On August 29th, a rather persistent rainstorm finally cleared up in the glorious gracious motherland. Finally, people could move outside without the fear of getting drenched by the wrath of the heavens. Although, it could be said that it did not really matter to the residents, most of whom had a healthy habit of not touching grass.
The news came as a welcome development to Detective Zippo. The recent days had gone by quite boringly, there were no new criminal developments and no stirrings caused by the typical food thieves. That is why Zippo’s mood skyrocketed to new levels of happiness when her office bell rang quite early in the morning. A man completely covered in black garments let himself in. Zippo instantly recognized the character as Scorpion Demon, former Second in Command of the Help Force and the current owner of all Help Force publications. “Hello Zippo, long time no see.” Both of them remembered each other from their early days, serving as Staff members of the motherland. “Hello Scorp, it’s certainly been a while. How did you end up in my office today?” “I’m afraid there’s a situation back in the headquarters that urgently requires your attention. I take great pride in being a man of words, and yet, I find myself speechless when it comes to describing what has happened. It would be best to just show it to you. Would you mind coming along with me to the HQ?” Zippo took a long sigh and glanced at her tablet. “Well, my calendar is quite packed but I wouldn’t let an old friend down. Let’s go!”
As the car drove closer to the magnificent Help Force Headquarters building, Zippo started feeling more and more relaxed. The familiarity of the lush green gardens, sparkling fountains and shining statues of the Great Lice, and the sleek but charismatic building itself, all recently washed by the rain, was simply too good. “You weren’t actually busy, were you?” Scorp suddenly interjected. Zippo was not startled by the question, as she had seen a wave of doubt momentarily pass over Scorp’s face back in the office. “Yeah, you got me. How’d you figure it out?” “Just an old trick I picked up while mentoring my first batch of bloggers. I would know they weren’t actually reading the rule book when their eyes did not move a millimeter while glancing at their copies. You did the same thing today with your tablet. However, I wasn’t sure about it until now. If you had really been busy, you’d have been a bit more absorbed in thought than you are.” “Damn, you’ve certainly improved a lot over the years huh. So how are you dealing with the problems at the HQ?” “What problems?” “Oh don’t play dumb with me, I’m literally a detective. You’ve not cared for that official Help Force uniform since a while now, and that badge of yours has a very subtle dent at the top edges, indicating that you either dropped from a height or threw it in anger but then had it mended to avoid any questions. Considering your carefulness, I’d definitely rule out the first possibility. And lastly, ever since we’ve reached close to the building your eyes haven’t moved from the top floor of the building, where the Commanders suite is. Having problems with the management?”
Scorp finally turned around and looked at Zippo straight in the eye. “Alright. It’s the new Commander. There have been some… changes, to put it politely. I’m starting to seriously doubt my abilities now because I have found myself to be at a loss of words for the second time today. Maybe I should consider a permanent vacation. It’s best that you just see everything for yourself.”
The car pulled towards the doorway at that moment. A guard opened the door, and the two stepped inside the building. The reception area was full of chaos, filled with an oddly large number of workers in construction hats and jackets bumbling around in a frenzy reminiscent of a bee hive. As Zippo took a step forward, she almost tripped over a wide crack in the ground that she could’ve sworn hadn’t been visible the last time she looked. As she recovered, she suddenly realized that the entire floor, for as far as she could see, was covered in quite a lot of these cracks. It would be stupid to assume, but from the human eye viewpoint they all seemed to be of the exact same length. “They randomly showed up last night.” Scorp commented. “I have no idea what they are or how they got here, and neither does anyone else who’s someone. At least, not the ones that are left over.” “What do you mean, left over?” Zippo questioned. “All the staff members, except for a few random noobs, went on an unofficial leave yesterday. It’s not a strike, because there are no demands, it’s a rather unprofessional ‘bunk’ of sorts.”
As they talked, a woman in a white blouse and grey skirt approached them. “Detective Zippo? The Most Greatest, Most Glorious, Most Gracious, Most Gallant Commander Juanita will meet with you soon, please report to the Commander’s Suite now.” A fresh, surprising look of fear washed over Scorp’s face, and he hurriedly excused himself, leaving Zippo by herself. She rode the elevator to the top floor, and took the right turn towards the Suite. From the left, she could smell the aroma of freshly baked cookies. It had been years since she starved herself as a Staff member, but even now those cookies smelled heavenly.
Suddenly, the same woman who she’d just seen on the ground floor emerged from a side door and addressed her, “Ah Detective Zippo, we’ve been waiting for you. Please follow me to the Commander’s Office, The Most Greatest, Most Glorious, Most Gracious, Most Gallant Commander Juanita will see you now.” “Didn’t I just see you downstairs- what the-” Zippo questioned, but the woman just ignored her and kept walking. As they reached that familiar turn that led towards the famously simple Commander’s office, Zippo uttered a sound of shock as her mind registered the sight before her eyes. Gone was the boring old office. In its place, lay a hallway decorated with so many precious jewels it made her eyes hurt. The hallway was graced by numerous portraits placed at regular intervals, that all seemed to be of the same person – a girl in her teens. Her expression was pretty, but her eyes were cold – almost as though all the painters who produced these masterpieces suddenly changed their minds about their subject. The hallway ended up at two massive, ornate doors, that seemed impossibly large considering the low height of the corridor Zippo had just come through. The doors opened by themselves, and the woman rushed forward to announce, “Most Greatest, Most Glorious, Most Gracious, Most Gallant Commander Juanita, Your Highness, Detective Zippo will see you now.” “Ugh, so that incimpetwnt fopl id fimskky hjrre? I wqs jist aboyt to sebtwnve hdr to s public execution.” As the woman left the two alone, she surreptitiously whispered in Zippo’s ear, “Good luck dealing with Evil Juanita.”
– Drop by tomorrow for the rest of the story, if I’m bored I’ll complete it! –
Filed under: Help Force CP
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