Chapter Three - The Fight Begins
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The first part of the plan, infiltration of
the evil Chad's lair, would take crackerjack timing. Total
concentration. Nothing short of 100% commitment would be
enough. Thankfully, our three earstwhile colleagues had
brought with them a steaming cauldron of talent, within which
has been added lashings of nerve, great chunks of talent, and
a healthy sprinkling of derring-do. "Urrrrrgh." "Well of
course it's dark, Frank. And if you even so much as
think about a flatulent eructation in this confined
space, I'll stick this screwdriver right in your eye. Why I
let you eat all those beans and onions is anyone's
guess." The scientist was taking no chances. He had both
flat-blade and star-drivers on his person. It was very
likely you'd find a set of hex keys somewhere, too. A
murmured warning from the ninja prepared them for the sudden
movement, as the trolley was led down the driveway to the
front of Chad's lair. |
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"Doctor Spankett, I presume?" asked the
ninja. At a nod from Chad, he continued. "According to our
records your Wombot 2100 has had a recent malfunction. We have
a replacement here, if you would care to sign for it. All part
of our customer service." "Impressive", replied Chad. "It
only exploded yesterday, and I didn't even call you guys
yet." "We pride ourselves on our inordinantly fast service
centre," ad-libbed the ninja. "If you would just sign here, I
can wheel this new model somewhere inside for you." The
ninja proferred his clipboard, and Chad signed where
indicated. "Straight on through into the first room on your
right will be fine," said Chad.
Upon delivery, the
ninja made a hasty retreat from the premises, leaving the box
where indicated. Quickly ducking behind a bush, he made a
phonecall.
"Hello, Doctor
Spankett?" "Speaking." "I'm from Doom Mountain Research.
We have located a problem with a batch of our torroidal phase
inverters and are making sure none of our valuable customers
have been affected. If you could check the serial number on
your gamma ray inducer, I can see if you would have received
the troublesome part." "Sure thing. Exactly what problems
may arise if I have the wrong inverter?" "The chances are
pretty minimal, but one or two owners have reported an
uncontrolled resonance cascade. As you can imagine, this
doesn't happen too often. The people in question were really
surprised they even saw one, let alone created it
themselves." "Fair enough. Let me check for you."
At
this point Chad was forced to go down to the basement, exactly
as planned. Doctor Steve and Frank used this opportunity to
cut the tape and emerge from the box. "Quick Frank, unlock
the door and let the ninja in - we don't have much
time!" |
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Frank lumbered over to the door and
unlocked it, allowing the ninja to gain entry. Even though
there is no such thing as an impenetrable fortress to a
well-trained ninja, it was deemed too risky with a man of
Chad's skill. A death ray laser would be a bare minimum for
internal security. The brave man defeats security with brain
and muscle. The wise man walks in through the front
door. "Okay everyone, help me get all our gear out of this
box."
The three quickly removed all manner of tools and
equipment from the box, which was surprisingly voluminous
given it's external appearance. |
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"Okay. Now we all know the plan. Get into
position everyone!"
Using his amazing skills, the ninja
almost melted into the scenery. One second he was in the
middle of the room leaning against the tesla cannon, and the
next he had totally disappeared. The scientist eased
himself carefully behind the sofa, allowing himself plenty of
room to move out from either end. Frank grabbed the shade
off a nearby lamp and pulled it onto his head. "That won't
fool anyone", hissed the scientist. Frank quickly unscrewed
the lightbulb and stuck it in his mouth. The scientist
sighed with relief. Frank could be quite quick-witted when the
need arose.
At this point Chad returned with a piece
of paper in his hand and reached for the telephone. "I've
got the number here", he said into it. "Are you
ready?"
"You'll find there's no answer", said the
scientist as he rose from behind the sofa. "Just as you'll
find there's no answer to the amazing plan we have to thwart
your evil machinations." |
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