Drifting Away // Lego City Adventures

Chapter 12: Blackout

An enormous line stretched in front of the table Daisy was sitting at. The table had been set out in front of the station. She was in charge of passing out emergency supplies like food, water, flashlights, and blankets to help people get through the power outage.

The power had gone out four days ago, and the whole town had been in a state of crisis ever since. There was only one place with power due to Cluster's generator, and that was the hospital. Nobody really could use their cars anymore since fuel was so limited, no houses had heat or working electric stoves to quickly heat up their food, and of course, no one's lights would turn on. The citizens stuck to doing things in the day time, like now, because once night hit, it became way too oppressively dark to do anything, and they needed to conserve their flashlight energy. Harl took this as an opportunity to put his helping expertise to good use, and Daisy helped out at his side.

Much more pressing was the fact that Dirty Duke was at large. Since he escaped his jail cell in the madness of the blackout, there had been no sight of him or Fendrich. His "energy wave machine" was confirmed to be the cause behind the power outage. Many power workers had worked tirelessly to try and restore the power, but nothing worked. In order to get the power back, they'd have to find the machine and disable it, or else it would continue disrupting the power across town, but no one could locate it or Dirty Duke.

Dirty Duke no longer camped out at Snake's lair, and no searches had yielded any clues to where he could be. The tension was almost killing Daisy. Dirty Duke's silence was ominous. What horrible things could he be doing to Fendrich? Was he still searching for the crooks? Or had he moved on to other, equally heinous goals?

Daisy's thoughts of doom and gloom were interrupted as she noticed the next person in line. It was Captain Facepatch.

"Good to see you Daisy. I know it's old news by now, but I'm delighted to know you have been cleared of your allegations and that you are doing well now."

"Thank you Facepatch. Although 'doing well' is a bit of a stretch, with everything that's been going on."

"I also wish the circumstances could be better. It's a little alarming that somehow, this power outage is also cutting power within my ships, and I miss being able to sail on my boats. And of course, there's the dreadful news of everything that's happened to Duke. It truly aches me to know that Dirty Duke has returned. But that's why I appreciate your help in all this. Everyone needs a little hope during this difficult time. I know my crew could certainly use the supplies."

Daisy grabbed a box of supplies from under the table. "Well then, I hope this contains everything you guys will need."

Facepatch took the box. "I'm sure this will suffice. Thank you for your help."

After Facepatch had walked off, Daisy was about to help the next person in line when she heard some commotion behind her. A few officers were running up to the station and entering the building. This wouldn't have been unusual, if it wasn't for the tenseness in their faces.

One of the officers was Tom Bennett. He met Daisy's gaze and he gestured for her to follow him before he opened the doors and stepped inside.

Daisy glanced over at Harl who was also at the counter helping with passing out supplies.

"Harl, could you cover for me for a minute?"

"Sure thing!"

She nodded to show her appreciation, then went off to follow Tom Bennett inside. He led her to the main meeting room, where many officers already sat, including Wheelie. Many of them were shifting in their seats with nervous expressions.

Something had definitely happened. And judging by the mood of the room, it wasn't good.

Tom Bennett stood at the front stand, waiting for everyone to arrive. Daisy herself wasn't sure where to sit, or even if she was supposed to sit, so she instead hung out by the entryway. Finally, once everyone had arrived, Tom started the meeting.