Spy Game
by Joy


NOTE: So, did the last chapter leave you in suspense? Of course it did! That's what it was designed to do silly! LOL. I'm experienced at that stuff by now - of course, I love suspense myself. So, after reading one too many thrillers, I've gotten good. I hope you enjoy chapter three! You'll probably find out even more about what these BGB agents are up to, what's gonna happen to the Boggs' family, and maybe even more about the crisis at the SSO. Read on!

Oh yeah, and thanks so much to everyone who have reviewed this fic! I enjoy reading your reviews very much. (Also, I'll sneak in a little hi to "Cool", since he/she asked. ^_^ Thanks for the wonderful review!)

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Chapter Three - A Daring Escape

"No. . ." Randall gasped, staring at the advancing agents. He backed up slowly. There were too many of them. . .

More screams came from upstairs and another big crash followed.

Randall shifted his gaze from the staircase to the intruders. Should he go upstairs and grab his wife and kids? Or should he stay down here and fend off these guys the best he could, giving them a chance to escape? Yet another mental debate raged in his mind. He didn't have time for this!

Randall decisively raced up the stairs, looking around desperately for his family. He ran into the master bedroom, expecting to see them in there, but all that remained was a broken window and overturned furnature. He continued searching, until he finally found them hiding in the bathroom. He was panting by now.

"Are you all okay?" he asked between breaths.

The twins seemed to be too petrified to move, nonetheless nod. Leia was hugging the both of them as she looked up at him. "Yes, we're all right," she replied, standing up.

"Where's the guy that broke in?" Randall asked.

Suddenly, his wife froze. . .his kids hid. . .and he could feel someone else's breath rustle his fronds from behind. He felt petrified for a moment, but he turned around to see who it was. Before him stood the ugliest monster he swore he'd ever seen. It looked like some sort of giant, prehistoric hog. And he wasn't too happy.

Randall made sure he was standing between this. . .thing. . .and his family as he tried to formulate an escape plan. Just then, all of his SSO training came back to him. He remembered just the move he could put on this guy to get rid of him. He quickly scanned the bathroom for something. He spotted the curtain rod just a few inches to his right. Right across the room from the rod was a window. He smirked and edged towards the curtain rod.

"Hold still, punk, so I can pulverize ya. . ." the pig-monster snorted.

"Come and get me," Randall replied evenly.

He felt his tail hit the side of the bathtub. That was his cue. Randall jumped up, grabbed the curtain rod and swung forward - hitting the intruder in the face. The BGB agent stumbled backward. Randall smoothly attached his feet to the ceiling as he continued to swing forward and let go of the rod. It was a small bathroom, so this would be an easy way to finish him off. He'd think twice before messing with the Boggs. . .

Randall finished off his routine by releasing his suction grip from the ceiling and dropping in front of the pig-monster, a graceful back-flip landing him on his feet. He gave the guy a roundhouse kick as the agent tried to get up. That final jab sent the pig-monster sailing out the window behind him.

The purple lizard-monster dusted off his hands and turned to his wife and kids. "I think we should get out here before the others find us too," he announced, helping Leia to her feet.

Cody and Hayley were wide-eyed as they looked at their "normal" father. "Wow! How'd you learn to do THAT, Dad?" Cody asked in amazement.

Randall cleared his throat nervously. "Well. . .uh. . .your grandfather taught me," he replied. It wasn't a lie really - his father did teach him that - it's just that he wasn't telling the whole story. Nor did he intend to.

"Let's go," Leia urged, quickly heading out the door.

The twins and their father followed. They made it out into the hallway and came face-to-face with about five more of the BGB's "special service" agents. Randall skidded to a stop and groaned in frustration. This was definately not going to be a walk in the park. No, not by a long shot. His mind raced for a good plan as the determined agents approached.

"Randall!" Leia screamed from behind him.

Randall took a quick glance over his shoulder to see another ugly agent grab his wife and pull her roughly away from them. His first instinct was to kill the guy, but he surpressed that feeling for something more logical. He forced himself to think before making a costly move. He gazed at the petrified twins. They simply stared at the BGB agents, too terrified to even scream. He bit his lip.

I need to get them outta here first, he reasoned, turning towards them.

"Hi-ya!" came Leia's voice. She obviously wasn't giving in. The girl flipped her captor over her shoulder and had caught the attention of the rest of the agents.

Taking advantage of the moment, Randall gave his kids a little push in the direction of the master bedroom. "Hayley, Cody," he said, barely above a whisper. "You two make a run for that window. There's a tree. Climb out and hide in that patch of bushes outside." He motioned with his head to a dense patch of foliage outside. "We'll join you as soon as we can, okay? Just make sure no one sees you."

Cody nodded. "K-k-kay, Dad."

Randall forced a grin towards them as a reassurance that everything would be okay, before running back out into the hallway to help his wife fight the intruders.

Hayley and Cody ran for the broken window in their parents' room. Sure enough, there was a monster-ear palm standing there - just close enough for them to reach. Cody climbed up onto the windowsill and stretched to reach the branch closest to them. Hayley began to help him, but her curiosity caused her to glance behind her. In the hallway, her "dull and boring" parents were actually fighting these guys! And winning! She almost couldn't believe it.

"Hayley!" Cody complained, his voice straining as he reached for the branch. "Help me! I can't reach!"

Suddenly, snapping back to her the matter at hand, Hayley turned back towards her brother and began shoving him out the window. "Can you reach it now?" she called.

Cody nodded awkwardly, grabbing the branch. "I got it!"

"Okay, good," Hayley said. "Now go! I'm not sure how long Mom and Dad can fight them."

Cody sighed, climbing onto it. "Okay, okay. . .Ms. Pushy-pants. . ."

"Hey! Stop calling me names!" Hayley yelled back.

Still, in the midst of being in serious danger, the two managed to quibble about something. It was almost comical. Cody slowly crawled onto the tree. Hayley obviously had the idea that he was taking too long and shoved him onto the tree. Then she followed him, jumping onto the branch next to him.

"Show off," Cody muttered under his breath.

Hayley just smiled. "That's only because I go to gymnastics class and you don't!"

"So what," Cody retorted back, carefully shuffling down the tree. "Anyways, I wish those guys would break in at a nicer time. . .like eleven in the morning or something."

Hayley followed him down the tree trunk, she looked down at him wierdly. "Why?"

"I never got to have breakfast," Cody said matter-of-factly. "The least they could have done is wait until I was done eating!"

Hayley just laughed. "You and your stomach. . ."

"What? Aren't you hungry too?" Cody said. But he stopped, remembering the candy bars. "Oh yeah. . ."

Hayley just smiled and jumped down from the tree, landing lightly next to her brother. Cody looked around the area. He could see a large, black van parked in front of their house. That must have been what the intruders had come in. That caused him to wonder further. Who were they? What'd they want?

Cody shook the thought off and silently motioned for Hayley to join him in his trek across the sand to the bushes. Cody was grateful when his sister actually listened to him for once. Together they snuck over to the large patch of tropical bushes and ferns and ducked inside the foliage. Cody batted a fern frond out of his face as he crawled on all fours towards the middle of the mini-jungle.

"Do you think Mom and Dad are really gonna be alright?" Cody asked unsurely.

Hayley wasn't even sure herself, but she didn't need to let Cody know that that was what she was feeling. "They'll be fine, Cody," she replied, unsucessfully trying to make herself sound confident. "We just need to stay here. Like Dad said. If they said they'll be alright, then they'll be alright. Okay?"

"I guess," Cody muttered.

Hayley just rolled her eyes. She was about to say something in return, when she bumped her head on something hard and metallic. "Ow!" she cried, rubbing her head and looking up. "What is. . ."

Hayley trailed off as she noticed what it was. The thing she bumped into was actually a souped-up motorcycle. It had two seats and fairly large side compartments where one could store whatever they needed to take along. Cody looked up at it.

"Wow! It's one of Dad's motorcycles. . ." Cody said.

Hayley put her fist on her hip and looked at him skeptically. "And how do YOU know for sure?"

Cody pointed to the bottom of the blue-painted front panel. There, in tiny handwriting, was Randall's initials. Cody grinned, looking back at his sister. "Dad let me help while he was building his last one," he said proudly. "And I noticed that he ALWAYS signs his cycles."

Hayley blinked. "Oh."

She had barely finished the word, when an explosion rocked the ground beneath them. The twins exchanged panicked glances and parted the leaves of a nearby bush. They peeked out to see that the living room wall was completely blown out, pieces of the smoldering debris flew into the air, landing in random patches of sand and ocean. The house was now on fire and it was spreading to the second floor!

Hayley gasped, her heart speeding, and stood out of the bush. She had to save her parents! They'd be trapped! She didn't quite know how, but still. . .Just as she made a move, Hayley felt her brother grab her shoulder and pull her down into the protective foliage again. She jerked her shoulder out of his grip. "Stop it! Don't you know the house is on fire??" she asked, outraged. "Mom and Dad are gonna be trapped inside!"

"But, sis, we can't just go out there!" Cody shot back.

Hayley was incredulous. "Why not?"

"We could get in big trouble with those guys," her brother replied, pointing to a couple of BGB agents circling around the back of the house.

It was almost as if they were searching for something.

Hayley sighed, grumbling as she sat back down on the sand. She turned away from their burning vacation house. Hayley couldn't bear to watch, knowing she'd be thinking - and worrying - about her parents every second it burned. What if they didn't make it out in time and something else blew? They'd never have a chance. Then what would happen to them? Would they be orphans?

Hayley forced herself to stop thinking about it, though she failed miserably. How come Cody was so difficult all the time? She could save her parents if she wanted to. If he was such a scaredy cat, he could stay here.

Again, Hayley began to stand, but a hand stopped her short. She turned around and was about to yell at her brother, when she saw her father's face. Leia was crawling behind him. Both were blackened with soot in some areas, but they didn't appear to be hurt. Relief washed over Hayley's face and she threw her arms around her father's neck, hugging him.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Hayley said as she felt her father gently return the gesture.

"Me too, Hayley," Randall replied softly, pulling away. "But right now, I think we'd better get out of here. Okay?"

Hayley nodded.

"But Randy," Leia said. "If we leave on your cycle, it's bound to attract their attention."

Randall shushed her, glancing through a space in the leaves of a bush. In front of the house, BGB agents ran out of the burning house. They approached their buddies, who were still waiting at the black van.

"Where'd they go?" one demanded, grabbing another's shirt collar.

The shocked agent shrugged. "I haven't seen anything, I swear."

"Me neither," another added.

The first growled. "Well get looking then! The boss is going to be furious if we let them get away! Besides. . .they can't have gone far. . ."

Randall quickly turned back to his family. "Well, it looks like we'll have to take the chance," he whispered, edging towards the motorcycle. "It's a good thing I packed this thing after we arrived," he added, quickly checking the side compartments to make sure everything was still there. "Of course, I was originally planning to take you guys on a ride then have a picnic afterwards, but it looks like we're just gonna have to settle for a ride this time."

"What if they see us?" Cody asked.

"It's not really a matter of IF they see us, but WHEN," Randall explained, climbing onto the vehicle's driver seat. "Which is why I'm gonna go as fast as this thing will allow. Hopefully, that van they've got is an old one and it can't catch up."

"Wow! I get to ride your motorcycle?" Cody enthused.

"Yup."

"Can I drive it?"

"No."

"Darn!"

Leia laughed and picked him up, setting him on Randall's lap. "Maybe when you're 16," she offered.

"That's gonna be, like, forever!" Cody whined.

Leia then hopped on, sitting herself on the seat behind her husband. Hayley climbed onto her lap. Randall fastened a purple helmet to his head, sticking his three fronds out of the holes in the top, and distributed three more helmets. Cody leaned forward excitedly on the front of the motorcycle.

Cody grinned. "This is gonna be sooo cool. I get the best view. . ."

Randall chuckled lightly, revving up the motor and adjusting the rear-view mirrors just so he could keep an eye on the agents before they took off. He noticed immediately that the agents HAD noticed the noise made by the motor. And they were looking their way. Randall winced, then turned his attention back to the sandy path ahead.

"Hang on guys," he said. "This is gonna be a rough ride."

With that, he stepped down on the accellerator and they took off, easing the cycle into a faster and faster speed as they drove off. Randall glanced at the rear-view mirror and spotted the BGB agents rushing to get into their van. He'd really have to push the speed limit if he was going to lose them. Either that or pull some tricky stunt to throw them off the trail.

"Dad. . ." Hayley said. "Those guys are coming after us!"

"Shoot," Randall muttered, then raised his voice so that they could hear. "Okay, don't worry. All we have to do is get to the Horrorlulu Airport and we'll be fine. They won't be following us for long."

Leia wrapped her arms around his waist, Hayley in the middle, so that they wouldn't fall off. "Randall, I have an idea," she said.

"Go ahead," Randall replied, swerving the cycle around a tree. "I'm all ears."

"Cut through the forest, then double back onto the path you've made," Leia said. "There's an already clear-cut path about midway through this part of the forest. You keep on the path you've made and turn off there. I'm hoping they'll think that you've actually doubled back onto the road and tried to confuse them that way."

"All right," Randall replied, pulling onto the tropical forest. "But what if they spot your escape path?"

"They probably won't," Leia replied. "It's been covered by falling leaves and stuff. Hopefully it'll throw them off at least until we get to the airport."

Randall nodded, grinning. "Okay, can do."

Randall drove into the forest, then made a u-turn back to the same path, as Leia had suggested. He then speeded off towards the escape path, directed carefully by Leia. They could already hear the van coming down the main road. But they now had plenty of time to make their great escape.

The motorcycle kicked up dust as it zoomed down the old forest path. It wouldn't be long now, before they'd be long gone. . .

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Please find a seat and fasten your seatbelts, monsters, the plane will be preparing for take-off shortly. And thank you for choosing Horrorlulu Airlines.

With that announcement, the plane's loudspeakers clicked silent. Randall, Leia, and the twins had managed to lose the BGB agents and make it to the airport without delay. And now, as they boarded the airline, they could finally relax. Their early morning encounter was over and the four could take it easy and enjoy the flight back home.

Monsters quickly began to find their desired seats and buckled in as the Boggs family entered the first class area. The plane was filled with monsters of all professions and kinds, busily getting ready for the long flight.

Randall took the lead, bringing their "luggage" in the form of the two detachable side compartments that were part of his cycle. He couldn't bear to leave his motorcycle back at Horrorlulu and didn't think it was a very bright idea either, so he had it loaded into the cargo area. For a "small" sum of monsterbucks, of course.

"C'mon kids," Leia said. "Find your seats and buckle in, the plane'll be taking off soon."

Hayley and Cody were, once again, debating one of the major issues of the world. . .

"Yeah, right!" Cody replied. "Your little stuffed lizard couldn't have crawled out the window and escaped!"

"Well, I think he's still alive!" Hayley retorted. "Maybe those guys just kidnapped him and are holding Aussie for ransom or something."

"Why would they want to kidnap a scruffly thing like Aussie?" Cody laughed.

Hayley pushed him. "Take that back! He's not scruffly and he's not a thing!"

Cody pushed her back. "What if I don't want to take it back?"

That's when World War III broke out. Randall and Leia broke them us again and gave them a stern talking-to once they were seated. One of the many they had to give the twins since they began their squabbling years ago. It was a mystery why they couldn't agree on seemingly anything.

"Now you two had better behave, or you're both gonna be grounded once we get home," Leia said, putting her seatbelt on in one of the seats in front of the two.

Randall sighed, resting his head on his folded arms as he looked at the two. "Look, Hayley, I'm sorry about Aussie. I promise I'll get you a new stuffed lizard," he said to her, then he turned to Cody. "And Cody, don't be so mean to your sister. You know how attached she was to that thing."

"Aussie," Hayley corrected.

"Uh, right. Aussie," he added. "Okay?"

Cody nodded grudgingly. "Well. . .okay. But I get one too this time, right?"

Randall sighed again, obviously tired and not in the mood for more problems, then finally nodded. "I don't see why not."

Cody's face lit up. "Okay! Thanks!"

"Yeah, thanks Dad!" Hayley added.

Randall half-grinned and turned around to sit in his seat - a window seat right next to Leia. He let his head hit the soft headrest of the chair. Leia turned to him and put her hand on his, compassionate concern showing up in her pink eyes. "You okay, honey?"

"Hm?" Randall muttered, turning his head to glance at her. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, that's all."

Leia silently nodded. "I know," she agreed. "I am too. I wasn't expecting that to happen. . ."

"Tell me about it," Randall said, closing his eyes as he leaned back again. "I just hope that was the last of it."

"I'd doubt it," Leia replied regretfully. She glanced back at her kids. Both of them were fast asleep and a slow smile creeped onto her face, turning to sit down again.

Make sure all your seats are in the upright position and your seatbelts fastened, we are now prepared for take-off.

Again monsters got busy following the orders given over the loudspeakers and the plane began to move - slowly at first, but gradually it picked up speed. The plane tilted upward and before long the whole plane was airborne, soaring up into the clouds.

"You know," Leia began. "I wonder what those guys in the BGB were after anyways. . ."

Randall shrugged. "Us?"

"Maybe, but I don't think so," Leia replied slowly.

"What makes you think that? What else could they be after?" Randall asked.

Leia crossed her legs and sat back. "Maybe they're after something we have," she suggested. "I mean they tried to grab me, but they never made a move towards you. And you'd think they'd come with more capable guys to kidnap us, don't you think?"

Randall blinked. "Well, that could be," he admitted. "Although, I have the feeling that the stuff Caylin was referring to might give us a clue. Maybe I'll mention it to him, see what he says."

Leia nodded, stifling a yawn with her hand. "That sounds like a plan," she said. "But until we get there, it might be a good idea to get some sleep. Jet lag is not something I enjoy with a meer four hours of rest behind me."

Randall nodded, pulling down the window shade so they could both sleep peacefully. "Amen to that."

**************************************************

"Um. . .Sulley? You know which plane they're supposed to be on?" Caylin asked, glancing out the window at the tarmac of Monstropolis International.

He, Sulley, Midnight, and Mike had driven to the Monstropolis International Airport to meet up with the Boggs family. Caylin was never a good driver and flunked so many driver's ed classes that he had been forbidden to ever come back again. For the record, he had levelled ten cardboard pedestrians, seven road markers, a mailbox, and the building's flower garden. So, he had called upon the driving expertise of Mike Wazowski to transport them to and from the airport. Sulley had just decided to come along for the ride.

Now they were waiting. Caylin didn't even know whether they were coming or if they just decided to cut their phone lines so he couldn't bother them. But he had the gut feeling that they had left.

At least, he HOPED they had left.

Sulley sat in one of the chairs at the airport docking area and shrugged. "I don't know, Caylin," he said. "I thought you knew."

"Am I supposed to know EVERYTHING?" Caylin sighed. "I tried to call Randall after I woke up this morning, but the phones were dead. I don't even know if he's coming to be totally honest."

"Great," Mike complained. "We're gonna be stuck waiting, just because lazy Lizard Boy didn't have the sense to call you first."

Caylin shot him a look. "Hey man, something bad musta happened," he said, clearly worried. Caylin definately wasn't his normal, goofing-off self. "If he did manage to get on one of the planes, he should be arriving soon. At least. . .I THINK it should be soon."

"Let's hope Caylin's right," Mike said. "For sanity's sake."

Sulley nudged Mike. "C'mon Mikey," he chided. "Would you rather loaf at home watching football over helping a friend?"

Mike thought for a moment. "Uh. . .football. Yeah, football."

"Mike. . ." Sulley groaned.

Mike shot him a grin. "Juuust kidding, pal!" he joked, patting his furry arm. "As long as we don't have to stay here all day. I'm not leaving my car out there unsupervised."

"Forget about the car, dude!" Caylin said, a smiled coming over his face as a plane began to touch down outside. "I think I found which plane they should be on!"

Midnight, sitting on the floor, could feel the excitement and hopped to his feet. His tail was wagging like a plane propeller and he pulled at his leash, which was tied to Caylin's chair. Midnight turned his head towards the docking tunnel and began running towards it, ignoring his leash. But, unfortunately, he didn't get any farther than the leash he was attached to. Still, he continued persistantly tugging, as if he knew someone he loved was coming.

Caylin turned to his fluppy and patted him on the head as he untied the leash. "Don't worry, boy," he said. "I know what you're after." He then turned to Sulley and Mike. "Randall, Leia, and the kids should be coming soon. C'mon."

Sulley stood up and followed, Mike close behind. "I hope they're on the plane," Sulley said.

"Sure they are," Caylin said, walking Midnight to the entrance. "The nose knows, after all!"

Just as they reached the docking tunnel, Caylin caught sight of the Boggs family. Midnight barked loudly, as if begging for the kids to pet him. Hayley turned towards the sound and her face lit up. She let go of her father's hand and ran towards him. "Hi Uncle Caylin!" she greeted, kneeling down to pet Midnight.

"Hi there, Hayley," Caylin said. "How was the trip?"

Cody piped up as the question was asked. "There were these guys who burned down our house and Mom and Dad fought them off and then we escaped and they followed us and - "

Leia put a hand on his shoulder and chuckled uneasily, glancing at the monsters who had stopped to stare. "Um, that's enough sugar for you, Cody," she said. "Why don't you tell them all the fun you had on the beach instead?"

Cody nodded enthusiastically and proceeded to blabber endlessly about all the sand castles, cray-sters, fish, and water one could handle. Sulley and Mike commented where necessary and nodded as he went on and on. Obviously, he was keeping them occupied.

Randall chuckled as he watched Cody talk, then turned his attention to Caylin. "So," he said in a hushed tone. "What's all this about the SSO being in big trouble? I'll tell you all about the trouble we had this morning, but is there anything you can tell me?"

Midnight pawed at Randall's leg and he leaned down briefly to pet him. Midnight gave his hand a happy lick, his floppy ears lifting up eagerly to hear everything that was being said. He cocked his head and sat down on his rump as the two talked, patiently waiting to see who would be the first to pet him again.

Caylin nodded, lowering his voice to a whisper too. "I won't tell ya much," he said. "But I can tell you this. . .You're parents are missing."

Randall stared at him in disbelief and shock, as if almost unable to speak. "M-missing. . .?"