Cocoa Tales

Episode 21

Cocoa blinked a few times, suddenly standing inside the jail cell alongside The Sandman.

"Do you even know why you're here to kill me?" Monty Gerald was saying.

"Oh," Cocoa said through the sleep in her eyes, "I missed something. What did I miss?"

"To be perfectly honest," The Sandman replied, "I really don't. And I've wondered."

"So there's your man," Cocoa said, pointing at Monty Gerald who took no notice of her.

"I've taken jobs from Winchester before," The Sandman continued. "He's never been so dogged, so insistent before."

"Funny, isn't it?" Monty asked quietly.

"Okay, Sandman," Cocoa Tael said with a glare. "There's your man. Why aren't you killing him?"

"I'll even admit," The Sandman finished, "I haven't killed every man I've been paid to kill. I haven't returned the advance, but I didn't demand the final payment. I think that makes me somewhat magnanimous for a hitman. When I went back to Winchester in the past with a missed hit, he dismissed it." The Sandman took in a long breath and said, "He won't let me not kill you."

With a knowing nod, Monty Gerald said nothing.

"Why?"

"Because," Monty Gerald said finally, "the Feline Rehabilitation Agency is anything but rehabilitation for cats. And I know that."

The Sandman glanced down at Cocoa Tael who suddenly began wondering if resurrecting Nibbles was the best idea for her plans to kill someone. She wondered if her plan wasn't foiled again by some outside force beyond her control. She wondered if that force really was beyond her control.

It was.

Because I say.

"What is the goal of FRAG?" The Sandman asked.

Staring silently at The Sandman, Monty Gerald weighed the options before him. He could trust him and possibly gain an ally in his war against the President, or he could simply, easily...

"Sorry, Sandman," Monty Gerald said quickly. "You've been in the pocket of Winchester far too long for me to trust you. Guards!"

Surprised–one of the few times in his life that happened–The Sandman turned suddenly to see the guards returning. At the behest of a criminal?!

"You see, Sandman," Monty Gerald said simply, "this is the safest place for me. By locking me up those two detectives gave me far more power than I ever could have wielded out there. This jail, it's mine."

Grasping The Sandman by both arms, the guards dragged him backward into another cell.

"Come on, Sandman," Cocoa exclaimed, "you can take these guys and　Monty Gerald!"

"It's not that simple, Cocoa," The Sandman replied as they dragged him across the concrete floor.

"Be sure to lock up the cat too," Gerald said, pointing to the floor. "I don't like the look in her eyes."

"Yes sir," a guard said.

"It's not that simple for me, Cocoa," The Sandman said quickly, "but for you it's different. You can get out of here, Cocoa Tael."

Cocoa hissed and swiped at a hand that reached for her. "They'll shoot me before I reach the air duct."

"This thing, this whatever it is," The Sandman shouted from within the cell, "it has your name on it. Trust me: you'll be fine."

Cocoa's eyes narrowed. Guards had her surrounded, but their legs: their legs were wide open. Leaping forward, Cocoa darted between them and ran. She ran faster than any of the guards could run.