Skirted Spies: Season 1

Episode 16-2: Downpour

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Hearth and Barker Residence

(19:12 Hours)

I return home after stopping by multiple locations. My feet ache, but my hard work and research had paid off with some promising leads. I can't wait to tell Clyde. I glide through the main entrance, giving a small wave to the desk clerk that was tapping away on her phone. I reach my room and give the knob a try. It's unlocked.

"Clyde?" I call out, "You home, pup?" I peek inside, noticing that the lights were off. Clumsy dog must have left without locking the place up. Too dangerous to do that, considering the tech, gadgets, and weapons we leave lying around in their hiding spots. You never know if we might actually get a cleaning lady going through here. "Silly pooch." I enter the room and kick off my wedges, welcoming the comforting texture of the carpet, even though it was grossly stained.

A moment later the door opens and Clyde walks in carrying a brown paper bag. "Hola, la Femboy," he greets.

"Hola? Didn't realize you were part Chihuahua. Did you notice that you failed to lock the door behind you when you went out to get slammed on the job again?"

His face twisted in bewilderment. "That's not true. I made sure to lock up before taking off. Anything missing?"

"I don't know, I just got here myself. I've also got results, but we'll form a plan after we do a quick sweep of the place."

"Yeah, last thing we need is a bugged microphone picking shit up. I'll get the scanner, you search our inventory."

I nod my head and begin searching through the backpacks and suitcases. All my clothes had already been neatly hung inside the closet, while Clyde's was still a mess in his dufflebag. I pull out the small chip squished between the mattress and box spring and activate it. It opens it's top part and lets me see into its shrunken inventory. All guns and gadgets are still tightly sealed in their high-tech hiding spot.

"All gear is good to go. Anything on the scanner?"

Clyde had an eye patch/scouter looking thing on his eye while he was looking around the room from top to bottom. Anything foreign that hasn't been logged into its system with a serial code would be highlighted, letting us know if someone's placed a piece of technology in here without us knowing.

"So far it's clear. I know Amelia said this was a prototype, but does it gotta be so damn blurry? Oh wait- I see something! In the vent."

Quickly I fetch a screwdriver and begin undoing the screws holding the metal grate in its place. It pops off, and my patience begins to diminish when I saw that it was a small bottle of bourbon with a sticky note under it. I get both the bottle and the note, which read, "For the goodest boy in Ispio."

"Clyde, seriously?"

"Aw, for me!? They really shouldn't have," he says with a smug smile and lazy eyes. He begins to reach for it, but I pull it away from him, stuffing the bottle in my pocket.

"No! No more alcohol, dammit! Time to focus."

He sits down in a nearby chair with a heavy slump. "Fine, fine. What did you find while you were out there?"

"Glad you asked. I believe there's more information in the things that I didn't find."

He sits up straight. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that he wasn't on any of the public surveillance footage that I recovered."

"So what? He's Archer, he's never seen in the public. Super Ninja, remember?"