Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold and its characters, and the Uncharted series to which this fic was heavily based on.
Double-Cross
"Among these temples there is one which far surpasses all the rest, whose grandeur of architectural details no human tongue is able to describe; for within its precincts, surrounded by a lofty wall, there is room enough for a town of five hundred families."
- Hernando Cortes, Spanish conquistador, describing the grandeur of the Aztec temples.
Arnold looked around warily as they made their into Bebop's, the jazz bar where Rhonda and Curly agreed to meet to do the "exchange". The alley leading to the bar was dark, lit by few flickering streetlights illuminating it. Even the neon signboard of the jazz bar seemed to be on its last legs, with the letter P flickering now and then. On their way in, they were accosted by three of Curly's men. Two burly bald men and a fierce-looking redheaded woman stopped them at the door.
"Rhonda Lloyd?" the redhead asked.
"The one and only. Are you with Curly?"
The redhead did not answer. She motioned the two burly men to go to Arnold and Sid, who almost shrank back seeing these men almost twice their size closing in at them. The men then started groping around Arnold and Sid, searching for any concealed weapons. Arnold and Sid exchanged awkward glances, being not used to being groped by men, especially men of this size.
The redhead then began groping around Rhonda's waist. She shrank back, trying to push away the redhead, but she was insistent.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" Rhonda blurted out.
"Curly's orders. You must be searched before letting you in," the redhead replied.
"Geez, is that creep that paranoid? It's not like we're gonna double-cross him or something," she said annoyingly as the redhead continued groping around her pants for any concealed guns or any weapons.
"Rhonda, let's just play along," Arnold said as the burly man searching him was taking an extra time groping around his waist (and he swore he felt him pinch his butt a bit). After a few seconds, the man then straightened up and turned to the redhead.
"He's clean."
"Same here," said the other burly man searching Sid. He then gave Sid a smack in the butt when he was done searching him. He then grinned and winked at Sid, sending shivers down his spine. This gotta be the creepiest thing that happpened to him, he thought.
"They're all clean," said the redhead who was done searching Rhonda. She then turned to Rhonda, "Come with me."
They looked at each other as they followed the redhead into the jazz bar. Sid looked around to make sure he's not within the earshot of the burly men. He leaned to Arnold.
"Boy howdy, that was really creepy. He smacked my ass, and even winked at me!" he whispered in his usual panicky voice.
"Tell me about it. Mine pinched my ass," Arnold whispered back.
"Man, Curly got really creepy dudes working for him."
"Knowing Curly, I wouldn't be surprised," Rhonda turned to them and whispered. She overheard their hushed conversation as they made their way into the bar.
The bar looks almost deserted, save for the fat barkeep who was wiping the beer mugs clean, and an old ragged customer who passed out on the bar, snoring loudly with a half-empty shotglass still in hand. The jazz band had just finished their set, and the nervous-looking young waitress turned on the jukebox to play classic blues tunes before going back to her post, where she nervously looked at Rhonda's gang as they made their way in. Either this was just a slow night for the bar, or Curly rented the whole place out for their "exchange".
"Follow me. He's waiting for you," she told them curtly, then headed to the part of the bar where the pool tables were. The three followed her with the two burly men trailing behind them. And there he was, Thaddeus "Curly" Gammelthorpe, their mentally unstable classmate who struck it rich few years after their graduation from college. Some say the way he struck it rich was "questionable", that he scammed his way to riches, dealt with shady underworld personalities, or sold his soul to the Devil himself. Whatever the reason behind his rise, it's no doubt that Curly has gained enough power and influence to stand on equal footing with the woman he always pined for, Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd.
Curly was sitting alone behind the pool table, wearing a fine gray suit. He stood up and beamed at the three.
"Welcome, Arnold, Sid, and-" he gave Rhonda an affectionate look. "Rhonda dearest." He reached for her hand to kiss it.
She pulled her hand away from him and gave him a scowl, "Let's cut down the chase and get to business, shall we? Did you bring it?"
"Rhonda, Rhonda, my love," Curly chuckled. "Ever so hasty. Wanting to jump straight into action without any foreplay. Where's the fun with that? I know you always like foreplay, right?" He grinned impishly at her.
"Stop it, you freak!" she snarled at him. Sid can hardly contain his laughter and was giggling by himself.
"Did you bring it or not? Be quick about it, 'coz if you don't have a half a brain to bring what I asked you to, then I'll gladly get out of this shitty joint than to waste my time with a creep like you and your cast of freaks."
Curly laughed, "Fine, my love. If you are such in a hurry. You're ever so droll, Rhonda. Ever so droll."
"Ever so? I thought Lila had an exclusive copyright for that expression?" Sid whispered to Arnold, then started snickering. Arnold snickered as well.
"Shirley, the box, if you may." The redhead lady promptly handed a small wooden box to Curly. He then placed the box on top of the pool table and opened it, taking out its contents. It's a bust of a female Egyptian deity, its eyes and serpent crown magnificently adorned with real gem stone and plated with real gold. It's facial features was delicately carved, finished with an unusual sheen that reflected the lights off its face.
"Behold, the Isis of Lepanne," Curly said as Arnold and Sid gaped on it, their mouths open with wonder.
"Boy howdy, she's a beauty, isn't she?" Sid said to Arnold.
"Yeah, a beauty indeed," Arnold agreed. No wonder Rhonda spared no dime in acquiring this piece of art. But something inside him was telling that there's something wrong with the statue. Something seems to be out of place. The feeling of unease seemed to fill him every second he gazed at the statue.
"So Rhonda, let me return the question. Did you bring it?" Curly smiled impishly at her.
"Sid," she called out, snapping Sid from his daze. He handed a suitcase to Rhonda. She then placed it on top of the pool table. She undid the suitcase lock and opened it, revealing bundles of hundred dollar bills neatly arranged. She turned it around, showing Curly the money.
"A hundred grand in exchange for the Goddess, as agreed."
Curly took one of the bundle and examined the bills closely. All of them seems real, non-sequenced. He grinned, satisfied with the transaction. He then took the suitcase and shut it. He reached out his hand to Rhonda.
"Well, it's been nice doing business with you, Rhonda. If I may take the liberty of inviting you a din-"
"WAIT!"
Everybody turned to Arnold, seemed to be unsettled with how the transaction went on.
"Hold it, Rhonda," he said, heading to the pool table and to the statue.
"Arnold"? she threw a questioning look at him. Arnold seemed to ignore her as he grabbed the statue, felt and rubbed its face, and sniffed his finger. He then looked under the base of the statue, in which he smiled and started chuckling to himself.
"Arnold, what's going on?" Rhonda asked him, throwing him a confused look.
"Rhonda, Curly is trying pull a fast one on us. The statue is a fake!"
Rhonda eyes widened, "WHAT?!" She turned to Curly, her eyes this time was burning with fury. She balled up her fists as she drew closer to Curly. "Why you little-?!"
"Hey, hey. Hold on, Rhonda. Let's not be rash here." He then turned to Arnold. "How dare you accuse me of trying to double-cross my love! Do you have an idea on how much I time and money spent trying to search and procure that specific piece of art?"
"Or rather, spent trying to produce a fake," Arnold countered, smiling smugly at Curly. "You did a poor job actually."
"Why you lying-?!" Curly seethed.
"First of all, the statue was covered with magnesium glaze, which explains its unusual sheen. You see, magnesium glaze wasn't invented and used until the 18th century, something that ancient Egyptians have definitely have no access to," Arnold explained.
"So? I took the liberty of restoring it and enhancing its beauty for my love here," Curly smiled at Rhonda, which she replied with a snarl. "The restorer might have used a magnesium-based glaze for all I care."
"Oh yeah, then how are you going to explain this?" Arnold grabbed the statue and shoved the bottom of the base a few inches from Curly's face. His smile disappeared and his face paled upon reading the inscription stamped under the base. Arnold then handed the statue to Rhonda, who then took a look at the inscription under its base.
"Made in China," Rhonda read the not-so-ancient inscription out loud. "Geez, I didn't know the Chinese used to worship Isis, do you, Arnold?"
Arnold shook his head, acknowledging Rhonda's sarcasm, "Nope, I didn't know that either. I should have paid more attention on my archaeology class."
"Curly, looks like you're busted now," Sid said, laughing heartily at Curly who was now pale and seething. "Now be a good sport and hand back the money. I'm sure Rhonda could call it quits if you do so."
Curly, now cornered, clutched the suitcase madly and dug inside his coat and...
CLICK!
...whipped out a handgun, pointing it to Rhonda and and the gang. The three were frozen right at their steps.
"Bravo, bravo! Good job in foiling my evil scheme. But I'm the one who got the gun here, and you aren't. Sucks to be you, I guess. So adios, and so long, suckers! Bwahahaha-uph!"
THUUUUD!
Curly's generic evil laughter was cut short when Arnold fiercely tackled him, slamming him against the wall, knocking him unconscious, and letting go both the gun and suitcase. He raised his fist to give Curly one solid punch to knock him out for good when one of Curly's burly goons grabbed him and slammed against the wall like a rag doll.
"Arnold!" Sid rushed towards him to help but an enormous fist was flying on his way. He quickly ducked to avoid the punch coming from the other burly bald guy. He quickly swung a punch, but the bald guy simply caught his fist, and quickly countered with punch to his belly, sending him reeling on the floor.
"Arnold! Sid!" Rhonda screamed, confused on which way to turn first in order to help either one of them. Shirley, Curly's redhead goon blocked her way from helping either Sid or Arnold.
"You'll be dealing with me, Ms. Lloyd..."
THWAAAAP!
Rhonda swung her right hand to land a hard and resounding slap on the redhead's cheek, sending her reeling back and leaned against one of the pool tables.
"Out of the way, bitch!" she screamed at her as she grabbed one of the cue sticks, and rushed to Arnold to free him from one of Curly's goons who got him pinned against the wall.
"YOOOOOWWWW!" Rhonda howled as she felt someone grabbed and pulled her hair back violently. It was Shirley, who now recovered a bit, one side of her cheek red and swollen. She then proceeded to slap Rhonda mercilessly. Rhonda raised her arms to shield her face, but still recoiled from the barrage of blows the redhead unleashed upon her.
Watching the fracas from a distance, the nervous-looking waitress stepped back in horror and accidentally hit the antiquated jukebox, causing to play by itself.
"Hold that Tiger!
Hold that Tiger!
Where's the Tiger?
Where's the Tiger?"
The classic jazz track continued to play as the melee went on. The burly man was beating Sid mercilessly as with Rhonda, who was crumpled on the floor, shielding herself from Shirley's blows. Arnold was squirming as the burly bald man held him up against the wall, his face red, struggling to breathe. His eyes caught the sight of a beer bottle on a cocktail table nearby. He reached out as hard as he could as the burly man choked him harder. He can feel his consciousness slipping away. He summoned last of his remaining strength to grab the bottle.
At last, he felt the cold glass on his finger. With a deft, swift move...
CRASSHHH!
...he slammed the beer bottle on to the bald guy's head so hard that the it broke upon impact. He let go Arnold, who fell on the floor coughing. Dazed and dizzy from the impact, the man swayed back and forth as he held his bloodied head, groaning unintelligibly. Regaining his senses, Arnold pulled back his fist and...
WHOOOP!
...connected a fierce right punch square on to the bald man's jaw, sending him crashing on to the pool tables, where he fell uncscious for the rest of the night.
Sid was still struggling against his bigger opponent. He fell hard on the floor when he gut punched in the gut again. As he fell, he felt a bottle lying around on the floor. He quickly grabbed it and swung it towards his opponent.
THOOOOOMM!
The bald man was still standing, as if the bottle has no effect on him, He just gave Sid a puzzled look. Sid quickly followed up with another swing. The man made no effort to block him and let the bottle land squarely on to his head.
THOOOOM!
Sid looked at the his opponent, confused. He then looked at the bottle he held and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Diet Yahoo! Soda. Less Sugar," he read out loud. He was holding a plastic soda bottle! He quickly threw it away and braced him self for the worst as his opponent loomed over him, laughing evilly. He winced, preparing to receive the worst of the blows when...
THOOOK!
...a billiard ball flew straight on to the bald guy's head and hit him right on his temple.
"OWWWWW! What the-" he growled as he faced the direction where the billiard ball came from, only to see another ball flying straight unto him and...
THOOOK!
...bounced off his forehead, knocking him unconscious. He fell on the floor with a dull thud. Sid looked to see who threw the billiard balls. It was Arnold, who was tossing a billiard ball up and catching it.
"Boy howdy, Arnold. I thought I was a goner there. I owe you one," Sid struggled up his feet, trying to force a smile.
"Don't mention it," Arnold smiled back, and then looked around. "Where's Rhonda?"
Rhonda was at the corner, still shielding herself from the redhead's blows. Shirley then grabbed Rhonda's dress and dragged her across the room, ripping it by its sleeve. Upon feeling her dress get ripped, Rhonda's eyes was lit with fury and...
BIFF!
...connected a swift punch square on to the redhead's jaw as she got up. She recoiled in pain, slightly dazed, and looked at Rhonda and...
THOOG!
...took another punch, this time, right on the nose. She fell on the floor, wincing in pain. Rhonda then stood over her, glowering down on her, her eyes burning with fury.
"That was Christian Dior, you bitch!" she screamed, and gave the redhead a sharp kick at her side. She groaned in pain and crumpled on the floor. Rhonda held her torn dress as she looked at Arnold and Sid, who was looking at her in amazement.
"Gosh Rhonda, you kicked ass," Arnold said, amazed by the brunette's ferocity.
"Dammit, she ripped my dress! It's Christian Dior, for the love of God! And I've worn it only once!" Rhonda snarled as she gave Shirley another kick. Sid and Arnold snickered at the sight. Rhonda's alright. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she pointed towards the door.
"Curly! He's getting away!" she screamed. They turned to see Curly who was sneaking away with the suitcase and his gun in hand, almost halfway out of the door. He must have regained consciousness while they were in a brawl with his goons. Arnold rushed after him, and...
BANG! BANG!
...Curly fired two shots at him. Arnold instinctively took cover behind one of the tables, the shots hitting the antiquated jukebox behind him, effectively retiring it and putting it out of its misery. Arnold got out of his cover and rushed outside to run after Curly.
He saw Curly running towards a dark alley. He ran after him. Curly turned to see Arnold closing on to him. He flipped several garbage cans along the way to slow Arnold down. Arnold simply vaulted over the obstacles Curly made for him. It's a good thing he took up parkour recently. Who could ever tell it will be handy, especially at times like this.
Curly was almost out of breath, and Arnold was fast closing on to him. Running out of options, he quickly turned to aim his gun at Arnold. But he gawk in horror as he saw a Arnold in mid-air, about to crash on to him.
"GYAAAAAHHHH!" Arnold growled.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Curly screamed.
CRASSSHHH!
Arnold used his whole weight to slam Curly on to the ground. Curly was groaning from pain. Arnold kept him pinned on the ground as he wrenched his gun from his hand and tossed it away. He then grinned at Curly.
"Game over, Curly," he said to him, who appeared to dazed from the impact. "Arnold used Body Slam! It's super effective! Curly is now paralyzed!" He then started snickering madly.
He then raised his arm, his fist clenched, and connected a swift punch square unto Curly's jaw, knocking him out for good.
"Arnold used Pound! Curly has fainted!" he continued as he got up on his feet, picked up the suitcase, and started walking back to Bebop's, where Rhonda and Sid were waiting for him.
*The camera pans to the sky, then the text appears "NAUGHTY KITTY GAMES presents".*
*The text disappears, and replaced by the title text "UNMAPPED: THE HEART OF THE JUNGLE"*
*"Nate's Theme" from the Uncharted series starts to play.*
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I hope you liked this chapter. I enjoyed writing this chapter so much, albeit I have to rewrite the brawl scene multiple times. This chapter is based on the opening bar scene in Uncharted 3. Don't forget to leave reviews, I highly appreciate your reviews. ^^,