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Coby soared over the treetops, picking out every little rustle in the leaves, every cricket chirp, every twig snap. Eventually, he picked out the location of the police, but made sure to stay clear of them, staying high enough in the sky to look like the size of a black bird. Then, his sonar sensed a long, smooth surface. The lake. he thought. Malk, Liera, he thought, Mara and I will meet you... he briefly observed his surroundings, sensing a small, clear place on the edge of the riverbank that was clear of cops and halfway hidden by trees. They will just need to be careful and quiet, but it will do for a rendevouz. ...in the small pocket of water by the street sign. Then, he informed Mara of the spot.

Mara nodded, and headed towards the area. She soon saw the small body of water, and moved closer to the shore.

Liera surfaced, shaking some of the water out of her wet hair. A wide grin was plastered onto her dripping face. "Did you see that fat cop trip into the water?" she asked Malk cheerfully, careful to keep her voice quiet. "That was hilarious!"

Mara waved them over.

Malk surfaced as well, wiping his sopping brown hair off of his eyes. He chuckled, keeping his voice low. "The real life comedy is way better than the ones on TV." he agreed, grinning in a way that revealed his double row of shark teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Mara motioning for them to swim over. He ducked underwater again and glided over to the spot. "Where's Coby?" he asked.

Mara pointed up, then flicked her tail nonchalantly, trying to say he was coming down soon. Gah, it was hard being mute!

Malk caught her small tail flick and instantly understood. He glanced back, making sure Liera was following (anything could go wrong), and then he slowly climbed onto shore, trying his hardest not to make too much noise. When he was up, Malk offered a hand to help Liera out.

The cops were still pretty distracted with looking for them, from what Coby could sense. None of them were facing the way of the small culdasac of water, so he stayed calm for the moment. Still, he remained alert and ready to inform Mara if anyone was coming.

Georgia paced about impatiently, surveying her colleagues' work, then snapped, "Sanders! Fred! Scope out the area!"
Her eyes blazed intently with impatience and irritation at their loss. Then, she shouted to anyone who was listening, "I want this whole strip searched!" I will not lose to a bunch of ratty kids! she thought as she barked her demands.

Liera took the offered hand, sliding out of the water easily, leaving ripples in her wake.

Fred nodded, his double chin made all the more prominent by the action. He waddled away to search a nearby copse of trees, still dripping somewhat from his fall into the river.

What now? Mara asked Coby silently, trying to project her thoughts so he could hear them.

We've got one guy being sent to search the area. Coby answered, hearing Mara's thought, only faintly. Wait... he added, Make that two.

Sanders hobbled along with Fred, jogging bouncily to catch up with him. He smiled mockingly. "Were you that thirsty?" he teased, referring to Fred's quick dip. "Catch any fish?" he teased further.

Coby added to this track of thought-mail, They're the two that were dropped on their heads as babies, but stay careful all the same. They're coming up on your 4 o'clock.

Mara gestured with her hands for Malk and Liera to get underwater. Even if they were morons, they still couldn't be allowed to see them. So that meant that they all had to hide.

Liera nodded, diving smoothly into the water again with barely a splash. She stayed near the bottom, breathing in the water as easily as she would the air.

Mara hurriedly climbed up a tree, glancing down to make sure Malk was safely under the water too.

Malk rolled his eyes and easily slid back into the water, barely making a ripple. He surged towards the bottom, the water pressure having a barely an affect on him.

Coby sensed the body heat of the two coming up on the others, and they weren't going very fast. Just keep there until they're far enough away.

Mara nodded, clutching a tree branch. She held her tail close, even though she couldn't as balance as well without it.

Fred moved slowly, still dripping. Her pushed his way through bushes noisily, never bothering to look up.

Coby perched himself on a tree a little ways away, breaking off a branch noisily to catch Fred's attention. The moment the branch snapped, he rocketed back into the air. His goal was to try and steer the cops away from the others, and if they could do that, they were golden.

Fred heard the snap and looked up, his double chin wobbling. "What the-?!" he said as he squinted at the figure.

Coby smirked, knowing Fred had turned his head. He surged higher into the air; did it matter if they saw him anyway? It's not like they could fly up and get him. He hovered in midair, smirking down at the scene below. If he could draw them away far enough, the others could escape more easily.

"Sanders, you see that too?" Fred asked. It looked almost like...a flying person.

Sanders whirled around excitedly, hoping to hear that Fred had found them all cowering behind a tree somewhere, but instead... he was the small, blackened figure of ... a boy?! "The heck...?"

Coby grinned crookedly at the two. It amused him to see them staring like idiots, and since he had their attention, he spun around in the air and pushed himself a few more feet away with a single flap. He turned back challengingly, then weakly flapped a few more times in order to make them think they had a chance against him.