Undercover
By theladyknight
Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!
A/N: Well, I saw Ms. Congeniality 2 over a month ago and quite honestly, really didn't like it. But it motivated me to write this—though I haven't had much free time, which explains why this took so much time to get up. Hope you guys like it…please review!
A/N: 12.19.08 I hate snow. I hate snow. I hate snow. I hate snow. I hate snow. Just had to get that out there. 10.5 inches....great thing to wake up to this morning; I guess it gives me more of a reason to sit down and read and write all day! :)
Chapter 8: Investigating
Sora felt like a deer caught in a set of bright headlights. She looked up as innocently as she could into the eyes before her.
Silence.
Then, "Curfew for all contestants was quite some time ago, little lady. Why are you outside your room?"
The guard was stern and strict, but Sora knew she could weasel her way out of trouble. It was time to put the naive contestant act she had yet to use into high gear. "I heard something out here; it was like someone went running by. I came here to check it out."
"Sweetie, save the investigating for the pros…"
Chauvinist pig.
"…only because you heard the noise, I'll fill you in on the detail that must be kept a secret. There was a person running through the halls who we have been pursuing. But you can rest assured that your safety is in the best possible hands."
I could kick your ass faster than you could cry for your mom.
"…so you can just head back inside and sleep tight. Leave the dangerous stuff to those who are trained to deal with it."
You have no idea, bud.
"Goodnight," She sweetly lied, giving him a sugary smile before departing for her room. Both the bottle and paper remained hidden in her robe.
The redhead moved straight for the bathroom where Matt bore an amused grin. "And you think I'm bad."
Rolling her eyes, the girl grabbed a disposable plastic cup, dropping the two items inside ensuring her fingerprints were not on them. She then smirked, grabbing his arm, and pushing him to the door. Sora opened it, leaning forward, brushing her hand against his, giving him the cup and brushing her lips against his ear. Goosebumps grew on his skin at her seductive tone. "But you know I can kick your ass. Have these things examined, Ishida. I'll see you tomorrow…"
"What's all that racket?" Agent Ishida rolled up the sleeves of his shirt in frustration.
Tai shrugged, slurping down the malt he had just purchased. "I think Gennai's working with Sora. She's probably kicking and screaming. Any minute now we'll here a crash and the window'll break." He stated matter-of-factly.
Joe cringed. "You're exaggerating just a bit. I heard from one of his assistants, though, that they were having quite a few differences in there. She already blew up at him once."
With a sigh, Matt stood up, leaving the boardroom table where he and the others had been working, researching, or in Tai's case, eating, for the past four hours. "Where are you going?" Izzy asked, finally looking up from his computer screen.
"To intervene…"
The blond walked down the hallway of their base. There were only six more days till the pageant, and they were no closer to finding the Beauty Queen Killer than people were to finding a way to live on Saturn.
Matt had taken a huge burden on himself, going more in-depth with the current findings than the others. Everyone else—with the exception of Sora—was keen to accept the test results they'd received. But there was some doubt left in the leader.
Instinct told him something was missing, and Matt Ishida was always one to follow his instincts.
"Sora, the talent segment is a key element of the pageant, accounting for thirty percent of your total score."
It was very apparent to Matt that the old man was beside himself. While he stood frantically pacing back and forth, the blond had snuck inside the room, managing to open and close the door without attracting their attention.
"I told you already, Gennai. There are plenty of things I can do. You've just rejected everything. Why can't I juggle a soccer ball up there?"
Sora had placed her hands on her hips indignantly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. A black dress clung to her, tied together in a halter-top style, accenting every feature of her athletic form. It was pitch black until it reached her knees, changing abruptly to inferno red. Matt had to keep himself from staring at her in the dress most obviously for the evening wear part.
"Do I really have to answer that question?" Gennai sighed. "Can you dance?"
She glared at him. "Haven't you watched me get tortured enough while we practice that opening dance sequence?"
"Can you sing?"
"I'd scare everyone out of San Antonio."
The man was running out of possibilities. "Well, can you play a musical instrument?"
No answer.
"Sora?"
"I did take piano lessons for a few years. But that was a long time ago. I haven't played a piano since I was eighteen."
A light bulb had gone off. Gennai patted the girl on the back, anger vanishing as fast as a cheetah could run. He looked as if Christmas had come early. "We can work with that. I can find you a piece that has repetitive patterns over and over again, concealed by other features that make it seem complex when it actually isn't."
"Where are you going to find one of them?"
"That's what could be the problem. Most composers have elaborate, ornate pieces that…"
"I could write one for her."
Two sets of eyes darted to the corner where the blond was peacefully resting. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to know you'll need some more help. I have plenty of experience writing music. I can get it to you two days from now at the latest."
Gennai's eyes appeared grateful but hesitant. Sora orbs were hard to read. But her smile made Matt's day. "Gennai, it doesn't look like we have any other choice."
Finally, the man relented. "All right, it does appear to be our only option." Looking at his watch, he picked up his briefcase. "It's about 9:30. I need to be leaving. I'll see you tomorrow night—6:45."
"Bye," Sora waved while Matt acknowledged him with a nod.
The blond faced the girl. "Do you want to go over our suspect list?"
The "our" symbolized the two of them. All the clues they'd found in and around the hotel had been tested but came back with no conclusive results…
"It's a wild goose chase." Tai exclaimed, chewing the chili cheese fries he had in front of him earlier in the day.
"Matt, I have to agree with him," Joe tried to reason. "All the equipment shows that someone had touched these things, but the fingerprints don't register anywhere."
Izzy showed him the computer printout. "The results are in no way connected. Face it; we've come to a dead end."
"I saw two different people drop these things. They could definitely be classified as shady characters. Takenouchi saw them too."
Agent Jones hadn't believed him either. "You were probably just tired, Matt. Keep working; don't dwell on this fake information. We need to crack this thing before the pageant..."
The redhead nodded to his question, snapping him back to the present state. "Yeah, where are we going to work at, though? The others will yell at us for "wasting our time" if we go out there."
He thought for a minute. "All the evidence we've gathered so far is on my laptop in my room. I don't want the others finding out we're still staying with our hypothesis."
Her heart fluttered from the request. "Yeah, let's go. I wasn't planning on getting back until after 11:00 anyway. We still have two hours." She picked up her bag of clothes she had on earlier before Gennai made her change into the dress she was currently wearing.
They crept out the door, hoping the other three would be too busy working— or more likely talking—to notice them together.
It was a change that the guys actually had noticed a bit. Sora and Matt weren't close to ripping each others' head off. The two had appeared at best civil, but a couple of jarring matches broke the peace.
The blond opened up the door of his temporary residence, letting Sora walk in before he followed, shutting the door. She sat down on the makeshift bed, looking at the new surroundings. "Do you like it like this? It seems so simple and…"
"Bachelor's pad," He explained with a grin. "It's a guy thing. And besides, I didn't expect to be here long."
"Understandable, I guess. Really, two weeks isn't that long."
Matt sat down next to her, holding up his computer. "It's all on here. Everything's organized and ready to go."
"You organized them all?"
"I needed something to keep me busy while you and Gennai had your brawls."
Sora blushed at his flirtatious manner. "So, are you going to show me those files anytime soon?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Mat settled down on the bed, gesturing for Sora to lie next to him, setting the computer between them. "Well, here's our evidence."
He pushed the space bar, and the screen illuminated with a list of results. "Note number 1: Numbers."
Digits began floating onto the screen. "A1-201, A2-214, A3-300, A4-222…D1-302..."
"Can you make heads or tails of that?" Matt scratched his head.
Sora sighed. "It could be a code, but I don't see how such large number would apply. Perhaps they're coordinates of something."
He shrugged in reply, hitting the spacebar again. "Results from note number 2: Letters."
"C, D, F, M, M, K…"
"This is even more confusing!" The blond groaned. "I assume the letters and numbers match up together, but I can't find any connection between them."
"Who knows? Maybe a letter corresponds to one of the letters witha number behind 't there one more clue?"
Matt nodded. "The aspirin bottle; you and I both know that it plays a role in this."
The girl sighed, still in shock from what happened earlier in the day. She'd shown up at the headquarters with news no one was expecting. Jun Motomiya had gone to take some of her aspirin for some cramps. Apparently, someone had entered her room and replaced her aspirin with a similar bottle. Inside this bottle happened to be carefully replicated clones made up of some hazardous substances.
Jun was in the hospital as she had collapsed during dance practice early this very morning. She was doing well, and the doctors were able to flush the materials out of her body. She would be back in time to compete as well.
"Someone close to the pageant has to be involved." Sora stated.
"Or is a mole; one of the two. The papers have to be related to the aspirin bottle."
Sora closed her eyes, focusing on the places the notes had been found and the situation they found themselves in. The letters with subscript have to stand for something. It has to be an obvious thing, something no one would think about.
She glanced at the notes once more. A1-201, A2-214, A3-300…duplicate letters and then large numbers. The only numbers like that I can think of are room…
"Matt!"
He faced her, a bit surprised she referred to him by his first name. There's a first. But I have to say I like hearing her say that. "What?"
"I've got it. The letters with the numbers each stand for a state. A1 equals Alabama, A2 equals Alaska…"
It hit him. "And the numbers after are room numbers. So Miss Alabama is in room 201. Miss Alaska is in room 214..."
Sora nodded, eyes lighting up. "Yep, then the list of letters represents the name of the contestant from each state!"
They looked at each other, beaming, and one step closer to solving a mystery. "How did you figure it out?"
"Truthfully," Sora admitted, "I have no idea. All I know is that now we have a case."
"Definitely better than the others. They have no information to work with. But we've got another thing they don't: a list of potential suspects."
"Did you compile this list while you were listening to Gennai and me arguing?"
He grinned devilishly. "Nah, because the two of you were so loud, I couldn't focus. Instead, I just watched the beautiful woman in front of me."
Change the subject! Change the subject! "Are you going to show me the suspects?"
Matt winked. "No problem…I've got a lot of things gathered that I think you'll find interesting." If she thinks she can change the subject, I'm just going to provoke her a bit.
Sora groaned, knowing he was trying to filibuster his way out of the topic, knowing as well that he could tell the flirting was affecting her. Damn emotions. She moved her hand to the keyboard, pushing the spacebar, seemingly not noticing the warm hand underneath hers.
"Suspect number 1: Jun Motomiya."
"It's stretching out on a limb," Matt explained, "but she could have purposely done that to herself for the sympathy image. The public's going to want her to win because a, she's from the host state, and b, she was attacked."
Sora had to agree. "I never thought of it that way, but there is a possibility she'd do that for the crown. Some of these girls are so focused on winning, it's just scary."
"Suspect 2: Mr. Fujiyama."
"We don't have plausible information pointing towards any specific person so I've been doing some digging."
He pulled out a printed document. "Where'd you get that?"
"Internet," He carelessly waved his free hand. "It was on the Miss America website. According to this, under Mr. Fujiyama's leadership, the pageant has landed itself in some scheduling conflicts, overbooking, and even a bit of financial turmoil. Critics have been complaining about the way he's run things. The Beauty Queen Killer could be a stunt—in the end, he and the administration could "save the day.""
"I don't know." The redhead was a bit more incredulous. "I can't see Mr. F. doing something like that. I'd be willing to bet it was his scatter-brained personality that caused all these problems. But, as you said, we have no evidence pointing any direction, so we have to keep every option in mind."
Her hand pushed the spacebar again, unaware that the blonde's was under it. "Suspect 3: Akira."
"The Akira? What would be his motive?"
Matt raked his free hand through his locks. "His last cd didn't go over well as expected. That's another reason he so desperately wanted this gig. Mark that in with some embarrassing coverage, it would do his status well to be seen as a hero."
The man handed her a stack of photos. "It's like he's purposely avoiding the far corridor, refusing to even look at the suites down there. Does he expect something to happen?" Sora wondered, examining the photographs.
Akira was arriving at the apartments he and the other guest judges were residing in. There was an entire corridor devoted to each. Being the first one to arrive, he'd had first choice. However, the singer wouldn't even look at the rooms on the far side.
"That's mainly because he hates the color green. Notice how the rugs and décor of that room are all shades of green."
"How do you know? Are you like a stalker fan of his? And where'd you get the pictures?"
The blond shook his head quickly. "No, T.K. interviewed him for the newspaper, and Kari took pictures that conveniently found their way into my arms."
Sneaky. That was a good idea to have T.K. and Kari do. I can see how he got to be so high up in the FBI. "But you didn't answer my first question."
He sighed. "When my band broke up, not all of us quit music."
Sora gasped. "You mean?"
"Yeah, Akira was back-up vocals and acoustic guitar. But it's not a subject I'm too keen to talk about. Let's keep going…there's one person left."
She let out a yawn, covering it with her free hand. "Okay,"
"Getting tired?"
"Just a little bit," Her head subconsciously began to fall, resting itself on Matt's shoulder. Neither made any motion for it to leave, both either not noticing it, or more likely, choosing not to care.
"Well, you do have a good reason to be tired. We'll look at the last one, and then I'll take you back."
"K." She murmured sleepily.
"Suspect 4—Mr. Oikawa."
"His niece is a contestant in the pageant, Ms. Nebraska, in fact. There's nothing that points in his direction, but in the past thirty years he's been involved with the pageant, of his three family members who've tried, none have won. He could be doing this so his niece gets the crown. We have to keep him on the list for the moment."
He looked down at the girl. "I never would've thought of a lot of these people. I don't know how you do it."
Matt chuckled a bit. "It comes with time. I've had plenty of practice doing this."
"Will I make a good FBI agent? All I've done so far is learn how to do a dance, though I still managed to screw it up every single time, try on a bunch of dresses, and answer some questions. There's nothing…"
He held up a hand. "You can do plenty, Takenouchi. Weren't you the one who figured out the connection between the two notes?"
"I guess…"
"You haven't had a chance to do what you do best. Agent Jones only takes the best, and I know he made a good choice with you."
She melted on the spot, closing her eyes, and snuggling up against his shoulder. There was silence for a moment as both were content in each others company. "Matt?"
"Yeah?" He let out a yawn as well, not realizing how tired his work had made him.
"We make a pretty good team, the two of us."
He smiled at her. "I think so too."
"Goodnight,"
"Goodnight, Sora."
He leaned down once more, finding her already fast asleep. The blond brushed the bangs away from her face, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cell phone. "Hello?"
"Mr. Fujiyama? It's Agent Ishida. Ms. Takenouchi won't be able to get back to the hotel tonight. She's exhausted from all her work with Gennai and has already fallen asleep. She's incredibly wiped out and…"
"Yes, it'd be better to let her sleep. I've heard horror stories from Tai about waking her up. Go ahead; I'll tell her roommate there's been an emergency she had to attend to. Bring her back tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, sir."
"Thank you, Agent Ishida." Matt closed his phone, settling back down next to the redhead. He noticed his laptop was still on and just barely managed to shut it off before sleep overtook him…
Sora's eyes fluttered open, trying to figure out where she was. This isn't the hotel room. And I can't hear Mimi snoring. Where am I?
She looked to her left.
Damn it! That's the second time I've fallen asleep next to him.
He was still out, lying peacefully next to her, golden tresses sticking out in every possible direction. She smiled, gently running her fingers through his hair, surprised at how soft it was.
Cobalt eyes entered the world from the touch. He slowly blinked, looking over at the girl next to him. A smile crept onto his face as he realized what she was doing. Sora noticed him watching her and lightly blushed, removing her hand. "Good morning to you too,"
"Morning?" She shot up, hand that had been locked with his finally freeing itself. Her orbs found the clock. 6:00 "Shit! We have rehearsal at 7:00. Mimi's going to wonder where I was all night. She'll start asking questions…I'll get kicked out of the competition…the FBI plan will be screwed…"
Matt placed a hand over her rambling lips. "Takenouchi, I took care of it last night. Don't worry about it; it's all cleared up."
"It is?" She asked, pushing his hand away. "Thanks," The redhead smiled after receiving the answer.
Matt stood up, stretching just a bit. "I need to get you back to the hotel without these guys knowing. But first you can take a shower and change out of that killer dress if you want."
She nodded, standing up and heading into his bathroom with the bag of clothes she had brought in with her from Gennai's work room long ago last night.
The shower started up, and Matt collapsed back onto the bed. Get a hold of yourself, Ishida. How can she do this to me? I told myself I'd never love someone for fear of getting hurt like my parents. I know I don't love her…but at the rate I'm going, I sure as hell could…AHHH! Ishida, don't start thinking like that. She's just a woman. A hot, talented, unbelievable woman that…don't start thinking like that…
His thoughts were interrupted by her voice. "Ishida,"
She sounded a bit hesitant, and Matt was sure he wouldn't be able to hear her if the water hadn't stopped. "Yeah?"
"Where…where are the towels at?"
God, are you TRYING to torture me?
Matt got up, walking to the closet at the far edge of the room. He picked up a few of the large fluffy towels before knocking on the bathroom door. "I've got some."
She slowly opened it up a crack, eyes saying she was sorry. He handed her the towels, and she quickly shut the door again.
Why me?
Sora emerged shortly, walking out with a green long-sleeved shirt and khaki capris on. Matt, in the time he wasn't debating with his conscience, had changed into a hooded sweatshirt and navy pants. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah." They walked out the door in an uncomfortable silence. Finally: "I haven't had that good of a nights sleep in ages."
"Glad I could be of help," Matt mumbled under his breath, but Sora managed to hear him. "Come on, coast is clear."
Matt crept down the hallway, Sora close behind, both making a beeline for the outside without being seen. "Agent Jones just called. They got urgent new evidence!"
Izzy's voice could be heard and activity was jumping all around them. "We're dead," Sora whispered, face turning white.
Matt's eyes searched for an escape. He grabbed her arm, forcing her into the only thing he could find. A tiny broom closet.
Shutting the door, Sora couldn't help but laugh. "What?" The blond asked.
She looked up at him, inches away. Their bodies were pressed together as it indeed was a very small broom closet. "We've been in a few awkward situations this morning, but this by far takes the cake."
He let out a light laugh too, careful not to be heard. "A bit predictable, no? Girl and guy in the broom closet?"
"Are you insinuating that something's going to happen between us in here?" Sora whispered.
Matt gave her an irresistible grin. His husky voice found her ear. "What do you have in mind?"
She pushed him back a little ways. "Keep dreaming, Ishida."
"Oh, I will." He pressed his body to hers once more, this time opening up the door a crack to see if anyone was outside the door or in the hall.
"Let's go…"
Matt unrolled the passenger side window of the Subaru. "Meeting tonight again. You know the time."
"Of course. See you then, Ishida. Now find out what's going on at base."
"You know I will. Later, Takenouchi."
Sora snuck in the back exit, making it up to her room. "Hot date?" Mimi asked while blow drying her hair.
"I wish," Sora let out a fake laugh, and Mimi giggled along. "Urgent junk I had to be out for."
"Good to have you back." She stated. "Which outfit should I wear today?"
"What are your choices?"
"Pink skirt, black top. Pink top, black skirt. Pink pants, pink top…"
Twenty minutes later, they were all down at the Majestic Theater, listening to Mr. Fujiyama. "Ladies, we're now going to combine all your hard work with the different parts of the competition. It's time to master the art of perfection. Up until the preliminary competitions, we'll be practicing all aspects of the competition and getting them down perfect. Be prepared: the hardest, more laborious part is yet to come…"
Oh great. I have a feeling I'm just going to love this…
A/N: Please review!