Chapter 14: The Spy Who Could Fly
We waited eagerly to hear what this could possibly be. The muscular man sat down on a metal chair. "I do not know much about you, not as much as Bob does. I don't know if you live in a nice house or apartment or whatever. I don't know you guys at all."
"Yeah, so?" I gave Nudge a dirty look. "Sorry, continue." I said. "What I know is your biological information. I know that you are very lucky. None of you experienced any deformities." The man paused.
"When the scientists engineered you, you did not turn out perfect. Your chromosomes are prone to damage. Your body will not hold up much longer. I don't know exactly how much time you have, but it is limited. You should know that."
"Why are you telling us this now?" Angel asked. "Well, your time is limited and you haven't nearly lived your life to your fullest potential…" Angel put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me mister, but what do you know?" We all tried our hardest not to giggle.
"Well, you all have done incredible things with your life, but if you are going to die you might as well die doing something that will save the world."
"We've done that." I rolled my eyes. "I'm not lying. I can prove it to you. Um… here's your situation. This was your original genetic makeup." The man scribbled down something on a piece of paper. "And this is what the scientist changed. I believe the evidence is quite obvious. Your life will indeed be cut short."
"He is correct, I am sorry to admit." Eugene said glumly. "If I've learned anything from the Doc, it's about genetics. He explained to me when I was six all about genetics."
"Doc?" Iggy asked. "Dr. Johnson. He looked after Parfait, Perfecto, Impeccable, and myself until he died in a car crash when I was seven. The point is that you have a serious conundrum that I can see know way out of."
"Now, you are helping us regain the chocolate fountain. This fight is long but over. It may take awhile so you can commit the remainder of your life to this very important cause." The man looked me in the eye.
"You will be looked after here and all of you will be safe." I nodded. "Fine, but how much longer do you think we have to live?"
"Probably until you turn sixteen. You will start to notice minor side effects. They'll increase over time." I shuddered. "Like tremors in my legs?" I asked. "Maybe."
"Are you finished, Manny?" It was K's voice. "Uh yeah… the've promised to help us for life or until we end this all."
"That's great! Wait, can I have a word with you?" The man stepped outside and talked with K. "Why did you do hat?" Angel asked. "I'm almost eight. That means I will have to spend eight years of my life here with these weirdos."
"What are you planning to do?" I asked. "Look for Gazzy. As soon as they let us out I would run away to search for Gazzy. I don't care about a silly chocolate fountain. Well, I'll still run away I guess."
"Well, I'm sure that Manny told you the news?" K asked. "Yes. Why didn't you tell us?" Iggy asked. "I know that you knew."
"I-I you needed to focus on other things. I didn't want to worry you." K said. "Now, we have to go on with our plans. Please follow us to our strategy room."
When we got to the room, there were maps of the western United States on the wall, a large table, and about ten people.
"Ah. It is them! You know, a guru once told me: If you seek them, they shall come. If you seek the sun, it shall rain." An old man from the corner said in a bold, deep, loud voice. "Don't mind him, he's just Peter. He'll be in charge of your part of the mission." K said.
"Great." I muttered. The last thing I needed was some crackpot giving me orders.
"What happens in this room is not to be repeated elsewhere. Understand?" K asked. "Yes." We all said.
"This is our goal…" Peter moved put pieces from a Monopoly game on the large table. "Max, you will be the iron. You can be the shoe." She pointed at Iggy. He assigned all of us a piece except Angel. "I ran out of pieces. You, the little girl, you can be uh… hold on." Peter reached into his pocket. "This gumwrapper."
"Excuse me, but I am not a gum wrapper!" Angel exclaimed. "Angel!" I whispered. "No. I am not a piece of trash that you should have thrown out in the forties." Al of us looked at each other in shock.
"Excuse her, she's just going through a rough time…" I started. "No. This is not right. I will not take orders from some old weirdo who has no interest in finding my brother. I am seven and three quarters!" Angel emphasized the three quarters.
"How about you let the man finish and then you decide if you like the plan!" The man sitting opposite Peter suggested. "Fine! But I will not do what you say."
"The lady doth protests too much methinks!" Peter chuckled. "Actually, that is a common misconception. You see in Hamlet, what the queen meant was-" Peter cut Eugene off.
"We have received intelligence that other people are also in search of this fountain. Rodger here believes that they have already found the fountain and are searching for this base in this mountain to destroy all competitors."
"It is likely that Bob has also sent other men to search for the fountain and perhaps others to also destroy this base." A man called out.
"Anyway, this is my plan. We will divide into three groups. One group will scout the area there we believe Bob and his men are. Another group will stay here to defend this area and the last will go back and forth between each group to alert each other of the progress."
"Yeah, but what if we're seen going back and forth?" Nudge asked. "This plan follows no logical order!" Eugene protested. "It has minimal chance of succeeding."
"It might work, but we may need a spy." Angel said. "A spy?" Peter asked. "Yes. If the chocolate fountain is still in this forest than there are probably many people watching it. One of us will need to spy."
"Who? I'm sure that they know all of our faces. It will have to be one of you. One who they didn't suspect. If it's the same group that kidnapped Gazzy, than you would work, Angel! You'd pretend to be on their side! If it's different group, then you'd still work. You're a little kid. They wouldn't suspect you!" Peter exclaimed.
"I've always wanted to be a spy, but I'm not risking me life for some phony bologna legend!" Angel protested.
"Angel, if they get the fountain and activate its powers there will be no hope for you or any of you. If the legend is false, there are still many who believe it and will do whatever it takes to get their hands on that fountain. Including killing all that stand in their way or who they think stand in there way. You have no choice. Besides, you already pledged to Manny that you would work with us for the rest of your lives. You're not going back on your agreement, right?"
That Peter sure knew how to force people into doing what he wanted. "Fine. We're in." I said. "Are we?" We all nodded in agreement, everyone except Angel.
"Come on, Angel." I elbowed her. Angel violently shook her head. "Please, we need you. All of us do. If theres' any chance of succeeding, it's you." Nudge said. "Well..." We all looked at her. "Fine! Just because I want to. Not because you want me too. Get it?" We all nodded in agreement. "Good."
"Now, let's review our plan one more time…"