Chapter 4

That evening, the three G-Force members entered the casino. Mark and Jason were dressed in their usual blue and red velvet suits, and Princess was attired in a stunning emerald evening gown. The Swan graced the Eagle's arm, while the Condor stalked angrily behind them.

"Going solo isn't my bag…" he muttered grimly, wishing he could throw a few chest hair darts at Mark's back.

Mark ignored Jason's comments and led the trio toward the High Rollers' area of the gaming tables. As they walked by the boutiques, a small shop caught Jason's eye.

"Hmmm… French chocolates…" he mused, "Maybe a sweet gift for a sweet Swan…"

"Di' someone say, chocolates?" asked a large man in a red kilt.

"What the hell?" asked Jason, surprised. Where had that guy come from?

"Tiny!" Mark exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm still tailin' yeh." Tiny answered. "Jus' like tha Chief ordered."

Princess turned to look at Tiny, and her eyes widened.

"You're… you're the Fat Bird!" she exclaimed. "I've heard of you. They say you can melt into the shadows!"

"Thar's no one better." Tiny smiled proudly. "But it's powerful hungry work… di' I hear someone say, chocolates?"

Jason, still confused, indicated the Chocolate Boutique with a small movement of his arm.

"Ah…" Tiny sighed, "Jes' wha I was lookin' fer. Lil' chocolates, get in mah belly…"

And with that, the Fat Bird vanished.

"Where did he go?" asked Jason, looking around.

"Just be glad he's on our side." Mark smirked at being one up on the Condor.

They resumed their course to the gaming tables.

Arriving at the High Rollers' area, they saw an older man with a black eyepatch seated at one of the tables. His companion was a striking blonde woman.

Mark gasped. The man looked just like his father, Red Impulse.

Princess gasped as well, but for an entirely different reason.

"I recognize those two!" she whispered. "They are known Spectran operatives!"

Casually, Mark sat down at the table with the two operatives, his companions hanging back.

The Eagle looked over at the pair, and spoke.

"Allow myself to introduce… myself." he said smoothly. "My name is Ace Goodheart."

"Nice to meet you… Ace…" said Number Two with a knowing smirk. "I am Colonel Cronus, and my associate here is Frau Mala."

"A pleasure… Ace." said Frau Mala, raising her hand to Mark.

The Eagle took her hand with a flourish and placed a small kiss on it, trying not to grimace as he did so.

"A Colonel…" he said, raising his eyes to Cronus "in which army?"

"I'm retired now." replied Number Two in an amused voice, just as Mala curtly responded, "Zat is klassified information…"

Mark smiled slowly.

"I see…" he said. "Would you care to join me in a game?"

"I kannot." Frau Mala replied frostily. "I haf ozzer matters to attend to." She rose from her chair.

"But surely you, Colonel…" insisted Mark.

"Yes…" smiled Cronus evilly. "I think I can… indulge… you. But be warned, I prefer more exotic games. Contests of skill, rather than chance."

"I can handle anything you can, Colonel." said the Eagle, his eyes flashing. Under the table, he sent a silent message over his bracelet to the Condor. He didn't have to look over his shoulder to know that Princess and Jason would be following Frau Mala.

"Excellent…" replied Number Two. "This way then, if you please." He held out his arm, indicating the direction in which Mark should walk.

The Eagle followed the Colonel over to a small doorway, nearly blocked by the burly security guard in front of it. Upon seeing Cronus, the guard immediately stepped aside and allowed the two men to enter.

"Ah… a true test of a man's skill." Cronus grinned, eyeing the table in front of them. "Ping pong!"

"Ping pong?" asked Mark, surprised.

"Don't tell me that you can't handle it, Ace." Cronus needled the Eagle.

"No… not at all." Mark replied. "Let's begin."

88888

"We've got our orders, dig?" Jason whispered to Princess. "Let's go!"

Princess nodded almost imperceptibly, then quietly began to follow Frau Mala from a distance. Jason admired the way she was able to keep herself concealed by the tourist crowds, yet keep her target in sight. She was a consummate professional.

Not to mention, one happening bird.

They tailed Mala to the elevator, remaining in the lobby to monitor the floors at which Mala's lift stopped.

"Got it." Jason said to Princess. "31st floor."

"Right. Let's go." replied the Swan.

In the elevator they transmuted to Birdstyle, then when they reached the 31st floor they cautiously peeked out.

The hallway was empty.

"Damn!" Jason swore. "How are we supposed to know which one is Mala's pad?"

"I think I know…" Princess grinned. She pointed at the suite at the end of the hallway.

The last door on the left-hand side had a large Spectran devil symbol on it.

"Heavy! Katse…Zoltar… whatever his name is… has never been known for his subtlety!" Jason laughed.

But Princess was already thinking about their next problem.

"This looks like a pretty complicated lock…" she mused. "Still…."

Kneeling down, she slowly untwisted the antenna from the back of her helmet. The end of it was sharp and flat. Inserting it into the lock, she maneuvered the tool a few times while Jason nervously looked up and down the hallway.

With a quiet click, the lock opened.

"Prin, I could kiss you!" Jason whispered happily.

"I may just take you up on that…" she murmured, as she stood up and replaced the antenna.

Standing on either side of the doorway, Jason used his fingers to silently count down.

Three… two… one…

The Swan and the Condor burst into the room, weapons at the ready.

It was empty.

Sheer curtains fluttered in the night breeze. A few shards of glass remained in the window frame. Princess ran to look out, just in time to catch a glimpse of a whirling, circular ship moving away.

"Damn! We missed her!" she said angrily. "It looks like she left with her Galaxy Girlbots."

"Galaxy Girlbots?" Jason asked, confused.

"Don't ask." Princess replied. "You don't really want to know…"

"The location of Dr. Zoltar's secret base must be in here somewhere!" Princess whispered, changing the subject.

"I'm on it, Baby!" Jason replied, as he slowly ran his hands over the walls and furniture, searching for a secret compartment. Before long, the Condor found what he was looking for. A small safe was located behind an insipid landscape painting.

"Outta sight…" he whispered to himself as the Swan approached behind him. Removing her helmet, she leaned her ear to the safe and slowly turned the dial. In a couple of minutes the safe was open, and the pair were looking over the documents it contained.

"There!" exclaimed Jason triumphantly, as he pointed at a topical map of Southern Nevada. "That must be the location of Dr. Zoltar's secret base!"

"I agree." Princess said. "And look at this…" She indicated another sheaf of papers.

"It looks like they're planning on dropping the nuclear weapon into the Earth's core, destroying the entire planet!" she exclaimed. "We have to stop them!"

"We have time." Jason said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "The launch isn't scheduled for two days."

"We'll have to find Mark and leave first thing in the morning, when the new Phoenix is delivered." she resolved.

Their reconnaissance complete, they left the room.

A little too late. As they exited, a security guard spotted them.

"Wait!" he cried, running up to them.

"Hurry!" Princess hissed, grabbing Jason's hand as they fled for the elevator. They reached it just in time to see it shut in the guard's face as he reached for his walkie-talkie.

Quickly, Princess pressed a number of floor buttons on the elevator panel.

"To confuse them, so they don't know where we got off." she explained to Jason.

The Condor silently nodded. This groovy bird was impressing him more and more every second. Damn, he was horny.

They de-transmuted, and were almost at their floor when the car started slowing down for a stop.

Princess roughly pulled Jason close to her and leaned back in the corner of the elevator car, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his mouth to hers, just as the doors opened.

The kiss was unexpected, but by no means unwelcome. Jason felt an electric attraction between them.

'Far out…' he thought.

"Awww…. it's just some horny couple!" they heard a guard announce to his comrade. "Groovy-Force must be somewhere else."

The doors closed again as Princess giggled.

"It's amazing how well that always works…" she laughed.

"Wait a minute…" Jason sputtered, realizing the implication in her words.

But he never got to express that thought.

"Let's go lose ourselves in the casino." Princess suggested. "I'm sure Dad will be occupied for quite awhile, and I don't want to contact him in case we break his cover."

"I dig…" Jason smiled. There certainly were perks to being an Intergalactic Bird of Mystery.