The Octonauts and the Detective

Chapter One

Atlanta, Georgia
March 4, 2009
1:38 p.m.

She quietly walked to the door. One sound, and he would run. She could hear the screams of a woman behind the door. She gulped and closed her eyes. Behind her, was her partner, Orion Ocelot. He pointed at the door. She nodded and quickly kicked open the door. "Diego Dingo, FBI!" Diego gave the 2 detectives one look before taking off. She looked at Orion and ordered, "Rescue Melanie. I'll get Diego!"

With that, she ran after the serial killer. He was fast, that was for sure. She finally saw him in the distance, preparing to jump. She let out a gasp. He looked at her and smiled. "This is how it ends, huh? I die, or go to prison, it depends on if you stop me... and you go on living your miserable life!"

"My life is not miserable!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a gun. She aimed it at Diego. "I have a sister! I have my job! I have everything I could possibly need!"

Diego smirked at her. "Oh, do you? Where's your fiancé, Heather?" She gulped. He continued, "Well? Where is he, Heather? Oh, wait, that's right. He was kidnapped the day before your wedding! Or was he?" Tears began to collect in her eyes. "Face it, Heather. Your fiancé never loved you! If he did, why would he run away?"

Heather wiped away a tear. "You shut up, Diego! Do you hear me? Shut up! Malcolm was kidnapped. You know where he is. Now, tell me before I shoot!" Diego smirked at her again and shook his head. Heather growled at him. "Are you seriously willing to suicide just so I don't find out where he is!?"

"Unfortunately, yes." With that, Diego jumped from the building. Heather screamed and ran to the window. On the ground, laid a dead Diego Dingo. Heather could not hold her tears back anymore. She let them flow, and she screamed in horror.

Later, Orion was helping paramedics get Melanie Meerkat into an ambulance. Heather sat in her police car, alone. She stared down at a photo. It was photo of her missing fiancé, Malcolm Siberian. He did disappear before their wedding day... Diego was her only chance of finding him, for he knew where Malcolm's kidnapper was hiding him.

Abruptly, the passenger door opened and Orion entered. Heather looked up at him and sighed. "Diego did that... just so I couldn't find Malcolm." Orion put an arm around Heather and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Orion, I don't think I can do this job anymore..."

"Heather, that's crazy talk. You love this job! You wouldn't ever give up," Orion encouraged. He planted a kiss on her cheek. "We'll find him, Heather. In the meantime, would you like to spend some time with me in Georgia before we head home?"

Heather looked up at him. "Orion... You know I couldn't do that. I'm engaged..." He lowered his head. She gave him a forced smile. "Look, I love you. You're my best friend. But... I would never cheat on Malcolm..."

Orion moved his arm and nodded. He gave her a fake smile. "I understand. I love you, too. I'll see you back home, yeah?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah." Orion began leaving the car, before Heather grabbed his paw. "Wait... I have to go to the trial to present the case to the judge. Care to come with me?"

"Sure," Orion replied, then exited the car. Heather watched him talk to a couple police officers in front of them. She let out a sigh, turned the keys in the ignition, and began her drive home.

---

Columbus, Georgia
March 4, 2009
4:02 p.m.

When Heather arrived at her house, she didn't bother saying hello to her younger sister who was sitting on the couch watching television. Heather entered her room and slammed the door. She slid down the wall, crying. Life is miserable for her. Heather lost her mother years earlier. The night of her murder, Malcolm proposed to her. Heather held off the wedding so she could assist the police in finding her mother's killer. When she did find him, and arrested him, she became a detective. She also began to plan her wedding. However, the night before the wedding, Malcolm was kidnapped. A week later, Heather's father announced he couldn't live with them anymore. Therefore, he abandoned his 2 daughters. That took place 3 years ago. Since then, Heather remained a detective, and searched for her lost fiancé. So far, he hadn't turned up.

"Heather?" called her 13 year old sister, Emily. Heather was 23. Both of them were Himalayan cats. Their mother was, too. Their father... well, that's a different story.

Heather wiped at her tears. "Yeah, Ems?" she replied. Her voice cracked as she spoke, making it clearly evident she had been crying.

This concerned Emily. "Are you okay, Heather? You ran it, crying. You didn't even say hi to me. That's not normal of you! Did you have a rough day at work? It's okay, sis. You can tell me anything." Heather heard the sound of her sister sitting on the ground on the other side of the door.

"Well, yeah, I suppose you could say I had a rather hard day," Heather explained. "I finally solved the Melanie Meerkat case. Turns out, most wanted criminal Diego Dingo had her. I knew he and Malcolm's kidnapper know each other, so I questioned him. Diego suicided just because he didn't want me knowing where Malcolm is being kept."

Emily let out a sigh. "Sorry, sis. What happened next? You are clearly upset about something else. I know you, Heather."

She groaned. "Yes, something else is wrong. Orion asked me out again. I wish he would just get it through his thick skull already that I have a fiancé! Ever since he was assigned to be my partner, he has been trying to get me to go on a date with him."

"Why not discuss this with your director? Have Orion assigned to someone else. That way, he won't bother you. Right?" Emily asked.

"Ems, no... I couldn't do that. Despite Orion's attempts to get me to go out with him, he has been there with my through thick and thin. He was there for me when Malcolm first disappeared. Every time I cried, he was there," Heather sighed. She lowered her head and wiped at another tear. "Diego was right... I have a miserable life. Orion told me that I shouldn't give up on being a detective, but I have to... I can't handle murders, burglaries, anything anymore... I quit tomorrow, Emily. No one can convince me otherwise."

She heard Emily sigh. "Well... If that's want you want, Heather. But... What will you do, afterwards?"

"I don't know yet, Emily," Heather replied. She ran her fingers through the fur on her head. "Director Alligator is going to kill me, that's for sure. I'm the best detective in the world, currently." Emily didn't reply. Heather stood to her feet and opened the door. Emily stood outside, smiling up at her sister. The two Himalayans hugged. "I love you, Ems," whispered Heather.

"Heh... I love you, too, Heather."