Chapter 5: Phoenix
The twins pulled into a decent yet cheap looking hotel because Missy was getting sick of driving and Sheldon didn't want to take over. They went up to the front desk and dropped some cash "Hi we'll take a two person room"
"How old are you two?"
"Eighteen" Missy said gesturing for Sheldon not to blow their cover, he didn't.
"Can I see some ID" the clerk suspiciously asked
"Oh I'm really sorry, I left mine on my desk at work" Missy explained after checking her pockets
"Please wait here" the clerk said before going to his office
"Alright let's move we've got two minutes max" Missy said grabbing the cash and dragging Sheldon back to the car
They ended up driving to the suburban part near the city and found a parking lot to stop the car. The car seats were just as comfortable as a mattress right? No, the answer is no.
Missy still had fears about sleeping in the car if the cops tracked her down but she started to hope that she was too far from Modesto for them to look for her. They probably cared more about getting the car back then her, or if they care about her it's just to make her take care of their children then take the credit.
Sheldon leaned up from his chair "Just checking that we're on the same page, this is horrible and we're gonna find somewhere else to sleep"
"Agreed" Missy said getting up "alright apparently everything everywhere in every city requires you to have ID" Missy complained
"I suppose if one of us lies on an application and takes the drivers test we can get one, preferably the one of us comfortable with lying to on a federal form" Sheldon said tossing her the responsibility of getting them out of this
"No that will take too long" Missy said, she turned to him and sinisterly smiled "but I do have a friend here who can help us"
"This is the 'most prestigious' hotel in the city?" Missy demeaned as she and Sheldon went to the address she swore Theresa told her, this place wasn't even better then where they tried to stay. They looked around until they saw Theresa in the vending area "ok let me do the talking" she informed Sheldon.
Missy and Sheldon walked up behind her until their reflection was in the glass, and she still didn't notice them. After waiting for a moment Missy snapped her fingers a few times to get her attention and she flipped around "What are you doing here!" she said less like she was shocked and more like she was outright terrified
"Well you made a pretty big deal about your personal fake ID guy, thought we could use some" Missy said able to keep her cool
"I'm… I'm not telling you anything" Theresa said rapidly looking around the room
"Come on I thought we were friends" Missy guilt tripped
"No way, you can go to the nosebleed section where you belong" Theresa insulted
"Why are you wearing that hoodie?" Sheldon said
"Sheldon!" Missy growled
"No it's just that's a hoodie is from pioneer museum here in Phoenix" Sheldon explained
"No It's Not" Theresa said ripping it off
"Why does it matter?" Missy asked confused about all this
"Well 95% of its clientele is above the age of 55, Beverly and Alfred took us a few years ago and I had a stimulating conversation with an old coal miner from Helena"
"No Its Not and No You Didn't" Theresa said desperate to get out of this
"It's nothing to be ashamed of"
"Look I do not need to put up with you nerd bastards" Theresa said pushing through them
"Theresa, what are you yelling about?" an old man with a cane said walking up to them
Missy had the biggest smile on her face as she struggled not to laugh "Hello Papa Ruiz"
"Hey Missy, what are you doing here?"
"Oh just visiting my twin brother"
"Wait what?" Theresa said dumbfounded
"Oh yeah I have one of those now"
"Well it was nice to see you, my granddaughter here has been begging to see Cyndi Laufer for months" he explained
Sheldon held up his camera "would you like your picture taken
"NO" - "Of course" Theresa and her grandfather talked on top of each other before Shedlon took a picture and gave it to them. Missy quickly pushed the button and took a second picture for them.
"Well I'll leave you kids" Theresa's grandfather said before walking away
"GIVE ME THAT" Theresa said trying to take the picture
"Oh no no no, all our friends will enjoy seeing you on a trip with your 'boyfriend'" Missy took Sheldon's camera and got a picture of the stained and drabby hotel lounge "at the 'most prestigious' hotel in Phoenix" she said laughing so satisfied and happy with this information, and then it all went away "Wait, so in other words you can't help us" Missy said realizing they were still screwed
"No no no" Theresa said waving her fingers "look I do have a guy to get me a fake ID, I was planning to ditch the old man after we got there"
"Alright I think we can strike a deal" Missy said waving the pictures around "you take us to the guy and no one will have to see these"
"I want the pictures upfront!"
"No"
"Ok I'll take you to the guy"
Missy and Sheldon made their way to the side of the celebrity theater (real creative name Phoenix) and waited for Theresa. She eventually turned up six minutes after she said she would "alright this way" she directed them both across the street to an alleyway
"You're late" a creepy voice came from the side up some stairs "and if I recall correctly I told you to come alone…if I recall" he softly and terrifyingly continued
"We have the money Keith, just like I said" Theresa said not hiding her fear well
"Well I'm afraid the cost goes up with each- WAHHHH" he said before tripping and falling down the stairs and onto the pavement "(clears throat) license" he finished stumbling to get back on his feet
"Ok" Missy said significantly less intimidated
"Follow me" he said as they approached the next alley door. He knocked a code… to no response. He knocked again to no response. He caved and just unlocked the door to find no one inside "of course he didn't show up" Keith said before turning on the lights and getting his printer working.
He took their pictures and got ready to print them "alright that's $100 each"
"What that's double you asked for" Theresa said
"IS THAT AN ISSUE" Keith yelled as he pointed a gun in his jacket pocket
"AHHHHHH" Theresa ran out the door that was still left wide open screaming
"Oh shit, ugh you two don't move" Keith stuttered "or I'll sh-" he said as he tried to get the gun out of his pocket but it got stuck, he shook it around as Missy gestured to Sheldon to run "or I'll Shoo-"
BANG
"WAHHHHH" Keith screamed as he accidentally shot himself in the foot, dropping the gun.
Missy ran over and grabbed the gun while he was down. She pointed it at him while he was in pain "so your new deal was free IDs right"
"Ugh $50"
Missy and Sheldon looked at him dumbfounded
"$25"... "Alright free" Keith said as he crawled over and pushed the print button. "If your interested I'm also having a sale on GRENADES" he said tossing a pinless grenade at them
Missy pushed Sheldon away and leaped on the grenade. "Sheldon stay back" she shouted after he got back up. After a few seconds nothing happened and all three of them were confused, Sheldon helped Missy up and she shook the unexploded grenade
"I got screwed over didn't I" Keith said embarrassed
Sheldon shook his head and grabbed both of their IDs "don't worry we'll call you an ambulance" he said nodding along with Missy
"Thank you"
"Anyways good luck with your bullet wounds" Missy said
"What do you mean wounds, I only have one"
BANG
"OHHHHH"
After calling Keith an ambulance on the payphone outside Sheldon and Missy were feeling pretty good about themselves.
"Well I think we handled that pretty well…Ziggy Chapman" Missy said leaning to see his fake ID
"You said it…Claire Shannon" Sheldon said looking at her ID "why did you get an english name and I didn't"
"Karma" Missy quipped
Sheldon would have thrown something back but he… he felt he owed her "ugh thank you"
"For what?"
"Well for saving me back there" Sheldon said ignoring the whole fake grenade part
"It.. it was nothing, I wasn't really thinking" Missy shrugged it off "just felt like the thing sisters and brothers should do"
"I was scared when I had a gun pointed at me" Sheldon stated the obvious "terrified when I thought you were gonna blow up" he said getting a smile out of her
"You know the night is still young and Cyndi Lauffer is playing right over there" Missy encouraged
The two of them spent $60 on two tickets, even though they bought tickets for the back they just stood in the walkways. Missy was having the time of her life while Sheldon mostly thought it was ok, Missy even managed to pickpocket a couple more people while Sheldon's back was turned. After a night of popcorn and everyone constantly screaming the show finally over. After they split up to go to the bathroom Sheldon noticed one of the head security guards went into his office exhausted.
Missy and Sheldon made their way to a better hotel and enjoyed each of them having a bed to themselves. "ugh Happy late birthday ages one to fourteen" he said pulling something out of his backpack and threw it on Missy's bed
Missy unraveled it and it was a cool poster of Cyndi Laufer…. Signed by her "what the hell, how…this must of cost of fortune"
"Nope I got in exchange for doing the head of security's taxes, it was a fun 5 to 8 minutes of tax deduction" he explained
"Thank you thank you thank you" she said hugging Sheldon. He was really bad with hugs but he did give her a pat on the back to be nice. "That's easily the nicest thing any of my brothers and sister got me" Missy said
"Really, didn't you say you have six other foster siblings?" Sheldon said shocked
"Yeah but… I mean the oldest is Bernadette but she's still like four years younger and we didn't have a lot of money to begin with so, you know what can you do?" Missy explained
"Were you guys close?"
"Well we definitely had our moments for sure, but it was mostly bickering or hostility; that kind of stuff" Missy admitted feeling somewhat good and bad for saying it out loud "never really asked why it's just how they've always felt". Sheldon nodded "ugh what about yours, you said you and Leonard were close at least?" Missy asked
"Yeah, honestly looking back we mostly talked about our problems" Sheldon admitted not really considering it until now "our older brother and sister really just soaked up all the attention and we had to rely on each other, I've hated them for it, it's not their fault, but it was hard for us not to feel a little resentment"
"Do you miss them?" Missy asked
"I didn't think I would, but yes, somewhat" Sheldon admitted "guess that's the first time I've been proven wrong" he joked "what about you?"
Missy sighed "I was really mad at them when I ra… left for LA but.. I guess it feels petty the more I think about it" she said "so maybe give me a day or two before I start missing them"
After that they turned out the light "good night" "night"