Written by ElizabethPrower: The elevator was currently broken, so Aidan rushed down flights after flights of stairs until he reached the main lobby of the company building. Ugh, why did my office have to be on the top floor? Aidan asked himself as he dashed out of the building. Oh, right, because I’m the boss, that’s why. As he was walking down the steps, Aidan pulled out his cell phone and dialed Pedro’s number.
“Pedro,” the giveaway owner said once he heard the other line being picked up.
“Hey Aidan, what’s up?” asked Pedro from the other end.
“Listen, I’m driving down to Crossing City to meet Elizabeth,” Aidan told his coworker. “I need you to come with me, so meet me at the Community police station, and bring your best guys with you. We’ve just hit a major crack in the Patgar case.”
“Sure, Aidan, no problem,” Pedro responded without hesitation. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Great, thanks,” Aidan replied, smiling. “See you soon. Bye.” Aidan hung up and climbed into his car, a black Toyota Camry, silently noting how lucky he was that Pedro had graduated from law school and had a second job as a lawyer. He gently tossed his black leather briefcase, filled with giveaway orders and information from the case that Elizabeth had sent to him into the passenger seat of the car and drove off in the direction of the Community police station. He made it in just over ten minutes, and Pedro arrived with four of his fellow colleagues from law school five minutes later.
“Great, thanks for coming you guys,” Aidan said to Pedro and his crew, before turning towards Don Resetti, the head of the Community Police Department. “Officer Resetti, I have a huge favor to ask of you.”
“Anything, Aidan,” Don replied in a mellow tone. “After you sent your workers to deliver new weapons to us when there was a shortage, I owe you big time.”
“Thank you, Officer,” Aidan responded. “As you might know, Patgar, one of my employees, has been missing for over a month, and upon his disappearance, I hired Elizabeth Prower, a private investigator to find him, or at least find out his location or the reason for his disappearance. Anyway, she and her partner Computerfan managed to uncover some major clues in the case, including some dirt about another one of my employees, accflover999, who apparently had a hand in kidnapping Patgar. She needs our help though, because the Crossing City Police Department is completely corrupt. Now Lexi and the people she’s working with are being protected, while Elizabeth’s partner has been arrested and is being framed for allegedly killing Patgar. It’s important that we find Patgar and catch Lexi we can get Compy out of jail. Do you think you and your squad can help us?”
“Goodness, this sounds serious,” Don answered thoughtfully while munching on a strawberry jelly donut. “Like I said, I’ve been meaning to return your kind favor. And I’d hate to see such crime and injustice go unpunished. I’ll help you, Aidan. I think I can teach those phony officers a lesson and find justice for Patgar.”
“Thank you so much, Officer,” Aidan said, sighing with relief. “Alright, let’s get going, then.”
“Lead the way, Aidan!” Pedro commanded, as Aidan exited the police station and jumped into his car. He sped off in the direction of Crossing City, with Pedro and his group of lawyers in a dark green minivan and Officer Resetti and his group of cops in multiple squad cars following behind him. Together as one giant posse, they arrived in Crossing City in just short of two hours. After passing the gate to the city, Aidan turned a corner and pulled up in front of the Crossing City Medical Center. Confused, the rest of the group parked behind him.
“Uh, Aidan,” Pedro asked the human boy as they were opening the glass double doors to enter the hospital. “What are we doing here? Where’s Elizabeth?”
“She’s in the hospital,” Aidan answered, on his way to approaching the receptionist’s desk. “She was shot last night by those rogue officers when they arrested Compy.”
“Ouch. It sounds like she really took a bullet for us, huh?” Pedro responded, chuckling at his pun. Aidan shot a look at Pedro, one of annoyance and disapproval, one that said “Really?” as he turned to speak to the receptionist, a white pig with brown bangs that was wearing a nametag that read “Lucy”.
“Hello, how can I help you?” Lucy asked with a warm smile after hanging up the phone.
“Hi, I’m here to visit one of your patients,” Aidan replied, not as friendly, but civil. “Elizabeth Prower. What room is she in?”
“Hmm, let me take a look for you,” Lucy responded, typing the name into her Mac computer. “Ah, yes. Elizabeth is in Room 407 on the third floor.”
“Thank you very much,” Aidan said, before turning and walking away, back to the group of lawyers and police officers.
“Hey Aidan, how about some of my unit and I go down to the Crossing City Police Department and have a look into what’s going on down with them?” Don suggested. “I’ll leave some of them with you in case you and Elizabeth run into any other trouble once you’re done here.”
“Sure, that’s fine,” Aidan answered after a moment of thought. “Hopefully that won’t be necessary, but thanks. Good luck.”
“Good luck to you too,” Don responded, nodding. “And we’ll keep in contact.” With that, Don and the majority of the Community police officers filed out of the hospital and zoomed off in their squad cars, sirens and all, while Aidan and the remainder of his crew began climbing the stairs to the third floor.
Elizabeth’s eyes shot open, wide awake. She may have had her eyes closed, but she didn’t get much sleep the night before, plagued by a fear-driven insomnia. She was worried about Compy and what was happening to him in jail, and after being shot by those cops, who are supposed to be the good guys in all this, she was afraid that anyone would attack her during the night. She groaned as she sat up in bed, the IV gently tugging on her shoulder. She stopped herself from lurching further, as not to pull the IV out, despite the fact that she really didn’t care. She could only care about what was happening to Compy, and even Patgar for that matter, at the hands of Lexi and her group of thugs. She immersed herself in her thoughts, wondering what was going on outside this blank room, outside of this building, with regards to the case. She took no note of the footsteps that were drawing near to her room, and she even paused to process the presence of Aidan and Pedro as they walked through the door to her room.
“A…Aidan…” Elizabeth mused tiredly. “I’m sure glad to see you.”
“I got all of the information you sent me,” Aidan said, sitting down in a plastic blue chair beside Elizabeth’s bed. “How are you feeling? Are you okay?”
“I’m alright, I guess,” Elizabeth answered. “My shoulder’s still a little sore where the bullet first dug into my skin.”
“I see. Well, I’m glad you’re okay and not critically injured,” Aidan said, making a small gesture towards the door. “I brought with me some of the finest lawyers and law enforcement officers from Community here to stop the corruption and catch Lexi in her dirty act.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Elizabeth responded, acknowledging the rest of Aidan’s posse while Purrl came in and removed the IV from the brown cat’s shoulder. “We better go then. We need to find Patgar and get Compy out of jail as soon as possible.”
“You’re exactly right,” Aidan said, getting up and heading for the door. “We have a lot to do if we want to get my employee and your partner back.”
“Well, Elizabeth, my dear, you’re all set to go,” Purrl told Elizabeth, flashing a toothy grin. Elizabeth smiled back, but glanced strangely at the nurse.
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
“Thank you, Purrl,” Elizabeth replied, pulling the sheets off her and clambering out of bed. “I’ll be leaving now, then.” Elizabeth then hurried out of the room after Aidan and the others, who had already left and were descending the stairs to the lobby. Elizabeth caught up with them right as they were leaving the hospital. The lawyers returned to Pedro’s minivan, the cops to their squad cars, leaving Elizabeth to ride with Aidan.
“Aren’t you a bit young to drive?” Elizabeth questioned as Aidan stepped into the vehicle and turned it on.
“Uh, no?” Aidan answered coyly, almost as if he wanted to dodge the question.
“You’re thirteen,” Elizabeth commented, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
“Okay, maybe,” Aidan replied sheepishly, laughing slightly nervously as he drove away from the hospital. “Come on; let’s go see what Ebbie’s up to and what she’s really planning.”
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
At first I thought this wouldn't be very good because it's about a giveaway. But this is actually really good! Your fanfics are great EP, and yours too Liv909!
Signature-------------- I'm Writing new fanfics :3 Family is forever, while friends come and go
Well, I would put it in the title, but it doesn't fit. But that's right, Liv and I entered this in Dougieowner's Fanfic Competition 2012.
Thanks for all your comments guys! ^^ Glad to see some people reading this!
Chapter 13 --------x-------
Written by Liv909: A white mouse with a green hood paced up and down in a dark room. Seated on metal folding chairs were two guys. A chair to their left remained empty. The normal person that would be sitting there was absent. He was dead. The mouse seemed anxious and nervous. She kept scoffing and mumbling to herself randomly. After one awkward minute, the mouse roughly spun on her heel and glared at Roger, the oldest brother, with dark long hair and glasses.
"What were you thinking?!" she exclaimed loudly, "We went over the plan like a thousand times and when you actually do it, you blow it!" Roger winced and Tim bit his lip uncomfortably. Lexi sighed and stood back, just staring at the two terrified brothers. "No one was supposed to get hurt except for the squirrel and the cat. They're onto us! Now Brady's dead and the investigators will call in for backup!" she said. Lexi sighed again and brushed a paw through her hair. "You'll have to tell Kim, you know."
Roger now looked nervous and stared around rapidly. "What do you mean? I can't tell her. She'll flip." Lexi shrugged.
"You should've thought of that before you let the squirrel kill Brady." Lexi walked across the room and opened the door going out to the hallway. "Bring him in, Nate." A yellow bear wearing a ski mask and dark clothing stumbled into the room with a brown squirrel--blindfolded and tied up. Lexi smirked. "Thanks, Nate. Run along now. I'll telegram the Bells later."
Tim stood up abruptly and stared at Lexi with shock, "You kidnapped Patgar's neighbor!" Lexi shrugged indifferently.
"I had to. John had spoken with the investigators. He practically ratted on me." she said turning on the squirrel and slapping him across the face. John moaned and Lexi smirked. "I know your background. I know Aidan's your brother." John shivered and Roger felt sympathetic for the squirrel. "Not only is Aidan your brother but Patgar your friend." she hissed at him. The squirrel trembled with fright. "Now, you can be spared from the same fate as Patgar if you just do a favor for us."
John nodded, tears strolling his face. "Just let me go! I'm scared! I-I-I'll do anything!" Lexi smiled wickedly and rose her eyeborws.
"Anything?" she asked. John vigorously nodded. Roger and Tim didn't know what to think. Lexi had that cunning look on her face; that face the two men fatefully remembered when she suggested kidnapping Patgar. The mouse smiled, placing a paw gently on the squirrel's shoulder. "I need you to 'get rid' of a certain brown cat and purple squirrel." Roger stood up. He couldn't take this anymore!
"Lexi!" he bellowed, "You have to stop! This is ridiculous...you're turning mad!" Lexi leaned back and cackled, just confirming the accusation. "This was just supposed to help Kim's giveaway...you're turning into a mad murderer! This needs to stop now. If you don't turn yourself in and return Patgar, I will!" he screamed, his face redder than cherries. However, Lexi didn't even flinch. She shoved John to Tim and stepped slowly toward Roger. The oldest brother quaked a little but he was strong, right? If Lexi did something suddenly, he could handle it. Right?
Lexi sneered in Roger's face. "It's too late to go back now, Roger. You shot their tire. You're too deep in this to reel out." she said with a sick sneer. Roger stumbled back, bumping into his metal folding chair. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked seriously, staring into Roger's eyes. The oldest brother couldn't find the right words and he just turned and sprinted out the door. Lexi hurried after him but she was no match for his speed. She shrieked out the door. "You'll pay for this, traitor!" she screamed over and over.
Roger just turned on his heel and sprinted out of the abandoned building in Crossing City. He hurried home to his wife and baby daughter. Somehow, he had to tell them about his brother Brady's death and that meant having to tell Kim what they've been doing. Roger staggered down the sidewalk and hurried up the old brick steps. He yanked the door open and saw his wife Kim sitting at the kitchen table with baby Ginger in her lap. She stood up when she saw her husband dash in and her expression became worried.
"Roger, what's wrong?" Roger looked up, not really wanting to tell his wife. At the same time, he couldn't lie. He sighed and pulled up a chair beside his wife. Slowly but clearly, he spilled out the story: how he just wanted their giveaway to succeed, how their friend Lexi volunteered to kidnap Patgar and work her way up in ACE to extract information, and how she's changed into a crazy criminal. Kim recoiled, placing the baby in her high chair and putting a hand over her mouth. She breathed quickly, on the verge of tears. Roger reached a hand out to her.
"I'm sorry." he whispered, "Just know I'm not the bad guy. I did this for us and--and Lexi got all crazy!" he said. Kim abruptly stood up and walked over to the telephone. "What are you doing?!" he hissed. Kim turned on her heel.
"What do you think? I have to turn you in." she ignored his pleas. "I'm sorry. If you're caught, you could go to jail. Ginger needs a father. If I turn you in voluntarily and you rat on everyone else, we could get a lighter sentence or maybe even immunity!" she said hopefully. Quickly, Kim dialed the police station while Roger tried to distract himself by playing with his daughter. But it was strange. When Kim tried to politely turn her husband in, the police officers quickly said that Patgar was dead, she must be mistaken and hung up the phone. Kim stepped back and stared at Roger, "What did you do?" she asked, astonished. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
EP and Aidan were slowly driving down the main road. There was quite some traffic and horns were going off all around them. EP didn't know how honking would help anything. They were in traffic! What, was the traffic fairy going to come down and lift the car away? EP scoffed and leaned back, looking around her. All five lanes of traffic were jammed and she didn't know why. She assumed work rush hour. But it was only noon. Was today some holiday she didn't know of? Aidan leaned back in his seat and groaned.
"This traffic is ridiculous!" he exclaimed. EP threw her hands up.
"I know! We should be down at the police station by now." EP kept looking, not like anything was going to change. She just had a sick feeling in her stomach. "Ugh. It's all the way on the other side of town too. Should we just get out and walk?" she asked slyly. Aidan shook his head.
"Nah. This is my car, y'know." he said with a raise of his eyebrows. Suddenly, gun shots rang out and they could feel something jolt the tire, and hit the body of the car. EP looked back to see a poorly hidden brown squirrel with blue clothes, firing at the car.
"Not again!" she exclaimed. "Let's go!" she grabbed Aidan's hand and sprinted out of the car, running towards the police station.
"My car!" Aidan exclaimed, quickly grabbing his important briefcase.
"We'll get it later!" she screeched, dashing in and out of traffic. Horns were honking at them; the drivers obviously didn't realize the imminent danger. EP just grabbed Aidan and weaved in and out of stalled cars. They went on like this for about ten blocks until--finally--the brick police station could be found. The cat didn't look back so she didn't know if he was still back there. As they turned down the road, the two slowed to a walk and EP informed him of the squirrel's identity. "That was John." EP said hurriedly as they treaded down the concrete sidewalk.
Aidan's stomach sank and pitted. "J-J-John?" EP nodded.
"Uh, yeah. He was Patgar's neighbor. He was the one that made us suspicious of Lexi. I thought he was a good guy. He must be on her side."
"John is a good guy!" Aidan blurted out. EP looked at him strangely. "Uh..." EP asked him if he was okay. Aidan pondered the thought in his head. Should he continue to lie about John being his brother or just tell her? EP was a nice girl. "Look...John's my brother." EP leaned back and laughed. I guess she didn't take him seriously.
"Yeah, right." she said, walking a little ahead of Aidan. Aidan stepped in front of her.
"I'm serious, Elizabeth!" he said. EP gave Aidan a glare. If looks could kill, Aidan would be a goner. "Believe me."
EP pursed her lips. "Fine, I believe you. Just don't call me Elizabeth!" she exclaimed, pushing Aidan aside and finally ascending the brick steps to the police station. When EP opened the door, she saw all of Aidan's fancy lawyers and some Community police officers. A familiar man--Don Resetti, chief of the police-- smiled when the cat and boy came in the door.
"There you are!" he said, embracing EP in a quick hug. "We've been waiting for you! This lady up here at this desk is a real grouch." he said, "Since we got here twenty minutes ago, she hasn't got us anyone to talk to." EP laughed.
"Tell me about it. Just follow me." That same grouchy lady looked up at EP, about to reprimand her. But when she recognized her, she put her head down and continued fumbling around on the computer. EP led the men down the hallway towards Booker's office. She opened the door and saw Booker sitting there awkwardly filing some papers. "We need to talk." she commanded. Booker stuttered nervously but after all the lawyers and police officers and Aidan came in, he had to comply.
"Fine. About...about what?" he asked. Don Resetti snapped, taking over the conversation from here.
"I think you know what. The Patgar case? He's been missing for over a month. Evidence portrays he's in this city. Yet no one has done anything to find him. This cat has a family. A mother! And you refuse to do anything." Booker searched through his files quickly but when he picked it up, Don threw out his hand and knocked the file to the floor. Booker was like a nerdy high school kid, picking his books up in the hallway.
"Uh...for your information, Patgar's dead...." Booker trailed nervously. Don tsked and shook his head.
"What lies. What corruption! If you just got accflower999 in here and had us question her, we could have Patgar back for dinner!" he snapped. Booker's expression changed.
"Lexi? Lexi's a good girl. We know her dad. He---" he quickly stopped and placed a paw over his mouth. "I shouldn't have said anything. Y-y-you guys need to leave now or I'm getting backup officers." Don scoffed.
"I'm sooo scared!" he exclaimed, in a girly voice and then laughing. "We already know that you protect Lexi's criminal dad. I have lawyers here right now that could take up a case." Booker stared at the three lawyers, terrified. Don nodded. "I thought so. Let us interview Lexi in one of your rooms. Your officers shot our private investigator! The least you could do is help us get Lexi and these brothers Roger and Tim." Don said.
Booker teetered on it but finally, he consented. Only a few Crossing City officers would accompany the group, to bait Lexi into falling for their trap. Meanwhile, the Community officers would do all the catching, chasing, interrogating and discovering.
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
Written by Liv909: While the Community and Crossing City police worked together to trap Lexi, EP, Aidan and quite a few lawyers pressured Booker into allowing Compy out of jail. Booker, at first, wasn't sure but EP pushed him to allowing Compy out. The two were standing awkwardly in the medium-sized office while Booker paced around, muttering to himself and thinking over EP's request. After a few minutes, Booker stopped in his tracks and pulled a sheet of paper out of his desk. He quickly scribbled on it with a pen and held it out to EP and Aidan. EP looked at the piece of paper. The type was really small and Booker's scrawl of a signature could be seen on the bottom of the page. EP was about to look up and ask Booker what this was when he quickly spoke up.
"It's a permission slip to let your friend out of jail. Just show it to the lady behind the desk at the county jail," Booker said, brushing a paw through his hair. EP nodded and hurried out of the office with Aidan before the dog changed his mind. The lawyers were standing there awkwardly. Pedro stepped forward and asked what the paper was. EP smiled sweetly.
"Booker gave us the permission!" she exclaimed happily, "Come on. Let's go before he changes his mind." EP said, grabbing the guys and running out of the police station. The two quickly split up between Pedro's minivan and Aidan's Toyota Camry and drove towards the outskirts of the city, opposite from the way back to Community. After an awkward, silent twenty minutes in the car, EP looked out the window to see the large county jail in front of her. It was an older, tan, cement building that stretched out over an acre. The land around it was clear and sunny; though dismal and dreary. Several layers of chain-link fences and electric fences and barbed wire surrounded the perimeter. First, Aidan's car pulled up to the watchtower and lowered the window. A gruff animal wearing a brown suit and eating dinner stuck her head out.
"What?" she asked sharply. Aidan sighed and just handed the woman the slip from Booker. He and EP watched as she slipped on some reading glasses and squinted at the slip. It took her several minutes to read it and verify it was Booker. "Go ahead. I'm copying your paper. I'm keeping one, you can keep one, and one's being faxed inside the visitor's area. Make sure to enter the visitor's door!" she said gruffly. Aidan nodded, signalling to Pedro to stay outside and drove down the long, winding asphalt road. The parking lot was basically empty save for around ten vehicles. Aidan parked with no one around him and clambered out of the car, gripping the paper firmly. EP slowly got out and walked behind him. To be honest, she was a little afraid. There was so much security at this jail! How did Compy make it? They entered through the electronic doors and came out to a calm, empty white waiting area.
A woman--a white elephant to be exact--looked up and stared at Aidan and EP. Next, she smiled; which was unusual for EP to encounter. Over the past few days, she had been used to a lot of grumpy people. But this woman seemed nice. A gold nameplate sitting on the counter read "Margie". Margie nodded, "Hello. How may I help you?" she asked politely. EP spoke up, feeling comfortable conversing with the elephant.
"Hi. I'm EP and this is my friend Aidan. We have this paper here from Booker at the Crossing City Police Department. Here." EP handed Margie the paper. The secretary looked over it and nodded after a few minutes. "So...can you bring Compy out?" asked EP. Margie nodded and smiled.
"Yep! I'll bring your friend out right away," she said, getting up and pressing a few buttons. The iron bar doors clanged and beeps resonated across the waiting area. They opened up and Margie hurried down the corridor and out of sight. EP and Aidan lingered awkwardly, just waiting for the purple squirrel to pop up around the corner. EP's heart pounded a mile a minute. She was nervous. Would Compy be okay? Hopefully, he would stay the same. Part of EP was infuriated that the Crossing City Police Department was so corrupt that they believed Lexi and incarcerated Compy. Another part was excited that this case was getting to the juicy parts. Yet another part was nervous and scared this wouldn't pull off. Finally, another part of EP was worried about Compy's well-being and welfare in such a strong, secure prison.
As if reading EP's mind, Margie came back around the corner with Compy and a yellow tiger. He was obviously a guard, his name tag reading 'Hyouta'. Strange name. But EP could see why he was hired to be a jail guard. Look at him! He just looked scary and creepy; and could probably benchpress 150 pounds! The tiger roughly shoved Compy over. Compy smirked at EP, hugging her and shaking Aidan's hand. He mumbled a quick thank you to the both of them. 'Hyouta' just glared at the three and Margie forcefully smiled. "Have a nice day, guys! Bye!" she said. EP waved politely and hurried out the door. The trio was quiet until they got into Aidan's Camry, Compy in the back and EP in the front with Aidan. They were still quiet as Aidan waved curtly to the watchtower lady and zoomed down the road.
Finally, EP twirled around, not standing the quiet any longer, staring at Compy. "Are you okay?" Compy smiled that Compy smile and nodded.
"Of course I'm fine! Sorry for being so quiet. Prison can do stuff to you." EP rolled her eyes, as Compy smiled at his little joke.
"You were only in there for a night."
"And it scarred me." he chuckled. EP laughed and began to update Compy on all that happened, once she regained consciousness in the hospital. Compy sat in the back and nodded accordingly. He had just looked back to notice Pedro's van following behind. Compy nodded understandingly, "Alright. Good job, EP. Glad you handled things well in my absence. I know how upset you were that they took me away," Compy smirked.
EP laughed and rolled her eyes, "Hey, I was the one shot by the police officers and practically dying on the sidewalk." she retorted with a smile. Compy raised his eyebrows.
"You were not dying on the sidewalk, EP. It was some blood on your shoulder. Anyway, how you feeling?" he asked, trying to change the subject. However, he loved their bickering. It reminded him of when he used to quarrel with his siblings during childhood. EP shrugged.
"Better. It's still sore though. And just some blood? I would love to see how you would react if that happened to you. You would be screaming in agony like you were dying on a battlefield in ancient Greece," EP said. Compy opened his mouth to retort when Aidan's eyes appeared in the rearview mirror, staring directly at him.
"Hey! Knock it off. Do you want me to pull over?" The trio laughed as they continued down the road. EP and Compy dropped the bickering.
The sun shone bright over the sky. It beamed down onto the bright buildings of Crossing City. However, in the old section of town, there were many old deserted buildings with empty, creepy alleyways. Community Police Chief Don Resetti sat behind a dumpster in this alley, hidden from unknowing passersby. He cooly placed his mouth in his collar and whispered through it. Why would he do that? He was communicating with some other officers who were placed discreetly further down the alley where Lexi would appear. The Community and Crossing City police were working together to trap Lexi and force her and the brothers into questioning. Don was making sure that everyone was in place.
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
Next, a yellow lion with a dark brown mane walked down the alley and quickly stuck his nose in his collar. "Everything in order?" he asked. The lion wore the blue police uniform of the corrupt city. Resetti nodded and Sargeant Elvis stepped loudly down the alley and called down. "Lexi! You here?" he asked loudly, his voice echoing off the walls and dumpters. A white mouse suddenly appeared behind a dumpster and sneered.
"Shut up, idiot! Someone will hear you!" she hissed, running over. Chief shrugged.
"No one's around..." he trailed, "So...how's Patgar doing?" Don nodded slowly. Elvis was good at acting and sticking with the given plan. All the Community officers just sat in silence waiting. Don almost chuckled at how shocked Lexi's expression looked. Inflamed, she reached out and ripped off Elvis's blue shirt. The lion looked surprised but stood awkwardly in front of her. She stared at his chest. "Like the abs? I work out." he joked. Lexi smirked a little and poked his stomach. She went hmm and stood back.
"No wires..." she mumbled. Don rose his eyes and plastered himself silently against the metal dumpster. She was onto them. "Okay, then. I can at least see that you're somewhat trustworthy. Here's a copy of all of the ACE's info we've procured so far." she handed some papers to Elvis. Elvis took them gladly and pocketed them. Don let out a sigh of relief, happy all that info was going back into good hands. He also was relieved to see that after all this, Lexi would be probably be found guilty for the crazy crimes she committed. "So...how did you know I had Patgar?" she asked suspiciously. Don gulped. Lexi seemed like a smart girl; he didn't need her discovering them and killing them all.
Elvis blushed a little bit but quickly hid it and shrugged. "No apparent reason. Just...stuff gets around."
"But who told you? No one is supposed to know..." she gasped, "Did Roger? We got in an argument earlier! He better not have." she exclaimed. Don smirked, happy they had a recording camera in Elvis's mane and not on his chest with crappy wires. Elvis shook his head.
"Nope..." he trailed. Don's watch ticked menacingly. Time was slowing down. They had to get Lexi. "What's that?" Elvis asked suddenly. Lexi twirled around and muttered 'what'. Elvis pointed down the alley. "I saw someone move at the end of the alley. Go check it out." Elvis commanded. Lexi tore down the alley when four Community police officers suddenly dove out from behind dumpsters, stunning her with stun guns, tackling her to the ground and tying her up with rope.
"Ugh!" she shrieked, "What's going on?! Elvis? Elvis! Answer me!" she shrieked, thrashing over and over. However, soon, she lost control of her senses and dozed into silence. Smirking with victory, the other Crossing City police officers and Community police officers--including Don Resetti--emerged from their assigned hiding places in the alley. Don couldn't help but smile with pride. They got her; and they were closer to solving the Patgar mystery and getting the cat home. Hopefully, he was safe...
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
Written by Liv909 Don Resetti paced around, up and down the carpet. Nervousness flowed through every vein in the man's body. Through a large glass pane window to the right, a white mouse sat in a metal chair, looking digusted and angry. Through the open door, Don could look through and see a white and brown bull dog. Booker. Don didn't really understand how Booker could run this town with any kind of stern hand. He seemed so lenient and mild. He guessed that was how the department became so corrupt.
Don also noted that Lexi's father was a criminal who the department defended. He had to look through a file and do some searches to gain some information. Turns out, the older man was the mastermind of many robberies, burglaries, home invasions, illegal substance trades and possession of dangerous weapons. However, the man had never murdered or kidnapped people. Don didn't understand how or why she had done such a thing.
Squeaks down the hallway shattered the man's thoughts. Two men with dark hair stood there impatiently. A Crossing City officer stood behind them anxiously. Don rose his eyebrows and stared at the two men. They seemed miserable yet somewhat guilty of something.
"Who are they?" Don asked, pointing at the two men. The officer squirmed squeamishly and grunted.
"This is Roger and Tim O'Reilly. They'e turned themselves in. Now go sit in that room," the officer sneered, turning on his heel and walking back down the hallway. Don opened up his mouth, asking if he was allowed to interrogate them but the man walked away. Don sighed and watched as the brothers filed into a room identical to Lexi's--on the other side--and sat down on the uncomfortable metal chairs.
Booker had finally walked out of his office and shuffled around in the middle of the carpeted hallway. Running was heard from down the hallway. Don turned his head to see three people run up: a human with dark hair, a purple squirrel and a brown cat. Don nodded, shaking the people's hands.
"Aidan! EP! Compy! Glad to see you back. We got her," Don beamed. The cat, squirrel and boy verbally celebrated, clapping and cheering with joy. "I know. It was great. Also, these O'Reilly brothers are in the other room too." Don said, pointing to the room. The door was now closed. Shocked, EP walked towards the room and stared through the large glass window. Compy stood beside her while Aidan stayed back alongside Pedro, and the group of lawyers, who now showed up as well.
"What are they doing here?" EP asked. Don shrugged.
"The Crossing City officer said the brothers had just turned themselves in..." EP gasped and twirled around to face Don, to ask if she could go in and question them. Don shrugged again, "I guess. I don't know. A lot of people are just sticking around, making sure Lexi doesn't get away. They don't want too many people distracted with questioning the other two guys. They can wait. They've chosen to turn themselves in. Meanwhile, they'll probably send someone from the Crossing City Police Department to question her."
Compy scoffed and laughed, "Don't you think that's a bit of a joke if the corrupted police department questions the girl they supposedly are defending?" he chuckled. EP nodded with agreement. "Maybe EP or I should go in there and question her?" EP turned and placed a paw on Compy's shoulder.
"I'll go interview the brothers first. You can go and interview Lexi. If she's troublesome, just leave. Don't antagonize her, even if you're just defending yourself. She might flip and do something to escape or something. We can't risk that." Compy nodded, mumbling 'you're right'. "I'll go first. You stay out here. Don't go in there just yet." EP said, pushing off Compy and heading in the room. Compy stopped her.
"Wait. Are you sure you want to do this? Maybe I should go in there. What if--" Compy muttered. EP chuckled and cut Compy off.
"I understand you're trying to be nice but you don't have to be so protective. I'll be fine." she said, turning to go into the room. As the door shut and Compy could see EP walk in, greet the men and sit on the metal chair across from them, Compy couldn't help but be nervous for his colleague. She was brave for putting herself in such danger. However, these men were potentially dangerous. They had kidnapped Patgar and helped Lexi. They were just as bad.
Meanwhile, EP engaged in friendly yet small conversation. "Hello there. I'm Elizabeth Prower. Simply call me EP." she introduced. The men grunted a response but didn't seem to engaging. "Okay...so which of you is Roger?" EP asked. The taller man with the spiky hair and the glasses rose his hand. EP pursed her lips. She didn't forget the moments she shared with these "hooligans" back at the downtown alley.
"Me." he grunted. "This is my younger brother Timothy. Brady couldn't be with us today." Roger added with a sneer. EP rolled her eyes. What a dig. She knew very well that Brady was dead. "Anyways, you're not a cop. Why are we talking to you?" EP scowled.
"How would you know what I am? We're not here to talk about me. You turned yourself in. So naturally, we talk about you. Is it true? Did you kidnap Patgar?" asked EP, getting right to the chase. The man ran a hand through his hair and sighed loudly.
"Yes. Yes we did. It was all of us. Not just me. Not just Brady or Tim or Lexi. It was all of us." the man said, sighing heavily and breathing deeply. EP quickly changed the subject, just wanting to know the answer out of curiosity.
"Well, how did you meet Lexi?" asked EP. Roger's expression quickly changed and he became more open to the detective.
"My wife Kim and she went to school together. They used to be best friends. After graduating, contact faded and they just...did their own things. You know, I married Kim. We had Ginger. Kim decided to stop working and follow her dream of starting this giveaway named after our daughter. Honestly, the business wasn't too successful. That's when Kim said she got a call from her old friend who now worked in Community at one of the biggest giveaways. Lexi...Lexi made us a deal that she would accept pay to get secrets from ACE..." Roger broke into silent, modest tears. EP watched with awe. "I knew it was wrong. I tried to tell Kim but she wouldn't listen! We were too desperate! We needed money so we went along with the plan!"
EP pursed her lips, trying not to get too emotionally attached. "It's alright. The good thing is you're confessing and turning yourself in. I might be able to persuade the lawyers to give you brothers an easier sentence." EP stated. Roger nodded but sat back in his chair, prodding his brother TIm with his hand. Tim sighed but took over the confession for his brother.
"We just went along with Lexi and didn't realize the consequences. Soon, we were all dragged into Lexi's scheme. One day, she just tells us to break into this guy's apartment and kidnap him. Roger and I questioned him while Brady was just the foolish one who always followed her command." Tim choked back tears and continued, "We wondered what the point was but Lexi explained that in order to gain more secrets and information, she'd had to move up to this guy's spot. Roger then jumped on the bandwagon but I was still nervous. However, I caved into peer pressure. It...it just all spun out of control and my brother and I would like to gain our standing in society and fix this."
EP nodded. "Okay. So...you guys did kidnap Patgar?" Tim nodded slowly. "How did you do it? Just wondering. If I ever wanted to kidnap someone, you know..." Tim scoffed and rolled his eyes.
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
"Yeah, right. We just busted down the door in the early morning. He looked like he was getting ready to go somewhere. Suitcases were by the door. Television was off. Things were unplugged. He was in the back of the house. When he heard us, I think he stopped what he was doing to see what the noise was. Brady, Roger and I were whispering amongst one another about what to do first. Lexi instructed us to make it look like there was a robbery and a struggle. Well, there was a tiny bit of a struggle but it was short-lived. The cat was weak..." Tim trailed. EP smiled a little, knowing Compy was very right about a fight being staged. "We knocked him out, taped his mouth shut, tied his arms and legs together, bagged him up and dragged him back to Lexi."
"What did you do with him?"
Tim shrugged, "Nothing too dangerous. Lexi said to keep him alive. Not really on the brink of death or anything but not living in the lap of luxury either. We fed him. Gave him water. Gave him a bathroom. A bed. A blanket." Tim said. EP nodded slowly.
"But why? Why did you do it? Why do you think Lexi did it? Why do you think Roger and Brady went along with everything?" Tim ran a hand through his hair and looked nervously at his brother. Roger looked at his brother with zero emotion. Tim continued on, "I think Roger did it to help his wife out with the giveaway and support it. Brady and I did it out of brotherly love and love towards our sister-in-law and our niece. They were...they were close to losing their home if we didn't help the giveaway..." Tim trailed.
"Lexi's secrets didn't even help the giveaway!" Roger yelled, on the verge of more wailing. I stood up and tapped on the area where the invisible window was. "What are you doing?!" exclaimed Roger. EP didn't reply but Compy opened the door, asking if everything's okay. Roger and Tim remained uninformed as the brown cat leaned over and whispered in Compy's ear. He nodded and turned towards the brothers.
"Can you tell us where Patgar is located?" Tim sighed, nodding slowly.
Men in black suits, wearing bulletproof vests that read SWAT and night vision, protective goggles, shuffled down the street. Their hiking boots skimmed the concrete sidewalk as they whispered and rushed around. The tallest one of the large group walked up the steps to an old brick building downtown in the bad section of Crossing City. Sighing, the man did a flying kick, slamming the door to the floor. It landed with a bang and exclaimed cries could be heard from upstairs. An older, bald man wearing merely striped boxer underwear and a sweaty, dirty white tank top rushed down the stairs.
"SWAT team! Get down on the ground, sir! Right now!" The man seemed confrontational and argumentative so other members of the SWAT team rushed forward, pinning the man to the ground. Meanwhile, others passed by the man and rushed around the house, some going upstairs and looking around in the bedrooms and for an attic, and others on the bottom floor looking for the basement. Finally, a young SWAT team member rushed back towards the tall man and told him to come downstairs quickly. Police officers were already in the home. The tall man didn't think they looked familiar. They weren't. Their uniforms read Community. What were those Community freaks doing here in good ol' Crossing City? Sighing, the tall man walked downstairs, guided only by the light of a single, flickering lightbulb on the ceiling.
That's when the tall man--the chief of the local SWAT--witnessed the horrors. A white cat, wearing what looked like faded, dirty, soiled red, was shackled to the cement wall like he was a prisoner in a Dark Ages dungeon. His breaths were shallow. The tall man swiveled on his foot and bellowed upstairs. "Call paramedics! Now!" he screamed. The SWAT team men rushed over to the cat, hurriedly freeing him for his bondage. "Boy...Patgar..." the tall man said, carefully stroking the dirty bloody fur, recoiling at the sight of dried blood. "You're safe now..."
The man's vision blurred as strong, overbearing paramedics rushed in the scene with a large stretcher. Quickly, they rolled Patgar onto the strecther and ran back upstairs. As quickly as they arrived, they were gone. The tall man took a deep breath and turned to the police officer. "Our job here is done." he said, shaking the police officer's hand. The man smiled and said thank you. "It's my job. Don't thank me for doing something I'm supposed to do." the tall man said, looking around. "Now you call his family tonight, you hear? They deserve to see their boy again after all these months. Hopefully...hopefully he won't die."
"Was he breathing?" asked the police officer. The tall man nodded. "Then he'll be alright. Your hospital's a good facility. Now run along." the police officer said, clapping the tall man on the shoulder. The man nodded, removing some of his protective gear and walking outside, back towards the black SAT vans, hidden in an alley.
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
Written by ElizabethPrower: Lexi sat with her legs crossed on a thin, metal chair in another dark room next door to the one the brothers were in. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest, her lips were pursed into a pout, and her eyes were squinted as she angrily scowled at Compy as he opened the thick, metal door to enter the room. He casually saunters into the room and sits in the other metal chair, directly opposite from the green and white mouse.
“Nice to see you again, “Static”,” Lexi greeted sarcastically as she bore her glare into Compy’s calm, stoic face.
“Hello, Lexi, I don’t believe we’ve properly met,” Compy said to the girl, starting to lean back in his chair, as if to look comfortable. “My name is Computerfan, but please, call me Compy. I’m a private investigator from Community, and I understand that you’re the mastermind behind the disappearance of Patgar, is that so?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lexi said, further narrowing her eyes at the purple squirrel. “I did nothing wrong.” Compy raised a skeptical eyebrow at Lexi as he paused, before continuing.
“Oh? But we have so much evidence stacked against you,” Compy replied, staring at her intently. “The brothers have already named you as the ringleader of the crimes against Patgar and ACE. The police have caught you trying to give away important documents from ACE. John told us that you were after his job, so clearly you have motives. Speaking of whom, where is John, may I ask?”
“They’re lying,” Lexi snapped, leaning in close to get in Compy’s face. “Those are all lies. Obviously. And I don’t know where John is, not that I care.”
“I think you’re the one who’s lying,” Compy responded, completely unfazed by her rising anger. “Why did you do it, Lexi? Was it for monetary gain? Revenge for oppression from your boss? Issues with Patgar?” Lexi sat there and continued to pout, and the room was submerged in silence. Neither of them said a word for what felt like the longest time. Compy even started to hum the Jeopardy! theme music to himself, and right as he finished and was about to start the tune over, Lexi finally spilled.
“Okay, fine, it was me,” Lexi blurted out. Compy smiled. “But it wasn’t all me. Tim, Roger, and Brady did most of the dirty work. They came to me and asked me for help with whatever giveaway Roger’s wife was trying to start. All I did was what they needed from me, and everything I did was to help them and get paid. Granted, I had to take some drastic measures, but most of the things I did were completely harmless.”
“Actually, everything you did proved to be very harmful,” Compy told the mouse. “My partner was hurt, one of your cohorts was killed, and Patgar could be physically and mentally scarred from being held prisoner for months.”
“Okay, there was a little collateral damage, whatever,” Lexi responded curtly. Compy mentally facepalmed; he could not believe was she was saying.
“So…you don’t care about the people you hurt and how you hurt them?” the squirrel asked.
“Nope,” Lexi answered. “I’m dead inside. I don’t care about other people.” There was a brief awkward silence, until Compy finally rose from his seat and turned to leave.
“Well, that answers about every other question I have,” he mused. “But before I go, are you sure you don’t know where John is?” Lexi rolled her eyes and sighed with annoyance.
“Fine. I’ll tell you where John is,” she answered irritably. “He’s at my dad’s house. It's an old house feet away from the city gate.”
“Alright then,” Compy said, nodding as he processed this information. “We’re done here.” With that, he opened the door and walked out, heading down the hall to rejoin Elizabeth as the door shut with a slam.
“Come on,” Elizabeth said to Compy. “We’ll come back to Lexi and the brothers. There’s something else we should do.”
Meanwhile, a now passed out Patgar lies on a hospital bed in the intensive care ward of the Crossing City Medical Center. Several IVs were plugged into his body like cable cords, and a monitor stood by his bed, beeping monotonously as it noted the injured cat’s heart rate. Patgar’s mother and brother were seated at his bedside; his mother bawling her eyes out and blowing her nose with one tissue after another, while his brother silently and somberly stared at him, occasionally taking his paw to hear any sign of a pulse, only getting a faint one.
“Oh…my poor boy,” the elderly cat wailed, her glasses fogging up from so much crying as she blew her nose for what looked like the millionth time. Trevor turned and grimaced at the mountain of tissues that were now overflowing the nearby wastebasket, before returning his gaze to Patgar.
“Hey, Patgar? It’s me, Trevor,” the adult cat said, patting the arm of his younger brother. Trevor continued to talk to his brother, in hopes of him waking up, when Patgar’s family heard footsteps quickly running down the hall. They started off fainter than Patgar’s pulse, but became increasingly loud with every step, until finally they turned and saw Elizabeth and Compy standing in the doorway, looking in on Patgar.
“Is he okay?” Elizabeth asked Trevor, with a frown of worry and concern in her eyes.
“We don’t know,” the Marine cat answered, looking down at Patgar with genuine sadness, more so than before. Patgar’s mother’s cries had quieted down to short sobs, her lips quivering as she continued blubbering. Nurse Purrl rushed in to check on Patgar’s monitor, while reading off the results of other tests performed on the cat in red.
“Well?” Compy asked the nurse. “How is he? Is he going to be okay?”
“Well, um, I’m not sure yet,” Purrl replied, sifting through the papers in her reddish paws. “Let me take a look.” Patgar’s family watched her expectantly, while Elizabeth and Compy turned towards the other, staring at each other with uncertainty and apprehension.
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
Written by Liv909: EP recognized such a scene. The clean slippery white tiles. The calm wallpaper. The inspirational picture on the wall. The television put on a somewhat neutral yet annoying channel. This was a hospital room. When she was shot, she was in one just like this when she woke up from her bullet wound. She had to admit, Crossing City patched her up well. She hoped they could do the same for Patgar. But it wasn't looking good. Patgar was lying on the bed, unconscious and unresponsive. IV's were attached to him all over and a rubber mask was placed over his face so he could breathe easier. Patgar had gotten so skinny while kidnapped. Lexi must've fed him dirt. He looked so sickly and skinny. Like he was dying. However, EP was trying to stay positive and optimistic, hoping Patgar would be okay. However, everything was just so...quiet.
EP felt the awkward tension and the fear of every person in the room. Patgar's mother wasn't shy on showing her emotions. She bawled into her shirt, tears staining it a dark blue. Patgar's brother Trevor is standing sternly beside his mother, rubbing her shoulder and pursing his lips every now and then. EP could tell he was sad; but she knew he had to be strong for his mother. If he broke down, everything was over. Compy stood straight up in the back. EP leaned beside him. Watching Patgar was so sad. All those tubes and wires...ugh. Purrl pulled back from doing all the routine things on Patgar and started writing a bunch of things down feverishly. Compy cleared his throat.
"What exactly is wrong with him anyway?" he asked. Purrl stopped writing and shrugged.
"You name it. He was almost starved and parched anyway. Poor boy's so skinny...well he's got cholera, trachoma, and typhoid." At the naming of those disgusting diseases, Patgar's mother placed a hand over her throat and nearly choked with grief. Purrl continued, "Wherever he was, the poor guy was fed pretty crappy things." she said. The nurse then placed a hand over her mouth. "Excuse my swearing." Compy smiled and said it wasn't a problem.
"So...how is he?" EP asked awkwardly. Purrl turned towards her, not seeming to recognize she was the one in the hospital with the gunshot wound.
"Better...the doctor's really pumping some fluid and a bunch of different antibiotics in him. It'll be some time though before he'll be better. However, compared to when he first came in here, Patgar's progress is amazing."
"Will he...will he live?" stuttered Trevor. Purrl nodded with a little smile.
"Of course he will! We're in a modern-day hospital! If we were in one of those other country areas like Hyrule or something, no. But since we are where we are, yes. Patgar will be fine." Patgar's mother finally smiled but her tears flowed more. Trevor finally let a few tears fall from his face. "He'll be fine. Now, if you excuse me, the doctor will be back in about a half hour to check on Patgar." Purrl says walking out. For a while, everything was silent. EP knew that she and Compy had more work to do back at the station. She poked Compy in the shoulder. Compy turned and faced her, bringing his head close.
"What?" he asked a little too snappily.
"I think we should leave now. We've seen Patgar. He'll be okay and we have some work to do." Compy shrugged, complying and gonig to stand up. Trevor turned around and saw the duo was preparing to leave. He stepped forward and shook the two's paws.
"Thank you so much, guys. We owe you one. You saved my brother's life. I don't know how to thank you." he said, a few tears glistening in his strong eyes. Compy shook Trevor's hand but didn't say a word. EP pursed her lips.
"You're welcome, Trevor. And the pleasure is all ours. We're just doing our job. Serving justice. Getting to the bottom of things." EP said with a charming smile. Trevor grinned and asked what was next. EP shrugged. "We got some top-notch lawyers from Community. We're going to try to pull a trial together. I'm sure the evidence is pretty stacked. We'll have some people give you a call." EP nodded. Trevor said 'okay' and thanked them one last time. EP and Compy turned to leave when they heard a croaking noise behind them and some rustling. EP and Compy twirled around to see Patgar's eyes barely opening. His thin little front paw shakily moved to remove the oxygen mask.
A small smile formed on his face. His breathing was heavy. He mouthed what he wanted to say first; then he was able to whisper it. "You're...you're that detective. EP....and you're her friend...Compy..." he whispered. "Thank you." he said holding out a paw to shake. Compy and EP came forward to shake his hand gently. Patgar smiled and put the oxygen mask back on his face. Before they left however, Patgar gave them the thumbs-up as the two exitted the hospital room.
As the squirrel and cat walked down the corridor, they were silent. Silence occurred from their exit of the hospital room to their entrance in EPs fixed Prius. As Compy made to go back to the station, EP finally spoke up. "Wasn't that amazing? That Patgar woke up, recognized us, and thanked us? Oh, it was great!" Compy smirked.
"Yeah. Yeah it was." EP rose her eyebrows.
"What's up with you?" Compy shrugged and mumbled nothing. Just that he was a little shaken up. "Shaken up? From what?" asked EP. Compy maintained eye contact with the road but still talked.
"It was a little nerve-wracking to sit there and stare at Patgar in such a condition. It makes me wanna...it makes me wanna throw Lexi against the wall." EP laughed a little. Compy turned on her with a little scowl. "It's not funny, Elizabeth." he said with a little sneer, placing emphasis on the Elizabeth. EP looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"Sorry...but you can't throw Lexi against the wall. Just saying...haha." she chuckled a little. "However, you can throw the brothers against the wall; because they were a part of it." Compy shook his head.
"I'm going to go back and talk to both of them again. Lexi left me confused. I want to find out more. She didn't confess. I also want to talk to the guys again." Compy said, pushing the gas pedal further down. The tiny car sped up and EP looked around, as the land began to speed up around her.
"Compy! We're going to get pulled over for speeding!" Compy smirked.
"Almost all the police is at the station guarding Lexi and the brothers. Come on!" Compy said, flooring it. The blue Prius sped along with no opposition to its speed. To EP, it felt like hours when Compy fnially slammed his brakes and parallel parked in front of the station. The squirrel hopped out and ran inside. EP trailed behind. But when they walked inside, it was empty. There were barely any officers around. Compy made his way to the back rooms and only saw Aidan, Pedro, the Community officers and one or two Crossing City officers. EP could see that the brothers and Lexi--held up in separate rooms--were getting impatient and ready to call their lawyers. EP walked in on the brothers. Tim was a little startled but Roger remained disgruntled.
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
He turned to complain to EP, "What is the meaning of this? It's been two hours and nobody's done anything! They've all left!" he yelled. EP bit her lip, trying to keep a calm composure.
"Did you hear where they were going?" Tim nodded, nudging his brother in the shoulder to be quiet.
"Yeah. They all were talking about this John guy. A few officers even questioned Lexi. I could hear the noise. It was pretty rough but she denied everything." EP nodded and asked them what they knew about John. Roger stuck his head up.
"Yeah. Lexi kidnapped John so he could get a hit or two at you and that purple squirrel. I heard he did that but when she brought him in with a blindfold on, I left." EP nodded again.
"Okay. So where were you when she brought John in with the blindfold on?"
"Just an abandoned building in Crossing City where we always meet." Roger mumbled. EP sighed, placing her hands on her hips.
"Where? An exact location would be helpful. There's like thousands of them in this place!" she said. Roger rolled his eyes.
"Fine! It's on Scrabs Avenue in the South District. It's across from Kabuki's Bar. Just...tell whoever goes there to be careful. That place is just...ughh." Roger said, shivering. EP got up and quickly ran out of the room. Aidan saw her worried expression and asked if she was okay. She nodded and asked Aidan where the Crossing City officers started looking for John. Aidan answered that they started at Lexi's father's house. EP shook her head and said that wasn't where the brothers said he was.
"Try looking in the old abandoned building on Scrabs across from Kabuki's Bar." EP ordered. Don Resetti and the other officers nodded and made ready to head out. Aidan asked her if they should consult with the Crossing City guys first. EP shook her head. "No. I'm still wary about those guys ever since I heard about the heavy corruption. Do this by yourselves. Be careful, guys!" she hollered down the hallway. Don Resetti turned back and smiling, muttered a 'we will' before hurrying away. EP sighed and headed into the room with Lexi.
The white mouse was acting very belligerent and confrontational. EP hurried over and whispered some information in Compy's ear. The purple squirrel pursed his lips and smirked cockily. "Ever been to Kabuki's Bar?" he asked. Lexi shook her head and asked where it was. "On Scrabs. You know, across from that old abandoned building." he said nonchalantly. But Lexi flipped out.
"The brothers told on me?! How dare they! After all I've done for them!" she screeched. She then covered her mouth quickly. Compy smiled wide and bent down.
"So Lexi, what have you done for the brothers?" The mouse stammered, struggling to come up with words to define what she meant.
"I, uh...uh...I...um....I helped them out with their giveaway." she stuttered.
"By doing that, you had to kidnap Patgar." Compy summed up.
"No! I had nothing to do with Patgar!"
"Oh, just confess. You're making me sick." Compy said, turning away from Lexi. "We all know you did it. But at the end of the day, you'll get a little easier off if you just confess. The truth will set you free, Lexi," he added, turning back to face the mouse. EP remained like a fly on the wall near the door, just watching the interrogation go down. Lexi huffed.
"Alright!" she yelled, throwing her hands up. "I was the mastermind. But I didn't physically kidnap Patgar. I sent the brothers to do that." she said quickly.
"But...you were the mastermind, right?" asked Compy. Lexi sighed and nodded solemnly. "You were the brain. They were the arms and legs." Lexi nodded again. "Alright. Anything else you would like to tell me?" Lexi nodded.
Don Resetti jumped out of the van and crept around. He looked to his right. EP was right; Kabuki's Bar looked...ugh. There was no words to describe the filthy place. The officers asked amongst one another if maybe someone at the bar knows anything. But they chose not to ask anyone. The strong men looked confrontational. Don slowly headed towards the door. This wasn't the same place Patgar was. All of Scrabs Avenue looked abandoned with a bunch of squatters roaming around. The place where Patgar was found was the basement of Lexi's father's house. Of course. while SWAT was down there, they didn't mention a squirrel down there. Don was to assume that Lexi didn't hide John there. But if she kept him in the same condition as Patgar, he wasn't better off. Probably dying in unsanitary conditions in a moldy basement.
Don crept up and looked through the dusty glass windows. It didn't look like anyone was inside; but there was a light on in the basement. Don didn't know why that was; but within seconds, he burst into the home and had his officers scatter throughout, running upstairs and downstairs. In a matter of moments, a single shot rang out and all was quiet. The officers that ran upstairs could find nothing. One of the men that dashed downstairs came back up.
"Sir. We found him..." he trailed.
"Is he alive?" Don asked, knowing the conditions in which Patgar had to suffer through for a month. The officer nodded. Don let out a sigh of relief. "Good! Bring him up here. I'll call the paramedics and they'll take him to the hospital." The officer agreed and headed back underground. Don pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. A woman answered calmly. "Hello ma'am. My name is Don Resetti, police chief of Community. We're at the abandoned building across from Kabuki's Bar on Scrabs in Crossing City. We've located a squirrel held captive in the basement. Please send paramedics." he requested. The lady complied and within ten minutes, an ambulance was outside the door. Three paramedics with a stretcher ran in towards the basement. Another paramedic came over with a notepad and shook the mole's hand.
"The name's Paul Ramsey, sir. You Don Resetti?"
"That's me. Thanks for coming so quickly." the mole said graciously with a smile. "We had a similar situation with the Patgar case. I'm trying to stay optimistic but I'm not sure if his health will be intact. Patgar had some serious medical issues when he was discovered." Don was interrupted when the three paramedics came back up with John on the stretcher. They headed outside carefully towards the ambulance. Paul was short, simply asking Don some questions and hurrying after his comrades. When the ambulance sped out of the bad neighborhood, Don couldn't help but look around. He scanned the stairs and prodded the officer he spoke with earlier. "Donzik!" exclaimed Don Resetti. He always enjoyed screaming Sergeant Tim Donzik's last name because it had 'Don' in it, which was obviously his first name. The young man came over.
"Yes, sir?" he replied. Don pursed his lips and looked upstairs.
"I want you guys to conduct a whole search of this building. Top to bottom. Any secret documents, secret doors, secret rooms, secret closets. You root through them, got it?" Sergeant Donzik looked wary.
"But, chief! We don't have a warrant! Surely, someone will sue us." Don shook his head.
"We were able to come in here to get John out. That and the fact that this was a hideout for a notorious mental girl and her comrades is enough reason for a judge to sign anything." Don said, turning on his feet and walking out of the room. He was able to get a ride with several other cops returning to the station. Now all was left to tell Aidan, EP and Compy what happened. And then...trials began.
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
Written by ElizabethPrower: “Pedro should be our lawyer!”
“No! I want Pedro to be my lawyer!”
Lexi and the two remaining brothers were standing outside one of the courtrooms of the Crossing City courthouse, debating over who to have as their representation. Elizabeth, Compy, Booker, Don, Pedro, and his gang of lawyers were gathered around them, looking over information from the case and choosing which evidence and arguments to present. Pedro and one of his fellow lawyers had just agreed on an opening statement, when the group turned their attention to Lexi and the brothers, whose squabble was growing in volume.
“Why should you get Pedro? You’re the one that orchestrated this whole mess!” Roger yelled at Lexi.
“Because I’m not the one with actual blood on my hands,” Lexi snapped. “You kidnapped Patgar, you shot the tire on that Prius, and you lied to the cops about Patgar being dead. I may have dictated everything, but actions speak louder than words.”
“Well, Pedro?” Elizabeth asked, turning to face the pelican. “Who is going to have you as their lawyer?” Pedro silently contemplated the options for a moment, taking the events of the case into account as he thought everything over, before he spoke up.
“Actually, I’ve decided that I’m going to be defending Roger and Tim,” Pedro answered, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “Despite what they’ve done, Lexi was the true perpetrator of all this madness.”
“Yes!” Roger and Tim exclaimed, high-fiving each other. Lexi grunted and rolled her eyes.
“You have got to be kidding me,” the mouse muttered, clearly agitated. “Really? Really. Fine then.”
“Fair enough,” Elizabeth mused with a short nod, approving of Pedro’s choice. Small clusters of people and animals, including the Community and Crossing City police officers, Kristina, Selena, Patgar’s family, and Kim with a sleeping baby Ginger were now filing into the courtroom, ushered in by a tall, hefty, rather chunky, brown bear wearing a tan uniform, indicating his position as the bailiff.
“We should probably head in there, it looks like the first trial’s about to start,” Compy said, gesturing towards the arriving spectators.
“Yep, you’re right,” Pedro replied, nodding at his posse. “Come on guys, it’s time to do this. Let’s go.” Once the people and animals watching were seated inside the entirely wooden themed courtroom, the group followed suit, entering behind them and taking their spots at the two benches up front before the judge’s podium. Elizabeth looked out at the pool of faces seated behind her, scanning the room for another familiar face.
“Hey, where’s Aidan?” the cat asked, surprised, but nobody had time to answer her question before the bailiff walked to the front of the room and called for everyone’s attention.
Meanwhile, a white squirrel dressed in a blue shirt was lying barely awake on a hospital bed at the Crossing City Medical Center. His blue helmet was placed on a table by his bed, allowing his messy brown bangs to spill over his entire head, creeping onto his face as it blended with his white fur. He, along with Patgar, who was a few rooms away, had various wires and IVs wrapped around him and was hooked up to the heart monitor and a few other nearby machines. The squirrel’s clothes were covered in dirt and grime, and his fur was darkened, stained by dust. He lied there lifelessly, practically paralyzed, when a human boy frantically rushed into the room and slid across the floor on his knees to reach the squirrel’s bedside. The squirrel squinted his eyes as he turned to look at the boy, slowly blinking them as if to express shock.
“Ai….dan…” the squirrel mumbled, struggling for words. “Aidan…is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me John,” the boy replied, giving a sad smile as he placed a circular hand on the squirrel’s white paw. “I came here as soon as I found out you were here. How are you doing?”
“C-Could be better,” John responded, before breaking out in a mini coughing fit. Aidan’s heart nearly broke seeing his brother in such a condition. Seeing him like this stopped Aidan from ending his worry for John, despite him being found and rescued. “Say, Aidan…was…was Patgar ever found?”
“Yes he was,” Aidan said to him, glancing down for a moment. “Elizabeth and Compy were able to catch Lexi and the brothers working with her, and we got a location out of them. He’s in the hospital too, but he’s going to be okay.”
“G-good…that’s good…” John trailed off, almost dozing off. “Aidan?”
“Yeah buddy?”
“I’m sorry about what I did. I’m sorry that I tried to shoot you,” John said with a sniffle. “I didn’t want to, but Lexi forced me into it. She…was going to hurt me if I didn’t…” John’s dark eyes started to well up with tears, but they lingered on his eyelids, never dropping.
“I understand. I know it wasn’t your fault,” Aidan replied, gently patting John’s head. “Besides, you’re my brother, and I love you.” A few tears managed to fall from the squirrel’s face.
“I love you too, bro,” John responded, his voice growing stronger. Aidan extended his arms out, and John slowly pulled himself up, allowing the brothers to pull each other into a loose, slightly awkward, but warm hug.
“Good news, John! You’re going to be just fine!” Nurse Purrl said cheerfully as she entered the room. “Your test results came back, and you’re disease free! With just a little more patching up, you’ll be all cleared!” Aidan sighed with relief, as he exchanged smiles with John.
Signature-------------- What are YOU looking at? If you're reading this signature, you just lost THE GAME!
Posted: 3/2/2012 8:50pm 
York
But that's right, Liv and I entered this in Dougieowner's Fanfic Competition 2012.
