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31_days2009-11-06 09:43 am
rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2009-11-06 09:43 am
[Nov 6] [WitWi Carmen Sandiego/Perfect Strangers] The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Ch 1
Title: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Chapter 1: Sarah, Imperial Rollerblade Kid
Day/Theme: November 6, Feel the freedom like no tomorrow
Series: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego/Perfect Strangers
Characters: The Dying Informant and company, Balki and Larry, Sarah Nade
Rating: G (for now)
Cross posted to other places
Author’s note: This crossover fic was loosely inspired by the “Old Medley” version of the Genesis song “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.” As always, the characters aren’t mine, but the story is! Many thanks to LuckyLadybug and Quidget for plot help!
*************************
**King’s Palace, Mypos; 12:00 AM**
It was twelve in the morning in the small Mediterranean island of Mypos. All of its inhabitants—human and livestock—were asleep, but one outsider was wide awake, wandering through the halls of the king’s palace on a pair of rollerblades. Heavy metal music was audible through the headphones she wore over her ears and rainbow hair, but no one heard it—not even King Ferdinand, as he slumbered.
“It ain’t like Carmen to go around havin’ us yoink stuff for someone else…” she grumbled. “Why do they want a golden lamb, anyways?”
She blinked as she finally arrived in the treasury. There, on a pedestal was the golden statue of a lamb. Its eyes were set with glittering opals, and various other gems were embedded into its body. The entire lamb was just over a foot long.
“Now that’s what I call the Golden Fleece…” the girl murmured in approval.
There was no burglar alarm system; never in the history of Mypos had anyone dared to break into the palace. It took only a second for the young but experienced thief to grab the lamb and slip it into her backpack. But this plan was soon found to have one major flaw—her backpack was so full of CDs, the lamb’s head peered out the opening of the pack.
“Aww, nuts…” she grumbled.
Frustrated, she pulled some of the CDs out, fully concealed the lamb, and carried the CD in her hands as she rollerbladed through the corridors. Carmen had advised her against going out the same way she had come in; and so the girl headed down a different wing of the palace.
Unfortunately, this wing of the castle had been recently waxed, and the girl yelped as her rollerblade wheels slipped and skidded on the floor. She crashed into a pedestal that housed a large decorative urn. She fell over along with the pedestal and urn, her CDs scattering everywhere. Frantically, she picked up what she could and escaped through a window as voices started shouting all over the wing of the palace.
“Nice try, boyos!” the girl said. “But you gotta wake from your forty winks earlier than that to catch Sarah Nade!”
Cackling to herself, she rollerbladed on and out of sight. All she had to do was lay low until the V.I.L.E. helicopter came to pick her up.
**Chicago, Illinois; 5:00 PM, 1 hour after the robbery**
Chicago Chronicle reporter Larry Appleton was preparing a cup of coffee; he needed one, badly—he had just gotten a call from one of his superiors, and he was not amused to find out that he had been assigned to follow a story about the notorious criminal mastermind, Carmen Sandiego. The chance to write a big story should have been a cause for celebration, but instead, Larry was now a bundle of nerves, trying to pass the assignment to someone else; his orders were to travel to New York City on the next available flight to follow up on the workings of the ACME Crimenet Detective Agency, in charge of keeping tabs on her. Apparently, there had been an alert of a very recent robbery by one of Carmen’s minions, but details were still sketchy.
“I don’t see why you’re so worried,” said his cheery Myposian cousin, blissfully unaware of what had occurred at his homeland only an hour ago.
“I’ve just been looking at some of the public information available on this Carmen Sandiego…” Larry said. “Her flunkies include a sadistic robot and a potentially violent bodybuilder. I have no desire to cross my path with either of them… or any other crook for that matter. Or have you forgotten how we were at the mercy of a simple burglar that one time when you were going on about Primodopoli?”
“Well of course not; don’t be ridiculous…” Balki.
“These crooks aren’t just mere burglars,” said Larry. “They’re burglars’ burglars.”
“Oh, good; then we have nothing to worry about…” said Balki. “We’re not burglars.”
“That’s not what I meant…” said Larry. “I mean that these are hardened criminals--”
He was cut off as the phone began to ring.
“Oh, please be a superior with a change of heart and assignment…” he prayed, taking it. “Hello…?” He blinked, holding the phone a little bit away from his ear as a shrill voice began speaking in Myposian. “Balki, it’s for you…”
“Why would Mama be calling now…?” the former sheepherder wondered aloud. “It’s one in the morning in Mypos…” He took the phone from Larry, beginning to talk to her. Larry blinked as Balki’s eyes widened in shock.
“What is it?”
Balki pulled the phone away.
“There’s been a robbery in King Ferdinand’s palace!” he said. “The thief stole our most precious national treasure, a statue of a golden lamb--”
“Balki!” the shrill voice over line called out to him.
“Oh…” He placed the phone back to his ear and talked for some more time. “It seems they found just one clue, but it’s not much to go on--”
“Balki!”
“…And Mama says that unless we catch that thief and get back the lamb, Mypos will suffer an unbearable national debt… and then Skeptos will probably annex us!” Balki shuddered in horror at the thought of their rival nation usurping them.
“Balki!”
”…And Mama is really worried about that happening…” Balki finished.
“Well… when did this happen…?” Larry asked.
“Just over an hour ago….”
Larry frowned. Odd… the ‘recent robbery’ that his superior had mentioned had taken place about an hour ago, too… Was it possible there was a connection?
“Balki…” he said. “I think my assignment to look into Carmen Sandiego’s gang might have something to do with Mypos’ missing lamb… I said they were hardcore thieves… They probably would’ve been the only ones capable of pulling this off.”
Balki glanced at him, his eyes wide.
“Cousin… Cousin, you must take me to New York with you when you follow the detectives!” he exclaimed. “I have to be there and receive the first news about the lamb!”
“Balki!”
“Oh…” Balki said his goodbyes to his mother and turned back to face Larry. “Please, Cousin, let me go to this detective agency!”
“Balki, I know that as a Mypiot, you feel as though you should get involved… But when you’re dealing with a criminal syndicate, it’s best to stay out of it,” said Larry. “In fact, I’m going straight to the top and call Mr. Wainwright to get me transferred to a different assignment.”
“But, Cousin--”
“No buts,” Larry replied, reaching for the phone. “I’m thinking about what’s best for us. I’m thinking about Jennifer and Mary Anne, and how they need us.”
“Oh, that reminds me…” said Balki. “I wonder what your replacement will talk to Jennifer about…”
“What are you talking about?” asked Larry.
“Jennifer and Mary Anne are working the next flight from Chicago to New York,” Balki replied. “They’re going to be in New York for a few days until they work a return flight.” He suppressed a smirk. “I’m just wondering what sort of chats your replacement will start with Jennifer while you’re waiting here in Chicago…”
Larry gave him a long, hard glare.
“Let’s pack,” he said.
**ACME Crimenet HQ, TriBeCa, Manhattan; 9:00 PM, 4 hours after the robbery**
The head Techie of ACME was hard at work in the computer lab. He had been the first to try to research as much as he could about the missing lamb and Mypos, but information was limited. The Chief was also going over the details of the case as the Myposian officials faxed her the information, but as of that moment, no one had been assigned to the case yet. Also interesting was the fact that the Myposian authorities had come to a private detective agency. He wasn’t sure why, but there must be an underlying reason… even though Mypos was a small country, one would think that they’d turn to some organization like Interpol… But they had chosen to contact ACME. And the Techie wanted to know why.
“Hey!” a young Rookie agent said, seeing him in there. “What’re you doing, working now? You make the rest of us look like underachievers…”
The Techie gave him a wan smile.
“I don’t know…” he sighed. “Sometimes I get a sixth sense about these things… And I think I’ll be put on this assignment, so I’ll get ready for it…”
“You know, I think the Messenger and the Informant have a sixth sense that they’ll be put on an assignment, too,” the Rookie replied. “That would explain why they’re trying to go all-out in playing a game of extreme table tennis; they probably want to get a game in before they head out…”
“Uh-huh…” the Techie said, but then blinked as he processed the boy’s words. “Did you say ‘extreme table tennis’…?”
“Yep, that’s right…” the Rookie replied, with a smirk. “I’m not sure what all of the rules are, but I do know that it involves two paddles in each hand, and entire box of ping pong balls in play, and a clause that states that there is no such thing as ‘out of bounds’…”
The Techie had to laugh at this, and the mental image it provided. But before he could respond, the Inspector paused by the door.
“You two are missing the semifinal round…” he announced.
“Oh, so they’ve finally decided to bring it to a close?” asked the Rookie.
“No; they’re both so exhausted, but aren’t about to let each other know,” said the Inspector. “I expect that after the next round or two, they’re going to have to call it quits…”
The Techie shook his head, transferring his work to his laptop. This, he had to see…
The Inspector led the way back to the rec room, and the Techie just stared and eventually laughed as he saw his friends running like mad all over the room, trying not to let the ping pong balls hit the ground.
“Ready… to… give in…?” the Messenger taunted, between gasps. “You… look tired…”
The Informant brandished his ping pong paddles like Raphael’s sai, gasping for breath, also.
“Never…” he promised.
The Inspector and the Rookie had brought snacks to watch the rest of this match, while the Techie sat down in one of the armchairs and resumed his work while looking up to see how the game progressed every couple minutes.
They were unaware of the two cousins wandering the streets of TriBeCa, looking for them. Balki and Larry had managed to take the next flight out to Newark with Jennifer and Mary Anne. The girls were back at the hotel, but Balki had insisted on meeting the detectives who were going to take the lost lamb case, trying to find the address that their superiors at the Chronicle had given Larry.
“Balki, why do we have to find those detectives tonight…?” Larry was asking. “They probably won’t be working this late…”
“Cousin, I need to make sure they know what’s at stake…” said Balki. “If Skeptos ends up annexing Mypos, it’s going to be terrible for everyone!”
“I know, I know…” said Larry. “But I still don’t think--”
Larry suddenly recoiled as they turned into an alley to see a bright-eyed Siamese cat staring at them, meowing.
“Hello…!” Balki said, kneeling in front of the cat and stroking it under the chin. The cat’s eyes closed in bliss, and she purred and meowed loudly.
“Balki, we’re here to find the detectives, not to greet every single alley cat that comes along--”
“Alley cat!?” a shrill voice repeated. “I resent that remark, young man! She’s a pure-breed Siamese!”
Balki stood up almost instantly as a grumpy-looking brunette woman approached them.
“Come here, Godiva…” she said to the cat. “If you’re looking for detectives, you’ll find them right over there…” She indicated a door in the alley.
“Thank you so much!” Balki exclaimed, giving her a hug like he would to anyone he was meeting for the first time.
The lady protested loudly at being suddenly glomped by a stranger, and Larry had to hastily pull his cousin away.
Inside, though, the lady’s loud protests had been heard by the detectives in the rec room.
“…Mrs. Pumpkinclanger…?” the Techie asked, blinking in surprise. He headed out the back door and into the alley. “Mrs. P, is everything alright?”
The lady harrumphed, gathering her cat and casting a derisive glance at the two cousins.
“You have visitors…” she huffed, heading back inside her apartment building.
The Techie sighed as she went back inside and turned to the two cousins.
“Sorry about her; she gets a little… moody when there’s too much noise out in the alley…” he said. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Hello…” said Balki, greeting him with a hug, as well. The Techie blinked, but tried not to look too put-out. “My name is Balki Bartokomous, and I used to be a former sheepherder on Mypos…”
And then the Techie nodded in understanding.
“You’re here to talk about the missing golden lamb?” he asked.
“Yes…” the Mypiot said. “It’s very important that my small island nation gets this lamb back… Otherwise, we’ll be up the creek without a poodle.”
The Techie blinked again as Larry slapped his forehead.
“Paddle…” he corrected his cousin. “Paddle.”
“…And… you are…?” the Techie asked.
“Oh, this is my Cousin Larry…” Balki said.
Larry sighed and shook the Techie’s hand.
“Larry Appleton, reporter for the Chicago Chronicle…” he said, showing the Techie his press ID. “I’ve been assigned by my superiors to follow this story…”
He trailed off as the Inspector entered the alley, checking in things after the Techie had not returned.
“Everything alright…?” he asked.
“Just fine…” said the Techie, with a smile. “We have a couple concerned citizens wanting to watch us handle the case. Meet Larry and Balki.”
The Inspector greeted Larry with a handshake, and also blinked as Balki proceeded to hug him, too. Larry glanced at him apologetically.
“You guys can come in…” he said. “Oh, and Techie? You missed the end of the extreme table tennis match…”
“Really? Who won?” asked the Techie, leading the cousins inside after making sure that their ID and records checked out.
“We’ll never know; they both gave up and collapsed into the armchairs…” He indicated the rec room, where the Informant and the Messenger were no longer wild and crazy blurs of motion, but recuperating with a couple cans of soda. Exhausted from their game, they could only muster feeble waves to the newcomers.
“Wwwwow…” said Balki, looking around. “You’ve got everything in this little building, don’t you…?”
“We’d like to think so…” said the Techie. “So… the case…” He pulled up the details on his laptop. “One of Mypos’ national treasures, a jeweled golden lamb, was stolen, and so the Myposian authorities have come to us for reasons still unknown.”
“I think I might know the answer,” said Larry. “I was assigned to come here to see you about a recent robbery by Carmen Sandiego’s syndicate.”
“You mean V.I.L.E.?” asked the Informant, raising his head as high as he could. “Stealing a golden statue would be right up their street. All we need is proof…”
“Apparently, there’s only one clue to the thief’s identity, which officials are not disclosing over any communication lines at the moment…” said the Techie.
“Guess that means one of our agents should take a trip to that Mypos place and see what they found…” said the Messenger, flinching at his newly-sore muscles.
“Who, though?” asked the Inspector. “No one’s been assigned to the case yet.”
“…I think we should volunteer to take the case,” said the Techie. The Messenger and the Informant both groaned at this suggestion, but nodded. “Thanks, guys…”
“You mean you are going to personally take the case and get the lamb back for my countrymen…?” Balki asked, touched. He began to thank him rapidly in Myposian, hugging him again as Larry once again tried to pull him away.
The Techie just blinked again as the Informant now looked amused. This was going to be an interesting case, to say the very least…
Day/Theme: November 6, Feel the freedom like no tomorrow
Series: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego/Perfect Strangers
Characters: The Dying Informant and company, Balki and Larry, Sarah Nade
Rating: G (for now)
Cross posted to other places
Author’s note: This crossover fic was loosely inspired by the “Old Medley” version of the Genesis song “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.” As always, the characters aren’t mine, but the story is! Many thanks to LuckyLadybug and Quidget for plot help!
**King’s Palace, Mypos; 12:00 AM**
It was twelve in the morning in the small Mediterranean island of Mypos. All of its inhabitants—human and livestock—were asleep, but one outsider was wide awake, wandering through the halls of the king’s palace on a pair of rollerblades. Heavy metal music was audible through the headphones she wore over her ears and rainbow hair, but no one heard it—not even King Ferdinand, as he slumbered.
“It ain’t like Carmen to go around havin’ us yoink stuff for someone else…” she grumbled. “Why do they want a golden lamb, anyways?”
She blinked as she finally arrived in the treasury. There, on a pedestal was the golden statue of a lamb. Its eyes were set with glittering opals, and various other gems were embedded into its body. The entire lamb was just over a foot long.
“Now that’s what I call the Golden Fleece…” the girl murmured in approval.
There was no burglar alarm system; never in the history of Mypos had anyone dared to break into the palace. It took only a second for the young but experienced thief to grab the lamb and slip it into her backpack. But this plan was soon found to have one major flaw—her backpack was so full of CDs, the lamb’s head peered out the opening of the pack.
“Aww, nuts…” she grumbled.
Frustrated, she pulled some of the CDs out, fully concealed the lamb, and carried the CD in her hands as she rollerbladed through the corridors. Carmen had advised her against going out the same way she had come in; and so the girl headed down a different wing of the palace.
Unfortunately, this wing of the castle had been recently waxed, and the girl yelped as her rollerblade wheels slipped and skidded on the floor. She crashed into a pedestal that housed a large decorative urn. She fell over along with the pedestal and urn, her CDs scattering everywhere. Frantically, she picked up what she could and escaped through a window as voices started shouting all over the wing of the palace.
“Nice try, boyos!” the girl said. “But you gotta wake from your forty winks earlier than that to catch Sarah Nade!”
Cackling to herself, she rollerbladed on and out of sight. All she had to do was lay low until the V.I.L.E. helicopter came to pick her up.
Chicago Chronicle reporter Larry Appleton was preparing a cup of coffee; he needed one, badly—he had just gotten a call from one of his superiors, and he was not amused to find out that he had been assigned to follow a story about the notorious criminal mastermind, Carmen Sandiego. The chance to write a big story should have been a cause for celebration, but instead, Larry was now a bundle of nerves, trying to pass the assignment to someone else; his orders were to travel to New York City on the next available flight to follow up on the workings of the ACME Crimenet Detective Agency, in charge of keeping tabs on her. Apparently, there had been an alert of a very recent robbery by one of Carmen’s minions, but details were still sketchy.
“I don’t see why you’re so worried,” said his cheery Myposian cousin, blissfully unaware of what had occurred at his homeland only an hour ago.
“I’ve just been looking at some of the public information available on this Carmen Sandiego…” Larry said. “Her flunkies include a sadistic robot and a potentially violent bodybuilder. I have no desire to cross my path with either of them… or any other crook for that matter. Or have you forgotten how we were at the mercy of a simple burglar that one time when you were going on about Primodopoli?”
“Well of course not; don’t be ridiculous…” Balki.
“These crooks aren’t just mere burglars,” said Larry. “They’re burglars’ burglars.”
“Oh, good; then we have nothing to worry about…” said Balki. “We’re not burglars.”
“That’s not what I meant…” said Larry. “I mean that these are hardened criminals--”
He was cut off as the phone began to ring.
“Oh, please be a superior with a change of heart and assignment…” he prayed, taking it. “Hello…?” He blinked, holding the phone a little bit away from his ear as a shrill voice began speaking in Myposian. “Balki, it’s for you…”
“Why would Mama be calling now…?” the former sheepherder wondered aloud. “It’s one in the morning in Mypos…” He took the phone from Larry, beginning to talk to her. Larry blinked as Balki’s eyes widened in shock.
“What is it?”
Balki pulled the phone away.
“There’s been a robbery in King Ferdinand’s palace!” he said. “The thief stole our most precious national treasure, a statue of a golden lamb--”
“Balki!” the shrill voice over line called out to him.
“Oh…” He placed the phone back to his ear and talked for some more time. “It seems they found just one clue, but it’s not much to go on--”
“Balki!”
“…And Mama says that unless we catch that thief and get back the lamb, Mypos will suffer an unbearable national debt… and then Skeptos will probably annex us!” Balki shuddered in horror at the thought of their rival nation usurping them.
“Balki!”
”…And Mama is really worried about that happening…” Balki finished.
“Well… when did this happen…?” Larry asked.
“Just over an hour ago….”
Larry frowned. Odd… the ‘recent robbery’ that his superior had mentioned had taken place about an hour ago, too… Was it possible there was a connection?
“Balki…” he said. “I think my assignment to look into Carmen Sandiego’s gang might have something to do with Mypos’ missing lamb… I said they were hardcore thieves… They probably would’ve been the only ones capable of pulling this off.”
Balki glanced at him, his eyes wide.
“Cousin… Cousin, you must take me to New York with you when you follow the detectives!” he exclaimed. “I have to be there and receive the first news about the lamb!”
“Balki!”
“Oh…” Balki said his goodbyes to his mother and turned back to face Larry. “Please, Cousin, let me go to this detective agency!”
“Balki, I know that as a Mypiot, you feel as though you should get involved… But when you’re dealing with a criminal syndicate, it’s best to stay out of it,” said Larry. “In fact, I’m going straight to the top and call Mr. Wainwright to get me transferred to a different assignment.”
“But, Cousin--”
“No buts,” Larry replied, reaching for the phone. “I’m thinking about what’s best for us. I’m thinking about Jennifer and Mary Anne, and how they need us.”
“Oh, that reminds me…” said Balki. “I wonder what your replacement will talk to Jennifer about…”
“What are you talking about?” asked Larry.
“Jennifer and Mary Anne are working the next flight from Chicago to New York,” Balki replied. “They’re going to be in New York for a few days until they work a return flight.” He suppressed a smirk. “I’m just wondering what sort of chats your replacement will start with Jennifer while you’re waiting here in Chicago…”
Larry gave him a long, hard glare.
“Let’s pack,” he said.
The head Techie of ACME was hard at work in the computer lab. He had been the first to try to research as much as he could about the missing lamb and Mypos, but information was limited. The Chief was also going over the details of the case as the Myposian officials faxed her the information, but as of that moment, no one had been assigned to the case yet. Also interesting was the fact that the Myposian authorities had come to a private detective agency. He wasn’t sure why, but there must be an underlying reason… even though Mypos was a small country, one would think that they’d turn to some organization like Interpol… But they had chosen to contact ACME. And the Techie wanted to know why.
“Hey!” a young Rookie agent said, seeing him in there. “What’re you doing, working now? You make the rest of us look like underachievers…”
The Techie gave him a wan smile.
“I don’t know…” he sighed. “Sometimes I get a sixth sense about these things… And I think I’ll be put on this assignment, so I’ll get ready for it…”
“You know, I think the Messenger and the Informant have a sixth sense that they’ll be put on an assignment, too,” the Rookie replied. “That would explain why they’re trying to go all-out in playing a game of extreme table tennis; they probably want to get a game in before they head out…”
“Uh-huh…” the Techie said, but then blinked as he processed the boy’s words. “Did you say ‘extreme table tennis’…?”
“Yep, that’s right…” the Rookie replied, with a smirk. “I’m not sure what all of the rules are, but I do know that it involves two paddles in each hand, and entire box of ping pong balls in play, and a clause that states that there is no such thing as ‘out of bounds’…”
The Techie had to laugh at this, and the mental image it provided. But before he could respond, the Inspector paused by the door.
“You two are missing the semifinal round…” he announced.
“Oh, so they’ve finally decided to bring it to a close?” asked the Rookie.
“No; they’re both so exhausted, but aren’t about to let each other know,” said the Inspector. “I expect that after the next round or two, they’re going to have to call it quits…”
The Techie shook his head, transferring his work to his laptop. This, he had to see…
The Inspector led the way back to the rec room, and the Techie just stared and eventually laughed as he saw his friends running like mad all over the room, trying not to let the ping pong balls hit the ground.
“Ready… to… give in…?” the Messenger taunted, between gasps. “You… look tired…”
The Informant brandished his ping pong paddles like Raphael’s sai, gasping for breath, also.
“Never…” he promised.
The Inspector and the Rookie had brought snacks to watch the rest of this match, while the Techie sat down in one of the armchairs and resumed his work while looking up to see how the game progressed every couple minutes.
They were unaware of the two cousins wandering the streets of TriBeCa, looking for them. Balki and Larry had managed to take the next flight out to Newark with Jennifer and Mary Anne. The girls were back at the hotel, but Balki had insisted on meeting the detectives who were going to take the lost lamb case, trying to find the address that their superiors at the Chronicle had given Larry.
“Balki, why do we have to find those detectives tonight…?” Larry was asking. “They probably won’t be working this late…”
“Cousin, I need to make sure they know what’s at stake…” said Balki. “If Skeptos ends up annexing Mypos, it’s going to be terrible for everyone!”
“I know, I know…” said Larry. “But I still don’t think--”
Larry suddenly recoiled as they turned into an alley to see a bright-eyed Siamese cat staring at them, meowing.
“Hello…!” Balki said, kneeling in front of the cat and stroking it under the chin. The cat’s eyes closed in bliss, and she purred and meowed loudly.
“Balki, we’re here to find the detectives, not to greet every single alley cat that comes along--”
“Alley cat!?” a shrill voice repeated. “I resent that remark, young man! She’s a pure-breed Siamese!”
Balki stood up almost instantly as a grumpy-looking brunette woman approached them.
“Come here, Godiva…” she said to the cat. “If you’re looking for detectives, you’ll find them right over there…” She indicated a door in the alley.
“Thank you so much!” Balki exclaimed, giving her a hug like he would to anyone he was meeting for the first time.
The lady protested loudly at being suddenly glomped by a stranger, and Larry had to hastily pull his cousin away.
Inside, though, the lady’s loud protests had been heard by the detectives in the rec room.
“…Mrs. Pumpkinclanger…?” the Techie asked, blinking in surprise. He headed out the back door and into the alley. “Mrs. P, is everything alright?”
The lady harrumphed, gathering her cat and casting a derisive glance at the two cousins.
“You have visitors…” she huffed, heading back inside her apartment building.
The Techie sighed as she went back inside and turned to the two cousins.
“Sorry about her; she gets a little… moody when there’s too much noise out in the alley…” he said. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Hello…” said Balki, greeting him with a hug, as well. The Techie blinked, but tried not to look too put-out. “My name is Balki Bartokomous, and I used to be a former sheepherder on Mypos…”
And then the Techie nodded in understanding.
“You’re here to talk about the missing golden lamb?” he asked.
“Yes…” the Mypiot said. “It’s very important that my small island nation gets this lamb back… Otherwise, we’ll be up the creek without a poodle.”
The Techie blinked again as Larry slapped his forehead.
“Paddle…” he corrected his cousin. “Paddle.”
“…And… you are…?” the Techie asked.
“Oh, this is my Cousin Larry…” Balki said.
Larry sighed and shook the Techie’s hand.
“Larry Appleton, reporter for the Chicago Chronicle…” he said, showing the Techie his press ID. “I’ve been assigned by my superiors to follow this story…”
He trailed off as the Inspector entered the alley, checking in things after the Techie had not returned.
“Everything alright…?” he asked.
“Just fine…” said the Techie, with a smile. “We have a couple concerned citizens wanting to watch us handle the case. Meet Larry and Balki.”
The Inspector greeted Larry with a handshake, and also blinked as Balki proceeded to hug him, too. Larry glanced at him apologetically.
“You guys can come in…” he said. “Oh, and Techie? You missed the end of the extreme table tennis match…”
“Really? Who won?” asked the Techie, leading the cousins inside after making sure that their ID and records checked out.
“We’ll never know; they both gave up and collapsed into the armchairs…” He indicated the rec room, where the Informant and the Messenger were no longer wild and crazy blurs of motion, but recuperating with a couple cans of soda. Exhausted from their game, they could only muster feeble waves to the newcomers.
“Wwwwow…” said Balki, looking around. “You’ve got everything in this little building, don’t you…?”
“We’d like to think so…” said the Techie. “So… the case…” He pulled up the details on his laptop. “One of Mypos’ national treasures, a jeweled golden lamb, was stolen, and so the Myposian authorities have come to us for reasons still unknown.”
“I think I might know the answer,” said Larry. “I was assigned to come here to see you about a recent robbery by Carmen Sandiego’s syndicate.”
“You mean V.I.L.E.?” asked the Informant, raising his head as high as he could. “Stealing a golden statue would be right up their street. All we need is proof…”
“Apparently, there’s only one clue to the thief’s identity, which officials are not disclosing over any communication lines at the moment…” said the Techie.
“Guess that means one of our agents should take a trip to that Mypos place and see what they found…” said the Messenger, flinching at his newly-sore muscles.
“Who, though?” asked the Inspector. “No one’s been assigned to the case yet.”
“…I think we should volunteer to take the case,” said the Techie. The Messenger and the Informant both groaned at this suggestion, but nodded. “Thanks, guys…”
“You mean you are going to personally take the case and get the lamb back for my countrymen…?” Balki asked, touched. He began to thank him rapidly in Myposian, hugging him again as Larry once again tried to pull him away.
The Techie just blinked again as the Informant now looked amused. This was going to be an interesting case, to say the very least…