Chapter VI

Clover’s reluctance to go on the reconnaissance mission had almost completely vanished by the time they had hit the road in the armoured car.
She hadn’t been in a vehicle very often in her life (A few times when she was still at the orphanage to go on excursions and transfers and whatnot, and a few times taking the bus when she was living on the streets.
(However, she was banned from public transport since she snatched the microphone from the bus driver and started yelling insults to a group of rowdy schoolboys in the back who had teased her for being short) and she decided she could definitely get used to the air-con, squishy chairs, and the amount of trouble she could make if she figured out how to rig the airbag system of this car.
Her need for a bit of rest and comfort satisfied, her mind turned to the next thing on her to-need list.

Food.

You see, growing up on the streets, Clover ate whatever she could find. This often involved snacking on candy bars from the local grocer.
Consequently, Clover had quite a sweet tooth.

“Agent Pooper - sorry, Peppermint, there’s a bakery just over there, on that street. Let’s stop and get some food.” Clover said.

Agent Peppermint looked nervous.
“My apologies, Agent Doyenne, but it is discouraged for agents to consume pastries that contain a high quantity of sugar and simple carbohydrates in the moments during any sort of mission.”

Clover gave her the blankest stare in the history of stares.
“I lost you at ‘consume’.”
Agent Peppermint sighed.
“No sugar, smoking, or drinking allowed on a mission.”
Clover was not happy with this answer, so she did what she always did when somebody refused her: she screwed up her face, balled her fists and let out an earsplitting whine similar to a boiling kettle, except much, much louder.

Agent Peppermint winced, but she had been trained for this sort of thing, and resisted the urge to give in and get the screaming child a muffin.
Clover stopped and stared with a look of grudging admiration. Nobody had ever stayed quiet while she screeched like a banshee.

Meanwhile, in some tucked-up corner of the city, a man in a black cloak watched the scene from afar.
Despite being yelled at by his boss earlier, he felt good about himself.
He had an assassination mission.
His favourite.
“This will finish them off for good.” He muttered under his breath as he ordered two of his finest trucks filled with explosives towards Agent Doyenne and Peppermint’s location.

Eventually, Clover and Peppermint came to the turn-off that would lead them to the bakery, and if they didn’t turn right now, Clover would have to go cold turkey.

She grabbed the steering wheel and yanked it towards her, sending the vehicle swerving sharply in the complete opposite direction of where the bakery was and onto the wrong side of the road, narrowly missing two massive lorries hurtling towards them.
Then was the business of getting back onto their side of the road.
Agent Peppermint snatched the steering wheel back from Clover and swerved, once again, sharply to the side.
They crashed through the fence that separated the two road, and soon, they it was all over.
“I must say, Agent Doyenne,” Gasped Peppermint, “That was a fine dodge.”
Clover, completely unaware of the full extent of what had just happened, looked at her partner.
“What do you mean? I was hungry.” She mumbled as a muffled explosion behind them rattled the car.

Agent Peppermint smiled and shook her head, leaving Clover feeling utterly confused.

A few minutes later, the duo finally arrived at the park, and Agent Peppermint took one of those scanner gizmos they had acquired at the “armoury” and began combing the park for clues.
Clover had no idea what she was looking for, so she started wandering around trying to make it look like she knew exactly what she was doing.

A flock of cockatoos flew overhead, squawking their heads off. Clover scowled at them. Birds had stolen many a good meal from her in the past, and cockatoos were no exception.
They landed in a different part of the field under a tree, and began eating nuts off the ground.

While Clover was make rude gestures at the birds, a shadowy, skinny man watched through a crosshair in the bushes.
He growled in annoyance. The stupid little girl was bumbling around like she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Stand still, you little brat.” He hissed to himself.
Suddenly, a voice crackled onto the earpiece he was wearing.
“Is the girl dead yet?” It asked.
“No! She’s too busy skipping around and chasing birds. I can’t get a clear shot of her.”
“Well, shoot the other one then, you idiot!”

“Sir, yes sir.” Muttered the skinny man sarcastically as he pulled the trigger.

It all happened very quickly.

Clover came bounding over to Agent Peppermint to ask when they could get some food, skidded in a patch of mud, smashed into Peppermint, and sent them both tumbling into the dirt.
The bullet whizzed over their heads and slammed into a tree, with a burst of blue sparks criss-crossing all over it.

“Get down!” Hissed Peppermint rather unnecessarily as she whipped something out from her pocket.
A strange, slightly translucent dome formed around the pair as a hail of bullets rained down on them.
As the bullets hit the force-field, it sent vibrations rippling off the surface.

“Argh! They’ve realised what’s happening!” Growled the skinny man into his radio.
“They’ve set up a force field!”
The man over the communication device was incredulous.
“What? What happened?!”
“I’ve never seen anything like it, sir. It’s like she knew I was going to shoot her! She grabbed her partner and pulled her to the ground!”
The man made a noise that was a half sigh, half groan. Over the comms it sounded like a elephant sneezing.
“Abort mission. Repeat, abort mission. I’ll activate the mines.” He said.

Chapter VII

“Uh…Agent Peppermint?” Said Clover.
“What is it, Doyenne?”
Clover was holding a muddy, metal ball. It had a red light, which was blinking rapidly.
Peppermint’s eyes widened.
“Run. RUN!!!”

And they ran.

The duo had barely jumped behind some bushes when there was a deafening bang, a blinding flash of light, and then a shockwave that sent them flying.

Clover awoke to a blinding headache because all the blood had rushed to her head because she was hanging upside-down in a tree.
Before she could react, she fell down onto Agent Peppermint, who was lying splayed out on the ground.
Peppermint awoke instantly and tried to shove Clover off her, but then realised where she was.
“Ugh…what happened?” Groaned Clover.
Peppermint frowned. “Remote-detonated mines. We should have anticipated a trap.”
Clover noticed some sweet wrappers scattered on the ground.
She picked one up and gazed at it longingly…

Hold on. These aren’t sweet wrappers at all! Thought Clover excitedly.
She began scrambling about, picking up as many scraps of paper as she could.
“Agent Doyenne, pardon my asking, but what are you doing?”
Clover put her hand on her cramping stomach and scowled.
“I MIGHT have found a clue, but this mission is going to go NOWHERE UNTIL YOU GET ME SOME FOOD!!”

Agent Peppermint was understandably distressed and confused.
She had been on several missions with Agent Doyenne in the past, and on all of them she had been cunning, focused, and always the first to discover something.
It seemed that the attempted kidnap had changed her.
Unless…this Agent Doyenne was a fraud…
She suddenly became aware of her partner jumping up and down and waving her hand in front of her face.
“HELLO? I said i’m not doing anything else unless you get me some food!”
Peppermint sighed. She had to stay patient.
“Doyenne, the consuming of sugar is prohibited on a mi-“
“I DON’T CARE!! I WANT THAT PASTRY!!!”
And with that, Clover stomped off.
“Agent Doyenne, stop! The sniper could still be within the area…”
“Rubbish! That idiot is probably long gone by n-“
Suddenly, six giant metal fingers erupted out of the ground beneath the little girl’s feet and swallowed her.