The Case of the Manila Envelope--Chapter 7
by HA
"You look nice," Rosa said as Blake appeared in the living room.
Blake looked at his clothes, a simple tan long-sleeved shirt with matching pants and brown shoes. He had spent most of his Saturday getting ready for his date with Molly by looking through his clothes and ironing his choices, and offending her wasn't an option considering what she had. "I guess so," he told the housekeeper as he headed for the front door.
"Hmmmmmmm..." Rosa said as she looked over her young charge. "A date?"
Blake gulped, and he felt his face heat up. "Um, no."
Rosa shook her head and wagged her finger at him. "Blake, you cannot fool me, I'm afraid. Is it Shirley?"
Blake laughed nervously. "You got me there, Rosa," he lied with a smile, wishing that he was with Shirley. However, he told himself that he needed to take care of this without any help.
"Well then, I hope you two have a good time," Rosa said.
"Yeah," Blake said as he left the house. When the door closed, Rosa sighed and shook her head.
Blake looked through his wallet and found his credit card. Although he usually paid for things in cash, he had to be prepared for any demands Molly would make of him. He knew the card was given to him by his parents only for emergencies, but considering his current situation, they'd probably agree that this was an emergency. Also, his bank account was good enough to cover any credit card costs since all he bought was literature. No, that wasn't entirely true. There was the one movie date he had taken Shirley met after their first case together.
Sighing with guilt, he checked the time on his watch, and as soon as he was on his bike, he took off.
* * * * *
Bo arrived at the Holmes residence around 7:30 PM. Upon getting down from his bike, he let out a little yawn. He had slept in despite his mother calling him to breakfast. He had woken up in the middle of the night after having the dream again, and with the usual guilt, went to the bathroom. Unfortunately, it kept happening despite his attempts at self-control, and as a result, he didn't get as much sleep as he would've wanted.
Nevertheless, he forced himself to come to Shirley. The awkwardness he felt around her and his lack of a good sleep combined with going after a supposed supernatural threat failed to stop him from agreeing to meet with Shirley. He parked his bike and as he walked up to the door, he noticed that there was no car in the driveway. He got ready to ring the doorbell when the door suddenly opened, and Shirley appeared before him.
This time, Shirley was dressed in a blue shirt and jeans with her backpack slung over her shoulder, and a floppy red beret adorned her head. Bo couldn't help but notice that her clothes revealed her curves more and that the color of her shirt matched her eyes, but he tried to avoid looking over her when he saw the look on Shirley's face. The emotional girl he had held in his arms last night was gone, and only the dogged detective he had known for about four years remained.
"Hi, Bo," Shirley greeted in a friendly manner. "Ready?"
"Of course," Bo replied as he kept his gaze on her face, but as soon as he felt his face heating up, he looked away. "Let's go."
Raising an eyebrow at her friend, Shirley followed him to their bikes. "So, where's your family?" Bo asked.
"Gran went out for a walk, and Mom and Dad are working overtime. Mom's been pretty busy recently, and Dad's working some something involving trade with another country," Shirley explained as she propped up her bike.
"Which country?" Bo asked as he mounted his bike.
"Not sure," Shirley said. "Let's go."
The two friends took off. "So, where exactly are we going?" Bo asked. "There's been a lot of construction going on around Redington recently, and the note didn't say which one."
"I believe the Gamer will be at the future site of the new video arcade," Shirley said. "It's the most recent construction project downtown, not to mention the most ambitious."
"I heard about that," Bo said. "It's gonna have virtual reality games along with the regular ones."
"It's also located close to the edge of the city, so we'd better hurry," Shirley said, and with that, both teens picked up their pace.
* * * * *
Standing outside the dorms, Molly waited patiently with her bike at her side. For her date, she chose to wear a white blouse with gray slacks, but strangely enough, she took forever to find something to wear. In addition, she did her best to style her hair into an elegant bun. She was a little surprised at this since this wasn't a real date, but in the end, she reasoned that she just wanted to look good for herself, not for Blake. Granted, he was a little cute, but still...
Slapping her forehead hard for perhaps the sixth time that day, Molly shifted the focus of her thoughts to her archenemy. She grinned wickedly when she recalled how Shirley reacted when she was told about the date. She found her reaction quite amusing, and she felt that once again, she had the upper hand in their game of wits. She was sure Shirley was going out of her mind over this, and if things went well, she'd just keep the envelope and make Blake do whatever she wanted. As for the envelope itself, she secured it in her desk, and she was confident that her new security measures would keep any snoops out.
Molly made sure to stay near the outside light since the sky was getting darker. As the night came forward to take possession, she felt her hand start to shake, and the grip on her bike's handle bars started to tighten. In response, she began to take deep breaths, and in order to distract herself, she began to go over her current machinations.
Ever since Blake had come to Redington, Molly had noticed how close he had been getting to Shirley. For her, that was an opportunity--an opening for which she could strike at her sworn archnemesis. At first, she subtlely made her move in the form of some form of flirting, and she always noticed the jealous reaction of the junior detective. Recently, she decided to exploit that weakness further. It had been so easy to find someone willing to expertly break into the Hewitt residence and find something that Blake valued highly enough to do anything she wanted. She recalled the look on Shirley's face again, and at that moment, she knew she had hurt her.
Suddenly, Molly began to recall something. First, she remembered darkness, and she resumed trembling. Then, a taunting voice echoed through her mind, and her grip on her handle bars tightened. Suddenly, there was light, and he was there, trying to reassure her and helping her stand up. The way he looked, the way he held her up...the memory made her feel warm.
"Stop that," Molly admonished herself in a low voice. "You're strong, remember?" When she started purging the memory, the trembling resumed.
"Hey, Molly!"
Relief spread throughout Molly's body as Blake appeared on his bike, and she began to relax. As the boy pulled up to her, she noticed how good he looked, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she allowed herself to be angry. "Where have you been?" she demanded.
"Oh, just enjoying the scenery on my way here," Blake answered nicely. "You look great, by the way."
Molly mounted her bike. "Let's just go, okay?" she said without looking at him.
"If you wish," Blake said.
The two left the dorm area, and as soon as they were gone, Stink crept out of his hiding place alongside the dormitory with his bike. Recalling what he heard by eavesdropping on Molly yesterday and earlier, he took an alternate route to the restaurant the two were going to.
Unknown to everyone else, someone had been watching from the roof of the dormitory, and as soon as the area was clear, that person chose to follow Blake and Molly.
* * * * *
With Sara at her side, Rika arrived at the meeting place. Both Strangers found themselves before a wooden fence with the sign "FUTURE SITE OF TECHNOTOPIA VIDEO ARCADE. AUTHORIZED PERSONS ONLY" on it. They also found a gap in the fence large enough to walk through, and judging from the boards on the ground, it had been made recently.
"Looks like she's expecting us," Sara said as she leaned her bike against the fence.
Rika, who was dressed in a red shirt, blue jean jacket and jeans, and a red headband, nodded and reached into her backpack after dismounting her bike. Sara watched as she pulld out her dragon gauntlets and donned them. "Well, let's do this," Rika said, flexing her hand.
They walked through the gap and found a frame being set up along with a bulldozer and a cement mixer. As they walked further into the site, Sara kept her hand in her pocket, and Rika was ready to defend herself.
Suddenly, something flew at them from above. Rika stopped walking, and the object embedded itself into the ground. Stopping down to pick it up, she showed it to Sara, who noted that it resembled a shuriken, except it had a spiral in its center. A second later, it disappeared in a little cloud of smoke.
"You're right on time."
Rika and Sara looked up and saw a girl standing on top of the frame. Despite the fragileness of the future building, she wasn't causing it to collapse. Suddenly, she leapt off, and after a perfect flip in the air, landed before the two Strangers. "It's been a while, Rika," the girl said as she stood up.
"Yes, it has," Rika answered, keeping her eyes on the girl.
The girl flashed a grin. "I guess you don't want to play a game with me, huh?"
"Not the one you have in mind," Rika answered, her fists starting to emit a golden glow.
"Well, then..." The girl's eyes glowed a bright yellow, and a flaming aura of green and blue appeared around her.
In response, Rika began to glow a bright yellow. Sara backed away from the two as they faced each other. For a while, no one moved. Finally, Rika and the girl charged at each other, and little explosions of yellow, green, and blue filled the area.
* * * * *
"Why couldn't you rent a limo?" Molly said as she parked her bike alongside Blake's at the restaurant.
"You didn't say we had to," Blake answered matter-of-factly.
Molly narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't try to cross me," she warned.
"The thought never crossed my mind," Blake replied with a smile. He headed towards the door and opened it. "After you," he said, gesturing towards the entrance.
From across the street, Stink watched through a pair of binoculars as Molly walked through the entrance of the restaurant after staring at her date for a while and as Blake followed her in. "I could've done that," he said with a frown.
Before he knew it, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Startled, he turned around, and when he saw who had done it, he said, "You?"
* * * * *
"What the...?" Bo wondered as he spotted the flashes of light above the construction site before them.
"This is definitely the place," Shirley concluded as they got closer, noticing the two bikes on the fence.
Leaving their bikes next to Rika's and Sara's, the two detectives dashed through the fence. They spotted Sara, but what she was watching got their attention immediately.
Before them, two great streaks of light kept bouncing off each other and zigzagging. Shirley could hear the blows being struck between the two, and after a while, the two lights returned to earth. The yellow one landed before Shirley and the others, and the blue and green one landed a few feet away.
The yellow glow faded, revealing Rika with her hands out in a defensive position. "I see playing games hasn't diminished your fighting skills," she said.
The blue and green light faded away, revealing the girl. "Yours are still as good," she admitted.
Rika turned around and saw Shirley and Bo. "Why am I not surprised you're here?"
"Wild horses couldn't drag us away," Bo joked weakly.
The girl stepped forward with her hands in her pants pockets. "Ah, so you've finally come, Shirley Holmes," she said.
Shirley blinked as she looked at the girl. "You know me?"
"I have my sources," the girl said, her mouth forming a grin. "I've been looking forward to meeting you."
Bo looked over the girl when he could clearly see her. "Okay, now that's bizarre."
The girl standing before them all definitely fit Bo's one word description. Her clothing seemed normal; her jacket and pants were a dark blue, and her shirt was a simple green. However, her hair was of the same shade of green, and it was worn as buns with long pigtails. Her eyes were yellow, and the spiral was present on her shirt and the ends of her pigtails.
"You're the Gamer of the Dark?" Bo asked, staring at the girl and not liking the look in her eyes.
"So that's what they call me. My, what a fitting name!" the girl said, cupping her chin with one gloved hand as she let out a little laugh.
"I suppose you have one of your own?" Shirley asked.
For a while, no one spoke, and a brief wind blew through the area. "But of course. Watashi wa Uzumaki Tomie desu," the girl said finally, flashing a grin, "or if you prefer the Western name order, Tomie Uzumaki."
Bo really didn't like the look in her eyes.
END OF CHAPTER 7
by HA
"You look nice," Rosa said as Blake appeared in the living room.
Blake looked at his clothes, a simple tan long-sleeved shirt with matching pants and brown shoes. He had spent most of his Saturday getting ready for his date with Molly by looking through his clothes and ironing his choices, and offending her wasn't an option considering what she had. "I guess so," he told the housekeeper as he headed for the front door.
"Hmmmmmmm..." Rosa said as she looked over her young charge. "A date?"
Blake gulped, and he felt his face heat up. "Um, no."
Rosa shook her head and wagged her finger at him. "Blake, you cannot fool me, I'm afraid. Is it Shirley?"
Blake laughed nervously. "You got me there, Rosa," he lied with a smile, wishing that he was with Shirley. However, he told himself that he needed to take care of this without any help.
"Well then, I hope you two have a good time," Rosa said.
"Yeah," Blake said as he left the house. When the door closed, Rosa sighed and shook her head.
Blake looked through his wallet and found his credit card. Although he usually paid for things in cash, he had to be prepared for any demands Molly would make of him. He knew the card was given to him by his parents only for emergencies, but considering his current situation, they'd probably agree that this was an emergency. Also, his bank account was good enough to cover any credit card costs since all he bought was literature. No, that wasn't entirely true. There was the one movie date he had taken Shirley met after their first case together.
Sighing with guilt, he checked the time on his watch, and as soon as he was on his bike, he took off.
* * * * *
Bo arrived at the Holmes residence around 7:30 PM. Upon getting down from his bike, he let out a little yawn. He had slept in despite his mother calling him to breakfast. He had woken up in the middle of the night after having the dream again, and with the usual guilt, went to the bathroom. Unfortunately, it kept happening despite his attempts at self-control, and as a result, he didn't get as much sleep as he would've wanted.
Nevertheless, he forced himself to come to Shirley. The awkwardness he felt around her and his lack of a good sleep combined with going after a supposed supernatural threat failed to stop him from agreeing to meet with Shirley. He parked his bike and as he walked up to the door, he noticed that there was no car in the driveway. He got ready to ring the doorbell when the door suddenly opened, and Shirley appeared before him.
This time, Shirley was dressed in a blue shirt and jeans with her backpack slung over her shoulder, and a floppy red beret adorned her head. Bo couldn't help but notice that her clothes revealed her curves more and that the color of her shirt matched her eyes, but he tried to avoid looking over her when he saw the look on Shirley's face. The emotional girl he had held in his arms last night was gone, and only the dogged detective he had known for about four years remained.
"Hi, Bo," Shirley greeted in a friendly manner. "Ready?"
"Of course," Bo replied as he kept his gaze on her face, but as soon as he felt his face heating up, he looked away. "Let's go."
Raising an eyebrow at her friend, Shirley followed him to their bikes. "So, where's your family?" Bo asked.
"Gran went out for a walk, and Mom and Dad are working overtime. Mom's been pretty busy recently, and Dad's working some something involving trade with another country," Shirley explained as she propped up her bike.
"Which country?" Bo asked as he mounted his bike.
"Not sure," Shirley said. "Let's go."
The two friends took off. "So, where exactly are we going?" Bo asked. "There's been a lot of construction going on around Redington recently, and the note didn't say which one."
"I believe the Gamer will be at the future site of the new video arcade," Shirley said. "It's the most recent construction project downtown, not to mention the most ambitious."
"I heard about that," Bo said. "It's gonna have virtual reality games along with the regular ones."
"It's also located close to the edge of the city, so we'd better hurry," Shirley said, and with that, both teens picked up their pace.
* * * * *
Standing outside the dorms, Molly waited patiently with her bike at her side. For her date, she chose to wear a white blouse with gray slacks, but strangely enough, she took forever to find something to wear. In addition, she did her best to style her hair into an elegant bun. She was a little surprised at this since this wasn't a real date, but in the end, she reasoned that she just wanted to look good for herself, not for Blake. Granted, he was a little cute, but still...
Slapping her forehead hard for perhaps the sixth time that day, Molly shifted the focus of her thoughts to her archenemy. She grinned wickedly when she recalled how Shirley reacted when she was told about the date. She found her reaction quite amusing, and she felt that once again, she had the upper hand in their game of wits. She was sure Shirley was going out of her mind over this, and if things went well, she'd just keep the envelope and make Blake do whatever she wanted. As for the envelope itself, she secured it in her desk, and she was confident that her new security measures would keep any snoops out.
Molly made sure to stay near the outside light since the sky was getting darker. As the night came forward to take possession, she felt her hand start to shake, and the grip on her bike's handle bars started to tighten. In response, she began to take deep breaths, and in order to distract herself, she began to go over her current machinations.
Ever since Blake had come to Redington, Molly had noticed how close he had been getting to Shirley. For her, that was an opportunity--an opening for which she could strike at her sworn archnemesis. At first, she subtlely made her move in the form of some form of flirting, and she always noticed the jealous reaction of the junior detective. Recently, she decided to exploit that weakness further. It had been so easy to find someone willing to expertly break into the Hewitt residence and find something that Blake valued highly enough to do anything she wanted. She recalled the look on Shirley's face again, and at that moment, she knew she had hurt her.
Suddenly, Molly began to recall something. First, she remembered darkness, and she resumed trembling. Then, a taunting voice echoed through her mind, and her grip on her handle bars tightened. Suddenly, there was light, and he was there, trying to reassure her and helping her stand up. The way he looked, the way he held her up...the memory made her feel warm.
"Stop that," Molly admonished herself in a low voice. "You're strong, remember?" When she started purging the memory, the trembling resumed.
"Hey, Molly!"
Relief spread throughout Molly's body as Blake appeared on his bike, and she began to relax. As the boy pulled up to her, she noticed how good he looked, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she allowed herself to be angry. "Where have you been?" she demanded.
"Oh, just enjoying the scenery on my way here," Blake answered nicely. "You look great, by the way."
Molly mounted her bike. "Let's just go, okay?" she said without looking at him.
"If you wish," Blake said.
The two left the dorm area, and as soon as they were gone, Stink crept out of his hiding place alongside the dormitory with his bike. Recalling what he heard by eavesdropping on Molly yesterday and earlier, he took an alternate route to the restaurant the two were going to.
Unknown to everyone else, someone had been watching from the roof of the dormitory, and as soon as the area was clear, that person chose to follow Blake and Molly.
* * * * *
With Sara at her side, Rika arrived at the meeting place. Both Strangers found themselves before a wooden fence with the sign "FUTURE SITE OF TECHNOTOPIA VIDEO ARCADE. AUTHORIZED PERSONS ONLY" on it. They also found a gap in the fence large enough to walk through, and judging from the boards on the ground, it had been made recently.
"Looks like she's expecting us," Sara said as she leaned her bike against the fence.
Rika, who was dressed in a red shirt, blue jean jacket and jeans, and a red headband, nodded and reached into her backpack after dismounting her bike. Sara watched as she pulld out her dragon gauntlets and donned them. "Well, let's do this," Rika said, flexing her hand.
They walked through the gap and found a frame being set up along with a bulldozer and a cement mixer. As they walked further into the site, Sara kept her hand in her pocket, and Rika was ready to defend herself.
Suddenly, something flew at them from above. Rika stopped walking, and the object embedded itself into the ground. Stopping down to pick it up, she showed it to Sara, who noted that it resembled a shuriken, except it had a spiral in its center. A second later, it disappeared in a little cloud of smoke.
"You're right on time."
Rika and Sara looked up and saw a girl standing on top of the frame. Despite the fragileness of the future building, she wasn't causing it to collapse. Suddenly, she leapt off, and after a perfect flip in the air, landed before the two Strangers. "It's been a while, Rika," the girl said as she stood up.
"Yes, it has," Rika answered, keeping her eyes on the girl.
The girl flashed a grin. "I guess you don't want to play a game with me, huh?"
"Not the one you have in mind," Rika answered, her fists starting to emit a golden glow.
"Well, then..." The girl's eyes glowed a bright yellow, and a flaming aura of green and blue appeared around her.
In response, Rika began to glow a bright yellow. Sara backed away from the two as they faced each other. For a while, no one moved. Finally, Rika and the girl charged at each other, and little explosions of yellow, green, and blue filled the area.
* * * * *
"Why couldn't you rent a limo?" Molly said as she parked her bike alongside Blake's at the restaurant.
"You didn't say we had to," Blake answered matter-of-factly.
Molly narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't try to cross me," she warned.
"The thought never crossed my mind," Blake replied with a smile. He headed towards the door and opened it. "After you," he said, gesturing towards the entrance.
From across the street, Stink watched through a pair of binoculars as Molly walked through the entrance of the restaurant after staring at her date for a while and as Blake followed her in. "I could've done that," he said with a frown.
Before he knew it, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Startled, he turned around, and when he saw who had done it, he said, "You?"
* * * * *
"What the...?" Bo wondered as he spotted the flashes of light above the construction site before them.
"This is definitely the place," Shirley concluded as they got closer, noticing the two bikes on the fence.
Leaving their bikes next to Rika's and Sara's, the two detectives dashed through the fence. They spotted Sara, but what she was watching got their attention immediately.
Before them, two great streaks of light kept bouncing off each other and zigzagging. Shirley could hear the blows being struck between the two, and after a while, the two lights returned to earth. The yellow one landed before Shirley and the others, and the blue and green one landed a few feet away.
The yellow glow faded, revealing Rika with her hands out in a defensive position. "I see playing games hasn't diminished your fighting skills," she said.
The blue and green light faded away, revealing the girl. "Yours are still as good," she admitted.
Rika turned around and saw Shirley and Bo. "Why am I not surprised you're here?"
"Wild horses couldn't drag us away," Bo joked weakly.
The girl stepped forward with her hands in her pants pockets. "Ah, so you've finally come, Shirley Holmes," she said.
Shirley blinked as she looked at the girl. "You know me?"
"I have my sources," the girl said, her mouth forming a grin. "I've been looking forward to meeting you."
Bo looked over the girl when he could clearly see her. "Okay, now that's bizarre."
The girl standing before them all definitely fit Bo's one word description. Her clothing seemed normal; her jacket and pants were a dark blue, and her shirt was a simple green. However, her hair was of the same shade of green, and it was worn as buns with long pigtails. Her eyes were yellow, and the spiral was present on her shirt and the ends of her pigtails.
"You're the Gamer of the Dark?" Bo asked, staring at the girl and not liking the look in her eyes.
"So that's what they call me. My, what a fitting name!" the girl said, cupping her chin with one gloved hand as she let out a little laugh.
"I suppose you have one of your own?" Shirley asked.
For a while, no one spoke, and a brief wind blew through the area. "But of course. Watashi wa Uzumaki Tomie desu," the girl said finally, flashing a grin, "or if you prefer the Western name order, Tomie Uzumaki."
Bo really didn't like the look in her eyes.
END OF CHAPTER 7