When Exposés Attack (The Conclusion!)
When Exposés Attack
The Conclusion: "The Truth Shall
Set You Free…"
Angie was
unsure of what to do, since there was a hungry homeless man standing at
the front door of the Magic Express, which was in lockdown mode after Ace
had ordered her to stay home to calm herself from being angry earlier.
"Angel,"
the young magician called out.
The holographic
dodecahedron appeared in front of her. "Yes, Angie?"
"I know
I'm still in lockdown here, but…I can't leave someone out there to starve.
Is there any way you can just unlock the front door so I can at least tell?"
"Why not
use the intercom? It's next to the front door."
"Okay,
patch me through by intercom." After the connection was established,
Angie spoke to him. "Excuse me, do you need something to eat?"
"Yes, I
do," the gentleman said in panting breath. "I haven't been able to
get anything to eat in the last few hours, and I'm famished."
Angie looked
at Angel. "Um, what do you think?"
"He appears
to be truthful."
"Angel,
can you please unlock only the front door? I'll feel guilty if I
don't at least give him a decent meal."
Angel could
understand Angie's integrity. "Very well. I will open the door
for him to come in."
"Thanks."
She went
to the door and waited for it to open.
As soon
as it did so, she saw the hungry man. "You look famished,"
she said in concern. "Please come in. I should have something
good you can eat."
The homeless
man, actually on-the-run reporter Duke Paparazzo in disguise, entered the
Magic Express for only the second time. Man, I remember how much
trouble I caused the first time, but this is gonna take the cake.
I'm going to be fed by the person I did the exposé on. This
is soooo embarrassing.
They went
to the kitchen, where he took a seat at the table while Angie looked in
the refrigerator to find the leftovers from the previous night's dinner.
"Give me
a couple of minutes to warm it up. It's steamed broccoli with chicken
pasta. I cooked it last night, but it should be pretty good still."
After a
short time in the microwave, Angie gave the food to the hungry man.
"There you go."
He took
a few bites and was surprised at how good it really was. "Mmm, this
is delicious," he said happily. "Not even the Scorpio Club could
serve this up."
She looked
at him very strangely. "The Scorpio Club? How could
you afford to eat there?"
"Oh, um,
I mean, I saw an ad for the club on a TV set in a repair shop." Good
grief! I nearly gave myself away! If she ever knew it was me,
she'd probably kill me with her magic. He then noticed there
was no one else. "Say, you here by yourself?"
"For the
time being, yes. I've been a bit angry, and I needed some time alone
to cool myself down."
Great,
he thought sarcastically, tension really is building up between her
and Cooper, and I don't have anything to tape the damn story with!!
I'll never get the scoop of the century now!
"Ace was
right to keep me out of the game. I let my anger for Duke Paparazzo
cloud me completely. I was so blinded by the thought that all I wanted
was revenge on him for doing that exposé on me. However, in
a way, maybe the exposé has done a little good for me, too."
She
thinks there was something good out of this? "What do you mean?"
"The people
who do not know me very well have perceived me as some sort of 'sugared
sweetheart' magician, a girl who never gets angry or does wrong.
It's like I've become more than human in their eyes. Only
thing is, I'm just as much a human being as the next person, and I have
emotions like anger and sadness. Maybe…maybe I need to let the world
know I really am a human being."
The disguised
reporter was surprised. "So, most people think you're only a sweetheart,
and you don't like that?"
"No, I
don't like it. Also, the building lynch mob going after Paparazzo
now. They're blinded to get even with him because of what he did
to me. I understand now that doing something like that will make
them just as bad or even worse than him. I don't like what he did,
but I don't want him to get hurt, either. He was trying to do his
job, even though what he did was completely unethical. If he concentrated
on the yacht situation instead of getting even with me, he'd probably have
the best story of the year. Besides, I know how to get even with
him without having to resort to violence."
"Really?
How?"
"If I find
him, all I want is a public apology in front of everyone."
The
hell she'll get one from me, he thought. No way I'm going
to say I'm sorry for what I did. "You think you can find him?"
"I would
like to find him before the lynch mob does first."
He finally
felt full from the meal he was given. "Thank you, Miss. That
was very thoughtful of you to do this for me."
"Last thing
I want to see is somebody starve, especially someone who can't afford to
eat a decent meal."
He stood
up and asked, "Um, could I stay here for now?"
Angie sadly
said, "I'm sorry, but if Ace discovered you here, he wouldn't be too pleased.
No offense or anything."
The gentleman
smiled and said, "I understand, Miss. I hope things work out all
right for you and your friend."
"Thanks.
I'll show you to the door."
As he stepped
out the door, he said, "I appreciate the meal, Miss. Thanks again."
"You're
welcome. Take care of yourself."
The door
closed, and Angie felt satisfied with what she did. "Well, another
good deed done. I just wish people could understand just how human
I am."
Meanwhile,
Ace and Cosmo had been captured by a mechanical genius who wanted revenge
for being fired from jobs by various people. Helen Michaels was visited
by the pair at her home, where they revealed the truth about her sabotaging
yachts owned by some of the most prominent people in Electro City.
She had
used her know-how to entrap the pair in her specially built recliner and
sofa and rendered them unconscious when she put knockout drops in their
glasses of water.
At least
30 minutes had passed since the Magician and his longtime partner became
imprisoned.
The two
were finally awakened by the sound of foghorn from a nearby ship.
"Wha—what
happened?" asked Ace. "Where are we?"
"Don't…don't
know, dude," Cosmo groggily answered. "I thought we were at somebody's
house."
"You were,
brat," said the angry voice of their captor, Helen Michaels. "You
were at my house, trying to get me to confess to the sabotage of the yachts
belonging to all those wealthy jerks. Okay, I admit, I decided to
use my job at the boat company to get my revenge. I was soooo pleased
when I got the chance to, um, help in putting the specially designed yachts
together. Of course, my idea of helping was to make sure the brake
lines were singed just enough to make sure slowing down would not be so
simple. Also, I made sure the steering mechanism would fail as well.
"Unfortunately,
all the people survived their accidents, and that…other stupid magician
decided to keep my father's partner's boat intact, which could easily lead
the cops to the company, which then would trace back to me. I can't
have them finding me with the evidence. That also means I can't let
you two get out alive so you can spill me over to the police. Believe
me, I have every intention of getting away with this, and neither of you
can stop me!"
Ace was
unable to concentrate with his magic because the knockout drops were still
affecting him. This is serious. If we don't stop her right
now, she could go after her own father next. Angie, for your sake
and ours, I hope you've cooled off in time. He then closed his
eyes and did his best to reach out to his kindred sister.
Back at
the Magic Express, Angie enjoyed some television to get her mind off the
exposé situation. "Nothing like an episode of Space Goofs
to keep me laughing through this mess."
She continued
watching in content when she suddenly felt something powerful within herself.
"Ahhhh!" she screamed while holding her head in confusion.
"What's…going on?"
Kindred
sister, Angie heard from Ace inside her heart, we need you.
Please help us.
Closing
her eyes, she concentrated to see where Ace and Cosmo were, she not knowing
her light-blue aura luminated around her body. In a matter of seconds,
she could "see" where her friends were in danger. "The Grand Canal…which
old building, though?" She then noticed a large painted wolf's face
on the inside of one building and was soon able to see Ace. "Wait…I
know that place. Cosmo told me about it once. It was the headquarters
of Sonny Boy's Company of Wolves group. That must be where they are!"
Angie then called out, "Angel!"
"Yes, Angie?"
the computer noted in its holographic form.
"This may
be a bit much to ask, but I need you to lift the total lockdown.
Ace and Cosmo are in trouble, and they need me right now."
"Normally,"
the AI stated, "only Ace would have the authority to tell me to do so.
However, I know you're telling the truth."
"You do?
How? For all purposes, I could be lying to you."
"Yes, but
your aura was glowing. If you were faking it, your aura would not
have shone so brightly. I will lift the lockdown now."
Angie smiled
at the dodecahedron. "Thank you, Angel. I'll repay you for
this, I promise."
As soon
as she reached the garage, she wasted no time changing into her proper
attire. "Magic Force, reveal the power within!"
Grabbing
the helmet, she jumped onto the Magic Bike and quickly took off to rescue
her friends.
On the
way, she contacted Vega to let him know what was happening. "I know
you're busy trying to stop that Paparazzo lynch mob, but is there any way
you can get some units out to the old warehouse where the old Company of
Wolves used to meet?"
In his
car, Vega became curious about the situation. "I don't get it.
What's going on?"
"Ace and
Cosmo found the saboteur, but they're prisoners in that warehouse right
now. Can you get officers out there ASAP?"
"I'll try,
but I can't make any promises."
"I understand.
Right now I've got to reach the guys before it's too late for them."
"Angie,"
Vega said sternly at first before becoming much calmer, "be careful."
He then changed frequencies on his radio. "All available units not
watching for the lynch mob need to get over to the old Company of Wolves
warehouse on the Grand Canal. Possible trouble."
In a matter
of minutes, Angie arrived at the old warehouse and could immediately sense
the Magician's presence. Hang on, guys. She then levitated
herself up to an open window and floated in.
Down below,
Helen was completely determined to get her way. "All the changes
I had in mind would be perfect, but those stupid idiots wanted tests and
an approval process. Once you're out of the way, I'll get back at
my father for firing me!"
The female
magician stood up and shouted, "Let them go, now!"
Helen looked
up and was completely surprised. "You! I didn't think
you would dare show your face in public after that exposé on you."
"You think
a phoney exposé was going to stop me from helping my friends?
You'd better think again, loser!"
Looking
up, Ace noticed his kindred sister and smiled. Welcome back, Angie.
Thanks,
Ace. I'm back, much calmer, and most definitely battle-ready now.
Helen,
though, did not listen to Angie's words. "Ha! You're the loser
here. You're no match for my mechanical genius!" She then pressed
a button which shot flames out towards the young magician.
Ducking
underneath in time, Angie thought to herself, She's a tough one, but
she's like what I was a couple of hours ago. I've got to take advantage
of her thirst for revenge. A hologram should do the trick.
Closing her eyes to concentrate and focus her holographic image of herself,
she was able to make one appear near a series of crates, about 45 feet
away from where Helen was standing.
"Hey, lady,"
said the holographic Angie. "I'm over here!"
"Wha—How'd
you get down here so fast!?"
"Come and
get me, loser!"
"You will
not
call me loser again!" Helen then ran after the hologram.
Standing
back up, the real Angie noticed the saboteur chasing the illusion.
"Now's my chance to free them," she whispered.
Making
a total of four steel cards appear, she threw them in a crisscross manner,
which caused the cards to cut the steel arms and claws to free Ace and
Cosmo, who landed safely on the ground below.
Angie made
a long jump down to meet up with her friends. "You guys okay?"
"Yeah,"
said a happy Cosmo. "We're just glad to see you a lot better."
"So am
I," added Ace. "You showed up just in time."
Helen tried
to grab the holographic Angie when she noticed her hand went right through
it. "No…is it?"
"Ha-ha-ha,"
said the hologram. "You've been tricked! Bye!" She then
abruptly vanished without a trace.
The mechanical
wizard returned to the main area of action when she noticed the gentlemen
free and all three friends together. "How dare you try to escape
from me!" She then took another remote from her pocket. "Let's
see if you can handle this!"
As the
ground shook from underneath them, a giant 15-foot robot emerged.
Cosmo asked,
"What the heck is that?"
"This was
supposed to be what I would be using in the Lehman Boat Manufacturing plant,
and I could have easily become the CEO of the company with this machine.
Now I'll use it to kill all of you!" Pressing a few buttons,
she yelled, "Get them all, my creation!"
The robot
quickly started approaching the threesome.
Angie turned
to Cosmo. "Got anything to jam the signal?"
"I dunno."
He then turned on his wristwatch radio. "Angel, can you scramble
the signal between Helen's remote and the robot?"
"I can
try." She then sent a signal through the wristwatch to hopefully
foul the controls.
Helen,
though, just laughed wickedly. "You think you're going to stop me
with your funny little jamming signal? I have a special system in
my remote which can jam the jammer! Face it, you're finished!"
As the
robot came closer to them, Angie thought, Ace, we need to bring
our powers together, but there's not enough time for you to get into your
costume.
Don't
worry, Angie. With our psychic bond growing stronger, I won't need
it this time. Give me your hands, quick.
Clasping
hands immediately, they could feel their hearts and minds coming together
once more. "Magic Force, unite our powers!"
As Ace's
violet aura and Angie's light-blue aura illuminated brightly, their magical
powers joined together and created a bright white light.
"Angie,
let's give this thing a power surge for the ages."
"Sounds
like a plan to me."
Ace put
out his right hand; Angie did the same with the opposite hand.
"Ready?"
asked the Magician.
"You bet.
Ready…set…fire!"
From each
hand came an incredible surge of electricity aimed directly at the heart
of the robot.
The robot
was unable to handle the electrical overload and shorted out in a matter
of seconds, causing it to fall to the ground and become completely useless.
As their
hands lost the glow, the two magicians smiled at each other.
"Good work,
Angie."
"Thanks,
Ace, I—"
Helen suddenly
grabbed Angie by the throat and viciously put her back against the wall.
"You stupid little jerk! You destroyed my best creation! I'll
kill
you, brat! Revenge will be mine!"
Although
she struggled for air, Angie looked at her and said, "You…think you'll
get away with this?"
"I know
I will get away with this! I will ruin my father for his firing me!
I have what it takes to destroy him after he destroyed me!"
"I'm not…so
sure of that, Helen. I'm afraid you've made one very big mistake."
"No, I
am a genius! Geniuses never make mistakes."
"Oh, no?
If you think…you're so smart, then why are you concentrating on my throat…instead
of my hands?"
Angie's
face grew angry as she quickly threw her hands forward and used her powers
not only to get Helen off her throat but also to make her fly a good 20
feet across the room.
The genius
landed hard on the ground, but as she tried to take off, Ace threw his
cape around her and had her completely tied up as she fell to the floor
again.
As Angie
coughed a little bit, Ace and Cosmo ran up to check on her.
"You okay,
Angie?" Cosmo asked.
"Yeah…a
little winded, but I'll live."
"Man, that
was a smooth move you did on her."
"Well,
she acted the way I did earlier, being blinded with a quest for revenge.
I just took advantage of her critical mistake when she tried to strangle
me instead of keeping me from using my magic."
Ace smiled
at her and said, "Smart call, Angie. You took control of yourself
again."
"Yeah,
but I couldn't have done that if you hadn't done the lockdown on me earlier.
I'm grateful you did, because I realized if I had come with you in my angry
state, I could have easily have gotten us all killed."
"Maybe,
maybe not." Ace kneeled down to her and held her shoulders.
"The important thing to remember is being angry is a normal emotion, but
not when you allow it to take control of your life and blind your ability
to judge right from wrong."
"Yeah,
and I almost let it, too. Thanks for stopping me the way you did."
As the
three got into a group hug, Captain Friedrichs and about 15 police officers
showed up at the warehouse.
"I didn't
think we'd be back here again," he said, "not after what happened last
time."
Ace, Cosmo,
and Angie all walked up with the tied up Helen Michaels.
"Vega sent
a number of units out here, but for what?"
Angie came
up and answered, "Captain, meet the saboteur of all the yachts, Helen Michaels."
"She did
it all by herself?"
"That's
right. Check with the employment agency, and they should tell you
the people who fired her all match the intended victims of the yacht sabotage."
"I see.
I don't understand why she worked in the Lehman Company, though."
"It's simple,"
Ace answered. "Since she could get to work on custom-built boats,
it was the perfect excuse for her to get revenge on everybody."
"Well,
I guess that would be a reasonable MO for her."
"You guess?"
said a gentleman who walked up. "I knew my daughter didn't like me
for firing her, but I never thought she would try this."
Angie realized
who the gentleman was. "Carson Michaels?"
"Yes.
I'm now the CEO of the Sawyers Linen Company. My retired partner's
yacht—"
"I know.
That was the key to unlocking the case. I'm sorry it was your daughter
who did all this."
Mr. Michaels
then stared angrily at Helen. "How could you do this to me?
You graduated from MIT, yet you wanted to get even with everyone who terminated
you."
Ace then
added, "She had you as her next target."
"Why?"
"Because,"
begun the angry answer of his daughter, "you didn't want me to do anything
without 'trial runs' or the 'approval process,' so I had to do this to
make you listen to me."
"Helen,
if you were only patient, we would have given you the chance to field test
your robot knowledge and then a trial run to see if it were effective to
use. You can't force your way anywhere. That's why you lost
all your jobs. You thought your mechanical genius would get you wherever
you wanted, but now it's going to send you to jail."
Friedrichs
said, "Men, take Miss Michaels away and read her rights." As Helen
was escorted to the police car, he then looked at Angie. "I'm surprised
you came along, Miss Jacobs. I figured you wouldn't come out of the
Magic Express because of—"
"Do I have
to explain this again?" Angie asked as she became annoyed. "I am
not going to let an exposé done on me stop me from doing what matters
the most. Can we please stop discussing this?"
"Leave
her alone, Friedrichs," Cosmo angrily said. "The truth's gonna come
out about her, and you'll be surprised about it."
Just then,
someone's police radio was putting out this message: "The lynch mob
has apparently changed targets. Instead of Paparazzo, they're after
a homeless gentleman with straight black hair and blue eyes."
Angie gasped
in fear because she remembered that gentleman. "Oh, no."
"What's
wrong, Angie?" Ace asked in worry.
"Ace, there's
something I need to tell you. While you were away, a homeless man
came to the Express. He was very hungry, and I couldn't leave him
outside to starve to death, so I…"
"Let me
guess, this is the homeless gentleman, right?"
Angie put
her face down in shame. "Yes. I'm sorry, Ace."
Holding
her in a calm embrace, he said, "It's okay. If we were in different
positions, I would have done the same thing."
Just then,
Angel spoke into the radio wristwatches of all three friends. "I
have some important information for all of you. Angie, remember that
homeless man you assisted?"
"Yeah,
why?"
"Take a
look at this." She projected an image of the homeless man and Paparazzo.
"Do you notice the facial features?"
Angie could
not believe her eyes. "Oh, my God…the homeless man I helped was really
Duke
Paparazzo in disguise! That mob doesn't know they're actually
getting closer to Paparazzo than they think! I've got to do something!"
She then ran off.
"Wait,"
Ace yelled, "you shouldn't—"
Don't
worry, Ace, she thought to him, I know what to do this time.
Just trust me.
Using the
psychic bond, he realized Angie was being truthful. I do trust
you, kindred sister. Make sure he doesn't get hurt too badly.
The homeless
man had gotten closer to being caught by that mob when he ran into an alley.
Unfortunately, that alley was nothing more than a dead end, and he soon
found himself completely trapped. Oh, no, there's no way out.
I'm dead!
The lady
leading the group started to approach him. "Okay, pal, you'd better
tell us where Paparazzo is right now!"
"I don't
know where he is right now," he said in fear.
"Then how
did you get his wallet? You do know where he's hiding, so
tell us now, or we'll force it out of you! He'll pay for what he's
done to Angie!"
"I'm telling
you, I don't know!"
"Come on,
everybody, let's get him, and then he'll tell the truth!"
As the
mob inched closer toward him, a voice from above shouted, "STOP!"
The 300
or so people halted immediately and looked up at the top of the building.
One of
the
gentlemen in the mob yelled, "It's Angie!"
The female
magician, still in her crimefighting costume, levitated down to just in
front of the homeless man. "Please, don't do this."
"But, he
knows where that maniac Paparazzo is hiding! We're going to take
him down!"
"I've got
news for all of you. You've already found him. Who has his
wallet?"
"I do,"
the woman answered. "Why?"
"Take out
his driver's license and look carefully at the facial features between
the photo and this man here."
The lady
took out the license and did a close examination. "I don't believe
it…he looks just like Paparazzo."
Using her
magic, Angie changed the homeless man's hair from straight black into the
standard curled blond the reporter would always have. "That's because
he is Paparazzo."
The entire
group gasped in surprise.
"He had
to make the disguise when he realized you were all after him."
"Well,
at least now things are easier for us," said the lady angrily.
"What do
you mean? Do you intend on harming him?"
"For what
he did to you, you bet."
Angie put
her arms to the sides as she stood in front of Paparazzo. "No, please.
Don't hurt him."
One of
the men was very surprised. "Why not? Don't you understand
what he's done to you?"
"Of course
I do. However, I also understand trying to get revenge would have
made just as bad or even worse than Paparazzo himself, and I almost did,
too." Tears began to come from her eyes. "The problem is, a
lot of people have thought of me as this…sugar-coated sweetie who never
gets angry or does anything wrong…like I've become more than human.
The fact of the matter: I'm just as human as the next person, and
I have a right to feel any emotion, including anger, sadness, everything.
You've only seen all the good deeds I've done, not the real me.
Only those closest to me know who I really am."
The lady
understood the young magician's words. She turned to the crowd and
said, "You know…Angie's right. I guess I thought of her as
a 'perfect' person, and then when Paparazzo did that exposé, I wanted
so badly to get back at him because he wanted desperately to make her imperfect."
"Let's
face facts," Angie said, "nobody's perfect. I know I'm not perfect,
and I don't expect myself to be perfect. But, please, I beg all of
you not to harm him. I mean, I'm angry about what he did to me, but
he's a human being, too. Getting revenge for what he did will not
make you feel better. All it's going to do is blind your ability
to tell what's right from what's wrong."
"I should
know about that," said a male voice behind the crowd. "When your
blinded by vengeance, it leads to nothing but trouble."
As the
gentleman came forward and stood by Angie, he stood about 6'4" tall, with
brown hair and brown eyes. "What Paparazzo did to this young woman
was wrong, but I know you folks aren't the types who go out and form a
lynch mob against him. It's like she just said, not too many people
know who she really is."
"Yeah,"
said one of the men in the mob. "I guess all we've seen is Angie's
goodhearted side, not the real person she is."
In the
midst of the conversation, Paparazzo tried to slip away from the scene,
but Angie's sensitive ears caught onto it immediately.
"Hold it,
Paparazzo," said Angie, using her magic to freeze him in place. After
she turned him to face her, she angrily said, "Just because I saved your
skin does not get you off the hook from me. You almost destroyed
my life because of what you did."
"What…what…what
do you want from me?" the reporter asked in fear.
"All I
want from you…is a public apology. I want you to completely recant
your exposé and say you're sorry to me in front of everybody."
Another
gentleman yelled, "You're going to get your chance, Miss Jacobs."
"Mr. Wilders?"
He and
Kendra Rayler came through the crowd.
"Angie,
I'm going to see to it you get your public apology as of tonight."
He then looked at the crowd. "Everybody, you're all invited to the
Sensa-News Studio, on me, for tonight's show."
The crowd
was pleased with the studio head's decision.
"Oh, and
Angie, Carrie Jones sent us the video disk of your real story, but we want
you to see it first. Is that okay with you?"
"Sure,
but let's see it in the Magic Express."
"You got
it." He looked at the crowd one more time and said, "Everyone, go
home and get ready for tonight. I promise, this is one you will not
soon forget."
The crowd
quickly dispersed to prepare for an unforgettable evening.
"Um," started
a very nervous Paparazzo, "can I go home now?"
Wilders
looked at him and said, "Yes, Duke, you can…so you can gather up all the
copies of your exposé. I noticed under Schoendorf you had
at least 10 copies of exposés, so you can bring them all to the
studio tonight. I'm going to your house personally to see you do
that. Kendra, I want you to go with Angie to the Express and show
her what we did."
"Sure thing."
The other
gentleman then asked, "Um, Miss Jacobs, would you mind if I come, too?"
"Well,
I don't know…"
"I'm an
old friend of Ace's, really."
"Oh, okay.
I don't see why not." She then spoke into her wristwatch radio.
"Ace, situation's under control. Meet me at the Magic. Real
story's arrived, and a friend of yours is coming, too."
"Great,
Angie. See you at home."
Before
they left, though, Angie had one more thing to say to Paparazzo.
She angrily said, "I'm going to warn you right now. If you ever try
this on me, or anyone close to me, ever again, you can bet I will get you,
and only you, with a libel and slander lawsuit so hard you won't
be able to keep your job."
"Ha, you
don't even know what libel and slander mean."
"Oh, really?
I graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal
Arts, specializing in Mass Communications. One of the required courses
was Media Law and Ethics. I do know what they mean, since
they're concurrent with each other. When used together, you're deliberately
out to destroy someone's reputation by printing or broadcasting complete
lies." After seeing him gulp in surprise, she added, "I can't wait
for tonight."
With that,
she left the scene, satisfied she was able to prevent anyone from getting
hurt in all the insanity.
A half-an-hour
later, Kendra, Angie, and the gentleman all returned to the Express safely.
Ace was
happy to see his kindred sister. "Angie, you did it. You were
able to prevent the crowd from hurting Paparazzo before it was too late."
He then noticed the gentleman. "I don't believe it…Gus?"
"Hi, Ace.
It's good to see you again, under more pleasant circumstances this time."
The two
gentlemen shook hands in happy greetings.
"Hey, Gus,
good to see you again," said Cosmo as he shook hands with the gentleman.
"Wait…you
all know each other?" asked a confused Angie.
Ace smiled.
"Yes, we do. Angie, this is my friend Gus Moreland. We were
in Black Jack's gang in the past."
"Oh, okay.
I wasn't sure, but Mr. Moreland—"
"Please,
just call me Gus."
"Anyway,
Gus, how do you know so much about blind vengeance?"
"It's a
long story…"
For the
next hour, Ace, Gus, and Cosmo explained the details about the time in
the gang, the time Gus was trapped in one of the security systems and left
for dead, his coming back to life in the Cryogenic Center and causing all
kinds of trouble in Electro City, all for seeking revenge on Ace for abandoning
him during a job and Jack Malone for leaving him behind after the botched
robbery attempt.
"Wow,"
said Angie, "I can see why you know about revenge first-hand. I almost
went down the same path."
Kendra
heard everything between the four, but since she did not carry a hidden
microphone or bugging device, she agreed to keep everything off the record.
"Now, want to see the story?"
"You bet
I do," said Angie excitedly.
After 15
minutes of watching, Angie unquestionably liked what Carrie had done.
"It's perfect. This will show people I'm human, too."
"Great.
We'll see you at the show tonight, then."
"I'll be
there. Thanks, Kendra." She then turned to Gus. "Um,
Gus, do you have any dinner plans right now?"
"Nah, I'm
just ordering take-out."
"Please,
have chicken chow mein with us."
"Take-out?"
Ace shook
his head. "Nope, Angie's cooking it."
"She cooks?"
"Yes.
And, I need to warn you, Gus. The food she cooks is very addictive."