Santa-napped

[Otis McNutt 395]

Chapter One: A very strange case

As a private eye, Nick Sterling had seen many weird characters walk through his door, but on that particular evening, December 22nd his newest visitor not only took the cake, they walked it down the street to the Zoo and tossed it to some monkeys to play with.

"I need your help!" His strange visitor shouted.

"Calm down fella, it's late and I was just about to close up shop."

Nick flicked the smoldering ash from his cigar into the crystal ashtray on his desk, then snuffed it out.

"But your ad says any time day or night!" The strange man said.

Nick grabbed the flyer, torn hastily out of the local yellow pages and smirked.

"Will you look at that." he said tossing it in the wastepaper basket.

"Tell him you can pay." a low voice said, it seemed to come from the mans stomach.

"Oh yeah, we can pay." the stranger said

"Whose we, you and the talking mouse in your pocket?"

Nick opened the guys trenchcoat and discovered that "he" was actually two tiny men, one on the others sholders.

"Ok what is this some kinda gag?" Nick asked

"It's no gag." they said.

"I'm Twizzle and this is Jaggle, we're elves." Twizzle said

Nick looked at the guys, each three feet tall wearing green clothes with bells on their pointy shoes.

"And I'm the Easter Bunny!" Nick said

"What...you look nothing like the...oh." Jaggle said realising the joke

"Do your parents know you're here kids?" Nick asked

"We're not kids we are elves, Christmas elves." Twizzle said.

"Next thing you're gonna tell me is that Santa's been kidnapped." Nick said.

"Wow he is good!" Jaggle said

"Ok kids, it's been fun but I really gotta go." Nick said

As Nick stood up the two spritly creatures vanished in a puff of pixie dust and appeared behind him.

"Ok you're elves, knock off the magic stuff."

Nick sat back down and pulled out his pad.

"When did you first notice that...Kris Kringle was missing?" Nick asked

"Last night he left the workshop to do a dry run for Christmas night." Jaggle said

"But he never checked in, like he usually does." Twizzle said

"We took out the Auxiliary sled and found the main one parked on a rooftop in Sweden." Jaggle said

"But no Santa?" Nick asked

"It was like he just vanished." Twizzle said, his eyes getting teary

"Is the Sled still there?" Nick asked

"Yes, we made it invisible so no one would see it." Jsggle said

"Well I'm gonna need to see it so I guess you'll have to fly me there." Nick said

"You're taking the case?" Jaggle asked

"You bet." Nick said

As Nick grabbed his coat and scarf he turned to Twizzle.

"How'd you guys hear about me?" he asked

"You remember the Diamond you found last year?" Jaggle asked

"Oh yeah that Winters guy hired me to find it." Nick said

"That was Jack Frost." Twizzle said.

"Well that explains the clammy handshake." Nick said.::

[Hiro Protagonist 0]

lol. This looks like it's going to turn out well.

[Otis McNutt 395]

Chapter Two: A rooftop in Sweden

Nick stepped out of the reserve sleigh and buttoned up the rest of his coat.

"So this is Sweden huh, they can keep it."

Nick looked around

"Where's this thing?" he asked the two elves who brought him.

"Oh right sorry." Jaggle said

With a wave of his hand, the elf lifted the spell revealing the sleigh, a deep cheery red number with gold leaf designs throughout the body. Attached to it were eight reindeer.

"On Dasher and Dancer huh?" Nick asked

"I wouldn't say that Nick, not unless you want them to fly." Twizzle said.

"Did anybody ask them what they saw?" Nick asked

"No." Jaggle said

"And why not?" Nick asked

"Because they're Reindeer, and they can't talk." Jaggle said

"They can fly, but not talk?" Nick asked.

Nick looked at the snow on the rooftop and kicked some aside.

"It's been pretty cold here so chances are the snow here now is the same that was here a couple days ago, what size is Mr. Claus?"

"Boot size is 11." Jaggle said.

"What brand does he wear?" Nick asked

"Mrs. Claus makes his clothes." Twizzle said

"So these size 13 Timberlands must belong to the guy who nabbed him." Nick said.

"This test run, it's just a flight test right no landing?" Nick asked

"Yes." Jaggle said

"Then the question becomes, what did he see that caused him to land?" Nick asked himself aloud.

Nick walked over the roof and discovered a strange device attached to an old Tekevision antenna. "Hello what's this?" he asked picking the thing off.

"What is it?" Jaggle asked.

"I'm not sure, whatever it is it's a really sophisticated piece of technology." Nick said

He pushed a glowing red button, doing so caused Dasher, the lead Reindeer to buck his head side to side.

Nick walked over and moved the reindeer's ear revealing a small electrode inplanted in his skin.

"That explains why he landed." Nick said

"Dasher started bucking and Santa landed to check on him. That's when our size 13 snuck up and grabbed him." he added.

"How did the device get on Dasher?" Twizzle asked

"There's some rifling on the top almost like it was shot from a gun, he'd have to be a great shot and judging from the camouflaged nature of the crime I'd say ex-military."

"But the existsnce of Santa is one of the most closely guarded secrets, who would've known so much about him to set this up."

"Either someone severly disgruntled or it's an inside job." Nick said.

The mere hint that any of the Elves might've had a hand in the kidnapping shook Twizzle and Jaggle to their cores more than cold weather ever could.

"Where to next Nick?" Jaggle asked

"I'll need to see the guys home."

"The North Pole, but outsiders are never welcome there." Twizzle said

"You want me to solve this or not?" Nick asked.