The case seemed simple. Forty years ago, a past less mercenary who went by the name of The Red Squirrel embezzled $40,000 while working on a case for the Penguin Division. After that, he managed to become Penguin enemy no.1, then at the height of his career, disappeared and hadn't been heard of since. Agent Nigel, who was only a junior agent at the time, was assigned the task of recovering the money, the more senior agents given the more prestigious job of finding the Squirrel himself.

"What am I missing?!" Skipper's fist slammed into the desk, making his empty coffee cup jump dangerously close to the edge of the table. At first Skipper thought Nigel was losing his touch, but there was something about the case that didn't seem right. Skipper had been up all night searching through records, constantly asking Kowalski to hack this database and that database, despite the fact the scientist seemed busy with his own project. He'd tried to take a break from the case, he normally hated paperwork, but he could now see why Nigel had kept at it so many years: it seemed almost to haunt him.

"Skipper?" Marlene poked her head around the door of the living room.

"What?" he snapped.

"You've been awake 27 hours. Aren't you going to take a nap?"

"NO!" Marlene took a few steps backwards, "I'm… I'm sorry, it just doesn't make sense. The money just disappeared. It was sitting in the bank account, and then it was gone. No transfers, no robberies, nothing. There one minute and gone the next."

"It's been forty years, Skipper, some of the files might have simply been lost to time."

"But why those files? All the other ones are there?"

"Have some breakfast, Skipper. The money disappeared years ago. Does it really matter?"

"The puzzling part is, he took the money, but he never used it. He was struggling for cash, yet it sat in that Swiss bank account until a week after he disappeared. It was physical money, not the electronic stuff they have nowadays. It can't just vanish."

"Skipper, it doesn't matter." Marlene could see the look he had, she knew it well. It was the same look he got when he was an agent, when for the next few days he would do nothing but work: not eating, not sleeping, doing nothing but work on that case. It make him a great agent, he always go the job done, but a terrible husband.

"Yes it does. The Squirrel was at the height of his career. A few more years, and he probably would have been able to take over the world."

"Maybe he died. Maybe he gave up."

"People like him don't just give up!"

"You did." Skipper rolled his eyes.

"Touché. Now, can I have another cup of coffee? Ask Rico for a hundred year old herring."

"Alright Private, I'm done." Kowalski admired his on screen masterpiece.

"May I watch it?" Private asked, wondering how running around in front of a green background and finding Kowalski countless films from their summer holidays was going to convince Doris of anything.

"I think it's a bit above your age rating." Kowalski answered.

"I've never been in a movie before." Private coaxed.

"If you have nightmares Skipper will know I'm seeing Doris. If Skipper knows I'm seeing Doris, he'll try and make sure she is anonymously dropped off at head office for questioning."

"I won't tell him anything."

"You talk in your sleep."

"Can I come with you to meet Doris?"

"No."

"We got on quite nicely when…"

"No."

"I am telling you, de sciency penguin is alive!" Julian stomped about the minimalist office like a young child.

"Listen, King, nobody could have survived that fire," Rockgut answered for what seemed like the millionth time, "Not even them." Rockgut had given up on finding the team long ago. It wasn't that he didn't believe they survived, just that, if they didn't want to be found, they wouldn't be found with less than a billion dollar international manhunt, something even his boss couldn't authorise.

"But de software update!" Julian pulled MORT out of his pocket, "Look!" Julian set the device on his feet.

"Get me off!" it squealed, immediately driving to the other side of the room, "Feet," MORT shuddered, "dey are evil."

"He does not touch de feet!"

"Do you really expect to believe Kowalski miraculously dragged himself out of the rubble, which I point out is across the Atlantic ocean, just to give you a software update, then went back across and stayed put like a good little zombie?" Rockgut asked sarcastically.

"If you do not…"

"Excuse me, your majesty," Maurice interrupted, seeing he was seriously testing the other man's patience, "But I think it might be a good idea if I handled this."

"Yes, do all de handling you want," Julian snapped, turning his back on the man at the desk, "May be you can be getting de sense into Mr Stupidy-top-secret over there."

"Um, sir, the king does have a point," Maurice argued more diplomatically, "Kowalski was the only one who had the software update, and would be able to install it. Our lab boys were trying to fix MORT's software glitch for months, and never made any progress, so it couldn't have been someone else."

"You have a point." Rockgut answered grudgingly, though glad that Julian's assistant was making more sense.

"They were your best agents, not to mention the ones with the most security clearance. Don't you think any possibility of their survival should be investigated?"

"Ok. So we find out they're alive. What then? They could be anywhere, anyone, and how do we drag them back here? If I know Skipper, he'd die fighting before he was ever captured."

"Knowledge is power. If they've joined the enemy, well, now you know it and can be ready."

"What's your stake in this?" Rockgut asked suspiciously. He doubted Julian's main concern was national security.

"Let's just say," Maurice looked over his shoulder. Julian was still pouting, "It's my employer's latest obsession," Maurice looked back at Rockgut. It was clear from his expression that the man still had doubts about dredging up the investigation, "If you're worried about funding, I'm sure Mr King would be more than happy in that department."

"Alright, I'll start a formal investigation."

Kowalski stood before the door of the apartment, his hand poised to knock as it had been for the last two minutes. If he messed up, he could theoretically end up facing Doris's, Skipper's, Blowhole's Rockgut's, and worst of all Rico's wrath. Even each on their own weren't pretty, but all together? Kowalski shuddered at the thought.

"You can come in, you know." Kowalski heard a familiar female voice shout through the door. Kowalski turned bright red, and opened the door.

"Um… hello Doris?"

"Whatonearthdidyouthinkyouwer edoing…" it took all of Kowalski's courage to stand his ground as the woman stormed towards him.

"Keep it down, Doris!" Blowhole shouted from another room, "If you've lost the TV remote again, consider walking 1.45 meters to change the channel manually."

"Is this a trap…?!" Kowalski backed towards the door.

"He insisted on coming after I stole his wallet and tried to pass the $9,000 mark with another day of shopping," Doris replied, forgetting her anger for a split second, "Little B's in his lab though. Nothing short of VIP tickets to Invexpo will get him out of there."

"You mean he hasn't got…"

"Back to the matter at hand, dearest," Doris scowled, "Now, forawholeyearyouwereactually stillaliveandyouneverremembe redtocalloratleastwrite…"

"Doris, I can explain, if you'd just listen…" Kowalski recounted the story, "See, I was going to call you as soon as I found out where you were."

"Hm…" She looked at him sceptically as Kowalski fidgeted with the disk in his pocket, waiting for the inevitable:, "I don't believe you. Admit it, Kowalski, if you could make it out, so could Skipper." Kowalski took the disk out of his pocket. He'd made sure the Airline records showed that a Jan Kowalski had booked a charter flight to Barcelona yesterday afternoon, roughly an hour after he should have gotten the note. He'd also arranged (with some friends he'd made working at JulianTech) for the site of the house to be excavated and a computer like object to be removed. Flight attendants would be able to swear that a Jan Kowalski had taken the object back with him.

"I thought you'd say that, that's why I brought this." Kowalski inserted the disk into the DVD drive. Now all he had to do was wait and see if she'd believe it.