12.
"So why Paris?" Scam asked as he bit into a particularly juicy apple. It sprang from the fruit and ran across is shirt, staining what was a rather beautiful spy suit.
"Say it don't spray it Tim," Sam called from the other side of the plane, one eye piloting, the other watching through the cameras the interaction between her friends and lover. She trusted them! Totally! But … Clover seemed out for blood and Scam was the best candidate. Sam pressed the autopilot button, determined to mediate things until she felt more secure. Who would win a true super spy fight between Scam and Clover? No gadgets, just brawn. She couldn't know … both would get really hurt though.
She sat beside Alex, giving her young friend a knowing smile. Surely she and Alex would have to bet on it sometime soon!
"It's Helga's stupid riddle." Alex said
"If you can even call it that!" Clover interrupted, "With all those hours behind bars you'd think she'd read a book or two!' They stared at her. "Oh come on," she hissed, "If you honestly think my hacking skills are just luck, then I pity your future kids."
Too true. The on the spot hacking, calculating and other code breaking wasn't instinct. Sam felt at her underestimation (or was it overestimation?) of her friend. Clover had always (sometimes) pulled her weight on missions. Especially in hacking. Sam couldn't say the blond was better than her, but close!
'Anyway," alex resumed, "Second clue is their language's "step" or "not", and the second half is their "laugh." If she thinks to stall us over it, then she is way more stupid than I thought"
Scam ruminated for a moment, the girls unknowingly all timing him to see how long it would take. He raised his eyebrows in realization.
"Right!" Alex exclaimed, "we are glamorous international secret agents. Duh we speak like 5 languages!"
Clover silently counted them on her finger. English, French, Spanish .. a little Mandarin and Italian. Alex spoke German instead of Mandarin, and Sam spoke all of them. It was rusty of course, and enough to get by. But it was still enough.
"So yeah," Alex continued, " Paris. "Pa" is French for either step or not. A 'ris" is laugh. So off to Paris! Yay!"
"Whatever," Clover joked, "Since i've been in London for the past few years, Paris was just like a train ride away. Yawn!"
The girls laughed, playfully swatting the blond.
"It's a big city." Scam noted, certain they already had an answer. "I Suppose you know where to start looking?"
"We have three options," Sam continued for Alex, "Von Guggen Warehouse and its storage. Both are empty and abandoned. A little obvious hideout however."
"I thought WHOOP was repurposing them?"
"Didn't happen."
"And then there's the building Von GuggenWear Industries held its main office. It had three floors, and according to WHOOP archives a lot of the basement was theirs." Clover finished, pulling out X powder. "Again, a little obvious for a hideout, but we'll go from there."
"Based on her riddle i don't think Helga is on top of her game." Alex scoffed.
"It's almost deceptively stupid and simple Alex," Sam interrupted. "Don't lose your guard. She's had one of our agents for years. She's good."
"What did she mean by stealing my love like I stole hers?" Clover finally asked. It had been bothering her since reading that note. Was it about Terrence? I mean duh she'd always obviously liked the psycho, but what did she think Clover did? Also, what?
"Terrence died three years ago." Sam said a little mournfully. Of course, despite the psychotic part, he was still Jerry's brother. "We were trying to capture him (again), and the rope he was holding to snapped. Helga was piloting the helicopter he was trying to climb up to."
"Is there no possibility he escaped? Falls into large bodies of water then mysterious reappearance happen a lot in our line of work."
Alex and Sam shook their heads. "You can't survive the Niagara Falls Clover."
"Scam thinks differently it seems." The girls looked at him, and saw, as Clover noted as they talked, that he looked extremely skeptical.
'Terrence was one idiot," he murmured, "but his will to live is very strong. And we never recovered his body. I would keep an eye out."
"Noted." Clover shrugged, "So Terrence went MIA three years ago. Blaine went MIA years before. So kidnapping him can't be vengeance for Terrance."
Sam stared at Clover for a while, clearly surprised that she hadn't noticed this discrepancy in the story.
"What the hell." She gasped, "That means Helga only just got Blaine!"
"What!?" the others cried in unision.
"Think about it. Blaine has been off the map for almost a decade now. Nothing was heard of him. Whoever had him wanted him to disappear from the radar! But suddenly he's easy to find? Suddenly there are notes and clues to help find him and of course lead us to endless final battle of some sort. Blaine's capture has changed hands. Whoever was in charge of him isn't anymore!"
"So we're looking at two if not more kidnappers?" Alex cried!
"Kidnappers I am going to assume are now working together!"
As Scam ogled at his fiance, marveling at her brains and beauty, Clover snapped him out of the revery with the final question no one could now answer.
"Then who captured him initially?"
Though the spies loved Paris, Clover would always nag them into the memories of the hours and hours they spent in Parisian sewers. Source of tourism, it didn't help Clover get over the dirt and grime however, and she couldn't help but make a face when Alex suggested they break into the warehouse through the sewers.
"Isn't that too obvious a route?" She moaned as the crawled their way to warehouse, knees deep in sewer gunk. "We always go by the sewer! It's become predictable!"
"Clover," Alex sighed, "be quiet!"
They listened. They heard nothing. With a few moves from the laser lipstick, Alex had drilled a hole into their ceiling, the floor of the warehouse. Each girl pulled themselves with ease, grateful as always for the years of training. Each switched on their mini earrings flashlights, but not even the darkness could hide how totally empty of Blaine or Helga the warehouse was. There were still clothes, unused fabrics and … fur. Clover reached out and traced the material, recognized Helga's creation for more easily than she wished to. It had been hilariously gross at the time, but Helga had orchestrated mass murders. As she turned away to look for any nooks or crevices that might be unseen, Clover turned back and stared. Unable to stop wondering who was once that coat.
Alex motioned Clover to switch off the flashlight, substituting them with the heat sensing sunglasses. But again, nothing came up. Not even a hidden passage, or a secret door could be found.
"Sam," Clover called as she switched on her X powder, "We got diddly squat. Anything in the storage unit?" It was directly attached to the warehouse, but they had separated to go faster.
No image appeared, but she heard the redhead and her annoying fiance sigh. "Absolutely nothing here either. No even remnant footsteps marks. This place has been dead for decades."
Clover looked Alex, so somber and strangely grown up in her black and yellow catsuit. She nodded and Clover turned back to the blank screen.
"I guess the headquarters are our last hope then. Meet you back outside."
And with that, she shut it off.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
HI! It has been a while I am so sorry about that! I had no desire to write for a while/ swamped with summer homework. Hopefully I will get back on track and finish this. Still a lot of chapters to go I'm afraid.
Haven't been able to cover the relationship between Clover and her dad. Maybe in a Blaine flashback.
Who do you think was the initial Blaine kidnapper? I'm dying to hear your thoughts.
Cool cool! As always, read, follow and comment!
