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"Dick?" Kori and Richard were walking down the street after visiting numerous drugstores. There had been a formal, uncomfortable silence between them after the extremely memorable first encounter, and she was getting tired of it. She had to say... something.
Dick was somewhat surprised by her voice. "What?"
Kori stopped to look at a white skirt in a store window. "I know I have already said this... but I really appreciate what you did for me... then." She turned to him. "I really appreciate it." She smiled slightly.
He let out a half-grin. "Hey, I told you, it was no problem. Creeps like that just bother me."
Kori blushed slightly and started walking again. "I know." She paused. "Me, too."
Dick flushed as well, and then mentally berated himself for it. She's an international thief with a record that's off the charts. She may look different from the thief, but I'm sure it's her. So why am I falling for her?
Suddenly, the thought struck him hard and he almost stopped walking. No, he almost stopped breathing.
I'm falling for her.
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Rachel sighed. "I give up. Can we get back to Carey and Dick? That's the five-hundredth store we've been to."
Gar nodded. "Yeah, my feet hurt like crap..." He turned his head. "Raven! Over there!"
Rachel turned her head quickly. "What is it? Did you find something?" But all she saw was an empty park with a...
"Ice cream stand," Gar drooled, pulling her by the hand.
"Oh, come on!" Rachel growled, yanking her hand away and following. She couldn't suppress a smile. Even with his childish, prankster personality, Gar was kind of cute. In a way. Not that she liked him, oh no, no, no. He was just... cute.
--
"Tofu ice cream?" Rachel asked disdainfully, looking over at his gray concoction while trying not to vomit all over her plain chocolate.
"With veggie syrup," Gar confirmed, licking the cone. "And it's totally dairy-free."
"That is possibly the most disgusting thing I've ever heard of," Rachel grunted, taking a small bite of her ice cream. "Why can't you just be normal?"
Gar's face fell, and the hand holding the ice cream dropped to his lap. "So I'm... a freak?"
Rachel looked at him. "No!" she said quickly. "No, Gar, no, you're not a freak."
The green-haired man looked away. "Of course I am. Who else eats tofu ice cream, and has green hair, huh? Answer me that."
"You're not a freak, Gar," Rachel said quietly, setting down her ice cream on the grass. "You're just different. Unique. The green hair, the strict vegetarianism... it's what makes you you." She smiled slightly. "Anything else would be completely sub-par. I like you the way you are, so don't worry about it."
Gar looked at her with a sly expression. "So, you like me?"
Rachel blanched. "What? I never said that!"
Gar laughed. "Yes, you did. You know, I think I might look on your cell phone for that Tara Markov girl's number. She sounded pretty hot to me..."
Rachel lifted her ice cream cone, and with a deft motion, smashed it into Gar's face.
Garfield lifted the cone and took his tofu ice cream. "Oh, it's on."
"No, you are not getting that on my fa-- GARFIELD!"
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Dick sighed. "Let's get back to Slade's drugstore... hopefully Gar and Raven had better luck than we did."
Kori nodded. "Correct, our search has been unsuccessful." She stretched, and the two resumed walking. They entered Slade's drugstore again. "Excuse me, sir, we would like to--" Kori looked around. The store was empty. "Sir?"
Dick frowned. "Where'd he go?" he mumbled, adjusting his sunglasses. He looked behind the counter. Nothing there but a list. "Hey, Carey, come here." He leapt over the counter, and was slightly surprised when Kori did the same. She definitely wasn't a pushover, that was for sure...
"It's a list of all exports of X pills," Richard said, scanning the list. "All of these drugstores... wow. This guy sure keeps busy."
Kori looked at the list. At the bottom, a name was written. "Red X," she read slowly. The handwriting was messy and choppy. "Perhaps this is the name of the supplier?"
"Red X?" Dick repeated. "Sounds pretty lame to me."
Kori looked around. "Dick, do you realize it is... extremely quiet in here?"
The next second, the floor went out from under them.
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Rachel wiped off the last of the ice cream with a paper towel in the ladies' room of a store and looked at her reflection. Gar was actually really funny... he had strange taste in food, but he was still a good guy. Rachel sighed, looking at the sink. Of course, she couldn't get involved in anyone... she was a master thief, after all...
Wait, did she just think of getting involved with Gar?
He was waiting outside now, probably still chuckling over thier ice cream war. She loved his laugh. It sounded mishcevious and prankster-like, just like he was on the inside. Even though some of that was to protect his sensitive side, that made him even more interesting and appealing. Rachel looked up again and brushed a strand of dyed hair behind her ear. Like it or not, she was tortured by it.
She was falling for Garfield Logan.
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Kori groaned. Where was she? Something cold and wet was dripping onto her back where her shirt hiked up, but her front was warm. She blinked her eyes open and gasped. She was on top of Dick, who was splayed out on the floor. His sunglasses were jammed up by the bridge of his nose, and her head had been on his shoulder.
Kori gently prodded him. "Dick?" When he didn't awaken, she looked up and was hit square in the face by a drop of water. She suddenly remembered her hair dye... useless if any water got on it. She looked at the ends... a red tint was appearing. "Oh, no..." At least the contacts were still in.
"Ah, if it isn't Kori Anders, master thief."
Kori whirled around, springing from Dick's warmth. The room was shrouded in shadow, though, and she couldn't see.
"Oh, yes, I know who you are. I've been watching you and Ms. Roth for a while now."
"Who are you?" Kori's voice, angry and scared, rang through the room. "Why am I here, and why did you bring him into this?"
The voice laughed. "All in good time, sweetie, all in good time..."
And then a giant red X pinned her to the wall.