Hellloooo! I'm sorry for updating this late. For some reason, I kind of struggled through this chapter. I hope that I did okay, and it's not lame or whatever.
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Disclaimer: Ok, these are just getting annoying. Let's just say I do not own Graceland or anything related to it, and call it good.
Johnny, Briggs, Jenny, and Paige walked along the open-air market, glancing over the home-made and home-grown items for sale. Charlie hung on Johnny's arm, while Paige hung on Briggs'. They tried to appear as touristy as possible.
In a secure location, Jenny sat in front of a computer monitor with Mike standing behind her with his arms crossed. They all wore sunglasses and necklaces with hidden cameras in them, so that Jenny's software could spot the runaway perp, otherwise known as Jensen Ricardo. Johnny had a single earbud in his ear that connected to what looked like an iPod, but was really a transmitter. Through this, Mike or Jenny could tell him what to do or where to look. According to some intel, Ricardo was recently spotted in the market.
"Nothing yet, guys." Mike said into the walkie-talkie. "Keep moving."
"This may take a while." Jenny slouched in her chair and huffing roughly.
"Yeah, this market is busier than I thought." He nodded, chewing on his thumb nail.
Jenny bit the inside of her cheeks in deep thought. Then, she turned to the computer on her right and typed something in.
"What are you doing?" Mike asked, placing his hands on the back of her chair.
"Looking over the guy's profile again." She deadpanned, for she was concentrating. "Maybe there's something here that will help us narrow down the search."
They both leaned in close to read the profile. Ricardo was a busy guy, that's for sure. He had once headed a smuggling chain that smuggled in every single drug imaginable. In addition to this, he started his own drug farm, with an independent supplier and staff. This guy had done nearly everything besides sex trafficking.
Just as they were looking it over, Jenny's computer bleeped a shrill beep. This indicated that the computer spotted Ricardo. Jenny slid over to the monitor and looked closely. On the screen, it highlighted an old man's face who was selling fruits. His face may have been covered with white facial hair, but the screen displayed his hazel eyes, that said this guy was at least 20 years younger than what he looked.
"That's him." Jenny announced.
Immediately, Mike held the walkie-talkie over his mouth and spoke into it. "Johnny, the old guy at the fruit stand. That's Ricardo."
Johnny glanced around and spotted the guy Mike had pointed out. "Yo, Paul," He said over Charlie's head. "Want some fruit?" He nodded in the direction of the fruit stand.
Briggs nodded in understanding. "I think we're low on peaches." He said, leading Paige to the stand.
"Ah, you want to buy fruit?" The old man asked in a rough German accent. The rags on his body seemed like clothes that you would find at a secondhand store. He sat in a chair, holding a wooden cane. With his cane, he gestured to one of the baskets of apples. "Apples are on sale. Two pounds for two dollars."
"Oh, those apples look delicious." Paige squealed, letting go of Briggs' arm and glancing over the basket.
"Yeah, what do you think, Charlie?" Briggs asked her.
"Ah, I've seen better." She scoffed.
The old man spoke up. "These apples were grown fresh this morning. You have my solemn vow as a vendor." He said, placing his hand over his heart.
All four of them exchanged glances and smirked. "Your vow, huh?" Briggs mused. "Well, that's interesting. Because I was under the impression that you were a gang leader, or a drug lord." The old man stared at him intently. His face was almost unreadable. "I thought you've been on the run for nearly a year, that you've been changing your appearance and identity wherever you go. But now you're time is up, genius." At the same time, all four of them showed him their badges.
The old man slowly got up, looking surprisingly calm for a man who was caught. Carefully, he removed his cap and facial hair, to reveal his youthful face. The group of federal agents all started to get a bad feeling in their stomachs. Jenny and Mike watched the screen with baited breath.
"Be ready, guys," Mike called behind his shoulder to the team of ready SWAT team members.
Ricardo looked in each face individually. Then, with a smirk, he shrugged his shoulders. "Pleasure doing business you, agents."
All of a sudden, a string of bangs went off around them, that made them all duck for cover. Johnny looked around and saw that a couple of the other street vendors, no doubt that they worked for Ricardo, were pointing guns in their direction. "It's a trap!" He yelled over the screams of the crowd, the shots being fired, and the various items for sale exploding. Paige pulled out her gun and started shooting.
"Move out!" Mike ordered, as the SWAT team ran out to the street market. "Go, go, go!"
Charlie turned to confront Ricardo, but saw that he was running in the opposite direction. "Briggs!" She shouted. He turned and immediately saw what she was referring to. "You and Johnny go! We've got these bastards."
He motioned for Johnny to follow him, and they sped off towards the running convict. But soon, they realized that it was hard to maintain a visual since he kept weaving to the crowd. "Jenny, tell me you've got eyes on this guy!" Johnny yelled.
At the base, Jenny was typing furiously. "Your camera's are too shaky." She said, as Mike held the walkie-talkie to her mouth. "The computer can't get a solid reading. I'm going to have to hack into the street cams, but that may take a while."
"Don't play with me, girl." Johnny snapped, feeling his lungs gasp for oxygen. He had previously thought that he was in good shape, but now, he was beginning to think otherwise. "We need to have eyes on this guy now!"
"If you think you can do this better than I can, you be my guest!" She barked, as her fingers flew over the keyboard.
"Well, what is talking so long?" Mike asked.
"The street cams are government owned, meaning they have a butt load more of security and firewalls."
"But I thought that you could get past those blindfolded."
"Yeah, I can, but I can only go so fast here." Jenny chewed on her bottom lip in concentration.
Meanwhile, Briggs and Johnny were having trouble keeping an eye on Ricardo. Of course, being on the run for over a year, the man had probably learned a thing or two about chases, and how to avoid coppers. He expertly weaved in and out of the fleeing crowd or tourists without so much as running into anyone. The two agents on the other hand, were stumbling into every old couple in their way.
Then, Ricardo was coming up on a busy street. Johnny and Briggs were already working their legs as fast as they could, but managed to push even harder when they figured out where he was going. The fleeing convict crossed the street and managed to dodge a couple honking cars. Briggs followed, not really paying attention to his surroundings. Until, Johnny yelled out his name, and yanked him back by the arm, just as a city bus went honking past them. Briggs nodded his thanks to Johnny, but when the bus sped out of their view, Ricardo was out of sight. They looked and looked, but they saw nothing.
Briggs raised his arms, and rested his hands on top of his head. Johnny swore, and put his hands on his knees. "Jenny?"
"One more firewall." She said typing in the last of the specific keystrokes. Then, after she pressed the enter key, her computer woke up with a whole bunch of different camera angles. "I'm in."
"Great. Where is that son of a bitch?" Johnny gasped, straightening up.
"Ummm," She mumbled as she clicked through the different cameras.
Mike suddenly pointed at the screen. "There!"
"Johnny, he's running along 42nd Avenue heading north." She said, grabbing the walkie-talkie in Mike's hand.
"That's over four blocks away!" He grunted. "We'll never get there on foot."
Just then, a cherry red mustang convertible pulled up next to them. Paige was sitting in the driver's seat and glanced at them. "Get in, losers. We're going convict shopping."
Both of them looked at her in confusion. She rolled her eyes. "Mean Girls reference. Now, let's go." They hopped in the car, and Paige sped off down the road as Johnny gave her directions.
"Where did you get this little beauty?" Johnny asked, stroking the leather interior.
"A guy who owed me favor." She said simply, turning sharply around the corner.
"Whoa, easy there, Speedy Gonzalez!" Briggs called from the back seat. "I'm getting tossed around here like I'm in a dryer."
"Sorry, I can't help myself." Paige smiled.
"Johnny, turn left up ahead." Mike spoke into the walkie-talkie. "He should be on your right."
Jenny opened up a map that showed their route from an aerial point of view. She saw that Ricardo had been more or less running in a complete and wide circle. But a circle to where? Suddenly, a realization crossed her mind. Jenny rose quickly and ran down the street.
"What the hell are you doing?" Mike called after her.
"Trust me!" She yelled over her shoulder. Mike scowled. That was starting to become her catchphrase.
Jenny booked it down the street, past all the weird looks from the onlookers. In her head, she pictured the route that was displayed on her screen, and where she was headed. Finally, she reached her destination, a small alleyway. Jenny hid down the alleyway, and pressed her back to the wall. As she peeked around the corner, she saw her opportunity coming towards her.
She pressed herself up against the wall, and breathed out silently. Jenny closed her eyes, and counted to five. Then, she jumped out of the alleyway and kicked her leg out expertly. The face at the end of her foot grunted upon impact, and flew backwards. When he was down on the ground, Jenny stepped on Ricardo's chest and leaned down on her knee. "No one shoots at my big brother." She told him, as blood streaked from his nose.
At that moment, Paige pulled up to the curb. "Damn, girl." Johnny commented, as they hopped out of the car.
Jenny bowed gracefully. "What can I say?" She said not even remotely modestly. "I'm one tough bitch."
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