Chapter 3: Storm Wrangling
WashingtonD.C. (Outside of the SmithsonianMuseum
"…but where were they going without ever knowing the wayyy…" was what Carmen heard over the intercom. Deric was actually singing while he was scaling the outer wall of the Smithsonian. Carmen didn't know whether to laugh or chastise him.
"Deric," she asked, "are you insane?"
"Nope," Deric quickly responded over the intercom, "just Irish."
'Laugh.' The master thief thought. 'I have to give him credit... He certainly doesn't panic in big situations. '
"I just never thought of you as a 'Fastball' fan, Deric."
"I'm not." he responded. "I just figured that would make more sense to sing than 'Piano Man' or 'River of Dreams.'" Carmen could tell by his voice that Deric was flashing that ear-to-ear grin of his. "I'm almost at the top, boss." Deric said, getting serious. "Where are the alarm wires?"
Carmen looked over the Smithsonian's blueprints. "Head towards the southwest corner. The console should be right up against the wall." Deric confirmed this seconds later. "Inside the console, you should see a set of six colored wires." Deric saw a group of blue, white, red, yellow, and green wires held together by zip-ties. He reached for his wire cutters and waited for the next set of instructions. "To bypass the alarm, cross the yellow and white wires." Placing the flashlight in his mouth, Deric set about completing the bypass. When the necessary wires were crossed, Deric headed for the nearest skylight. He opened the skylight very gingerly, as if still expecting the alarm to go off. When nothing happened, Deric took out his rappelling gear, and threw the rope into the blackness of the empty museum.
- - - - - - - - - - -
At a Nearby Location
"Ivy," Zack called his sister when the Smithsonian's alarm system, which was connected to the Zack Attack 20,000 system, fluctuated noticeably, "I think the rats have entered the trap."
"How can you tell?" Ivy asked, itching for some action. Zack clicked on the area where the fluctuation was registered.
"These spikes," Zack said, highlighting a cross-section of the line representing the connection in the alarm system on the screen, "indicate that the connection between the alarm systems was interrupted. It usually means that the system was tampered with."
"Could it be a short circuit or maybe the wire's faulty?" Zack shook his head no. He explained that if either was the case; there would have been more instances of the interruption, in somewhat of a regular pattern. "So," Ivy said, grabbing her jacket, "what are we waiting for? Let's go!!!" The two bolted out of the room and headed towards the Smithsonian.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Smithsonian – Interior
The spacesuits from the Apollo 11 mission stood proudly in their display case, which at this late hour was being admired by two unusual visitors. Deric was trying to hack into the electronic lock using a small computer while Carmen stood behind, reading the display's information. Deric was typing frantically until the screen flashed green, signifying that he had unlocked the display. He nervously clapped his hands in victory. Carmen opened the case and gingerly picked up the priceless piece of American history.
"Deric," Carmen said, handing Deric the suit, "relax. You're jitterier than a june-bug."
"Sorry, Carmen." The young thief said, apologetic, "It just seems like this is too easy. Where are the guards? Where's the alarms?" Carmen nodded; it did seem to be going a little too smoothly. As if fate was listening, Ivy and Zack suddenly appeared.
"Hold it right there!!!" Ivy yelled. "You're under arrest, Carmen."
"Happy?" Carmen asked as Ivy approached the two thieves. Deric just shrugged his shoulders and put his hands up. When Ivy got close, Deric launched a jumping roundhouse kick. After that, all hell broke loose. Carmen dropped the spacesuit and started running towards the exit.
"Zack," Ivy yelled, "go get Carmen." Zack immediately took off down the hall after the master thief. "You," Ivy said, staring down the remaining Deric, "are mine."
"Oh, really?" Deric said, flashing a cocky grin, "We'll see about that." Deric dropped into a defensive stance, as did Ivy. Deric tensed up his arm, which caused Ivy to initiate the first attack. She ran up to Deric and threw a roundhouse at his head, which Deric ducked easily. Deric attempted to sweep Ivy's legs out from under her, but she jumped backwards. Deric easily spun up and away from the red-haired detective. 'Something's not right.' Deric thought as he stared at the woman across the room from him. 'It should be harder than this. It's been fun, but way too easy.' Suddenly, a possible reason came to him. 'She thinks I'm one of Carmen's untrained goof-squad. She's not going all out. ' Now, Deric decided to push the issue. Running towards his target, Deric spun into a back-fist. Ivy ducked and then threw an uppercut, which was deftly caught by the young thief. Ivy then threw her free hand towards Deric's face. That hand was caught as well. Deric then grabbed Ivy's arms and twisted them into and 'X' around her neck. Suddenly he leaned his face next to Ivy's.
"You're holding back." Deric accused, somewhat winded, holding tightly to Ivy's crossed arms. Ivy nodded fiercely as she tried to squirm free. "Don't." Deric said as he pushed Ivy away. Ivy caught herself with help from a nearby display case. Turning to face her opponent, Ivy could see a smile start to form on Deric's face and felt one form on her own.
"Ready?" he asked, flashing that cocky grin. Ivy made the first move, throwing a charging roundhouse kick at Deric's head. The taller male dodged and threw a kick of his own, which was blocked by Ivy. The two continued their 'dance' throughout the museum, neither gaining a clear-cut advantage over the other. God help them, both loved every second of it.
'Damn,' Ivy thought as she rolled out of the way of one of Deric's attacks, 'he's good. He's not like any of Carmen's other lackeys.' Ivy connected with a side kick to Deric's midsection, doubling him over. A knee to the face would have put Deric down for the count… if he didn't throw himself into a back-flip before Ivy's knee connected. The back-flip, as well as Ivy' moving back to avoid being kicked herself by Deric's flip, created some distance between the two, giving both a much needed breath.
'Great googly-moogly…' Deric thought, catching his breath, 'She's unbelievable. Carmen said she was good, but I never would have thought she was this good. I've got a real fight on my hands here. ' Standing tall, Deric said, "Wow, you're incredible." Ivy looked at him, shocked. Was he hitting her and hitting on her? Ivy assumed it was a trick to distract her and scowled back. Deric saw this and decided to have a little fun. "You know," he said relaxing a little, "you're kinda cute when you're trying to beat my ass." Deric laughed a little at the comment; Ivy didn't. Grabbing a nearby brass pole from its velvet divider, she charged at Deric.
"Whoa!!" Deric said, dodging the attack. "Cut," he said, avoiding a swipe at his midsection. "It," this time it was a swipe at his head. "Out," a jab at his leg. "You," an upward slash. "Freaking Psycho!!!" Deric said as he caught the railing before it became attached to his left temple. He used the railing to push Ivy away and threw it to the ground where it rolled to a stop near the railing. "Jesus," Deric said, exasperated, "are you tryin' to kill me or something?" Ivy just gave him a death-stare. 'Uh-oh…' Deric gulped nervously, 'she's startin' to get serious.' Ivy began to sprint towards Deric.
"Kiyah!!" Ivy screamed as she jumped into a flying sidekick aimed at Deric. Instinctively, Deric ducked underneath the detective, whose momentum carried her toward and over the balcony railing.
"Ivy!" Deric yelled as he tried to grab Ivy's outstretched arm. He got to her just as she cleared the railing, the sudden strain jerking him up against the railing as well. "Great googly-moogly," he said, trying to pull Ivy up with one hand while the other kept him from falling over the railing, "someone's a little heavier than she looks." Ivy absolutely fumed at the jab.
"Kiss my ass and pull me up." Ivy ordered. Deric tried to get his feet set for a stronger base. As he moved his right foot wider, Deric stepped on the overturned pole he took from Ivy and lost his balance and fell over the railing as well, saving himself and Ivy by grabbing hold of the railing with his free hand.
So now both were hanging by the strength of Deric's hand over a fifty foot drop to the museum floor below. Deric's arms were starting to strain, having to hold his and Ivy's collective weight. 'Think, Storm. There's gotta be a way out of this. ' he thought, looking around for something, anything that would help.
"Do something!!!" Ivy yelled.
"I'm thinking." Deric snapped back. Smiling down, he said, "Just hang out for a while." Ivy gave him a look that could burn through concrete. Looking back up, Deric saw his possible salvation. Attached to his right wrist, was his zip-line shooter. 'If I can only reach the trigger…' Deric thought as he tried to wriggle the device up. Unfortunately, the extra movement caused Deric's grip to loosen and slip. Both detective and thief screamed as they began to fall. Acting quickly, Deric pulled Ivy close with his left arm and pulled the zip-line shooter's trigger with his right hand. The zip-line fired across the room before finally hooking around a railing on an upper level. As the zip-line tightened, Deric and Ivy began to swing forward instead of down. 'Whew…' Deric thought as he realized they wouldn't fall to their deaths. Unfortunately, their momentum was carrying them towards a large glass display case.
"Oh crap." Deric said as he released the zip-line, flinging himself and Ivy towards and through the display case. Covering Ivy's head with his right arm, Deric took most of the impact. Both combatants were knocked unconscious, though, by the impact.
A few minutes later, Deric came to. Looking around at the mess that was once a 'History of Altimeters' display, Deric found Ivy had only suffered a few cuts from the glass and a bump on her head from the impact. 'Good.' He thought, 'She's not hurt.' Standing up, Deric was starting to feel the effects of the whole night's ordeal. "Great googly-moogly." he said to no one, "That was surely NOT one of my better ideas." Hearing sirens in the back ground, he thought, 'Seems they're playing my song. Time to go.' As he was leaving, Deric knelt by Ivy's still unconscious body, he saw Ivy's communicator watch peeking out of her jacket sleeve. 'Might as well take a souvenir,' Deric thought as he slipped the watch off of Ivy's wrist. One prize in hand, he ran back to where the spacesuit was and proceeded onto the rendezvous point to meet up with Carmen. Deric climbed through the skylight as D.C. police flooded the museum.
A few blocks away, Carmen was waiting in one of her escape vehicles. She opened the door when she saw Deric running towards her with Neil Armstrong's spacesuit in hand. He handed Carmen the suit as he took his post in the navigator's chair.
"Well," Deric said, sliding gingerly into his seat. "That surely didn't go as planned." Wincing from his recent injuries, he tried to get comfy.
"That happens from time to time." Carmen said, setting the jet to auto-pilot, so she could look over her latest prize. "We'll just need better luck next crime. Despite that, you did a remarkable job back there Deric." Pleased, Carmen went to place the spacesuit into a storage locker. Deric waited until she entered the cargo area and then took out his prize, the communicator he had just taken off of Ivy Darren's slender wrist.
"Yeah," Deric thought aloud, "until next crime." He placed the communicator back into his pocket and drifted off to sleep for the long flight back to headquarters.