[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
“Thanks for all your help. We couldn’t have done this without you,” Red said the next day, as she and Nick were preparing to leave. She smiled, shaking Julilly’s hand.

“I was glad to help. Hopefully we won’t have to meet like this again.” Julilly nodded. “But if we do, I don’t know anyone else I’d rather work with.”

Red chuckled. “I feel the same.”

Julilly looked over at Nick, giving him a small smile. “It’s been fun, Nick.”

Nick stared at her for a minute before taking her hand and tugging gently. “Walk with me,” he said quietly.

Red rolled her eyes, turning and joining everyone else at the waiting van that would take them home.

“I’ve really enjoyed our time together,” Nick said, smiling.

“Sure you have. You say that to all your women, Nick; I wouldn’t stop to think for a minute that you mean that.”

“But I do. You’re special, baby.”

“Oh yeah? How special?” Julilly questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Really special. You’re my Canadian woman…the one and only.”

Julilly groaned. “Oh lord.”

Nick winked. “You love it.”

Julilly said nothing, just smiled.

“So can I look you up the next time I come to Canada, maybe go to a hockey game? You do like hockey, right?”

Julilly gave him a look of exasperation. “I’m Canadian; of course I like hockey.”

“Then it’s a date.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Carter. I don’t date co-workers,” Julilly sighed.

“But we’re not co-workers. We worked on a special assignment, and now we’re just two adults going to a hockey game… and maybe a nightcap after.” He grinned.

Julilly chuckled. “I should’ve known. I’ll think about it, okay? Hold your breath until I call.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “I’ll have you know, I’m a licensed scuba diver; I can hold my breath longer than you’d imagine, sweets, and that‘s without the tank.”

Julilly stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and tugging him close to her, their lips only inches apart.

“Yeah? Prove it,” she murmured, before kissing him deeply.


  


“Ya know, I’m really gonna miss Canada,” Nick sighed, as he and Red made their way into HimTak’s headquarters.

Red had been unusually quiet on the trip back, casting him nasty glares every so often. “Really?” she dead-panned, walking through the door Nick held open for her.

“Absolutely! I mean, I feel like I’m part Canadian now. And the women – so welcoming…” He chuckled.

Red glared at him again, making her way through another door, making sure to shut it hard. Nick, who was off in his own world, didn’t notice and ran right into it with a muttered “Ow.”

Nick rubbed at his nose absently as they made their down the hall. It took a moment before Nick realized that everyone who passed him was staring at him and snickering, some just full-out laughing. He smiled uneasily the first couple of times, but as they got closer and closer to K’s office, he started growing more and more suspicious, the smile fading into a grimace. He kept asking people what was so funny, but no one could respond – they’d start laughing harder.

“This is quite a welcome for some agents who just saved the world from some deadly virus. They should be thanking us, not laughing at us.” Nick frowned.

“It’s not us they’re laughing at, moron; it’s you.” Red grinned.

Nick frowned deeper. She seemed to be enjoying this, and that was not cool.

“How do you know they’re not laughing at you? How do you know that they‘re…” Nick stopped suddenly.

Lancybassy was staring at him, really staring at him. Nick had grown used to the way Lancy was; he was used to him staring at him, but not like this. It was as if he were undressing him with his eyes. There was a longing, a… hunger in his eyes that Nick had never seen before. He turned quickly, checking to make sure his fly was zipped before turning back around.

Lancy was still staring.

What the hell? He continued to stare at him, his eyes never once leaving Nick as he and Red made their way into K’s office.

“What is that all about?” Nick said, looking at Red.

She shrugged, still grinning. “I have no idea; I’m as lost as you are. Well… maybe not that lost.”

“Shuddup!” Nick groaned.

“I dunno, you’ve always been the product of his fantasies… Maybe he’s just gotten really good at fantasizing about you.”

“That’s just sick, you know that? I haven‘t done anything different to feed his, uh… whatever.”

Red just smiled.

  


“In other news, the plague that had been sweeping through Canada, we’re told, was caused by a biochemical weapon dubbed “FANthrax,” which, although it shares some common characteristics with anthrax, is viral, not bacterial. We’re told that there has been a cure developed; it’s being applied across the country, and we’re assured that they’re shipping the antivirus around the world to prevent another epidemic.”

“Too bad that couldn’t have happened before I caught it.” Brian smirked as he watched the news from where he was lying on the couch.

They’d been back home at his country house in Virginia for about a week now. Ashavari had even come with him, taking her work with her so that she could help Brian as he slowly came back to health. He could hear her in his kitchen, preparing a batch of homemade chicken and dumplings, and he smiled. It was nice, being pampered. He, although better, was still weakened by the effects of FANthrax, and Red had warned him he’d need two weeks’ rest before even considering going back to work. And she’d told him that, to be perfectly honest, with the way the disease had attacked his body, three wouldn’t hurt either. Of course, his boss and Opal had gotten wind of that and were holding him to it. He sighed. He wasn’t fond of being stuck on bed rest; he’d always been an active guy, and being confined like this was going to drive him crazy soon enough.

He’d give them two weeks. Three wasn’t an option; he’d start acting like Nick if he was confined that long. At least he’d survived one already…

“… As for the creator of this monstrous disease, we’re told it was an anarchist acting alone. The Canadian Service Intelligence Agency denied repeated rumors about it coming from a terrorist organization. Sources report that the culprit is believed to have died, after his helicopter was shot down during a pursuit by both the Canadian and American Air Forces…”

“Good.”

“You know, it’s funny how HimTak has their fingers in every global problem, yet no one has any hint of their existence.”

Brian smiled as his girlfriend set the bowl of piping hot soup on the TV tray before him. The aroma tantalized his nose and reminded him of just how good it was to be on something other than an IV or soft foods again these past couple days. She sat beside him on the couch, her hand trailing along his face tenderly. Brian chuckled softly. “I know, but that’s how the UN wants it.”

“So working for the UN isn’t just a rumor spread to enforce authority.”

“Not the way Kev tells it, and he’s always been honest with me since I started liaising with HimTak. The UN figured they’d be nothing but a powerless figurehead without something to back it up. I’m sketchy on the details…” He smirked. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed to know what I do, but it led to HimTak being born, a police force to keep the world at peace, for the most part.”

Opal nodded, lifting a spoon and blowing on it gently before feeding him. “Makes sense.” She fed him some more contentedly. Brian had to admit, he could definitely get used to this sort of thing. Recovering from a deadly virus did have its benefits. He glanced up as she continued, “… I got a new assignment the other day…”

A brow rose as he swallowed the rest of the soup in his mouth. “When?”

“Just before I rushed up to Canada. It’s from the Feds.”

This time, he sat up with a start. As much as he loved serving his country, protecting it every way he could, as part of the Central Intelligence Agency, he wasn’t fond of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In fact, ironically, it was, at times, similar to Nick’s frustration with the government. The FBI tended to mess with things Brian felt was a waste of time, seeing as the CIA had a branch to deal with the “unknown.” A branch he himself was part of, and the top ranking agent to boot. It seemed unnecessary, the FBI’s having its own branch, which, at times, interfered with his investigations. However, it was the CIA that occasionally involved itself with HimTak matters, while the FBI typically did not.

“Really? What do they want with you, Ash? I know they have their own cryptographers…”

Ashavari nodded, as her hand brushed against Brian’s sideburns. “You’re getting too scruffy,” she teased.

“Ash, come on, what’s the deal?”

“Remember your Playboy mission?”

“Alien central? Sure.”

“All the technology they took…”

“Still can’t believe they were allowed to keep it all when my branch could have done more with it…”

“They want to see if I can’t crack the alien language. So they’re borrowing me, and my department approved it. It’s supposed to rank above all other assignments – and stay highly classified…”

Brian chuckled. “So I don’t count then. Nice.”

“You know you need to shave. You’re starting to look like the Wolfman.”

He howled playfully, and before the two could continue, Brian heard his phone ringing. However, the ringtone wasn’t the one he normally had. No, this one wasn’t it at all. Yet he knew it was coming from his phone beside the couch, sitting on the TV tray next to the soup that had almost been forgotten.

Brian had no idea how he’d done it, but he was definitely going to get Nick back for this.

You wanna know what you get
When you play a country song backwards
You get your house back
You get your dog back
You get your best friend Jack back
You get your truck back
You get your hair back

Finally, he grabbed for the phone, answering and trying not to laugh, despite himself. Before Canada, he would have been furious. Now, he found it hilarious, but damn if he was gonna let Nick know that immediately. Opal was covering her mouth, laughing, and Brian stuck his tongue out at her, causing her to giggle more.

“Carter.”

And what did Nick do? He decided instead of answering like a normal person, he’d try singing to Brian again to boot. “Oh itty bitty dinky one…come on and talk to me…Oh itty bitty dinky one, I’m down on my kneeeeeeeeeee….”

Finally, it was too much, and Brian just laughed. “How…?”

“Did I change your phone? I called down and asked Pearl to do it.”

Brian raised his eyebrows, stifling a chuckle. “… You actually went to the trouble of getting Pearl to hack my phone? You mean, you couldn’t just have changed it while I was, oh… I dunno… comatose??”

There was a pause. Then Nick’s sheepish voice replied, “Uh… yeah, well… shitballs. I didn’t think of it at the time!”

Brian snickered. “Fail.”

“Not for Pearl,” Nick insisted. “She got a kick out of it, too… once she was done yelling at me about the car. She wanted to kill me for that.”

“Have you seen K yet? I need to call my dear sweet cousin. I have such a story to tell him about that car of yours… oh, and that bumblebee, gas-guzzling Hummer…”

“It was ALL they had, I tell you!” Brian could hear him laughing, though, as well. “I kinda miss Canada… had to say goodbye to Julilly… damn, and she was fun, too.” Brian shook his head. “But how you feeling?”

“Better. They got me down on bed rest for two-and-a-half weeks.”

“Aight, then that’s when I’ll come up, and we can wrap up this file. I just, you know… had to call.”

Brian got the meaning. It was strange, that feeling of camaraderie that had popped up between them during this mission. Yet, there it was, undeniably. Nick had been there for him in ways Brian would never have expected, and he was actually a better agent than he’d ever thought. Strange. Just like everything else in Himitsu Takana.

“Thanks, Nick. Or should I say… 008?”

“You suck, Country Boy.”

“Bye.”

“Laters!”

Brian flipped the phone shut, and Opal kissed him gently on his cheek, giving him the smile he adored. “I told you he wasn’t the Anti-Christ.”

“Shush.”

“Just admit I was right, Bri…” she sing-songed.

“Shush.”

“Make me.”

His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close against him, her lips only inches away from his own. “Oh, I will.”


  


Dr. Rough watched as the helicopter carrying the exasperating 00Carter and another female agent – there were too many to remember – neared his aerial escape. The female agent was better at flying the pursuing helicopter than he ever would want to have admitted. He needed to find a way to shake them.

He glanced below and noticed he was flying over what he believed to be Lake Erie. Staring ahead, he knew he was flying right into US Airspace, but it was a risk he was willing to take to shake his tail.

Sweat on his palms caused his hand to slip from the collective and down onto a panel of buttons he had not noticed originally. Quickly grabbing hold of the collective again, in order to keep control of his helicopter, he glanced down and grinned to himself. Now he knew exactly how he would get away from those meddlesome kids and make them believe he was no longer a threat.

Timing his turn, he veered back towards Lake Erie, the perfect place for this plan. In order for his plan to work, he needed to fly low.

“Drums!” he barked into his headset, as he held on to the controls, contorting himself to reach just what he needed from behind his seat. He could feel the helicopter dip sideways, tilting objects inside to the right; he hoped the agents were still far enough away that they did not catch that flying blunder.

“Yah, boss?” Drums spoke back.

Dr. Rough detailed his brilliant plan to his right-hand man and knew that his end would be held up. Now he just had to make sure his end worked as well as his mind had planned it out.

He tried desperately to pull his arms through the air tanks straps so that he would be prepared. Using only one hand, he thought he had control, despite his right arm not wanting to get through the strap.

“Gar!” he shouted, as he lost control of the helicopter, just as he heard gunfire coming from the pursuing chopper. He would have cursed his foolishness, but the sudden swerve of his own ‘copter saved him from being hit too soon by the agents.

Both hands now on the collective, Dr. Rough purposely swerved and sped along, finding a place of his choosing for his ultimate demise. It was not long until he found the spot and turned his copter so that his door was on the far side. Staring out the passenger window at the oncoming helicopter, he jimmied the steering to hold position and jammed his hand down on the self-destruct button.

He grinned as he saw them fire, as he hoped they would. He pulled the breathing apparatus around his face and clung tightly to the air tank. As the missile struck the flank of his helicopter, he lowered himself through the trapdoor in the floor and dropped, freefalling towards the water. He could feel the heat from the hit and then more heat from the self-destruct explosion that followed.

The water was cold as he sank beneath it and swam away from the explosion. He hoped that the extra fireworks would prevent the interfering agents from looking for him.


Dr. Rough still thought his escape from the HimTak agents was one of sheet brilliance, but now he was infuriated.

“How could this happen?!” he shouted to the four minions who had only recently been his favorites. Now they would be eel fodder, if he could just find an eel that would eat their flesh.

“THOSE BLASTED HIMTAK AGENS HAVE FOUND A CURE!” he screamed, picking up the first thing he could reach to throw. Looking at the object in his hand, he thought better of throwing a picture of his mother and picked up the a vase filled with flowers and hurled them across the room instead. “WHY DO WE HAVE VASES WITH FLOWERS, ANYWAY?!” he screamed in the general direction of everyone.

“They make the place cozy,” one of the identical ones – Dr. Rough could not remember which – answered.

They were shortly taken to the medical wing, as the picture of his mother did fly from his hands, hitting the minion in the nose.

“One… two… three… four… five…” Dr. Rough counted, in an attempt to calm himself down. He looked out at the crowd of minions gathered, awaiting the beginning of the meeting. Turning to business, he stepped up to his podium and began.

“As we are all aware by now, Operation FANthrax did not complete its objective.” He started up a slide show, where he showed a picture of a Moffatts concert, followed by images of hospitals full of the sick, then onto the images of those once ill recovering, including a picture of Agent Littrell.

“With the infection of Agent Littrell, we weakened their regime only slightly. That is why you have all been called here today. It is time to make headway on my newest scheme, Operation Let It Blow!” He cackled maniacally.

“Donnie, I will need you…” He looked around the room, searching for the pale, twitchy minion. “Donnie… Donnie…. DON-NIE!” Dr. Rough peeled from the conference room and bolted down the hall, looking for the insolent agent. As he stormed through the corridors, he thought of how he should punish him.


  


Donnie and his red-headed girlfriend stood next to each other, hand in hand, starting down at the counter in the bathroom. The three minutes they were forced to wait seemed like an eternity, as they stood waiting. Donnie continue to flip the instruction booklet over, trying to see if there was some step they missed, something they needed to do while they waited.

The woman let out a small gasp, as the results flashed across the screen.

Donnie looked down at the screen. “The most advanced piece of technology you will ever pee on.”


  


Back at HimTak, Red and Nick were waiting in K’s office for him to debrief them after their mission. They both turned around when K entered the room, slamming the door shut angrily as he hastened to his desk and sat behind it, his expression a glower at Nick.

“I don’t think I need to remind you, 008-” K began.

“00Carter,” Nick corrected, nursing his arm after Red elbowed him to keep him from making matters worse: it was crystal clear that K was upset with Nick about something more important than whether he was to be called 008 or 00Carter.

K ignored the interruption and continued, “-that you have a license to kill, NOT to break traffic laws. We’re not paying these tickets off for you.”

“But K-“

“But NOTHING! You broke at least five traffic laws in two minutes! What were you thinking?” K asked, waving his hand at Nick as he opened his mouth to answer. “On second thought, I probably don’t even want to know.”

“You don’t. Really,” Red insisted.

“The point is, you caused a lot of damage, and could have made things worse, if-”

K was interrupted again. “-If I hadn’t known you were a total blonde and put in extra safety mechanisms,” Pearl finished. “Do you realize how long it’s going to take me to make all of those repairs?!”

Nick looked back at her as she appeared in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. Nick had a feeling that if looks could kill, he would have been dead the moment she walked into the room. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Diamond entered the room behind Pearl, and the tight red dress she was wearing made his heart race so fast that he thought he might have a heart attack and die anyway.

“Ladies, this meeting is supposed to be private.” K told them, then cleared his throat in an attempt to redirect Nick’s attention to the matter at hand.

“So’s this…” Pearl said, stifling a giggle as she pressed a button on the remote in her hands, causing a projector screen to come down behind K. She then pressed another button, and a picture appeared on the screen of Nick, in all his naked glory, standing in the hallway of the hotel, moments after his scuffle with Brian had caused his towel to fall down. Diamond wolf-whistled, while Pearl laughed hysterically, and Red tried to look as innocent as possible.

“WHAT THE–?! HOW DID–?! RED?!” Nick exclaimed, jumping up from his chair and spinning around to face Red Jewel.

Red tried not to laugh any harder than she already was, but the expression on Nick’s face, both in the picture and in person, was just too priceless.

“I couldn’t resist, Nick…” she answered, once she had contained her amusement, for the moment.

Nick looked at her, appalled, and took a few steps towards the door, before K’s voice stopped him again. “Not so fast, 008. We’re not done here,” K said.

“But K, haven’t I suffered enough?!” Nick motioned to the picture still displayed up on the projector.

K glanced back quickly and tried to cover up his laughing with a fake coughing fit. “No, you haven’t,” K stated flatly, motioning for Nick to sit back down, which he did, begrudgingly, slumping down in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest in a manner much like a young child throwing a tantrum. “I haven’t even gotten to how ridiculous that rental car was! You represent our organization when you go on missions, 008; you can’t do something as outrageous as renting a bumblebee yellow Hummer to drive around Canada.”

“But it was all they had!”

“I highly doubt that.”

“I swear, it was-”

“I don’t want to hear it! You’re paying for the car rental, too,” K said, as Nick scoffed in disbelief.

Before Nick could object, the door opened once again, and, this time, Emerald walked in.

“Oh jeez!” she exclaimed, immediately putting her right hand up to block her view of the picture. “I didn’t know you guys were watching Nick Jr. in here.”

“Don’t hate, Em,” Diamond said, as she checked her reflection in the mirrored screen on the front of her cell phone. “You know you wish Nick Jr. was just for you.”

“Not really,” Emerald replied, leaning against the wall near the doorway, not wanting to get any closer to the disturbing picture. “Though I wonder how anyone can find that thing without a microscope…”

This time, it was Nick who responded. “Just admit that you could never handle me, Avril.”

“You need a babysitter, not a girlfriend, Double-0-Streaker.”

“I knew we shoulda dropped you off at home while we were in Canada,” Nick grumbled.

“ENOUGH!” K shouted, stopping both agents from erupting into an argument that he was getting rather sick of hearing every damn time. “Emerald does have a point, Nick, your behavior on this mission was unacceptable. You’re a secret agent – that means your presence needs to stay a secret. Running naked through a hotel is not the proper way to stay incognito.”

“K, that was a total accident! I just got out of the shower, and-”

“I told you, I don’t want to hear it, 008!” K told him. “I expect those expenses to be paid on time, and you to remain fully clothed at all times during missions from now on, 008.”

“Even when I take a shower or something?” Nick asked.

“How about you try not leaving hotel rooms without your pants on, Nick?” Red suggested, giggling as Nick glared at her again.

“Gee, I wonder why I didn’t think of that,” Nick said sarcastically.

“Obviously, you didn’t.” K nodded behind him at the picture, now trying to control his laughter even more. He looked up at the doorway yet again, as he saw the knob turn, and Lancy walked in.

“Mr. K, you have a conference call on line – OH… MY… GO-” Lancy fainted before he finished his sentence, having finally taken in the entire picture practically staring him in the face. Diamond shrieked as she rushed over to help Red aid Lancy, and K and Pearl glared at Nick as he now tried to contain his laughter.

“Okay… now that was kinda funny.”


  