*Act 2: Interrogating The Fiends*

Fillmore and Ingrid arrived at the detention hall. Before they entered however, they had to leave any personal belonging to the guard at the front of the hall. Fillmore's first suspect was Bubblegum Smith.
Bubblegum Smith was a career delinquent. Him and Fillmore use to do a lot of jobs together, back when Fillmore was part of that scene. Now he was using his past connections to track down the team of students trying to rob the lunch treasury. When Fillmore and Ingrid entered the room,
Bubblegum Smith looked up at Fillmore and gave him a cold stare.

"What do you want with me, belt?" Bubblegum asked closing the book he was reading.

"Just want to ask you a few questions, Bubble." Fillmore taunted with a smirk.

"I don't know anything, so buzz off." Bubblegum said getting angry.

"We'll be the judge of that." Ingrid said, as she walked up to Bubblegum's desk.

"What do you know about a heist going down here at X?" Fillmore asked getting serious. He pulled up a chair and sat down staring hard at Bubblegum Smith.

"I don't know nothing, about nothing. Why don't you get off of my back?"

"Because you keep in touch with what's happing on the school grounds."
Fillmore replied still glaring. "If you cooperate with us, I'll see if I can get you some of your favorite bubblegum." Fillmore offered,
knowing Bubblegum couldn't resist.

"No! I know nothing!" Bubblegum shouted, while starting to shake.

"What was his favorite flavor again Fillmore?" Ingrid asked faking ignorance. "That's right, grape." Ingrid finished smiling.

"No! Stop it! I don't know anything!" Bubblegum was shaking worse now.

"Come on Bubble, tell us. You'll get all the grape bubblegum you can chew." Fillmore smirked, knowing he had him.

"Okay! Okay! You win. I don't know all the details. All I know is there is a new boss running the so-called team, and he's the one whose suppose to organize the heist." Bubble explained hoping for his gum.

"Who is this new boss?" Fillmore asked pressing on.

"I don't know who he is. All I know is that he came from a tough school back east and is feared all over." Bubble said looking a little scared himself.

"Do you know anyone who might know this boss?" Ingrid asked.

"Well, Pete said he use to work with this genius before he went straight.
Maybe he knows something about the heist." Bubble was now looking in thought.

Fillmore knew who Pete was. He was another delinquent that went straight after he got caught. But instead of becoming a safety patroller, he became the star of the football team.

"Thanks for your cooperation" Fillmore said getting up. "Come on Ingrid let's go talk to Pete."

"Will I get my grape gum?" Bubble asked getting sad.

"Sure, don't worry man. You'll get a whole weeks worth." Fillmore said smiling before he left with Ingrid.

*X*

Fillmore and Ingrid headed down the hall, picked up their stuff from the guard, then left the school. They made their way to the football field where Pete and the X Middle School football team was practicing.
Fillmore saw Pete throwing many of his touchdown passes that made him popular. Fillmore approached the coach of the team.

"Hey Coach Haggs? Can you call Pete over here for a minute; we have a couple of questions for him?'

Coach Haggs normally didn't like to interrupt his team, but he knew and liked Fillmore. Fillmore helped solve a case when the football championship trophy was stolen last year. It turned out that a rival school stole the trophy because they were angry X won over a suspect touchdown call.

"Sure Fillmore, hold on." Haggs said smiling.

"PETE! GET OVER HERE!" Haggs screams. Pete looked up where the coach was and saw Fillmore and this hot girl standing with him. Pete never liked Fillmore, but he wanted to meet the girl dressed in black, so he headed over there.

"Yeah Coach, what's up?" Pete said smiling at the girl. Ingrid however,
wasn't impressed.

"Fillmore has some questions he wants to ask you." Haggs explained,
smiling at his favorite player.

"Pete, you maybe the football teams new god sent, but you use to be a troublemaker who was always in detention." Fillmore said with a serious look.

"So were you Fillmore, what's the point?" Pete demanded, remembering why he didn't like this guy.

"Well, I got info from a source; this person told me you use to do jobs for some hotshot back in the day." Fillmore continued.

"That's past-tense belt. I don't hang with that kind of crowd anymore."
Pete responded, while getting mad.

"Since you don't hang with that crowd anymore, you shouldn't have a problem telling us what we want to know." Ingrid said.

Pete looked at Ingrid for a second admiring her pretty face. "Look, all I know is football. Whatever reason you have to bug me is pointless. I don't know anything that would help you two."

"You better be right Pete, because if I find out you're hiding something, your famous football career is over." Fillmore said as he turned away.

"Yeah, whatever, are we done? I have to get back to practice." Pete puts his hand to his mouth, faking a yawn.

"For now... Let's go Ingrid."

As Ingrid turned to leave, Pete grabs her hand. She quickly turned around and glared at him.

"Hey, Ingrid was it? Why don't you stay and watch me practice? I will show you all my famous passes?" Pete asked, with his charming smile that melted many girls hearts.

Ingrid, however, wasn't moved at all. "No thanks - I'm on a case." Ingrid responded, pulling her hand from his.

Pete, then looked at Fillmore, and puts two-and-two together. "Oh, I see, you already have a boyfriend."

Ingrid, looked at him for a second. She noticed him looking at Fillmore. She then realized what he meant.

"Fillmore is not my boyfriend; he's just my partner." Fillmore looked at Ingrid, but doesn't say anything.

"Whatever." Pete says shrugging his shoulders. "Whenever you get tried of him, don't hesitate to come see me." Pete left, walking back down the field.

"Pete may have been a troublemaker, Fillmore, but he changed. He doesn't get in trouble anymore." Coach Haggs said, trying to protect his star player.

"I hope you're right coach." Fillmore replied, before Ingrid and himself left the field and headed back into the school building.

*X*

School hours passed - Fillmore and the rest of the safety patrol were at their lunch table, enjoying the special food only safety patrol members could get. It was one of the perks of wearing a belt. You could order takeout, instead of eating the poison that was called school lunch. The school budget would take care of the cost. Which is why it was important for Ingrid and Fillmore to stop the gang trying to rob the school lunch treasury, because perks like this would be one of the many things affected.

"Any leads on the lunch treasury heist, Joseph?" Fillmore asked his colleague.

"No... I've been asking around all over school. Everybody keeps saying the same thing - they haven't heard of any such heist." Joseph said shaking his head.

"Whoever this boss is, he's being very careful." Ingrid said in thought.
"It's a wonder how the rumor got out in the first place."

"Yeah, the members behind this so-called heist are being very careful too." Fillmore added. "But don't worry, we're just getting started. They always slip up eventually."

"Folsom is losing her patience. She wants an update on how the case is going soon." Vallejo said looking a little worried.

"Don't worry, we'll get them." Ingrid said in a confident tone.

Joelle, then walked up to the safety patrol table with a lunch bag in her hand. She looked to see if Fillmore was there, and smiles after she saw him. Fillmore noticed her too and smiles back. Ingrid, however, looked at Joelle with a cold glance.

"Is it okay if I join you?" Joelle asked smiling.

"Of course, pull up a seat." Fillmore said while looking into Joelle's pretty green eyes.

"Fillmore, she can't sit here." Ingrid argued, looking annoyed. "This table is for safety patrol only."

"Oh, relax Ingrid, give the new girl a break." Vallejo said, also captivated by Joelle's looks.

Joelle, takes a chair from the table behind her, and then takes it to where Fillmore was and sits next to him.

"So, how is the first day going for you so far?" Fillmore asked

"Great! Everybody is being so nice to me," said a smiling Joelle.

"That's great to hear." Ingrid spoke, in a sarcastic voice.

"What school did you come from?" Vallejo asked looking at her face.

"Rondale Middle School" Joelle answered, in a not so nice voice.

"Rondale?" Joseph raised his voice while looking up. "I heard that's one of the worst schools you could go to."

"Yeah, it's not pleasant there." Joelle said while nodding in agreement with Joseph. "That's why I'm happy here. This school makes Rondale look like hell." Joelle finished.

"Why did you go to Rondale?" Ingrid asked getting curious.

"Well, my parents were very poor. They could hardly afford food or pay their rent. That's why I went to Rondale. Because that was the only school my parents could afford on the low salary they made." Joelle shook her head and while looking sad.

Fillmore felt sadness for her as well. "I'm glad you're here now instead of that rotten school." He mentioned in support.

"Me too." Joelle agreed, smiling again.

"What about you Fillmore? I asked some students about you. They said you use to be one of the most notorious juveniles around." Joelle asked as she looked Fillmore in the eyes.

"I wasn't really friendly back then, true. But a good friend of mine showed me how I was throwing my life away. Because of him, I was able to change and turn my life around."

"Now, he is one of the best safety patrollers today." Ingrid finished,
supporting her partner.

"And whom might you be?" Joelle asked, as if she just noticed Ingrid for the first time.

"I'm Ingrid Third - Star Trek fan - and faithful safety patroller." Ingrid said with pride.

"Oh yeah! I heard about you too. The other kids I talked to said you're a stuck up genius." Joelle said, looking Ingrid up and down.

"Don't believe everything you hear." Fillmore added coming to her defense. "Her and myself have been partners for over a year now. We're also very good friends. The last thing she is, is a stuck up." Ingrid smiled at Fillmore

"And together they make one hell of a team." Vallejo said, shaking his head in support.

"Cool! How many cases did you guys solve?" Joelle asked both patrollers.

"Right now, I would say about well over thirty cases." Fillmore answered with a smirk on his face.

"You use to be a patroller at your old school to right?" Fillmore asked.
When Joelle nodded, everybody but Fillmore looked at her in shock.
Joelle looked way too sweet to be a tough as bones safety patrol.

"You were a safety patroller at Rondale?" Joseph asked, getting back in the conversation.

"Yeah, for two years straight before I came here" Joelle said smiling.
Ingrid looked at her with a little respect.

"Must have been rough being a safety patroller in that school." Vallejo said while sizing her up.

"Not really... Once you get the hang of it, it wasn't so bad." Joelle said with a cocky look on her face.

Soon the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Fillmore and Ingrid got up, along with Joelle, Vallejo, and Joseph. Fillmore puts his garbage in the wastebasket and takes Joelle's garbage and does the same.

"Fillmore can you walk me to my room? I would like to talk to you some more about my school?" Joelle asked batting her eyes.

Fillmore couldn't resist. "Sure Joelle. I would love to."

"Fillmore we have to get back on the case." Ingrid interrupted, not liking this at all.

"Don't worry Ingrid, this will only take a second." Fillmore answered,
still looking at Joelle and smiling.

"But-" before she could finish, Joseph interrupts.

"It's okay Ingrid. I can go with you until he gets back?" Ingrid, after seeing Fillmore wasn't going to change his mind, gives in.

"Sure, why not. Let's go." Joseph and her were leaving the lunchroom,
when Ingrid turns around. She sees Fillmore and Joelle still talking and laughing. She turned back around, making a sad face.

Joseph noticed her sad look. "Are you okay?" He then asked. Ingrid made her face look normal after she heard him.

"Don't worry about me. I'm just fine." Ingrid then walked ahead of Joseph,
leaving the lunchroom first.

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