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Party Pancakes

September 8th X288

Travis keeled over as he collided with dining tables and furniture. He rolled through the leftover food and drinks, off the tables, and into cover in one fluid motion. The drooling lizard spirit squirmed as it tumbled across the floor.

“You got my text!” Florian said.

“Get out of here, Little Liter.”

“But it’s two against one! We can catch him and turn him in.”

“He’s got a gun.”

Florian froze for a moment. She knew firearms were strictly prohibited in Tarot Tori City. The entire time, the kidnapper had a gun. It freaked Florian out.

“Are you sure?”

“I know a gun holster when I see one. Get you and your sister out of here!”

“I wouldn’t do that, kid. Unless you can outrun bullets too.” The kidnapper, hands tucked in his pockets, blocked the exit. He maneuvered his way behind all the obstacles and smoke, catching Florian’s group off guard.

“Judging by your attire, you are military. Let me guess, infantry?” The kidnapper had not drawn his gun yet. His spirit inflated its cheeks as it swept the floor with its tail.

“Not anymore. I’m more of a pencil pusher these days.” Sergeant Honest Nowell tried to deescalate the situation while his slender spike spirit crouched in a running start position.

“Those must be some big pencils. No matter how many are a part of that fitness program of yours, I can still smell the blood on your hands from here.”

Their spirits gurgled, each locked on to one another. Muffled sounds came from the faceless slender spike spirit as it twitched. The scales of the drooling lizard recoiled as its gaping mouth slathered its body with its tongue.

Florian shielded Hope and Blythe. She knew to escape as soon as she saw an opening.

Flames spread from the kitchen.

Honest hurled a chair toward the hooded man, weaving behind it. His spirit sprinted not a second slower.

The kidnapper swatted the chair out of the air with a kick. He kept his hands free to draw the gun at any moment. His lizard spirit spat saliva at the slender spirit.

Sergeant Nowell did not hesitate; he closed the distance and swung his fist. Travis chuckled as he backflipped over a table, dodging the blow.

The slender spike spirit swung its long arms, reaching for the drooling lizard spirit. It dodged every attempt, springing its tail like a backboard, leaping the same as its owner.

Honest tossed the table that was in his way, throwing it toward Travis.

Travis caught and held the table as Sergeant Nowell continued his combination of punches. Honest’s first punch pierced right through the wooden table. The slender spike’s arms passed through the furniture with each of Honest’s strikes. A second, then a third hit shattered the table into pieces.

Travis whistled as if impressed. He stepped back with his footwork, luring Honest closer. The sergeant did not hesitate, diving straight into Travis’s feint. The drooling lizard squeaked with a smile as the slender spike speared forward with both arms pointed out like an arrowhead.

“Honest! Watch out!” Florian said.

Travis flipped his whole body upward, landing a high kick to Sergeant Nowell’s neck. Honest staggered but was still standing. The slender spike spirit stood straight and hovered its arm over the kidnapper. Honest attempted to grab Travis by his neck, but Travis followed up with a low sweep, trying to trip Honest. Travis’s shin landed directly on the sergeant’s metal prosthetic leg, concealed by his baggy pants and boot.

The lizard cried out and squirmed on the floor while Travis concealed his pain, hopping backward with his good leg.

“What the hell was that? First a magical girl and now a tin soldier?” Travis said.

Sergeant Honest continued his onslaught chasing Travis, throwing tables and chairs when the distance widened.

“You’re so concerned about my gun. Great judgment on your part,” Travis said.

Honest tackled Travis and shoved him into a table and then another.

Travis regained his footing when Honest’s prosthetic tripped over a glass and leftover pancakes. Travis grabbed a couple of knives and forks lying on the floor. He stabbed them in Honest’s back, but it wasn’t enough to make the sergeant flinch.

Florian saw their souls grappling with one another. The lizard’s drool splashed about as it sprang and slithered around Honest. The slender spike soul struggled, the same as Honest, its arms flailing about, finally grabbing the kidnapper.

Travis kept struggling, but Honest wouldn’t budge.

“You’re kidding,” the kidnapper said.

Honest flipped Travis over his shoulders and body slammed him into another table. Shards of glass stuck out of Travis’s back. Without letting go, Honest was on top of Travis, pinning him down with all his weight.

“Go! Little Liter!”

Florian forced Hope and Blythe through the flames and smoke toward the exit.

In the corner of Florian’s eye, she noticed the lizard spirit was still moving; Honest’s soul did not pin it down. The lizard’s cheeks inflated as it wound up its tail.

“Watch out!” Florian said.

Travis arched his back and his legs, shifting Sergeant Nowell’s body weight, rolling him over. Travis was able to break free from the pin and retreated a few tables back. Forks and shards of glass were sticking out from his back.

Their souls glared at one another: each roaring, teething, and taunting. The drooling lizard wound up its tongue and squished in its neck. Florian knew it was coming.

She grabbed Hope and Blythe and pulled them to the floor.

Travis reached for his gun with his left hand. Honest concentrated on the weapon, diving straight for it, leaving himself wide open. Travis slammed Honest’s ear with a right jab. The light concussion caused Honest to lose his balance. Travis had merely pretended to draw his gun, luring for an opening.

“What’s wrong, big guy? Did you finally realize you were dealing with the real deal?”

“A sucker punch won’t work a second time,” Honest said.

“Are you sure? I’m an excellent actor.” Travis drew his pistol, pointing it at the girls ducking in cover.

Florian stared directly into the eyes of the drooling lizard. Its cheeks grinned, and its neck was tucked in, ready to fire its tongue.

Honest and his slender spike spirit dove in front of Florian and the girls, shielding them.

The gun’s hammer snapped as the lizard shot its tongue, licking through the slender spike spirit. Outside, the gunshot was mistaken for the fire burning, breaking the building apart.

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“See. Too easy.” Travis laughed.

When Florian opened her eyes, the kidnapper had vanished. The fire had spread further, almost reaching the exit. Florian rushed over to the sergeant.

“Honest! Are you all right?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you get shot?”

“No. I’m fine,” Honest said, with utensils sticking out of his back.

Honest stood up, lifted Hope and Blythe, and carried them out of the burning Party Pancakes restaurant. Honest, Florian, Hope, and Blythe exited the restaurant safely from the front door.

Soon after, firefighters, ambulances, and police officers arrived on the scene.

“Honest, did you see how the kidnapper escaped?” Florian asked.

“It doesn’t matter; all that matters is that you are safe now,” Honest said.

Blythe and Hope were a little shaken but relieved they were safe.

🙠🙢

Travis escaped without a single witness. He went through the alley window, where he had tossed in the fireworks. Then he left through the escape route that he had secured in advance, ditching his mask and hood when he was in a secure location, and met up with his getaway driver.

“You’re late, Travis. Vere’s the girl?”

“Yeah, I botched the job. Big time.”

“You vill not hear the end of it from Juke.”

“It’s my first failed solo job. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Dat vasn’t you on the police scanner vas it? Setting fire to a restaurant?”

“Gahaha, that restaurant was terrible. I did the public a favor.”

🙠🙢

In front of the burning Party Pancakes, it was near dusk. Florian’s party sat a safe distance from the building alongside the onlookers. All four were covered from head to toe in soot and debris.

“I can’t believe it—a real superhero. You saved us! Florian was like, kapow and bam! Then the sergeant came and threw the bad guy all over the place! Wham!” Blythe said, reenacting the scene. Her bubble dog spirit squirted out a few tiny bubbles as she exaggerated a bit.

“Are you all right, Little Liter?” Honest asked Florian.

“Yeah. Are you all right? Those forks sticking out of your back can’t be good.”

“Yeah, don’t take them out. Leave it for the EMT,” Honest said. It was as if he didn’t feel any pain whatsoever.

“Who was that guy?”

“I don’t know, but he was the real deal. If he had used live rounds, I would have been a goner,” Honest said.

“I thought he missed and ran away?” Blythe said.

“They were blanks. The kidnapper’s gun, his tactics, his attitude, he was playing us the entire time,” Sergeant Nowell said.

His slender spike spirit sat beside him, grunting and fidgeting in frustration.

Florian felt indebted to Honest. She had witnessed him jumping in front of the gun, shielding them with his body.

“Thank you for your heroic work! Now! Florian. Introduce me to our heroic gentlemen!” Blythe’s bubble tail dog spirit wagged its tail and woofed with joy.

You little brat. Florian knew she was innocently acting the way she usually did.

The slender spike petted the bubble tail dog.

Honest Nowell bowed his debris-covered head and introduced himself to Blythe, wholly composed and respectfully.

Medics arrived and patched up the sergeant.

With them was a slim, blond, lightly tanned police officer accompanied by a red fox with a finely groomed cloak.

“Well, well, well. So you four were the last to leave the burning restaurant? Three kids and a military man. You do know the military are not the first responders. We are. If anything, you are the last responders.”

He wore a standard Tarot Tori City Police Department uniform; it included handcuffs, a baton, a taser, a radio, a bodycam, and a badge. The only thing missing was a gun.

In Tarot Tori City, police were issued guns with careful deliberation and when the situation met specific conditions. They did have guns in their vaults and at their practice shooting ranges. But this emergency didn’t call for weapons of that nature.

The officer’s hair was combed back flat underneath his cap. He had a broad smile with sassy squinted eyes. He approached them with a laid-back saunter, tipping his hat with a wink. Beside him, the red fox sniffed every person in Florian’s group, analyzing meticulously, looking for evidence. Florian confirmed the fox was the officer’s spirit animal as no one batted an eye at it, examining everyone.

“I’m Officer Keen. I’ll be asking you a few questions. Is that all right with you?”

The restaurant was ablaze behind Officer Keen as he questioned Florian’s party. They explained to Officer Keen the events that unfolded from their perspective.

“So you’re saying you fought a guy concealing his face, armed with a gun, who was stalking these three girls. Conveniently, all the identifiable features are clothing he could easily remove or change. Are you sure it wasn’t a cap gun since it did not fire?” Keen asked.

“I’m sure. It was a magnum, silver, with a wooden grip,” Honest said.

The fox spirit examined Honest, sniffing and snorting at the injuries. It quickly spotted his prosthetic leg. For a moment, the fox growled at the slender spike spirit as it swatted the fox away from the prosthetic. Florian believed this meant Honest Nowell was self-conscious about his prosthetic.

Officer Keen was only concerned with finding clues, making sure everything was consistent. He continued. “Let me get your names.”

“Sergeant Honest Nowell.”

“Florian Lilly Cobblestone.”

“And you?” Keen said, pointing toward Hope.

Hope signed her name as her seashell dove flapped its wings, imitating the hands used in the gestures.

“Sorry, she is mute. She’s my sister, Hope Cobblestone,” Florian said.

“I see. Thank you. And you?” Keen asked.

“Blythe Banquet. The princess saved by my knights in shining armor, the—”

“Wait, Banquet? Blythe Banquet?” Keen said. The fur on the red fox spirit stood on end, puffing into a ball.

“Y-yes, what’s wrong?” Florian asked, remembering the name from somewhere before.

“How did you get here?” Keen asked Blythe.

“I was hanging out with my friends, and they said they would take me home after dinner . . . and. . .” The bubble tail dog stopped wagging its tail. Worry appeared on Blythe’s face.

“Wait here for just a moment.” Officer Keen left to speak with his senior officer and soon contacted their chief.

They checked their database and returned to Florian’s group with handcuffs.

“Sergeant Honest Nowell, under the suspicion of kidnapping, you are under arrest. We will question you further at the station. Anything you say may be used against you.”

Florian thought she misheard him. “What!? Sergeant Honest saved us. There has to be some kind of mistake.”

“Don’t worry, kid. We are just following procedures. Of course Honest Nowell is innocent until proven guilty. We will review all evidence and investigate further,” Officer Keen said with a smug smirk. His fox spirit was wagging its tail calmly, infuriating Florian further.

“Why are you so calm? Were you even listening? I told you the real culprit is still out there! Honest is not a kidnapper. I texted him to meet us at the restaurant because someone was stalking us,” Florian said.

“Little Liter, it’s fine. I’ll be fine,” Honest said with the monotone straight face he always carried. However, his slender spike spirit dropped to its knees.

“No, it’s not fine!” Florian said.

“We’ll also be questioning you too, Florian Lilly Cobblestone. As of right now, you could be the sergeant’s accomplice,” Officer Keen said. His fox grunted with a muffled growl.

Florian clenched her fist at the accusation. The attitude of Officer Keen, displayed by his fox, just fueled her tension even further.

“Little Liter.” Honest and his soul trembled. “There are some things from my past I haven’t told you. It happened a long time ago, and I am no longer the way I was. I changed thanks to you and Dr. Ronaldo. I promise to tell you everything later. Okay? Please calm down for now.”

Florian had never seen Honest with a frown before. His slender spike spirit’s head faced the ground. Its arms drooped lifelessly to its side. Honest was telling the truth.

Florian blamed herself; that was her first thought. She didn’t care about his criminal background; she felt guilty that she had texted Sergeant Honest Nowell for assistance, bringing him into the situation, not knowing his criminal record. She knew Sergeant Nowell had experienced a hard life, and he was trying to change for the better. She could tell just by looking, as she could see his soul clear as day. For seven years, the sergeant had been a friend she could trust.

Blythe cried out and flailed her arms. “They protected me! They’re not the bad guys!”

She pouted and fidgeted as Officer Keen and several other officers escorted her to a patrol car.

“We’ll escort Blythe to her father immediately. The rest of you will stay for questioning and wait for your parents to arrive,” Officer Keen said.

Florian stood up, holding back her anger, “Wait, I was in charge of bringing her home safely. I’ll go with you to make sure she gets there.”

“That’s acceptable. We’ll question you further afterward. I guess your sister will also be tagging along,” Officer Keen said.

Hope and her seashell dove spirit clung tightly to Florian. She was quiet the entire time but worried all the same.

Blythe calmed down, with Hope and Florian accompanying her.

Florian looked back and saw Sergeant Honest Nowell getting placed in handcuffs. Her heart slumped. She thought of nothing but clearing their names and catching the real criminal, still at large.