Chapter 2
Magnolia sighed as she looked up at the hotel that she had been dropped off at. Sure it wasn't fancy, but based off of the $20 bill in her pocket, she wouldn't be able to afford it not to mention food. As the bright red car drove out of sight she hosted her bag and guitar case back onto her back, swinging her violin by her side. The boys had mentioned that the city loved music, so perhaps she could find a safe street corner where she could play and gain a few dollars. Heading in the direction she hoped was downtown she hummed a new Beatles song she had heard in the train station earlier that day.
Lost in thoughts she didn't notice that she was being followed. Slipping in and out of the shadows was a dark figure that clearly had bad intentions. It wasn't until she found herself in a dark alley with a dead end that she started to feel the threatening presence. As the hairs on the back of her neck began to prickles she heard a soft noise behind her.
Please… don't be a robber! She thought to herself, slowly turning to assess the situation. With a start she jumped back as a man stepped out of the shadows into the light where she could see his features.
"Oh, Micky! You scared me! You really shouldn't be in a dark alley like this late at night!"
The man smiled, and it gave Magnolia a sense of uneasiness. "I could say the same to you!" His voice had an unusual grate to it that had not been there before. Looking at him skeptically she tried shrugging it off. She'd only met them for about fifteen minutes. Based off of how much Micky had talked in that short amount of time it wouldn't surprise her if he had given himself a sore voice.
"I was just trying to find some of those clubs you had talked about earlier!"
"There aren't any clubs in this part of town, baby! At least not the kind that a pretty lady like you would be interested in."
Baby? Magnolia frowned. Micky wasn't this...creepy earlier! A strange feeling of panic started to rise in her throat.
"Um, okay. I guess I'll go try to find the other part of town then!" Magnolia tried to push past him, but she was stopped as another figure stepped out of the shadows. Glancing up at him she expected to see one of the other boys, but instead it was a taller, more stocky man.
"Where do you think you're going, lady?" His grin only added to her panic.
"Micky? What's going on? Where's Mike, Davy, and Peter?"
"Micky's not here. And neither are any of his idiot friends! We've been sent to complete a task that they have refused to do!" Magnolia turned in confusion only to find herself face to face with a gun.
"You've had the pleasure of meeting Babyface. And he's the last person you'll ever meet!"
"What do you mean you don't have anyone by that name?" Mike slammed his fist down on the counter in an unusual expression of anger. "We dropped her off right in front of this hotel!"
"Mike, cool it!' Davy put his hand on Mike's arm to calm him. "Sir, are you sure? There's no other possible hotel for her to be at!"
The man behind the desk looked flustered, and it was clear that Mike's presence was making him nervous. "I..I'm sure! We haven't had anyone check in in the last three hours!"
"He got her already…" Peter whispered, his eyes welling up with tears.
"Did you maybe see her? Blonde? Small? Wearing...uh...a...uh...white shirt and red pants? Kind of hard to miss!" Micky prompted.
"No. No one like that! I know! She never came inside!" The poor man didn't know how to handle the small group of people. While one looked like he was ready to rip his head off, another one was crying with enough intensity to power a waterfall. The other two seemed more approachable, so his statement was directed to them.
"But we didn't even...she couldn't...we could have…" Peter's tears prevented a clear message from being relayed.
"Oh, it's alright, shotgun! We'll go find her!" Mike's protective instinct kicked in as he realized anger wasn't going to help him out. "Well, have a good day anyway." He turned his shoulder coldly before exiting the hotel with the other three in tow.
"Mike, what do we do now? She could be anywhere!" Micky tried to shake off the feeling that it may be too late already.
"How far could she be? She was probably walking, and with her instruments and luggage she couldn't be moving fast."
"Yeah, but the town is huge!" Davy pointed out.
"Then we split up! We'll cover more ground that way!"
"Oh no… We can't split up! Last time we tried that Davy got turned into a vampire, me into a werewolf, and Peter almost a frankenstein's monster's vessel. Nope! I'm not doing it, Mike!" Micky shook his head side to side vigorously to make his point clear.
"Oh, alright. Well then, why don't we split into pairs! Then at least we could form two duos!" Mike couldn't help but throw Micky's own joke back at him.
"Okay! Okay!" Micky nodded his head just as forcefully.
"Wait a minute! Don't we get a say in this!" Davy asked, gesturing to Peter who nodded in agreement.
"You can go ahead and vote, but Mike'll just veto it if he doesn't agree!" Micky pointed out.
"That's right! Davy, you come with me! Peter, you're with Micky! The moment you find her, head to the pad! Whenever possible find a phone and call the pad! If one of us has made it back we can answer the phone and end the search!"
Davy and Mike made their way back up the beach, calling Magnolia's name every once in a while. She had previously mentioned that had come to Malibu for the beaches, so they made the reasonable deduction she was probably there.
"Mike, if Mr. Zero already has her...does that mean we will be left alone?" Davy chewed his lip nervously.
Mike kicked at a rock. "I don't think so, shotgun. He seemed pretty angry… I wonder why we always seem to get caught up in these situations."
"It's Micky. Trouble always follows him." Davy responded with a cheeky smile, trying to lighten the mood.
Rolling his eyes Mike allowed a small laugh. "Micky would find a way to get us in trouble with a yo-yo!"
"Just think of all the enemies we've made! By just minding our own business!" Davy folded his arms in frustration. "We were just going to a gig when we met Bessie! Or Peter with the dance classes! He was roped into that one!"
"That's not always true!" Mike pointed out, climbing onto a lifeguard post in a touristy area of the beach. No one was there as it was nighttime, and Mike could see that Magnolia was nowhere to be seen. "You got us into trouble with El Diablo. And when Borris and Madame lost their microchip, we definitely got ourselves involved!"
"What? You must be joking! I didn't ask for the microchip to be in my maracas!"
"Sure, but we agreed to help the CIS! If we would have just given the chip to them and kept our noses out, Borris and Madame would never have gotten involved with us!" Mike hoped back down and continued to trudge through the sand. Davy hurried to follow.
"No, that's not it at all. It's stuff like this! Here we are, taking care of ourselves, and the devil just shows up and tells us that we have a lose-lose ultimatum. How could we possibly gotten ourselves into this?"
"Easy! Peter's love of music, and me opening my big mouth!"
"Mike, your big mouth got us out…" Davy disputed.
"No, it got us into our current problem. We've had a target on our back ever since then!" Mike tugged on his hat, feeling the conversation becoming uncomfortable.
"Yeah, but at least we have Peter!"
"That's after you tried to give yourself up instead! And besides that, I'm sure if Mr. Zero had gotten you instead he would have kicked you out as soon as possible."
"Well, if it had been you the devil would have given his job to you instead! You're more qualified!"
"Thanks, buddy!" The two fell into an uneasy silence, the jokes doing nothing to lose the terrible image of the Monkees being without Peter as he suffered in hell by himself. Of all of the trouble they had run into, the devil and Peter had been the largest bullet they had dodged. And unfortunately, the bullet was Monkee-wrenching itself back at them, this time with the mass of a cannon ball.
Mike sighed and shot Davy a glance. "Either way, we will get out of this. We always do." He smiled at Davy, then turned away. "Magnolia!"
In the opposite direction Peter and Micky were heading deeper into town. Peter started getting nervous, remembering past experiences he had in the area. At least he didn't have his guitar with him to accidentally sell or trade.
Micky had taken to searching random spots that even Peter knew Magnolia wouldn't be. He didn't want to tell Peter, but he was also feeling a little afraid of this part of town. It was overrun with gangs and homeless people, and Micky hoped that making as much noise as possible would keep them away. Quietly singing a song to keep his nerves down, he continued to search, lifting a trash can lid, hopelessly bellowing Magnolia's name. Receiving no response, he allowed the lid to clang back. Having finished the song, he and Peter fell into silence and walked a few more blocks.
"Micky, can we go back now?" Whispered Peter. "I want to be where it's safe, at the pad."
"Peter, what makes you think it's safe at the pad?"
Peter hesitated. "...Oh…"
They walked on a few more blocks, listening to the night birds start to sing and the distant sound of waves. If it wasn't for their search, they would all be sitting on the beach, Peter probably figuring out the fingerpicking to one of Mike's songs and Davy flirting with some helpless girl.
"Micky-" Peter was cut off by Micky frantically shushing him. Voices could be heard a few blocks away. One was a clear, female voice, and the other caused Micky's blood to run cold. It was like his, but low and gravely, and came from the mouth of one of Micky's greatest fears…
...Babyface Morales…
Micky grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him forward, ignoring the silent cry of protest. Peter gave in and followed Micky's lead as the two snuck in the shadows and settled behind two crates. In the distance they could see Magnolia being held by the arm while Babyface talked to one of his two goons.
"- I'm just saying firing a gun downtown isn't the best option. We need to take her back to the Purple Pelican!" Stammered the goon, shrinking under Babyface's glare.
"No, we kill her now, I don't like owing favors to anybody!" Babyface growled, giving Magnolia a shake.
"A brilliant idea…" Mumbled Micky.
"That's what we need, a bril-" Peter started to recite before being interrupted by Micky.
"No, I have a brilliant idea! I distract Babyface while you grab Magnolia and run back to the pad! It always works in the movie, and since we're the good guys, it'll work!"
"Micky, uh, it's a good idea, but I think Mike would say it's too risky. I-"
But Micky had already stood up and strolled into the circle of light caused by a street lamp.
"Oh, hi! Uh, don't mean to drop in on something. BABYFACE! Aw man, I haven't seen you in a while! You look sick! I mean...I've seen you better. Well, you were in prison, but you look more pale now!"
Babyface, Magnolia, and both goons stared at Micky with surprise, and there was an uncomfortable silence before Babyface regained his composure.
"YOU!" He yelled, pushing Magnolia away from him and into one of the goons. "NOBODY sends me to prison, and NOBODY impersonates me!"
"Oh, well. I didn't mean to impersonate you! I mean, I did, but it wasn't my idea! Uh." He started edging to a seperate side road, realizing that his plan had some gaping holes.
"You aren't getting away this time." Babyface pointed his gun at Micky, causing the Monkee to jump.
"Uh, really guns aren't the solution to anything! I, uh, just remembered that I left an invention, uh, boiling! Yeah, you really shouldn't leave inventions out boiling. Peter tends to think they are dinner, which is funny since they smell pretty awful, uh, but GOTTA SPLIT!"
He turned quickly running into the darkness. Babyface and one of the goons raced off, leaving one goon holding on to Magnolia, scratching his head. Peter wished that Micky had explained his plan a little better, but figured that two against one seemed pretty reasonable. He quietly snuck out of his hiding place, crawling toward the pair. Right before he reached Magnolia and the goon, the man turned and saw him. He aimed a kick at Peter's shoulder, and struck him hard enough for Peter to crumple. The distraction gave Magnolia time to twist her arm, causing the goon to lose his grip and she quickly kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over and Magnolia grabbed one of the nearest crates and smashed it over his head. He crumpled to the ground just as Peter was able to pick himself up.
"Ms. Simms! I'm sorry, I wasn't much of a help!"
"That's alright, we need to go help Micky! What is he thinking?"
"Not much, usually." Peter answered honestly. "But he said that he would cause a distraction."
The two ran after the two gang members, hoping to catch them before they caught Micky.
Micky ran down another alleyway, noticing that they were getting less and less familiar. He needed to lose Babyface and his comrade, so Micky kept running, their yells providing a constant reminder of the danger of the situation. He yelped as a loud bang rang out, and with a flash of light a bullet passed by his ear.
"You missed! How could you miss? We're practically on top of him!" Babyface's voice only egged Micky to run faster.
"You try running while shooting a gun!"
"Give me that!" Micky ducked his head, trying to run faster. Making a sharp turn he jumped onto a trash can, trying to reach the roof before the gang could spot him. As the trash can gave way underneath him he managed to get his fingers hooked around the edge above him. Hanging off of the roof he tried to find a foothold to give him leverage up, but nothing was within reach.
"There! I see him!" Micky silently cursed as the two figures rounded the corner. Pushing his weight back he tried to scale the wall with his feet, but just as he managed to ascend a loud bang rang out and pain shot through his shoulder. With a cry he let go, crashing into the trash cans below.
It's just your shoulder! You can still run! Get up! Micky thought to himself. However, the moment he tried to move his arm the pain intensified, causing him to fall back again.
"Oh, get over yourself!" The goon's ugly face suddenly appeared in Micky's slowly darkening line of vision. "It's just a bullet to a shoulder!"
"At...least...I...I...don't have...a...bullet...for a brain!" Micky gasped out.
Without a word Micky was grabbed and yanked up. Holding back another cry of pain Micky felt his head swim.
Babyface smiled ruthlessly at him. "After all that time in jail, picturing you with a bullet in your brain, I finally have my opportunity! Here's what happens when someone double crosses babyface!" After quoting Micky's own impersonation of baby face he lifted his gun, positioning on Micky's temple.
"Go ahead and shoot me, but the guys know that I'm here! Peter saw you, and they'll have cops looking for you, and you'll be in jail again!"
Babyface scowled at him. "You're right. We're going to have to kill the rest of your friends as well! But you get to go first!"
"You'll NEVER find them! See, we knew that we would be running into trouble, so they're in hiding! And I'm the only one who knows where they are!"
"He's bluffing!" The goon determined.
"I can't take the risk. If the police get me, this time it'll certainly be the death penalty. We'll get it out of him." Babyface nodded at the gangster. "Fix him, and we'll go back to the new hangout!"
"Wha…" Before Micky could finish something hard hit the back of his head, and the world went black.
"She's definitely not on the beach!" Davy sighed.
"You're right, man. Let's check in at the pad since there are no phones here and go look at Pop's. Since we talked about bands playing there, she may have headed in that direction." The pad was only a short distance away from where the had been searching, so the trip back was short. Mike immediately spotted Peter and Magnolia waiting by the front entrance.
"She's safe! They found her!" He breathed in relief. "Wait a minute… Where's Micky?" Peter saw the duo approaching and began to jump up and down, waving his arms wildly.
"This can't be good." Mike broke into a run, Davy following closely behind him.
"Mike! Micky! They were chasing him! He told me to go!"
"Whoa, shotgun! Slow down! What happened?"
"Babyface had…"
Mike bristled at the mention of their old nemesis. "Babyface has Micky?"
"I don't know!" Peter looked like he was about to burst into tears. "They had Magnolia and were talking about killing her, so Miky distracted them so that I could get her away!"
"What kind of...why did you...Never let Micky do any of his plans that involve him distracting someone!" Mike couldn't help but feel a little angry at Peter. They all knew the serious situation they were in, and now more than ever they needed to make sure they had each other's backs.
"I...I know! I'm sorry!" The tears finally began to flow.
"Hey, cool it, Mike! There's little controlling Micky when he has one of his ideas!" Davy pointed out.
"Um, I guess I...I don't understand what is going on!" Magnolia stammered. Who was that man who shared Micky's face? Why did the boys seem to know him? How did they find her? So many questions were racing through Magnolia's head.
"Well, we have a LOT to explain. But there's no time! Micky is one of Babyface's least favorite people! If he does get Micky, he won't last long!"
Peter yelped as the weight of their predicament settled in. "Mike, they had guns!"
With those three words Mike leaped into action. Grabbing the Monkeemobile keys he jumped in the car, starting it before the others could hop in. Davy and Peter quickly entered, but Magnolia hung back.
"What about you, Peter? Your shoulder?"
"Is fine!" Peter spoke with determination, but Mike faltered.
"Peter, what happened to your arm?"
"One of the goons kicked him in the shoulder. It was pretty hard too! It knocked him back!"
"Peter…"
"No! We have to find Micky!"
"Are you sure you're…"
"Just go, Mike!"
Magnolia quickly scrambled in as Mike turned his car into reverse. "The moment we get Micky back, I'm sending you to get your shoulder checked out!"
Peter nodded in agreement. He had honestly forgotten about it in the adrenaline, but now that it had been brought back into the conversation it was starting to throb.
"Okay, which way did you guys go?"