An hour and a half later, Nicky and Fluey returned to the seedy hotel the three gangsters were hiding out in, for the time being. Fluey took one look around and made a face.
"You gotta be kidding me," he said. "We live in a dump like this?!"
"Only temporarily, Tony," Nicky said, unlocking the door to the room he had rented. Johnny and Gino were waiting for him.
"I see you got him," Johnny said.
"Of course I got him," Nicky said. Then he turned to Fluey. "Okay, Tone, you've had a rough day. What I want you to do is go take it easy for awhile. I gotta talk to Uncle Johnny and Uncle Gino."
"Eh?" Johnny asked, giving Nicky a weird look. Nicky glared at him to shut him up, and led Fluey to another room, connected to this one. Once he was in, Nicky closed the door, and went to his buddies.
"Boys, we've had a change of plans," he said. "We ain't gonna knock off the kid."
"We aren't?" Gino asked.
"Nope," Nicky said.
"Why not?" Johnny asked. "And what's with this Uncle Johnny and Uncle Gino bit, anyway, Nicky?"
"You know when we were coming back, and found the kid being loaded into the back of an ambulance?" Nicky said. "And I decided to follow just to see what was going on?"
"Yeah?" Gino replied.
"Well, get this," Nicky said. "Apparently, the kid was bopped in the head, and now he's got amnesia. He doesn't know who he is, and he doesn't know who we are!"
"But why ain't we gonna knock him off?" Gino asked.
"You guys want to restore the Syndicate, don't you?" Nicky asked. "You know nobody's gonna take the three of us seriously. We need a Manikatti. And that brat's the last of the Manikatti's."
"Yeh," Johnny agreed. "Don Manikatti's dead, his wife is dead, and his only kid is dead. And even if she weren't dead, Maria wouldn't know how to run the Syndicate anyway. She was always a bit cuckoo."
"Right," Nicky said. "We'll teach him the tricks of the trade."
"But what happens if he gets his memory back?" Gino asked.
"He won't," Nicky said. "We'll soon have him convinced he's one of us. Now, from here on out, to him, we're his uncles. Got it?"
The other two nodded, and the three of them began laughing. The Syndicate would be back in no time at all.
Multi, Coiley, and Skittles, in the meantime, had finally arrived at the SSHQ building. They parked the Impossi-Jet, and went up to the chief's outer office. They were a little surprised to see FG there.
"FG, what are you doing here?" Coiley asked.
"I got called in by Big D," FG said. "He didn't tell me what this was about. He just called on my communication device, and told me to get to his office as fast as I could."
(FG's communicator, by the way, was hidden in a bracelet)
"Okay, kids, you can go in now," Big D's secretary, Phyllis, said. The three teenagers then walked into Big D's office.
"Coil and Multi already know why I've called them in," Big D said. "It has to do with the jailbreak of Manikatti's men. And I suppose you're wondering why I called you in as well, Fluid Girl."
"The thought did cross my mind," FG said.
"Us too," Multi said. "What's FG doing here, chief?"
"She's going to fill in for Agent Fluid," Big D said. "Since you and Coil are now able to change identities on your own."
"How long is FG going to sub?" Coiley asked.
"As long as needed," Big D said. "After all, boys, you did say you weren't sure Fluid was abducted. There's a chance that he was, and there's a chance that he wasn't. The possibility of him leaving on his own to avoid getting you two mixed up with Manikatti's hoods isn't very likely, but it's still a possibility."
"So what's the job, boss?" Multi asked.
"I want the three of you to pick up that tour you were on," Big D said, pulling a shopping bag out from under his desk and handing it to FG. Inside was a green turtleneck, a purple jacket, and black go-go boots like the boys' stage outfits, except Big D had given her a red skirt instead of pants, and the boots had a slightly higher heel than the boys' boots.
"You're not only joining the crime fighting team temporarily, Fluid Girl," Big D said, "but you're also joining the band."
"But I can't play a guitar!" FG shouted.
"No, but you could bang a tambourine," Coiley said, pulling a purple tambourine with pink cymbals out of the bag. "I mean, how hard is it to play a tambourine? And you can sing. We've all heard you and you're okay. It's about all we can do right now, FG."
"All right," FG said. "Let's roll."
"Before you roll," Big D said. "I'm not putting you on this case per say. I want you to see if you can find Fluid while you're on your concert tour, but if something should come up, keep in mind I will call you in to handle it. I don't want the three of you taking on any of Manikatti's men by yourselves. You're not experienced enough to deal with the Syndicate."
"Right, chief," Multi said. "Considering what happened with Manikatti the last time, I don't think I want to take my chances, anyway."
"Same for me," Coiley said.
"Uhh, just out of sheer curiosity," FG said. "What did happen the last time? All I know was Manikatti was after one of my Uncle David's formulas, and he thought Franky had it."
"Should we tell her, chief? Coiley asked.
"You can fill her in on what happened," Big D said. "Just not the entire story, if you know what I mean."
FG didn't have any idea what that meant, but the boys did, and they agreed.
"It's nothing personal, FG," Coiley said. "But it's for the best we only tell you part of what went on last time we dealt with Manikatti. Security issues, and that's all we can say."
"Okay, I guess," FG said, shrugging. "Come on. You guys fill me in on the details about the last time you had to mess with Manikatti and how it might be linked to this time, especially since he's dead as a doornail."
The trio (well, quartet, including Skittles), left Big D's office and went out to the Impossi-Mobile. They had to stop by FG's house first, so she could pick up a few things for the tour.
Elsewhere, the three gangsters were preparing Fluey for his introduction into the world of organized crime. He was wearing the stereotypical gangster outfit, and looking himself over in the mirror. He kept tilting the fedora Nicky had given him, trying to figure out what angle it looked best.
"You look great, kid," Nicky said. "A regular pepperoni off the ol' pizza."
"You think?" Fluey asked.
"Kid, you were born to lead this life," Nicky said. "Come on, we've got a meeting."
Nicky led Fluey out to the other room where Johnny and Gino were waiting for them.
"Hey look, Gino," Johnny laughed. "It's Mini-Manikatti."
Fluey made a face as Johnny and Gino laughed hysterically. He began backing into the other room, a little nervously, but Nicky grabbed his arm.
"Whoa, hold it, hold it," he said. "Look at this, they're laughing at you. You gonna let 'em get away with that?"
"Well . . . ." Fluey started.
"Eh-eh," Nicky said. "Your granddad didn't take no lip from nobody. Nobody laughed at the don and got away with it. Listen, Tony. You gotta show 'em who's boss. You're the boss. Let them know it."
"What do I do first?"
"Go punch a couple of lights out."
Fluey shrugged and walked over to Johnny and Gino, who were still cracking up over the "Mini-Manikatti" line. Without saying a word, Fluey socked Johnny in the jaw as hard as he possibly could. Johnny ended up falling over an end table, and crashing to the floor (amnesia or not, Fluey could still throw that killer left hook of his).
"Ooooh, that hurt," he groaned.
"You find something funny, Portobello?" Fluey asked, holding his fist right in Gino's face.
"No, no, not at all, not at all," Gino said, nervously.
"Good," Fluey said. "Yo, Malone! Get your carcass up off the floor and hustle! We've got stuff to do. Move it, move it, move it!"
"Yes sir, Mr. Manikatti, sir!" Gino shouted, almost saluting.
"Wait a minute, Gino," Johnny said. "Just what makes you think I'm gonna take orders from a kid?"
Fluey glared at Johnny and slapped him rapidly (whack-whack-whack-whack-whack!)
"'Cause I'm your former leader's grandkid, that's why!" Fluey shouted. "And unless you want a belly fulla lead, then you'd better learn who's boss around here!"
"Got it, boss," Johnny said. Then he gave Nicky a dirty look.
"Thanks a heap, Nick," he grumbled, sarcastically.
"He's only doing what Don Manikatti would do," Nicky said with a shrug.
"Hey, Calamari!" Fluey shouted. "Zip the lip and get over here! I ain't got all day!"
"Oh yeah," Nicky said, smiling. "This kid's gonna fit in with us just fine."