(no subject)

[ladyoftime]

It was a cold night; just right for a penguin like me. It was raining outside. It didn’t make for a pretty picture, but I can’t complain: it’s the only time my office gets a little wash.

I’m Frobisher. Frobisher to my friends, Mr. Frobisher to my enemies. I’m a private investigator. I’m the guy you go to when the chips are down, when the cows make it home, when the pickle jar won’t open and you can almost taste the cucumber-y goodness inside. It’s not the glamourous life you see in the movies. I spend a lot of time chasing runaways, hiding in alleys, and ferreting through trash cans. You name it, I’ll do it. For the right price.

I was having a slow day. It was just about time to close up the office, and I had just poured my last glass of bourbon. Then she walked in. Five-foot-nine inches, and all of it was legs. I couldn’t have kept my eyes off her if I tried. She took one look at the chair growing three kinds of bacteria, then sat down on one of the few clean spots on my desk. She was a smart dame as well as a classy one; the things that had sat on that chair, no dame deserved to see. The minute I could talk without my voice going up an octave, I offered her my last drink.



“No, thank you, Frobisher. I’m not here to drink.”

I coulda listened to her voice forever. And what was even better, I had a reason to.

“Tell me about your case, honey.”

She stared at me with those deep grey eyes of hers, and I was ready to follow her through to hell. Or a divorce, whichever came first. “It’s the Doctor.”

That’s when I knew this wasn’t going to be any ordinary case. I used to work with the Doctor. He’s good people, even if his taste in clothing is a little garish. He has a knack for finding trouble, and sometimes that trouble finds me.

“What about the Doc?”

“I mean I am the Doctor. I think something on your wall just blinked. Don’t you ever clean in here, Frobisher?”

That’s when I knew. Something about the Doc carries over into his regenerations, something an old friend like me can spot in a minute.

“Sorry I didn’t recognize you right off, Doc.”

“No doubt you were too busy inner-monologuing about my legs.”

The Doctor’s a perceptive dame; it’s one of the things I like about him. But sometimes, she’s a little too perceptive.

“Have you brought me a case, Doc, or are you just dropping in to beg me to come with you again?”

She reached into her jacket and came out with a brochure. The Doc always had a thing about jacket pockets. “I’ve got a case for you this time.” She let it fall under my beak with a slap. ‘See the Universe!’ it said on the front in green and blue. A guy like me doesn’t need a pretty brochure to see his share of the universe.

“No offense, but I’ve seen enough of the universe with you already. I don’t need another tour.”

“People go missing when they get involved with this tour, Frobisher. No reason, no explanation. Never heard from again. Aren’t you the least bit curious why?”

“Doc. Doc, Doc, Doc. I’ve got a job here already.” It broke my heart to tell the Doc no, especially when she was looking so especially nice. But a penguin’s gotta earn a living. He can’t just run off with the first dame to come along. Not without a marriage license and tickets to a remote island getaway for the honeymoon.

“Did I mention I’m willing to pay for your services?”

The Doc always knew the way to a penguin’s heart. “Twelve mazumas a day. Plus expenses.”

“You have yourself a deal.”

That was just the beginning, of course. The beginning of one of the greatest cases of my career. During that case, I encountered the stickiest web of lies and deception known to mortal beings, and found the most evil perpetrator a guy like me could meet in his entire lifetime. During that case, yours truly was personally shot at and hunted down several times, and only the Doc’s assistance prevented those attempts from sending me to my permanent home in the ground.

But that would be getting ahead of myself.

Community: oncoming_storms
Prompt: 1.9 - I will remember this moment forever
Word Count: 743