Chapter 9: And…

A/N Part 1 WOAH? 6 months? Is THAT how long I've been gone for? Alright! No more waiting! Here's your chapter:

Jacq now had to get ready for the dinner tonight. The location was pretty far from the city, about an hour and a half away, so she had to go as soon as she possibly could. She was planning to find out everything she could when she went to see Mr. Calvin. Even if she couldn't read anything off his face, it could be that he's a good actor and couldn't show any signs of deception. Tintin just hoped that Jacq would be safe. Jacq assured him that she could handle it on her own.

So after leaving Jacq at her apartment, Tintin, Haddock and Snowy had to get to Mr. Maroon's address. Tintin was still thinking about whether it was a good idea to let her run off on her own, but even then, he always had faith in her. As they went to Vermont to ask for the address, Tulio came to the group. "Oi," said Tulio, "Where's Jacqueline?"

Tintin said, "She had to go investigate something. What's up?"

"You heard Mr. Maroon disappeared? Rumors are spreading fast, and some people think that he is behind the threats."

"What?" said Tintin and Haddock in unison. They were thinking about the possibilities: either he ran away, was kidnapped, or people simply didn't know where he was and he was located in an obvious place. They wouldn't want to think about the idea that he was killed. Then Tintin said, "But this doesn't make any sense. Why would Mr. Maroon do something like this? And what does this have to do with gambling and the Pyramid?"

Haddock asked, "My question right now is where is the Professor? I knew we shouldn't have brought him here. It's so easy to lose him. I thought he was with you, Tulio."

Tulio responded by pointing to the left where the Professor was. He was near the gate. "He's over there still checking the pendulum. I don't know what he's searching for, but it looks like he's on some Easter hunt."

"Easter hunt?" asked Tintin.

Tulio continued. "He hasn't shown me what it was yet. He'll probably lose concentration if I ask him… is he a psychic or something?"

Tintin went towards the Professor. The Professor said, "Ah, Tintin. Good to see you again. I've been very busy."

"Professor. What are you looking for?"

"My pendulum has been acting funny ever since the other night. Would you like to see what I found?" He pulled out his pocket to show some poker chips. Interestingly enough, they were all exactly the same: the same poker chip they found the other day.

"There's more of these?" asked Tintin.

"Ah, I found them scattered around. Strangely enough they were all near the gates and entrances of the studios."

Then it hit him! The missing piece of the puzzle! Everyone looked at Tintin. Snowy said, "Oh, here we go again. His moment of epiphany."

Tintin said, "Of course! Why would there just so happen to be a poker chip lying around? I can understand it with something like a cigarette, because the suspect could have been smoking it and then tossed it, but why would he carry a poker chip? And for that matter, why would there be so many poker chips just scattered around the studio?" The men looked at each other. Tintin was definitely going somewhere with this. He continued, "Because someone KNEW that someone was going to find it. Someone KNEW that they were going to find this piece of fake evidence. So with this piece of evidence, people would assume that Mr. Maroon and the Fist Mafia were involved. Someone KNEW that they would get the blame."

Tulio asked, "Does this mean that Mr. Maroon was innocent?"

"Not necessarily. I still think he's involved in this somehow, but I can't point it out just yet. We'll have to inform the police about this right now." He said, as he held the poker chips on his hand, and then put it in his pocket.

So they sprinted out of the studio on their way to the police station as quick as they could to tell them about their evidence, except for poor old Calculus had no idea what they were doing, but continued to see if his pendulum was acting strangely. As the men walked across the sidewalk, Snowy noticed something behind them. Snowy gave a growl to Tintin. "What's wrong, Snowy?"

Then, once they reached a small alleyway, three gangsters grabbed the men and dragged them into the alleyway. Then two larger men arrived and punched them in the stomach. Snowy attempted to bite back, but one of the big men grabbed him, threw him into a dumpster, and closed the dumpster. As Snowy kept barking, the other big man said, "Well, it looks like we have company."

Then the men searched inside their pockets. One of them found a dollar bill inside Haddock's wallet. "OOOH, look! A dollar!" He slipped the dollar inside his pocket.

"I found it!" said one of the men. Tintin tried to observe their faces, but he couldn't make them out very well. Either it was feeling dizzy from his punch to the stomach, or they all pretty much had the same face. He did, however, realize that they had taken the poker chips in his pocket. He heard one of them saying, "We don't want you to take things that aren't yours. Didn't they teach that in school."

Tintin replied, "Why? Didn't YOU go to school?"

The gangsters hit the men again, so as to make them collapse onto the ground. As they leaned towards the wall and slowly slid down in pain, the gangsters pulled out their guns, and aimed at the three men. They were about to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, the gangsters collapsed. Tintin, Tulio and Haddock noticed this and slowly stood up. They observed the gangsters, seeing that there was some sort of dart on their necks. Tintin went towards the dumpster, opened it and took Snowy out. "Oh THANK YOU, Tintin!" said Snowy. "It smelled terrible in there!"

Then a mysterious figure came out of the shadows and introduced himself as he took off his hat. A handsome blonde man in his late 40s spoke with an American accent, "Don't worry, these men are just knocked-out. I'm sorry for not having introduced myself earlier. I am Detective Lockhart."

"Huh? Detective?" asked the Captain. "What kind of detective carries around darts which knock people out? That sounds more like a secret agent."

He took out the darts from the gangsters' necks. "You could say that, yes. I carry around some gadgets with me for practical reasons." He put the darts inside his coat. "But right now's not the time for that. You have to come with me. Your friend Jacqueline is in danger."

"What?" said Tintin. "Are gangsters after her? Why?"

"She's walking into a trap. No time to explain right now, but the point is Mr. Calvin is setting her up!"

"Mr. Calvin? I knew it! Tulio! Go call the police and-!"

"Don't worry. I just called my friends. They'll be here in any minute," said the detective.

"Very well. Then Tulio, take away their guns and tie them up. If you can, try to get some information on them. Captain… Captain, what are you doing?

Haddock was searching the unconscious gangster, "That Numbskull took my dollar. I want it back."

"Captain!"

"Found it! NOW let's go!" He said quickly putting his dollar back into his pocket where it belongs.

They went inside Detective Lockhart's car as he drove them quickly towards Mr. Calvin's house. The Detective proceeded to explain his mission as he drove, "I was in charge of investigating the case surrounding the film studio, because we suspected that gangsters were involved with them. Just don't let anyone know that I was here, got it? It's a private investigation."

"Our lips are sealed," said Tintin, sitting at the front seat. "Just tell us what you know. We might be able to help."

Lockhart quickly turned his head to Tintin and replied, "If I didn't need your help, I wouldn't have saved your life! I know a lot about you, Mr. Tintin." He turned his head back to the road as they left the city. "You have quite a reputation. You solve more cases than I do! A few years ago we were on a case in Chicago to catch Bobby Smiles and a group of gangsters. You beat us to it! And at such a young age! I saw you when you were on that parade."

"You were?"

"Yes. I admit, I am a little bit jealous of you. Then I heard more amazing things about you, especially from some friends of mine at Interpol. So when I recognized you at that party the other night, I wondered whether you were on the same case as I was."

Haddock briefly changed the subject, "Say, you wouldn't happen to know Detectives Thompson and Thomson?" he asked out of curiosity.

"I've heard of them, but I've never met them in person. Well, as I was saying, I noticed that you were at the party, and seeing as you were there I thought I'd learn a bit from you. I couldn't let myself be seen with you, though. Everyone's sights are set on you, and someone would most likely find out who I was and what my investigation is about. But to save your lives, I had no choice but to blow my cover to you."

Tintin asked, "But you do know something that we don't know, don't you?"

"Yes, of course. We did try to prove that Mr. Maroon was behind the case. Hs he told you that he was a gambler? He wasn't a gambler, you see. He was a mobster boss."

"WHAT?" said everyone in the car. Tintin asked, "So he's not an addict?"

"Gambling addict: No. Chocolate addict: Yes. I did notice him gaining weight."

"So that's the reason he kept entering the Pyramid?"

"Correct. People just kept mistaking that for a gambling addiction. The Pyramid is the hide out for the Fist Mafia. He was running the show with someone else named Montana years ago. They used to run the Fists together. After Mr. Maroon became interested in directing for film, he retired from his gangster life to focus more on his new passion. I was told to keep an eye on him, and after a while I was sure he changed for good. Except for a few days ago, the only time Mr. Maroon has even stepped back in the Pyramid was once last year, but I never found out why."

"And what about Montana?" asked Tintin.

Lockhart said as he approached the sign leaving the city, "We can't find Montana. He just disappeared. But we know that Mr. Calvin's involved with the Fist Mafia. I was able to spy on him long enough and find out that he's planning this. He is most likely their new boss. After we arrest him, we will arrest the Fist Mafia as soon as we can."

"It's not the Fist Mafia. Look," said Tintin pulling out the poker chips form his pocket, "these were scattered around the studio as if they wanted someone to find it. These gangsters wanted them back because someone had already found one. They probably wanted to get rid of these before anyone else could find another."

"It wasn't the Fists? Well, we will look at the profile of the men who attacked you. We'll see if they were involved with the Fists or if they work for someone else. Either way, we are close to solving this case."

"But there's something I can't understand. Is this some revenge plot? Why does he want revenge on Mr. Maroon? And why take down Vermont itself?"

"Many possibilities. It could have to do with money, or it has to do with something else. We'll have to see. But for now, we have to save Jacqueline Jones. She's not safe there."

"Didn't you warn her?"

"I didn't have the chance. I didn't want to be spotted. So I slipped a short message inside her bag. I just hope she reads it on time."

Xxx

Jacq was being escorted on a brand new bright-yellow car on her way to Mr. Calvin's house. She was far from city life, but the Hollywood sign was still somewhat visible. While Jacq didn't know what Mr. Calvin was up to, she was still a bit suspicious, which is why she came prepared. She decided to wear very short heels so it was easier to run with. Wearing a light-blue dress with a small flower on the belt of the dress, she also hid a small pepper spray she borrowed from one of the Tapping Sisters just in case she needed a weapon to defend herself.

She then thought to herself, "I wonder if I should have brought a knife or a gun… maybe it's too violent. Although if I'm dealing with gangsters… I don't know." She decided to check her bag for her pepper spray and the way she was going to point it at someone. "Maybe I should move my things away so that I can pull out my spray easier…"

She had arrived at the big house with the terrace. She noticed that the gates behind her had closed. The driver then parked the new car in front of the house and opened the door for her. "This way, Miss."

"Hang on, I want to do something first. I'll be there in a moment." As she moved her things away from her bag, she then noticed a piece of paper inside, the size of her hand. She pulled it out, and turned on the light inside the limo. "What's this?" She then read out to herself: "Whatever you do, don't trust Mr. Calvin… Your life is in danger. What? Who could have written this? Wait… there's more… This message will self-destruct in 5 seconds… Yeah, right…"

BANG!

A little spark and some smoke covered her vision. "Miss! Are you alright?" asked the limo driver. "What happened? Miss?" Jacq blew away the grey smoke. "Cough! Cough! It's nothing! Cough! I'm fine! It's my… umm… cigar… I mean, it's a friend's cigar, and it lit up by itself… yeah, that's what happened…"

"Cigars these days… Very well, then," said the limo driver, "This way." Jacq didn't know whether to enter the house anymore. She became even more suspicious, and didn't even believe she could trust Mr. Calvin anymore. Before she could turn back or tell the driver that she wanted to leave, Jacq was interrupted.

"Hello! Jacqueline!" said Mr. Calvin coming out of his house to greet her. "You look so beautiful! Please come in!" Jacq was about to tell him that she wanted to go, but then she saw two big men behind her. "Ah, don't worry about them. Those are just my bodyguards."

"Great," thought Jacq, "If I try to escape, these guys might try to catch me. I gotta think of something else! But what?"

Later…

It was dark already, and from the distance between them and the city, they couldn't see the city lights, which were covered up by some hills. The men arrived at Mr. Calvin's house. "Maybe Jacq is still in there," whispered Tintin in the car. They had their lights off as not to be spotted.

"We can't just enter like that," said Lockhart. "They have security in there. Those so-called bodyguards over there are gangsters," he said pointing at two big shadows across the gates. "They might have guns. The Fists were known to trade weapons with other gangster. These men either have worked with the Fists before, or are still working for them. We're still not entirely sure if Mr. Calvin has links to the Fist Mafia anymore." They grabbed some guns, which they took from the gangsters earlier. The Detective had his own.

Tintin asked, "Do they have links to other criminal organizations?"

"We haven't confirmed it yet. All we know is that the Fist Mafia is one of the bigger ones around the State."

"Well, if one thing is for sure: we've stumbled across a real hornet's nest."

Snowy added, "Don't we always?"

The men hid their car in a safe place, and even placed some branches over them. Before they could move, to their surprise, the gate began to open. They saw a yellow car exit. Tintin thought he saw two men in the car, but had someone in the back seat… someone with long curly hair. Tintin had a feeling that Jacq wasn't in the house and suggested they follow the car instead. After the gates closed, they followed them, careful not to be spotted.

They ran for a bit as they followed the path. Tintin held his gun strong just in case they were going to have to attack. But after some running, they soon managed to catch up and see that the two large men were walking back to the house with their flashlights. They hid themselves in the branches, except for Tintin who managed to sneak in behind a tree and listen. Strangely enough, the men weren't in their car anymore. "Where's Jacq? What were they doing?" Tintin thought as he tried to listen to their conversation. He just hoped that they hadn't killed her already, or had done something else.

"It was so easy!" said one of the men. "She drank the wine as if nothing and she fell right asleep!"

Tintin then realized, "Jacq?"

"SHH," whispered the second man, "If someone spots us here…"

"Well, either way… Poor kid. She was really pretty. She would have made a great movie star."

Tintin gasped! "Oh no!"

Tintin was about to move and make a sound, but Haddock grabbed him before he could. "Tintin? Do you want us to get caught? What did you hear?"

"Jacq! I think she's still in the car! Or worse! We have to go check!"

They carefully left the area, and once they were out of sight, they sprinted across the concrete path that the car took. From a distance they saw a road across a cliff.

As they reached that road, they saw the same yellow car from before pass them by at a high speed. For a brief moment, they saw an unconscious woman on the wheel.

"JACQ!" Tintin tried to sprint towards the car, but the car was moving fast. They must have put her in the car and left the engine running to make it seem like an accident!

It was reaching for a curve at the end of the slope. It began to accelerate and Tintin couldn't keep up with its speed. He then tripped and fell over, getting his knees hit and the palm of his hands scratched against the concrete. He lifted himself up and saw the car reach the curve.

"NOOOO!"

Then the car broke through the rail guard, and fell over. Tintin was lifted up and ran to the edge of the cliff. He saw to his horror a car flip over and burst into flames as it hit the bottom.

BOOOOOM!

"NO! JACQ!"

A/N Part 2 I am SO SORRY! It took me so long to write this chapter! It's been over 6 months! That's the longest hiatus I've ever taken so far! Did it really take about half a year to publish the next chapter?

The truth is that it wasn't exactly writer's block, as I DID have an idea of what was going to happen next, including this cliffhanger, but I was going through a lot of things during that period. Don't worry: it wasn't anything drastic or anything. Part of it was just a lack of inspiration during the summer. Heck, I couldn't even continue writing articles for my film blog at the time! That there took me about 4 months to continue! I just couldn't write anything! Must have been something psychological or something. And the rest of the time because I was busy with other things, including university, so I didn't bring myself to finish it until now.

Well, the good news is that I'm not ill or anything, and I can continue writing some more Tintin and Jacq. The bad news is… well…I took a long hiatus. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have made you wait for so long! I hope this was worth the wait!

Also, because of so many things going on in my life, I might not be able to do that Tintin musical idea I had last time, but I'll have to see when I finish this one.

On the plus side, I do have new readers, and I hope they enjoy the rest of my fanfic! Also feel free to leave a review! It's been a while since I've written, so any mistakes I've done here, please do tell me! I had to re-visit my fanfic and my drafts in order to look back on the story, and I also had to rush a little bit more than the other chapters, because I didn't want you guys to wait any longer.

And if you'd like to, add me on twitter and check out my blog! Links are in my profile! In the end, thank you for being so patient, and thank you ALL for your support! You guys totally rock!

Next chapter is coming out this month! I swear it this time! I'm on vacation, so I'll have a lot of time!