Part 5
99 was lead down a long corridor to the infirmary.
The soldier accompanying her opened the door and at
first glance, 99 spotted a figure lying on an
examining table, covered with a sheet. Her heart
started to race, not wanting to see what she already
knew was inevitable.
Quietly and solemnly she whispered "Max" under her
breath. She turned to the soldier and asked politely,
"Could I be alone with him for a moment?" The soldier
gave a hesitant look, but seeing the sadness in her
eyes, nodded and stepped outside. 99 turned back and
slowly walked to the table. Images of her life with
Max through the years raced through her mind. Her
hand started to shake as she slowly pulled back the sheet,
hoping that, by some miracle, the body under the sheet
was not Max's. As the sheet pulled away, 99 saw her
beloved Max lying in a peaceful state. She tried to
catch her breath, but had trouble holding back her
emotions. Closing her tear-filled eyes, she bowed her
head to pray.
The door to the infirmary bolted open as Captain
Antoine stepped in. Locking the door behind him, he
rushed over to 99.
"He's not dead." This revelation caught 99 off guard.
Did she hear him right? Max was not dead? Captain
Antoine pulled the sheet off of Max. Seeing four
bullet holes and the blood around his heart, 99 had a hard
time believing he was alive. But, before she could
dispute his claim, the captain opened Max's shirt.
Underneath was a vest with four bullets embedded into
it and a small plastic bag of red liquid that was
taped onto the vest. The captain pulled out one of
the bullets and held it up to 99. "Bullet-proof vest and
red dye, to add to the illusion."
99 was so overcome with relief.
"Why is he unconscious?"
"At that close range, getting hit by that many bullets
around the heart is... like someone punching you, the
shock causes a fall in the supply of blood to the
brain." The captain pulled out a vial of smelling
salt, cracked one open, and placed it under Max's
nose. In an instant, Max began to stir and choke from
the whiff of ammonia. 99 cradled Max's head as he
came around. Not knowing his surroundings, Max tried to
focus. "Did I make it?", Max whispered. 99 began to
laugh and cry at the same time. She couldn't stop
hugging and kissing him. Max looked up at her, "99,
don't cry. I'm ok. Help me up."
Max struggled to a sitting position. He took off the
vest to examine his chest. Looking down, a large dark
purple bruise started to appear. "That's gonna be a
beauty in the morning," Max joked.
"Oh Max, the bullets and the blood ... it looked so real.
I thought you were..." 99 started to cry again.
Max comforted 99 with a hug, "There, there, 99, you're
gonna be stuck with me for another 50 years."
"And loving it," 99 said with a sigh.
"If it wasn't for the captain, I wouldn't be here
talking about this."
99 lifted her head off of Max's shoulder. "Captain, why
did you help us?"
"I took a closer look at the circumstances surrounding this plot against the government. I felt you were being railroaded, Mr. Smart. Ever since the colonel ordered the coup, his judgment has been ...shall I say ... clouded. His new found power has been all consuming. Then, when he refused any stay that would come from the Prince, I knew that he had gone too far. Your only chance to survive would be this vest," the captain said as he held it up.
"As far as anyone is concerned, Maxwell Smart was shot
and pronounced dead."
"But I'm not dead, so now what? I can't just walk out
of here," Max concluded.
"I've made arrangements for your body to be shipped
out on the next cargo plane. So you'll need to be
'dead' just a little while longer, Mr. Smart."
Max and 99 looked at each other, still confused.
"A wooden box will arrive shortly and your body is to
be placed inside. I'll make sure small holes are in
the bottom of the box so you can breathe. It's just
temporary. Once we are off the post and half way to
the airfield, we can replace you with sandbags for the
weight. I'll have one our uniforms for you to change
into, so you'll fit right in. Once we get to the airfield and the box is loaded, you'll accompany your wife on board as one of my soldiers. From there, you are flown to Madrid, where a commercial airliner takes you safely home."
"And what about you? If the colonel ever found out, ..."
"Don't worry about me. I didn't get these captain's bars
by being naïve. If we stick according to plan, everything
should run like clockwork."
Max kissed 99 goodbye as he lay back down on the
table.
"Now play dead," the captain said with a smile.
Later that day, the captain and four of his men came
back to the infirmary to pick up Max's body. They
carefully lifted Max, and placed him in the oblong box
and shut the lid. As he was carried out, Max was a bit cramped, but
happy to be leaving any which way he could.
The box was loaded onto the truck, along with 99 and
the captain.
"You men are dismissed and may return to the post."
The four soldiers saluted and left. The captain
winked at 99, "So far, so good." Knocking lightly on the
box, he whispered, "You ok in there?"
Max knocked lightly back as a sign he was fine.
Half way to the airfield the captain felt it was safe
for Max to get out. The only other soldier was the
driver, and he was too busy driving to care what went
on in the back.
Opening the lid, Max slowly got up and stretched his
muscles. "Glad to be out of there."
Quickly, but quietly, 99 and the captain started to
fill the box with sandbags that were stashed behind
some boxes in the back of the truck. Max changed into
the uniform, and was given a fake moustache to help
with the disguise.
Max stood at attention. "Think I'll pass?"
"Not bad. I think we can pull this off," the captain
said with confidence.
A few minutes later, the truck pulled up to the
airfield and the captain, 99 and Max got out. No one noticed Max as anything but a soldier. The captain commandeered four other men to help carry the box from the back of the truck to the cargo plane, Max being one of them. Just as they started to load the box, a voice from behind the captain spoke out, "Wait a minute." The captain turned to find the colonel walking up to the group. 99 started to panic as Max kept his head low and his hat pulled down close to his eyes.
"Yes, Colonel? As you requested, we are loading the body
for shipment."
"Very good," the colonel said, as he walked around the
front of the box.
As his hand started to lift the lid, 99's hand came
around and stopped him from opening it.
"Please, you've done enough. Give him a little
privacy."
The colonel replied, "It's just ..."
"... Morbid curiosity?" 99 asked defiantly.
The colonel looked at 99 with a bit of compassion, and released the edge of the lid.
"Goodbye, Mrs. Smart. Send your government my regards."
The colonel turned and left.
Everyone breathed a little easier as they loaded the
box onto the plane. As Max turned to thank the
captain, the colonel spotted Max, and yelled out to
him, "You! Soldier!"
Max looked around and pointed at himself.
"Yes, you. I need to be driven back to the post."
99 had a look of fear, while Max didn't know what to
do.
"Private! Now!", the colonel said sternly. Max started
to walk over to the jeep, all the while looking at the
captain, wondering what he should do. The captain
quickly ran over to Max in the jeep before he took
off. "Excuse me, Colonel, but this soldier has been on
report, and I had work for him to do at the airfield. I
wouldn't want him to get off lightly by driving the
Colonel back to the post, and then wind down for
the rest of the day. The colonel looked at Max.
Staring straight-ahead, Max didn't make a move. "I
see. Well, Captain, by all means ... get this soldier to
work. Get me another driver, would you?"
"Ok, you. Out!" ordered the captain.
Max hustled out of the jeep and over to the plane, and
waited.
"See you back at the post, Captain," said the colonel.
The colonel drove away, never aware that Max had been
sitting right next to him.
The captain walked back over to Max.
"That was close," Max said, catching his breath.
"That's why I'm a captain. Gotta think fast in these
types of situations." Leaning into the plane, he told
the pilot, "This soldier is to accompany Mrs. Smart to
Madrid.
Max shook his hand and saluted. The captain acknowledged his salute.
"Now you can get that house you dreamed about."
Max smiled and nodded as he got into the plane.
As the plane took off, Max and 99 waved to the captain on the ground. As they flew into the evening clouds, they both embraced as if they would get the chance to do so again. This had been one of their closest calls ever. Worse than a bad dream. They tried to put the events that transpired in that God-forsaken country out of their minds for a little
while, and began to talk about returning to their "normal" life, back at home. They had more pleasant dreams to plan for.
THE END