Are You Sure You're Free?

Chapter 8

"The government guys? I thought you got eaten by zombies," I said as Agent Powers approached us.

"We survived," Agent Trigger replied, "barely." Powers said something to trigger which made him look a bit embarrassed. I was confused.

I watched as Stan was being dragged by a nearby vehicle. "What did I do that warrens, this much arresting?!" He shouted. Powers glared at him and began to explain.

"Your uncle is hiding something.  Last night someone stole 300 gallons of dangerous waste."  Stan interrupted but the agent kept explaining.  "Somewhere hidden in this shack is a doomsday device!" He said. Mabel and I gasped with shock and confusion. We gave each other a look.  The agents muscled us into a large truck. 

"What're you gonna do with us?!" Mabel squeaked out.

"We'll be taking you to child services," Trigger replied.  Mabel let out a "boo!"

"Dipper this is crazy! There's no way Stan did all that, we gotta clear his name!"  She quietly said to me.  I thought to myself and looked up, noticing a small camera in the corner of the vehicle.

"Wait a minute! The security tapes! Didn't Stan say he was restocking the gift shop last night? If we could get the Mystery Shack security tapes, we could prove he's innocent!"  I suggested.  Mabel put her hand to her chin, thinking.

"We just need to think of a way out of here. Think Mabel, think."  Just as she said that, a large truck pulled up with a Sev'ral Timez bumper sticker on the back.  Mabel tapped on the glass and wrote with her breath, "Sev'ral Timez is overrated."  The driver, who happened to be Manly Dan, angrily crashed his car into ours, causing it to spin off course. 

We crashed into a tree and escaped without an injury.  Mabel cheered and I turned back to Trigger.

"Back-up! Requesting back-up! Ah!" I pulled out his earpiece and crushed it under my foot.  "Oh you poor kids.  You really think your uncle's innocent?" I paused.  "I've seen it all before. False names, double lives, your uncle scammed the whole world.  You gonna let him scam you too?"  I looked back without emotion.

"You-you don't know what you're talking about," I said back to him, and continued forward.  His words made me think, was Stan really innocent?  Or is he just lying to us?  I thought harder and Mabel snapped her fingers.  I guess I didn't notice we were already back at the shack.

"Alright, here's the plan: I'll take out those two guard guys, you karate chop the other dude in the neck and then we'll back-flip through the front door!" 

"Mabel, aren't you forgetting the simpler solution?" 

"Oh right," and she pulled out her grappling hook, which we then used to swing across to the window.

We silently snuck past the agents and into Stan's office.  Mabel and I began our search for the security footage.  It took a while before Mabel realized that the jackalope wasn't real.  I flipped the antler up and the VCR was revealed.

"Yes!" We cheered together.  This week's footage was conveniently in the VCR and we played it on the TV.  Stan was shown placing objects into the gift shop.

"Ha! There it is! Stan re-stocking like he said! It's proof, he's innocent," but something interrupted our success.  Stan opened the door and snuck out!  I fast-forwarded the video and noticed he hadn't come back until around 2am with a large tank and a hazmat suit.

"Oh no, Stan you didn't?" I panicked. 

"Don't panic, that could be anyone under that suit!"  Mabel said trying to be reassuring.

"Gah! Hot Belgium waffles!" He shouted after dropping a tank on his foot, "wait, I'm alone! I can swear for real.  SON-OF-A-" but I cut it off before he could finish.

"That's him alright," I said positively.  I could tell Mabel was getting a bit scared herself.

"Okay, okay, so he stole some toxic waste! That doesn't mean he's leading a nefarious double life," she tried to stay positive, but I quickly ruined that feeling of hope.

"Mabel, I'm not so sure about that."  I pulled out a box full of fake IDs and a news paper that Mabel pulled out.  Her eyes widened. She handed the paper to me and what I read was something that made me distrust my own eyesight.

"What?!  Stan Pines' dead?!" I held the paper close and Mabel read out loud.

"Fiery car crash-breaks cut? By who?"  I pulled out another paper that read, "Unnamed Grifter At Large."

"But why would they call him unnamed? Unless Stan," I paused.

"Isn't-"

"Stan?!" We said in unison.

A/N:  IT'S MEEEEE!!!! Yes, I uploaded faster today! Woohoo!  I really wanted to bring a certain someone into this story and well, what better way to do it than Not What He Seems itself?!  I know I left some stuff out but I just wanted to keep the story going and left out some of our favorite Gravity Falls humor :(.  Yeaaaahhh.  But anyway, thanks for reading! Update will come soon!
~Rachel