Chapter 7 - The Mission Part II

As Control's three top agents arrived at the Chief's office suite, Larrabee was at his desk as usual. "Larrabee, can we go in or are you still keeping everyone out?" asked Max.

"No, Max, go right in."

"Didn't the Chief tell you not to let anyone bother him?"

"Yes, he did."

"Then why are you letting us go right in?"

"I'm mad at him."

Max and 99 exchanged a glance that said, "Don't ask."

"Come in, come in," said the Chief. Please sit down. "Max, 99 and F3, we have more information about the plot to take over the government."

"Is it Top Secret?" asked Max.

"Yes, Max," sighed the Chief, knowing what was coming next. "But the Cone of Silence isn't fixed yet. They can't get parts. We will have to resort to another secret method."

"Which one is it today, Chief?"

"We'll use smoke signals. Here are your cigarettes, and here's an extra ashtray." He reached in his desk and pulled out a tiny gas mask and put it on F3.

"What's that for, Chief?" asked Max.

"We want to make sure F3 stays in perfect health. Cats are very sensitive to smoke, you know."

Cats are very sensitive to smoke, you know…Max mimicked the Chief, mouthing the words soundlessly.

"What was that, Max?" said the Chief sharply, aware that he was being made fun of.

"Nothing Chief…let's get on with it." He brightened. "Chief, let me use my new lighter…it's in a gun." He pulled the trigger expecting a flame, but a switchblade came out the business end of the gun instead. He looked surprised but recovered quickly. "Do you need anyone stabbed, Chief?"

"Use my lighter, Max! Let's get started."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. It was Larrabee. "Chief, maintenance wants to fix the Cone of Silence."

"Not now, Larrabee…didn't I tell you we are not to be disturbed?"

"You did, Chief, but I'm ignoring you because I'm still mad at you. And besides, maintenance said if you don't get it done now, they will go away and put you on the end of the list so the Cone of Silence won't get fixed til 1989."

Max jumped up…"Chief, we HAVE to have the Cone of Silence working! Let the men work on it!"

"All right, Max." The Chief was exasperated again. "Come in, come in."

"Chief, we can still use the smoke signals while they are here…they won't know what we are talking about."

"You're right, Max. Let's start again."

The two maintenance men climbed on the Chief's desk and Max pulled the chairs to the side of the room. The agents and the Chief started to make tiny smoke signals with their cigarettes.

Our intelligence sources report that even though you thwarted the jewel smuggling, there is still enough money available for KAOS to put the takeover plan into action, signaled the Chief.

What's their plan, Chief? signaled 99.

KAOS is going to put their own agents in place of many of the top officials in Washington. They'll be using doubles so no one will know the difference. They are planning to kidnap and kill the real officials. Once these KAOS agents get into the government, they could create…well, chaos. The Chief smiled at his pun.

"Eh, I don't get your drift, Chief." Max said aloud.

"Never mind, Max."The Chief went back to the smoke signals. Max, 99 and F3, we know this is big. It could reach into Congress, why even the White House!

"The WHITE HOUSE?" Max shouted. "That IS big!" 99 and the Chief shushed him, pointing to the maintenance men on the Chief's desk. "Oh, sorry about that, Chief."

You three are to infiltrate the White House, the Chief went on. Your equipment and disguises, anything you need, you can pick up in the costume department. And the lab has come up with a weapon small enough for F3. She has shown herself to be very capable with tools on her very first mission.

The Chief reached into his pocket. This is something F3 can easily wear. It's a knife-gun-magnet combo, accessible for her use with buttons that can be activated with her nose, teeth or claws. The Chief put the tiny tool, which was already on a chain, around the cat's neck.

Suddenly, Larrabee burst into the room with a fire extinguisher and started spraying everyone and everything.

"What are you DOING, Larrabee?" yelled the Chief through the haze of smoke and white extinguisher foam.

"I saw smoke coming out from under the door…where's the fire?"