answer.”
Max smiled appreciatively. “Thank you, Chief.”
“You’re welcome. Now, can we get down to business?”
Max put up a hand. “Just a minute, Chief. I haven’t punched in.” He went to the rack of time cards, selected one, then placed it into the slot of the time clock. A bell rang. Max extracted the card and placed it back in the rack. “Which reminds me,” Max said, turning back to the Chief. “My last pay check was short a dollar and seventy-four cents.”
“Well, I’m sorry, Max, but-”
“For overtime,” Max said, approaching the desk. “I don’t want to be petty about it, but if I owed Control a dollar and seventy-four cents for overtime, I would certainly pay up. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”
“I’ll try to-”
“It isn’t much, I know, if you think of it in dollars and cents,” Max said. “But translate it into marbles, at three for a penny, and it would come to quite a handful.”
“I know, Max, I know,” the Chief said. “I’ll send a note to Accounting and make sure that you get your money.”
“Ahhhh, Chief… could I have it in marbles? It will seem like a lot more.”
“Anything you say, Max,” the Chief sighed. “Now, may we discuss the case at hand?”
Max seated himself in the chair at the other side of the Chief’s desk. “I wondered when you were going to get around to that,” he said. “You seemed pretty excited when you interrupted my shoe shine.”
“Max,” the Chief said, leaning forward, “this is the most important case you’ve ever been handed.”
“You mean the fate of the entire civilized world is hanging in the balance again, eh?”
“It’s even more drastic than that. Max, this time it’s the fate of Control that’s hanging in the balance.”
“You know what that means, Max,” 99 said.
“Right! Our jobs are at stake!” He faced back to the Chief. “Give it to me straight, Chief.”
“All right, Max, here it is. Control has acquired possession of KAOS’s ‘Little Black Book.’ That book contains data on the location, layout and organizational structure of every one of KAOS’s installations.”
“Good for us,” Max smiled. “How did we do that, Chief?”
“One of the KAOS agents left it lying on a lunch counter,” the Chief replied. “And, by a stroke of luck, the waitress who was serving him was one of our agents. But that’s not all, Max. Just as we acquired possession of KAOS’s Little Black Book, our Research and Development Department completed work on a compact and especially destructive explosive. This explosive is very tiny. It’s about the size-” He reached into his pocket. “Here, I’ll show you,” he said, holding out a tiny green pellet the size of a pea.
“Chief, I think I can tell you what you had for dinner the last time you wore that suit,” Max said.
“No, Max, this is it. This is the explosive. As you can see, it’s no larger than a pea.”
“Amazing!” Max said, taking the pellet from the Chief and holding it up. “It actually looks like a pea. I wonder how it would taste with roast beef?”
“Don’t try it,” the Chief warned, retrieving the pellet and putting it back into his pocket. “Now, Max, the important thing about this explosive is that it can be planted at one time and detonated any time later, and from somewhere else. In fact, from anywhere else.”
“I see. It has a long fuse, right?”
“No, Max. This explosive is electronically operated.” He pointed to a button on his desk. “If I were to punch this button, Max, every pellet, everywhere, would explode. This is the electronic control. Do you realize, Max, what would happen if I punched that button?”
Max nodded. “It would rain peas.”
“Not quite, Max. Try again.”
“Well, let’s see. There is a pea in your pocket. So that means that you would probably ruin a perfectly good suit.”
“You’re getting closer, Max. Let’s just suppose that one of these explosives had been planted in each of the KAOS installations. Then, let’s just suppose that I punched this button. Can you visualize the result?”
Max closed his eyes tightly. “Yes… I can see it. It looks like an early Fourth of July.”
“Exactly, Max,” the Chief said.
“Chief, how are Max and I involved in this?” 99 asked.
“Your mission, 99-and Max-is to travel to each of the KAOS installations, infiltrate, and plant an explosive. After you have done that, you are to return to Headquarters.”
“I see,” 99 said. “And then-”
The Chief nodded. “And then, I will punch the button.”
“Chief, isn’t that a little silly?” Max said. “After we’ve gone to all the trouble of planting those peas, then you’re going to blow them up?”
“And blow up the KAOS installations, too, Max,” the Chief explained.
“Oh, yes… I see. Very clever, Chief. I never would have thought of that.”
“That’s wonderful, Chief!” 99 enthused. “We now have the means to destroy KAOS completely for once and all!”
“Exactly,” the Chief smiled.
“Ahhh… one thing,” Max said. “Chief, when you opened this discussion, you told us that the fate of Control was hanging in the balance. But, the way it sounds to me, it’s the fate of KAOS that’s hanging in the balance.”
“That’s very observant of you, Max,” the Chief replied. “As a matter of fact, there’s more to the story.”
“I see. Part II, eh?”
“You might say that, yes.”
Max put his foot up on the Chief’s desk. “I suppose you’ll want to shine my shoe while you tell it.”
The Chief pushed the shoe aside. “No, I don’t believe so. But I understand what you mean. I do business with Pedro, too.”
“What is Part II, Chief?” 99 asked.
“Well, as you know, Control has-or, rather, had — a ‘Little Black Book’ that is similar-or, rather, identical-to KAOS’s Little Black Book. Unfortunately, one of our agents left it on a lunch counter. And, doubly unfortunately, the waitress was a KAOS agent.”
Max pounded a hand against the side of his head. “I think there’s an echo in here, Chief,” he said. “I’m hearing things twice.”
“No, it’s a different story, it just sounds the same,” the Chief said. “And, to make it even more of a coincidence, we have been informed by one of our informers at KAOS that KAOS’s Research and Development Department has developed a compact and especially destructive explosive that can be planted at one time and detonated any time later and from afar.”
“There goes that echo again, Chief,” Max complained.
“Chief,” 99 said, “could it be that at this very moment-”
“Yes,” the Chief broke in. “At this very moment, a KAOS agent is attempting to infiltrate our installations and plant the KAOS explosives. And when and if he completes the mission he is to return to KAOS Headquarters. At that time, KAOS will-” The Chief shuddered.
“Yes, yes, what?” Max asked.
“Let me put it this way… on the desk of the Chief at KAOS there is a button…”
Max pounded the side of his head again. “Chief, I’m sure there’s an echo in here.”
“Then it’s a race, is that it, Chief?” 99 said.
“Exactly, 99. You and Max will be attempting to plant explosives in the KAOS installations. And, at the same time, the KAOS agent will be attempting to plant explosives in the Control installations. The winner will be the winner. We’re calling this: Operation Button Button Who’ll Punch the Button!”
“If I’ve doped this out correctly,” Max said, rising, “we don’t have a second to lose. Every wasted moment puts Control in more and more danger. 99-let’s go!”
Max strode to the door, whipped it open, charged from the room, and dashed down the corridor.
The Chief shook his head woefully.
99 rolled her eyes ceilingward.
