Chapter Text
Molly was having a bad day. Last night she’d fallen asleep on her shift and when Dad had come down in the morning he’d given her a good scolding.
“We all have responsibilities, Molly! Yours is to tend the shop, and mine’s to make the toys! We gotta work together, else nothing’s gonna sell! You get me?”
“B-But you said you’d take on the shift tonight. You said you’d be here.”
“Oh, Molly, don’t be like that! I’ve already got so many things that I need to do.” As he said them he tapped his fingers. “Making toys, parenting, catching up on sleep, paying our taxes...”
“But I’ve been the one doing that.”
“See, that’s exactly what I’m saying! Just got too much on my plate, not enough time to do it. You don’t mind easing the load on your ol’ pop, do ya? Be a team player!”
Molly couldn’t meet his eyes. “I guess...” she mumbled out.
“Great!” Without a single care, he sprung out the door. Then he stuck his head back in. “Oh, by the way, that sandwich you made? Scrumptious. Thank you!”
“W-Wait! That was... my lunch.” Her voice drifted out the open, empty doorway.
The early-morning admonishment had eaten up her time for food. All she could do was pop a slice of bread into her mouth as she bolted out the door. Rushing to the yellow bus, she squeezed past the folding doors without a second to spare. The driver glowered and ignored her whispered apologies. Molly plopped herself down in the back seat, hugged her backpack close and hoped this day wouldn’t get any worse.
It did.
Mrs. Coots reprimanded her for dozing off in class, even though she’d only put her head down to rest for a moment. Then she popped a pop quiz, which Molly hadn’t been able to study for.
Lunch was a little better. Trixie and Phoenica shared their food and listened with sympathetic ears to her woes. But after they had to split up, and Molly had to brave the high bar all by herself. She was the only one who couldn’t do it.
“What’s wrong, Blyndeff?” the Coach boomed. “Lacking in a little arm strength, eh? We’ll train that out of you yet!”
So Molly was made to do an extra five sets, ears burning with embarrassment as the Coach loudly and enthusiastically encouraged her, classmates snicking on the bleachers. When that torture was finally over, she gathered up her things and hurried out without even a good bye to her friends, mind already set on her next shift. Maybe, maybe if she got home early enough she’d have time to eat before working.
Lorelai was in an unusually good mood when she came home, dancing through the door humming, when she saw Molly trying to stuff ten minutes of eating into one and abruptly stopped. Molly panicked, thinking she had made her mad, tried to say something and choked. A warm hand gently patted her back as she coughed.
“I’ll take over your shift, you just chill for a bit, k?”
Molly jibbered out thanks, Lorelai waving it off and going to the front. The young girl turned back to her hot bowl, resolving to savor it slowly. And she did, for about ten bites. Slowly, her thoughts grew hazy, her eyelids drooped, the fork clattered out of her hand and she fell asleep right there in her rice.
A loud crashing awoke her from her slumber and she raised her grain-speckled head only to get tackled by a cat. “Sorry, Molls, Kitty’s got out of control again,” Lorelai said, scrolling through her phone and grabbing her coat. “Shift’s over, nobody came, I’m going out. See ya!”
Molly sighed, pushing the cat off as it tried to lick her jacket-which also had rice on it, great and put her hands on it’s cheeks. “Sorry,” she said, as it got smaller and smaller until it vanished out of existence. Frowning at the stain, she determined she would handwash it and padded over to the bathroom, freezing at the sight of the store. Kitty had made a huge mess, toys scattered everywhere, cabinets overturned, cash register half-open spilling money onto the ground. At least nothing was broken. With a defeated sigh, she set down her coat, bent down and started picking the discarded objects up, one at a time.
“Excuse me Miss Blynde-Molly, is this a bad time?” Percy stood in the doorway, looking very gallant indeed in her police uniform. Molly chewed her lip. Police investigations were important...and if she kicked her out now, Percy would likely just come back.
“No, Percy, it’s alright. It’s fine. Come in.”
Percy obeyed, looking cautiously around at the destruction Lorelai’s cat had wrecked. “Pardon me, Molly, but have some malefactors absconded with your commodities?”
Molly blinked stupidly. “What?”
“Have you been robbed?”
“No, no! Lorelai-that is-my older sister’s summon got out of control. And well...” She gestured around the room.
“I see.” Percy sat down. Molly sat down across from her, too tired to offer some tea. “As we have already decided from our previous engagement, trivialities shall be skipped.” A heavy folder slammed into the play-table. “Thanks to the service of a certain consultant, as of noon yesterday we were able to capture dozens of Banzai Blasters as well as retrieve the amulet. It is the largest achievement our station has had for quite some time.”
Percy’s tone was proud, but all Molly could hear was her heart beating it’s way out of her chest. Her throat felt dry and constricted as she squeaked out, “And Giovanni?”
“Gio-oh! The Banzai Blaster who held you hostage. I regret to inform you that as of yet we have not been able to locate him. But rest assured, we are expending every effort to track him down. No one can avoid the hand of justice forever.”
Molly breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh. Okay. Then what do you need me for? I don’t have anything that could help you.” Except my texting history.
“Not on Giovanni Potage, but I was hoping you could shed some light on things.” Percy pulled a recorder out of her bag, explaining, “I make a habit of recording all my missions. You never know when it will come in handy.”
She set up upright, continuing, “Since finding out Giovanni Potage’s name, my station has done a preliminary background check on him. He appears to have no outstanding history about him, other than a terrifying mother-“ Percy gave a full body shudder, “-but nothing criminal, nothing that would give him more than a slap on the wrist in court. In fact, today was his first attempt at a crime of this magnitude. At first, the reason eluded me, but in reviewing these tapes, I have figured out why.” Her gaze hardened.
“It appears there is a third party involved, a coconspirator to the attack behind the museum. They have kept themselves in the shadows, unseen and unheard, pulling the strings like a puppet-master. I shudder to think what devious machinations lay beyond the forefront of his mind. His capture is imperative to halting the Banzai Blasters once and for all.” She banged her fist upon the table, eyes glinting. “Luckily for us he has made one fatal flaw. At the museum, Giovanni Potage revealed his alias, giving us a chance to grasp at the beast’s tail. We must not waste this opportunity!”
Molly had a bad feeling about this.
“Anything you could tell us could greatly assist in our investigation.” Molly meekly nodded. “Thank you. Now, from the criminal’s own mouth.”
Percy reached over and flicked the recorder on. Molly could hardly hear the confused shouts over the internal freakout she was having, but the damning words came through crystal clear.
“See you soon, Bear Trap!”