(Jenny's POV)
I arrive at WIN HQ six minutes later. It's a large, grey office block at Gower Street, adjacent to the Euston Road. I land on the roof of the building. I head to the door and tug on the handle. It won't move. I rattle the handle and pull the door, but I still can't open it.
"Ohh," I frown. "How am I supposed to get in now?"
I look around the roof and spot a large air handling unit close by.
"Time to bring out my inner John McClane," I say to myself.
I go over to the air handling unit, and I bring out the Laser Lipstick and use it to cut around the metal infill panels of the vent. Seconds later, I turn off the laser and remove the panel and climb into the vent.
I crawl through the air vent as quietly as I can, negotiating round and round every bend and corner. I keep crawling until I hear the sound of voices – they're quite close. I follow the voices until I reach the end of the vent. I take a peek through the grate – it looks like a command centre. The room is filled with multiple electronic displays and control panels, and a large wall-sized display area visible from all locations within the space.
As I watch the staff in the command centre work at their computers, the doors slide open and entering the room is Frances, along with her cronies Benny, Carter, Opal and Ross, and some other people that look somewhat familiar. I fix my eyes on the group of people and frown – I feel like I've met them before. But where…?
I let out a gasp. "No way!" I murmur. "It's the Prime Minister's kidnappers and the Crown Jewel thieves. They should be in prison. What the hell are they doing with Frances?"
"Excellent work, agents," says Frances. "Because of your 'exceptional ability' to catch international criminals before MI9, you have managed to build up WIN's public image and discredit MI9's, forcing them to close down. Just as I had anticipated. And I would like to thank my loyal employees for your involvement in the criminal incidents that I set up in order to make WIN look good."
So that's her game! Frances organized fake crimes in order to build up positive publicity for WIN and disgrace MI9. But why would she do this? What has she got against MI9? I better call Zeke and get him to do some digging on her. But first, I better make myself scarce.
I start to back away from the grate and expertly turning myself around, I crawl back through the vent in the direction to which I came. I can't wait to tell Frank and the others about this. WIN is a fake spy agency, and the 'international criminals' that WIN have been capturing are in fact employees of WIN and the criminal incidents have been set up by Frances in order to build up WIN's credibility and damage MI9's reputation.
I'm halfway through the vent in the direction to which I came when I hear a creaking sound. I stop to listen.
Silence.
I move on my hands and knees for another few steps – then stop when I hear the creaking sound. It's only when I start crawling again that I see some of the screws in the vent are starting to come loose. I instantly realize that the creaking noise is coming from the weight that I'm putting on the vents – and it's not gonna hold me for much longer! I start to drag myself through the vents as quickly as I can when suddenly, the vent gives way.
"Waaaa!" I scream as I fall through the ceiling and land in the corridor. "Urggghhh…" I moan. I'm covered in debris and dust, and the whole of my left side hurts because that's what I used to cushion my fall. "Ngh," I groan, sitting up. "Could this day get any worse?"
I hear a cocking sound. I look up to find myself surrounded by security men, their guns pointing at me.
"Aw, crap," I murmur.
Two of the guards pull me to my feet and drag me through the corridors to the command centre.
"Ma'am, look who we found crawling through the vents," says one of the men.
Frances turns around and as soon as she sees me, a smile spreads around her mouth.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here," she says, walking up to me. "An MI9 spy. Sorry, that should be an ex-MI9 spy."
"Go to hell, Frances!" I say. "I know that your 'agency' is as fake as Katie Price's tits! You set up criminal incidents and used your employees to act as villains and got your agents to catch them before MI9 just so you can build up WIN's 'good' image while also making MI9 appear ineffective. Why would you do that?"
"It's simple, really. Twenty years ago I applied at MI9 – only to be rejected by them. Now I want to seek revenge."
"So you decided to start WIN to make it so effective and successful than MI9 that you forced them to shut down."
"Oh, it's not just MI9 that I want to get revenge on. I want to get revenge on every major spy agency in the world that had rejected my application!"
Wow, someone's got issues.
"And I'm gonna make sure that WIN is the best and only spy agency in the world," Frances declares.
"And how are you gonna do that?" I ask.
"With this." Frances pulls out a disc from her pocket. "This control disc holds the access codes to the missiles that are hidden under the North Sea. In exactly one hour, the missiles will be launched and they will strike at every spy agency around the world."
My eyes widen in shock. Is this woman serious?
"Everyone around the world will start blaming each other for the attack, while WIN's involvement will be concealed and erased," says Frances.
"But by doing that you'll start World War Three!" I tell her.
"Well, the agencies should have thought about that before they rejected me! And there's nothing you or any of your ex-MI9 friends can do about it. Oh, by the way…" Frances takes off my belt. "I don't think you'll need this. Take her to the cells."
The guards salute Frances and taking me by the arms again, they drag me out of the command centre and through the corridors until we stop outside a door. One of the guards unlocks the door and opens it, while the other shoves me in the room and slams the door shut, locking it.
I go up to the door and start pounding on it. "Hey! Let me out!" I call. "Let me out of here!"
But I can see that no-one is coming to let me out. I run my hands through my hair and pace around the room. What am I gonna do? There's no way out for me because that evil old witch has my utility belt and I can't call anyone from my… watch communicator.
That's it! My watch communicator! The one thing that Frances didn't take away from me. She thinks that this is just a regular watch. I open the lid of the watch communicator to call Zeke – but I can't get a signal in here.
"Argh!" I groan – but then I remember that I can send a distress signal to Zeke if I can't reach him via communication.
I close the watch communicator and use the digital watch face to activate the signal. The face of the watch flashes red and gives off a beeping sound.
I just hope that Zeke can answer the call.
(Frank's POV)
It's been half an hour since we started packing up HQ. Due to our poor performance to WIN's excellent performance, MI9 is being forced to shut down and is going to be replaced by WIN. Everyone has taken the news badly, especially Jenny. I haven't heard from her. I've left voicemails and texts, but there's being no response. I decide to try again. I dial her number, and for the fourth time, it goes straight to voicemail.
"Hi, I'm not in right now. But if you leave your name and number, I'll get back to you," says Jenny's voicemail message.
BEEP!
"Hi Jenny, it's me – again," I say. "Listen, I know you're still upset about MI9 shutting down, but will you call me back? I'm worried that you're gonna do something that's gonna get in you into trouble. Anyway, call me when you can."
After I hang up, I help the team pack the rest of the stuff in the lab.
"Frank? What's going to happen to me?" Oscar asks.
"Hm?" I look to him. "What do you mean?"
"My foster parent happens to be an MI9 agent, but since he now doesn't work for MI9 anymore… what's gonna happen to me?"
"Oh." I've forgotten that the news will affect Oscar too. "You'll probably be placed in a regular foster home – preferably one near St Hope's. But if you want, I could ask Agent Re–, er, Percy if he can foster you."
"I would very much like that. Thanks, Frank."
I smile in response and continue packing.
"Still no word from Jenny?" Oscar asks.
"Er, no, no word yet," I say as I pack. "I'm sure that when she's ready, she'll call back."
Oscar and I are nearly finished with the lab when I hear Carrie give a loud squeal.
"She's finally flipped," says Oscar, and I smile.
Rose comes rushing over. "What's going on?"
"Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God!" Carrie says in a high-pitched, excited tone, coming over to us. "Look what I just found!"
Carrie shows us what she's found. It's a little black velvet box. When she opens it, my heart is hammering like crazy when I see what's inside – a gold diamond ring. Oh no. Carrie's found my engagement ring. It must have fallen out of my pocket when I sat down after Jenny stormed out of HQ.
"Oh, my God," says Rose. "It's an engagement ring – nine carat to be exact. But who could've…?"
It doesn't take the team long to find out who bought the ring. Their eyes turn to me, and I know that I'm blushing like a fool.
"Frank…" Oscar says slowly, "did you buy the ring?"
My head nods automatically.
"Oh… my… God," says Rose. "Frank's gonna propose to Jenny."
"Oooh!" Carrie squeals with delight. "This is so exciting! And romantic. So how are you going to do it? Are you gonna do it over a romantic dinner? Maybe the ring will be hidden in the food or a glass of champagne. Or maybe you're going to hire a skywriter to spell out your proposal for everyone around to see." Carrie gasps. "Or maybe you're going to write her a love note with the proposal at the end of it – that'll be dead romantic."
"Actually… I'm not sure if I am going to propose to her," I say, rubbing the back of my neck.
Carrie's face immediately falls. "What?"
"What? Why?" Oscar asks.
"It's too soon! Jenny and I only got back together a few months ago. And with everything that's happening right now, I don't think now is the time to ask her to marry me. Besides, I'm sure that if did I present her with the ring, she may go off on me or worse… I'm scared that she might say no."
No-one says nothing for a few moments. Then Rose comes up to me.
"Frank…" she starts – then she flicks me on the forehead.
"Ow!" I cry, holding my forehead. It doesn't hurt, it just stings.
"You can be completely dense sometimes," Rose tells me. "Of course Jenny's gonna say yes! She's nuts about you – she loves you. And I take it you love her too?"
"Of course I do! She means more to me than any other girl in the world."
"Well, there you go."
"It's just – well…" I hesitate.
"What's wrong?" Carrie asks.
I sigh. "What if she's not ready to settle down? What if she doesn't what to get married – or have children?"
"Frank, I'm pretty sure she's ready to do all that stuff with you – we've all seen how Jenny is with you," says Rose. "We've seen the way she treats you with love and respect in the way you do things and how you talk to her, and vice versa. She certainly treats you like a husband: she loves you, she listens to you, she cares for you, she even places a meal for you whenever you're busy with an experiment and you haven't eaten in ages."
The corners of my mouth draw up a slight smile.
"We've also seen how she is with everyone here at St Hope's," Rose continues. "She's self-confident and responsible – not to mention the most respected and obeyed teacher in the school. And for that, she's loved by everyone. If you don't see that she's the perfect person for you to settle down with, then there's something wrong with you."
"You really think that she's perfect for me?" I ask eagerly.
Oscar and Carrie stare at me.
Rose flicks me on the forehead again. "You've been going out with her for over six months, haven't you? Duh! Of course she's perfect you. And you are perfect for her too."
"She needs you as much as you need her," Carrie joins in.
"You two are great together," Oscar adds. "You and Jenny are meant to be together."
After rubbing my forehead, my eyes move from Oscar to Rose to Carrie to the ring box. I take the box and stare at the ring inside. I can picture the moment where I get down on one knee and ask Jenny for her hand in marriage, and I'm sure that she'll say yes. I can also picture us having children together, settling down and growing old together…
I think it's time to make this dream a reality.
"OK, then," I say after a long silence. "I'm gonna do it – I'm gonna propose to Jenny."
Carrie squeals in excitement and rushes over to hug me.
"Oh Frank, this is so amazing!" she says.
"But you've got to promise not to say a word to Jen," I say. "Not even a hint."
"Don't worry, our lips are sealed."
As we pull away from the hug, my phone rings – and the teams' communicators start to beep.
"Jenny?" I answer.
"Sorry Frank, it's Zeke," he says. "But I have received a distress call from Jenny. The signal's faint but it's her. I think she may need help."
"Where is she?"
"You're not gonna believe this, but… she's at the headquarters of WIN."
"I had a feeling she might do that."
"Maybe she's found out something about WIN and got caught," says Rose.
"Then we've got to help her. Do you still have the gadgets that I gave to you?"
Oscar and Carrie hold up the Laser Lipstick and Instant Freeze Cologne.
"Then let's get going," I say.
"I'll meet you guys there," says Zeke, and hangs up.
We do the same, and then we enter the lift that takes us to the top. After we exit the school, we hop into my car and head down to WIN HQ.
xxoOoxx
Within twelve minutes we arrive at the headquarters of WIN. Zeke is already there – along with two other girls. One of them is the Cat Android 1000 and the other is of Asian descent, wearing a red dress featuring traditional Chinese motifs and a mandarin collar.
"Hey, guys," says Zeke. "I thought I should bring some reinforcement to help us out. You already know the Cat Android 1000…" He nods to the android. "And this is my other android, Ling." He motion to the other android. "My beautiful, kung fu fighting warrior girl, and one of the first androids I built."
"Oh yeah, Jen told us about Ling when she met you for the first time," says Carrie.
"Speaking of Jen, shouldn't we be saving her?" I say.
"My thoughts exactly," says Zeke. "Let's roll."
We all enter inside the grey building and into the huge lobby.
"We better split up to cover more ground," says Oscar.
"Good idea," I say. "You, Rose, Carrie and the CA1000 find out what WIN is up to, while me, Zeke and Ling look for Jen."
Oscar, Rose, Carrie and CA1000 take the lift while Zeke, Ling and I take the stairs.
"She's very close," says Zeke as we approach the fourth floor. "But we have to be quick, the signal is fainting fast."
Ling and I follow Zeke through the long corridor. Just then, five guards who have just come from around the corner of the corridor in the opposite side spot us.
"Intruders!" one of them cries. "Get them!"
The men start to charge towards us.
"Ling, show these punks what you're made of!" orders Zeke.
Ling nods and runs quickly at the guards. The guards try to attack her, but she keeps dodging them, moving swiftly as she does so, confusing the guards.
"It-it's no good…" pants one of the guards. "She's too quick for us…"
"Errgh…! I have had enough!" says another guard. "Catch her!"
The guards move in towards Ling. But I can see that she has a smirk on her face and with agile and swift movements, she launches into an attack against the guards and manages to defeats them without delay.
"Unnh…" the guards moan, their bodies twitching.
"You are all too weak. Please try again later," Ling says in a tone of gloating satisfaction.
"Wow," I say, impressed. "That was incredible."
"I know, right?" crows Zeke. He gives Ling a thumbs-up. "Nice work, Ling."
Ling gives a thumbs-up in return.
"Right, that's them sorted. Now let's find Jen," says Zeke, and with that we carry on down the corridor.
(Jenny's POV)
It's been nearly an hour and a half since I infiltrated the headquarters of WIN, got captured and then got slung in here. I look down at my watch communicator – less than five minutes to go before Frances launches her missile attack. I just hope that Zeke received my distress call…
There's pounding on the door.
"Jenny! Jen, are you in there?"
It's Zeke!
"Zeke! Is that you?" I ask.
"Yes. I'm here – along with Frank and Ling," he says.
"Oh, thank God you received the signal. Now get me out of here!"
"Will do. Stand back, Jen!"
I stand aside and take cover as the door gets broken into. When I look up, I see that the door is off its hinges and has left splinters on the frame. I slowly approach the door and see Ling lowering her leg after breaking the door down.
"Wow, Ling, you're getting more powerful every time I see you," I say, coming out of my cell. Then I see Zeke and Frank. "Oh, hey, guys."
"Jen, you're OK!" says Frank, pulling me into a hug.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, hugging back. "Now come on. We've got to stop Frances from starting World War Three. I'll explain on the way."
We take off, running down the corridor at full speed towards the command centre. On the way, I explain to Frank and Zeke about Frances setting up WIN as part of her plan to exact revenge against MI9 for not choosing her as a spy in her younger days.
"…and now she's planning on launching a missile attack on every spy agency around the world because they rejected her application as well," I finish telling them.
"Wow – talk about issues!" says Zeke.
"I know, right?"
We are nearly halfway to the command centre when something comes crashing through the wall, causing us to skid to a halt. Through the dust and debris, we see that it's a group of guards, groaning in pain as their bodies twitching and trembling.
"Unh…" one of them wheezes.
"Huh?" Zeke, Frank and I peer through the five office walls that the guards were thrown through and immediately spot the team and the Cat Android 1000.
"Hey there!" Carrie calls, waving at us. Then she, Oscar, Rose and the CA1000 catch up to us through the holes in the walls. "How awesome is CA1000? She was kicking the guards' butts left, right and centre – as well as throwing them through walls."
"Compliments can come later," I tell Carrie. "Right now, we have a villain to stop."
We set off again to the command centre with Frank and Zeke explaining to the others what's happening. We very nearly approach the command centre when a group of guards – and employees of WIN who posed as villains – block our way.
"Oh no! We'll get past the guards and –" Rose doesn't finish her sentence as Ling and the Cat Android quickly rush towards the guards and WIN employees, and with athleticism and skill, they swiftly defeat them. "Oh, right… well… that's them taken care of."
"Now let's take care of Frances," says Oscar.
Zeke tells Ling and CA1000 is stand guard and attack any WIN employees who tries to come inside. Then the team, Frank, Zeke and I head into the command centre.
"Stop right there, Frances!" I tell her. "Step away from the computer and I promise that we'll go easy on you."
"I don't think so, spy!" she exclaims. "You'll never be able to get past my agents to stop me in time. Agents of WIN, attack!"
"Get back!" I tell Frank and Zeke as the WIN agents advance towards us. "Hyaa!" I yell as I jump up high, then strike Benny with a kick. "I don't have time for wannabe spies like you!"
"Nnngh! You bitch!" Benny spits. "I'll show you…!"
He rushes towards me, ready to strike me, but I grab his wrist and I karate chop the side of his neck. Then, I strike him with a fierce kick to the chest, causing him to stumble and fall.
"I'm sorry, Benny, what were you gonna show me?" I say with a smug look on my face.
"Ungh! Why, you…!" He charges to me again ready to attack, but I grab him and toss him to the pile of WIN agents that have been defeated by Rose, Carrie and Oscar.
"Uuuh…" the WIN agents groan.
"So much for them being better than us," says Oscar.
"Now let's stop Frances," says Carrie.
"You're too late, spies!" Frances cries. "The countdown has already begun."
"Twenty seconds to missile launch," the tannoy announces. "Nineteen, eighteen…"
"And as soon as I press the button, the dawn of a new era will begin for WIN!" Frances cackles with laughter.
"Not if I have anything to do with it!" I say. "Carrie, give me your Laser Lipstick."
Carrie hands me the lipstick.
"Oscar, throw the Instant Freeze Cologne," I tell him.
Oscar tosses the cologne bottle. I point the Laser Lipstick at the bottle and fire a beam from the lipstick, hitting the bottle, causing it to smash and have the contents inside spill and freeze over the computers, the control panels… and Frances, turning her into an ice sculpture.
"Yes!" I cheer triumphantly.
"Nice shot!" says Carrie, giving me a high five.
"Nice going, Jen!" says Frank, coming up to me. "You've stopped Frances."
"She may have stopped Frances," says Rose, "but she didn't stop the countdown!"
"Ten seconds to missile launch," says the tannoy. "Nine, eight…"
"It's still going!" Oscar exclaims.
"Crap, she must have set it on auto-launch," I say.
"What do we do now?" Carrie asks.
There's nothing we can do. We stand helplessly, gazing at the large computer monitor as it counts down from five… four… three… two… one…
"Launch sequence aborted," the tannoy announces. "Launch sequence aborted."
"Huh?" The team, Frank and I exchange confused glances. What the heck just happened?
"Ahem!"
My question is soon answered when everyone looks up to see Zeke standing by one of the computers.
"Oh, I, er, I used my palmtop computer to hack into WIN's main computer and stopped the missiles from launching," he says. "Please, don't thank me all at once."
"Oh, well done, you knucklehead," I say, going over to him and ruffling his dark curls.
"Yes, good work, Zeke," says Frank. "You've pretty much just saved the world from mass destruction."
"Yeah – MI9-style," Carrie adds with a smile on her face, and I smile back.
I do believe we are back on track.
(Frank's POV)
Nearly an hour later, a team of MI9 agents arrive at WIN HQ to take away the employees, the agents and (the still frozen solid) Frances. The Head is here – along with Stark – and Jenny is explaining to her about the WIN organization being nothing more than a fraud.
"Well done, agents!" says the Head. "Not only did you save MI9's reputation, but you also saved the world from being destroyed. And for that, we owe you a debt of gratitude."
"Thank you, Ma'am," the team chorus.
"Not bad for an 'adequate' mission, eh, Stark?" says Jenny, raising one eyebrow at him.
Stark rolls his eyes in response, but when the Head turns to him with a frown on her face, Stark stretches his lips into a sad little smirk. "Yes, excellent work, agents," he says through gritted teeth. "Well done."
"And to reward you for reopening MI9 again, I'm going to give you two weeks leave off missions!" the Head says.
I would have thought that Jenny and the team would be excited by the news, but they look… rather unimpressed.
"Is something wrong?" the Head asks.
"Ma'am, we appreciate the offer, but having spent two weeks without missions and seeing what damaged it could have caused, we're gonna have to turn you down," says Jenny.
"Sorry," Rose, Carrie and Oscar say.
"Besides, if we did that a break, every villain and criminal in the country would think that we're pushovers," says Carrie.
"We can't just let them walk all over us," says Oscar.
"We have to be prepared for anything that they throw at us," says Rose.
"Because that's what being an MI9 spy is about," says Zeke. "To fight crime and to protect the world from evildoers."
I smile at the team. I'm so proud of them.
"Although, I would like to have next weekend off as it's gonna be my birthday on Saturday," says Jenny. "If that's OK."
"Consider it done. After all, you deserve it." The Head and Jenny shake hands. "Once again, agents, well done and keep up the good work." The Head enters her car and drives off, leaving Stark and the other agents to do their jobs.
"Well, I don't know about you guys but I am hungry," says Jenny. "All this saving the world business has brought out the appetite in me. Why don't we swing round to a Pizza Hut for a celebratory 'We Just Saved the World' meal?"
"I'm game!" says Zeke.
"OK!" the team say.
"All right," I decide.
Jenny links her arm in mine. "Then it's settled."
"Aww!" Carrie coos.
I turn to her. She's trying not to cry, but her eyes are brimming – I know why she's like this.
"Carrie? Are you OK?" Jenny asks.
"Yes, Carrie, are you OK?" I ask, giving her a stern look. It's as if I'm telling her not to give the game away.
Rose and Oscar also turn to Carrie with steely looks on their faces.
Carrie realizes why everyone is staring at her. "Oh, erm… I-I'm just so happy that MI9 is back in business again and we don't have to go back to our regular, boring lives," she says, wiping away her tears.
Rose, Oscar and I wait with bated breath to see if Jen's taken the bait.
"Hmmmm," she says. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad that MI9 is back in business, too."
We mentally let out a sigh of relief. Thank God for that.
"And I'm also glad that we don't have to give back to our dull, mundane lives," Jenny continues.
"That's something worth celebrating as well," I say.
"Great idea." Jenny looks at her watch. "We better get over there as quickly as we can. It's nearly six o'clock, and the place will soon be crowded."
Jenny uses her watch communicator to change back into her civilian clothes – as do Rose, Oscar and Carrie. Zeke's androids fly back to his house and he joins us. After we all squeeze in the car, we drive down to the West End.