Chasing Treasures

by Yukito

18 - The Panda's Lair

Sunset followed the directions in the mysterious text sent to her, keeping one hand on her holstered pistol at all times as she walked down the unfamiliar street, into the apartment building and up the rickety staircase to the top.

She followed the room numbers until she found the one mentioned in the text. The text told her that information on Tirek was waiting, if she came alone. She was sceptical, but when the sender revealed themselves to have been the sniper that had shot Scorpan, she knew that she had to check this out.

Cautiously, she opened. Simply one step into the room, she was held at gunpoint by two men in white suits, they eyes hidden behind shades that must have lowered their visions drastically in that dark room.

"Just two?" Sunset asked as the jewel around her neck shone, emitting a barrier that spread out, surrounding her body and pushing the two startled men into either wall of the cramped entryway.

"Sorry about that," a female voice called out, and Sunset drew her pistol and pointed it into the shadows ahead of her. "Naturally, we had to be sure that it was you coming in. Please, lower your weapon. We're on the same side here."

Sunset narrowed her eyes. "You… Who are you? Why is your voice so familiar?"

Footsteps drew closer, and a slender figured became visible as a candle was lit behind it. A few more candles were lit as the figure approached, and soon, Sunset could see the person clearly.

Her eyes widened. "Wait, I know you… You're from school…"

The girl had long, curly hair in two different colours: pink and blue. She wore a white one-piece dress with turquoise stripes, with a strap around the waist adorned with a ribbon shaped like a sweet.

"My name is Bon Bon," the girl said in introduction. "As you said, I am a student at your school. But, I am also an agent working for the British intelligence agency, MI6. There, my call sign is Agent Sweetie Drops. It is nice to formally meet you, Miss Shimmer."

---

"So good of you to join us, Daring Do."

Daring Do rubbed her head. She felt groggy and the world was swaying around her. She could see a large man in a white suit standing before her, and to each of his sides were men in black suits, wielding automatic weapons. As her eyes focussed, she could see the bars separating her from them.

"PandaBubba," she said, pushing herself to her feet and slowly approaching the bars. "H-Hey. It's been a while, hasn't it? Funny story: I was just on my way to meet you!"

"Were you, now? No doubt to steal yet another one of my treasures. What was it this time? The Eye of Dashi? Perhaps the Third Arm Sash was what caught your attention."

"No, I- You have the Third Arm Sash?" Daring Do shook her head. She had to focus on the task-at-hand. "No, I was on my way to pay you back! You know I'm a girl of my word!"

"Oh? Then I will humour you. What do you have to pay me back with?"

Daring Do felt around her pockets, but found them empty. "… Okay, I had the Sapphire Stone-"

PandaBubba sighed, and snapped his fingers. One of his henchmen produced a familiar item that made Daring Do gasp. "You mean this Sapphire Stone? Sorry, but Ahuizotl traded it to me for an audience. And then, he traded you."

"He traded me? What for?"

"A compass," PandaBubba replied with a grin. "One said to allow sailors to navigate unassailable waters."

Daring Do gritted her teeth and banged a fist against one of the bars of her cell. "Damnit! Now he has the solvent and the compass!"

"And now, my dear, the question remains: what do I do with you?"

"Let me go?" Daring Do asked, giving her best innocent smile that only scored a frown from her captor.

"No… Ahuizotl tells me that Tirek has his sights set on you. I think I might use that to my advantage."

"You wanna use me as a bargaining chip? Bad move. You know Tirek doesn't-"

"PandaBubba, sir," one of PandaBubba's henchmen cut in. "It's almost time for your two o'clock."

"Already? Such a busy time of the year, this is. Collecting debts owed by the local gamblers and what-not." PandaBubba turned to leave. "I will return to deal with you later. Until then, feel honoured that you were in my great presence."

Daring Do stuck out her tongue as PandaBubba and his goons left the room, leaving behind two snarling dogs that seemed like they hadn't been fed in days. Thankfully the bars kept them from her, but of course, all good things had to come to an end eventually. Especially if she wanted to escape.

Finding the cage's lock, Daring Do reached into her back pocket and felt around for a bit, rummaging for the small pouch that would not be noticeable to a quick search. Inside was a small skit for picking locks. Crude, but effective.

She reached around the bars and fumbled about with the lock. The mechanism was simple, and it didn't take much for it to click and for the cage's door to open. The problem was what was to come next.

The dogs were already right out of the cage's door, just waiting for it to swing open enough for them to reach the girl and tear her to shreds. Those claws looked sharp, and those fangs looked painful. Daring Do positioned herself to the same side of the door that the dogs were on and gulped. She crouched and stared at the dogs, and then, she swung the door open.

The dogs barked as they ran into the cage. Daring Do noticed how they kept low and, grabbing onto one of the bars, she swung over the dogs and landed outside of the cage. She spun around quickly and slammed the door on the two dogs, though one of them managed to keep it from closing with its legs. It howled from the pain, and Daring Do took the chance to thrust her fist into the cage, punching the dog's snout and forcing it to retreat.

The door closed, locking automatically without the need for a key. Sighing with relief, Daring Do backed away as she watched the door angry doors barking furiously at her. The noise wasn't going to go unnoticed, she realised, and so she hurried out of that room and into the hallway outside.

As she ran down the hallway, she heard the sounds of footsteps behind her. They were running towards the room she had been imprisoned in, meaning that it would not take long for the alarm to be raised.

Rounding a corner, Daring Do came face-to-face with a guard slouched against a wall, his gun resting at his side as he was typing away on his smartphone. The guard turned and gasped, quickly dropping the phone and reaching for the gun, but Daring Do moved faster and swept the guard off his feet with a swift swipe of her leg. She took the gun and aimed it at the guard, who raised his arms as he lay back on the floor, glaring.

"Where's the way out?" she demanded.

"You'll never make it out alive," the guard replied.

"I'll check down here!" The voice was accompanied by the sounds of running getting closer. Running short on time, Daring Do fired a warning shot.

The bullet hit the floor beside the fallen guard's head, and he gulped. "D-Down the hallway behind me, take a left at the junction, and then the third right. That will take you to the exit."

Daring Do wasted no time on thanking him, instead bolting down the hallway as fast as she could. As she neared the aforementioned junction, she found two guards standing there, chatting to each other. Stopping for a moment, Daring Do looked around her surroundings and found an air vent on the left wall.

Reaching up, Daring Do opened the vent and climbed inside. She almost gagged at the sight of cobwebs and discarded cigarette butts inside, but pressed on regardless, crawling through the tight space. It wasn't as bad as many of the tombs she had explored, but it was certainly cramped and the gun in her hand wasn't helping.

As she passed by a grate, she peeked outside carefully and found the hallway to be clear. Still, she had no idea where she was at this point, so she left the vent slowly and peered to the right. She could hear footsteps and slipped behind a nearby plinth holding a statuette. The guards ran past without noticing her.

"This way!" the guard at the front yelled, and she recognised him as the guard she had downed earlier. "She's heading to the courtyard! She'll be trapped there!"

Daring Do gritted her teeth. The guy had tried to trick her, and she was foolish enough to have fallen for it. She was thankful for the detour that had taken her off-route, though now she had no directions once more.

A lone guard left the room opposite to her, stretching his arms as he turned back and said, "I'm done for today! Catch ya later!"

"Yeah, same time tomorrow," a voice inside the room called, and then the door closed. The guard started walking down the hallway to the right, humming to himself. Daring Do slipped out of her hiding spot and tailed the guy, slipping between cover and staying close enough to follow his moves.

Eventually she was led towards a hug hallway, filled with fancy furnishings and ornate decorations. The guard left through the double doors at the other end and Daring Do waited for a full minute before following, making her way across the empty hall and reaching for the doors.

A bullet stopped her, striking the wooden door before her and forcing her to freeze.

"Lower your gun and turn to face me," PandaBubba's voice called out. Daring Do heard the clicks of guns all around her, and she could sense that she was trapped. Angry, she complied with PandaBubba's instructions, gently setting her gun down and then turning around with her hands in the air.

"So what now?" she asked.

"Hmph. I think now, I know just what I am going to do with you," PandaBubba said, standing atop a balcony that overlooked the hall. To either side of him stood one guard, and there were two more guards to standing on balconies to each side of the room. "Killing somebody of your skill would be a shame. No, I think you'll make plenty of money for me fighting in The Arena."

Daring Do gritted her teeth. 'The Arena' was a gruesome place in the underworld, where those unfortunate enough to get on the bad sides of the wrong people would be forced into bloody death matches with each other for the sake of survival, the only hope being that they are bought by somebody kind enough to treat them like a person. There, Daring Do would not have that hope. People there would pay to see her die.

"I am afraid I will have to object to that," the guard to PandaBubba's right said, before drawing his pistol and shooting the guard to PandaBubba's left. The remaining four guards set their sights on this rogue, but nobody fired as the barrel of his pistol was mere inches from PandaBubba's face.

"You're not one of my guards. Who are you?" The guard removed his helmet, revealing his face. "Doctor Caballeron…"

"Indeed. I hope you will forgive this roundabout way of going about it, but arranging an audience with you is such a tiring process."

"Well, not that I would particularly miss him," PandaBubba said, his eyes shifting to the injured guard beside him, "But normally, I do not take well to outsiders attacking my men. You had better have something good to offer me, Doctor."

"As a matter of fact, it has come to my attention that you have recently acquired a certain item," Doctor Caballeron said. "An adventurous young lass, one bold enough to steal from you, and elusive enough to evade your grasp. I want to buy her."

PandaBubba scoffed. "She's not for sale," he said. "The amount of money she'll fetch for me in The Arena is incalculable! Unless you think you can offer something that could top it?"

Doctor Caballeron snapped his fingers. Suddenly, two of the remaining guards lowered their guns, and made their ways over to Caballeron and PandaBubba. "Having your men hide their faces is a wise strategy," Caballeron said, "But it carries with it the ease of enemies to sneak into your ranks."

The two guards stopped before PandaBubba. One reached into a small satchel strapped to his waist, pulling out a small metallic box, whilst the other reached into his pocket and produced a key. The guards unlocked and opened the box, revealing inside a small red jewel, no bigger than a clenched fist.

PandaBubba gasped. "This is…"

"A ruby prism," Caballeron finished. "One of the last few of its kind, said to be packed with magical energy and very potent."

"May I?" PandaBubba asked, receiving a nod from Caballeron. He reached his hand out, touching it to the jewel and feeling it for a few moments as he closed his eyes. "It's… real…"

"Even I would not risk selling a fake to you."

"And yet… to trade such an item for one gir." PandaBubba grinned. "She must have captured your heart, Doctor Caballeron."

Caballeron simply grinned back. "I simply see that her value in the field is greater than her value in The Arena."

PandaBubba laughed, taking the jewel and waving a hand to his two remaining guards. Together, they lowered their guns, and so did Caballeron. "We have a deal. Daring Do! You are now the property of Doctor Caballeron! Do as you wish from this point on, but know that we no longer have a grievance!" PandaBubba smiled down at her. "Next time our paths cross, let's try to be friends, shall we?"

Daring Do returned the smile and nodded her head. "Next time we meet, I'll bring you something that makes up for what I stole!"

PandaBubba laughed. "No need! What Caballeron has given me makes what you stole a mere trinket!" He turned to Caballeron. "I will overlook your impudence today, Doctor. Leave with your girl, but know that she is quite the livewire."

"I know," Caballeron replied. "She is the one who almost killed me, after all."

"Then it seems that our business is at an end." With that PandaBubba left with his two guards, leaving Doctor Caballeron and his men to join Daring Do on the floor below.

"Well then, shall we?" Doctor Caballeron asked, as his two henchmen pointed their guns at Daring Do.

Daring Do opened the door and stepped outside, Caballeron following her and then leading the way towards his car, parked just around the corner. As he and Daring Do entered the back, he took out his phone and dialled a number. The car started up, and he started talking. "It's me," he said into his phone. "Yes, I have her here. As agreed, I will deliver her to the airport."

Daring Do wondered who he was talking to, but kept quiet until he put the phone down. "Never would've thought you'd go so far to save my life," Daring Do said.

"As I said, you are valuable to me," Caballeron replied.

"I'm touched, but to give away a ruby prism? You know you could've just slipped me some kind of tool in The Arena."

"Yes, but I needed you now." Caballeron pointed his pistol at Daring Do, his eyes cold as he locked eyes with her. "That was your FBI friend on the phone. I am to deliver you to her, but I made no promises as to the state you would be in when I do so.

"Now, I want answers, Miss Do. Word has it that Tirek is in possession of a nuclear warhead and is on his way across the ocean, heading towards America." Daring Do tensed. "Except… I don't think that that is his target. Tell me everything that is going on, and then…" Caballeron pulled back the hammer of his gun. "Then, I will decide whether or not you were worth my investment.”

Comments

[Emperor]

Clearly PandaBubba never read the Evil Overlord List.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Damn, that was kind of sweet of the good Doctor.