As time continued to pass by, Marisa kept her promise to Thomas. The two of them had many fun times together. Whenever they could, they would go somewhere fun with the others and create new precious memories. Thomas soon realized Marisa was right. While the memories he had of the time he spent with his parents were still important to him, it was alright for him to make new memories with all of his friends. He realized it was okay for him to move on with his life and not hold onto the past anymore. As soon as he did learn this, he felt somewhat relieved, as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. During that time, Marisa was right by his side doing everything she could to put a smile on his face. Her warm smile reminded him so much of his mother’s. He truly felt as if he had been set free. Meanwhile, Marisa was having so much fun too. She couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun. It was something she wanted to make last for a long time to come. Before anyone knew it, 3 months had passed. While Thomas continued his work as an agent, Marisa also continued her work as a doctor. One day, Marisa was going about her business when she passed by the waiting room and spotted a news report on the TV.
“Just a few moments ago, a wild police chase took place from the northern tip of town and ended here at the construction site for the new auto repair shop that was scheduled to have it’s grand opening at the beginning of the next year. The driver managed to avoid the police while parking in front of the site and ran into the half built building. The suspect is not expected to be armed however the police are having trouble apprehending him. We will continue to bring you this live broadcast as the events continue to unfold.” Marisa’s face brightened.
“That construction site is just around the block from here! Thomas must be there! And if the suspect is unarmed, than it should be okay!” With that said, Marisa rushed into the doctor’s resting room and found Chelsea.
“Chelsea, I’m sorry but something just came up. Can you finish today’s paperwork for me?”
“Sure thing. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing urgent. It’s just that I think Thomas is nearby. Thanks for doing the paperwork for me. I owe ya one!” With that, she rushed towards the door leaving Chelsea and Dr. David, who was also there, in a daze.
“Shesh, she just can’t stop herself from seeing him every chance she can get.” Chelsea picked up the folders Marisa left on the table and got to work. Dr. David just sighed as he formed a sad look on his face. Meanwhile, Marisa was running down the side walk as fast as she could.
“It’s been almost a week since we’ve seen each other. I sure hope he’s there. Of course, I’ll stand on the sidelines until he’s finished with his work.” Marisa kept on running until she spotted a large row of police cars. As she came up to them, she spotted some police men as they were leading a man out of the building and towards the police cars. She gasped as she spotted Thomas, Marcus, and Yoshi behind them. Thomas was wearing his stern work face. Marisa chuckled as she remembered the time when she thought that look was a little frightening. For a while, she just remained hidden among the crowd. Meanwhile, Thomas was talking to the police chief.
“This is only the 3rd time this month that they’ve bothered to make a move. I thought they would be acting up a lot more than this.” The chief mentioned.
“Yes I know. I was so sure they had intended to use the incident with the burned down school a few months ago as their calling card. Yet, they’ve hardly done anything at all since then. And the fact that this one was so easy to catch bothers me even more. At first I thought he was only meant as a distraction, but we never received word about any other kind disturbance. Which means they were merely trying to get rid of him or he was trying to cause some kind of an uproar.” For a while, the two of them just stood there thinking.
“In any case, we won’t be able to learn anything just hanging around here. We’ll take him back to headquarters with us for interrogation to see what we can find out. We’ll be sure to contact you as soon as something turns up.” Thomas nodded as the chief headed back for his car. Marcus and Yoshi walked up next to him.
“Are we all set?” Marcus asked.
“Yeah, let’s head back.” With that, they headed back towards their car. Just as he was about to open the car door, Thomas thought he heard someone call out to him. He looked up to see Marisa running towards him with a big smile on her face.
“Thomas! Wait for me!”
“Marisa?!” Unable to hold himself back, he rushed towards her. Marisa smiled as she leaped into his arms. For a moment, the two of them just stood there embracing each other.
“I missed you.” Marisa stated. Thomas gave her a squeeze.
“I missed you too.” Marcus and Yoshi just stood there with big grins on their faces. Finally, Thomas let Marisa go.
“I’m kind of surprised. I didn’t think you’d be here. I thought you’d still be at the hospital.”
“I saw the news report on the TV and rushed over when I realized it was close by.”
“I see.” Then without saying a word, Thomas took her hand and led her towards the car. Just then, Marcus opened up the door to the passenger seat.
“I believe the saying goes, ladies first.” Marisa chuckled.
“Why thank you, mister. That’s very considerate of you.” Marisa hopped into the car while Marcus jumped in the back.
“Ouch! Marcus, you sat on my hand!” Yoshi cried.
“Really? I thought it was a rock.” Marcus teased. Yoshi’s face turned bright red.
“Why you!” Marisa and Thomas couldn’t help but laugh. As they drove away, no one noticed a shadowy figure watching them from the alley. As quickly as he appeared, he suddenly disappeared into the shadows.
After taking the short drive, everyone found themselves back at W.O.O.H.P.
“Hey, Marisa, long time no see.” Miki stated.
“Welcome back.” Minnie remarked.
“It’s been a while, Miki, Minnie. How have you been?”
“Oh can’t complain. I could stand to get out and stretch a little more though.” Miki mentioned while stretching her arms high over her head.
“What are you talking about?! You’re the one who always takes off leaving me to do all the work?!” Minnie steamed.
“I get it all done when I come back, don’t I?”
“Only because I end up doing the majority of it while you’re gone.” Minnie mentioned with an annoyed look on her face. Miki brought her arms down.
“If that’s how you feel, than don’t do it at all. I’ll get it all done eventually.” Minnie’s face turned bright red with rage.
“Is that anyway to thank someone who’s constantly breaking her neck to cover for you?!”
“If you did break your neck, you’d be dead.” Miki stated with a smirk. Minnie just fumed, unable to think of a good comeback. Everyone couldn’t help but laugh. Just then, the doors opened. Everyone looked to see Commander Sampson walk through the door.
“Hello there, Commander.”
“Oh, Marisa, hello yourself. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“I hitched a ride with Thomas, Marcus, and Yoshi.”
“I see. Well than, I have read your report, Thomas. You think the suspect was intended to be used to cover for something in some way?” Thomas stepped up.
“Well, I’m not 100% sure, sir. All I do know is that it was extremely easy to apprehend him. While we searched through his belongings, it was confirmed he had nothing more on him than a simple pocket knife. Until now, our suspects have been armed with much more dangerous weaponry than that. That leads me to believe it was intended to be more than just a run of the mill issue.” Commander Sampson nodded.
“I agree with you on that. The fact that they haven’t taken any serious action since the fire worries me as well.” On hearing that, Marisa’s face brightened.
“Wait a minute! You’re talking about Red Claw’s gang right? The fire that took place at my little brother’s school! You’re saying they were the ones behind it?!” Commander Sampson looked at her.
“Yes, the remains of a hand grenade were discovered at the location shortly before the flames died down completely.” Marisa felt her heart skip a beat.
“A...a hand grenade?!” She spun around and looked at Thomas who was staring at the floor.
“Thomas...why didn’t you tell me?” Thomas couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eye.
“I...I’ve already caused you so much worry. I didn’t want you to know something that would make you worry more.” Marisa looked at his hands to see he was clenching his fists. At first, she just stood there. Thomas couldn’t even bring himself to open his eyes. Suddenly, he felt something brush against him. He opened his eyes to see Marisa putting her arms around him.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t get upset. Knowing what’s going on would be much better than not knowing. Besides, it’s just like it was the day you first brought me to this place. I’m not afraid of what the truth will be. I just want to be able to understand everything. Even if there’s nothing more I can do than give you support, I want to be able to be there by your side.” At first, Thomas just stood there. Then, he slowly lifted his arms and put them around her. As he held her close to him, he felt her warmth pressing against him warming his body. He couldn’t help but hold her close to him. Everyone just stood there smiling. They couldn’t get over how happy Thomas looked. They couldn’t remember the last time they had seen him look so happy. Just then, everyone heard a loud rumbling sound. Looking around they weren’t sure where it had come form. Just then, they heard it again. This time, they looked over and realized it was coming from Marcus’s stomach. Marcus blushed as he rubbed it.
“Ha ha, sorry guys. Guess I’m getting kind of hungry.” Yoshi rolled her eyes.
“When are you not hungry?”
“And unfortunately the kitchen has been empty since the head cook took a leave of absence thanks to his wife’s early delivery?” Minnie stated Marcus moaned as he dropped to the floor.
“Man, I’m starving. He’s been gone for 2 weeks now. When’s he coming back?”
“Give him a break. Having your first born child is not as easy as it sounds. It’s a lot of work to be a first time parent. From what I heard, his poor wife almost made herself sick from getting so little sleep.” Miki mentioned. Marcus just continued moaning. Marisa had a thought.
“If you show me where the kitchen is, I could make you a little something.” Marcus jumped up and ran over to her with big puppy dog eyes.
“Really?!” Marisa put her hands up and formed a startled look on her face.
“Yeah sure, I can’t promise anything fancy though.”
“Who cares about fancy as long as it’s food!” Marcus stated practically drooling. Marisa swallowed but smiled.
“Well, I am pretty good at making baked goods. Do you have anything particular in mind?” Marcus thought for a minute.
“Cake! I want cake!” He cheered. Marisa smiled.
“I’ll get right on it. As soon as you show me where the kitchen is.” Marcus jumped with delight as he grabbed Marisa’s hand and pulled her out the door leaving the others behind standing in a daze.
“What just happened? Did Marcus turn into some kind of mean eating machine when I wasn’t looking?” Miki asked.
“I’ve always thought he was an eating machine, but that was just weird even for him.” Yoshi mentioned.
“Do you think Marisa will be alright? Maybe somebody should go keep an eye on them to make sure Marcus doesn’t get too carried away.” Minnie suggested.
“No, I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Thomas stated. Everyone looked to see he had a smile on his face.
“Marcus may be crazy at times, but I’m sure Marisa can handle herself when it comes to him. I’m sure she’ll be back before we know it.” Everyone smiled as they nodded in agreement.
About an hour and a half later, Marisa and Marcus came back. Marisa was carrying a tray with a big chocolate cake on top.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Anyone care for a slice?”
“I know I want one. I’m so hungry I could eat the whole thing.” Marcus stated while licking his lips. Yoshi gave him a scowl.
“You do that and I’ll make sure that’s the last cake you’ll eat for months.” Miki and Minnie came up and smelled the cake.
“Mmm, it’s smells almost as good as it looks. I know I want a slice.” Miki stated.
“Me too.” Minnie agreed. With a big smile on her face, Marisa cut the cake into equal slices and handed them out. Marcus was the first to taste it.
“Yahoo! Now that’s what I call a major tongue pleaser!” Yoshi took a bite of her slice.
“Mmm, this is delicious! It’s even better than the cake from the café.” Miki nodded as she couldn’t even take her fork out of her mouth. Minnie couldn’t help but lick her fingers. Then, Thomas tried it.
“Defiantly the best cake I’ve ever tasted.” Marisa smiled a big smile. Just then, she walked up to the commander who had been staring at his computer the whole time.
“Would you like a piece, Commander?” At first, he just stared at it. Then, he took it from her hands and took a bite. Finally, he broke out a smile.
“It’s good. You might be as good a cook as you are a doctor.” Marisa smiled. Just then, Minnie came up.
“Marisa, could you show me how to make a cake next time?” Marisa nodded.
“Of course, it’s not really hard at all. Anyone could do it.” After everyone finished enjoying their snack, Marisa gathered all the dishes and headed back towards the kitchen.
“Wait Marisa, let me clean those up for you.” Yoshi stated.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, it’s the least I can do since you made us that delicious snack. Besides, it’s getting late, shouldn’t you be heading home soon?” Marisa looked at the clock.
“Oh yeah, you’re right. I didn’t realize it was already that late.”
“No worries, I’ll give you a ride back to your car. We’ll have you home in no time.” Thomas stated. Marisa smiled as she handed the dishes to Yoshi. After saying goodbye, she and Thomas drove back towards the hospital. After the short drive, Thomas pulled into the parking lot.
“Well, that sure was an unexpected afternoon. And here I thought I was just going to go back home.” Thomas smiled.
“I’m glad you didn’t.” For a while, the two just sat there.
“Well, I guess I better get going.” Marisa was just about to open the door when Thomas suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Marisa.” She gave him a confused look.
“Yes? What is it?”
“It’s just...well...” After that, neither one of them could bring themselves to speak. They slowly began to move in closer to each other as if they were being drawn in. Before they realized what was happening, they were right in each others faces. Suddenly, Marisa’s cell phone started ringing loudly. Completely frantic, Marisa grabbed it and turned the ringing off. The two of them just sat in the car both blushing.
“S...sorry about that. Th...that was probably my mom wondering where I am.”
“N...no problem.” Finally, Marisa opened her car door and stepped out.
“Well, I’ll see you soon then.”
“Yeah, take care.”
“You too.” With that, Marisa closed the door and watched him drive away. As soon as he was out of sight, she banged her head against the pillar.
“Geez! That was the third time! If this keeps up, it’s only a matter of time before we...” Marisa didn’t dare bring herself to finish. Finally, she straightened herself up.
“Oh right! My bag! I left my bag in my office when I took off so quickly. Better go grab it before I take off.” With that said, she started walking towards the entrance. She was just about there when she thought she heard something.
“What was that?” Looking over to the side, she thought she spotted someone sneaking through the shadows. Slowly, she walked over towards the shadows.
“Hello? Is someone there?” Looking around, she didn’t see anything.
“Must have imagined it.” Just before she was about to turn around and head back towards the door, something jumped up from behind her and grabbed hold of her.
“Hey?! What--?!” Before she could say another word, whoever it was threw their hand over her mouth and blocked her voice with a handkerchief. Marisa tried to break free but they were too strong. She was starting to feel really dizzy and her body began to feel really heavy. Before she knew what was happening, her body shut down on her and everything went black. Dragging her by the arms, someone threw her into the back seat of a car and took off with her.
Meanwhile, Thomas had pulled over just outside the hospital’s borders to pull himself together.
“You stupid idiot! What were you thinking?! You totally let yourself get overexcited! If her phone hadn’t gone off when it did, we would have...” Thomas just couldn’t bring himself to finish. Letting out a deep sigh, he stared out the window and into the clouds.
“Why am I doing this? I’m acting like a complete fool. If I keep going on like this, I’ll only succeed in pushing her away.” For a long time, Thomas just sat there thinking. Just then, his phone went off. Looking at the number, he realized it was Yoshi.
“Hello?”
“Thomas?! Thank goodness I managed to get a hold of you!”
“Yoshi? What are you so excited about?”
“This is no time for jokes! Is Marisa still with you?!”
“No, I just dropped her off at the hospital.”
“Oh no! Thomas, you’ve got to go back to her right now!” Thomas formed a confused look on his face.
“Why? What are you talking about?”
“We just got word from the police about the hot headed driver we arrested earlier this afternoon! Apparently, he was once a member of Red Claw’s men but decided to sever all ties with them! However before he did, he learned that Red Claw was secretly after someone! Someone whom he was planning to use in order to get to us!” On hearing that, Thomas’s face brightened.
“What?! Who?! Who is it they’re after?! You’re not saying it’s...!” Thomas was too nervous to finish what he was saying.
“Yes! It’s Marisa! They’re after her!” As soon as he heard that, Thomas’s turned his car around and sped towards the hospital.
“No! How did they know?! How could they possibly have found out about her?!” Thomas turned into the parking lot and parked his car in the first spot he found.
“Please, let me make it in time!” He stated as he ran as fast as he could. Just then, he spotted her car.
“Her car’s still here! Which means she must have gone inside!” With that, he rushed towards the door. As soon as he was inside, he rushed up to the front desk.
“I’m looking for Dr. Marisa! Please, tell me where she is! It’s an emergency!” Thomas stated to the woman working behind the desk.
“Dr. Marisa you say? I’m sorry sir, but she’s been gone for a while now. Apparently, she went to meet up with some friends of hers or something.” Thomas gasped.
“I know! It was me she went to see! But I brought her back only a few minutes ago! She has to be here!”
“Thomas?” A voice spoke up from behind him. Thomas spun around hoping it would be her. But it wasn’t. It was Chelsea.
“Thomas? What are you doing here? Is something wrong? You look really pale.” Thomas rushed up to her and grabbed her arms.
“Chelsea! Where is Marisa?! I have to see her now!” Chelsea formed a confused look.
“What? Marisa? I thought she was with you? She took off as soon as she learned about the police chase.”
“Yes she was with me! But I brought her back only a few moments ago! Her car’s still in the parking lot so I assumed she came in here!” Chelsea thought for a minute.
“No, I haven’t seen her. Her medical bag is still in her office so I assumed if she did come back she would come in and get it.” Thomas’s eyes widened.
“What?! But if her car’s still in the parking lot and her bag’s still in the building, than that means... Oh no!” Letting go of Chelsea, Thomas rushed back out towards the door.
“Thomas?!” Chelsea called out. Ignoring Chelsea’s cry, Thomas ran as fast as he could. As soon as he got back out to the parking lot, he called out.
“Marisa?! Marisa can you hear me?! Marisa?!” Looking all over, he couldn’t find a trace of her anywhere. Suddenly, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. It looked like something shining. Rushing over to it, he picked it up.
“This...this is!” Thomas was speechless. It was his mother’s silver bracelet with the blue hearts that he had given to Marisa a long time ago. Lifting his head, he spotted fresh black tire streak marks as if someone was in a hurry to get out of there.
“No!” Thomas grabbed his phone and called Yoshi.
“Hello?! Thomas?!”
“Yoshi! I’m too late! They’ve got her!”
“Don’t panic! The suspect revealed the location of their main hideout to us as well! He’s sure that’s where they were planning to take her! Don’t worry, Thomas! We’ll get her back!” Thomas gripped his hands so hard, his fingernails were cutting into his skin.
“You’d better believe we will! No matter what it takes! I will save her!”