Chapter 26: The Master of Disguise

Ace gripped the wheel with exaggerated confidence as he and Melissa sped down the road toward Gen-Sys. Melissa crossed her arms and shot him a skeptical glance.

"You do realize this place is heavily guarded, right?" she asked. "We're talking security checkpoints, keycard access, retina scans—"

"Blah, blah, blah," Ace interjected, wiggling his fingers dramatically. "You're thinking about the 'how.' I'm thinking about the 'how much fun we can have breaking in.'"

Melissa groaned. "Ace, I'm serious. How are we supposed to get inside without clearance?"

Ace smirked, taking an abrupt detour.

"Not to worry, my dear she-devil," he said. "I just have to pick up a buddy of mine."

Melissa furrowed her brows as they pulled up in front of an apartment building. "Where are we?"

Ace said nothing. Instead, he casually put two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud, sharp whistle.

Melissa blinked in confusion. "Okay, what was—"

Before she could finish, a small doggy door at the bottom of the building's front entrance swung open. A second later, a little Jack Russell Terrier shot out like a cannonball, sprinted toward the car, and leapt straight through the open window with the precision of a trained acrobat.

"And he sticks the landing! Like a glove!" Ace cheered as the dog landed perfectly in his lap. "That's a good boy!" He gave the dog an affectionate scratch behind the ears.

Melissa, still slightly stunned, looked from Ace to the dog. "Who do we have here?"

"This," Ace said proudly, "is Milo—the smartest dog in the world."

Milo turned his head toward Melissa, his eyes twinkling with confidence.

Melissa and Milo exchanged an awkward stare.

"Well," she said hesitantly. "He's cute, I'll give him that."

Milo gave a self-satisfied huff, as if to say, Of course I am.

"But what exactly do you plan to do with him?" she asked.

Ace simply gestured to the back seat. Melissa turned around and was met with an unexpected sight—two pristine Gen-Sys lab outfits neatly folded, complete with name tags.

Her jaw dropped. "What? But… how?"

Ace grinned and wagged a finger. "Ah, you just found out back at the zoo who we were looking for. I, on the other hand, did a little homework after we hung up earlier."

Melissa's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"When you mentioned that some guy named Will Rodman dropped Caesar off, I decided to do some digging," Ace explained. "And I don't mean the kind Milo does in the backyard. Turns out, our chimp is the offspring of an ape named Bright Eyes, who—get this—was part of an experiment involving a new drug that enhanced intelligence."

Melissa looked stunned. "Wait. How did you find all this out? I'm sure that kind of information was top secret."

Ace leaned in with a smug grin. "Oh, it was top secret. Locked away in a highly secure server. But!" He held up a finger. "Nobody knows how to go through the back door like Ace Ventura!"

Melissa arched an eyebrow. "You hacked into a classified system?"

"Well, hacked is such a strong word. Am I right, Milo?" Ace asked, receiving a slight nod from the dog. "I prefer creative digital maneuvering."

Melissa let out a small chuckle. "You must've picked up some new tricks since the last time I saw you."

Ace grinned. "What was that? Sounded like admiration?"

Melissa smirked and looked out the window. "Oh, nothing. Mr. Backdoor."

Ace nudged Milo. "Did she just admit I'm impressive?"

Milo let out a small woof of agreement.

Ace clapped his hands. "That's it! One vote for Ace! We're infiltrating Gen-Sys, baby!"

As he hit the gas, Melissa shook her head with a grin. "This is either going to be brilliant or an absolute disaster."

"Why not both?" Ace shot back.

And with that, they sped off toward Gen-Sys, ready to pull off the most ridiculous break-in ever attempted.

Ace and Melissa adjusted their Gen-Sys lab coats as they stepped out of the car, blending into their new disguises. Milo sat comfortably in Ace's arms, looking as composed as ever.

"Alright, just follow my lead," Ace whispered as they approached the entrance.

Before Melissa could respond, Ace suddenly picked up his pace, walking briskly toward the front doors like a man on a mission. His face was etched with feigned urgency, his eyes darting around as if a crisis were unfolding.

A security guard at the front desk immediately took notice and stood up. "Excuse me, halt!" the guard ordered.

"No time for that!" Ace shot back, still moving at full speed. "We have a Level One Outbreak situation!"

The guard's expression shifted to concern. "An outbreak? What kind of outbreak?"

Ace tightened his grip on Milo and lowered his voice to a dramatic hush. "The chemicals in this dog's body could contaminate the entire planet. We're talking total human annihilation."

The guard's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

Ace didn't break stride. "You ever heard of canine-induced molecular destabilization?"

The guard hesitated. "Uh... no?"

"Exactly! That's how top secret this is!" Ace declared. Then, with exaggerated seriousness, he lifted Milo's tail. "If he activates his sphincter before I can get him into quarantine, it's game over."

The guard instinctively took a step back as Milo's rear end was now uncomfortably close to his face. "Whoa—wait a minute—"

"Shh!" Ace interrupted. "We have maybe seconds before—"

At that moment, Milo let out a deep, unholy fart. The air around them grew thick with a toxic-like presence, a putrid stench so vile it could peel paint off the walls.

The guard's face contorted in horror as his eyes began to water. "Oh my God!" he gasped, stumbling back and waving his hands in front of his nose.

"SEE?!" Ace shouted. "IT'S HAPPENING! THIS IS DEFCON MILO!"

The guard panicked. Without hesitation, he slammed his hand against the emergency override button, unlocking the security doors. "GO, GO, GO!" he urged, gagging.

Ace and Melissa wasted no time, rushing inside and into the waiting elevator. As the doors closed behind them, Melissa turned to Ace, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I cannot believe that worked," she muttered.

Ace smirked, giving Milo an approving pat. "Never underestimate the power of a well-timed dog fart."

Milo wagged his tail proudly.

"I'm glad you ate those beans," Ace said to Milo. "You were always willing to make sacrifices for the greater good."

"Beans?" Melissa asked. "You mean to tell me you guys planned all this?"

Ace and Milo simultaneously gave Melissa a confident stare along with a bit of an eye waggle.

The elevator began its descent, taking them deeper into the heart of Gen-Sys. "Now, let's find our chimp."

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, Ace's eyes locked onto several figures clad in biohazard suits. Spotting a couple of unused suits hanging on a nearby rack, he and Melissa quickly slipped into them. With Milo in tow, they stepped into the room, only for Ace to freeze in his tracks, his expression darkening at the sight before him.

Rows of cages lined the laboratory, each holding a different animal—some malnourished, others barely moving. The air reeked of chemicals and neglect.

"Holy testicle Tuesday," Ace muttered, his voice laced with disgust.

Melissa grimaced, covering her mouth. "This is horrific…"

Ace straightened up and clapped his hands together, drawing everyone's attention. "Alright, listen up! I have direct orders from our esteemed supervisor, Steven Jacobs, to clear this room immediately. My assistant and I need to run a highly classified test on this dog—" he gestured dramatically toward Milo, "—and I assure you, none of you want to be around when it happens."

At the mere mention of Jacobs' name, the lab technicians exchanged nervous glances and didn't hesitate. Without question, they dropped what they were doing and shuffled out of the room.

As the last of them filed past, Ace's gaze zeroed in on a man wearing a name badge: Carl Withers. He stuck out like a sore thumb, lingering just a second too long.

Ace extended an arm, stopping him. "Not you, Carl. Jacobs said you stay."

Carl blinked. "He did?"

The moment the lab doors shut, Ace sprang into action. He grabbed Carl's wrist, twisted his arm behind his back, and shoved him up against one of the cages.

"What the hell are you doing?" Carl bellowed.

Ace applied more pressure. "Oh, just a little Q&A session. Where's the chimp? Caesar."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Carl protested.

"Ree-hee-healy?" Ace dragged out the word in a sing-song voice. "Guess we'll just have to encourage you to talk."

With a swift motion, Ace ripped off Carl's biohazard hood, spun him around, and forced his head toward a nearby petri dish filled with an ominous-looking substance.

"This looks like it might give your skin a nice zesty rash," Ace mused, pressing Carl closer.

"That's just dog food!" Carl blurted out. "We feed it to the test subjects!"

Ace paused, then leaned in to examine the dish. His eyes flicked to Carl, then back to the food. Without hesitation, he stuck out his tongue and gave it a taste.

"Cesar dog food," Ace announced, smacking his lips. "How fitting."

Before Carl could protest, Milo leapt up, snatched the dish off the table, and began scarfing down the contents.

"The beans weren't enough for ya, huh, boy?" Ace quipped.

"You shouldn't let him eat that," Carl warned. "That stuff is laced with experimental compounds!"

Ace waved a dismissive hand. "So were the beans. Trust me, he's built different."

As he spoke, Ace's eyes landed on a shelf lined with metal canisters labeled ALZ-112. He grabbed one and held it up near Carl's face.

Carl's bravado crumbled. His eyes widened in sheer terror. "Don't open that," he pleaded.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Then you better start talking."

Carl swallowed hard. "Fine! Just keep that away from me!" He exhaled sharply, finally cracking. "I know where the damn ape is."

"Go on," Ace prompted.

Carl hesitated but quickly caved under Ace's unrelenting gaze. "A guy named John Landon paid me to take Caesar. Said he wanted to 'further his research' on the chimp."

Ace exchanged a glance with Melissa. "And where exactly can we find Mr. Landon?"

Carl sighed. "He runs a primate shelter across town."

With that, Ace wasted no time. He shoved Carl into an empty cage, securing the door with a satisfying click.

"Let's see how you like it," he remarked before sliding a bowl of dog food into the cage. "In case you get hungry."

Carl scowled but said nothing as Ace turned to the other cages. One by one, he unlatched the locks, setting the animals free. Birds flapped frantically toward the ceiling, monkeys scrambled toward the door, and a few small critters scurried across the floor.

Just as the last animal made its escape, the security elevator dinged open on the main floor. The guard from earlier turned, eyes widening in horror as a flood of creatures stormed past him. His hand shot toward the alarm button—

But before he could press it, Milo leapt onto the desk and let out another lethal fart. This one carried a faint green tinge, no doubt thanks to the ALZ-112-infused dog food.

The guard barely had time to react before the fumes overtook him. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed with a dramatic thud.

Ace nodded approvingly. "Good boy."

As the last of the animals escaped, Ace noticed four turtles waddling sluggishly toward the exit. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on, guys, pick up the pace!"

The turtles shuffled past his feet at their own agonizing speed. That's when Ace noticed one of their tags.

"Raphael."

He raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Now there's a name with potential."

With a satisfied smirk, Ace turned to Melissa. "Onward to Landon's primate shelter!"

"Alrighty then," Melissa smirked.

With that, they disappeared into the night, leaving behind a lab in absolute chaos.

To be continued...