"Checking Into the Katz Motel"

The four agents walked into the Katz Motel. They tried their best to act like tourists from Virginia. Agent Gammon was wearing a T-shirt with "Sonic the Hedgehog" written on it, jeans, and a pair of Nike Shox (TM). Agent Barsby was wearing a long-sleeve shirt with Big Ben on the front, Bermuda shorts, and sneakers. Agent Darkest Moon wore a black shirt, black pants, and black shoes. The only thing on her that wasn't black was her Sailor Moon hair ribbon. Agent Jonathan R was wearing a loud Hawaiian T-shirt, shorts, and sandals. All the agents were wearing Rayban sunglasses (all agents do for some reason; I believe I mentioned that before) and carrying eight pairs of luggage.

The agents walked up to the front desk and dropped their luggage on the floor. Agent R reached out and rang the bell on the desk. DING! The other agents observed their surroundings. They appeared to be in a normal motel lobby. There was a stack of brochures in one corner and potted plants scattered about the room. Next to the restrooms was a jukebox that was playing a strange techno beat (the one that's always playing whenever Katz is around.)

And speaking of Katz, it was at that moment that he arrived. He was crouched down behind the desk looking for something. When he heard the bell, he slowly stood up straight. It looked as though he was coming up from the floor!

Agents Jonathan R, Gammon, and Barsby were surprised when they beheld Katz. This tall red cat was not who they pictured the clerk to be.

"Welcome to the Katz Motel," said Katz in a deep voice. The techno music seemed to crescendo. "I am..."

"AAAAAUGH!!! A cat!!!" shrieked D.M., who finally caught sight of him. Instinctively, her finger pushed the camera button and took a picture of Katz. The flash temporarily blinded Katz as he stumbled back from the desk. The other agents didn't know whether to scold D.M. or comfort Katz.

"As I was saying," said a now annoyed Katz whose sight was slowly coming back. "My name is Katz and I will be your host for this evening. Please sign in." With that, he took out a big sign-in book and a quill pen.

Glaring at D.M., Gammon signed in his name, followed by Barsby, D.M., and Agent R.

As they signed in, Katz asked where they were from. Agent R explained that they were tourists from Virginia who decided to head out West for a vacation. Stopping at this tiny desert town was "a complete coincidence." Katz eyed him for a minute before closing the book with their names in it.

"One room or two?" asked Katz.

Remembering the cramped motel they stayed in last time, all four agents said "Two," at the same time.

Katz immediately walked to the wall and grabbed two keys that were hanging from the wall. He then began walking down a hall. "Walk this way," he said, and he started walking with his head high in the air, because he was inspecting the ceiling for termites. The agents followed. Agent R noticed that D.M. was imitating Katz; she had her head high in the air too.

"He didn't mean literally," said Agent R to D.M. D.M. walked regularly as Agent R heard a commotion behind him. He sighed as he realized that Gammon and Barsby were arguing about their driving skills again.

The group walked up a flight of stairs and down a hallway with numbered doors on the left wall. A balcony to the right overlooked the parking lot. D.M. took a couple photos along the way.

"Here we are!" said Katz. "Rooms 304 and 306." He gave the keys to the agents. "I'll be at the front desk," said Katz as he walked off. Before he turned the corner, he glanced over his shoulder. "Scream if you need anything," and he disappeared from view.

The agents stood in the hall feeling very nervous. They had a hunch that this Katz character was a bad egg. In fact, this entire town gave the agents and inexplicable feeling of uneasiness. Other agents had said that they felt "strange" upon visiting towns where weird stuff happens. The four agents were now experiencing this feeling for the first time.

"I've got a bad feeling about this place," said Agent R. This sentence was obviously on the minds of the other agents too.

Agents R and D.M. took Room 304 while Gammon and Barsby took Room 306. Agent R decided that putting Gammon and Barsby in the same room would give them the opportunity to "iron out their differences." Neither of them were pleased about this, but Gammon and Barsby eventually agreed to be roommates.

In Room 304, Agent R dialed a phone number on the phone while Agent D.M. took pictures out the window. A voice at the end spoke up. It was the Boss.

"Well, are you there?" Boss said.

"We're at the town, Boss. Right on schedule."

"Excellent," said Boss. "Now I want you and your partners to go out and investigate the incidences that have occurred there. Interviews, museum tours, the works. Do you understand?"

Agent R scratched his head. He wasn't sure if any of the locals would talk or if there was even a museum in Nowhere! Talking to his father was never an easy task for Agent Jonathan R.

"Yes, sir," said Agent R.

"Very well. Report back when you have more information."

"Will do," said Agent R, and hung up. He turned and stopped when he saw Agent D.M. staring at him.

"That was the Boss," said Agent R, who gave a queer smile at her. He felt like an idiot. Of course it was the Boss! Who else would he call?!

Agent D.M. smiled back, blushing slightly, and turned back to the window. Agent R thought about saying something to her when the phone rang again. It was Agent Gammon. He ordered Agent R to explain to Barsby why he should have custody over the remote control.

Agent R hung up the phone and turned to D.M. "Excuse me, I'll be right back."

"Take your time," said D.M., shyly. As she watched Agent R leave, she thought that he was still a little weird, but maybe she just saw a side of him that he didn't ordinarily show. (In other words, Agent R has never done very well around women.)

As the Agents were getting themselves acquainted, Courage and the Hendersons were getting themselves RE-acquainted. Muriel had gone all out with lunch, and the Hendersons couldn't stop complimenting her about it. Muriel was charmed about receiving so much recognition. Carl and Diane begged her to give them some recipes, and Muriel agreed as Eustace kept stuffing his face with foie gras.

Courage and Sandy were eating lunch under the table. They kindly stared at each other as they ate. They couldn't say much because Kevin and Muriel kept giving them food under the table. Sandy couldn't wait to tell Courage about her trip to San Francisco, and Courage couldn't wait to tell Sandy about....anything that came to mind.

When everyone was more or less done with lunch, the Hendersons moved all their luggage into the basement again. As the Hendersons put their belongings into drawers, they noticed an incredibly large lock on the basement doors. Apparently, it was designed to keep out any unexpected vortexes.

When they were done, they came back upstairs just in time to see Muriel running towards them with a newspaper.

"Look at this!" she exclaimed. "There's a movie playing at the drive-in theater tonight! A really good one! Why don't we all go see it?"

Courage thought that it was brilliant idea. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to Sandy and spend some private time with her.

"That sounds like a great idea! What do you think, Dear?" asked Carl to Diane.

"Well, as long as it's not too scary," said Diane.

"C'mon, Mom," said Kevin. "I'm sure it's not that scary. Let me see the rating."

As Kevin looked in the paper, Courage observed Katie for the first time in three weeks. Courage gulped and his blood ran cold. He immediately noticed something was different about her. Sure, she appeared the same, but when Katie looked at Courage, it was with a look that spooked him clear down to his furry toes. Courage glanced at Sandy. She merely shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "I don't know what's wrong with her either." Courage made a mental note to steer clear of Katie for now as he went upstairs to the bathroom.

Muriel turned to the Hendersons. "The movie is in a few hours, so why don't you all come outside. We made some moderations to the barn and chicken coop!"

So, as Eustace, Muriel, and the Hendersons toured around outside, Courage took a quick bath with mixed thoughts going through his mind. He was glad the Hendersons were back, curious about the movie tonight, and excited about spending time with Sandy. However, these thoughts were marred by Katie's behavior. Sandy and maybe Kevin were aware of her as well. He needed to talk to them about that. Courage hoped they could figure out what was wrong with her before something bad happened.

(F.Y.I., Katz isn't the only villain at the Katz Motel right now. Expect to see a whole lot more bad guys in the next chapter, "Lights, Camera, Villains"!)