Chapter Eighty-Three: The Business Card

TJ knew what he had to do.

It was Monday morning, and it was time for his interview with Richard Dickson, the leader of the Presidents Entrusted National Intelligence Service. He had to be careful. If Wallace Dingbat suspected a thing, then it was all over.

He walked through the entrance of the room that had been set aside for the interviews and looked around, inspecting everything. He wished he was Belle, who could take in a lot of information quickly and scope out a situation before anyone else, which allowed Charlie to form the best plan of action. Of course, they were in Brisvegas for the week, so they were no help.

His eyes scoped the small window to the main office, the only window in the room. There was a single desk with two chairs. Dickson sat on the other side of the desk.

“Please, take a seat Mr. Jacobs.” Dickson smiled at him.

TJ closed the door and sat down. “My name is TJ.” He said.

“TJ?” Dickson asked.

“So I don't get confused with my Dad. He's Theodore Jacobs Snr, I'm Theodore Jacobs Jr.” TJ told him. “Only my wife gets away with calling me Theodore.”

“Yes, I see you're married to a nurse. Petunia, am I right?” Dickson looked through his paperwork.

“Yup, my 'Tuney.” TJ smiled.

“You've been married for a while. Judging from the fact that your face could light up the dark side of the moon, I say things are going well?” Dickson smiled back. “I recently got married myself.”

“Congratulations.” TJ nodded.

“Thank you.” Dickson shuffled his papers again. “Now, before we start, is there anything you want to tell me?”

“Not here, no. I mostly keep to myself and don't bother anyone.” TJ replied.

Dickson looked at him, confused but not showing it. “Very well.” He sighed with disappointment. “I see you're not going to talk.”

“Not here, no.” TJ said again. “I don't have any knowledge that you might want.”

“Very well.” Dickson sighed with defeat. He handed TJ his card. “Let me know when you want to talk.”

TJ looked at the card. “I don't think I'll be needing it.” He handed it back and left the room.

—

“I don't get it.” Belle stared at the page for the millionth time as they pored over the files in the hotel. “Why did Dad sell the specs for the Ruby Suit?”

“Maybe he was hoping for a favour from the government? Maybe that's why the…them…are here?” Charlie had to suppress a giggle.

“But why would Dad wait so long after the protest to cash in?” Belle wondered.

Charlie thought hard, but ended up shaking his head.

“It's no good. I need more information before I can use the Clause.” He said. “Let's get back to work.”

“Yeah.” Belle nodded, before the pair of them dove into the paperwork in front of them.

—

“Why MIDNIGHT of all things?! And on a Monday night too?!” Sir Hyper grumbled.

The Noble Knights of the Last Order was standing on the walkway of Pleasantville Dam

“Because that's the way they do it in the movies.” Sir Dark replied.

“I gotta admit, that was a good idea, handing back the note with his card.” Sir Lionheart said approvingly.

“You learn quickly. I couldn't risk Dingbat seeing anything.” Sir Dark told him. “I'm already in a enough hot water there.”

“Ssshhhh, I hear something.” Lady Silent piped up.

The group stood silently as they listened. Soon, they could all hear the sound of multiple sets of footsteps heading towards them. They soon saw Richard Dickson and two of his men in the moonlight.

“Mr. Dickson. I'm glad you accepted the Constables message. I'm Sir Lionheart, I believe we have met.” Sir Lionheart introduced himself.

“Interesting.” Dickson replied. “These are my men, the two I trust more than anyone else, Mr. Ball and Mr. Testy.”

Sir Lionheart had to swallow his laughter. He then introduced the rest of the Knights.

“Now, to business. We want to know exactly why you're here and what you plan to do next.” Sir Hyper sat on a nearby rock.

“That's a difficult question. You see, what we've been sent to do and what we actually plan to do are two completely different things.” Testy sighed. In the dark all the Knights could see was a weaselly-shaped man who looked completely untrustworthy.

“The government sent us here as a cover. We're just here for show.” Ball said. He was bigger than Testy, and looked more like someone military.

“But we don't believe that's right. We actually want to make a difference.” Testy said.

“No offence, but how do we believe you?” Lady Courage asked.

“None taken. We know our story seems far-fetched.” Ball said. “It's up to you what you do with it.”

“So you're not even prepared to try?” Lady Courage narrowed her eyes.

“Easy Courage.” Sir Lionheart said warningly.

“I don't trust them. They're on OUR territory, we don't know where they've come from or who they're working for or why. Everything they've said so far just sounds way too convenient.” Lady Courage pointed out. “Especially as it seems the government wants the status quo to stay as it is.”

Dickson stared hard at her. Sir Lionheart grimaced beneath his mask briefly, before turning to Dickson.

“My associate has a point. Until we can fully verify your story and your intentions, we won't be able to trust you or work with you properly.” He conceded. “What can you give us?”

“I can give you information about Peter Masters.” Dickson told them

—

Belle and Charlie were deep in their files, when there was a knock on the door. The pair looked at each other, stricken.

“Does anyone know we're here?” Belle mouthed.

“They shouldn't.” Charlie mouthed back.

The knocking started again. Belle reached into her bag and pulled out the Lucky Seven Gun. Charlie pulled out the Lions Claw Blade and walked to the door. Belle positioned herself behind the bed and nodded.

Charlie opened the door.

“Webster! Maddy! Tate!” Belle put the Lucky Seven Gun down. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Hopefully not getting shot.” Webster chuckled. He looked a lot healthier than he had when he lived in Pleasantville, which just went to show what that city did to people. “Your Dad let us know you were here, so we thought we'd help out. We can unlock doors that you can't.”

“Nice!” Charlie grinned. “We need more information for me to process the Improbability Clause.”

“And we've got some. We just need to know about who they sent to Pleasantville.” Maddy sat down and set Tate on the bed.

Belle and Charlie looked at each other and giggled. Then they saw that Webster and Maddy looked deathly serious.

“If it's the Presidents Entrusted National Intelligence Service, we're in big trouble.” Webster said. “You can NOT trust Richard Dickson!”