~*~AK~*~
Blake walked out the door of his apartment with his pockets full of
information about Ally Kat. “This will be fun,” he
thought. He hurried down the street toward his convertible, rustling
in his pockets for his keys. Glancing across the street, he saw
Pepper talking on her cell phone. Pepper had beautiful golden blond
hair and green eyes. Or were they blue? Blake couldn't remember and
thought to himself that he would have to find out later. Suddenly a
thought struck him. Why was Pepper out here in the first place? She
lived on the other side of town and all the same shops were over
there, so she would have no reason to come except to visit someone.
Blake trusted her though, and thought he would just go over there and
ask her and she would give a reasonable answer. At first, Blake
thought to come up to her outright, but as he came closer, he saw
that she had her back turned to him and found himself sneaking up
behind her and listening closely to what she was saying. “7:00
tonight. Yes. Ally Kat? She'll be there, don't worry. Yes. I'll be
sure not to tell anyone. Yes.” She hung up the phone and turned
around, bumping right into Blake who quickly hid his wonder at the
conversation, though he feared he hadn't done it fast enough. Pepper
gazed at him with a slightly worried, slightly surprised look on her
face. “Oh! You scared me, Blake. I was in the neighborhood so I
thought I might stop by for breakfast, but then I got the phone
call.” Blake just stared at her. Or her eyes, rather, for one was
green and one was blue. “Blake?”
Blake shook his head to clear the thoughts and said, “Sorry,
Pepper, I just realized how beautiful you look,” Blake covered.
“Oh, well thank you,” she replied, awkwardly.
“What were you in town for?”
“Oh, I was asked to come out here and chase down someone for
another case. This person had a device they invented which gave them
a lot of speed and no one could catch up with them.” This response
wasn't unreasonable. Pepper was always being called to help out on
other cases when her speed was needed.
“Ah. I don't see your car anywhere. You didn't run all the way
here did you?”
“No, I'm parked way up on the edge of town. I had to chase the
criminal all the way down here, though. Well, I guess I better go run
and get it.” She turned to go, but Blake grabbed her arm.
“Wait, would you like me to drive you? It would be better than
wasting energy. After all, we're gonna need you for chasing down Ally
Kat at 7:00 tonight.” He said this to see the reaction on Pepper's
face, as this was what she had mentioned on the phone. She didn't
disappoint. Her eyes flashed in fear for a second before she forced
out a smile and said, “No, no, I wouldn't want you to be at an
inconvenience.”
“No, I insist.” Blake wasn't sure why, but he wanted her to stay
with him. He wanted to keep an eye on her. Though Blake wasn't
normally a suspicious person, he always used caution and considered
every possibility. He grabbed Pepper just above the elbow, walked her
across the street to his car and opened the door for her to get in.
She did so, and he turned towards the edge of town. “Wait, where
are you going?” she asked, anxiously.
“To your car, where else? Where is it?”
“Oh, I thought you were just going to take me to the office.”
“Well, you have to get your car back, don't you?”
“Yes, but... it's in a place that you can't go into. I was doing a
job for the upper branch of the organization. You're not allowed to
know this location. I'm already going against the rules telling you I
was doing a job for them.” Blake knew this was possible, so he
said, “I'll just drive you to the general area then.” They drove
to the edge of town until Pepper told him that there was fine and
muttered a thanks as she climbed out.
At the office, Blake reread the information Alameda had given him
and strategized a separate plan on his own. He wanted to make sure
that no one was leaking information to Ally Kat. Or that Ally Kat
wasn't in the organization herself. From the information that Alameda
had given him, Pepper matched the description perfectly, besides her
hair and speed. But this could easily be changed with a wig and by
running slower than she actually could. Blake wanted to see both
Pepper and Ally Kat together. Only then would he know for sure they
weren't the same person. But he still wasn't sure how he would be
able to find out if anyone was leaking information or not.
Suddenly, Pepper walked in. She had taken a while to get there,
though Blake could only make possible guesses as to why. “Come in,
Pepper. We were waiting on you before we got started.”
“Hey, where have you been? Not like you to be late, Pepper,”
Jack asked.
“We've been worried. Afraid you got carried off by some criminal
or something.” Linton spoke.
Pepper laughed, throwing a cautious glance at Blake. “Well, no
worries now, I'm here. Go on, Blake.”
Blake cleared his throat and began. “I wasn't satisfied with the
information that the organization provided us with, so I asked my
informer and she gave me this.” He handed out copies of the paper
about Ally Kat he had made and then returned to his desk and read it
out loud. Blake kept a continuous eye on Pepper, especially when he
read about the description of Ally Kat's eyes. She stared at the
paper, but she just appeared to grow angry. “Do you think,”
Pepper interrupted Blake, “that I'm Ally Kat? Just because of my
speed and the fact I have the same color eyes as her? Why don't you
ask your little informant about which eye is which. I bet you'll find
that hers are the opposite from mine.”
“How would you know that? You've never seen Ally Kat, have you?”
Jack asked.
Pepper glared at Jack while pulling out a paper and showing it to
Blake. It was the picture of Ally Kat winking. The eye that was open
was obviously green and was her left eye. Blake looked up at Pepper
and saw that her left eye was blue and her right eye was green. “I'm
not trying to say that you're Ally Kat, Pepper. But I can't ignore
the possibility. From what the organization has told us, someone must
be telling Ally Kat who we're going after and where. You are the one
who has been on cases with other people, and it just so happens that
all the cases that Ally Kat foiled were ones that you have been on.”
“Why didn't you tell us before that you were on the cases with
Ally Kat?” Linton questioned.
Pepper hesitated a moment but Blake went on. “I don't think you
are Ally Kat. I believe that it is someone in the upper organization
who is leaking information. But I hope you will allow me to test you
and prove you are not Ally Kat.”
“How would you do that?” Pepper asked.
“I want you to stay with me tonight. Do not leave my sight under
any circumstances. If I see both you and Ally Kat in the same place
at the same time together, I wont cause you any more trouble.
However, until I see you both together, I will not allow you to know
any plans outside of what is necessary for you to know.” Pepper
looked at him, thoughtful for a moment. Blake was sure she would
object.
“Alright,” she said.
“Alright?”
“Alright.”
Blake took a deep breath. “Very well. Let's get on with business.”
They discussed their plans for that night and hammered out all the
details and then memorized what they were supposed to do.
~*~
The night air was cold and Blake could see his breath rise in a
cloud of vapor. He stood at the back of an alley where a ladder
stood, leaning against the wall of the building. Pepper stood beside
him, glaring at the ground.
“Would you stop sulking and pay attention?” Blake asked.
“I should be the one chasing that guy down right now,” Pepper
complained. “I'd have caught him by now.”
“Which is precisely why we didn't want you chasing him. We set it
up so he would be caught right here, so that when Ally Kat comes to
save him, she'll fall into our trap. That is, if she shows up.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Pepper exclaimed.
“Shh! Keep your voice down, will you?”
“So sorry, Sir,” Pepper sneered.
“Look. I don't believe that you're Ally Kat. But the others were
bound to notice the similarities between you and the criminal. I'm
not just using caution myself, I'm also clearing up any
misunderstanding before it starts. It's for your sake as much as mine
and the others.”
“And what if Ally Kat doesn't even show up? Or what if she figures
out your plans and finds some way of framing me even if you still see
both of us together?”
“That's why we're hoping she shows up,” Blake said,
inattentively. The sound of alarms had filled his ears, and he was no
longer paying attention to what he was saying, but preparing himself
for what was ahead. A sudden stream of endless energy seemed to
course through him and an excitement that he never felt outside of
jobs like this rushed upon him, and he crouched down low like a
tiger, ready to pounce upon his prey. He watched as the criminal ran
into his view and right then, the people grabbed hold of him and
forced him down. They put handcuffs on him and pulled him upright. He
was a tall elf, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. But other than
his ears and choice of weapon, he could easily pass as a human. He
wore a hoodie, a beanie, jeans and tennis shoes. Blake would have
laughed at seeing an elf try to wear a beanie, but it wasn't an
uncommon thing in this town and he was used to it by now. The elf
hardly put up a fight, but then, neither did any of the other
criminals. Blake often wondered if these thieves and murderers wanted
to get caught. Perhaps they all came here to retire and that's why
there were so many of them. Either way, he was caught, and Blake
turned to look for Pepper. But Pepper was no longer there. There was
no way she could have gone from his sight without jumping over the
wall (which was nine feet high), or climbing up the ladder. As Blake
grabbed hold of the rungs to get to the roof, Blake heard a voice
call out, “That's a nice catch you've got there!”
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