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Mariana watched in delight as another officer came up to join the discussion. Unlike the first, this one actually seemed quite keen to discuss philosophy--always a plus, as far as she was concerned. As the man spoke, she listened not to the man's words but rather the way he spoke. The choices of words, the pitch and timber of the man's voice, and other dynamics in his speech told her plenty about the man. She longed to dissect the speech itself, but it was fairly obvious she wouldn't be given the time to do so. As is, though, she knew enough about the man now. It was surprising that she didn't know the man; she was a regular at the station and had a fairly lengthy record, but she had never seen him before. Then again, he did appear to be a senior officer, so her escapades might not have caught his attention before. As for the impatient young man, he didn't seem particularly keen on talking. If she wanted to get a better read on him, she'd have to push a few buttons. Thankfully for her, the older policeman was showing her exactly where to prod.

"My, my!" she said saucily. "Aren't we in a hurry? Or perhaps," she proposed, "you're being graded today? I find it rather odd that a senior officer is assisting you--and that you're getting so worked up about it. We're only a couple of teenagers; surely even a sophomore cadet could handle this alone! So, why do YOU need help?"

She paused a second, waiting for a bit of steam to work up under the poor officer's collar before switching targets. "Now, before we were so rudely interrupted, I believe you asked me about something... oh, what was it?" She feigned forgetfulness and drew one hand up to her chin. She continued in boisterous sarcasm, "Ah, yes. Rebellion. Now, why would you think I'm rebellious?" She began to pace diagonally across Oual's field of vision, positioning herself on the other side--too far for Cross to cross. She only hoped that Matt would recognize this and think of a plan; after all, this was his turn to choose the day's activities.

"I figure," she continued, "it may have something to do with my clothes. After all, clothes are a means of communication and expression. If a person only has an instant to gather information on someone, the clothes would form most of the basis of judgment. Yet, clothes themselves can only say so much. If the outside and inside aren't congruent, then there's a miscommunication. Yes, it's true that I'm a teenager, and I do enjoy this sort of clothing. But I'm not rebellious per se. I recognize that, for any society to function properly, law and order needs to be upheld." But quite frankly, sir, she thought to herself, I don't really care.

"As for our reason for being here--and your 'answers', as your partner decided to put it--we were here on business. You see, most teenagers experience delusions of invincibility. I, on the other hand, am keenly aware of my own mortality, and the concept of death absolutely fascinates me. A few weeks ago, I had ordered a particular model of a coffin--let's just say, for recreational use. Regrettably, the mortuary was exceedingly busy at the time and couldn't spare a single one. So, I spoke with the funeral director and arranged for a special delivery. It's only been a few weeks; it probably hasn't arrived yet, but I wanted to check, just in case."

Mariana paused a moment to catch her breath. She glanced at the two officers briefly to gauge whether or not they believed her. Up to that point, anyhow, she was telling the truth. Then again, she wasn't very trustworthy in the first place. "I... can't imagine why that employee called you. I'll be sure to bring my claim check next time to avoid any further confusion."

James knew what trouble was like and this teenage girl was it. The only thing he found funny was that she thought he was a cop. That was funny! He wasn't even out of the academy yet! And then the thought of him being Oual's partner! Eh! That was enough for James Cross almost to laugh.The girl seemed pretty believeable until the boy started to talk.

"So that's why we came here. I was starting to wonder..."

Why wouldn't this boy know why the two were there? By the wolfish grin the girl had been giving this entire time James knew how to put two and two together. From what James was finally picking up this boy was not even friends with this girl. The girl HAD to be the ring leader of this whole situation. But then what was the boy doing here with her? James did not have time to confirm all of these questions. He had to get a move on with this whole situation. It seemed like Oual was standing there waiting for Cross to make a wrong move so he could just take over.

"Listen..." Cross began. "I am going to let you two go. We all have better things to do on this glorious day. So all I need from you guys is your name and phone number and then you two can be o your way."

Mariana glanced over in Matt's direction. It appeared he was having trouble coming up with a plan. Well, I guess I'll have to come up with the fun around here, she thought wistfully. An' here I thought there might've been somethin' to him.

The younger detective seemed to be settling down a bit... until he asked for their names. It took everything in her not to show any sign of worry. She scratched her head rapidly with the last three fingers of her hand, making sure the index was tracing a lazy wag in the air. Come on, kid! You're nothing if not observant, so look at my damn finger! Do NOT tell him ANYTHING! If you don't have a record already, you don't want to start now! She picked through her hair and pulled a hairpin out, making a nearly-imperceptible "zip it" signal.

Meanwhile, it appeared that the older cop had overridden the younger one's authority and was spouting off a bunch of nonsense. She wasn't paying attention at first, so she only got the basic gist of it. She figured it was best to wait until he got all his steam out before countering, so she waited patiently. "No, sir, you are not clear. I'll keep this brief: you are a curious study in contradictions. As a detective, your work requires you to be empirical. You rely upon evidence and solid insights. So, how come you are so attached to first impressions and baseless stereotypes? You have little basis for assuming I'm rebelling or acting superior. Then again, a harassed customer would act the same way, so it's a lose-lose situation you've forced upon me. That is, unless I have proof.

"You want meaningful discussion? Fine. According to regulations, this funerary home requires a claim slip for large deliveries--if only for their own files. However, proof of ownership can also be established..." she said spitefully, pausing for suspense. She dug into one of her many pockets and produced a cream-colored slip of paper. "...with a receipt. You'll find that the parlor uses its own special brand of paper for everything, down to and including the cash registers' printer rolls. You may check if you'd like--they will also have records of the transaction." She held out the slip of paper and glared challengingly at the high-and-mighty detective. Straight talk beats jerk high, she concluded to herself.

Now it was James's turn. Oual had once criticized James for not being able to handle situations well. Oual wasn't handling this situation all that well either. He was making outward opinions of this girl based on what he saw in the last five minutes. That was insane! Was he trying to get the girl pissed off? So James decided to take a bold stand for what he believed was right.

"Miss... I am terribly sorry for my PARTNER'S outburst. That was unjust for him to make assumptions like that. You two should run along now. I am pretty sure that there is something more that you two aren't telling us. Just understand... I am letting you off with a warning. If I see you two out and causing any more distrubances our next encounter won't be as pleasant. Now go before I change my mind!"

James made a fast shooing motion with his hand.

<<

"You know, forget that last part," Oual told Mary. "Your friend just ruined you. You have no immediate business here. Just go."

The fact that the boy had now told her to leave as well told Oual two things. The first was that they definitely had no business there. The second, and more important, detail was that this girl now had everyone against her... even her ally. Now, surely numbers didn't speak as loudly to her as they did to most people, but everything working in his favor helped.

Matt walked through the gap between the officers that Mary had created, trying not to distract them from Mary and her ways. When he had gotten through he picked up his pace a little and got to the bike, he grabbed the helmet she offered and sat behind her. "Wow, it sure is nice of you to actually give me a ride this time," he said in a slightly more confident tone as he put on the helmet. He shifted his hands preparing to grab onto something if Mary took off like he expected she would do.

Next...

"Heh, you think I'd leave you here with the coppers? I'm not THAT cruel."

Mary started up the engine with a roar and began puttering down the road. Once she managed to get to a clear stretch, she reached inside her jacket and pulled out the golden statue she had swiped. "Oi, these are gonna have some heat on 'em soon. We should get 'em off our hands. I know a guy that handles this kind o' stuff. You still got yours on you?"

As she asked, she turned sharply, pressing the statue lightly against the handlebar. The motorcycle sped along the streets of Delmor en route to a shady little alleyway in the less-friendly neighborhood.

Next >>>

James Cross let everything Oual had said sink in and then he closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. Opening his eyes, Cross slowly nodded his head and said, "I will certainly help with security at the prom sir. It will be my pleasure." The he slowly turned and made his way back towards the cruiser.

Oual had made something known to Cross that he was surprised at. This was not really shadowing at all. He was like a real cop... only with less authority. Something seemed very strange about this whole situation. "Under Laura's discretion"... what in the hell did that mean? James Cross knew something for sure at that moment though. He knew that Oual had started respecting him at that moment. For some reason he just knew it and that made Cross's day a little bit happier.