*Thanks for your patience. It's a little confusing in some parts, but you'll figure it out!
Chapter 11:
Carly and Magnus were sitting at the dining room table, enjoying pancakes and special dog treats for breakfast. Magnus snickers to himself as he hears shouts and angry remarks coming from upstairs. Jack was running the water in the bathroom sink, soaking his face and almost drowning from shouting to himself just to get every drop of doggie drool off his skin. Carly sips her orange juice and sighs.
"You know Magnus, Jack wasn't trying to hurt me or anything." Carly states. "He was just fooling around. He's like that sometimes. Actually, all of the time…"
Magnus only growls at the mention of Jack's name. It doesn't matter of the brute was kidding or not, Carly. I happen to know that when a woman says no, she means no! That dumb blond should've let go of you when he had the chance. Carly can only watch questionably as Magnus lifts his head and barks at the ceiling. Ya hear that you aggressive blonde Sasquatch! I'm onto you! If you don't keep your slimy lips to yourself, I'll rip 'em off! HUMPH! Magnus finally calms down and continues eating.
Carly stares at her blue-gray bodyguard silently. You know, it would be nice to know what Magnus was thinking. I know he's a really smart dog and all, and we would probably have an intelligent conversation together. So, why do I have the feeling he would curse out Jack like crazy if he could talk? Oh well… Carly was a little worried about him deep down inside. But she does nothing else but sighs and continues eating.
Jack grumbles to himself as he walks slowly down the steps to the dining room. His hair and face was dripping wet as he dries himself off with a hand towel. Parts of his clothes were wet as well, mainly his jacket collar and around his neck. Even with the towel covering his face, he's still able to make his way to an open seat and sit in a chair without tripping or opening his eyes.
"Hey, little lady." Jack began as he grabs the plate full of warm pancakes. "You know, if that dog of yours doesn't kill me first, the shock from his attacks will."
Carly just sweat drops about the comment. "C'mon Jackie, it wasn't like that. He was…um…probably just trying to play with you."
"Yeah, sure. Magnus and I were playing our favorite game, 'Kill the Man'!" He stabbed his fork into the stack of pancakes, glaring at Magnus with hate. Magnus just glared back at Jack with the same hate as him, chewing his food slowly with his snout in the food.
As Jack lets the towel fall to the floor, he eats the special breakfast contently. "Mm, this is pretty good. Actually, this is really good! If I was in any less of a mood, I would've questioned you about why that dog is eating at the table."
"Jack, knock it off. Magnus has as every right to be here as you do."
Jack shifts his gaze to Carly in shock. "I'm taking that as an insult, love."
"S-Sorry."
They continue eating quietly for a few more minutes, and then the doorbell rings. All of them stop and eye the door quickly, not expecting any visitors at such an early hour. Carly signs and stands up from the table. "I'll get it. Make sure you eat quickly, Jack. For dessert, I made a special Key Lime pie for us to share."
Jack grins slyly about this. "Mmm, sounds delicious. And what about your breathing fur rug?" Magnus growls at him again.
"I'll give him a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but that's sweet Jack. It's nice to know that you're starting to care for Maggie."
"Whatever." As Carly disappears around the corner, Jack and Magnus stop eating for a second and realize something. "Uh, did Carly just call you 'Maggie'?"
Magnus whines what this means for him. "Don't worry, fleabag. If you don't kill me first, I promise to have a serious talk with Love about this whole 'nickname' thing." Both boys sign and continue eating.
~5 minutes earlier, outside Carly's front door~
River and Boulder were standing out on the porch, their van parked on the curb. River was wearing a blue jumpsuit with a white cap, but Boulder was dressed in tight fitting jeans and a black shirt. Boulder was carrying a screwdriver and a pair of wire clippers, and River was lugging a red toolbox.
"Okay, Mr. Boulder, you remember the plan?" River started.
Boulder laughs. "Of course I do, rookie! What do you tale me for, a moron? Da-ha-ha-ha!" There was a short silence from both men before boulder scoots close to river and whispers, "What was the plan, again?"
River sighs and rolls his eyes. Sometimes I wonder why I bother to get up in the morning. "Listen closely, sir. You will quietly, qui-et-ly, climb to the roof of the target house to find the cable antenna. There, you will detach the wires connected to the antenna. Two or three of them should be enough. I will knock on the door, and pretend to be from the cable company. Once inside the house, I will search for the target or any evidence that he was in the house. You will wait exactly 15 minutes, and then reattach the wires to the antenna receiver. The cable will be restored to the house by then, and that will be my cue to get out. Am I going too fast for you, sir?"
Boulder only scratches his head with the screwdriver, eyeing something besides River. It's not clear if he's actually acknowledged anything River has said to him. "Huh? Did you say something, rookie?"
River groans loudly. "Nothing, sir. Nothing. Just please, get to the post, Mr. Boulder."
Boulder shrugs and climbs up the side of the house, jumping and swinging with the stamina of a ninja. He quickly disappears behind the building top, leaving River with a feeling of doubt towards his so-called "superior". I can feel my ancestors rolling in their graves, right now. He sighs again and rings the doorbell. How far have I fallen? Seriously.
~Normal Time~
Carly opens the door, eyeing the mysterious stranger gently. River smiles at her and formally introduces himself. "Good day, madam. I am Steven Rivera, an engineer from your cable company."
"Oh, hello." Carly opens the door gingerly. "Can I help you?"
River bows and shows respect to her. "I just wish to ask you for permission inside your home, miss. The company was working on a new satellite feed a few days ago, and we have received complaints from our subscribers that their televisions were not working efficiently. I'm here to make sure your T.V. was not permanently affected."
Carly blinks questionably at him, and then steps aside. "Okay! C'mon in. My T.V. is in the den."
"Thank you very much." River wipes his feet on the mat and quickly makes his way to the den room. As he moves past the kitchen, he notices something leaning on the counter. He moves back to double check and notices Jack sipping orange juice against the sink. Jack looks up from his glass and stares hard at River, making him shiver a little.
"Who are you?" Jack states dryly.
"Oh! I-I'm from Ms. Carmine's cable company! I'm here for just a routine check-up on her television. And you?"
"That's not any of your business."
"O-O-Oh! Of course not, how silly of me. Well, I better hurry and check on the den's tele-."
"The T.V. in the living room is fine. Make yourself useful and check the one in the upstairs bedroom. There are several cable channels on it that only show static."
"But sir, I-?!"
Jack glares hard at him. River slowly edge away from the kitchen, mortified that Jack might try to jump him. He rushes up the stairs and into Carly's bedroom. Geez! The data only said that the target was with a teenage woman, that's all. There was no information about blonde Goliath over there! I better wrap this up before he gets too suspicious, or worse.
River rushes to her bedroom and shuts the door behind him. He turns on the T.V. and spreads a few tools on the floor, to make it look like he's working. As he opens the window and sticks his head out, he calls to Boulder.
"Mr. Boulder? Mr. Boulder!"
Boulder sticks his head out from the side, looking a little bored. "'Sup, River! Is it knockout time for the T.V.s yet? I didn't unplug anything."
"No! We need to abort mission. There is an unexpected element in the house."
"What sort of element? Can we take it?"
River shakes his head. "It one of those another-person-that-slipped-through-the-cracks-and-could-jeopardize-the-whole-operation sort of element, sir. There is an unknown male in the house that we have zero information on! He is also very suspicious and could catch on quickly."
Boulder only smiles. "You know what this calls for, River."
"What?"
Boulder picks up a huge sledgehammer and swings it around over his head. "HAMMERTIME! HAMMERTIME!"
"Knock it off! We have to evacuate now!"
"Alright, we'll go. You're no fun at all, River. I'll be waiting in the van for five minutes." Boulder pouts and gathers his things, disappearing on the roof. River scrambles to gather the tools, turn off the T.V., and makes his way out the room and down the steps. Carly was just walking to the kitchen when River came.
"Mr. Rivera! Is everything alright?"
River scratches his head, peering around to see if the stranger was here. "Um, yep! Everything's alright. Your friend mentioned something about a few channels off line in the upstairs television, but I am not authorized to inspect it. You're just going to have to call your regular electrician and look into it. Well, good day!" River races out the door and to the awaiting van. He jumps in and the van tears down the street, almost crashing into another car. Carly looks out and wonders what that was about, but she shrugs it off and closes the door. Coming up behind her, Jack and Magnus walks to her together.
Carly blinks at this. "That's weird. Shouldn't you two be arguing about something, again?"
"We decided to call a truce, again. Is the 'electrician' gone?"
"Yeah. He said everything was fine. By the way, where was Magnus? He disappeared before Mr. Rivera showed up."
Jack rolls his eyes as Magnus goes over to be petted by Carly. "He was eating grass in the back yard, for some reason. Is grass good for dogs?"
"I'm not sure. Speaking of eating, how about that pie I promised you!"
"Sure." Jack makes his way to the kitchen, and then looks back at Carly. "By the way, make sure you ask more questions before you invite people into your house. There was something fishy about that boy."
"You thought Magnus was fishy."
"Same difference." Jack disappears into the kitchen as Magnus and Carly follows. Carly lost herself quickly in thought. What's Jack so worked up about? He's normally not this mad, especially to a complete stranger. Oh! Maybe he's jealous! (Giggle) That's cute! She bounces after the boys happily, quickly forgetting about the visitor.