How do I choose?
There was no singular harder decision for Perry to make, in his entire career. The question was simple: Phineas or Monogram?
He had stayed with the boys for ten years. They were the best of friends. More then that, even, they had saved each other's lives back there more then once. There is always a special bond between people who have saved each other's lives. No matter what he chose, those bonds would never be severed.
He had worked for this agency for so long. In fact, it was the agency itself that had assigned him Phineas and Ferb. He had formed bonds with other agents, and they, too were more then just friends. Best brothers. No matter what he chose, those bonds would never be severed.
He supposed he should ask if he would be allowed to see his host family again, if he left. No matter. It would not impact his decision.
He walked. And walked across the room, across the divide that separated Phineas and Monogram.
And all the while, one face brightened, while the other darkened.
Still he walked. Straight into the grateful hands of Phineas Flynn.
"Perry! I knew you wouldn't leave me!" Phineas was overjoyed.
Monogram's face, meanwhile, darkened. He had no choice now.
"All right, Phineas, you had your fun. Now hand him over."
"What do you mean? He did say-"
"I've got no choice. He's got no choice-"
"He's made his choice, and I honour it."
"Hand him over, or I have to call in reinforcements-" he said, producing a cellphone.
"Hold that thought." Phineas was rummaging through his pocket for something.
He took his Taser out and pointed it at Monogram.
"Now, what were you saying?"
"Phineas, this is crazy! Drop that thing!" Monogram had been tased before, and he had no intention of repeating that experience.
But worse then the experience was the potential consequences of it. Monogram had had a pacemaker implanted two months before, and it was working fine. If, however, an electric current disrupted it, he could potentially go into cardiac arrest.
But Phineas didn't know that. He didn't know he was holding Monogram effectively, at gunpoint.
Monogram had been in mortal danger before. But never like this.
But he had been in mortal danger before. He knew how to handle it. He had to stay cool.
"Phineas, even if you did manage to stun me and Carl, I can just press the quick dial on my mobile. Backup will come in no time. They're outside now."
"I don't know...hmm...I've taken on robots with lasers, a 400 foot drop and I've survived. I figure my chances of surviving are pretty good, actually."
The worst part was that Monogram could feel it, too. Here was a whole different dimension to Phineas, cool, calm, and possibly even lethal.
Lethal. Certainly not a word he would use for Phineas Flynn. But there it was.
"So now the buck passes to you. And the buck stops here. Your choice: how do you choose?"
Think...think...think!
Is there a way out?
There could be, but he would need to authorize it. And he wasn't sure if he could.
He should, under the circumstances. The boys had performed remarkably well. And Isabella was special. She had always been from the moment Monogram reunited with his cover family, the family he had been assigned to all those years ago, when he was undercover in Mexico.
But Isabella was special in other ways.
No regular human would have survived that!
She wasn't a regular human. She was rare, literally one in a billion. And the agency had to get hold of her, protect her. That meant her friends needed protection too. And her freinds were good fighters-potential assets to the agency. However as long as Phineas had Perry, he remained in danger. Which meant-
There was only one solution to this problem.
"Phineas, would you like to join us?"
The question took Phineas off-guard. Join who or what?
As if he sensed Phineas' questions, Monogram said, "We'll fill you in later, but right now what you need to know is this: it's highly risky work. You'll be trained with Perry, go on missions with him and be our agent. It's risky, but like you yourself said-or rather yelled, I think you can handle it. The question is, are you willing to take that risk? Of course, we'll put Isabella and Ferb in as well-with their consent, of course."
Monogram allowed himself a smile. Even without his answer, he knew the danger was averted.
"You are a smart boy, Phineas, but I am afraid you made a mistake earlier." He liked to play around with him.
"The buck doesn't stop here. On the contrary, it comes back to you, and now it's your turn: how do you choose?"
But for Phineas, it was a no-brainer.
"Of course I'll join!"
"Are you sure? It's risky-"
"If it can protect Perry I'm in." The steely look in his eyes was back.
Major Monogram put the cellphone in his pocket. Phineas likewise replaced his weapon in his pocket.
Now, thought Monogram, the real challenge in the plan begins.