The sounds of sirens flooded the busy New York street. Sights of a suspicious man loitering around an apartment building in upper Manhattan have been reported. Detective Jones was obviously on this case. After all he was trying to find this one man that has been pestering him for years. This mystery man goes by the name E. Just the letter e. This man has a set pattern. Steals around 11pm on Mondays every single week in upper Manhattan. Sounds more like a television show if anything. Jones was getting desperate to find this guy and lock him up. But no one has ever heard his voice or seen his face. He is always wearing a different mask every time.
Based on where the robberies have taken place he is suspected of living in that general area. This case was frustrating Alfred because the boss said if this case isn't solved in two months they're hiring a new detective. Alfred was desperate.
Arriving at the apartment building, Alfred was met with a young woman. She looked to be in her late twenties early thirties.
"Ma'am, are you the one who called to report the suspicious man?" Alfred asked.
"Why, yes I am." She had a heavy southern accent.
"I would like for you to tell me anything and everything about what you saw. This is important."
"Uh y-yes." She stuttered. "Well, there was this man holding a duffel bag and lookin' around frantically. He came out of that van." She pointed to a white van on the other side of the street. "He then went and ran for the back of this here buildin'. So if y'all would like to find him he's most likely back there or inside. I was standin' here the entire time since he went back there. I have near perfect memory. Ain't no way he left."
"Thank you ma'am." Alfred said jotting down the rest of the notes. "Oh and did you see what he looked like by any chance?"
"No. Sorry. He was wearin' a hood so didn't get to see his face."
"Okay, thank you." He walked off to the back of the building.
*THUD*
"Ow!" Alfred was slammed into and he fell back.
"Sorry, sorry! I'm running late!" A British accent frantically said. He fell on his ass too.
"Just be careful next time." Alfred quickly gathered his things and ran behind the building to investigate.
"Alright, I got what you asked for now pay up!" Arthur demanded.
"Relax, relax."
'I am in a hurry. I got to go!"
"Here it is! Take it!"
"Thank you." Arthur turned to leave but stopped right in front of the door. "Also a lady saw me and called the police. She didn't see my face though." With that he started running.
Arthur has been running from the cops since forever. In England, his dad would "take him to work" once a week. Growing up Arthur learned everything there is to know about stealth, stealing, and even fighting (just in case he runs into a cop). But when things got too out of hand Arthur's dad snuck him into France and surrendered himself so that Arthur can go from France to America. Arthur continued to steal for his father. Only this time he was smarter than before. He took up wood carving class to be able to carve wooden maskes so he could burn them after someone saw it. He would also try to not talk at all when wearing the masks or looking suspicious. For more security.
*THUD*
Arthur ran into something hard. Like really hard.
"Ow." The thing said.
'It talks?' Is the first thing that came to mind. But he looked and he saw the detective.
"Sorry, sorry! I'm running late!" Were the words that fumbled out of his mouth.
"Just be careful next time." The other man ran off to the back of the building.
Arthur got up and ran to the van. The lady was gone so she wouldn't see him. He got in and started changing into a tuxedo while driving. It's New York. This is normal. He drove up to Central Park and ran to a crowd of people dressed fancily.
"Good. I made it just in time." Arthur sighed of relief.
"There you are! I have been looking all over for you! I mean you have to go take pictures, you are my best man after all." Francis said.
"Right. Um, remind me, where do I need to go exactly?" Arthur questioned.
"That bridge over there. We'll take pictures there and then go down that trail where me and Maddie will get married."
"Great."
"Now where is Alfred..." Francis pulled out his phone and started dialing a number as he walked away.
"I really don't like you." Arthur insinuated. He glared at the back of Francis's head.
Alfred had to do a search of every apartment in that building. Luckily it was pretty small. Only about five floors. He was just about to knock on the first door when he saw somebody frantically run down the stairs with a duffel bag. Unfortunately for that guy Alfred had taken track all four years of high school and was able tackle his sloppy ass.
"What's in the-" Alfred's phone started ringing. "Crap what's today?" He picked up his phone.
"Where are you? Oh how I can't believe that Mr. Detective is late for my wedding. Not only mine but also your own sister's. You should be ashamed of yourself." Francis hung up before Alfred got a chance to even get a word in.
Still sitting on the supposed criminal Alfred called for his buddy that was left in the car.
"Lock him up. We'll deal with it later." He sighed.
Alfred has always been so consumed in his work that he even forgets his own birthday. That's crazy because he was born on American Independence Day!
After scurrying to get ready he drove to the meeting place of the wedding. Much to his relief they were still taking photos. They tend to go overboard with photos.