SPECIAL AUTHOR'S NOTE THAT WASN'T HERE BEFORE: I'm REALLY sorry guys, but
I'm gone on vacation for the next week, and I don't have a chapter ready to
post for tonight. Suffice to say that the time allotted to finish the
chapter was taken up by an urgent matter. Anyway, I can safely promise TWO
chapters by the end of Saturday, the, um, 20th? Whatever the Saturday is of
that week. Sorry again! Don't hate me!
~Eka
Title: The Scales Tipped Rating: PG
Soulful-sin- You guys are just too clever! Oh well, I guess I really can't help it if I make it that obvious. But I can tell you now, you'll never guess where this mystery is going! Oh, it's good...
Beth- ... Frogs? 0_o
Toast- I'm glad you liked my last chapter. I thought it was the worst so far! But you've made me feel better about it. I'm hoping it'll all start to tie together soon, because I feel like this plot is moving way too slow!
Blackheart Syaoran- Your reviews are always so long! How do you do it!?!? **dies** OMG, though, I never even considered putting Frank in this story... I wonder? I really liked him. My bro thought the Shredder episode was demented. I say: you suck! It rocked! But I have to say, I was afraid I lost it there for a while. Writer's block is the greatest bane of the universe. Thankfully, though, I got a little inspiration from an unlikely place. The rest of the story is set!
Summersitesprite- Ahhh! Another person who knew it was Sonny! I feel so obvious... But I say, you'll never figure out what's going on with Stingray's op! I'd be so impressed if someone did...
DarkWolfBlade- **smiles** Thank you.
________
'You still owe me, Augie. I've been waiting for a week now.'
'I know, man. But he likes to cover his tracks good.'
'That's an excuse. You said you could find out, and I'm holding you to your word.' The dark-skinned individual leaned in on the smaller boy, pinning him against the wall. Augie stood in the older boy's shadow, hunched over in submission but defiant in his gaze. He hated dealing with jerks like this guy. Sure, they were capable of some brilliant pieces of work, but they were so darn cocky and over-sure of their powers of intimidation.
'Yeah, yeah. I get ya already,' Augie said as he pushed Sonny away from him and escaped to the side. 'Just give me some more time.' Of course, Augie thought to himself, even if guys like this one had egos that were a tad too big, it didn't mean he wouldn't get a sound beating if he didn't follow through with his promise.
The door creaked open and both boys looked up with narrowed eyes. 'Am I interrupting something?' Ingrid asked as she walked in on them. The tension in the room was suffocating.
'Yeah, no. We're just talking over some-'
'Who are you?' Sonny cut Augie off without a thought.
Augie was quick on the uptake. He practically sprinted over to Ingrid and stood beside her with a hand on her shoulder. 'This is the girl I told you about,' he said, gesturing to her with his other hand.
'The one who gave the school a facelift?' Sonny gave Ingrid the once over. She glared at him, disliking his self-assured attitude. She shrugged Augie's hand off of her shoulder and he backed off accordingly.
'Who wants to know?' She asked, eying him with scrutiny.
'This is Sonny,' Augie answered from behind her. He was obviously up for introductions today. 'I told you about him the other day, when we were going over Fillmore's file.'
'Fillmore?' Sonny let suspicion enter his voice again.
'Yeah, it seems like you guys have a common enemy. He's the one who busted her on her locker trip.'
Sonny glanced from Augie to Ingrid, then back to Augie. 'Well it's nice to know that we all have some kind of common ground for friendly bonding, but don't you have some work to do, Augie?'
'That's what I'm telling you, man. She was in Fillmore's file; she knows how to hack the admin's system.'
Sonny looked at her with renewed interest. 'Really?'
'What's it to you?' As high as her IQ was, Ingrid still wasn't quite sure what was going on here. Besides the obvious of course: Augie was trying to sell her hacking abilities as a part of some business arrangement. Something that didn't please her in the least, truth be told.
'Well, Augie. I'll leave you to explain everything to Domino over there. I don't care how you get the info or who you use as a middle man, just find out. Got it?'
'Sure Sonny,' Augie waved good-bye as Sonny closed the door without even looking back. 'Jerk.' Augie rolled his eyes.
'What is this all about?'
'I'm sorry you had to put up with him. He tracked me down and showed up a few minutes before you.'
'Answer the question Augie.' Ingrid crossed her arms. He gave her a shy glance and then sighed.
'Look, I owe him a few favors, alright? But what he's asking me to do is a bit beyond my abilities. You, on the other hand...' He gave her a meaningful look.
Ingrid turned to leave. 'What you owe this guy has nothing to do with me. I'll see you around, Augie.'
'Wait!' He put his hand against the door, holding it closed. She removed her hand from the doorknob. 'All's I need you to do is get me a file on a student, that's it. It took you less than a minute to get a hold on Fillmore's the other day. Come on, I'll owe you.'
'Sounds like you owe a lot of people.'
'About as many people who owe me. That's how it works around here. You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. Of course, I like to deal in solid goods, more sure of a payoff that way...'
'Alright, Augie. One file. And you owe me.'
'Knew you'd come around!' he exclaimed triumphantly. He removed his hand from the door to let her pass, but just before she shut it behind her she stuck her head back into the room.
'A word of warning, though. You think Sonny can be a dangerous guy? I guarantee you I could make your life so miserable you'd wish I were as nice a person as Sonny is. Don't mess with me, Augie. And don't pull anything like this on me again.' She shut the door.
Augie stared at the spot where her face had been, and he believed every word she said.
________
Nothing. There was nothing missing. Fillmore sighed and hung the clipboard back on the door. Everything on the invoice was accounted for, from the box of cherry soda to the box of bottled water. Unless...
Fillmore ripped open the lid of the nearest box, a box of water. No, it was full. There was nothing out of place here. Stingray was obviously doing a good job of throwing the Patrol off of his trail with a few red herrings. He closed the door and locked it behind him. He'd have to drop this key off with the janitor on the way back to HQ. He turned around and nearly collided with a passing student.
'Watch it,' a familiar voice said. Fillmore narrowed his eyes automatically. He'd be able to pick out that indignant tone anywhere.
'Good afternoon, Third,' he responded, smoothing out his shirt.
'Not at all, actually. Excuse me Cornelius.' She stalked past him and down the hall. Fillmore watched her go. This was begining to become a routine. He glanced around and noticed the lack of other students. Come to think of it, Ingrid didn't participate in any after school activities, so what was she still doing hanging around school?
Only one way to find out.
He sprinted down the hall and peered carefully around the corner, but she was gone. The hallway was a long one, so the only thing that stood to reason was that she must have gone into one of the rooms. He walked slowly down the hall, hugging the wall. He didn't want her to notice him if she suddenly emerged from wherever she was.
He could hear the muffled sound of voices from somewhere to his left. A door suddenly opened with a shudder, and Fillmore flattened himself against the lockers. But it wasn't Ingrid who appeared then, but Sonny. This situation was getting more suspicious by the minute. Sonny disappeared down the hallway in the opposite direction, and not long after Ingrid exited the room as well. Fillmore got ready to follow her, when he noticed her stick her head back into the room. She was talking; there was someone else in there.
He let her leave. He wanted to know who else was a part of this little conspiracy. The door opened again. A sly smile crept across Fillmore's lips.
'Augie.'
The boy spun around in surprise. 'Ah, uh, hello ocifer.'
'Augie Aguie Augie,' Fillmore shook his head, suddenly in a very good mood. You know, I've been looking for you.
Augie smiled back nervously. 'Yeah, so I heard.'
'I was thinking we could have a little talk.'
Augie suddenly decided to grow a backbone. 'You ain't got nothing on me! I ain't done nothing! I don't have to go anywhere with you.'
'I have some questions, Augie, and you're going to answer them,' Fillmore strode menacingly towards the smaller boy. 'Do I have to cuff you, or are you gonna come quietly.'
'Yeah, yeah, I'll come. Don't get your pants in a knot. But I ain't gonna answer any of your questions. I'm filing a complaint against you. You ain't got no right to drag me into the questioning room.'
'Whatever you say Augie. Get moving.' Fillmore gave him a little shove. Augie stopped and shot the officer a death glare, pulling his shirt straight with a harsh gesture.
At HQ Fillmore didn't give Augie two seconds to say one word on anything before he was in the interrogation room. 'Yo man, I wanna talk to your superior.'
'You can sit down Augie, I haven't asked my questions yet.'
A knock on the door cut Fillmore off. He turned to find Vallejo standing there with a telling look on his face.
'What do you think you're doing?' The Junior Commissioner blared at him. Fillmore glanced through the one-way window, watching Augie sit back on two legs of his chair. 'You can't bring him in here without a justified reason, Fillmore! They questioned him already, he didn't say anything that linked him at all with Stingray, ergo he is a free man who has committed no crime! Now send him on his way!'
Fillmore walked resignedly back into the interrogation room. Augie now had his hands behind his head, looking as if he were enjoying himself.
'Alright Augie, you can go.' Augie stood up and went to the door, but Fillmore blocked the way.
'Do ya mind?'
'What were you doing with Third and Sonny?'
'Hey, I'm a free man!' he moved around Fillmore and backed out the door. 'Sorry ocifer, but I have the right to remain silent.'
'Then do us a favor and shut-up, would ya?' Fillmore smiled as Anza approached them. 'Tough luck, Fillmore.' They both watched Augie waltz out of HQ. 'But did you find out anything about those beverage shipments?'
'No. They're all there. I dunno what's going on. I think Neil might have been right in guessing they were feeding him false information. None of this is making any sense.'
'Oh, I left a copy of his report on your desk. You might want to read through it when you get the chance.'
'Thanks man,' Fillmore gave Anza a light punch on the arm and walked distractedly over to his fish bowl. 'Hey.'
'Fillmore!' He sighed and turned. Suddenly all of his energy seemed to be gone. He could really use a good night's sleep. Tehama walked up to him and handed him a file folder. 'I finally got around to analyzing that bottle you left on my desk.'
'Oh yeah? What'd you find out?'
'It's a cleaning agent. Well, not a commercial one anyway. It looks like it was homemade. Looking at it, I'd say it's pretty good at dissolving things like spray-paint, or-'
'Spray-paint?' Fillmore smiled and shook his head. Third really did deserve a lot of credit.
Maybe more than he realized. The smile hardened into a frown.
________
Next Chapter: Ingrid gets started on her little assignment and suddenly finds herself the centre of some unwanted attention. Fillmore investigates just what's going between Augie, Ingrid, and Sonny while trying to figure out if they have any connection to Stingray.
~Eka
Title: The Scales Tipped Rating: PG
Soulful-sin- You guys are just too clever! Oh well, I guess I really can't help it if I make it that obvious. But I can tell you now, you'll never guess where this mystery is going! Oh, it's good...
Beth- ... Frogs? 0_o
Toast- I'm glad you liked my last chapter. I thought it was the worst so far! But you've made me feel better about it. I'm hoping it'll all start to tie together soon, because I feel like this plot is moving way too slow!
Blackheart Syaoran- Your reviews are always so long! How do you do it!?!? **dies** OMG, though, I never even considered putting Frank in this story... I wonder? I really liked him. My bro thought the Shredder episode was demented. I say: you suck! It rocked! But I have to say, I was afraid I lost it there for a while. Writer's block is the greatest bane of the universe. Thankfully, though, I got a little inspiration from an unlikely place. The rest of the story is set!
Summersitesprite- Ahhh! Another person who knew it was Sonny! I feel so obvious... But I say, you'll never figure out what's going on with Stingray's op! I'd be so impressed if someone did...
DarkWolfBlade- **smiles** Thank you.
________
'You still owe me, Augie. I've been waiting for a week now.'
'I know, man. But he likes to cover his tracks good.'
'That's an excuse. You said you could find out, and I'm holding you to your word.' The dark-skinned individual leaned in on the smaller boy, pinning him against the wall. Augie stood in the older boy's shadow, hunched over in submission but defiant in his gaze. He hated dealing with jerks like this guy. Sure, they were capable of some brilliant pieces of work, but they were so darn cocky and over-sure of their powers of intimidation.
'Yeah, yeah. I get ya already,' Augie said as he pushed Sonny away from him and escaped to the side. 'Just give me some more time.' Of course, Augie thought to himself, even if guys like this one had egos that were a tad too big, it didn't mean he wouldn't get a sound beating if he didn't follow through with his promise.
The door creaked open and both boys looked up with narrowed eyes. 'Am I interrupting something?' Ingrid asked as she walked in on them. The tension in the room was suffocating.
'Yeah, no. We're just talking over some-'
'Who are you?' Sonny cut Augie off without a thought.
Augie was quick on the uptake. He practically sprinted over to Ingrid and stood beside her with a hand on her shoulder. 'This is the girl I told you about,' he said, gesturing to her with his other hand.
'The one who gave the school a facelift?' Sonny gave Ingrid the once over. She glared at him, disliking his self-assured attitude. She shrugged Augie's hand off of her shoulder and he backed off accordingly.
'Who wants to know?' She asked, eying him with scrutiny.
'This is Sonny,' Augie answered from behind her. He was obviously up for introductions today. 'I told you about him the other day, when we were going over Fillmore's file.'
'Fillmore?' Sonny let suspicion enter his voice again.
'Yeah, it seems like you guys have a common enemy. He's the one who busted her on her locker trip.'
Sonny glanced from Augie to Ingrid, then back to Augie. 'Well it's nice to know that we all have some kind of common ground for friendly bonding, but don't you have some work to do, Augie?'
'That's what I'm telling you, man. She was in Fillmore's file; she knows how to hack the admin's system.'
Sonny looked at her with renewed interest. 'Really?'
'What's it to you?' As high as her IQ was, Ingrid still wasn't quite sure what was going on here. Besides the obvious of course: Augie was trying to sell her hacking abilities as a part of some business arrangement. Something that didn't please her in the least, truth be told.
'Well, Augie. I'll leave you to explain everything to Domino over there. I don't care how you get the info or who you use as a middle man, just find out. Got it?'
'Sure Sonny,' Augie waved good-bye as Sonny closed the door without even looking back. 'Jerk.' Augie rolled his eyes.
'What is this all about?'
'I'm sorry you had to put up with him. He tracked me down and showed up a few minutes before you.'
'Answer the question Augie.' Ingrid crossed her arms. He gave her a shy glance and then sighed.
'Look, I owe him a few favors, alright? But what he's asking me to do is a bit beyond my abilities. You, on the other hand...' He gave her a meaningful look.
Ingrid turned to leave. 'What you owe this guy has nothing to do with me. I'll see you around, Augie.'
'Wait!' He put his hand against the door, holding it closed. She removed her hand from the doorknob. 'All's I need you to do is get me a file on a student, that's it. It took you less than a minute to get a hold on Fillmore's the other day. Come on, I'll owe you.'
'Sounds like you owe a lot of people.'
'About as many people who owe me. That's how it works around here. You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. Of course, I like to deal in solid goods, more sure of a payoff that way...'
'Alright, Augie. One file. And you owe me.'
'Knew you'd come around!' he exclaimed triumphantly. He removed his hand from the door to let her pass, but just before she shut it behind her she stuck her head back into the room.
'A word of warning, though. You think Sonny can be a dangerous guy? I guarantee you I could make your life so miserable you'd wish I were as nice a person as Sonny is. Don't mess with me, Augie. And don't pull anything like this on me again.' She shut the door.
Augie stared at the spot where her face had been, and he believed every word she said.
________
Nothing. There was nothing missing. Fillmore sighed and hung the clipboard back on the door. Everything on the invoice was accounted for, from the box of cherry soda to the box of bottled water. Unless...
Fillmore ripped open the lid of the nearest box, a box of water. No, it was full. There was nothing out of place here. Stingray was obviously doing a good job of throwing the Patrol off of his trail with a few red herrings. He closed the door and locked it behind him. He'd have to drop this key off with the janitor on the way back to HQ. He turned around and nearly collided with a passing student.
'Watch it,' a familiar voice said. Fillmore narrowed his eyes automatically. He'd be able to pick out that indignant tone anywhere.
'Good afternoon, Third,' he responded, smoothing out his shirt.
'Not at all, actually. Excuse me Cornelius.' She stalked past him and down the hall. Fillmore watched her go. This was begining to become a routine. He glanced around and noticed the lack of other students. Come to think of it, Ingrid didn't participate in any after school activities, so what was she still doing hanging around school?
Only one way to find out.
He sprinted down the hall and peered carefully around the corner, but she was gone. The hallway was a long one, so the only thing that stood to reason was that she must have gone into one of the rooms. He walked slowly down the hall, hugging the wall. He didn't want her to notice him if she suddenly emerged from wherever she was.
He could hear the muffled sound of voices from somewhere to his left. A door suddenly opened with a shudder, and Fillmore flattened himself against the lockers. But it wasn't Ingrid who appeared then, but Sonny. This situation was getting more suspicious by the minute. Sonny disappeared down the hallway in the opposite direction, and not long after Ingrid exited the room as well. Fillmore got ready to follow her, when he noticed her stick her head back into the room. She was talking; there was someone else in there.
He let her leave. He wanted to know who else was a part of this little conspiracy. The door opened again. A sly smile crept across Fillmore's lips.
'Augie.'
The boy spun around in surprise. 'Ah, uh, hello ocifer.'
'Augie Aguie Augie,' Fillmore shook his head, suddenly in a very good mood. You know, I've been looking for you.
Augie smiled back nervously. 'Yeah, so I heard.'
'I was thinking we could have a little talk.'
Augie suddenly decided to grow a backbone. 'You ain't got nothing on me! I ain't done nothing! I don't have to go anywhere with you.'
'I have some questions, Augie, and you're going to answer them,' Fillmore strode menacingly towards the smaller boy. 'Do I have to cuff you, or are you gonna come quietly.'
'Yeah, yeah, I'll come. Don't get your pants in a knot. But I ain't gonna answer any of your questions. I'm filing a complaint against you. You ain't got no right to drag me into the questioning room.'
'Whatever you say Augie. Get moving.' Fillmore gave him a little shove. Augie stopped and shot the officer a death glare, pulling his shirt straight with a harsh gesture.
At HQ Fillmore didn't give Augie two seconds to say one word on anything before he was in the interrogation room. 'Yo man, I wanna talk to your superior.'
'You can sit down Augie, I haven't asked my questions yet.'
A knock on the door cut Fillmore off. He turned to find Vallejo standing there with a telling look on his face.
'What do you think you're doing?' The Junior Commissioner blared at him. Fillmore glanced through the one-way window, watching Augie sit back on two legs of his chair. 'You can't bring him in here without a justified reason, Fillmore! They questioned him already, he didn't say anything that linked him at all with Stingray, ergo he is a free man who has committed no crime! Now send him on his way!'
Fillmore walked resignedly back into the interrogation room. Augie now had his hands behind his head, looking as if he were enjoying himself.
'Alright Augie, you can go.' Augie stood up and went to the door, but Fillmore blocked the way.
'Do ya mind?'
'What were you doing with Third and Sonny?'
'Hey, I'm a free man!' he moved around Fillmore and backed out the door. 'Sorry ocifer, but I have the right to remain silent.'
'Then do us a favor and shut-up, would ya?' Fillmore smiled as Anza approached them. 'Tough luck, Fillmore.' They both watched Augie waltz out of HQ. 'But did you find out anything about those beverage shipments?'
'No. They're all there. I dunno what's going on. I think Neil might have been right in guessing they were feeding him false information. None of this is making any sense.'
'Oh, I left a copy of his report on your desk. You might want to read through it when you get the chance.'
'Thanks man,' Fillmore gave Anza a light punch on the arm and walked distractedly over to his fish bowl. 'Hey.'
'Fillmore!' He sighed and turned. Suddenly all of his energy seemed to be gone. He could really use a good night's sleep. Tehama walked up to him and handed him a file folder. 'I finally got around to analyzing that bottle you left on my desk.'
'Oh yeah? What'd you find out?'
'It's a cleaning agent. Well, not a commercial one anyway. It looks like it was homemade. Looking at it, I'd say it's pretty good at dissolving things like spray-paint, or-'
'Spray-paint?' Fillmore smiled and shook his head. Third really did deserve a lot of credit.
Maybe more than he realized. The smile hardened into a frown.
________
Next Chapter: Ingrid gets started on her little assignment and suddenly finds herself the centre of some unwanted attention. Fillmore investigates just what's going between Augie, Ingrid, and Sonny while trying to figure out if they have any connection to Stingray.