The Spies Abduction Case Pt. 1

Abandoned Warehouse, Los Angeles
11:56 P.M.

He usually didn't hire someone to do his dirty work for him, but in this case he didn't have much of a choice. With WOOHP surely looking out for him, he'd have to do this discreetly. While it was he who arranged the meeting, the individual he wanted to hire set up the time and place. Though why here, and at this time of night, was beyond his reason. But just in case, he stationed a few more men around the perimeter if the meeting went belly-up along with the two men he had with him.

The warehouse room was mostly dark. The only visible light was the one that hung over the rounded table in the center of the room. The light was mostly focused on the table, so the faces of the four people at it, himself, his two hired muscle on one side and a lone, female figure on the other, were hidden in the shadows. While the three men together sat still like professional businessmen, the lone figure sat with the chair leaning on its two back legs and her feet on the table. After a minute of silence, the middle man of the three spoke.

"I understand you're one of the best freelances in California..." he said. "Is this true?"

"Why don't you ask your yes-men to check their pockets for their weapons and wallets?" the lone figure replied.

The middle man gave a slight motion with his right hand, telling his men to do what the girl said. The two men checked their jacket pockets casually, where they usually kept their tasers, non-lethal weapons as their boss requested. Feeling around inside for a moment, the two showed concern. Frantically, they both checked their back pants pockets for their wallets. Unsuccessful with that, they began searching all their pockets until the loner made her move. Returning her feet from the table to the floor, she reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulled out two wallets and two tasers, and placed them on the table, sliding them to their rightful owners.

"That enough proof for you?" the thief asked with a shadow-hidden smile on her face.

"Impressive" the middle man commented. "You'll do nicely"

"So..." the thief said as she propped her feet up again. "What do you want? Obviously you want me to rob or nab someone"

"The job is a kidnapping, yes"

"Target?"

"Three targets, actually" Snapping his fingers, the man on his left pulled out a manilla envelope and slid it across the table. The lone figure opened the envelope and studied the pictures of three teenaged girls. After observing the photos, she placed them down and looked at her employer.

"You're asking me to nab three Beverly Hills girls?" she asked.

"Don't judge them by their appearance" her employer warned. "They're tougher than they look"

"Oh, so you come cryin' to me because you don't want your ass kicked, Mr...?"

"You can refer to me as Mac Smit" he said, his tone still calm. "And no, I would do this myself but I have too much heat on me. I'm willing to pay for any price you want"

Looking over the photos again, the loner studied them a little more. After looking over those and the included floor plan of the villa the girls shared, she made her price.

"I want $25,000. Half now; other half after the job's done"

"That much? Reasonable" Waving his hand, he signaled for the man on his right to present a metal briefcase. After it slid across the table, the lone person opened the case, revealing over seven thousand five hundred dollars inside. Counting it quickly in her head, the figure closed the case and began to get up, facing the criminals across from her to ask one more question.

"Just out of curiosity, besides the fact that they're as tough as you say, what's so important about these three?"

"I have my reasons" Smit said. He motioned for his men to rise and followed suit. "This isn't going to go against your conscience, Miss...?"

"Natalia. And don't you worry. You'll get your dream girls in a few hours. I'll call when I have them to tell you where to pick them up..."

----

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
9:34 A.M. (The Next Day)

The flight from Tokyo had just now arrived. The beginning of Spring Break dawned and many of the plane's passengers were tourists preparing for a week of enjoyment. However, one such passenger wasn't so much part of the tourist crowd but rather of the traveler crowd. He was a seventeen year old at best, caucasian, with short, wild-like brown hair covering most of his forehead. He wore his usual clothes, which consisted of a white short sleeve T-shirt, a dark navy blue button-up shirt opened with the sleeves rolled up, jeans, and sneakers. The only things he brought with him on the flight were his cellphone, iPod, and a black carry-on duffel bag; he would only be around for a few days.

He exited the airport, listening to Coltrane as he went, toward the cab area. He had a tired look on his face, what you'd expect from flying halfway around the world for half the day. Still, he was fairly happy to be here. It was the first time he had been to the states in quite some time.

"Welcome to L.A, Stokes" the teenager thought to himself as he hailed a cab. Eventually, one yellow cab came and stopped at the teenager's spot.

"Where to..?" the cab driver asked as the teenager hopped in.

"Beverly Hills. I'll point out which house..."  

----

Spies' Villa, Beverly Hills
10:06 A.M

The taxi cab had dropped him of a second ago, in front of a high-class, movie star worthy villa.

"Nice" the teenager commented as he walked up to the door. "My aunt and her friends must've been on something to let their daughters stay together in this high-class neighborhood. Thank 'Eat, Pray, Love,' huh?"

He rang the door bell as stepped in front of the door, waiting for someone to open it. After ringing the bell again and not receiving a response, the teenager tried the door handle. Much to his surprise, it was open.

"Hello?" he asked as he entered the villa. "Anybody home?"

Obviously, no one was inside the house itself but the fact that the door was unlocked showed that someone had to be nearby. The teenager placed his luggage on the nearby couch and started to give himself a guided tour...

----

"Sun, clear blue skies, and this month's issue of Trendy Teen? What more could a girl ask for?"

Clover was enjoying the freedom of Spring Break. After saving the world from madmen and master criminals over the last few weeks, she, along with Sam and Alex, felt that she earned a well deserved rest. Sam had gone out and Alex was still asleep but Clover was already going about her business, relaxing by the poolside, catching a tan as a result. She wore a white one piece swimsuit with a red towel around her waist and white rimmed sunglasses, simple for her 'mission.' Clover had just turned to the formal wear section of the issue. "Now, that's what I'm going to wear to the formal this year" Clover thought, her finger tapping on a picture of a beautiful red satin dress with sequins stitched down the sides. "With that dress, I'll be able to upstage Mandy!"

She had only looked at the magazine for a few more minutes until she noticed the time on her wristwatch. Sam would be back from her jog in a few minutes and she would have to wake up Alex in a second. The trio were planning to head by the Groove that afternoon as part of their 'official' kickoff for Spring Break. Suddenly, Clover heard footsteps coming from behind her chair, assuming they came from her friend.

"Morning, Alex!" Clover greeted to the approacher with a chipper.

"Sorry..." she noticed immediately it wasn't her friend. "But you got the wrong guy" Clover turned her head from the lounge chair and raised her sunglasses to get a better look. To her surprise, she saw an attractive guy.

"Wow! Ergh, I mean... Hi, there" Clover saved breath from her surprise. "I'm Clover" She extended the courtesy of shaking hands.

"Warrick Stokes" the guy explained, accepting the gesture. "I just got here from LAX. Did you not hear the doorbell or something?"

"Guess I was too focused on my magazine" Clover giggled. "Who the heck is this guy? Shouldn't the alarm have gone off?" She cast a suspicious glance at Warrick, following him back into the house. "He could be a bad guy, though, but I'll an eye on him just to be sure. So, Warrick, you mind explaining why you're here?"

"Huh? Did Sam not mention me?" he asked, turning around to face Clover. "I'm her... Owww!" Warrick yelped as he felt a blow come to the back of his neck, causing him to drop to the ground.

"That's what you get, intruder!" Warrick looked up to see Alex, still clad in her PJs. It was only after she got a good look at him that she realized her error. "Wait... you're not a... oh boy..."

"What the heck, woman!?" Warrick shouted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm here for five minutes and I'm already...!"

"What's with all the shouting... Warrick?" Everyone turned to see Sam enter the building, sweat pouring down her face after her run. She had a fairly surprised look on her face, seeing the individual on the floor. "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't you get your mom's email?" he asked, a little hint of confusion in his voice as he pulled himself off the floor. "The old guy told her I was coming"

"Um, Sam. Hate interrupting but you mind telling us who the heck this is?" Clover asked. "He said he knew you"

"Right. Well, girls, this is Warrick Stokes. He's my cousin from Tokyo"

"Cousin?" Alex looked at Warrick, then glanced at her redheaded friend, then at Warrick again. "He kinda looks like you but... wait, where!?"

"You heard her right" Warrick explained, dropping onto the couch. "To keep a long story short: My dad, Sam's uncle, got a job transfer a little after I was born, taking forensics with Tokyo Metro. I've lived in the city ever since"

"So, what brings you here again?" Clover asked, her arms crossed.

"It's Spring Break! I wanted to visit with family in the states. Is that so much to ask?" All he received was an awkward silence. "Did I say something?"

"Well, Warrick..." Sam tried to explain. "You kind of came a litpphh!" her mouth was covered by Clover's hand.

"Sorry, Warrick! I just need to borrow these two for a sec" Clover said, dragging Alex and Sam by their shirt collars out of the living room and into the bathroom, leaving a confused Warrick. "Conference time, ladies...."

----

"Sam! Why didn't you say you had a cousin headed here?" Clover asked, her hand on the side of the bathroom sink.

"I'm just as surprised as you are" Sam answered. "I guess I just haven't checked e-mails in awhile"

"Come on, it's not that bad" Alex said, fairly optimistic. "He seems pretty nice enough"

"It's not like that, Alex. I'm just worried that if we get another missionnnnnnnnnn....!" Just when Sam said the word 'mission', the bathroom floor had opened up, sucking the trio into the long chutes leading toward WOOHP.

"This is a horrible time to get WOOHP-ed!" Sam squealed. "If Warrick finds out we're gone, he'll figure us out!"

"Why on earth did Jerry have to put a tunnel in the bathroom!?!" Clover screamed. "Has he ever heard... oh! Who am I kidding?!" The three spies finally exited the tunnel into the large clear room in WOOHP where Jerry frequently briefed the three girls on new assignments. As usual, he was right behind the desk in front of the French-styled sofa which the three girls landed on after they left the tunnel, a casual smile on his face.

"You better have a good reason for dragging us from a bathroom, Jer!" Clover exclaimed. "We were kinda in the middle of something!"

"I'm afraid what ever you were discussing will have to wait" Jerry replied, showing a grave seriousness in his voice. "It has come to my attention that Tim Scam has escaped from our custody"

The announcement shocked all three spies, whose simultaneous gasps filled the room.

The computer screen behind Jerry's desk switched on, showing images of Tim Scam incapacitating a pair of guards before making a dramatic escape in their van. As the images flickered before the trio's eyes, Sam went into her usual investigative mode, noting any details that she could of Scam.

"Are there any other leads?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, no" Jerry replied. "Scam has officially gone underground. I can only assume that he'll go after you before he plans anything else"

"Great..." Clover remarked, her arms crossed. "Another guy to worry about"

"Another guy?" Jerry raised his eyebrow. "Something I should know about, girls?"

"It's nothing, Jerry" Alex said. "It's just Sam's cousin is in town and he has to stay with us for a week"

"He isn't a nuisance like the Normy boy, is he?"

"Not at all!" Sam exclaimed. "Warrick's seventeen and he's real nice once you get to know him better"

"Well, if he's seventeen then he should give you no trouble at all" Jerry walked around to his desk, taking a seat. "I'll send you back at once..."

"Wait!" Alex said. "You're not giving us any gadgets?"

"I don't think it's necessary considering that I have no leads to follow up on Scam's escape. Besides, I figured you would have liked to enjoy a spy-free Spring Break"

"Not when there's a nut job on the loose!" Clover exclaimed.

"You have your training to rely on" Jerry insisted. "Au revoir, ladies"

He pressed a button on the left side of his desk, causing a force to suck the spies into the chute they emerged from earlier. They had barely any time to scream before they were shot back to the villa, leaving Jerry alone to ponder.

"Warrick, eh?" he said to himself as he began to type on his computer. "Who are you...?"

----

"Okay, half an hour in the bathroom? I know girls take long but this is insane!" Warrick thought as he approached the bathroom door. "All right, ladies!" he opened the door. "Time to get..." Before he could fully open it, though, Sam slammed the door in Warrick's face. "Aagh!"

"Are you out of your mind!?" she shouted. "There's a thing called 'knocking' you know?"

"I'm sorry!" Warrick exclaimed, rubbing his bumped forehead. "It sounded like you weren't in there at all!" Then, a random thought came out of his head. "Wait a second, why are you guys in there together? Do you all...?!"

"No!" Alex exclaimed. "It's not like that at all! We were just...um. Doing our nails!"

"Nails? What kind of crap do they think I take? But, I'll play along for now... Is that right? Well, again, I'm sorry. I'll remember to knock next time" Warrick turned around and almost ran down the stairs so he wouldn't promote any further accidental perversions on his part. The trio breathed a sigh of relief. Had Warrick opened the door fully, he would've have seen the WOOHP tunnel beginning to close up.

"Nice save, Alex" Clover commented her friend.

"Thanks" she replied. "Though, Sammy, I hope your cousin doesn't do something like that again. He might've seen the WOOHP tunnel!"

"Oh, trust me" Sam assured her. "I'll make sure he doesn't know a thing about us being spies..."

----

Warrick was lying on the couch for another twenty minutes before the girls started coming downstairs for a run on the town. Sam was the first to come down, adorned with blue jeans and a yellow tank-top, stamped with a light blue Apple logo. Alex was next, having optioned to go in a white top and red jacket combo, her light green shorts just an inch or two above her knees. Clover, not surprisingly, took longer than her friends. When she finally decided on an orange top and denim skirt, it was almost time to eat.

"Well, Warrick" Sam clasped her hands together. "Since you're our guest, why don't you decide where to go?"

"You're asking the wrong man for that" Warrick insisted, waving off the idea. "Besides, it's your city. I think it should be up to you girls where you want to go"

"Really...?" Clover and Alex both said in unison. The young man noticed how their grins were reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat.
  
"Oh, God..." he muttered. "I'm gonna regret sayin' that, aren't I...?"

----

Patience is a virtue earned through years of experience... something Jo severely lacked.

"Ahhh!" she groaned. "This is so boring! How long have we been here?"

The van had pulled up toward the villa ten minutes after the quartet left, situating across the street. Since then, however, it had been two hours. Natalia was in the driver's seat, as always, surveying the area, looking for a nice silent approach.  

"They'll be back in a little bit" she reassured her partner. "Now, would you quit bitching? It got old an hour ago"

"Sorry, Naty. It's just I can't believe we're doin' this for only five grand!" Jo said, her arms folded. "Why couldn't we have gotten a bigger price?"

"You weren't listening, Jo. I told 'Smit,' or whatever his real name is, I'd do this for nine thousand five hundred up front plus another seven thousand five when this's all done. It's twenty-five grand all together"

"Alrighty" Jo smiled, propping her feet on the dashboard. "So, when're we heading in?"

"Just be patient. We'll go once we know they're all in..." Five minutes later, Jo groaned again.

"Raaagh! Will they hurry it up already?!" Natalia didn't respond, simply reaching for a roll of duct tape before she glanced a convertible pulling into the villa's driveway.

"See?" Natalia said as she started the vehicle. "Didn't I tell you to be more patient?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Jo's attention went from Sam, Clover, and Alex to the guy who was hoping out of the car with them. "But who the heck's the guy?"

"Huh?" Natalia glanced at the individual Jo pointed out. "Smit didn't mention anything about a boy. Whatever. Wrong place at the wrong time. He's not important" she replied. "Just focus on the objective"

----

"Oh God, please kill me!"

Warrick had done what no teenaged boy his age would ever do: survive a living hell, better known as the Beverly Hills shopping spree, and live to tell about. After playing pack mule for the girls at the Groove, he was ready to pack it in and head home. Still, he did get a chance to see the shooting of the new Lethal Weapon film with the girls and get a gift or two for his friends back home. Those were his only light moments of the day.... and possibly for the rest of the week. Yet, for now, everything was peaceful, kind of.

"That was fun!" Clover proclaimed, grabbing a chair and propping her feet on the table. "Not a bad way to kick off the week, huh?"

"It may've been fun for you guys but it was a living hell for me!" Warrick dropped the shopping bags on the table. "I didn't think it was possible but I think you busted more money than anyone I've ever met! Was this payback for earlier?"

"Calm down, Warrick" Sam placed a hand on his shoulder. "It was your idea, remember?"

"And I already hate myself for it" he lamented, grabbing the duffel bag he left on the couch. "I'm heading up to the extra room you guys have for a bit, if that's alright, to unload"

"Take your time, War" Alex said, grabbing a bottled water from the fridge. "We're not going anywhere"

"It'd be a miracle if they did" Warrick thought as he climbed the stairs to the guest room, almost certain to drop dead from exhaustion. "Let this day be over already!" When it became apparent that he wasn't within earshot anymore, the girls began to talk amongst themselves.

"I don't think your cousin likes us that much, Sammy" Alex concluded, citing Warrick's apparent grumpiness from a minute ago.

"Yeah, I mean, what guy isn't interested with us?" Clover said. "He was a lot nicer earlier"

"He's just exhausted from the flight" Sam said, trying to protect her cousin's integrity. "He just needs to relax a bit and I'll guarantee that he'll warm up to you guys" She was quick to change the subject. "What we need to worry about right now is Tim Scam, though"

"But you heard Jerry" Clover said. "There aren't any leads. Plus, you'd think he'd be dumb enough to attack us?"

"Clover, did you forget about that morphing robot he built?" Alex asked her friend.

"Don't remind me" How could any of them forget that episode? It had been a few months before that Scam had developed a robot that could take on the guise of anyone, including the spies themselves. While the machine was ultimately destroyed and Scam thrown in prison, it did prove that he was capable of anything. "But we're superspies! What could he do?"

"So, that's why I'm here, huh?" the trio spun around to see a figure clad in black. "This should be interesting..."

----

Warrick was oblivious to what was transpiring below his feet as he finished laying his clothes out in the drawer in the guest room. When he finished, he walked over to the bed that was already prepared for anyone, ready to take the load off his feet. As Warrick laid on the bed, a wave of relief passed over him, ready to take him to sleep.

"Just a few minutes..." he thought as he shut his eyes. The feeling of relaxation lasted exactly fifteen seconds until he heard a loud shriek from downstairs, causing his eyes to shoot open. "What the heck?"

Warrick got up from the bed and headed toward the stairs. He got a view of the ground floor before he stopped himself, taking a step back. To his shock, he could see two individuals, both girls, standing over Sam, Clover, and Alex. All three were bound together with a black metallic band, something Warrick had never seen before, their arms pinned to their sides. Their cries for help were on deaf ears as they were gagged with duct tape of a similar color.

"I'm severely disappointed" the taller of the two intruders spoke. "I thought you three would put up more of a fight" Warrick was able to get a better look of the girl, whom he believed was around his age possibly, a year younger at least. She wore a red and black colored outfit, which complimented her unique hairstyle. "Wouldn't you agree, Jo?"

"Too easy!" the younger girl exclaimed. "Even if they were, you'd still beat 'em, Naty!" The girl dressed in a dark gray tank-top and a pair of short green cargos that went inches below her knee; typical tomboy fashion. She was pretty distinct with her hair style, blonde with purple streaks, and goggles, something you'd expect to see in the bad part of town or something. Warrick was equally surprised to see how young see was; she had to at least be twelve, thirteen at most.

"Oh, crap...." Warrick's eyes widened as he began to see the events from the stairwell. "So much for a crime-free holiday. I'll need to call the police and..."

"I know you're there" Warrick gasped as he realized he was discovered. "You think I forgot all about you?"

"Dammit, alright.... play it off. Distract her for a minute" Warrick boldly headed down the stairs, allowing his hands to be seen. "If this's a robbery, you're out of luck. The blonde spent all the money on clothes"

"Hmmmph!" Clover exclaimed, the tape keeping her from venting her frustration.

"Funny" Natalia said, hands to her hips. "You assumed this was a robbery? I'm afraid that's not the case" Warrick's eye widened. "Now, you get it?"

"If you think your walking out of here with them, you're going to have to go through me!"

"Then, what are you waiting for?" Natalia asked. "You going to stand there or are you going to do something?"

"Dmmmph lmsmmmph!" Sam yelled, trying to warn Warrick despite the gag. "She's trying to trick you!" Warrick didn't need Sam to tell her that, though.

"She's trying to bait me... If this were another fight, I'd be more patient but... She's got Sam!"

"Come on! Are you scared of me or something?" the girl's hand gesturing him to get her.

"In your dreams!" Warrick exclaimed. "I'm not an idiot who's going to charge into you!"

"Then you're an idiot who forgets to check his back" Natalia retorted.

"Huh?" Warrick spun around just in time to see Jo jump on him. She latched onto his back with her legs, pinning his arms to his sides as she pressed a chloroform-soaked rag in against his mouth with her hand. "SHMMM! GMMMM MMM!" Before the chloroform could take effect, Warrick was able to get one of his arms loose, allowing him to elbow Jo and throw her off. He was about to turn his attention toward Natalia, when he saw her produce a small green marble in her hand. Before Warrick could react, Natalia threw the marble at his feet, producing a green gas.

"Dammit..." Warrick thought as he coughed, trying to cover his mouth. "Knockout gas... How..?" The fumes were entering Warrick's mind, however, causing his vision to become more fuzzy by the second. He exchanged one last look at Natalia. "...you little..." Warrick whispered, realizing he was about to be out cold. He fell face-down onto the floor, the last sound he heard being the girls' muffled screams before everything went black...

----

Early Morning....

Warrick woke up to the worst headache he had ever felt. He struggled to pull himself up, rubbing the back of his head as his vision began to refocus.

"Argh... What happened? Wait... I got to the villa, met Clover and Alex, Hell turned into a mall, then those two... Sam!" Warrick remembered it all now, those two girls had tied up the others and were taking off with them when he tried to stop them. "That bitch! She tricked me!" The younger girl was just a distraction! He already understood the possibility of a trap when he charged the girl but he was blinded by Sam's predicament. Before he could kick himself any further, Warrick realized the severity of the situation.

"This's not good! Those two were pros not common thugs. If they were hired to get them, that means either someone wants to ransom them or worse..." He shook off the bad thoughts coming in. "No, don't let yourself think that!" Warrick picked himself up from the floor, his neck still aching from Jo's sneak attack. He made his way toward the door and exited the villa, pulling his cellphone out to dial 911. Before he could press a digit, a police car pulled up to the sidewalk, with a uniformed officer stepping out.

"Hands where I can see 'em!!" he shouted, pulling out his service pistol. Warrick froze, putting his hands slightly up.

"Take it easy..." Warrick tried to say something as the cop walked up to him, his gun still traced on him. "There's been an abdu... Wait, what're you doing?!" Warrick panicked as the cop slapped the cuffs on him.

"Placing you under arrest for breaking and entering"

"What!?" Warrick screamed as he was led to the car. "No! Wait a second! This is a huge misunderstanding!"

----

Los Angeles Jail Cell
12:00 P.M.

"Let me out, dammit! I didn't do anything!! You idiots should be looking for the two girls who nabbed my cousin!"

Warrick was wrestling with the jail bars that were keeping him a prisoner of the law. Apparently, from what the police said, a neighbor from across the villa had called the cops to report a disturbance. When the police arrived at the villa, they immediately arrested Warrick for trying to rob the place due to the way the inside looked. He tried to explain to them what really transpired but was brushed off. So far, he was unable to get an officer to notice him.

"At least let me have my one phone call!" Luckily, a guard was coming to his cell, with keys in hand.

"The department gives you our sincerest apologies" the guard explained as he unlocked Warrick's cell. "You're free to go"

"Thank you very much" Warrick said, trying to hide his frustration from the guard. "Maybe now you could look into that kidnapping I've been screaming about!"

"You let us handle it" the guard told him, leading him to the front entrance of the building. "Some of our top men are working on it"

"And we all know that's what they said when Indy asked about the Ark of the Covenant. Is they're anything else I can do?"

"Just leave it to us" the guard answered, showing him the door. "Get some rest"

The guard held the door for Warrick as he exited out, and shut it behind him. Warrick, however, wasn't soothed by the man's promises.

"Not that I don't trust the LAPD on cases but I need to be involved" he thought as he looked at the building. "If I had a look at the evidence..."

"Warrick Stokes?" he turned around to see a mustached man in his fifties with thinning, grey hair, speaking with a British accent, which Warrick noted. "I thought I might mind you here. I'm Sam, Clover, and Alex's superior. Perhaps they spoken of me?"

"You're Jerry?" Warrick glanced at him, from head to toe. "They mentioned you a little bit. Funny, you don't seem to be an evil boss"

"They always did have a sense of humor I could never understand" Jerry said, leading Warrick to the WOOHP car parked out front. "It's nice to finally meet the young man I've heard so much about, even though it's under these circumstances"

"Sam mentioned me?" Warrick asked.

"Once but I mostly did my own research. I'm very impressed with your credentials; I'm assuming that comes with knowing the legendary Jimmy Kudo?"

"I'd like to think that it comes from my dad being a CSI years ago. Wait, how did you know about Kudo?" The old man froze for a second but thawed out quickly.

"Well, I read the international papers from time to time" he explained. "Interesting news can occur on the other side of the world"

"You can drop the act" Warrick assured, inciting surprise in the older agent. "What are you? A federal agent or something?"

"Or something would be a better response. Tell me, what gave me away?"

"That international bit. There are next to zero foreign publications in the U.S. Also, Kudo hasn't been in the news for months"

"I should do better research for meeting people, shouldn't I?" Jerry thought aloud. "And as a response to somewhat, I run an independent crime stopper group if you catch my drift"

"A private security firm in a way?"

"Considering the cases, you could say that" Jerry answered, hoping into the car. "Get in, my boy. We have much work ahead of us"

"What do mean?" Warrick asked, his eyebrow raised at Jerry's notions. "I told everything I knew to the police"

"I just need you to answer some questions at WOOHP, that's all I ask"

"I'm not sure..." Warrick still remained skeptical.

"I know that you wish to be the one to find your cousin, Warrick" Jerry said, buckling his seatbelt. "I don't blame you. If we are to uncover the girls' abductors, we'll need to work together"

"I barely know this guy for a minute and he expects me to get in a car with him? Warrick thought as he looked at the choices. "Still, this is Sam's boss. If she trusts him and if he has the resources... Fine" Warrick reluctantly agreed, entering the passenger seat of the car. "I just hope you can better than the police"

"You needn't worry" Jerry assured him. "WOOHP is the number one police organization in the world, comparable only to Interpol"

After making the bold claim, Jerry pressed on the accelerator, speeding the car down though downtown Los Angeles and toward WOOHP...

----  

WOOHP Headquarters
12:30 P.M.

Warrick was lead into Jerry's office the minute he entered the building. The old man's office seemed to resemble something out of a Pierce Brosnan James Bond film, screens lined the wall behind Jerry's desk, which had a small computer and file on top of it.

"Your office is impressive" Warrick commented. "I think Steve Jobs would be a little jealous"

"Thank you for the compliment" Jerry said as he got around behind his desk. "Please, why don't you take a seat on the sofa?" Warrick sat down, taking a great load off his feet. "Tell me, Warrick, can you describe the abductors?"

"Of course..." Warrick went on to describe Natalia and Jo, how they had used some device to bind the girls, their combat strategy, and the knockout gas they used to render him unconscious. "And their names were Natalia and Jo, I think" Jerry typed all the information into his computer and brought up an image from WOOHP's databases. It showed a mugshot photo of Natalia, featuring her serious expression.

"Is this her?" Jerry asked.

"Oh, yeah. That's Natalia. Who is she?"

"I was afraid that's who you fought. I'm afraid I lack clear background knowledge on her" Jerry responded, reclining into his desk chair. "She has me in the dark"

"You think you're in the dark? I'm in a black hole blindfolded" Warrick remarked to the London native. "I need to know who this Natalia girl is!"

"According to what I do have" Jerry explained to him. "She's an accomplished bounty hunter, though she leans more toward professional abductions. You faced off against the best in the business" Warrick was suspended in disbelief by the man's response. "It's clear now that she was hired to abduct them"

"The best in the business... How can she?" Warrick looked at the mugshot photo. "She couldn't be any older than me..."

"Like I said, I have little background info besides a date of birth" Jerry said, turning back toward his computer. "And... hold the phone, you're in luck! We were able to find an address she has right here in Los Angeles. I have it if you wish to investigate"

"You're not going to?" Warrick asked walked up to the desk, getting the address on paper as it was being printed. "I thought that was your group's interest. Catching criminals"

"I'm more than confident in your investigative abilities. It does run in the family, right? Besides, I have more pressing matters to attend to; a rash of robberies occurred over the last few days. Do call me when you find those two and I'll arrange for the proper authorities to take them into custody" Jerry gave Warrick his cellphone number as he gave him his instructions. "Also, this is your family. I do owe you that much"

"Thank you, sir" Warrick shook the man's hand in gratitude. "I'll make sure that Natalia, and whoever hired her, is caught..."

----

Natalia's LA Loft
12:59 P.M.

It didn't take much to fool the clerk at the apartment building to hand over a copy of the apartment key. Warrick had to say, to his chagrin, that he was the owner of the apartment and that he had lost his key. The clerk didn't even bother to check if he was telling the truth or not, simply telling him to be more careful and handed him a copy to apartment 10G. The elevator ride took less than thirty-seconds but felt like thirty minutes to him.

"What will I do?" Warrick pondered as he exited the elevator. "If Natalia's here, how can I beat her? And even if I do, how am I going to get her to talk?" Luckily, or unfortunate depending on how you looked at it, Warrick would not find out in the next few minutes. When he approached the apartment, he noticed a note taped to the door. Ripping it off, Warrick read the note to himself mentally.

"Gone to Jump City for Spring Break. If you need me, well, you're shit out of luck. She's in Jump City now? Great! Now I gotta rent a car or something..." Warrick was tempted to head straight toward Jump that instant but he was raised better than that; The detective in him tells him to stick around and search the apartment. Unlocking the door and entering the apartment, Warrick was surprised to see how extravagant it was. The apartment was actually a Skyloft suite, complete with a second floor, a full-sized kitchen, and home theater worthy of any film fanatic.

"Amazing" Warrick glanced around. "For someone in a crappy building, this Natalia knows how to live it up! Oh great! Now I'm praising the bad guy!"

He continued to explore the loft further, ultimately coming across a laptop on the coffee table.

"Hello?" Warrick opened the laptop up and began explore its contents. "What do we have here?" Lucky for him, the computer wasn't password encrypted, allowing him to access files that normally he wouldn't be allowed to look into. "I guess because its only herself and Jo that the computer isn't locked up. She may have to think that over once I'm done..."

Warrick soon stumbled upon a recent entry that Natalia herself typed, a memo of an earlier deal. "Mac Smit; Alex, Clover, Sam. Now I have the boss' name..."

As he continued to explore the inner workings of Natalia's operation, Warrick soon came across a red bulls-eye icon. "Interesting..." he clicked the icon and, in an instant, a table appeared, showing numerous names. He clicked on the one nearest the top, leading to a pop-up that featured the photo of a Goth girl who lived in the Northeast. "An address?" Warrick continued clicked another name, this time showing a redhead from the same area as the Goth girl. "No... several of 'em. Its a file of potential targets. I hit the jackpot!" Warrick continued to click through the files pages until something caught his attention. "That's interesting; out of all the addresses, this one has a male photo accompanying it. Let's see... Sanza Salazar...? Never heard of him. But this does say he lives in Jump, so he could be helpful"

He memorized the address, 3671 Todd, on the computer page, closed, then placed the laptop in its rightful place. "If there's one thing, its that this Sanza most likely knows Natalia enough to get on her list" Warrick glanced at his cell phone clock. "Jump's less than an hour away; better get moving..." Warrick rose up from the computer and was about to make his way out before he noticed something on the desk. "Woah...is that?"

----

Somewhere in the Los Angeles Underground....

Sam opened her eyes slowly, greeted by an annoying sensation from the attack. She could feel it coming from her head first, a type of annoyance that felt like someone had played drums using her brain. Then came the puzzle that was her memory, trying to figure out what happened. She remembered those two kidnappers knocking her out after they had disposed of Warrick.

"Oh, no! Warrick! I hope he's alright..." Sam knew she couldn't worry about him right now, her priority was to find out where she was and to escape... which was easier said than done. Sam was tied to a chair, tape securing her wrists to the arms of the chair and legs in a likewise situation. She looked at her new surroundings, noting that she appeared to be in a hotel of some sort. Not a five-star class hotel but rather a cheap, looking room. The windows were covered with boards, so there was no way of telling where she was, or if she was still in LA.

Sam glanced toward her right and saw Clover and Alex, bound in rope, but still unconscious. "Girls! Wake up!"

"Wha...?" Alex was the first to awaken. "Where are we?"

"And why are we hogtied on this nasty dirty floor!?" Clover exclaimed, struggling to undo the knots on her wrists.  

"I don't know" Sam answered. "But I have a pretty good idea who's behind it though"

"And who would that be?" the girl raised their heads up to see a trench coat wearing figure, standing by the doorway. None other than...

"Tim Scam" Sam said, trying to contain her anger. "You were the one who sent those two girls after us, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged" the villain answered. "I'll be quite honest with you. I had doubts that they would actually accomplish the job. Guess I worried over nothing"

"Alright, you got us" Alex said. "So what do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Scam said as he walked around the room. "I'm going to wipe WOOHP off the face of the earth. Since you three girls destroyed my last operation, I figured I'd start over with a clean slate. A new beginning. I've decided to go the practical way; no more fancy satellites or shape-shifting robots for me..." Scam continued to rant on. "However, I know that you three are always getting in the way of things so I arranged for your abduction"

"A little over the top, much?" Clover remarked.

"No" Scam firmly stated, leaning over Clover. "Over the top is Marco Lumiere putting a missile inside a cruise ship. I'm being practical"

"You realize you're not going to get away this" Sam told Scam off. "WOOHP'll send agents to find us!"

"I expected them to, dear Samantha" Scam said. "Which is why I had my men begin a string of robberies to swamp WOOHP's workload. No job is done the same way twice, making those fools look for different people for different heists, making it their top priority. By the time they figure out the truth, it will have been too late"

"What do you plan on doing with us, then?"

"Nothing, yet" Scam answered, heading towards the door. "You'll be around to see the destruction of your precious Jerry and his organization, I assure you. After that... who knows? This has been a wonderful chat but I must be going" Scam exited the room, approaching one of his henchmen, Vinny, who was standing outside.

"Vinny, put the redhead on the floor below this one" Scam instructed his henchman. "I don't want her giving her friends ideas"

"Yes, sir" Vinny said. "What'll you do?"

"I have to make more transactions before our assault on WOOHP can begin. Nothing is to happen to those three until I return, agreed?"

"Crystal!" Scam exited the building as Vinny entered the room. "Alright, sweetheart" he said as he went behind Sam's chair, grabbing the top end of it. "Time to move!"

"Hey!" Sam protested as Vinny dragged her along to the door. "Let go!" She struggled in her seat, causing Vinny to lose his grip, allowing the chair to land on his foot.

"God!" Vinny exclaimed, clutching his foot as he hopped on the other. "Little, annoying..."

He ignored the pain in his foot and grabbing the chair again and dragged it, and Sam, out of the room and down the stairs to the first floor. She didn't try to struggle on the stairs, for fear she would tumble and break her neck if she did. When they reached the room on the first floor, which was a near replica of the one above, however, she began to renew her endeavor. As she looked up at her captor, Sam noticed him pulling out a roll of tape from his pocket.

"What're you doing?" Sam asked.

"What does it look like, stupid? I'm about to shut you up!"

"Didn't you hear your boss? He said not to do anything to me or my friends"

"Now, the boss didn't say anything about gagging you three" Vinny said, ripping off a strip of tape. "Plus, you lost the privilege when you landed on my foot!"

Before she could react, Sam felt the strip stretch across her mouth and press down, sealing it. The girl let out a muffled howl of frustration as a thick hand smoothed the tape down. Once free of the hand, she shook in impotent fury, quaking with rage in the confines of her bonds. Vinny laughed at her misfortune.

"Go ahead! Yell your little head off" Vinny smirked. "Nobody's going to hear you through these walls and that gag"

"MMMMMMPH!" Sam called after him as he exited the room. When she heard his footsteps disappear upstairs, the girl slumped back in the chair. "Now what? Is this where it ends for us?" She immediately stomped the thought out of her mind "No! We'll get out of this! We've been in worse situations!" With a renewed vigor, Sam began to work on the tape for a weakness.

----

Salazar Residence, Jump City
1:37 P.M.

"So... this is where Sanza Salazar lives?"

Warrick was walking in front of what seemed to be a normal brick building with three stories; the type of building no one would ever assume a wealthy family would live in. "The perfect cover to avoid news hounds" Warrick scanned the three floors to see if there were a way inside without being seen; thankfully there was. A window on the lowest floor was slightly ajar. He smiled; It looked like things were starting to improve on his day. He made sure that no one saw him as he climbed into the window.

When he climbed into the window, Warrick was surprised to see the room before him. The room was a bedroom, with a large bed by the window, a desk, two dressers, and a few posters lining the walls.

"Okay..." Warrick thought as he looked around the bedroom. "I must've climbed into his room. I guess this family isn't as rich as I thought" He noticed on the desk in front of him a framed photograph of what looked like a family portrait. He came over and examined the photo further. The photo had four people in it: three of whom were Hispanic and the other white. "The guy in the photo must be Sanza. So this is his family? But his face... why does he seem so familiar?"

Shaking off the questions in his head, Warrick turned back to the task at hand. After looking in the drawers and closet for info on the girls' possible location, he decided it was time to look around the rest of the apartment. He opened the bedroom door which led into what he presumed was the living room. Almost immediately he could see a girl sitting on a nearby chair, playing what looked like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and barely noticing Warrick enter the room. She was around twelve years old with long, raven-black hair; wearing a denim jacket over a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans; the face told the story, it was Sanza's little sister. "I didn't expect someone to be home...alright, if I can just creep up as quietly as I can.."

Warrick silently approached to where the girl was seated. Unfortunately, the sound of his footsteps alerted the girl to spin around to see, what she assumed was, an intruder.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, giving Warrick a confused look. "How did you get in?"

"Bedroom window was open" Warrick replied. He notices the kid let out a sigh and what she said next really puzzled him.

"You're not here to kidnap me, are you?"

"What? No! Why would she....? Well, idiot, you broke in! Of course she'd say that!"

"Then you're here to rob me?"

"Wouldn't cross my mind"

"Then what're you doing here?" the girl asked, growing more worried by the minute.

"Just calm down for a sec" he said, looking around to see if anyone else was around. "I'm looking for someone"

"Is it Terra?"

"As a matter of fact, no" he said. "She must be talking about that white girl in the photo" "I'm looking for your brother. Is he around?"

"Sorry, but he went to the movies and won't be back for, I don't know, another hour?"

"Great..." Warrick muttered.

The girl went on with her video game. She wondered who the intruder was, but assumed he was a friend of Sanza's from school. Warrick observed the girl engaging in virtual free-running and assassination plots for a few minutes before resuming his questioning.

"You're Maddalena, right?" he asked, remembering that name pop-up a few times in a journal he flipped through in the bedroom.

"Call me Maddy, everybody else does"

"Okay, Maddy, nice to meet you. I'm Warrick" he held out his hand for a handshake, but Maddy was to focused on her game to notice.

"Never mind" he brought his hand back. "This is going nowhere, I doubt she knows anything about Mac Smit... but would she know Natalia or Jo?" Warrick glanced back at Maddy. "To heck with it. It's worth a shot"

"Listen, Maddy. You wouldn't happen to know a Natalia or a Jo, would you?"

"That's a dumb question..." Maddy thought. She let out another sigh. "Of course! Natalia may be mean but Jo's pretty cool to hang around with. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, I met them awhile back... Listen, I'll be back in a little bit" He took a sticky note and pen off the table and wrote his cell phone number on it and placed it there. "When your brother gets here, tell him I'm looking for him and call the number I left on the table"

"Alright, alright" the girl replied, sounding like she wasn't paying much attention to him. Warrick started making his way out the front door, his thoughts adding more to the puzzle. "She knows those girls!? How can she...? No, I should probably press her more but I won't. My beef's not with this kid. I'll need to talk to Sanza and see what he has to do with Smit" He was an inch away from opening the front door when he thought of something else. "Still... it's possible I may have missed something while looking in the bedroom. I'll need to take another look..."

Turning his head to see if Maddy was noticing, he was relieved that she was still playing her game, using a Da Vinci device to fly into a well-guarded fortress. Warrick quickly opened and shut the door, making it sound like he left and quietly went back into Sanza's room...  

----

The movie had ended earlier than he had expected. Sanza was walking back to the apartment building after seeing a crime action film based on the life of French criminal Meserine. "That wasn't all too bad" the ex-thief thought to himself as he approached his doorstep. "Never heard of the guy but still..."

"I'm back, Maddy!" Sanza said as he entered his home.

"Hey, Sanza" Maddy greeted her elder brother, taking her time out of reading a book after wrapping up her game. "How was the movie?"

"Pretty good" he answered, looking into the fridge for a bite to eat. "I see you didn't burn the place down while I was gone"

"Very funny" Maddy faked laughed. "Though someone did come looking for you"

"Really?" Sanza asked. "What did he want?"

"Don't know. He said he left his number for you to call him on the table. He said it was important" Sanza turned to his right and, sure enough, there was the note, plain as day. He walked over to the note and picked it up, then proceeded to pull out his cellphone.

"Wonder what this guy wants?" Sanza pondered as he dialed the number on his phone. Nearly instantaneously, he heard ringing... but not from his end. "What the... an echo?" Sanza heard the ringing in his home, faint, but noticeable before it shut off. "He's still here!?"

"Maddy" Sanza whispered, in fear the individual was listening. "I need you to get out of the building..."

----

"Dammit! How did I forget to put this thing on vibrate? Stupid!"

Warrick had spent the last few minutes looking through Sanza's belongings again. The only thing left for him to check was the white box he had just pulled out from under the bed.

"I'll have to make this quick" he thought to himself. "Then, I'll try to explain myself" As he opened the lid, Warrick could not fathom what he was about to uncover. He was greeted by a folded up black and red mass of fabric and latex, a pair of gloves, and finally, a skull-faced mask that stared right back at him.

"This can't be... the Red X thief costume? Then that means..." His eyes shot wide open. "Oh no, that's why he was so familiar! He's..."

"Who the hell are you?" Warrick whirled around to see a familiar face standing in the doorway. The dark skin, black hair, the eyes; this was one of the best known thieves in the world, not as great as Kaito Kid but renowned in his own right; To think he was only Warrick's age. This was Sanza Salazar; Red X.

"I'm not going to ask again" Sanza said. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"You've got to be kidding me..."

O-O-O

To be continued...