99 sat on the couch at Max's apartment looking over the
arrangements for the wedding. She had so many things
to go over, she wanted to make sure everything was
perfect. Max was still at the office so when he got
home she would go over the details with him. A knock
on the door distracted 99 as she was picking out
material for bridesmaid dresses. She walked
cautiously to the door. Looking thru the peephole,
she saw a petite, brown haired woman in her
mid-thirties. Not anyone she recognized, she leaned up
against the door.
" May I help you?" 99 asked
"Yes, I'm looking for Maxwell Smart" came a voice from
the other side of the door.
" He's not here right now, leave your name and I will
let him know you stopped by"
"Are you the housekeeper?" questioned the disembodied
voice.
"No, as a matter of fact, I'm Max's fiancée" 99 said
proudly "and just who are you?"
Well, as a matter of fact" the woman said, " I'm
Maxwell's wife"
99 stood dumbfounded at this revelation, and opened
the door quickly.
"You're his what? 99 replied as her jaw dropped open
"Ok, technically, I'm his ex-wife, may I come in?"
Before 99 could say anything, the woman invited
herself inside. 99 dogged her every step as she
followed her to the couch, "Ex wife? I don't
understand... when, where."
The woman sat down and made herself at home.
"Oh I see by that expression of shock on your face
that Maxwell never told you"
99 just nodded her head waiting for an explanation.
The woman put out her hand, "Lisa"
99 did not shake her hand as she just replied, "99"
Lisa withdrew her hand " You're an agent too huh?"
"You know Max is an agent? 99 said with a bewildered look
"Of course my dear, look let me start from the
beginning"
99 grabbed the nearest chair and pulled it up closer
to Lisa.
"I met Maxwell, oh... about 10 years ago, we were both
in spy school." 99 raised an eyebrow looking at this
small woman. "Well, I always thought he was kinda cute
and he was helping me thru some difficult assignments.
One thing lead to the next and we found we had a lot
in common." Lisa stopped to light a cigarette, "Ok to
smoke?"
"Sure, so go on..." 99 said politly
Lisa lit her cigarette took a big drag and continued.
"...But I guess I wasn't meant to be a spy. I just
couldn't cut it in the school and failed to graduate.
Maxwell on the other hand was one of the highest
ranked students in his class and went off to become a
top agent."
Lisa got up and walked around the apartment checking
things out as she continued with her story.
" He really felt sorry for me and offered help me in anyway he could to make ends meet. So after a few months of dating, he really fell hard for me."
Lisa smiled as she saw 99's face starting to show a jealous look.
"So we decided to get married."
"And how long were you...." 99 choked out the last
part, "Married?"
Lisa thought for a moment.
"From January of 1958 to September of the same year.
"Your marriage didn't last very long" 99 said with an
air of condescension.
"Now that's my fault, 99... it is 99 right?" Lisa asked
99 nodded knowing damn well that she was trying to get
a rise out of her.
"Maxwell was perfectly happy but I had reservations
about him staying a spy. Always getting shot up,
finding KAOS agents everywhere we turned, you know,
all that annoying secret agent stuff. It got old
really fast."
Lisa picked up a hand made ashtray on the credenza,
she lifted it to show 99, "I can't believe he still
has this after all these years. I made this in one of
my craft classes"
99 tried very hard not to look too bothered by her
brazen manner. Lisa put her cigarette out in the handmade ashtray and continued her story as she strolled around the rest of the living room. " So like I said, I got tired of it and told him he had to choose. It was either me or him staying a spy."
"So you left him" 99 smirked
" No, he quit being a spy."
99 was just spinning with all this information. She
was having a hard time believing this farfetched
story.
"But after about a month of trying to cope in the
outside world, and as you know Maxwell is a bit inept
when it comes to doing certain things, he told me he
wanted to go back to being an agent."
"So he left you?" 99 said wishfully.
Lisa corrected 99, "I left him, but reluctantly. Poor
Maxwell it broke his heart." Lisa picked up a swatch
of material for of the bridesmaid's dresses. "I guess
that's why he's taken so long to marry again"
As much as 99 hated to admit it, she was beginning to
think this could be the reason Max had such a
difficult time telling her how he really felt about
her for so long.
99 stood up "Now that you've told me this quite
informative history of yours, why are you here?"
"I have some unfinished business to discuss with
Maxwell. Marriage business."
"After 10 years?"
"Yes after 10 years, I've been living in Europe for the past 9 years. Is that ok with you?"
"Of course, 99 stiffly said, "He'll be home tonight
about 7pm"
Lisa stood and picked up her bag "I'll come back, I'm
sure you'll let him know I was here"
"Oh yes, You can count on it" 99 said in a sharp tone.
Lisa walked to the door then turned. "Will you be
here?"
"No, I don't think so, I trust Max"
"Do you now." Lisa gave 99 a seductive grin as she
walked out the door.
99 shut the door with a thud, as she couldn't believe
what just transpired. 99 always thought she knew
everything about Max but here was a bombshell she
didn't expect. 99 didn't trust this woman, her training as an agent gave her an discerning edge about certain feelings but this time it was more like woman's intuition.
It was 7pm and Max just arrived home. As he opened the
door, he greeted 99 with a huge hug but 99 dodged the
hug as Max fell over onto the couch.
"Now what did I do?" Max asked as if this he'd run
into this behavior before.
99 stood over Max with her arms crossed.
"Max how could you?" 99 said sternly
"How could I what?" Max sat up and reached for a cup
of coffee at the table.
"You know darn well what... Maxwell!"
Max began to feel very uncomfortable, 99 rarely called
him by his full name.
"Ahhhh, honestly 99 I haven't an clue what you're
talking about" Max said as he poured his coffee and
took a drink.
99 gritted her teeth for a moment, as she tried to control her anger. She felt her blood boiling as she blurted out,
"Your Ex-wife was here today. How's that for a clue?"
Max sprayed the coffee in front of him. "My ex
what!!???"
"Yes, Your secret ex wife was here. I believe you know
her as... Lisa?"
"Now 99..." Max began to tug at his collar. You see... I
didn't...I wasn't... Oh boy.. " Max struggled for words.
"I thought we didn't have any secrets between us. Now
I find out this little bombshell. Were you ever gonna
tell me about this?" 99 said awkwardly, wondering
why max had chosen to keep such a world-shattering
secret from her.
"99 sit down, please", Max pleaded
99 paced the floor still very agitated.
"Yes I was once married" Max said quickly.
99 stopped and she started to cry, "Oh, Max how could
you?"
" I believe I said, 'I do' ", Max replied hoping to break the tension.
"That's not want I meant", said 99, quick to put an end to Max's jovial mood.
"I know what you meant, 99 please let me explain."
"Your ex explained it in detail, thank you very much"
Max didn't bother to ask what Lisa had told her, but
he figured he might need to clear a few things up.
"But not my side of the story", Max quickly added.
Max put his arm around 99 and led her over to the
couch. He brought out his handkerchief and wiped 99's tears away.
"Did you love her?" 99 asked carefully
Max had to think of a gentle way to answer such a direct question, and replied,
"I wouldn't be honest with you if I said 'no' but that
was 10 years ago. Feelings change after 10 years.
"So after 10 years you're going to dump me too? 99 asked sarcastically
"Of course not, unless you dump me first" Max smiled.
99 started to cry again,
"Ok the humor angle is out" Max said to himself, "99
listen, It was 10 years ago. I was young, I didn't
know you then. And to be honest, it wasn't a mistake
at the time."
There was an awkward silence and then,
"Do you have...", 99 paused not wanting to ask the next
question. "... children?"
"No children" Max assured her.
"So what did she want? Did she say?", Max asked casually.
99 wiped her nose, " No, she just said it was marriage
business, whatever that means"
Max started to think, "Our divorce went through
All right. Well it was actually an annulment so it
couldn't be that..."
"Well, I don't trust her. She has something up her
sleeve.", 99 spurted out.
"Lisa?" Max said in a surprised tone.
"Yes, Lisa" 99 said mocking Max.
I haven't seen nor heard from her in 10 years, what
could she possibly want?", Max imagined.
You're gonna find out soon, she's coming over here
tonight to talk to you", 99 said daringly.
"Tonight? You are going to stay aren't you 99?"
"Don't you trust yourself Max?", 99 said suspiciously.
"Of course I do, I mean whatever she has to say she
can say in front of you and me. We."
99 started to grab her coat. "I told her I wouldn't be here"
Max's eyes grew wide," You told her you wouldn't be here...Do you think that's a good idea?"
99 patted Max on the cheek, "I trust you to do the
right thing". She then gave Max a firm whack.
99 walked out leaving Max all alone. Max went for a
drink and began to think. After 10 years Lisa has come
to see him. Did she want to try to win him back? Max
had feeling for her for a long time after his divorce
but when he met 99 thoughts of Lisa drifted away. He
started to worry, what if those feelings come back.
The first time he saw Lisa it was love at first sight.
Max wondered if she'd changed after 10 years. He
remembered her sensuous body, and her soft lips. How
she could always make him feel on top of the world
when he was with her. If he could love two women at the same time it would be Lisa and 99.
Max shook his head "No! Look Smart, stop thinking that
way. You love 99. She's the one in your life now. Lisa
left you. How could you think about going back to
someone that left you."
A knock at the door jolted Max back to reality. He took a gulp of the scotch and walked over to the door. He stood a moment to get his composure then opened the
door to find Lisa standing there. Max was speechless she was just as he remembered her to be.
"Aren't you going to say hello Maxwell?" Lisa smiled
Max just stood and stared at Lisa, "ahhh , yes,
hello"
Lisa walked up to Max and gave him a quick but fervent
kiss before walking in. Max closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts and fight off whatever feeling were going through his mind. She set her coat down and turned to Max.
" I'm sure your fiancée, told you I was coming.", Lisa spoke
arrogantly.
" Yes, she did. So what is it you want?" Max said in a
cold formal tone.
"Maxwell. Is that the way you treat someone after 10
years? Shame on you."
She walked around Max, "My, you look so handsome after
10 years" Lisa felt his chest, "Oh my", she purred.
" ... you've really filled out."
"Please don't start anything Lisa, I'm engaged to be
married, Please. What we had in the past should stay
in the past", Max said nervously.
Lisa backed away, "Of course, Maxwell your right,
I'm sorry. But before I tell you what it is I came over
for, I need to use your bathroom."
Max pointed upstairs, "Up the stairs to the right and
it's the door right next to the bedroom."
"Be right back." Lisa winked at him.
Lisa headed up stairs and Max headed for another stiff
drink.
Max talked to himself again "Ok, your doing fine Max o'boy. Just find out what she wants and then tell her to leave" A couple minutes went by and Max looked at his watch.
Max yelled up stairs, "Lisa? Are you Ok?"
There was no response, he yelled again, "Lisa, why
won't you answer me, are you OK up there?"
A sudden scream came from the bathroom as Max quickly
raced upstairs and into the bathroom. Max burst in and was surprised to find that Lisa was not in there. The other door inside leading directly into his master bedroom was a jar. Max poked his head into the bedroom to find it also
empty, "Lisa are you in here?" Max walked in and from behind the door stood Lisa. She let Max get part way in and shut the door. This startled Max as he whipped around to find her standing behind him. "Oh there you are, you ok?."
Lisa looked longingly at Max as she started to inch
her way to him. Max began to back up, "That was a
sneaky way to get me in here"
"You know the old saying, 'All's fair in love'...." Lisa
said as she moved seductively closer to Max.
"Now I want you to know right now that, you are not
going to ... Do whatever you're thinking of doing," Max
stopped and made a stand, "I love 99", he said, trying to
convince himself and not just Lisa.
"Oh, that's nice" Lisa eyed Max as she moved closer
placing her hand on his arm.
Max shook his finger "Lisa, I'm warning you, please
leave now.", he said, hoping that he wouldn't have to keep fighting her off for much longer. Lisa placed her other arm around Max's neck.
"Ok" Lisa said in an enticing voice.
"Lisa...." Before Max could finish she passionately
planted one of her trademark kisses on him. A long, Slow,
meaningful kiss, that Max couldn't fight off. He was taken in by it all, and responded instinctively, as he used to respond to Lisa when they were together. He remembered how wonderful those kisses were even after 10 years. His body began to tremble, and he felt as if he might lose control if he allowed himself to continue. Max gathered his senses and he quickly pulled her off of him, "Lisa, please this isn't right, I don't love you anymore, I love 99"
Lisa stopped her advances and acted rejected.
Max continued, "I know what we had in the past was
special but you left me , remember? You can't expect
me to pick up where we left off 10 years ago" Max walked
over to the window and turned his back. "I'm getting
married to the woman I love and nothing you can do or
say will make me change my mind"
As Max turned back, Lisa swiftly brought the butt end
of a gun to his chin knocking him unconscious.
Max slowly raised his head, his vision still blurred
from the vicious hit to his face. He tried to focus
but couldn't make anything out except a figure sitting
on the side of the bed. Max realized he couldn't
move. Looking down he was sitting in a chair with his
hands tied behind him.
"What happened?" moaned Max.
A voice from the bed spoke, "I hit you, that's what
happened", Lisa said proudly.
Max looked over to find Lisa sitting on the bed with a
gun pointed at him, Max tried to shake off the
blurriness, "Boy you don't take no for an answer do
you?"
Lisa got up and walked over to Max, "Same old Maxwell"
she chuckled. She stood behind him, "I am now going to tell you why I'm here."
"Its obvious why you're here", Max snapped back.
Lisa played along, "Is that so, why am I here?"
"You're trying to steal me away from 99", Max said with a swagger.
Lisa laughed, "No that's what I wanted you to think,
but in reality, I'm here to kill you."
Max's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open.
"Why? ... you were the one that left me." Max said a bit confused.
"That has nothing to do with it, I am a member of
KAOS. You remember them don't you? When I didn't
graduate CONTROL spy school, KAOS recruited me."
"While we were married?", Max asked hesitantly.
" About a month before we divorced, lets just say
they made an offer I couldn't say no to."
"KAOS..." Max shook his head in disgust. "How could you,
after knowing that I have dedicated my life to
fighting them?"
"Yes, Maxwell, my dear, and that partly why I left you, it
seems you spent more time going on assignments then
spending time with your wife", She explained.
.
"So it's my fault, you went to a life of crime", Max responded sarcastically
"Well yes and no, But mostly they offered a more
exhilarating life than that of a spy's wife and lots of
money.", She explained further.
"We keep close tabs on KAOS agents in this country,
how come I never knew?" Max said.
"I was assigned to our European branch in France.
KAOS has been trying to get rid you for such a long
time. And each time they have failed. That's why I was
given this assignment, what better way to get rid of
someone than by someone they would never expect."
"Well congratulations, you've succeeded " Max growled.
"I'd hoped you felt something towards me not to take
this assignment",
Lisa leaned into Max "Well now Maxwell, we might be
able to work something out."
Max didn't like the tone in which it was implied,
"What do you mean by that?", he dared.
Lisa reached behind Max and began to slide her hands
over his shirt as she whispered in his ear "Maxwell, I
really did love you once and I know I could love you again"
She grabbed hold of his shirt and ripped it open. This sudden move jolted Max as he was helpless to doing anything about it. Lisa slowly caressed her hands across Max's chest.
"You know I could make you forget all about this 99"
Max's heart started to beat harder and his breathing shallower. Lisa made her way around Max. She stood in front him. Carefully, she unbuttoned her blouse, slowly,
deliberately, allowing it to fall open as she moved
down the long row of tiny buttons. As she reached the
bottom, she shrugged the blouse to the floor.
Realizing what was happening, Max felt a flush that
was part curiosity at what she would do next, part
confusion at what had already happened, part shame,
and part active interest in the process. Her hands
went to the side of her skirt, and she bent slightly
as she lowered the fastener. Standing erect she
allowed her skirt to join the blouse on the floor.
She was clad only in a brief black satin bra, panties
and garter belt, Max had always considered black an
erotic color, now he was reminded of it even more. He
struggled frantically against his bonds.
"Don't fight it baby" She straddled his lap and began
to grind herself against his hips. Pressing the rest
her body against his chest her mouth was next to his.
"We'll go far away , I'll leave KAOS, you leave CONTROL. We'll start a whole new life. I can show you so much."
She kissed him, sliding her tongue deep into
his mouth, running her hands over him at will. Max
closed his eyes and resisted the best he could.
Her hand traced his chest as she made her way down to
his pants. In one quick move she had his belt unhooked.
"I learned this while in France, guaranteed to make a man beg for more."
Just as her hand moved lower to his manhood, Max shouted out "I love 99"
Lisa stopped and became increasingly upset. "99, 99, I'm
tired of hearing 99"
Max looked directly into her eyes, "I love 99, now get off me you KAOS tramp"
Lisa knew her moves would be useless against Max and
got up off of him. Max breathed a sigh of relief. She
started to put her clothes back on.
" I'm sorry you feel that way Maxwell. Now you know what I have to do. If I can't have you, neither will she"
Max struggled to brake free but the harder he pulled the tighter the ropes got. Lisa quickly had her clothes back on and reached for the gun on the bed. She went behind him
and put the gun up against the back of his head.
"Goodbye Maxwell, what a waste..." Lisa said with a sigh.
Max closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. Just as her finger was about to pull the trigger, the bedroom door burst open as 99 appeared, gun in hand, pointed directly at Lisa and shot her. The shot threw Lisa over to the bed as she bounced off it and onto the floor.
99 ran over to Max, " Are you alright?" She began to
untie his ropes. "Thank goodness you got here she was
just about to shoot me" Max got up and hugged 99. Lisa,
still alive and alert, crawled over to the gun that landed next to her and aimed it at 99. Max spotted Lisa and the gun and pushed 99 to the floor. Max quickly dove over to the night stand and reached for his gun. He got up and
shot Lisa in the head. This time, there wouldn't be any come back.
Max stood over his ex wife's body. 99 got up and grabbed hold of Max. She noticed the disconcerted look on his face.
"Max she deserved it, it was the only thing you could do"
Max kept starring at Lisa on the floor, "Yeah, I guess you're right, but 99, how did you know she was going to kill me?"
"I told you I didn't trust her. I went to CONTROL and ran her information through the computer to check if she could be a possible KAOS agent but it came up blank, then I remembered she told me she lived in Europe. The computer had her listed as one of KAOS's top European agents, that's when I knew you might be in danger. I tried to call you but the line was dead, she must have cut the phone line."
Max picked up his shoe phone that was in pieces, "and of course she knew about my shoe phone"
Max sat on the edge of the bed and put his head in his
hands, "This has been like a bad dream" Max looked up to 99 and held her hand, why couldn't I have met you first?"
"You've got me now and it will be forever" 99 replied as she softly stroked his face.
Max got up and held on to 99 like he would never let go.