Chapter Text
The minute the client stepped through the front door of their agency, Charmy knew.
He knew there was something off about that guy. He could feel it.
He could also hear Vector scolding him for 'judging a book by its cover,' so Charmy did his best to push his negative thoughts away as the client walked towards the office desk.
The client had asked Vector a question, and the croc had answered it. And then he decided to butt in and add extra details.
At first, he almost thought he did misjudge the guy. The client spoke so politely and his mannerisms almost didn't fit his physical appearance. That is, until he looked at Charmy.
Charmy didn't even have to see him to know that the guy was looking at him. He felt the client's gaze and piercing eyes lock onto him as if he were a target. It sent a shiver down his spine.
Why was the client even looking at him in the first place? Espio was the one talking, now.
'Wait... Espio!' Charmy glanced at the chameleon standing next to him as he came up with an idea. 'Espio always maintains eye contact with anyone he's talking to. Surely he's noticed by now that this weirdo isn't even paying attention to him... right?'
But when he looked to his right, he realized that the client had already figured that out. The question the guy had asked Espio required him to grab paperwork out from behind the desk. Espio couldn't even see the creep from where he was. And Vector had left the room to grab something!
'Then...' Charmy's heart was racing as he struggled to come up with something else. The client was still looking at him!
'What if I look back at him? Maybe I can do what Espio does and that will intimidate the weirdo enough so that he stops staring at me!'
And so, Charmy did it. He looked back at the client's purple eyes with his own yellow ones and held his gaze. And then the jerk smiled. He smiled at him with a smile that was too wide to be normal and his stupid eyes never blinked, they just stared at him. Charmy did his best to continue staring. Thankfully, Vector had walked back into the room when Charmy felt like he had to blink.
"Uh... you two having a starin' contest or somethin'?" Vector asked, putting something down on the table. Espio stopped talking and looked up.
"Ah, yes. And it looks like I won." The client replied as Charmy blinked, his smile getting wider.
The bee didn't even realize someone could smile that wide. And how dare he mask his creepy staring as 'having a staring contest'? And his case was so weird, too. There was no way Vector or Espio would accept it.
"So, do you think you'll take the case?" The client asked, leaning on the office table.
"Er-- well, sir, I'm not sure this is necessarily a--"
"I'll pay you 500 rings to get started."
"Well, why didn't you say so? We'll take it!" Vector immediately grabbed the bag of rings offered to him.
"WHAT?!" Charmy accidentally yelled. He clamped his hands over his mouth when he realized everyone was staring at him.
"Is there a problem, Charmy?" Espio asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"N-no! Sorry, I was just really surprised at the amount of money we were getting. 500? That's so much!"
"Well, of course. I heard you were the best detectives in town, so I wanted to make sure that you were paid an adequate amount."
"Well, we really appreciate that. Thank you so much! And don't worry, we'll make sure to find your er-- camera." Vector replied, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
"Good. Please let me know when you find it." And with that, the client left, shutting the door behind him.
Charmy let out a sigh of relief as he slowly sank to the ground. He thought the client would never leave.
"Charmy? You okay, kid?" Vector asked worriedly.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay. That client was weird, though."
"Indeed. He seemed to look at you quite a bit." Espio stated, arms crossed over his chest. He turned to look at Vector, "Are you sure we should be taking a case from him?"
"I'm sure it'll be fine. The guy paid us 500 rings and said it was an 'adequate' amount!" He paused and looked at Charmy, "But if he tries to do anything crazy, let us know."
Espio nodded in agreement. Charmy stared at the both of them in awe.
Both of them had a fierce protective look in their eyes. He beamed at them.
"I will!"
---
Espio clenched his fist as he recalled the memory of when they had first received the case.
That was two days ago.
Two days since he had last seen Charmy.
The only thing that the bee had left behind was a note. A note signaling his departure.
But it made no sense. None of it did.
The only thing that Espio knew was that he had woken up one day in his room alone. The bed next to his was empty, save for a note.
He had never run down the stairs quicker, showing Vector the note, who quickly started dialing everyone that they knew asking whether or not they knew Charmy's whereabouts or not.
None of them did. Sonic, Tails, Amy, Tangle, Whisper, Vanilla, Shadow, Rouge, heck, they even managed to get a hold of Knuckles on his floating island, yet nobody they contacted had seen or heard from Charmy. But, they did agree to keep an eye out.
That wasn't enough for Espio. He needed to do something. Not sit in his room and pretend everything was okay. Things weren't okay.
There was a knock on the door.
"Leave me alone, Vector." He hissed immediately.
The crocodile silently entered the room despite the reply.
"I said--!"
"It's Sonic. They have an idea of where Charmy is." Vector held up a phone. He was currently facetiming Sonic.
"Alright, look. Before you do anything, I need you to listen to me first." The hedgehog had a serious look on his face. Suddenly, the screen turned around to show an old building.
"Tails n' I found an old Eggman base nearby while exploring. It's pretty close to you guys, but I d--"
"Eggman..." Espio growled under his breath, standing up immediately. Vector held out a hand to stop him.
"Wait, Es--"
"Did he take Charmy? Did he force him to write the note? Why are we still standing here? We need to--"
"Espio, wait, you can't--" Sonic tried to reason from the other side.
"Give me the coordinates. Vector, get the car ready, he could be in danger! Every second we waste standing here is..."
Espio left the room while talking. Vector turned the phone towards his own face.
"Sonic, gimme the coordinates, we're going."
There was a sigh, then a chuckle.
"I should've known there was no reasoning with you guys... I'm sending the coordinates your way right now. Stay safe and good luck. Let us know if you need backup."
Sonic's expression turned serious again.
"Charmy'll be okay, Vector. Don't worry."
"He better be okay." Vector bared his teeth as he hung up the call.
When he made his way outside, Espio was already waiting, an uncharacteristically impatient look on his face.
He started the car, speeding off to the given coordinates.
"Don't worry Charmy. We're comin' to getcha."