The Red Orchid
Episode #TQC-0103
By Miss Ang
Let's
lose our way, go completely astray
And find ourselves again
You know, the only way to get there is to take that step
To the other side of life, tonight...
~ The Moody Blues, "Other Side of Life"
Prologue
Normally, Jeanie Zenora Frisson would have found office chairs of the $1000 caliber very comfortable, but the office she was sitting in was less than hospitable. Those stark walls, devoid of any decoration, the regimental state of the place - its over-cleanliness... the precision was maddening. Not to mention the intensity of the glare she'd been trying to avoid for the past twenty minutes. Finally, she turned her eyes over to her "captor".
She didn't even bother to tie me up, Jeanie thought, puzzled, as she let her eyes wander over the duck's tightly braided and wound brown bun, those black obsidian eyes, her beak, set in a sneer, the flash of her white-feathered throat against the stark navy blue suit. Her hands clenched, more than clasped, in her lap, over the small package that she'd confiscated.
"Okay, what," Jeanie snapped, breaking the silence. The FOWL agent didn't even bother to blink, and Jeanie wondered if she even had tear ducts. Probably not. "WHAT? Stop staring at me!"
Gabriel Marie Noonan's sneer deepened as she got to her feet, setting the box containing the Oahi Orchid on her desk, then leaned over Jeanie. "I don't know who the heck you think you are," she said tightly, "but I'm not impressed. However.... High Command is. I don't know why, but they want you to be an agent here. And I'm supposed to train you."
"And that's why you're staring at me. Because some people want me to work with you. And you don't like me." Jeanie said calmly, folding her arms.
No, I'm staring at you because I don't know how I got here. Gabriel let a sigh out through her nostrils angrily. But what she doesn't know... She nodded curtly. "Enough said. So shut up, and follow me..."
Drake sighed, flopping into his favorite blue chair. "I can't believe this," he groaned. "I thought we had all our bases covered yesterday."
Maui shrugged, handing his cousin a cup of coffee. "So did I. But ... someone got through to the Orchid."
Drake slurped at his coffee as Gosalyn did a home-run slide onto the carpet, a can of KooKoo Cola in her hand. "... Watch that soda on my floor, young lady."
"Sure thing, Dad." Gosalyn nodded. "Maui told me all about last night... that su--" She caught her father's glare and rolled her eyes. "Stunk."
"Thank youuu,"
He nodded. "And yes, to put it plainly, it did stink."
He set his mug down on the side table and groaned. "What's
the big deal about a little clay flower, anyway?" He whined.
"I mean, it was only this big!" He pinched at the air.
"And it didn't have any jewels on it!"
Gosalyn shrugged. "Maybe it's magic."
"Now who's been spending too much time with Morgana?" Drake raised an eyebrow.
"In a way, actually, cuz..." Maui downed the rest of his own coffee and stretched out in his chair. "She's right."
"HUH?"
"Well, didn't you wonder why I was trailing Jeanie? She's been after that thing for ages!"
"......Do I get a neato hero story out of this?" Gosalyn asked, eyes wide. "I'm gonna go get my notebook...!"
As she scampered off to her room, Drake folded his hands. "SHUSH records state she's been working there for three months, Maui. And I don't know why a SHUSH agent would go bad."
"Because she was never good in the first place," Maui said decisively. "... At least ... not for any of the time that I knew her." He paused. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," Drake shrugged, as Gosalyn returned with her notebook and sat down at his feet.
"Well, your adversary, Negaduck. ... Is he from a place called..."
"The Negaverse," Gosalyn volunteered. "Everything's the opposite of here, there."
"It isn't pretty," Drake added.
"I know," Maui sighed. "I was there very briefly while I was chasing Jeanie."
"WHAT?" Drake yelped, sitting bolt upright in his chair. "You mean ...."
Gosalyn gasped. "Jeanie's from the Negaverse??"
Gabriel smirked as the elevator door opened, revealing a sea of white paint and tile. "Down to the end of the hallway," she instructed Jeanie. "You won't miss it... it's the only door. I'll be waiting here when you're through." Stepping out of the elevator, she sat down in a simple silver chair and opened up a file folder. "Go on."
Jeanie blinked. "And why exactly is there only one door on this floor?"
"No questions, Frisson. Get your tailfeathers over there." Gabriel snapped, pointing towards the stainless steel door.
Rolling her eyes, Jeanie strode towards the door. "Ooh, I'm supposed to be scared of the big bad door," she muttered, pushing it open. The room she looked in on was empty, save for a large desk and a pair of simple office chairs. Picture windows all around the room looked out on the city, and a large, flat-screen television monitor sat on the desk. "What is this ... educational videos? Public service announcements?" She looked around the empty room. "You guys aren't subjecting me to horrible kiddie show reruns, are you?"
The television screen turned on, revealing three silhouettes against a blue background adorned with the FOWL logo. "Sit. Down."
"You didn't say please," Jeanie sassed, slouching down into a chair and arcing her spine against the back of it. "Ah. My vertebrae thank you," she winked, as her bones popped. "So, what's up?"
"We are FOWL High Command," the shadow in the middle announced. "We have monitored your progress, and we have decided that you are well-suited for our employ. You will ask no questions, and make no objection to any orders that we may give you. Anything you require will be provided - living quarters, a suitable personal budget, and various training facilities. Agent Noonan, as we are sure you have been informed, will give you the tour of our facilities and instruct you in the proper use of FOWL equipment. Once you have completed your training, report back to us, and we will assess your performance and send a copy of our report to Mission Evaluations. As soon as that has been received, they will draft you into an appropriate team of agents."
Jeanie blinked. "... Wait a second. Did you say no questions, no objections? That sucks eggs!!! Why would anyone want to join you and your stupid organization? And why should I feel obligated under any sense of the word to, for that matter?"
"Many agents have joined us because we provide the key to their very lives. You, however, Ms. Frisson, may find our services very helpful in gaining the things that you desire."
"You don't have them, I know you don't. I've done my homework." Jeanie folded her arms. "Don't go trying to fool me. And besides, you were after the Orchid, too! What makes me so sure that you won't help me get the stuff just to take it for yourselves?"
"There's also one ... more ... thing," the shadow on the left intoned. "We don't think you understand, Agent Frisson. We are not leaving you a choice. We know everything about you. And if you try to leave our employ, we will stop you by whatever means necessary."
Jeanie put her hands to either side of her beak. "Gasp," she said flatly, then wiggled her fingers. "Ooooo, I'm scared. You don't have any idea what you're getting into, Larry, Moe, and Curly. I know you don't. If you knew what all this was, you wouldn't even be after it. I'm one of the lucky few people who can even begin to gain from what the Red Orchid has to offer, and I seem to be the only one around who understands what it does and why." She stood, tugging at the hem of her baby-doll t-shirt. "So you three can just button your beaks. Sure, I'll be a FOWL agent. But only because it sounds like my chance to live out a little bit of childhood fantasy - you know, Farley's Angels and all that." She waved, then headed out the door. "Toodles."
Gabriel nibbled at the bottom half of her beak pensively as she ran her fingers over the folder in her hands. Frisson, Jean Z. ... Why is there nothing in your folder? Usually everything that comes outta SubSub is at least two inches thick. She looked up to see Jeanie approaching, and bit back the sardonic smirk at the corners of her beak. "So," she called out, standing. "How did it go?"
"Oh, you mean the Three Stooges in there? Meh, not bad. They basically tried the whole 'we know where you live' routine." Jeanie laughed uproariously, then stepped into the elevator. "Where to, boss? I'm all set to learn everyone's secret code names and get my decoder ring."
Gabriel blinked.
"What, you think they'd scare me?" Jeanie giggled. "Trust me, if you've seen them the way I have, it's hard to take them seriously!"
"What?"
"Oh, nothing," Jeanie sang. "I take it we're starting at the bottom." Shrugging, she pressed one glittery indigo fingernail against the elevator button marked SS. "....Soooooooooooooo, what's your story?"
Agent Noonan frowned. "That's none of your business, thank you."
"I bet everyone around here's gotta juicy story to tell. Especially Steelbeak. Ooh. He's cute. I wouldn't mind sharing a mission or two with him. You ever work with him?"
Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "Frequently," she said coldly.
"Ooooh, sorry, was I steppin' on your private property?" Jeanie sassed. "Didn't think you the type. I thought you'd be the one married to your paperwork day and night. You know. No life, no friends. Nothing really outside that little desk of yours."
Turning towards the glass panel that looked out the elevator shaft to the rest of FOWL as it descended, Gabriel grit her teeth, her fingernails scraping at the manila folder in her hands. "You thought wrong," she said stiffly.
Cocking her head to one side, Jeanie blinked.
"Well, is she?" Drake urged.
Maui looked up, then scratched his head pensively. "Well ... I don't really know how to give you a straight answer on that one. I'd probably have to just tell you the whole shebang..."
"Which would go how...?"
Maui shrugged, settling back in his chair. "You really want the whole story, huh?"
"Of course. We can't have a new villain without a 'how-I-became-a-villain' story!" Gosalyn giggled.
"If you insist..."