Cherry and Atticus Save the Neighborhood

chapter 7

"Okay, which one of you touched my button?" the young woman demanded.

Arnold and Gerald both looked at each other.

"Me." Arnold and Gerald said in unison.

Bridget took them into her base, she then welcomed her cousin, and smiled, she had not seen him in a long time and vice versa. "How have you been?" she asked him casually.

"I've been great and I've been on many exciting adventures." Atticus smiled.

"I've heard..." Bridget gave a small smirk. "This is my newest partner..."

The second figure came visible to them, revealing herself, much to Cherry's shock.

"Teresa...?" Cherry whispered.

"Hey, Sis." Teresa greeted her sister.

"Well, now, this actually makes sense why she's been answering with the same answer." Atticus said.

"Same answer?" Teresa asked.

"I texted you like 50 times already!" Cherry explained.

"Oh, sorry..." Teresa said softly. "I had to do that because of my new job... But, remember, your mom, and Dad don't know any of this..."

"Yes, Teresa..." Cherry rolled her eyes a little. "You should work for Men in Black, that'd be so much cooler."

"Men in Black?" Patch asked.

"Never mind that for now, we need your help." Arnold replied.

The kids told Bridget and Teresa everything and why they had come for their help.

"Well, if you're gonna try to save the neighborhood, you're gonna need some equipment," Bridget informed them as she walked with Teresa to help them out. "State of the art. Mini condenser microphone for the ultimate concealed surveillance. Headphones and micro-radar tracking dish. 400:1 zoom lens binoculars with infrared capability for night vision. High tension, plastic wire, anodized steel pulleys and nylon straps for maneuvering in vertically-challenging situations. A two-way secure walkie-talkie for maintaining communication. And a synchronized, programmable, glow-in-the-dark watch set to Greenwich time and accurate within 1/10,000th of a second. It all fits into this cool AS-47 Junior Secret Agent utility belt."

"Uh, how much does all this cost?" Arnold asked.

"Since it's for such a good cause, it's on the house," Teresa replied. "We figure it's our contribution."

"Thanks, Tree." Cherry smiled to her half-sister.

"We'll take four of 'em, actually make five, if you have one for animals." Atticus said.

"As a matter of fact, we do," Bridget replied. "I should've known you'd come... I hear about Atticus's adventures all the time from Patrick and Emily, plus I hear a little of you from Teresa..." she then added to Cherry.

"Do the belts come in other colors?" Gerald asked.

"Black or pink." Bridget replied.

"We'll take black." Gerald accepted it, no way he was going to go around with a pink belt.

"What about this?" Arnold picks up a device, presses the button on it to show it was a remote control car.

"Why do we need a remote control car?" Gerald looked at him.

"You never know..." Arnold shrugged innocently, deciding to keep it in case of an emergency.

"Whatever you say, Arnold..." Gerald shrugged.

"Remember, you can't tell anyone..." Teresa reminded her sister. "Especially not your mom."

"I won't," Cherry promised. "I just miss you so much... You used to visit all the time when I was a kid."

"Well, I'm sure she will be able to visit you whenever she gets the chance." Atticus smiled.

"I'm terribly sorry..." Teresa added apologetically.

Cherry gave her sister a quick hug, haven't done it for a long time now.

After that, they were all dressed in black suits with white shirts, black ties, sunglasses, black pants for the boys and a skirt for Cherry, and black shoes, while Patch did not wear pants, but still looked like a super spy like the others.

"Alright, the neighborhood is counting on you." Bridget told the small group.

"Good luck, kids." Teresa added.

"Thanks, cuz." Atticus smiled to Bridget.

Bridget smiled to him, she also gave a random kiss to Gerald, which made him faint, but she hugged her cousin. "I always believed in you...." she whispered.

The five of them were now walking down the street, going on official business.

"We got less than a day to go through with this, we have to save the neighborhood and end this adventure, we don't have any lethal weapons, but we got spy gear with a boy and dog with Greek God strength, it's Tuesday, and we're wearing sunglasses..." Cherry made a Blues Brothers reference. "Hit it!"

"Hit what?" Patch asked.

Cherry face-palmed. "Just go..."

"Okay." Patch said.