The nets at the two ends of the gym seemed smaller then average. In fact, all the dimensions seemed to have been shrunk especially for them. But strangely enough, it seemed as if they were the only team there.
"Hello?" Wally shouted, getting nothing back but his own voice.
"Strange. Game's set up but there's nothing on." Abby walked further into the gym. Suddenly the doors closed behind them.
All four turned immediately.
Four kids were standing in front of the gym door, blocking their exit. Their numbered jerseys gave them each a corresponding opponent. 4, 3, 2, 1. Among them, they passed a soccer ball back and forth, and Abby, even from her limited experience of soccer, knew they were very good.
"What you' waiting for, squirt? Let's play football!"
Wally reacted angrily to that comment. "Don't call me a squirt! And it's soccer, not football. Why would I want to play your girly game?"
He folded his arms and began to turn away, but just then he came face-to-face with Kuki Sanban. And she was mad.
"Because if it's such a girly game, we wanna play too! Ain't that right, Abby?"
Abby was startled. "We wanna play? Uh - I mean - Sure, we wanna play!"
Kuki was satisfied. Turning to their opponents, she said in a slowly building voice, "You see? Now let's play ball."
"Gladly." The four kids bolted the door behind them and moved to the other end of the pitch. Atop the empty stands, the scoreboard lit up. HOME: 0, AWAY: 0. A timer stood poised above the score, ready to go at kick-off.
The number 1 of the team spoke up. Oddly, he did so with a posh English accent, despite the total lack of any England in America. "Ten minutes. If it's drawn after then we take penalties. How's that sound?"
"Game on!" Abby reached across, and they shook hands cautiously.
It wasn't long before Maurice sat before an empty computer terminal. This was the fastest-expanding segment of the Kids Next Door. As times changed, so did the methods of operation. The screen looked wearily familiar to Maurice. After everything had been done a thousand times the exciting became mundane. Clicking on an icon on the screen, he scrolled through a list of names and placements.
And then he stumbled upon Numbuh Eighty-Six's name. All in one line, the details of her placement were on the screen before him, as well as the names of the instructing officer. Trouble was, in her case, she was Global Tactical Officer, which meant that very few people outranked her, and could have sent her to track down the decommissioned Sector V. So either she did it of her own free will, acting off a tip, or somebody had put her up to it. And the evidence here suggested...
He raised his eyebrows.
'PEEP!" The shrill blast of a referee's whistle startled Wallabee Beatles into action. The game was underway. The ball with the opposition.
He was facing down their number 4. With the ball at his opponent's feet, he reacted instinctively, lunging in for the ball. But it was a mistake.
His opponent simply skipped past him and sent the ball soaring across the field. Kuki tried to reach it, but she had no chance. Behind her, the opposing number 2 headed the ball into the net, past the despairing dive of Hoagie.
One-nil.
Wally walked back over as Hoagie was picking the ball out of the net. Hoagie was seething. "Why do I have to play goalie?"
Wally wasn't in the mood to deal with it. "Shut up! You're big, OK, and we all know the big kid always plays in goal. Now suck it up!"
Hoagie picked the ball out of the net and threw it as hard as possible at Wally's head. The black and white ball hit Wally square in the jaw. Abby and Kuki gasped. But Hoagie was livid. "THERE! Guess you can go play your games now, huh? You wanna play soccer so bad, why dontcha get on with it right NOW?"
"Hoagie, cool it!" Instinctively, Abby moved between the two boys, as if to prevent a confrontation. None was coming on her watch. "We start as a team, we finish as one! Even if in the end we can't really play this game anyway.", she added ruefully.
But there was no confrontation coming. Uncharacteristically, silently, Wally picked up the ball and placed it back at the center circle. With a quiet kind of rage, Wally yelled at his team-mates. "Abby, kickoff!"
Their opponents were back in place. Straight from kickoff, they pressed, harried, trying to pick the ball off a loose pass. Abby still had the ball, but she was pressed to the side, pushed and jostled against the wall of the gym by the number '3' of the other team. And then she saw a chance to slot Wally through on goal.
She made the pass, and for a moment it seemed like Wally was ready to put his whole foot through the approaching ball, but then the opposite number '2' cut the pass out.
By now she was out of position, having lost the ball due through her own bad pass. Swiftly, their opponents moved back down the small pitch, exchanging passes with one another like it was going out of style. Abby sprinted back across the field and slid in on her opponents, as she desperately tried to get the ball. It didn't work. A deft touch, and the opposing number 3 was in, one-on-one against Hoagie. He dived left; she shot right.
Two-nil.
As Hoagie turned around to pick the ball out of his net again, Abby held up an apologetic hand. "Sorry guys, Numbuh Five screwed up. It won't happen again."
"Darn right it won't!" Wally had, by this time, walked back across the field to join his dejected team-mates. "What was that pass about?"
Abby clenched her fists, her nails starting to dig into the palms. "I screwed up, OK? Let's move on. And Wally, you make mistakes like all of us do, so cool it!"
Abby set the ball back on the center spot. Glanced at the clock. Three minutes had passed. Jesus, three minutes and we've already conceded twice? Abby passed the ball to Wally from kick-off. And watched as the orange-shirted kid, by virtue of his low center of gravity, tried to dribble past his opponents. She kept watching as he dribbled past one. Knocking it off the wall, past another. Now he was in.
Abby was level with him, and if he had passed, she would have had the easiest of goals - a tap-in.
But Wally shot. And the goalie needn't have bothered even flapping his hands at the ball, because it was an awful shot that flew miles over the small goal.
As the opposing goalie went to retrive the ball, Abby mouthed at Wally. What was that for?
In response, he just shrugged. But in the meantime their opponents had gotten the game moving again. The number 1 shuffled up the field, seeming to take matters into his own hands. But it was fine. Kuki was facing him down. She had it covered-
Without missing a beat, he shifted the ball onto his right foot and unleashed a swerving, dipping shot. In goal, Hoagie never even moved as the ball arced into the top corner.
Three-nil.
From further upfield, Abby groaned, that familiar feeling of helplessness again washing over her. Without even needing to glance at the scoreboard, she knew her team had just been outclassed here. She didn't even bother to walk back to her team's goal; the ball was recycled back out to her for the third kickoff.
For the rest of the half, they tried to get one back. At least they were not conceding anymore. But even though Abby and Wally both had shots on target, the score at half-time was still 3-0.
As the whistle signaled a minute's break, the members of Sector V collectively heaved a sigh of relief. They needed half-time. It gave them a chance to process what had just happen, gave them a chance to regroup.
Maurice took a closer look at the data. There was no doubt; the orders had come from higher up. And he knew who was responsible.
Then suddenly, a female voice from behind him caused him to jump. "Maurice?"
Maurice heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just you. What are you doing here?"
In response, Cree looked over his shoulder, staring at the list of operative assignments on the computer screen. Finding nothing, she turned away and said, "I'm trying to find my sister. Fat chance, considering these dorks up here don't even know about the mission she's on, but it was worth a shot. What are you doing here? And how did you know I was here?"
"I didn't." Maurice smiled at Cree. Their breakup had not been altogether disastrous; they had stayed on good terms after it. "But I thought there was a pretty good chance that you'd be here, though I couldn't explain why at the time. Now I know." He got up from the computer terminal, his job done. "Alright, we've got a certain someone to meet."
Cree asked, "Do you know where my sister is?"
"Yeah, but she won't be available for a couple more hours. In the meantime we've got other things to do. It's not that important, but we've got to get to it soon if your sister's to remain safe."
"Safe?" Cree was thunderstruck. "Safe?"
"Yes, safe. Let's go." Quietly, the teenagers snuck out of the computer room, Maurice locking the door behind them with a soft click.
The team-talk at half-time was explosive.
Abby had started well enough. "Change of plans. Kuki, you swap with me, I'm going to defense. We need to pass a lot better in the second half."
Then Wally interrupted. "Well, we wouldn't be in this cruddy mess if it weren't for you guys just givin' it to them Brits! I don't-"
Abby got up and pushed him over.
Everyone gasped as Wally quickly got back to his feet, staring down at Abby. For a moment, it looked as if it would come to blows, Abby versus Wally.
But Abby yelled at Wally before the latter had a chance to do anything. "You think you're so perfect, don'tcha? You may be the best at this game, but you better believe we're also on the field, playing. So don't try and dribble your way through like you're a legend, because you won't get anywhere. Use your skills smartly. For once in your life, you don't have to be the tough guy, you just need ter' be the good guy!"
Wally opened his mouth, but just then the whistle sounded, and they were back on for the second half. This time, the opponents kicked off, and quickly Sector V was on the defensive again. Abby looked across the line. "Steady now..."
Number 1 advanced on the goal.
"Now!"
Just as Number 1 was about to slide his team-mate in, Wally came out of nowhere and tackled him hard enough to send him flying.
Abby looked at Wally with pride. Sprinting back up the pitch, she yelled at her teammate: "That's it - now pass!"
But Wally had other plans. Moving cautiously up the pitch, he was confronted by two other players, closing him down, limiting his space.
"Pass it!" Abby was screaming at him.
It was not time. Not yet, for there was a better option, and that option was to delay the pass. It was in his nature to play sports well.
But it would still be crazy if the move worked. Only seconds to decide.
As the number 3 got close to him, Wally played his pass, the ball rolling across the field with slide-rule accuracy, bypassing his two opponents like they weren't there. On the far end, Abby ran onto the pass full tilt and hit the shot as hard as she could.
The ball flew in off the underside of the bar.
Wally rubbed his eyes in disbelief. It worked?
Even Abby looked a bit surprised at the goal. Sheepishly, she said, "I didn't know you could pass like that, Wally!"
Wally relaxed. Looking around the field, he smiled back at Abby as their opponents took a turn fishing the ball out of the net. "Well, I didn't know either." He turned and looked at the Brits, who were by now starting to think that Zidane had been reincarnated just to face them. "What are we waiting for? Let's play ball!"
Maurice and Cree were hidden in the snacks storage room. Today was a quiet day on Moon Base, and they were relatively safe in here until the coast was absolutely clear.
Maurice asked, "So, what happened with Abby?"
Cree threw her hands up. "She wouldn't hear a word against it! I'd realise she'd gotten a note about the Kids Next Door, and I tried to stop her from going but she wouldn't hear it. Maurice, I know this is important and all, but she's important to me too. I almost couldn't let her do it. I lost my cool, I started hitting her, and now I don't know what to do, Maurice. Every time I fight her it hurts me more than anything she could ever throw. Every time..."
Maurice hugged her. Cree wrapped her arms around him awkwardly. "Thanks." she whispered. "She made me think, you know. What do I wanna do, who am I really? I can't just keep going around with the teen ninjas, because as much as I wanna destroy this stupid organisation, I'm growing up, too. I can't keep doing this for the rest of my life. But then what am I supposed to do if I can't stop my sister from risking it all? I don't know, Maurice."
Putting her head in his shoulders, she started to sob. Maurice hugged her tightly. But beyond that, he knew there was nothing he could say or do to help Cree.
It was such a lonely place, the land of tears.
Three-three in a flash. And there were still thirty seconds left on the clock. Wally glanced around, enjoying himself by now, as he scanned the field for his teammates.
The English team were visibly shocked. Worse still, penalties loomed, and they'd never been that good at those anyway. "Get the ball off him!"
Wally waited. Twenty seconds...
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the movement he was looking for.
As if they sensed it too, the English broke ranks, trying to get the ball from Wally. Fifteen seconds. Taking it in his stride, Wally passed the ball between his own feet, and lofted the ball high in the air.
Ten seconds. The opposition stood helpless as time seemed to stop. The ball hung in the air, and floated past Abby.
Five seconds. Kuki jumped into the air, hands flailing, but it was too high for her, and it sailed past her too, looking for all the world like the chip would bounce out of bounds.
But then they all saw the onrushing blur, and they all understood.
As the ball fell, Hoagie dived in, and connected with the falling ball with his head, sending it past the English keeper.
Four-three. And full-time, in the most unlikely of matches.
Hoagie tried to stand up, but he was quickly over-run as the other members of his team all jumped on him, piling up in one big celebration of success.
"Ow! Get off-" But Hoagie's protests were in vain, and it was only after a while that his team-mates relented and got off his back, turning around to face the crestfallen opposition.
"Well, that was a good game." The leader of the opposition extended his arm, and Wally reached across to shake it - the tradition after every football game, win, lose or draw. "Guess we English need to practise a wee bit more, then." Suddenly, he touched his palm lightly to his forehead. "Goodness! I forgot to introduce myself! How very rude." He swept an open palm across his sector mates. "We're from Sector E, and we're in America mainly to give you guys this." He held out a red envelope for Wally.
Without thinking much, Wally ripped open the envelope, but when he saw the writing on the enclosed letter, he instantly wished he hadn't.
"What gives? Where did you get this from-" Wally looked inside the envelope; a further slip of paper fell out of the back. Four numbers. "Huh?"
"Commissioned at the highest levels. Keep it safe in your skyrocket, a'ight?" the sector E leader exhorted. "It'll be important later." Quietly, all four of them stalked off to the gym exits before any of the surprised sector V members could ask any more questions.
Wally was now left with only his teammates for company. Before he put the envelope in his pocket, he scanned the first line again. To Wallabee Beatles - when he was a kid...
He placed the stack of papers back into his pocket. Off to his side, the others were quietly standing, looking at him, wondering what he had gotten from their opponents, what was inside the red envelope.
But before he said anything, he decided, he had to say something. "Hoagie, I'm - I'm sorry."
Everyone present gasped. It was almost as surprising as when Abby pushed Wally over. Seeing their surprise, Wally quickly added:
"No, I mean it, guys! It's just - I didn't think what I said could hurt you like it did. I didn't know. But Hoagie, I wanna say, I shouldn't have done it, and I-"
The rest of his words were drowned out by Hoagie's tight hug.
"Get off me!" Wally shoved Hoagie gently. "Ya still can't touch me like that."
But Hoagie could've sworn he saw a genuine smile break on Wally's face for the briefest of moments after the hug.
"Who is this Kayla girl? Have you been hanging out with other people since our breakup?"
Maurice laughed. "You really think that? No, she's just one of the recruitment targets I got when I was still in charge of recruitment. Boy, that was a hard job, but I got the best from it, and all the perks of being a teen spy-"
"Sore point." Cree held up her hand; she still had not gotten over the fact that Maurice was a teenage spy against her arch-nemesis. "Put a sock in it, we've got a mission to finish."
"Since when were you so committed to the Kids Next Door? I thought-"
"SORE POINT." Cree exhaled in disgust. "Didn't they teach you how to take a point in military school or something?"
Right. Maurice opened a side door noiselessly. In the otherwise bare room, a girl was hunched over at an old-fashioned typewriter, surrounded by a massive amount of paperwork. Maurice shouted, "Howdy, Kayla!"
"Burnin' barbecues!" Kayla literally leapt in her seat, upsetting the typewriter before her and scattering the pages all over the floor. She made no effort to pick it back up, instead focusing on her breathing. "Maurice, if you ever do this to me again, I will make sure you eat the whole month's ration of vanilla ice-cream flavour. What do you want?"
Maurice made a face. "We're here to find out more about what's going down recently. Have you seen anybody important recently? They don't come out much nowadays, but surely you must see them for press or something."
Kayla raised a quizzical eyebrow. "I've not seen much. The Elite Four are in a meeting at the moment. But they've all brought their game consoles into the meeting, so I don't think that means anything much."
"What a stupid name." Maurice brushed that concern off. He walked over to the table and picked up the typewriter. "Right, Kayla, I'm sure you know me coming here isn't a normal thing, so I've got some explaining to do. We - that's me and Cree right here - are starting to think that there might be a plot going on to destroy this organisation from within. I've been getting nothing but interference from Kids Next Door on my top secret missions, Keith's been wrecked by one of his own, and now I know that your global tactical officer has been sent down to Earth to complete a mission that shouldn't exist. If you cross your eyes really hard and suck on some Brain Twisty candy, that should give you the picture."
Kayla crossed her eyes.
"Not actually! You kids take things way too literally." Maurice called Cree over to his table, where the three of them then bent in secretively over the typewriter. "We need to know what Numbuh 66 is up to. I think he's the one with the most influence, though it's hard to tell cause it switches from day to day. Abby really left us in a mess when she finished her term. As soon as he comes back from his Pokemon game session I need you to stick this on him." Maurice held out a small microphone, pinching the end with thumb and forefinger.
"You want me to bug the possible Supreme Leader." Kayla looked at Maurice and Cree like they were joking, but they were clearly not. "First you use my top-secret password to get past Moon Base area control, now you want me to bug Numbuh 66?"
"Yeah. Just-just say you're adjusting his mike or something. You're press, he's obsessed about himself, it shouldn't be too hard." Maurice turned from the table, Cree following in his wake. "I've got the receiver, so I'll know when you do it."
As his team stalked through the empty corridors of Gallagher Elementary, shirts starting to stick to their backs, Wally opened the letter again. His team had spotted the line again; it was impossible to miss from the moment they walked straight out of the other end of the gym.
Wally's feet unconsciously caught up with the rest, but his mind was elsewhere. By the dim light, he read the note again. The handwriting was that of a child's - weird, strangely capitalised, and otherwise amateurish, but the message was clear enough nonetheless.
To Wallabee Beatles...
You may not remember me anymore, but I Remember you. I'm the kid you saved that other day before third periOd math class, remember? In the halls, when the bullies were all like 'Gimme your gum!' and I was like 'Nuh-uh' and he was like 'Pow!' when he hit me. And - and this is the Coolest part - you walKed right in. I thought you looked scared, but then you just walked up - just walked up! and hit the guy right in the face! And the rest of 'Em, they just ran away, like that! You saved my life back in first grade, Wally, and you better remember iT, because you mean something to us all, something more than candy or double-scoop ice cream.
Us?
Wally looked down at the rest of the letter. An electric shock ran through his body. So great was his surprise that he nearly stopped dead in his tracks.
Below the first testimonial, someone else had written in a different script. A different story, a different time. And somebody else. All his friends that he had bailed out when he was too small to be scared, each one a reminder that the small squirt in first grade had a heart big enough for all the other small kids.
Wally quickly flipped through all the pages, heart soaring with every flick, page after page of testimonials. At the end of the letter was one written in neat block handwriting. One too far this time, I'm afraid, Wally. But don't worry, because we've all got your back, and we'll bail you out as payback for every time that you had ours. My father himself said it - being brave isn't about not being scared, it's about being scared of something and doing it anyway. Nigel.
Against every instinct in his body, Wally looked up at the ceiling, staring off into the distance and just smiling.
"Wally?" Abby noticed that Wally had stopped.
"Yeah?"
"Are you OK?" By now, the rest of the group had stopped, a few paces ahead of Wally. But he didn't care.
"Yeah, I am. Just saying hi to an old friend." Wally closed the letter again, slowly shuffling ahead to where his group was. Still staring into the distance, he whispered, "I just wish he could be here to see me again."