Vector's Memoirs; The Chaotix That Was (Part Three)
VECTOR'S MEMOIRS: THE CHAOTIX THAT WAS (PART THREE)
by Foxy Boy
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My fears of not sleeping turned out right on the mark; five or so hours of staring up at the dingy ceiling, too tired to think anything through, but too awake not to feel bothered. I finally gave up on resting around four A.M, and slid out of bed with all the pep of an AMC Gremlin. With a robe draped lazily over my back, I brewed a cup of instant coffee, and with mug in hand, sporting a rather unflattering pair of fuzzy red slippers, I slid open the glass doors that led outside to the balcony and took a seat on one of the wrought-iron chairs that circled my matching table.
When I'd first bought that condo, I'd had the foresight to save up and get one on a higher floor, so the view would be halfway enjoyable. My eyes, though more than a little blurry, were still strong enough to take in the dim reflections of light from the distant high-rises. Central City is like no other city on Earth; no other God-forsaken, overcrowded burg has ever had the ability to look so ugly during the daytime, and then silence all critics by turning so beautiful at night. Funny, that most of the crime took place under the moon... How many purse-snatchings or vandalisms or murders happened under cover of darkness? How many shady characters felt home in an environment where they knew their faces were hidden? It had only been within the last two weeks that I'd heard a police report about my own building, five floors down. Turning on the evening news, I'd been treated to footage of a beady-eyed bank executive being led out his door in handcuffs for beating his wife unconscious.
There are those that say the moon does funny things to people, even the most successful and cultured pricks... And I've been led to agree, if only because it's funny that human nature has twelve hours without the sun, to upturn civilization, every day... For the rest of conventional time.
As I sat, thinking as deeply as I could with no rest, I saw a small, faint shadow move across the horizon, blinking out my view of one lighted window at a time. It was soon obvious the thing was flying, but I had no idea what it was. Larger than a bird, but smaller than an errant, crashing commuter plane... The possibilities were endless.
It wasn't long before I noticed it starting to come toward me. I slowly stood up, raising one fist behind my back; If it wanted to somehow start something, I'd be more than happy to land the first blow.
As soon as the object was close enough for me to make out the shape of the silhouette, my fist lowered, with my body, as if by reflex. The thing was flying stomach down, and the front of it seemed rather bottom-heavy. I wasn't surprised to see the heavy blue eye shadow and quasi-dominatrix outfit as her flying slowed, and she completed her approach by elegantly landing feet-first in front of me. After a few, smooth steps to buffer the rest of her momentum, she laid both hands on the table and leaned over from the other side with the wanton grin that's gotten many a man in trouble. Even in what little light was around to help my eyes, I could see she was just as much of a taudry tease as ever.
"My, you're up early," she cooed, taking every effort to infuse it with sultriness. "The nights I make my rounds, I never see you out here. Sure you're not afraid of the dark?"
She said it playfully, a way that told me she wasn't seriously accusing. "Well, it serves some people better than others." I quickly went for a generous sip of java.
I'm not sure what was more enjoyable; the halfway-good taste of the brew, or watching her pride deflate like two... *Ahem* A windbag.
"Sure, pick on the working girl." She leaned up, stepping back to rest her hands on her hips. "You must've had some night last night."
I couldn't help but smirk as I stared groggily at the foam encircling the mug. "Is it that obvious, or just wishful thinking?"
"Well, your eyes are reminding me of Knuckles." One side of her lips curled upwards. "The pressures of success getting to you, already." She was shaking her head jokingly, as if to taunt me into some macho blow-up. She'd done it before, in a different situation; but that's not an experience I'd like to recount.
"Nah. Maybe the pressure of maintaining it, but..." I trailed off as my mind wandered helplessly for a few seconds. "So, how's taking things that aren't yours going?"
She took way more offense to it than she had any right to, scowling and spinning halfway around on her heel like a little girl. "Fine, I guess, if you have to put it that way." She turned her head just enough to show one eye. "How was Sadler Sundries? Does it live up to the hype?"
Goddamnit. "(Sigh) Let me guess, you were in the neighborhood."
"Of course. Some places are just full of opportunity." She paused for a good while, watching me as I slowly killed the rest of my caffeine fix. "You really should invest in a good winter jacket, you know. You looked terrible out in the cold."
Jesus, how much had she seen passing by? And thanks for reminding me, by the way. It's safe to say I was growing tired of her idle observations. "Do you have anything relevant you'd like to talk about, or are you just in the mood to bug me?"
She chuckled and slowly raised her wings. "Point of advice, Vector... Some things are better left alone. At least, for now."
My eyes widened, and she was quick to take advantage by strutting slowly to the balcony railings she could've easily just jumped to. "See you 'round, big guy." With a wink and an unneeded twitch of her caboose, she shouldered back into the night sky, leaving a very confused croc with an empty coffee mug to try and make sense of the exchange that had just taken place.
My first thought, was that she'd done at least a little more than spot me from afar; my second was an unpleasant realization that caused me to look down.
Certain things are always embarassing, with or without witnesses. My face must've been redder than my eyes as I adjusted myself, then rose with some difficulty to head back inside.
Insomnia is a terrible thing; as I soon found out, it can drive an otherwise reasonable man to waste hours on morning news. After a shower, and my usual dressing ritual (Which is my own business), I left with visions of Matt Lauer and Rouge's face intermingling like a bad dream. I found the streets had been cleaned up, for the most part; every now and then, I would see a stray bottle rolling down the street, and none of the few left were filled with anything after the unbathed had been given a full day to find them. It was only natural for me to have been wondering what the revelers would think now, if they found out what I'd accepted as reality. The first smile of the day lit up my face; whoever said that truth is stranger than fiction was more on the ball than they probably thought.
But no matter how amusing it might have been, I knew there was no telling Charmy and Espio... Not yet, at least. There was still the matter of confirming N's suspicions, as well as my own, and I hadn't even begun to dig. This was where the hours I'd been up and able to think had come in handy; at some point, as I was lying in darkness, I'd realized there would be no sense in crying wolf. I knew how much it would rattle my associates once it was out in the open, and as much as they both could annoy me, I had no desire to see their spirits crumble. Some people believe that, in a perfect world, everyone would be born with a good heart. Bullshit... In a truly perfect world, no one would have a heart at all. You can't break what doesn't exist.
I was already suffering in fatigue; I stumbled at least three times on the sidewalk before I reached the office. Nobody's built to run on empty, and I had less tolerance for that than most. All of the usual traffic, noise and strange smells of the city seemed a blur that morning... And there were still four or so hours I'd have to remain in top form, until I'd heard whatever N felt he couldn't mention the night before.
I walked in the door to find Espio and Charmy already there and busy, recording the few leads from their first day winging it. I got no reaction above a silent stare from both of them; I was not the man of the hour.
The calender was quickly forgotten, and I took my seat, as well as a few seconds to prepare for the question I knew would have to be asked.
"So, how are the assignments going?"
Slip of the tongue; I'd meant to say "cases", as it sounded alot less superior, but my mind was screaming for rest. The second those words had left my mouth, all of their working stopped completely, and their eyes focused on the son-of-a-bitch in their leader's clothing. The day was already turning sour, just as it was beginning.
Espio answered first. He was alot more polite about it than I'd expected, though anyone could tell he wasn't really feeling it. "Good, I suppose. I was able to establish a timeline, and I've worked through a few hypotheses, but I'm nowhere near pinning any suspects. I hit a stalemate around two hours after I left." He stopped right there. It was obvious he didn't want to go into detail, and to be honest, I really had no right to ask, if he didn't feel like being interrogated.
On the flip side, I didn't have to say jack shit to get Charmy to pipe up. "Well, MY case is going great! I looked around the neighborhood, and I thought I found some things, but... Well I also got along really well with the family, until I was empty-handed every time they asked... Oh, and when I was flying across their yard, I didn't look where I was going, and I left a big dent in the fender of their car. I don't know what kind it was, but it looked all old and shiny, and the father said it had been in the family since you were an egg." He looked down in shame. "I guess I'm not doing so well after all." I would've been more angry, if it hadn't been so hilarious to hear his enthusiasm slowly die with each sentence.
"Damn," I muttered, my face in my hand. "You two need to step it up a little. The whole point of working a case is to get it cleared out as fast as possible. Without doing that, we have no fuckin' income."
Espio's politeness left in a hurry. "We're doing the best we can. Just how long are you planning to continue this experiment, anyway? Because it's painfully obvious we're not half as efficient apart."
"Yeah!", Charmy squealed angrily, "Without you two there to throw out ideas, I didn't even know where to start!"
I might've stopped to consider that, if my mind hadn't drifted off again. It was annoying, enough that when I snapped back, I was in full asshole mode. "Oh, and that means I'm to blame for your incompetence? I'll have you know there hasn't been one damn problem with moving forward on my end of this."
"Really?", Espio returned with a glare. "Then what clues have you come up with so far?"
"Well, I, er..." I was scratching my neck nervously; time to save face, with a convenient truth. "... It's not to that point yet. My case is a huge deal, and more than a little hush-hush, so naturally it'll progress a little slower."
"Oh, so that's why you had to meet your client in a bar that could double as a halfway house, and couldn't explain to me why."
Fuck... I'd known that would be mentioned sooner or later, but I wanted to bring it up on my terms, before it could be used against me. His voice was dripping with sarcasm; this was not the Espio I was used to seeing, at least, before I'd decided to split us up.
I sighed heavily, searching for a comeback. "Well, it's... I mean... Look, you guys, all I can say right now is that I'm onto something big, way big enough to justify the problems this is causing. Just stick it out for a few more days, and try to find your rhythm before you give up. Trust me, by the time this is all played out, we'll be national celebrities."
He didn't buy it for a second. "Except for the two huge blemishes on our record, if we don't get some help now." Oddly, his calm seemed to return. "What you're saying sounds great, and I know our moving up in the world is important to you, but at what expense? Our local credibility? If so, that's too much for me to feel comfortable sacrificing; I know enough to see when something can't be accomplished alone, even with my ninjitsu skill."
"Espio, I'm not trying to belittle your skills, or anything like that; but let's face it, you've been flying solo one day. Give it more time, for me if no one else... And if you still have your doubts, I'll try to work it out to where we can all pitch in. I'm only going to put us back working together if I think it's necessary, and I just don't feel that yet."
The confidence in my tone seemed to put him the rest of the way at ease; thank God for what little respect they gave me. He looked deep in thought like usual, but as he started to speak, it became clear to me how much more important this was to him than I'd first thought. "I'm putting my trust in you, Vector. You hold our livelihoods in the palm of your hand."
I didn't have time to react before he sprang to his feet and headed slowly for the door. He passed me without a word, even though there was no way he didn't see the confusion on my face.
"Whoa_whoa_ WHOA!!," I shouted, "Going somewhere?"
He sighed dramatically. "Yes, to see if my luck will be different today. So little progress was made, there's nothing to do here."
Another two seconds, and he was out the door. My gaze then fell on Charmy; he was shuffling papers, only pretending to do anything useful. It was clear he wanted to follow, but wasn't sure how I'd react.
Why not, I thought. More time out there would mean more chances for them to disprove their own doubts. I lowered my head and waved him out. It was all making me more than a little impatient, but luckily for him he had no trouble reading my signals.
"Thanks, Vector," he said with a deep breath of relief, as he started to hover above his chair. "I'll try my very best today, I promise."
"I'm sure you will," I returned, "Or tomorrow they'll be a new name on the door where yours is." I made sure to smile as I said the last part, in case he might think I was serious. He wasn't really expendible, and neither was Espio, no matter how things might turn out. He was quick to fly towards the door, but before it closed behind him, he gave me one last glance and returned the smile.
As soon as he was out of there, I looked up at the wall clock that hung above the calender. 9:25; and I had no idea how I would fill the next two and a half hours. Any other day, paperwork and phone calls to classified ads begging for sleuths would easily have eaten it up... But not when there were three cases up in the air at once, and you're too tired to trust you can write professional letters denying each person in the gigantic fucking backlog. A few more javas, and I might've been able to manage; too bad the nearest coffee shop was a full five blocks from my building.
The day's saving grace was that I could still sort of think, and as I reclined in my chair to wait for the expected ring, memories seemed to rush back to me amid a swirl of varied visions.
Team Chaotix was now at a point it had never even come close to before; on the cusp of a major break, and already suffering under the strain. This wasn't the kind of thing I'd planned for when I first formed the business, five years prior. Without even realizing it, I soon slipped into flashbacks of those very days.
I'd been fresh out of community college, and had more than my share of dreams for a good while after I'd been handed my diploma; but it didn't take long to see I had no money to make them happen. I'd gone through all of it alone; I was fatherless, thanks to artery plaque, and the widow he'd left behind could barely support herself, let alone her son's tuition. My grades had been... Acceptable, and interviews came easily enough; almost as easily as they went. I must've gone through the "Sorry, you're not what we're looking for" schtick no less than a hundred times, at all different kinds of businesses. Without any income, just having enough to eat was more of a hurdle every month.
The day it came to me, I'd been in line at the Department of Social Services applying for food stamps. My pop, God rest his soul, had been a detective on the police force for thirty years. I'd never had much in common with him, as he was stoic and book-smart beyond words, but two things we did share were a head for facts, and an eye for detail. All things considered, what more did I really need?
I had the inspiration, but no help. After washing a few cars, I'd raised the money to pay for space in the Sunday paper, a sort of come-one-come-all request for any joe believing they had what it takes. I was desperate; Espio and Charmy were respectively the first and second responders. Thankfully, I wasn't as naive as I might sound; if I'd thought either of them were bad choices, I'd have kicked one or both of them out on their asses the minute I got back on my feet.
But as it turned out, I never needed to. Espio's ninja training, wherever the hell he'd obtained it, gave him a speed and awareness of his surroundings worth more than gold, as well as an humble sense of duty that made it easy for us to get along (I'm enough of a man to admit I can be one commanding motherfucker). What Charmy brought to the table, was the optimism I mentioned earlier, and of course, wings that put everything everywhere within easy reach. We were a great team, and even without the government money that would've come from being part of the police, we were in steady work within months.
It was never much, though, especially since the only diploma between the three of us was my framed two-year degree, something unheard of in the rest of the white-collar jungle. As our bottom line slowly built, so did our assets; I closed on my condo four years and two months to the day after the business was incorporated. I never knew much about how they fared; they understood, as I did, that this was a business relationship and not a fraternity. And I never asked; it was enough of a distraction constantly trying to drum up more, better work.
Having a loose relationship with Sonic and his band of merry men didn't help much, at least at first; until Dr. Eggman became the biggest link between us. I'm sure it sounds hilarious to say we owed our greatest time to an evil madman, but truth is... Well, you know by now. And in a way, he was just as much to blame for our failure; without him, we might still be in this office together, taking the daily grind happily in stride.
I'll never know exactly why, but I expected Sonic to at least thank me for what we'd done to save the world, however much that might have been; but I still hadn't heard from him at all since the chaos two nights before, or from his pals, for that matter... Save for Rouge. That kaniving whore had planted a seed in my mind on purpose, right before she left... It had to have meant something. I'd wanted to tell Espio and Charmy, before they abandoned me for the day, but there was no way I'd try to explain shit I didn't get myself. She was probably over the city right now, clutching a fistful of loot and laughing off the joke she played on an honest man. If she was, why not let her; the laughs would stop forever, once the law got a hold of her and her lengthy record. Besides, if and when that happened, she wasn't my watch. Let Sonic or Shadow bail her out, if they'd even have a reason to.
After it had all run through my mind, I laid my head on my hands, which were planted together on the desk. It was only done so I could feel more comfortable, but within minutes the flow of thoughts started to dim, and I was too tired to notice; a short while later, they blacked out entirely.
I jolted awake like there was a gun to the back of my head. I instantly knew what had happened, and my eyes shot frantically to the clock on the wall.
Much to my relief, it read 11:45. Holy shit, I thought, someone must've been looking out for me.
I could only hope he hadn't decided to try early... The office phone's answering machine had no tape, thanks to Charmy's clumsy fingers when he was over a glass of water. The surroundings looked a bit fuzzy, for the few seconds my eyes were still trying to adjust. Once everything was finally back to near-normal, I spotted a flash of white below my line of vision, in front of where my arms had sprawled.
A note, written on a sheet of legal paper. The top had been folded over sloppily, allowing some of the script below to show. The only word on the top of the page was a name: "8ig."
Yes, it was rounded so much it looked like an eight; I knew instantly it was him, and nobody else trying to pull a fast one. I didn't think he even knew where my office was, if he was even bright enough to remember. My first thought was "No, I don't know where your goddamn frog buddy is"... Why else would he ever call on me. But then again, I was a detective; I knew never to take anything at face value.
The way he'd seperated his name from the rest, I was ready to believe the dumb bastard also could've sent me an ambiguous valentine, in September. No such luck, though, as both suspicions were dashed the second I opened it and started reading.
"VeCter,
How r yu? Iam fyn Froggies fyn two lisen Tales told me two Bring thys by while I wus in the sity and sey he wonTed two talk two yu latr.
Yu can go two his wercShop see him ther ok have a nyce day"
I'd never seen such a train wreck of letters in my life. The meaning somehow survived it, though; Sonic's little second banana had some business with me. Convenient, since I already had to dish with his hero. Maybe I'd get lucky, and find them in the same place. The blue speed demon would be doing some major talking by the time I was done with my questions, whether he was guilty or not.
Wait... What the hell was I thinking. This was way too delicate to confront head on, no matter how well I knew him. N must've thought of that from the very start; if it had been an option to grill Sonic straightaway, there would be no need to hear extra details. Suddenly, I felt like a total dumbass, and rightfully so; years of experience, and a simple truth like that whizzed right over my head.
I didn't have the time to beat myself up over it. Only seconds later, the phone started to ring. I cracked my knuckles and took a deep breath; this was the real start of my day. I would field this call, then head out to Tails' workshop in Mystic Ruins. I could only hope I would know where to start by the time I was on my way back.
My palms were clammy as I picked up the receiver; it was showtime.
"Team Chaotix, we never turn down work that pays."
"That's a good policy." It was N, alright, and five minutes early if the clock could be believed. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you've been in your office all morning, waiting for this call."
"Of course", I returned, trying to downplay how evenly he seemed to match my intuition. My feet quickly went up on the desk, thinking it might help me ignore my nervousness. "I wasn't about to forget common sense. A good gumshoe never starts anything without all the facts he might need."
"Ah. Then let me give you your version of a green light." I heard a few clicking sounds before he continued, but any curiosity was gone soon after his voice came over the line again. "As I mentioned before, I serve a pretty high-brow clientele. Two of the boats under my watch belong to the mayor, and another to a senator I'm not able to name. The rest belong to millionaires; one in particular is worth more than all of my property combined. It should go without saying, but I can't have you pointing the finger at any of them, no matter what might turn up. And that's a big understatement."
"Uh, no problem," I answered. "I'm no putz; I know as well as you we'd both be done for the second I messed with the movers and shakers. But anyway, I doubt it'll come up at all; I thought we both agreed on the prime suspect."
"We did, but things can change. I'm sure you've thought about that, after all the time you've spent in your field."
He was making me sound like some seasoned figure in crime-solving, and of course, I was digging it alot. It was a bit of a relief, to know he was smart enough not to chase the first lead. Clients like that can be major headaches.
It seemed like one big redundance, to even mention not skewering the bigwigs, so naturally I expected more. "So, what else do I need to know before I jump on the bandwagon with this?"
"Nothing." My eyes widened as that clicked in my brain. "It's a huge thing in itself. It's why I wanted to meet you where I did last night... I was convinced I'd picked a place any snooping bystander would be scared to go near. But by the time we were outside, I started feeling nervous. And I never get nervous."
"I'm sure." I planted my feet back on the floor, sensing our exchange was coming to an end. I caught his drift; he must've felt a security breach was near. Why not say something to calm his fears, if he still had them. "I'm not afraid to admit that I do, especially around that side of town. I'm sure your choice of locale was fine; it worked a little too well for me, anyway."
"Eh, then sorry about that. You're free to start work on it now, wherever you think is best. And the sooner, the better; most of the boats are still here and in one piece, and I want it to stay that way."
"No problem. I'll have this wrapped up before you can say 'hedgehog in the slammer'."
"Great. I'll be trusting you to make good on every last word. Oh, and happy digging."
"Sure thing." I started to hang up, but before I could, I heard more clicking followed by some muffled cursing. Without much thought, I made a mental note to talk with the building superintendent, about shitty phone wiring. This was unacceptable, when there were rent-paying businesses that depended on that service.
I heaved a deep sigh and banged my head on the desk, bringing a slight throbbing pain that seemed to help my focus somehow. I'd stayed at the office, getting nothing done, for nearly three hours, just to hear one thing that was totally unneeded. N was a champion of intimidation, and obviously street-savvy, but a little shaky on his feet for the kind of guy he seemed to be. I'd gone in thinking an ex-con would be a bit more hardened than that... God knows I'd helped put enough of them away to know their nature.
The day was only getting more confusing; I now had to head out and see Tails, but he hadn't been the one to let me know. What did Big have to do with anything? Why would a borderline-retard like him be sent to fetch me? And most of all, why were Sonic's dream team suddenly popping out of the woodwork now that I was mired in this blurry mystery?
The answers for that and more would have to wait, at least until thirty or so minutes of commute brought me close to Tails' gadget haven. At the edge of Mystic Ruins, I'd be far from Espio and Charmy if they'd need me for anything, and that bothered me.
That is, for about three seconds - the time it took for me to rise from my chair. Fuck it, this is what seperation was all about; giving them a chance to prove they had my caliber of skills. If not, I thought, I might end up having to make some roster changes next season after all.
I should've felt terrible for the mere thought, but I was already too caught up in how I'd be spending the rest of the day. After meeting with Double-Tail, I'd have to come up with a way to go about cracking this case, and in the most unbiased way possible. If I'd actually liked Sonic at the time, it would've made it a bit easier... But I had just enough jealousy in me after the gi-normous public reaction to make it a struggle.
As I walked to the door and opened it, I made sure to lock it behind me. As far as I was concerned, I'd read enough notes for the day. Now, I would be off for the high-speed train to take me out of Central City... And towards another unwanted complication.
To be continued...