Stop Right There, Criminal Scum!
Mission Board: Epidemic, Gouda Boy prompt
A bouncy little melody carries along on plucked strings and playful horns, emanating from the open window of the shop ahead. There’s singing, too, though the words are too muffled to make out. It sounds like a normal celebration, but their mission says otherwise. Caspar’s fingers, already clenched into fists, squeeze tighter in twitchy little bursts. This guy’s doing some heinous stuff and he’s surrounding himself with a bunch of kids. He knows that, of course he knows that—it’s why he insisted on helping with this!
“I don’t want anybody lying for me. And don’t try to stop me from helping, either! The longer we go leaving a guy like that around a bunch of kids, the worse, right?!”
Ugh, there’s no time to argue about this! Caspar storms toward the doors, head lowered like a charging bull, and pushes them open so hard they slam against the walls. The loud crack! brings the music to a screeching halt—squawking trumpets and clattering bows and all. All eyes turn toward the entrance. Caspar’s remain locked on the man with mouse ears on his head and a violin in his hands.
“Alright, show’s over! Me and—Lex! C’mon! We’ve got an arrest to make!”
Lex didn't really intend to stop Caspar from helping. It would be a disservice to the kid, Lex was pretty sure. He recognized the same fire that Lex had himself held at a similar age. He had no concrete proof, only a hunch based on vibes, but Lex suspected Caspar might have the exact same drive Lex himself held when he was younger: a strong defiance of those older than him telling him what to do. Lex's had been born of being the unwanted, unimportant bastard child to an equally strong-willed father whose personality perfectly grated against Lex's own. What Caspar's had stemmed from, Lex couldn't say. He just felt he could identify similarities between the two of them that might make everything harder.
That also meant Lex was the perfect person to take Caspar under his wing. Someone older and more experienced but much the same in many ways? That made Lex ideal for making a difference in the kid's life, he was pretty sure. Every kid deserved to have someone in their corner. It seemed Lex had found the person he was honor-bound to support. Lex was going to do everything in his power to guide Caspar on the right path, and that would start with telling him that...
...Hey, wait, where'd he go?
Lex had looked away for just a moment and Caspar was suddenly slamming himself into the door of the establishment. It seemed Lex's assessment had been a little more accurate than he had suspected, because Caspar was making the exact same maneuver Lex had used to try and breach castle fortifications during Sigurd's campaign. Granted, it had been slightly less successful when Lex tried, but that was because the doors into a castle were substantially sturdier than those of a random market stall.
Any chance at subtlety had just gone up in smoke. Lex was hardly the most subtle man out there, but announcing their intentions like this might just make things difficult. Their quarry was probably going to start fleeing. From this position, Lex couldn't say. He didn't have a clear view into the building. Caspar did, though. If he had to guess, the kid would probably beeline for the suspect. If Lex barreled in alongside them, how successful would he be? Ordinarily, Lex wouldn't even bother pausing for thought, but he was the older, more responsible one of the pair. He was going to show Caspar the ropes. He needed to think for once in his life.
There had to be a back door. There was no way a costumed character would be expected to arrive through the main entrance. He would probably get mobbed by children if he did. If Lex snuck around back, they'd be in the ideal position for a pincer maneuver. If Gouda Boy tried to flee, Lex would be waiting for him in his escape route. If Gouda Boy stood to fight, then Lex could get him from behind, or at the very least divide his attention in two directions. Hopefully there wasn't any backup ready to ambush them.
"Go get 'em, Caspar!" Lex shouted, making a run towards the nearest open-air stall. "You got this!"
A bit of encouragement would probably be enough to keep the kid on his current war path. Trying to wrangle him would just slow them down, so Lex would just have to barrel through the stand of an unsuspecting merchant on his way to the back of Gouda Boy's establishment. He could pay for the damaged merchandise later; he had to make the most of this opening before it was gone. He could explain to Caspar afterwards that he had not, despite all appearances, been fleeing the scene.
