Max woke up the next morning feeling insanely happy. He'd done his first mission and done it well. 99 had warmed up to him and let him kiss her. It was a win-win all around. He got up and showered, got dressed, and went out for some flowers and coffee for 99. When he came back, he found the maid exiting the room. He gestured her to leave the door open, and she smiled at him upon seeing the flowers, motioning for him to go in. Max went in quietly and found 99 standing in a rather see-through robe talking on the phone.

"What do you want me to do with Max?" she asked the person on the phone. Max stood, staring. Was she a double agent? What was going on here?

"Do with Max?" Max asked, making her spin to see him. She clutched her robe tightly to her. He set down the items in his arms and walked over to her.

"Max," she said.

"I didn't actually think you'd be right in saying I shouldn't trust you, but here we are," Max said. "And who is this? Siegfried?" He took the phone from her and pressed it to his ear.

"Hi, Max," Chief's voice said.

"Chief?" Max asked, stunned. A gas came out of the phone then, and he pulled it away from his ear to look at it. "Knock out gas? Really? Well, if you must know, I've trained my body to be impervious to all...oh, that's a new one." He felt himself start to black out and fall.

His last thoughts were jumbled, but they included thinking about 99 and whether or not Susan might be able to rescue him.

Hours Later

Susan was at her desk writing up her report of Fine's trip to Russia when Nancy came up to her all out of breath. She grasped the back of Susan's chair, bending over and gasping.

"What is it?" Susan asked, concerned. Nancy held up her finger, indicating she needed a moment. When she had re-composed herself, she stood up and straightened her jacket.

"Max has been detained," she told Susan. "Bruce just called me!"

"What?!"

"They're saying he's a traitor! They're saying he made up the whole uranium thing!"

"No! Max wouldn't do that!" Susan cried. She balled her fists. How was this happening? She got up from her chair so fast that it knocked into Nancy's knees.

"Ow!" Nancy yelped, jumping back. Susan was already gone. She reached Elaine's office in record time. She didn't even knock, just blew the door wide open. Ford had his gun aimed at her in seconds, and even Elaine had a hand under her desk searching for her hidden gun before she saw it was Susan.

"What is the meaning of this?" Elaine demanded.

"They're saying Max is a traitor!" Susan shouted.

"Oh, that," Elaine said. "Well, that's out of our hands."

"No, it isn't! He's not! We have to help him!" Susan shrieked.

"When did we start hiring screaming banshees?" Ford asked Elaine, putting his gun away.

"You're one to talk," Elaine shot at him.

"I do not scream..." he spluttered.

"No, but you do whine an awful lot," she retorted, "like a big, whining baby."

"Guys!" Susan hollered, banging her fist on Elaine's desk. "We have to do something!"

"There's nothing we can do, Cooper," Elaine said, looking back at her and missing the look Ford gave her in response to her baby comment.

"I don't believe that. We're the freaking CIA!" Susan yelped.

"He probably is," Ford commented. "It's never the ones we suspect that are the traitors."

"Shut up, Ford!" Susan snapped at him.

"If Agent 23 said there was no uranium, then there was no uranium," Elaine said with an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry, Cooper."

"Agent 23," Ford shuddered. "Biggest wanker I ever met. He thinks he's smarter than me, and he's not."

"He's better looking than you," Elaine muttered.

"No he isn't!" Ford exclaimed. He leaned forward, pointing his finger at Elaine. "You take that back."

"Can we stay focused?" Susan demanded. "My friend is being framed for something he didn't do!"

"And I'll say again, there's nothing we can do," Elaine repeated. "Go back to work, please."

Susan considered getting more vocal, but she knew it was pointless. She turned and stormed back to her desk, but it wasn't over. She was going to help Max somehow. She started trying to find where they were detaining him.

"Any luck?" Nancy asked, popping her head around the monitor at her.

"No. I need to make a plan, and then if Elaine asks, you tell her I went home sick."

"Oh...okay..."

Susan jumped when Ford suddenly appeared at her elbow.

"What do you want?" she asked, annoyed.

"I've always suspected Agent 23 to be dirty," Ford said. "If anyone's framing anybody, it's him. I'm going to go take him down, if you want to come. I heard they're going to Los Angeles."

"You're actually inviting me out into the field with you?" Susan asked, incredulous.

"No, we're simply going out for a really long lunch," Ford answered.

"Right," she said. "Okay. Now we're on to something!"

"So, should I tell Elaine you're sick or out to lunch?" Nancy asked as she got ready to leave.

"I went out to lunch and then got food poisoning for an entire day," Susan replied over her shoulder. "Thank you!"

She hustled to keep up with Ford. The Brit could definitely walk fast.

"Are we going to see Max first?" she asked, out of breath.

"No time," he answered. "If we reveal 23 to be the real traitor, then Max'll be free to go."

"Okay."

She couldn't believe she was trusting Ford, but at least he was in action and not telling her to sit and do nothing. That took precedence right now.

The Next Day

Max was on his cot in his cell. He was reflecting on everything. The Chief had told him how disappointed he was in him, and Max didn't want to be a disappointment. He had done everything right, so where had it gone wrong? When a message came on the radio from a girl named Dalip telling him to go to L.A. where things would be nuclear hot, he sat upright and felt slight panic. He had to get out of there. He stood and went to the door, calling for the dumb guards. He told them he'd make them his pretty girlfriends, knowing it would make them come in hot and angry. He watched the code get entered before the door flung open and both guards started to punch him.

When they were finished, he coughed and groaned and stood up. He pulled out the antenna from his radio and stuck it through the slat in the door, pushing the buttons on the keypad. In seconds, it was open. He went out, looking around quickly before moving down the hall. That's when he came across Bruce and Lloyd.

"Freeze!" Bruce shouted.

"Guys, I'm not a double agent," Max said.

"We never believed it for a second," Bruce said.

"Yea, we love you," Lloyd added.

"Then why are you giving me the look of a predator and aiming a gun at my face?" Max asked.

"For the cameras," Bruce said, keeping his expression the same as he talked. "If we just let you walk, we get fired."

"Right. Well, where are 99 and the Chief?"

"L.A. to talk to the president."

"Ah. Well, then what are we going to do?"

"I think you need to overpower us," Bruce pointed out.

"All righty. Bruce, I will smash you in the face with my elbow."

"Why thank you," Bruce said.

"Lloyd, we're gonna simulate your disembowelment."

Lloyd whimpered but kept his fists up. Max started to count and step towards them, and both winced and shrank back.

"Not yet. React when I hit you," Max said. "Come on now."

"Right," Bruce said. Max moved to fake punch him, and he flung himself in the wrong direction.

"Little more to the left there, Bruce," Max sighed. He turned to Lloyd, who started to panic.

"I can't," he said. "If I see blood, I faint."

"There won't be blood," Max promised.

"Yea, but if I think about it, it still...makes me.." Lloyd trailed off as he passed out and hit the floor. Max shook his head and started to run for the exit. He had to get to L.A. and find that bomb.

...

Susan put Elaine to voicemail again. She saw Ford do the same thing immediately after. Both of them were avoiding their boss. They were currently tracking Agent 23, 99, and the Chief from the back of a taxi cab. Ford was looking at his phone, and he started to laugh.

"What?" Susan asked.

"The Vice President and the head of CONTROL got into it yesterday," Ford chuckled, showing her.

"I got a new pacemaker. I can go all day!" the Vice President shouted on the screen. Then he shouted as he was tackled by the Chief of CONTROL.

"Oh my," Susan said while Ford kept cackling with laughter.

"I like him," Ford said once he calmed down. "My kind of guy."

Susan could relate to the Chief too, but she kept that to herself. She hoped Max was okay. She didn't really know how she was going to confront them all about his innocence. Ford didn't seem worried at all.

"How are we going to go about this?" she asked. "I don't think it's wise to just walk up to Agent 23 and accuse him of treason."

"Watch me," Ford retorted.

"Why do you hate him so much anyway?" Susan asked, curious.

"A couple of years ago, we ran into each other in the field," Ford began. "He took my target and then he laughed. Laughed."

"Oh."

"We'll see who's laughing now," Ford said with a smirk.

"So that's why you hate him? Because he laughed at you?"

"It was the way he laughed," Ford insisted.

"Ah," Susan said, trying to understand. When they got stuck in traffic, Susan started to get antsy. She needed to find the Chief. Now. Her phone rang, and she saw it was Nancy.

"Hi, Nancy," she said, answering.

"Cooper, get your ass back here right now!" Elaine demanded. Susan cringed. How naive of her to fall for that trick.

"Sorry. I can't," Susan said.

"Is Ford with you? Put him on," Elaine demanded. Susan handed the phone to Ford, who took it with a disgruntled look.

"Yea?" he asked. There was some shouting and hollering, and he pulled it away from his ear for a bit, giving Susan a look. "Sorry, Elaine. Krrr krr...we've gone...krrr krrrr...e, ah, bu-, we...krrrr...tunnel." He hung up and tossed the phone back at Susan.

"You'll be lucky she doesn't fire you for that," Susan commented, putting it back into her bag. "Or me, for that matter."

"How are you ever going to be an agent when you answer the phone knowing your boss is desperate to get a hold of you and has everyone else's phones at her disposal?" Ford demanded.

"I thought Nancy had information for me."

"Pfft. All the information we need is right here," Ford said, pointing his finger at his own head. Susan raised a brow at him, but she didn't comment. She was too tired to fight with stupidity right now anyway.

...

Max dialed his shoe and started walking to where 99, 23, and the Chief were. His heart was thumping hard.

"99," he said when she answered.

"Max?"

"Look, I had a lot of time to reflect while I was in my cell, and what I realized was that even though they called me a traitor, I still felt happy. This was because I got to be an agent in the field and to be with you. I learned that you have a very mean right cross, you are almost as good of a dancer as me, and you used to look like your mom."

"Max," she tried.

"All I want is for you to look into my eyes and tell me you felt it too," Max finished.

"And how can I do that?" she asked. Max was behind them at this point. He smiled.

"Just turn around," he answered. All of them whipped to see him, and 23 pulled out his gun to aim it at him.

"Max!" 99 cried. Then she frowned. "Why are you talking into your shoe?"

"It's the old 'call from the shoe phone to another phone so I can sneak up behind you and surprise everyone' trick," Max explained.

"Don't move," 23 ordered him.

"How did you get here?" 99 asked.

"I'd rather not say," Max answered. His mind flashed to his flight over here and all the vomiting he'd done. He shuddered. "It doesn't matter. I'm here to warn you of a bomb, and I want to find it."

"How do you know this?" Chief asked.

"Not relevant," Max dismissed.

"If it's from a credible source, then I want to know," Chief insisted. "Right now."

"All right," Max nodded. "It was a coded message from a KAOS agent I befriended at the bakery."

"We can trust him," 99 said instantly. 23 scoffed.

"Oh yes," he said sarcastically. "I'd trust Max too. I'm such a goner when I look into his big ol' eyes."

"Wow," 99 said. "You've never been dumped before, have you?"

"Chief," Max said, ignoring them. It still bugged him that 99 and 23 used to date. "You said we're the same, good old-fashioned men. So I have a hunch that you have a hunch that I'm right."

"Well, Max," Chief said. "Anyone who escapes detainment only to willingly walk back into his captor's arms is either an idiot or innocent, and I don't think you're an idiot."

"That means a lot, Chief," Max said with a smile. "Now, we know the President is here, but why is he here?"

"Um, Max?" 99 said, trying to get his attention.

"We need to find out his itinerary," Max went on.

"But Max..." she tried again.

"Today's paper! Yes, that will work," he said, running to go find one and completely missing the writing in the sky saying where the President was going to be.

23 rolled his eyes as he started to follow the others.

...

"I hate these things," Ford commented as they finally pulled up outside of Disney Hall.

"We're not here to watch it," Susan retorted, getting out of the cab quickly.

"No, but I will still hear it," Ford shot back.

They hurried across the street to find Chief, 99, 23, and Max exiting the building. Chief looked incredibly pissed off, and 23 looked annoyed.

"MAX!" Susan yelled, rushing to him and giving him a huge hug. "You're okay!"

"Hi, Susan," Max said, surprised. He hugged her back quickly, and she released him. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to help," Susan replied. 23 was glaring at Ford, who was glaring right back at him.

"You again, huh?" 23 asked.

"Yea, me again," Ford answered.

"Catch any bad guys lately?" 23 taunted. "Or did they all get taken by other, better agents?"

"Keep talking like that, and you'll find my fist down your throat so far it'll come out your ass," Ford warned. He was right up in 23's face now.

"Okay, okay," Chief said, reaching to separate them. "Settle down, boys."

"We have to find another way in," Max insisted.

"Why here? There are plenty of other viable targets in this place," 23 said. "The Golden Gate Bridge, the Space Needle..."

"Because I haven't heard any chatter to support that," Max interrupted.

"He's right," Susan agreed.

"Who are you anyway?" 23 asked her. She drew herself up to her full height.

"Susan Cooper. CIA analyst," she answered.

"Okay, well, you know what? I'm done with this," 23 said, annoyed. He went to move past Max when Max's watch started to go off. They all stared at it.

"Hang on," Max said. "You're radioactive hot. How can that be?"

"I was in Russia," 23 snapped. "Everyone there is radioactive."

"The bakery," Max said, realizing.

"You said there was no uranium in the bakery," 99 pointed out.

"There wasn't," 23 said.

"Really? And can anyone confirm this, or are we just going off of your word?" 99 asked.

"He's lying," Ford said instantly. "He's a double agent!"

"Shut up you tea drinking, biscuit eating, mungie-cake," 23 barked.

"Oh, that's it," Ford said, reaching to grab him. 23 dodged him easily enough.

"Let's just calm down!" Susan called, waving her hands.

"Your knife wound is seeping," Max noted, looking at 23. "Is your heart rate picking up? Perhaps there is a bomb here, and you know it. Perhaps that case you're carrying is the football."

"I'm done," 23 said, grabbing 99 and putting a gun to her head. "Follow us, and she dies."

"I knew it!" Ford shouted angrily. "Traitor!"

23 hauled 99 to the SUV and secured her in the back. Then he squealed off. Susan felt panic. Ford was instantly running after them on foot. Max and Chief hailed down a car.

"Wait!" she shouted. "Wait for me!"

She ran after them, and she had no idea what she was getting herself into, but she didn't care. She wanted to help.

It was also the most alive she'd felt in years.