Lucy
ACME Canine Unit
(co-written: Chase/Lucy)
Lucy skipped along the sidewalk, humming to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody and holding tightly to the straps of her camouflage backpack. She paused when she heard a faint chirping. Glancing down, she saw a baby bird in the middle of the path. She scanned the nearest tree but saw no birds nearby. The small bird was light brown in color with white feathers mixed in around the breast area, most likely a House Finch; a common bird here in San Francisco. The teen gently cupped the fledgling in her hands and discovered the broken wing. The ACME Medical Center wasn't far from here, so Lucy jogged along and turned on fourth street. When they arrived the glass doors slid open with a rush of cold air.
Her heart raced, but she kept her breathing steady and soon found herself at the counter. When she opened her hands, her stomach lurched as she noticed the chirping had stopped. The bird was alive but very still. She closed her hands gently around the little bird and looked up, meeting the gaze of the woman at the desk. Her voice was calm, though her cheeks flushed slightly.
"Hello there. I'm Susan. May I help you dear?" The lady asked. Susan wore a professional black skirt and blouse, with her light brown hair styled in a bun. She smiled at the teenager.
"Y…yes," Sanchez stammered, moving her hands towards Susan. "I found an injured baby bird and I thought you could help?"
Susan stood up, still smiling. "Of course. One second. I'll be right back." She disappeared into the back.
Lucy peeked at the baby bird again, worried. "Please don't die," she thought. Growing up, she had always loved animals and taken good care of them. There'd been a few who had actually followed her home a few times.
Susan appeared again, carrying a small brown box.
"Here. Put them in here and we will call California Wildlife."
Lucy nodded and placed the fledgling in the box. Susan closed the lid and caught a glimpse of Lucy's bloody hands. She put the box at her feet.
"There's a bathroom to wash up two doors down and to the right," she said, pointing.
Lucy nodded. "Thanks."
When Lucy finished, she made her way back down the hall and up to the front desk.
As Susan spoke to another patient, Lucy's foot hit something. She looked down and saw a pen. She picked it up and examined it. It had the initials C.A.D. engraved on the side. She tried to think of who those initials might be from, but then it came to her. Supposedly, the director had a "death pen" that could kill someone if they figured out the right mechanism. Lucy laughed to herself.
"They're rumors, right?" she thought.
Then she had a brilliant idea. She pulled off her camouflage backpack and set it on the ground, rummaging through it. Checking the biggest pocket first, she pulled the zipper all the way around. As soon as she saw the yellow notepad, she grabbed it and sat down.
"Your pen is here," she wrote. "Let's play a game. Follow the clues to get it back. I am one of your youngest agents. My favorite place to hang out is in the library. The next clue is inside one of my favorite books. It contains the quote, "There is no way to solve big problems with potatoes."'
Lucy pushed the top of the pen to retract it, then placed it in her jeans pocket. Walking through the automatic doors, she stopped. She recognized Chase's car in the nearby parking lot. She ran up to it, folded the note in half, and lifted the windshield wiper, placing the note under it.
---
It was exactly 13:34 hrs when Chase Devineaux found the note on the windshield of his silver Audi. As he read the words, he was skeptical, but a quick visual study of marks made by the midnight blue ferrous sulfate ink on the notepad paper revealed it was probably his pen.
He folded the side of the note--standard American recycled paper, 50lbs, 75 gsm.
Okay, one of my youngest agents, he thought as he glanced to the nearest surveillance camera, we can make this a lot easier, on you.
"Renée," he called his assistant, "connect me to Rhimes in security and ask for--"
'Let's play a game,' his eyes glanced again at the words, 'Follow the clues... favorite book... potatoes.' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There was something naive about the handwriting and its request.
So he caved.
"Right," he exhaled, "forget that, let me get back to you."
Devineaux took off his jacket and tie, leaving both in the car before heading out to the library
ACME's on-campus library was a four-story building separated from the other facilities. The basement housed an archive of some hand-written materials salvaged from the bay area. The third floor housed fiction, but years of getting his way meant Chase wasn't going to go up the stairs, he was used to asking for things.
"Mr. Devineaux," greeted the librarian, "What will it be today?"
"Life, the Universe and Everything," Chase replied, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I'll need all the copies you have."
"We'll see what we can do. It could take a few minutes."
"I'll wait," he said, and pointed to an executive conference room. "In there."
-----
Lucy climbed the library steps to the fourth floor. She scanned the empty room. "Perfect." She walked to a nearby computer and sat down. She wiggled the mouse to awaken the screen.
Lucy scanned the taskbar for a web browser and clicked on it. The library's website appeared. She clicked in the Catalog search box and typed "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight." She pressed enter
Lucy wrote down her call number on a piece of paper and walked over to a shelf. She touched the signs on the bookshelf until she found the one she needed. Then she thumbed through the titles and grabbed the book she was looking for.
---
The librarian delivered only one book. Chase Devineaux looked at it in her hand and back to her eyes inquisitively.
"We only have one copy, looks like," she smiled and placed the item on the table.
She stood, waiting for something. At that point, Chase realized he may have been rude to not accept the book directly.
"Right, thank you," he nodded towards her and picked up the publication, "I only needed this one."
She smiled at the gesture, maybe hiding a laugh, and excused herself from the room.
Flipping through 'Life, the Universe and Everything', a note flitted down from between the pages.
It read: One of my heroes is Amelia Earhart, I'm trying to be bold like her. Her husband published her diary as a tribute to her. You will find your pen there.
Chase stood up and, with the note in hand, flagged down the librarian.
"That was a fast read, Mr. Devineaux." She said as he slid the requested book onto her counter.
"Do you also know where Amelia Earhart's 'Last Flight' might be located?"
"The fourth floor can better help you with that," she pointed with her hand towards the stairs, "Non-fiction."
Chase frowned slightly and began heading up to the fourth floor.
---
Lucy reached the top floor and tried to figure out what to do. She heard footsteps and ran over to a carrel desk; pressing her back against it. She brought the book to her chest.
---
Devineaux reached the landing of the fourth floor with a firm step. Looking around, he noticed a thin older man in glasses. The librarians here were always friendly, and the detective gave a brief nod before looking up at the shelf labels for the location of the book he pursued.
---
She watched from her hiding place and noticed he wasn't wearing his jacket or tie. He seemed to be searching for the book she held, it made her smile. He played along and didn't seem so intimidating now. Lucy moved from her hiding place and met his gaze, she held out his pen. He seemed happy to not only get his pen back but to meet her. Sanchez enjoyed his crooked smile and was glad to meet him, too; and now that their game was over, she realized that her Boss was not so scary after all. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
Long Bridge Street
San Francisco
San Francisco
Lucy skipped along the sidewalk, humming to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody and holding tightly to the straps of her camouflage backpack. She paused when she heard a faint chirping. Glancing down, she saw a baby bird in the middle of the path. She scanned the nearest tree but saw no birds nearby. The small bird was light brown in color with white feathers mixed in around the breast area, most likely a House Finch; a common bird here in San Francisco. The teen gently cupped the fledgling in her hands and discovered the broken wing. The ACME Medical Center wasn't far from here, so Lucy jogged along and turned on fourth street. When they arrived the glass doors slid open with a rush of cold air.
Her heart raced, but she kept her breathing steady and soon found herself at the counter. When she opened her hands, her stomach lurched as she noticed the chirping had stopped. The bird was alive but very still. She closed her hands gently around the little bird and looked up, meeting the gaze of the woman at the desk. Her voice was calm, though her cheeks flushed slightly.
"Hello there. I'm Susan. May I help you dear?" The lady asked. Susan wore a professional black skirt and blouse, with her light brown hair styled in a bun. She smiled at the teenager.
"Y…yes," Sanchez stammered, moving her hands towards Susan. "I found an injured baby bird and I thought you could help?"
Susan stood up, still smiling. "Of course. One second. I'll be right back." She disappeared into the back.
Lucy peeked at the baby bird again, worried. "Please don't die," she thought. Growing up, she had always loved animals and taken good care of them. There'd been a few who had actually followed her home a few times.
Susan appeared again, carrying a small brown box.
"Here. Put them in here and we will call California Wildlife."
Lucy nodded and placed the fledgling in the box. Susan closed the lid and caught a glimpse of Lucy's bloody hands. She put the box at her feet.
"There's a bathroom to wash up two doors down and to the right," she said, pointing.
Lucy nodded. "Thanks."
When Lucy finished, she made her way back down the hall and up to the front desk.
As Susan spoke to another patient, Lucy's foot hit something. She looked down and saw a pen. She picked it up and examined it. It had the initials C.A.D. engraved on the side. She tried to think of who those initials might be from, but then it came to her. Supposedly, the director had a "death pen" that could kill someone if they figured out the right mechanism. Lucy laughed to herself.
"They're rumors, right?" she thought.
Then she had a brilliant idea. She pulled off her camouflage backpack and set it on the ground, rummaging through it. Checking the biggest pocket first, she pulled the zipper all the way around. As soon as she saw the yellow notepad, she grabbed it and sat down.
"Your pen is here," she wrote. "Let's play a game. Follow the clues to get it back. I am one of your youngest agents. My favorite place to hang out is in the library. The next clue is inside one of my favorite books. It contains the quote, "There is no way to solve big problems with potatoes."'
Lucy pushed the top of the pen to retract it, then placed it in her jeans pocket. Walking through the automatic doors, she stopped. She recognized Chase's car in the nearby parking lot. She ran up to it, folded the note in half, and lifted the windshield wiper, placing the note under it.
---
It was exactly 13:34 hrs when Chase Devineaux found the note on the windshield of his silver Audi. As he read the words, he was skeptical, but a quick visual study of marks made by the midnight blue ferrous sulfate ink on the notepad paper revealed it was probably his pen.
He folded the side of the note--standard American recycled paper, 50lbs, 75 gsm.
Okay, one of my youngest agents, he thought as he glanced to the nearest surveillance camera, we can make this a lot easier, on you.
"Renée," he called his assistant, "connect me to Rhimes in security and ask for--"
'Let's play a game,' his eyes glanced again at the words, 'Follow the clues... favorite book... potatoes.' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There was something naive about the handwriting and its request.
So he caved.
"Right," he exhaled, "forget that, let me get back to you."
Devineaux took off his jacket and tie, leaving both in the car before heading out to the library
ACME's on-campus library was a four-story building separated from the other facilities. The basement housed an archive of some hand-written materials salvaged from the bay area. The third floor housed fiction, but years of getting his way meant Chase wasn't going to go up the stairs, he was used to asking for things.
"Mr. Devineaux," greeted the librarian, "What will it be today?"
"Life, the Universe and Everything," Chase replied, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I'll need all the copies you have."
"We'll see what we can do. It could take a few minutes."
"I'll wait," he said, and pointed to an executive conference room. "In there."
-----
Lucy climbed the library steps to the fourth floor. She scanned the empty room. "Perfect." She walked to a nearby computer and sat down. She wiggled the mouse to awaken the screen.
Lucy scanned the taskbar for a web browser and clicked on it. The library's website appeared. She clicked in the Catalog search box and typed "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight." She pressed enter
Lucy wrote down her call number on a piece of paper and walked over to a shelf. She touched the signs on the bookshelf until she found the one she needed. Then she thumbed through the titles and grabbed the book she was looking for.
---
The librarian delivered only one book. Chase Devineaux looked at it in her hand and back to her eyes inquisitively.
"We only have one copy, looks like," she smiled and placed the item on the table.
She stood, waiting for something. At that point, Chase realized he may have been rude to not accept the book directly.
"Right, thank you," he nodded towards her and picked up the publication, "I only needed this one."
She smiled at the gesture, maybe hiding a laugh, and excused herself from the room.
Flipping through 'Life, the Universe and Everything', a note flitted down from between the pages.
It read: One of my heroes is Amelia Earhart, I'm trying to be bold like her. Her husband published her diary as a tribute to her. You will find your pen there.
Chase stood up and, with the note in hand, flagged down the librarian.
"That was a fast read, Mr. Devineaux." She said as he slid the requested book onto her counter.
"Do you also know where Amelia Earhart's 'Last Flight' might be located?"
"The fourth floor can better help you with that," she pointed with her hand towards the stairs, "Non-fiction."
Chase frowned slightly and began heading up to the fourth floor.
---
Lucy reached the top floor and tried to figure out what to do. She heard footsteps and ran over to a carrel desk; pressing her back against it. She brought the book to her chest.
---
Devineaux reached the landing of the fourth floor with a firm step. Looking around, he noticed a thin older man in glasses. The librarians here were always friendly, and the detective gave a brief nod before looking up at the shelf labels for the location of the book he pursued.
---
She watched from her hiding place and noticed he wasn't wearing his jacket or tie. He seemed to be searching for the book she held, it made her smile. He played along and didn't seem so intimidating now. Lucy moved from her hiding place and met his gaze, she held out his pen. He seemed happy to not only get his pen back but to meet her. Sanchez enjoyed his crooked smile and was glad to meet him, too; and now that their game was over, she realized that her Boss was not so scary after all. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
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