Always the yellow ones, the red ones together with the blue but never the green ones. When it comes to Jelly beans Jessica just had these rules. And followed them meticulously. She had emptied the contents of a bag of Jelly beans on the table in the T.U.F.F. tea kitchen.
Now she began to order the beans on little piles by their colors. As she had a red, a blue, a yellow and green pile lying in front of her she took all the green ones and threw them into the trash. She hated the green one. It must be the taste mixed with the color of them which made them so disgusting for her.
She also didn´t really like the red and the blue ones but when she combined them they tasted pretty well. But nothing beats the yellow ones. They just tasted best. Jessica has loved them since she was a little girl. She could remember that her father always brought her a bag when he came back from shopping at the grocery store.
And that was in her memory the only nice thing he did for her.
In her memory her father was a very unfair and strict man. He never harmed her or anything else but he was very severe with her. He never let her go out with her friends or on parties, what was of course torture for a young rebellious quick-tempered teenage girl.
Unbearable if you note the fact that Jessica was and is a rebellious and quick-tempered person. Things like boys and alcohol were of course also taboo topics in their house. The maxim her father followed was similar to the maxim of a medieval monk.
'Ora et labora', pray and work. Except for going to school he almost never let her out of the house. You could maybe think that this man was maybe also violent or a drinker or something. But Jessica´s father never drank and, as already mentioned, never harmed her.
He wasn´t a bad person but all these rules with which he bossed around his daughter brought her to a final decision in the age of 15. In a fit of youthful foolishness and myopia she ran away from home.
Usually kids that do that end either on the street or come back home but Jessica was lucky.
She somehow managed it to get a place in the T.U.F.F. academy. The rest is history. She got to know Kitty and this rivalry came to existence which was still there today.
Of course there were always times Jessica and her father tried to come closer again.
But they always ended the same way. They screamed at each other through the phone so long until one of them gave in and hung up.
Jessica often wished the times back in which her mother was still alive.
She couldn´t remember that time quiet well, though she was pretty young back then, but she knew that before her mother died her father was much more relaxed and not so oppressive.
About her mother she knew hardly anything.
She didn´t even have a real picture in her memory from her. Jessica just knew her from the photos. She was beautiful strong woman before the cancer made her vegetate like a withering flower. From photo to photo you could see how a little more life left her mother´s body, how her face became pale and her smile melted into a frown.
"I should maybe call Dad…" suggested Jessica munching the blue and red Jelly Beans. "… even if I know how that´ll end." Swallowing the Jelly beans she stood up, grabbed the yellow jelly beans and started to walk back to her office.
Now began the best, she ate the yellow ones. Every single bean after the other. She didn´t chew them, she just waited until they melted in her mouth and let the taste dance on her tongue.
"So good…" she whispered.
"Uhm… chief?" a weak, insecure voice called from behind her. Jessica turned around and looked in the eyes of a squirrel in a suit that was too big for him. One of the agents, Rick was his name. But Jessica wasn´t really sure if that was really his name.
This guy was boring in her opinion and also not someone who should be a T.U.F.F. agent. But he somehow had managed it to caught the three most dangerous villains of Petropolis lately and even if they were on the loose again now he deserved respect for that.
"Yes…uhm… Rick right?"
"Exactly." Giggled the agent embarrassed. "I have today´s intel for you."
"You, intel?"
"Yes. Hasn´t chief Katswell told you? I´m more or less her secretary when it comes to all the spy things. I hand her the files and keep her up to date what´s happening in the city."
"I see." Said Jessica tapping her chin with her fingers pensively. "So what´s new?"
"Okay let´s see… Snaptrap informed us that he is plotting something today, also Birdbrain and the Chameleon did that. Maybe they teamed up or something. Whatever they do, we should keep an eye on them. They are dangerous. And rumor has it that also Madam Catastrophe and Doctor Rabies working on something. And here is something very peculiar. A street informant hinted that there will be a big thing soon."
"Oh great…" sighed Jessica slightly annoyed. It couldn´t come worse. Scratch could strike almost every day since they accommodated Richards. And Jessica wasn´t willing to second agents she needed for catching the big fish just to hunt theses little nuisances. Also the problem was that she had to send Richards back to jail sooner or later because they had actually no good reasons for keeping him at T.U.F.F..
"Okay listen, Rick." Ordered Jessica with an aggressive tone. "Forget about Snaptrap and these wannabe criminals. I need all agents here for something special. Got it?" Jessica was almost about to head to her office as Rick stopped her with the words. "Chief, the mayor is already very nervous."
Exasperated stopped Jessica in front of her office door and said. "Good okay. How many agents do we need for eradicating those pests?"
"Well… all of them. If just the half of our intel is correct this is going to be a tough night for T.U.F.F."
"But I need some agents here!"
"Uhm… I could offer you agents Nutz, he isn´t allowed to go on field missions anymore because of some… incidences. And Keswick will be here of course, I mean he´s always here. And I… I will be here to."
"Okay. The Nerd, the psychopath and the loser" mumbled Jessica almost silent. Rick didn´t hear that, he just received a disappointed nod from his boss before she entered her office.
She expected a bit privacy in there, just a bit stillness so that she could sort her thoughts and plan the next step.
But what she got was Keswick standing with his arms folded like he was waiting for her in the middle of the room. He wore, in a contrary to usually, a small shoulder bag.
"Nice purse Keswick." Sneered Jessica instead of greeting him properly.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. C..C..Come with me." Keswick walked fast past Jessica and out of the office again. She followed him without even thinking of saying something against the fact that the T.U.F.F. scientist just ordered the chief what to do. It was because of their agreement to work together to get Scratch. Otherwise she would have never even listened what this little nerd said.
Keswick and Jessica walked for quite a while until they reached a room deep deep in the inner of the T.U.F.F. building. The legendary interrogation room which wasn´t empty at this time. A smarmy looking weasel in an old grey suit with a red tie sat in the room and gazed nervously around.
"May I introduce h..h..him to you, Mathew Richards." Said Keswick through the half mirror that separated the real interrogation room from the observation room.
"Really? That´s the guy Scratch´s is searching for? He looks like he´s a hawker and sells vacuum cleaners." commented Jessica on the weasel.
"Nice description." Laughed Keswick. "But would you r..r..really buy one from that guy?"
"No! He also looks like he sells broken ones."
"This theory is quite plausible… But we´re not here to talk about that a..a..aren´t we?" Keswick now opened his shoulder bag and pulled a thin tablet-pc out of it. "We´re here to catch a monster, right?" Softly started Keswick to type on the tablet. Rhythmically his fingers danced tango on the touchscreen.
"I hope you didn´t brought me here just to show off with your new tablet." Asked Jessica a bit confused.
"Nope… even if it´s new and awesome. I want to show you a l..l..little movie a security cam in Frankfurt recorded." Keswick turned the tablet to Jessica on which a giant play button waited to get clicked. Of course she didn´t hesitated to fulfill the wish of the little device and immediately a colorless video started.
It showed a normal hallway somewhere near the duty free shops. A midsize figure stumbled out of one opening that lead into the big hallway. It looked like this person was kind of sick, what became visible as it put its head into a trash can. And not because it searched for leftovers. Then the video stopped suddenly.
"I´ve seen better youtube videos of vomiting guy, Keswick." Said Jessica handing the tablet back to the T.U.F.F. scientist.
"Maybe but this isn´t just a video about any guy. Our retching f..f..friend here is no one else than Scratch."
"No!" called Jessica out surprised.
"Yes!" replied Keswick grinning. "I don´t know why but there was something that caused him an upset s..s..stomach. Funny, huh?"
"Maybe we find out more if we watch how he got there… Wasn´t the video longer? Give me the tablet!" Jessica reached her hand out for the tablet but Keswick pulled it fast out of her reach.
"No there is nothing more… I already w..w..watched it." You don´t have to be an expert to tell that Keswick lied, it was so obvious that it fueled Jessica´s curiosity.
With one hand she lifted Keswick up by his collar and grabbed with her free hand the tablet. "Hey!" screamed Keswick as he was put ungentle on the ground.
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Murmured the female cheetah while typing on the tablet.
After browsing through three folders with content inappropriate for children Jessica found the video and didn´t hesitate to press play.
Again the empty white hallway flashed up and also Scratch reappeared on the screen. But this time he didn´t stumble around and he wasn´t alone. A tall tanned female cat followed him. Jessica recognized her old competitor immediately.
"Keswick, there is Kitty!" she exclaimed. "Why is Kitty together with Scratch?"
"That isn´t Kitty."
"And you believe that I believe that?"
"You have t..t..to" replied Keswick with a stern, almost aggressive, voice. Whatever he kept secret, he was not willing to expose it to her. Maybe it was because he wanted to protect Kitty from the consequences it brought to give her competitor this kind of information.
After all, Kitty was discussing something with a criminal and didn´t even try to arrest him. That would mean that she maybe work together. And if that was the fact, Jessica had everything to give Kitty a quietus. And if she could arrest Scratch and could prove that Kitty was a traitor she would maybe become more than just the chief of a T.U.F.F. branch.
"Things getting better and better, thank you Keswick." Meant Jessica with a big grin.
"Wait, what do you m..m..mean?"
"We will capture Scratch and he will then proof that Kitty was a traitor and I get promoted."
"Kitty is no traitor!" protested Keswick angrily. "And if you think that Scratch will talk with you thought wrong."
"Oh believe me, he will talk." Jessica already rubbed her hands in excitement but a foreign voice made her see reasons again very quickly.
"Dubito, num hoc verum sit." Called this voice.
"What?... Scratch?!" startled stared Jessica and Keswick at the bald head dog with the square glasses who stood just armed with a knife in the doorframe of the observation room.
"Hello Keswick. It´s been a while, huh?"
"It´s been not long e..e..enough." Growled Keswick.
"Oh… Keswick. You´re so unforgiving. Free yourself."
"And that comes from the most u..u..unforgiving person that has ever existed."
"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" screamed Jessica who has drew her colt in the meantime.
"Oh, you´re here too." Said Scratch with pretended surprise and gave Jessica one of his famous smiles. One of those which could melt an ice-block.
It had a certain effect on her, even if she called all his deeds back into her mind she was unable to feel anger against him immediately. But after a few seconds of staring at him, the anger came.
"May I introduce myself to you. My name is Scratch and I´m here to take Mr. Richards with me."
"Yeah, whatever. Forget about that! You walked directly in our trap! In the name of T.U.F.F., I arrest you. Lay down your knife or I open fire!"
Scratch´s smile became an evil grin as he heard Jessica´s words. It somehow looked like he waited for those words. "Did you just said fire?"
It was a bizarre moment for Jessica and Keswick. They just heard the sound of a lighter and not a second later hungry flames began to surround Scratch and made him to a living torch. And this torch moved fast towards them.
He almost reached them as the sprinkler system activated itself with a loud bang. Jessica wanted to fire but the shock about Scratch´s transformation and the sudden rain from the ceiling let her trigger finger freeze. Scratch used his chance ice cold. He first knocked over Keswick by hitting his fist on his nose.
Then he grabbed Jessica´s gun, gripped her finger and bended it into the other direction until her bone gave in. Ignoring the scream that came from her Scratch pushed her with a kick away from him.
A bit steaming and wet he pointed the colt at her.
"Did you really believe it would be so easy? Your trap was too obvious! So I planned something myself. Or why do you think all criminals are on raids today? By the way…" Scratch fished a key out of his pocket and threw it at Jessica. "Nutz and Rick are in the broom closet. You should maybe let them out there within the next two days… at least Rick. I think you would do the world a favor if you keep Nutz in there. Just a suggestion."
Jessica didn´t answer him, she just gave him an hateful glare and held her broken finger.
"Okay… I see you don´t want to talk right now… So I just take Richards with me."
"What you w..w..will do with him?" asked Keswick who woke up from his unconsciousness.
"Just ask him some questions. You´ll get him back later… at least pieces of him." Laughing turned Scratch around and left the observation room.
In the second he was out of the door Jessica stood up and the by the look she had on her face you could tell that she wanted to ambush Scratch.
It was Keswick who luckily stopped her. "Leave it! He´s armed and you are h..h..hurt!"
"That´s just a broken finger! That can´t hinder me from breaking his neck!" she screamed trying to push Keswick away but the little guy clung to her like a burr.
"I b..b..beg you leave it! In a contrary to me or Kitty he won´t hesitate to kill you if you get into his way again!"
"In a contrary?! What do you mean?"
"I´ll explain it to you but please wait until he´s gone!"
Even if Jessica really liked to fight Scratch in this moment she listened to the voice of reason. Besides that she knew that this wasn´t her last encounter with Scratch. That was sure.
-Dubito, num hoc verum sit. = I doubt that this is the truth-