"What do you mean they're on strike?!" Big D yelled. Phyllis jumped back, startled.
"Well . . . ." she started. "They said they weren't going to work under these conditions. A lot of them can't handle these all nighters, and they said until you call this whole thing off and let them do what they normally do, they'll strike."
"Oh for heaven's . . . . ." Big D groaned. "Are all the agents on strike?!"
"No, sir. Coiley, Multi, Skittles, and the girls are still working."
"Well, at least that's something. Get them in this office as soon as you possibly can. Meanwhile, I'll trace that phone call I received from the Shadow."
"Yes sir!"
Phyllis ran out of the chief's office, and went to her purse to retrieve her compact so she could call Coiley and Multi. While she was doing that, Big D got to work tracing the call he received. While he was waiting for the information, he sat down and clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white.
"I'll get him for this," he said. "He'll pay dearly, I'll see to that!"
Within minutes, Phyllis, FG, Shawn, Danalleah, Coiley, Multi, and Skittles walked into Big D's office. The boys had heard about the strike.
"Group, we have a problem," he said. "The other agents have decided to go on strike."
"So we've noticed," Shawn said.
"I have also received a call from the Shadow and I'm tracing it," Big D continued.
"What were his ransom demands?" Multi asked.
"I'm afraid he didn't give me any," Big D said. A few moments later, Big D's phone rang.
"Yes?" he said. "Yes, where did the call come from? What?! I see. I'm sorry, too."
Big D slammed the phone back on the hook and growled.
"What's the matter, chief?" Multi asked.
"They couldn't trace the call," Big D grumbled.
"Well, I had another idea," Coiley said. "See, once, Danalleah used these dream projections to contact Fluey. It's not like her mental telepathy and . . . ."
"It won't work, Coiley," Danalleah sighed.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Big D said. Phyllis glared at him.
"Why not?" Coiley said. "It's worth a try. Besides, you were able to do it before and . . . . ."
"Because I knew where he was the last time I did them," Danalleah interrupted. "I can only send dream projections to someone if I know where they are."
"Some witch you are," Big D grumbled. "You have been absolutely no help at all in this investigation! All I've seen you do since Fluid's disappearance is mope around and use . . . . . cheap parlor tricks which have failed! You're completely useless as an agent! I have a good mind to fire you!"
"But . . . . but Big D, I . . . ." Danalleah started.
"No buts!" Big D yelled. "If you were any kind of decent witch, we would have found Fluid days ago! Not only are you useless as an agent, you're also useless as a witch!"
Danalleah couldn't stand it any longer. She buried her face in her hands and ran from the office, sobbing hysterically. The others looked at Big D as if he were completely out of his mind.
"I can't believe you said that to her," Multi said.
"I don't think that was necessary," Phyllis said. "How do you expect her to concentrate when her boyfriend is missing, and nobody as any idea where to find him?! She's just as worried about Fluey as the rest of us!"
"I don't have time in this investigation to deal with failures," Big D said.
"Has it ever dawned on you that Danalleah's only fourteen?!" Shawn shouted. "And only half witch?! She's still training! And after what you said to her . . . . . I can see why all the other agents went on strike! Ever since we've started this investigation, you've been a big pain to work with, you realize that?!"
"Uhh, Shawn, you might want to cool it a little," Multi said, but Shawn was already on a roll.
"The only reason I'm not on strike with the rest of them is because Fluey's my friend!" Shawn shouted. "And if you want to fire me after this, that's fine with me, because I don't want to be working for a jerk!"
And with that, Shawn slapped Big D across the face as hard as she could, and stormed out. FG followed. The girls were going to join the strikers. Big D just stood there, not exactly sure what to say. Coiley finally cleared his throat, and spoke up.
"She does have a point, chief," he said. "I mean, we know why you've put us all on duty twenty-four seven, but the other agents don't and . . . . ."
"As I have stated before," Big D said. "I don't want too many people to find out about my relationship with Fluid and Phyllis, because it could only lead to disaster, as this has only proved!"
"But let's face it, chief," Phyllis said, glaring at Big D. "You've become pretty darn unpopular around here. I don't blame the other agents for striking."
"Never mind!" Big D yelled. "You four are the only agents I have left, five if you include the dog. NOW GET BACK TO WORK!"
The foursome left the office. The only reason they weren't joining the strike was because of Fluey. But the stress of the constant searching was starting to take it's toll on them all. But they knew they couldn't give up.
Big D, meanwhile, was taking out some frustrations on his desk, by knocking things off of it. The phone rang as he was pitching a fit, and he immediately grabbed it.
"Yes?!" he yelled.
"My, my, my, aren't we all wound up tonight," an all too familiar voice said.
"The Shadow, no doubt," Big D grumbled.
"That's right. How do you like my untraceable communications?"
"I don't! What do you want from me, Shadow? What do I have to do to get you to release my grandson?"
"What makes you think I want something?"
"Whatever it is you want, you'll get it! I just want my grandson back! Name it, and it's yours!"
"Now what would your former chief say to this, Dawson? Offering me anything I want for just one single person . . . . . tsk, tsk, tsk. For shame, Dawson, for shame."
"Shadow, please . . . . . please, I'm begging you . . . . . name your price! Please, just let my grandson go!"
"Are you . . . . begging, Dawson?! Oh my word, how can this be possible? The chief of the Secret Security Headquarters begging with the enemy? What kind of chief would do such a thing? Why, when the rest of the organization finds out . . . . . you know this could very well ruin your career!"
Big D bit his lower lip, nervously. The Shadow had him there. He couldn't believe he had resorted to begging. And offering the enemy anything he wanted. No chief in the history of the Secret Security Headquarters had stooped that low! Without another word, he hung up the phone, and massaged his forehead with his hand. He had some serious thinking to do.
In the meantime, Fluey was practically going bonkers. He couldn't take it much more. Finally, he decided to just make a break for it, no matter what the cost, but he had to come up with some way to get a message out, if the Shadow managed to catch him, which he figured was a safe bet. Fluey thought it over, and he spotted a case of Coke in the corner. The bottles were full, made of glass, and covered in dust and cobwebs. Fluey didn't care how old they were, or how flat they were, Heck, he didn't care if they were bottled when cocaine was one of the ingredients! He was so thirsty, he could drink anything, and he needed an empty bottle. He opened it, and practically drank the whole bottle in one gulp. Then, he searched the cellar for something to write on, and he found a box, also covered in cobwebs and dust. The box had a picture of the very house he was trapped in, only it didn't look so old and rundown.
"Rosecliff Manor," he read, wiping off the thick layer of dust with his hand. He opened the box and found it full of stationary, as well as some pens.
"Yeah, man!" he shouted. He grabbed a piece of the stationary and a pen, and began writing furiously on it. Once he finished his note, he rolled up the paper, wrote something on it, and stuck it in the bottle. He found a cork, stuck it into the bottle's opening, and glanced at a window. He put the bottle down, and began stacking crates on top of one another in order to reach it. He pushed on it, and, much to his surprise, found it was unlocked!
"Time to make like a banana, and split!" he shouted. He climbed down from the crates, grabbed his bottle, and climbed back up the crates. He remembered what the Shadow had said about placing shards of broken glass all over the island, but he decided to take that risk.
Fluey squeezed through the window easily, considering he hadn't been fed for nearly five days. He had lost a lot of weight as a result of that. Once he was outside, he pulled himself to his feet, and looked around. Sure enough, there were several shards of glass all over the ground. But there weren't any right next to the old house. Fluey pressed his back against the wall, and slowly made his way around, until he reached the back gate. Unfortunately, getting out of there was going to be easier said than done. There were pieces of glass everywhere! There were spaces in between them, but they were pretty small. Fluey gulped, and decided to just take his chances. Carefully, on his toes, he stepped toward the clear spaces, though he was having a hard time keeping his balance. He was beginning to feel dizzy. His hunger had also made him weak. He could barely stand up, but he knew he had to keep going.
"Hold it!" a voice shouted. Fluey was so startled, he tripped and fell to the ground, landing on some of the glass pieces. He leaned up, despite the pain, and looked over his shoulder. There was the Shadow, coming out the back door of the house.
Fluey didn't waste any time. Despite everything, he got up, and began running, even though he knew he was practically cutting his feet to shreds (figuratively). He just had to escape. The Shadow gave chase, and Fluey ducked out the back gate, slamming it it behind him. The Shadow, not expecting it, crashed right into the closed gate.
"ACK!" he shouted. "Oooh, wait'll I get my hands on you!"
Fluey continued to run. He remembered where the boat house was, and he figured the Shadow's speedboat was still there. He ran down to the beach, and was about to head for the boat house, when everything began spinning, and he sunk to his knees. He caught his breath, and began crawling toward the boat house. He suddenly heard a loud CRACK! And something hit him in the back. Fluey let out a scream, and he collapsed.
"Do you disobey authority at the Secret Security Headquarters, too?" the Shadow asked. Fluey just moaned. The Shadow pulled him up, and started to drag him back to the manor. Fluey held the Coke bottle, and threw it as hard as he could into the water. The Shadow merely scoffed.
"Oh please, like that's ever going to work!" he laughed, and he dragged Fluey back to the manor, and threw him back into the cellar.
Fluey moaned, and managed to sit up, but it took quite an effort. He looked over his injuries, just to see how bad they were. The cuts on his feet were the worst, and he had some puncture wounds on his arms and chest when he had tripped and landed on the shards. Thankfully, they weren't as bad as they looked, and neither were the cuts on his feet he noticed, when he used a piece of his shirt to try to clean himself up a little. Within moments, the cellar door opened, and Fluey tensed. But no one came down. Instead, a rock the size of a softball flew down into the cellar and hit Fluey right in the head, causing a large gash right above his eyebrow. Another rock came hurtling down, and this time, it hit Fluey in the shoulder. Then, the Shadow came down the stairs, holding a pole of sorts in his hand. He put it down, grabbed Fluey's arm, and flung him into the wall as hard as he could. Fluey groaned as he crashed into it. The Shadow then took hold of Fluey's shoulders, and began slamming him into the wall as hard as he could. Fluey fell to the floor in a heap, too dazed to even move. Then the Shadow retrieved his pole. Fluey managed to sit up, and he looked over at the Shadow. Then he noticed what was on the end of the pole. It looked like a circle with a lightning bolt and a backward letter S on it that went through the bolt. And to top it off, it was glowing a yellow-orangish color, and steam was rising from it. Fluey gasped when the realization hit, and he began to back away nervously.
"No . . . . no, please . . . . ." he begged, as he backed up. "Please, anything but that! No, no, no!"
Fluey suddenly backed himself into a corner, and there was no way out. The Shadow approached him slowly, laughing evilly. No matter how much Fluey begged, pleaded, and screamed, the Shadow kept right on coming toward him.
The next morning at the Secret Security Headquarters, Big D called a meeting of the agency. Every agent was there, and there was a lot of grumbling going on. The chief decided to ignore the grumbling. He took his gavel and banged it on the podium.
"May I have your attention, please!" he shouted, and he waited until everyone quieted. "I've called this meeting to discuss the Shadow case. First, I would like to apologize for my irrational behavior. The case was causing me nothing but stress, and it was no excuse to take it out on my agents. I also apologize for dropping the round the clock order the way I did. I would also like to take this time to make a few very important announcements. As of this moment, I am dropping all agents from the Shadow assignment, except for Agents Coil and Multi, because knowing them, they'll still want to continue the search."
"He's dropping the case?" Coiley asked like he couldn't believe it.
"Secondly, I've done a lot of thinking," Big D continued. "My actions these past few days were not for the good of the agency, having every agent on the payroll drop everything for one single agent."
"You don't think he's going to reveal his family secret, do you?" Multi asked, nervously.
"I think he is," Phyllis said. She jumped up and suddenly ran onto the stage. Once she reached it, she grabbed Big D's arm, and yanked him away from the podium.
"Are you off your rocker?!" she hissed. "You can't tell them Fluey's your grandson!"
"I'm afraid I have to," Big D said, putting his hands on his granddaughter's shoulders. "It's time the agency knew."
"But you said yourself that if too many people knew, even the other agents here . . . . ."
"My dear, it has come to the point where things must change. You're just going to have to trust me. I know what I'm doing."
Phyllis sighed, and gave in. Big D planted a little kiss on her forehead, and went back to the podium. The entire agency saw that, and began talking at once, wondering what was going on. Big D banged the gavel on the podium to get everyone's attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the Secret Security Headquarters," he said once everything was quiet. "What I am about to tell you will most definitely shock and surprise you, but it can not leave this room under any circumstances! You are all sworn to secrecy of this matter."
"What's goin' on, chief?" Mike asked.
"You're not gonna tell us there's truth to that rumor about you having a fling with your gal Friday, are ya?" Agent Caufield asked.
"No," Big D said. "There is no truth to the rumor that I'm having a 'fling' as you put it, with my secretary. I find it extremely disgusting that I would be romantically involved with my own granddaughter."
"Your own what?!" Reggie shouted.
"Granddaughter?!" Mike yelled. There was a lot of talking at once over that revelation. Of course, Coiley and Multi remained silent.
"How come you two aren't surprised at this?" Agent Granson asked them.
"They already knew," Big D said. "And I will explain how come they already knew."
"Somethin's tellin' me we're gonna get an even bigger surprise," Mike said.
"Most of you all know that my son, Jackson, was an agent of the organization," Big D said. "And that he was gunned down by Antonio Manikatti sixteen years ago. I know a lot of you younger agents aren't aware of that, but I do know all of you are aware of the events that happened with Manikatti recently."
"Yeah, when Fluey went searching for his real parents after you told him not to," another agent piped up. "So what?"
"My son Jackson was Agent Fluid's birth father," Big D said, bluntly. "Therefore, Agent Fluid is my grandson. And Phyllis and Agents Coil and Multi were with me when the discovery was made."
A stunned silence fell over the auditorium. No one could think of anything to say. Finally, Agent Caufield stood up.
"Chief . . . . ." he started. "Why didn't you tell us that when this whole mess with the Shadow got started?"
"Security reasons," Big D said. "I didn't want too many people to find out about it, but somehow, the Shadow did. And I was reluctant to tell anyone else due to the fact that if too many agents knew . . . . ."
"Yeah, but if you'd only told us he was your grandkid, we wouldn't have complained so much about the assignment!" Caufield shouted.
"He's right, chief," Agent Granson said. "I mean, a lot of us here have kids!"
"And some of us have grandkids," an older agent said.
"And you know a lot of us would drop everything for our kids if one wound up missing," Dr. Phelps pointed out. The other agents agreed. Big D then banged his gavel on the podium to get everyone's attention.
"What's done is done," he said. "I'm afraid I let things get out of hand with this case by keeping secrets and making bad decisions. I would like to take this moment to announce my retirement . . . . ."
Voices exploded everywhere, all voicing their disapproval of Big D's retirement. Nobody wanted him to retire! Before Big D could say anything about it, the alarm on his wrist communicator began going off. Big D activated it, and saw a security guard on the screen. Security had been told not to interrupt the meeting unless it was important.
"Sorry to bother you, sir, but Agent Multi's sister is here, and she says she has to talk to you," the guard said. "She says it's pretty important."
"What's Windy doing here?" Multi asked. His older sister never dropped in at Headquarters!
"Only one way to find out," Big D said, banging his gavel. "Meeting adjourned for now. All agents return to normal duty. Coil, Multi, and Phyllis, come with me."
Everyone immediately went back to what they were doing before Big D had everyone searching for Fluey and the Shadow, while Big D, Phyllis, and the two Impossibles went to the building's main lobby. They found Multi's sister, Windy, standing there, holding an old Coke bottle in her hands.
"Okay, Windy, what are you doing here?" Multi asked.
"I was on the beach with my friends," Windy said, handing the bottle to Big D. "We were all swimming when I hit my foot on something. I thought it was a rock or something, so I reached down to see, and I came up with this bottle. I managed to read it, and it was addressed to Big D at the Secret Security Headquarters, and it looked like Franky's handwriting, so I thought I should bring it in."
"Did you read it?" Big D asked.
"No sir," Windy said.
Big D pulled the cork out of the bottle, and retrieved the letter inside of it. Coiley and Multi looked over his shoulder as the chief unrolled it.
"That's Fluey's handwriting all right," Coiley said. "I'd recognize it anywhere!"
Big D looked over the letter, as did the other two Impossibles. It said,
Chief, you've got to help me! I'm being held on some island or another in this run down old manor house. He's keeping me locked up in the cellar and he's been torturing me! I don't know how much longer I can stand this. Please HELP!
"Rosecliff Manor," Big D said, looking at the letterhead on the paper. "I know where that is. It's located on Rosecliff Island."
"What is Rosecliff Manor?" Coiley asked.
"It used to be a popular bed and breakfast," Big D said. "I used to vacation there. But a severe hurricane all but destroyed the island over twenty years ago. It's a very secluded place, not on any map."
"Don't worry, Big D," Multi said. "We'll find it in no time!"
"I'm sure of that," Big D said. "Because I will be accompanying you. I owe the Shadow something for all this trouble."
"I'm coming too," Phyllis said. "And don't you dare say no, Big D! The way I'm feeling right now, he wouldn't dare mess with me!"
"There's no time to argue," Big D said, and he turned to Windy. "Miss Mills, thank you for bringing this to my attention. Most would just ignore it."
"Well, I know how crazy it's been," Windy said. She (along with the rest of Multi's family, as well as Coiley's family) already knew Big D's family secret. "Good luck, you guys!"
"Thanks, Sis!" Multi shouted, and he, Coiley, Big D, Phyllis, and Skittles raced to the Impossi-Jet. They didn't have a moment to spare.