Like part I, part III is gonna be pretty short. Now with Macarthur involved, how's it going to affect the Danders date? And, more importantly, why are all these cops here? Let's find out. Sit back and enjoy.

Amit: Maybe next time, they'll do it at Duncan's place and DJ can cook them up some grub.

Lupo: Imagine a whole town of Sierra's. No way either of them are getting any privacy.

Sanders let out a groan and cupped her hands across her face. Duncan turned to her and pointed at Macarthur. "That's...your partner, isn't it?" Sanders nodded, still mortified. "And...is she about to get involved in our date?" The Cadet let out a muffled "mmhmm." Duncan sighed and gritted his teeth. "Great…"

Macarthur walked up to them. She was wearing her winter outfit, which was her usual get-up, but with long white sleeves. She had a big grin on her face. "I heard you guys were in town." She turned to her partner. "What were you-" She noticed Sanders' red face. "Are you okay? Am I interrupti-"

"Yes!" Sanders cut off. "You are interrupting our date! I specifically told you not to get involved, and…" She sighed. "I guess, technically, we ran into you."

Duncan, aware of his girlfriend's embarrassment, decided to change the subject. "So, what exactly is going on here?" He pointed at the large group of officers.

Macarthur wagged a finger. "I don't think so, dude. I've been given strict orders not to tell any civilians what's going on…"

Sanders put her hands down onto her hips. "And since when do you follow orders?"

"...buuuut, I might be able to tell you one or two things, if you tell me how your date's going."

Duncan and Sanders shared a look, before turning back to the burly cadet. "It's been pretty good so far." Duncan answered.

Macarthur shook her head. "Not enough. Gonna have to do better than that."

Sanders sighed. "He walked me down the street and we danced in the middle of the park."

"You think I was born yesterday?" Macarthur laughed. "Give me the real deets."

"What? Do you have a bet going with someone?" Duncan asked.

"Nah. You guys are my OTP, I need to know what's going on. Now tell me what's happened or I'll start ranting about why Cody's the most robbed competitor in Total Drama history."

Sanders rolled her eyes, leaned towards her boyfriend and whispered. "She's not gonna relent. Are you fine with me sharing what happened?"

Duncan shrugged. "Go ahead."

Sanders turned her attention back to her work partner. "We kissed in front of Ms. Zebbie's house, got an eggscellent sandwich and I almost made Reggie's our permanent hangout space."

Macarthur raised an eyebrow. "Why? Their coffee's mediocre."

Duncan decided to interrupt. "Ah, ah, ah. We gave you what you wanted, now you have to answer the question."

Macarthur grunted in defeat. "Fine. You wanna know why all these cops are here?" Sanders and Duncan nodded. "Well, it's because-"

"What is going on over here?"

The two cadets and the ex-convict turned their heads. An officer was walking towards them. He had short brunette hair and didn't look happy. He stomped right up to Macarthur. "Cadet Escobar, I specifically told you not to talk with anyone, unless it was with me or one of your other superiors."

Surprisingly, Macarthur nonchalantly waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just talking with my friends. Don't get your panties in a bunch, officer...CarMichael, was it?"

The officer gnashed his teeth and his face went red. "That's not my name and you know it! And you clearly don't know…" He looked at the standing couple. "...because you're sharing information with-" He went wide eyed.

Duncan stepped back, thrown off by the staring. The officer narrowed his eyes. "I don't share any information," He said to Macarthur, but still held his glare on Duncan. "with lowlife punks."

Sanders cut in. "Excuse me? That's no way to talk to civilians"

"I'm not talking to a civilian. I'm talking to a mansion exploding criminal who thinks property damage is cool."

"You know me?" Duncan said, smirking. "I didn't think my criminal record would make it into this town."

"First off," The officer pointed, "Every cop in Canada knows who you are. Second, I-"

"Corbin!" Macarthur blurted out. "That was your name. Corbin."

Officer Corbin tried to maintain composure, but the burly cadet had clearly thrown off his momentum. He groaned.

Sanders decided to intervene this time. "Look, Officer Corbin. Macarthur is my partner and Duncan is my boyfriend..."

"That means she's in love with me. Not that you know what that feels like." Duncan chuckled. Sanders gave him a disapproving nudge on the shoulder.

"We just wanted to know what's going on." Sanders continued. "We don't mean any harm."

Corbin eased up and shook his shoulders. However his stern demeanor didn't change. "I'd be happy to tell you..." He pointed at the skinny cadet. "...exactly what's going on. Just tell your 'partner in crime' to buzz off first."

Duncan was about to reply, but Sanders cut him off. "Then, in that case, I don't want to know. We'll get out of your hair."

Corbin shrugged. "Suit yourself," He started walking off. "Just let me remind you that your boyfriend was, and still is, a criminal. I'll have my men keep a close eye on him."

The trio watched him return to his duties. Sanders was clearly annoyed, but Macarthur and Duncan weren't disturbed. The larger cadet turned to face them. "So you guys still want to know what's going on?"

Sanders raised an eyebrow. "Won't you get in trouble with Corbin if you tell us anything?"

Macarthur scoffed. "That guy got promoted, like, last week. He's as tame as a rabbit. Now, I'll ask again. Would you like to know why all these cops are here?" Duncan and Sanders nodded. "Ok. Long story short, Kirby's Threads, the clothing store, got robbed this morning."

Sanders pouted. "Aw. I like that place."

"When we showed up, we couldn't find him." She looked around. "But some bystanders said they saw him lurking around. We think we have him cornered. It's just a matter of time until we find him...hopefully."

"Ya hoping to find this guy?" Duncan asked knowingly.

"Oh, of course." She turned her head. "Corbin's been on my case for so long. Calling me 'psychotic' and 'reckless' and 'an insanely dangerous person who should be put behind bars for the rest of her life.' I'd do anything to get a picture of his stupid face when I show him what an awesome cop I'll be."

Duncan tried not to laugh. "Send me a pic."

Sanders, on the other hand, didn't find it funny. Now that she knew a criminal was in their town, she felt nervous. Her eyes darted around, in hopes that the convict would appear and all these cops would apprehend him, right then and there. But, since nothing happened, her nerves only got bigger. Not only that, but a bunch of the police officers were looking in her direction.

She quickly wrapped her arm around Duncan's. "We've gotta go." She started walking away from the other cops. "We...have somewhere to be."

Duncan was surprised by his girlfriend's sudden change of attitude, but didn't take much notice. He looked back at Macarthur. "Maybe if we're lucky, we'll run into the dude and give you a call." He laughed.

"Stop it, please."

Duncan froze. Now he knew something was up. Sanders was pulling him along at a faster rate, with a very serious expression. He knew something was bothering her, but thought it best to just let the date continue.

As soon as they had entered the music store, Duncan had forgotten about his initial worries. Even Sanders was able to smile after seeing his excitement.

"You like it here?" She asked.

Duncan started picking up CDs, one by one. After a few seconds, he stopped and looked up at his girlfriend. "You say something?"

Sanders giggled. She then introduced him to the store's manager, Brandan. He was a thin, older guy with short black hair. He and Duncan immediately hit it off once they realized they shared a lot of the same music tastes. Brandan even introduced him to some albums the ex-con had never heard of.

Despite briefly becoming a third wheel, Sanders was ecstatic to see her boyfriend so happy. She decided to entertain herself by looking into the music herself.

"Find anything you like?"

The cadet turned and smiled to see her boyfriend. "Just browsing." She picked up a CD and handed it to him. "Try this one, I think you'll like it."

Duncan took it and scanned the box. He frowned. "Weren't these guys in the top 200 last week?"

Sanders raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?"

Duncan put the CD back in the rack. "Thanks, but no thanks. They don't need more money, they probably already have enough."

Sanders stared at him. "You...don't want to get it…because it's...popular?" She chuckled lightly from this. "That's ridiculous. If you like something, it shouldn't matter how many other people listen to it."

Duncan scoffed. "I'm just saying. Why would I buy something from a band, if I'm probably gonna hear them on the radio being played over and over again?" Sanders laughed again. This made Duncan smile. He reached behind his back and revealed another CD. "You like these guys, right?"

Sanders looked down. "Oh, yeah. They're awesome. That's a new album too. I'll probably pick it up tomorrow."

The Ex-con was puzzled. "Why wait 'till tomorrow? Why not get it now?"

"Well, we came here to get the music you wanted, it would be selfish of me to buy something for myself."

Duncan stared at the CD. "I...I can buy it for you."

Sanders sniggered and took the box from his hand. "No you won't. I invited you here, so that means you don't have to worry about me." She put the CD back in the rack. "So, like you said, thanks but no thanks."

Now Duncan was getting weirded out. He realized not asking her how she felt may have been a mistake. He knew now probably wasn't the best time, so decided to talk to her about it after they left.

The two left the store, with a black bag that Sanders had insisted on carrying. Heck, she even insisted on buying the CDs too. Duncan would've bought more, but he didn't want his girlfriend spending too much money on him.

Next stop was the comic book store. "It's only a few blocks away." Sanders said, as they walked down the sidewalk.

Duncan was still worried about her, but tried not to show it. He didn't want to be direct, so decided to ease into it. "Hey, after the comic shop, why don't we do something you want to do? We could go dancing, walk in the park or, I don't know, get ice cream."

His girlfriend smiled. "Thanks, but I can do all that stuff after you're gone. You came all this way, so it should be a day dedicated to you."

To me? Duncan thought, confused. "Well...what if I wanted to get some ice cream? Then what would you do?"

Sanders chuckled. "I know you're only saying that to get me to do something I want. I have the whole day planned out already, so we won't have time either way."

Duncan didn't say anything, but he did frown. This wasn't what he expected to happen on his date. Sanders didn't seem like herself.

It was a quiet walk towards the comic book shop. Duncan still wasn't sure what to say about Sanders' behavior. She seemed so excited to start, but ever since they left Macarthur, she calmed down significantly.

"It's just across this street." Sanders pointed.

Duncan snapped out of his daze. "Oh...right." He forced a smile. "Can't...wait." He could see the store up ahead. Maybe things would be different once they got inside. They were just about to cross the street, when Duncan felt a tug on his arm.

"I...I just remembered we have to go...through the back of the store to get in." Sanders said, a clear note of panic. She pulled him back.

Duncan was confused. He could see the store up ahead. He even saw someone go inside. "What are you talking about?" He pulled against her. "It's clearly open."

"Aaron said I should use the back entrance." She was practically trying to drag him away.

"Well, I want to use the front." Duncan jerked his arm away and started walking towards the store.

"No, wait!"

The ex-con had only taken a few steps forward, when he noticed a small group walking on the other side of the road. He stopped. It had suddenly clicked with him. The group consisted of a few police officers, being led by Officer Corbin. Duncan's face frowned, as he turned around to see his very nervous girlfriend. "Really?"

The Cadet cringed. "I-It's not what you think."

"It looks like you're letting some uptight wannabe cop get in your head. Like he's gonna ruin our date." He noticed his girlfriend suddenly tense up and rub her forearm. "Y-you actually think he could ruin our date?"

"It's not that I think he'll ruin it, it's just…" She trailed off, noticing what they were standing next to. "Let's just go down this alley. We won't risk running into him."

"The worst thing that guy could do is give us a ticket for hurting his feelings. If he wants to mess with us, he can go right ahead." He turned and started walking towards the store.

Sanders was about to stop him, but could see officer Corbin in the distance. She hesitated and looked down the alleyway. "I'll...I'll see you inside." With that, she quickly headed down the narrow path.

Duncan stopped, once she was out of sight. He sighed and turned around. "Hold on," He called. "You're being ridiculous." Sanders didn't stop, so the ex-con walked a little faster. "You can tell me what's wrong, alright?" He grabbed her wrist. "I'm not going anywhere until we talk about this." He sounded more concerned than frustrated.

The Cadet didn't answer, nor did she meet his gaze. She closed her eyes, as if she was pretending this wasn't happening. Duncan noticed and eased his grip. He turned her around and put his hands on her shoulders. "Please…" He said calmly. "I want to help you. Whatever's going on, I'll help you get through it."

Sanders didn't open her eyes. She still seemed scared. Slowly, she allowed herself to see again. The Cadet was greeted with a warm but anxious look from her boyfriend. She sighed. "I'm sorry. I just-"

"Hands up, now!"

Duncan groaned. "We already told you, Corbin. You can't-" He froze. The uptight officer was nowhere in sight. Instead, Duncan and Sanders were met with a man wearing all black, walking towards them. More importantly, he had a gun pointed in their direction. The couple quickly put their hands to the sky. Both shared nervous glances.

The man smirked. "What luck. What triumph! Much like a poker player, the cards have fallen in my favor."

Sanders' look of fear changed to confusion. She turned to Duncan, who seemed to be lost in thought.

The man continued. "Now, make haste. Unless you want to meet the same fate as Romeo and Juliet, I suggest you listen." Duncan raised an eyebrow at this.

"I take it you're the guy the police are looking for?" Sanders asked, still weirded out by the man's behavior.

The man nodded. "Yes, my dear. Like a director on the verge of his play collapsing, I will make my daring escape through distraction."

"Romeo and Juliet…?" Duncan said, under his breath.

"I need you," He pointed his gun at Sanders. ", to come with me. While I'm not a fan of the overplayed 'damsel in distress' trope that is so lazily thrown about, I need your partner for something else." He turned to Duncan. "You-" He stopped suddenly and tilted his head. "Have our paths crossed before?"

Duncan wasn't paying attention. "Talks all dramatically. Romeo and Juliett. Weird monologuing." He was getting frustrated.

"What unusual trickery is this?" The man said. "Not since Russell Crowe's performance in Les Miserables have I seen such an odd portrayal."

"Russell Crowe…" Duncan's eyes suddenly went wide. He looked at the gun wielding man. "Duke? Daylight Duke?"

The man's mouth dropped slightly. "How do you-" He then gasped. "Duncan?!"

Now it was Sanders' turn to be confused. Gobsmacked, her head turned from side to side at the two men. "Wait a minute...you two...know each other?"

*Seinfeld music starts play*

Oh boy. How are Duncan and Sanders gonna get out of this jam? Sorry for the short length. Hopefully the fourth chapter will be longer. Part IV will also be the final chapter for this story. After that, we'll move onto a different character(s).

And...that's all I got. Ciao.