Sul Sul woke early the next morning to take a swim beneath the already warm Tartosa sun.
With his laps finished, he laid on his back & immersed himself in the serenity.
“Sul Sul, are you ready?”
The peace was short lived.
He gazed up to see an impatient Agent Fuzz by the pool.
Agent Fuzz motioned for him to get out of the pool and to follow her.
“Morning, Penelope.” said Sul Sul, a smile painted upon his face.
She eyed him up & down for a second. “Are you not going to put on some clothes?”
“Oh… yes, I can do. Sorry, I was swimming. Are we headed somewhere?”
“Yes… I just don’t know where yet. My tech guy is chasing some data trails, which I’m hoping might tell us whether you’re involved in any sort of secret military thing, but in the meantime…”
Penelope paused for a moment.
In that time, Sul Sul had a thought.
“Okay, let’s head into town then. We can have some fun?”
“How hard exactly did you hit your head?”
Sul Sul laughed.
“I’m serious! Last night I remembered that I play piano… like, really well! It was like rediscovering a piece of me.”
“So you want us to go out, have fun, & hope it may trigger your memory again? Eh, why not. I got nothing else.”
As per Sul Sul’s suggestion, he and Agent Fuzz ventured out in hope of again triggering his memory. Perhaps this really could uncover his identity.
They soon learnt there wasn’t all that much to do in Tartosa though, and before long they were back at the beach he had washed up on.
Agent Fuzz began to worry this was a colossal waste of time.
Agent Fizz hadn’t tasked her to build sandcastles all day, more-so given Sul Sul had yet to be determined as a victim or suspect.
She couldn’t help feeling at ease around him though.
He had a remarkably calming presence.
Sul Sul proposed they try swimming out into the ocean.
Maybe that could stimulate some memories, or perhaps they’d even find some clues out there.
It quickly became yet another dead-end though.
Instead the pair ended up again just enjoying the scenery… and each other’s company.
“Sul Sul, this isn’t working. We didn’t come here for a good time. Did this help… at all?”
Enough was enough for Agent Fuzz. She was meant to be working.
“I mean, it has helped…” said Sul Sul. “But no, I still don’t remember anything. I don’t know where to go from here.”
“You know, I kinda thought it might work too… but now we need to switch tactic. We better get back to the villa and regroup with Agent Fizz.”
“Agreed. Though… I am pretty hungry. Wanna grab something to eat first?”
To Tartosa’s most popular eatery they went.
“So, this is nice,” remarked Sul Sul. “I hope there’s something on the menu to your liking, Agent Fuzz.”
“Yes, it really is lovely here. The food looks delicious. Oh, and please… you can just call me Penelope.”
Sul Sul smiled. “Its wonderful to meet you, Penelope.”
“Welcome to Pasta e Amore, Tartosa’s most romantic dining experience. Can I get some wine for the lovely couple?”
Sul Sul & Penelope laughed nervously.
“Oh… this is just a business dinner!” Penelope quipped. “We should probably just stick to the water… thanks.”
It suddenly felt a tad awkward.
“So…Penelope, why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself? Have you been an SIA agent long? Do you enjoy it? Do you have a big family? A… special someone?”
“That’s a lot of questions,” she laughed. “I’m meant to be the one investigating!”
The conversation began to flow, & by the time the food arrived the pair were rather enjoying themselves.
Then, rather suddenly, Sul Sul became distracted.
Penelope was about to enquire as to why, but then she felt a looming presence appear over her shoulder.
“Well, well. I didn’t expect to run into you here, my sweet Sul Sul.”
Penelope spun around to see who had butted into their conversation.
“Nancy Landgraab! What are you doing here? And… wait, do you two know each other?”
Sul Sul suddenly felt his cheeks turning crimson red.
“Oh, Sul Sul & I became rather acquainted last night. Honestly, I’m still finding bits of food in my hair…”
“Huh?” said Penelope.
“Uhh… we met at a bar last night,” interjected Sul Sul, his voice panicked. “Nancy was… kind to me. I was feeling overwhelmed by everything.”
“Kind! Well, that’s one way of putting it. So, who’s your friend Sul Sul? Wait, I recognise…”
“I’m Agent Penelope Fuzz. C’mon Nancy, we know each other well by now. You & your family are familiar faces down at SIA HQ.”
“I don’t follow…” said Sul Sul.
Confusion flooded him.
“Oh… Penelope! You do love to exaggerate. Anyway…I really ought to be going. Sul Sul, come and give me a hug before I go.”
Sul Sul could feel the eyes of Penelope burning into him, but he felt very perplexed by the whole situation and didn’t want to be rude.
“Okay..”
Nancy followed the embrace with an unexpected & sensual caress of Sul Sul’s face.
He half expected her to plant a kiss upon his lips too, and was glad she didn’t.
“Call me later, baby?” She whispered. “Maybe we can meet back at the dumpster tonight. My Tartosa vacay is nearly up.”
When Sul Sul sat back down again, he was met with a stone cold expression from Penelope.
“Sorry about that…” he said. “We just met last night and…”
“That’s enough,” sighed Penelope. “This facade of a day is over. I’ll meet you back at Daisy’s.”
Sul Sul left the restaurant to find Penelope sat outside.
Her fury had yet to shift.
“How can you have been such a fool?” She asked. “Your first night here & you get involved with one of the biggest crime lords this side of the United Simdom? Do you understand how suspicious that looks?”
Sul Sul shuffled uncomfortably.
“C’mon Penelope. How could I have possibly known who she was? I don’t even know my own plumbobbin’ name…”
Penelope sighed.
“Is there something else going on here?” He pressed. “Why are you getting so mad at me over this?”
Their conversation was cut short when Penelope’s phone began to ring.
“Sorry, I better take this. SIA business.”
Sul Sul watched her walk towards the water’s edge, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe at his new companion.
She was a damn badass, and he loved that.
“What’s that? You’ve got me a lead on the Sul Sul case? You’re a wiz, kid. We’ll be right there.”
Penelope hung up the phone and turned to Sul Sul.
“Time to go, Casanova.”
Back at the villa, Daisy busily prepared a spread for Sul Sul’s return.
He and Agent Fuzz would surely be back soon.
“Poor boy needs to keep his strength up,” she muttered to herself.
She sighed.
She’d forgotten how it felt to have someone to worry about.
Daisy suddenly became disturbed by some loud noises coming from inside the house.
“What the…”
She paused cooking and went in search of the source of the sound.
As she approached the door to the spare room in which Sul Sul stayed, a feeling of unease swept over her.
Something felt wrong.
The room had been turned upside down.
Draws emptied with their contents littering the floor.
Sul Sul owned nothing, so everything here had belonged to her son.
These were possessions she treasured, yet someone had rummaged through them so carelessly and without permission.
Daisy then heard another noise, but this time it came from directly behind her.
She spun around to discover she wasn’t in the room alone.
“Agent Fizz! You gave me a fright! Wait… what are you doing in here?”
A moment of silence followed.
He didn’t answer her question.
Daisy began to piece things together, and became irate.
“Listen here. You may be SIA, but you’ve no right searching my property without a warrant. Those were my son’s things you tossed around!”
Agent Fizz now became angry too.
“I’ll do as I damn please. Now get out of my way!”
“How very dare you speak to me like that! Get off my property at once, Sir!”
Daisy felt enraged, but it seemed her anger was matched equally by that of her intruder.
“You’re going to regret making an enemy of me, Daisy Chain,” threatened Agent Fizz. “I can promise you that!”
Daisy suddenly felt a sense of danger.
She fled to the patio, but to her dismay Agent Fizz followed.
“You shouldn’t have got yourself caught up in all of this…” he growled.
“Who.. who are you really?”
She now saw a deep evil in his eyes.
Those eyes were her last memory before he pounced.
“Ahhhhhh!”