Missing Kittens and Missing Sense, A Wings Of Freedom Story

[Kami-Gaz]

“SIMON!” A female voice yelled as the door to the Rickshaw & Murphy, P.I office was thrown open, it was the middle of the afternoon and the agency hadn’t had a single case come there way since they opened. That was yesterday, but still. It was time they got their first case because their financial backer and guardian had been out all night putting up posters advertising the fact that this alternate form of detective existed, something new and different from the police that were corrupt. No, this new agency was clean and honourable. Willing to take the toughest of cases to see Water7 to be better, cleaning up the mean streets one crook at a time.

“You have a case!” The voice called again as a young woman strode through the door, she had just booted open. The owner of said voice was Annika Stratonovski, the blue haired and blue tattooed daughter of the Stratonovski family. She was also the recently emerged vigilante hero Anarchy Blue and was sporting some real bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. “Someone saw one of your posters and came to ask you for help!”

Following behind the young and uncharacteristically excited Annika was a shorter elder lady who was walking in, she herself looked to be rather wealthy. Her tidy and well-done white hair was in a bun to the back of her head and her glowing emerald eyes scanned the room. They were ringed with red puffy skin as if she had been crying and hard. “Y-yes…” She spoke after Annika to confirm the statement.

“This is Mrs Andry Litnovo, A valued member of the high society of water7 and mother of one of my father’s old business partners.” She spoke, explaining the woman and introducing her to Simon and Miguel, if he were here. “Mrs Litnovo, this is Private Eye Simon Rickshaw, and his partner Miguel Murphy… Where is Miguel?” She asked not quite sure of his whereabouts.

“P-pleasure to meet you.” The elderly woman spoke as she made her way to the middle of the room. Annika was moving a chair out for her to sit down in and held it in place, allowing Andry to sit down comfortably and rest her feet after having walked up all of those stairs. “Annika, dear, thank you for this… the police wouldn’t give me the time of day. I only want my Mittens back.” She spoke as she looked to the girl who now on closer inspection was still wearing most of last nights adventuring getup.

---

Post: 1
Annika: acd1fc
Mrs Andry Litnovo: a6a6a6

[Bobbie]

Miguel and Simon were both sitting in their office in their swivel chairs. Simon was holding the waste paper basket in his lap as he spun around in the chair, making the basket a more difficult target, while Miguel was sitting across the room with a notepad that had half of its papers torn out. One such paper was in his hand, crumpled into a ball - very much like the others that were mostly inside the waste paper basket and a few that were scattered on the floor.

“Hah! You must be getting old, Mickey.” Simon taunted as another crumpled paper missed its mark and bounced off Simon’s shoulder.

“Who are you calling old, you scrawny little shrimp!? I only missed that because you cheated, you can’t just speed up at random intervals!” Miguel retorted and the next paper ball was deliberately aimed at Simon’s head. "And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Mickey!?"

Struck by the crumpled sheet of paper, the man only laughed and continued smiling, prompting the basketball player to rapid fire nearly a dozen more at him.

Then Annika’s voice boomed through the air, the door kicked open.

The boys both turned to look at her, Miguel quickly stuffing the remainder of his ammunition behind him on the chair while Simon hurried to put the waste paper basket down and sober up, yet the frown on his face was terribly unnatural, he was just dying to smile. Like two naughty children who were misbehaving, they dragged their chairs closer to their desks where they should have been, the pair ignoring the mess that they made and playing innocent.

Miguel’s poker face, on the other hand, was flawless. He didn’t even need to try - the grumpy knot in his brow was the default position of his face.

“A case?” Simon was the first to ask as he stood up, while Miguel remained seated to keep the evidence hidden behind his back.

“What case?” Miguel chimed in.

Then both of them turned to look at the elderly lady who walked in after Annika, the puffiness of her eyes making it very clear that she had been upset about something. Could it be a missing child? Grandchild? A murder? A mugging? Robbery!?

Simon instantly grinned widely to the woman, “Hello ma’am. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can solve it…” he uttered, reassuringly.

“Mittens?” Simon echoed after her as his mind raced. He couldn’t believe it… after all their waiting for a case, they finally get one, and it’s…

A MISSING GRANDCHILD!

“Mrs Linovo… tell us, when was the last time you saw Mittens? Don’t leave out any details, and give a full description of them…” It was an odd nickname, but this woman looked like a grandmother, and it seemed once women reached a particular age, they developed a natural gift for all sorts of cute nicknames for the little ones in their family. It was perfectly plausible.

While Simon was immediately engaged, Miguel let out a long, frustrated sigh, clearly trying to keep his temper under control as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Simon, you gullible, gullible fool…

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2 

[Kami-Gaz]

Annika stood to the side as her* tired eyes watched the entire interaction, this was what they needed to get their feet on the ground and make a name for themselves. The way Simon was getting all into the gig and asking the questions that need asking was just cute… she really was tired, thinking of things as cute.

“Oh… I last saw him a few days ago in his pen.” The elderly woman began, bringing a finger to her chin as she tried to recall all of the details that would be of use to the nice man and his companion. “He…” She spoke, again pausing to think for a moment. It was excruciatingly slow. Her eyes flickered from side to side as her old brain was whirring away to get the information. “Yes… He is quite big, about as tall as your waist young man… His hair is a bright orange and has some black stripes in it. His eyes are like bright topaz!” Mrs Litnovo explained with a bright smile as she got the best of the details of her quarry out for Simon and his nice working partner.

Annika shook her head; she had met Mittens in the past when she was dragged along to an event held by Mrs Litnovo. What the old woman was saying was true… but if the boys could piece together what she was genuinely describing she would be impressed. They were going to be in for a shock when they actually met Mittens. “Oh Mrs Litnovo! Why don’t we go and show them the hole in the Pen.” She spoke before standing up and tall for everyone to notice her. “They can get clues and maybe follow any trail he left for them.”

“Such a good idea, you got your mothers smarts you did Annika my dear.” The old lady spoke as she made a move to stand up from the chair she had been sitting in as Simon fussed over her. “And your fathers devious wit.”

---

Post: 2
Annika: acd1fc
Mrs Andry Litnovo: a6a6a6

[Bobbie]

Simon nodded, a look of pure concentration on his face as he wrote down everything that the woman said in a little notepad. “Height till my waist, so that should be almost three feet tall, roughly… orange hair with a bit of black, mhm…” he nodded away as he jotted down these bullet points.

Miguel was now scowling as he watched Simon be so oblivious, although he had to admit that he was also slightly confused. What kind of domestic cat would be that large? It made him wonder if perhaps this actually was a toddler… with very oddly coloured hair. The only alternative that he could think of was a tiger, orange with black stripes, large, living in a pen… but who had a pet tiger named Mittens? “What’s his skin colour? What about his teeth, well-kept? Sharp?” he asked, trying to back the woman into a corner that would either confirm or refute his suspicions.

However, before she could answer, Simon sighed and interrupted, “Miguel, please… if you’re not interested in the case and are just going to turn it into a joke, then just stay here in the office, and I’ll take care of it.” He then turned back to the woman. “I’m very sorry, my partner’s upset that he lost a game of basketball, recently… so, this pen…” he uttered, taking that as confirmation that this was a young child who was left in some sort of play area.

“Annika is right, we should go and take a look at it. Did Mittens crawl through that hole to sneak out? Can he walk upright, or is he still moving around on all fours?”

As he asked his questions, he put his notepad away and stood up, eager to follow her to the last place where Mittens had been seen. Taking his suit jacket, he put that on and then his sunglasses, meeting Miguel’s gaze along the way.

“Come on, you can’t be serious…” his partner muttered quietly to him, “this is obviously not a case that is going to get us anywhere. It’s some kind of pet, a boring waste of our time.”

Simon frowned, “It’s not, and she needs our help. Stop being so grumpy about it and let’s get to work.” He whispered back, before turning to Mrs Litnovo with a bright smile. “After you, madam!”

With that, he went to the door and politely held it open for her, Annika, and even Miguel.

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2 

[Kami-Gaz]

The walk out of the Stratonovski estate was slow and tedious as Mrs Litnovo moved at a snail’s pace, something Annika didn’t mind as she casually strolled with her hands behind her head as she took slow yet large deliberate paces in a very relaxed way. The entire time she was watching the interaction between the two private eyes and doing her best to not laugh at the goings on. This was their job, and she shouldn’t interfere with it to ruin the experience for the boys.

“You both remind me of my boys!” The woman spoke as the passed the gate to get off of the estate and on the main canal street, parked just outside was a gondola with a Rabuka bull to pull it. The animal was larger than the average Yagara bull and had a driver sat at the head gently petting the head. “They both bickered like a married couple too!” She said before climbing up and into her seat that had a canopy to provide shade.

Annika hopped in and sat next to the woman and nodded. “Don’t worry, they have been like this since I met them.” The young woman spoke, her blue lipstick lips curling into a rare smile at the chance to mess with the guys in a fun way. “They are the best at what they do though.” She said after sitting back and relaxing. “I trust them both with my life.”

The group were now leisurely sailing down the canals on this big beast and the gondola it was pulling, all the other canal goers were moving aside due to the sheer size of it. The elderly lady smiled kindly as she heard the praise from Annika and nodded, her eyes opened to fall on the pair of men. “High praise from Annika, I remember when she was little and kept trying to beat up Folonzo because he never wore the clothes that she picked out for him.” Andry started chuckling and hid her mouth with a hand fan as it grew heartier. “Ohohohohohoh.”

Annika looked away and pulled her hood up, hiding cheeks that had started to tint red. She had also puffed them out like a child would have. Those memories came flooding back to her when she was more of a brat and instead of playing games and house, she bossed people around because it was what he mum and dad did. “He was being a butt and always laughed it off.” She pouted.

---

Post: 3
Annika: acd1fc
Mrs Andry Litnovo: a6a6a6

[Bobbie]

The pair continued to mumble to each other as they were having their own quiet argument of glares and angered whispers coming from Miguel and smiles and calmer mutterings from Simon. It wasn’t until the elderly woman addressed them that they quietened down.

Simon took it as a compliment with a kind smile, while Miguel rolled his eyes - until she continued to compare them to, if not actually mistake them for, a married couple. The smiling detective thought that was hilarious as his smile developed into a wide grin and he let out a hearty laugh. Miguel did not seem to take it so kindly, as his eye twitched. Seeing his work colleague getting agitated, Simon gently patted his shoulder to let him know that he would handle it.

“Ma’am, your boys must be lovely people, but Miguel and I are not married.” he explained as they both got onto the gondola with everybody else. “We’re just partners!”

Miguel’s eyes rolled, his head tilting back as he stared up at the sky, begging for the heavens to open up and a mighty lightning bolt to strike him dead - or Simon. He turned back to the cause of all his frustrations.

“Simon… you realise what you just said right?" Facing Mrs Litnovo once more, he began to explain. "We’re not that kind of partners.”

“What? We are partners… you and I, we’ve been together for a long time, don’t you remember all our good times back at the station?” Simon laughed, “Oh, do you remember our first night alone in the office? It was a very hot-”

“Stop talking! Your mouth, just keep it closed! Do you hear yourself while you speak?” Miguel snapped in a hiss and then turned to their client. “We’re work colleagues… nothing more.”

With a subtle pout and a sulk, Simon quietly added, “Partners is still the correct term…”

“But we’re not using that term right now, correct or not.” It was amazing that Miguel’s teeth hadn’t been ground down to half their size with how he was gritting them at Simon. For a brief moment, the foul-tempered man envisioned grabbing Simon’s head and violently dunking it under the water over the moving gondola’s rail. He even hoped his sunglasses would be lost in the water as he held him there…

Thankfully, before that fantasy could be made a reality, Simon moved on, oblivious. “Been a while since we’ve seen Folonzo…” he replied, now addressing Annika. It wasn’t really a complaint, Folonzo was a terrifying man, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t show his respect with an occasional friendly visit. He also did enjoy seeing Annika interact with him - she seemed to have such a special friendship with the man, that it warmed Simon’s heart to see her so comfortable and genuine with anyone.

“Okay, Mrs Litnovo, so is this the first time Mittens got lost?”

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2 

[Kami-Gaz]

Both of the women on the ride looked at each other and shared a soft chuckle at the argument that had begun, a moment of comedy to help alleviate the worries of the elderly Mrs Litnovo. It was nice and brought a kindly smile to her face for a moment before Simon addressed her again. It was a good question, one that was well worth asking to see where Mittens could be found if he had a tendency to head to a certain place. “No… He had never gotten lost before. He never left the home before on his own.” She explained in her kindly voice, that smile fading as the serious nature of this all came back to her.

Annika watched with intent as the pair interacted with the old family friend, her tiredness starting to tug on her as she wavered slightly with a blink but came back to her senses as the gondola they were on lurched to a standstill outside of a grand looking mansion, not as large as the Stratonovski Estate that had C.R.A.C.K Ships using half of the land as its headquarters, but still large.

“Please, follow me. I will show you Mitten’s pen.” The woman spoke as she climbed off of the gondola to the private jetty that led straight into her gardens, they were well maintained and looked fantastic. Flowerbeds were filled with all sorts of exotic and colourful plants and the walls were lined with hedges that were well trimmed with their own budding petals of colour. “His pen was over this way.” The elderly lady described.

Annika hung back to hide the smug look on her face as the group rounded a corner to see a massive cage that took up the entire corner of the complex. Inside said cage was a large wilderness like landscape and a house suitable for a small family. To one of the sides was a hole cut into the crisscrossing metal wires that formed the cage and bent inwards. A set of dragging tracks could be seen pulling something large out behind at least two pairs of footsteps. “See this is how Mittens pen is broken!” Mrs Litnovo spoke with urgency.

“Look broken into if you ask me.” Annika spoke as she finally walked up to be level with the group. “You figured it out yet boys? Who Mittens is?”

---

Post: 4
Annika: acd1fc
Mrs Andry Litnovo: a6a6a6

[Bobbie]

While Mrs Litnovo spoke, Simon continued to write notes in his little spiral notebook. Curious, Miguel peered over to try and see what it was exactly that the master detective considered such crucial information that needed to be documented. However, before he got the chance, the gondola lurched to a halt and the notebook was put away and everybody was leaving the vessel.

With a gentle nod, Simon followed the elderly woman, moving at her pace as he took the time to admire the environment around them. Everything looked so… tropical. The plants were all shades of green, and there were so many different bright colours of flowers and buds that made the whole scene pop. Chuckling, he thought that this must be what it felt like to hike through a rainforest. Miguel on the other hand, was less amused but equally curious. The smile that Simon wore on his face was mirrored in its opposite form, a frown seemingly permanent on the man’s face.

“What the…” Miguel quietly whispered as they reached the cage, unable to keep his mouth closed as he stared at it, his eyes wide. “She must really love her cat.” He continued with a sarcastic remark that earned him an elbow jab from Simon.

“Mrs Litnovo, this is…” it seemed that even the Smiling Man was having a hard time with his words. “Is… Is Mittens happy living in here, would you say?” he asked, sceptically though respectfully nonetheless. His gaze wandered to the massive hole in the cage and Simon’s smile wavered - Annika was right, that looked like it was broken into…

“This is worrying... for Mittens to grow up in a cage like this. What's more, I now realise this no standard missing child case…” Simon began, turning to Miguel and Annika as he lowered his voice and now had a deathly serious expression on his face.

“You finally get it.”

“Yes.” He nodded and then shook his head. “It’s despicable… This was an abduction. Her grandchild was abducted, do you know how expensive children’s organs are on the black market? More than triple of an adult’s.”

“IT’S NOT A CHILD!” Miguel couldn’t take it anymore as his face was red with frustration and his head figuratively inflated to double in size and tower over a shrinking Simon, his teeth razor sharp. Clearing his throat, he recomposed himself.

“Of course I’ve figured it out, Simon is just… living in his own world.”

Simon, having taken a step away from Miguel to be closer to Annika sighed and joined the circle once more. “I just think we should leave all options open. Look, if you're so sure it's a cat, what kind of cat lives in such a huge cage with such a massive house? She clearly doesn’t have more than just the one - Mittens - so…” as Simon relented on his theory and let go, he continued, “Apart from being spoilt, it must be a very rare breed of cat that is worth a lot of money. Either way, that cage was not broken out of… it was broken into.”

With this, Miguel had to agree, “What was her description of the cat? Bright orange, black stripes? Reaches Simon’s waist in height.”

“Sounds like a tiger, if you ask me.” Simon shrugged, considering all possibilities once more.

Miguel rolled his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, I’ve never heard of anyone owning a pet tiger… and naming it ‘Mittens’… maybe some kind of crossbreed that will definitely render it high value.”

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2 

[Kami-Gaz]

Annika giggled softly at how Simon was now only finally getting it. Though now Miguel was denying the obvious truth here. The young vigilante shook her head and let her eyes follow the dragging marks in the grass as they got to the small dock where the yagara bull and the gondolas would normally be parked.

“You know I think we should start asking people who see what goes on around here if they saw anything… if not we can always go and ask some of Fonzie’s contacts if a Tiger has popped up in the black market…” The young woman spoke softly as the pair were still deducting on what kind of cat this was. It was best she kicked their backsides into gear otherwise they would be doing that all day and find the wrong answer!

With the theory proposed by Simon the elderly woman clutched at her chest as tears welled up in her eyes. “They’re going to take my babies organs!?” She wailed as tears streamed from her eyes and she fell to her knees. She began hyperventilating as a security guard barrelled outside with a paper bag and held it to her face as he patted her back comfortingly.

“Please! Find my baby! I don’t want anything to happen to him!” She cried as Annika walked back and cringed at the sight… Simon had gone and done it now. This was going to add a sense of urgency to the matter.

“We will do Mrs Litnovo! They will find your baby and bring real justice to the people that took Mittens.” She proclaimed, doing her best to hold back making a meaningful pose as she was not in her mask or alternate persona called Anarchy Blue. The urge was always there for that though.

---

Post: 5
Annika: acd1fc
Mrs Andry Litnovo: a6a6a6

[Bobbie]

The pair continued to argue back and forth while Annika focussed on the real matter at hand - in truth, whether it was a tiger or not hardly mattered at this point. What did matter was that whatever creature this was needed to be brought back to Mrs Litnovo. However, Simon was now convinced. Mittens is a tiger.

Their arguing came to a sudden halt as their one and only client began wailing for her baby to be saved. Both men were silenced in an instant as all their attention was now on the woman who abruptly dropped to her knees, clutching her chest. Both men were speechless. Both men allowed their jaws to drop open in disbelief. Both men stared… and blinked.

“You’ve given her a panic attack…” Miguel was the first one to break the silence between them, whispering in horror. They could lose their only client.

“No, it’s… not a panic attack, she’s just…” Simon really tried to explain his way out of it, but as his eyes narrowed, he shook his head and rushed to the woman instead, following right after Annika and the security guard. “Are you okay, Mrs Litnovo? We’re going to find your baby… we’ll find Mittens and bring him back to you safely. I promise.” With a calm, heartfelt smile, he gently put a hand on her shoulder, leaning forward to be at her eye level. Then he rose to his feet and turned around to face an incredulous Miguel, his hands on his hips and with a beaming grin on his face. One which did not amuse his business partner in the slightest.

What was worse was that when Miguel looked at Annika, he could see it… every cell in her body was fighting the urge to stand in a heroic stance not unlike Simon’s. Rolling his eyes, he let out a groan and slumped forward. “Alright, let’s go find Mittens then… get in touch with-”

As Simon cleared his throat, Miguel paused, straightening up and looking at him. “What?”

“As the lead private investigator on this case…”

“Are you serious right now?”

“I say we get in touch with Fonzie and see if he’s heard of any Tiger popping up in the black market.” He repeated Annika’s suggestion, very well aware that it was not his original idea - which he indicated by a cheeky smile in the girl’s direction - and while it would be terrible to admit this as it was at the expense of poor Mrs Litnovo… he was once again filled with excitement, loving every moment of his new job.

“Let’s go! While Annika takes care of that, Miguel and I will follow these tracks and see where they lead and she can meet us when she's done! Along the way, we’ll ask anybody else who might have seen something - a tiger is quite a big animal, after all…”

“If it really is a tiger…”

        “It is a tiger.”

                “Maybe a metaphorical one…”

                        “It’s a tiger.”

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2 

[Kami-Gaz]

The blue haired young woman watched as Simon tried to comfort the woman that he had caused to spiral into a full-blown panic attack. The security guards at her side were also doing their best as they helped her into a lawn chair, held a paper back for her to breath into and one also fanned the woman with a comically oversized paper fan of Shimoske Village design.

The exchange between the two detectives was next and brought a smile to the young vigilante’s face, seeing Simon exert his part as the leading man on this case. The exacerbation on Miguel’s face almost made the young woman laugh as she made a move to follow the pair off of the estate to follow the tracks and to see if there were any leads for a tiger.

“I’ll call Fonzie on my Den Den, you two keep investigating! I’ll follow close.” She spoke as her hand dipped into the pouch that was worn around her waist, a moment later a small snail with a blue shell. On the side she punched in some numbers on the number pad and then picked up the small handset to speak into as the snails mouth quivered. It was trying to connect to the Snail Fonzie carried.

“Peri peri peri peri peri. Peri peri peri peri peri.” It hummed, the eyes closed. “Peri peri peri peri peri. Peri peri peri pe- Cachank.” The snail finally connected.

“You got Folonzo! What’s cracking?” The familiar voice of Folonzo ‘The Ship Breaker’ rang out from the snail.

“Hey Fonzie!” Annika spoke with a bright tone that most would consider out of character, but around the bodyguard she was always happy and bubbly. “I’m hanging with Private Eyes today and they got their first job!”

“Oh? Numbskull and Simon got a job! Nice!” The man replied. “Something tells me you want my help for something Bluebell.”

The young woman’s face scrunched up with the nickname as if she had just eaten a sour sweet. “Bingo! Have you seen anything about a tiger on the black market? Miss Litnovo’s was catnapped last night, and she got Simon and Miguel to look for him.” Annika explained as she absent mindedly followed her companions footsteps, not doing anything to keep this conversation private. It would be good for them to hear.

“I’ve not checked in with those for a few days… Give me an hour and I’ll get back to you!” The snail said before sticking out its tongue and hanging up.

---

Post: 6
Annika: acd1fc
Mrs Andry Litnovo: a6a6a6
Fonzie: ce5a3d

[Bobbie]

As Simon and Miguel left the estate with Annika following behind them, they continued to discuss the best way to go about this investigation. Miguel was quite reluctant to go around asking people if they saw a tiger, so they came to an agreement - Simon would focus on the tiger’s whereabouts, while Miguel would focus on the kidnappers’ identity.

It was a pity they had no photo of Mittens, as that would have made this job a lot easier. Of course, this didn’t bother Simon in the slightest, as it took him back to some good old detective work with a pen and paper, and scribbled descriptions - perhaps even a sketch… but he wasn’t enough of an artist. No, Simon’s artistic skills lay in cooking, not so much in drawing. He considered asking Miguel, but the only talent Simon knew he excelled at was sport, basketball specifically, and eyebrow twitching if that counted… He had some remarkably flexible eyebrows.

Their starting point was the people who lived nearby, as, surely, the kidnapping of a tiger had to have been seen by somebody in the vicinity! Neighbours, passers-by, anybody out on a balcony… but first, they both agreed to search for any clues in the streets.

“If I were a tiger, where would I be taken?” Simon asked when the pair paused at a fork.

“Is that the best question you could think of asking? Really? Instead of putting yourself in the kidnapper’s shoes, you’re putting yourself in the tiger’s situation…” Miguel replied, staring at Simon in disbelief. It was amazing how he had the success that he ever did back in his old job, as he was once again reminded of the frustration he felt by this man’s unbelievable luck.

Humming to himself, Simon scratched his chin, his eyes fixed on the ground in search for clues.

“Well, if I were a kidnapper, I would need something to lure a… big cat… out of an estate like this one. Either that or I’d have to tranquilise it, which would mean some heavy lifting… or dragging.” Pausing, Miguel’s gaze was also lowered to the floor, in search of any signs something large had been carried. Simon seemed to have a similar idea as he began to walk down the street along the fence, eyeing the bottom of it closely with a little arch in his back.

“Miguel…” Turning back to his partner, he pointed down at a tuft of fur that must have been snagged on a sharp splintered edge of the fence. Its orange was dulled with dirt the fibres looked worn.

Miguel, however, managed to get distracted by something else, as he yelled in the direction of the Den Den, “Who are you calling numbskull!? Make yourself useful and do something with your underground connections!”

Sighing, Simon walked over to them, just as the call was ended. “Bluebell, huh? That’s cute, I like it,” the man said with a big grin on his face, perhaps hoping to defuse the situation. “Has Folonzo heard anything about any tiger organs or maybe a tiger pelt on the market? Also, thanks to Miguel's comment, I think I might have picked up on a little trail…”

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2 

[Kami-Gaz]

As the call ended with the snail uttering the disconnection noise of ‘Ca-chank’, Annika shot her famous icy glare over to the grumpy of the two private eyes. She was about to open her mouth to respond to him as Simon arrived and opened his big mouth picking up the nick name. Why?! That was super embarrassing and something only Fonzie could do because he had been doing it since she was a little girl!

Her cheeks exploded into a red colour that clashed hard with the tattoo that crept onto one of them under her eye. “H-he’s only just started to look…” The young vigilante spoke softly, looking away as she put the snail phone back into her belt pouch. Why did Simon calling her that disarm her so much!? With a moment she took in a breath and let out a forced sigh to calm herself. She was tired, that was all it was… tiredness was making her slip.

She rounded her gaze on Miguel and returned to the icy glare. “You’re certainly brave when Fonzie isn’t nearby, Miguel.” She announced, that confident cold voice returning as she made her way to be ahead of the pair in their travels. “I dare you to say the same when you next see him!” Annika teased as she climbed into the boat that they used to get to the mansions garden. The tracks of the tiger being dragged stopped here.

“What’s your idea Simon?” She asked, sitting down and getting comfortable in the vessel.

---

Post: 7
Annika: acd1fc
Mrs Andry Litnovo: a6a6a6
Fonzie: ce5a3d

[Bobbie]

Annika’s reaction to Simon calling her Bluebell like Folonzo did was certainly far better than he expected. It warmed his heart to see such a genuine response and, quite frankly, an absolutely adorable one. He couldn’t keep his own smile from growing, his perfect teeth pressed together and dimples burrowing deep into his cheeks in a pure expression of affection.

Miguel was also quite stunned to see how the girl’s face lit up while her very demeanour appeared to shrink. While Simon was chuckling away, proudly, Miguel raised his brow, but didn’t say anything about it. Not yet.

Annika took it upon herself to break the silence next. While her icy glare returned and fell upon Miguel, Simon’s success at easing the tension prevented it from being anything more than a playful jab. “Yeah, because I’m here, working hard, while he’s sitting on his arse, not doing very much,” he replied as he followed her and Simon. “I will say it next time, just watch.”

Simon rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses and boarded the boat they were on earlier to make their way to the mansion. Once he was comfortable, he sat back and looked out toward the water, considering where to go as he was asked for his idea. In truth, he didn't have one, the trail seemed to end here - of course, the perpetrators must have had their own boat, most likely privately owned.

For all his snarky remarks earlier, even Miguel was quiet and waiting for Simon’s idea, as he was at quite a loss himself.

“There can’t be that many places to park a boat with an unconscious tiger on it and go unnoticed along this canal…” pausing, he turned his head to look the other way. Reaching up, he removed his sunglasses to reveal a look of pure concentration, eyes narrowed, before his other hand also rose to run through his hair. His hair was so fine that his fringe instantly just fell back into place the moment his hand left it. “I suppose the first thing we need to look for is a secluded place where cargo as large and heavy as that could be transported easily. Most likely not far off from their actual location where they’d store it for the same purpose of avoiding being seen.” He put his sunglasses back on, then turned to look at Annika with his lips a dead serious expression, something of a frown, even. Then he smiled.

“Alright, so that rules out any canals that lead to any local market or entertainment centres buzzing with activity - makes sense, they’d be out in the open so it’s a no-go.” Fetching a folded map from his jacket pocket, he opened it up to occupy all the space between them. “These two are the only canals that don’t lead to widely public spaces or commercial businesses from where we currently sit.” As Miguel pointed at two connecting canals that he was considering, he sighed, “Anything else would mean too much time parading along the canals and they’ll be spotted.”

“But which one of the two should we go through first?”

“My guess would be whichever one has least residents and shopping outlets.” Simon’s second in command offered, pointing to one of the two.

P.I. Rickshaw, however, snapped his fingers and pointed to the other one instead. “Wait, Annika, wasn’t there some PipsiCo retail branch in this area that recently closed down? That would give these catnappers the perfect location to hold the tiger captive in a relatively undisturbed space.”

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Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2 

[Kami-Gaz]

Annika listened to two men hypothesise as she leaned back into her seat in the gondola and shut her eyes to rest them. How many days had it been since she had a real amount of sleep beyond a few catnaps that were barely more than a handful of hours? Too many, and it was starting to catch up with her. Why was this city so rife with small crime? The police presence was basically doing nothing to deter it!

She let out a soft sight as she drifted away ever so slightly letting the detectives discover that the canals around this area of the city lead to no real places that would work for hiding a Tiger. That was until she was addressed directly by Simon. She didn’t even open her eyes to look as he asked his question, but she did crack a sly smile. He had really been listening to some of her earlier rants.

“Mhm.” She hummed, moving, and opening her eyes to look at the pair. “There was one that closed down last month for renovations but due to uncertain times and some layoffs the building has been left abandoned since. Insiders say they might sell it off.” Annika explained with confidence as she took a look at the area around them and stood to lean over the boys to give the driver instructions.

“Can you drop us at the old retail park and dock? We have a lead to follow.” She said, the man who was controlling the bull nodded and started to send them in that direction. As she sat back down she looked at Simon with a look of pride in her icy eyes. “Good job! That was a smart line of thinking Simon!”

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Post: 8
Annika: acd1fc
Mrs Andry Litnovo: a6a6a6
Fonzie: ce5a3d