Part 25
Janet was counting in her head, trying to remember all of the positions for the formation they were going to run when they entered Port-au-Pasta. She needed to make sure Scud didn't get caught or injured. She keyed Amy's number into her comm watch for what felt like the hundred thousandth time in the last half hour. This time Amy answered. Janet held a finger to her lips, Amy was laughing like a hyena. She glanced up at Max and Dominique. Max was gesturing wildly at the building, pointing first at the main entrance, then making circles with her arm. Dominique seemed to be listening, but boredom was the only emotion Janet could see on her face. She crept a few feet farther away from the two members of her team.
"It's about time, Amy! Someone tipped off the Debs! We are outside the restaurant where Scud's blind date is taking place!" Janet saw Amy sober up quickly. "Shit! Shit shit shit!" Janet's quirked an eyebrow, then rolled her eyes with a huff. "You're in there aren't you." She tapped her finger on her chin. Then she smacked herself on the forehead. "You're with Lucy. Ah, this can't get any worse. Amy get out of there as quickly as you can. I'll try and stall them out here, but you know how Max is. I hope you are prepared for a bit of a fight." Janet looked around, then quickly jammed her gun in between the seats in the car. "Uh, Max? I can't find my gun. I know I had it when we left the house…"
Max threw her arms up in the air. "Seriously? This cannot be happening right now."
"Luce, we gotta get out of here. We have to get Scud's attention." Lucy frowned. "How do we get down from this thing?" Amy smiled. "See that loop? Put your foot through it. Then grab that other loop, and when you're ready, hit the little yellow button." Lucy smirked. "You know, I'm having a bit of déjà vu." She winked at Amy. "I know how to get his attention!" Lucy looked at the leather band around her wrist. She unbuckled it and aimed for Scud. She tossed it with a small arc and hit him in the temple. "Bullseye! Now let's get the hell out of here!"
"Ow! What the..." Scud looked down at the object that just hit him in the side of the head. He recognized it as Lucy's. He looked up and saw Amy and Lucy gliding silently down from their swing. What is going on? Lucy hit the ground and waved her arms frantically at him. Whatever it is, it can't be good. Scud turned his attention back to Peggy. "Trash Qu…I mean, Demonira, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I really don't think this is going to work out between us. I'm all for a little of the kinky stuff, but to tell the truth, you scare me." Scud tossed money on the table and tied Peggy's leash to his vacated chair. "Ciao, Pegs!" She shot him the scariest look of pure hatred he had ever seen. "Minion! Come back here! Demonira leaves Minions! They do not leave her! This is an outrage!"
The moment she finished shouting, the front door of the restaurant burst open. Max, Dominique, and Janet took positions up in the doorway, guns pointed skyward. Lucy was already most of the way to the fire door in the back of the restaurant with Amy right behind her. Scud was creeping his way to their location, but he was still near the center of the establishment. Amy grabbed Lucy's shirt front and pulled her into a passionate kiss, the excitement of the situation leaving them breathless far quicker than they expected. They smiled at each other before Amy half shoved Lucy out the door. "I'll make sure Scud is ok. I'll call you later!" Lucy slipped away to the Skymobile, starting it up and keeping her eyes out for Scud.
Amy stood up and leaned against the corner of a nearby wall, not wanting to accidentally get shot by any of her squadmates. She quickly took a peek around the corner. She could see Scud, still managing to keep himself hidden, but his progress to the door was far too slow. Demonira was shrieking like a wounded banshee at this point. Amy crept towards Scud, whispered to him to keep going, then half stood when she could see Max. She yelled out to her.
"Max!"
Amy's squadmates all turned in her direction, weapons now at the ready. "Amy, you made it!" "Yeah, I saw the car, so I decided to go around the building and look for a back entrance." Amy waited patiently but nervously for Max to buy her story. "Good job, Amy. See anyone?" Amy shook her head negatively. She locked eyes with Janet and gave a slight nod. Janet sighed with relief. "Ah, so Max…what are we doing here? I never got details." Max frowned while Dominique looked around the restaurant with undisguised disgust on her face, stuyding the décor. "We had intel that Scud was meeting some criminal types here. Max looked over at Peggy, cocked an eyebrow and shook her head. "What is that?" she mouthed at Janet, who she had also caught staring at the strange woman. Janet just put her hand on her hip, shifted her weight, and rolled her eyes.
Max walked over to the table the strange shrieking woman was seated at. "Would you give it a rest already?" She lost interest in the woman when she noticed a bracelet on the table. She picked it up and turned it over in her hands. "Holy shit! This bracelet has L. Diamond burned into the leather! It wasn't a bad tip, we just missed them!" "Bradshaw! Detain this woman! I'll call HQ and fill them in on what happened here. Dominique, secure the perimeter, and look for anything else that might help us find them. Janet…uh, Janet just…help Amy." Janet scoffed at Max as she walked out the front door. She turned back to Amy and whispered, "Did they both make it out of here?" Amy nodded and Janet let out a sigh of relief. She turned cautiously back to Demonira.
Amy sat down at the table with Peggy, untying the leash from the chair. "Uh, Peggy? It's me, Amy Bradshaw. Are you ok?" Peggy stopped screaming and looked up at Amy. "Amy Bradshaw? From senior art Amy Bradshaw?" Amy smiled and nodded. "You're a…cop? Or something? A cop in a plaid skirt?" Amy snorted laughter. "Yup, I am." "Well, that's weird." Amy folded her arms and tilted her head at Peggy. "I'm weird? Peggy, what is…" Amy opened her arms and gestured at Demonira before continuing, "all…this?"
Peggy took a deep breath and stood up. "I am Demonira and I do not have to deal with this!" With that she stormed out of the restaurant, leaving her dog collar behind. Janet stared at it lying on the table. About 30 seconds later Max and Dominique returned. Amy sighed. "She was just some weird lady. Said she found the bracelet a few days ago. I cut her loose." Max lightly tapped herself in the forehead with the barrel of her hand cannon and blew out a long breath. "Let's get out of here, ladies."