Ch. 19 - Soap Opera Drama

The party was already rocking strong by the time Lexi arrived. She had pulled up in the Maserati that a local dealer had given to the team, shocking the valet. When he reached his hand out for the keys, she apologized, "Sorry, but my friend Te-rry rigged it to where it's voice activated." She mentally kicked herself for almost blowing her cover by mentioning Tech's name. But Mr. Goggle-Eyes didn't seem to notice too much, he was staring at her now. Feeling more than a little uncomfortable, she laughed nervously and asked where she could park. By now more valets were arriving, having come back from performing the duties they were hired for. He pointed to what looked like a huge chicken coop, a long skinny building with a garage door. She smiled at him, and sped off.

She slowed down to a stop in front of the door, and watched as it automatically rose for her to enter. When it was all the way up, she slowly drove forward to find an empty spot among the dozens of shiny cars. None quite as high standard as hers, but still well taken care of.

She got out and walked back to the entrance of the party, trying hard to ignore the stares of the valets. What? They act like they haven't seen a woman before, she thought, hurrying past them. When she walked in, she found that she was pretty much stuck. The place was packed with dancing bodies, and if it weren't for her heels, she wouldn't have been able to see over them all. She scanned the crowd for some way to get through.

Her eyes locked on a refuge, and a smile spread across her face. A video game center.

Ace glumly sat and watched the television with Duck, not really paying attention to what was on the screen. What on Acmetropolis could he do to get Lexi back? He thought back to what she had said the other day. 'You didn't have to bring Tech into it.' Maybe he should apologize to his teammate before he tried anything.

He got up and trudged over to the lab to see what the coyote was working on. He found Tech sitting in a chair with his back to the door, intensely watching a laptop. Ace came a little closer to see what was so important. A very pretty woman-he remembered it was Kiara Davis-was onscreen with a man and they were fighting, it seemed.

So, Tech's watching soap operas? Weird, he thought. He ventured closer to the genius and cleared his throat. Tech jumped and automatically shut the laptop as he spun his chair around. "Uh, hey Chief," Tech stuttered, trying not to blush. "What can I do for you?"

"Nei, it's more what can I do for you," Ace admitted, deciding to postpone the questioning. "I know I haven't been very courteous to ya lately, and I came to apologize." Tech lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.

"I've been a jerk-" Ace started.

"Understatement," Tech coughed.

Ace shrugged sheepishly, and continued, "-and I just wanted to say I'm sorry. It's just I overheard you and Duck talking the other day about Lexi, and-"

"What? When?" Tech interrupted again, looking confused.

"A few weeks ago, when Lexi was still recovering. Duck said that you loved her and you wanted her for yourself and I'm not good enough for her and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Chief. You thought we were talking about Lexi?" Tech asked, shocked. Ace nodded, puzzled, and tried to go on, "-but you said you two couldn't tell me, so-" Tech was shaking his head, and the bunny stopped.

"That's not what it was at all, Ace," the coyote began. "Truth is…" he started to turn red, "…we were talking about a soap opera."

Ace was stunned. "Wouldn't happen to be the same one that you were watching just now, would it?"

The genius was blushing to the max. "I, uh…Well, you see I get bored sometimes and, er…Yeah, it was," he finally admitted.

The leader was trying to piece things together. So if he didn't want Lexi, why was he so thrilled to go on a mission so far from home? To a school where his knowledge would surpass that of the teachers?

Wait. Teachers-Kiara Davis-Soap operas-Tech? "You're in love with Kiara Davis?"

The coyote didn't say anything, but his expression spoke for him. The bunny smiled. "You'll get her. Who could turn down our Tech?"

"Well, if I'm completely honest…I've never had a girlfriend, Ace."

"Seriously?"

"No girls were ever interested in me, and what's to say she is?"

"Hmm. We'll find a way, buddy. Mark my words, we'll make you as happy as me and Lex-well, as happy as we were, anyway," he said sadly. "Hopefully when she comes home tonight, I can fix my wrongs. If I haven't hurt her enough as it is. Speaking of, I never quite got my apology out to ya-"

"Apology accepted, Chief. Jealousy makes us do some stupid things, huh?"

"Yeah, no kidding. I screwed up the best thing I ever had."

"You know, she's generally a forgiving person. But she's gonna make it as hard for you as it was for her."

"I know. But I'd do anything to get her back. By the way, did she tell you were she was going?"

"Yeah, some kind of dance party a friend invited her to." A movement in a security camera monitor caught their eyes. "Looks like she made it home all right," Tech commented. "Go wait for her in the TV room. I'm going to bed."

"Okay. And Tech?" Ace called over his shoulder as he was leaving. Tech's ears perked to show he was listening as he reset the alarms. "Thanks for forgiving me."

"Anytime, Chief. Let's just hope she does the same."

The bunny walked out to the main room and sat on the couch, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the love of his life. What could he say that she would understand. Yeah, Lex, I was a jerk but you should take me back just because. That wouldn't work.

However, he didn't have much time to think it over. A steady clip could be faintly detected outside, and the doors slid open.