Chapter Two

Take Note

Back at the pillar box, our hero had taken to practising his 'camouflage' skills; the newspaper was now lying on his head as he lay perfectly still beneath it. Anyone would have overlooked him, (just what camouflage exists for)… had it not been for the regular whining noises escaping from his nostrils that made the paper lift slightly; revealing an open-mouthed Danger Mouse with a small blob of dribble running down his chin, his one eye half shut. Indeed, the World's Greatest Secret Agent was not practising his camouflage skills… he was sleeping; clearly, the results of Friday night's Big Brother eviction hadn't exactly been all that stimulating for the White Wonder.

DM stirred lightly and rolled onto his side, his tongue now flopping out, the snoring increasing in volume and the paper slowly floating down onto the floor where it lay still once more. His eyelid flickered as he continued to dream and once again, drool slowly made its way to the edge of its lip where it bounced up and down between snores…

(Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is the World's Greatest Secret Agent, but please, don't panic; even heroes need a break at times.)

He was just starting to sink into true serenity, in his hands he held a large block of cheddar, its strong and powerful aroma shot into his nostrils and made his body shudder in sudden spasms of delight and eagerness. This was what it was like to be a mouse, the only dangers being next-door's cat and the occasional mouse trap – shabbily built and easy to outwit. A true mouse understood the meaning of freedom, DM held his world in his palms; his one true, natural goal in life… cheese. He opened his mouth wide and closed his eyes shut in anticipation, his taste buds tingling excitedly, impatiently…

"ALERT, ALERT! INCOMING CALL FROM COLONEL K, DANGER MOUSE HEADQUARTERS RECEIVING TRANSMISSION!"

The pillar box sirens blared at full volume, causing the poor, unsuspecting mouse to jump several feet in the air before returning to earth with a loud and painful thud; the living room lights flittered from red to yellow then blue and back again as DM lifted himself to his feet and rubbed his eyes in a tired but frustrated manner. Grumbling, he headed towards his television screen, now massaging his bruised backside tenderly…

That's the last time I ask Professor Squarkencluck to upgrade my gadgets! The agent thought as the modernised alert system finally came to an end.

Quickly recovered from his shock landing, Danger Mouse accepted the incoming call and looked up to see a slightly concerned beard staring at him, before shaking himself together to recognise the face attached to it. It was Colonel K, looking as confused and troubled as ever.

"What is it Colonel?" asked DM coolly, secretly rejoicing at having something to do.

The old Colonel nibbled one of his large, sausage-like fingers as he carefully worded the reply, but as the silence continued Danger Mouse became aware of the all too recognisable dumb expression on his boss's face; the Colonel was not thinking how to word the reply, he was trying to remember his reply. Yes, not for the first time in history, K had forgotten the all-important, world-saving, death-defying mission…

"Blast" muttered the Colonel to himself, "I know it was of the grave importance…"

"No kidding," mumbled Danger Mouse, sarcastically into his chest as his tucked his hands into his jumpsuit and sighed deeply, if he wasn't careful, he would end up drifting back to sleep… back to his cheddar…

Tangy, succulent cheddar…

"I'VE GOT IT!" came the elated cry from the Colonel's office! DM was once again wide-eyed and alert, a little disappointed at this second interruption, he was going to be angry if this had all been a false alarm.

"Well, Colonel? What is the problem?!"

The Colonel beamed happily, joyous as this memorable occasion and cleared his throat. "One of our agents is in trouble DM, she's a young spy, 23 years of age and she's in dire peril. For the past three months she's worked undercover at one of the Hiders' clubhouses on the other side of the city but her cover has been blown somehow and we haven't heard from her since she alerted us with a message detailing her situation about ten minutes ago. We're dealing with Raspus' clan here, DM. You know what he's capable of…"

As the Colonel trailed off, the smile faded from his bushy, bearded face. "Ah yes…" was all he could muster, his voice dripping in shame and embarrassment.

But Danger Mouse was not interested in the Colonel's stupidity anymore, his heart was beating three times faster than usual; K had one thing right, he did know what Raspus was capable of… he'd witnessed it first hand. 'And they'd sent a young agent into his inner circle?! But that was suicide!'

The agent tried to keep his voice steady as he asked the one question that would deliver him with enough information to try and save this poor female; "What did she say in her message, Colonel?"

It was a miraculous sight really, if the moment had been any more cheerful then DM would have rejoiced as his boss, aware of the weight on his shoulders, focused and successfully hit the correct button on his office control, the sweat beads rolling along his nose from the concentration put into the simple action as the message played…

"This is Agent Angel Mouse requesting immediate backup and rescue at location zero one zero two four, my identity has been discovered and I am now in serious danger. I repeat, immediate backup is requested!!"

The message ended with a single gun fire and an almighty crash of metal and piping, then silence.

"Can you help her, DM?" stumbled K, knocked by what he had heard and staring blankly at his answer machine.

There was no reply.

"Danger Mouse?!" K looked up to see Danger Mouse disappearing down the life chute towards his Mark III, there wasn't a moment to lose. The Colonel shook his head sadly. "Save her…"