Shock Therapy
Act I. Today's Date
In this small ranch house in Glenwood, Colorado, all seemed well. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Mrs. Marianne Davenport stood before an electric range that looked like it had just been delivered. One could practically see oneself in such a clean stove top. The burners looked like they had never been used. The smell of cooking roast beef wafted about the small house. Her two children played a game of Yahtzee in the living room. It was your typical family setting. It was a nuclear family, perhaps, but for the purposes of our story we'll just have to let that go. The bell on the timer sounded. She opened the oven door and felt the blast of heat in her face. She also heard the buzzing noise. Unfortunately, she didn't react in time. A moment later, she lay across the room, motionless. The children heard the sound of her body hitting the floor and came running. When the little girl saw her mother not breathing, she began to scream.
"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" she screamed over and over again. Finally her older brother took her by the wrist and led her away; they had to call the paramedics. The paramedics arrived moments later, but the head paramedic pronounced her dead. She couldn't get her heart to defribrilate.
"Never seen anyone electrocuted so badly," she remarked, "had 15000 volts going through her."
"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"
"Who did this!" the boy said, clenching his teeth.
The spies were headed for the exit of the Beverly Park Mall. It was a cool, rainy Friday afternoon that October.
"Oh, can you believe all this hype about the baseball playouts?" Clover asked, "I mean, who cares if the Red Slacks beat the Slinkies for the first time ever?"
"First of all, Clover," Alex said, "they're called the playoffs, and secondly, the Red Sox have never beaten the Yankees in the playoffs, and if they do that and win the World Series, you might see Boston burned to the ground!"
"Oh, are you a Red Sox fan, Alex?" Sam inquired, seeming interested in her companions' conversation.
"Actually," Alex replied, "I'm an Angels fan."
"Aw," Clover said, "too bad about them losing the other day, isn't it?"
"Oh, choice words from "Ms. Playouts"! Alex chided.
"I don't know," Sam said, "Edison International Field is a gorgeous park! I especially like watching a game when the field is bathed in sunlight like that!"
"Sam," Clover said, "how would you know anything about baseball?"
"Oh, I don't know the difference between a baseball bat and a foul pole, but I went and saw that first game against the Red Sox."
"You little creep," Alex said elbowing Sam in the ribs, "you had tickets and you didn't take me?"
"Alex," Sam tried to give Alex a reassuring look, "I would have taken you but my dad got the tickets from some guy he works with. He only had two, or I would have taken you of all people Alex!"
"Your dad's coworker gave up playoff tickets?" Sam didn't answer. She was too busy following Clover's awestruck gaze.
"Oh...my gosh," Clover said, starting to shake slightly, "is that..."
"Tyler McDermott?" Alex and Sam said in unison, and their mouths fell open as Clover's had done.
"The Beverly High quarterback?" Alex breathed.
"N...nobody gets a date with him! Well...almost nobody. You have to be a ten," Sam breathed.
"He's..." Clover gulped, "wh...why is he coming toward us?" A well-built young man indeed walked over to the spies. He was about six feet tall, with arms like logs. He wore a blue football jersey with a white number 16 on the front. Naturally, it was a sharp contrast to the white, yellow, and powder blue sundresses Alex, Clover, and Sam wore, respectively.
"Hey there Clover," Tyler said. Clover jumped about three feet in the air.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Tyler said, "I didn't mean to scare you. Are you alright?"
"Oh...f...fine," Clover said, trying to collect herself, "go's it how-ing...ahem...I mean...how's it going, Tyler?"
"Oh, I'm alright. Just came from Game Den. Got me a copy of MLB Hardball 2006. Got a new pitching and batting system, dynasty mode, and a "get-out-of-trouble" skill mode. And I hear there's tons of commentary from Joe Buck and John Miller, and on-field reports from Tim McCarver. It's supposed to be awesome. They're saying it's the best baseball sim out."
"Yep," Clover said, almost too quickly, "chicks dig the longball!" She laughed a forced laugh, and Alex and Sam groaned.
"Yeah," Tyler chuckled, "so I've heard. Anyway, listen, Clover. Um...can I ask you something?"
"Me?" Clover was completely taken by surprise, "um...sure...I guess..."
"Well," Tyler said, "I was actually just wondering if you had tickets to the semiformal tonight?"
Clover suddenly saw something rather interesting on the floor. She didn't know what it was, and prayed that neither Sam nor Alex noticed it.
"Um...no, not really," Clover finally admitted sheepishly, "um...why do you ask?"
"Oh, well," Tyler stumbled momentarily, "actually, I wanted to know if maybe you wanted to...y'know...go, even if we would do it as just friends or something. I could buy the tickets and stuff."
"You mean, like a dance date?" Clover could barely breathe.
"Well, a friendly date, let's put it that way," Tyler said, "y'know...n...no pressure or anything."
"Oh, Tyler, I'd love to!" Clover squealed, "oh, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to do that. Did I totally blow out your eardrums?"
"Oh, just my left one," Tyler grinned, and they exchanged a hearty laugh.
"Listen," Tyler said, "this isn't too short notice, is it?"
"N...no, of course not, don't be silly! I mean, not that your silly, but, you know..."
"So, I'll come pick you up at your place around a quarter to eight, would that be okay?"
"Sounds great!" Clover said, "see you then!"
"Bye," the others said. With that, the girls and Tyler parted ways.
"Let's stop at the ladies' room," Alex suggested, "that latte really got to me!" The others agreed.
"Oh, I just can't believe Tyler asked me to the semiformal," Clover said as the girls sat in separate stalls, "I mean, me of all people! He could have asked Mandy, or one of her friends, or you guys, or that Sharon chick David hangs out with...but he asked me! I can't believe it!"
"Neither can I," Alex said, just loud enough for Clover to hear.
"What?" Clover asked from the next stall.
"Oh, nothing," Alex said, "it's just...I'm kinda surprised. I mean, who ever gets a date with Tyler McDermott."
"yeah," Sam agreed, "low maintenance isn't even good enough for Tyler!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Clover asked.
"Oh, nothing, Clover," Sam reassured her, "it's just that, well, Tyler usually goes for no-maintenance girls. I don't know how anyone can achieve that!"
"So I require maintenance to get a date?" Clover said. Neither of her friends got the chance to answer. Just as the girls stood up, the toilet bowls seemed to yawn open, and the girls found themselves rocketing through another of WOOHPs routing tunnels.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that bathroom needed maintenance!" Sam yelled over the rush of air.
"I dunno," Alex replied, "I think Jerry's WOOHP-ing technique could use a tune-up!"
"You can say that again!" Clover screamed.
"I dunno," Alex said, "I think Jerry's..." She didn't get to finish, as her attempt at humor was cut off by impact with the WOOHP cushion.
"Now isn't the time to be a smart-alec!" Clover shot Alex an indignant look.
"Don't you mean, smart-Alex?" Alex smirked.
"Jerry," Clover said, "I never thought I'd say this, but could you please give us our mission and make her stop trying to be a comedian? Wait a minute! What am I talking about? Now isn't the time for a mission, Jerr. I've got a dance date tonight, so could you please make this quick?"
"Can you tell Clover's in a bit of a rush?" Alex said flatly.
"Ah, nice to see you girls, too," Jerry said.
"Oh, hey Jerr," Sam said, "what's up?"
"Your next mission," Jerry said, "it seems that people are being mysteriously electrocuted. Someone, or something, is finding a way to overload the world's electronic devices, causing the affected appliances to give off high-powered bursts of electricity. People are being fried to death all over the world."
"And you want us to find out who's behind it?" Alex inquired.
"I wonder if it's anybody we know," Clover mused, "that seems to happen a lot on this show."
"Well, unfortunately," Jerry said, "I have absolutely no leads to give you. I'm afraid you girls are on your own for now."
"Oh, just great," Clover complained, "I've got a date in like two hours, and here I am stuck on some mission that nobody knows anything about."
"I wish I could help you, Clover," Jerry said, "but all I can do is give you some gadgets to start with. Pretty much standard issue: bungy belts, jetpack backpacks, thermal-scan sunglasses, and a new device, the CLoSER."
"What?" Clover said, "can it open and close any door in the world."
"Nonono, wait," Alex put in, grinning, "it's a talking Mariano Rivera doll, right?"
"Hmmm, interesting ideas," Jerry said, "I'd better write those down. No, the CLoSER stands for the Circuit Locking, Superconducting Ear-rings. When inserted into the third hole of an electrical outlet, it effectively short-circuits the device plugged into that outlet."
"Well, girls," Alex said, "it looks like we're taking a trip down Electric Avenue!" At that moment, Jerry sent them off.
"Hmmm," he smiled, "maybe I'll call that routing tunnel "Electric Avenue". Yes, I like it!"
"That's not what I meant by trip, Jeeeeeryyyyyy!" Clover screamed. The girls landed on the sidewalk in front of Sam's house.
"Now that's what I call service!" Sam said, "well, if I hear anything I'll let you girls know, okay?"
"Um, Sam?" Clover said, "could you give us an update even if you don't hear anything? This is my shot at the bigtime we're talking about here!"
"Yes, Clover," Sam said, trying to restrain her annoyance, "if I don't hear anything, I'll call. See ya girls!"
"See ya, Sam," her friends waved as they headed off.
Act II. The Wire Tap
Standing in front of her house, Sam noticed a white truck with the words DELIVERANCE SHIPPING in large red lettering on the side. What in the world's a delivery truck doing in front of our house? Sam mused. Did mom order something and not want me to find out? She walked up the sidewalk in front of her house and went inside. Her mother sat on the couch.
"Oh, hi Sam," Gabby said, "how did things go today?"
"Hi, mom," Sam said, "not bad, really, but would you happen to know why there's a delivery truck parked in front of our house? Did you make a major purchase or something?"
"Oh, Sam," Gabby said, "I guess I should have told you. I saw an ad in the Times this morning for this new company called ARG Electronics. They're prices were just so...so...insane! I just couldn't resist! I got us a brand new washer-and-drier set."
"That's...great, mom," Sam said wonderingly, "but what was wrong with the units we had?"
"Oh, those old things were nice enough, Sammy, but, well, these ones are light-years ahead of them! And besides, what we buy isn't really your problem, is it?"
"But...you just told me about them," Sam responded.
"Oh, Sam," Gabby said, "do give them a try. I really think you'll be surprised."
"Mom, I just don't know. It just seems too good to be true, that's all."
"Didn't you say you had some trig homework or something to finish?" Gabby asked. She was clearly ending the discussion.
"Yes, mother," Sam began heading for the stairs leading up to her room. At that moment, two men Sam took to be installation technicians appeared at the head of the stairs leading to the Simpson basement.
"You're all set, Mrs. Simpson," said a strapping African-American gentleman, "and Mr. Gilley said he'd take care of shipping, something about a reward for your wonderful business. Pretty lucky woman, I'd say."
"Oh, wonderful," Gabby said, "thank Mr. Gilley for us, will you?"
"No problem," the technician replied, "have a nice day." The men exited.
"Well," Gabby said, "I think I'll give our new appliances a test run with a load of towels." Sam heard her and started after her toward the basement stairs.
"Listen, mom," Sam said, "I actually think maybe I oughtta go with you. I mean, if we're going to have new appliances around the house, I might as well get used to them, right?"
"Oh, Sam," Gabby said, "I'm so glad you're willing to give this a try. I don't think you'll regret it." The two women began to descend.
"So, mom," Sam said, "you haven't actually tried out this machine then, have you?"
"Well, no, dear, why?"
"So you bought it sight unseen, then?" The question was deliberate.
"Oh, Sam," Gabby said, "just trust me on this. You'll love it." The two women crossed the basement and stood in front of the washing machine.
"And you can set the temperature with this keypad," Gabby indicated a small, flat panel set into the back of the machine, "and the unit recognizes what types of clothing or material are in the basin, and you set the time with this keypad here." She indicated another keypad on the right side of the machine.
"Wow...that's...great," Sam said, apprehensively.
"Oh, c'mon, Sammy," Gabby said, "let's give it a whirl...you get it, a whirl?"
"I got it, mom," Sam said as Gabby finished loading the last of the towels into the machine and turned on the machine. The water began flooding into the machine. Sam also began to hear a suspicious buzzing noise emanating from it. Instinctively, she grabbed her mother about the waist and pulled.
"Mom," Sam screamed, "look out!" They had gone a few feet when the burst of electricity came. The two women were thrown across the room, where they slammed up against an ironing board propped against the far wall. Her mother slumped down in Sam's arms.
"Mom!" Sam shouted, "are you alright?"
"I...I'm fine," Gabby said, weakly, "but what in the world was that?"
"That," Sam said, making no attempt to restrain her reproving tone, "was my suspicion paying off and saving your life!"
"Oh, c'mon, sam," Gabby said, just as weakly, "it's...it's no big deal! I...I just need to lie down for a bit!"
"It is a big deal," Sam said, the concern apparent in her voice, "you could have been killed! And I'm going to find out who tried to kill you!" She lifted her mother to her shoulder and began carrying her up the stairs.
"Now, Sam," Gabby said as her daughter laid her on her bed, "I don't want you getting yourself into trouble, do you understand? That's an order!"
" Sam couldn't understand it for the life of her. What was her mom playing at. Someone...or something...had tried to kill her.
"Mom..." Sam protested.
"I mean it, Sam," Gabby said, "I don't want you to get hurt!" Sam decided to appease her mother.
"Okay, mom," Sam said in mock defeat, "I won't put myself into direct danger...I promise." She leaned down, kissed her mother on the cheek, hugged her gently, and left the room. Oh, Sammy, Gabby said as a tear squirted from her left eye, I love you so very much! You and your father are the best things ever to happen to me! Sam stood on her front porch, a look of resolve beginning to play itself across her face. I'm going to get to the bottom of this, she thought, and dug out her compowder.
"Well, hello, Sam," Jerry said, "how goes the mission?"
"Jerry," Sam said, setting her teeth, "I need you to find out anything you can about a company called ARG Electronics."
"Hmmm, ARG Electronics," Jerry repeated bemusedly, "sounds familiar. Let's see...ah, yes, here we go. The C.E.O. of ARG Electronics is a fellow named Andrew Gilley. He was actually a member of WOOHP about thirty years ago. He was an electronics expert for us and built one of WOOHP's first surveillance systems. We had to let him go for sharing WOOHP secrets with a suspected terrorist organization in Thailand."
"Really?" Sam said with interest, "were you able to pin anything on him?"
"Well, not in a court of law as such," Jerry said, "but we caught him exchanging information with one of their operatives. We had to let him go; there was no other option. Y'know, security violation and all that."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to pay Mr. Gilley a little visit. I think he may have something to do with my mother nearly being killed by a rogue washing machine. I'd better call the others. Can you send out a jet-copter, Jerr?"
"I'm one step ahead of you, Sam," Jerry said, "one's already on its way. Good luck, Sam. We've been after Gilley for years, and we'd just love to get the drop on him!"
"Thanks, Jerr," Sam said cutting the connection.
Alex walked in the front door of her house. She saw Carmen in the kitchen preparing something that smelled rather wonderful.
"Hey, mom," Alex called heading for the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway, noticing something different about the room.
"Hey, mom," Alex said, "did you do something with the kitchen. It seems...different."
"Oh, Alex," Carmen said, "I was going to surprise you. I saw an ad in the Times this morning. There's this new electronics manufacturer called ARG Electronics. Their prices are unbelievable!"
"Gee, mom," Alex said, "isn't that awfully fast for such a big investment?"
"Oh, Alex," Carmen said, "don't be such a naysayer! This microwave is wonderful! You can do just about anything with it...sautee, defrost, you name it!"
"That's...great...mom," Alex said, making no attempt at sounding excited.
"Oh, what's wrong, Alex," Carmen said. She knew it hadn't gone well for Alex. She could always tell.
"Oh, it...it's nothing, mom, really," Alex said unconvincingly, "it just seems like an awfully big investment to make on the spur of the moment, that's all."
"Aw, c'mon, Alex," Carmen said, "don't kid a kidder! Something's clearly bothering you. Hey, isn't there a semiformal or something tonight or tomorrow?"
"It's tonight, mom," Alex said, "and I'm not going." She sounded almost defiant as she concluded the sentence.
"Well, why not, dear?" Carmen asked wonderingly, "there's got to be someone nice out there you could take. What about someone from the football team. You know, your father used to play football. The quarterback's available, isn't he? You could go with him. There's still time for you to get ready!"
"That would be kind of difficult," Alex said, starting to raise her voice, "seeing as Clover already got asked by him this afternoon!"
"Well," Carmen said defensively, "is it my fault you won't ask anybody out? Honestly, Alex, I don't understand you. It just takes a little effort. I mean, sure, you're not going to always get accepted every time you ask someone out, but sometimes you have to deal with tough situations. I can't see what the problem is with just doing it!"
"There isn't a problem, mom," Alex said, "I'm just not interested in some stupid dance!"
"Oh, stop it, Alex," Carmen said, "and go change for dinner!" That was the end. The end came again moments later. As Alex began to ascend the stairs leading up to her room, she could have sworn she heard the strangest buzzing noise coming from the kitchen. A moment later she heard a loud pop and the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. She dashed back into the kitchen, skidded to a halt, and her jaw dropped in complete disbelief. Carmen lay across the kitchen from the microwave, which was now smoking.
"Mom!" Alex screamed. She rushed over and took her mom's wrist. She felt a very weak pulse. Hospital, hospital, hospital! Alex repeated to herself. Quickly she dialed the paramedics. They arrived moments later and loaded her onto a stretcher. I'm going to get to the bottom of this, Alex said to herself with firm resolve.
Alex sat in the back of the ambulance, holding her mother's limp hand, and trying with every ounce of her being not to sob. Her mother was dying, so why had she treated her so callously earlier? What kind of a daughter was she? She would do everything in her power to save her mother's life, but if her mother died, Alex would never be able to forgive herself. It's my fault, she kept saying over and over. Intellectually, she knew it was garbage, but she couldn't help it. I'm getting to the bottom of this, she said. Something tells me ARG Electronics has something to do with this! Time to give Jerry a call! She dug out her compowder.
"Well, hello, Alex," Jerry said, almost too cheerily, "how's the mission going?"
"It's not, Jerry," Alex said, "and I need your help. Could you look up a company called ARG Electronics?"
"Oh, that's all taken care of, Alex," Jerry said, "Sam requested that same information a few moments ago. ARG Electronics is run by a fellow named Andrew Gilley, who used to be a WOOHP agent back in the seventies. We had to let him go for security violations."
"Well, I guess we'll have to have a little talk with Mr. Gilley," Alex said, "seeing as one of his microwaves just tried to kill my mother!"
"What," Jerry gasped, "are you certain?"
"Do I look not certain?" Alex said, "I'm sitting next to her in an ambulance!"
"Oh, Alex," Jerry said, "I'm...terribly sorry. Listen, I've deployed a jet-copter. Once you've taken care of your mother, I'll have it pick you up. Just keep your compowder in passive sync mode and we'll track you. Good luck, Alex, and do catch Mr. Gilley. I want him behind bars once and for all."
"You think you're the only one?" Alex said. Jerry cut the connection before she could finish. Mom, she said, gently squeezing her mother's hand. I will find the scum who tried to kill you. I'm sorry about tonight. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! She began to weep softly.
Clover stood before the mirror in her bedroom with a towel wrapped around her middle. The mission was officially on stand-by, and that was just fine with her. Tonight, the chance of her life had finally come! She had more important things to worry about than some vague mission they knew nothing about. A date with Tyler McDermott was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Everything had to be perfect. It was only six, but she'd do everything with meticulous precision. She'd apply just the right amount of makeup, blush, eyeshadow, and lipstick, even if that took an hour and a half. At that moment, the worst happened. The call signal on her compowder began to sound. No, not now! Clover screamed inwardly, anytime, but not now! Why did you have to call now! She walked over, grabbed her compowder off her bureau, and slapped at the button. Sam's image appeared.
"Hey, Clover," Sam said.
"Look, Sam?" Clover said, making no attempt to restrain her exasperation, "this had better be good, because I'm in the middle of starting the rest of my life here!"
"You can put your life on hold, Clover," Sam continued undeterred, "we've got a lead on those rogue electronic devices."
"Look, Sam," Clover said, "can't this wait? I have a date to get ready for! I mean, it's not like they'll take over the world in a day, will they? I'll catch up with you guys later!"
"No, Clover," Sam said firmly, "you'll meet us in front of your house in ten minutes. We'll be there in a jet-copter. I've found the warehouse where they're headquartered. It's out in Tucson!"
"Great, just blasted great!" Clover said, "this had better not take long, Sam. Because if it does, I won't be responsible for what happens to either of you!"
"Well," Sam said, "if you're interested in keeping your job, you will be out in front in ten minutes, and you will be suited up and you will have your gear ready."
"Fine, but could you snap it up?" Clover said, and cut the connection. Just great, she thought. This is the last thing I need right now! Here I am, ready for the date of a lifetime, and I'm stuck on some silly mission to short-circuit an electronics company. I hate my life! She threw on her jumpsuit and scooped her gadgets unceremoniously into her backpack. She started to cross the room when her compowder sounded again.
"Aaaaarrrrrgggggghhhhh!" Clover growled, slapping at the compowder again. Alex's image appeared this time.
"Alex," Clover said, "what is it!"
"Hey, Clover," Alex said, "the mission's on again. Are you coming?"
"Yes, Alex," Clover said, "Sam already told me we've got some stupid lead or something! I just don't see why we have to take care of it now, that's all!!
"That stupid lead," Alex said fiercely, "could bring us right to the man who tried to kill my mother!"
"What?" Clover didn't believe it.
"One of their gadgets electrocuted my mother!" Alex said, "she's in the hospital right now!"
"Look, Alex," Clover said, feeling a slight twinge of guilt, "I...I'm sorry. Look, I'll meet you out front and we can get this over with, okay?"
"Fine," Alex said, cutting the connection. She didn't sound convinced.
The girls sat in silence as the jet-copter hummed through the cool air toward the deserts of Arizona. Alex had, with a great deal of reluctance, left her mother at the hospital in Beverly Hills. She knew she had a mission to accomplish, but she didn't want to leave her mother's side. What if something happened while she was away? Alex really wouldn't forgive herself then! She knew she hadn't done anything, but she still felt guilty.
Clover sat quietly across the cabin from her. She was lost in thought also. She felt kinda bad about Alex's mother, but she just couldn't seem to forget about Tyler. He was just so wonderful in every way. He was good-looking, strong, intelligent, and, best of all, gentle and compassionate. But why had he asked her out? She knew that too many people at Beverly Hills high thought she was shallow and egotistical. Darryl Bergman, a boy she knew vaguely, had even called her an "ice queen". Supposedly everyone called her that. She'd asked the girls what that meant, and hadn't gotten a straight response. So why would Tyler ask her out? He must have known the rumors, too, right? She decided that she would put him out of her mind right then and there. People didn't have to like her, even if she wanted everybody to like her. She looked out the window and saw a small field coming up below them. She spied a strange, domed building in the distance on the field.
"That must be the manufacturing plant," Sam said, pointing at it.
"Good," Clover said, "maybe this'll be quick and I can get back in time for the first slow dance. I hear Tyler loves slow-dancing!"
"Or," Alex said, setting her teeth, "you could just forget about your blasted date for a change!" Clover said nothing more as the small aircraft touched down in the middle of the bleak-looking field.
Act III. Shock Treatment
The spies headed toward the domed building, noticing a door in the front.
"This looks like the way in," Alex said.
"Ooh," Clover said enthusiastically, "this'll be easy as pie." Sam spied a keypad next to the door.
"Yeah, well, we're not getting in this way, look."
"Oh, great," Clover said with consternation, "do you guys know how many zillion combinations there must be?"
"Well, we'll just have to find another way in," Sam said, "come on." She led the way around to the side of the building.
"Hey, guys," a familiar voice called from some distance off. All three spies jumped three feet in the air, shrieking as they did so.
"SSSSSHHHHH!!!" the voice hissed, "they'll hear you!"
"Brittney?" Sam asked in disbelief, "is that you?"
"Oh, great," Clover said indignantly. Brittney was a bit too cheery even for her.
"What brings you here, Brittney?" Alex asked in pleasant surprise.
"Oh, Jerry sent me here to do some training. It looks like I might be helping you out a bit."
"Well, we could really use it, Brit," Sam said, "we can't get in there."
"Sure we can," Brittney said confidently, "the front door's right over here." She indicated the door the spies had just been standing at.
"Well," Clover said sarcastically, "I suppose we could kick it down. We might get our heads blown off, but it'd sure pick up the pace and right now, nothing better could happen to me!"
"What's the matter, Clover?" Brittney said, noticing Clover's attitude.
"She's got a biiiig date tonight, Brittney," Alex said, "with the Beverly Hills High quarterback!"
"Hey, is it my fault the guy asked me out?" Clover responded indignantly.
"Guys," Sam warned them through clenched teeth, "not now!"
"The door's easy to get through," Brittney said, "I did a little research. Criminals aren't very bright, you know. The access code's actually pretty easy. You just spell ARG and then spell it backwards as you would on a telephone keypad."
"Geezz," Sam breathed, "that's gotta be a UNAX violation waiting to happen."
"Look, could we stop jawing and just do this, please?" Clover pleaded.
"Okay, girls," Brittney said, "it's spy time."
"Hey!" Clover said, "that's our line!" The others ignored her and they approached the door again. Brittney punched in the code she'd mentioned and pressed the pound key. She pressed it again to confirm her entry. A "click" was heard and the door popped ajar.
"Wow, Brit," Sam said in amazement, "that was incredible! Let's go, spies!"
They entered a long hallway that forked off in both directions.
"Let's do a scan of the interior," Clover said, "that way we actually know where we're going?"
"Good idea," Sam said, doing one with her compowder.
"It appears we have something of a maze here," Sam said, "but the pattern seems relatively easy. The main control room for the units' assembly line appears to be several hallways away. The pattern starts from the end of this hallway and goes left, right, left, left, right, left."
"Sounds more like one of those video game controller codes," Alex said snickering.
"Yeah," Sam continued, "there's just one problem."
"What?" Clover asked, "we press the B button 33 times or something?"
"Not quite, Clover," Sam replied, "we have an underground tunnel to go through. It almost reminds me of that time we went through that guy's video game? That was just creepy!"
"You know it!" Brittney affirmed, "that Bowser guy was a real screwball."
"Yes," Clover said, "well, I'm really trying to forget that! Now could we please just go?"
"Fine, Clover," Alex said annoyedly, "don't be so impatient!" The quartet headed down the first hallway and, fortunately, made it to the far end without incident. When they reached the three-way fork, however, they found passage to the left difficult. There was a strange wire mesh hanging down from the ceiling and reaching to about three feet off the ground. A strange buzzing noise was issuing from the mesh.
"Well," Alex said, "I suppose we could laser through it."
"Yeah!" Clover agreed, "that'd work!"
"I don't think it's quite that easy, girls," Sam interjected, "given what Alex and I saw, I wouldn't be surprised if that mesh is hard-wired to blow a fuse when cut."
"Sam's right," Brittney agreed, "I'm afraid we're about to get our hands dirty, girls."
"So who asked..." Clover started, then changed tactics, "...oh, for crying out loud! You guys can't be serious! You expect me to lie on that filthy, disgusting floor and do the worm-crawl under a glorified bug-zapper?"
"Yep," Sam said, "now let's go!" The four girls, with some reluctance from Clover, got down on the floor and flattened themselves out as much as they could. They inched carefully toward the mesh, Clover grunting and grumbling as they went. The other three were subjected to complaints about her hair, her arms, and even her feet. Fortunately, the girls made it through without any problems. They continued down the corridor, Clover leading the way. They turned right, and saw an electrical barrier up ahead. This one ran from floor to ceiling. A small laminated panel perched on the wall next to it, bearing a three-pronged plug. The cord that ran into it appeared to be a high-tension wire of some kind.
"Well, I guess we can't just unplug it, now can we?" Clover said.
"Brilliant deduction, Clover!" Alex chided.
"Wait," Sam said, her eyes lighting up, "my CLoSER!" She approached the panel, producing the object from her backpack. When she inserted the device into the third hole of the socket, a burst of energy sent her sprawling, though she was fortunately not rendered unconscious.
"Sam!" Alex screamed, "oh, not again!"
"Not again is right!" Clover put in, "like we need anymore setbacks right now! What time is it, anyway?...seven-thirty! Uggggghhhh! Sam, are you really okay?"
"Yes, Clover," Sam replied, "I'm fine. The blast wasn't that strong." For the first time, the spies heard what sounded like an alarm.
"Oh, great," Sam said, "now they'll have the dogs on us in no time!"
"Oh, not exactly," said a familiar voice, "but I do know you're down there!"
"What?" Sam gasped in disbelief.
"Dr. Gilee?" Alex breathed.
"Ah, the spark man cometh," Brittney snickered.
"Wait a sec," Clover said, "Gilley, Gilee, oh, I get it. Look, doc, Mac Smit to Tim Scam was bad enough, but do the words 'lame city' mean anything to you?"
"Oooo," Gilee retorted, "give the girl an A! And believe me, you girls could probably use it!"
"So you're the dirtbag who tried to kill my mother!" Sam yelled, "you're a dead man, Gilee, you hear me? A dead man!"
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that," Gilee said, and the three girls heard a bang behind them. They wheeled only to find that the passage through which they had come was now completely blocked by a thick metal barrier of some sort.
"So you see, girls," Gilee continued, "I'm not the one who'll be expiring around here. You girls'll never make it out of here alive!"
""Oh, pleeeeeeease!" Clover whined, "now we'll never get out of here!"
"We'll worry about that later, Clover," Sam said, "we've got a ways to go before we reach the control chamber. Come on!"
"Yes, spies," Dr. Gilee taunted, "do come on! And believe me, someone's got to do it, seeing as the heroes are always supposed to win in these things, but it's a pretty dirty job from here on in, mark my words!"
"That wall behind us?" Clover said, "that wouldn't happen to be the fourth wall, would it? Because it's nothing but metal shavings right now!"
"Well, let's go girls," Sam said, and they continued on down the passage. At the next turn, a left turn this time, the girls found themselves staring into complete and impenetrable darkness.
"Now what," Alex said.
"Um, we wa...eeeeekkkkk!" Clover said, putting her foot forward into empty air.
"Okay," Alex said, "maybe we jet across."
"Not yet," Sam said, putting on her thermal-scan sunglasses, "let's see what we've got here." Her sunglasses revealed two wires stretched across the walls several feet ahead of them, followed by several more beyond them placed at varying heights.
"ugggghh," Clover said, "this is ridiculous."
"Sheesh, I can't believe I'm agreeing with Clover," Alex said, "we don't have time for this!"
"Man," Gilee said over the intercom, "but you girls are soooooo easy to figure out! Jet across indeed!"
"So, what you're telling me is, we get to play jump rope with live wires?" Clover said.
"Yep," Sam said, "I'll go first."
"Why do you get to go first?" Clover asked.
"Because, Clover," I can scout things out carefully before you guys come flying through here.
"Fine, just...go!" Clover said exasperatedly. Sam activated her backpack and rose into the air and began maneuvering her way down the corridor over the seemingly bottomless chasm. At one point, one of the straps on her backpack lightly brushed a wire, releasing a burst of energy. Sam began to fall, but quickly regained her composure.
"Sam!" Alex yelled, hearing Sam's cry, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine, girls," Sam called back, "just knicked one of these wires here. I'm almost to the other side!" She indeed reached the other end of the yawning abyss.
"Okay, girls!" Sam yelled, "I've left a trail of thermal residue! If you put on your thermal scan sunglasses, you shouldn't have any problem getting across!"
"Great," Clover said, launching herself into the air, "let's just go!" Alex's backpack lightly bumped one of the wires as well but, fortunately for her, Brittney was flying by her side and grabbed her wrist so that Alex could right herself.
"Phew," Alex panted, "thanks Brit. I owe you one!" Clover, Alex, and Brittney made it to the other side of the gorge without further incident.
"I can't believe we're getting so close," Alex said, "I don't know how we survived all that!"
"Oh, don't talk to me about survived," Clover said, "I look like Carrot-Top!"
"You also need to update your jokes," Sam replied, "now come on!" Alex hadn't said anything to Clover since they'd been trapped by the metal wall in the previous hallway. Now that it seemed like their fates might be sealed, a slow burn was beginning inside Alex. She had tried to tolerate Clover's complaining as much as she could, but it was becoming difficult to bear. Didn't Clover care in the least that her mother was in the hospital, perhaps dying? People everywhere were dying, and all Clover could think about was her stupid dance date? How shallow could one possibly be? She could feel her face getting hotter by the minute.
The girls found themselves at a dead end of the passage they had been traveling down, with the only way leading back through the passage.
"Look," Clover said, "is there any way we can just put this on hold? I mean, it's not like we're gonna get anywhere now. I don't see any passages around here, do you?"
"We haven't even started looking!" Alex said through gritted teeth.
"Wait, guys," Sam said, "I think I may have found something." Check out this note I found taped to the wall. The others went to where Sam stood indicating a small white piece of paper taped to the wall on the left side of the passage. Brittney read it aloud.
"A two, a three, a four, and a five;
Equate the four numbers, place them side by side,
Then count up the marks, both long and wide
The answer you seek, I now confide.
One cross, one equator, your only two friends,
These symbols alone, will help find the end?"
"What kind of poem is that?" Sam wondered.
"A really lame one?" Clover jeered.
"Maybe," Sam mused, "but it has something to do with the answer. Now we need to use two, three, four, and five in an equation somehow. But what are a cross and an equator?"
"Well, in terms of mathematics," Brittney offered, "the cross might be a plus sign. Could the equator just be the equals sign?"
"Perhaps," Sam said, "let me give it a try."
"Better you than me, Sam," Clover said, "I totally suck at algebra."
"What does long and wide mean?" Alex thought aloud.
"Count up the marks," Sam mused, "wait. Maybe the floor panels are marks. That's the only feasible explanation. My estimation is that the passage is about fifteen panels long and ten panels wide. That means that what we're looking for is a certain number of panels in each direction from the beginning of the passage. Now then, let's see, I know 23 equals 45 doesn't work, because there are two pluses and the sentence is a nonvariable inequality. 52 equals 43 is an equation, but there are still two pluses."
"C'mon, Sam," Clover said, prodding her friend on, "you're the brains of this outfit here!"
"I'm thinking!" Sam was starting to lose patience now as well, "how could I use just one plus and one equals?"
"What if you used an exponent?" Brittney suggested.
"Hmmm," Sam thought, "four to the fifth, no, five to the fourth, no, three to the fourth, no, four cubed? Those're all too large. 54 equals 2 cubed, three squared." Sam snapped her fingers.
"Three squared," she said, "that's it! 54 equals 3 squared! Nine equals nine! The equation works out and the roots aren't too large either!"
"So we go nine steps?" Clover asked, "but what do we find there?"
"I imagine a removable floorboard or something," Sam mused. The quartet started from the left side of the passage just before the first tile and moved nine paces. Sam pressed down on the tile and attempted to slide it to one side, but the tile held fast.
"What in the world's wrong," Sam mused.
"Wait a sec," Brittney suggested, "didn't the note say long and wide?"
"Brittney," Sam clapped her hands together, "that's it! Come on girls!" She led them nine more paces sidewise. However, they received the same result when they tried to remove the panel.
"Alright, this is stupid," Clover said, "is this some kind of trick question?"
"maybe we have to count the first panel," Sam said, and pressed the previous tile. It slid aside without any resistance.
"Perfect!" Sam snapped her fingers.
"Ah," Gilee's voice came over the intercom, "you figured out my little riddle, did you spies?"
"You're riddle?" Sam asked in shock.
"Well," Gilee said, "I use it to remind myself of the route, but I was hoping noone else would figure it out. I see my hopes were in vain...again! Well, good luck spies! Time to get down and dirty!" The intercom snapped off.
"Well," Sam said decisively, "there's only one way to go I guess. I'm gonna bungy down." She used her bungy belt to drop herself into the darkness. A moment later, the others heard a splash.
"Okay, what was that?" Clover said in fright.
"Only one way to find out, Clover," Alex said, "you're up, Clover!"
"Me?" Clover squeaked, "why not you?"
"Clover, just go!" Alex was getting to a breaking point. Clover lowered herself to the ground and peered into the darkness with her sunglasses.
"Clover, will you just get in there and stop being a baby?" But what Clover saw caused her to facefault. About eight or ten feet below her, running rather swiftly, was a stream of water. The problem was, the water was nearly black with debris. Things seemed to be swimming about in the water. Clover had reached the end of her rope.
"Oh no!" she said straightening, "nonononono! There is absolutely no way I'm going in there. I've put up with quite a lot today, but this is where I draw the line! I don't care about this stupid mission! I'm late for the dance as it is! I will not show up anywhere looking like a sludge..." She didn't get to finish, because Alex had reached the end of her rope.
"Uggggggghhhhh!" she yelled, "Clover! Will you just forget about your stupid date? Just for once in your insignificant life?"
"Alex," Brittney said in surprise.
"Alex, what are..." Clover couldn't believe her ears.
"No, Clover!" Alex railed on, "I've had it! You know what your problem is? You really think the rest of the world owes you a living! Haven't you ever wondered why people say stuff about you? Haven't you ever wondered why Darryl calls you an ice queen? Everybody thinks that, Clover! And it's all true! Every last word of it! And you wonder why David won't go out with you? It's because you're a fraud and a liar! You hear me, Clover? It makes me wonder why I'm even friends with you in the first place!
"Alex!" Clover's bewilderment was rife with panic. The situation was spinning out of control.
"Oh, quit whining, Clover! People call you shallow and egotistical because it's true! Will you ever start thinking about anyone besides yourself?"
"Alex," Clover's voice was rising in panic, "that's not fair!"
"No, Clover," Alex ranted, "you wanna know what's not fair? What's not fair is the way you treat people! Just...just...ugggghhhh!!! Geez, why am I even talking to you! Get out of my way!" Alex shoved past Clover and bungied down into the sewer below.
"It's...it's okay, Clover," Brittney said, "I'll go down there. You just wait here and rest."
"Fine," Clover's voice began to crack, "go on then! I couldn't care less what happens to any of them!" She ran off down the hall, and a rather bewildered Brittney descended into the grungy depths below.
Down in the muck, Alex hadn't felt this good in quite some time. She'd given Clover a piece of her mind. She'd wanted to do that all day, and she'd finally gotten her chance. It wasn't fair! Everybody wanted to go out with Clover. Didn't anyone want to go out with her? Then again, she had been a bit harsh. No! she told herself, Clover had better learn this time! She wasn't entitled to everything! She wasn't God's gift to the world! Besides, if she didn't care that Alex's mom was in danger of dying then she wasn't her friend to begin with! The trio continued down the slimy passage. They had found a rough embankment that ran along the wall on the left side of the passage, and were slowly making their way down it. It was, of course, good not to have to hear Clover's griping for a change. Alex couldn't help wondering, however, whether she hadn't actually hurt Clover. She decided she hadn't. Clover was strong. She was strong enough to go after every guy in Beverly Hills, so she could take a little ribbing.
At the far end of the passage, the girls saw a ladder leading up through the ceiling. Unfortunately, there was some green filth cascading down the ladder into a basin sitting at the bottom of the ladder.
"Ick," Alex winced, "what's that?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm gonna get a sample and send it to Jerry," Sam decided. At that moment Alex turned and saw Brittney heading back down the passage for some reason.
"Hey, Brit," Alex called, "where ya going?"
"Anywhere you're not!" Brittney yelled back.
"What?" Alex gasped in shock, "what're you talking about Brittney?" Brittney wheeled on her.
"Yeah, play the "duh "queen", Alex!" Brittney said, "I can't believe what you did up there, Alex! You really hurt Clover's feelings y'know!"
"What?" it was Alex's turn to feel bewildered, "Brittney! are you nuts? Did you see the way Clover was acting up there?"
"I saw the way you were acting up there!" Brittney yelled, "has it ever occurred to you that maybe Clover's got a lot on her mind?"
"Um, girls?" Sam tried to get a word in edgewise without speaking too loudly.
"Oh, and I don't?" Alex said.
"Look," Brittney shouted back, "all I'm saying is that you could have handled things a little differently up there instead of blowing up at her like that!"
"Girls?" Sam said a bit louder this time.
"Oh, like what, Brittney?" Alex shot back, "'oh, dear Clover! Please don't talk about your boyfriend, it makes me uncomfortable because my mother's dying?' Is that what you wanted?"
"You make it sound like such a chore!"
"What're you getting on my case for!" Alex said.
"I just want you to know how Clover felt when one of her best friends all but ditched her!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Alex screamed, "I'll try not to let my mother's dying affect my judgment in the future!"
"Will you two put a cork in it?" Sam just about shouted, "I've got a data log back on that green slime we have to get through!"
"Really, Sam?" Alex said, her mood changing suddenly, "what's up!"
"That's the least of our worries right now, Alex," Sam said in panic, "look!" All three spies looked and froze. Five well-built men in what appeared to be security uniforms were advancing quickly down the access passage toward the girls.
"Aaaaaahhhh!" Alex screamed, "run for it!" All three girls made a mad dash in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, two of them didn't make it. The first security guard hurled a boomerang that caught Sam on her left leg, sending her sprawling. The guard caught the boomerang and launched it at Alex, hitting her squarely in the small of the back. She, too, went down like a lead balloon. Brittney turned back to her friends.
"Brittney!" Sam screamed, "run for it! Go get Clover to help you!"
"But, Sam..." Brittney started.
"Do it, now, before it's too late!" Sam shouted as a burly guard collared both her and Alex. The two were dragged off back toward the ladder where the green slime was pouring down. The guards hoisted Sam and Alex up with little trouble. Brittney tore off toward the entrance where the girls had come in, leapt up, and grabbed onto the floor above and scrambled out.
Clover stood at the edge of the abyss over which she and Alex had flown just a little while ago. It was hard to believe she was on the verge of losing her best friend. She couldn't help remembering when she'd been giving Alex fashion tips so she could secure a job at a high-end clothing store in the mall. She'd given Alex all kinds of dating advice, and even some advice on some of their schoolwork. Now it seemed as though all she'd done for Alex and, by no means secondarily, all that Alex had done for her, was coming to naught. She fought with every ounce of her being to keep from sobbing. If Alex didn't want anything to do with her, then it wasn't worth crying over.
"If I'm not good enough for Alex," she said aloud clenching her teeth, "then Alex isn't good enough for me!"
"Isn't she?" said a familiar voice behind her. Clover wheeled to see Brittney standing a few paces away, illuminated by a fluorescent bulb in the ceiling.
"Brittney?" Clover said, "what're you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping Alex and Sam?"
"Well," Brittney replied matter-of-factly, "that'd be kinda hard, seeing as they've been kidnapped by a couple of Gilee's thugs."
"Oh they have, have they?" Clover stuck out her lower lip truculently, "well, serves 'em right! I don't feel sorry for Alex in the least!"
"I don't believe that for a minute!" Brittney tried to hold back her own emotions, with only partial success.
"Yeah, well I do," Clover said.
"Look, Clover," Brittney said, "it was really rotten what Alex did to you, but..."
"But what?" Clover began to lose control, "but it's okay because Alex's mother..." Clover stopped midsentence, then completely lost it.
"Oh no!" she said, beginning to sob openly, "what have I done! Geez, what kind of a friend am I? Alex doesn't need me!"
"Oh, Clover, come on!" Brittney said.
"No, Brittney," Clover said, "it's okay. It's all true what Alex said. I really don't care about anyone but myself!"
"Clover, that's not true and you know it!" Brittney said.
"Look, Brittney," Clover sobbed, "Alex doesn't need me...she needs someone who actually cares about her!"
"Clover, stop it!" Brittney was beginning to lose control herself.
"Look, Brittney," Clover said, "just...go, okay?"
"Clov..." Brittney couldn't get the word out.
"Pleeeeeease, just...go!" Slowly, subduedly, Brittney turned and walked back down the corridor whence she had come.
Dr. Gilee stared menacingly down at his victims. Sam and Alex cowered at the back of the chamber they were strapped into. Their gadgets lay a few feet from each of them, just out of reach. An ion cage surrounded them.
"Well, well, well," Gilee sneered, "it looks like I caught me a couple of snoops! So just what're you girls doing here...again? As if I need to ask!"
"How about we ask you the same thing!" Sam said defiantly.
"Why?" Alex asked, her voice shaking, "why are you doing this. My mother could be dying as we speak!"
"Oh, that?" Gilee said, smirking, "that's just an added perq. You see, girls, your problem is that you're obssessed with technology. Everyone in the world is obssessed with technology! Internet, digital cable, fashion, appliances, fast food, everything. It's all fake. The world doesn't realize it's own folly!"
"What?" Sam said disdainfully, "like the fact they let psychos like you run around free as a bird?"
"Silence!" Gilee shouted, "it's time to put an end to all techno-freaks! And I'm gonna start with you two terds right now!" Gilee flipped a switch, and the cage slowly began to close around them.
"You have five minutes, girls," Gilee said, "maybe you can think about your hairdryers or something." He snickered and started heading for the exit of the room. He didn't get there, however. The door opened and one of his cohorts entered, struggling with something large behind him.
"Hey, boss," the man grunted, "I caught you another one!" The guard struggled for a moment more and, with some effort dragged what he was fighting with into view. The girls mouths fell open in horror as they saw Brittney fighting against the man. He was slowly winning out. Dr. Gilee snickered again.
"Well," he said, "I guess we'll just have to toss her in there with the others, now won't we?" He temporarily switched off the cage, and Brittney was dragged in and tied down next to Alex. The cage was reactivated and it began to shrink once more.
"See you on the other side, girls," Gilee jeered, "ha ha ha ha ha ha!" They left the room.
"Great, just great!" Alex said, "in five minutes we're gonna be the world's largest spy-kabobs, and there's no one here to save us!"
"You don't know that, Alex," Sam said, trying to sound reassuring, "maybe Jerry'll show up...or...or..."
"Or, Clover?" Alex said, "please, Sammy! And maybe this cage'll just turn itself off!"
Clover stood in the passage, trembling. Her friends, or rather her ex-friends, hadn't come back yet. To be truthful, she wondered how much good it would do if she went to save them anyhow. She'd probably lost Alex's friendship forever. Would Alex want her to save her? Even if not, Clover wanted to save the people she cared about. She had to. It was the absolute least she could do. She decided she'd go back for them. If Alex didn't want anything to do with her anymore, that was fine. Clover had compromised her friendship with Alex thanks to her own selfishness. Even if she was no friend to Alex, she'd do one last favor for her. With a new resolve she headed back toward the sewers.
As Clover trudged through the quagmire underneath the warehouse, she thought about what her date might have been like. She felt extremely bad about missing it, but at the same time she knew Alex, Sam, and Brittney needed her help. She wouldn't get to go with Tyler to the dance, but she knew she'd have to deal with that eventually. Her friends were more important to her right now. She'd already risked her friendship with Sam once before. She wasn't about to put on a repeat performance! As she climbed out of the sewers on the other side, she remembered something about left, right, left. Sam said it happened twice. She'd already come through the sewers, so she took her first left. About halfway down the passage, however, she heard a buzzing noise off to her left and a bright light. She looked, and gaped in astonishment. She saw two glass doors down a small side passage, guarded by two burly men, and behind them she could make out the hunched forms of Sam, Alex, and Brittney huddled together behind what appeared to be a forcefield. A flood of emotion came back to her, but she managed to check it long enough to dispatch the two guards with round house kicks. She wrenched open the glass doors and looked around. Her eyes met Alex's, and immediately they darted away. She couldn't bear to look at the friend she'd betrayed. She spied a panel on the wall with a switch.
"Clover!" all three girls said in unison.
"Man," Alex said, "I never thought I'd say this, but am I glad to see you!" Clover didn't respond, but flipped the switch into the down position. The cage powered down, and the three prisoners breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Can you cut us loose, Clover?" Sam asked hopefully. Again, rather than respond, Clover approached the girls and unceremoniously swept their gadgets towards them. Before any girl could say another word, Clover was gone down the passage. Sam and Brittney watched her retreating form with concern. She had looked quite pained as she shut down the cage and given the girls access to their equipment. It was almost as though she was ashamed of something.
"Man," Alex observed nonchalantly, "what's with her?"
"What do you mean, what's with her, Alex?" Sam probed.
"I dunno," Alex said, "it's almost like she's acting like she just lost her best..." Alex understood what Sam meant.
"I think you girls know what needs to happen. Brittney, you and I'll go find the assembly control room. Alex, I think you have a best friend to find." Sam and Brittney exited without another word. Alex began walking. She honestly didn't know where she was headed, but she knew she needed to walk. She wondered if and where she'd find Clover. She couldn't imagine Clover being in such a state as Sam described. Was she really that thin-skinned? Clover had the heart of every guy at Beverly Hills High. Alex trudged through the sewers like her friends had done and emerged on the other side. She turned the first corner, and stopped. Clover sat against one wall, some distance away. Alex hung her head, feeling ashamed. Clover had her hands over her face, but Alex could see behind her hands to her bloodshot eyes and, before she got up to her, saw her shoulders heaving as well. It became obvious in the blink of an eye to Alex that Clover had been weeping almost from the time she left. Alex could feel the heat radiating from Clover's body. Alex stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say, then regained her composure.
"Hey, Cl...Clover?" Alex said, barely able to get the words out. Again, Clover didn't respond. Alex decided maybe lightening the mood might help.
"So is this your party," she asked Clover, "or can I join?" She forced a grin, but she knew almost before Clover did how contrived it was.
"It's a free country," Clover said simply, taking away her hands long enough to make a noncommittal gesture at the floor. Alex sat a few paces from her friend and put her hands in her lap.
"Listen, Clover," Alex started, "I'm not..." This time, Clover interrupted Alex, without fully understanding why she did so.
"No, listen, Alex?" Clover said, her throat tight as a drum, "do you remember what you said back there..." (sob) "...about me being shallow, and an ice queen, and..."
"Clover, I didn't..." Alex started, but again didn't get to finish.
"Because it is true," Clover said, sobbing harder now, "all of it. I really don't know why you'd even want to be friends with me. Geez, I don't know why any of you guys wanna be friends with me! I mean, it's bad enough the way I treated Sammy that one time" Clover was sobbing openly now, making no attempt to restrain her despair "but...your mother's dying, Alex. Ugggghhhh, how could I be so shallow!"
"Clover," Alex said, "I do wanna be your friend. It's just..."
"I mean," had clover even heard Alex? "it's a stupid date! There're plenty of dances and stuff! There're plenty of guys at Beverly High! It's like I don't want any of them! Pretty ironic, huh? I make like I wanna be friends with every guy in school, and then give 'em all the cold shoulder! I think they call that, backstabbing, don't they? So, Alex, you still wanna be my friend?"
"Clover," Alex said, "of course..."
"Then..." Clover could barely get the words out herself, "why...why did..."
"I don't know why I blew up at you like that!"
"I'll tell you why!" Clover shouted, "it's because I'm the world's worst friend, that's why!"
"Clover, stop it!" now Alex was losing control, "I do wanna be your friend, don't you see that. I guess...I dunno, I guess I was just a bit scared or something. Kinda sad, too, I suppose?"
"What?" Clover couldn't believe what she was hearing, "scared? Sad? Why, Alex? I've always tried to be there for you when I could, haven't I?"
"Well, yeah," Alex said, "that's just it, Clover. I mean, you've always been so wonderful to me, helping me with dating, finding jobs, shopping, y'know and, well, I guess when you got all into your date with Tyler, I just got scared. I..." Alex choked on the words, "I thought I was losing you as a friend or something! I really don't think you're a backstabber at all!"
"Oh, Alex!" Clover said, "I'm...I'm...I'm sorry, Alex! If I'd bothered to stop and think...I mean really think...y'know, about your mom being in the hospital...well...I don't think I would have been so obssessed with my stupid date in the first place!"
"Oh, c'mon, Clover," Alex said, "I know you had stuff on your mind. I mean, who wouldn't want to go on a date with Tyler McDermott. Who could blame you for being a bit nervous? Besides, I was no better. I was blaming you just because you had a date for the dance. It was...immature. Besides, it's not like I was thinking about my poor mother! I'm no better than you!"
"You're way better than I am, Alex!" Clover said, "Alex, I...I don't know what to do!"
"Oh, Clover!" Alex said, reaching out to her friend, "I do!" They embraced for a very long moment.
"Listen, Alex," Clover said, "tell anyone at school I said this and I swear I'll rearrange your sock drawer, but, I...I...well..."
"Clover?" Alex looked quizzically at her friend.
"I...I love you, Alex!" Alex gasped.
"What?" Clover looked panicked, "did I say something wrong?"
"N...no," Alex said, recovering quickly, "it's just...did you...did you really mean that, Clover?"
"Well...yeah," Clover said.
"Wow, Clover," it was Alex's time to blush, "I...I love you, too!"
Sam and Brittney had found their way to the control room.
"Well," Sam said, "this is it."
"Yeah, so what now?" Brittney wondered aloud. She didn't have to wonder long. A conveyer belt in the center of the room began moving. Strange metal boxes began dropping from a slot above the beginning of the conveyer belt.
"What in the world are those," Sam wondered, taking one from the conveyer belt. She looked through the top of the box with her sunglasses, and gasped.
"Brittney, look," she breathed, holding out the box to the spy trainee. Brittney regarded the box with a mystified expression.
"A magnet?" Brittney wondered, "but what does it do?"
"Over there," Sam pointed. In a spot on the far end of the conveyer belt, an electric charge was pulsating. The words POWER-UP flashed in red letters above it.
"But what's it for?" Brittney mused.
"I don't know," Sam said decisively, "but I know a good way to find out." She hurried over and flipped a switch. Immediately the conveyer belt stopped moving. One of the boxes was inches from the power-up station, which was still fully operational. She decided to place the box carefully under the power-up cell. The box began vibrating. It continued to vibrate but did nothing else.
"I don't get it," Brittney said. Sam studied the box more closely.
"Wait a second!" Sam said, her eyes lighting up, "look at the front of this box, Brit." Brittney looked but her expression remained unchanged.
"I don't get it," Brittney said.
"The front of this box looks just like one of the panels on the washing machine my mother bought from ARG Electronics!"
"So?" Brittney was killing herself trying to understand Sam's meaning.
"So!" Sam said, "when an appliance from ARG is turned on, it starts the flow of current electricity. There's already an electromagnetic field active in this device, so..."
"It overloads the appliance, causing a high-level electrical discharge!" Brittney snapped her fingers, "...diabolical!"
"Why thank you," said a familiar voice some distance behind the girls. Both wheeled to see Dr. Gilee standing in the doorway, regarding them icily.
"We're onto your little electronics boutique, Gilee!" Sam clenched her teeth.
"Oh, you are, are you?" Dr. Gilee retorted, "what, you want a freaking A in Physics?"
"Oh, we've already got that," Brittney said, "how do you think we figured this out, dipstick!" She regarded Dr. Gilee's setup with derision.
"Right," Dr. Gilee said, "well now I think I'd better dispose of you. Guards, seize them!" Two guards rushed into the room and toward the girls. Both thugs received quick boots to the stomach, sending them sprawling to the floor.
"Security alert!" Gilee yelled into a transmitter, "security breach in command control sector! All personnel report immediately!" An alarm began to sound.
"Okay!" Sam shouted above the din, "not much time." She ran over and flipped a switch on the wall. The power-up cell was immediately disabled. She took one of the boxes from the belt and turned it around as she approached the power-up station and set the box on it.
"This oughtta reverse the polarity on this thing. I just hope we don't get fried in the process!" Sam shouted.
"N...No!" Dr. Gilee shouted in panic, "what...what are you doing? You'll..."
"Make ashes out of your little operation?" Sam said, unable to control a snigger, "yeah, doc, that's kinda the idea. We are the heroes, after all." She flipped the power switch for the cell again.
Alex and Clover continued to hold each other. They didn't know what the alarms were for. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to them. The alarm wasn't as loud where they were seated.
"Look, Clover," Alex said, "I really don't mind if you go with Tyler tonight...I...I just want you to know that."
"No, Alex," Clover said resolutely, "forget about my date. Tyler'll just have to understand. If he can't deal with my best friends, then he can't deal with me!"
"Clover," Alex said, "don't put off a chance like this just for me."
"No, it's okay, Alex," Clover said, "it's not that big a deal."
"Clover?" Alex said.
"...yeah?" Clover eyed Alex closely.
"Don't tell anyone this...but...out of all my friends...I like you the best. I mean, you really have always been there for me, you know."
"Did...did you mean that?" Clover asked hopefully, "I mean what you just said plus that other stuff from a minute ago?"
"Every word of it!" Alex and Clover again embraced one another tightly. Unfortunately, their timing was a bit off.
"Whoa!" Sam said aloud, coming up to them with Brittney by her side, "melodramatic much?"
"Yeah," Brittney said, "I think I saw this in one of those Final Fantasy games a friend of mine told me about."
"Um...no offense?" Clover said, "but do you girls mind?"
"Kinda," Sam said, "this place is going up in smoke, can't you tell!"
"They've been too busy practically liplocking!" Brittney chided. For the first time, Clover sniffed the air, and gagged.
"Aaaaaccccckkkkk!" she hacked, "what in the world did you guys do, try and roast marshmallows in one of their toasters?"
"Nope," Sam said, "we shut 'em down! No time to explain! Let's book!" The spies all made their way quickly to the exit and out into the fresh, cool, Arizona night. They all breathed in deeply the smell of the dew on the field around them. Their bliss was short-lived, however, as a WOOHP jet-copter appeared in the distance and drew closer.
"Hey, spies!" Jerry said over a loudspeaker, "nice work down there! One of our agents will infiltrate the building and..."
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Jerr!" Sam yelled.
"Why n..." Jerry couldn't finish the question, as a tongue of fire shot up from the roof of the building.
"Ah!" Jerry said knowingly, "so it looks like Gilee will get roasted either way!"
"ha ha!" said a familiar voice, "wrong again, suckers! See you next time!" Dr. Gilee sped off in a chopper of his own.
"Argggghhh," Alex said, "Gilee got away!"
"Well, for now," Jerry said, "but at least he's out of action for a little while. Good job, girls."
As the jet-copter hummed through the night back toward Beverly Hills, Jerry regarded his four young apprentices with interest. They'd said little since the jet-copter had left the smoldering remains of ARG Electronics.
"Girls, is everything alright?" Jerry asked with concern. Clover was the first to speak.
"Look, Jerr," Clover jumped on the question, "I...I owe everybody an apology."
"Really, Clover?" Jerry said, "whatever for?"
"No, wait," Alex said, guilt apparent on her face, "I'm the one who should be sorry."
"Girls," Jerry was confused and not liking this, "what exactly happened at ARG Electronics?"
"Well," Alex said, "I said some stuff..."
"We both said stuff," Clover said, "we both got kinda mad at each other and...we told each other things we didn't mean...about how we didn't wanna be friends anymore and..."
"What?" jerry said, "and you..."
"Yeah, we kinda let Gilee get away," Clover said.
"We're sorry, Jerr," Alex said.
"Oh, my," Jerry said, "that is a problem." He thought for a moment.
"Look, girls," he continued, "don't blame yourselves entirely for this. Yeah, you probably got caught up in petty problems, but you're still teenagers. I can't always expect everything to go perfectly, and if I ever did, well, I'm sorry."
"Oh, it's alright, Jerr," Sam reassured him, "we shut down Gilee for awhile, so it wasn't a total loss."
"Girls," Jerry said, his voice quivering slightly, "there's something I want you all to remember. Sometimes, the most valuable gadgets in the world don't come from a WOOHP supply closet."
"What do you mean, Jerr?" Alex looked interested now.
"He means," Sam said, "you guys' love and friendship can accomplish just about any mission! If you remember that, all will go well, even if it doesn't always seem like it."
Tyler had stood on the front porch of Clover's house for about ten minutes now. Where was Clover? Had everyone been right? Some of his teammates had warned him she was a backstabber and an ice queen. Had she given him the shaft?
"Tyler!" a voice yelled behind him. he wheeled to see Clover hurrying up the walk. She'd changed back into her sundress during the girls' flight back to Beverly Hills.
"Clover!" Tyler said, running to meet her. They stood staring at each other sheepishly for a moment.
"Listen, Tyler," Clover said, "I am totally sorry I'm late. I...I had a crisis to deal with! It's a long story. You have to believe me!"
"Clover, it's okay!" Tyler said, feeling his emotions running wild again, "is everything alright? I'm glad your okay!"
"Yeah," Clover said, "listen, Tyler. Is it still too late for me to change into something a bit nicer? I've got a strapless evening gown that'll knock your socks off!"
"Listen, Clover," Tyler said, "let's just skip the dance, okay? I..."
"Pleeeeeease, Tyler," Clover interrupted desperately, "I promise..."
"Actually," Tyler continued over her protests, "I thought maybe we'd go out to eat or something. Nowhere really fancy. Y'know, just...somewhere nice. Maybe Rosini's or something?"
"What?" Clover said, "that sit-down Italian place on Wilsher? Are you serious?"
"Yeah," Tyler said, "and...well...maybe you could get your friends together?"
"M...my friends?" Clover was bewildered now, "on a d...date?"
"Well, yeah," Tyler said, "if you're okay with that." Clover grinned.
"That'd be wonderful, Tyler. Thanks!" Without knowing why, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and went inside to call Sam and Alex. What're my friends talking about? Tyler said. I don't know why I listen to what other people say about each other in the first place! He grinned himself.
Postscript: Well, there you go. My second ever TS fic. I'd love to hear what you guys think, and encourage folks to communicate directly with me about my writing at my e-mail address of I'd like to take this space to especially thank Capm for his suggestions and constant encouragement. You're the best, Capm!