________________________________________________________________________________
Surprisingly, Sam did feel a bit better the next day as she and Anthony cruised down the street in her bright red convertible. The wind blowing through her long mane of fiery red hair felt refreshing, and being able to just ride was a nice change. Normally she had to pick up Alex to drive places because she didn't have a car...
"Uh, Sam? Where are we going?" Anthony asked. With a blink, Sam realized she'd been driving them right toward Alex's house.
"Wow... sorry, must be a force of habit." Sam smiled apologetically and slowed down to turn, but a flashing light further down the street caught her eye. "What the... is that..." She slammed her foot on the gas and sped down the street. "Oh my God..." She slammed on the breaks as she pulled up outside Alex's house, which had several cop cars and an ambulance sitting outside.
"Sam, this is none of our business. She's not your friend anymore." Anthony said.
"Friend or not, she's a human being." Sam jumped out of the car and ran toward the house. She spotted Clover sitting in the ambulance with a paramedic examining her throat carefully. "Oh man, Clover! What happened!?" Sam ran toward the ambulance. Clover looked at her down her nose, since her head was craned upward to take stress off her neck.
"Somebody broke into Alex's house last night to take her... ow!" Clover winced as the paramedic squeezed the fairly sized bruise on her neck. "I knocked one out, but the other got away with her..."
"Oh man..." Sam's mood fell like a stone. And the last thing she'd said to Alex was that they weren't friends anymore... "Are there any leads as to where they might have gone? Ransom notes? Anything?" Clover shook her head. Sam felt a tap on her shoulder, so she turned to see Anthony behind her.
"Sam, come on. We have to get you to school or you'll be late." Anthony told her.
"Forget school right now..." Sam replied with a frown.
"You have to concentrate on your grades." Anthony told her. "This is exactly what comes from this mingling crap, your grades go down."
"Oh back off." Sam shoved him back toward the car. "Get out of here, go do whatever you want."
"What are you going to do?" Anthony asked.
"I'm sticking with Clover, I want to make sure she's okay at least." Sam replied. Anthony nodded, content with the answer and turned to climb into Sam's car. As he drove off Clover growled, but winced since this tickled the bruise on her throat.
"That little bigot is getting on my nerves." Clover stated.
"Don't worry Clover, we'll get to the bottom of this." Sam put one hand on the paramedic's shoulder. "If she's okay enough to move around and stuff, could I take her?"
"Um... well any injuries to the throat should be taken very seriously..." The paramedic replied.
"I'll take the chance." Clover pushed him back and hopped out of the ambulance. "Come on Sam, it's time to call in the big guns." She turned to run down the street, with Sam following close behind her. There was only one way they could find Alex quickly before something worse than a kidnapping happened to her...
Suddenly the pavement opened up underneath them, sending them hurtling down a long, winding steel tunnel until they finally emerged and hit the ground in a bundle of limbs. "Jerry!" Sam shouted as she looked up to see the head of WOOHP sitting behind his desk, looking down at them. "We were just coming to see you! Alex is-"
Jerry interrupted her. "We know Sam, we've been working on it since the 911 call was placed." He looked up as another agent walked in and held out a file of papers. He grabbed the file and opened it, looking through the pages with a careful gaze.
Clover pushed herself to her feet, approaching Jerry's desk. "Well? Are we going to do something about it?" She asked irritably.
"Of course, but first, you must be briefed. Time is of the essence so I'll keep it short." Jerry stood up and pressed a button on his desk, activating the monitor on the wall behind him. It showed a picture of a man with a strong jaw line and green eyes. "The man you knocked out Clover is named Michael Mendoza. He's a former state wrestling champion, a devoted father and husband... and a card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan."
Sam's blood went cold. "KKK? As in the 'burning people on crosses' KKK?"
"The very same I'm afraid. It has become rare for them to actively attack others, but its been known to happen. Particularly when one of them has a personal grudge." Jerry turned toward the girls with a grim expression on his face. "Michael Mendoza is being held at the California State Police Department. They've questioned him, but he isn't talking about who asked him to do this or where they took Alex."
"I bet I could make him talk." Clover growled, punching one of her fists down on the desk.
Jerry surprised them both with his next statement. "I'm relying on that." He looked back and forth between the two girls with a solemn expression on his face. "Alex's recovery is of the highest priority. She's one of our best agents. You will have all of WOOHP at your disposal for this one, should you need it. And that includes gadgets." Jerry pressed another button on his desk, and the monitor swung to the side, revealing an entire room full of weapons and various WOOHP gadgets. "Take whatever you need."
"Thanks a bunch Jerry. We'll get her back." Clover marched past him into the gadget room to get what she would need. It was nice to know that if something really bad happened, Jerry would be there to give them the support they needed.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Uhn..." Alex slowly pushed herself to her hands and knees, rubbing her aching head. She could barely think straight with the pounding drums in her brain... where was she? She opened her eyes halfway and looked around. It looked like an old brick cell... like something from an old west movie combined with a medieval dungeon. There was a flat-as-a-board cot against the wall and three thick bars covering the window.
"Hey, you're awake." Alex looked back at the cell door to see a tall, muscular man with a scowl on his face glaring down at her. Alex pushed herself painfully to her feet, gripping her head with one hand. "It's because of you that Brother Michael is incarcerated right now... you people are never anything but trouble."
"I'm not a 'people', I'm Alex." Alex complained, approaching the cell door. "And I demand to know why you brought me here." When the man let out a guttural belly laugh, she realized she probably wasn't in any position to make demands. "... Please?"
Without warning the man's arm shot between the bars, slamming his palm into her nose. Alex fell back to the ground, clutching her bloody nose with her hands. "Agh!" She rolled to her side, clutching her nose as the man pushed the cell door open and moved to stand over her.
"Don't get testy." He slammed his foot into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Alex curled up in a ball on the ground, groaning in pain. He knelt down beside her, putting one hand on her still bare side. She hadn't been clothed since being dragged out of bed like this. "Not bad though..." His hand moved along her side toward her breast.
Alex growled and brushed his hand away violently, but his fist slammed into her cheek, throwing her head into the rock-hard floor. Alex yelped in pain, her vision suddenly going fuzzy. She felt dizzy... She lifted her arms to fight him off again, but a violent impact against her stomach disabled what little muscle control she had left.
"Hey, Brother Zack. We have preparations to make out here." Another voice said from the direction of the cell door.
"We can have a real date later." Zack's hand brushed over Alex's cheek before she heard him stand up and head toward the cell, closing and locking it behind him. Alex curled up on the ground, pulling herself into a fetal position. Her head hurt, her stomach hurt, it was freezing in this cold, dank cell, and she didn't have a shred of protection. Was this Hell...?
________________________________________________________________________________
The Catfight Claws dug easily into the side of the police station as Sam and Clover made their way up to the barred window. Their green and red WOOHP outfits shined in the afternoon sunlight. Clover gave Sam a thumbs up when she reached it, and Sam made her way up faster. Indeed, looking inside she saw the man Jerry had shown them sitting on one side of a long table. He was still in the middle of interrogation... but the police interrogators were nowhere to be seen.
Clover reached into her belt and pulled out a tube of Laser Lipstick, using the crimson beam to cut through the bars. She pushed her slim form inside, doing a vertical flip and landing on her feet. Sam followed suit as Michael whirled after hearing the noise, standing up and giving them a broad smile.
"I don't know who you are, but I could definitely use a rescue here." He told them. Sam had an idea to pretend to rescue him, have him lead them back to his hideout, and find Alex that way... but Clover's thought processes were more focused than hers.
"Rescue my ass." Clover stepped forward and slashed the Catfight Claws across his cheek. They bit deep enough to draw blood, and sent Michael scurrying back to get away from her. "Where did your pal take Alex?"
"You're crazy..." Michael exclaimed. He ran for the door, but Sam leapt in front of him, planting a firm kick to his stomach that knocked the wind out of him. "Hugh..." He collapsed to his knees on the floor, clutching his stomach painfully. "Get away from me you lunatics... I'm not saying nothing." Sam grabbed him and pushed him into the nearby chair, holding his arms behind him.
"Oh, you're saying something alright." Clover reached into her belt and pulled out a small star-shaped spray bottle. Sam's eyes widened when she saw it, but she didn't say anything. "Do you know what this is?" Clover sprayed a cloud of blue smoke onto the table, and it froze instantly. A swift kick and it shattered like glass.
"Wh... what are you doing..." Michael stammered.
"Liquid Nitrogen." Clover marched up to him, pointing the bottle at him. "Talk, or maybe we'll find out what this stuff does to a pair of lungs." Clover smirked down at his fear filled expression. Sam watched her carefully. They were supposed to use all means necessary... but killing? That wouldn't get them anywhere. But Clover looked in the right mindset to do it...
"You... you wouldn't..." Michael replied.
"Say 'ah'." Clover grabbed Michael's hair and jerked his head back, forcing his mouth open and inserting the tip of the bottle into his mouth. Michael screamed in a panic, and Sam jumped up.
"Clover, d-" Sam was interrupted by Michael.
"I'll halh, I'll halh!" Michael screamed around the bottle in his mouth. Clover pulled the bottle back and Michael's frantic eyes stated up at her in terror. "I... I don't know anything... s... some guy asked us to do it ..." He gulped, staring at the bottle still clutching in Clover's hand. "That's all I know, Zack took the request so I don't know who gave it... he just had a grudge against the girl..." He squeezed his eyes shut.
The doorknob on the door to the interrogation room began to turn, so both Clover and Sam darted for the window. They both squeezed through and grabbed onto the side of the building with their Catfight Claws just before the door opened. They ignored the conversation inside, instead scaling down the brick wall.
"You went too far Clover. What if it had gone off accidentally?" Sam chided her friend once they reached the bottom.
"Hey, just because you don't care about Alex enough to do whatever's necessary, doesn't mean I won't so whatever it takes to get her back." Clover replied venomously. Sam gaped at her in shock.
"How dare you accuse me of not caring about Alex! Of course I care about her!"
"Then why abandon her like you did!? Do you know what that did to her!?" Clover stepped up to Sam, staring her down with a scowl on her face. "She was crushed."
"I... I thought it was for her own good..." Sam replied softly, turning her eyes downward. "I thought she'd be happier..."
"Your stupid brother has poisoned your mind." Clover told her sharply. "He made you think like him, and now Alex is gone!" Sam blinked and turned to look at Clover, realization flashing in her eyes. Clover blinked, apparently reaching the same conclusion. "Anthony did it... didn't he?"
"He was on the phone with someone last night around the time you and Alex were attacked... it can't be a coincidence." Sam whispered softly. "He told me I'd be happier today... and he told me to forget about Alex this morning. He must have planned it all."
"Then let's find him." Clover held out her hand. "We'll call a truce until Alex is back home safe and sound."
"Deal." Sam shook her hand and they both turned to run away from the police station. Anthony was the only person who could have called out this favor to take out Alex... she wished it weren't true, but there was no other explanation. She had to take him down and get Alex back.
________________________________________________________________________________
Alex looked up from her curled-up position on the floor to see two large men walking into the cell. She blinked and gasped in surprise to see that Anthony was one of them. "A... Anthony? Thank God..." Alex crawled up to him and grabbed onto his pant-leg. "I know you don't like me, but you've got to help me. These people are... hol... ding..." She trailed off when he reached down to grip her wrist, yanking her up to a standing position.
"Shut up. You've poisoned my sister's mind enough with your nonsense." He gripped her shoulders tightly, pulling her face close to his. She stared into his eyes, shaking from fear and weakness born of pain and hunger. "You all think you're the same as us... well you're wrong. We're different... we're better." He scowled darkly.
"P... please... let me go..." Alex asked squeaked.
"You're not poisoning Sam anymore." He gripped her shoulders and dragged her toward the door. Alex screeched and thrust her legs upward, slamming both knees into his stomach. Anthony stumbled back against the wall outside the cell, and Alex lunged for the open door. She managed to get outside and turn the corner, but the second man's arm wrapped around her waist and flung her hard against the wall.
"Agh!" Alex screamed in pain as the man moved his body up against hers from behind, pinning her to the wall. Tears her running down her cheeks as she looked do the side, seeing Anthony stomping up to her with an angry scowl on his lips. "Please..."
"Enough trouble." Anthony raised his fist and thrust it forward, knocking Alex's consciousness into complete darkness.
________________________________________________________________________________
Clover drove down the street in her pink convertible as Sam pulled her compowder out of her belt. "So where are we headed? Do you know where Anthony is?" Clover asked. Sam ignored her and tapped the command to contact the WOOHP headquarters. Jerry's grim face appeared on the screen.
"Do you need anything Sam?" Jerry asked.
"I need access to WOOHP's orbiting surveillance satellites." Sam replied.
To her surprise, Jerry simply nodded. "Done." Jerry's face vanished and a model of the Earth appeared on the screen. Sam tapped a portion of the screen and it zoomed in slightly She pressed her finger onto it, and the screen zoomed in like a falling meteorite until the very streets and traffic of Beverly Hills were clearly identifiable.
"Guess we're lucky it's a sunny day today." Clover commented. "But how do you plan to find one guy with a surveillance satellite?"
"Not the guy... the car. He's driving mine, and the paint job is custom. It should be easy to spot even from space... I hope." Slowly Sam scrolled around the city, watching the traffic on the streets carefully. Finally she spotted her car, speeding down the street directly parallel to the one they were on. "Clover, gun it and take the next left."
"Gunning it." Clover jammed her foot down on the gas, weaving through traffic with skill born of long practice. The tires screeched in protest as the vehicle jerked to the left at the next intersection, but soon caught and carried them down this new road.
"Hard right!" Sam exclaimed as Clover's car barreled into a direct collision course with her own car. Clover jerked the wheel to the right and slammed on the brakes, sending the vehicle into a circular spin. It spun straight into the next street where the side slammed into Sam's car, sending it barreling into the oncoming traffic on the other side of the street.
"Hey... Alex!" Clover shouted. Sam looked up in surprise to see that the nasty bump had knocked a tarp loose from the lump in the back of the car, revealing part of Alex's head. Anthony turned the car to get back on the right side of the road before he had a head-on collision. "Oh no you don't!" Clover jammed on the gas, and with a mighty roar from the engine her corvette shot down the street in hot pursuit.
Sam put away her compowder and removed her silver belt. "I'm going to anchor us, then you can pull him to a stop." Clover nodded. Sam wrapped the belt around the back of her seat and pulled the bungee cable off of it, standing up on her seat. The wind whipped her hair across her face, almost blinding her, but she managed to lift the Cable Bungee Belt and fire.
The magnetic tip latched onto the left side of the steel trunk, effectively tying the two vehicles together. Anthony looked back at them from the front car and jerked the wheel to the side to head down a side street. The cable yanked their car forward like a ball and chain, sending them hurtling toward the corner of a nearby building.
"Shit!" Clover yanked the wheel to the right, barely making the turn before they hit the building head on. Sam however was thrown to the side since she'd still been standing up. "Sammy!" Sam thrust the Catfight Claws into Clover's door, where they latched onto the upholstery and anchored her in place. "My car!" Clover exclaimed.
"Stay on them!" Sam pulled herself into the back seat of the convertible as the car sped up. Anthony looked back at them again, not seeing that they were actually going the wrong way on a one-way street. Clover blinked as a semi turned down a nearby intersection, barreling straight toward them. "Turn!"
Clover pulled to the left to avoid the oncoming traffic, but Anthony looked ahead just in time to see the semi coming toward him. He pulled frantically to the right, avoiding a collision. But the Expandable Cable Bungee Belt caught on the truck's front grill, pulling both cars around like a pair of kites toward the rear wheels.
"Get out!" Clover and Sam both leapt out of the vehicle and slammed into the street, rolling to a pair of tangled heaps several feet away. Clover's car collided with Sam's underneath the truth with a loud crash of steel on steel. Both cars were smashed, but then both were sucked under the massive rear wheels and completely demolished. "ALEX!" Both spies screamed, running toward the wreckage as the semi came to a stop.
They rounded the edge of the semi, and ran straight into Anthony, who punched Clover in the face, sending her hurtling to the ground off-guard. Sam rounded the corner and stared at Anthony, raising her arms into a fighting position in front of her.
"Sam? You were the one chasing me?" Anthony asked in surprise. Alex was lying unconscious on the ground behind him, wrapped up in the tarp from before. "Why are you following me? She doesn't mean anything to you anymore."
"You're wrong." Sam replied. "You sounded reasonable yesterday... but you forgot to take something into account. The human heart. Sure we're all different. Different histories, different backgrounds, different customs... but we all have the same heart. And regardless of our differences that heart is what pulls us all together."
"Foolish idealism..." Anthony sighed.
"Move out of the way and let me take Alex with me." Sam told him. "Don't make me take her from you."
"I don't want to take the fall for this..." Anthony raised his fists in front of him.
"You're falling either way." Sam lurched forward, flipping into a handstand and thrusting both of her feet into Anthony's chest. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, but regained his footing quickly as Sam flipped to her feet again and leapt forward with a whirling kick.
Anthony ducked the kick and lunged forward, jamming one fist into Sam's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. He thrust his fist forward, sending her flying off of it through sheer strength. She hit the ground and rolled to her back clutching her stomach with both arms.
"You stay away from them!" Clover screamed as she leapt over Sam, landing in a crouch and lunging under his guard. Her fist slammed into his jaw, sending him stumbling back before she whirled and planted her heeled boot into his stomach, doubling him over. Her knee came up and slammed into his face, sending him stumbling back and clutching his nose.
Anthony glared at her, then smirked and lunged forward, throwing one punch. Clover whirled out of the way, but Anthony's other arm came around and gripped her throat, shoving her tightly up against the side of the semi. "Hugh..." Clover gargled in pain as he squeezed her throat tightly. Her hands pulled at his wrist, but her injury from last night was still haunting her, in addition to this new threat.
"Leave... my... friends... alone!" Sam jumped forward, the Catfight Claws springing forth from her gloves. She slammed her fist into his side, driving the claws deep into his body. Anthony screamed and let go of Clover, stumbling back. Sam pulled the claws out of him, pulling them back into the glove. Anthony reached down to touch his side, his hand coming away red with blood.
"Sam... how could you..." He gaped at her.
"Easy... your little crusade here is over Anthony. The rest of your friends are going down with you." Sam walked up to him, narrowing her eyes. "Now back off." She decked him in the jaw, knocking him unconscious to the ground. Sam turned to approach Clover, kneeling down to help her up. "Are you okay?"
"Y... Yeah..." Clover rubbed her throat tenderly. Her voiced scratchier than normal. "I'm fine... but Alex..." Both spies turned to walk over to the unconscious and wrapped up figure of their friend. They both knelt down to unwrap the tarp, fully revealing her head. "Alex, wake up now." Clover slapped her cheek gently.
"Uhn... g... get away from..." Alex mumbled wearily, her eyes slowly opening. "Don't touch..."
"Hey hey, it's us." Sam smiled down at her. Alex stared up at them in confusion for several moments before her rescue registered in her brain.
"Clover... and Sammy... er... thanks... partner..." Alex said.
"Partner nothing... I'm glad to see you, best friend." Sam pulled her into a tight hug. Alex squealed happily and held onto her, tears running down her smiling face. Sam blinked when she heard a soft thud beside her. Looking over, she saw Clover sprawled out on the street. "Clover!" Sam moved to make sure she was okay. The bruise on her neck looked really bad... the paramedic had warned them about that before. She couldn't be... gone...
Sam and Alex both crawled over to her, trying to wake her up. Sam called on her compowder for an ambulance, but she had no idea if it would make it in time. One could only pray...
________________________________________________________________________________
The hospital waiting room was beginning to feel like a prison as Sam waited anxiously for news of both of her best friends. Alex's injuries had been mostly minor bruises, but Clover's windpipe was another story. There was a chance her throat had been completely crushed, to the point of needing some seriously major surgery. Or she could already be...
Sam was jolted out of her depressing thoughts when Alex emerged from the back, wearing an outfit Sam had gotten from her house for her to wear since she'd been taken without one. Sam smiled and stood to embrace her friend. "A clean bill of health." Alex said with a slight smile. "A little shaken... but I'll be fine... any news on Clover?"
"Not yet, they're still working on her." Sam replied with a soft sigh. "Alex... I'm really sorry about what I said the other night... it was stupid. My brother was just messing with my head and..."
Alex interrupted her with a tired smile. "Don't worry Sammy. As long as you're my friend again, it doesn't matter what happened." She looked like she wanted to hug again, but Sam's compowder started beeping from her pocket. Sam pulled it out and flipped open the top, revealing Jerry's face smiling up at them.
"It's good to see you Alex." Jerry said.
"Thanks Jerr." Alex smiled back. "It's good to be back with everything back to normal."
"And a job well done, Sam." Jerry turned his gaze to Sam. "You and Clover will both be commended... and all three of you will get a nice long vacation."
"That sounds good... I don't think we could do much for a while anyway between Alex's and Clover's injuries..." Sam trailed off and stared at Jerry. "Hey... what's going to happen to Anthony? Is he going to be tried in a normal court?"
"We're going to take care of him." Jerry replied. Sam nodded in understanding, letting the topic drop without further inquiry. "Give Clover my regards when you see her. And again, good job girls." Jerry cut contact, so Sam put the compowder away with a sigh.
"Do you think Clover will be okay?" Alex asked softly. Before Sam could answer someone else interrupted.
"I'd say yes." Clover's voice was still scratchy, and she had a small neck brace on, but otherwise she was moving just fine as she approached her two friends.
"Clover!" Alex jumped forward and wrapped her up in a massive hug as Sam walked up behind her, smiling. "Thank you so much... for everything you've done..." Alex pulled back and smiled, staring into Clover's eyes.
Sam scratched her head in confusion. "Am I missing something?" She asked.
"Forget it Sammy... let's all get out of here and get a nice, very soft, something to eat." Clover suggested.
Alex giggled. "Sounds good." They turned to leave, but Sam followed still complaining.
"Come on guys, don't keep secrets from me. What's going on?" Sam followed them with questions, but neither Alex nor Clover would give it up. Aw well... it didn't really matter. The three spies and best friends were together again as it was supposed to be. And they would stay that way, because that's what best friends did, regardless of all other concerns.
THE END
Surprisingly, Sam did feel a bit better the next day as she and Anthony cruised down the street in her bright red convertible. The wind blowing through her long mane of fiery red hair felt refreshing, and being able to just ride was a nice change. Normally she had to pick up Alex to drive places because she didn't have a car...
"Uh, Sam? Where are we going?" Anthony asked. With a blink, Sam realized she'd been driving them right toward Alex's house.
"Wow... sorry, must be a force of habit." Sam smiled apologetically and slowed down to turn, but a flashing light further down the street caught her eye. "What the... is that..." She slammed her foot on the gas and sped down the street. "Oh my God..." She slammed on the breaks as she pulled up outside Alex's house, which had several cop cars and an ambulance sitting outside.
"Sam, this is none of our business. She's not your friend anymore." Anthony said.
"Friend or not, she's a human being." Sam jumped out of the car and ran toward the house. She spotted Clover sitting in the ambulance with a paramedic examining her throat carefully. "Oh man, Clover! What happened!?" Sam ran toward the ambulance. Clover looked at her down her nose, since her head was craned upward to take stress off her neck.
"Somebody broke into Alex's house last night to take her... ow!" Clover winced as the paramedic squeezed the fairly sized bruise on her neck. "I knocked one out, but the other got away with her..."
"Oh man..." Sam's mood fell like a stone. And the last thing she'd said to Alex was that they weren't friends anymore... "Are there any leads as to where they might have gone? Ransom notes? Anything?" Clover shook her head. Sam felt a tap on her shoulder, so she turned to see Anthony behind her.
"Sam, come on. We have to get you to school or you'll be late." Anthony told her.
"Forget school right now..." Sam replied with a frown.
"You have to concentrate on your grades." Anthony told her. "This is exactly what comes from this mingling crap, your grades go down."
"Oh back off." Sam shoved him back toward the car. "Get out of here, go do whatever you want."
"What are you going to do?" Anthony asked.
"I'm sticking with Clover, I want to make sure she's okay at least." Sam replied. Anthony nodded, content with the answer and turned to climb into Sam's car. As he drove off Clover growled, but winced since this tickled the bruise on her throat.
"That little bigot is getting on my nerves." Clover stated.
"Don't worry Clover, we'll get to the bottom of this." Sam put one hand on the paramedic's shoulder. "If she's okay enough to move around and stuff, could I take her?"
"Um... well any injuries to the throat should be taken very seriously..." The paramedic replied.
"I'll take the chance." Clover pushed him back and hopped out of the ambulance. "Come on Sam, it's time to call in the big guns." She turned to run down the street, with Sam following close behind her. There was only one way they could find Alex quickly before something worse than a kidnapping happened to her...
Suddenly the pavement opened up underneath them, sending them hurtling down a long, winding steel tunnel until they finally emerged and hit the ground in a bundle of limbs. "Jerry!" Sam shouted as she looked up to see the head of WOOHP sitting behind his desk, looking down at them. "We were just coming to see you! Alex is-"
Jerry interrupted her. "We know Sam, we've been working on it since the 911 call was placed." He looked up as another agent walked in and held out a file of papers. He grabbed the file and opened it, looking through the pages with a careful gaze.
Clover pushed herself to her feet, approaching Jerry's desk. "Well? Are we going to do something about it?" She asked irritably.
"Of course, but first, you must be briefed. Time is of the essence so I'll keep it short." Jerry stood up and pressed a button on his desk, activating the monitor on the wall behind him. It showed a picture of a man with a strong jaw line and green eyes. "The man you knocked out Clover is named Michael Mendoza. He's a former state wrestling champion, a devoted father and husband... and a card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan."
Sam's blood went cold. "KKK? As in the 'burning people on crosses' KKK?"
"The very same I'm afraid. It has become rare for them to actively attack others, but its been known to happen. Particularly when one of them has a personal grudge." Jerry turned toward the girls with a grim expression on his face. "Michael Mendoza is being held at the California State Police Department. They've questioned him, but he isn't talking about who asked him to do this or where they took Alex."
"I bet I could make him talk." Clover growled, punching one of her fists down on the desk.
Jerry surprised them both with his next statement. "I'm relying on that." He looked back and forth between the two girls with a solemn expression on his face. "Alex's recovery is of the highest priority. She's one of our best agents. You will have all of WOOHP at your disposal for this one, should you need it. And that includes gadgets." Jerry pressed another button on his desk, and the monitor swung to the side, revealing an entire room full of weapons and various WOOHP gadgets. "Take whatever you need."
"Thanks a bunch Jerry. We'll get her back." Clover marched past him into the gadget room to get what she would need. It was nice to know that if something really bad happened, Jerry would be there to give them the support they needed.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Uhn..." Alex slowly pushed herself to her hands and knees, rubbing her aching head. She could barely think straight with the pounding drums in her brain... where was she? She opened her eyes halfway and looked around. It looked like an old brick cell... like something from an old west movie combined with a medieval dungeon. There was a flat-as-a-board cot against the wall and three thick bars covering the window.
"Hey, you're awake." Alex looked back at the cell door to see a tall, muscular man with a scowl on his face glaring down at her. Alex pushed herself painfully to her feet, gripping her head with one hand. "It's because of you that Brother Michael is incarcerated right now... you people are never anything but trouble."
"I'm not a 'people', I'm Alex." Alex complained, approaching the cell door. "And I demand to know why you brought me here." When the man let out a guttural belly laugh, she realized she probably wasn't in any position to make demands. "... Please?"
Without warning the man's arm shot between the bars, slamming his palm into her nose. Alex fell back to the ground, clutching her bloody nose with her hands. "Agh!" She rolled to her side, clutching her nose as the man pushed the cell door open and moved to stand over her.
"Don't get testy." He slammed his foot into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Alex curled up in a ball on the ground, groaning in pain. He knelt down beside her, putting one hand on her still bare side. She hadn't been clothed since being dragged out of bed like this. "Not bad though..." His hand moved along her side toward her breast.
Alex growled and brushed his hand away violently, but his fist slammed into her cheek, throwing her head into the rock-hard floor. Alex yelped in pain, her vision suddenly going fuzzy. She felt dizzy... She lifted her arms to fight him off again, but a violent impact against her stomach disabled what little muscle control she had left.
"Hey, Brother Zack. We have preparations to make out here." Another voice said from the direction of the cell door.
"We can have a real date later." Zack's hand brushed over Alex's cheek before she heard him stand up and head toward the cell, closing and locking it behind him. Alex curled up on the ground, pulling herself into a fetal position. Her head hurt, her stomach hurt, it was freezing in this cold, dank cell, and she didn't have a shred of protection. Was this Hell...?
________________________________________________________________________________
The Catfight Claws dug easily into the side of the police station as Sam and Clover made their way up to the barred window. Their green and red WOOHP outfits shined in the afternoon sunlight. Clover gave Sam a thumbs up when she reached it, and Sam made her way up faster. Indeed, looking inside she saw the man Jerry had shown them sitting on one side of a long table. He was still in the middle of interrogation... but the police interrogators were nowhere to be seen.
Clover reached into her belt and pulled out a tube of Laser Lipstick, using the crimson beam to cut through the bars. She pushed her slim form inside, doing a vertical flip and landing on her feet. Sam followed suit as Michael whirled after hearing the noise, standing up and giving them a broad smile.
"I don't know who you are, but I could definitely use a rescue here." He told them. Sam had an idea to pretend to rescue him, have him lead them back to his hideout, and find Alex that way... but Clover's thought processes were more focused than hers.
"Rescue my ass." Clover stepped forward and slashed the Catfight Claws across his cheek. They bit deep enough to draw blood, and sent Michael scurrying back to get away from her. "Where did your pal take Alex?"
"You're crazy..." Michael exclaimed. He ran for the door, but Sam leapt in front of him, planting a firm kick to his stomach that knocked the wind out of him. "Hugh..." He collapsed to his knees on the floor, clutching his stomach painfully. "Get away from me you lunatics... I'm not saying nothing." Sam grabbed him and pushed him into the nearby chair, holding his arms behind him.
"Oh, you're saying something alright." Clover reached into her belt and pulled out a small star-shaped spray bottle. Sam's eyes widened when she saw it, but she didn't say anything. "Do you know what this is?" Clover sprayed a cloud of blue smoke onto the table, and it froze instantly. A swift kick and it shattered like glass.
"Wh... what are you doing..." Michael stammered.
"Liquid Nitrogen." Clover marched up to him, pointing the bottle at him. "Talk, or maybe we'll find out what this stuff does to a pair of lungs." Clover smirked down at his fear filled expression. Sam watched her carefully. They were supposed to use all means necessary... but killing? That wouldn't get them anywhere. But Clover looked in the right mindset to do it...
"You... you wouldn't..." Michael replied.
"Say 'ah'." Clover grabbed Michael's hair and jerked his head back, forcing his mouth open and inserting the tip of the bottle into his mouth. Michael screamed in a panic, and Sam jumped up.
"Clover, d-" Sam was interrupted by Michael.
"I'll halh, I'll halh!" Michael screamed around the bottle in his mouth. Clover pulled the bottle back and Michael's frantic eyes stated up at her in terror. "I... I don't know anything... s... some guy asked us to do it ..." He gulped, staring at the bottle still clutching in Clover's hand. "That's all I know, Zack took the request so I don't know who gave it... he just had a grudge against the girl..." He squeezed his eyes shut.
The doorknob on the door to the interrogation room began to turn, so both Clover and Sam darted for the window. They both squeezed through and grabbed onto the side of the building with their Catfight Claws just before the door opened. They ignored the conversation inside, instead scaling down the brick wall.
"You went too far Clover. What if it had gone off accidentally?" Sam chided her friend once they reached the bottom.
"Hey, just because you don't care about Alex enough to do whatever's necessary, doesn't mean I won't so whatever it takes to get her back." Clover replied venomously. Sam gaped at her in shock.
"How dare you accuse me of not caring about Alex! Of course I care about her!"
"Then why abandon her like you did!? Do you know what that did to her!?" Clover stepped up to Sam, staring her down with a scowl on her face. "She was crushed."
"I... I thought it was for her own good..." Sam replied softly, turning her eyes downward. "I thought she'd be happier..."
"Your stupid brother has poisoned your mind." Clover told her sharply. "He made you think like him, and now Alex is gone!" Sam blinked and turned to look at Clover, realization flashing in her eyes. Clover blinked, apparently reaching the same conclusion. "Anthony did it... didn't he?"
"He was on the phone with someone last night around the time you and Alex were attacked... it can't be a coincidence." Sam whispered softly. "He told me I'd be happier today... and he told me to forget about Alex this morning. He must have planned it all."
"Then let's find him." Clover held out her hand. "We'll call a truce until Alex is back home safe and sound."
"Deal." Sam shook her hand and they both turned to run away from the police station. Anthony was the only person who could have called out this favor to take out Alex... she wished it weren't true, but there was no other explanation. She had to take him down and get Alex back.
________________________________________________________________________________
Alex looked up from her curled-up position on the floor to see two large men walking into the cell. She blinked and gasped in surprise to see that Anthony was one of them. "A... Anthony? Thank God..." Alex crawled up to him and grabbed onto his pant-leg. "I know you don't like me, but you've got to help me. These people are... hol... ding..." She trailed off when he reached down to grip her wrist, yanking her up to a standing position.
"Shut up. You've poisoned my sister's mind enough with your nonsense." He gripped her shoulders tightly, pulling her face close to his. She stared into his eyes, shaking from fear and weakness born of pain and hunger. "You all think you're the same as us... well you're wrong. We're different... we're better." He scowled darkly.
"P... please... let me go..." Alex asked squeaked.
"You're not poisoning Sam anymore." He gripped her shoulders and dragged her toward the door. Alex screeched and thrust her legs upward, slamming both knees into his stomach. Anthony stumbled back against the wall outside the cell, and Alex lunged for the open door. She managed to get outside and turn the corner, but the second man's arm wrapped around her waist and flung her hard against the wall.
"Agh!" Alex screamed in pain as the man moved his body up against hers from behind, pinning her to the wall. Tears her running down her cheeks as she looked do the side, seeing Anthony stomping up to her with an angry scowl on his lips. "Please..."
"Enough trouble." Anthony raised his fist and thrust it forward, knocking Alex's consciousness into complete darkness.
________________________________________________________________________________
Clover drove down the street in her pink convertible as Sam pulled her compowder out of her belt. "So where are we headed? Do you know where Anthony is?" Clover asked. Sam ignored her and tapped the command to contact the WOOHP headquarters. Jerry's grim face appeared on the screen.
"Do you need anything Sam?" Jerry asked.
"I need access to WOOHP's orbiting surveillance satellites." Sam replied.
To her surprise, Jerry simply nodded. "Done." Jerry's face vanished and a model of the Earth appeared on the screen. Sam tapped a portion of the screen and it zoomed in slightly She pressed her finger onto it, and the screen zoomed in like a falling meteorite until the very streets and traffic of Beverly Hills were clearly identifiable.
"Guess we're lucky it's a sunny day today." Clover commented. "But how do you plan to find one guy with a surveillance satellite?"
"Not the guy... the car. He's driving mine, and the paint job is custom. It should be easy to spot even from space... I hope." Slowly Sam scrolled around the city, watching the traffic on the streets carefully. Finally she spotted her car, speeding down the street directly parallel to the one they were on. "Clover, gun it and take the next left."
"Gunning it." Clover jammed her foot down on the gas, weaving through traffic with skill born of long practice. The tires screeched in protest as the vehicle jerked to the left at the next intersection, but soon caught and carried them down this new road.
"Hard right!" Sam exclaimed as Clover's car barreled into a direct collision course with her own car. Clover jerked the wheel to the right and slammed on the brakes, sending the vehicle into a circular spin. It spun straight into the next street where the side slammed into Sam's car, sending it barreling into the oncoming traffic on the other side of the street.
"Hey... Alex!" Clover shouted. Sam looked up in surprise to see that the nasty bump had knocked a tarp loose from the lump in the back of the car, revealing part of Alex's head. Anthony turned the car to get back on the right side of the road before he had a head-on collision. "Oh no you don't!" Clover jammed on the gas, and with a mighty roar from the engine her corvette shot down the street in hot pursuit.
Sam put away her compowder and removed her silver belt. "I'm going to anchor us, then you can pull him to a stop." Clover nodded. Sam wrapped the belt around the back of her seat and pulled the bungee cable off of it, standing up on her seat. The wind whipped her hair across her face, almost blinding her, but she managed to lift the Cable Bungee Belt and fire.
The magnetic tip latched onto the left side of the steel trunk, effectively tying the two vehicles together. Anthony looked back at them from the front car and jerked the wheel to the side to head down a side street. The cable yanked their car forward like a ball and chain, sending them hurtling toward the corner of a nearby building.
"Shit!" Clover yanked the wheel to the right, barely making the turn before they hit the building head on. Sam however was thrown to the side since she'd still been standing up. "Sammy!" Sam thrust the Catfight Claws into Clover's door, where they latched onto the upholstery and anchored her in place. "My car!" Clover exclaimed.
"Stay on them!" Sam pulled herself into the back seat of the convertible as the car sped up. Anthony looked back at them again, not seeing that they were actually going the wrong way on a one-way street. Clover blinked as a semi turned down a nearby intersection, barreling straight toward them. "Turn!"
Clover pulled to the left to avoid the oncoming traffic, but Anthony looked ahead just in time to see the semi coming toward him. He pulled frantically to the right, avoiding a collision. But the Expandable Cable Bungee Belt caught on the truck's front grill, pulling both cars around like a pair of kites toward the rear wheels.
"Get out!" Clover and Sam both leapt out of the vehicle and slammed into the street, rolling to a pair of tangled heaps several feet away. Clover's car collided with Sam's underneath the truth with a loud crash of steel on steel. Both cars were smashed, but then both were sucked under the massive rear wheels and completely demolished. "ALEX!" Both spies screamed, running toward the wreckage as the semi came to a stop.
They rounded the edge of the semi, and ran straight into Anthony, who punched Clover in the face, sending her hurtling to the ground off-guard. Sam rounded the corner and stared at Anthony, raising her arms into a fighting position in front of her.
"Sam? You were the one chasing me?" Anthony asked in surprise. Alex was lying unconscious on the ground behind him, wrapped up in the tarp from before. "Why are you following me? She doesn't mean anything to you anymore."
"You're wrong." Sam replied. "You sounded reasonable yesterday... but you forgot to take something into account. The human heart. Sure we're all different. Different histories, different backgrounds, different customs... but we all have the same heart. And regardless of our differences that heart is what pulls us all together."
"Foolish idealism..." Anthony sighed.
"Move out of the way and let me take Alex with me." Sam told him. "Don't make me take her from you."
"I don't want to take the fall for this..." Anthony raised his fists in front of him.
"You're falling either way." Sam lurched forward, flipping into a handstand and thrusting both of her feet into Anthony's chest. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, but regained his footing quickly as Sam flipped to her feet again and leapt forward with a whirling kick.
Anthony ducked the kick and lunged forward, jamming one fist into Sam's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. He thrust his fist forward, sending her flying off of it through sheer strength. She hit the ground and rolled to her back clutching her stomach with both arms.
"You stay away from them!" Clover screamed as she leapt over Sam, landing in a crouch and lunging under his guard. Her fist slammed into his jaw, sending him stumbling back before she whirled and planted her heeled boot into his stomach, doubling him over. Her knee came up and slammed into his face, sending him stumbling back and clutching his nose.
Anthony glared at her, then smirked and lunged forward, throwing one punch. Clover whirled out of the way, but Anthony's other arm came around and gripped her throat, shoving her tightly up against the side of the semi. "Hugh..." Clover gargled in pain as he squeezed her throat tightly. Her hands pulled at his wrist, but her injury from last night was still haunting her, in addition to this new threat.
"Leave... my... friends... alone!" Sam jumped forward, the Catfight Claws springing forth from her gloves. She slammed her fist into his side, driving the claws deep into his body. Anthony screamed and let go of Clover, stumbling back. Sam pulled the claws out of him, pulling them back into the glove. Anthony reached down to touch his side, his hand coming away red with blood.
"Sam... how could you..." He gaped at her.
"Easy... your little crusade here is over Anthony. The rest of your friends are going down with you." Sam walked up to him, narrowing her eyes. "Now back off." She decked him in the jaw, knocking him unconscious to the ground. Sam turned to approach Clover, kneeling down to help her up. "Are you okay?"
"Y... Yeah..." Clover rubbed her throat tenderly. Her voiced scratchier than normal. "I'm fine... but Alex..." Both spies turned to walk over to the unconscious and wrapped up figure of their friend. They both knelt down to unwrap the tarp, fully revealing her head. "Alex, wake up now." Clover slapped her cheek gently.
"Uhn... g... get away from..." Alex mumbled wearily, her eyes slowly opening. "Don't touch..."
"Hey hey, it's us." Sam smiled down at her. Alex stared up at them in confusion for several moments before her rescue registered in her brain.
"Clover... and Sammy... er... thanks... partner..." Alex said.
"Partner nothing... I'm glad to see you, best friend." Sam pulled her into a tight hug. Alex squealed happily and held onto her, tears running down her smiling face. Sam blinked when she heard a soft thud beside her. Looking over, she saw Clover sprawled out on the street. "Clover!" Sam moved to make sure she was okay. The bruise on her neck looked really bad... the paramedic had warned them about that before. She couldn't be... gone...
Sam and Alex both crawled over to her, trying to wake her up. Sam called on her compowder for an ambulance, but she had no idea if it would make it in time. One could only pray...
________________________________________________________________________________
The hospital waiting room was beginning to feel like a prison as Sam waited anxiously for news of both of her best friends. Alex's injuries had been mostly minor bruises, but Clover's windpipe was another story. There was a chance her throat had been completely crushed, to the point of needing some seriously major surgery. Or she could already be...
Sam was jolted out of her depressing thoughts when Alex emerged from the back, wearing an outfit Sam had gotten from her house for her to wear since she'd been taken without one. Sam smiled and stood to embrace her friend. "A clean bill of health." Alex said with a slight smile. "A little shaken... but I'll be fine... any news on Clover?"
"Not yet, they're still working on her." Sam replied with a soft sigh. "Alex... I'm really sorry about what I said the other night... it was stupid. My brother was just messing with my head and..."
Alex interrupted her with a tired smile. "Don't worry Sammy. As long as you're my friend again, it doesn't matter what happened." She looked like she wanted to hug again, but Sam's compowder started beeping from her pocket. Sam pulled it out and flipped open the top, revealing Jerry's face smiling up at them.
"It's good to see you Alex." Jerry said.
"Thanks Jerr." Alex smiled back. "It's good to be back with everything back to normal."
"And a job well done, Sam." Jerry turned his gaze to Sam. "You and Clover will both be commended... and all three of you will get a nice long vacation."
"That sounds good... I don't think we could do much for a while anyway between Alex's and Clover's injuries..." Sam trailed off and stared at Jerry. "Hey... what's going to happen to Anthony? Is he going to be tried in a normal court?"
"We're going to take care of him." Jerry replied. Sam nodded in understanding, letting the topic drop without further inquiry. "Give Clover my regards when you see her. And again, good job girls." Jerry cut contact, so Sam put the compowder away with a sigh.
"Do you think Clover will be okay?" Alex asked softly. Before Sam could answer someone else interrupted.
"I'd say yes." Clover's voice was still scratchy, and she had a small neck brace on, but otherwise she was moving just fine as she approached her two friends.
"Clover!" Alex jumped forward and wrapped her up in a massive hug as Sam walked up behind her, smiling. "Thank you so much... for everything you've done..." Alex pulled back and smiled, staring into Clover's eyes.
Sam scratched her head in confusion. "Am I missing something?" She asked.
"Forget it Sammy... let's all get out of here and get a nice, very soft, something to eat." Clover suggested.
Alex giggled. "Sounds good." They turned to leave, but Sam followed still complaining.
"Come on guys, don't keep secrets from me. What's going on?" Sam followed them with questions, but neither Alex nor Clover would give it up. Aw well... it didn't really matter. The three spies and best friends were together again as it was supposed to be. And they would stay that way, because that's what best friends did, regardless of all other concerns.
THE END