Chapter 2
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Bill returned from the cashier with both burger orders in hand to the booth where Ralph was seated. Ralph held the necklace as he examined it once more.
"Kid, I can't believe you lost Foster out there! We had both of them cornered." he said as he grabbed his burger and fries. He noticed Ralph didn't get his order. "Not hungry?", he questioned as he took a bite. He looked up and saw Ralph concentrated on the necklace. "Ralph?"
"Huh?" Ralph looked up and saw Bill sitting across from him. "Oh, right. Thanks, Bill." he said as he reached for his burger.
"Whatchya got there?" Bill asked while he chewed.
"This? I found it in the tomb back there." Ralph said as he showed it to Bill.
"The tomb??" he choked as a reply.
"Yeah, I'm thinking about giving it to Pam. You think she'll like it?" Ralph asked.
"Do I think that she'll like it that you were grave robbing? I don't think the Counselor goes for that kinda stuff." Bill replied as he continued to eat.
"It was lying on the floor, Bill. It wasn't like it was intentionally placed there." Ralph said defensively.
"Whatever, kid. It's your funeral." Bill said as he laughed at the joke he made. "I can't believe a hole stopped you from getting Foster!"
Ralph answered a bit embarassed, "I can't help that I saw the open grave at the last second."
"You gotta be more careful, Ralph." Bill stated picking a fry.
"I didn't know that would be there." Ralph replied warningly.
"No use worrying about it now. Come on, I gotta go fill out the paperwork so Carlisle can rake me over hot coals thanks to your blunder." Bill said as he gathered his trash.
"I haven't even started eating!" Ralph pointed out.
"You can eat it in the car. Let's go." Bill said as he stood up. Ralph begrudgingly followed after he picked up his food.
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"Boy, Carlisle's gonna have me by the garbanzos." Bill said as he brushed his hand across the back of his head as he drove.
"You have Cook in custody. I promise I'll put the suit on later and try to holograph on Foster." Ralph reassured.
"Sure, kid. I hate this noon traffic." he said looking around at the other cars around him stopped at the intersection. He looked to his left as he spotted something. "Actually, no I don't. Hang on!" he said taking off the brakes and hitting the gas.
"What is it??" Ralph asked as he looked around to see what was going on.
"I've spotted Foster and we're tailing him." Bill said as he held the steering wheel with both hands. He glanced over at Ralph, "You got the jammies on?"
"Uh, no. I put it in the trunk after we got Cook, when the police arrived." Ralph said sheepishly.
Bill groaned at the answer as he turned the steering wheel. The Dodge Diplomat made a sharp turn as it followed in pursuit. The Honda Civic Foster drove sped through a busy intersection. "Speeding through a red light." Bill chuckled. "Keep adding to the charges, Stanley!"
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Ralph asked looking at Bill in amazement.
"It's part of the job." Bill replied while he stayed focused on his target.
"Bill, look out!" Ralph shouted as they entered another intersection. Bill slammed on the brakes barely missing an oncoming car as it swerved to a stop.
"Lost him again." Bill said slamming his hand on the dashboard.
"I see him! He's heading down Cumpston Street." Ralph said as he pointed towards the direction.
"Got it." Bill pressed the gas pedal with his foot as they headed towards Ralph's directions.
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The Diplomat parked near an abandoned warehouse. Bill and Ralph exited the car. Bill looked towards the car parked nearby that Foster drove. "I'll head on in. You get the suit on and come in." Bill said as he pulled out his gun and headed inside.
"Got it." Ralph said as he took off his coat and opened the trunk of the car. He looked over at the warehouse as he tossed his pants in the trunk and pulled up the suit's trunks as fast as he could. He reached for the tunic, still half in his dress shirt. He put his arm through the suit tunic.
"Don't move." a voice said behind Ralph.
"Slowly turn around." Ralph complied and saw Stanley Foster facing him with his gun pointed at him. Foster looked strangely at Ralph and the suit. "Either that's a bullet proof outfit or you're a weirdo."
"Sometimes I wonder that myself. Why don't we discuss that in just a second." Ralph said as he started to pull his dress shirt off the other arm.
"Oh, no you don't!" Foster said as he advanced towards Ralph. He grabbed Ralph's arm. Ralph tried to fight off but Foster didn't release his grip. Out of nowhere Foster swung his hand that was holding the gun and hit Ralph in the head with the handle.
Ralph, not fully in the suit tunic felt the effects of the blow and fell to the ground unconscious. As he hit the ground there was a muffled cracking sound. Several odd streams of mist floated from Ralph's shirt and into Ralph.
"Not so tough now are you, weirdo?" Foster said as he took his eyes off of Ralph and looked at the warehouse. "Now for your FBI pal." He walked toward the door leading into the warehouse.
Ralph started to stir a bit, he opened his eyes. A flash of red appeared in his eyes but turned back to the shade of blue his eyes were. He removed the dress shirt pulled the tunic over him and stood up.
"I assume this headache I have is your fault" He said in a strange voice as he stood up. Foster turned around to see Ralph standing there fastening his cape.
"How??" Foster said, shocked at how he regained consciousness so soon.
"Magic, of course." Ralph grinned as he grabbed Foster. Ralph punched Foster in the face knocking him out. Ralph then tossed him a few feet away. He then walked towards Foster and picked him up again. He looked at Foster who was still out cold and slammed him against a wall nearby making a few cracks in the wall. Ralph started to enjoy this and slammed Foster against the wall one more time, then looked at his hands as Foster fell to a heap. Ralph walked off looking at his hands.
"Ralph?" Bill said as he exited the warehouse, putting his gun in his shoulder holster. "I didn't spot Foster, did you find him?" he asked looking around for Ralph. "Ralph??" He didn't see any sign of Ralph, but he spotted Foster on the ground and went to him. He knelt down to examine him and looked at the damaged wall. "Geez Ralph, I wanted this guy but not that bad." he said to himself checking his pulse.
"You.." Ralph said looking at Bill.
Bill looked up as Ralph returned. "Yeah, me." he said as he stood up. "Kid, you're gonna have to work on the suit's powers some more. These guys are useless when they're knocked out and can't be questioned." He pointed to the wall. "I hope that was you crash landing into a billboard again and not sending Foster head first into the wall." He looked down at Foster. "You don't know your own strength!"
"Let's find out." Ralph said in a strange voice as he marched towards Bill.
"Huh?" Bill said looking at Ralph confused.
Ralph placed both hands in front of himself and gave Bill a shove, sending Bill flying twenty feet away hitting a wall behind him. Bill sagged against the wall unconscious.
Ralph looked at Bill lying there motionless and asked, "Mind if I borrow your car?" He then headed towards Bill's car.
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