Chapter 9

Angela stood nervously in the dark alleyway with Brock at their latest trade that evening. Her heart was pounding and her hands sweating. She hated doing this, but this time her father did threaten her with her education, but with her friends. If she didn't do this, then Derek and Abbey, even Miguel would be in danger from her father. As always, he was making sure she never had any other choice. She was grateful however that she was able to forward the information to Derek before Brock caught her with what she was doing. It was way too close this time, maybe Derek was right and she needed to come forward and tell the police the one acting as the mole was her and tell them where they could find her father. But she quickly talked herself out of it by convincing herself that she needed time to get her father to see that all this wasn't the answer to getting over her mother's death.

As she debated in her mind over and over what she should do, she suddenly saw headlights flood the alley way. She shielded her eyes and tried to see who it was that had pulled up. The person behind the wheel stepped out and walked toward them. Angela couldn't see his face, but she did recognize his voice.

"You have what we agreed on?" she heard him say to Brock.

"Yes." Brock answered. "Scarlet." He said turning to her.

She stepped forward and handed their client the duffel bag of drugs he had asked for. As she got closer, her suspicions of who he was were confirmed when she got a half decent look at as his face when she handed him the bag. It was Jacob Corrine, Jezebel's older brother. Angela couldn't believe it, she knew that Jezebel and her brother had problems, but she never would have guessed that this was one of them. However her problem got worse as soon as Jacob recognized her. Jacob grabbed her wrist and squeezed it.

"What are you doing here?" he sneered at her.

Angela didn't answer. Brock came forward and tore Jacob's hand off her.

"If you breathe one word about this to my mom or my sister, you'll wish the police had gotten to you before me." He threatened turning back to his car.

"You know him?" Brock asked they got into their own car.

"He's Jezebel Corrine's older brother Jacob." Angela answered still in shock.

Now Angela knew she was in trouble. By now the cops were probably already tailing Jacob and he had no idea that it was already too late to try and run. And they struck a deal with him, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't sell her out. She was doomed. The entire ride home, Angela could not find anything else to say, mainly because the whole time she was praying that Jacob would not get caught, for once she hoped that one of her father's clients wouldn't get caught. As soon as they got home, she ran up to her room and switch on the tv.

"Are going to be okay Angela?" Tikki asked flying out of her purse.

"As soon as I find out if they caught Jacob tonight or not I will be." Angela answered.

"What are the odds that the one you'd be trading with tonight was Jezebel's older brother."

"I wish I could guess but I cannot even keep my mind straight right now. If the police do catch him and he cuts a deal with him, there is no guarantee that he won't sell me out." Angela said with her body shaking.

"You did the right thing Angela, you know that." Tikki said sitting on her shoulder.

"Yeah I know, but I still feel so scared right now I feel like I'm going to throw up." Angela said trying to hold back the tears.

"And now more on the developing story of the NYPD's high speed chase and drug bust tonight. Officals have told us that the recipient of the Angeles Diablos tonight was none other than Jaqueline Corrine's oldest son, Jacob. We are not sure what his motive for the drugs is but we have been told that Jacob has cut a deal with the police to provide them with a name of one of the runners of the Angeles Diablos." Angela heard the report say over the tv, and hearing that made her heart stop.

"Currently Jacob Corrine is being held and questioned, but we are told that Ms. Corrine will be arriving at the station shortly to see her son. Back to you Susan."

Angela clicked off the tv and did not move for the longest time. "What am I going to do Tikki? If Jacob sells me out there's nothing I'll be able to do." Angela sobbed.

"Angela, it's all going to be alright, just stay positive." Tikki encouraged.

"I'm trying, I really am, but I'm so scared right now I just can't keep a straight thought." Angela said flopping down on the bed.

"What's done is done, right now, you need to get some sleep. You'll be okay Angela, trust me." Tikki said trying as hard as Angela was to be positive.

Angela got into her pajamas and slid under the covers, covering herself completely with Tikki under the covers with her. Angela was starting to feel that Derek was right, she should have gone forward when she had the chance. She had the hardest time falling asleep that night, so much so that she couldn't get up to go for her usual morning run. When she finally got up, she went and got ready for her classes that day. Though the shower did help her wake up, she didn't feel any more at ease. Finally, she was out the door and waiting for the bus.

"Angela, if Jacob was going to tell them, don't you think they would have come for you by now?" Tikki said poking her head out.

"I'm not sure, even if he didn't tell them, he still knows that I'm working with the Angeles Diablos, even if I am the one passing information to the police." Angela said rubbing her temples. "Oh the stress, it's driving me crazy."

"You've saved the world under stress, and think about it, if you can make it through this, anything else you come up against as Ladybug should be a piece of cake." Tikki said trying to bring Angela's mind to ease.

"You're right Tikki." Angela said rubbing her eyes. "I need to calm down, this all going to work out." She breathed.

As she got on to the bus, she started using the breathing exercises her grandmother had taught her to deal with stress. With each inhale and exhale, Angela began to feel better until she could no longer think about why she had been so upset. As the bus pulled up to the campus, Angela began to feel better, despite her fear of Jacob knowing that she was working with the Angeles Diablos.

"Angela, hey." She turned around and saw Miguel standing behind her.

"Hey." She said very nervously.

"I was wondering if you're doing okay?" he asked looking at her.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"Well, you just looked pretty freaked out. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just didn't sleep well last night. It was a long night." Angela answered trying to not to lie but not tell him too much either.

"Well, I hope you have a better day." Miguel said he walked off.

"Thanks." Angela breathed feeling her heart flutter. "He's so sweet." She sighed with a love struck look in her eyes.

"Girl, you have got to learn to control your emotions." Tikki said with a giggle and a sigh.

Suddenly, Angela's phone began to vibrate. When looked at the contact, it was not good news. It was her father.

"This can't be good." Angela breathed. "Hello?" she answered.

"You will be going with Brock and Josh again tomorrow morning for the next trade." She heard her father's voice instruct her.

"But Dad, I have something important going on up at school tomorrow morning." Angela protested. "Can't you get one of your thugs to do it?"

"If you want to continue to go to school to do this 'important thing', you will do as I say." Isaac threatened.

"Dad,"

"End of discussion." The call ended and Angela was left listening to the dial tone.

"What's wrong?" Tikki asked hearing her concern during the call.

"My father wants me to join Josh and Brock for another trade going on tomorrow morning, and that wouldn't be too much of a problem if it weren't for the fact that tomorrow morning is the unveiling of the Ladybug and Cat Negro statues in Central Park." Angela answered feeling her stress and frustration returning.

"You'll figure something out Angela." Tikki said calmly. "Right now you should really be getting to class."

"You're right, I'll worry about all this later." Angela said racing off.

When Angela entered the room, she saw Jezebel sitting in her usual spot but not looking as tight and self-absorbed as usual. Today, she looked like she was a mess. Did she know what happened with her brother? Swallowing her pride, Angela walked over to her desk.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked trying to be as casual as possible.

"Why should you care?" Jezebel snapped.

"Just wanted to see if you were okay, you don't seem like yourself." Angela answered trying to hold herself together.

"Well, it's none of your business. So why don't you just go and scram." Jezebel snapped at her.

Angela sighed with agitation and went and took her seat by Abbey. "What's up with Jezebel?" she asked quietly.

"Jacob was busted last night by the cops for possession of illegal drugs. Needless to say, neither she nor their Mom has taken it well. Word is he was trying to make a deal but he was so hopped up on the narcotics the police questioned his credibility for any information he claimed to have." Abbey answered.

"So he's not going to make a deal?"

"My guess is that even if he tries later, the police won't hold anything he would give as credible because by the time they caught him he was so out of it they would automatically assume he dreamed it or something."

'There's that relief.' Angela breathed. "So what's going to happen to him?"

"Not sure, but whatever happens to him, it's not going to sit well with Jezebel. You know how close she and her brother were."

"Yeah, I know. I think he was the only one she didn't treat like dirt." Angela commented.

A short time later, the professor entered and the class began. All the while, Angela was thanking her lucky stars that the police wouldn't take Jacob seriously, so she was safe for now. But she still had a problem, the unveiling was tomorrow morning and her father was asking her to go on a drug trade that same morning. All during class she tried to focus, but she was too busy searching for solutions for how she could make it to the unveiling and keep her father happy. She groaned mentally and was finding it so hard to balance being Ladybug and Angela Martinez.

By the time classes were over for the day, Angela felt so overwhelmed she felt she was on the verge of collapse. What could she do? As she was arriving home on the bus, she had the thought to go see Ms. Roland. Maybe Ms. Roland would know what she should do. After the bus dropped her off, she walked down the street to the kind old lady's house. When she got there however, she saw home nurses leaving.

"Is Ms. Roland okay?" she asked feeling very concerned for her.

"She's fine, we just got done with her treatment is all. She's resting now and it would not be good for her to have visitors at this time." One of the nurses advised her.

"How long until I can see her?" Angela asked.

"Just until tomorrow." Came the answer. "Everything's fine, just let her rest."

Angela sighed and then started her walk home. When she got to her house, she went upstairs and shut the door. She laid down her purse and Tikki came flying out. Angela laid out a plate of cookies for her and switched on her radio as she sat down to do her homework. Half way through her calculous work, she got a call from Derek telling her to turn on the tv and then the call just ended. Angela was confused, but she switched off her radio and turned on her tv. What came up was news report regarding Jacob.

"…and officials have confirmed that Jacob Corrine had been doing trades with the cartel known as the Angeles Diablos and distributing to a handful of other local pubs in exchange for information on the whereabouts of another cartel known as the Chupacabras. We're not told if a deal has been made or not, but we will bring more information as it is given to us."

Angela was getting more and more nervous about this whole thing with Jacob. What the police did take him seriously? They would come after her and she would have to tell them the truth. She was just hoping and praying that it wouldn't come to that. Trying to take her mind off of the issue, she turned the tv off, switched the radio back on and got back to her calculous homework. As she finished, she started to feel hungry herself.

"I'm just going to down stairs to cook dinner Tikki." She said heading for the door. "Just stay up here and I'll be back."

'Taco Tuesday.' She chimed in her head as she headed downstairs to the kitchen. 'Maybe this will help me convince Dad to let have go on the trade tomorrow morning. Besides, why does he really need me to go?' she thought as she started up the stove to brown the meat.

Just as she was just about to add all their favorite spices, Josh entered the kitchen. "What are you doing?" he asked drily.

"Making dinner, it's taco Tuesday." She answered.

"Dad and I are not in the mood for taco. We already ate."

"But we always have taco Tuesday." Angela said feeling disappointed. "I've already browned the meat and everything."

"Just give the meat to the dogs then. We're not going to need it."

"But,"

"Just do it." Josh said before leaving Angela feeling hurt and bitterly disappointed.

Grabbing the pan, she walked out to the backyard and called her father's dog, Rough and Tough. Two Rottweilers both with bad tempers. She set the pan down and was heading back inside when she heard them coming after her. For some reason they always had it in for her and they were more or less the reason she didn't particularly like dogs. Because of them, she was more of a cat person. Running back inside, she grabbed an apple and went back up to her room.

"I thought you were making dinner for your family." Tikki said as she was coming in.

"I was, and then Josh came in and said that he and Dad had already eaten and basically ordered me to feed the meat I had just cooked to the dogs." Angela answered taking a bite out of her apple. "I swear I hate those dogs."

"Why?"

"Ever since I was a kid those dogs have been trying to eat me alive. They're the reason I prefer cats." Angela huffed sitting back at her desk to finish her homework. "For a ladybug I'm not feeling very lucky today."

"Then it's a good thing your partner is a cat." Tikki giggled.

Angela had to admit it was pretty funny, but she just wasn't feeling in the mood for laughs. She finished her homework and got ready for bed. As she got into bed, she realized she still hadn't found an answer to her problem for the fact the unveiling was tomorrow and her father still wanted her to go on a trade that same morning. She kept looking for solutions until her eyes got heavy and she couldn't even think anymore. When she woke up again, she looked at her clock and saw that she only had half an hour to get ready to go on the trade. She quickly showered and threw on the first outfit she could grab and raced down stairs to meet up with Brock and Josh.

'This is going to be a long day.' She groaned as she got in the car and took the duffel bag that Josh handed her.

All the time she rode in the back seat, all she could think about was how she was going to be late for the unveiling if not miss it completely. At last they finally made it to the drop off point and Angela was told to stay in the car. Josh took the duffel bag and he and Brock met up with the client. While they were gone, Angela texted the information to Derek and hoped she wasn't too late. A minute later, Derek texted back saying he got it and he would get it to the police.

When they got back to the house, Angela quickly hide upstairs in her room, transformed into Ladybug and started off as fast as she could to Central Park. But by the time she got there, it was all over.

"Oh no, I missed it." She sad with sadness and disappointment in her voice. "Nothing I can do now except go home and get ready for school I guess." She said taking a good look at the statue. "If I could've made it, I could've told Michael how well a job he did. He really does have talent."

When she got home, changed back and grabbed her bag and headed downstairs to catch the bus. As she got onboard, she pulled out her phone and called Abbey.

"Hey girl, what's up?" Abbey answered.

"Hey, I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the unveiling this morning, family issues you know. I know I promised I would be there with you and Derek, but I was hoping you would have taken pics for me."

"You know it girl." Abbey answered not sounding too disappointed in her.

"Oh good, so could you show them to me before class today?"

"Actually we won't be there."

"Why?"

"We're at the Museum natural science and history waiting for more details on the Cat Negro robbery."

"What? Somebody robbed Cat Negro?" Angela asked shocked.

"No, didn't you hear? Cat Negro came in and stole The Scream. Ladybug is going to show up for sure and there is no way Derek and I are missing this. We'll show the pics tomorrow, promise."

"Okay, thanks." Angela said hanging up. She grabbed the bell cord and signaled the driver she needed to get off.

The bus stopped and she got off and headed behind the first building she came to.

"What are thinking Angela?" Tikki asked when they were safe.

"I'm thinking Cat Negro is a lot of things but a thief is not one of them. Some has obviously set him up and we're going to find out who." She said. "Tikki, Spots On." In flash, she stood as Ladybug and started making her way to the museum.

By the time she got there, there were cops and squad cars everywhere. Sheriff Willis was coming outside reporting that they had Cat Negro locked up inside.

"Don't think that you're going to keep him there." She said trying to go in.

"Leave this to the police this time Ladybug." Sheriff Willis said stopping her.

"There must be some mistake, I'm sure there's a simple explanation for this." She argued.

Suddenly, Sheriff Willis got a call over his radio that Cat Negro was escaping. Ladybug followed him inside. When they made it to the place where Cat Negro was supposed to be held, they saw the guards on the ground and some knocked out, and Cat Negro gone.

"If he's so innocent, why's he running?" Sheriff Willis asked Ladybug.

"If you were wrongfully imprisoned wouldn't you run?" Ladybug snapped back.

As Sheriff Willis radioed for backup, Ladybug got call come through on her communicator. "Cat Negro where are you?" she asked heavily concerned.

"You know I'm innocent, don't you mi amor." He asked over the video chat.

"Stop playing around and calling me mi amor. What's going on?" she said trying to get him to get to the point.

"I'm gonna find the guy who framed me and save my tail. I'll call you back as soon as …" suddenly the communication was cut.

Ladybug raced outside to see Cat Negro being chased by squad cars and choppers and then disappearing into the subway tunnels. She wanted to follow him, but she couldn't lead the police to him. This was something she had to do on her own if she wanted to save her partner. Swinging across the roof tops, she kept searching for any signs that Cat Negro came out of the subway tunnels. Her communicator started to go off again.

"Cat Negro, what's going on?" she asked feeling worried.

"I found his den." Cat Negro answered quietly.

"Who?"

"My Dupli-Cat." He answered.

"I'm not following." Ladybug said confused.

"If you had been there this morning you would know what I was talking about."

"Just tell me where you are." Ladybug said feeling like she was begging him at this point.

"No, this is between me and him. I got myself into this mess and now I'm going to get myself out." Cat Negro answered before hanging up.

"Cat Negro, Cat!" Ladybug called agitated.

Seeing that she was not going to get him to answer, she switched on her tracker and began to follow his signal across the city. About a minute later she got a call from Cat Negro saying he caught the imposter.

"Michael Norman's workshop."

"I'll be there in a minute." She said hanging up.

As promised, she arrived a minute later at Michael Norman's art studio and saw Cat Negro and apparently the one who was his imposter chained up and on the ground but was quite surprised to see the resemblance.

"Wow Cat Negro, he really looks like you." She breathed.

"That's because I am me." The Cat Negro on the ground said agitated.

"Where's his akuma?" she asked the other Cat.

"In his ring, take it." He said showing her his hand.

For moment, she questioned herself if this really was her partner or if the one she was about to de-akmatize was him. She was about to take the ring when she saw the paw pads start to flash and disappear.

"He even has the same powers as you." She said suspicious.

"Incredible isn't it?" the one on top said with a smile.

"If you don't believe I'm the real Cat Negro ask him about our love for each other." The Cat on the ground whispered to her catching her by surprise. What was he talking about? "Have I ever lied to you mi amor?" he winked.

He was right, only the real Cat Negro would never lie to her about anything, no matter what. Leaning in closer to the Cat on top, she smiled.

"I hope you didn't tell him about us." She smiled. "Remember, we made a secret promise."

"Yeah of course I remember." The other guy answered nervously.

"We never made a promise, Dupli-Cat!" she said. Now she knew which one was really her partner.

"I love you Ladybug and I'm so much better for you than this mangy alley cat." Dupli-Cat confessed grabbing Cat Negro.

"Sorry, but I'm not into liars. Cat Negro may be annoying but he's never lied to me." Ladybug said defending her partner.

"Thanks, I think." Cat Negro said kicking his imposter off him. "Gracias for having my back."

"Let's wrap this up." Ladybug answered. "Lucky Charm!" she summoned. What appeared was coat hanger. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"If I can't have you then no one will." Dupli-Cat declared. "Cataclysm!" he summoned moving for Cat Negro.

Taking his chains, Ladybug moved between him and Cat Negro making Dupli-Cat break the chains instead. Cat Negro was now free and knocked Dupli-Cat back.

"Where's his akuma?" she asked.

"Photo in his pocket." His ring beeped again. "Let's make this rápido."

"You're going to change back before me." Dupli-Cat laughed.

Ladybug was able to make the first move, but she quickly saw that this was not going to be easy if he had all the powers and abilities as Cat Negro, especially if he had his weapon and Cat Negro's. He forced into a corner and was about to strike but Cat Negro had he back as he pulled him back. Ladybug then tried to wrap her yo-yo around him but he deflected it and tried to catch her again but she was able to make it to the rafters in the ceiling.

"He really is good." She said catching her breath.

"No need to rub it in." Cat Negro answered agitated.

"I told you I was better than him." Dupli-Cat called to her.

"But I'm better than both of you." She chimed taking advantage of his distraction by taking back Cat Negro's rod and tossing back to her partner.

But again they both proved that they were too evenly matched and with one blow, their rods were knocked aside and left to fight hand to hand. Coming down from the rafters, Ladybug lost track of which was which. As one tried to strike the other, she literally took a shot in the dark and caught him before he could strike.

"Hey it's me!" he odjected.

"No, I'm the real one."

"Ugggh! Now you're both being annoying." Ladybug groaned. "Show me your ring, how many pads do you have left?" she said.

The one closest to her showed he barely had two minutes, the one she caught. The other had four.

"Cat Negro, scratch attack." She said releasing him.

"Sounds good, I love a good cat fight." He purred.

Pulling out the coat hanger, she looked around and got an idea. Grabbing Cat Negro's rod and a rol of tape, she attached her yo-yo to the rod and bent the hanger the fit through the ring at the end of the string.

"I always wanted to go fishing." She said with a smile.

Cat Negro cornered Dupli-Cat under a catwalk, and Ladybug was able to cast her line and hook Dupli-Cat by his belt and pull him up. Throwing herself under the catwalk, she grabbed the photo out of his pocket and landed by Cat Negro, tearing the photo. When the akuma emerged, she readied her yo-yo for the capture.

"No more terrorizing for you moth." She said opening her yo-yo. "Time to be purified." She said capturing it. "Be free little butterfly." She breathed releasing the white butterfly. "Miraculous Ladybug!" she called as the glow traveled repairing damages and canceling Dupli-Cat's transformation as he fell from the catwalk.

Cat Negro was able to catch him before he hit the ground. "Nice catch." Ladybug praised him.

"I'm just glad you could tell the real cat from the fake one." Cat Negro said in thanks.

"Once I figured out which Cat Negro loved me enough to not lie to me, it was a no brainer." She smiled.

"I have to go, you better stay, I think he's been crushed by his crush." Cat Negro said as his ring beeped showing he had less than a minute.

Ladybug turned her attention to Michael as he started to come to. "Ladybug?" he said as his vision started to return.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it this morning." She said handing him his photo back.

"Can I have you autograph it for me?" he asked handing her a pin.

"Of course." She said giving it her Ladybug signature. "You know you did an amazing job, you really captured my essence." She praised him.

"Thanks Ladybug." Michael answered hugging the photo close. "And I know about you and Cat Negro, and it's okay."

Ladybug was confused at what he was talking about, but all she could do was smile and say goodbye as she heard her earrings start to beep. She waved good bye and made her way home just barely in time before she changed back. As she entered her room, she felt better that she was able to thank Michael Norman for all his hard work in making her statue and Cat Negro's. But she remembered she had another problem. Had Jacob been able to cut a deal with the police or not about her?

Switching on the tv as Tikki ate, she listened as the reporters talked about the latest developments on Jacob's case.

"…and the police have made it known that Jacob Corrine will be facing charges for drug possession with the intent to sell. He has refused to make a plea deal for the reason that he refuses to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence. Authorities are baffled by this and continue to try and get information out Mr. Corrine as we speak. More on this story still to come."

"That sounds like Jezebel's brother alright." Angela said switching off the tv.

"But why wouldn't he take a deal if he knows he has something on you?" Tikki asked.

"I don't know but I don't like it. But if he hasn't told anything to the police, it's because he now has an advantage on me and he plans to use that somewhere down the road. Can't say when or for what, something tells me it's not going to be good and this will definitely not be the last we hear about this." Angela answered sitting by her desk. "I missed school today and Abbey and Derek weren't there to take notes. I'm going to be in so much crude." Angela groaned.

"It's going to be alright. You had to help Cat Negro."

"I know, and I'm happy I was able to help him, but still, there are some days where it's so hard to balance being Angela and being Ladybug."

"It's all going to work out Angela, trust me." Tikki smiled.

Angela smiled back and rubbed her kwami's head. "Thanks Tikki, you always know how to make me feel better."