At the Crossword Puzzle Factory, the River Rat gang sat whittling at a large block of cheese with knives. A phone call interrupted their rabid consumption of the nutritious dairy product.

Whitey was the nearest to the phone and grabbed the receiver. Before he could finish 'hello', the Siren's voice spoke urgently at the other end.

"Whitey?"

"Siren? Where are you?"

"I'm where the Riddler was supposed to be yesterday – at the rendezvous point."

"Well, where's that?"

"You don't need to know, my curious rodent. Where's the Riddler?"

"I thought he was with you by now."

"Of course. Something of a fishy smell to this situation, wouldn't you say?"

"Uhh, how do you mean?"

I don't appreciate being kept waiting, particularly not for this long and particularly not when I'm supposed to take possession of nuclear submarines."

"But none of us here know…"

"Enough. We'll discuss it no further. But if you don't have some answers for me when I return, you're going to take another swim…and this time you'll be doing the breast stroke until you hit the North Pole."

"Chee, I don't think I can swim that far."

"Really. Then I guess you'd better locate your employer. Otherwise, I'll be happy to let you discover the exact limits of your endurance. And the Riddler just may be accompanying you on the journey."

"Idon'tknowwhereheisbutI'llfindoutrightnowMissSirenGoodbye."

Whitey hung up as fast as possible. The other River Rats watched as the panicked thug stood there, hyperventilating. Whitey gaped in horror as the phone suddenly began to ring again.

"I'm not answerin' it!" he insisted. "She's gonna scream in my ear and take control of my brain!"

"Well, someone's gotta…oh, give it to me." Fangs grumbled. "Hello? Who...Boss! We've been lookin' all over for you. The Siren just called - she's waiting for you over at the prearranged meetin' spot."

"I told her to switch to Plan B if I was delayed," he heard the Riddler reply. "I've been standing here, dripping wet, waiting for her to pick me up! Next time you see her, ask her if there's enough brains in that bubbly head to remember Plan B."

"Ahhh...I think maybe you oughta ask her that yourself, boss. She's pretty mad at you."

"I suppose she is the wrong woman to rile up. Maybe I'd better hold off on explaining our current roadblock."

"I told you you couldn't hook four subs together with just trailer hitches."

"That wasn't the problem - it was the navigation!" complained the Riddler. "The sonar array failed completely – I had no idea where I was going! And I didn't dare bring all four to the surface with the Coast Guard on my tail. Since I knew I was close enough to swim for shore, I had to ditch the submarines; otherwise, I would have risked running blindly into the coastline.

Where's the subs now?"

"You don't need to trouble yourself remembering that. Just worry about your part of the job. Did you spread the word to your lowlife associates as per my instructions?"

"Yeah, practically every one of 'em was real interested in nuclear submarines. I don't think many of 'em have owned one before.

Good, good. Now, if we act quickly, everything will be back on schedule by the time the Siren gets back. I want you to leave her a note saying that we'll be over at..."

Fangs listened attentively, nodding. "Right, boss."

The Riddler hung up, and immediately began dialing another number on his question mark-shaped phone.