i won't stop 'til i get where you are

Summary: Scrooge starts a new job in London.

Word count: 4135

Warnings: None

1967-1968; London

There came a time in an old trillionaire's life when his businesses ran themselves so expertly and so efficiently that he didn't need to do anything anymore. He was the richest duck in the entire world and he had the acclaim and the renown and the respect that the title deserved.

But adventuring and treasure hunting could only provide so much entertainment. Plus it was expensive! And a bit exhausting, if he was being honest.

So when Scrooge got an invitation from his old friend Ludwig to come to London and check out his company, Scrooge couldn't say no. Perhaps Ludwig was just looking for an investor, or perhaps Ludwig was looking for advice. But at the tender age of one hundred, Scrooge didn't particularly care. He was just happy to be needed somewhere.

---

At no point in the time he'd known Ludwig - which was most of the younger man's life - did Scrooge see 'running an international espionage and rescue operation' in his future. The scientist and family man always liked to keep his achievements in the public eye - he wanted as many people as possible to know what he was doing.

But it seemed that in his retirement from inventing, Ludwig had grown restless. So he chose to dedicate his money and brains to something very different, but just as important.

Scrooge was mostly speechless as his friend showed him around the base. There were groups of scientists and inventors testing crazy gadgets, there were muscular athletes practicing drills and dodging bullets, there were lithe acrobats dressed in all-black seeing how far they could get undetected by cameras or guards in dozens of simulated scenarios.

It was impressive. More than impressive, in fact.

"I want in," Scrooge said suddenly, interrupting his friend.

Ludwig smiled and clapped a hand on Scrooge's back. "Zat's vunderful news! Vat vould you like to help viss?"

Scrooge shook his head and motioned at everything around them. "Anythin', Ludwig! This whole operation is magnificent! And my skills from years of treasure huntin' could be useful on some of your missions!"

"Ah!" Ludwig nodded. He'd initially brought Scrooge to S.H.U.S.H. base in the hopes of getting a donation, but a volunteer agent could be just as useful. "I sink I know exactly vat mission to send you on first. Are you familiar wiss…Jack ze Tripper?"

— [insert episode The Confidential Case Files of Agent Twenty Two! & the comic ‘Under The Cover of Can'tarctica!’] —

Scrooge ended up spending a lot of time in London. Over the next few months - through his birthday and further on - he returned frequently to go on missions or help out by renting S.H.U.S.H. some of his adventuring gear. He and Twenty-Two and Ludwig spent a significant amount of time together.

He and Beakley went on an especially exciting mission together in the arctic where she had the opportunity to meet The Bombie, though Scrooge would prefer that none of his friends or family would find out about the terrible monster lurking behind every corner.

He didn’t want to admit to anyone that he wasn’t spending more than a few weeks in one place because he needed to make sure The Bombie was always on its toes. If he was traveling a lot it would leave the monster confused and turned around. Being trapped in ice in the middle of the Arctic wouldn’t be enough to keep him away, Scrooge was sure of that, but it gave him time to breathe.

“McDuck. I think we need to have a chat.”

Scrooge glanced up from the controls of his submarine and saw Bentina glaring at him, looking particularly unhappy.

“What?”

“All your little ‘honeymooners’ comments have me concerned. I want to make sure you understand that we’re friends and nothing more.”

Scrooge took a second to soak in her comment before he shook his head and laughed. “Ah, Beakley, I’m sorry. I didnae mean to make ye uncomfortable! It was just the first thing that came to mind.”

She took a seat behind him. “Alright. Good.”

He was tempted to make a joke about how he was already married, but that would just lead to a lot of other questions. “Besides, I’m more than three times your age.”

Beakley rolled her eyes. “I doubt you’re-”

“One hundred and one.”

“Hm?”

“I turned one hundred and one this year.”

The sub became awkwardly silent for a few seconds before Beakley finally responded. “You’re certainly spry for your age, then.”

---

The London Blackjack was one of Goldie's more successful hotels. She tried to visit every few months and make sure everything was in order. Not because she didn't value her British employees, but...well. Her parents taught her, just as their parents taught them, to never trust the British.

But it was a fun city, despite her generational warnings. Diverse and bustling and there were always tourists ready to spend their money on luxury hotels.

It was in 1968 that Goldie got a special message from her London hotel. A message she'd told any of her hotels to send her if they had the opportunity. A very simple message, but one of utmost importance:

Scrooge McDuck was staying in their hotel.

Goldie was immediately suspicious. She knew Scrooge had at least one friend who lived in London, so why would he stay at a hotel? And if he really wanted to stay at a hotel, why choose hers? He was aware that the Blackjack was her brand. It was either a message to her that he wanted her to know he was in London, or a message to her that he didn't care if she knew he was in London.

It didn't matter. Goldie had planned to visit her London hotel within the next few weeks, so she moved up the date. Whether he realized it or not, he’d made the first move by checking into her Blackjack and now she had to respond.

---

She strolled into her hotel casually, being recognized by the front desk manager who immediately scolded a nearby employee for slouching.

Goldie walked up the desk and leaned against it. "Hey."

The manager smiled at her uncomfortably. "Hello, Miss O'Gilt! You're here earlier than usual!"

She shrugged. "Had some business in town. Thought I'd save some time and get both things done at once. It's a pretty long flight, you kn…." Goldie faded off as a familiar face stepping off the nearby elevator caught her attention. She didn't even look back at her employees before approaching him.

Scrooge noticed her right away and blinked slowly, trying to decide if he was hallucinating. Then he looked around the room and saw the hotel logo, realized exactly what hotel Ludwig had booked him in, and silently cursed the man for always making a mess of things.

"...Goldie," Scrooge said quietly, squeezing the top of his cane with both hands. "You're here."

Goldie crossed her arms over her chest. "You're the one who came to my hotel, sourdough."

"Well, I…" Scrooge started to correct her, but then he stopped himself. Goldie somehow heard he'd checked into one of her many hotels within a single day of him checking in, and then she immediately flew to London to see him. He felt a warmth spread over his chest and smiled at her. Sure, he was a sucker for her, but she was pretty clearly in the same boat. "... it's nice to see ye."

Caught off-guard by the nice comment, Goldie blushed and uncrossed her arms, dropping them to her sides. She thought he would angrily berate her over the selling-him-to-pirates thing, not say something nice. "What're you in London for? Business?"

Scrooge walked closer to her and wondered if she would be impressed that he was a freelance secret agent. "Of sorts. I've been doin' some work for Ludwig."

Goldie remembered his Austrian friend and rolled her eyes, annoyed that Scrooge had friends and annoyed at herself for being annoyed. "Isn't he an inventor? What work could you possibly be doing for him?"

He smirked and walked past Goldie by a few steps, pausing dramatically behind her. He thought about how Ludwig probably orchestrated this after hearing Scrooge whine when he first came to London - he'd complained about Goldie and his missing money but also about missing Goldie. If Von Drake was going to muddle with his business, then surely he wouldn't mind the same treatment. Scrooge turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Would ye like to see?"

---

Goldie wouldn't have described herself as impressed. More like…confused.

"I don't get it. So you're an American spy working for the British?"

Scrooge shook his head. "It's more like...an international crime fightin' organization."

She raised a curious eyebrow. "And you brought me to the headquarters? The woman that you so lovingly refer to as a dirty rotten thief?"

He frowned at her comment. She had a good point. "Ah...well, um…Ludwig wanted to see ye!"

"...really."

Scrooge patted her arm and chuckled. "Of course! He hasnae seen ye since, uh…"

"Since our first wedding."

He blushed a bit at the memory, suddenly remembering that they were still legally married. It was definitely too late to annul and too expensive to divorce, so they'd probably just keep it that way. (After all, he wasn't going to marry anyone else.)

He guided her down the hallway towards Ludwig's office, pointing out interesting things and people along the way. Goldie was pretending not to find it fascinating, but she couldn't help but take an interest in all this cool spy stuff. She'd only read about it in books or seen it in movies before. Never really thought about it as something that could be...real.

They reached their destination and Scrooge held up a finger. "Give me one second," he said as he knocked twice and then entered Ludwig's office without waiting for a response.

Goldie watched their silhouettes on the other side of the window curiously. She had a feeling that Scrooge's friend had no idea she was even there, and he probably wouldn't be happy about Scrooge just leading her inside their secret headquarters.

She watched Scrooge's silhouette wiggle around a bit, then Ludwig's started to move. Then Scrooge shrugged and Ludwig smacked him on the arm or patted him on the back maybe? It was hard to tell. Either way, no one looked angry. Maybe Goldie was wrong and Ludwig actually did want to say hi.

(Kind of weird, though. She did not know him or care about him or have any feelings about him whatsoever.)

Ludwig and Scrooge emerged from the room a few moments later, Ludwig looking excited to see her while Scrooge looked frustrated.

"Goldie O'Gilt! Sank you for comink down here!" he said happily, reaching out and forcing a handshake. "I have a propozition for you!"

Goldie raised an eyebrow and then glanced at Scrooge before looking back at his friend. Maybe this was why he looked upset. "What kind of proposition?"

---

When Scrooge first walked into Ludwig's office, he wasn't sure what to expect. Ludwig obviously wanted Goldie to come around or he wouldn't have booked Scrooge in her hotel. But that didn't mean he wanted her to come to S.H.U.S.H.! He might've just been trying to help Scrooge with his relationship problems. Force them to have a conversation.

As if a conversation could make up for the fact that the last time they were together she sold him to pirates!

He was still mad. Though the pirates had actually given Scrooge a free trip to his next destination (where he easily freed himself from their grasps), he didn't get that treasure and he didn't get any answers regarding his missing two million dollars. Why wouldn’t he still be mad?

The fact that she traveled halfway around the world just to see him again warmed his heart, though.

"Hey there, Scrooge!" Ludwig said as he looked up from some paperwork. "Vhat brings you here?"

"Ah, well…" Scrooge glanced behind him to see Goldie standing near the window to Ludwig’s office. "I sort of brought Goldie here in an attempt to impress her but I couldnae think of a good reason why so I told her ye wanted to see her."

Ludwig stood up and looked outside the window as well. "Is zat her? She doesn't look a day older zhan ven I last saw her, fifteen years ago!"

Scrooge shrugged. "That's just how Goldie is."

The Austrian laughed and suddenly patted Scrooge on the back. "That's very true! Und yes, I vas hoping you'd bring her here from ze hotel!"

"....so ye werenae tryin' to help my relationship?"

"Ah?" Ludwig looked confused. "Are you two havink marriage troubles?"

Scrooge frowned, realizing that Ludwig hadn't paid any attention to his whining before. This was all just about Goldie and him wanting to see her. Which was...odd. "Forget it. Why do ye want to see her?"

"I vant to recruit her!" Ludwig said with a smile and he started towards the door.

Scrooge frowned. How come he had to suggest his involvement with S.H.U.S.H. while Goldie got a personal invitation? That wasn't exactly fair. He was the treasure hunting action hero. Goldie was…well, alright, a thief, and S.H.U.S.H. occasionally needed help from people like that. But still.

---

The only thing more surprising than Ludwig seeking out Goldie's assistance was her accepting his terms without negotiation. Scrooge couldn't decide if she enjoyed how annoyed he was or if she just really wanted to get involved in the secret agent biz. Either way, Ludwig got exactly what he wanted.

He explained to the two of them that some extremely wealthy man somewhere in the United States was orchestrating jailbreaks for particularly high-profile villains. Almost exclusively villains with special powers. And S.H.U.S.H. had determined that a woman being held at HM Prison Holloway was the next target.

The plan was simple: use Goldie's hotel as the location for a billionaire's conference. With Scrooge hosting and offering business collaborations to anyone who could demonstrate their company's worth, all the richest men were sure to come.

They'd be able to watch everyone's movements during the weekend. It wasn't foolproof, but it would give them some leads if nothing else.

"If you're interested, I sink you'd be excellent in a more covert role for zis mission. Sneaking around und spying on everyone sounds like somesink you'd be good at, based on what ol' Scroogey here has told me!"

Goldie rolled her eyes. "Yes, well, he's probably not wrong. But someone should be running around with Scrooge, shouldn't they?"

Scrooge shook his head, but perked up at the sound of footsteps down the hallway. "Twenty-Two can take care of that. Right, Twenty-Two?"

Goldie glared at Scrooge suspiciously. "Twenty-Two…?" she mumbled as she turned in the direction that Scrooge was talking.

She saw tiny shoes and trailed up the woman's body to see she was muscular, busty, fashionable, young, and undeniably beautiful. Goldie felt a surge of jealousy burst through her chest and it made her very uncomfortable. She didn't know anything about the woman, let alone Scrooge's relationship with her. This ‘Twenty-Two’ woman probably thought he was old and gross. Somehow that didn’t make her feel better.

"Scrooge. Director Von Drake. Did she agree to help?"

Oh, the woman knew about everything already. So she was more in the loop than Scrooge. Probably a regular, professional spy.

"She did! Und ve can start preparing our plan!"

Goldie watched the three of them talk for a few minutes, not sure how to contribute. But she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t annoyed at the idea of this woman being on Scrooge’s arm for their fake little convention. Everyone would be so impressed at the old man dating another lovely young woman, make jokes about her being a gold digger, and then move on to something more interesting.

With no one in his office anymore, Goldie could slightly see her reflection in Ludwig’s office window. She was starting to look old again. Why did that have to keep happening?

“I think I should stick with Scrooge.”

The three spies looked up at Goldie, who didn’t even seem to realize she’d interrupted their conversation. They all looked at each other and then back up at the outsider.

“That’s exactly what I was suggesting,” Twenty-Two said with an annoyed frown. “She doesn’t have the specific experience for this, but she’s great at keeping a crowd’s attention on her.”

“Aye, it’ll be safer for everyone if Goldie and I stay together.”

Goldie followed their responses and felt weird that this young woman seemed to know things about her. Despite her hotel franchise, she kept her face (and often her name) out of press releases because of her…extracurricular activities. Even if most of her theft was related to Scrooge, she wanted to leave her options open just in case something stood out to her. So…how did this Twenty-Two woman know about her?

From Scrooge? From Ludwig?

…or had she been spied on?

Her privacy was important to her. Goldie relied on personal privacy to avoid questions about her age and birth year and how she’d managed to get her hands on certain items she had no legitimate way to get her hands on. If this woman managed to learn things about her without too much trouble, then Goldie would need to start stepping back from the spotlight. She loved her hotels, but she didn’t need to be the face of the company forever.

Goldie watched the three of them talk and glared at Twenty-Two, trying to decide if her suspicions stemmed from jealous paranoia or legitimate concern. It was hard to tell.

Scrooge laughed at something and put a hand on Twenty-Two's arm. Goldie frowned. She decided she didn't care why she was suspicious. She was going to do some research of her own and learn a little more about Scrooge's hot young friend.

---

Though normally events of this magnitude were scheduled months in advance, with Goldie's hotel they were able to set something up in only three weeks.

Goldie had been uncharacteristically rude towards Twenty-Two for almost the entire planning time, but Scrooge had just dismissed it as Goldie being Goldie. She was always strange and unpredictable. And, to be honest, rudeness wasn’t always uncharacteristic for her, she usually just kept it directed at him.

But still, he was enjoying spending time with her again. It wasn't consistent - she would disappear every now and then and reappear hours or a day later - but Scrooge was reminded of how much he enjoyed being around her.

"I don't trust your girlfriend."

Scrooge turned to Twenty-Two, surprised. "Why's that?"

She crossed her arms gruffly. "I've read her file. Just because you're sleeping with her doesn't mean she won't steal something and run."

He hummed quietly and tapped his fingers on the table. "She can be...a handful. But she's not a bad person, Bentina."

The agent walked over and pointed a finger into Scrooge's chest. "No real names! I don't want her to have any information about me!"

"Now that's just bein' paranoid! She agreed to help us!"

"And how many times has she agreed to help you only to disappear with your wallet an hour later?"

Scrooge grimaced. Usually he and Goldie didn't have agreements for her to break, just assumptions and bad decisions. But Twenty-Two had a point. "I dinnae think she'll betray us."

"You're just blinded by your feelings."

"Well what do you propose we do, then?" Scrooge asked angrily, standing up. He was immediately reminded that his full height was nothing compared to her's. "It's not like ye can put a trackin' device on her!"

The two of them fell silent as Scrooge’s words lingered in the air.

"...Bentina, I dinnae think-"

"That's a fantastic idea, McDuck. I'll get it done straight away."

As she walked off, Scrooge groaned and slumped into his chair. He didn't trust Goldie, that was true, but he also wanted to be the bigger person between them and that meant trying to trust her when she put some effort out. She'd traveled all the way to London just to see him and then agreed to let them use her hotel for a significant discount. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt! But also...it was strange that she did all that without expectation of something more.

He liked to think she just wanted to spend time with him and do something good. But...she was still Goldie.

He needed to lower his expectations and remember exactly who he was dealing with.

---

The night before the event - and the cultivation of all their planning for the last few weeks - had Scrooge on edge. Tensions between Goldie and Bentina had risen and though Ludwig was blissfully unaware (or just didn't care), Scrooge felt like he was suffocating.

He sat on the edge of his bed, thinking about everything they had to do tomorrow and what he was going to do if Goldie backed out at the last minute.

He had to be prepared. According to the tracking device Bentina had somehow managed to get onto Goldie, she spent her free time wandering all around the city. Literally the most random places. She stopped at three different banks in one day! It had him feeling paranoid. Obviously she had some extracurricular plan and she'd probably enact it during the main event.

There was a knock on his door and Scrooge slowly got up, ignoring the creak of his old bones. He opened the door to find no one there - and no one was around when he looked up and down the hallway.

"That was...odd," Scrooge said quietly.

"It was," said a familiar voice behind him.

Scrooge turned around in shock and found Goldie right in front of his open window. She closed it behind her and redid her hair while he just stared at her.

"What are... what're ye doin' here?" he asked incredulously.

"Just wanted to spend some time with you," Goldie answered with a shrug. She sauntered over to his bed and took a seat, shrugging off her cardigan. "We haven't had any alone time in a while."

Scrooge watched her, probably more closely than necessary, and stepped towards the bed. "That's...true."

Goldie didn't look up at him, spinning her finger around the sheet in a circle and acting aloof, despite the fact that she’d just burst into his hotel room through the window. "It's been a while, you know," Goldie said sadly as she finally looked up.

He was enchanted by her beautiful green eyes and felt himself pulled closer. He sat next to her on the edge of the bed. "It has."

She turned her head and leaned closer, enticing him just as she always did. "Then if you're not busy…"

Scrooge gulped loudly and she smirked before closing the gap between them with a steamy kiss.

---

---

"I told you."

"Ye dinnae need to rub it in my face."

"I told you and you didn't believe me!"

"Will you shut it, Beakley?"

"Augh! I told you to stop saying my name!"

"What's it matter now when she already knows?"

Bentina and Scrooge stood side-by-side in the main lobby of the Blackjack Hotel of London, angry and frustrated and anxiously waiting for a call from Director Von Drake asking about what happened, what went wrong, and how Splatter Phoenix managed to escape prison without them gaining a single lead to who helped her.

And, of course, Goldie was gone.

Though they knew she had nothing to do with the prison break, they did learn during the evening that she had 1. discovered the tracker almost immediately after it was placed, 2. put the tracker in a taxi and then spent two days at a spa being angry, and 3. was very unhappy to learn that not only had Scrooge known about the tracker, but that it was technically his idea.

(Also apparently he’d missed her one hundredth birthday, though he didn’t recall Goldie ever telling him when her birthday was.)

So she stole some high-tech gear from S.H.U.S.H. Headquarters before leaving the agent and freelance agent to fend for themselves. Unfortunately the night was a complete mess and they were distracted when the power briefly went out. What a night for a storm.

Scrooge sighed, feeling defeated. "This was all Ludwig's stupid idea, anyway. Yell at him."

Beakley frowned and had to stop herself from yelling again when she noticed how sad he looked. She sighed as well and put a hand on his shoulder. "You have terrible taste in women."

REAL HISTORY:
- The Irish do not like the British. I feel like everybody knows this but sometimes it surprises people.
- HM Prison Holloway was a giant women's prison near London. I was like "should I make this into a bird pun?" but eh sometimes it is what it is

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- If you're not familiar with Von Drake outside of his small role in DuckTales, he's an attention whore lol Also I apologize for writing out his accent but his dialogue just doesn't look right unless it looks wrong
- "Jack the Tripper" was mentioned in "The Confidential Case Files of Agent Twenty-Two!". Initially I planned on writing something with Scrooge and Ludwig based on the '87 episode that Jack the Tripper comes from, but that episode is hella boring. I couldn't get inspired by it at all. Soooo yeah I just skipped it, it's fine.
- The conversation about "honeymooners" that Beakley and Scrooge have is a reference to the 2017 comic "Under The Cover of Can'tarctica!" where they fight the Bombie together
- Splatter Phoenix is a villain from Darkwing Duck
- This isn't a real franchise thing but the story here is a vague reference to an episode of my made up DuckTales season four which I summarized here if you're interested: https://lettheladylead.tumblr.com/post/672841151197396992/if-ducktales-was-still-on-going-what-would-you