Monday, July 12, 2004

   Busy and Early . . . . .
I'm waking up to get out of the house before 7:30am almost every day this week. Be it work or getting to bus stations to pick up out of town Japanese girls, I'm waking up a lot earlier than I usually have. Let this be a lesson to you: superstore changeovers to back-to-school require a lot of work!

In other news, I skinned the inside of my knees riding a mechanical bull the other day. It was during some time off from a dragon dance performance at a family day thingy for some store, so another guy and I rode the thing. I was told I lasted for over twenty seconds, so I'm happy (hehe).

All I can say about mechanical bulls is that, well . . . sweat pants are NOT good pants to be wearing, and after seven or eight consecutive hard bounces into the nuts, um . . . . . well I dunno, I was still laughing the whole time, so I don't really know how to elaborate on that one . . . anyway, I gotta go to work now. Peace!
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Saturday, July 10, 2004

   It's almost been a week . . .
Better check in so ya know I'm still kickin', sorta . . .

So yeah, I don't know how this happened, but if it's not kung-fu/lion dance performances, it's work, or it's playing out-of-towner-show-her-arounder. Man . . . . . I guess this is what working life's like, eh?

To cap off for the moment, I guess I'll just say, um . . . . . go watch Spider-Man 2. It makes you happy.
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Sunday, July 4, 2004

   Props to me neighbours . . .
For those of you whom this applies to, Happy Independance Day. May the skies be filled with things blowing up and may the ground be filled with merriment.

And for those whom I've had to miss for the past while due to my current status as out-of-towner-show-her-arounder, well . . . though I may not know exactly when it is again that we shall speak, I truly look forward to when we do (yeah, you know who I mean, don'cha?).
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Thursday, July 1, 2004

   Happy Birthday, Country o' Mine!
Today, Canada celebrates its 137th year since confederation. All things considering, we can only hope to look so good once we reach that age . . . hehe . . . . .

Happy Canada Day, everyone! And remember, it's okay to cheer at the end of the anthem!
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Tuesday, June 29, 2004

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Third Helping (Epilogue)
"Yeah, c'mon, pussha button!" 'Mel quoted emphatically.
"Ooh, Rush Hour, nice choice," Cream answered. 'Mel smiled and gave a thumbs up at the correct response.
"Alright, now your turn," she said. Cream cleared his throat and lowered his voice.
"Well, you can take your well laid plan and shove it up your well laid ass . . ." 'Mel laughed out loud and covered her mouth at the near-perfect imitation. Nougat from his desk grinned.
"How colourful . . . Die Hard: With a Vengeance," he answered, "though, did you say that right?" Cream raised his brow in thought.
"I'm pretty sure I got it right," he said, "does it sound wrong to you?"
"Kinda, maybe . . ." Nougat replied. Soon thereafter, another fit of laughter ripped through the office. "Though, let's face it, I've been a little scatterbrained as of late too."
"Yeah, let's go relax now!" 'Mel said as she stood up from her chair against the wall. "When are we gonna go celebrate, anyway?"

"Just waitin' for us, I think," Pastille said from the door. The three in the office looked over and saw the entire door frame filled with faces.
"Holy crap," 'Mel got out as her jaw dropped, "you're all coming too?"
"Better believe it!" Ruit said as the team filed into the office to the genuine surprise of the two detectives. Schotse was quick to hobble his way to the last free chair while everyone else stood around the twin desks.

"Now, this is interesting . . ." Cream said, motioning for silence. ". . . because, last I checked, I hadn't told any of you about what the three of us were doing today . . ." The younger officers all snickered at the comment - Cream could only shake his head while Nougat looked on.
"Seriously," he said plainly, "why are you all here?" Pastille was the first to answer.
"Well, for the record, we're here to check in on the status of the cryssal case and what we're gonna do next."
"Like hell you were . . ." Cream muttered while the other officers laughed again.
"Alright," Losanje explained as the laughter died down, "we came to hear the details about the lieuten- . . . I mean, the sar- . . . . . ah damn it! We wanna know how the trial ended!" Ruit and Raute continued to laugh, still somewhat unaccustomed to the female officer's language. She swiped at the nearest man's head quickly before continuing. "I mean, we know you were found not guilty, but we don't know how, exactly . . ."

It was Nougat's turn to arch his eyebrow.
"What do you mean 'how'?" he asked. "You go to court, people talk, and then they decide if you're clean or dirty. Don't you watch enough movies?"
"Alright, sir . . . what did the people talk about?" Raute added. Nougat grinned, having succeeded in messing with his young charges' minds.
"Well," he started as he leaned back in his chair, "after our ever resourceful friend 'Mel got her people on the job, there were news reports asking for people who were at the riots, or whatever. And, as it turns out, retard hippies weren't the only witnesses . . . there was a guy with a camcorder who recorded a lot of what happened that night that the news cameras missed."

Schotse slapped his hands together and shouted out happily. Nougat ignored him and continued. "So yeah, we had video evidence of what really happened. So along with the regular statements and stuff, we got to visibly see the guy punching me and stuff while I tried to restrain him . . . . . ya know, actually, I didn't even remember him hitting me, so I think I lucked out this time . . . . ." Cream grinned and pointed his second and third fingers at his partner, making bullet-whizzing noises to go along with his motions - Nougat returned the grin.

"Oh yeah, and then there was the absolutely wonderful filibuster Whip' gave, talking about what a great guy I was and how he would be dead if not for my wonderous intervention in fate's design . . . well, something like that . . . . ." The comment caused the team to holler, whistling and hooting at the younger sergeant who in turn tried to calm everyone down.
"It wasn't that bad, come on," Cream retorted. "And hey, it worked well enough, wouldn't ya say?"
"Very well, yes," Nougat replied.

"So yeah, after all that, the judge threw the case out, and the retard hippie guy that sued me had a small tantrum or something . . ." At the conclusion of the past events, the entire office broke into cheers and applause - Nougat stood up and bowed gracefully.

"But look guys," the older detective said once the noise calmed itself once again, "no matter how easy I got off, the damage has still been done, ya know? I mean, I'm back to sergeant, and the media more than likely still wants to make me seem like a jerk . . ."
"Oh, don't you worry about that," 'Mel interjected, "I'll get my people on that one . . . and, if worse comes to worse, someone can let a nipple pop out during a live broadcast or something and make everyone forget."

A cheap snicker floated through the air for a brief moment while everyone stopped to think for a moment.
"Hey!" Losanje shouted suddenly. "Will you assholes stop looking at me for a second?!" For another time, laughter burst out from everybody in the room. Losanje, meanwhile, took her time to walk around the office to hit anyone still laughing.

Cream calmed himself down before the laughter started to aggravate his still-hurt body any more.
"But yeah, Noug'," he said, "damn lucky . . . most officers that get caught in these sorts of things don't get off quite as well as you did."
"Don't I know it?" Nougat answered as he looked at the ceiling briefly. "Being a cop's gotten a whole lot harder these days . . . . . but, I guess it's still what we're best at, isn't it?"
"I hear that!" the younger detective replied. The other officers made similar responses. 'Mel, in turn, could only sit and look at all the officers around her, knowing that while she was with them, she would be safe from anything.

"Alright," she said, breaking the content air in the office, "that pub's gonna fill up soon. Let's go already . . ."


[Heh . . . can you believe the nerve of that girl? Taking the last line of the story like that? Hehe . . . . . well, thank you all again for reading if you did. This went WAY longer than I had EVER imagined, but, well . . . I think this one was worth it, even if everyone WAS writing exams and graduating and stuff this month (gee Red, you couldn't have bugged me about writing another one of these in July or something, eh? Heh . . .).

But yeah, I certainly enjoyed writing a different sort of story with these guys as well. I am a little sad that 'Mel never gets a more central role these days . . . well, we'll think of something good for her later, how 'bout? Hehe . . . everyone, thanks for all the support and ideas. 'Til later, this has been a SomeGuy story, courtesy of myOtaku.com. Have a nice day now.]
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Monday, June 28, 2004

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Third Helping (Chapter XXIII)
[Chapter 23 . . . holy crap, huh? Hehe . . . . .]


Nougat walked back into the office looking visibly exhausted. Cream spun his chair around to greet the other detective as he walked around the desks and slumped into his own chair.
"So, you got in a ton of crap?" Cream asked.
"Enough crap, yeah," Nougat answered as a warm smile came to his face. "What was your first clue?" The younger officer scratched his nose just below the thin bandage on it.
"I dunno . . . intuition, police officer's sixth sense, ya know."
"Yeah, I do . . ."

Nougat took a sip from his now lukewarm cup of coffee before he leaned back with his hands behind his head.
"So yeah," he started, "seems the chief is feelin' pretty lenient about my breaking probation, so that one didn't hurt me so much . . ." Cream stopped looking through his files and listened intently. "The whole thing about borrowing all that ERT equipment, though . . . not so lenient . . . especially the part about handing it out to non-ERT personnel and all." Cream contorted his eyebrows slightly.
"I get the feeling this isn't gonna be good . . ." he commented.
"Could be worse . . . but yeah, not especially good," Nougat replied.
"Come on, man! Don't leave your subordinate officer in suspense here!" Cream said in a light voice. Nougat chuckled back in response.
"Whip' . . . you aren't my subordinate anymore . . . . . we're even again."

Cream stood up with his palms on his desk.
"What the suck?!" he exclaimed. "You got demoted?!" Nougat motioned for his partner to sit down and said,
"Relax, man . . . all things considering, I got off easy." Cream sat back down and rubbed at his nose again.
"Aw Noug' . . . aw Noug', now I feel like hell . . ." he said.
"What? Why?" Cream responded.
"Man . . . if you didn't have to get me, you'd probably still have your lieutenancy." Laughter popped out briefly from the older detective.
"Yeah, and I'd have more legroom in the office too . . . . . hey, I'm gonna be at this precinct for a long time. I'll get another chance to become a lieutenant again, so don't you dare feel sorry for yourself." Nougat looked up and noticed that Cream was still looking away. ". . . . . you keep thinking that way, I'll shoot you myself!" Cream looked back up and grinned.

The two of them got back to their respective work, and chatter slowed between the two of them. Nougat, bored with his court case, called over to the other detective.
"So how's the cryssal case lookin' here in?"
"Well," Cream began, "nabbing Hennig was a good step in the right direction . . . it's a broad direction, though."
"I see . . ." the older officer commented as Cream sighed.
"Yeah . . . . . let's just say I'm looking foward to when this whole lawsuit cow crap is over so you can get back to work with me."
"If I can get back to work with you . . ." Nougat added with an unconvincing smile. He stopped smiling when he heard a knock at the office door. Before he could ask, Cream filled him in.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, while the chief was tearing you a new one, I made a call . . . . ."


"Alright, where's the poor bastard?" a familiar face said as she walked into the office. Nougat shot out from his seat.
"Holy crap," he said, stunned. ". . . . . Whip', you didn't . . ." Cream grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
"We might be police," he said, "but 'Mel's rich and has expensive lawyers that work with her, so . . ."
"That's right!" 'Mel added with a curious gleam in her eyes. "I'll be damned if I'm not gonna help out while my rescuers need rescuing! You've got full support from my legal team, I'm gonna go talk to some people I know in the media and see if they can't get some better stuff out there, and I'll pretty much be makin' sure that no more stupid stuff happens here on in!"

Nougat could only fall back into his chair, completely off guard.
"'Mel . . . I could kiss you right now!" he said as he grinned.
"Oh no you won't!" Cream interjected, "the media'll spin that one around 'til you and I both vomit." The two detectives both turned towards the sound of a mirthful laugh - 'Mel just stood with a slight bounce and continued to beam. The other two couldn't help but laugh.
"This is the best thing I've heard yet!" Nougat said proudly. "Leave it to everyone's favourite reoccuring character to lighten the mood!"
"What?!" 'Mel asked.
"Nothing . . ." Nougat said as he looked away timidly.

"And don't forget, man," Cream added, "I'll be speaking at your trial too. We're not lettin' ya get away from us too quickly, now." 'Mel nodded along as well. Nougat couldn't help but feel the stress evaporate from his shoulders.
"Wow . . . maybe I'll have an even chance at this thing after all . . ." he thought out loud.
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Sunday, June 27, 2004

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Third Helping (Chapter XXII)
[Hokay! Home stretch! Let's put this blasted thing to pasture already! As always, thank you all for your patience and your ability to not judge me for not visiting and posting like I should be.]


The battle outside raged on, with gunfire sounding off from every conceivable angle. Though anxiety was easily making its way through the many men in the small carnival stand, Hennig remained calm and collected. Cream, meanwhile, remained tied down with his ever-bold smirk decorating his face.
"Alright," the weakened detective said, "now, I'm thinkin' that by the volume of fire out there, there's probably a lot of cops out there. One way or another, you're all toast . . ." Hennig interrupted the snide speech with another punch to Cream's temple. Though slightly dazed from the blow, Cream still retained his smirk.

". . . now, right now you might be stuck with the whole drug dealy thing and maybe attempted murder based on all the gunplay out there. That'll net ya some years . . . . ." Hennig threw a cross straight at Cream's nose, giving way to a wet, audible slap that stung the ears of everybody who heard it. Cream didn't bother to raise his head - his smirk remained. His lips started moving again.

". . . of course, actually going through with murdering a cop is gonna give ya life, no questions asked. And don't think someone won't notice the bloody chair with rope all around it, 'cause they will . . . . ." Hennig threw his foot forward and heel kicked Cream in the sternum, knocking him and the chair he was on backwards to the ground. Cream couldn't help but break his front and wheezed in between coughs. More blood was tossed up from his throat.
"Someone kill him already!" Hennig shouted. Another wave of clicking slides washed through the stand. Though, after Cream's speeches, most were still slightly hesitant. Hennig screamed again. "Do it!"

Cream left his eyes closed as he heard footsteps close in around him. Still, his smirk remained, for beyond the footsteps he also heard the sound of an accelerating engine. Through his smirk, quiet words passed . . .
"bada bing . . . . . baaah-daaaaaaaaah . . ."

The speeding ERT van tore through the corner of the stand like a lance. Within the hurricane of flying wood chips and plush dolls, there was nothing but chaos. Most of the startled gangsters had long since dove to the ground. Others, not quite as lucky, were sprawled on top of each other, having taken either direct impact from the speeding van or wooden shrapnel from the walls. Cream turned his head to the side to look. In front of him was a bed of barely moving bodies and the structural supports for the roller coaster behind them - the outside sky seemed curiously brighter to him, for whatever reason.

Some of the gangsters were slowly getting up, but not before a metal cylinder was tossed into the remains of the small stand. Cream recognised the device for what it was and turn his head away while shutting his eyes as hard as he could. The flashbang in turn exploded, ringing Cream's ears unmercifully and lighting up the inside of his eyelids bright red. Though his hearing was now strained, he could still make out the screams of the other men who had with little doubt taken the full flash along with the deafening explosion. As his hearing slowly returned to him, Cream heard a new noise that permanently sealed the smirk on his face . . .
"Police! Stay on the ground! Don't move . . . . ."


Nougat untied his battered partner and lifted him up to his feet.
"Dude, you look like spit," he said, smiling. Cream draped his arm over the back of Nougat's shoulders and slumped in.
"They hit me a lot, what the suck do you expect?" he replied in between his pained laughter. "And what the suck took you so long, old man? They tenderised me!" Nougat laughed himself and put his arm under Cream's side to help him out of the mass of surrendered gangsters.
"I dunno," the veteran detective said as he shrugged, "next time don't get captured."
"I hate you . . ."
"Not as much as you hate being rescued by me, I'm sure . . ."

Nougat carried Cream out past Ruit and Raute who had submachine guns trained on the men in the tattered carnival stand. Around them at different points, Schotse, Losanje and Pastille looked outwards, offering peaceful alternatives to the park's remaining exterior gunmen that were trained in their rifle sights. In the distance, sirens sang their songs, heralding the reinforcements and medical aid.

As flashing lights neared them, Cream looked to his partner and started speaking.
"Hey, Noug' . . . . . now, don't get me wrong, because I'm damn appreciative of not getting hosed and all . . ." Nougat shook the very loose detective lightly.
"Ya know, it's very poor manners to keep other waiting . . ." he said.
". . . . . you're on probation right now . . . isn't this gonna mess things up like, big time for ya?" Nougat chortled.
"Priorities, Whip', priorities . . . we'll worry about the other crap later. Meantimes, let's go see if those ambulances aren't here yet or not . . ."


[Hmm . . . well, gotta tell ya, this one changed from the game plan a little bit. I think it changed for the better . . . . . 'cause let's face it, I looooove beating up these poor guys. Mwah hah hah . . . it's the Die Hard in me, what can I say? Oh, another note: you should see me when I re-read these things after a day or so. Now and then I'll just go, "whoa! Bad grammar! Bad grammar!" or "ah! Awkward!" Hehe . . . yeah, 'Modify Posts' is your friend . . .]
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Saturday, June 26, 2004

   Last time I do this, I swear!
Alright, tomorrow I've got work AND a somewhat out of town thing to do (I'll explain it all later in my "Blasted Busy June Which Kinda Sucked" post after I finish the story). So, I'm gonna miss the chapter tonight and do it tomorrow.

Here's the difference: we're already SO close, so starting tomorrow, I'm gonna go chapter per day! I kinda wanna finish this before July REALLY kicks in, savvy?
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Thursday, June 24, 2004

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Third Helping (Chapter XXI)
[Quick warning: this is gonna be a LONG chapter of mindless action. Try to enjoy it, and hopefully I don't start getting boring as I describe it. Ta!]


"Alright everyone, ears up!" Nougat said into the radio, "Going by the GPS locater in his phone, it hasn't moved for a while, so it's safe to guess that our boy's in it deep, one way or another. Obviously, we don't really know any more than that there are a lotta guys with lots of guns . . ." Nougat stopped for a moment as he caught his tongue up in his words. ". . . anyway, it's gonna be dangerous, but we're not comin' out without the detective. Ya dig?!"
"We dig, lieutenant!" Ruit radioed back. Nougat smiled, feeling confident that they would be able to get Cream out safely.
"Alright, last thing," he added, ". . . obviously, I'm not supposed to be out riding and commanding like I am right now, so this is gonna be a bit of a maverick operation . . . . . I'm willing to take full responsibility for anything that comes up after this, but if anyone has any last-minute concerns, do get 'em out now before we get there." After a brief pause, Ruit clicked back in.
"Sir, I think I speak for everyone sporting all our borrowed equipment that we know damn well that we're gonna be in a load of it once we're done . . . but we all want the sarge back too, so we're with ya!" Upon hearing the words, Nougat felt a sense of concern leave him entirely. Throughout everything that had happened in the past week, he definitely did not regret the team he had chosen.

"Lieutenant," Pastille said from behind the car's wheel, "we're almost at the park gate . . ."
"Alright!" Nougat shouted into the radio, "Raute, we're almost at the side gate! Get around us . . . I believe you have the key, correct?"
"We definitely have the key, sir," Ruit responded. "Unlocking the gate now . . ."

Raute steered the armoured van around Nougat's car and accelerated towards the chained gate. With but a single flare of sparks, the chain broke and the van exploded into the fair grounds while Pastille drove the car directly behind them. In the van, Ruit lowered the passenger window and stuck his submachine gun out at the startled gunmen. He fired a burst as they passed the men while they dove out of the way or dropped to the ground.

As the men disappeared from his sight, Ruit poked his head into the back of the van.
"Go time!" he shouted excitedly to the two officers in the back. Losanje and Schotse looked at each other.
"Ready to rock, bad-hand?" Schotse asked. Losanje smirked.
"Funny, I was about to ask you the same, legless . . ." The two of them tightened their harnesses one last time, and Losanje kicked the rear doors of the van wide open. Both of them were tightly restrained into sitting positions facing out the doors of the van, with bands of rifle magazines lining the inside walls within arm's reach. As Pastille drifted the car towards the left to clear the van occupants' line of sight, automatic rifle fire tore out from the speeding vehicle, dropping several more gunmen.

As the borrowed van swung around the park's large carousel blazing, Nougat and Pastille drove in a slightly different direction, towards the Tilt-a-Whirl ride. Nougat had readied his own submachine gun and was already leaning out the car's window, playing the part of the gunner as Pastille moved them towards Cream's last known location.

Just as they arrived that the park attraction, an incoming bullet pierced the car's windshield and forced Pastille to stop and cover his face. The sudden stop jarred Nougat, so he pulled himself back into the car before reloading.
"Okay 'Stille," he said as he handed the compact weapon to the younger officer, "you hang here and cover my ass . . . I'm goin' huntin' . . ." Nougat drew his pistol and quickly pulled out Pastille's from his holster as well. Before the driver could object, the older detective was already out of the car. Pastille swore to himself and got out of the car to suppress the various different points of danger.

Nougat charged up the metal ramp leading to the ride, ducking as gunfire sparked the platform. To close the gap, Nougat dove and rolled into the nearest circular ride car, taking cover from wherever the shooting was coming from. As he pressed himself against the high back of the car, a funny thought crept into Nougat's mind: Cream and he had already established that the cars weren't bullet-proof, yet he still hid behind them. Sure enough, three bullets broke through the plastic car, startling the veteran officer and sending him running towards a different ride car. He turned around and fired a volley of shots into the direction of the last muzzle flash he saw and ended up slamming his back into the next car, forcing out a grunt as he dropped to his knee.

Catching his breath quickly, Nougat looked up along the ground and saw it: it was Cream's cell phone lodged somewhat between the moving platform and the walkway surrounding it. He took another deep breath before running out, shooting, to get to it. Ignoring the rain of bullets, Nougat scooped the phone off the ground and ran back into one of the Tilt-a-Whirl cars. The phone itself was completely intact, so Nougat inferred that Cream must have dropped it earlier in the night. Cream called for Pastille to cover him so he could get back to the car and started running back down the ramp. Once back down, Cream and Pastille re-entered their shot-up car and drove.

"Okay, new plan . . ." Nougat said as they started driving randomly around the park. ". . . we need to ask someone where to go . . . . . that one!" Nougat pointed out a single man peering from around a line of stands. "Run 'im down!" Pastille laughed and hollered as he accelerated towards the lone thug, who understood and was already running away. The man foolishly ran out into an open area, allowing for the car to drive and slide around in front of him. As the car stopped in front of the frightened gangster, Nougat sprung out from the car and tackled the man down, dropping a heavy fist into the man's head in the process.

Nougat sat on the man's chest and dug both pistols under the man's chin while Pastille drove the car around in an effort to shield his lieutenant from harm as best he could. The lieutenant, meanwhile, had already started his impulse-interrogation.
"Alright dude, I'll make it quick," he said as the man under him struggled, "I don't think you get paid enough to not tell me where that detective is . . . you've got until the count of two . . ." The man tightened his lips for a moment as Nougat called out the first count.
". . . he's in the carnival game booth," he finally stated, defeated.
"Which one?!" Nougat pressed the pistols in harder.
". . . . . Next to the wooden coaster, farthest on the left." Nougat took the guns away from the man's head and moved off the man's torso.
"Thank you for your cooperation . . . good night." With that, he slammed the butt of one of his pistols into the man's head, knocking him out quickly.

"Head towards The Coaster," Nougat said to Pastille after getting back into the car and closing the door. Nougat radioed back to the van. "Guys! I need your services at The Coaster!"
"We'll be there in two secs, lieutenant!" Ruit replied while gunfire echoed around him. Nougat clicked off and switched radio channels.
"Alright, let's get this over with . . . . ." he said as he clicked back to the precinct. ". . . yo! It's Lieutnant Nougat! We need all available officers to come to the Playland amusement park immediately! Whip's life is at stake!"

The opposing gunfire had ebbed away dramatically since the two vehicles originally entered the park. Now, the car and van were outside the locked away carnival game booth where Cream was apparently being kept.
"Alright, here's the plan," Nougat said to the van's occupants, "I don't wanna risk anyone, so I'll be the only one on foot out there with the toys . . . everyone else come back me up afterwards . . . . . meantimes, we need an entrance . . . R-Team, am I safe in assuming that you still have a key to get in to this thing?"
"A key we have, sir!" Ruit answered, his voice still full with excitement.
"Open 'er up!" Nougat shouted.

Raute put the van into drive and accelerated towards the corner of the stand . . .


[As I finish up, I feel a little off right now . . . maybe it's late, maybe I'm tired, I dunno . . . . . but if this chapter suffered for it, I'm sorry. But, we're almost done!]
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Tuesday, June 22, 2004

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Third Helping (Chapter XX)
[Holy crap . . . . . chapter 20 . . . . . over a month of work and still not quite finished . . . . . yikes . . .]


". . . hey, he's coming around," a voice said in the darkness of Cream's head. The detective groaned and tried to open his eyes. His vision was still blurry and there was little light, but he could definitely make out the figures of several men all around him. A sharp slap to the side of his face jolted the rest of his body into halted motion. He shook his head out and looked down at himself: he was tied to a metal chair with his hands behind his back. Another slap shook his head again, causing Cream to clench his teeth. He could faintly taste his own blood along the inside of his mouth, and although he was unable to move his arms or legs, neither seemed to especially want to move anyhow.

"You asshole," a man in a suit said to him as he lifted the bound officer's chin, "you made me miss my flight." Cream allowed a small grin to creep across his face.
"Sprinkle, I take it?" he asked. The man laughed,
"Hah, you wish!" He tossed Cream's head back and walked away in a small circle. "No, I'm not that good . . . still, considering everything, I'm not all that bad either, am I?" Cream ignored the question and looked around. Going by the line of plush toys along the walls and the rolled down metal barrier behind him, he figured they were all inside one of the closed carnival game stands. With a pair of flourescent lights along the top edges of the ceiling, there was sufficient light to see that he was vastly outnumbered even though he was unable to come up with a definitive number.

"Whadaya want?" Cream asked. The man laughed again.
"To not go to jail like all professional criminals, of course!" A few of the surrounding thugs chuckled at the comment. "And of course, having a cop chasing you halfway across the city isn't gonna help that problem very well . . . you should've stayed dead at the hotel, I think."
"If I had, I never would've gotten to come to Playland though," Cream answered, his grin still hanging from his face. The crime leader motioned to one of his men - shortly afterwards, Cream was given another blow to the face.

"Now, I know this isn't how these work," Cream said, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, "but I gotta ask, have you executed that one guy who shot at me at the hotel? 'Cause ya know, I didn't have squat on ya until he opened up . . ."
"Oh, don't you worry about him," the leader said, "after all, if he hadn't fired that shot, you wouldn't be here now." Cream smiled again.
"Wow, what a nice, homely bunch you are . . ." The leader spread his hands out.
"What can I say?" he said, "The media gives off such horrible misconceptions of us. Wouldn't you agree?"
"For you, I'll make the exception," Cream answered, laughing lightly in between breaths.

"Alright, enough circle-dancing," the leader said, turning back to Cream. "I'm sure you're curious as to why your body hasn't been dumped into the ocean yet, right?"
"The thought crossed my mine, yeah," Cream replied. "Now, to shorten the question period, this also ties in to why you led me here, right?"
"More or less, yes . . ." Cream shook his head one more time as his vision slowly started clearing up as the leader continued. "Now, you look pretty young, but I'm sure you've been around long enough to see some pretty brutal sights even within your own precinct, correct?" Cream's grin returned as he spoke.
"Ohh . . . . . now I see where this is going . . ." The leader chuckled again.

"That's right . . . good help is always so hard to find . . . especially the ones where you need them the most . . . . ."

Cream laughed hard before taking a blow to his ribs, leading to a short fit of coughing.
"If you're lookin' for a new name for the payroll, I'm gonna hafta decline," Cream said flatly. "Personally, those internal affairs guys are kinda creepy as is . . . ick . . ." The head man smirked.
"You sure, now? Because we don't have to shoot you if you say yes, you know . . . and trust me, the kevlar isn't gonna help you this time around . . ." Cream rolled his eyes as he smirked.
"Oh gee, if you put it that way, then I guess I'd just better throw my lifetime's worth of ethical living down the crapper and work for some bastard crime-dink like you, huh? My my, you have certainly shown me the way . . . how can I ever th- . . ."

Cream was cut off when another heavy blow hit him across the cheek, sending a line of blood across a section of the thugs. The crime leader sighed
"Man . . . what is it with you guys? From what I heard, the guy before you wouldn't do it either . . ." Cream stop smiling and sat up as best he could.
"'Dez?!" he exclaimed.
"The hell should I know what his name was?" the leader replied, "it wasn't me that did it . . ." The injured officer clenched his hands and tightened his lips for a moment.
". . . . . Ya know . . ." he said, ". . . I'm really starting to want to arrest you less and less . . . . ." The leader raised his eyebrows as he smiled fiendishly.
"Reconsidering?" Cream smirked again as he eyed the dealer directly.
"Nope . . . . . just thinking that it's very easy to write up a discharged weapon as self-defense . . ." The leader's face deadened at the comment.
"Someone do him in already?!" he commanded, starting a wave of men cocking pistols . . . Cream continued to smirk as he shook his head and looked back at the men . . . . .


Before anyone could fire a shot, a vast tumult exploded outside. Gunfire echoed like thunder around the small stall, causing everyone standing to instinctively duck down. From outside, someone banged hard on the metal screen.
"Hennig!" the person cried, "We got some psychos driving around the park blazin'!" Hennig's face went wide-eyed.
"What?!"


[Ya know, after a while, you really get tired of thinking up ways of referring to characters without names at the moment . . . heh . . . . . see ya in two!]
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