(Jenny's POV)
It takes me seven minutes to get to the Tower of London from St. Barts Hospital. Arriving over the Tower, I see that I've arrived just in time.
SMASH!
I hear a window smash and people screaming below. Damn! Dashiell's got the Crown Jewels. I see her (if you pardon the pun) dashing her way across to the courtyard, knocking down tourists and Beefeaters. She stops at the Tower Wharf, where there's a speedboat waiting for her. She jumps into the speedboat and makes her getaway.
"Activate cloaking device," I say into the communicator.
My body becomes invisible and I follow Dashiell, hoping that she'll lead me to where she has hidden the diamonds, jewellery and the others.
xxoOoxx
Half an hour later, I see Dashiell pull up the speedboat to a pier in West Silverton in the East End of London, near a derelict warehouse called the Millennium Mills. Landing I see Dashiell climb out of the speedboat along with the bag containing the Crown Jewels and heading into the warehouse. I follow not that far behind her, messaging Zeke that I've located the stolen valuables and that he should kindly pass this information to MI9. Normally, I wouldn't get MI9 helping me as it's often the other way round, but it would be difficult for me to return the valuables back to where they belong whilst carrying Dashiell to MI9 headquarters.
As I enter the decaying industrial building, the stench of urine, rats, bird crap and possibly a rotting corpse burn my nostrils and fill my lungs up like whoa. I cover my nose and continue to follow Dashiell, trying hard not to throw up.
I follow Dashiell up to the first floor where I see in the middle of the room a large brown table that had the priceless collection from the Bank of England Museum and the diamonds from the West End jewellery stores. I hide behind a pillar not far from the table, deactivating the cloaking device. Poking my head out, I see Dashiell opening the bag and bringing out the Crown Jewels and placing them on the table. She brings out her phone and dials.
"Grandmaster? It's Dashiell," she says. "I have the Crown Jewels and the others right here. Thank you, sir. OK, see you in twenty."
Hanging up her phone, I step out from the pillar. "The Grandmaster is not gonna get his grubby hands on those valuables."
Dashiell looks up. "It's you. You're the Cat."
"That's my name, don't wear it out."
"The Grandmaster has told me about you. You're the vigilante who mocks the police and MI9."
"I like to see myself as a masked individual who lends a helping hand to the police and MI9. Oh, and speaking of the Grandmaster, how did a dressing gown wearing, bunny handling dick like him come across a disgraced former Olympian like you?"
"If you must know, I approached him. After my fans turned on me and the media chewed me up and spat me out like slate-flavoured bubblegum, I went into hiding. About six months later, I saw an ad in the paper saying that they were looking for individuals who thought that the world hated them (and they do) to work for mysterious masked villain. So I answered the ad and went along to SKUL headquarters where I've been working as an underling before becoming SKUL's expert thief."
"So all these years you were working for SKUL amassing them a fortune in stolen items?"
"Precisely. And it's all thanks to these running shoes that the boys in the SKUL lab made for made by request of the Grandmaster."
I look at her shoes. They're black with red laces and matching red spikes on the outsole, with SKUL's logo on the sides.
"They look awesome," I admit.
"Yes, they are," says Dashiell. "And now, I'm gonna use these to kick your arse as a consolation prize for the Grandmaster. ACCELERATION MODE!"
Dashiell charges towards me, but my cat-like instincts come to life as I dodge out of the way. Skidding to a halt, Dashiell charges towards me again but this time I grab her arm and throw her across the room and into the wall. Dashiell's impact with the wall causes some debris from the ceiling to fall. Dashiell stands up and shakes her head to get rid of the debris.
"Nnngh, why you little…!" she growls as she charges towards me once again, her hand balled into a fist, ready to punch me. I dodge her fist but she tries again and I dodge it again. "Uuuugh! Arrgh!" She launches a flurry punches at me, the kind that you'll see in the Street Fighter games, but I keep dodging each and every one. That is until she clips my chin, causing me to fall backwards. "Yes! I landed a blow! How's that, Miss Pussy Cat!?"
But Dashiell's little victory is short-lived as I grab her shoulders, moving close to her, I put my shin on her belly and as I continue to fall back, I toss her over my head and across the room.
"NKYAAAH!" I hear her scream as she crashes on the floor, causing more debris to fall.
"Uhh…" I groan. Standing up, I dust myself off and make my way to Dashiell who was staggering to the table with the stolen valuables. "Look, Dashiell. How about you stop this foolishness and turn yourself in? I'm sure MI9 will go easy on you."
Dashiell sniffles. Sounds like she's crying. "OK… I'll turn myself in."
I sigh in relief. "Attagirl."
"As soon as I kill you!" Dashiell comes storming towards me with a sword from the Crown Jewels in her hand. Quick as a flash, I reach for the cylinder on my utility belt and pour out the Slo-Mo Bombs all over the floor, causing Dashiell to step on them.
As I watch Dashiell charge s-l-o-w-l-y for me, I take this opportunity to remove her speedy and totally awesome SKUL shoes. Placing them on the table I call Zeke and tell him that I've got Dashiell and the stolen fortunes are here and accounted for. Hanging up, I hear the sirens echoing outside. MI9 has arrived.
Picking up the remaining Slo-Mo Bombs that Dashiell didn't step on, I make my way to an open window. Activating my jetpack backpack, I take one last look at Dashiell who slowly turns her head to me and she is pissed. But I don't care. Flashing a peace sign and sticking my tongue at her, I jump out of the window and take off, flying back to St. Hope's. But not before I put some make-up on my forehead to cover this bruise that I've got and do some last minute clothes shopping. And it has to be a crap-load of shopping as I told Frank that Livi is taking me shopping for the afternoon. Speaking of Frank, I wonder what he's doing.
(Frank's POV)
"Team, I've just received anonymous message from an unknown source that Danni Dashiell is hiding out in a disused warehouse in West Silvertown, East London," I tell Oscar, Rose and Carrie on my phone. "She may also have the stolen fortunes with her. Get yourselves down there. I'll see you there."
Hanging up, I leave HQ and sneak out of St Hope's, hoping I don't bump into Mr. Flatley or worse, Mrs King. Coming out of the school, I see a MI9 van waiting for me. I jog across the playground and climb in the back of the van where we set off for West Silvertown.
xxoOoxx
Nearly an hour later, we finally arrive in West Silvertown. Coming out of the van with a SWAT team, I spot Oscar, Rose and Carrie by the entrance of a derelict mill. I make my way over to them.
"Why are you guys out here?" I ask them.
"Chief Agent Stark said that we had to wait for him," says Rose, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And that was fifteen minutes ago!" says Carrie.
"Look, here he is now," says Oscar.
I look over my shoulder and see Chief Agent Stark coming towards us. He has a massive plaster on the bridge of his nose and two pieces of tissue paper up each nostril. I place my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing out loud.
"You think this is funny, London?" Stark asks me as he approaches me.
"Oh no, I wasn't laughing at you, sir," I say, stifling a laugh. "I was just, erm… thinking about a joke someone told me."
"Whatever. Let's just get this over and done with."
Stark enters the building. Oscar, Rose, Carrie and myself follow behind, holding our noses. Not only because the building smelt disgusting and decaying but also to stifle our laughs. I can hear Stark sighing in frustration. We reach the first floor of the warehouse where we see Dashiell moving in slow motion.
"Whoa," says Rose.
"No guessing on who came and stopped Dashiell," says Carrie, frowning.
"That would explain the anonymous message," I say.
"Arrgh!" Stark growls. "I hate that stupid Cat! Why can't she leave us alone? We were doing fine before she came along!"
"Hey, look," says Oscar. "The stolen fortune."
We walk over to a large brown table and we see the Crown Jewels, the diamonds and the Bank of England Museum collections. Also on the table are Dashiell's running shoes.
"It seems like everything is here," says Rose. "Including Dashiell's running shoes that she used to steal the fortunes."
"Yeah," Carrie says sadly.
"What's wrong, Carrie?" I ask.
"I just can't help but think that this mission was a bit of a washout," she says. "I mean, we were supposed to catch Dashiell but the Cat beats us to the punch."
"Carrie's right," says Oscar. "We never even got to use the Aero-Slo Spray Can."
"Which is why we need to apprehend the Cat for undertaking the law into her own hands," says Stark. "Now don't just stand there gossiping like old ladies… get these valuables back to their rightful places! And can someone please put slowcoach Dashiell in cuffs?"
After we arrest Dashiell, we spend the next two hours returning the Crown Jewels to the Tower of London, the artefacts and collections to the Bank of England Museum and the diamonds to all the jewellery stores in the West End.
xxoOoxx
We return back to St Hope's where Oscar, Rose and Carrie go back to their classes and I return to mopping the corridor. While I'm mopping, I hear the sound of a piano playing. Stopping what I was doing, I follow the sound. It's coming from the assembly hall. Looking through the window of the door to the assembly hall, I see that it's Jenny playing the piano. Quietly as I can be, I gently push open the door and I creep in, gently closing the door behind me. I lean against the wall, my arms crossed and I continue to listen to Jenny playing the piano. She looks amazing, she plays amazing too and boy, can she shop. She has several bags on shopping lying beside her. She looks like she was in her own little world as she plays. Then Jenny takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and starts to sing.
"Oh, thinkin' about all our younger years
There was only you and me
We were young and wild and free
Now nothing can take you away from me
We've been down that road before
But that's over now
You keep me comin' back for more
"And baby, you're all that I want
When you're lyin' here in my arms
I'm findin' it hard to believe
We're in heaven
And love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven
"Oh, once in your life you find someone
Who will turn your world around
Bring you up when you're feelin' down
Now nothin' can change what you mean to me
Oh there's lots that I could say
But just hold me now
'Cause our love will light the way
"And baby, you're all that I want
When you're lyin' here in my arms
I'm findin' it hard to believe
We're in heaven
And love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven
"I've been waitin' for so long
For somethin' to arrive
For love to come along
Now our dreams are comin' true
Through the good times and the bad
I'll be standin' there by you, oh!
"And baby you're all that I want
When you're lyin' here in my arms
I'm findin' it hard to believe
We're in heaven
And love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven, heaven
Whoa, oh, oh!
"You're all that I want
You're all that I need
"We're in heaven
We're in heaven
We're in heaven"
Wow. This girl can really sing. In a voice that I hardly recognized as being her own. It was like when I heard her this morning when she had her music lesson. Her voice mesmerize me like a spell. Clear. True. Pitch perfect. No effort at all. Just like magic.
When she finishes, there's a silence. Jenny opens her eyes and sees me.
"Jesus!" she cries, putting her hand on her chest. "You scared the hell out of me!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," I say, walking to the stage. "It's just… you've got an amazing voice and I was fascinated by it."
Jenny blushes. "Thanks."
"What's the song called?"
"Heaven. Written and sung by Bryan Adams."
As I reach the stage, Jenny pulls out a bottle from one of her shopping bags and sprays it over the stage and then over me. I look at her in confuseion as she places the bottle back into the bag.
"Erm… why did you do that?"
Jenny sits on the stage, swinging her legs over the stage. "You're a forgetful one, aren't you? You told me that there was a toilet drain that needed unblocking."
I blink a few times, finally remembering what I told her. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I did."
"You're a bit of a scatterbrain, aren't you?"
"I guess you could say that I am." I climb on the stage and sit beside Jenny, trying like mad to think of something to say or talk about.
I glance nervously at Jenny. She catches me looking. She smiles. I clear my throat and look away, trying not to blush.
"You're not often this shy and quiet, are you?" she asks.
I shake my head. "Sorry. I'm just trying to think of something intelligent to say."
"We could always start with the basics. How about you tell me about yourself and I'll do the same."
We spend the next two hours getting to know one another. Even after the bell signalling the end of school, we continue to talk. I listen with interest as Jenny talks about her love for art and how she wants to become a comic book artist. I listen as she tells me everything about herself. I take in every information about her like a sponge. She's just so amazing. From her talents to her ambitions. Then I tell her about me. I wasn't gonna tell Jenny that I'm an MI9 agent working undercover as a caretaker, so I just make up a story about me dropping out of school when I was fifteen and worked in a number of odd jobs before becoming a caretaker for St Hope's. She's fascinated by the story I tell her, though in truth, I actually left school with nine A-Levels – all As. Then attended Oxford University where I studied for my Bachelor of Science degree that I got a First in and after pursued a postgraduate degree in Masters of Science where I got a First in that as well.
Yawning, Jenny takes a look at her watch. "Wow! Look at the time. It's just after five. Aunt 'Mione should be finished right about now. I should probably get going."
She gets up on the stage to collect her shopping, while I slip off the stage. I help collect the shopping bags from her and lay them on the floor next to me.
"Here, let me help you down," I say, holding out my hands which she takes.
I feel the soft texture of her touch. I take a step back as Jenny jumps off the stage.
"There we go!" she says as she lands. We were still holding hands. But I didn't want to let go. Her hands are gentle and warm, just like her. This would be one of those romantic scenarios where we would kiss and declare our love for each other. Instead she says, "Frank, we're still holding hands."
"Oh! Sorry," I say, letting go, feeling like a complete numpty.
"Like I said, you're a bit of a scatterbrain. I like it, though. It's cute."
My face is certainly blushing scarlet right now. Jenny must take me for a right idiot. She sees this and giggles at me as she picks up her shopping bags. I manage to laugh too, though I still feel a bit foolish.
"Well… looks like I'll be seeing you tomorrow then," says Jenny. "Bye, Frank."
"Bye, Jenny," I say, still feeling hot.
I watch her walk across the hall to the door, looking over her shoulder at me. I smile and give her a small wave. She smiles back and looks back at the door, where she pushes it and leaves, her footsteps echoing down the corridor.
I place my hand on my chest and bang bang bang my heart beats. Even though I just made a right idiot of myself, Jenny doesn't seem to mind. She thinks that I'm a scatterbrain – a cute one to top it off. I sigh dreamily at her comment and leave the assembly hall.
(Jenny's POV)
As I leave the hall, I see Aunt Hermione down the corridor. She sees me. I wave as I scurry over to her.
"Hey, Aunt 'Mione," I say, catching up to her.
"Where were you? I've been waiting for you for ten minutes!" she says.
"Sorry, I was in the assembly hall with Frank."
"Oh. Is that so?"
"You don't have to worry. Frank and I were just talking."
"Hm. So how did you find today?"
Apart from stopping a SKUL agent from stealing all the riches in London? Just dandy. "Good. It was good."
"And I see you've already met some interesting people."
"If you mean Frank, then he and I are just friends, Aunt H."
"Well, just as long as you two are friends and nothing else."
I roll my eyes and we make our way out of the school. As we head for the car, I can't help but think about that brief semi-romantic moment that Frank and I had when we were holding hands. His hands were soft and gentle, like him. But as much as I wanted to continue to hold hands with Frank, I can't get together with him. It's hard enough that I have to balance work life with my crime-fighting life, but there's no way I can fit a love life in there, too. Though I have to admit, Frank does look adorable when he blushes. I giggle to myself as I enter the car and put on my seatbelt.
"What are you laughing about?" Aunt Hermione asks me, entering the car and putting on her seatbelt.
"Oh, it's nothing," I say. "It was one of those random laughs when you remember something."
Aunt Hermione shrugs it off and starts the car. As she pulls out of the school and drives us home, I look out of the window and continue to think about how cute Frank looks when he blushes.