Group Writing Project #4

A big Bob-White thank you goes out to Susan B. and Jen C. for proof reading! Thanks girls!!!

 

Scottsdale, Arizona

A sleek, black Lincoln Town Car sat, parked across from the main entrance of Montague Wilson’s hotel resort, The Redstone. The driver lit up a cigar and kept a close vigil on the main entrance, watching for a certain person, who would link him to one of the most remarkable agents he had ever worked with. Recently, Honey Wheeler had been kidnapped in hopes of forcing her mother, Agent M (or Lady M, as she was informally known) to betray her country by handing over top-secret KGB information. What Victor and Andre didn’t count on was that these plans were fakes and that the out-of-practice, and aging Madeleine Grace Wheeler would also be armed and dangerous. In the past, she had taken several agents down, and just two weeks ago, she had become the downfall of the two Russian spies.

"Miss Wheeler is back in USA," the Russian driver said, lighting up his cigar. "Wheeler was smart to send them to different country to relax."

"So?" the passenger asked. "I still say we should never have let them get as far as flying to Australia. Things have been too quiet, and I’m ready for a little noise."

"No noise. Much concentration is needed for plan," the driver said. "Miss Wheeler and her friends do not suspect. For them, mysteries are over for summer."

The passenger sat quietly for a minute. "I still don’t like it. We’ve already lost Andre and Victor. Do you realize what will happen to me if we’re caught? You’ll be deported back to Russia and probably given a medal for the work you’ve done. I’ll face charges of treason."

He studied the young adults as they loaded their van. They were talking amongst themselves. He did not recognize the eighth person, but quickly dismissed it. The driver pulled the cigar out of his mouth and exhaled. "Victor and Andre make mistakes. I do not make mistakes."

 

Just outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico

"Hey Brian," Trixie said from the back of the Bob-White station wagon. "Guess what?"

Brian rolled his eyes. "Trixie, you had plenty of time the last stop, but all right."

"Thanks, Dad," Trixie said, teasing her brother. She did use the bathroom at the last stop, but had since drunk several bottles of iced tea to beat the dry heat.

"Trixie’s not the only one," Honey said, defending her friend. "We’ve all been so parched in this heat that we’re drinking constantly."

"All right, guys," Brian said. "We just passed a sign for a McDonald’s in Las Cruses, which is only ten miles away. Let’s just stop there and use the bathroom. And," he added, "that will be our last stop until we get to El Paso."

Brian took the first exit for the town of Las Cruses and found the McDonald’s. While Trixie, Honey, Dan and Mart hurried inside for the bathrooms, Jim, Brian, and Diana stretched their legs and waited outside with Liz.

"If you guys don’t mind, I’d like to go across the street to the gas station and buy some gum," Liz said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "I’ll be right back."

"All right," Brian said. "Don’t be too long, though. We’d like to get you to El Paso by dinner."

"Sure," Liz said, her thin lips smiling. Looking out for traffic, she hurried across the crosswalk and inside the Kwik Mart.

A few minutes later, Trixie, Mart and Dan came out of the restaurant.

"Where’d Liz go?" Trixie asked. "She never came in with us, or after us."

"It’s all right," Jim answered. "She’s just across the street getting gum."

Trixie shielded the setting sun from her face as she looked. "Guys, I hate to disappoint, but I don’t think Liz is coming back."

"What do you mean?"

"For some reason, I don’t think she was really going to El Paso. Look," Trixie pointed to a Greyhound bus pulling up to the side of the store. A young girl fitting Liz’s description emerged from the store and hurried toward the bus. "I noticed, as the bus was coming down the road, that their final destination was Santa Fe."

Just then, Honey joined them. "Where’s Liz?" she asked, opening up her purse and putting away her lipstick.

"Right there," Dan said, pointing to the bus rumble it’s way down the road. "She’s headed for Santa Fe, or at least in that direction."

"It’s too bad," Diana said, opening her car door. "She was about our age, and from the way she talked, she sounded very smart. I hope she knows what she’s doing."

"Yeah, I hope so too," Brian said, getting back behind the wheel. "I’m just glad we were able to fly back to the Santa Monica airport and get our car back. Well, since we don’t have to be anywhere, let’s relax a few days here."

"Sounds good," Trixie said. "We’ve been all over the place so much, I am all in favor of just relaxing and taking it easy."

"But first," Mart broke in. "I’m simply famished. Before I waste away to naught, I vote we all feast on Mexican cuisine at that little place over there."

Jim yawned. "Oh, I suppose. It couldn’t hurt, I guess."

Dinner at the small restaurant wasn’t as lively as their first dinner on this trip. Several times, Trixie tried to make small talk, or bring up all the fun times they had recently in Melbourne, Perth, and Ballarat. All she received in response were several grins, half-hearted chuckles, or the occasional "yeah, that was fun." Diana and Honey didn’t even feel like talking about Kouta, Neil, or Peter. The Bob-Whites of the Glen were becoming the Pooped-out-Whites of the Glen.

She had to admit, it had been a long trip. What started out as a relaxing road trip that should last for two weeks tops, slowly became three weeks, and now they were looking at a fourth week just getting back home. Not only had the trip been long, but also stressful: Honey had been kidnapped, Brian was arrested for illegal possession of drugs, and after a tiring trip to Australia—where they had been charged nearly a thousand dollars for not declaring a box of chocolates—Mart’s wallet was stolen by a drifter who had used them to get to New Mexico and just ditched them without so much as a ‘good-by, thank you for the lift.’ Trixie was beginning to wonder what could possibly happen next.

* * *

"Yes, I’d like to speak with Miss Honey Wheeler," the driver said into his cell phone. He listened for a response. "This is her uncle Cameron Riker. I have something to tell her regarding her cousin, Ben." He smiled as the front desk clerk put him through to room 424 of the grand hotel in Las Cruses.

"You see," he said, turning to his passenger. "Living in America, supporting my self on American income, and learning from American lifestyles has benefits. My American accent – flawless."

"Hello?" came a woman’s voice over the phone.

"Miss Wheeler please," he said, hiding behind his American accent.

"This is," she said.

"Ah, Miss Wheeler," he said, grinning. This time, he completely let his accent drop and allowed his true Russian accent to come through. "Daniel Stuart and your mother are good agents, and work well together, no? However, your confidence will not last long. Double agents cannot be trusted, as you will soon find out. Mr. Stuart is to pay you a visit soon, and he only means harm. Understand?"

"What? Who are you? What’re you trying to say?"

"Miss Wheeler," he continued. "My name is Alexei Yavlovich. I am Russian spy for C.I.A. and know complete history behind Agent M and Agent D, or known to you as Madeleine Wheeler and Daniel Stuart."

"Listen, Alexei Who-ever-you-are," Honey said, her voice very irritated. "I’ve had enough of spy stuff and cloak and dagger. My mother is not involved in spy games anymore, and if you knew anything about her, you’d have already known that she kicked some major booty by taking down two KGB agents. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some relaxing to do."

"Miss Wheeler, this is crucial," he said, glancing up at the fourth floor of the grand hotel. He searched for room 424 as he talked. "Daniel Stuart is on his way to New Mexico now. You must leave."

Honey sighed. He could hear voices in the background, one in particular asking who it was. "Okay. First of all, how can I verify you are who you say you are?"

"Simple," he answered. "You contact C.I.A. and ask for Richard Fenton and he can verify it for you. Once you do, do not hesitate to do as I say. You have less than twelve hours to go north." With that, he hung up.

"Who is Alexei Yavlovich?" the passenger asked.

"He is Russian double agent who doesn’t know what he is about to get messed up in," he answered, not able to help the menacing grin on his face. "I worked with him in KGB, almost fifteen years ago. He defected to America and became American spy. Let’s just say I owe him for little trouble he caused me years ago."

The passenger’s eyes diverted from the driver’s face to something happening outside the car. "Where to now, then?"

"After Miss Wheeler calls to confirm, the group will be forced to head north. They will be convinced Daniel Stuart is enemy and fall right into our hands."

"Like puppets," the passenger added. "I like that."

* * *

Honey hung up after calling the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington D.C. to verify Alexei Yavlovich’s existence, and who he really was. She was satisfied with her answer and presented the information to the Bob-Whites.

"Personally," Jim said, leaning up against the wall and glancing out the window to the dark night, "I could use a little change of scenery myself. All we’ve seen is desert."

"Not to mention we need to begin our way home," Brian said, trying to add logic to the decision.

"Affirmative," Mart said. "The Windy City lays on the exact interstate that will direct us to our places of residence."

"So when do we leave?" Diana asked, exiting from the bathroom, her bathroom bags all packed. At everyone’s expressions, she explained. "Look, I’m ready to head home, and if going north to Chicago will get us there, I’m ready to drive the first leg of the trip. I don’t care if I’m fresh looking or not. I’m just tired of this chasing around."

Trixie looked at the six other Bob-Whites and studied their faces. "Shouldn’t someone at least contact your parents," she asked Honey. "If Daniel Stuart is what this Alexei person says he is, your mother might be in danger."

Honey shook her head. "The last time I called Mother, things started happening. Let’s just leave and forget this place."

"I’m sure it’s all just coincidence," Diana said. "I’m with Trixie. I think we should call them and at least let them know what we are doing. We don’t have to tell them that Alexei called, or about Daniel Stuart, do we?"

"We’re not going to call them at all," Dan piped up. "We’ll call Uncle Bill. I’ll casually ask him about the horses or something, and tell him we’re doing fine and that we decided to head for Chicago. That way, nothing is said about spies, espionage, the KGB, or international intrigue."

Trixie looked up and over at Jim for reassurance. "What do you think? Should we let your parents know?"

Jim thought for a second. "The responsible side of me says it is smarter to tell them, however, the reasonable side tells me I’m sure the phone line is bugged and telling them is not a wise thing to do."

"Hey," Mart said, focusing his attention on Diana. "You brought your cell phone so we could use that in emergencies. Let’s call your parents. There’s no way they could have bugged your cell."

"No," Brian said, stopping Diana from pulling her cell phone out of her purple Beanie Baby backpack that she picked up in Australia. "Cell phones use radio waves. Anyone with a CB or two-way radio can pick up transmissions from a cell phone. If we’re going to do any calling, it will be outside this hotel, on public phones, and in random spots. It takes less than thirty seconds to trace a call, so our conversations need to be quick." He studied everyone’s faces. "No more than just a quick hello and good bye with a quick word about where we are or what we need. Now, we need to get some rest. It’s eleven-thirty. In exactly six hours, we will check out and drive straight to Chicago, stopping only to switch drivers, bathroom breaks, and to get something to eat."

Trixie tried to sleep, but couldn’t. Honey didn’t have any problem, and Diana was out like a light next to her. Each time she looked at the digital clock, it was another half hour closer to five a.m. Finally, at three o’clock, Trixie closed her eyes to get some sleep. An hour later, the alarm clock went off.

She dragged her feet that morning while Diana and Honey hurried to get their belongings packed. The boys were ready to go. Jim and Brian had already left to pick up breakfast for everyone and were due back any minute. Trixie was barely out of her pajamas when they returned with four coffees, two double cappuccinos, a large Diet Coke, seven jelly donuts, and seven orders of eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy to go.

Allowing Trixie to stay in her pajamas, everyone left right at five o’clock with Diana at the wheel. Stopping only to get gas, the group headed straight up I-25 and never stopped until they reached Cheyenne, Wyoming. In Cheyenne, Dan got behind the wheel and drove east on I-80, and drove as far as Des Moines, Iowa where Jim took the wheel and drove the group toward the heart of Chicago, Illinois.

 

Des Moines, Iowa

As the radio softly played, the Bob-Whites either slept or talked quietly. It was nearly midnight when Dan pulled off the interstate in Des Moines to make the switch. Before Trixie opened the door to let Jim out, Dan caught his attention in the rearview mirror. Even though it was dark, and he couldn’t see Dan’s expression well, Jim understood Dan had something to say. They met behind the vehicle and talked in low tones.

"I’m not saying it means anything, Jim, but I have noticed a black car with Maryland plates that seems to be following us."

"What are you saying?" Jim asked quietly. "Since Las Cruces?"

"Yes, since Las Cruces. At the risk of sounding like a certain co-president we all know, I have a feeling this is no coincidence."

"Who do you think it is? Daniel Stuart?"

"I’m not sure. What I am sure of, is they are following us, but not very closely." Dan stuffed his hands in his pockets. "They go for several hours without an appearance and then I see the car again. Then, they’re gone again."

"What do you suggest? Do you think we should take another route to Chicago?"

"I think we should go somewhere else. Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling they think we’re headed for Chicago right now. I thought we could hide out in a small Wisconsin town for a few days and lose them that way."

Jim thought about it for a while. "All right. Sounds like a plan."

After filling the tank with gas, Jim continued the journey. As they got further away from Des Moines, the traffic thinned out until it was just the Bob-Whites and eighteen-wheelers and other trucks. As Jim looked into his rearview mirror, he could see a pair of headlights that seemed to follow at all times. Knowing how potentially dangerous his plan was, Jim threw his better judgment out the window and decided it was time to take action and lose the car behind him.

Finally coming upon the I-380 Junction, he slowed down and, without signaling, changed lanes and headed up the ramp that would take them to the highway heading north. When the car behind him was out of sight, Jim pulled off to the side of the highway and shut off all the lights in the car. None of the Bob-Whites questioned his actions for, except Dan, they were asleep.

Feeling more comfortable, Jim cruised along, switched to Hwy. 151 and headed across the Mississippi River and to Wisconsin. While Hwy. 151 headed into Madison, Jim wanted to steer clear of large cities, and stick to small towns. After stopping in Platteville to fill the gas tank, he continued on. Platteville looked as if it would have been safe, but it was too close to the boarder, and, he felt that if anyone had followed him, they would find them here. At the junction at Dodgeville, Jim took Hwy. 23 straight up to a small town called Reedsburg, and figured it was far enough from the boarder.

 

Besides, if anyone had followed us, they’ll surely think we either went straight to Chicago, or that we at least stopped in Platteville.

Reedsburg, Wisconsin

The sun was rising as Jim wearily headed down the main drag through town. He stopped at the first hotel they came to: The Super 8, right next door to McDonald’s.

The first thing Trixie, Mart, Diana, Honey and Brian did was wake up and stretch. Dan woke up and sleepily let everyone out. Jim shut his eyes and leaned his head back. Red stubble was very prominent on his chin, as he hadn’t shaved in two days.

"Oh! Breakfast!" Mart crowed, pointing at the McDonalds next door. "I’m dying for a Steak Bagel!"

"Figures," Jim drawled. "Just when I’m ready to sleep, the rest of you are ready to get up. You guys go get breakfast. I’ll check us in at the hotel."

"All right," Honey said, brushing out her long, honey-colored hair. "Want us to get you something?"

Jim shook his head. "I’m so tired, I don’t think the food could make it to my mouth. I’ll see you guys in a bit."

"Where are we, anyway?" Trixie asked. "This doesn’t look like Chicago to me."

"We are in Wisconsin," Jim said. "Dan can explain, because I can’t even think straight right now

The group, minus Jim, headed down to the restaurant to order breakfast. Immediately, they headed for the bathrooms to wash up. Trixie dug around in her suitcase to find a clean t-shirt since she spilled her coffee down the front of the one she was wearing. Honey, wearing the same shirt for two days, looked as fresh as ever. When everyone was ready, they headed for the front counter to put in their orders.

The lady who took their orders was wearing a headset, and before she took the Bob-Whites’ orders, she said something into the mouth piece. Trixie guessed that she was talking to someone else wearing another headset. Quickly, a redhead came out of the grill wearing another headset and took an order in the drive-thru. After she took the customer’s payment, she began to assemble the order.

There’s something very familiar about her, Trixie thought. She must have one of those faces.

The redhead hurried to make more hash browns. When she was finished, she did a double take when she saw the group. Except it was not specifically the group that made the redhead do the double take. It was the t-shirt Trixie was wearing. What she saw made her smile and shout,

"You’re a Lucy fan!"

Trixie was shocked at first that someone would even know who Lucy Radcliffe was, let alone be able to spot another fan. Then, she realized it was the t-shirt she was wearing. The graphic on the shirt was the picture from the cover of "Mission to Munich". Lucy was hiding in the shadow of a building while Axel and Karl, the two villains, stood in the background.

The redhead handed the customer’s order out the window and began assembling the Bob-White’s orders. "I have the t-shirt from last year’s convention," said the redhead.

"I didn’t get to go to the convention last year," Trixie said. She could feel Mart’s teasing stare behind her, but in the presence of another Lucy fan, she didn’t care. "My name is Trixie Belden."

The redhead gasped. "Trixie? I can’t believe this! I finally get to meet you! My name is Anna, but I go by Cheddarcliffe."

Trixie’s jaw dropped. "Now I know why you looked so familiar! I saw your pictures from the convention last year! I was so jealous that I couldn’t go."

"Well, I hope you can go to a convention, soon," Anna said, getting the other orders together. A beeping noise came over her headset, but she didn’t seem to hear it. "I had hoped to go to this one, but money just won’t allow for it."

"By the way, I should introduce you to everyone." Trixie gestured to each one of her friends as she said their names. "Jim is up at the hotel getting sleep. He drove all night."

"Ah, so I finally get to meet the famous Bob-Whites of the Glen." To everyone else, she added, "Trixie has told me so much about you! So, what are you doing in town?"

"Hey, Anna," Bobbi interrupted. "Are you going to get this order?"

"Huh? Oh!" cried Anna, and quickly greeted the waiting customer. When she was finished, she grabbed a napkin and hastily scribbled something on it and gave it to Trixie. "Here is my phone number. Call me around two o’clock. We’ve got to do something while you are here!"

"Definitely!" Trixie cried and hurried to join the others. Mart was grinning from ear to ear when she sat down. "What’s so funny?" she asked, knowing he was going to tease her about her Lucy Radcliffe obsession.

"That, other than a particular female relation to me, there’s someone else out there who likewise is just as passionate with that dumb series. Does she contribute to the on-going chronicles of Lucy Snodgrass by practicing the art of wasting valuable time by penning invented stories of Lucy enthusiasm, as well?"

Trixie was just about to throw a retort back when she saw the warning look in Brian’s eye. Instead she just smiled at Mart. "Don’t think I don’t know about the Cosmo McNaught fan fiction you’re currently working on, Naught-Head."

Mart blushed. He blushed so furiously when Honey gasped and cried, ‘Naught-Head?’ that his sandy eyebrows stood in great contrast to his red complexion. He looked at Brian for support, but even he was trying not to laugh. Dan was almost rolling on the floor. If anyone would offer any support, it would be Diana.

"I think Nut-head is better," Diana said, joining in on the fun.

"Better yet," Trixie cried, trying to catch her breath. "How about Miss Lonely Naught Head!"

Mart opened his mouth to try to trump Trixie’s ace by saying something about her Lucy fan fiction, but suddenly the absurdity of the name she gave him hit, and he was laughing along with the others.

When the Bob-Whites were finished, they all said good-bye to Anna, who was still working in the drive-through. Still laughing, they headed next door to the hotel to where their car was parked.

Brian fished his spare key out of his pocket, but before he had a chance to use it, they spotted Jim inside, taking a nap.

"Hey," he said, waking up when Brian opened the door.

"Didn’t you get us rooms?" Trixie asked.

"I went in, but they were booked. They had one room left, and it’s the Honeymoon Suite. I asked if it was big enough to fit seven, and they said that due to fire-codes, that room could only sleep four people at the most."

"Well, there’s always more," Honey said. "If nothing else, we can go on to the next town."

They soon found out, however, that all the hotels in Reedsburg, with the exception of the Motel Reedsburg were completely booked. When Jim and Honey went into the office to check in, their first clue should have been the notice on the door that read,

Please do not let the cats, dogs, birds, or ferrets out when you open the door. Thank you.

The cat and dog hair on the floor hid the original carpet underneath. A large parrot stood on top of his cage and continued to look them over. A few other parakeets squawked from their cages. Honey felt a cold nose on her ankle and jumped. Looking down, she saw a ferret, brown and tan in color, trying to circle around her.

"Good grief," she muttered to her brother as she tried to shoo the critter away with her foot. "I’m not sure we can stay here if the rooms are like this. Brian is very allergic to cat hair."

"Well, I haven’t seen the cat yet, but I’ve seen evidence of it," Jim said, looking around at the fur on the floor.

A loud, small, but throaty and annoying bark came from behind the desk. When they turned to look, a large, Maine Coon cat stood in the chair, looking at them through inquisitive eyes. The sound of little claws scraping against the plastic runner in the hallway alerted Honey and Jim of its presence. The barking continued, but neither could see it. The cat simply shut its eyes and looked the other way, not impressed with the little imp at all.

A rather heavy woman with stringy, greasy blonde hair, whom Honey and Jim could only assume was the manager, came down the hallway and bent over to scoop up the little dog, who they could see now was a little, toy dachshund.

"May I help you?" she asked. Her voice had a friendly ring.

The two Bob-Whites looked at each other and then back at the woman. Jim was at a loss for words, but Honey summed up all the tact she had and smiled.

"My brother and I are lost," she said. "Would you be able to direct us to Main Street?"

The woman smiled and gave them directions.

"My Lord," Honey gasped as they walked out. "Pardon my lack of tact, but was that ever a pig sty or what?"

Jim opened the car door and got in. "She must have no idea that place resembles a zoo."

"What are you guys talking about?" Trixie asked. "Are we going in?"

Brian sneezed.

Honey grinned. "That is why we’re not going in. Trixie, you should’ve seen the inside of that place. Cats, dogs, ferrets, and birds. I’m also fairly certain that there might’ve been rabbits in there, too."

Trixie scrunched up her face. "Well, I suppose it’s on to the next town. What’s it called? Booboo?"

Brian sneezed again.

"That’s Baraboo, Trixie," Mart said, grinning. "Before we do, though, let’s go back over to McDonald’s for something to eat. Your Lucy friend might know of a hotel we can stay in."

"I’m sure she will," Trixie said, a proud grin spreading across her face.

Sure enough, Anna was still working at the restaurant when the group returned. This time, Jim was able to introduce himself. Lunch hour had just died down, and she was clocking out within the next fifteen minutes. After talking to the Bob-Whites for a minute, and explaining her work situation, she quickly made sure everything in her area was stocked and ready to go for the next person to take over her spot in the drive-thru. Soon, Anna was able to join the others at their tables.

"Do you know of any hotels in this area where we could stay?" Trixie asked. "We’ve tried several, and they’re either booked, or don’t have enough rooms."

"We thought that maybe Baraboo or Wisconsin Dells might have something," Mart said, trying to be helpful.

Anna grinned. "Actually, if there are no rooms in Reedsburg, you sure aren’t going to find anything in either one of those towns. Wisconsin Dells is almost a theme park. It’s a giant resort area, loaded with hotels, water parks, theme parks, and all sorts of things. People who go there want to have fun, but don’t want to pay expensive hotel room prices, get hotel rooms here or in Baraboo and just drive to the Dells every day. There is one place, however, that is never booked and has plenty of room."

"Were is that?" Jim asked.

"Why, The Cheddarcliffe Inn and Suites, of course," Anna said, holding her hands up as if to say, ta-daaa.

"Oh, no, Anna," Honey said. "We couldn’t possibly come barging in on you like this. Besides, Mother and Daddy gave us an unlimited amount of credit to spend on hotels and other expenses."

"Don’t be ridiculous, Honey," Anna said. "I insist. In fact, I insist you follow me over there right now."

"But what about your husband?" Trixie asked.

"That’s the best part! Dave is up in Hudson with his brother, working on mechanical drawings and doing things that would only amuse computer geeks. He won’t be home until Sunday night! We have the rest of the weekend to chum around if you want!"

"What do you say, guys?" Trixie asked.

Everyone hemmed and hawed a little, not knowing what to say. On one hand, it was nice that they were going to stay in a place that was not a hotel, but on the other hand, are they going to listen to two girls giggle and gab all night about Lucy Radcliffe?

"We’re in," Diana piped up. "I, for one, am very tired of hotels and all that stuff. I’d like a TV dinner once in a while, or possibly a frozen pizza. I’d like to even help with chores. This trip has been so stressful already, that I’m looking for a vacation from my vacation to do some actual work."

"Hey, I won’t argue with that," Anna said, laughing. "I have a stack of dishes in my sink that are about to take charge and fight back. But you don’t really have to, you know. Just stay and relax."

When all was said and done, they followed Anna back to her apartment. After checking the mail, she unlocked the hall door and led the group down the hallway to apartment number three.

"Make yourselves comfy," she said, letting them all in. "I know it’s a mess. I hate housework."

"I know the feeling," Trixie said, her eyes twinkling.

"The couch pulls out into a bed, and I have sleeping bags. I’m sure I can find places to put all seven of you," Anna said to the others, who looked rather embarrassed to be there. No one knew her at all. As if she could read their minds, Anna piped up again. "I know you really don’t know me, and are probably feeling uncomfortable about staying here, but Trixie has told me so much about all of you that I feel as if I had known you all this time."

Several eyes fell on Trixie for an explanation, but Anna kept on going.

"You see, I’ve been on the Lucy Radcliffe Board for several years." As soon as she mentioned Lucy Radcliffe, several light bulbs went on. "I was only fifteen when I found that place, and thought it was the coolest thing on the Internet. A month after I showed up, Trixie showed up and the two of us clicked instantly. Only, she knew me as Cheddarcliffe and not Anna. I remember the day she told us about meeting her new neighbor, and how they adopted Jim. She also told us about Diana and Dan, too. Trust me, when Trixie logs on and says that she’s going on vacation, we all wait on pins and needles to hear about it when she comes back. Sure enough, there’s usually a mystery."

The Bob-Whites burst into laughter. At Anna’s amused, but curious look, Jim explained.

"Let’s just say this vacation will be no different from the others."

Anna grinned. "Can I hear it now, or should I wait for the book to come out?"

"I’m afraid you’ll have to hear it now," Honey said. "You see, we’re still in the middle of it."

"And this mystery has brought all of you to little Reedsburg, Wisconsin?" Anna’s grin became a full smile. "How cool is that?"

"Well, we were heading to Chicago," Jim said, looking at Dan. "However, our better judgment told us to change our destination temporarily and went to Wisconsin instead."

"I want to hear all about it, but first, you guys go relax in the living room. I’ll get sodas for everyone." Anna headed off to the kitchen while the others relaxed.

"She’s friendly," Brian said, taking a seat next to Honey. "Very outgoing, too."

"What’s your poison?" Anna called. "I’ve got Coke, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Sprite, IBC Orange, IBC Root Beer, berry punch, iced tea, water, or I could make a pot of coffee." After handing out the drinks, she took her visor off and fluffed out her long, shoulder length red hair. "You know, I hate to abandon you guys like this, and I really want to hear about the mystery, but I smell like French fries. So, I’m going to take a shower."

"I hate to impose on you like this, Anna," Jim said, before she could leave the living room. "None of us have had a proper shower in over twenty-four hours. Do you think we could take showers when you’re done, too?"

"Are you kidding? You’re not imposing on me at all. Remember, it was I who insisted. Have a look through our CDs and records and see what you like to listen to. Just don’t play the music too loud or else we’ll get an eviction notice quicker than you can say antidisestablishmentarianism."

"Ha!" Mart said, his eyes twinkling. "I’ll bet I can say it."

"Bet you can’t," Trixie said, opening her can of Cherry Coke.

"Antidistablin…" Mart said at first. "No, antidistabbleist…" He closed his eyes. "Anti-dis-enibble… Oh, forget it."

The others roared with laughter.

"You can’t say it either, Trixie," Mart said, challenging his sister.

"I never said I could," Trixie said. "You’re the one who brought it on yourself."

Anna giggled. "I only said it because I know Mart prides himself on large words."

He blushed. "Well, how often does one even use that word, anyway?"

"What does that word even mean?" Honey asked.

"I don’t think it really means anything," Diana answered.

"People who are against the idea of the disbanding of an established group would use that term," Anna said. "Well, that’s what I think it means." With that, she was down the hall. Minutes later, the Bob-Whites heard the shower going.

Dan stood up and looked through her collection of CDs. "You guys have to check this out," he said. "I’m not sure I’ve seen anything quite like it."

"What is it?" Diana asked, her violet eyes twinkling with mischief. "Does her music collection consist of only polkas?"

"Nope. Just going straight across the top row of this rack, we have Joe Jackson, Chicago, Ten Thousand Maniacs, The Beatles, Garth Brooks, ABBA, QUEENSRŸCHE, Foreigner, The Scorpions, Montrose, Heart, Jock Jams, Pink Floyd, Seals and Crofts, Enya, The Beat Farmers, Deep Purple, Metallica, Ten Years After, INXS, Fleetwood Mac, Def Leppard, George Strait, Iron Butterfly, The Romy and Michelle Soundtrack, Spooky Tooth, John Lennon, Duran Duran, Dave Mason, Ozzy Osbourne, George Harrison, U2, The Back Street Boys, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, more Beatles, Pete Townsend, The Bickersons Radio Show, AC/DC, Scott Joplin, The Moody Blues, Simon and Garfunkel, Richard Marx, and even more Beatles."

Honey whistled. Diana’s eyebrows went up. Trixie bit her lip. Brian and Jim each headed over to see if Dan wasn’t making things up.

"She needs help," Diana said, after Jim held out the Jock Jams CD to prove that Dan wasn’t just exaggerating. "The mix is all right, but Jock Jams?"

Trixie laughed. "I was more concerned about the country music, myself. Anna hates country with a passion, yet she has Garth Brooks and George Strait?"

"But what about Jock Jams?" Mart asked. "Someone whose musical taste involves such a liberal amount of heavier and classic music does not typically listen to Jock Jams, or The Back Street Boys. In fact, two musical artists such as Ozzy Osbourne and The Back Street Boys are never put on the same shelf. Categorically speaking, this is the biggest musical faux pas since Jethro Tull won the Grammy for Best Heavy Metal Album."

Trixie shrugged. "I think she keeps some of that around for fan fic, or maybe she just hasn’t gotten around to getting rid of it."

"Maybe she likes just a little bit of everything," said Brian, reaching down to the bottom rack and pulling out a Donny Osmond CD. "You can’t fault her on that, you know."

"No you can’t," Jim said, grabbing a Hubbell Scope CD. "Would you take a look at this?"

Trixie and Honey gave a collective squeal and grabbed it away from him. "She actually did it! She went out and bought it!" Trixie cried. "Here, let’s put it in and play it!"

The sounds of Bob and Barbara Hubbell’s music filled the room. Soon, the Bob-Whites were laughing and chatting as the twins’ voices sang, and no one heard the shower water stop, or even saw Anna come back into the living room.

"So, let’s hear about this mystery," Anna said, opening a can of Vanilla Coke for herself.

Trixie laughed lightly. "You sure you really want to know? I mean, once you know, there’s no going back. You’ll be involved."

Anna shrugged. "Maybe I can help you out."

Jim nodded. "Help is something we might need right now to lay low for a while."

"Lay low?" Anna asked. "You’re not in any trouble, are you?"

"Let’s put it this way," Trixie said. "We just want to avoid any, uh, KGB entanglements."

Anna’s eyebrows shot up. "The KGB? You guys? This I wanna hear!"

With the help of the six other Bob-Whites, Trixie filled her in on everything they had gone through since leaving Sleepyside nearly a month ago. First, the package Honey was to deliver to Daniel Stuart of the FBI, then Honey’s kidnapping, Madeleine’s involvement, Brian’s arrest, the drug bust, the trip to Australia, and now Alexei Yavlovich.

Anna’s mouth hung, gaping open. "You know, what you guys have managed in one month, most people haven’t done in one life time."

"So you see," Jim said, slipping his arm around Trixie. "We need somewhere to lay low for a few days, but I don’t want to put you in danger, Anna. I appreciate you opening your house to us, but after thinking about it, I’m afraid we can’t stay."

Anna frowned. "But you’ve already told me and now I want to help. So, no, you can’t go anywhere else."

Dan sighed. "I’m afraid Jim is right, Anna. I know you want to help, and really we shouldn’t have even said anything. But, if this Daniel Stuart guy does find us, and he is really as harmful as Alexei says he is, you might get caught up in this."

Anna scanned the group. "But, one," she said, ticking off on her fingers, "Jim said he had already lost them by pulling off the interstate with his lights off. Secondly, Honey, your mother has already taken out Victor and Andre, so there shouldn’t be any more occurrences from them. And C, it would only take the CIA half a second to find out what hotel you are at. Don’t you think they probably have a way of tracing credit card transactions? They’ll notice each time your father’s credit card is used."

Jim blanched. "I hadn’t thought of that," he said, turning to the group with a terror stricken face. "I stopped in Platteville on the way and filled the tank."

"And you used your father’s credit card," Anna finished for him.

"Yes," he said. "You know, for someone studying to be a teacher, I sure don’t use my brain very much. I mean, this sort of thing should have been obvious."

"It’s all right, Jim," Trixie said. She was visibly worried, but warmly smiled at him anyway. "If you lost them on the interstate, there’s no way they could’ve traced the transaction and changed their course so quickly. Plus, they probably don’t realize we’re in Reedsburg."

"Trixie’s right," Anna said. "However, when they find out you’re not in Platteville, they might just continue north. It’s only two more hours to Reedsburg, or longer if they get caught behind a farmer driving a tractor on the highway. However, It might be better if you put your car in my garage since I’m sure the CIA or the FBI, or whoever is chasing you could release the description of your car to county police. Remember, small town police officers don’t have much to do, so they pay attention to reports that come in from the FBI or CIA."

"Tell me about small town police," Trixie said. "You haven’t met Sgt. Molinson, Anna."

"Then you guys should know that if something goes down in Sleepyside, the police are all over it like white on rice."

"Actually," Trixie said, smirking, "Molinson isn’t. In fact, most of the time, he doesn’t believe a word I say, or when he does, he tells me to scram and that it’s official police business."

"Truth is," Dan spoke up, "Sgt. Molinson probably wouldn’t ever respond to anything if it weren’t for Trixie. However, when he shows up, it’s usually too late, or after Trixie has already apprehended the criminal."

"Well, our police officers are nothing like that," Anna said, rather amused at Trixie and Dan’s description of Sgt. Molinson. "Dan, maybe once you become an officer, you’ll straighten that department out." Dan jumped. "I read all about it in Trixie’s blog. Anyway, Reedsburg isn’t that big. All it will take is one hour before the police find your car, and with ‘B.W.G.’ printed right on the door, it won’t be that hard to notice."

After Anna and Jim switched the cars, the other Bob-Whites relaxed. Dan used Anna’s cell phone to call his uncle Bill Regan to let him know where they were, and that they were safe.

"I’m sure whoever is following you wouldn’t guess you knew anyone in this area, so I don’t think they’ll look that hard for it. Chances are, if you’ve been staying in hotel rooms, they’ll probably search hotel parking lots." Anna stopped when a new song came over the stereo. "I’ve always liked this one, Trixie."

Trixie winked. "I’ve always liked it too."

Jealousy and pride, mixed with violent tide
Love comes from the soul –
What they can find, what comes from the mind
And love takes quite a toll –

From a flash of light, to a stormy night
She had won his heart –
Man against the flood, brav’ry in his blood
It was just the start –

"Anyone for a pizza?" Jim asked, blushing furiously. "I’m starving."

"Sure," Mart said, always ready to go along with any idea as long as food was involved. "Anna, can we take your car over to Pizza Hut and get something?"

"No problem," she said, handing her keys to the tall redhead. "Actually, why don’t you just head over to Viking Foods and get six Red Barron pizzas. It’s quicker and I don’t mind making them here."

After everyone pooled their money together to come up with about twenty dollars, Jim hurried off with Mart.

"How long do you guys plan to ‘lay low’?" Anna asked.

Dan shrugged. "Not real sure."

"If we get wind that Daniel Stuart has followed us up here, we’ll have to hide out somewhere," Trixie said. "It might mean a whole week of not going anywhere."

"I think I’d go nuts if we had to do that," Diana cried. "As it is, I’m so sick of hotels, room service, ritzy restaurants, and this whole mad chase that has taken us around the world and back."

Trixie guffawed. "I don’t think I could ever get tired of room service, Di," she said, winking at her friend.

"Try living with it sometime," Diana retorted, and then slapped her hand over her mouth. "I’m sorry, Trix! I didn’t mean that how it sounded!"

"It’s all right, Di," Trixie said, smiling. "Don’t worry about it." To Anna, she added, "Sometimes I tend to take things for granted, and wish I had things that others have."

"You know," Anna said. "Sometimes servants would be nice to have when you have to clean house by yourself."

Diana sighed. "I suppose I thought the same thing about servants when Dad became rich, but trust me, it became old very fast."

"So, what did you have planned for tomorrow?" Brian asked, changing the subject. He knew that talk about servants within the Bob-Whites could sometimes be a very touchy subject.

"I have tomorrow off," Anna said, smiling. "I thought we could all go do something."

"In your car?" Dan asked.

"Oh," Anna said, her shoulders slumping. "There’s not enough room for eight people in that car. At the most, it buckles in six."

"And, to be safe, we shouldn’t cram two more in," Brian added. "Laying low means not going out of your way to break traffic laws."

Trixie’s shoulders soon did just what Anna’s did and slumped. "You mean we’re being held prisoner here until the air clears, so to speak?"

"I suppose so," Dan said. "I guess we’d better get used to listening to Jock Jams."

"Jock Jams?" Anna asked. "Don’t tell me you’re into that crap, are you?"

Dan’s eyebrows knitted. "You have Jock Jams in your rack of CDs."

"Oh, that!" Anna giggled. "I was stupid for five minutes and bought that ages ago. I just keep it around as a reminder of what happens when I buy things on impulse."

Trixie nearly snorted her Cherry Coke out through her nose. "Just as long as you didn’t buy into the Macarena craze!"

At Anna’s silence, the others broke out in laughter.

"You did!" Dan cried, pointing a finger at her.

"I plead the fifth on grounds that I might incriminate myself," she said, a dead pan expression on her face.

After an evening of music, laughter, pizza and more fun, Anna finally set up the Bob-Whites to spend the night. With the couch pulled out into a bed, there was no room for any of the other Bob-Whites to sleep on the floor. So, they took the mattress out and set it up. Next, Anna took out the air mattress and pump and set that up. Mart and Brian took the air mattress, Honey and Diana took the hide-a-bed mattress, and Dan and Jim took the two sleeping bags that Anna had. The only other choice left for Anna and Trixie was the bedroom at the end of the hall, since the living room didn’t have any more room.

"Hey Anna," Trixie whispered. "Thanks for letting us crash here."

"Let you? Trixie, now that I know double agents from the CIA are on your tail, the last thing I want to happen is to let you guys stay at a hotel where you could easily be found."

She smiled. "I don’t feel perfectly safe."

"Don’t worry," Anna said, reassuring Trixie. "First of all, they’ll need a key to get into the hallway. Second, there’s no way they could get in without one of us knowing."

"I know, but just like Lucy’s Creole Case in New Orleans, I’m just afraid they could get in just as easily as Louis and Jacques did when they broke into her father’s security tight condo."

Anna smirked. "Well, considering the fact that Lucy left the ground floor window open in hopes that Louis and Jacques would break in, it’s really no surprise they did. It also helps that the author wrote her as somewhat of an airhead in that book. I mean, if you were setting up a trap to catch the bad guys, you wouldn’t fall asleep. Kind of like how you caught that diamond thief."

"Except that I did fall asleep, Anna," Trixie said, grinning. "Remember, that’s why I screamed."

"Now I remember," she said, feeling embarrassed. "Well, at least you’re not an airhead."

Trixie laughed. "Sometimes I feel like it, but it’s nice to know that someone else doesn’t think so."

"I’ll bet Jim doesn’t," Anna said. "So, what about him?"

"Oh, we’ve gone out on a few dates, but I’m not sure if it’s ever going to turn into anything serious," she answered.

"Come on, Trix. I read your blog. I know how you feel about him."

Even though it was dark in the bedroom, Anna could see that Trixie was blushing. "I do have feelings for him, and I know he has the same for me, but when the subject comes up, the both of us try to divert our attention to something else. So far, neither one of us can get past the ‘special feelings’ stage of our relationship."

"Maybe he’s scared that if you two do get together, he’ll be in for one heck of a mystery tour, and I’m not referring to the kind you guys had in Australia."

"I suppose," Trixie said. "But, I can’t help it. Mysteries just seem to find me. I could sit all day long and not look at anyone or do anything, and one would still fall in my lap."

Anna shrugged. "Well, maybe there’ll come the day when he’ll either face it and get used to the idea, or maybe he will decide it’s just not something he wants to commit to."

"Only time will tell," Trixie said, stifling a yawn. "I know that however it works out, it will be for the better."

"You’ve got it, Trix," Anna said, making herself comfortable. "That’s the best way to go into any relationship."

"Good night, Anna."

"Hood nit, Trix."

Anna grinned, happy that she was able to make Trixie laugh. Hood nit was used in the Lucy chat room after one of Lucybaby’s famous typos.

"Hood nit, Cheddarcliffe."

The next morning felt like chaos. One shower and eight people wasn’t going to work. Anna gave up her turn in the shower since she had showered after work the day before. Diana and Honey, decided to take five-minute showers to help save on the hot water. Trixie showered the previous night before going to bed, so all she had to do was dampen her comb and run it through her curls. All together, the time each of the boys took in the bathroom equaled fifteen minutes. Fortunately, Anna’s apartment had two bathrooms, so styling hair and shaving wasn’t an ordeal.

Within an hour, all eight people were ready to go. Since it was already determined eight people wouldn’t fit in Anna’s car, and taking the station wagon out wasn’t an option, they decided to walk to the nearest restaurant for breakfast – namely, McDonald’s. On the way down Main Street, Anna and the Bob-Whites talked and chattered about things, past adventures, and Trixie even managed to have a Lucy Moment.

Out of all the things they noticed, one of them was not the black BMW parked along side the road. The driver kept his eye on the group as they walked past.

Everyone ordered breakfast that morning and sat down to laugh and chat some more. While Brian, Diana, and Mart talked about movies and stars, Trixie, Dan, and Anna were in the middle of a very animated conversation about music. Jim and Honey looked over the map and tried to find a good route that would lead them to Chicago.

Suddenly, Trixie went rigid. All the Bob-Whites fell silent. When Anna looked up, she saw a tall, middle-aged man with graying black hair standing in front of them. He was smartly dressed in a very expensive suit.

"Daniel!" Honey gasped.

The man looked directly at Trixie’s Lucy Friend. "Am I to presume that this is Anna?"

"Never mind who she is," Jim said, setting his jaw. "I want to know what you want with us!"

"I’m here to explain something for Honey’s ears only."

"Oh no, you don’t," Trixie cried. "What you’ve got to say to Honey you can say to all of us. Anna included. She knows all about it."

The man looked over at the redhead woman once again. "Daniel Stuart, director of the FBI," he introduced himself. "The phone call you received from Alexei Yavlovich, remember it well?" he asked the group.

Honey nodded.

"Did you clear that name with the CIA before you decided to venture clear up here?"

Honey nodded. "Mr. Stuart, Alexei Yavlovich is Russian by birth, but an American spy for the CIA. Mr. Richard Fenton from the CIA building in DC was able to verify this information for me."

"And this is all Richard Fenton told you?"

"Yes." Honey said. "And it was good enough for us. Alexei told us you were really a double agent who is chasing after us."

"Is that what he said?" Daniel Stuart took his dark sunglasses off. "Did he also say he was calling from a phone booth in Berlin, Germany?"

Honey gasped, but Jim held up a hand to silence her. "Listen, Mr. Stuart. I do happen to know from my mother that you are a double agent. This means you could be lying to us right now."

"Let me explain something to you," Daniel Stuart said, taking a chair from another table and pulling it over to their table to sit down. "Do you know how hot the name Wheeler is right now with both the FBI and the CIA? When you called and identified yourself as Madeleine Wheeler, it took only seconds for it to register. The minute your name was typed into our network for a search, red flags went up like crazy. If you had only waited at your hotel in Las Cruces, I would’ve been there in nearly ten hours to get you. But, instead you’ve lead me on a chase clear up to Wisconsin."

"So then what’s all this business with Alexei Yavlovich?" Anna asked. "Either someone’s using his name, or he’s not really in Berlin."

"Oh, no, Alexei is in Berlin. How do I know this? Because I was on assignment with him last week," he answered his own question. "After you were sent to Australia, I was sent to Berlin to work with him until I received a phone call from none-other than Richard Fenton from the CIA asking me why Madeleine Wheeler would be calling from New Mexico and questioning who this other person was. At first, I thought of Madeleine, your mother. Then I realized that she had gone back to Sleepyside. I told Dick Fenton that I’d be in New Mexico in ten hours and took the very next flight out of Berlin to the US. By the time I got to New Mexico, and asked about you, the clerk said you had checked out at least four hours before. So I had the FBI do some investigating. Somewhere down the road, the name Wheeler would just have to show up. I waited. Finally, in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the Amoco station just off Exit 2 on Interstate 25, Matthew William Wheeler’s credit card was used to put exactly $27.89 into the gas tank. From that point on, I had my eye on you guys and knew where you were. I hopped the next flight out of there to the Cheyenne airport and arrived just after you had left. After I rented the BMW, it did not take long to catch up with you, especially after you stopped for dinner. Then when Dan and Jim stopped in Des Moines to switch driving shifts, I was nearly tailgating you. Trust me, a little black Beemer can do wonders against a 1984 station wagon carrying seven people."

Jim’s jaw was till set. "And once you got to Chicago…" he egged on.

"Oh, no. I didn’t even think about Chicago," Daniel Stuart said. "Yes, you did lose me when you turned off to head up Interstate 380, but once you used the credit card in Platteville, I found you again."

Anna was nearly beaming. "Hey, that’s what I told them yesterday!"

Jim threw her a withering glance. "So how long have you known we were in Reedsburg?"

"The moment you called Dan’s Uncle Regan from Anna’s cell phone."

"So why didn’t you pounce on us right then?" Jim asked, his jaw still set.

"Before I arrived in Platteville, I noticed a black Lincoln Town Car with Maryland plates that had been on your trail since Des Moines. The minute I arrived on the scene, their interest was suddenly diverted to me. So, to lead them away from you, I acted as a decoy and kept them going way past the point where you had pulled off and ‘lost’ me. I pulled off and stayed put for a while until I was sure that they were gone. I headed back west to Platteville and waited for something to alert me of your presence."

"Why not just send a message to the county police in south western Wisconsin and tell them to look for a yellow station wagon with "BWG" on the side?" Diana asked.

"Are you kidding?" Daniel asked. "What better way to chase you guys off than to radio ahead and tell every police man in this area to look out for you? No. I thought something would have to surface sooner or later." Daniel pointedly looked at each Bob-Whites as he talked. "You guys were very careful about not using Diana’s cell phone, or anyone else’s for that matter. You were smart about that, because as a matter of fact, we’ve been listening in on every conversation you’ve made on those phones. However, what you didn’t count on was the FBI tapping into the signals sent to Alltel, Sprint, and Centurytel towers in this area. Of course, we seriously weren’t going to tap into every phone conversation made in this area. That would have been a complete waste of time and resources." Diverting his eyes from Jim’s green ones to Honey’s hazel eyes, he continued.

"Now, obviously, we could trace any call made and find out where it came from, but if we traced every phone call, we’d be there all day. We’re more than willing to listen in on phone conversations, but we don’t do that unless we really need to. So, we just narrowed it down to just one certain area. Let me give you a break down on how the FBI keeps an eye on phone calls. The FBI picks up the calls coming in and traces them. Of the daily average of phone calls from Wisconsin, probably three thousand phone calls go to Westchester County. From the prefix you used, which is the Sleepyside prefix, your call suddenly became one of two hundred. Out of those two hundred, only fifty phone calls are directed to the part of Sleepyside that runs directly along the Hudson River, which is where you live. Out of those fifty, two phone calls are made to Mr. Lytell’s General Store for delivery and order information. Ten are made to general residents of Sleepyside, and are usually telemarketers calling. Fifteen calls go straight to Mr. Wheeler’s office phone, and is all business talk. Ten calls are from relatives of various Sleepyside residents. That only leaves thirteen calls unaccounted for. Last night, when you made the call to Dan’s uncle’s place, you called an unlisted number. Instead of doing what most callers do, and calling the main house phone line, he dialed the phone extension that goes directly to the apartment of one William P. Regan, uncle to Daniel Mangan. We traced the cell phone number and found Anna, and did quick background checks on both Anna Helander and William Regan. The two have never met, nor talked, nor do they know each other even exists. However, because William Regan works for Matthew Wheeler, this sent up one heck of a red flag. At that moment, I knew where you were. We didn’t have to listen in."

The Bob-Whites were speechless.

"This morning," he continued, "I received information that two ex-KGB agents are on their way here. They trailed me all the way from Des Moines, and followed you since Las Cruces. Their names are Yuri Dyfort and Justin Chamberlain and they should show up in Reedsburg any time."

"I hope you don’t mind," Anna said, interrupting. "But, Chamberlain isn’t exactly a Russian last name."

"No it’s not," Daniel said. "But you don’t have to be Russian to be a Russian spy."

"What should we do?" Mart asked.

"Leave it to me, okay?" Daniel said, standing up. "I notified Dick Fenton already, and he is in the process of tracking them down."

"So, what should we do in the mean time?" Trixie asked. "Stay here?"

"That would be the safest thing to do for now. Like I said, Dyfort and Chamberlain could show up any time." Daniel checked his watch. "In fact, it shouldn’t take them very long to figure out where you’ve gone."

"So what happens to us when they show up?" Diana asked, feeling panicky.

Daniel avoided making eye contact with both Honey and Jim. "Let’s put it this way. They are determined to get those plans. Sure, Madeleine beat Andre and Victor the first time, but Yuri does not give up. He wants those plans, and he’s willing to go to any length to get them."

"Even if it means kidnapping Honey again," Dan supplied.

Honey set her jaw. "You know what?" she cried. "Bring ‘em on!"

Trixie jumped at her friend’s sudden outburst. "Honey?"

"Yeah! That’s just what I said. Bring on the entire Russian police if you have to. I’m sick and tired of running from or being followed by these people!" On the words ‘sick’ and ‘tired’, she pounded the table with her fist.

"Honey," Brian said, sliding his arm around her shoulders. "I’m sure Daniel has something in mind for us."

The Bob-Whites looked expectantly at Daniel for an answer.

"The minute you guys step out of this restaurant, you could be surrounded by Russian agents, or anyone involved with Yuri and Justin."

"You mean we’re held prisoner? At McDonald’s?" Honey cried. When Daniel Stuart didn’t answer, she continued. "Just listen here, Mr. Stuart. First, I want to get something very clear with you. I have no intentions on being kidnapped again, and if you think I’m just going to sit here and let it happen to me or any one of my friends, you’d better think again. Second, I want you out of my life, period. Whatever you and my mother had in the past is irrelevant and you’re just another person to me. You saw my mother is no weakling and just like she took Victor and Andre down, I can do the same. After all, she was not much older than I am now when she was helping you in your CIA days. However," she continued, standing up and facing Daniel, "I have one thing that Mother didn’t have: a history of solving crimes with Trixie Belden, the very woman who might someday put you out of a job!"

Trixie flushed.

"I can take this man any day, any time, any where. All he has to do is show up. Also," Honey went on, "I am fighting back. There’s nothing in this world that will make me just sit here. Not you, the President, or any other human. These jerks will rue the day they mess with the Bob-Whites of the Glen. Are you with me?"

The Bob-Whites sat there speechless at the complete change in Honey’s attitude.

"The motto of our club is all for one," Brian said, trying to get over the panic-stricken feeling of knowing that he and his friends were in more trouble than they had bargained for.

"Um, I’m I know I’m not an original Bob-White," Anna said, keeping her voice quiet. "But I remember the day Trixie logged on to show us the online article about how she and Honey had helped the FBI uncover the Argentinean gun smugglers and it called all of you ‘Bob-Whites’. She never explained to us what a Bob-White, and so many of us asked her what that meant. She told us if she were to tell us, then we would have to become cyber honorary Bob-Whites. I agreed to become one, so in a sense, I’m with you, too."

Jim, who was sitting next to her, grinned. "But, Anna, you hardly know us. I can’t ask you to stick your neck on the line for us."

"Thanks for your concern, Jim," Anna replied, returning the grin. "But, my mind is made up. I’m going to help you fight back. I’m as much involved as you are, since I know about it and you are staying with me."

Mart chuckled. "There’s no arguing with her, James, my boy." Then, to Daniel Stuart, he said, "It looks as if we’re all going to do this."

"And, there’s no wasting any time," Dan said, craning his neck to see a black, Lincoln Town Car pull into the McDonald’s parking lot. "We need a plan because they’re here."

Trixie whirled her curly head to see two men, dressed in black suits and wearing dark sunglasses get out of their car and head towards the restaurant entrance. "What are we going to do?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down.

"Let me handle things," Daniel said, pulling out his cell phone.

"Wait," Anna interrupted. "I have a cunning plan."

Seconds later, Anna was behind the front counter, talking to Mark, the store manager. In less than ten seconds, she had the Bob-Whites and Daniel Stuart in the break room, waiting for her to join them.

"Stall them," she hissed to Mark and raced past the confused McDonald’s crew to the Bob-Whites.

Mark sent the crew to the break room to hear Anna’s plan of action. It wouldn’t necessarily stop the Russian agents, but it would delay them for a while to allow the FBI to arrest them without a fight. While he stayed up front and ‘took their order’, Anna arranged a quick plan of action and delegated jobs to each crew person and Bob-White.

Minutes later, everyone was in position. The Bob-Whites were preparing the store for the ambush. Anna, who had Mark’s set of keys, opened up the cleaning cabinet in the back and instructed Mart to find three packets of bleach, a gallon of degreaser, and mix it together in a bucket. She then grabbed a box of vinegar packets out of the stock room and gave him further mixing instructions.

It wasn’t long before the crew and the Bob-Whites were set up. The crew remained in their original positions, while Honey and Diana gathered the Sega Happy Meal Toys, which doubled very nicely for small hockey pucks. Jim and Brian headed for the back of the store to retrieve the mops and brooms. Trixie and Dan hurried to the walk-in freezer to gather boxes of frozen biscuits, McGriddle patties, and McNuggets. While everyone was getting ready, Mart emptied the vinegar packets into parfait lids – one packet per lid – and then poured six ounces of the bleach-degreaser mix into the parfait cups. He hadn’t had this much fun mixing chemicals since the fourth grade when he made the erupting volcano for a science project.

Anna emerged from the office, holding a handful of large, thick rubber bands and handed them out to the crew. Amy, Gerry, Ryan, Trisha, and Amanda took their places and let the Bob-Whites set up around them. Quietly, they wheeled the waist-high bun-carts up to the grill area. Drive-thru headsets were given to Trixie, Anna, and Mart and were each set on ‘lock’, so that they would remain on at all times.

Mart carried his stash of bleach-degreaser cocktail and vinegar behind one of the bun-carts. "I’m ready when you are," he said to both Anna and Trixie on the headsets.

"Are you in position to get a good hit?" Anna asked, setting up her crew with an armory of rubber bands and tongs to use as slingshots.

"Yes," he answered. "Waiting for the call."

"R-Roger," said Anna, lowering her voice a bit to be silly. "Okay, Trix. My team is ready. How about Honey and Diana?"

"They’re doing just fine," she answered. "We have three boxes of toys. Daniel Stuart has called the police, and the FBI are on their way. All we have to do is stall them."

"Tell me again why we’re doing this?" Gerry asked Anna, taking a tartar sauce gun in hand.

Anna smiled. "Because this is something you don’t get to do everyday. Besides, wouldn’t it be the limit if our regional manager came waltzing in here and found out that we helped the FBI catch criminals?"

Gerry grinned, his stark white teeth showing in great contrast to his dark, Latin skin. "He’d fire all of us. You are loca," he said, starting to laugh. "But, I do it anyway."

"Aw. You’re sweet to do this for me."

"No way, man," he said, grinning broadly. "Not for you, Anna. For them." He pointed to Honey and Diana. "For hot women!" he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Those ‘hot women’, Gerry, would have you whipped in dos secundos flat."

"As much as I would like to further my education in how indubitably irresistible certain members of our alliance are, Anna, I have a notion that the circumstances of the situation at hand requires more attention."

Anna flushed and glanced over at Mart, who was all set up. She had forgotten he had special feelings for Diana. Trixie talked about this a number of times on her blog.

Pretty soon, it was evident Mark was no longer able to stall the two KGB agents. The taller man stood a good foot and a half over Mark. His dishwater-blonde hair was slicked back, revealing a receding hairline. His dark glasses came off long before, and now he was demanding to know where the Bob-Whites were hiding. Mark shook his head repeatedly, saying he didn’t know what the man was talking about, and didn’t know who the Bob-Whites were. Finally, he claimed he had enough and started to head behind the counter, reaching for his gun.

"Ready…GO!" Trixie shouted.

Instantly, the Bob-Whites and McDonald’s crew came out of no where and fired away. Gerry, Ryan and Amy fired using Big Mac Sauce, mayonnaise, and tartar sauce. Taken by surprise, Yuri Dyfort dropped his gun and wiped the mixture of sauces from his face. Dan grabbed a fry basket and swung at him with all his strength, knocking him into the ice cream machine. Just as he gained his bearings again, Gerry met him dead on with his tartar sauce gun.

Honey and Diana began pelting him with the hard, little Happy Meal toys. Each one, as they hit him, made little bleep-o-bleep noises.

"Trix, may I commence?" Mart asked, using the headset.

"Not yet. We don’t want to use our supply until we really have to."

"Keep in mind, Mart," Anna said, using her headset, "that stuff is pretty lethal."

"You’re talking to a chemistry major in school, Anna," Mart said. "This, my dear, is pretty elementary."

Trisha and Amanda fired away at Yuri, shooting biscuits and McGriddle patties with their makeshift slingshots. The frozen biscuits hit him like rocks and the McGriddle patties struck him like hockey pucks. The man yelped, trying to dodge the objects flying at him. Just as he set foot into the grill area, Jim and Brian stepped in and attacked with their brooms, using them as kendo sticks.

Yuri took another step, but the floor by the grills was so greasy and covered in sauce, he slipped and fell down. Instantly, Daniel Stuart was on top of him with handcuffs.

"Woo-hoo!" Anna crowed. "We got him!"

Anna and Gerry, splattered with a mixture of sauces, high-fived each other. Honey and Diana cheered and hugged each other. Brian set his broom down and began to check Yuri over for any injuries. Everyone around them started to celebrate as Daniel Stuart tried to lift the Russian spy to his feet. Laughter ensued as everyone took a look around.

"Well, the grill area needed to be swept and mopped anyway," Amy said, laughing and taking one of the brooms from Jim. Trixie thought for sure she winked at him as she took the broom from him.

"Don’t celebrate yet," Trixie cried out, looking around. "Two men came in. Where’s the other one?"

"I have no idea," Anna cried, looking around her.

Diana stopped wiping the tartar sauce out of her blue-black hair. She was facing the grill area, her back turned to the front counter. "So where did Justin Chamberlain go?"

"I’m right here," said a man behind her.

When everyone looked, and Diana whirled around, they saw a younger man with jet-black hair. He did not have a gun, or anything that anyone could see.

"You might have been able to take Yuri down, but not me. Now, I have no use for him, so I’m going to make this very easy for you." He turned to Daniel Stuart. "You can keep Yuri. He’s no good to me. He’s just an old, washed up has-been in the KGB. Now hand over Madeleine Wheeler and the plans like what was originally agreed upon.

"Mart, do you have a good aim?" Anna asked, using the headset.

Trixie, in spite of the serious situation, nearly burst out laughing. I share a bathroom with him. No, he doesn’t.

"If you mean between Justin’s optical cavities," he said, "yes, I do.

"Fire when you’re ready," Trixie gave the order.

Quickly, Mart dipped the parfait cup in the bleach-degreaser mixture and covered it with a dome-shaped lid full of vinegar. He shook the mixture slightly until it started to foam, and put the parfait cup into his makeshift slingshot and pulled back. The cup went flying through the air and landed, perfectly, right in Justin’s face.

"Hey!" he cried, wiping his face clean. Suddenly, the mixture began to foam on his face. "Ohh! That stings!" he cried, trying to get it all off his face. As soon as his face was clear, Mart fired again. This time, the second one hit the top of his forehead. The lid flew off and the mixture seeped down his head, over his ears and down his neck. The man cried and yelped some more.

"Great hit, Mart!" Trixie cried.

"He might be hit, guys," Anna called, "but he’s not down. Gerry! How’re we doing on sauces?"

"Not good," he replied. "We have only three tubes left."

"Trixie, what about you? Do you need more biscuits, McGriddles, and Happy Meal toys?"

"We’re fine. We’ve been reusing whatever hits the floor. Mart, what about you?"

"I have enough to give this man one heck of a bath."

Trixie gave the order. "Fire at will."

Mart fired several more parfait cups filled with the bleach-degreaser-vinegar solution. The man, who had been dancing around at the different stinging sensations, headed for Honey, who was scrambling to gather the toys. Hit after hit, Mart’s concoction didn’t seem to faze the man anymore.

"He’s going after Honey!" Trixie cried. "Mart! How much more do you have?"

"Not much more!" he called back. "Any back-up plans?"

"Trisha and Amanda," Trixie cried to her team. "Keep firing biscuits and McGriddles at him. Anna, keep firing. We have to give him all we’ve got!"

"It’s no good, Trixie!" her team cried. "The biscuits are beginning to thaw and get soft. The McGriddles are just as bad!"

Brian and Jim stepped in front of the man and attacked him with the broomsticks. Justin fought them off, sending punches into their guts and across their jaws. Just after he sent another fist across Jim’s face, Gerry stepped forward and sent half a tube of tartar sauce flying right into his eyes, blinding him for a second.

That second was long enough for Dan to come flying in out of nowhere and land a punch right across Justin’s face. The two men wrestled around the grill floor, covering each other in the sauce from the previous battle with Yuri. Dan landed a punch here and there, and took a few from Justin. Finally, Dan whipped the man around and had him in a submission hold. He tried to hold him long enough for Daniel Stuart to come and handcuff him, but Justin kicked out and sent Dan flying backwards. Gaining his footing, Justin got up and lunged at Honey.

Two people, however, weren’t about to let that happen. In a flash, Anna and Trixie had joined the jumbled mess and wrestled against the other man. Anna had to admit, it was becoming hard to figure out who was who in the huge mixture of mayonnaise, tartar sauce, and Big Mac Sauce. Both Anna and Trixie landed punches to Justin’s gut and jaw, and held him down until Dan was able to fight him in the biggest "mud-wrestling" show McDonald’s has ever seen. It was three against one, and even though some would hardly think it fair, the WWE would be proud.

Justin fought off the three adults, just as if the fight was scripted and he was just supposed to be stronger than the other three. Both Anna and Trixie received blows to their guts, and because of the sauce, he became hard for them to hang on to. After a kick to Trixie’s chest, she temporarily bailed out of the fight, until she could catch her breath again. Anna, on the other hand, hung on with all her might as Dan fought.

Daniel Stuart stepped forward and reached out for Justin’s wrist to slap the handcuff on, but it slipped out and he ended up cuffing his own wrist instead. After a few expletives, Daniel reached for his set of keys and began to search for the key to unlock the handcuffs.

From the earlier blow to his jaw, Jim fell and hit his head on the side of the assembly table, and he was bleeding. Brian, injured as he was, couldn’t help himself and was tending to Jim’s cut. Amanda, who was an EMT, insisted that Jim be rushed to the crew room so she could tend to his cuts. Diana and Mart rushed Honey to the back of the store.

"Gerry!" Anna howled from the mess. "Fire!"

Ryan handed him a new tube of tartar sauce. He took the empty tube out and replaced it with the fresh tube and unloaded half the tube right into Justin Chamberlain’s face. But Justin ducked and the sauce hit Dan, square in the face. Some of the sauce ricocheted off Dan’s face, and blinded Anna for an instant. She blindly lunged forward, grabbed Justin, and held on tight.

"I got you now, Justin!" she cried, blinking her eyes open. "No use fighting it now! I’ve got a good, firm hold on you!"

"Mmf! Met moff me Mfanna!"

"Oh, no you don’t! Stuart! Where are you? Cuff him!" She had him face down on the floor, his arm twisted behind his back.

"Moo mfummox! Mfett moff me!" said the man, squirming like crazy.

"Anna!" Mart cried. "Exceptional and very aggressive fighting tactics, but you can get off Dan now."

"What?" Anna cried, blinking the sauce out of her eyes. "Dan?"

The man Anna had wrestled down to the floor turned his head. "Yes, Anna!"

"Oh, gosh!" she cried, getting up off of Dan. "I’m sorry! Where’s Justin! Where’s Honey? Where’s Trixie?"

"Justin’s right here," Daniel Stuart said, holding the other man, his hands cuffed behind his back. "Honey is safe in the back stock room with Diana. Trixie joined the fight again and was able to apprehend Justin."

At Amanda and Brian’s consent, Jim limped out of the crew room. Chatter grew heavy as everyone took note of Jim’s bandage, the incredible mess in the grill, and how everyone now had the cleanup job of a lifetime. It wasn’t long before FBI agents came rushing in to arrest Yuri and Justin and congratulate the Bob-Whites, Daniel Stuart, Anna, and the McDonald’s crew.

"What in all that’s righteous is going on here!" came a voice from the front of the store. Everyone spun around to see the regional manager, five-foot-five in height, receding hairline and mustache, standing bug-eyed and hands on his hips.

Every one of the McDonald’s crew grew rigid, including Mark, the store manager. Several sets of eyes darted around, looking for some kind of explanation that would be suitable to someone of his position in the company.

"Uh, hi Mike," Mark started out. "You see, we’ve just helped the FBI capture two ex-KGB agents."

"Oh, right!" Mike snapped. "And, I guess I’m just supposed to assume that this man is Daniel Stuart himself, head of the FBI!"

The tall, well-dressed, graying director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations stepped forward and pulled his badge out of his pocket. "At your service," he said, showing it to the other man.

Mike’s mouth dropped.

"And, Mark is right. Your crew, with the help of a special team from New York, has just helped capture Russian spies. Yes, this place is a mess, and the FBI is well prepared to reimburse you for any damages and losses."

Honey did a double take, even though no one else seemed to pick up on what he said. Special team? What’s that supposed to mean?

"Besides," Trixie piped up. "Business seemed very slow and your crew looked as if they needed something to liven up the day."

With the help of the Bob-Whites of the Glen, the store was put back in order in a very short time. Yuri and Justin were cleaned up and flown out to be tried in Washington D.C. for their crimes. When all was done, Mike treated everyone to lunch—out of whatever, if anything was left.

 

Later, back at Anna’s apartment

Jim plopped one of Anna’s U2 CDs in the player. "It sure feels good knowing we won’t be followed for the remainder of the trip."

Every one of the Bob-Whites nodded in agreement.

"I have to admit," Anna said. "I hate to see you guys go. Do you still think you’ll go to Chicago now that you’re not being followed?"

"Why not?" Trixie said. "Maybe we can relax and see a few things. The few times we’ve been to Chicago were for flight transfers, so that never gave us much time to see anything. Plus, we have to go through Chicago on our way home."

Mart nodded. "Maybe we can go through the Museum of Science and Industry while we’re there."

"I don’t see why not," Brian said. "The more relaxing we can do, the better. And," he said, turning towards Trixie. "No more mysteries! Puh-lease!!!"

"Hey, talk to Honey on this one," Trixie rebutted. "She’s the one who’s got federal ties. I was just along for the ride on this one."

Honey blushed. "True," she agreed. "And, when we get home, I’m making Mother hand over every little thing she still has that links her to Daniel Stuart."

"You might want to hold off on that," Jim said, grinning. "He’s pulled through for us once before, and once again. He might come in handy some day when you and Trixie open your agency."

"That’s true," Dan said. "It always helps to be on a first name basis with the director of the FBI."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, maybe I won’t be very strict then," Honey said. "Being kidnapped wasn’t my cuppa tea."

Trixie giggled. "Don’t I know it?! I’ve been kidnapped with you so many times and I sure know the feelings and the thoughts that go through your head."

 

The next day…

"You guys have fun," Anna said, sticking her head through the passenger side of the Bob-White station wagon. "Now that you all have my email address, don’t be such strangers. I want to hear from you."

Jim, who was behind the wheel, smiled. "Definitely! And, we want to hear from you, too."

Dan grinned. "I’ll be sure to tell my uncle how you put that move on me yesterday. He’d be impressed."

"Well, it comes from years of watching the professionals do it," Anna said, matter-of-factly. "Give my email to your uncle, too. Us wrestling fans have to stick together."

"Well, we have to get going if we’re going to get to Chicago today," Jim said, reluctantly. "Maybe you can visit us sometime."

"You’ll have to now that we’ve met," Trixie piped up. "And, I’ll just have to tell the Hubbells that one of my Lucy Friends has their CD! They’ll never believe it!"

Anna giggled. "You’d talked about it on your blog one day, and I decided to see if I could find it. Found it at cdnow.com and liked it right away."

"Well, stay tuned to that blog," Trixie said, grinning. "I took pictures of us at McDonald’s yesterday, and then the pictures I took yesterday evening will all be posted for all the Lucy fans to see, because no one in their right mind will ever believe this trip, or what we’ve seen and done."

"No they won’t," Anna agreed. "Well, it’s too bad, but I suppose you have to go," she said, reaching in across Brian to give Trixie another hug. "It was great meeting all of you, and we’ll keep in touch, right?"

"Definitely!"

"Sure!"

"You bet!"

"Absolutely!"

"You can count on it!"

As the big, yellow station wagon barreled out of the driveway, Trixie turned around in her seat to wave good-bye to the other Lucy Friend, the one whom she’s always known as Cheddarcliffe. Now, she had a face and a personality to put with the name. Yes, the name is just about as whacked as the woman behind it.

"On to Chicago, where I hope nothing happens," Diana sighed, as Jim drove down the highway.

Next Stop: Chicago

Author’s notes:

All the information about how the FBI traces phone calls is all a whim of mine. I did not do actual research, but only worked it out in my head as to something that might be logical. I’m sure the FBI has a much simpler way of tracing phone calls. Also, I believe that the FBI would also have to have listened to and recorded the phone conversation in order for Daniel Stuart to show up. Now, since he did not make any arrests, it might be all right. I’m also not sure what it would take to tap into someone else’s phone line and record the conversation. Court orders and warrants might be needed. I don’t know…I’m not the FBI. J

All musical artists above are part of our music collection. The Donny Osmond CD is not.

Bobbi, Mark, Gerry, Amy, Trisha, Ryan, Amanda, and Mike are all actual employees at the Reedsburg McDonald’s and have been used without permission.

Mac Sauce®, Happy Meal®, McNuggets® and McGriddles® are all registered trademarks of the McDonald’s Corporation, and were used without permission.

Most of the fight scene was exaggerated. Sauce guns (they look like caulking guns) can fire pretty far, but that’s only when they’re dropped on the push-bar (or whatever it’s called.) A human hand really doesn’t have that kind of force behind it. Also, the mixture that Mart was putting together is actually very lethal. Bleach and degreaser, which is ammonia based, when mixed together, releases a poisonous gas. I really don’t know what vinegar does, but I think it would make it foam a bit and make the solution react a bit like acid. (Degreaser does eat skin. I know this for a fact.) For all I know, these three could be key ingredients for chemical bombs.

What "Anna" said about hotels in the Reedsburg/Baraboo/Wisconsin Dells area is true. In the summer months, you will most likely not find a vacant hotel room in any of those areas. The Motel Reedsburg is an actual place. Yes, the place looks like a zoo, and I would suggest that if anyone were traveling through this area that if they are looking for a place to stay, this motel is NOT one of those places.

"Hubbell Scope" and the song used are mine, and I reserve the right to use them again. The song is based on Trixie’s adventures in Iowa, and her and Jim’s newfound feelings toward each other. I was listening to Metallica’s "Hero of the Day" while thinking of those lyrics. So, if you listen to that song, and use my lyrics, it all fits together.

The line, "I have a cunning plan" is a well-known line among "Black Adder" fans. "Black Adder" is a 1980’s BBC comedy television show starring Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McKinnery, Hugh Laurie, and Stephen Fry. This line is used without permission.

The WWE (Word Wrestling Entertainment) was mentioned without permission.

CDnow.com is a website where you can purchase CDs, and DVDs if I’m not mistaken. Mentioned without permission.

"Lucybaby" refers to our very own Jenni F., or "Jellybaby" and is famous for her typos in the chat room. (i.e. EODL and Hood Nit). "Cheddarcliffe" refers to my own Internet alias, "Cheddartrix".

The McBattle is something that I’ve wanted to do in a fanfic for quite some time. However, figuring out how I was going to do that in my normal universe offered quite a challenge. It’s quite nice when GWP’s like this come along where you can actually do fun stuff like this. J

And last, but not least, I don’t really like using myself as a character in a story, and I hope I’m not too "Mary-Sue-ish" in this.

Take it away, Susan!!!