A/N: All right, random thought here. If Roberto in Spanish is Robert in English, wouldn't you think that Berto in Spanish is Bob in English? Hmmmmm. Although I'm a fan of Bob, I think I like Berto more. Just thought I'd share. I'd also like to apologize for the last chapter about Jefferson. Really. I'm truly sorry. Breaks into hysterical laughter

Chapter 9

Jefferson Smith woke up to find a huge pool of drool on top of a paper concerning a report he had just been about to fax to the UN concerning N-Tek gaining permission to establish a recon post in the Middle East. Looking at the puddle that had soaked through the sheet of paper, Jeff groaned. If he couldn't be responsible for a piece of paper, how was he supposed to persuade the United Nations that he could be responsible for a spot in a potentially explosive situation half-way across the world?

Smith tapped a button on his phone and opened an intercom link to his secretary, Lilly.

"What is it, sir?" asked the old woman in a voice roughened from many decades of cigarette usage.

"I need you to re-print the UN report for me."

"Why?"

"Because I pay your salary, that's why!"

"No, you don't."

"Excuse me!"

"Valerie, down in accounts payable pays my salary. If you look at my paycheck, it has her signature on it."

"Well, you work for me so just print the damn thing out!"

"Why don't you tell me why you need me to print it out again?"

"Because I do."

"Well, twelve pages is an awful waste of ink, you should at least tell me why I need to print it out again!"

Jefferson Smith was not about to inform his secretary that she had to reprint the report because he had drooled on it while dreaming about his hippie days. No. Wasn't happening. "Forget it, I'll do it myself," he grumbled and hit the button to sever the intercom connection. He reminded himself to start looking for a new secretary when this whole mess was over.

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"I see her!" Jet hissed as she peered through a grate that allowed her to look into the room below her. That's right. Jet, Kat, and Eleanor were in yet another air shaft. You'd think Dread would've learned to increase air shaft security by now. Or maybe the author of this fic should come up with a new way for N-Tek operatives to get in and out of enemy bases. I'm open to suggestions. Sorry about that. Back to Jet, Kat, and Eleanor.

Rachel was sitting alone in a white room, on a swivel chair, seemingly waiting for something. She looked up as she heard Kat rapping lightly on the vent with her knuckles. Seeing the three agents all looking through the same twelve inch by twelve inch square, Rachel rolled her eyes. Kat waved to her, but Rachel merely blinked, letting them know that she may be under observation, and couldn't simply wave to the ceiling without being noticed. Kat was concerned, and offered a thumbs up sign with a questioning look, making sure her friend was all right. Rachel made a move to fix her hair, concealing the thumbs up sign she gave Kat in return to any observers.

"She's all right," Kat whispered to the two others she currently shared the air shaft with.

"Thank you, Dr. Obvious," Jet whispered back.

"Knock it off, you two. We don't have time for this."

Kat caught a glimpse as Rachel rolled her eyes again, probably overhearing the conversation that was going on ten feet above her head. The blonde in the room below didn't look up, but made a subtle movement with her hand that seemed to signal "can we move along, please?"

The only non-clone in the air shaft waved again, and signaled that Jet and Eleanor should follow her.

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"All right, genius and science project-"

"Hey!" Max protested.

"Shut up. I'll call you whatever the hell I want to call you. And don't worry, the next time we meet, we won't have to…play nice." Abigail said those last words with extra malice, and Max gulped.

"All right, well how is this going to work?" Berto asked, breaking the silence, nervously looking back and forth in between Abigail and Max.

"I'll tell you how this is going to work. As soon as we see those lights shut off," the redhead gestured back towards the base, "we'll know the power's shut off. Unless Dr. Martinez here screwed up."

"Not likely," Berto muttered.

Max shot an angry look at Abigail, knowing her last statement had been added just to piss Berto off. Max needed Berto to be clearheaded in case Abigail decided to double cross them, which wasn't completely out of the question.

"Anyway," she continued, "when those lights go off, it will mean the power to the gardening shed, including security system, has been shut down. We go through the door, and wait for the power to come back on. Because there are cameras inside the elevator, we'll have five minutes to get to the ground level and for you two to get away. Got it?"

"Sure."

The three stood silently until they saw the base dim and fade slowly into the still-dark dawn.

"Let's go," Abigail led the way into the elevator.

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"What the hell!"

The three N-Tek agents had been creeping around in the ventilation system, peering into rooms through vents when they got to them, when suddenly someone hit the lights.

"You think they're onto us?"

"No…they couldn't be."

"I don't like this, we should get out of here."

"Not without Berto and Max!"

"Fine, then let's hurry it along shall we?"

"Oh, and how do you propose we do that, Ms. Leeds?"

"Don't you have a flashlight?"

"A flashlight beam from an air conditioning vent exploring darkened rooms in a DREDD base? You don't think that would be the least bit suspicious?"

"You think of something then!"

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Rachel had just been led to John Dread's office when the lights went out. Impeccable timing, she thought, rolling her eyes. Deciding that she had gotten too far to quit now, Rachel entered the office anyway.

Dread looked up at her as she entered. "It's been a while."

Rachel stood in front of his desk, as there was no chair there, Psycho having smashed it half an hour before. "That it has."

"Glow stick?" Dread's outstretched hand offered her a glowing plastic tube. "This sort of thing happens too often."

Rachel took the glow stick. "Thank you."

"I'm afraid it's standing room only in here," he said, gesturing around the office.

"That's all right, I don't plan on staying long."

"Shame."

"Yes, quite."

"Well then, may I ask why precisely you are here?"

"N-Tek wants Max Steel and Dr. Roberto Martinez back."

"I see." The man slowly turned his chair around, and stared at the window, seeming to be thinking. Rachel waited patiently for a few minutes, and then her brother-in-law turned his chair back around. "How about this. I'll let you search the base with your three friends who are currently stumbling about in my ceiling. However, when the lights come back on, you no longer have my protection from…certain cyborgs."

"Thank you," Rachel was uncertain, but knew an opportunity when she saw one. She walked briskly to the door, turned around, and tossed the glow stick back to Dread, who caught it in his left hand.

This stopped Rachel. She looked curiously at the man. "I seem to remember you being right-handed."

"Things change," he answered softly. He hesitated then spoke again. "Would it be entirely out of the question to see you again sometime?"

If Rachel was a bit surprised by the whole glow stick catching business, she almost stumbled when she heard this. "You don't mean…"

"Not romantically of course. Veronica was the only one I've ever loved. I just feel we have something in common, which is perhaps why you chose to come talk to me instead of sending someone else?"

"I'll be in touch," Rachel promised sincerely. Then she exited the office, not quite sure what she had agreed to and ran down the hallway, calling the names of the five other N-Tek operatives believed to be in the base along with her.

Psycho opened the door from inside Abigail's office, looking into the hall to see the cause of such noise. He recognized Rachel Leeds, an N-Tek agent racing psychotically down the hallway, but he did nothing about it. Such matters were no longer his concern.