A/N: Originally written in October 2010. When I listened to "Waylaid in the Windy City," it was so sad for me to hear that Blackgaard had Greg Kelly killed. So I took Blackgaard's comment-"Take care of Gregory, right?"-and Richard's comment-"Maybe Greg Kelly is an acquaintance of mine who led me to Blackgaard."-and out came this story. I know Greg probably died, but I wondered why Richard would mention Greg if Greg were already dead. This is an alternate (though not unbelievable) version to what presumably happened to Greg in "Waylaid in the Windy City." The horizontal line represents a short passage of time. Rated K+ for dangerous situations.

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Adventures in Odyssey. Focus on the Family does. And I'm making absolutely no money with this story.

Take Care of Gregory

Richard followed Pinky and Greg as covertly as he could. He watched the pair sit down at an outdoor table, Greg holding his tray of burger and fries. Greg was hiding himself beneath a hat and sunglasses to avoid being recognized.

How could Greg be so stupid? How could he not know what Blackgaard was planning to do to him? Richard watched with a sick feeling as Pinky slid his hands under the table and slipped a pair of gloves over them. Greg was too busy eating to notice.

When Greg had finished his food, Pinky led Greg away.

"Where are we going?" Richard heard Greg ask.

"Hotel," Pinky droned.

"But the hotel's that way," Greg said, pointing in the opposite direction from which they were headed.

"Shortcut," Pinky said curtly.

Richard knew better. Pinky's "shortcut" led them from the business district to the deserted part of the Windy City. Pinky and Greg took so many turns around corners that Richard had to run to make sure he didn't lose sight of them. His stomach twisted as Pinky swiftly grabbed Greg's elbow and dragged him into an alley. Hoping fervently that he wasn't about to be shot for his stupidity, he charged around the corner with his water pistol in his hand.

"Freeze, Pinky," he said with as much authority as he could squeeze out of his tight throat.

Luckily, Pinky's back was turned. Had Pinky been facing him, it would have been easier for Pinky to use Greg as a hostage. Before Pinky could turn around, Richard shoved the barrel of his water gun against his head.

"Now, put the gun on the ground," Richard directed. When Pinky hesitated, Richard pressed the barrel harder to his head. Pinky capitulated and bent slowly to put his gun on the ground. Only then did Richard see that it had been fitted with a silencer.

"Move, Greg," he said. Greg scrambled out of Pinky's way. "All right, start walking," he told Pinky. He walked Pinky at water gunpoint to the wall at the end of the alley.

"Turn around with your hands above your head," Richard said, stepping back so that Pinky would be unable to grab his toy gun. Pinky slowly obeyed.

"This is the part where you go back to the hotel, Pinky." Pinky stared at him.

"You're not going to shoot me?" Pinky asked, confused.

"Not as long as you do what I say."

"I haff no choice."

"Right you are, my fat friend. You're gonna go back to the hotel and tell Blackgaard everything went exactly as planned. Tell him Greg has been disposed of, and he's no longer a threat to his operation."

Pinky dropped his gaze and said nothing. Richard was pretty sure he knew what Pinky was thinking.

"Oh, and one more thing," he added with what he hoped was a confident chuckle. "Dear old Dr. Blackgaard is not gonna find out about our little chat, because you're never gonna tell him. Of course, you could tell your pal Blackgaard that you didn't take care of Greg, that you let him get away and tell the police everything. But if you tell him that, he might decide to take care of you, too, don't ya think?"

He watched with satisfaction as Pinky's pudgy face turned pale.

"Blackgaard vill never find out about zis," he grunted obediently.

"'Atta boy. Now get out of here." To prevent Pinky from grabbing his gun from the pavement, Richard again walked behind him across the alley with his so-called gun pressed to his head. He watched until Pinky ducked around a corner and out of his sight.

Greg was sagging against one of the walls and panting shakily. Richard strode over to him.

"You okay?" he asked. Greg's legs couldn't seem to support him, and he slid to a sitting position.

"Yeah, I'm all right," Greg gasped out. "You're Richard . . . Maxwell?"

"The one and only," Richard confirmed with a grin.

"How did you know where to find me?"

"I overheard Blackgaard telling Pinky to take care of you. Since you were stupid enough to think he was gonna be nice, I figured I'd better make sure he didn't get the chance to finish you off." As he crossed the alley and reached down for Pinky's gun, Greg said nervously,

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking his gun so he won't be able to come back for it later and take another crack at you."

"Good thinking."

"Greg, you need to turn yourself in." Greg blanched.

"Are you nuts? I can't get caught, not after swiping that computer! If I go to the police, they're gonna lock me up and throw away the key!"

"You nearly croaked, and you're worried about a little jail time?"

"This is hot! They might throw me in prison!"

"All right, prison, then. At least you're not dead." But Greg looked so terrified that Richard felt sorry for him despite his callous words. "Listen, take it from a guy who's been locked up—prison isn't the end of the world. They'll let you out eventually."

"Inmates kill each other all the time in prison!" said Greg, his voice cracking with fear.

"Right now, you have a better chance of survival in prison than out of prison," Richard pointed out.

"All right, I'll go," Greg agreed after a minute of silence.

"I'll come with you in case Pinky or Blackgaard shows up," Richard told him. His suggestion seemed to greatly relieve Greg.

"Thanks, Richard."

Many twists and turns later, the two of them stood just out of sight of the nearest police station.

"Remember, don't tell them about me or Pinky or Blackgaard, or Blackgaard might show up to settle his unfinished business with you. Just tell them about the computer that you snatched," Richard reminded Greg.

"What about Blackgaard?"

"The police will catch him eventually. He can't hide for very long when all of Chicago is looking for that computer."

"Yeah, I guess," Greg agreed. "Well, uh, thanks for saving me, Richard. I won't forget this."

"Yeah, sure. Just don't tell anybody. And don't go down any more deserted streets."

"I won't," Greg said, his laughter strained and nervous because of what he was about to do.

"Bye!"

"See ya!" Richard answered. He watched to be certain that Greg made it to the doors of the police station safely before heading to his sewer entrance. When no one was looking, he lifted the grating, climbed down the ladder, and slid the bars back. Once his feet were off the ladder, he tossed Pinky's gun into the stinking water.

It was time to make Blackgaard pay for what he had done to him.

Richard squeezed the trigger of his water pistol and grinned.

"The End"

A/N: I know you're out there, Adventures in Odyssey fans! So read and review for me, please! I should also mention that I haven't gotten to the Darkness before Dawn episodes, so no spoilers, please!