T.N - Chapter 45

*note- I liked the change G made, so I decided to go with it. changed any mention of black to pink!*

Momentarily, I had lost sight of the running culprit, and I freaked out for a second, wondering if I had turned a wrong corner. I checked out the other side of the garden, and looked up on the roof, but there was no sign of him. Then I saw the gaggle of burly security guards standing in a circle, and from the expression on some of their faces, something significant had happened. They were blocking my path, so I might as well check out the scene.

I pushed my way past the security guards, and saw what they were looking at. It was Charlie, looking not too ridiculous in his suit (it wasn’t a hot pink, but more of a rosy tone). He was on top of the man I was chasing earlier, who seemed to be unconscious. My face, at that moment, probably was a copy of the security guards around me.

“Uh, Charlie,” I managed to choke out, “did you knock him out?”

“I didn’t mean to. I just meant to stop him from going on a rampage from shock from that explosion, and I kind of just tackled him. I think he knocked himself out or something.” He scratched his head. “I think he was surprised.”

“I’m sure he was,” I said, shaking myself out of my shock. “You left all of us in the dust.” I stuck out a hand to help him up. He took it, and heaved himself up. “Hell, you surprised me,” I said, shaking my head in amazement.

As soon as Charlie was off of the bomber, the security guards quickly leapt into action, handcuffing the unconscious culprit and hoisting him up. They went into the house, while one split off, probably to find Kent.

“Why are they handcuffing him?” asked Charlie, puzzled. “He was a danger to himself, but probably not other people.”

“You probably heard the explosions, right?” I said. He nodded his head. “Well that guy is probably one of the causes. He had a briefcase with him…” my voice trailed off as I looked for the briefcase.

“Here it is,” said Charlie, holding up a ridiculously pink briefcase. He handed it over to me, and I sat down on the ground. I didn’t care about the dress, but I did care about what could possibly be in the briefcase. Charlie crouched down besides me. The briefcase looked like it had been hastily shut, as the lock hadn’t been entirely shut. Therefore, I was able to open it with ease. In the background, there was a chorus of Happy Birthday, and I realized that Selene had probably just arrived on the scene.

One half was made of foam, with an impression of a round object still fresh in it. The other half consisted of hastily scrawled out notes in a foreign language. It tilted to the side, almost like cursive. I traced my finger over it, and thought that it looked like Arabic. I only knew one person who could figure it out for me, and I hoped he wasn’t searching for me in the crowd.

I walked calmly through with Charlie tagging behind, and somehow, Selene and Kyle had emerged unscathed from the house. The guests had settled down, some chuckling over the “clever trick” that Kyle had planned.

Selene was dressed in a floor length asymmetrical white dress sprinkled with small genuine pink roses. Kyle was admittedly rather dashing in a dark cherry rose tuxedo and a single white rose on his lapel. I planned to find Dennis without catching the attention of the two. But as most plans go, and as I was wearing something that stood out so much, it didn’t work.

“Theodora darling!” I heard Selene call out, and before I could brace myself, she had engulfed me in a large embrace. The briefcase ended up awkwardly between us. “You’re not wearing the dress I had made for you,” she noted, giving me a little pout. “But it does suit you.”

“Happy birthday, Selene,” I said. “The dress was too wonderful for me, and I didn’t want to draw attention from you. It was quite the masterpiece,” I lied through my smile.

“Thank you!” she said, giving me a brilliant smile. “I can’t wait to open your present!”

“I picked it out just for you,” I replied. “I mustn’t hog all of your attention. You have many others to greet here, and I have to return this briefcase to Dennis.”

“Of course. You’re always so thoughtful of others,” she said. She turned away from me (to my great relief) and started greeting her other guests. I managed to push past Kyle, who just looked at me weirdly. Probably because of the briefcase.

Somehow, within the sea of pink, I managed to pick out Dennis. I walked up to him, pulled him aside, and showed him the notes. His brows furrowed as he read the notes. I made a move to take them out of his hand, and he quickly moved them out of the way.

“Ok Theo,” he said, as I made frantic grabs to get it back. “Tell me the truth. What trouble have you gotten in this time?”