this one alone, too. Piece of cake, especially with all that stuff Terou taught me while he was here. Her belief in her abilities thus fortified, she peered carefully around the tree trunk once again, and saw the figure running once more in the shadows, along the path she'd expected them to take, and she mentally visualized their advance in order to get the right timing to tackle them from the side unexpectedly as they passed.
In a few short seconds, the time to act came. Tammy burst forward from around the trunk, just as the dark figure was passing by, and she dashed as fast as she could, jumping into a flying tackle, trying to knock the dark figure to the ground. Whoever it was, they were surprisingly light. Tammy bowled them over with ease, the shadowy figure landing heavily on it's right shoulder, and both of them tumbled a good distance.
As soon as they came to rest, Tammy immediately began trying to pin them down, only to discover that whoever she'd tackled was a bit too quick. The dark figure squirmed out of her grasp and got to it's feet. Tammy tried to grab hold again, but instead found herself being thrown to the ground before she knew what was happening. She leapt to her feet as quickly as she could, but seemingly out of nowhere, the back of her knee was kicked and she was forced into a kneeling position. A thin but strong arm swiftly locked around her neck, immobilizing her head, and before she could do anything, she felt a wet piece of cloth being held against her mouth and nose. It had a soft, strange chemical smell and Tammy tried not to breathe for as long as she could while she struggled, but no matter how she tried there was no way for her to break free, and in seconds the world was growing hazy and indistinct. She tried to scream for help, but it was too late. Her body stopped responding. Her muscles grew strengthless and limp, her eyelids sank and closed. There was nothing she could do, and she fell into a complete blackout.
The expected window of time in which something should have happened had come
and gone, with nothing out of the ordinary. Well, I guess that probably means
that someone's stolen something somewhere else in the city, and we'll have to
figure out what tomorrow, Chip thought to himself, turning his attention away
from the diamond at last. Keeping watch here didn't turn up anything, but at
least no one can say we didn't try and...
That thought was interrupted, however, as something out of the ordinary did happen, completely without warning.
There was a very noticable change in the room's lighting as the spotlight over the diamond suddenly shut off unexpectedly. Even with his back turned, Chip could see the whole balance of illumination shift, and he swiftly spun around back towards the now darkened display. "What's going on?" He wondered out loud in alarm, hoping it was just a routine maintanence procedure. He had his doubts about that, however, because nothing of the sort had been mentioned, and because the guards near him seemed surprised as well.
A few seconds later, as Chip watched in puzzlement, the spotlight suddenly dislodged from the ceiling without warning and came crashing down, landing heavily on top of the glass display box. Chip could hear the tinkling sound of the spotlight's bulb breaking on impact. After hitting the glass box, the light tilted off, falling to one side, and proceeded the rest of the way down to the floor with a resounding metallic crash.
Just as the spotlight hit the ground, there was another clinking sound, and Chip looked up just in time to see that two smallish metal canisters, fastened securely together with duct tape, had been dropped from the hole in the ceiling where the spotlight had been a second ago. Like the spotlight, they bounced off the glass and tumbled to the floor. As soon as they came to rest, they both started pouring out smoke with a hissing sound. One was thin and wispy, like fog, the other was darker and billowed out in heavy sheets, the thickest smoke Chip had ever seen in his life. It began rapidly filling the room before Chip could even think about making a move.
"What's that up there?" One of the guards pointed to the hole in the ceiling, and Chip looked up to see that a thin cable had been dropped down through the hole and into the display room. Just before the thick smoke finally filled the whole room, completely obscuring Chip's view of everything, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a rodent descending the line. Chip couldn't be sure of the species. It was either a very small rat or a fairly average sized mouse, but there was no way to know which. Whoever or whatever it was, they were dressed completely in black from head to toe, like a stereotypical ninja from a bad movie, and they were wearing a rodent sized gasmask that obscured their face.
The human guards swiftly unlocked and opened the doors, entering the room to see what was going on. As they fumbled around in the thick smoke, they soon started coughing uncontrollably and were forced to retreat back out of the room once again. One of them began talking on his radio. "Activate the ventillation in the diamond display room!" He said urgently. "No one can see a blasted thing! We need to clear that smoke, now!"
"Something's wrong with the vent controls." A staticky voice came back. "The air circulation fan isn't responding from the central control room. Sending someone to switch it on manually. It's gonna take a few minutes..."
"We don't have a few minutes. Do it fast!" The guard shouted back, futilely beating at the smoke with his hands and starting to cough. There was now a flurry of panicked activity going on all around. Orders were given to lock down and secure all exits to the building.
As Chip stood, watching the scene unfold with disbelief, trying to figure out what to do, he suddenly noticed a strange itch in his throat and eyes. In seconds, the room started to blur as his eyes watered uncontrollably and his throat burned. Combined with the opaqueness of the smoke that was drifting around him, he started to get disoriented and couldn't really tell which direction was which. Before he knew what was happening, he was coughing so hard he could hardly stand, and it was getting harder and harder to even take a breath. He felt someone grab his shoulder and start pulling him back, away from the smoke. It was one of the guards. "Come on, we've got to get out of here. I think it's teargas. We don't have any masks to protect us against it." The guard said. He was also coughing hard. As reluctant as Chip was to leave, he was left no choice. There was no way to do anything under those conditions. All he could do was stagger away to an area with cleaner air and desparately hope that the others had better luck as he tried to wash out his eyes with water that one of the guards gave him.
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Disclaimer:
The charactors of Chip, Dale, Gadget, Monterey Jack, Zipper, Tammy, Foxglove
and any other charactor originally appearing the animated series "Chip
and Dale's Rescue Rangers" are all © Disney and are used here without
permission. Any other charactors appearing herein that are not © Disney
are my own creations. This story may be freely copied, transmitted, printed,
distributed, used as bird cage liner, or whatever, I only ask that it is not
modified from it's original form and it is not used for profit in any way. I
believe that that concludes the legal mumbo-jumbo for now... On to the story!
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