What's The News? • Lemoxie

Chapter Three

"Kellar! No it's not what you think!"

Kellar glared at me. "Are you trying to keep him a secret? What is he doing here, Moxie?"

I kept quiet.

"What is he doing here?" He repeated.
"He told me it's confidential. Top Secret Work." I lied. Kellar shook his head.
"I know your lying voice. What is he doing here?"

I sighed and hopped into my jeep. "Screw this." I mumbled, driving towards Hungry's. I honked at the a certain black motorcycle on my left.

"Hungry? Jake should be starting his shift in a few minutes." I called. He nodded.
" It'd be nice to see him. It's been four years and I haven't been able to find better cooking anywhere. " He called back.

I grinned and met up with him at Hungry's. Jake was just coming out of the back room and putting on an apron.

"Hey, Jake!" I greeted, sitting at the counter.
" How do you do, Hix? " Lemony added, taking the seat next to me. I smiled at him from next to me. Oh god, get a grip, Moxie! Seriously! He's gonna think you're a total idiot!

"Snicket? Is there some sort of VFD work you're here for or just nostalgia?" Jake managed to ask after recovering from the shock of seeing him.
"Let's say both." He answered, "For example, I've been craving for some of your food for a while. What's there to eat?"
" Mmm, let's say Pesto Lo Mien... "

I grinned. "That's an interesting international combination." I chuckled.
Jake nodded and asked Lemony for the VFD side of his visit.
"Confidential, information. Isn't that correct, Moxie?"
" I'm in on this? " I asked in astonishment.

He nodded, saying something about me being his prime associate. Jake rolled his eyes and returned to the stove as I tried to hide my stupid smile. "Prime associate" - why does that make me so smiley?

"So how are we running this operation?" I asked Lemony, extremely eager to help save Stain'd-by-the-Sea... Again.
"We need to get to Stewart Mitchum, or someone who's close to him, at least."
" Ornette's brother, Ethan, and Stew are best friends. We can interrogate him? "
"Ornette has a brother?"
I nodded. "And a sister. Name's Kyra." I explained.
"Hm, guess I learn new things every day! " Lemony beamed. I chuckled as Jake set a root beer float in front of Lemony, whose eyes lit up at the sight of it.
"We got some root beer when the economy improved. I thought you'd like a float!" Jake grinned as Lemony practically chugged it. I watched in horror, expecting him to get the brain freeze of his life.

"What the fuck are you even human?" I asked once Lemony slammed it down without so much as a wince.
"Language!" Jake shouted. Lemony snickered as Jake handed us two plates.

We commented the how fantastic it looks and thanked him before digging in. It tastes ten times better than it looked, which is certainly saying something... I paid for both of us and we left. "That was pleasant." He said.
"Yeah but we didn't get much done. Are we taking my jeep or your cycle to Ornette's?"

Lemony shrugged. "Can I drive your jeep?" He asked after a couple seconds.
"Ha! That's precious! No I love my jeep more than anything so nope!" I replied, hopping into the driver's seat. "You coming or what?" I asked a pouting Lemony. He nodded and climbed into the passenger's side.

A couple minutes pass and Lemony looks behind us. "We're being followed."
"You gotta be joking..."
"Just lose them, kay?"
I nodded and took a couple side streets even though I didn't fully believe this person -whoever they were- was following us.

Soon we pulled up to a two story Ranch- style house that needed some paint. I knocked on the door and Kyra answered. "Hey, Moxie. Who's the guy?"
"An associate. Ornette in?" I asked. She nodded and ran to fetch her sister.

Ornette Lost eventually made her way to us, folding around a piece of paper. "Hey, Moxie, what's - What's Snicket doing here?"
" How come everyone wants to know that?" Lemony asked. I saw him throw up his hands for dramatic effect out of the corner of my eye, making me chuckle.
"We're following up on a lead. Any idea where your brother is?"

She nodded. " Ethan just made some tea. He's in the living room." Ornette answered, leading us into a different room where her brother had collapsed onto the floor, spilling the contents of his now broken tea cup. There was a familiar smell in the room —it was sweet and strong and wrong. Lemony bent down and picked up a small glass vial.

"He spiked his tea with laundanum." He concluded.