Spy Game
by Joy


NOTE: Looks like even more people are reading and reviewing my fic. Thanks to all of you and I hope this chapter'll be worth your wait! ~_^ Even if it is, probably, the most boring chapter I'll be writing for this fic (which it why it's a bit shorter than the others).

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL FAN FICTION WRITERS. . .Sean's found a Washington Post newspaper article, telling about FF.net and writers of fan fics (it doesn't mention MI at all, but it applies to all fan fic writers nonetheless). You can find it in the "News" section of Randall Fans United (). If you write fan fics and don't think you need to read it, believe me, you really do. So, please go check it out, if you haven't already.

Now. . .on to chapter four!

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Chapter Four - Change in Plans

Caylin nodded in further confirmation as Randall recieved the news of his parents' disappearances. The shock of the news had clearly made its impact. "Yeah," Caylin finally said. "I can't get into details right now." He chuckled, trying to help lighten the mood. "Classified stuff y'know. . .But I'll give you the gist of it as soon as we get back to your place."

Randall's mouth felt dry and, for the moment, he couldn't speak. He was definately not prepared to hear that kind of news - especially after all he had been though already. He just nodded numbly.

"Come on, guys," Leia called, already heading for the exit with Sulley, Mike, and the twins. "We can't stay here all morning."

"Coming!" Caylin called in reply, turning to Randall and patting him on the shoulder. "Don't panic yet, Rand. We didn't call you down from Hawaii for nothing; the SSO's got plans." He winked and then gently tugged at Midnight's leash to get his attention as they both headed towards the door.

Randall followed him, shaking his head. "I just hope those plans work better than their security," he mumbled to himself, emerging through the automatic doors into the bright sunlight of morning.

He squinted into the bright light and flipped the sunglasses that rested on his head down over his eyes. It was another comfortably warm day in Monstropolis. As he strolled towards Mike's car, Caylin's words played over and over in his head. . ."Your parents are missing". . .Sure, he felt disappointed that his family vacation was cut short but now, it seemed, that the interruption was necessary. The last thing he wanted was for harm to come to his parents.

Caylin pushed the back door of Mike's car open and scooted over as Randall plopped down, buckling himself in. Cody and Hayley, meanwhile, bounced up and down in their seats, despite the seatbelts around their waists. Mike spotted them through his rearview mirror and eyed the parents.

"Hey, Randall, tell the little tykes to go easy on the upholstery," he said, revving up the car. "I just got new leather seat coverings."

Randall rolled his eyes. "They're not gonna do any harm to your car, Wazowski," he reasoned. "They're just kids."

"Exactly! I have one myself and you shoulda SEEN what he did to my baby. . .chocolate syrup on the floor. . .chipped paint. . ." Mike shuddered, still listing the damages as he pulled into traffic. ". . .smudged windows. . ."

"Okay, Mikey, you can stop now. I think you've made your point," Sulley cut in, giving his buddy a pressing look.

Mike shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, okay," he said. "But if they make a mess, you guys are gettin' the bill."

Leia slowly shook her head and gave Randall a sideways glance. He simply returned it with a lazy shrug of the shoulders, resting his arm on the car door. Turning his attention back to the scenery, he gave her the impression that he wan't giving much arguement to the issue. Rightfully so. Arguing with Mike was pretty much a useless battle; he always managed to come up with one excuse after another. Quite a waste of breath, in Randall's opinion, so he never bothered.

"Do we get to go home?" Hayley piped up, still bouncing on the seat cushion.

Randall nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "Sorry the vacation was so short, kids."

Cody stopped bouncing as a thought crossed his mind. "Hey Dad?"

"Mm hmm?" Randall muttered, watching the buildings and trees fly past the car as they sped down the street.

"Um, who were those guys?" Cody ventured.

Randall turned to look at his son, suddenly unsure of whether they should still keep their secret from the twins of not. It still seemed like the best option, so he stuck with it. "Well, uh, I'm not sure myself, Cody," he lied. "That's what we're talking to Caylin about. He has a. . .friend that works for the CDA. They'll probably investigate."

"Well they had the letters B. .G. .B on their shirts," Hayley said, speaking the initals slowly as they came to her memory. "Does that mean anything?"

"Uh. . .well. . .you see. . ."

"We'll find that out too!" Caylin cut in. "Yeah. My 'friend' can find out more, but right now it's kind of a mystery." Midnight barked, as if in agreement.

"They. . .won't try to burn our house down again, will they?" Cody asked worriedly.

Randall sighed and glanced at Leia, as if searching for the right words to say. She seemed to be feeling the same uneasiness that he was, but she shook her head.

"No," Randall answered simply.

Of course, he wasn't even sure himself if that was the truth. For all he knew, the BGB agents were primarily after him and his wife. Randall always felt uneasy lying like that to his own children; he loved them. But he always convinced himself that they were hiding this secret from them for their own good. And that was what really mattered, right?

As their house came into view over the hill, Mike's car began to slow down. It wasn't the nicest house in the reptile-friendly neighborhood, but it was home. "Here we are. Everyone out and watch the doors," Mike announced, switching to a mumble. "The last thing I need is to get it retouched again. . ."

The Boggs family filed out of the car, along with Caylin and Midnight, and shut the door behind them. Sulley leaned his arm over the car door and waved as Mike sped up his car again. "See you later," he called as the vehicle took off down the road.

"Well, looks like we're not taking a vacation this week," Leia commented, waving back until Sulley and Mike disappeared.

She picked up a lightly-packed suitcase and headed down the sidewalk towards their front door. Randall kept an eye on the kids, making sure they were keeping up, as they followed her onto the porch. Midnight eagerly scampered up the stairs after the twins.

The fluppy obviously loved the Hayley and Cody; he constantly followed them, begging for a scratch behind the ears every chance he got. Midnight's tail wagged like a flag in a hurricane and was the first to dash inside the house once the door opened - invited or not; on a leash or not - dragging Caylin in behind him.

The twins laughed. "I guess Midnight is glad to be home," Hayley joked.

"Our home," Randall pointed out, stepping inside.

They watched as Caylin dove and caught the rampaging fluppy by the back legs. Midnight suddenly felt his feet pull out from under him and stumbled over his own paws, landing flat on his nose. A defeated woof was all that came out of him. Caylin chuckled and stood to his feet, dog in hand.

He grinned and held up the animal. "Got 'im."

*********

"So, what's all this about my parents disappearing?" Randall asked, sipping a cup of coffee as he, Caylin, and Leia sat around the dining table.

Caylin patted Midnight on the head; the dog sleeping soundly in his lap. "Well, here's the scoop," he began. "I was told by my boss that Ray and Naomi were missing. They never came to work that morning and didn't show up since then. So, we got suspicious." He chuckled. "Duh."

"Go on," Leia said.

"Anyhow," Caylin replied, dropping the humor. "They were taking the night out for a little R&R. Y'know, the typical dinner-and-a-movie kind of thing. And that's where we think they were kidnapped."

Randall sighed. "Didn't you guys do anything about it?"

Caylin nodded. "Sure did. The top agents immediately began conducting an investigation for 'em," he explained. "But, it seems, they're just. . .gone. Seriously. Ya can't be more gone than they are gone."

"What do you mean?" Leia asked, confused.

"Heh. I don't even know what I meant by that," Caylin answered, leaning back in his seat. "But wherever they were taken, it's a pretty remote area. We weren't able to collect many clues, but they all lead to somewhere in Brazil."

"Brazil?" Randall asked, raising a brow in perplexment. "Why would anybody from Brazil want to kidnap my parents? Heck, most monsters there don't even speak English. . ."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Caylin piped up. "The evidence also lead us straight to the BGB."

"Oh," Leia muttered. "I suppose that would explain it, huh?" She gave Randall a sideways glance, catching his reaction.

Randall simply shook his head. "Figures," he replied, deep in thought. "So. . .is that why you brought us back?"

"Well. . .that's. . .part of the reason," Caylin said, stroking his fluppy's spotted fur. "They really need a replacement SSO President - and who better than you, man?"

"SSO President?? Me?" Randall asked, incredulous. "You gotta be kidding."

Caylin laughed at his reaction. "No, really! It's only temporary of course, but they asked YOU in particular, because. . .y'know. . .just in case things don't work out like we expected."

Randall blinked, trying to comprehend the possiblity that something terrible could happen. It was part of the job and all agents knew the risks. But still. . .he couldn't imagine it happening to his parents. Either that or he didn't want to. He shook the feeling off, though; he had a job to do, decisions to make. . .

Leia brushed a strand of hair out of her face, finally breaking the odd silence. "I'm all for joining up again if that's what Randall wants to do."

Randall met her eyes; they were very genuine and compassionate. She understood how much he cared for his parents. Aside from his wife and kids, they were the only family he had left.

He set his jaw and nodded in agreement. "Okay Caylin, me and Leia are gonna join up again," he decided. "Let the SSO we'll be there."

Caylin grinned. "Great! It'll be just like old times; you. . .me. . .Siarra. . .Leia. . .and." He suddenly stopped, something else coming to mind. Something very important. . .

"The kids," Leia finished softly, regarding her husband. "What are we going to do about them?"

Randall sighed. "Well, we definately can't tell them," he said, struggling with the answer. "Hey, Caylin. You and Siarra are free for the week, right?"

"Well, uh, sure - but -"

"And you're not assigned to our mission, are you?"

"Uh, no. . .but - "

"So, that means you two have the time to babysit our kids!" Randall finished.

Caylin raised a finger and opened his mouth in protest, but Randall cut him off. "Thanks Caylin," he said, standing an patting him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do great."

"Woah. I never said I'd - "

Leia stood from her chair. "So, when do they want us to stop by headquarters?"

Caylin sighed - objections were useless, it seemed. "As soon as possible," he replied.

"I guess we'd better tell the kids and get going then," Randall said, checking the time. "The sooner we can get there the better."

Suddenly, there was a muffled thump and faint laughter from the twins' room.

"And from the noise upstairs, it seems like Hayley and Cody haven't even thought about sleep yet," Leia chuckled, heading up the stairs.

Randall followed; the both of them reaching the twins' bedroom at the same time. Leia eased the door open and peeked inside. Cody and Hayley, who were busy playing a game of dodgeball with their stuffed animals, stopped to look at them. Cody hid the stuffed crocodile that was in his hand behind his back and gave his parents an innocent grin.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad," he said.

"Hello Cody," Leia replied, stepping inside. "Mind if we talk to you two for a minute?"

Hayley got down from her bed and picked up a stuffed cat, making an attempt to look like she was cleaning up. "Sure," she answered, hugging the cat in her arms. "Did Uncle Caylin give you anymore information about those guys?"

"Uh, yeah, actually," Randall replied, leaning his shoulder on the doorframe. "In fact, that's what we've come to talk to you about."

Cody plopped down on his bunk and set the crocodile down. "Really? Why?"

Leia sat down next to Cody and brushed a strand of curly hair out of his face. "Well, your father and I are going to go. . .um. . ."

"To the CDA office," Randall finished. "Your Uncle Caylin said that we should go down there and help them out. Y'know, giving them clues and that kind of stuff."

Hayley blinked. "You're leaving?"

Leia nodded. "Yes - but only for a little while," she replied.

"We get to come along right?" Cody asked.

"Well. . .no," Randall replied. "You see, it's an. . .adult thing. But don't worry, you'll be spending the week at Uncle Caylin and Aunt Siarra's house." He grinned encouraging, hoping that they wouldn't be too upset about leaving them behind.

The twins' expressions fell for a moment. "Well. . .okay," Cody finally replied, starting to perk up. "I've never really been to Uncle Caylin's new house!"

"And we get to play with Midnight!" Hayley enthused.

"Exactly," Randall agreed. "He wants us to go as soon as possible, so you can forget about unpacking your suitcases. Caylin'll walk you to his house and you can stay there until we return."

Leia nodded. "Will you two be good while we're gone?"

Both kids nodded too. "Yeah!"

"Okay, good," she finished, hugging the both of them and giving them kisses. "We'll see you soon."

Randall walked inside and spread out his arms as his twins ran up to him for a hug as well. He gave them both a gentle squeeze and grinned mischeviously. "You two be good for Caylin and Siarra. . .but that doesn't mean a little practical joke or two won't hurt," he whispered with a chuckle.

Hayley and Cody giggled along with him. "Okay, Dad."

"We'll see you guys soon," Randall said, ruffling up Cody's hair. "So don't worry about us."

The twins nodded once again as both parents left the room, closing the door behind them. In the hallway, Caylin stood there waiting for them; Midnight lay in his arms. "So, how'd it go?" he asked.

"I told them you were going to walk them to your house," Randall replied, heading for his and Leia's room. "You take them to your place as soon as we leave." He grabbed his dark sunglasses off the bedside table.

Leia pulled open a dresser drawer and set her old SSO outfit onto the bed. "Just give us a few minutes and we'll be gone."

"And what should I say if they ask what's taking you so long?" Caylin asked, watching them pack up.

Randall looks up at him and smirked. "Just tell them another one of your spy stories, Cay."

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Oh, and if you're wondering what happened to Randall's motorcycle. . . Mike objected to having a cycle in the backseat of his car and he says he'll file suit if the upholstery is damaged.

Kidding!

Actually, to tell you the truth, I forgot about it! LOL. This is a movie, so how about it magically "appeared" in the garage? Yeah. I'll do that. It is my story after all, no one'll notice. *wink* It's not all that important of a detail anyways.