"Welcome, welcome, all... To our most spectacular birthday party extravaganza! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
The six Kids Next Door operatives watched their hosts from the bottom of the staircase with great anticipation. Every operative except Sonia already had their hands on their weapons. Harvey and Abby both looked up and down the staircase for Rachel. The staircase was lined on either sides with tithes from the hotel, all there present and counted for— well, all except for Rachel and maybe six other kids, but Harvey didn't notice their absence, only Rachel's. The two operatives shared a worried look.
The Delightful Children from Down the Lane stood atop the grand staircase of their mansion overlooking the guests of their party. They laughed maniacally, making the kids lining the staircase who wore white robes flinch (especially since those mild-mannered, sensitive tithes were not familiar with the Delightful Children). As the sinister laughter echoed throughout the halls of the humongous mansion, the other children who lived in the same town as the Delightful Children were either completely unfazed by this or shaking in their fancy party shoes that their parents had gotten for them.
The Delightful Children were a part of life, and you were either really scared of them or just accepted them for the evil little brats that they were. Still, neither fear of the Delightful Children nor indifference to their antics could prevent a kid from the temptation of tasting the sweetest of culinary prizes: the Delightful Children's Birthday Cake.
Before the Delightful Children could get much further in their laughter they were interrupted by a clipped British accent. Roberta, who stood behind them, cleared her throat and made it clear with an irritated look that she wasn't happy. The Delightful Children stepped back sheepishly as Roberta took their spot.
Harvey wanted to mount the staircase and murder that woman right then and there, but Abby had a firm grip on his shoulders.
"Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the Delightful Children from Down the Lane's tithing party." Roberta's introduction generated a cheer from the tithes in the room, who were proud that another tithe was celebrating their special day. Most of the local kids in the room only whispered suspiciously to each other, remembering all of the Delightful Children's parties which their "guests" spent tied to chairs watching the Delightful Children eat their birthday cake. Once the scattered cheers settled down, the speech continued.
"It is my understanding that for many years, most of the fine juvenile members of this community have not had the privilege of trying the Delightful Children's birthday cake."
Number 4 grinned with self-satisfaction, remembering how he got his fill of the Cake 5 station when it crashed to earth.
"I can assure you all that this year will be quite different, for you see, the Delightful Children have changed. You could even say that they have become, as their name suggests, delightful."
This got a lot more whispering, but the audience was still very skeptical. The Delightful Children having a change of heart was about as likely as Sector J getting hit by a blizzard.
"My dear children, this is a tithing party, and just like the Delightful Children, their cake will soon be divided for the benefit of the community!"
The Delightful Children cringed at that remark, and their sigh of discomfort sent the local kids over the edge with joy— except for the Kids Next Door operatives who had listened to the horrors of "summary division" from Miracolina. Harvey stepped protectively in front of Sonia.
Roberta smiled brightly at the audience and then turned to face the Delightful Children. Her smile was sinister now, making them cower. Turning back to the crowd, Roberta smiled sweetly again and announced "Cake will be served in one hour. Until then, there is a plethora of activities!"
The kids let out massive cheers of joy and were released to wander the mansion.
"Rachel! Rachel!" Harvey called desperately, trying to run against the crowd.
"Calm down, Number 363, we'll find her." Abby said, catching him very gently by the shoulders.
"Don't touch me!" Harvey snapped. "Do what you want, I'm going to find my sister." He darted away into the crowd and disappeared.
Number 5 sighed and walked over to the fully stocked Soda Bar that, although not quite as good as hers, was pretty impressive.
"Number 5 just knew that today was going to be a long day." Number 5 thought, pressing a few buttons on her watch. "Number 2, take the ship and see if you can break into the lab. Number 362 isn't here."
Her stomach was twisting itself up in knots again. What was she going to tell Harvey?
While Abby was at the soda bar, Harvey was off hunting the kids in white like a hound dog. He asked all of them the same question: "Have you seen Rachel?" And he would get the same answer: "She's sick, back at the hotel." This was making Harvey angrier and angrier. They had called from the hotel and told his parents the same thing and when Mrs. Mackenzie had asked if they could pick her or see her, they had told her no. Harvey's dad had gone to the hotel the day after that and his mom hadn't gotten out of bed. His sister was missing ,and these teenagers were covering for that horrible woman. After about a dozen tries, he just about lost it. "Have you seen Rachel? Where is she?!"
"No. I heard at our groups the other day she got sick and had to go to a hospital—"
Harvey grabbed the kid by the collar of his white robes. Even though there was a good five or six year age difference and a massive amount of height, Harvey threw the gentle tithe around like a rag doll. "You're lying! You know where Rachel is you little—"
Just then, the same British voice that put the fear of God into the Delightful Children began to scold "Put Thomas down this instant, Harvey!"
Harvey turned to face Roberta, whose voice was now taking on a motherly air instead of the harsh tone she used to get him off of the kid.
"Thomas, dear, why don't you go and run along, enjoy the party. Poor Harvey's worried about his sister, but don't worry. I can take care of him."
Thomas left scurrying away like a frightened white mouse and Roberta was left alone in the hallway next to the Delightful Children's parlor. With an elegant motion of her hand, she gestured into the parlor. "Shall we?"
Harvey followed her into the parlor and picked a sofa to sit on. It was stiff and uncomfortable and he squirmed on it. Meanwhile, Roberta sat in a comfortable recliner chair. She smiled sweetly at Harvey's fidgeting. Like a dragon, he thought bitterly.
"You know you're not very well-liked, Harvey, dear." Roberta said sweetly. Harvey went bright red at this. He decided this was a complete waste of time.
"Stand aside!" The boy demanded, trying to push his way out of parlor and back out into the hallway. She blocked his path.
"I could help you. With your sister gone now, someone has to look after her little brother. It's what she would have wanted."
Roberta smiled like a snake at Harvey, who tensed up. Who said anything about Rachel being gone?
Harvey knew by the way the wretched woman was looking at him that she wasn't joking. Was this some sort of threat? "You're bluffing! Rachel's somewhere out there playing some type of stupid party game and as soon as I get out of here I'm going to tell her that you're the biggest snake that the Kids Next Door has ever dealt with! And that's saying something!"
Roberta seemed to step aside to let Harvey pass, but as he was turning the door knob Roberta called cheerfully "I'll just tell her you said hello…"
Then she giggled girlishly. "If she hasn't been tithed yet."
Harvey froze.
"Wouldn't it be wonderful, Harvey, if you could see your sister alive and in one piece? All you have to do is say yes. Think about it, I could make you Harvey Mackenzie, the youngest Supreme Leader in history and you could have your sister safe and sound... It's what she would have wanted."
Harvey had tears in his eyes and he knew right then and there that Roberta wasn't bluffing. She had planned this, and like most evil adults, the leverage was real. She knew exactly where his sister was. And if he didn't play along... Surprisingly, though, he was able to put on a brave face.
"Rachel would rather be tithed a hundred times without anesthesia than to let the Kids Next Door be a puppet for an evil adult!" And Harvey smiled at that, because he knew it was true. "And I would rather go down in history as the most hated operative of all time and get decommissioned right here, right now than sell out the Kids Next Door like that."
Harvey almost slammed the door as hard as he could, but he caught a glimpse of Roberta in a mirror. She displayed a smile that would have sent shivers down Grandfather's spine.
"I'll keep both of those things in mind... Especially about your sister."
When Harvey finally left the Delightful Children's parlor, he'd never felt so scared in his entire life… but he also never felt so proud before.
"Rachel would be proud of me," Harvey whispered to himself and with tears in his eyes he went to find Number 5.
