The two fugitives were running on the sidewalk and I was right behind: if I keep this pace, I can dive and catch at least the woman. They quickly turn towards a dark alley, slowing down in the process. I followed them, getting closer.
The man kicks a trash can, which was rolling in my direction. I rapidly made a jump, avoiding the obstacle. Drat! That move let them have more distance from me! I dashed with all my energy: I can't lose track of those crooks or else, they'll disappear inside the city!
They exit the alley by turning to their right. I did the same: I was now on another sidewalk and to my left, I could see the Inklings climbing a wall. The man reached the top and leads a hand to the woman. I rushed after them: better be quick, since they made past that huge obstacle!
I managed to run on the wall for a bit, before losing all the momentum: I grab the edge just in time. After getting up, I located the two: they stopped near a tree catching their breaths. The woman saw me and shouts something to the man. I jumped down and resume my chase: the thieves began to sprint, towards an open area.
Huh? They stopped…? I slowed down, until I stood still: let's not assume this is already over.
"All right, that's IT!" The man turned his back. "You wanna find trouble? Then, come here and have some!"
He wants to fight me? A lady?! … now that I look better around… there isn't anyone here. I'm alone.
"Wait, what are you doing?!" The woman grabs the man, turning him in front of her. "She's just a kid! Let's outrun her and"
"It will be useless!" He looks back at me. "Didn't you notice how easily she climbed that wall?! She's worse than a cat!"
"But"
"No! I'm gonna kick her butt, if she dares to lift a finger at us!"
That guy is doing a fighting pose: he's not kidding! Actually… wh-what I was thinking, chasing down two criminals?! Th-they could have led me into a trap! No wait… they did just that. Congratulations, Mirii! Now what?! … maybe…
"I'm not here to give you a splatting! I want answers!"
"Answers?! You figured out the mystery!" The man shouted.
"Not completely! Why did you choose to disguise yourself, as my friend?!"
"That was my idea!" The woman steps ahead. "I saw that kid yesterday, wearing all those simple clothes… and I thought that was the perfect disguise to use, for our target!"
"Perfect for fools like that obese chef!" The man adds. "But useless, if a stupid camera catches my face!"
"So… this was your reason… you really wanted to pin this crime to him, since no one wears such generic vestures!"
"Exactly!" She grins. "We hoped that the police would catch him, within this day… and we'd get away with the money, in peace."
"But that camera… it didn't made me sleep!" He stomps the ground.
"Yeah, not only we didn't steal anything… but we could still be arrested, because of that single photo!" She pats the man.
"I was too tired to get that phone and smash it first thing in the morning!" He hits his own palm. "It was even harder to achieve that after I finish up my rest: that dude was inside his restaurant ALL the time!"
"We were thinking to lure him out and then steal his smartphone."
"And… you failed?" I asked.
"GRRRR!" He jumps multiple times. "I NEVER ENCOUNTERED A FATTY THIS LUCKY!"
"Ehm… yeah… he had a hard time, today…" She was sweating a little. "However, when we were almost giving up… that's the part where you show up!"
"And decided to disguise yourself as police officers and send Hunley away, before the real police could see that photo?"
"Not that simple: we couldn't know normally, what that chef was up too… well, that's if he didn't shout like that." The woman walks around the man.
They aren't exaggerating: my eardrums still hurts since that awful experience.
"We quickly thought about that plan, waited for the police to come, attack them and took off their clothes."
"S-so, there are officers knocked down somewhere?!" I opened my mouth, expanding my eyes.
"Yep! I bet they are still dreaming about giant donuts!" The woman giggles.
Uhm… something doesn't add up.
"… there's one thing, I don't understand: why persecute Mr. Fishn, when he could have shown that photo much earlier to the police?"
"Good point. We didn't really escape from his mansion: we hid behind a tree and spied that obese, for a moment. He called the police, but for some reason the police believed his testimony. The man insisted about getting to the Police Station immediately and give out the photo, but the police asked to show it tomorrow."
WHAT?! WHY THEY WOULD DO THAT?! … unless…
"We didn't know who to thank for such opportunity!" The woman added.
I know who: Mr. Tarfo himself. The police must have recognized Hunley from Mr. Fishn's testimony. If he submitted that photo, the police would have been forced to insert a Wanted poster all over the city, showing Hunley's face. Not a good idea to give him such attention, if Mr. Tarfo was about to hire him secretly.
Even worse, if Hunley is sent to the prison: getting him out easily, would draw too much suspicion and waiting for Hunley to get out… I don't know how many days it'll take. Probably too many… well, let's stop theorizing now: I can't lose my focus, since I'm front of those two criminals!
"Too bad, you didn't use it properly." I said.
"Yes! We would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for YOU and that LAWYER!" He shakes his fist.
"Hmpf. Instead of crying, I suggest you two to find a real job and stop getting yourself into trouble."
"Yeah, THAT'S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!" The man shouted.
"It's. You just need to"
"Wait, hold on! You… you really thought that we were always criminals?!" The woman asked.
…
"Actually… we started our thieves two days ago…" She looks away.
"Why?"
"BECAUSE WE LOSE OUR JOB!" The man shouted.
"Oh… that's unfortunate…"
"Unfortunate?! That would have been better! We are in a crisis instead, you know that?!"
"Wh-what do you mean?" I-I was getting confused…
"… well… I think we should explain our situation… honey."
Honey…?
"… it seems like it, sweetheart…"
… those two aren't colleagues at all…
"You two are married?"
The woman nods.
"Yes. For a great while…" She smiled. "We have two wonderful children, waiting for us at home."
"Oh…"
"You want to see them?" The woman was picking up… a wallet.
… should I trust them? The woman is getting closer, while taking a photo from her wallet.
"Here, that's us!"
I took a great look at the photo: I see those two, together with two small Squids. They were all smiling, doing a V sign. Their clothes were summer related: short shirts and pants. Well, a short skirt for the woman.
"We took this photo, when we visited Cala Mare last year. We visited many places, took some rides at the water park…" The woman sighed. "We were looking forward to visit Mount Triggerfish for this next summer."
"I see… I visited that place, when I was younger."
"Yeah, it seems fun! Too bad that we have to postpone it…"
"Hmm… economic troubles?"
"Yes, pretty much." The man walks near us. "Some months ago, they changed the job terms… in other words, we got less money than before."
"What was your job?"
"Turf Wars professionals."
"Huh?! Y-you are professionals?!"
"Yep! Look at my card!" She shows me, her ID card: I could see her photo and her skill level.
"Now I understand… since the Turf War Station closed down, you essentially lose your job!"
"And for no reason! They stated that some aliens attacked Urchin Underpass and are causing chaos around!" The man opens his arms.
"The Stingrays…"
"Yes, them! Because of their presence, that place is shut down to keep us Inklings safe!" The woman explained.
"Safe their sorry butts! We dropped school to become good at Turf Wars!" He grits his teeth.
"Yeah! If we didn't dedicate much time to Turf Wars, we wouldn't never meet up…! Do you remember, honey? We were fighting against each other, at Saltspray Rig…" She wraps her arms around him.
"… I still remember it like yesterday."
They both kissed on their lips.
"Ahem."
They look at me, now.
"I see your problem. However, that doesn't excuse your behavior: you could have ruined the life of an innocent!"
"We know that and we are terrible sorry…" She lowers her head. "We didn't have any choice, you know…"
"Please, kid… leave us alone. We promise to find a real job! Even a part-time one!"
…
"… very well." I smiled. "You are free to go."
They both smiled.
"Thank you." The man said.
"We'll never forget you…"
Ha ha ha ha-HEY, WHAT'S UP WITH THAT LAUGH?! Don't act humble!
"I didn't do anything. Really."
We stood in silence, for a brief moment.
"It's better for us, to go. Our kids must be getting worried!" The man took a look, at his wristwatch.
"Yes, they are waiting for dinner…!" She grabs his arm.
"Oh, sweetheart…! How about those clothes?" The man looks at them.
"Ah, you're right! … I got an idea." She looks at me. "Let's give them, to this girl."
… I think to understand her plan.
"You want me to return those clothes to the real police officers. Am I right?"
The woman nods.
"Sounds fine to me." The man nods too.
They both took off their clothes and give them to me. They had other clothes on them: those two were good enough to hide them from our eyes!
"Before we go… please, forgive me and my honey for being a little arrogant and bossy."
"… that's ok. I'm sure the others will understand." I smiled.
They did the same and begin to walk away, while waving their hands at me. I stood there, for a while… seeing them walking down, while holding their hands. … I started to walk in another direction… while a single tear dropping from my eye.