{Part 20}
"Bye, Red!" Sora waved wildly as they walked down the sidewalk.
Red leaned against a street lamp and gave a small wave back. "Be safe out there. Good luck finding that kid. Oh, and Texas?"
Texas stopped and turned, the duffel bag gripped tightly in her hand.
Red grinned. "Keep dancing."
Texas frowned and gave a stiff nod before turning back and marching down the sidewalk. The others hurried to catch up, most a little sluggish since Texas had woken them from their afternoon naps. She was frustrated by the time they spent doing nothing useful for Click, so to make up for lost time she decided to hit the road quickly. Despite the others protesting and whining about wanting to stay a little longer, Texas was set in her decision. She took long strides with her head held high, ignoring the grumbles from Sora and Exusiai.
The sun felt warm against her back, and the cool air was refreshing. Texas adjusted her grip on the bag and looked down at her watch. 1:17. Not bad, but we could be doing better. I wish we could have left much earlier. That silly dancing game took up a lot of valuable time. Time that I could have used preparing myself and my teammates. And Red wasn't much help, though she did provide us with that temporary place to sleep. I know she must return to her own team, but it would have been helpful of her to give us some directions that were easier to read. Texas squinted down at the paper in her free hand, struggling to read the scrunched up and sloppy handwriting. Red had written down the directions to the airport, but it was hardly readable. She sighed and stuffed it into her pocket.
Lappland suddenly appeared beside her, a large from on her face. Texas barely acknowledged her and slightly sped up.
"So..." Lappland let her voice trail off, her smile widening. Texas sighed and decided to pay attention to her. Lappland thrived off of attention, that being her main thing. So, Texas kept her gaze forward and crossed the street quickly.
Lappland didn't skip a beat. "I saw you dancing. It was cute."
"No, it was not, now I would like you to maintain your focus on Click." Texas replied nonchalantly.
Lappland pointed and dramatically dragged her feet. "You're no fun."
"This mission is not about fun. It is about rescuing a child." Texas looked behind her and saw the others lagging behind, staring at a shop window. "Hey, we have to hurry."
Exusiai turned to Texas and pointed at the window with a serious look on her otherwise cheerful face. "You should come see this,"
Texas glanced at Lappland in confusion before jogging back across the street, feeling her patience running thinner. "What is it? We have to be at the airport soon."
"Look." Sora pressed a finger against the window over a poster taped on the other side. The paper looked old and the tape was peeling. Texas didn't see the significance until she looked closer. All she needed was to see the name Click to know that this was deeply important. She immediately stepped inside the shop without a word, snatching the poster off the wall and heading to the counter. She set the paper down and spoke in a demanding tone, "Have you seen this girl?"
There was a tall as rather chubby man behind the counter. He eyed her up and down with expression other than boredom. He wore a simple white tank top and baggy jeans. With a gruff voice, he spoke while shoving the paper aside. "Nope. Some couple a while back out those on every window. Don't know 'em."
Texas refused to give up. "What about the couple? Do you know them?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "No. What'cha want, girly? I've gotta business to run."
"I'm searching for a missing girl, and this is her." She tapped the Missing Person poster. "This was in your window, so I can only assume you spoke with the parents or guardians or this girl, since you hold the rights over what gets placed on your shop windows. Now all I ask is for the names of the people who gave you this poster."
The man was silent for some time. He glared at her, his hands placed on the glass counter separating them. Texas stood straight, her gaze unwavering. The bell above the door sounded, and the other girls joined Texas at the counter.
The man chuckled lightly. "What, you all cops or something?"
"Or something," Croissant said with a shrug.
The man sighed loudly. It was clear that he was annoyed at having five girls walk into his shop and start pestering him. "Look, I only agreed for that poster to go up so I could get more costumers. I ain't familiar with whoever the parents are, and I don't care about some kid I don't know."
"How humane of you." Lappland said dryly.
"If you ain't gonna buy anything, then scram." The man huffed and turned to his computer. Texas looked around her and realized that they were inside a pawn shop. Items of various types were scattered around on shelves and racks. Nothing of interest sparked her attention, and she knew she couldn't leave without gathering more information. The poster was the first bit of clue she'd gotten since her departure of Rhode Island. She looked at it again and actually saw what Click looked like. She was small with short, ear lengthy gray hair and small little mouse-like ears atop her head. A thin, pinkish tail curled around one of her feet, and she held a camera in her left hand.
So that's her, Texas thought. I'll need this. She took the paper, folded it up, slid it into her book bag, and stomped out. The others hurried to follow.
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