Premonitions Ch. 4

Chapter 4

The following morning the ninja boy woke with a perfect recollection of the strange dream he had had just a few hours ago; there had been no image and the sounds were garbled. Conversations were heard, but they were not heard, all melting into nothing but tones of feminine and masculine voices. He could pick out sounds of traffic and shouting, but nothing came in clearly. His unconscious mind managed to pick up the faint smell and taste of something he knew he was familiar with, but for the life of him could not make a connection.

However, after a bit of probing his conscious mind recognized both; pizza. And not just any pizza, the chameleon recalled that the Chaotix had only had it a few times.

He knew the pizzeria was the only of its kind, being a family-owned business in the very middle of the city, near the busiest buildings and businesses. The biggest difference between it and competitors was quality, the food tasting as if it had taken generations to perfect and it clearly showed. Because of this, the pizzeria itself was almost always packed with customers. And, as the Chaotix had learned on their last visit, delivery was limited to a very small radius.

Espio climbed out of bed with a grin on his face, admittedly he was worried at how drastically Lily’s messages had changed from crystal clarity to the mess he dreamt of, but thanks to those small clues they already found where to begin their search.

OoOoO

The two chameleons and familiar returned to the Chaotix Detective Agency after training and Espio immediately retrieved a map of Station Square and showed it to his fellow detectives.

He circled a small area with a light pencil circle, “Lily has to be somewhere in this area.” He told them, explaining the message sent by Lily as well as his reasoning.

“How do ya know they aren’t just pickin’ it up from there and takin’ it ta their hideout?” Kaity asked

“Because it’s almost always full of people, the risk of someone recognizing them as a member of the Brotherhood or running into a policeman or woman is too high. Phase wouldn’t risk something like that. Plus, it’s the only pizza place that delivers to that area anymore.”

“…I guess that makes sense…”

“But that’s still a pretty big area,” Vector said, glancing at the map, “Not to mention busy. Getting around and searching buildings wouldn’t be as easy. We could get picked up for breaking and entering if we tried searching the abandoned places around there.”

Charmy nodded, “Plus they might see us or something and kill Lily before we can even find them.”

Espio sighed and nodded, “It would be faster if we could all split up and search, but you both make valid points…I suppose Kaity and I would have to search the area, then.”

“While you two do that me and Charmy can go talk to the workers at the pizzeria, maybe they’ll remember any strange orders they’ve gotten recently.” Vector offered.

The chameleon boy nodded, “Seems like an idea. If anything turns up, call us.” He said, gesturing for his apprentice to follow him. He stopped abruptly at the door, the younger chameleon nearly crashing into him. “And Vector, if you two are planning on buying pizza, save some for the rest of us.”

“No promises.” Vector said with a toothy grin.

OoOoO

The croc and bee made their way into the pizza parlor, the small space was packed with people eating in or waiting in line for their orders, just as the detectives had expected. The two made their way around the crowd and to one side of the counter, immediately getting the attention of the young blond behind the counter.

She smiled at them, “Hi, how can I help you?” She asked in a practiced cheery tone.

“Hi, I’m Vector, from the Chaotix. We’re investigating a kidnapping and have reason to believe the kidnappers may have been ordering from here recently.”

The girl’s expression changed to concern, “Oh my…”

Vector nodded, “Have you gotten any orders to any strange places? Abandoned or old or anything out of the ordinary?”

The girl shook her head, “I’m sorry, but I really wouldn’t know…I’d tell you to talk with my cousin, he does the deliveries, but his car’s in the shop, so we gave him the day off…he isn’t so good with cooking.”

“So you aren’t delivering today?” The little bee cut in before his boss could start talking.

The girl shook her head, “Not today, sugar. We’ve told everyone who’s called in deliveries, and most have just come in for their orders.” The human paused for a beat, suddenly realizing what the bee was thinking, “You don’t think the kidnappers will be here, do you?” Her voice took a pitch of panic at the thought.

“Maybe, but if they haven’t been through yet, we’ll catch ‘em.” Vector said assuredly.
The girl smiled faintly, looking a bit more relaxed at the promise. “Thank you, detective…”

The green crocodile smiled and nodded, glancing at the crowd around them. He turned his attention to a blue jay who had quickly averted his eyes as the detective looked up. The bird’s hand moved to cover an arm band, but the croc’s keen eyes had already zeroed in on and identified the symbol as a familiar red rose; the sign of the Blood Rose Brotherhood.

“Charmy; look.” Vector lightly elbowed the bee next to him and gestured to the Brotherhood member.

The blue jay approached the counter as the group of teenagers in front of him picked up and paid for their order. “Hi, pick up for Jay.” He said to the older man running the register.

The human man nodded and rung up the order, handing Jay the pizza and accepting his cash payment. “Have a good day.” The man at the register beamed. Jay nodded, offering a small smile before turning and hurrying out the door.

“We’re gonna follow him, right Vector?” Charmy turned to the reptile.

Vector nodded, “You bet, kiddo. Let’s go before we lose him.” The two hurried out the door, keeping well behind the bird and diving to hiding places when the Brotherhood member would turn to look behind him.

The trail ended at a motel with several stories to it. The bird made his way up the wrought iron stairs and into a room labeled with an upside down nine, the number hardly hanging on.

“Perfect, now we know exactly where to find Lily.” Vector said with a grin, “They’ll probably put up a fight, so let’s go get Espio and Kaity before we do anything.”

Charmy nodded, “Yessir~!” the six year old buzzed off after his boss as the croc pulled out a cellphone to call their chameleon allies.

OoooO

“You’re positive you saw them come here?” Espio asked skeptically.

Vector nodded, “Positive. They’re in room nine.”

The chameleon boy did not appear to believe the older reptile but sighed and shook his head, “I suppose it’s worth looking into if it’s a lead…not that Kaity and I found any.” He sounded slightly irritated as he spoke, “We should probably hurry.”

The other nodded and followed the ninja up the same stairs the Brotherhood blue jay had ascended not long before. Vector all but knocked the door off its hinges as he forced it open, the nine finally gave in and fell to the concrete ground with a resounding ‘clang’.

The room was empty.

“Ya sure the room was nine?” Kaity asked, looking around the room.

“Unless six is between eight and ten now, then yeah I’m sure.” Vector answered curtly.

“They must’ve left just after you did…you say the blue jay saw you?” Espio asked, glancing at the bee and croc.

Charmy nodded, “Yeah, at the pizza place. But we were careful when we followed him here.”

The ninja boy sighed irritably, pinching the bridge of his horn, “Well they’re gone again and we have no idea where they’ve went…now that they know we’re so close they may kill Lily.”

“She’s still important ta ‘em, though.” Kaity pointed out, “If they were gonna kill ‘er, they’d’ve done it and left ‘er ‘ere.”

Vector nodded, “She’s right. If they’re using her to commit the crimes around the city, then they won’t kill her until they’re done with her. There’s still plenty of places they haven’t hit yet. We’ve still got time.”

Espio crosses his arms and headed out of the room, “Well for Lily’s sake, we’d better find her before they rob this city blind.” He paused a beat, “No pun intended.”