"No way!" exclaimed Clover, sitting up intently on the comfy cushioned seat inside the local dress boutique at the Groove. "You're now dating Jed Slavin, that hunkalicious Formula 1 driver from Texas?!"
"I know, rad right?" came Daphne's somewhat dreamy-sounding voice from behind the changing curtain as she tried on the beautiful red dress that she had spotted in the shop window. "I mean, he's so good-looking and surprisingly gentle with kids. He'd make an awesome dad for Trevor. That kid could do with a fun-loving and cool parent who he could just hang out with."
"Sound's great," replied Clover, "Though you're pretty fun-loving and cool yourself, Daph, and you've done a sweet job raising Trev on your own. He's in no way unpleasant and annoying compared to how Normy used to be."
"Yeah, well I wasn't going to make the same mistakes that Mum and Aunt Raquel made with cousin Norman and let my kid grow up all mean and spoilt rotten!" remarked Daphne. "I gotta admit, I'm really pleased with how Trevor's turned out. He's always trying to act friendly at school and be as helpful as possible to his classmates and teachers. I have to confess, it has been difficult at times being a good parent to Trevor on top of being a fashion model. I'm actually a bit envious of you in that regard, Clove. Your life must be way easier to handle than mine can be. "
"Oh Daph, if only you knew how wrong you are," thought Clover with a meaningful smile.
Daphne suddenly pulled back the curtain and showed off the stunning red silk Midi dress she was now wearing to Clover. "So, whatcha think?"
Clover smiled. "About your new boyfriend, how you've raised Trevor or that way cool dress? Cause the answer I'd give to all three questions is totally awesome!"
Daphne squealed in delight and quickly went to the counter to pay for the fab dress.
"Oh pardon me, Ms Starr, but can I please have your autograph?" asked the shop assistant behind the counter as Daphne completed her purchase. "It's for my little girl back home. She's a simply huge fan of yours."
"Sure thing," sighed Daphne with a weary smile. She pulled out an autograph book from her purse, signed her name and handed the sheet of paper to the delighted shop assistant. She was used to being asked for autographs as it happened to her at least ten times a week, which was why she had a notebook and pen ready on her person.
"Talking of families, Clove," Daphne continued as she put the receipt in her bag, "have you noticed anything weird going on with Mum lately?"
Clover raised an eyebrow as they exited the shop and walked down the now near-empty mall. "Weird? In what way?"
"Well ever since that time when she went to visit you at your old beach house, I can't help but notice that she's been hanging out quite a lot with your friends' mums. I didn't think much of it at the time, but from what I've heard since, they've apparently taken up rock climbing and martial arts classes in their spare time. Can you believe that! Mum used to be way over-protective and over-cautious, but during the last couple of years, it's like she's had a near-complete personality transplant! I tried asking Dad about it, but he keeps dodging the topic, saying that she's just trying out some new hobbies."
"Well, err, maybe she's having a mid-life crisis," suggested Clover a little too quickly.
Daphne was far from convinced. "Oh come on, sis! This is Mum we're talking about! You know how set against that sort of stuff she used to be! 'Not the kind of thing a proper lady does' she used to say. Now, she's doing sky-diving of all things!"
Daphne cast a suspicious look at her sister. "Clover, this wouldn't have anything to do with you once grounding her, would it?"
Taken somewhat aback, Clover tried to her best to act ignorant. "Me? Ground Mum? Where did you get that idea from?"
"Well, when I dropped off Trevor on the way here, I mentioned to Mum how little I've had to discipline him and as we got talking, she kinda let slip that you on one occasion had her and your friends' own mothers grounded for a whole week! I tried to ask her what she was going on about, but she abruptly clammed up and changed the topic. But from what I can work out, it was round the time of this grounding that she suddenly changed her general attitude to things. Is there something going on that I oughta know about?"
"Uh oh, looks like Daph is finally catching onto Mum's new spy career," Clover thought anxiously to herself. Daphne had always been a pretty sharp observer and it had always been a matter of time before she cottoned on to what first her sister and now their mother had been getting up to with their respective friends. Clover had actually been wondering for a while now if she should tell her older sibling all about her spy career, because it did not seem fair that Daphne of all people had to be kept out of the loop. On the other hand though, if more family members were let in on the secret, it could seriously jeopardise the spies' cover and the lives of their loved ones.
"Well sis, it's kinda like this…" Clover began to explain nervously, but before she could think of anything else to say, a masked man suddenly leapt out from behind the corner ahead of them and fired a net gun at them! Within the space of two seconds, the two girls were trapped in a web of strong cord!
"Hey, what's your game?" snapped Daphne at the man as she and Clover struggled to free themselves from the tight net. As they did so, another masked man stepped out of the shadows behind them and clamped chloroform-soaked rags over each of the girls' mouths. Within seconds, the two sisters were both out like a light.
"I say, Perkins," said Jarvis as he lowered the net gun he was holding, "can you tell which of these ladies is the target? Aside from the hair, they both look quite similar to me."
"We had best bring them both along, just to make sure," said Perkins as he and Jarvis picked up the two unconscious girls between them and started to make their way back to the Rolls Royce.
A short distance away, Sam and Alex were making their way through the Groove to meet Clover and her sister. The two spies were still feeling a bit depressed over those two hoodlums getting the better of them back in the warehouse.
"I mean, come on!" complained Alex. "Those guys were like as old as Jerry and nowhere near as experienced in hand-to-hand combat! We should have been able to take care of them no problemo!"
Sam nodded glumly before she screeched to a sudden halt and her jaw dropped wide open in shock. "Alex, look! It's the kidnappers again!"
"What? Where?" asked Alex, frantically turning her head one way to the other as she tried to spot the felons.
"By the water fountain," said Sam, pointing frantically with her finger. Alex's eyes widened as she followed the direction of the finger and she finally saw what Sam had seen. Sure enough, there were the same two masked men they had clashed with earlier, bundling two unconscious and netted girls into the Rolls Royce, one of whom the spies recognised immediately.
"Oh no, they've got Clover!" cried Alex as she and Sam broke into a sprint towards the Rolls Royce. Unfortunately, the two men spotted them and had already dashed into the car before speeding frantically past them and through the archway of the Groove entrance.
"Quick, Alex, activate your Jetpack Backpack!" yelled Sam as she activated her own jetpack and took off. Seconds later, the two girls were shooting through the air in pursuit of the Rolls Royce, which was desperately swerving this way and that on the twisty road in order to try and lose the flying spies.
"It's no good, Sam!" cried out Alex as they tried to keep up with the speeding vehicle. "Every time I try to get in close, the car swerves away from me!"
"We've got to keep trying, Alex," said Sam determinedly. "Let's try increasing the thrust of our jetpacks, before they have a chance to veer away again."
Sam reached behind and hit the boost switch on her jetpack and Alex did likewise with her own. There was a sudden burst of power from the jetpacks and with an cry of exhilaration, the girls immediately shot forward till they were within grasping reach of the Rolls Royce.
"Got it!" cried Alex triumphantly as she and Sam both grabbed hold of the car's rear bumper. "Now what do we do?"
"Simple. We break in, overpower the baddies and get Clover out of this way swish automobile," said Sam as she struggled to keep hold of the fast-moving car.
But before Sam could outline her plan of attack to Alex, a cloud of gas suddenly erupted from the Rolls' tailpipe right into their faces. A wave of dizziness suddenly came over the two spies and they both lost their grip on the car bumper. With their jetpacks still operating, they flew out of control and crashed right into a nearby ice cream van, while the Rolls Royce speeded away into the distance.
"Oh no, we've lost them again," groaned Sam as she dazedly got to her feet and pulled an ice cream cone out of her hair.
"Well, at least the ice cream is good," said Alex as she ran her finger through some ice cream that had spilt over her uniform and gave it a lick. "Mmm, strawberry! Yum!"
"Alex, focus!" snapped Sam. "We've got to figure out how to find the kidnappers and rescue Clover!"
"Sorry, Sam," said Alex sheepishly. "I just wish I knew why those two would want to kidnap poor Clover."
"I don't think Clover was their target," said Sam, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Remember that other girl they had in the net with her? It must have been Clover's sister! They probably targeted her so they can get a big ransom from her manager."
"We better call Jerry right away," said Alex as she took out her compowder and opened it. Once again, Jerry's face appeared on the holographic screen, with a look of surprise at being called again so soon.
"Ah, hello girls. Any fresh developments?"
"Yeah, and not for the better," said Alex grimly. "Those two goons from 'Kidnappers Inc.' that we confronted earlier have just kidnapped Clover and her sister!"
"Oh dear," exclaimed Jerry. "In that case, it's a good thing that the lab boys have managed to finish analysing that fabric sample you found. It's a rather expensive material commonly used to make the kind of jackets used by butlers."
"So those two guys were butlers? Guess that explains why they were so overly formal and polite back at the warehouse," remarked Sam as she brushed some ice cream off her own uniform.
"That's not all," continued Jerry. "We've crossed referenced the names of 'Jarvis' and 'Perkins' and have found that two butlers by those names are currently in the employ of one Lord Alfred Ransom."
'Lord Ransom?" echoed Alex. "Hey, that's the guy the kidnappers said would be pleased with how the ransom exchange went!"
"Yes, and he is also the last surviving member of an alleged family of notorious criminals," Jerry went on grimly. "Over the years, the Ransom family have been involved in a number of major crimes such as robbery, fraud and embezzlement. To them, crime is a form of art and an addictive swashbuckling adventure. Eventually, the authorities were able to gather enough evidence to arrest all bar Alfred Ransom, who was still at University at the time."
"Guess he's decided to carry on the family business then," said Sam. "Can you look up his current address, Jerr?"
"All ready done. He is currently residing at Ransom Manor, just ten miles outside Los Angeles. I'm sending the co-ordinates to your compowders now."
"Thanks Jerry," said Alex. "We'll get going straight away."
Once they finished dusting themselves off, Alex and Sam immediately reactivated their jetpacks and took off through the night sky, on their way to rescue Clover and her sister.