TS: Kersplat.
#1: You are so irritating. Shut up.
TS: *pouts* Kersplat.
#1: What part of shut up don't you understand, the shut or the up?
~
"Where could she be?" Numbuh One muttered, pacing the Briefing Room agitatedly and checking his watch. "She should have been back ages ago!"
Numbuh Six watched him, chewing thoughtfully on a bagel that was smothered with a generous helping of cream cheese and jam.
"Don't know why you're so worked up." He commented suddenly, spraying crumbs everywhere. "She's perfectly streetwise."
"More streetwise than you in any case." Numbuh Ten retorted in his flat voice, displaying no emotion on his face. Numbuh Six glared at him.
A noise behind them made them turn around. Triple Six was perched on the windowsill, grinning inanely. She dropped her backpack over the ledge and leapt in after it, landing on it and wincing as she heard an ominous crack.
"Hell, I hope that was just one of the S.T.I.C.K.A.P.O.R.T.S, coz the damned things don't work right anyway."
"How was it?" Numbuh One asked, watching as the Irish girl shrugged off her jacket.
"Boring, mostly. Anyway, sorry I'm late. I got held up by those Delightful Nitbrains." Triple Six bundled the folded jacket into her backpack, which she then slung casually over her shoulders.
"You got caught?" Numbuh Six gasped, finishing his bagel. "How did you escape?"
"Oh, same old tosh. That weird creepy guy with the Elvis perm they call "Father" started gloating, said something about leaving your knife in the wall, so I kind of nicked the knife and flew off and gloated back. Very amusing." Triple Six turned to Numbuh Eight, who had just finished transmitting a call and was approaching.
"Was there any useful information?" Was the Ground Patrol's question. Triple Six nodded.
"No."
"Helpful." Numbuh Eight rolled her eyes as Triple Six grinned mischievously at her.
"Well, I did find out one thing..." The Irish girl said, her voice conspiratorially low, causing the other operatives to move closer in order to hear. "The Delightfuls aren't responsible for the disappearances."
"What? Who else could it possibly be?" Numbuh Six snapped, finding the idea of his archenemies' innocence absurd.
"I'm not sure, but I'm certain that it's not the Delightful Children or their father that are behind this scam."
"How can you be sure?" Numbuh Ten asked, though still without inserting any emotions into his voice.
"One of the Delightful Children has been taken." Triple Six informed them, smiling slightly at the look of shock on every face except Numbuh Ten's, who looked as though this was no surprise. "I was quite shocked when I saw. I thought they were, y'know, surgically attached or something, but it appears not. That guy with the helmet's gone."
There was a stunned silence, which was broken by Numbuh Six, whose stomach gave a loud gurgle.
"Excuse me," He mumbled an apology, patting his gut and heading off to the kitchen. Triple Six smiled fondly at his retreating back, shaking her head.
"For as long as I've known him I have never seen him not be able to eat anything if it's on offer." She commented to no one in particular. Numbuh One raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like someone we know, doesn't it, Numbuh Two?" He said snidely, looking cynically at the mechanic, who blushed and turned away.
Numbuh Eight's radio blared into life once more, a hoarse girl's voice sounding from the other end.
"Numbuh Eight... Numbuh Eight... are you there?... code red, Numbuh Eight... we need help... can you receive?..."
Numbuh Eight looked up sharply, her eyes wide.
"That's Numbuh Seven's voice..." she whispered in surprise. She hurried over to the radio to transmit a reply, with her fellow operatives gathering round her curiously.
"Numbuh Seven, this is Numbuh Eight, what's the matter?"
"Help us, Numbuh Eight... help... code red... we need reinforcements... can't do this alone..."
"Hang in, Numbuh Seven. Where's Numbuh Nine?" The Ground Patrol operative asked, barely keeping the worry from her voice.
"Nine?... Nine's gone... help, Numbuh Eight... don't let him take us too... we need help..."
Numbuh Eight looked at Triple Six and Numbuh One, whose faces reflected her own worry.
"Coordinates, Numbuh Seven?" Numbuh Ten asked suddenly, seemingly unaffected by his friend's plight.
"Ugh... don't know... can't say... help us... he'll come back... he'll come back for us all... don't let him... make him stop..." The voice on the other end of the radio sobbed before the old batteries ran dead, leaving the room in total silence.
A corner of Numbuh Ten's mouth twitched upward but before any of the others noticed he excused himself silently and prowled off to his room.
"I assume that is one of the people who has gone missing?" Numbuh One asked finally. Numbuh Eight sighed heavily.
"The first contact we've had with her since she went missing..." For the first time the black haired girl looked scared. "Where could she be? And if Numbuh Nine's 'gone' who are the others she was with?"
"Yes," Triple Six murmured, looking quite shaken. "I definitely heard voices other than Numbuh Seven's on the transmitting end of the radio. And if Numbuh Nine was gone, whom could she have meant by "us"? Would that be all the others who have gone missing too?"
"It must be." Numbuh One frowned. "So, if we can find this Numbuh Seven character we are almost guaranteed to find the others and the answer to this whole brain teasing mystery."
"But Numbuh Seven couldn't give us any coordinates." Numbuh Two pointed out. Numbuh Eight nodded her agreement.
"That's right. We have no chance of finding them without coordinates."
Numbuh One paced the room thoughtfully.
"The easiest, possibly safest thing to do is to send out scouring parties. I recommend two groups of two at a time, so that the treehouse is always covered and can always be contacted in an emergency."
"Good thinking." Numbuh Eight nodded. "I'd volunteer to go on first duty but I'm interrupted so much with radio calls I'd give away our position to potential dangers."
"Respectfully, Numbuh Eight," Numbuh One said, bowing courteously to his superior, who looked disappointed to be missing the action, "I believe it would be wiser for you to remain at the treehouse."
"Well then." The black haired girl swallowed and paused a moment before nodding to the other occupants of the room. "Volunteers step forward."
"I'll go." Triple Six said immediately. "That's why I was sent here in the first place."
Numbuh Six stepped forward also.
"I'll go with Triple Six."
Triple Six looked from Numbuh Six to Numbuhs One and Eight, who both nodded, Numbuh Eight scribbling something down on a scrap of paper.
"Now we just need another pair." She said, studying what she had just written pensively.
"I recommend two of my team." Numbuh One shrugged. "Numbuhs Four and Five. They're perfectly apt and well suited to the job. Numbuh Five can always keep a level head, and they're both reasonable athletes."
"It's settled then." Triple Six said decisively. "I'll check with Numbuhs Four and Five and we'll set off a little later. Me 'n' Numbuh Six'll go west and come back in a wide loop south, and the others can go north and east. That'll cover a reasonable perimeter."
"Right." Numbuh Eight said. "If you'll excuse me, I must go to my room. I have a considerable backlog of calls. I postponed them all during that conversation."
"Yeah, I'll go and tell Numbuhs Four and Five of the new plans." Numbuh Six added and followed his friend out of the room.
Numbuh One and Triple Six were left in the room. Triple Six's knees seemed to give way and she collapsed on the sofa. The British boy noticed and crossed over to her.
"What's wrong?" He asked, "Are you scared?"
"No," She replied, smiling wryly. "I'm terrified, but I can't be showing that to the others, can I? It would ruin morale completely..."
She suddenly grasped his hands with her own. He froze, having been taken by surprise.
"I don't want to think about what could possibly be happening to Numbuh Seven right now, nor any of the kids she's with, nor what foul fate could have befallen Numbuh Nine, but the thoughts... they just won't leave... we've treated this entire mission like a game so far, but that radio call... it's just so stunningly real. If we thought we had limited time we were wrong! Time is so short, it's... mortifying..."
"We're all in this together, Triple Six..." Numbuh One said gently. "We're all as scared as you inside. Except possibly Numbuh Three, but in precisely fifteen minutes she'll be as scared as you."
Triple Six giggled quietly.
"No respect for your teammates, that's your problem." She said, poking him in the chest. "What's poor Numbuh Three ever done to you?"
"Reminded me incessantly of Lizzie sometimes." Numbuh One shrugged, rubbing his chest. Triple Six came fully alert at this.
"What, does she look like Lizzie or something?"
"No, only she can be as loud as Lizzie sometimes... y'know, like when she's obsessing over the hamsters. Lizzie was like that when she was obsessing over... over me..."
Triple Six raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. Numbuh One laughed half- heartedly.
"I was always filled with a feeling of impeding doom when I heard her yell 'NIGEY!'"
"Nigey?"
"Erm... the name's actually Nigel. No matter how many times I tried to tell her she insisted on calling me by that stupid nickname."
"Nigel? That's very... proper." Triple Six smirked. "I won't laugh, though, coz mine's a lot worse than that."
"Really?" Numbuh One looked interested. "What is it, then?"
"Erin. Ugh." Triple Six shuddered. "Don't tell anyone."
"I won't if you won't."
"Deal."
There was a potent pause as the two shook hands over their deal.
"Well," Triple Six said finally. "I'd better go get ready for patrol. See you around."
She hugged him quickly and went to find Numbuh Six, with whom she would soon be searching for the missing kids.
#1: You are so irritating. Shut up.
TS: *pouts* Kersplat.
#1: What part of shut up don't you understand, the shut or the up?
~
"Where could she be?" Numbuh One muttered, pacing the Briefing Room agitatedly and checking his watch. "She should have been back ages ago!"
Numbuh Six watched him, chewing thoughtfully on a bagel that was smothered with a generous helping of cream cheese and jam.
"Don't know why you're so worked up." He commented suddenly, spraying crumbs everywhere. "She's perfectly streetwise."
"More streetwise than you in any case." Numbuh Ten retorted in his flat voice, displaying no emotion on his face. Numbuh Six glared at him.
A noise behind them made them turn around. Triple Six was perched on the windowsill, grinning inanely. She dropped her backpack over the ledge and leapt in after it, landing on it and wincing as she heard an ominous crack.
"Hell, I hope that was just one of the S.T.I.C.K.A.P.O.R.T.S, coz the damned things don't work right anyway."
"How was it?" Numbuh One asked, watching as the Irish girl shrugged off her jacket.
"Boring, mostly. Anyway, sorry I'm late. I got held up by those Delightful Nitbrains." Triple Six bundled the folded jacket into her backpack, which she then slung casually over her shoulders.
"You got caught?" Numbuh Six gasped, finishing his bagel. "How did you escape?"
"Oh, same old tosh. That weird creepy guy with the Elvis perm they call "Father" started gloating, said something about leaving your knife in the wall, so I kind of nicked the knife and flew off and gloated back. Very amusing." Triple Six turned to Numbuh Eight, who had just finished transmitting a call and was approaching.
"Was there any useful information?" Was the Ground Patrol's question. Triple Six nodded.
"No."
"Helpful." Numbuh Eight rolled her eyes as Triple Six grinned mischievously at her.
"Well, I did find out one thing..." The Irish girl said, her voice conspiratorially low, causing the other operatives to move closer in order to hear. "The Delightfuls aren't responsible for the disappearances."
"What? Who else could it possibly be?" Numbuh Six snapped, finding the idea of his archenemies' innocence absurd.
"I'm not sure, but I'm certain that it's not the Delightful Children or their father that are behind this scam."
"How can you be sure?" Numbuh Ten asked, though still without inserting any emotions into his voice.
"One of the Delightful Children has been taken." Triple Six informed them, smiling slightly at the look of shock on every face except Numbuh Ten's, who looked as though this was no surprise. "I was quite shocked when I saw. I thought they were, y'know, surgically attached or something, but it appears not. That guy with the helmet's gone."
There was a stunned silence, which was broken by Numbuh Six, whose stomach gave a loud gurgle.
"Excuse me," He mumbled an apology, patting his gut and heading off to the kitchen. Triple Six smiled fondly at his retreating back, shaking her head.
"For as long as I've known him I have never seen him not be able to eat anything if it's on offer." She commented to no one in particular. Numbuh One raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like someone we know, doesn't it, Numbuh Two?" He said snidely, looking cynically at the mechanic, who blushed and turned away.
Numbuh Eight's radio blared into life once more, a hoarse girl's voice sounding from the other end.
"Numbuh Eight... Numbuh Eight... are you there?... code red, Numbuh Eight... we need help... can you receive?..."
Numbuh Eight looked up sharply, her eyes wide.
"That's Numbuh Seven's voice..." she whispered in surprise. She hurried over to the radio to transmit a reply, with her fellow operatives gathering round her curiously.
"Numbuh Seven, this is Numbuh Eight, what's the matter?"
"Help us, Numbuh Eight... help... code red... we need reinforcements... can't do this alone..."
"Hang in, Numbuh Seven. Where's Numbuh Nine?" The Ground Patrol operative asked, barely keeping the worry from her voice.
"Nine?... Nine's gone... help, Numbuh Eight... don't let him take us too... we need help..."
Numbuh Eight looked at Triple Six and Numbuh One, whose faces reflected her own worry.
"Coordinates, Numbuh Seven?" Numbuh Ten asked suddenly, seemingly unaffected by his friend's plight.
"Ugh... don't know... can't say... help us... he'll come back... he'll come back for us all... don't let him... make him stop..." The voice on the other end of the radio sobbed before the old batteries ran dead, leaving the room in total silence.
A corner of Numbuh Ten's mouth twitched upward but before any of the others noticed he excused himself silently and prowled off to his room.
"I assume that is one of the people who has gone missing?" Numbuh One asked finally. Numbuh Eight sighed heavily.
"The first contact we've had with her since she went missing..." For the first time the black haired girl looked scared. "Where could she be? And if Numbuh Nine's 'gone' who are the others she was with?"
"Yes," Triple Six murmured, looking quite shaken. "I definitely heard voices other than Numbuh Seven's on the transmitting end of the radio. And if Numbuh Nine was gone, whom could she have meant by "us"? Would that be all the others who have gone missing too?"
"It must be." Numbuh One frowned. "So, if we can find this Numbuh Seven character we are almost guaranteed to find the others and the answer to this whole brain teasing mystery."
"But Numbuh Seven couldn't give us any coordinates." Numbuh Two pointed out. Numbuh Eight nodded her agreement.
"That's right. We have no chance of finding them without coordinates."
Numbuh One paced the room thoughtfully.
"The easiest, possibly safest thing to do is to send out scouring parties. I recommend two groups of two at a time, so that the treehouse is always covered and can always be contacted in an emergency."
"Good thinking." Numbuh Eight nodded. "I'd volunteer to go on first duty but I'm interrupted so much with radio calls I'd give away our position to potential dangers."
"Respectfully, Numbuh Eight," Numbuh One said, bowing courteously to his superior, who looked disappointed to be missing the action, "I believe it would be wiser for you to remain at the treehouse."
"Well then." The black haired girl swallowed and paused a moment before nodding to the other occupants of the room. "Volunteers step forward."
"I'll go." Triple Six said immediately. "That's why I was sent here in the first place."
Numbuh Six stepped forward also.
"I'll go with Triple Six."
Triple Six looked from Numbuh Six to Numbuhs One and Eight, who both nodded, Numbuh Eight scribbling something down on a scrap of paper.
"Now we just need another pair." She said, studying what she had just written pensively.
"I recommend two of my team." Numbuh One shrugged. "Numbuhs Four and Five. They're perfectly apt and well suited to the job. Numbuh Five can always keep a level head, and they're both reasonable athletes."
"It's settled then." Triple Six said decisively. "I'll check with Numbuhs Four and Five and we'll set off a little later. Me 'n' Numbuh Six'll go west and come back in a wide loop south, and the others can go north and east. That'll cover a reasonable perimeter."
"Right." Numbuh Eight said. "If you'll excuse me, I must go to my room. I have a considerable backlog of calls. I postponed them all during that conversation."
"Yeah, I'll go and tell Numbuhs Four and Five of the new plans." Numbuh Six added and followed his friend out of the room.
Numbuh One and Triple Six were left in the room. Triple Six's knees seemed to give way and she collapsed on the sofa. The British boy noticed and crossed over to her.
"What's wrong?" He asked, "Are you scared?"
"No," She replied, smiling wryly. "I'm terrified, but I can't be showing that to the others, can I? It would ruin morale completely..."
She suddenly grasped his hands with her own. He froze, having been taken by surprise.
"I don't want to think about what could possibly be happening to Numbuh Seven right now, nor any of the kids she's with, nor what foul fate could have befallen Numbuh Nine, but the thoughts... they just won't leave... we've treated this entire mission like a game so far, but that radio call... it's just so stunningly real. If we thought we had limited time we were wrong! Time is so short, it's... mortifying..."
"We're all in this together, Triple Six..." Numbuh One said gently. "We're all as scared as you inside. Except possibly Numbuh Three, but in precisely fifteen minutes she'll be as scared as you."
Triple Six giggled quietly.
"No respect for your teammates, that's your problem." She said, poking him in the chest. "What's poor Numbuh Three ever done to you?"
"Reminded me incessantly of Lizzie sometimes." Numbuh One shrugged, rubbing his chest. Triple Six came fully alert at this.
"What, does she look like Lizzie or something?"
"No, only she can be as loud as Lizzie sometimes... y'know, like when she's obsessing over the hamsters. Lizzie was like that when she was obsessing over... over me..."
Triple Six raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. Numbuh One laughed half- heartedly.
"I was always filled with a feeling of impeding doom when I heard her yell 'NIGEY!'"
"Nigey?"
"Erm... the name's actually Nigel. No matter how many times I tried to tell her she insisted on calling me by that stupid nickname."
"Nigel? That's very... proper." Triple Six smirked. "I won't laugh, though, coz mine's a lot worse than that."
"Really?" Numbuh One looked interested. "What is it, then?"
"Erin. Ugh." Triple Six shuddered. "Don't tell anyone."
"I won't if you won't."
"Deal."
There was a potent pause as the two shook hands over their deal.
"Well," Triple Six said finally. "I'd better go get ready for patrol. See you around."
She hugged him quickly and went to find Numbuh Six, with whom she would soon be searching for the missing kids.