"Warning! Galactic Kids Next Door rogue, Nigel Uno rogue. Proactive Citizenry is evil—"
Rachel frowned as Chad's transmission cut off. Nigel Uno, gone rogue? She frowned harder at the thought of Nigel Uno, the bravest and the most skilled operative on the planet, going rogue. She thought about the bald kid with sunglasses and the cute smile... such a cute smile... Rachel blushed at that.
A knock at the door snapped her out of it. "Rachel? Rachel, are you in there? Miss Griswold sent me to check on you. Are you okay?" It was Sarah, sounding worried.
Quickly cramming her phone into her robes and sliding the suitcase full of weapons under her bed, Rachel called out to Sarah.
"I'm okay! Just give me a second!" Rachel darted to the door and unlocked it. Although the other girl stood four inches above her, now more than ever she reminded Rachel of a little kid fresh out of Cadets Next Door.
"Ms. Griswold saw you running off and she said you looked worried. Are you okay?"
All of a sudden Rachel felt very vulnerable. She might have bluffed her way though the mob of other kids and adults only a couple of minutes ago, but when she was running she thought she had escaped Roberta's notice. The fact that Roberta had taken the time to track down her roommate and convince her to come check on her told her that Roberta was either stupid or was growing suspicious, probably the latter. What had the Delightful Children told Roberta? More importantly, how was Roberta able to get the Delightful Children to obey and fear her?
Rachel felt another panic attack coming on. Her eyes widened and she began to shake all over. Carefully, gently, Sarah reached out to touch Rachel's shoulders, but as soon as she did Rachel reflexively swatted her hand away before she could stop herself.
Sarah's eyes began to tear up. She was about to rush out and get some adult help, but she didn't have to. The help came to her. Someone began to knock on the door. Both girls were in such a state of shock that the knock didn't register. The knock came again and Rachel, who was first to come out of the shock, said meekly "Come in," even though she was overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety.
Rachel knew she had screwed up big time. She freaked out when she was vulnerable and now... Who knows what? All that Rachel knew was that Roberta was coming though that door and she was finished. She would be taken away from this hotel and tithed in some deep, dark, horrible place and she would never see her parents, her little brother or her beloved Kids Next Door ever again. Now it was Rachel who felt the tears pricking at her eyes. She wasn't ready. Oh Zero, she was never going to be ready. It was over.
Except it wasn't Roberta after all. The young woman who stood in the door way couldn't have been more than twenty-four, another volunteer from Roberta's world.
"Rachel, dear, you have a visitor. Did I hear yelling? Is everything okay in here?"
Rachel took a deep breath. "Yeah, everything's fine." She wasn't fooling anyone, but the volunteer went on.
"Your visitor's in the chapel right now waiting for you. He's a little umber boy with sunglasses, he's very well dressed."
(Number Infinity, Rachel realized, gulping and clenching her fists. How did he always manage to show up at the worst possible time?)
The volunteer went on. "If you're not in the mood I could tell him to come back later—"
"No!" Rachel interrupted, "I'll see him right now. It might do me some good."
She gave Sarah and the volunteer a convincing smile. Stepping out the door, she made as brisk of an exit as she could manage.
Rachel couldn't get to the Chapel fast enough. She muttered a very untithe—like curse as her robes got snagged for the fourth time on her trip downstairs(the first three times were in the elevator doors) and muttered an even worse curse as she tugged herself free of the Chapel's stained glass door. Setting her face with a neutral expression, she braced herself for whatever her unwelcome visitor had to say.
The Hotel's Chapel was a vast space fitted for the many different people of many different faiths who came to stay in Northern Virginia. There was an room for Islamic prayer mats, a statue of Buddha in one room and a little synagogue, but Number Infinity sat in typical Christian chapel with two confessionals fitted out for Catholic Mass. He sat in the pews closest to the altar, head bowed as if he were praying(although he was actually listening for Rachel's footsteps).
As Rachel made her way past the Confessional, she could sense someone watching her. It wasn't just a funny feeling. She knew. Soldier's instinct and her long-ago training kicking in, she turned her head. All she saw was a flash of gold disappear behind the curtain.
Rachel tensed up every muscle in her body, reflexes preparing her for a fight. For an instant Rachel was on the verge of attacking whatever was in there, but what if it was just a Priest wearing gold, just curious about a tithe coming so close to his confessional without stopping? Rachel was pretty sure she had made a fool of herself in front of half the kids here. Attacking some poor priest would probably be the straw that broke the camels back— or the loose thread that when pulled could unwind her...
She shook off that dark thought and kept walking. Number Infinity sat quietly in the pew, looking deceptively peaceful. He sat so still he could have been mistaken for a statue. Rachel tapped him on the shoulder and at once he became animated.
"Number 362 sir, what a pleasure." Number Infinity took her hands and clasped them warmly then made an effort to salute the Supreme Leader.
"Don't bother," Rachel said, smiling diplomatically, "Look at me. Do I look like I'm in uniform right now? At ease."
Now she was finally back in her element. Before taking on the mantle of Supreme Leader, Rachel McKenzie had been the best spy in the Kids Next Door. Integration, sleuthing, weaseling information, these things were Rachel's favorite parts of the job and she felt even more home here then on the bridge (which was saying something because the Supreme Leader's chair was really comfy). Whatever the GKND was doing, she would find out and get Nigel back...
"So…" Number Infinity said in a calm, rehearsed tone "how are you enjoying being a tithe?"
Rachel smiled, fitting back into the role she was used to playing. She gave him the answer he seemed to expect. "It's great, it's great. How about you? Anything to report from Moon Base lately?"
Number Infinity pursed his lips together and looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "Nothing really that important. Some big Candy Pirate meeting's being called to discuss politics.
"It sounds like a job for Number 5." Rachel observed, pushing back a pang of guilt over her last meeting with the candy adventurer. Number Infinity agreed with her and continued with the report on Moonbase news.
"Number 13 has started to campaign to be the next Supreme Leader, if you'd believe that." Rachel and Number Infinity shared a laugh at that. Number 13 was the Kids Next Door's most unlucky and probably worst operative.
Once Rachel's sides stopped hurting, she wiped a tear off her face and smiled again. "Really? Number 13 wants to be the Supreme Leader?"
Number Infinity nodded and chuckled. "You know, he's not the worst candidate in the world. He's the right age for it, not too young, not too old, and he would definitely listen to his advisors."
Rachel could feel his calculating gaze through his sunglasses.
"What's that supposed to mean, Number Infinity?" Rachel demanded, standing up and suddenly sounding just like a commander.
Number Infinity stood up too. The two kids glared at each other with equal malice. The jig was up. Now there was open hostility and they both knew it.
Numbuh Infinity didn't back down. "It means, sir, that it was very wise of you to begin your transition out of the Supreme Leader position early and to decide to become a tithe. Galactic Command hopes that you stay the course. It would be better for you to be used in other kids to help in our struggle against Adult Tyranny then to become an adult yourself, after all, like so many of your predecessors have. You will stop your questioning and end your contact with the Delightful Children, or else face the charge to treason. Do I make myself clear?"
Rachel was red again, not from embarrassment but from rage.
"I am Numbuh 362, the Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door, Number Infinity, you will not give me orders!" Rachel's voice echoed around the tinny chapel and she was pretty sure that the tithing pastor or the rabbi or the cleric or whoever was inside that confessional (she was pretty sure it wasn't a priest because she saw him coming down here stuffing his face full of lobster) heard her shouting.
"Get out! Get out of this hotel and get your office packed up, because when I get back up to Moon Base, by Zero, you're out! I should've decommissioned you after your little treaty debacle, but I didn't. I should have decommissioned you when you told me to help arrange for my best operative to be shipped past Pluto (just then there was a rustling of the Confessional's curtain) but I didn't. Now I'm telling you, the relationship between the Earth Kids Next Door and The Galactic Kids Next Door is over. And frankly, it's about time! "
"No it's snot." Number Infinity retorted, stepping out of the pew and into the aisle. Before Numbuh 362 could react, he placed his index finger up his nose and within a few seconds he was completely consumed by crusty green snot, the way all Galactic Level Operatives transported themselves to wherever they wanted to go.
Number 362 sat in the pew for another thirty minutes. she put her head on her hands and closed her eyes. She prayed that it wasn't too late, that she hadn't sold the Kids Next Door to that wretched woman who even made The Delightful Children afraid, she prayed for Nigel Uno, prayed that she would be able to save him.
After a while Rachel's head started to clear. She sat there waiting for Roberta, or the therapist or one of the horde of happy faces who were there to "ease the children into a divided state" to come and take her away. No one came, which should have eased her mind, but it didn't. They were waiting to pounce, she thought, waiting for the right moment. She decided to play along for now.
If worst came to worst they had to send her home by the weekend. If an opportunity for a clean getaway came sooner, then fine, but it had to be clean. There were too many moving parts now and it was too dangerous for her to make too big of a scene. (If only she had those little pills that Number 2x4 designed that could make a kid look like they had the stomach flu. The symptoms were supposed to be horrible, but it would get her home quick enough.)
Rachel sighed and stood up again to head back. She thought she saw a bit of gold peer out from behind the confessional again, but she had bigger mysteries to investigate.
Rachel spent the rest of the day trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She found Sarah and a small group of tithes and played mini golf and then played the Yipper flight sim (which she had to admit was pretty close to the real thing. She was pretty sure a former KND operative who escaped their decommissioning must have helped develop it). She saw neither head nor hide of the Delightful Children and she heard from one tithe boy that they all left for home early with a very special guest in tow.
Rachel kept her guard up. Roberta was at group and acted as if nothing happened at the pool. She gave Rachel the odd glance and asked her in front of everyone if she was alright (which was a little embarrassing and a monstrous trick because Rachel knew that not one of the 12 or so other tithes would ever leave her alone about it now).
Gourmet dinner was excellent, as always. Her favorite vegetable was even there: spinach, a green she didn't get to enjoy often being Kids Next Door Supreme Leader meant that she didn't get to eat it much on account of setting a bad example. After supper Rachel at risk of seeming like a bigger outcast than she already was at this point (the worried glances and the line of adults and kids wanting to take pity on her and hang out with her was growing longer by the minute) retired to her room, shut the door and opened the suitcase full of 2x4 technology. She had a very important call to make.
The first thing she heard on the other end of the line was kissing, the type of kissing that would've made her little brother say "Eeewww". It took a couple of seconds for her to get visuals, but she did hear the voice on the other end say, "Hold on Cree baby, I need to take this call, it's my Mom."
When Rachel finally got a good visual, she saw Number 9 of the Kids Next Door (also known as Maurice), who had ducked into what looked like the bathroom of the movie theater downtown. He looked a little flushed when he saw who was on the phone.
"Uh, Number 362, Ma'am, I mean sir. Sorry I didn't pick up right away. I was with Cree..."
"Gathering intelligence?" Number 362 said with a knowing smile that she let slide.
"Yes sir, gathering intelligence."
"Well just be careful, Cree's younger sister was gathering intelligence last time I spoke with her. You know how the Lincoln sisters are. When one of them gets an idea into her head, the other one's usually quick to follow."
Rachel smiled and so did Maurice, who had been standing at attention but now in a rare instant began to break formation by fidgeting at parade rest.
"At ease, and if you don't mind could you take the phone somewhere a bit more private? It's urgent."
Maurice slipped outside to make sure no one else heard and held the phone up to his ear.
Rachel didn't waste a second.
"Listen, some things are starting to go on, some very bad things. In case my investigation really starts going wrong, I want you to take full command of the Kids Next Door until the crisis ends."
Maurice went silent on the end for a couple of seconds.
"Number 9? Did you hear that order? Please respond…"
"Yes...sir... I heard it but is there—"
"No buts! Before I tell you any more I need you to tell me that you'll do what I say and take the job, please?"
Maurice listened to Rachel and heard the all-too-familiar sound of anxiety creeping into the girl's voice(Maurice and Chad had taken her home once upon a time when Rachel was but 4 months out of the cadets). "Yes, sir. I will fulfill my duty, even though I feel unequal to it."
He heard an audible sigh of relief on the other end followed by her authorizing something that had only been used four times in the Kids Next Door's history. "Supreme Leader Tag override code: Heiwa Monkey Yipper. Repeat it!"
Rachel said the last bit a bit more forcefully then she meant to, but without missing a beat Maurice repeated "Heiwa Monkey Yipper."
Numbuh 362 nodded.
"Good, as soon as possible head to the Moonbase and have it put into the Code Module. When the time comes, you'll know when to activate it." Maurice nodded before Rachel went on.
"Oh Maurice, where to start—274's down, wounded, killed, I don't know. He told me that the Galactic Kids Next Door is rogue and Nigel Uno's gone rogue too."
"Anything else?" Maurice said, sighing. He knew there was more. In his line of work there was always more.
"Have you been seeing all the kids going around in white robes?"
"Tithes." Maurice said flatly. "The Teen Ninjas have been gathering some intel of their own, but the higherups say not to worry about it. They're mostly kids and are only teenagers when it's too late. Say, weren't you wearing white robes when I saw you?"
Now it was Rachel's turn to go silent. She finally said, "Undercover work, undercover work. Do you know they do it, harvest organs of unwilling teenagers? And somehow Father and the Galatic Kids Next Door are in on it! There's this woman and The Delightful Children are terrified of her."
"Zero…" Maurice looked shaken. "Now is that all?"
Rachel nodded softly. It was obvious by Maurice's tone that he still wanted to know why exactly his Supreme Leader was wearing white. He said nothing. The fact that he was saying nothing about it was a sign that he understood a little too much. "Hopefully I should be back on Moonbase by next Monday or maybe sooner, but when I get back I want to brief you more. Oh… and I will be back in my old armor again."
This seemed to satisfy Maurice for the moment. He gave her a sharp and crisp "Yes sir, Kids Next Door rule Number 362 rule sir."
"Kids Next Door Rule." Rachel smiled. "Oh, and make sure not to kiss and tell Cree what I told you, okay Maurice?"
"Yes sir!" Maurice said chuckling slightly and then saluting. With that Rachel hung up— just as Sarah came in looking flustered...