Author's Note:

So this chapter is going to introduce the main character of the fanfic…

Chapter (ii): Behind the Shadows

A pair of bright green eyes seemed to glow in the dark of the alleyway. Silently, the eyes' owner kept in the seclusion of the dark, while her pointed ears strained to pick up the pitter-patter of a trickster's gingerbread feet.

The gingerbread man, a swift harlequin that had been pulling stunts, disturbing towns across the land and coordinating massive bank robberies from here to Pine Ridge, but the trail would end here. After the police and town militia couldn't stop the heckler, the mayor had contacted the Happily Ever After Agency, asking –if not pleading- for assistance.

As the twilight wind whistled through the ash trees, the agent's sharp hearing caught the sound of shuffling simultaneously as her nose caught the scent of gingerbread. The stealthy agent crept along the alleyway, and she peeped past the corner onto the main street.

The short trickster was scuttling amongst the shadows. His guard was far too high to be approached and caught while on foot.

The female agent backed from the corner and looked above her, fire escapes. She crouched into a ball then launched herself at the bottom ledge, being careful to make the least amount of sound as she climbed.

After scaling the fire exit with due haste, the agent rolled onto the roof of the building. She tiptoed to the edge of the roof and peered over the side. The gingerbread man was moving once more, with a tiny burlap bag of stolen keys -no doubt to aid his larger cohorts in robbing the local banks- and he was nearing the seclusion of a nearby forest.

The agent suppressed a growl and stepped back a few paces, she had to stop the gingerbread man from escaping again. She jumped the gap between roofs and landed on the top of the opposite building. She continued suit until she was slightly ahead of the running cookie.

She reached for a small grappling hook launcher latched onto her belt and aimed for the topmost branch of a nearby oak tree. Once the hook was secured, she dove off the side of the building and swung for the cookie.

Though the gingerbread man was a criminal, he wasn't short of brains. The trickster rolled out of the way of the swinging agent.

The female agent had predicted this move and released the rope to her grappling hook gun. She then landed softly on the street and continued chasing down the harlequin.

The gingerbread man glanced momentarily behind him, yelping at the appearance of the determined agent.

Unfortunately for the criminal, his gingerbread foot caught the edge of a pothole and he fell head over heels. After rolling a while, the gingerbread man came to a stop in the middle of the road, still clutching his bag of stolen keys.

Before he could get up and try to escape, the agent had slapped a pair of small handcuffs over his wrists and he was roughly pulled to his feet.

"You're under arrest, cookie." The agent spoke firmly.

The apprehended cookie strained to look at his captor. "You're a girl?" He shouted in surprise.

The agent laughed, escorting the cookie towards the waiting roadblock of cop cars. "You have no idea how many times I've I've heard that..." She handed the criminal over to the police. "He's all yours." She stated.

"Thank you so much, Agent Wolfia." The mayor happily shook the agent's paw. "How can we ever repay you?"

"Just keep that joker in the slammer; that's all I'm really concerned about." The female agent turned away from the crowd of press, police, and politicians. She extracted a walkie-talkie from her belt. "Captain Chinchilla; I'm good to go."

A female giggle responded from the opposite line. "I told you, just call me by my first name… but anyway, you want to go home or to HQ?"

The agent chuckled lightly as she walked towards the town square, where a helicopter was waiting for her. "I've got some paperwork to fill out at HQ, Priscilla."

"Oh yeah." The pilot sighed over the radio line as a rope ladder dropped from the helicopter. "Why does everything come with a bazillion pieces of paper?"

"You can ask Nicky that when we get back." The female agent began climbing the ladder as the helicopter rose above the little town.

"Hey Cameron, mind if we stop for some coffee?" Priscilla offered. "I'm bushed!"

"Why not…" Agent Cameron Wolfia climbed into the helicopter and closed the floor's hatch. Then she climbed into the co-pilot seat of the helicopter and strapped herself in. "I have a feeling that tonight's going to be a very long night."

Author's Note:

By the way, despite the brevity of the chapters, know that I adore getting feedback.

Manga Girl # 6