Chapter 8: Ace Savvy Investigates (Part 1/2)

Here we go with another new chapter for Two Peas. This will be a two-parter, as indicated by the title above, as there will be a lot of focus on Lincoln trying to figure out what the coach's motives were for doing what he did, while trying to expose him as the guilty party for what happened with Lynn. Part two will be uploaded tomorrow, as it is pretty much done itself, minus the proof-reading stage, and continues off what this chapter will setup. Let's just say, whether Lincoln discovers the whole truth or not, reveals will be made.

Anyway, I'll let you guys read on.

While Lynn Jr was experiencing the ultimate low point of her life inside juvie, her family wasn't fairing much better. A heavy sense of defeat and depression was present inside the confines of the household, with the siblings and parents alike being as gloomy as Lucy would normally be…

"Sigh, I know I'm not normally little miss happy, but at least I'm the only one. Having all of us feel like this is REALLY depressing." Lucy remarked.

"We can't help it, Lucy. This is literally a nightmare!" Lori told her.

"I'm more worried about Lynn. I know she's tough, but so are all those criminals in juvie! What if she gets hurt?!" Leni asked.

"You're correct to be fearful, sibling. Knowing Lynn, her hot blooded, temperamental behaviour is likely to land her in trouble in such a hostile environment." Lisa deducted.

"I DON'T miss her roughhousing…" Lola said.

"I DO! Well, mostly." Lana chipped in.

"But I do miss her spirit, and I miss her." Lola sadly declared.

The siblings then collectively sighed and hung their heads down out of sadness in the living room, while the parents were not fairing much better. They were in the kitchen, and had just overheard the conversation of their children. They too, felt depressed and a huge sense of loss because of Lynn's departure to juvie. Lynn Sr began crying as Rita hugged and comforted him.

Later, the siblings had went upstairs to their respective rooms, including Lincoln. He figured this is how the family must have also felt a few months prior, back when he ran away from the house. He didn't like seeing them in such a negative state. He decided to talk it out…

"Hey, Clyde." He said as he greeted his best friend via telecommunication.

"Hello, Lincoln." Clyde responded from the other end of the line, before continuing.

"So, buddy, how's the family doing at the moment?" Clyde asked.

"Not too good right now, to be honest. They're all still sad over Lynn's trial and her being sent away!" Lincoln stated.

"Oh, I know. That was horrible news when you told me! I can't believe she's been taken to juvie!" Clyde said.

"What I can't stand about all this is what her baseball coach did to her! He lied to everyone in the trial!" Lincoln said angrily.

"How can you be sure?" Clyde asked.

"Trust me, I know. Lynn may be a lot of things, but I know when she's innocent and when she's guilty! It's a brother and sister thing!" Lincoln told his friend.

"Well, if he's lying, then why was Lynn sent down?" Clyde questioned.

"It was a stalemate. The question became about whether or not the coach gave those performance enhancements to Lynn. He said no. While he had no evidence for his claim that she stole them from him, it also couldn't be proven that he forced her to take them, either. So, the trial became solely about Lynn's own actions and she received a sentence based on that alone. If only we could prove he was liable for what happened to LJ!" Lincoln explained.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Clyde asked curiously.

"The only thing I can do. Find out the truth and expose the coach!" Lincoln declared.

The white-haired boy then pulled out his all too familiar costume…

"This is a job for Ace Savvy!" Lincoln boldly stated as he quickly put on his costume.

"And One-Eyed Jack?" Clyde added.

"Of course." Lincoln confirmed.

With that, the duo met up that evening and roamed the streets of Royal Woods, intent of finding out and exposing the truth to the world…

"So, where are we going to start, Ace?" Clyde/Jack asked his ally.

"Lynn's baseball team. That's where the coach will be!" Lincoln/Ace said.

The duo eventually arrived at the building of Lynn's baseball club, and entered the premises. The problem? Lynn, being a girl, was part of a girls baseball team, and so it was a little awkward them being there. Both kids would have to utilise whatever stealth skills they had to sneak in undetected.

The duo had their backs against the wall, were tip-toeing across the floors, and hiding behind every doorway or large object in sight so as to prevent themselves being seen by any of the sports girls. They temporarily stopped in their tracks, as they began to overhear a conversation between Lynn's sports buddies from outside the team's locker room.

"Alright, girls. Lynn won't be playing for our team anymore, so I've been asked by the coach to be the new team captain. I know I won't be able to fill her shoes, but…" but then Margo was stopped.

"Don't say that, Margo! You'll be a great leader!" Paula reassured her.

"But… I'm no Lynn!" Margo insecurely said aloud.

"Don't worry about it, we can still be a good team!" one other girl on the team pitched in.

"But look at past couple of games since Lynn got arrested the other week. We've been on a painful losing streak! We're all good players, but she was the MVP of our team!" Margo insisted.

Lincoln and Clyde overheard the conversation and felt a little bit of sympathy for the team. These girls, much like Lincoln and his family, were clearly victims of the loss of their close friend and teammate. Lynn was an exceptionally talented pre-teen sports player, so it was obvious she would be missed by many in Royal Woods.

"Poor girls. They really miss her friend." Clyde said.

"I think it's time we found the main man himself!" Lincoln told him as they decided to keep moving.

Eventually, the duo made it to the outside of an office room, which simply said 'coach' on it…

"Here he is!" Lincoln said.

"So, what's the plan, Ace?" Clyde asked.

"We'll go in, ask him a few questions, and drag the truth out of him! Did you bring the pocket audio recorder?" Lincoln asked Clyde.

"Yep. Now I'll turn it on, and we can record his every word without him even knowing it!" Clyde confirmed.

Lincoln then knocked on the door, and waited for an answer…

But to their surprise, the person who answered the door was not who they expected…

"Who are you?! You're not part of the girls baseball team?!" a tall, well-toned lady asked the pair.

"Um, I'm Ace Savvy, and this is One-Eyed Jack." Clyde nervously told her.

"Uh, I haven't got time for this! My team is set to begin playing in half an hour! Now tell me what you want and then be on your way!" she told the costumed boys.

"Look, can you tell us where Coach Henry is?" Lincoln asked, wondering where the man he was searching for went to.

"Henry Fredericks? He quit earlier this week! I've taken over as his replacement. He said something about feeling too guilty to keep being the team leader! He was nice guy, too. It's a shame that one of his girls was a selfish, reckless player, or so I've been told." she informed them, to Lincoln's slight chagrin.

"So, he's not the coach anymore?" Clyde asked.

"Well, duh! That's what I just told ya! Now is that all? Because I'm a very busy woman! I've got a bunch of talented young ladies to take care of!" she told the duo.

"One more thing. Could you tell us where we could find Coach Henry?" Lincoln requested.

"If it gets you out of here, fine. I'll give you his address. He lives at 392 Caldwell Road, right on the outer part of Royal Woods. Now get out!" she told them.

Lincoln and Clyde then left the building and allowed the new coach to attend to her team and concentrate on that night's baseball game. While their first attempt was not as successful as they would have liked, at least they had the information they needed to continue their investigation.

Lincoln and Clyde made their way to the address that the new coach had provided them with. Lincoln was quick to walk over and ring the door-bell…

Lincoln and Clyde stood in place and waited for the man to open the door, so that they could ask the all-important questions regarding the Lynn situation. After a few seconds, the door was opened…

"Hey, kids! This ain't Halloween! You're getting no candy from me!" Coach Henry told the duo, in reference to the fact that they were still wearing their Ace Savvy costumes.

"Look, bucko! We have questions, and you have answers!" Lincoln boldly told the big, burly man.

"Don't I know you from somewhere, kid?!" Henry asked as he stared down at Lincoln, trying to recall where he remembered him from.

"Yeah, you do know me. I'm the kid who stood in court and vouched for my sister Lynn after you LIED to everyone about her stealing the performance pills from you!" Lincoln told him.

"Oh yeah, Lincoln Loud. I couldn't recognise you under that stupid mask!" he told the boy as he reached over and pulled the mask off his face.

"Hey, give that back!" Lincoln demanded as he jumped up and grabbed it back off the larger man.

"Look, kid! I'm gonna give you five seconds to scram, or else!" Henry threatened.

"Or else what?!" Lincoln challenged, showing a sense of bravery that surprised the intimidated Clyde.

"Er, Lincoln, I love you buddy, but I don't think you should say that to him!" Clyde said.

"He doesn't scare me! I'm not leaving until he admits the truth!" Lincoln declared.

"And what truth is that? That your sister Lynn is a reckless, selfish little runt who got herself locked up!?" the coach barked back.

"No, the truth that she's innocent and you lied in court to make her take the blame for what you did and what you made her do!" Lincoln accused.

"Bah! You're insane, just like your sister! I guess being crazy runs in the family." He rubbed in before attempting to slam the door.

But Lincoln put his foot in the way, he really wanted to interrogate the man…

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet!" Lincoln told him.

"Wow, a feisty one, aren't you? Not at all the passive wuss of a pushover I was told about." the coach remarked.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?!" Lincoln asked.

Realising he had said too much, the coach aggressively shoved Lincoln forward, making him fall to the ground, before closing the door and locking it.

"Now stay away from my house!" the coach shouted through the door, so the boys could hear him.

"It's hopeless, Lincoln." Clyde told him.

"No! I'm not giving up. Lincoln Loud always has a plan! I just haven't thought of it yet. But I will!"

And with that, Lincoln and Clyde retreated to their respective houses so that they could scheme and strategize for another day. Their plans had failed, but they weren't done just yet.

But at least they still had their freedom, which was more than what could be said for Lynn…

The following morning in juvie, the sporty Loud girl woke up from a rough sleep. She was still sore from the vicious beating she had received the day before at the hands of the brutally violent Mamba and her goons. She knew that she would have to be a lot more passive and under the radar if she was going to survive inside.

Lynn would later repeat the same process as the day before. She would go off and eat lunch, which was foul enough to gross even her out, before once again being allowed one hour to roam free in the courtyard, where she could exercise.

She saw Mamba and her cronies nearby the barbell equipment, so she decided to steer clear of them, not wanting another beating from the trio. Lynn quietly and quickly moved away from Mamba's gang, not wanting the girls to notice her presence and potentially reignite the tension from 24 hours earlier.

"Eh, I guess I'll work on the legs today." She said to herself as she began doing squats.

After about a minute, she stopped and looked around. Her attention was diverted as she saw a few familiar faces in the distance. Away from the exercise equipment, she saw a few kids, loitering around nearby one of the walls of the free roam area. She began to approach them…

"Hey, I know you!" Lynn loudly spoke towards the three kids she was approaching.

"Hey, look guys. It's that Loud kid." One of them said in response.

"I can't believe it! I'm stuck in here, and I find out you're all in here with me!" Lynn told them.

"Look, Lynn, is it? There's no need for all that hostility here!" that same kid said back.

The three youths Lynn had encountered were all but too familiar to Lynn Jr, given the 'colourful' history they shared with her and her family. Needless to say, Lynn wasn't too happy to see them in juvie with her, and some harsh words were about to be dished out…

…if they were lucky.

As Lynn was having a heavy encounter, Lincoln was preparing for an encounter of his own elsewhere. He was in his room, thinking about what else he could do to help his lost sister. He was in his normal clothing, pacing around whilst thinking to himself. He began to do what he was known for, get some influence from beyond the fourth wall…

"So, my first effort didn't quite go according to plan yesterday, but Lincoln Loud always has a plan. If Coach Henry isn't going to give in so easily, then maybe I can get help from someone who knows Lynn. Someone whose really close to her."

Lincoln then began to put his Ace Savvy costume back on as he attempted to execute his second plan of action.

"Lincoln Loud always has a Plan B!" he proudly declared.

Lincoln had finished putting on his costume, and then quickly reached for his phone…

"Clyde, put on your suit, and meet me at Lynn's old school. We have another investigation on our hands." He told his best friend.

"Okay, buddy. But what will going to Middle School do to help us?" he asked.

"I'll explain when we're there. But I have an idea." Lincoln assured him.

Lincoln then made his way out of the house, and towards Middle School. He had a plan to get his sister out of jail and he was going to see it through.

He wasn't done yet…

But neither is this part of the story. Stay tuned for part 2 at some point in the next 24 hours. Lincoln will continue to look into things, while Lynn will have quite the encounter. A lot will become clear, soon enough.

As always, I encourage constructive and fair feedback, and welcome any suggestions regarding story direction or other factors. Of course, I am defensive and even proud of my work, but I will take the advice of others into account. I am appreciative of everyone who has followed my story so far, and hope you will continue to read on in interest. Even the odd comment such as asking me when the next chapter is going to be uploaded, is genuinely nice to hear.

Hope to see you back tomorrow, for the conclusion of this two-parter within the midst of a much larger story.