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The Premonition
(Rated PG)
By Sue Kesler and Jodi Goldfinger
(Sue wrote the first two sections, which comprise part #1. I wrote
part #2. Sue part#3. Me part #4. Sue, part #5, and I finished up with
the final two sections. which comprise part #6)
The dirt was still fresh, the smell of new earth pungent in the air. 99 stared down
at the gravesite with a silent awe. There was no tombstone yet, revealing the
newness of the situation.
Her entire body was taut with the effort to control her sorrow. Moisture glistened in her
eyes. A sigh escaped. 99 looked up from the grave in front of her to watch the
sunset.
"I don't know what to say," she murmured. "I never thought I'd be standing
at your graveside, talking to you like this. I know you're not really here, but it's the
closest I can get." She paused, her eyes stinging with tears.
The images of that fateful incident played in her mind in a slow, painful motion.
"Why did you have to die? Why now?." She murmured, under her breath, a
long-suffering sigh in her voice.
Her hand scooped down and grasped a handful of earth.
Letting the dirt trickle out of her clenched fist and fall gently back down to the
ground. 99 bowed her head and let the memories finally wash over her.
Beside her stood Max. Hands folded in front of him, quiet and reserved as he
sympathetically looked toward 99.
They stood in silence for a time; each lost in their own thoughts and remembrances.
Eventually, hesitantly, Max turned to 99.
"I never wanted you to go through this 99 and if I could turn back time, God knows. I
would." Max paused and closed his eyes, "I'm so sorry."
99 did not acknowledge Max as she stood stone-faced staring down at the grave.
Max tried once more to explain, "You probably don't want to hear that with each
passing day it gets easier. But it will. It has to." He began to struggle for words.
"I wish I could. I know that you." Max paused, "I want to help you get
through this 99. but I don't know how"
Max buried his face into his hands as he was experiencing his own sadness and grief.
Max felt a hand on his shoulder and didn't need to turn to see whom it belonged to. The
man remained silent, simply standing just a little behind him, not saying a word and
knowing that he didn't need to. His presence was overbearing enough without the need for
words to further enhance it.
Max felt a sense of clam pass over him as he straightened up, "I need to know if
she's going to be alright," Max asked as he looked over to 99.
The man took a deep breath then spoke quietly, "It will take some time but she will
get through this. You needn't worry about her, she is a strong woman"
Max looked unconvinced and the sadness on his face was evident. The man came around and
stood beside Max. They both looked towards
99, as the man spoke. "She will live a long and healthy life but she will never marry
again nor fall in love with another. She will
quit CONTROL and then go to live with her mother for a while." he paused. "Her.
and the baby." The man continued.
His words hit Max full force so much that he couldn't speak for a moment. Max's eyes
widened as he managed to stammer out, "Th-the w-what?"
"She is going to have a baby Max. Your baby" The man said, rather amused at
Max's awkwardness.
"99's. going to have a baby? My baby?" Max said still dazed. He began to shake
his head, "But how. how is that possible?"
"The night before you went on your mission" the man said stating fact.
A puzzled look came over Max, "You know about that night?"
The man replied with a decisive nod.
A faint smile briefly touched Max's lips as he remembered that night. "Does she
know?"
The man shook his head, "No, it's much too soon, not for a few more weeks. It will be
a turning point in her life and it will help her carry on without you."
Suddenly Max could sense the life that was
beginning inside 99, he began to know it's future. It would be a boy; she would name it
after him and he would be the spitting image of Max. He would be told about his father,
growing to be strong to carry on his father's
legacy.
99 titled her head and studied the unmarked patch of earth that would be Max's final
resting spot.
"I love you, now and for all eternity." She kissed the white rose in her hand
and tossed it down on the dirt, landing where his heart would be.
Before she could leave, she paused once again and kneeled beside his grave, no longer
crying, though her grief was evident on her face. "Help me say. Goodbye"
The man reached out and patted Max gently on the arm.
Max turned toward him.
"One more moment please" Max pleaded.
The man gave a nod.
Max looked down at 99. Dropping to one knee beside the grave, he looked upon her
angelic face, the blue eyes that had captured him from the first glance were closed to his
vision. Max felt something in his chest tighten painfully at the thought of leaving her.
"The time has come for me to move on 99. I wouldn't change one single thing about my
life. If I were to live again, I would have made the exact same choices, for I have
nothing to regret. If I could change something, I would've changed me leaving so early. My love for you will follow me through eternity. I
will carry you with me forever, until its time for us to meet again."
Kneeling there she almost felt at peace, as if he was there with her, watching over her.
She could feel his love even though he was dead and deep down; the feeling comforted her.
99 looked up to see the car waiting for her. She slowly rose and turned to leave but
hesitated for a moment. "Goodbye my Love." 99 whispered, her voice at near
braking point. “No one could have loved you more than I did. Than I'll always do till
my dying day and beyond."
Max watched the love of his life walk away and quickly turned to the man.
"I can't let her go, please. I need to
stay with her" Max said desperately.
"I'm sorry that's not possible" the man said taking hold of Max's arm.
"But she's having my child, I want to see my child. I DON'T WANT TO GO!!"
Max shook loose the man's grip as Max shouted at 99. "99,
COME BACK. DON'T LEAVE ME."
#####
Max bolted straight up from bed thrashing with his arms, "99 NO, NO I NEED YOU.
I WANT TO SEE MY CHILD. YOU CAN'T MAKE ME
GO!!"
Max's sudden outburst woke 99 out of a dead sleep as she grabbed on to Max to wake him up.
"MAX! Wake up! MAX!," she screamed, shaking him even harder.
Max's eyes opened wide as he was breathing heavily and covered in sweat. He was
disoriented but soon focused on 99 face.
"Max you're ok, you're ok, I'm here." She said calmly holding his face in her
hands.
Max looked around and found he was in his apartment and in his own bed. He glanced at the
clock by the bed. It was
"99, I just had a horrible dream" he put his head into his hands letting
go a long slow breath. "it seemed so real"
99 held Max. " It must have been some dream. Tell me what it was"
Max settled back against the headboard, "I died on the mission that I'm going on
today. There was a funeral and you were standing by my gravesite. I was next to you but
you couldn't see me or hear me. You were so upset and I couldn't do anything about it. Then this man came to take me with him. I
was so worried about you but he told me you would be all right. Then he told me.."
Max paused.
"Told you what?" 99 inquired.
Max took her hand in his, "He told me. you were going to have a baby."
99 raised one eyebrow, "Well, isn't that interesting.
But I got news for you, I'm not pregnant" she smiled.
"The baby was conceived the night before the mission." He said putting the pieces together. "And
last night, we made love."
"Max, we make love all the time." 99 paused for a moment as she realized
something. "Come to think of it. Well, everything happened so fast last night. I just
didn't have time."
"Time for what?" he asked.
"For any precautions. My diaphragm, Max. I didn't put it in."
Max's face dropped at the reality of the situation.
99 gave an exasperated sigh, "Oh Max, the chances of me getting.."
Max finished her sentence, "Pregnant? "But you could have become pregnant last
night."
She shrugged her shoulders "Oh I suppose if.." 99 rolled her eyes,
"Max, you're reading way too much into this. It was just a dream, you've known you
were going on this mission for the last couple weeks, its only natural that you would have
dreams about it"
"I can't go on that mission 99, I have a bad feeling about it"
"Max, you can't just not go, you have your orders"
"Do you want to see me killed?" he exclaimed.
"Oh of course not. Max. listen to me carefully, it was only a dream." She
explained.
"No" he said shaking his head, "It was more than that, it's a
premonition." Max got up and started to get dressed. "I going tell the
Chief to take me off this mission"
99 gave Max a look of concern "He's not going to take you off this mission just
because of some dream you had"
"He's got to." Max flatly stated, "I'm gonna die if I don't"
*****
Max shook his head, trying to clear the
blood from his eyes. He succeeded just in
time to see the Kaos agent’s black gloved hand coming at his face again. There was a shearing pain as it connected with his
left eye, forcing his head to the right and adding to the blinding headache he already
had.
“All right, Mr. Smart, are you going to
tell us what we want to know or would you like me to continue?”
Max shook his head.
The Kaos agent swung his fist back again,
but was stopped by a calm voice.
“That’s enough for now. Take him back and let him think about it for a
bit.”
“Why don’t we finish him off
now?”
“Because it’s time for dinner and
I’m hungry. I don’t want to spoil
my appetite.”
The man shrugged. He untied Max from the chair and dragged him down
the hall to the room where he was being held captive.
He threw him in, slammed the door and locked it.
Max slowly sat up. He dragged himself over to the small sink in the
corner of the room and splashed water on his face, grimacing as the cool water stung the
cuts and bruises on his face.
“Oh, 99, I need you . . .” He
moaned.
He stumbled across the room and fell onto
the small, single bed. He laid an arm gently
over his eyes and didn’t even try to hold back the tears.
This was his last case. He had argued hotly with the Chief about taking
him off the case. The Chief flatly refused
and came close to calling Max a coward. His
mind had raced after that, thinking there had to be some way he could get through it. But here he was, his body covered with bruises
from the Kaos agent’s torture. They had
started on his face in the last session. He
ran his fingers over it, feeling the cuts and the swelling that had closed his left eye. Yes, they would kill him, they would beat him to
death. He gave a deep, sorrowful sigh . . .
he would miss 99, and he would never see his child.
The door swung open. Max winced at the sound, but refused to move.
“Do what you have to do,” He said. “Just
get it over with . . .”
“Get up, Max, we gotta get out of
here,” A very familiar voice whispered.
Max opened his eyes in shock. “99!?”
He frowned as he tried to focus on her. She
was dressed in a dark shirt and pants, a machine pistol at her hip.
“Come on, Max, get up!” 99 whispered, pulling on his arm.
She put one of his arms around her shoulder
and helped him to his feet, putting an arm around his waist. He swayed wearily.
“Larabee, I need help,” She
called out.
Larabee came into the room, carrying a
machine gun. He grabbed Max the same as 99
and, between them, they dragged him out of the room.
They hurried down the hall and around a
corner. Near the ceiling at the end of the
hallway was a vent, large enough for a man to crawl through.
Max reached up as 99 and Larabee lifted him
up. Revived, he turned around and reached out
a hand out to 99. Larabee boosted her up and
Max grabbed her arms, pulling her up into the vent.
There was a sudden shout from down the
hallway. Larabee turned just in time to see
four Kaos agents turn the corner.
“Go!
Get out of here!” He said,
motioning to 99.
“No way!” Max said, pushing past 99 and reaching out a hand
to Larabee.
“Get going!” Larabee shouted, ignoring the hand Max held out.
A shot rang out. It hit Larabee in the upper thigh and he went
down. Max made a move to help, but Larabee
waved him off.
“GO!!!” He yelled. “You’ve
got to go!”
“Not without you!” Max said.
“GO!!” Larabee said, struggling to his feet and
disappearing from view. More shots were
heard, and the scuffling of feet.
Max felt 99 tugging on him from behind.
“We can’t leave him, 99,” Max
wept. “We can’t!”
“We’ve got to go, Max. If we don’t we’ll all be captured.”
“99, we . . .”
99 pulled on him. With one last, sorrowful glance into the hallway,
Max reluctantly followed 99. They weaved
their way through the maze of air ducts until they came to a large vent that lead to the
outside.
“This is the way we came in,” 99
said, easily pulling away the covering. She
hopped out onto the ground, Max close behind her.
“Come on, 99, let’s go back and
see if we can find him,” Max said.
“No.”
A Claxton horn rang out and the yard was
suddenly filled with lights, swinging back and forth over the lawn.
99 tugged on Max’s arm. He stared at her for a moment, then reluctantly
followed.
They zigzagged their way across the lawn to
the brick wall surrounding the compound. Crouching
low, they followed the wall until they came to a spot where the bricks had been pulled
away to make a small opening. They crawled
through the hole and hurried away into the surrounding woods, the sound of the alarm
fading in the distance.
After putting a good distance between
themselves and the Kaos compound, Max and 99 stopped to catch their breath.
“99, we’ve got to go back.”
“Max, we can’t.”
“Do you hear what you’re
saying?”
“Yes,” 99 said shortly, “I know exactly what
I’m saying. Let’s go.”
“99, what’s wrong with you?” Max said, taking hold of her hand and pulling her
up short.
99 threw her arms around him, pulling him
close. “Oh, Max,” She cried, clinging to him tightly. “I thought I’d lost you.”
Max winced, but put his arms around her. They slowly sank to the mossy surface of the
forest. Max held her tightly, ignoring the
pain from the bruises. He gently stroked her
hair as she wept on his shoulder. His love
for her came out in waves, far stronger than he had ever felt in his life, and he held her
even tighter. And she responded in kind.
“Oh, Max, I love you.”
“I love you, 99. More than anything in the whole world.”
They sat that way for several minutes,
holding each other tight.
“Oh, Max . . . Larabee . . . ”
“I know, I know,” Max said sadly.
99 lifted her face from his shoulder and,
for the first time, got a good look at his face.
“Oh
my God!!!
Oh, Max, we’ve got to get you
to the hospital.”
“Yeah, I think that might be a good
idea,” Max agreed. He looked back in the direction of the
installation. “Larabee . . .” He whispered.
He turned back to 99. “We’ve
got to go back.”
99 helped Max to his feet. “We can’t. Max, please, trust me.”
With her help, they staggered on for a short
distance until they came to a dirt road. Parked,
almost in the trees, was a Control tracking car. 99
pulled the keys out of her pocket and opened the door.
They got in and 99 drove away slowly, with the lights off.
After driving a mile or so, they came to a
paved road. 99 flipped on the lights and
turned right. She followed the road for
several miles until it connected with I-95. She
headed North.
“I was going to come alone, but I knew
I had to tell someone what my plans were in case something happened,” 99 said. She
paused for a moment as she pulled off into a rest area.
She parked and turned off the engine.
“So I told Larabee. He insisted on coming with me. He made me promise not to stop if something
happened to him. He said to get you
out,” Her voice trailed off.
“Got me out, but we left him there to
die,” Max said, more sarcastically than
he meant to.
“I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE
HIM!!” 99 yelled in anger. “You think I wanted to leave him? Do you actually believe that?”
Max shook his head. “No, of course not, 99” He said softly.
His head was throbbing. He buried his
face in his hands and moaned. "We need
to get back to CONTROL" He said quietly.
99 agreed.
*****
Max was lying on the lab table at CONTROL
headquarters while one of the Doctor's tended his injuries. What he had found while he was
cleaning Max's wounds were obvious signs of torture. Here were bruises, burns and cuts
everywhere.
99 just hung up the phone, "I called the Chief, he'll be right down" 99 looked
over to the doctor, "Will he going to be ok"
The doctor was checking the deep cut over Max's right eye. "He'll be
fine," the doctor said to her with a reassuring smile. "You've got one
tough husband here 99, it'll take more than a few bruises and a banged up face to keep him
down"
The doctor placed his hand on Max's arm, "Sorry 86, but you need a few stitches over
that eye, I can't numb that area so it's going to be a little painful"
Max nodded "It's ok Doc, like you said, I'm tough. Go ahead"
99 stood off to one side, watching the Doctor prepare the needle. As the first stitch made
its way into his skin, Max grabbed on to the side of the table and gritted his
teeth. She walked up to Max's side. She whispered two words. "Hold on." 99
quickly held his hand as he squeezed it tightly with each pass of the needle going into
him.
The doctor finished quickly and placed a bandage over the stitches. "That should do
it"
Max looked deep into her eyes, "We have
to go back to rescue Larabee"
"Don't you worry about that now, we'll get him out, I'll talk to the Chief about the
next plan of action"
Suddenly the Chief plowed through the doors of the lab.
"I want to know whose idea this
was?" he shouted impatiently.
"It was mine Chief" 99 said as she stepped forward, her shoulders stiffening.
"Who gave you permission to get involved Agent 99?" he said sternly.
"No one gave me permission. I just thought it might be a good idea to save my husband
from getting killed" she shot back.
"99 you had no business taking it upon yourself to go in there. and dragging another
one of my agents with you"
"I didn't drag anyone anywhere, Larabee went of his own free will"
The Chief took a big breath, "99, I want to talk to you outside" The Chief
went out the door as 99 went up to Max, "Don't worry, I'll straighten this all out. His bark is worse than his bite." she
said smiling tenderly at Max.
As 99 started to turn, Max grabbed her hand, "99. you need to know something about
this mission." Max started to explain.
The Chief poked his head back into the lab,
"99, I'm waiting."
99 nodded back at the Chief. She turned toward Max and caressed his arm, "I'll be
right back Love"
99 walked out to the other room. The Chief
sat at the desk in the corner with his hands folded in front of him. She didn't wait for
the Chief to ask her questions.
"I'm sorry Chief but I wasn't going to sit idly by and wait for Max to be killed. I
know you're angry."
Angry?" he interrupted, "You think I'm angry with you?" He leaned forward
practically skewering 99 with his glare.
"No, 99, this goes way beyond angry."
"I don't understand Chief, why are you upset with me saving Max's life?"
He stopped and took a deep breath in order to calm himself.
"99, let me try and explain." the Chief said rubbing the back of his neck.
"This mission Max was on. His orders were to be captured. not to be rescued"
99 gave a blank stare trying to understand what the Chief was saying.
"What do you mean, captured? He never told me he was going on this mission as a...
decoy. You know what happens to decoys"
"He was under strict orders not to discuss this with anyone, not even you 99."
It was all starting to make sense to her now.
"No wonder he had that dream about him
being killed on this mission, he knew what he was going into. Chief, how could you
send Max on a mission like this knowing what the outcome would be?"
"It wasn't my decision to send Max on this mission, it came from higher up in the
agency. For reasons, I don't even know, they chose him especially for this. Yes 99, he knew that he would be put through
torture and eventually be put to death." The Chief leaned back
and folded his arms in front of him, "And now that Max has been rescued, you have put
this mission into jeopardy."
99 stood in front of him taking a defiant
stance. "I don't care. Did you take a good look at him? They beat
him very badly. If I didn't get to him when I did, he'd be dead by now and then what good
would he be to this 'mission' " 99 informed him.
The Chief's raised his hand up to the bridge of this nose and let out a deep sigh.
There was a long silence between them.
"So now what happens" she
hesitantly asked.
The Chief looked at 99 then stood up,
"99, you've interfered with an important mission, I have no choice than to order both
of you back to that KAOS hideout, rescue Larabee and have Max get recaptured.”
"Recaptured? You realize what your
saying Chief? You're telling me to help put a
death sentence on Max, I can't do it" 99 stood defiantly, her eyes blazed with angry
fire "I won't do it"
The Chief walked around and stood in front of 99, "Agent
99, that is a direct order, you either obey it. Or
I have no choice than to put you under arrest"
*****
“No you won’t,” Max’s voice came from behind them.
They both turned to see Max standing in the
doorway.
“Max, I’ve had to do a lot of
explaining,” The Chief said as Max
entered the room. “You know I have no
choice. 99 had no right to come in and rescue
you. You knew the rules.”
“Yes, ‘I knew the rules’, and
now I’m going to read YOU a few rules.” Max
said.
“You’re going to what? You do realize who you’re talking to,
don’t you?”
“Shut up.”
99 and the Chief stared at Max open-mouthed,
stunned. Neither or them had ever seen him so
angry.
Max went over to the desk and leaned over
it. He poked his finger in the Chief’s
face, glaring at him.
“Here’s my rule. Don’t you ever, EVER, threaten to arrest
Agent 99. She’s a skillful, loyal agent. One of the best you’ve got, better than
me.”
“That has nothing to do with
what’s happened.”
“Who gave you those orders to send
me?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“ ‘I can’t tell
you’,” Max mimicked.
“Max . . .” The Chief warned.
Max crossed his arms. “I want to know. I have a right to know.”
“No.”
“According to the Control manual, only
the President of the
The Chief said nothing.
“Listen, you pompous, thickheaded
pencil pusher. You claim you’re The
Chief Of Control, but it appears you aren’t.”
99 was surprised by Max’s retort. She knew he was angry with the Chief. He had been angry with him on other occasions, but
he had never raised his voice at him or called him names.
The Chief, on the other hand, didn’t
seem in the least troubled by the insult and refused to speak.
“Max. Chief
. . .” She began.
A phone sitting on the desk rang,
interrupting her. The Chief answered.
“Chief speaking.” He listened for
several minutes, the look on his face going from indifferent to angry. “WHAT??
How could he . . .” He gave Max
and 99 a look.
The voice on the phone continued. The Chief’s expression changed again, this
time going from angry to resigned.
“All right,” He sighed, “Thank
you.”
Without giving Max and 99 even a cursory
glance, he made a call.
When the person on the other end answered,
he said, “It didn’t go exactly as
we planned, Sir, but it was successful and
that’s all that matters. Yes, Sir. No, Sir. Yes,
I’ll make sure.”
He hung up and turned to Max and 99.
“Well, you two can go home.”
Max and 99 stared at him in confusion.
“Go home?” 99 asked.
“Yes, go home. We just intercepted a Kaos communiqué. The phony
information that Max was supposed to pass to
Kaos was received. They’re headed in the
wrong direction, as we hoped,” He gave
Max a hard stare. “You weren’t
supposed to tell anyone about this.”
“I didn’t,” Max was so confused, he couldn’t think of
anything to say.
“Larabee gave them the false
information. They’re holding him,
waiting to see if the information proves valid. He’s
become our decoy. Max, you know what’s
going to happen to him when they find out the information is phony.”
“Oh, Lord . . .” 99 said.
“Max, you disobeyed the rules. You, and your beautiful and loyal wife, are on
suspension.”
Max and 99 were more confused than ever.
“I don’t know what you’re
talking about! What rules did I break?” Max asked.
“You told Larabee the plan.”
“I did not!!!” Max said.
“Then how did he find out? You and I were the only ones that knew.”
“Where’s the file on the
case?” Max asked.
“It’s locked in my office
safe,” The Chief replied.
“Chief, you know Larabee has access to
your safe,” 99 said.
“I changed the combination.”
“He knew I was going on a mission. Did he know anything about it?” Max asked.
“No.”
“He must have gotten into the
safe,” Max said.
“Can’t you remember anything for
more than sixty seconds, Max? I told you, he didn’t have . . . Oh, no,” The Chief raised his hand to the bridge of this
nose again.
“What?” 99 asked.
“I accidentally gave him the
combination right after our meeting, Max. It
was force of habit. I always give him the
combination.”
99 groaned and rolled her eyes. “Oh, for Heaven’s sake, Chief. And you say Max doesn’t remember
anything!”
“99, be quiet,” The Chief warned.
99 glared at him. “You’re always so quick to blame Max . .
.”
“The complete case file is in the
safe?” Max interrupted.
“Yes.”
“Then he knew that I was going to my
death,” Max said softly.
“He had no intention of getting
out,” 99 said. “That’s why he wouldn’t take your
hand, Max. Somehow he knew the fake
information hadn’t gotten out yet, so he helped us escape and took your place. But I don’t understand why.”
Max sat down on the corner of the desk,
thinking. He was hurt and angry by the
Chief’s apparent lack of concern for him, and Larabee.
For some reason he was willing to let one, or both, of his best friends die. He buried his face in his hands.
“Max, are you all right, Love?” 99 asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“I don’t know,” He lowered his hands and gave her a weak smile.
99 gently stroked his face.
“Go home,” The Chief said.
“I’ll see you in the morning for debriefing. After that, you both go on suspension.” He stood up and pointed at them. “And no, I repeat, NO rescue attempts. I WILL arrest you both. Do you understand THAT English, Max?”
Max nodded.
“99?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good.
I’ll see you in the morning.” He
left the room.
Max and 99 went to their office, closing and
locking the door behind them so no one could walk in on them.
“Okay, Max, where do we start?”
“We’ve got to get him out of there
before they kill him. We’ve got extra
supplies in the closet, let’s look and see what we’ve got. But first . . .” He sat down wearily on the couch, pulling 99 down
beside him. “I’ve got to sit down
for a moment.”
“Are you dizzy, Max?”
“No more than usual.”
99 smiled.
“99, I’ve come to a realization
over the last few weeks.”
“What?”
“You know how important being a spy is
to me.”
“Yes.”
Max shook his head. “I don’t know how I feel anymore.
About anything. Except us.”
99 put her hand on the back of his neck.
“99, I wish you’d let me go in
alone, just in case . . .”
“No, Max, we go in together.”
“But, 99, what if you are pregnant?”
“We don’t KNOW that.”
Max rubbed his forehead.
“Max, listen to me. I honestly don’t know if I could go on
without you,” Her eyes filled with
tears, but she put up her hand to stop his interruption.
“Hear me out. Think about it for
a moment. Put yourself in my place. Would you let me go by myself?”
“No, but . . .”
“And don’t give me any of that
‘you’re a woman’ crap. You
just told the Chief I was a ‘skillful and loyal agent’, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then, knowing that the
possibility existed that you would never see me again, how would you feel?”
“I could no more live without you than
you could without me,” Max said softly,
almost too softly to be heard, his eyes filling.
“Then what would you do?” 99 asked.
Max looked into 99’s eyes, shook his
head slowly and smiled. “You’re
really incredible, you know that?”
“I just love you. We’ve stuck together for years, why should
that change, just because we’re married?”
“It shouldn’t,” Max agreed.
“Then nothing changes. We’re partners, through and through, to the
end. Agreed?”
Max nodded.
“Agreed . . . with one exception.”
99 gave him a quizzical look.
“If we ever find out you’re
pregnant, the agreement is null and void. It
has to be.”
99 looked away. Max took her face in his hands and turned her back
to face him.
“Agreed?
99?”
99 sighed.
“Yes, Max.”
Max gathered her into his arms and kissed
her. A deep, long, loving kiss that she
responded to with equal ardor, their tears mingling. They
sat for several minutes, holding each other close, reassured by their feelings of love for
each other..
Max rubbed his chin, "I'm confused,
Sweetheart, what's up with the Chief? I've never seen him act like that
before."
"I don't know, Love. And what about
Larabee? What made him put his life on the line for us like that?"
Max's eyes started to narrow, "I think I know."
99 looked at him. "You do?" She asked. "What?"
*****
"The morning of the mission, I told the
Chief that I had this feeling something wasn't right with this mission. He wanted an
explanation so I told him I had this dream, that I died and that you were going to have a
baby. The Chief wasn't exactly sympathetic toward my dilemma. I seem to remember Larabee was in the office at
the time. 99, I think he put his life on the line cause of what I told the Chief."
"That would explain the sudden act of heroism on his part, if he thought I was having
a baby he wouldn't want you to be in a situation"
"It's just not right, I'd never be able to live with myself if.”
"We won't let that happen Max" 99 looked at her watch, "We don't have much
time, we need to get back into the headquarters and find Larabee"
"And hope he's still alive" Max continued.
Max and 99 got the necessary equipment needed to get into the KAOS headquarters and
headed back.
Max could see the headquarters, which was situated five miles off the interstate, from the
woods surrounding the building.
"They interrogated me in a small room
in the basement on the north side of the building. That's probably where they are keeping
Larabee. The false information he gave them was the same I was going to give them. We have just 3 hours before they find out its
bogus."
Max drew out a map of the building and proceeded to instruct 99 as to their plan of
action.
"If something happens to me, you need to get out of here as fast as you can" Max
instructed her.
"Max, I thought we agreed that if either of us gets caught, we stay together."
"I know. but 99, I don't want to risk having anything happen to you just in case
you're."
99 quickly cut in, "I don't care Max, I'm not leaving no matter what"
The look on her face told Max not to push the issue.
Hopefully they would all get out alive. Max and 99 made their way past the guards
at the gate by bypassing the alarm on the fence. They moved swiftly towards the building;
slipping from shadow to shadow.
Halfway there he paused and drew out another detonation device. The plan was to activate
them to divert attention once they got Larabee.
Max approached the building and hesitated in the shadows near the entrance.
A KAOS guard was approaching. Max tensed, and as the man passed he grabbed him and pulled
him into the shadows. Holding his knife at the man's throat with one hand and using the
other to twist his arm painfully behind his back, Max hissed into his ear.
"Be quiet and you won't die!"
The guard paled and sweat broke out on his forehead.
"You will tell me where your prisoner is being held!" Max tighten his grip on the man's arm, twisting
it.
"I-I am a l-loyal f-follower of." the guard warbled.
"KAOS!" Max pressed the blade closer to the man's throat. A trickle of blood ran
down his neck. "You're going to be a dead follower soon!" he whispered. "Is
that what you want?"
Half-fainting from fear, the man swallowed carefully.
"The basement" he whispered. "Third door from the stairwell"
"Bright man, you get to live," said Max and he let the man go and swiftly
knocked him out with a judo chop to the neck.
Quietly they made their way into the building, down the stairwell to the basement.
Max tapped 99 on the shoulder to indicate that was the interrogation room. Then pointed
past that to the cell where he was held. 99 nodded in confirmation.
Max crept up to the cell but once inside was
surprised to find that Larabee was not inside.
"They must have him in the interrogation room" Max looked around the room
spotting a grate in the ceiling, "let's sneak up this air duct and find out what's
going on in the interrogation room."
Max climbed up the shaft as 99 followed. Max carefully crawled his way to the room
where voices were present. Max brought up his hand behind him to halt 99, then
proceeded to look though the air-condition grate. Max squinted to see what was going
on then focused on what was a shocking revelation. Max's
mouth dropped open as he looked behind him to 99.
99 could tell something was wrong by his look and scooted closer to see. When 99
looked through the grate she gave a gasp and put her hand up to her mouth. Everything they
heard and saw was something they didn't even expect. Max motioned to 99 to go back
to the cell area.
"I can't believe it Max, it just can't be" 99 said with frustration in her
voice.
Max began to pace the floor, "If someone told me. I wouldn't have believed it unless
I saw it with my own eyes." Max paused, "Larabee. a double
agent."
"This all seems so unreal. Maybe we are making a mistake."
"Its no mistake 99, you heard them talking about the plans and Larabee playing cards
and laughing. They don't treat CONTROL agents that way unless you were one of them"
"Now what do we do?" 99 asked.
"We call the Chief, then we get out of here as quickly as possible."
Max took off his shoe to dial when a KAOS guard burst into the room catching Max and 99
off guard.
"Stop right there, hands up and put
that shoe back on your foot" the guard barked out, holding his gun on them.
Max took a deep breath and slowly put his shoe back on. Max and 99 stood with their
hands up waiting for the onslaught of agents to descend upon them.
The KAOS guard shouted down the hall to come to the holding room. All at once, two
KAOS commanders and three agents including Larabee came in to see what the
ruckus was about.
"Well ,well, Mr. Smart. Couldn't stay away huh? And you brought someone with
you, how nice" smirked the head KAOS man. "Larabee, your friends came back
to "rescue" you." The head man walked over to Max standing just inches from
his face. "Now that you know our little secret, I'm sorry you won't be around
to see how our plans turn out but I can tell you the bad guys win"
Max turned to face Larabee, "I know exactly how it turns out. No wonder you wanted to
help 99 rescue me. You get the correct plans
from the Chief's safe then go with 99 to rescue me. Then while 99 and I escape you faked
getting shot to make us think you were captured. KAOS sends a fake communiqué that
gets intercepted by CONTROL to say KAOS has the false information. CONTROL is now sent on
a wild goose chase not knowing that your agents are headed to the right location.”
The head man started to applaud, "Very clever Smart, we could have use a man like you
at KAOS but I'm sorry to say, you're time.. is.. up" The head man
motioned to the guard, "Take these two out to the edge of the woods and eliminate
them, then dump their bodies in the lake."
Max bolted forward only to be subdued by the guard, "Let my wife go, she's expecting
a baby" Max shouted out the KAOS man rolled his eyes, "Just what we need another
CONTROL agent in the world. Sorry, no can do"
The guard began to tie Max's hands behind his back then and 99's. The head man started to
leave when he turned to Larabee, Side Head, "Care to say goodbye? I mean you did work
with them even if they were on the wrong side"
Larabee walked over to Max, "You should have never come back, your loyalty overwhelms
me. Sorry Max, 99. Nothing personal, just
business"
The other KAOS agents laughed and slapped Larabee's back as they made their way back to
the poker game.
Larabee leaned over to the guard handing him
a twenty-dollar bill, "Make it quick, I don't want them to suffer"
The guard seeing the twenty gave a salute to Larabee as he went out the door.
"Ok, march." Instructed the guard.
Max and 99 walked in front of the guard, out
the building and past the gate to the woods.
"99, I'm sorry about all this. This isn't fair to you." Max sadly said.
"Max, an agreement is an agreement. I don't want to go on without you."
Max gave a sympathetic smile as they walked deeper into the woods.
"If I could just get free, I could jump
the guard but these ropes are too tight." he whispered to 99.
"Both of you, stop right there." ordered the guard.
Max and 99 stopped then turned around to face him.
"You're going to kill her knowing she's pregnant? What
kind of man are you?" Max said with disgust.
"I have my orders," the guard said coldly as he looked down and checked the clip
in his gun.
Max knew if he was going to save 99 and possibly the life of his baby he'd have to make a
risky move.
Max lunged forward and kicked the gun from the guard's hand and then swung his other leg
around to kick the guard backward off his feet. 99
ran over to the gun and kicked it into some foliage.
With Max's hands still tied behind him, it made it difficult to get any leverage as
he struggled to make his stance. The guard
slowly got up looking for his gun, "Your pal Larabee gave me twenty bucks to kill you
quickly but now I think I'm gonna take my time."
The guard ran toward Max and tackled him. 99
got behind the guard and threw her body into his knocking him off Max. Max quickly
got up and kicked the guard in the face causing him to land near the edge of the
lake. The guard again got up and tackled
Max. 99 came toward him but this time the guard shoved her away, losing her footing and
fell over a stump. The guard grabbed Max by
the arms and threw him into the lake. The guard got over Max's back and began to
hold his head under the water.
"This will teach you to mess around with KAOS" the guard growled.
Max struggled against the guard, kicking and
splashing for all he was worth. He gasped and choked as water entered his mouth instead of
air. His body was too worn to fight back anymore even though his mind told him to keep
going. Max tried to fight against the
heavy weight on his back. His lungs began shrinking, as the air wasn't received. His head
felt tingly from lack of oxygen. He tried to move but his arms but they were tied. He
couldn't see because the guard on top of him was splashing and creating bubbles in the
water. He tried to breathe through those
bubbles, but it didn't seem to work. After a few moments, Max stopped struggling.
"MAX!!!" screamed 99 from the shore.
Max's body went limp as the KAOS agent let him go. Suddenly
a shot rang out and the KAOS guard fell face first into the water. 99 turned around to see
Larabee holding the smoking gun.
"Oh God, please hurry, get him out of there!" 99 cried out.
Larabee ran into the water and retrieved Max, pulling his lifeless body to shore.
He place Max on the ground and turned him over on his stomach pushing with all his force
against Max's back trying to get the water out of his lungs.
"Breathe Damn you, don't you die on me now." Larabee yelled.
99 stood helpless as Larabee worked feverishly on Max.
She began to see how Max's dream was becoming a reality.
****
It was about 2 minutes later that Larabee gave up, thinking he was too late, when Max
began to cough violently, spitting out about a gallon of lake water. He gasped for air, breathing hard and sputtering
more water from his mouth. He turned on his
side and coughed again, spitting out more lake water than he thought possible. He slowly raised himself to his hands and knees
and continued to cough. He leaned back, drew
in a long, deep breath of fresh air, then leaned forward again, coughing and spewing more
water from his lungs.
99 raced to his side. “MAX!”
she screamed, dropping down beside him.
Max held up a hand, indicating that he was
okay. He drew another deep breath, coughing
and sneezing, the water coming out of his mouth and nose.
Finally, he sat back and continued to take in deep breaths of precious oxygen.
“Max, Max, are you okay?” 99 asked again, putting a hand on his arm.
Max nodded, water dripping from his hair
into his face. 99 pulled down her sleeve and
wiped the water from his face and hair.
“Oh, Max. Oh, my Love . . .” She put her arms around him and held him as if she
would never let go.
Max, still hacking, put an arm around her. “99, shhh, it’s okay, it’s okay . .
.” He coughed again, choking up more
lake water; it ran down 99’s back.
“Sorry about that.”
99 ignored the lukewarm water running down
her back and looked into his face. “Oh,
Max, I thought your dream had come true, right in front of me,” She said, wiping water from his face and hair with
her hands. She hugged him, relishing the feel
of his breathing.
“Help me up, 99.”
99 helped Max to his feet. He looked up at Larabee. “Thanks,”
He said, leaning against her for support.
“Don’t thank me. Get going.”
“What about you?”
“I’m staying, I’ve got a game
to finish.”
“I have several hundred questions to
ask you about that,” 99 said.
“You don’t have time to ask
questions I’m not gonna answer anyway.”
“You’re a double agent,” Max said.
“Good thinking, Max,” Larabee said, imitating 99.
99 gave him a hard, hurt, disappointed look. “All this time. Now we know how Kaos has been finding out about
our activities.”
“No, you don’t get it.”
“What don’t we get?” Max asked.
Larabee look around furtively, then took a
deep breath. “Listen. All right, yes, I’ve been feeding information
to Kaos,” He lowered his voice. “My job as the Chief’s assistant was
perfect. Kaos gave me a lot of money to turn
traitor, but what they don’t know is they’ve been getting false information. Oh, we gave them some legitimate bits of
information to keep the ruse going, but in return I got a lot of information for Control
about Kaos. And by the way, Max, Kaos has the
false information. That cover isn’t
blown. The information was received.”
“So you aren’t a Kaos agent?” Max asked.
“No!
I came to help get you out because I overheard your conversation with the Chief
about 99. As serious as this all is, I still
couldn’t let you die, Max.”
“As serious as all what is?” 99 asked.
Larabee looked at Max. “You didn’t tell her?”
“I don’t know,” Max said seriously.
“All he gave me was the bogus information.
He said that’s all I needed to know. That
and the fate of the whole civilized world was at stake.
What’s going on?”
A rustling sound came from behind Larabee. He glanced over his shoulder. “Someone’s coming.” He pulled out his gun and pointed it at them as
two Kaos agents came out of the forest.
“Hey, Larabee! Whatcha got there?” The first Kaos agent asked.
“I caught my two Control
‘buddies’. They killed
Frankie,” Larabee said, pointing to the
body floating in the lake.
“You made a real bad mistake,
Maxie,” The second Kaos agent said. “Keep your gun on him Larabee, we’re
gonna have us a little fun.” He leered
at 99.
“You lay one finger on her and I swear
I’ll kill you,” Max said angrily.
“Now how do you propose to do
that?” The first agent sneered. “When we’re holding the guns?”
He grabbed Max around the neck and pulled
him away, pressing a gun against his forehead. “Make
one move and I’ll blow your head off. You’re
gonna watch.”
The second Kaos agent grabbed 99 and shoved
her to the ground. He grinned in her face. “You’re going to like this, Mrs.
Smart.”
Despite her fear, 99 responded
sarcastically. “You have an awfully high
opinion of yourself, don’t you?” She
spit in his face.
The agent wiped at his face. “Oh, you’ve really asked for it
now,” He said.
A shot rang out. The second Kaos fell sideways, away from 99, a
bullet hole in the side of his head.
Larabee and the first Kaos fired at each
other at the same time. Max dove to the
ground as 99 screamed out his name.
The bullet hit Larabee in the left chest,
spinning him around. But Larabee’s
bullet also found it’s target. The two
men fell at the same time, Larabee near the lapping water of the lake.
Max quickly checked the Kaos agent, he was
dead. He pulled the gun from his hand and ran
over to Larabee. 99 was already there, gently
turning him over. Max tore off part of
Larabee’s shirt and pressed it against the wound.
“We’re gonna get you out of
here.”
Larabee shook his head. “You’ve got to go. They must have heard the shots.”
“No, way,” 99 said.
A rustling of branches caught their
attention. Max swung around and, still
crouching and aimed the gun in the direction of the sound.
The Chief, Henderson and a dozen other
Control agents burst into the clearing near the lake.
“You seven men,” The Chief said, pointing. “Go to the house and get everyone rounded up. You and you,”
He continued. “You guard the
perimeter. You,” He said pointing to the remaining man, “Go
back to the ambulance and get the stretcher.
Henderson and the doctor knelt beside
Larabee.
“Larabee needs help fast,” 99 said. It
almost sounded too stupid.
The Chief glared at them. “Are either of you injured?”
Max and 99 shook their heads.
“Then get out of the way.” He ordered.
Max pulled 99 aside and they watched as the
doctor stabilized Larabee for the ride back to headquarters.
“Is there anything we can we do to
help?” Max asked.
The Chief stood up. “I think you two have helped enough.”
Henderson, the remaining Control agent and
The Chief lifted Larabee onto the stretcher and headed towards the cars. Max and 99 followed a short distance behind.
“Oh, Max, do you think he’ll make
it?”
“I don’t know, 99, he’s hurt
pretty bad.”
The Chief overheard their conversation and
pulled up short so they could catch up.
“You two get in the car with me, I want
to have a talk with the both of you.” He
quickened his pace and caught up with the stretcher, which was being loaded into an
ambulance, disguised as a bakery truck.
“Oh, boy,” 99 said. “We’re
really in trouble this time.”
“I’m always in trouble. If I ever did anything right it would be a
miracle,” Max replied.
Max and 99 got into the back seat of the
Chief’s black car. Max in the middle.
“No, Max,” 99 said tearfully.
“This whole thing was my idea. If
Larabee doesn’t make it, it’s my fault.”
Max took her hand. “99, I think we’re all at fault on this
one.”
The Control agent that had helped carry
Larabee got behind the wheel as the Chief got into back seat with Max and 99. He motioned for him to follow the bakery truck then
raised the privacy window between the front and back seats. He turned back to Max and 99.
“Larabee made the decision to come with
you. That put his position as a double agent
on the line. He didn’t have to do it. And he didn’t have to save you back there
either. He could have kept quiet, kept
himself safe. But he chose not to. Yes, you’re all to blame, but 99, most of the
blame falls right on you. If you had stayed
put, everything would have gone according to plan.”
“And Max would be dead!” 99 snapped.
“And now Larabee may die. Fair tradeoff, I guess.”
“I didn’t ask him to come, it was
HIS idea. You think I don’t feel bad
enough as it is?” 99 yelled.
“But not as bad as if Max had
died,” The Chief said sarcastically. “Right?
Am I right?”
“That’s not a fair question!” 99 wept.
Max, caught literally in the middle if this
argument, rubbed his eyes tiredly.
“You’re no innocent in this
either, Agent 86,” The Chief said. “If you had kept your mouth shut when you had
that silly dream, 99 would have never come after you.”
Max slowly lowered his hand and stared at
the Chief. “What?”
“You heard me.”
Max shook his head in hurt frustration. “Chief, I admit that we were wrong in nearly
every decision we made on this case, but I’ll be darned if you’re going to tell
me what I can and can’t tell 99 in the privacy of our own bed. What’s going on? What’s so important about this mission that
it’s changed you into . . . into, well, someone different? Larabee told me the false information was out, the
cover wasn’t blown, the information was received.”
“He told you that?” The Chief’s eyes lit up.
“Yes.”
“And those were his exact words, Max?”
“Yes, Sir.”
The Chief gave a long sigh of relief. “Thank, God! Larabee
was the only one who knew how the message was to be received, even I didn’t know. All I knew was that password. All right, here’s the deal. It’s a bomb.
An atomic bomb. So compact, so small,
it can be carried in your wallet like a driver’s license. But it has enough power to incinerate a city the
size of
Max and 99 were shocked, and quiet, as the
cars pulled into Control’s secret headquarters.
As they got out of the car, the doctor came up to the Chief and whispered something
to him. The Chief lowered his head for a
moment, then came back to Max and 99, his head still hanging. “He didn’t make it . . .”
wwwww
Several weeks had passed since
Larabee’s death. Max insisted on giving
the eulogy and have given a speech that had brought tears to everyone there.
The Chief had held off on any punishment on
Max and 99 until after Larabee’s funeral. But
two days after the funeral, he had called them to his office for a meeting. He had begun by telling Max he was angry that he
had left the installation, left Larabee there to take his place and gone back. But he had also added that he was glad Max had not
been killed.
He saved the majority of his wrath, however,
for 99. He told her she was wrong in every
single move she had made, not matter what her reasons may have been. First, she had disobeyed orders not to go after
Max, but had gone anyway, taking Larabee with her. Then,
after being told not to go back to rescue Larabee, she had gone, dragging Max with her. Max interrupted that he had gone of his own
free, that he was not about to let her go in alone. The
Chief motioned for him to be quiet. He was so
angry with her, so disappointed, that he was almost incoherent. Then he suspended them both, for a month, without
pay.
They both got part time jobs for two weeks
at the diner around the corner from their apartment.
They worked mornings, covering for two employees who were on vacation. Max worked the counter while 99 served the tables. It became a game between them to see who could
bring home the most tips.
With ten days left on their suspension, the
two employees returned and they were out of work again.
Luckily they were both fairly frugal and had enough money to get them through until
the suspension was lifted.
Max paced the apartment. He looked at the clock and frowned, it was after
nine. 99 had had an appointment that day with
the Control doctor, then she had had to stop at the Chief’s office and give yet
another deposition on what had happened at the Kaos installation. Max knew when 99 called before her appointment
that the silly and unneeded statement was probably going to take most of the afternoon. The Chief had called around six and told him she
was still talking to ‘the powers that be’, but probably wouldn’t be much
longer.
Max stopped at the bar and picked up the
blue, stuffed bear he had bought at the store just that morning. He smiled, knowing 99’s first response was
going to be, “What makes you think it’s going to be a boy?”
The door opened and 99 entered. Max quickly hid the bear behind his back and
turned to her. One look at her face told him
. . .
“We’re not going to have a baby,
Max,” She said tearfully, sitting down
on the sofa.
Max hid the bear on one of the bar stools
and sat beside her, taking her into his arms. “What’s
going on?” He asked, gently touching her
face.
“He said it was due to the stress of
what had gone on for the last month or so. Once
everything gets back to normal . . .” She
gave him a sad smile.
“It’s okay, 99.”
“Oh, Max . . .” She buried her face in his shoulder and wept. “Everything seems to be going wrong
lately.”
“I know, I know.”
“Max, I’m so tired. I just want to go to bed.”
“Okay.”
99 started up the stairs toward the bedroom. She suddenly stopped, frowning. She reached over and picked up the stuffed bear
from it’s seat at the bar. She looked at
it for a moment, then looked at Max.
99 hugged the bear. “So, when we do have a baby, what makes you
think it’s going to be a boy?”
Max grinned sheepishly and shrugged . . .
wwwww
Max wasn’t sure where he was. He looked around, suddenly remembering. Oh, Lord, had it all been a dream? A flash from the past?
Max felt a hand on his shoulder and, at
first, he felt he didn't need to turn to see whom it belonged to. The man remained silent,
simply standing just a little behind him, not saying a word and knowing that he didn't
need to. His presence was overbearing enough without the need for words to further enhance
it.
But Max did turn. His eyes met the man’s with a look of
sadness.
“Oh, Larabee, I’m so sorry. What can I do?”
“You can’t do anything. I just want to tell you that it’s okay.”
“But the dream. The dream is different. Why?”
Larabee shrugged.
Max was utterly confused. “I don’t understand.”
Larabee smiled at him. “You don’t need to. I have to go now, Max.”
“Wait, please.”
“Max, I have to go.”
“One thing, please . . .”
Larabee nodded.
Max glanced over at 99, then turned back to
Larabee. “She’s not pregnant, did
you know that?”
“I know.”
“I’m going to miss you,” Max said, his eyes filling.
“I’ll miss you too. But I’ll be around, watching over you. Keep trying for that baby, Max.”
Max raised an eyebrow. “You gonna be watching over us then
too?” He asked.
Larabee smiled, shook his head and laughed. “No, Max.” He said. He
put a hand on Max’s shoulder again. “Good
bye, my friend.” He waved and walked
away.
“LARABEE WAIT!” Max yelled.
“Max?”
“LARABEE! PLEASE, DON’T GO!”
“Max, Max, wake up.”
Max sat up, desperately trying to get his
bearings. 99 turned on the reading light
behind the bed.
“Max . . .”
“99?
What?” He nervously ran his
fingers through his hair, his eyes darting around the room.
“Max, you were dreaming.”
“It was that dream again, 99, only it,
it . . . it was different.”
99 was suddenly terrified “You had the dream again?” She asked, her face paled slightly.
“Yeah, but it was different.”