***

One gas stop and two bathroom breaks later found Control's finest pulling up to a dilapidated warehouse near the river front. Faded yellow paint boasted of long-gone interests, the letters chipping away with age. A row of blackened windows formed a line along the upper portion of the building, obediently running beneath the shadows of the tin roof.

"99, you know that vacation home you've been talking about," Max began.

"I don't think so."

"Ah yes, I didn't think you would." Max shrugged. He walked forward and reached for a rust-covered handle on one of the two large steel doors. It wouldn't budge. A quick lap around the building showed no other entry point and brought them to the steel doors again.

"There has to be a way in," Max reasoned. "We just have to find it."

"What about 'Open sesame'?" 99 offered. As if on cue, the doors to the warehouse inched open, providing just enough room for them to squeeze through.

Max turned to 99, his eyes wide in disbelief. "How'd you do that?"

99, for her part, was totally non-plussed. "I don't know, Max. That almost seemed too easy."

Max stopped, having made it halfway through the open doors, and turned around, letting out a sigh. "99, why are you being so negative? Sometimes things do go easy. Try to think positively."

"Fine," she said. "I'll try to think positively." But, her tone said she didn't sound too convinced.

"That's my girl," Max smiled. "Now, can you give me a push? I think I'm stuck."

***

"Can you believe how dark it is in here? I don't understand why we always have to meet in dark places. How come we can't meet at a sunny park or an ice cream stand?" Max complained. "We could do our job and enjoy a triple-fudge peanut butter cone at the same time. Wouldn't that be nice, 99?"

"Of course it would, love." 99 was having a hard time paying attention to what Max was saying as they were in the process of trying to locate the door that would lead them to an inner office of the warehouse where their contact would meet them.

"Another thing about the dark…gollywoggles. Everyone knows they love the dark. They're probably lurking around us." He reached for her hand. "Do you think they're watching us?"

"Probably not, love. After all, it's still daytime. Everyone knows they don't come out until night." She squeezed his hand. "Any luck with the door?"

"Not yet, but it's got to be around here somewhere. It can't be any more hidden than the one last Tuesday," he muttered.

"Last Tuesday?" 99 murmured. Her eyes narrowed. "Oh yes. Last Tuesday." She let go of his hand.

"What's wrong?" Max asked. He turned to face 99, thereby not realizing he had walked directly into the elusive door.

"Ouch!"

"Find the door, did we?" 99 asked demurely.

"Ha-ha. Very funny. You know 99, after the way you acted this morning, I thought you were over last Tuesday." He scowled and cupped his nose. "How long are you going to be sore at me for that?"

"Well Max, when you say you're going to be home by 10 p.m. and then you don't show up until 2 a.m. smelling like cheap perfume, your shirt ripped to shreds, what do you expect me to do?" She arched an eyebrow at him.

"I expect you to believe me. I told you, 99. KAOS was using the perfume shop as a front for their smuggling operation. They put the explosives in the perfume bottles with red labels." He rolled his eyes. "How was I supposed to know they'd explode when I squeezed the atomizer? It was pretty ingenious,
actually."

"Mmm-hmm."

"Besides," he continued. "You should be happy. All I got was a shredded shirt. Siegfried went home with a broken arm. I bet his wife was more understanding." He frowned a moment and then got a thoughtful look on his face.

"99, your mother doesn't want any perfume for Christmas, does she?"

"Max!"

"Wha? I only asked because they're going at a discount price now because of the operation. I would never imply that I wanted to hurt my own mother-in-law!"

"The door, Max." 99 looked at him pointedly.

Flowers, he thought to himself. Definitely more flowers, maybe some chocolates, and then there was that dress she'd been eyeing at the corner shop. Yep. This one was definitely going to cost him.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Max reached inside his jacket and withdrew a lockpick. He grasped the door handle, getting a better grip. It turned easily, the door slowly creaking open.

He eyed it suspiciously.

"That almost seemed too easy."

"Max, I think there's an echo in here," 99 told him with mock astonishment.

He turned to her, nodding his head. "OK, I deserved that one. See, I can admit when I'm wrong."

"You are getting better at it, love. But, you're still not off the hook. We'll discuss it later. Right now, we have a KAOS henchman to catch," 99 reminded him.

Max sighed melodramatically. "I love it when you get all romantic on me."

"Funny," she smiled, giving him a gentle shove through the door. She followed closely behind him, her eyes darting furtively around the room.

To be continued …