"I think it's angry," Sophie said. They were now in Washington D.C. She and Tess were standing, looking at a capybara. Vance and Leigh were somewhere else. But they didn't want to run. Not just yet.
"What makes you say that?" Tess asked.
"Well, it's giving us the 'Death Glare'," Sophie pointed out.
"Oh."
Just then, it started moving towards them.
"Oh, look! It's coming over to say hi," Tess squealed excitedly.
The capybara came over to the railing where Tess and Sophie were standing.
"Hi, there, little guy," Tess cooed. "You're so cute!"
And then it sneezed.
"Eww! Gross! Tess shouted. She had capybara snot all over her pants.
"You're not so cute, you little ugly-ass rodent…" she grumbled, trying to wipe her pants off.
It walked back to the other end of its pen.
"I don't think it likes you very much," Sophie said with a smirk.
"Shut up."
Just then Vance appeared at Tess's side.
"Ew. What happened to your pants?"
"Don't ask," Tess grumbled. Sophie let out a small giggle, and Tess shot her a lethal look.
"Come on," Vance said. "We're going somewhere else. Move."
Tess and Sophie followed Vance away form the capybara.
"Where's Teabing?" Tess asked, hurrying to keep up with Vance.
"He's doing something right now," Vance said flatly, indicating that the topic was not up for discussion.
"Oh,' Tess said, "He's…"
"No," Vance said, stopping to look at Tess. She and Sophie giggled.
"How did I get stuck babysitting you?"
"Well, you don't hit us in the head with crutches,' Sophie pointed out. She and Tess exchanged smiles.
"Ha, ha," Vance said. His gaze had turned cold now.
"But we like you better," Tess said. "You're not so mean."
Vance just gave her an exasperated look before saying, "Look, we have to go now. Come on."
"But we want to see the elephants," Sophie said.
"No. Anything but the elephants," Vance said sharply. "Now, stop this. It's creeping me out. Why have you taken a sudden liking to me anyway?"
"We're bored," Sophie said. "And hungry." She and Tess smiled again.
"Will you stop this if I take you to go see the hippo?"
"You mean the grossly overweight one-ton hippo?" Tess chimed in.
"Yes," Vance sighed. "The grossly overweight one-ton hippo."
Sophie and Tess laughed, and Vance shook his head. Then they started walking off towards the hippo.
"I think it's kind of cute," Sophie said, when they were standing in front of the hippo pen.
"You think everything's cute, Sophie,' Tess pointed out. They both laughed.
"Sometimes you two are more like small children than adults," Vance said. Sophie and Tess both threw him a nasty look. "I'll be right back," he said. "Don't go anywhere, understand?"
"Yes, sir," Tess said mockingly.
"Come on, Tess. I'm just trying to do my job."
"Oh, and your job includes kidnap, riddles, being dragged across Europe and North America, keeping us away from loved ones, and pulling us out of our normal lives so that you can go on a treasure hunt?" Tess huffed.
Vance just looked at her before walking away.
Meanwhile, Robert and Sean had just entered the zoo.
"Where do we go from here?" Sean asked.
"Um, maybe somewhere near the giraffes or the elephants," Robert suggested. "I mean, that's what the note said, after all."
They started off at a fast paced walk down the path.
And then Robert saw them
"Sophie!" he screamed over the din of the crowd. "Sophie!"
But she didn't hear him.
They started to run towards Sophie and Tess; pushing people roughly aside, trying to get closer.
"Sophie!" Robert screamed again. His voice was starting to crack. Finally, they were about to be reunited.
Upon seeing Tess, Sean found new energy, and charged forward, passing Robert. He had to reach her; he just had to.
Sophie turned. Was someone calling her name?
"What are you looking at?" Tess asked, turning in the direction that Sophie was staring in.
Tess noticed that some men were pushing their way through the crowds behind them. They probably just robbed the gift shop, she thought.
And then their eyes met.
"Sean!" Tess screamed.
Vance whirled around. To his horror, he saw Robert Langdon and Sean Reilly charging full speed in his direction.
"God damnit!" he swore loudly, causing some old ladies walking near them to turn and stare at him.
He grabbed Tess and Sophie roughly by the arms, and started to drag them forward.
"Let go of me!" Tess screamed, causing even more stares from passersby. "Let me go!"
Vance reached into his coat and pulled out a gun. Putting it to Sophie's head, he hissed, "Run, and I will shoot you. I don't care if all these people see me. I'll shoot. I mean it."
Suddenly, in one swift, fluid movement, Tess reached down with her head, and bit Vance on the hand.
"Son of a bitch!" he yelped, releasing his grip on the two women. He dropped the gun, and clutched at his hand, which was bleeding.
Sophie and Tess saw their window of opportunity, and bolted
"Come back!" Vance screamed over the crowd, but it was too late.
Tess could no longer see Sean. She and Sophie continued to run back in the direction that they had just come from. And, hopefully, towards Sean and Robert.
Suddenly Sophie noticed that people were screaming, and running in the other direction.
And then she saw why.
"Oh, shit."
Author's Notes: Sorry it's been so long since I've last updated. Again, totally sorry. I've been really busy with school and sports, and I haven't had a lot of time to write. Just a quick note: the capybara part was a true story. My pants are still scared to this day. Capybara snot does NOT come off easy.