Waiting in the alleyway, Woof and Ecurb were growing restless. "I wonder what's keeping Metaxa and Duxeal?" said Woof impatiently "We need them here to hold up our end of the deal." "Have patience Woof" replied Ecurb, "They'll be here…Ah! Here they are," he said, spotting the pair of Section 31 operatives with their unwilling captive.
"I thought you'd run into trouble. I was getting worried," said Admiral Woof, walking over to meet Metaxa and Duxeal.
"Don't be a drama queen, Woof" Metaxa said with a laugh, "We had to, ahem, "negotiate" Isla's release from the local police. Isn't bribery wonderful?" she said gleefully.
"We managed to beat them down to 15 bars of latinum" added Duxeal with a smile.
"Yes! Each" Metaxa cut in, "Somebody needs to brush up on his bargaining skills". Her words took the smile off Duxeal's face.
Changing the subject rapidly to hide his embarrassment, Duxeal said, "Let's get ready for the exchange. They will be here any minute"
No sooner had he spoken, than up the alleyway appeared the Bolian, Bott, and seven other members of the Syndicate.
"Seems a lot of men just to carry one small piece of microfilm," said Woof.
"Safety in numbers" replied the Bolian, "We did not know how many of you there were. We couldn't let one man walk into a trap, could we?"
Turning to Duxeal, and pointing to Isla Deluxe, Woof said "Ok start her walking", then turning back to the Bolian, and holding out his hand, asked for the microfilm. Woof handed it to Metaxa for verification. She looked at it, shook her head, and said, "This is not what we're after"
"Treacherous double-crosser!" Woof shouted at the Bolian, and gave him a glare. Duxeal made a grab for Isla Deluxe in an attempt to pull her back .At the same time, a member of the Syndicate had the same idea, and grabbed her left arm. What happened next surprised almost everyone. A metamorphism overtook Isla and she turned into Phoenix Stargazer.