by Amma Lee
The Millennium Squad
Mystery of the Stolen Amulet
Copyright
Published in the United States
Amma Lee & Salmon Peppers
Published 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of this material in any way. You must not circulate this book in any format. Amma Lee & Salmon Peppers does not control or direct users’ actions and is not responsible for the information or content shared, harm and/or actions of the book readers.
Introduction
The Millennium Squad are a detective group consisting of three twelve-year-old boys, Leonne, Dylan, and Theodore, and they strive to make the world a better place. However, even though they are on top of keeping their city safe, Leonne is bored of the monotonous missions they take day in and day out. He wanted more challenging missions and his prayers were answered when Chief of Police Stewarts assigns the Millennium Squad to go on a mission to retrieve the Restrict Amulet that has been stolen. The Millennium Squad is happy with this exciting task, but they weren’t excited about coinvestigating the theft of the Restrict Amulet with Private Detective Thomas Fe’line, who happens to be a cat!
Thomas has heard a great deal about the Millennium Squad and he’s actually happy to work with them even though he can sense them rejecting him. It doesn’t matter though because the Millennium Squad needs Thomas’ intelligence because they’re dealing with powerful witches and warlocks! This is a journey between four of the best detectives in the world as they try to get along while solving the mystery behind the stolen amulet.
Chapter One
"Dylan, how's everything looking over there?" Leonne asked as he typed up his report on the jewelry heist investigation they had just completed. The twelve-year-old detective scratched his head.
"Well, he definitely broke into the store through the basement. I still don't understand how he was able to disarm all of the motion detectors and anti-thief devices," Dylan responded as he reviewed his hologram screen of the play-by-play of the actions the thief, Ernest Griffith, took to get into the building and steal the diamonds.
"I'm analyzing the tool he used as we speak," Theodore said as he pushed up his glasses. The device looked to be some type of ray gun, but he wasn't positive. Theodore was sure that the instrument could not harm anyone. Leonne sighed.
"We have to get this to Chief Stewarts soon, guys. There won't be a proper trial if we can't provide the evidence and motive of the criminal." This was the everyday ritual for the Millennium Squad. They receive leads to crimes, they investigate it and catch the bad guy, and then they deliver their report and evidence to the Chief of Police. They've done this day after day since they were eight years old. Now at twelve, Leonne had grown tired of the investigations they took on.
"Sir!" Dylan and Theodore said in unison. Sighing, Leonne stood up from his seat and looked around their office. He looked at the plaques and trophies that littered their high-tech treehouse headquarters, but the sight of their achievements did not fill his heart with happiness as they used to. He was happy that criminal activity in their area was not at an all-time high, but he was bored.
"Actually, we should take a lunch break," Leonne said, and Dylan and Theodore looked up from their stations.
"But you just said we needed to move this along quicker," Theodore said, arching his eyebrow in confusion.
"I know, but we've been working on this for hours without a break. I'm sure if we took a quick lunch break, then our minds will be rejuvenated, and we'll be able to finish our work." Theodore was really engrossed with his task and almost refused until his stomach growled loudly. Dylan's stomach followed suit then as well, and the three detectives laughed.
"I'm starving!" Dylan said and stood up. He stretched out his long limbs and made his way towards the entrance of the treehouse. "Last one there has to eat their sandwich with a jar of habanero sauce dumped on it!" Dylan said and made a run for it. Leonne and Theodore looked at each other and grinned. Habaneros were incredibly hot peppers that none of them could actually eat without it burning their mouths and making their eyes water.
"See, you wouldn't want to be you!" Leonne yelled and took off running. Leonne was slightly shorter than Theodore, but he was quick on his feet.
"No fair, I wasn't ready!" Theodore called after Leonne, but Leonne kept running. He jumped towards the entrance and slid down the pole extending from the ground to their treehouse. It was similar to what firefighters used in the 21st century. Theodore, Leonne, and Dylan have been best friends since they were babies, but that didn't mean Leonne was going to slow down and give Theodore a chance to catch up.
"Ha! You lose!" Leonne said victoriously as he walked into his house. He saw Dylan standing in the kitchen preparing the "loser's" sandwich. Leonne watched on as he saw Dylan dump almost half of the jar of habanero sauce on the sandwich. He was glad that he wasn't the one who had to eat it.
"*sigh*, you two cheated!" Theodore said folding his arms in anger.
"Don't be a sore loser, Theo," Dylan said and passed Theodore his sandwich. "You win some, and you lose some," Dylan said with a grin forming on his face. The three boys laughed, and Leonne started making his sandwich. The three of them talked about current events and the new gadgets coming out soon. They'd have to save their money to buy more equipment.
The boys really needed this break, and they also needed the laugh that they got after watching Theodore’s face and eyes go red from eating his spicy sandwich. Leonne's spirits lifted briefly, but he still believed his life was missing something.
****
"Great work boys!" Chief Stewarts congratulated the boys after they transmitted their report and evidence to the police department. Leonne was right that they'd be more productive after they took a break. As soon as they were done eating lunch and talking, they had gone back to the treehouse and finished their work in less than an hour. "Thanks to the three of you, we were able to solve the case of the various jewelry heists.
"We couldn't have done it without the cooperation of the police department," Leonne said and grinned at his comrades. The three of them were excited that everything had turned out the way that it did. They enjoyed making their city safer by solving one case after another. This was what they lived to do.
"We'll call on you three for further assistance in the future." Chief Stewart's hologram disappeared after that.
"Finally," Dylan said and clapped his hands together. "I thought that mission would never end. It kind of sucks that we have to do a report and examine the evidence too after we nab a villain. Isn't that the police's job?" Theodore shook his head.
"I like analyzing the tools criminals use. It helps me better our existing tools, and it also helps me build new ones! You weren't complaining when I created shoes for you that allow you to hover and to walk on water! I wouldn't have been able to do that without analyzing that underwater treasure stealer's equipment." The two of them always got like that. Dylan would say something along the lines of ‘why do we have to do this' and Theodore would counter by saying, ‘because it helps us with this.' Leonne stayed out of it because he agreed with both Dylan and Theodore, but the two boys wouldn't accept Leonne not taking sid
es.
"Guys, c'mon" Leonne said sighing. He sat back down in his chair and pulled up their job board. "We've completed this investigation, now it's time for another" Leonne reviewed the ‘jobs' that people sent in to them, but none of them caught his eyes. They were all super easy and super annoying sounding.
"What's wrong boss?" Dylan asked as he walked over to stand over Leonne. He leaned in closer and looked at the hologram screen. He could tell that Leonne wasn't himself lately, but the taller boy could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong with him.
"Are you getting tired of the jobs that we've been doing?" Leonne wasn't surprised that Theodore was right on target. Sighing, Leonne turned towards his comrades.
"Don't you think we deserve something more… exciting?" Leonne knew that crime was crime and all crime needed to be solved, but cases should be at the very least sort of interesting right? Or was that mindless thinking?
"Hmmm…. It's true that we haven't had a compelling case in a long while, but no matter what cases we complete, we are always showed gratitude. Isn't that the goal of the Millennium Squad?" Despite being twelve-years-old, Theodore was quite advanced for his age. Dylan placed his hands on his hips and considered what Leonne had said.
"I agree with you, boss. The cases haven't been any fun. I know that's not our primary objective, but I like to have fun with everything that I do. I guess you can say that it gives my life… more meaning," Leonne grinned at Dylan because he was happy that he at least understood where he was coming from.
"Don't make me seem like the outcast here, Dylan" Theodore frowned. "I agree with the boss, it's just that having interesting and fun cases shouldn't be the only cases that we look forward to!" Dylan and Theodore argued back and forth, and Leonne decided to tune the other boys out, and turning back to the job board, he scrolled down to see all of the incoming requests.
Leonne just wanted something more for his squad, was that too much to ask for?
"Leonne, Dylan, Theodore. We need you!" The image of Chief Stewarts appeared on Leonne's hologram screen. Leonne didn't know why, but whatever the Chief was calling them for, he was sure that it would be the mission that the Millennium Squad needed to relieve their boredom.
Chapter Two
"The Restrict Amulet has been stolen?!" Leonne, Dylan, and Theodore said in unison when Chief Stewarts told them the incredible news. A few decades ago, witches and warlocks were discovered to be real beings; however, they were not the monstrous creatures that the movies portrayed them to be. They were just like humans, but with magic powers.
The world believed that all species could cohabit the world, so a peace treaty was formed between witches, warlocks, and the humans. However, there was a catch. Because all magical beings did not believe they could live as one with humans, the government called on to scientists to restrict their powers… the Restrict Amulet. If the amulet got into the wrong hands, the treaty would be broken, and humans and magical beings will probably be forced to go to war.
"Who would do such a thing? Having witches and warlocks magical abilities limited to white magic was a part of the peace treaty!" Theodore said enraged. Witches and warlocks could still use white magic, but black magic was completely prohibited, and all of their black magic abilities were transferred into the amulet and kept hidden someplace that very few knew about.
"Someone who apparently wants all of that power for themselves of course," Dylan said scratching his head. Leonne frowned and pondered everything that Chief Stewarts had just told them. Dylan's explanation seemed like a no brainer. Of course whoever stole the amulet was after power, but why exactly?
"Are we able to investigate the scene of the theft?" Leonne asked, and Chief Stewarts looked at him with a frown and sighed.
"Sure, the government needs to find a new discrete location to hide the amulet." Chief Stewarts frowned. "This place was one of the only places that was completely off the radar for curious people. How did someone actually find it?"
"When there's a will, there's a way," Theodore commented, only agitating the police chief more.
"I suppose," the middle-aged man responded. "I have a teleporter that will get us there in a second." The Millennium Squad stood up then and made their way to Chief Stewarts. If he had a portable teleporter, they'd need to be as close as possible to the man. "Also, I've hired a private detective to aid you in this mission." Dylan frowned at this.
"Another detective? We don't mind working with you and your group, but outsiders? We don't need your private detective.”
"That's right, the Millennium Squad do not work well with outsiders who do not know how we operate," Leonne added, and Chief Stewarts shook his head.
"Trust me, having Private Detective Thomas Fe'line will be crucial for your group's success. He's at the site now, so you'll soon meet him." Leonne didn't like this and neither did Dylan or Theodore. Chief Stewarts pulled out a tiny remote control and pushed the button. Chief Stewarts and the Millennium Squad was at the crime scene soon after.
"I don't like this," Theodore said pushing up his glasses and squinting because of the lack of light. He didn't understand how anyone could see anything wherever they were, but Chief Stewarts navigated the darkness with ease.
"You've finally arrived," a voice said in the distance, and the boys sighed. That was probably this Thomas guy.
"Ah, Detective Fe'line, I hope we haven't kept you waiting too long?" Chief Stewarts said. Leonne could hear Thomas' voice getting closer to them, but he couldn't hear the man's footsteps. Was this some type of ability?
"Not at all," Thomas said, and this time his voice sounded directly in front of them, but something was strange. His voice sounded like it was coming from the ground.
"Sorry boys, you're probably not used to seeing in the dark like this." Chief Stewarts clapped his hands twice, and a light shined throughout the location and Leonne, Dylan, and Theodore gasped in shock. Private Detective Thomas Fe'line was not a man, but a cat.
****
The three boys stared at Thomas in disbelief and Thomas stared at the three boys with a toothy sharp grin.
"Cat got your tongue?" Thomas joked, and the boys shook their heads at the same time.
"No, we were… we were just surprised." Leonne said trying to regain his composure. He looked at his comrades and looked back at Thomas.
"You're a… cat detective," Theodore said slowly trying to take in the situation. He's heard that during the past several year's animals were enhanced to the point where they can speak the human language, but Theodore wasn't aware that they actually had employment.
"You're children detectives," Thomas countered. Touché, Leonne thought to himself. There probably weren't many animals working as detectives, but Leonne was absolutely confident that he, Dylan, and Theodore were the only children detectives in the world. Chief Stewarts looked from Thomas to the three boys.
"The four of you will have plenty of time to go over your biographies with each other," Chief Stewarts said in a sarcastic way. "Right now we need to investigate the crime scene! We cannot allow the thief to use the amulet for evil. We need to pick up some leads."
"Right!" Leonne, Dylan, and Theodore said and made their way towards a vault-like structure. Leonne looked around. They were definitely underground, but where exactly were they? It's obvious that the government could not use the location again to store the amulet, so wouldn't it be alright to tell them where they were? Leonne didn't voice his thoughts, however. If Chief Stewarts didn't want to tell them, then he would not try to force the man.
"So they're the Millennium Squad?" Thomas commented as he watched the boys poke around the rubble on the floor.
"Yes, Detective Fe'line. They're young of course, but those kids are sharp. They have a 100% success rate and they're always available to help the people and the police department." Chief Stewarts said. "I think the four of you will work well together." Thomas gave each of the boys a once over and smiled.
"I've heard nothing but good things abou
t them. I don't publicize my services, so it's not a surprise that they've never heard of me," Thomas looked up at Chief Stewarts and grinned. "But that doesn't mean that I'll let those children outdo me," Thomas said and made his way over to the boys. He was looking forward to working with the Millennium Squad, but he wanted to show the kids that he was equally as successful as them.
Chief Stewarts looked at the group of detectives as they picked up some rubble and examined it for clues. The Millennium Squad and Detective Fe'line were good, but they were obviously up against an enemy with the power to subdue them before they caught the culprit. This was going to be a challenging and a dirty job.
"I hope they succeed."
Leonne side glanced at Thomas as the gray cat walked around and sniffed the ground. Leonne couldn't help but think a dog detective might have been more beneficial than a cat, but cats did have their benefits. They can get into places without making too much noise, and they were great observers.