(Now, for the rest of this story, I will be combining both of Tintin and Malina's sides to the story, in order to avoid any confusion for some readers. But if I do want to write a personal side as they're interacting with each other, I may add a little side to their story. But for now, they'll be interwoven together as the story goes. So for now, hope you enjoy reading this and the next few chapters. Hope you like it!)
The next morning, Tintin had woken up, bright and early. The night before, Tintin had made the phone call to Thompson and Thomson at Interpol to come help him with the case. Luckily, for him, they had both agreed to investigate the case and help Tintin. Tintin just had to know what the marked letters were trying to tell him; that was one of the biggest clues for him.
They were the letters marked on the newspaper.
Pulling himself out of bed, Tintin smiled. "This is it, Snowy," Tintin said, as his little dog stretched sleepily on his cushion. "Today, the Thompsons may provide me with answers about the marked letters on this newspaper." While pouring in some hot water for his tea, Tintin prepared some toast with marmalade.
"I can't believe it's today," Tintin said as he began eating. "Maybe the Thompsons will help me out with this case. And if they manage to find the answer to this clue, then I'll be this close to solving the Unicorn's mystery."
While looking at the newspaper he had retrieved in the foyer the night before, Tintin sipped his cup of tea dutifully as he spread more marmalade on his toast. After finishing up his toast, Tintin prepared himself some eggs, with a few cooked slices of ham. Enjoying his breakfast, Tintin held his head high. He certainly had pride in himself that he would eventually come closer to solving the mystery.
Having finally tucked into his breakfast, Tintin then headed for the bathroom and got the warm water started in the bathtub. Tintin thought it would be best to at least make himself look presentable. After taking off his pajamas and sitting in the bathtub, Tintin began scrubbing his face and arms as he was washing himself. It felt good to be clean.
A few minutes later, Tintin finally got out of the tub and began to dry himself as he went back to his room. He then dressed himself in his white button-up shirt, brown trousers, brownish-black socks, and brown shoes. Tintin then rolled up the sleeves as he put on his blue pullover. Tintin then took the opportunity to roll up the sleeves of his sweater.
Later that afternoon, Tintin sat on his armchair, waiting for the Thompsons to arrive. As Snowy was circling around Tintin's feet, Tintin got down to pat Snowy on the head. "They'll be here soon," Tintin told him. "I just know it."
As if on cue, Tintin heard a knock on his door. "Who could that be?" Tintin asked as he got up to answer the door. There, he found two familiar detectives at the door. "Thompson and Thomson!" Tintin said. "Come in!" "Pleasure to come here," Thompson said, his arm locked with Thomson's arm. "Precisely," Thomson said. as they both entered the flat, they both nearly tripped and fell face first.
"Are you two okay?" Tintin asked. "That's our job, Mr. Tintin," Thompson said, his head in a lampshade. "We're always front and center on the case!" "Yes we are, to be precise!" Thomson had added.
As they both got up, Thompson brushed the dust off of his jacket. "Now then," Thompson said, clearing his throat, "what exactly did you call us for, Mr. Tintin?" "To be precise, why did you want us to come here?" Thomson had asked Tintin. Tintin smiled and smoothed his pullover. "Well," Tintin said, "I have called you two here to investigate something I found." He then pulled out the newspaper he had retrieved the other day.
"Could you two please tell me what kind of clues are on this newspaper?" Tintin asked. "Hmmm, let's see here," Thompson said, taking the newspaper and examining the marked letters. He and Thompson both examined the newspaper for about a few more minutes, nodding their heads in intrigue. Then, after a while, Thompson delivered the paper back to Tintin.
"Now," Thompson asked, "may I ask ya where you got this here newspaper from?" "Well, some gentleman who was at the apartment carried it with him before he was shot to death," Tintin said. "He wore a blue suit, with a matching hat. And he had a mustache. And spoke with an American accent."
"Hmm, interesting," Thompson said, stroking his mustache. That was when he noted something familiar about the description of the gentleman that Tintin had described. "I bet we know who this victim you have described is," Thompson said. "You do?" Tintin asked.
Thomson then approached Tintin with the answer.
...
"The victim's name was Barnaby Dawes," Thomson answered. "He was one of the top agents at Interpol, but we haven't got a clue as to what he was working on." "Quite right, Thomson," Thompson said, pondering the situation. "We're completely clueless." Tintin, still holding the newspaper in his hands, already wanted an answer. "So," Tintin said, "Interpol doesn't have any other leads?"
"Steady on, Tintin," Thompson warned. "We're still filling out the paperwork." "Police work's not all glamour and guns. There's an awful lot of filing," Thomson boasted.
That's when it hit Tintin. Taking a pencil from the table, Tintin approached the Thompsons. "Well, I might have something for you," Tintin said. "Before he lost consciousness, Dawes tried to tell me something, and I think he was spelling out a word." Tintin then looked at the marked letters and wrote down the word in which they were trying to spell out.
"Let's see," Tintin mumbled, "B, O, U..." He then noticed the marked letters on the smaller headlines as he wrote them down. "D, J, A, N," Tintin said as he wrote those last four letters. Then, he held up the newspaper to read out what he had spelled.
"'Karaboudjan,'" Tintin read.
"Karaboudjan?" Thomson echoed as he took the newspaper from Tintin. "Does that mean anything to you?" Tintin asked, hoping he could finally get an answer. "Great Scotland Yard!" Thomson exclaimed. "That's extraordinary!" "What is?" Tintin asked eagerly. "Worthington's having a half-price sale on bowler hats!" Thomson said, smiling.
"Really, Thomson!" Thompson said, snatching the newspaper from Thomson. He was clearly not in the mood for such meager distraction. "This is hardly the time—" Thompson then found something that caught his eye. "Great Scotland Yard!" He exclaimed. "What is it?" Both Thomson and Tintin asked.
"Canes are half-price too!" Thompson said eagerly.
Tintin was now getting impatient. "Ugh, I give up," Tintin said, taking the newspaper form Thompson. "Are you going to take charge of this evidence or not?"
"Positively," Thomson said dutifully. "Never fear, Tintin. The evidence is safe with us!"
As Thomson was exiting the flat, he accidentally tripped on a cat that was grooming itself at the doorway. The cat then screeched as it felt its tail being stepped on. Thomson then slid and fell downstairs. The cat then scurried off down the stairs, just as Snowy was barking at the mischievous cat.
"Thomson!" Thompson called out. "Where are you?"
"Well, I'm already downstairs," Thomson said, still seated on the floor as his hat rolled downstairs next to him. "Do try to keep up."
...
The sky was now beginning to grow foggy just as the Thompsons were now leaving the building. "Wait!" Tintin called out. "Ah?" Thompson asked. "You dropped this," Tintin said, giving him the newspaper. "Good heavens, Thomson!" Thompson said, berating Thomson. "Look after the evidence, man." "Yes," Thomson said. "Sorry Thompson. My mind is on other things."
"Ah, yes," Thompson said. "Our light-fingered larcenist."
"Your what?" Tintin asked.
"The pickpocket," Thompson reminded Tintin. "Ah," Tintin said.
"He has no idea what's comin'," Thompson said, smiling.
Thomson then thought now would be the time to show Tintin something interesting. "Go on, Tintin," Thomson said, opening his jacket. "Take my wallet."
Tintin seemed hesitant, but he went right on and reached for Thomson's wallet. That was when he found something attached to the wallet, a sort of chain. Thomson smiled with pride. "Yes, industrial strength elastic," Thomson said. "Oh," Tintin said. "Very, uh...resourceful."
"On the contrary," Thomson said. "It was childishly simple." "Simply childish. I agree," Thompson said. Then they both tipped their hats. "Tintin," they both said. "Gentlemen," Tintin said as he bade them both farewell."
Tintin watched as the two detectives walked down the street. Suddenly, Snowy's ears pricked up. He began to walk down the street.
"Mind you, I expect he's miles away by now," Thomson told Thompson. "I presume you're referring to the pickpocket?" Thompson asked. "Yes. I mean, knowing we're just a few steps behind him," Thomson said.
Snowy gave a slight woof and began walking away from Tintin. "Hm?" Tintin asked. "Snowy, what is it, boy?" Tintin then began to follow Snowy as his little dog was prancing down the street. "What do you see?" Snowy sniffed around and noticed a man slowly walking toward the Thompsons' direction.
"I don't suppose you'd fancy a cup of tea?" Thompson asked. "You're quite mistaken," Thomson remarked. "I'd love one. My treat!"
At that moment, the man silently walked past Thomson, swiftly snatching up his wallet. As he tried to get away, he accidentally pulled Thomson by the jacket. That small chain attached to his wallet sure did work a little too well!
"Oooh!"
"I've got you now!" Thomson exclaimed as he tried to catch the culprit. The pickpocket then tried to escape as he let go of Thomson's wallet. Thomson then saw his wallet zoom back to him, hitting him in the face. "You, devil!" Thompson yelled out as he chased down the thief. "Stop, in the name of the law!"
Thompson managed to chase the thief down and snag him by the jacket. "Got you!" Thompson exclaimed. But the pickpocket managed to slip out of his jacket and escape. This left Thompson scurrying behind him, ultimately slamming face first into a lamppost.
From afar, Tintin had been watching the whole scene unfold. "What's going on down there?" Tintin asked Snowy. "Come on, Snowy." Tintin and Snowy then ran to assist the Thompsons. At that moment, Tintin bumped into the man they had been chasing. "Ooh!" The man exclaimed. "Sorry sir!" Tintin said. "Oh, I do beg your pardon!" The man said as he quietly slipped away. Tintin then approached Thompson, who was still on the sidewalk. "The pickpocket, Tintin!" Thompson managed to cry out. "He's getting away!"
At that moment, Tintin felt his back pocket and lost his breath. That pickpocket took his wallet!
"My wallet!" Tintin said under his breath. "It's gone!" He then turned to find the thief casually disappearing into the light fog in the streets. "Come on!" Tintin said, calling for Snowy. "Snowy, after him!" He then tried to flag down the thief. "Stop!" he exclaimed. "Wait!"
Tintin then ran into the streets, trying to pursue the pickpocket, nearly missing passing cars. Each car honked at Tintin as he was feverishly trying to catch the thief. With each new attempt, Tintin nearly got run over by each new passing car. Snowy was barking crazily. Tintin was just about to catch the thief until he felt a can hook him round his body. He then felt himself and Snowy being pulled out of the street.
"Gotcha!" Thompson said as he caught Tintin in his arms. "Steady on, now," Thomson said as he carried Snowy down after catching him. "I've lost him!" Tintin said. He then turned to the Thompsons. "You must find my wallet," Tintin told them. "It's very important. I have to get it back."
"And you will," Thompson said, smiling. "Leave it to the professionals."
...
Later on, Tintin and Snowy slowly returned back to the apartment building. "We've lost the scroll," Tintin said. "But we haven't lost our story." He then pondered the second clue he had found. "'Karaboudjan'...it's an Armenian word," Tintin said. "That's our lead, Snowy." Tintin then snapped his fingers. "What was Barnaby Dawes trying to tell us when he said our lives were in danger?"
As Tintin returned safely to the apartment building, Tintin tried to get inside, but was stopped by a burly man with a trench coat ad a black sailor hat. "Mr. Tin...Tin?" He asked. "Yes, that's me," Tintin said. "Delivery for ya," the man had told him. Tintin turned around and found two men, wearing red and blue sweaters, carrying a ridiculously large wooden crate to the doorway.
"But I didn't order anything," Tintin said.
"Well," the man behind him had said, "that's because it's YOU getting delivered!"
Tintin suddenly felt a large hand plastering a chloroform-laced cloth over his mouth. Tintin struggled to escape, but immediately blacked out the second the smell of the cloth hit his face. The two men then grabbed Tintin and stuffed him in the wooden crate, which read "Bound for Karaboudjan". "Quick! Get him in the van!" The man in the trench coat ordered.
Snowy began barking angrily as the men loaded the crate onto the van. Snowy then noticed the man in the trench coat and immediately bit his ankle in fury. "Agh!" The man exclaimed, crying out in pain. "Get off me, you confounded mutt!" But Snowy still sank his jaws into his ankle. "He bit me!" The man exclaimed. He then shook off Snowy, throwing him inside. He then climbed into the van as he drove off.
Snowy then shook the dirt off his fur as he made a break for Tintin's apartment flat, the door unlocked. Snowy then pounced out from the open window, barking as he chased down the moving vehicle. Trying to avoid collision with passing cars, Snowy then hopped on the basket carriage of a passing bicycle. Snowy then found the red van and immediately sprung forward, landing on a passing fire truck.
Soon, the van had slowed to a halt at a stop nearby. The fire truck also paused abruptly, causing the ladder on top to move forward...with Snowy on it! Snowy hung on to the ladder, his legs dangling below him.
From inside the van, the two goons found a pair of furry legs in front of the windshield. "Huh?" The man in the red sweater asked. As soon as the fire truck had bumped into the van to get it to move, Snowy fell flat on the hood of the van. "Oh!" The two goons said, gasping. "Quick, get him off!" The man in the trench coat shouted from behind. "Shake him off! And run him over after!"
The van then began swerving in different directions, trying to get Snowy to fall off. It eventually succeeded, as Snowy fell to the street, landing on his feet. Snowy then pouted as the van took off. Luckily, Snowy caught a passing bicycle with a carriage in the back. Snowy then hopped on to the carriage as the vehicle was making its way toward the docks.
Meanwhile, the goons had made it to the docks. "I want this on the starboard side! Quickly!" The man had ordered. His minons agreed and loaded the crate on the dolly.
Soon enough, Snowy had made it to the docks. Hopping off the carriage, Snowy found the van heading straight for the deck. Snowy barked as he tried to pounce toward its direction. Snowy missed and fell into the middle of a heard of cows. Snowy was still determined, so he ran toward the deck, while arousing the surprise of many cows. Snowy then barked as the ship was preparing to disembark.
Snowy caught the ship in time and launched himself from the deck, landing on the anchor of the ship as it sailed away from the docks and towards the unknown destination.
