The CAP: Readying the decoy, pt 1
by Ladybug
“Where are you going?” Omar asked.
“I have to go prepare a few things for our date tonight, lover.” She gave him
“the look” that meant...well, it’s none of your business what it meant.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll wait for you. The meeting doesn’t start
until this afternoon, but I have some, um, business to discuss with you.” He wiggled
his eyebrows at her.
She blew him a kiss and grabbed Birdly before running off.
“Are you sure she’s okay with this?” Ladybug asked her sister. “I
mean, the Sov went and brought our ‘ammunition’ all this way, and he probably
wasn’t too gentle about it.”
“Yeah, she’s fine. For a price, of course,” Birdly told her.
“Isn’t it funny how some things are the same all over, no matter what universe
you’re in?”
“Funny,” Ladybug said. “Yes, that’s a good word for all this. I wish
this weren’t even necessary.”
“But you haven’t been well,” Bird pointed out.
“It’s the only way. We’ve got to keep Omar distracted during this
trip.”
“Indeed. Here we are.” Ladybug opened the door to her dorm room, which was
seldom used these days since she often stayed in the mansion, but lately she’d been
laid up sick there. The illness had left her weak enough that bringing in a replacement
was necessary. And this was the perfect place to teach her new protege.
They entered the room and there, pacing nervously, was a girl who looked exactly like
Ladybug, except that she was very modestly dressed.
“Well then, so this is the other Ladybug! It’s remarkable!”
“How do you do,” the other Ladybug said, curtseying politely.
“Get a load of her,” Ladybug said to Bird. “What’s the deal
here?”
“Remember, she’s the opposite of you,” her sister told her.
“Oh brother, do we have our work cut out for us then,” Ladybug sighed. “All
right. Come on over here, honey, let me have a look at you.”
The other Ladybug immediately complied. “I must tell you I was a bit skeptical at
first about all of this,” she said, while the girls inspected her. “I think we
should define the terms of our agreement, however, to make sure that it is all to both of
our specifications, so that everyone is satisfied in the end.”
“Good idea. But I need to call you something besides Ladybug or I’ll get
confused,” Ladybug said. “Do you have a nickname?”
“My Omar calls me ‘sugar bear,’” she suggested.
“Hm, I see they have that in common. But I wouldn’t feel right calling you that.
Anything else?”
“I don’t know. I like flowers. Maybe you could name me after a flower.”
“The only thing I can think of is a primrose,” Bird murmured.
“That’ll do nicely,” Ladybug said. “May we call you Rose?”
“Sure,” the alternate Ladybug replied. “I love roses. Especially white
ones. They’re so ethereal in their beauty, pure and clean, yet not exactly white, so
that you feel they’re not so removed from earthly pleasures....”
“She’s poetic and sappy like you, anyway,” Bird giggled, and her sister
elbowed her.
“Do you have my payment?” Rose asked.
“I do.” Ladybug handed it to her. “A full leather-bound collection of the
scrolls of Ernestus Hemlock.”
“And in mint condition,” Rose breathed, handling them all gingerly.
“However did you find this? The only one known to exist at my Deb U is all worn with
handling.”
“Don’t tell me you people actually use the library to study!” Bird said in
disbelief.
“Indeed we do. I have a 4.0 GPA and I’m even taking some honors courses.”
Bird laughed hard. “She’s WAY different from you! Ow,” Ladybug elbowed her
again.
“Let’s get to work,” said LB.
Posted on Aug 13 1999, 10:49 AM
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