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“You think you could ride in a kangaroo’s pouch?” asked Nick, holding up a small, stuffed kangaroo wearing a t-shirt that said AUSTRALIA. “I always thought that would be sweet.”

“I think it’d be nasty, dawg,” Styx replied, wrinkling his nose. “That’s where the baby kangaroo develops – it’d be like ridin’ around in a chick’s uterus!”

“Like we haven’t all done that before,” Diamond said dryly, looking up from her phone just long enough to roll her eyes at her two male companions.

“Well, you know what I mean!” spluttered Styx. “It’s probably all full of… fluids and goopy shit.”

“Ew.” Diamond made a face before turning back to her phone. Nick turned back to the touristy merchandise.

They were killing time at a gift shop near their gate at the Melbourne Airport, waiting to board their flight to Lima, Peru, to investigate the disappearance of several antique books. Nick hoped they would have better luck there than they had in Australia. They’d found no leads on the theft of the Gospels of St. Luke and St. John, an eighth-century text on loan from Cambridge, England. It appeared to have been stolen without a trace from the State Library Victoria in Melbourne. The English were going to be as pissed as the Aussies if their precious book wasn’t found and returned.

Hell, I would be too, thought Nick, his mind on the President’s Book. All that information, including – probably – details on HimTak itself, in the hands of a crook. How long would it take, he wondered, for the secrets to start spilling?

He was startled out of his thoughts by the familiar beep of his watch. Looking down, he pressed the button that raised the miniature video screen, which showed Agent K sitting behind his desk. “Double-0s,” K began brusquely, as Diamond and Styx looked in over each of Nick’s shoulders. “Our globetrotting book bandit has struck again! This time, she’s ‘borrowed’ Beowulf from the British Library in London. More specifically, she’s nabbed the Nowell Codex, a book dating back to the first millennia, which contains the unique manuscript of Beowulf, as well as four other texts. Your mission, Double-0s: bring Beowulf back to Britain, and catch the crook who took the book!”

Nick cocked his head. “K, when did you start speaking in rhyme?”

“Never mind that, 008,” snapped K, stern as ever. “Now fly to London and find that felon!”

“It’s really more alliteration than rhyme, what he’s using,” said Diamond thoughtfully, as the video screen descended back into Nick’s watch.

“Huh?”

“Never mind. We’d better head to the airline counter and tell them we need to fly to London, not Lima. I hope there’s not a fee for changing flight plans this late.”

Nick chuckled. “If there’s a fine, it’s on K’s dime. And hey, guess what – that almost rhymed!”

“You’re like K: a poet, and you don’t know it,” Diamond quipped with a smile.

“Oh, trust me.” Nick winked. “I know it.”


± ± ±


“The other team’s headed to London,” Jay told Leo and Opal, as they sat around their newest hiding place, in a different hotel across town, logged in to their laptops. “There was another theft there yesterday.”

“Let me guess: another priceless book?” droned Leo.

“Priceless and ancient,” replied Jay. “It contained the sole surviving manuscript of Beowulf, and it’s wicked old, like Biblical old.”

Opal shook her head. “This is terrible!” she moaned. “We have to put a stop to this! If only I could figure out what this clue means. Do you think it leads to London?”

“If it does, it won’t matter now; we’re too late.”

“I still want to crack it. Maybe there’ll be another clue left at the new crime scene. I know it’s in another language; I just need to figure out which one. It’s hard to figure out how the letters were rearranged when I don’t know what language it was in originally.” She sighed, sweeping back her newly-blonde hair, as she looked at the clue on her computer screen. “It uses the Latin alphabet, but only nineteen letters – of course, maybe the other seven just weren’t needed in the message,” she murmured, thinking out loud. “It uses grave accents, but no other diacritics, which rules out certain languages. It doesn’t appear to be a Germanic, Romance, or Indo-Iranian language, which means we need to think outside the box…”

“Well,” said Leo, listening in on her thoughts, “let’s think, then. The clue might lead to London, England. What languages do they speak in England?”

“Well, English, of course,” said Opal. “There will be immigrants who speak other languages, just as there are in the States. But…”

“Let’s go wider, then. Outside the box.” Leo grinned. “How about the whole UK? What are the main languages?”

A slow smile started across Opal’s face, matching his, as she ticked the possibilities off on her fingers. “Well, there would be Welsh... Scots and Scottish Gaelic… Irish… Cornish…”

“Most of those are pretty obscure, right? Could it be one of those?”

“It could…” Opal stared at her screen with fresh eyes. The two men left her alone, and it took her just half an hour to cry out, “I’ve got it!”

“What is it?” Jay and Leo crowded around her laptop.

“It’s in Gaelic. Scottish Gaelic. It was encrypted using columnar transposition, the same type of coding used on the Kryptos sculpture outside the CIA headquarters. All I had to do was find the right key, the number of column shifts.”

“Okay, most of that was over my head, but continue,” said Jay, and they all laughed.

“I started trying numbers, until I got a letter pattern with something recognizable. The number thirteen gave me this.” She motioned to the text now displayed on her screen:

HARRY TIONNDADH AIR A' 'AITE, LE GRIPHOOK AIR A GUALAINN, SAOIL LE UILE A NEIRT AIR A' AODIONACH BOITEAG, A' TAIGH-“SDA SIN A' DORAS DO TRASDA CAOL-SHRÀID. A' B“CAN CUM MAR SIN FHÈIN CUIMIR MAR IAD IMICH A-STEACH DO A' PEINNTEALTA DORCHADAS, AGUS DARA AIR DHEIREADH HARRY'S LUIGHEAN BONN CABHSAIR AGUS E DRE“SGACH A SUIL AIR CHARING A'CHROIS BEALACH.

To Jay, it looked no different at first, but then he recognized a couple of English words – names, rather. “Hey,” he said, pointing, “it says ‘Harry.’ And there, ‘Griphook.’ Is that a name, too?”

“Hard to tell if it’s a proper noun, with everything in caps,” said Leo.

“Where have I heard that word before? It sounds familiar…” Jay stroked his goatee, his eyes narrowed at the screen.

“Griphook? Sounds like a tool or a weapon. Or maybe a pirate name or something.”

“Ugh, not pirates again,” Jay groaned. “I’ll keep thinking on it. Can you translate it into English?”

“I can, but it will take some time. Gaelic isn’t exactly a language I’m fluent in,” chuckled Opal.

“Me neither, but maybe I can help,” Leo volunteered. “I’m good with languages.”

“Okay…”

As they settled down to the tedious task of translating the clue, Jay continued to muse over the word “Griphook.” “The name Harry is used here twice, see?” he heard Leo murmur. “It must be important.”

Important… Harry… Griphook… Harry…

All of a sudden, it came to Jay. “I got it!” he called out, leaping up from the bed. “Griphook’s a goblin, not a pirate. And Harry – wait for it – is Harry Potter!”

Two heads turned away from the computer screen at the same time, staring at him with identical looks of skepticism. “You think this clue she’s been working on for days somehow refers to Harry Potter?” Leo said, his eyebrows raised.

“I know it does. And listen, it makes sense! Everywhere she goes, she’s stealing books, right? Books. So why not have her clues refer to books, too? Hell, I bet this clue is right out of one of the Harry Potter books!”

“Which you’ve read, apparently,” smirked Leo. Apparently, this was all very amusing to him.

“Hell yeah, I have. Who hasn’t?”

“Me?”

Jay scoffed. “Well, you’re missing out, then, buddy. The series is epic!”

“Okay, okay, enough,” Opal cut in. “It helps that we know what the clue comes from. Now all we have to do is finish putting it in English, and we should be able to figure out where it leads.”

“Hope it’s not Hogwarts,” said Jay. “It’s unplottable. Maybe King’s Cross Station… Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters…”

Leo burst out laughing. “Nerd.”

“Whatever, dude. Like I said, you don’t know what you’re missing. I wonder, is 4 Privet Drive a real address?”

“There’s no mention of a Privet Drive,” said Opal after awhile, “but there is a Diagon Alley and a Charing Cross Road. Look…” And she showed them the English text.

“Harry turned on the spot, with Griphook on his shoulders, concentrating with all his might on the Leaky Cauldron, the inn that was the entrance to Diagon Alley. The goblin clung even tighter as they moved into the compressing darkness, and seconds later Harry’s feet found pavement and he opened his eyes on Charing Cross Road.”

“Diagon Alley!” cried Jay. “Of course! All we need to do is find the Leaky Cauldron. Of course, that’s easier said than done, since Muggles can’t see it… Neither of you is a witch or wizard, are you?”

“Dude,” Leo chuckled. “Agent Jay, the rebel of HimTak, really is a Harry Potter nerd. You think the other agents know this?” he asked Opal, “or can we use it for blackmail?”

“Hardy-har-har,” retorted Jay good-naturedly. “If you don’t watch it, I’ll make it required reading for Double-0s. How ‘bout that, Vitruvian?”

“How ‘bout Vitruvian stops razzing Jay long enough to book us a flight to London?” suggested Opal with a smirk. “And don’t worry about getting us seats together – at the rate you two are going, I think I’d rather sit by myself. A few hours of peace and quiet would be nice.”

The two men were taken aback. “At your service, Your Royal Odyssey,” said Leo finally, with an unctuous little bow and a smirk to match. Then he went back to his computer to look up the next flight to London.


± ± ±


The British Library was a sprawling, red brick building, filled with books and exhibits, collections and archives, and reading rooms that could accommodate hundreds of visitors. Yet, on this particular afternoon, the library was nearly deserted, unless you counted the security guards and Scotland Yard officers that were canvassing the place.

“We’ve been closed ever since the theft,” explained one of the library’s directors, as she led Nick, Diamond, and Styx on a tour through the building. “We can’t bear to risk any other items disappearing or any evidence being destroyed, so we’re being especially stringent with who we allow into the building.”

“What’s your security usually like?” asked Nick. “Do you normally have an idea of who comes and goes?”

“Anyone is welcome to enter the library, tour the building, or visit our exhibition galleries. We require a reader pass for those wishing to use any of our sixteen reading rooms, through which the majority of our collections can be accessed. Patrons have to be at least eighteen to apply for a reader pass and must show proper identification and proof of residence. We generally discourage those who are not students or researchers. Some hear the word ‘library’ and assume we operate the same way as a public library, which isn’t the case.”

“So the person who stole the Codex… would they have had one of those reader passes?” Diamond wondered hopefully.

“Likely, yes, but the book that was stolen didn’t disappear from one of the reader rooms. It was on display in one of our galleries, which is open to the public. We have security footage from that day, but it’s awfully grainy.”

“Wonder who she was posing as this time?” muttered Diamond.

“Maybe Pearl can clean it up,” Nick replied out of the side of his mouth. To the director, he said, “We’d like to see the security tape, please.”

“Of course, Mr. Carter. If you’ll just follow me…”


± ± ±


“Well, Agent Jay, we’ve followed you this far,” said Leo, spreading his arms wide. “Now what.”

Jay looked around. The three of them stood at the intersection of Charing Cross Road and Oxford Street, in the West End of London. After more than twelve straight hours of travel, he was exhausted, and his brain felt fuzzy. He wished his thoughts were less muddled, but the jetlag was quickly catching up to him. Though the sun had not yet set in England, it was already the next morning in China; they’d lost eight hours of time and a whole night’s sleep.

“Think,” Jay muttered to himself. “Think… The Leaky Cauldron… where would it be?”

Leo and Opal stood staring at him as he thought out loud, completely helpless. “Let’s just start walking,” Opal suggested finally, with an impatient shrug. “Maybe we’ll see something that will point us in the right direction.”

Jay agreed, and they set off up Charing Cross Road. At least there was only one direction to go in; past Oxford Street, Charing Cross became Tottenham Court Road, which wasn’t part of the clue. They were on the right path – literally. Now they just had to find the right place to stop.

They walked along, passing bars, boutiques, and bookstores. Jay looked longingly through open doors and into store windows, tempted by the smell of liquor, the sight of animal-print hats modeled by mannequins. Then he remembered their purpose and suddenly grabbed Opal’s arm. “Bookstore!” he shouted, pointing. It was the second one they had passed.

“I see…” said Opal cautiously, staring at him like there was something wrong with him.

“Let’s look it up! In Harry Potter!”

Before the others could respond, Jay was already jogging into the book shop. He found the children’s section in a distant corner, and it didn’t take him long to spot a colorful display of Harry Potter books. By the time Opal and Leo joined him, he had already snatched up a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and was rifling through its pages.

“Here!” he cried suddenly. Opal and Leo leaned in to read over his shoulders as he read out loud, “They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks?”

He skipped a few lines and read further down the page, “’This is it,’ said Hagrid, coming to a halt, ‘the Leaky Cauldron. It’s a famous place.’ It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn’t pointed it out, Harry wouldn’t have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn’t glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn’t see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it. Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.”

“So you see,” Jay said when he was done, “all we need to look for is a book shop that’s next to a record store. The clue should be somewhere between them.”

Leo looked skeptical, but Opal nodded and said, “That helps. Let’s try it.”

On impulse, Jay paid for the book, rather than putting it back on the shelves, and carried it with him as they set off up the road again. They moved at a quicker pace this time, checking the signs over every door on each side of the street. As it turned out, there were lots of book shops on Charing Cross Road, but only a few music stores. When they found one next to a large, chain bookseller with a narrow alley in between, Jay knew they’d reached the right place.

“This is it,” he whispered, his heart hammering with excitement. He crept into the dim alleyway, feeling a little like Nicolas Cage in National Treasure. The alley was a dead end, walled in with bricks at the back. That was perfect. Jay opened his Harry Potter book again, squinting to decipher the words in the shadowy light. At last, he read, “Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.” Here he stopped and looked around. The alley was not exactly a courtyard, but it had walls and weeds and, look, there was the trash can.

“Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can. ‘Three up… two across…’ he muttered. ‘Right, stand back, Harry.’ He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella. The brick he had touched quivered – it wriggled – in the middle, a small hole appeared – it grew wider and wider – a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight. ‘Welcome,’ said Hagrid, ‘to Diagon Alley.’”

“Three up… two across…” repeated Leo, and for the first time, he looked enthusiastic. He reached towards the brick wall, but Jay pushed his hand away.

“No way, newbie. I figured out the clue; I get the first look.”

Vitruvian scowled, but backed up to let Jay move in on the wall. He counted three bricks up from the center of the trash can lid, then hesitated. Two across… but which way? He moved right, one, two bricks.

The last brick moved when he tapped it. It was loose!

“Bingo,” said Jay, as he wiggled it out of its mortar. He handed the brick to Leo and shoved his hand into the space where it had been. It was dark and gritty with brick dust, but at last, his fingers brushed a new texture, something smooth, like paper. He pulled out a small scroll of rolled up parchment paper.

“You found it!” exclaimed Opal, her eyes dancing in the dim light. “This is almost fun!”

Leo shoved the brick back into place and turned to Jay. “What’s it say?”

Jay was unrolling the scroll. His heart sank when he saw what was on it, and immediately, he passed it to Opal, muttering, “It’s another damn clue. Looks like gibberish, if you ask me.”

T Ê' NAO SÈNEZÀEOSR VLEETR EE TN TEO CUIS E ETG…OEP ERLSSAEDXUUTTP…DMORÀ,EOMV R MA,BMOD ELTD UAPVDRRUEP EDR ZTES,SE BS ODTEE,S RMO DEBA,NSMDARNNOAU' NEITDARIEMMTA ED,NRARE NRLANSLHGN;OGPEUUNSSELNR EUFLANIOLNAOO PLEÀNRMEDATTA LT DCAENOUUXNTL ALMM…STLSOA SEP À.C;À .VUET …E 'CU È E NE TRN, SR, RI'SEOEENESTSLS…CC NIESEEJ,IUAESSBEIR LLDMI VIEANMÇL-IMOS RPR TZ EIELDAAN…I CN C OE H TEIFSLN,NNSLRO OCENU,UEEOÀOLSUHD ILO LQLM,ZIOEI ES;T DEOTQRDP NEUDOE…LS IEEMRLN NBA ÀMOF EOVEELMMS'URAEDREUAIUEE EMEAA GIOUEPTEIIESERNPDIST DZJ OEGIS…ÀL E PC A V ARODOEUUASA MVUESTL 'M U U EUNSO VR‘ B EEPC ECECSSEIPDRULT NNC LMINNOUNE ST - N-EPU CD UOD… R NZ

“It shouldn’t be as difficult to crack this one,” said Opal confidently. “We know what language and code she used on the first one; if she follows a pattern, this will be cake.”

“If she speaks Gaelic, she’s probably from Scotland, right?” added Leo. “Maybe this will even help track her. It’ll certainly narrow down our options.”

Jay nodded, his heart lifting again. “We’re on the right track.”


± ± ±


In the library not far away, Nick said, “Great. Meet you back at the hotel later.” As the little screen descended into his watch once more, he turned to Diamond and Styx. “Jay and the others are in town now, too. They decoded their clue, and it led them straight here. Well, not here here, but to London, at least. They found another clue, and they’re off to get a room in our hotel so they can rest up and start working on it.”

Diamond frowned. “That’s good…” she said thoughtfully, “but why would the clue lead them somewhere else in London? Why wasn’t another clue found here in the library? Come to think of it, why weren’t clues found at any of the other crime scenes, except for the Library of Congress?”

Nick considered this. They’d combed every inch of the State Library Victoria in Melbourne and come up with nothing – no solid evidence and certainly no clue like the one from the Library of Congress. He was sure Jay’s team would have done the same in China.

“I dunno,” he admitted finally. “That’s weird. But at least it’s a lead to follow, which is more than we’ve found.”

“Maybe not,” spoke up Styx from the computer they’d been gathered around. “Check this out.”

Nick and Diamond returned their attention to the task at hand. They’d captured a fuzzy image of the crook’s face from the library’s security feed, which they’d sent to Pearl to digitally enhance. The image she’d sent back wasn’t crystal clear, but it was an improvement. They had spent the last hour cross-referencing that picture with the library’s database of reader passes.

“This look like the same chick?” Styx asked, pointing at the monitor. Nick’s and Diamond’s eyes moved between the screenshot from the security video and the image he’d brought up on the computer screen. They both hesitated, looking back and forth, and then they nodded.

“It’s her,” Diamond said confidently. “It’s gotta be.”

Nick read the name below the photo of a young, blonde woman on the reader pass. “Ms J Nelson. Not much to go off of.”

“The director said you have to apply for one of these reader passes. I’m sure they keep applications on file,” said Diamond brightly.

Nick couldn’t help but return her smile. “Let’s find out.”

Finally, it seemed they were making progress. Within half an hour, they were pouring over the application of one Jess Nelson, a university student living in London. “We’ve got her name and address,” said Nick. “All we have to do now is track her down.”

“Which, from the way she’s been jaunting around the globe, could be harder than you’d think,” Diamond pointed out.

“Girl gets around,” chuckled Styx.

Diamond rolled her eyes. “Yeah, she’s a real jetsetter.”

“So here’s what we’ll do.” Nick had a plan. “We’ll send Scotland Yard to this address. Diamond, you go with them. Styx and I will head to the airport to see if anyone under this name has made flight reservations. If she’s planning to flee the country or already has, we’ll know.”

Diamond nodded. “Sounds good. Call me if you find out anything.” She waved her precious phone in his face.

“Back at ya,” Nick replied, shoving his watch in hers. “Let’s go, man,” he said to Styx.

“Damn, weren’t we just here?” remarked Styx, as they arrived at the airport once more. “Feels like we ain’t never left the airport!”

Nick groaned. “Tell me about it.” Between his fear of flying and his hatred of boredom, he was not a fan of airports. And Styx was right: they’d certainly spent enough time in them lately. And that didn’t even compare to the number of hours they’d spent in the air. Nick couldn’t wait to finish this mission and set foot on home soil again. If only they could catch this criminal. Nick repeated her name in his head: Jess… Jess Nelson…

They asked to see the head of airport security, who was able to access a passenger database. “There are several Jessica Nelsons, but only one who registered as ‘Jess.’ The passenger in question boarded a flight from London to Munich, Germany.”

Nick and Styx exchanged glances, but before either of them could say a thing, Nick’s watch beeped. Diamond’s pretty face appeared on the screen, looking disheartened. “She’s gone, Nick. The police forced entry on her apartment, and it’s completely deserted. Any luck at the airport?”

“You’re right; she left. But we think we know where she went.”

“Yeah?” Diamond’s voice lifted, a hopeful smile brightening her face. “Where?”

Nick grinned. “All I can tell ya is, we better learn how to say ‘Where is the library?’ auf Deutsch!”


± ± ±


“Wo is die Bibliothek, bitte?” replied Leo promptly, when Nick repeated this joke later.

Nick rolled his eyes at the newest Double-0. This guy was almost more annoying than Shazam. “Thanks, dude, but I was just kidding. Most Germans know English nowadays, don’t they?”

“Well, if not, I’m fluent,” Leo said, with a smug grin.

“Good to know,” replied Nick curtly, not bothering to disguise the sarcastic tone in his voice.

“You know, Carter, I’m sick of your attitude.”

“Well, Di-Crapio, we’re all sick of your face!”

“You’re an overgrown toddler. How you became a Double-0 to begin with…”

“Shut it, both of you!” Jay called over, as he seemed to be conversing with K on his Blackberry. K’s brows furrowed on the screen, as Jay smiled good naturedly. “Kids. So we need an update: how far have the Feds tracked us?”

“They arrived in the UK earlier today,” Pearl’s voice was heard from off-screen. The soft sound of her fingers rapidly typing along the keys followed suit. “I’d say you have a night or so before they track you down. They’re checking with Interpol because of the standard passport check they have when you check into hotels. But since you’re using our HimTak specials, and they apparently mistook Leo for Nick back in China-”

“Mistook him for me? How? I’m way better looking than that-“

“Yet far dumber…”

“So you admit I’m hotter!” Nick grinned at the newer agent before high-fiving Styx, who was snickering as well.

“You’re still a moron.”

“I dunno…” Diamond said, as she sat on the desk of the hotel room, swinging one of her sexy legs idly. “Nick did outsmart you just now…” She casually texted away on her phone after giving Nick one of trademark dazzling smiles.

“Kids, don’t make me get Daddy K involved…” Jay called over, rolling his eyes to himself before shooting Opal a smile.

She was on the bed, pouring over the latest clue. It had turned out not to be Gaelic, and not even the same coding technique, which, of course, had set her all the way back at square one. Well, almost – at least she knew it was likely to be in another language. She thought about asking Leo to see what he could decipher from her various attempts at decoding it, but didn’t feel like causing a fuss between the Blond Battle Royale that seemed to be going on. As her mind wandered, her ears tuned back in to what Jay and Pearl were discussing.

“Because they spotted Leo, Nick’s now being charged with aiding and abetting a fugitive, despite his own HimTak diplomatic immunity; it’ll never stick. Brian is being heavily investigated now… he’s officially being charged,” K continued, after raising a brow at Jay for his last remark.

Nick snapped out of his Diamond-staring reverie, leaving Leo still lost within one. “What?”

K could be seen nodding on the screen of the small device. “He’s not taking it too well, and the CIA is pretty much infuriated at the Feds. Brian’s currently on an extended leave till it’s all settled… and on house arrest, no less, to prevent him from fleeing the way Opal did. The CIA is the only reason he hasn’t been formally arrested yet.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “No wonder CIA’s mad; he’s one of the best. Eff that – if they don’t want him, we should take him. And how’s he talking to you anyway, K?”

The golden-haired scientist’s head leaned over the screen, appearing next to K’s. “Duh, the iPod Touch I gave him communicates directly to us, through an encrypted and untraceable line. Take that, FBI bitches!” Everyone chuckled. “…Anyways, they know you’re in the UK and tailed you that far, but as Lancy booked several hotels under the same aliases, they’re still checking each and every one out. I reverse-traced Opal’s cell phone when she was almost caught in China, so we could track the trackers. As of right now…” More typing noises could be heard. “They’re in Manchester. You’ve got at least a night before they trace you to London, and that’s if they don’t check out the place Lancy booked in Bristol.”

K sighed. “This is becoming more and more problematic. Split up again, and find a way around those damn agents. You’ll now have the Feds following you every step of the way, Carter. Fix this.” And with that, the screen went black.

Nick felt outraged. “What the hell! I wasn’t the one even spotted! Leo was!” K blamed him for everything. One of these days…

Leo leaned against Diamond, rubbing his hand along her side as she giggled seductively. “Those are the breaks, Carter.”

“I’m sorry, Nick…” Opal said softly, walking up to him. “That was my fault; I’d just stupidly forgotten they’d be tracking the cell phone.”

“It’s not your fault, Ash; they shouldn’t even be following you in the first place.” That was when it clicked. So suddenly, and so simply, an idea came to him. It was fun, it was different, and it was brilliant.

Agent Jay caught the look on his most unique agent’s face and raised a brow as he titled down the shades he loved to wear. “Alright, Nick, spill. You have an idea.”

He nodded. “Indeed I do, Jay. Indeed I do.”


± ± ±


Jay had to hand it to Carter. When he had an idea, most of the time, it was ingenious.

In the chair before him sat Opal, decked out so outrageously, he doubted even Brian would recognize her. Gone was the dyed blonde hair. Now he had cropped it shorter, to just above her shoulders. It had become a shocking, bubblegum pink and was spiked in every direction. Out came the lavender contacts, replaced by bright blue. Fake piercings decked out her nose and ears. Black lipstick and heavy eyeliner were the only touches of make-up applied. Given one of Diamond’s wonder bras to give her a bustier appearance, Opal wore over that a black and red Sex Pistols t-shirt, ripped in strategic places, that hugged her slim build. Paired with that was a red and black plaid mini-skirt, accessorized with a black, studded belt and tight, black leggings, leading down to a worn-out pair of Converse sneakers. All in all, she looked nothing close to her real self.

Nick was on the other end of the room, attempting to console a wailing Diamond. The wavy, sun-kissed tresses she loved and adored were now gone. They had been replaced by straightened, raven black locks. The tight and skimpy clothing she wore to impress and hypnotize the men around her were also gone. Instead, she donned one of Opal’s lawyer-esque outfits that she’d been wearing for the earlier disguise: a long pencil skirt the color of charcoal, a matching suit top, and a cream-colored blouse. “This isn’t me!”

Nick sighed. “I know, but hey, you’re still Di. You’re still…” His voice lowered to whisper things he didn’t want anyone else knowing. No need for everyone to learn about the details of their escapades, after all. “You’re perfect for this, and it keeps the Feds away from Opal.”

The plan had been so simple: make the FBI agents believe Diamond was Opal, and that Opal was someone else entirely. He’d take Opal’s phone, since he was now officially a suspect anyway, and call them. This way, Nick would lead them away from the real Opal, as they assumed he was with her now and had been since she’d left DC. He grinned; he was going to love this assignment. The first call, however, was going to be through Jay’s Blackberry, which, like Brian’s iPod Touch, could not be traced, just to give them a little more time before they had to bail.

Jay tossed him the phone as he made his way over with a silent and sulky Diamond Divine in tow. Nick sighed as he sat next to Opal. “I’ll need your voice for this. Since it won’t be from your phone, I don’t want them thinking we split up.” He beamed at Jay. “I love this assignment.” He dialed the number Pearl had given them once he’d shared his amazing idea.

“Agent Tom.”

“Yeah… who’s this?”

“You don’t know who I am? Man, you should. I mean, what kind of agent are you that you don’t even recognize our voices?” Nick nodded at Opal, as he handed her the Blackberry.

“Hi, Agent Tom! How’s Brian?” Nick smiled. Now that was a nice touch. He placed the phone back to his ear in time to hear Tom muttering to Agent Hank.

“Trace the call… now!”

“So, I hear I got upgraded to suspect! I didn’t know the American Government could get any stupider! Are you guys even looking for the person who is really behind this, or are you too busy trying to frame Ashavari? Do you know the enemy…?” Nick beamed, as everyone else rolled their eyes; everyone at HimTak knew the signs of when a sing-along with Nick was coming.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, Carter…”

“Hey, you do know me! Awesome! But….” He took in a deep breath. “Do you know the enemy…?

Do you know your enemy?
Well, gotta know the enemy, ohaooh.

Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well, gotta know the enemy, ohaooh.

Insurgency will rise,
When the blood's been sacrificed.
Don't be blinded by the lies in your eyes.

Say!
Ohaooh
Ohaooh…”

By the end of his little song, he was head banging to full effect, even though, sadly, the FBI agents couldn’t see him the way his colleagues could. He laughed at his own mockery. “So, Agent Tom… do you know the enemy?”

“I know the enemy is off his rocker, and that he’ll be found now that he’s been on the line long enough to be tracked!”

“Is that so?” Nick smirked. “Where am I? Where is Ashavari? Just where are we, Agent Tom?”

Silence.

“I thought so. It’s okay; I’ll make it easier on you next time to trace us. I’ll keep in touch. Toodles!” He clicked the phone off and handed it back to Jay. He couldn’t stop grinning at everyone, even Leo.

“I really, really, love this assignment.”


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