NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I have great news concerning my court case. The DA dropped some major charges and is now going to try my case as a traffic issue. Even better, the court date was vacated, and as of now, it has to be rescheduled. My attorney will keep me updated and will let me know when that case is back on the docket.

Now, on with the story!

Chapter Ten

Meanwhile, back at the Bus Station...

"I think I see them. Tortoiseshell frames, bifocals?" Daniel craned his neck so he could get a closer look. He'd taken it upon himself to help AJ look for her glasses, and he thought he'd hit on a promising lead near the foot of some dirty concrete stairs.

AJ couldn't stop the grin that flashed across her face. "That's them!" she chirped, quietly enough so as not to disturb the sleeping woman who'd swiped the eyewear in question earlier.

"Shhh!" Daniel warned his new friend, who nodded. "Be quiet, she's sleeping."

Slowly, Daniel and AJ crept down the stairs to the slumbering thief. Judging from the way she was breathing, the woman was down for the count. Carefully, AJ sneaked over until she was on the same step as the thief, with Daniel right behind her.

AJ shook her head. "I'm not sure I can do this."

"You'll be fine," Daniel tried to reassure her.

Slowly and carefully, AJ bent over the sleeping thief, lifted the tortoiseshell glasses off the woman's nose and slipped them back on. A loud sigh of relief escaped AJ's lips as she and Daniel tried to walk past the sleeping woman.

They were on the last step and were about to make a clean getaway before the woman's eyes snapped open. Daniel and AJ jumped, and the woman sat up, fully awake.

"Thief! Stop!"

"You stole MY glasses, you thieving old biddy!" AJ snarled back.

The homeless woman lunged at the two teens. "Why, I oughta-"

Daniel grabbed AJ by the hand and took off running. "GO!"

The woman staggered to her feet and began to pursue Daniel and AJ through the bus terminal. For someone as old and big as she was, she was remarkably quick on her feet, but the two kids were much quicker than she was. They wove past the druggies shooting up, shoved past the bald Oriental woman without pants, and brushed past the man with the gun (it actually was a plastic one the guy kept to scare off potential dumb crooks).

"MOVE IT OR LOSE IT, YOU BIG TUB OF GUTS!" The two janitors laughed at the kids, but Daniel shoved Bully Ray back so hard, the loudmouth janitor landed on his ass, and D-Von had to help him up.

Finally, the kids lost their pursuer at the phone booth where AJ made her fateful phone call. The glasses thief stamped her foot in a huff and glanced over in exasperation. The homeless man who had wanted his bedroom slippers back had taken refuge there.

She smacked the booth with her walking stick. "Get out of my house!"

The man opened the phone booth door and dropped a big bag of personal belongings at the woman's feet. "Here! You just moved!" he fired back before slamming the door shut.

The woman made a high-pitched whining noise and stomped her foot before stalking off, fuming.

~~~BABY~~~

Back In The Roadmaster...

"Look at that toy store. Anna, look at the toy store!" Tempest bounced up and down in the front passenger's seat and pointed out the window. The car was rolling down the street, and a toy store with an elaborate window display was on the right. "Look at all the toys! Anna look!"

Anna smiled at the elaborate display. "I see it," she said, as the vehicle rolled to a stop at a red light. Glancing out her window, she saw a familiar, fancy-looking building. A frustrated sigh escaped her. "Oh, great!"

Chase leaned forward in curiosity. "What are we looking at?"

"That's the restaurant Mike was gonna take me to tonight."

Phil glanced over as well, and then something caught his eye. "Uh...Anna?"

"What?"

"Looks like he went without you." Phil pointed to what had caught his attention. "Check it out."

By this time, the curiosity of everyone in the car was piqued, and they all glanced over. A red sports car was parked in the restaurant parking lot...a red sports car with a very familiar license plate. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who's car it was.

Tempest turned to her babysitter, who slumped against the driver's seat in shock. "What's wrong?"

Anna choked out only one word as she turned right on red and swung the station wagon into the parking lot: "Everything."

~~~BABY~~~

The restaurant was a fancy, elegant looking establishment filled with fancily dressed patrons and staff. Anna and her charges stuck out like four sore thumbs as they entered the place and looked around.

The maître d' on duty accosted the group. "May I help you?"

Anna shook her head. "We're just looking for somebody, thanks." The maître d' nodded politely and stepped back so the kids could search.

~~~BABY~~~

Outside, Stevie, Dreamer, and R-Truth had finally caught up to the Roadmaster, and they were now parked across the street from the restaurant waiting in the car for the kids to come out.

"Let's just go in and get them," Dreamer ventured, cautiously, before Stevie lifted a hand and advised him to be patient.

R-Truth turned his head so that nobody could catch the devious look in his eye. He knew that his buddies were more than willing to harm these kids to get their magazine back. He'd reassured the kids that he wasn't going to let anything bad happen to them, and he was going to make sure he didn't renege on that promise.

~~~BABY~~~

Anna gasped as she spotted Mike, dressed in a nice suit, seated at a small table across from a familiar looking girl. "Oh, my god! He's with Maryse Ouellet!" she groaned. "She's such a sleaze!"

Phil looked genuinely shocked. "He dumps you for an easy chick and you get a night of hell? Doesn't seem fair to me."

Anna nodded in agreement and turned to Chase. "Stay here and watch Tempest," she instructed him before she walked off. "I will be right back."

Phil took off after the jilted babysitter. "Sorry, guys. I gotta see this."

Chase couldn't hold back his own curiosity. "Can you stay out of trouble for a few minutes, Temper? I'll be right back."

Tempest nodded, and waited until her brother was out of view before she made a beeline for the dessert tray that was a few feet away. Several desserts—pastries, crepes, mouse, etc.-were laid out invitingly on a silver plate. Grinning, Tempest picked up a nice-sized Napoleon full of chocolate mousse and stepped outside.

I'll have a snack, check out the toys, and be back before anyone misses me, Tempest shrugged. What could go wrong?

~~~BABY~~~

Angrily, and with Phil and Chase right behind her, Anna marched up to Mike's table just in time to hear her two-timing boyfriend use a familiar line on Maryse: "You know Maryse, girls like you come along once in a lifetime-"

"Or twice in the same night."

Mike practically jumped as he turned around in his chair. His face was flushed. "Anna!"

"How's your sister? Is she all better?" Anna paused as she locked eyes with Mike's sleazy date. Maryse looked vastly uncomfortable. "I guess she is, because she's sitting across from you, right? And I didn't know your sister was a dead ringer for the class bike."

Mike was rarely at a loss for words. This was one of those rare occasions. "Well, uh…"

Anna gave Mike a look that could take paint off a wall. "You lied to me, Mike."

"No I didn't-"

"You lied to me!" Anna shouted so loudly, the other patrons turned to look at her in surprise and mild annoyance.

At that moment, Mike realized that he was busted, and that all he could do was conduct damage control. "Get a grip, Geez!"

"Get a grip?" Anna was incredulous. "Do you have any idea what I've been through tonight?!" A pause, while Anna collected herself. "I thought that, um…I thought that you loved me. Or was it all just a bunch of hot air, huh?"

Mike rose from his chair and grabbed Anna by the wrist. "Look, Sweetheart," he sneered. "I don't know what you thought we had, but it wasn't half as serious as you like to think it was."

Chase decided to swoop in and intervene. "Hey, you let go of her!" he snarled, stepping in between Mike and Anna.

Mike snorted at the underclassman and looked at him like he was some ugly breed of dog. "Jeez, you're picking them kinda young aren't ya?"

Anna narrowed her eyes. "This kid's got more class at fifteen than you'll have in your entire lifetime."

Chase looked eyes with Mike. "You're such an assclown."

Phil muttered under his breath, "Here we go again."

Chase continued. "I can only dream of having someone like Anna for a girlfriend. But you've got her! And this is how you treat her?"

"Don't waste your time half-pint," Mike snorted, as Maryse snickered. "Her legs are locked together at the knees."

Chase lunged forward and grabbed Mike by the front of his sportcoat. "I'd love to hit you. I'd love to pound on your face!"

Mike smirked coldly. "Yeah? Why don't you?"

Chase glanced over at his babysitter, and then let go of Mike. Mike dusted himself off, the smirk still on his face.

"I won't," Chase replied, softly. "You're so sleazy, I won't sink to your level."

Mike sneered at the younger kid. He was about to say something about Chase's mod and dad that was cruel and derogatory but he didn't have the chance. Someone had grabbed him by the collar and spun him around.

"He won't," Phil snarled. "But I will!"

And with that, he decked Mike in the jaw with a solid roundhouse right. Anna's two-timing boyfriend spun around, lost his balance, and crashed backwards into a nearby table. The guests at the table jumped up and scurried out of the way. Mike grabbed the table to right himself, but he slipped and fell the floor. As he fell, he grabbed the tablecloth and wound up dragging everything off the table. He wound up in a dazed heap, covered in food, silverware, and dishes.

Maryse looked on, indignant and embarrassed. "Oh, that's just great!"

Anna blew Mike a kiss. "See you around, Mike," she grinned before she, Chase, and Phil walked out without a backwards glance.

Outside, the kids celebrated. "Chase, Phil, that was awesome!"

Phil whooped and pumped his fists. "That was great, Anna! We were amazing!"

The doorman at the restaurant watched them leave, wondering where he'd seen the blonde girl in the wool coat. He glanced up at a nearby billboard and did a double take. She looks like Miss March! Could she, was she...naah!

Meanwhile, the kids' celebration was cut short as Anna looked around in concern. "Where is Tempest?"

~~~BABY~~~

In front of the toy store window, Tempest had just finished up her pastry and had her nose pressed up against the display window of the toy store. It's a Thor doll, and he's got rooted hair! I want him! Maybe if I help shovel the driveway when it snows, Mod'll get it for me-

She was so enthralled by the display that she didn't notice the Town Car pull up at the curb until the passenger's side door opened, and a man stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"Hey kid!" he beckoned. "Come here for a second!"

Spooked, Tempest turned to look at the man. He looked familiar, and as she remembered who he was, her heart began to race. It was the bad guy who'd been chasing her and the others earlier! Squeaking in terror, she turned and ran, her Thor helmet tumbling off her head and clattering to the sidewalk.

Stevie jumped back in the car. "Get her!" he barked at his reluctant driver, who floored the gas pedal. The Town Car screeched back to life and gave chase to the frightened young girl.

Tempest ran for a couple of blocks before she ducked into an alley to catch her breath. As she did, she glanced up and spotted a familiar building in the distance.

"That's Dad's building!" she gasped under her breath. It didn't look too far away. If Tempest could keep the bad guys behind her, perhaps she could reach the building and get help. She didn't like the thought of getting Anna, Phil and Chase in trouble, but that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was getting away from those creeps.

"Mod! Dad!" she gasped, making a run for the building, just as the bad guys reached the alley...

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Yeah, I know it's a cliffhanger, but if you've seen the movie this is based on, you'll know it all ends pretty happy.

Speaking of happy...I'm reaching the homestretch of my court case. I've put in six hours of community service, with two to go, and once I get that finished, I'll only have to pay for expired plates.

I spent a Saturday helping out with a "hard to recycle" event at my local recycling center. We recycled electronics, scrap metal, plastics, etc. I got an vintage orange iBook computer, a 3rd generation iPod nano (which works great, BTW!), a digital camera, and an aluminum water bottle out of it! Not a bad haul for a day of community service!:)

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