Act III: Not Quite Trivial Pursuit
Safety Patrol HQ
Fillmore paced by Ingrid's desk for two reasons. He was contemplating the dilemma and waiting for Ingrid to come back from the restroom. Well, each club has membership cards with picture identity. Which is sort of ironic considering they don't check if the kid's giving his real name or not. But that's only because a lot of the kids like having nicknames or they're embarrassed about being in some clubs. That would be the perfect evidence, though, to catch our guy. We could give the clubs amnesty if they turn him over. They wouldn't want bad publicity. But which club?
X.x.X.x.X.x
A Hallway Somewhere in X
I don't believe this. I have a photographic memory, but I can't find my way back from the restroom to HQ. I guess I was too busy watching all those kids in their classrooms. A lot of them clumped together and apparently are part of clubs. Train conductor outfits, bocce ball uniforms, and lobster shirts. This school has a lot of spirit. Weird spirit... A bell rang, interrupting her thoughts. She checked her watch. It's 12:30, passing period to lunch. I guess I should ask one of these kids for directions.
Ingrid approached a boy wearing a reversed cap and baggy clothes.
"Excuse me, but can you please direct me to HQ?"
"Whoa, whoa baby. For the smartest girl in the school, you sure is forgetful. Unless this is an excuse to hang with the Checkmatey. Then I dig ya. Let's go," he said putting an arm around her.
Ingrid disgusted, lifted Checkmatey's arm off her. "Walking will be fine, without any physical contact."
The boy put his hands up in a truce. "I like 'em hot." He then proceeded to give her a flashy smile.
Ingrid's only response was rolling her eyes and gritting her teeth.
X.x.X.x.X.x
Safety Patrol HQ
Fillmore was still pacing when Ingrid came back. He was surprised to see her with a familiar rapping, chess grandmaster.
"Hey, Ingrid," Fillmore smiled warmly. "Checkmatey," he greeted nodding his head.
"Good to see you, too, Officer," Checkmatey responded just as coolly.
"How are things going?" Fillmore asked, trying to be civil.
"Girls chasin' me everywhere, winning chess comps… the usual. I'm also thinking of joining this club, Kids Into Loving Life. They love trees. Seriously, man who speaks for the trees? Not to mention, it can help me get out of doing homework, ya know what I'm saying?" Checkmatey winked and nudged.
"If you're implying that I don't do my homework, then no. I don't know what you're saying." Fillmore answered, with a touch of annoyance in his voice.
"You're all work and no play, officer. Real boring," Checkmatey said as he faked an exaggerated yawn.
The two boys were glaring daggers, and although no one could see Fillmore's eyes behind his glasses, one could easily note that his eyebrows were furrowed as deep as the trouble he gets into with Folsom.
Ingrid could feel the tension in the air. Before anything could start, she interjected, "Aren't your chess pieces made of wood?"
Checkmatey softened and Fillmore likewise alleviated.
"I guess you're right, sweet thang. I'll just stick to chess club. No matter how boring it gets. I'm probably the only one who can spice things up."
Ingrid rolled her eyes once more, "I'm sure."
Checkmatey didn't seem to notice this gesture, "Of course ya are. Hey, Fillmore, can I talk to you about something, man to man?"
Fillmore was caught off guard. "Uh, sure." He then told Ingrid to talk to Tehama about any evidence that might have turned up. Fillmore then directed Checkmatey to his desk. "So what do you want?"
Checkmatey holds his hand next to his mouth as if he was about to expel a secret. "Word on the street is that Ingrid, is well, kinda, not all together. Ya know. Crazy. I wasn't sure if I should believe it cuz words on the street usually are overkill of the facts. When I walked Ingrid, she wasn't crazy. But she acted as if she forgot a lot of stuff. She even let me rap to her. What I figure is that she got some forgetfulness going on and that's it. Maybe a mental breakdown or something from being so dang smart. I asked around, but no one could answer that question. I got my down lo from that club I was checking out. I know how it works: tippers are anonymous. But I'm doin' this cuz I'm helping a damsel in distress, or some crud like that. I'm just that kind of guy. But she'll back soon. Right?"
Fillmore nodded his head in agreement.
Checkmatey, now relieved, "To tell you the truth, I thought about telling her that I was her boyfriend, but then that would be bad sportsmanship. If I captured her, that would be like, breaking the rules. So, I won't steal her from you yet."
Fillmore became rigid. He didn't like the idea of Ingrid Third being compared to a pawn that Checkmatey could easily take. "Thank you for your time. But, it's time for you to go. I have a job to do."
Checkmatey, "You're in denial, man. I can tell when someone likes someone. And not the plain like, the double like. The like like. I have plenty of fan girls. I've the experience, man."
Fillmore, "I said 'go'!
Checkmatey, "A'ite, a'ite." He puts his hands in the air as a truce. "I know when I'm not wanted." He freezes and opens his eyes wide. "Whoa, is that, like, even possible?"
Fillmore walked back to Ingrid fuming. Twice in a couple of days, two kids told him what he was thinking. At least, what they thought he was thinking. His face never showed whether they were right or not.
Ingrid saw him. "Are you okay? You look kinda, mad."
"I just can't stand the guy," Fillmore said.
"Oh, did he rap to you, too?" Ingrid asked.
Fillmore laughed at hearing this, "No, it's just his personality. You heard him rap? How was it? Did he rhyme this time?
Ingrid raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, never mind," Fillmore said, quickly catching his mistake.
"No problem. It was terrible. He rhymed, but it was lacking beat…" she shook her head.
Fillmore, "Anyways. I found out some news from him. Like your memory loss isn't exactly a big secret."
"That explains it, then," Ingrid mumbled to herself.
"Explains what?" Fillmore asked.
"Well, when you were interviewing Donny Levine, he said, 'If it weren't for you, she'd probably be okay. Instead, she got hit in the head with a jar.' So, the fact that he knows this isn't a big deal," Ingrid said.
"Hold up. He said how you got hurt? How did I not get that? It's not like he was getting to me or anything… But then that's it. No one knows how you got hurt, just Levine. All we need is a club ID, and we've got him. But which club?"
"I'm not sure, but something's still bothering me. Kids Into Loving Life. Where did I here that name before?" Ingrid asked out loud to herself. She rubs her temples and closes her eyes. They're one of the clubs we have to investigate. Something about paper and pretty keen about getting kids to join," Ingrid remembered.
"Snap! Follow me and I'll explain on the way. We have a couple of stops before we meet him face to face. Lunch is almost over, so the clubs are going to start disassembling," Fillmore explained as he pulled Ingrid's arm.
They sprinted through the cafeteria as Ingrid asked, "If it's a good time, how about you explain to me what were doing."
"We are gonna catch our guy. And if we're lucky, red-handed. We were trying to catch him before, but he outsmarted us by running through a K.I.L.L. rally. Since they recognized him as one of their own, they let him pass through, whereas we got mobbed into picking up some brochures. If he's passing information, then it'll be at the end of lunch in an office with the club president because by then the regular club members will be trying to close up until tomorrow. Here we are," Fillmore said with the words tumbling out of his mouth as fast as he could say them.
Just as they were about to enter a room, two tough-looking bodyguards stopped them. "No one passes. The CP is in a meeting. He said not to be disturbed," one of them said.
Fillmore pulled out a badge and a piece of paper, "Safety Patrol, and here's our warrant. Now let us through."
"I know who you are. You busted me a couple of weeks ago. Don't think that because we have a past means that you're gonna get through," a guard sneered.
"I'm not messing around. This a Code Maroon dash five-niner-niner subset A."
The bodyguard looked worriedly at the other, "Whoa, he means business. Let's get out of here!"
Ingrid had a puzzled look on her face. "And that was?"
"It's code for possible dismemberment of club with pending detention. Or something like that," Fillmore smiled.
X.x.X.x.X.x
K.I.L.L. Head Quarters
"-and now that our transaction is complete, you may feel free to leave our club, Mr…. What did you say your name was?" the Club President of K.I.L.L. asked.
"That does not matter. As you said, I am free to go. Have a nice-"
"Stop! Safety Patrol!" Fillmore said as the partners flashed their badges.
Levine quickly scanned the room. Fillmore was coming towards him and Ingrid was blocking the door. The CP was on the floor cringing in the fetal position. He slowly backed away. "I see Ms. Third has recuperated from her, accident. But I've heard that the lights aren't all there," Levine smiled mischievously.
"And it seems that none of yours are on at all," Ingrid said. "You've no where to run."
"So says Miss Amnesia!" Levine exclaimed, and with that he deftly opened a window and dived through it.
Fillmore chuckled and shook his head. He pulled out his talkie, "Phase 1 is complete. Proceed with Phase 2. Over and out."
X.x.X.x.X.x
Baseball Dugout, Beginning of Period 5
Fillmore and Ingrid walked to the PE field. They needed to save any energy for a chase and they had to make sure that everything was falling into plan.
Ingrid noted some foliage right next to the dugout. Then a flicker of movement appeared out of the corner of Ingrid's eye. She silently directed Fillmore to follow her. As they neared a bush, a figure darted out to the playing field.
Fillmore yelled out, "Andrew Banner! Halt, this is Safety Patrol. You run, you'll be serving a few more weeks of detention with possibility of paper pick-up duty. You stop, and maybe we'll be able to negotiate."
The kid stopped putting his hands up. He then kneeled over and began to sob. They had him and he was so close.
X.x.X.x.X.x
Interrogation Room
Vallejo hitched his thumb pointing to a door. "Fillmore, Third. Folsom wants you in her office, pronto. I'll take care of this."
Fillmore sighed, "I was hoping she'd forget our daily ritual."
Fillmore walked to Principal Folsom's office in the manner of a thief who goes to prison time after time. He wasn't looking forward to it; nevertheless, no matter what they did the duo ended up going. Ingrid, having no past experience about what was going to ensue had her 'passive' look on. She sensed that she wasn't going to like what ever it was that was going to transpire. They reached the door, groaned, knocked, sighed once more and then entered. They looked at Folsom who nodded at the chairs. They sat down, Fillmore mentally bracing himself.
"I'm going to cut to the chase with the two of you. What in the name of Lobstee are you two doing! First, you interrogate the son of a man who can put my employment at stake. Then you offer amnesty to any club that will turn him in. Now, you come up with a whole new twist, that there is another student. A conspiracy. A likely story! Oh, but joy, you haven't wreaked destruction on school property, yet. What will it be this time, a couple dozen computers? A few shipments of school supplies? I only want one answer to that question! And it better be nothing. This school is not here to pay your expenses. Believe me, they will be paid, by you of course. I understand that Ms. Third has a temporary, handicap, so she, of course, will be pardoned. We can't afford to blemish the good name of X's smartest student. But you Fillmore, you've been forgiven before. This time, I'm not risking safety patrol. No, this time, if you fail, you will be stripped of your badge, sent to a boot camp, and if you ever attend a school, public or private, you will never be able to join the respected league of orange belts. Do I make myself clear? Understand that this is no bluff and that I can and will do what I deem necessary."
Fillmore looked straight ahead, "Yes, Principal Folsom. I know what is at stake, for you and I. Now that this is all clear, I will mention that Ingrid and I now have an hour to catch our culprit. We already have the other. May we please be excused?" Fillmore said all of this in a monotone voice, with a hint of annoyance. If his words had eyes, they'd have rolled.
X.x.X.x.X.x
Safety Patrol HQ
"Wow, that was a pretty bad beating. Usually she's calm, like right before a storm, and then she rages. This time, she was raging then exploded. More like a volcano, maybe," Fillmore said, scratching his chin as if were in thought.
"Come on, Fillmore. Focus. But I got to admit, I didn't a person could be that loud and purplish red for that long and not get a heart attack," Ingrid replied.
Vallejo walked towards them. "I was wondering when you two would be back. Banner was as easy to crack as a pistachio. He admitted everything. Here, listen to the tape." He pressed play.
Banners: sniffling Yes sir, he needed me to open up the pottery room. I don't know why, though... And then he wanted me to break into the dug out where he said he'd pay me. I thought I'd check the place early, just in case. I'm scheduled to meet him, say oh checks his watch fifteen minutes from now.
Vallejo: What do you know about Rita Wellington?
Banners: Oh that miss? She's quite the actress and a beauty. Caught Mister Levine's eye that one. He wanted her to join him, and improve his skills of pretense. But she wanted nothing to do with him. She knew all about him, the rumors and all. She wants publicity, but she's also planning to run for something. Not sure what. But with him hanging around would be asking for trouble. As revenge, Mister Levine decided to have her name up on the list of suspects. It would also have helped throw you belts off the trail.
Vallejo stops the tape. He motions them to follow, setting a brisk pace. "That's enough," he said. We're on a tight schedule. As you two just heard, the meeting with Levine is about to take place. I sent Anza and Tehama ahead. We're not going to let him escape this time."
X.x.X.x.X.x
Baseball Dugout, 15 minutes into Period 5
A dark figure waited inside, tapping his foot impatiently. He hears the rattle of the doorknob, it getting picked, and finally the hinges squeaking open revealing a hooded teenager.
"I'd thought you wouldn't make it. Let's get this over with," he said.
Fillmore pulls down the hood. "We're about to."
Levine's eyes open wide. He looks around and grabs a bucket of baseballs. "You saw what I did to Ingrid. And that was with a pot. I have 30 balls in here. There's no way you'd make it. Unless,"
Fillmore took off his sweater, revealing a catcher's outfit. "I'm wearing this?"
Levine dropped the bucket with disbelief. As it clanked, he used that as a distraction to make a mad dash past the officer blocking his way. Fillmore tried to stop him. Unfortunately, his apparel hindered him, and it was awkward for him to move around.
As soon as Levine thought he was in the clear, another couple of officers popped up in front of him. They were Tehama and O'Farrell, the "back-up" called for by Vallejo.
"Cease, you villainous villain!" O'Farrell cried out. Tehama just shook her head and lunged to tackle the rogue, but Levine just slid under her grasp. O'Farrell immediately went to see to Tehama. She was bruised and had a limp, nothing too serious for her to handle. But apparently it was for the Irish boy; he passed out.
It looked like Levine was home-free once more, but then again, that saying, "looks can be deceiving," comes to mind. Ingrid ran out from her hiding spot and chased after him. Levine entered the school building. He planned to lose her in the large winding hallways of X.
The chase appeared as if it could go on forever. Both persons had advantages and weaknesses. They were both in good shape. One a boy who spent his time training for a team he could not join, and the other a girl who spent all her days chasing suspects. Ingrid was surprised at her own endurance and ability; however, Levine knew his capabilities.
He was very sure that he would not get caught. This girl doesn't know where anything is. She lost her memory. Even though he came just this year, he was pretty sure of himself. Ingrid was always ever so close to catching him, but every time he eluded her. When she was sneaking up from the right he swerved left and vice-versa. This is too easy, Levine grinned as he thought. He turned around to check on where Ingrid was. Still behind. Then he smacked into a wall. Trapped! I don't believe this. She led me right to here!
"That was pretty lucky of you," Levine said smoothly as his eyes quickly scanned the premises.
"There's no escape. No windows, just lockers. We checked this place out in case there were any escape routes. There are none," Ingrid said, equally suave only keeping her eyes on him.
Finally. I thought these two were the best, but it took them long enough to catch me.
X.x.X.x.X.x
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this tidbit. I know it probably annoyed a lot of you for how long it took me to update. I've just been brain dead for a couple of months like that dude in that soap opera. jk. I don't watch soaps. This is coming to a close, though. I know it's short, but that's the way it's gonna be, unless I change my mind.