"Don't panic. Don't panic. I have a friend who works at a bookstore. She says they have a book on everything. I'll run down there and get something to help figure this out." Zara reassured her cousin. "I can be there and back in fifteen minutes, tops."
"What do I do while you're gone?" X demanded. "I can't just sit here while every agent is poisoned! What if whoever does it comes back?"
"X, your job is catching murderers, or attempted ones. My job is patching the victims back together. If a murderer shows up, just do what you're supposed to do."
"What about the agents? Zara, I can't just leave them in the middle of the floor like they are!"
"Can you get blankets and pillows? Really, the best thing to do, at least until we know what we're dealing with, is to try to make them comfortable just where they are."
"Blankets and pillows. Got it." X said as he hurried back towards the main room again. "Zara, please hurry." he begged before shouting for the worms to get busy and get things to make the poor agents comfortable.
"It must be bad. He said please." Zara murmured.
"Go, dear. We'll all stay here and help him until you get back." Zoe said as she almost pushed Zara out the door before going back to talk to X. "Son, is there a way that you can hook the comm into that big monitor? Maybe between all of us, we can think of something that could help."
"Zara, if you actually miss the brakes one day, and turn this place into a drive through, you know that my bosses are going to take it out of my pay, right?" the JeeDangian sitting at the front counter of the bookstore said as Zara came hurrying in.
"Xendra, have I ever missed the brakes? Where are you books on complicated machinery, possibly machinery that's been modified by a lunatic? It's an emergency."
"The hospital didn't let that Doctor What's his Name, the one that you said was so weird, back in the place, did they?" her friend asked as she stepped out from behind the desk and started to lead her towards the stacks.
"No, my cousin's got a problem, and I promised I would be back in fifteen minutes to solve it." Zara scanned the shelves her Zendra pointed out and jerked out books with titles like Complicated Machinery for Dummies, What to do When a Lunatic Gets Their Hands on Complicated Machinery, Machinery Modifications and You, When Disaster Strikes. and How to Turn Things On. Surely one of those would help. "What about poisons? Do you have anything on poisonings, especially poisonings and humans?"
"We have some books from Earth that one of our buyers picked up. My boss wasn't sure of where to shelve them." Zendra said as she lead her over to another shelf and waved. "Speaking of Earth. How's your cousin liking working there?"
"He was enjoying it, but he might be back a little sooner than he was planning if I don't find something to help and make it back to the house quick. Someone just poisoned all of his little human co-workers. I've got to talk him through making up an antidote, but first I've got to work out how to turn the machines in their medical lab on."
Before Zara could say anything else, the two Jeedangians heard someone approaching. "Excuse me," a tall blue alien said. "But did you just say something about humans and poisoning?"
After a moment, Zara slowly nodded. "My cousin's co-workers. Why?"
"You aren't talking about the MIB, are you? Please tell me that you aren't talking about the MIB." Edie asked. Jay had told her about the Jeedangian they had been forced to hire, but surely it would be too much of a coincidence for his cousin to just pop up in the bookstore when she had been waiting with Aileen when their flight had been delayed.
"Yes. I loved the special that cousin of yours managed to have the news do on them." Zendra said. "Some of those humans, like that Agent Kay, were really cute. Why would someone hurt humans like that? Here." She shoved a stack of books at Zara. "Maybe one of these will help. Take them, and what you don't need, bring it back later."
"Wait a minute. All of the agents are sick? What about Jay? And Kay?" Edie demanded.
"Ummm...." Zara paused, trying to put names with the faces from the TV special. "They were there. I remember now. Poor things neither one of them looked too good from what I could see."
"Oh, no. Wait here, then. And can I get you to hold these?" Edie said as she thrust the books she had selected into Zendra's hands before rushing off to the bookstore's cafe, frantically waving for her partner.
"Aileen, we've got to go. Little problem on Earth." Edie said reaching her before she could stand and hauling her out of her seat and for the door where the Jeedangian was looking at them in puzzlement. At least she was waiting for them though.
"Problem on Earth?" How in the world would Edie find out about a problem on Earth while gathering more books that was good for her?
"Yeah. All of the agents just got poisoned. It's a heck of a coincidence, but that alien that Jay was complaining about them having to hire, his cousin just came in, trying to get some books to fgure out how to fix it."
"All of the agents?" Aileen stopped dead in her tracks and the color faded from her face. "Kay?"
"Aileen, I'm sorry." Edie said as it hit her that maybe she ought to have worried more about letting her partner know what was happening gently than worrying about rushing her to try to help.
Aileen's entire body trembled and then she somehow pulled herself up straight, heading to the door under her own power. "Excuse me, if my partner didn't explain this to you." She said when she reached Zara, "but we know the MIB. Every agent was poisoned?"
"Every person in the building, but my cousin and four worms. They were out getting ice cream. You know them? I could appreciate some help with this. X knows what he's doing when it comes to keeping the peace, but when it comes to a batch of sick humans, well, it's a different story. I'm going to try to walk him through mixing up an antidote, if I can figure out how to turn the machines on to see what antidote they need, but I know he's worried that whoever did this could turn up."
"We're coming." Aileen said as she followed Zara out to her vehicle. and got in on the passenger side, motioning for Edie to get in the back. "How bad is it?"
"It hit them in under an hour. Are the two of your law enforcement or something? I'm sure you know that isn't good." Zara said. "You might want to make sure your seat belts are nice and tight. I promised X I would hurry a little more than usual."