Chapter 97: Real Perpetrator.
Gru cautiously entered Eagle Hair Club, the wig shop owned by the current prime suspect of stealing PX-41, Floyd Eaglesan.
He was about to push the door, but the door automatically opened up, making way for Gru. When he entered the shop. A chair turned with Floyd Eaglesan sitting on it, stroking a wig.
"I was expecting for you to come, Felonius Gru."
"Why? I have never met you before."
"Well, you see whenever a follically challenged person enters the mall. I make it my job to know everything about them. From everything, I mean EVERYTHING." The last part gave Gru chills as he remembered Knuckleduster's proposed second possibility.
'Floyd is gay and he is interested in Gru.'
Pushing these unnecessary thoughts aside, he started roaming around the shop with his lower body slightly forward than usual. It was to let the sensor catch any traces of PX-41.
Floyd came down from his seat and showed Gru some wigs for him to try but Gru just ignored the talks and continued to search for the traces. Eaglesan continued following him, showing his shop to Gru.
In his search for the evidence inside the shop, he came across a cabinet with a lot of wigs placed on it. He was about to move forward,
:: Gru, Stop!!! ::
The sudden exclamation in the earpiece made Gru stop in his tracks.
:: Turn a bit towards your left::
________________________________________
[Inside the Cupcake Shop, Paradise Mall]
'The Signal is getting stronger. So my speculation was correct.'
"Now move towards the direction you are currently facing right now," Knuckleduster said to the earpiece.
The marker moved but the signal didn't increase this time. He then heard some things from Gru's side.
:: Gru... Gru... Margo found a boyfriend. They are going for a date:: A little girl's voice came through the earpiece.
:: Nobody's going on a date. Not on my watch:: Gru's shouts also came back through the earpiece.
Then Gru's marker moved outside the Eagle Hair Club.
"Gru. Gru!!! Listen, Go back inside the shop. The signal is getting weaker". Knuckleduster shouted but didn't receive any response from Gru.
Looking at the situation, Knuckleduster left the console and ran towards the Eagle Hair Club with a PX-41 sensor with him. He needs to confirm the perpetrator as soon as possible and he doesn't want Floyd to run away if he turns out to be the one.
"Agent Wilde, Come to Eagle Hair Club as soon as possible," Knuckleduster called for Lucy through the earpiece as he made his way towards Floyd Eaglesan's shop.
_______________________
[Salsa and Salsa Restaurant, Paradise Mall]
Gru entered the restaurant, smash opening those doors. He walked in and found his eldest daughter talking to a good-looking kid, with a 'Girl-in-love' expression on her face.
"Gross. Look. They are in love." Edith pointed to the table where Margo and the kid were sitting.
"No no no... Did you just said... No no no." Gru walked towards the 'couple.'
...
"You see. My dream is to play video games for a living," The kid said to Margo.
"Wow~~ You are so complicated." Margo complimented the kid.
But their conversation was cut, as a bald man interjected in-between them.
"Margo... What is going on here?" Gru asked with a weird smile on his face, trying not to look angry.
"Oh... Se Ilama Antonio and Me Ilamo Margo. (His name is Antonio and My name is Margo)" Margo said in Spanish, trying to adapt to it as she was already having visions of her married future.
"Ilama, Lama, Ding-Dong. Who cares? Let's go." Gru made his stance clear that he is not for a talk.
But before he could further say something, the lights dimmed down and a spotlight came down on the kitchen door of the restaurant.
From the kitchen doors, came Eduardo- the owner of the restaurant- dancing to a Spanish song.
And Eduardo's performance began. He performed through the restaurant and took a random girl to dance with him. After the dance ended, he flipped the girl to her seat.
The customers applauded Eduardo's performance. Gru's daughters were also applauding at Eduardo's performance.
"So good to see you again, mi compadre."
Eduardo, after thanking the customers, went towards Gru and hugged him tightly.
"Oh, I see you have already met my father," Antonio commented.
"WHAT, THE Father?"
"¡Sí! Look at this crazy small world we live in, eh? Come, sit. Let me get you something." Eduardo invited Gru for a meal.
*Pak Pak PKAAAAK*
A loud chicken cluck resounded the restaurant. Gru looked down and found the source of the cluck. It was none other than the Chicken that he fought the day before yesterday.
"Oh... Look at you!"
"Eh?" Eduardo picked the Chicken and petted it and showed it to Gru.
"Ha-Ha, he likes me." He tried to pet the chicken too, but before his hand could touch the chicken, the chicken lunged to attack Gru. But he was stopped by Eduardo.
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry. Pollito is usually very friendly... He had a rough night." Eduardo apologized and caressed Pollito, but Pollito looked at Gru straight in the eyes and squinted his eyes in a threatening manner.
Gru could only laugh nervously at this.
"Well, we really should be going. Girls, come on." Gru pushed his daughters a little, signaling them to start leaving.
"That is a pity....," Eduardo showed a sad look on his face. He then slowly brought Margo and Antonio close to each other. The two looked into each other's eyes and not even noticing anything else.
"Young love is beautiful, no?" Eduardo said in a low voice, looking at the young 'couple'.
"NO!!!" He quickly separated the two, but this flinched Eduardo.
"Uh... I mean. They are not in love. They hardly know each other." Gru made an excuse.
This made Eduardo realize something and he got an idea.
"You are right, cabeza de huevo (egg head). They must get to know each other better," he then pushed his son forward, "Antonio, why don't you invite your girlfriend and her family to our Cinco de Mayo (Fifith of May) Party?"
(Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the Mexican army's victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, during the Franco-Mexican War.)
"No no I don't -" Before Gru could even raise his objections,
"¡Sí! " Agnes and Edith already started dancing to the Mariachi music playing in the background, accepting Eduardo's invitation.
Antonio also came towards Margo dancing and snatched her from Gru's grasp. Gru could only stretch his arm to get his daughter back but he saw her happy dancing with the charming kid.
A waiter placed a glass of juice in Gru's stretched hand.
Antonio who was dancing with Margo gave a smug smile towards Gru.
Looking at this, Gru's eyes, lips twitched. Nerves popping out of his forehead. In frustration, he crushed the glass in his hands.
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[Conference Hall, AVL Submarine Base]
"I'm sorry. El Macho? Hadn't we eliminated him as a suspect after the whole... salsa incident?" Ramsbottom asked.
"Yes, but there has been a new development and I am telling you this is the guy. You need to arrest him immediately. And his deviously charming son! I am pretty sure that the son is involved too.
The son also. You got to get the son.
I think that the son is the mastermind behind all this. There's a look- There's a devilish look in his eyes, and I don't like it." Gru tried to explain and persuade Ramsbottom to quickly take action against the Perez father and son, especially the son.
"Yes, but I don't really see any evidence."
"Evidence, schmevidence. I go with my guts, and my gut tells me that this guy is El Macho.
Lock him up. lock up the son. Don't forget about the son. The kid. He gives me the creeps."
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear." Ramsbottom groans as he listens to Gru's continuous baseless and evidenceless claims.
"Uh, but, on the less--crazy side of things, uh, Gru discovered traces of serum at Eagle Hair Club." Lucy tried to make the conversation go somewhere meaningful and handled the already hopeless conversation.
"Hmm. Interesting." Ramsbottom's eyebrows raised as he looked for more information.
"Yeah. And you know who made that happen? Huh? This guy." Lucy patted Gru's back.
"Nailed it. Amazing right?"
"No. I mean, Yeah I did it. But it's not him. It is El Macho."
"Mr. Gru, please. We've been through this like so many times."
"No. It is him and I will prove it." Gru said and left the conference hall. Lucy ran behind Gru to give him a lift to the shore.
Ramsbottom sighed and turned to Knuckleduster who was there from the start of the meeting but didn't say anything this entire time.
"Always watching the scene unfold without interrupting hmm?" Ramsbottom said to him
"I don't like to enter other people's conversation."
"So what are your thoughts as the in charge of the investigation?"
"The Discovery of traces of the serum that Agent Wilde mentioned is correct. I personally checked the traces and it seems it is hidden behind a wall."
"Isn't it great? The investigation is about to end."
"No. It is not. As I said, I want you to wait till the perpetrator leads us to the source of the PX-41. What we have discovered are mere traces of the serum. We don't know where is he hiding it or if there is any accomplice with him. Any action taken against him may alert his accomplice if there is any. So, I will suggest that you wait. Wait for him to bring us to the source. Don't take any action till then."
"Yes Yes. We will, Mr. Oguro." Ramsbottom assured Knuckleduster.
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