Title: Secret Agent Man
Author: DancingStar
Crossover: PSI Factor/ Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye
Pairing: Connor/ Lindsay, Jack/ Sue
Summary: Rather unwillingly the team takes an undercover mission in a hotel: a French superstar is missing.
Comments: I´m sorry but I LOVE both Shows! So this Crossover had to be and actually this story should name "Another James Bond Parody" :-)
Secret Agent Man
"Paris is great. It is the city of love, of European art and fashion. I think it's nice we spend our summer holiday here", Lindsay said when she and Connor left the airport building. It was also very nice that Connor had invited her to this trip. ("Just you and me in Paris. Wouldn´t that be the best first anniversary, which we could ever have?", he asked and kissed her.)
"This was a good idea, right?", asked Connor and Lindsay took his hand in hers. The journey was less pleasant because it took a long time and today it was really hot. Sometimes it looked like the heat was dancing in the air.
The lady at the airport desk asked for his name. "My name is Doyle... Connor Doyle", he said and the lady held out a piece of paper he should sign. "What's that?", he asked.
"Your hotel reservation! You´re already expected by the Sir", she continued, Connor thought nothing about it when he signed. Finally, they needed a hotel.
Outside, they got into a car that brought them straight away to a beautiful hotel next to the Seine. "You´ll meet the Sir in an hour in the foyer," said the chauffeur and he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
Lindsay asked herself who the Sir was. "We´ll see what you did again", she said with amusement.
An hour later they were sitting in a huge foyer and waited for the Sir who would pick them up. Connor had no idea who wanted to meet him. Next to him on a table a phone rang like crazy now. He looked around and no one seemed to care about the phone. So he grabbed the receiver. "Yes?", he answered and a voice replied: "I am pleased you´re finally there."
"Who's there?"
"I hope you like the hotel. When you signed up at the airport, I made sure your suite would be available immediately..."
"Who's there?"
"I have a task for you," the voice continued, "I need your help. Meet me at the Eiffel Tower in one hour."
"Listen, I can´t stand secrets. So tell me what it is and who you are, or I´ll leave the hotel immediately."
"Meet me at the Eiffel Tower. There you will learn everything!" A crackling came through the telephone, then it was quiet. Connor put down the phone.
"Who was the caller?", Lindsay asked curiously.
"A secret informant, he wants us to meet him in one hour at the Eiffel Tower."
"No," Lindsay said annoyed, "It´s just a mistake maybe... You don´t want to go, do you?"
Connor looked at her. "Maybe it's important."
Now Lindsay nodded. "Yes. Or someone is playing a trick on us", she pointed to the front desk where Peter Axon, Claire Davison, Anton Hendricks, Jack Hudson and Sue Thomas stood and waved to them. They had met Sue and Jack at an investigation several months ago and because they liked each other they had decided to stay in touch. It was secondary to them that Sue was deaf- She was, however, a very good person. Lindsay had not expected and didn´t know that she and Jack would now also travel to Paris.
"What's going on?", asked Connor and got up to welcome his friends, "What are you doing here? What brings you to France?", he said.
"We´re looking forward to see you, too", Claire rolled her eyes, "I wanted to visit my uncle. He works as a chef in a French restaurant", she said," Isn´t it amazing we all stay in the same hotel at the same time and Lindsay hadn´t told me about this trip?"
"What are you doing here, Peter?", Connor wanted to know about Peter.
"I got an invitation to a reception and if I don´t have to for it, why shouldn´t I come?"
Anton had come along, too, because Claire and Peter almost forced him. They didn´t want he had to spent his holidays alone.
As it turned out, Sue had won the trip to Paris. Actually, Sue had no time for crossword puzzles and got carried away only once. She had never expected to win this trip to Paris. Unfortunately, she wasn´t allowed to take Levi to this over-priced five-star hotel and she asked Lucy if she wanted to come to Paris with her. But Lucy had a plan: She told Sue, she would have no days off, so she took care about Levi and because she heard Jack planed a vacation, too, it was a great idea to ask him. Sue didn´t want to travel to Paris alone and so she finally asked Jack if he would mind to spend his vacation with her. She also told him dogs were prohibited in this hotel and she needed his help. Internally Jack made jump for joy when she asked him and bit on her lower lip. He didn´t hesitate for one second and agreed. For him, the flight to Paris was never boring: Sue was asleep and when Jack noticed how she rested against his shoulder and finally clung to him, he didn´t dare to wake her. He enjoyed she was so close to him. The plane ran into turbulence and Sue woke up yet. She apologized because she had rested her head on his shoulder and Jack told her she shouldn´t do this. He pushed her blond hair out of her face and began to kiss her gently. Sue wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss passionately. It was almost as if she could never stop kissing him. She had looked forward to spend time with him during their trip to Paris, but coming closer to him in that way exceeded her wildest dreams.
"Shall we go for dinner?", asked Peter. Claire announced she would never eat frog legs. Peter went ahead but Connor held him back. "By the way, the phone conversation wasn´t funny... ", he said and Peter didn´t understand. "What?"
"The meeting at the Eiffel Tower."
"I really don´t know what you're talking about!" Peter went away and Connor stopped Lindsay who wanted to leave, too. "I fear the call was genuine. This was no joke by Peter or Jack..."
"That´s unfair. I´m in Paris for the first time and you receive a job as a Secret Agent Man!", Lindsay complained. She and Connor just strolled past the Eiffel Tower to the café where they should meet with a secret informant. They met a lot of people which looked very happy and relaxed.
"I can´t help it!", Connor replied, "My reputation precedes me!"
"Which reputation?", Lindsay smiled and sat down with him on a table. It was still very warm and Lindsay was almost melting in the sun.
"Look, isn´t it a great view?", Connor asked and put on his sunglasses, "While we wait, we can at least see the Eiffel Tower."
They waited a long time but no secret informant came. Instead, Lindsay's cell phone rang and she answered. "It's Sue," she said after a while then she focused again on the conversation. "Of course you can come over. We´re waiting at Chez Francois, a restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. You can´t miss it. It is a small restaurant with red-checkered tablecloth", she hung up and looked at Connor, "I fear your informant forgot the appointment." So they waited for their friends.
Half an hour later their friends reached the small restaurant. "My goodness, the metro was crowded!", Sue complained and sat down.
"Shall we go to the Louvre this evening?", Peter asked and ordered coupe glacée, iced coffee.
"How should we get along here?", Lindsay thought, "I don´t speak a word French!"
"Me too," agreed Peter and all the others nodded.
Now Connor said to his girlfriend: "The only thing I can say in French, is I love you; Je t´aime!"
"That would be terribly unromantic, if you couldn´t!", Lindsay announced and gave Connor a gentle nudge. Peter was now in high spirits: "I speak even one sentence, too, and that´s from the music video, in which Christina Aguilera was dressed like..."
"Stop talking!", Claire shouted indignantly.
"What leads you to the Eifel Tower?", Jack asked suddenly and looked at Connor and Lindsay. Now they had to tell them the truth. After all, even Peter thought something was wrong. "A secret informant called me. He says he desperately needs our help but he hadn´t told, why. He wanted to tell us the facts here."
Peter now looked grim. "I should have known that," he complained and put the inviting to the reception on the table. "Maybe I should have asked before, if the Queen of England actually comes to Paris to award me a prize!"
Even Jack was a bit worried now. "Sue, are you sure you won the trip?"
"Of course I won it," Sue replied. She still remembered exactly the day on which she found the tickets by Happy Travel in her mailbox.
"The fact that Jack, Sue, Claire and Anton are here, is maybe a coincidence. But Peter was definitely lured... The question is who knew about our vacation."
In the evening they were out together and Lindsay, Sue and Claire had convinced Connor, Peter and Jack to visit the Eiffel Tower again. When it was dark the lights of the tower were sparkling like stars. Anton wanted to stay at the hotel, so he really missed a wonderful sight.
On the Eiffel Tower, there was even a restaurant where they now had just finished dinner. "The view is so great…", Lindsay said admiringly. From up here, Paris really looked much nicer.
They left the restaurant, entered the observation deck and split up in groups: While Jack and Sue stayed near a bank where they could sit, Connor and Lindsay walked around and then they stopped next to a telescope, with which people could see Paris during daytime.
"What's wrong?", Connor wanted to know, when Lindsay stopped talking for almost half an hour, but only admiring the city.
"I´d like to know who asked us in this café today."
"I´d be much more interested in why he or she hasn´t shown up... And, who lured Peter to Paris."
"Maybe it was just a coincidence."
"I don´t think so. It would be a VERY GREAT coincidence", she said. It was warm tonight, like nights in July used to be and Connor noted how tired he was because of the jetlag.
"Let's go back to our hotel", Connor suggested.
"You don´t like this place..."
"Yes... No... I mean... It is a very nice place but let´s come back another time, right?", he asked.
Peter and Claire wanted to see the city for a little while. Jack wanted to stay a while on the Eiffel Tower with Sue.
"See you later at the hotel!", Peter said and Connor nodded. So he and Lindsay left the observation deck in the elevator alone. In the ground floor, they discovered a long, white limousine, in front of it stood a man in a black tuxedo. "Connor Doyle?", he asked in a French accent and Connor nodded.
"That´s me."
The man now opened the car´s door. "Please get on board. The Sir is expecting you."
Connor and Lindsay looked at each other confused. Who in heaven's waiting for them?
"Sorry, you must be mistaking", he said and the man in the tuxedo shook his head: "That's impossible. Please get in the car. After the meeting I will drive to your hotel or anywhere you want."
"No, we take a cap," Lindsay tried to end the conversation.
"I promise you nothing´s gonna happen." The man spoke now very quietly.
"Fine, but I warn you. Our friends are with the FBI."
"I know," the stranger replied when they had finally entered the car. He drove south and when the car stopped in front of a gate, belonging to an expensive villa, he pushed a button inside the car and the door opened. He stopped the car in front of the house and another man opened the door for them to get out.
"Come in. The Sir is waiting for you", he said and went ahead. They still didn´t know who was waiting for them but the house looked very exclusive. Maybe a rich man who owned some fashion boutiques in Paris lived here, thought Lindsay. But why should he need their help?
They were left alone in a library and Lindsay took a seat on a leather armchair which was standing next to an antiquely globe. "Where are we?", she asked, looking at Connor, who was standing at the window. Outside, he couldn´t see something, because it was already dark.
"I´m telling you, darling, I have no idea", Connor replied.
"I can explain everything," a voice said and a great door opened. An elderly man who was carrying a pipe in his hand came in. "Good evening, Madame," he said to Lindsay and lowered his head briefly. "I hope you like my house."
"It´s great, but why are we here?"
Now the man looked at Connor. "Well, Connor, sit down please. Then I will explain my position."
Connor sat down on another leather arm chair and listened to what their "host" had to say.
"My name is Paul Anaux. You are here to help me. Actually, it´s much more about Jeanette: She´s working for me..."
"Wait! What exactly is Jeanette doing?", asked Lindsay.
"As you may know, my company manufactures sports equipment. Jeanette is a professional snowboarder and I´m her sponsor. Unfortunately she disappeared two days ago and the local police can´t get along with the investigation."
"Because of that you lured my friends and colleagues to Paris and your ordered us to a café this afternoon!", Connor yelled and Paul Anaux nodded.
"Why us?", asked Lindsay, it was the all-important question.
"I'm half American and I don´t trust French police, with the exception of my father. He was a very good policeman… I have a good friend at the FBI. He told me you´d help. Believe me, I wouldn´t have asked you in my house, if it isn´t important."
"And about what is it exactly?"
Mr. Anaux leaned to them and began to whisper. "It´s about money, about lots of money, Connor. Someone has kidnapped Jeanette and is sending me letters that he would harm her. These people who have kidnapped Jeanette know how much money she´s worth for me."
Silence.
"We can´t. We can´t help, "Connor said finally, leaning back in the hard armchair.
"Connor if´s about a human life!", said Lindsay horrified. At least he now seemed to think about it.
"All right. What do we do?", Connor admitted because he wasn´t in the mood for a dispute. The face of Mr. Anaux brightened.
"Wonderful. Come, I'll show you pictures of the place where Jeannette was last seen."
The man got up and went to a pretty wonderful cabinet. There, he got a stack of holiday catalogs. "This is it," he said when he sat down again.
"One more question," Connor interrupted him, "Why didn´t you appear in the café?"
"In this time I tried to negotiate with Jeanette´s kidnappers. They called me...", he sounded very depressed, "Let's get back to business: This is Drake Village, a resort in the French part of the Alps. Even in summer it´s always cold and snowy in Drake Village so I hope you have your boots with you... The resort was built up by me and is often used as a photo location for company catalogs. I assume Jeanette disappeared during the photo shoot for the new collection. I will send you there and you´ll find out the truth. I already have a plan. Can you ski?"
"No, actually not, but I suppose it cannot be difficult," said Connor.
"Well, they all come down a mountain somehow... My plan was actually to smuggle someone in to all the athletes as a Secret Agent Man."
"That might be a problem but luckily we know someone..."
"What! Why always me?", Peter asked one day later, when he and his friends moved to their rooms at the Drake Village Resort in the Alps. Like Paul Anaux told yesterday, it was snowy and icy here and Peter hated it. He actually wanted to spend a nice summer holiday in Paris.
"You're the only one who´s able to ski and snowboard very well. Moreover, our so-called client is convinced that the kidnapper is still here. You shall find him", Lindsay explained.
"Why he wants us to help him?", he asked.
"As far as I understand it´s because we are the best investigators from FBI and OSIR... I just wonder why he asks us for help. Sue and Jack are the FBI professionals."
"How much will he pay?", Peter wanted to know and Lindsay thought: "Nothing... I guess."
"Great! I will risk my life for Scrooge McDuck´s missing fosterling for nothing!" Now Peter was furious.
"He pays our stay at this exclusive hotel. That should be enough", Claire said, "Let´s go downstairs."
Together they strolled down to the hotel´s lobby. There was a huge open fireplace and on a wall hung colorful snowboards for the hotel guests.
"It looks very American. And this should be a hotel in France? I don´t feel very European right now", Peter grumbled but no one gave him attention. Indeed they had noticed all people around them spoke only English.
"Anaux said his mother was American," recalled Lindsay.
"What do we do today?", asked Sue and now they were thinking about their day.
"We aren´t here for fun. We have a case to solve", Connor reminded them.
"There's only one problem", Sue began, "We know we are looking for a woman, but we have no idea how she looks like. I've never heard about Jeanette before."
"I've heard she is a celebrity."
Connor now looked quite perplexed. Then he found a catalog which was lying on a table. "That´s her," he said, holding up the catalog. Jeanette was pictured on the front page. Although she wore a thick wool hat, blonde hair hung in her face. "No wonder she was kidnapped...", Peter remarked appreciatively.
A tall man entered the room. "Bonjour! I´m searching for the last skiing lesson member on the black slope. I am looking for Peter Axon", he yelled through the huge room and a few hotel guests were about searching.
Peter wasn´t in the mood for joining the skiing lesson. But he did it anyway. He already hated this hotel, he hated snow in summer and he hated this skiing lesson.
"I know Connor won´t like this but we aren´t only here for work," Lindsay said when she and Claire visited Sue a little later in her room, "There´s a kind of spa in the resort´s basement. We can bath in salty water. We can get a massage... What do you think?"
"I'm not sure..."
"Come on", Lindsay looked upset, "Salty water is good for your skin and we have earned a bit of wellness. Get your bathing suit."
Sue gave in and told Jack she would be back in at least two hours. He wished her a lot of fun when she left her room with her bag. The hotel in Paris had provided two rooms for them. At the Drake Village Resort they shared the same room. At the reception desk she had told him she wanted to get to know him much better and of course he knew exactly what she meant.
"Fortunately, we can use the spa for free", Claire was glad. The access cards should be picked up at the hotel reception and because they met Connor in the hotel lobby, Lindsay had to explain to him why they had their beach bags with them. While Lindsay spoke to him, Sue went to the reception to get the access cards for the spa. "Here are your cards!", the woman at the hotel reception smiled kindly. While she gave her three plastic cards, Sue read the name tag, which was attached to the woman´s blouse. The name Jeanette was standing on the name tag. Only now she realized that this woman looked very similar to the wanted winter athlete.
"Something´s wrong?", she asked when she saw Sue's face.
"No, I´m fine... Thank you!", she quickly ran back to Lindsay and Claire, who were waiting for her. Connor returned alone to his and Lindsay´s room.
"There she is!", Sue said excitedly, "I guess I saw Jeanette!"
"Maybe the woman looked very similar," Claire thought, "Or it was her sister."
"Why would Jeanette have a sister who is also called Jeanette?"
That made sense.
"Are you sure?", Lindsay asked, "No one would kidnap Jeanette and then she´d work here at the hotel."
"Does that mean we ignore this incident?, asked Sue. She suspected someone could have brainwashed Jeanette.
"No, we tell Connor... Later. Now, a five-star spa treatment is waiting for us."
Meanwhile, Peter observed, how a participant in the skiing lesson drove down the mountain. "Who wants to go next?", asked Maurice, the skiing teacher, and no one answered, "I guess I must choose someone. Mr. Axon, how about you?"
Peter was still grimly when he put on his glasses. "I hoped you´d never ask me," he moaned. He slid down the slope on his skis. Like the man who had left a few minutes ago, he reached the finish at the foot of the mountain. Peter took off his glasses again. "I hate this skiing lesson," he told the man who nodded.
"This skiing lesson is an early Christmas present by my wife."
"I must do that skiing lesson because…", Peter stopped. When he spilled the beans about his stay, the whole mission was lost. Paul Anaux would promptly send them home. But actually this was his wish... No, Peter decided to shut up.
"I need to take part because my co-workers think I´m too fat for my job and I should lose some weight."
"What do you do for professional?", the man was taking a sip from a thermos jug.
Peter had to lie again: "I am stripper."
His companion spat the warm tea out and looked at him shocked.
In his mind Peter kicked his own butt: That was the most stupid lie ever!
The rest of the group and the skiing teacher came down the mountain and then they had a cross-country route. At the end of the trail, Maurice lauded the participants. "See you tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. and don´t forget the skiing competition next Saturday. You all should participate."
Grumbling, Peter freed himself from the skis and trudged back to the hotel.
"You're in a very good mood!", Claire said and it was meant ironically when she and Peter sat in a fancy restaurant which was located on the first floor of the hotel in the evening, "How was your skiing lesson?"
"If you mention that words ever again, I'll scream!"
"All right. You can tell me what you did today."
"We were skiing down a mountain and then I had to lie to a total stranger that I work as a stripper. He must be thinking I don´t have both oars in the water."
Claire laughed. "Don´t think about it... Here comes Lindsay."
"Hi, you two... What are you eating?", asked Lindsay and turned up her nose at Peters snack. The meal didn´t look very appetizing.
"This is a perch," he answered and found it hard to eat the fish, "And usually these fishes are served in slices and boneless at home."
"I can´t believe there are people who eat something like this."
"Do you have news from Mr. Anaux?"
"No. I still can´t believe that Paul Anaux sent us into this madness."
"This is a proof that Secret Agent Men won´t be old fashioned!", Peter corrected and lifted up his glass, "But I agree with you. The ski lesson is madness."
"Do you know where Connor is?", Lindsay wanted to know and looked around. Peter pointed to a glass bar at the end of the room where he was sitting with Sue and Jack. Lindsay looked at him and walked over to Connor. "Hey," she greeted him and he smiled. Just like Sue Lindsay wore a chic evening dress. Sue and Jack were talking, Jack used sign language. Lindsay had no idea about what the two talked, but when she saw how Sue blushed she knew it wasn´t about the job. Obviously Jack was flirting with her.
The bartender turned around to them. "Bonjour! What can I mix for you?", he asked.
"I take nothing, thank you!", said Lindsay.
"A vodka martini, please... Stirred. Not shaken!"
"Yes, Monsieur", the bartender replied and began to mix the drink.
"You seem to like your new role as a Secret Agent Man...", Lindsay said.
"Yes, I do. I could get used to that and I´d be happy if I could drive an Aston Martin."
The man behind the bar had finished the drink. "That costs eight Euros, please", he said while he put down the glass and Connor handed him two five Euro bills.
"Are you here for professional?", asked the man.
"More or less," Connor answered, "My girlfriend and I just wanted to travel to Paris and somehow we ended up here. You certainly know how hard it is to deal with women", he pointed to Lindsay and the bartender rolled his eyes.
"Give the pain in the neck just what she wants," he said in a French accent, nodding. Connor actually didn´t want to say it in such a tactless way.
Then he asked Lindsay to dance. On the dance floor she wrapped her arms around him. "What now?", she wanted to know.
"Now we´re dancing", he replied but he knew she didn´t mean that, "What are you talking about?"
"I would like to know how we spend the rest of our so called holiday."
"Maybe tomorrow I ´ll go for a walk and check the entire hotel. I hope Peter comes along with its ski lessons."
You know I live a life of danger for the FBI
Keeping tabs on our nation
On the land, on the sea, in the sky
But every single night
Before I go to bed I get down on my knees
And thank god I'm a Secret Agent Man
Secret Agent Man
They've given me a number
But they've taken 'way my name
I got one hell of a job to perform
For the U.S. of A.
Got the responsibility
Of our nation's top security
But every night and day
I salute the flag and say
Thank you Jesus
Cause I'm, I'm a Secret Agent Man ("Secret Agent Man" by Graham Blvd)
"How's it going?", Sue asked Lindsay, when they met next evening.
"Actually, nothing is going on. Peter still has no clues and we still don´t know where Jeanette is." They were standing in front of their apartments in the hallway and talked. At the end of the corridor, the elevator opened and a young blond woman pushed out a room service car.
"Hey, that's...", Sue noticed and Lindsay agreed, "You were right: She really works here... I'll get Connor!" Alone, she crept back into her apartment and looked for Connor. In the living area the TV was turned on, because Connor had tried to watch French-speaking television. In the bathroom she heard the crackling of water so she thought Connor had to be there. "Connor?" she cried and opened the bathroom door. In almost the same moment a sponge flew in her direction. "Man! You can´t just rush in here!", he grumbled because he was taking a shower at the moment.
"Why? Are you afraid I see something which I never saw before? I´m not a man, by the way!"
"What do you want?"
"Do I drive you completely crazy?" Lindsay said, laughing.
"In a positive or negative way?", he countered and raised his eyebrows.
"Sue and I saw Jeanette in the hallway."
"Thank you for the information! I'm almost there."
Shaking her head, she closed the bathroom door and went back to Sue. She was still hiding in the hallway and watched their target person.
"Until now she supplied three rooms with food," Sue told when Lindsay returned.
"I don´t understand," she whispered, "Jeanette is a superstar in France. How can she work in this hotel without anyone recognizes her?"
"I have no idea."
"What exactly happened?", Connor asked now softly and touched Lindsay's shoulder.
"So far you missed nothing exciting."
By and by Jeanette supplied the residents on this floor with dinner and then she climbed into the employees´ elevator at the opposite end of the corridor. From their point of view Connor, Lindsay and Sue could see that she would go to the kitchen.
"What do we do now? We aren´t not allowed to use this lift", Sue recalled.
"How well can you cook?", asked Connor and Lindsay knew what he was saying.
"Certainly, I won´t sneak into the kitchen and I dress up as a cook. That can go wrong."
"We risk it!", Connor suggested and earned disapproving glances by Lindsay.
"When you said this for the first time, you had to drive me to the hospital...!", she recalled and Sue looked at her confused. Therefore, Lindsay explained to Sue that Connor had told her they should risk observing a client against his will one year ago. At night there was an emergency and they wanted to enter the house. They client believed they´d be burglars and when Lindsay wanted to enter a room, someone slammed a door to, directly to her fingers in the door frame. This brought Lindsay two broken fingers and an invitation by Connor, which was an excuse, in a fine restaurant for dinner. She told him that evening and this meal wouldn´t suffice as excuse. When he wanted to know what else he could do, she bent over the table and kissed him for the first time.
"I got a better idea," Lindsay suggested instead, "What about if we give her a snowboard? I've heard that brainwashed people respond positively to familiar objects."
"Peter told there´s a skiing competition next weekend. The entire hotel is also talking about it."
"We could get lucky and Jeanette had already signed in."
"How can we check this out?"
"My name is Mister Starsky", Connor said next day, showing his ID for one second to the lady at the front desk, Peter and Jack did the same and they were also wearing sun glasses.
"I'm Mister Hutch", Peter told and then pointing to Jack: "This is our colleague, Mister Johnny English. We are with the personnel office and today we are here to..."
"...ask some questions about how the staff reviews their work. We start with the room service and then continue with the kitchen staff. Any questions?", Jack gave the lady no chance to answer. She called the staff for a brief chat in the empty meeting room. Soon, Connor, Peter and Jack were extremely bored by the interviews: Obviously Jeanette wasn´t longer working with the room service. Maybe she got another job...
But then Jeanette came in. She sat on the chair in front of them and answered to seemingly innocent questions about her job. Peter also asked if she liked skiing and Jeanette said that she had signed in for the competition next weekend. "Please don´t tell anyone. The staff isn´t allowed to enter the contest."
"I've heard the route would be pretty dangerous."
"Actually, I can ski pretty well." Jeanette´s cell phone rang. "I have to leave. My colleagues need me."
With these words she left and Connor, Peter and Jack were a little bit stunned now. "I´m sure the hotel management will find out she´s entering the contest. The participants list will be posted in the lobby this evening", Jack suggested.
After dinner Connor and Lindsay met Sue, Jack and Peter and Claire in the hotel lobby like the other curious guests. Who was brave enough to enter the competition?
Before them there were many people and it took some time before they finally were able to see the list. Lindsay checked all the names quickly. "I can´t see her name", she noted.
"There she is!", said Jack, pointing to the last name on the list. "Here it is: Janine Seráz."
"Why should she sign in under a fake name?"
"So she´s allowed to join. The hotel management had determined checked the list."
Sue grabbed a copy of the list and with it they went in a quieter area of the vast hall.
"How did you know her fake name, Jack?", asked Sue and her boyfriend shrugged his shoulders.
"It was logical: I read on the Internet her mother's maiden name is Seráz. It was clear to me when I saw the name."
"Is that true?", Sue asked suddenly and stared at the list, "Peter is also mentioned." Her friends gathered around her.
"We haven´t know that you want to join this competition!", Lindsay said in astonishment and clapped Peter´s shoulder.
"Yes," Peter gulped hard, "I haven´t known, too. Who signed me in?"
"A new message from Paul Anaux!," Lindsay said when her cell phone rang. She had received a text message: "He apologizes he signed you in the competition."
"Great, but Scrooge McDuck hasn´t to risk his life!"
"You need a little Mojo!", Jack replied.
"What?"
"Mojo... Don´t tell me you don´t know Austin Powers!"
"Of course I know who Austin Powers is."
"If you had Mojo, you would do it!"
"I don´t like skiing, that´s all!"
"Maybe the competition is what we need. You and Jeanette will start in the same group. That means you can have an eye on her. Make the best of it."
"Oh God, I wish I could get out immediately!", Peter wailed, when he and his friends wanted to go back to their rooms again. He entered his room first and his friends waited outside in the hallway. They talked about what they could do tomorrow to have an eye on Jeanette. Then they decided to tell Peter about their plans and together they opened the door to his room. Peter was gone. But how? They had seen how he went into his room.
"Where is he?", asked Jack and put his head in the extinct fireplace, which was in the room. Maybe Peter was in there.
"He would never fit into the fireplace", Connor called, who was standing right next to him.
"I should have known he´d chicken out," said Claire, "What do we do now?"
"Why are you still here?", Peter suddenly asked. He had been next door all the time and couldn´t understand his friends´ confusion.
"Should we wait for Peter at the start or at the finish?", Lindsay wanted to know on Saturday, the day of the ski and snowboard competition, while she put on her thick winter jacket.
"At the finish, I guess", Connor answered her. The best spectator seats were at the end of the slope and there it wouldn´t be as cold as on the summit of the mountain, where the competition began.
"Then I'll take the camera," Lindsay had even said this, when someone opened the door and a male figure in a snow suit rushed into her room. Sue and Jack followed him on foot.
"Peter!", Lindsay said in astonishment, "Is everything all right?"
"I need your help. I can´t do this competition alone!"
"I was hoping you say that," said Connor and all sat down at the table. There was a small suitcase, which opened almost automatically. First, took Connor out a snow goggles. "In those glasses a tracking gadget is integrated, which is connected to my new Blackberry cell phone. For the case of being lost, we will find you." He handed Peter the glasses which looked very ordinary.
"These are special gloves. On the back of the right an ultrasound gadget is attached which allows you to avoid objects in the dark. Your ski poles are modified with flashlights and a knife and..."
"What's that?", asked Sue, grabbing a pen, which was also in the case.
"Don´t push!", Connor hurried to get the pen, "This is no ordinary pen! You can activate a laser beam that is strong enough to cut through glass. Thus you can escape from a snow cave, for example."
"What do I do with all these things?", Peter asked, confused.
"And where did you get all this stuff from?", added Lindsay.
Connor smiled. "These are loans from the private Secret Agent Man collection of Paul Anaux." Peter took the items when he left the room before he was about to start at the competition. The worst thing was he had the feeling he would need to use them.
Claire was restless from foot to foot. For almost half an hour they waited at the finish. "Calm down, Claire. Everything´s alright", Sue tried to cheer her when Jack handed her a cup of coffee.
"Someone might try to kill Jeanette and Peter could try to prevent it."
The first part of the slope was difficult. Again and again small branches reached out of the ground. The track was not prepared well. Peter had managed to get a place in the group from which he could observe Jeanette very well. She was a god skier, but never managed to escape his sight.
Maurice, Peters skiing teacher, was also there and tried to come between them. Before a fork Maurice drove faster until he was right next to Jeanette. He gave her a push, so she took the wrong way. She screamed and Peter followed her. Here, the snow was deeper than on the usual slopes. Soon Jeanette stuck in the snow and waded to the end of the deep snow field. Now she realized that Peter was following her. "I know you! You are the personnel manager", she said confused, "What are you doing here?"
"Skiing?", Peter replied, smiling canting.
"You´re also taking part in the competition?"
"Yes."
Jeanette probably drew no suspicion so Peter acted as if he was only here by chance, "Unfortunately, I lost the track and now I´m out of the competition."
"I wouldn´t say that. Come with me, I know a shortcut."
He followed her across a huge, treeless expanse of snow and then through a mountain pass. "You come here often?", Peter asked and Jeanette shook her head. "I´m here for the first time."
"Well, I thought you must be here more often because you seem to know the area. Since when do you ski?"
"I started one a week ago, I think..."
"You think...?"
"I don´t know exactly."
Side by side they went down a spread slope that didn´t belong to the competitive route. Jeanette was a little faster now and Peter noticed a strange gleam between two trees. He knew what it was and now he had to catch Jeanette. He tried to ski faster and in the last moment when he was next to her he pushed Jeanette to the side and both ended up in a pile of snow. "What are you doing!", Jeanette shouted, "I thought you want to take the shortcut!"
"I do but did you see the wire over there?" In fact, an almost invisible wire at ankle height gleamed in the sunlight between two trees.
"If you had passed these trees, you would fall and your head would meet the rocks back there."
"This wire...", Jeanette stammered.
"…was placed there by someone. I'm going to call for help." Peter used the tracking gadget in his ski goggles.
"The wire must have been attached by someone who knew that Jeanette would take this path, after she lost her track," thought Connor who let the thin metal wire swing. "The wire is pretty sharp," said Peter, "Fortunately I saw it in time."
Actually, he was a little bit disappointed that he couldn´t use the impressive laser beam.
"My goodness, who would do such a terrible thing?", Jeanne asked, who was sitting on a snowmobile.
"Maurice!", Peter recalled. "He pushed her off the track."
"That was a mistake, an unfortunate accident", Jeanette told.
"He was pretty stubborn when he tried to get rid of you."
"Maurice is the skiing instructor?", Connor asked and glanced at Lindsay. Peter nodded.
"We´ll expect him at the finish. Please follow me. We´ll go back to the snowmobiles!", Connor suggested and soon after that they reached the finish line. Immediately a doctor took care about to Jeanette, when Peter called for help. They could see that Anton, Claire, Sue and Jack watched them interested. Then Peter, Connor and Lindsay were waiting for Maurice. He appeared first and crossed the finish line.
"Are you Maurice, the skiing teacher?", Connor said, the man nodded.
"You are arrested for attempted murder to Jeanette Drazéen."
Maurice looked shocked when he saw a healthy Jeanette sitting in an ambulance car. He glared at her angrily.
"Why did he do that?", thought Lindsay.
"What exactly do you mean?", Connor asked, "Why he tried to kill her with a wire trap or why he brainwashed her?"
"Both."
"What do you mean, I´m famous?" , Jeanette wanted to know confused when Peter told her she would work for a sportswear company.
"You are a professional winter athlete. Because of that you can ski very well."
"That would be obvious but why can´t I recall?"
"The answer is simple: One of my colleagues from ski lesson told me there was an accident about one week ago in which you and Maurice were involved. You broke through the cold ice during figure skating. I interviewed the witnesses and they said Maurice told them he also broke into the ice but his clothing was dry. He was holding your arm rudely and you had almost died from cold and wet. I think you were very shocked that day and you forgot everything about that accident."
"That doesn´t explain why he tried to kill me again."
"Maurice has been working here for three years and tried to impose itself on Paul Anaux´ company as figurehead for the next sports fashion collection. Probably he became jealous of you and therefore he decided to get rid of you. Don´t worry, we have already called the police. You´re safe."
"And how's next?", said Jeanette and Connor, who had been listening to their chat until now, shrugged his shoulders. "Our job is done, we return to Paris. And you are also expected in Paris."
"Now we need a real vacation!", Lindsay laughed and Sue nodded in agreement. They rejoiced that they would go back to Paris where they could spend a few nice days.
"I wish you all the best, Jeanette", Peter said goodbye, "It was an honor to ski with you."
"Me too. And thank you for saving me out of this hotel."
Finish