Reign of Error

by Larry & Christie deSouza

"J. Gander!" Noel quickly shifted the receiver to his other ear so that he could hold the test tube more steadily. "Great to hear from you!"

"Good afternoon, Noel," J. Gander replied. "I hope you are well."

"Couldn't be better. What can I do for you?"

"I need to know if you've been using your university account to retrieve information recently."

"What kind of information?" Noel asked, puzzled.

"Past missions, agent backgrounds - that sort of thing."

"No... In fact I haven't gone into the SHUSH files for months now. Why do you ask?"

"No need for concern yet, I hope," J. Gander said. "But someone has been using your passwords to access restricted information here at SHUSH."

"What? My passwords? Are you sure? No one knows my passwords!"

"The system indicates that they're definitely yours, Noel," he replied. "Still, whoever it is hasn't gotten into anything too serious yet. We're on it. Please don't worry yourself."

"No, J. Gander, this does worry me. There's a lot of information in there that I don't want anyone to have access to."

"I agree. It will be fine," he reassured his friend. "I'll put my top agents on it right away. I would suggest that you change your passwords as soon as you can, though."

"I will," Noel replied, still unsettled. "Thanks, J. Gander. And will you let me know?"

"Of course. Thank you, Noel."

Later that afternoon, J. Gander's intercom buzzed. "Director Hooter, Agents Kastner and Morris are here with your hacker. Should I send them in?"

"Yes. Thank you, Penny."

He stood as the agents entered the office, a downcast drake walking between them. He was tall, had brown hair, and looked to be in his early twenties. He was also remarkably familiar. J. Gander's eyebrows raised, but there was no other outward evidence of his shock.

"He was on the computer in the university library archives," Agent Kastner explained. "He didn't put up any fight."

"I don't imagine he did," J. Gander said, eyeing the young man knowingly. "Thank you. You are both dismissed."

Agent Kastner looked surprised. "Are you sure, Director Hooter?" she asked.

"I'm sure," he replied. "I would like to speak with him privately."

"We'll wait outside then," Agent Morris said.

"No, thank you. That won't be necessary." Morris began to object and J. Gander held up a hand to silence him. "Thank you both for solving this case so promptly. You are dismissed."

They looked at one another, then nodded to the Director and left.

There was a moment of silence while J. Gander considered what to do. The young drake continued to stare at the floor.

"Please, Bill, have a seat," he said finally. "Would you like some tea?"

Bill looked up in confusion. J. Gander smiled pleasantly, waiting for a reply.

"I... uh..." Bill stammered. "I beg your pardon?"

"Would you like some tea?" the Director repeated.

"I... I don't understand. Don't you have to..." He faltered and fell silent once more.

"It's 4:00, and I usually have tea now," J. Gander explained. "I would like it if you joined me."

"Is that it?" Bill asked, almost annoyed by the Director's clemency. "Aren't you going to yell at me or something? I know I deserve it."

"Yell at you?" J. Gander asked, somewhat amused. "Have you ever heard me yell at anyone?"

"Well, no... but-"

"I don't plan to yell at you." He brought a tea tray to his desk.

"Mr. Hooter, I'm really sorry..."

J. Gander raised his hand. "Please, Bill. Have a seat. How do you take your tea?"

Bill simply stared at J. Gander, baffled. "But... shouldn't you..."

"I could have you arrested, if you prefer," J. Gander commented.

"Cream, no sugar," Bill replied quickly and sat.

Nodding with a smile, J. Gander poured the tea for Bill and handed it to him. "You know," he said, settling himself back at his desk, "I promised your father that I would keep him informed about the culprit who was hacking into SHUSH files."

"Dad knows?"

"Of course. You were using his passwords."

Bill's shoulders sagged and he shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"But Noel assured me that he had told no one his passwords. How is it that you know them?"

"I guessed."

J. Gander looked at him more sternly. "Bill, restricted SHUSH files are not that easily accessible. I have a difficult time believing that you could guess your way that far into the system."

"It took a while."

"SHUSH computers immediately and permanently block out anyone who uses an incorrect password."

"I found that out," he admitted, staring into his teacup.

The room filled with an uncomfortable silence while the Director waited for Bill to continue his explanation. After a minute, he tried again. "I am fortunate that this obvious security risk was discovered by you. Still, I am interested in knowing just how you did it - to help improve our security measures in the future."

Bill put down his teacup and shifted in his chair, trying to avoid J. Gander's piercing gaze. "I just... tried it from different computers around the campus each time. I'd try a password, then move on after that terminal was locked out. I guess I know Dad well enough to eventually figure out what passwords he used."

J. Gander nodded and made a few notations on a yellow legal pad. "I assume your experience in hacking is limited," he commented.

"I've never done this before!" Bill assured him quickly. "Honestly, I'm not that kind of person. I didn't mean to cause any problems or..."

"Bill, please," the Director interrupted. "I know you. I'm aware that you would not intentionally cause problems for SHUSH." He leafed through several sheets of paper in an open file on his desk. "In fact, given your limited experience, the reports indicate you covered an impressive amount of material before you were apprehended." Obviously not impressed, Bill sunk even lower into his chair. J. Gander looked up at him with a faint smile. "Would you like to know where you went wrong?" Bill returned the smile with a pained expression and shrugged. "The files you were attempting to access are not normally opened via public terminals, such as those at the University," J. Gander explained. "That alone is enough to alert our computer administrators to monitor activity." Bill blushed at his error. "I expect that if the campus did not boast so many student terminals you would have exhausted your chances for success much earlier, though." J. Gander's oblique reference to the amount of attempts Bill had had to make was clearly meant as a compliment, and eased some of the tension the young drake was feeling. He wiped his brow, surprised to find that he had been sweating.

"The password that got you into the personal files," J. Gander said. "Not even other SHUSH personnel would be able to access them. What was it?"

"Do you know it?"

"No. But I can assure you your father has changed it by now anyway, so there's no harm in telling me."

Bill sighed and shrugged again. "Firecracker."

A smile once more softened J. Gander's stern expression and he chuckled. "An impressive deduction, Bill," he commented warmly. Bill's sheepish grin made it evident that he did not share in the Director's opinion. J. Gander tore the page he was writing on from its pad, folded it neatly and tucked it in a pocket. "Don't worry. No harm done."

The drake didn't reply, but the Director could tell he was not convinced.

"I can understand your desire to know this information, Bill. However, I do wonder why you would not simply ask your father. Could it be that you went to all this trouble to prove whether or not his stories are true?"

"No! No, Mr. Hooter - of course I believe him. It's just... I can't help thinking there is more to them that he hasn't told us."

"Maybe there is a reason for that," J. Gander suggested. Bill hung his head.

The room was once more filled with silence while both men were lost in thought.

"Mr. Hooter... you know that my grandmother died a couple months ago." J. Gander nodded. "Well, it got me thinking. I'm not really sure I know how Mom died." The Director's posture stiffened, and he suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "So I'm right? I always wondered why there was nothing in the newspapers about the accident. That wasn't it, was it?"

As Bill's eyes searched his face, J. Gander was suddenly struck by his intense expression and how much it looked like his mother's. "I'm sure if Noel wanted you to know that story, he would have told you." Before the words had even left his mouth, he knew they were untrue.

"No disrespect, Mr. Hooter, but I don't think so."

"Perhaps you are right," J. Gander admitted. "But it is not my place to tell you. I am sorry."

Bill nodded and sighed. "I searched on the name 'McQuillan', but the first record I found was about Gram. I didn't know she was involved in one of your cases."

The Director smiled. "She would have made a fine agent."

"But she lived on the west coast at the time. She was a reporter."

J. Gander nodded again. "She helped us out on a case that took us to Los Albatross."

"And it said that Dad was arrested - that Gram had him arrested - and he was thrown into jail."

"That's true as well."

"And that Leon Ardo was also involved..."

Clearing his throat, J. Gander leaned forward and looked at Bill suspiciously. "I beg your pardon, but just how much did you learn about this case?"

Bill smiled sheepishly. "Well, a few bare facts. I tried to draw my own conclusions and follow some interesting lines."

"Such as..."

"I couldn't find any other mention of Leon Ardo after this case. Considering Dad was arrested, did he have anything to do with... uh... you know..."

"What are you saying?"

"Well, you are in the spy business. I was just wondering if Dad... you know... killed him."

"Killed him? Good heavens, Bill, of course not!"

"But he must have died - there are no records of him anywhere after that."

"As far as I know, Leon Ardo could be alive today."

"So... he's in jail?"

J. Gander shook his head.

"He got away?"

J. Gander nodded.

"Phew!" Bill commented. "It's a good thing you never had to deal with him again."
"We did deal with him again."

"But," he looked confused, "the records..."

"Bill, there is simply no way you could have accessed all the records we have. And some are more accessible than others."

"But then... isn't he still a threat?"

J. Gander nodded again.

"But... Mr. Hooter, that lunatic wants to kill Dad!"

"He's not very fond of me, either, I dare say," the Director commented dryly.

"But..."

"Bill, I understand your concern. Believe me, we are still on the lookout for Leon - he remains on SHUSH's most wanted list. However, when we parted company he was badly wounded, and we have not seen him for many years. If he is alive, we can't be sure if he is even in this dimension, considering the technology he has at his disposal. We are doing all we can."

"Who wounded him? What happened?"

Sighing, J. Gander leaned back in his chair. "You're rather inquisitive for someone who was apprehended for breaking into restricted government files."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hooter, but I just have to know." Bill's tone was plaintive.

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes. A small mantle clock in the office chimed the quarter hour, and Bill let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Mr. Hooter. It won't happen again." He made as if to rise but was stopped by a quick gesture from J. Gander.

"Bill - I cannot divulge any files SHUSH still deems confidential. You do understand?"

"I understand," he replied in a low voice. Once again he turned to leave only to be stopped.

"However - the files that you were able to access were recently downgraded from their top priority status. That is why you were able to retrieve them at all via a public terminal." He slid his chair back from his large oak desk and crossed over to a bank of file cabinets. Bill sat down hopefully and watched as Director Hooter pulled open a drawer and extracted a dossier. He peered at it thoughtfully as he resumed his seat, neatly placing it in the centre of his desk between himself and Bill.

"Is this about my mom?"

"About your grandmother, actually. Although I feel the official debriefing report would make for rather dry reading." J. Gander was tapping the report with one finger and looked at Bill somewhat impishly over the rims of his glasses.

It took a moment for Bill to interpret J. Gander's wry expression. "Do you think you might be able to fill in some of the details for me?" he asked, a little unsure of himself.

"I might." J. Gander slid the report aside and reached for the tea tray, suppressing a small smile. "It has been a dreadfully slow day, and it would be a welcome distraction to all this paperwork. Why don't we have another cup of tea and I'll see what I can remember."

We had been forewarned of Leon's return to SHUSH, as you know. Your father had received a mysterious note giving the exact date that Leon would arrive, and we had spent the intervening time in preparation for the event. Ardo was not an easy adversary to apprehend, considering he had a device which charged him with quacktron particles and thereby allowed him to pass through solid matter. Hand cuffs, jail cells, even bullets would be useless against him.

But your father had designed a charged net that could be launched at Leon to trap him and negate the quacktron effect. He also set up one of SHUSH's holding cells with a containment field that was impervious to the effects of his quacktron device.

However, even though his extensive knowledge of quacktron physics would have been quite an asset, we felt it was best not to put him at personal risk, and convinced him to leave the city before Leon's arrival. After giving instructions to the rest of the science team - and Sasha of course - he left for the west coast to report to the SHUSH base in Los Albatross, California.

"Dad left? Just like that?"

"He didn't want to, of course."

"I'm surprised he would... well... abandon all of you."

"Gosalyn can be rather persuasive, and he never could say no to her." J. Gander chuckled. "In fact, she never gave him the chance. She made all the arrangements, escorted him to the airport and wouldn't leave until he was aboard the plane and it had departed. She was always very protective of Noel."

Bill smiled and nodded his understanding.

"Ironic, really," J. Gander commented. "By being on the other side of the country, Noel wound up being more vulnerable."

We could not be certain Leon would come directly to SHUSH central, so we had agents posted all over St. Canard on the lookout for him. It was obvious that he did not have a great deal of control over the accuracy of his... 'landing coordinates', for lack of a better term, when travelling through the dimensional tunnel. He was first sighted by a civilian who called the police to report a person materializing out of nowhere above the waters of Audubon Bay, and plummeting in. By the time he had gotten to the shore, there were agents in position, watching him as he crawled out muttering angrily to himself. He still wore the strange quacktron device on his head and dragged behind him an enormous gun of some sort. Still dripping and cursing under his breath, he trudged up to the main street and boarded a public transit bus which took him to SHUSH.

"He took the bus?"

The Director shrugged. "I suppose he felt it was the logical thing to do. After all, he was blocks away from SHUSH Central, and that weapon must have been heavy. I'm sure he didn't want to walk."

"But shouldn't the agents have tried to stop him before he put those citizens at risk?"

"They were not prepared to deal with the gun he carried. Until this point, Leon had never used any sort of direct weaponry, and it was a blind spot in our strategy as to what sort of attack he might mount against us. To have confronted him then would have put a great number of innocents in danger. Instead, one of our agents boarded the bus to watch him while another radioed us back at SHUSH. That gave us time to increase our armed personnel who waited in hiding outside the front entranceway of the building."

Gosalyn and I were in position outside along with ten other agents, all hidden from view. Another twelve were stationed at windows inside the building. Next to us, Agent Baker manned the launcher that would cast the quacktron inhibiting net. It was a scaled down version of the QPIT, looking for all intents like a regular bazooka launcher used by the military. Gosalyn carried a walkie-talkie which linked us to Sasha, who was stationed with another agent in Noel's lab, monitoring the environmental quacktron levels of the surrounding area.

At 11:35 a.m., just as the note had predicted, Leon stepped from the bus, still wearing the quacktron device on his head and carrying the oversized gun. He strode purposefully towards the building but stopped short when the voice of the Director blared from a loudspeaker.

"Leon Ardo. You are under arrest. Put down your weapon and raise your hands."

Naturally, he did nothing of the sort. "Give me Noel Waddlemeyer!" he yelled in return, hefting his gun up onto his shoulder and aiming it at the building.

"There are two dozen agents surrounding you. I suggest you surrender now."

Leon reached up and flipped the switch on his quacktron device. "Let them shoot, for all I care! I'll be back for the rest of you later. Right now, I just want Waddlemeyer!" Gosalyn cursed next to me - Leon had been substantial just off the bus. We had missed an opportunity to stop him.

"Out of the question. This is your last warning. Surrender now."

Beside us, Agent Baker took aim as we watched Leon use his free hand to pull a small whistle from his pocket and blow into it. Suddenly, an oddly shaped mechanical object appeared out of nowhere and hovered by Leon's head. It was approximately 18 inches long, with a chrome like finish. Gosalyn shuddered at the sight of it. It appeared to be some sort of macabre mechanical animal head. Two thin protrusions extended up from the top of its main spherical cranium, ear-like, and swivelled occasionally in response to audio stimuli. A longer snout shape extended forward from the main sphere and twin diodes flashed liked eyes across its 'face'.

A warning light flashed on Baker's equipment - a silent message from Sasha indicating that the quacktron levels had changed and needed to be reconfigured for the net to work. Obviously this new contraption of Leon's also used a quacktron charge in order to transport.

"Report," Leon ordered the floating object.

"Master," replied a tinny voice. The thing's 'ears' swung forward towards Leon. "Sensors indicate target is not in the immediate surroundings."

"And...?" he asked expectantly. There was a pause as the object appeared to hover indecisively.

"Your assumptions were correct." Despite its monotone voice, I felt this portable computing device was guessing.

"Once again I have predicted the cowardly behaviour of my nemesis!" Leon shouted dramatically, turning towards our headquarters. "These walls won't hide you from my vengeance, Noel Waddlemeyer!"

"Dr. Waddlemeyer is not here," came the amplified voice of Director Wakefield. "Put down your weapon. You have ten seconds to comply." A deathly stillness filled the echo of that warning. I could hear Gosalyn quietly counting down from ten. Leon stood in the silence, grinding his teeth together in indecision. At five, he acted.

"You're lying! Find him!" Leon barked to his mechanical sidekick. He gestured at SHUSH Central, pointing to the windows of the fourth floor while awkwardly trying to balance his gun single handed. "Start in his lab."

Many things happened at once. The strange contraption took off for the lab. I fired on it several times while Gosalyn shouted a warning into the walkie-talkie. Other agents fired on Leon himself, but he was protected by his quacktron-charged state. At the same time, Baker got the all-clear signal light, and launched the net. An eerie energy web spiralled forward from Baker's position, expanding as it got closer to Leon. I watched in dismay as Leon's mechanical servant continued on its way unscathed, despite our gunfire. I knew my shots had hit their mark, but it seemed to be impervious.

It crashed through the window of Noel's lab as Leon howled with rage and struggled with the net that now entangled him. His gun discharged wildly, firing shots randomly into the air. At one point the massive barrel pointed down and a huge chunk of asphalt was gouged away by the force of its projectiles.

"Teams three and four - move in. Try to disarm him!" Gosalyn was shouting orders to some of our concealed comrades. A swarm of our finest leapt forward trying to get a hold of the gun and Leon flickered in and out of a solid state as he wrestled with the net that was holding him. Suddenly we were distracted by Sasha's panicked voice crackling over the walkie-talkie.

"Intruder alert! Agent McQuillan! Come in! There's something -" The rest of her message was lost as the connection was broken.

"That thing is in the lab!" Gosalyn jumped up. "We've got to help Sasha!" She began running for the building when a silvery flash caught my eye.

"Wait!" I called out. Following my gaze, we both saw Leon's automaton returning through the air at a terrific speed.

"Master," it said calmly, oblivious to Leon's current entrapment. "Target is not within specified area."

"Never mind that!" Leon shouted as more agents converged on him. Several had managed to grab the end of his gun, and were trying to pull it away. The energy net that held Leon seemed to have negated his personal quacktron field, and he was nearly solid. "Look at me! I'm in danger!" Bracing his feet against the agent who had the best hold of his gun, he yanked it away again and clumsily swung it around to club the agents behind him. "What did I tell you about unsafe conditions?"

"Save you, Master."

"Well?!"

"Master," it said again in that totally unflappable tone. It bobbed silently for a few seconds, appearing to examine the ongoing struggle. A bright glow enveloped it briefly and the warning light next to us began blinking urgently.

"It's going to overload the net!" Baker shouted.

"Get away! -" I warned at the top of my lungs, but was interrupted by a tremendous flash as the energy net exploded outwards in an excess of quacktrons. I rubbed my eyes furiously trying to clear my vision.

"What's going on?!" I asked blindly. I felt Gosalyn's hand grip my elbow and steady me. As my eyesight cleared I looked around. Our agents closest to the blast lay strewn about the area, unconscious or possibly worse. In the centre of a small crater stood Leon, still furious, but apparently unhurt. His gun was scorched and blackened, though, and he had discarded it. The familiar aura of quacktron particles still surrounded him as he spoke to his portable computer.

"Report!"

"Master. Target: Noel Waddlemeyer, is not in the defined area."

"Well where is he then?!"

"Unknown at this time."

"Find him!" Leon's voice had a hysterical edge to it.

"Insufficient parameters. Supply data please."

"Look for him," Leon growled.

"Input target areas please." The thing's eyes glowed and projected a sophisticated three dimensional globe of the earth, delineated with longitude and latitude markings.

"Here!" Leon stabbed one finger into the map. The image contracted and then expanded again, now describing the borders of the United States.

"Specific search patterns?" it inquired.

"Long range scans, whatever is fastest." Leon was impatient that he had been thwarted from immediately disposing of his rival.

"Sensors suggest target is west of present location. Proceed with search?"

"Yes! And this time don't drop me in a lake!" Leon reached up to lay one hand atop the chromed head.

"Entry co-ordinates were on manual over-ride. This unit is not responsible for..." Leon cut off the mechanism's commentary with an aggravated growl.

"Just get us out of here!" he barked. With a quiet mechanical sigh, the bizarre unit activated. There was a brief in-rushing of air, and then they were gone.

The groans of the injured were the only sound in the noontime air. I think we were all a little stunned by the abruptness of Leon's departure, and of our failure to stop him. Medical personnel streamed out of the building, quickly seeing to our fallen colleagues. The crackle of a nearby walkie-talkie reminded both Gosalyn and me of someone else who needed help.

"Sasha!" we said simultaneously, and dashed back into the building.

It didn't take us long to fly up the stairs to Noel's lab. Medical personnel had beaten us to it, and Sasha and the other agent had already been tended for minor abrasions. Sasha's forehead was bandaged, but she reassured us the bandage made her injury look worse than it actually was.

"I got hit by a piece of flying glass when that... thing came in through the window," she said, shrugging off our concerns.

"Did it attack you?" Gosalyn asked earnestly.

"No, it seemed - well, almost like it was sniffing around the lab. Agent Virgil tried to tackle it but it was too fast, and the lab was too confined for him to fire his gun."

"Why didn't you re-establish the walkie-talkie contact?" I asked.

"I... I was startled and just plain clumsy," she admitted glumly. "That thing was flying around so fast and when it whizzed by me, I dropped the unit." She gestured to the remains of a radio handset on the floor. Gosalyn stepped over and crouched down to examine it closely.

"Sasha, this isn't your fault. These things are military issue. A casual drop shouldn't have shattered it. Heck, you shouldn't be able to break it with anything less than a sledgehammer. That mechanical dog head of Leon's must've done something to it." She let out a sigh of exasperation and shook her head as she stood. "Could this have gone any worse?" she asked irritably.

"We could have gotten no warning at all," I pointed out. "Noel would have been here and found immediately."

"But it only seems to be a matter of time," she rebutted. "You heard that robot thing. It already knows Noel is west of here. If anything can find him, I'm betting it can." Her mounting frustration was plain evidence of her fear for Noel's safety. "We've got to go warn him."

"Director Wakefield will have already alerted our remote branches to expect Leon Ardo's presence."

"J.G., we had six months warning and look what happened!" Her angry gesture encompassed the broken window and wall of the lab, and the newly formed crater outside. "Noel's got to be told first hand what's coming for him. We're going to Los Albatross." She was already marching to the telephone. "I'll call his hotel and SHUSH base down there to warn him we're coming. You get clearance with the Director."

"There's... one problem," Sasha interjected hesitantly.

Gosalyn paused in her dialing and turned sharply to look at her. "What's that?"

"He's not going where you told him to."

"What?" Gosalyn snapped, slamming the receiver back down. "Where is he going?"

"Gosalyn, please," I said calmly. "I'm sure he had a good reason. Sasha, do you know where he is?"

She looked meekly up at Gosalyn. "He's going to meet your mother."

"What?!"

"He wanted it to be a surprise," Sasha replied quickly. "He's going to talk with her about your wedding."

Gosalyn stopped short, suddenly speechless. The anger drained away and she covered her face with one hand.

"Come now, Gosalyn. Surely this makes it easier for us to locate him. All we have to do is ring your mother and..."

Gosalyn cut me short with a steady look and an arched eyebrow. Despite the seriousness of the situation, a smirk hovered on her lips. "You," she began with emphasis, "have never met my mother."

"Oh she wasn't," J. Gander reassured him. "However, at that time, your grandmother was still working for the Daily Quacker. A most active woman," he remarked fondly. "Your mother got much of her spirit from Vivian. She was never one to stay desk bound, and was constantly out and about the city and countryside investigating story leads and often getting into the kind of predicaments one only sees in the movies."

Bill chuckled at J. Gander's analogy. "Mom always said she was a regular Lois Loon."

J. Gander smiled and nodded. "Except that she never needed a superhero to rescue her."

"So why was it a problem that Dad had gone to see her?"

"Your grandmother was never one to sit still for any length of time. Even the imminence of her only child's wedding couldn't keep her stopped in one place for long. If Noel had gone to see her, he was undoubtedly on the road with her, on whatever her current assignment might be. And it was terribly difficult in those days to keep track of your grandmother's movements. One never knew what inspiration might catch her while she was on the road and her primary task would be temporarily forestalled as she pursued a new tangent. A quality which earned her three Pouletzer Prizes, but one that could work against us as we endeavoured to warn your father."

Once our plans had been cleared by Director Wakefield and the SHUSH base in California had been notified, Gosalyn spared one more minute before our departure to leave a message at her mother's office. She had to be vague for fear of inspiring a horde of reporters to seek out Leon for themselves, so she simply asked that Noel be told to get to the base, and that it was an urgent matter. Then we made all haste to get there ourselves.

The private SHUSH jet that took us was the fastest mode of transportation we had, but looming over us was the knowledge that Leon seemed to be capable of travelling there in a matter of minutes, having the dimensional tunnel and his new computer at his command. The few hours it took seemed like an eternity.

A car was waiting for us at the airport, along with instructions on how to get to the SHUSH base while avoiding areas of heavy traffic. We were grateful for the directions, and moreso when we chanced upon what seemed to be unbelievable luck.

"J.G., slow down," Gosalyn said suddenly. "Look."

On a back street, only blocks from our destination, we saw a pair of figures with their backs to us walking along the sidewalk ahead. The shorter one, who had a toaster-shaped contraption strapped to his head, was shouting and gesturing angrily at the other.

"Is that other one Noel?" she whispered in disbelief.

"I can't be certain..." I replied. "Get down so they can't see you, and I'll drive past."

I sped up while Gosalyn hid, and could tell very soon that the other person was indeed Noel. I informed her as I turned off of the street and onto one that paralleled it.

"Leon was ranting about something and he was carrying a gun, but Noel looks unharmed for now. Unfortunately, Leon has that blasted contraption on his head, so we will have to take him by surprise or not at all."

"Right. Park the car, J.G. We'll wait at the corner of that building for them to pass and get him from behind."

"I'll tackle Leon and try to disarm him. You get Noel out of the way."

"Noel can hide for himself. You get Leon's gun. I'll get the toaster."

I nodded tersely and we were off.

We huddled behind some garbage cans as the echoes of Leon and Noel's footsteps grew louder and louder. There had been no sign of Leon's mechanical pet, and we both hoped that would be to our advantage as well. The shadows of Leon and Noel lengthened on the sidewalk before us and I exchanged a brief glance with Gosalyn before we sprang into action. A glance was all we ever needed to get our timing right.

Despite her earlier comment, Gosalyn did take a second to pull Noel out of harm's way before attacking Leon. I swept forward in a broad low motion endeavouring to kick Leon's legs from under him. Fortunately, he had not engaged his QPIT device and his diminutive frame smacked into the pavement with a satisfying thud. I struck quickly at the hand which carried the gun, and the weapon clattered away out of his reach.

"Stay there!" Gosalyn ordered to Noel, pushing him down behind the trash cans before spinning around to join me in the battle. Despite our element of surprise, Leon did not hesitate and struggled ferociously as I leapt to pin him down. He pulled out the thin whistle we had seen him use at SHUSH Central to summon his chrome canine. Gosalyn's heel struck out only inches from the tip of his beak, cleanly snapping the whistle from his fingers. It skidded across the sidewalk, and was stopped short by the building's wall. I was solidly atop him now and had my gun out. As I drew it steady at him, Gosalyn knelt to remove the ridiculous looking, if dangerously powerful quacktron generator from his head.

"Look out!" shouted Noel, rising up from his concealment as Gosalyn laid her hands on either side of the unit. A terrific charge coursed up one arm and down the other, sending her reeling back from his supine form. I made the error of looking away from Leon at that moment to assess the trauma to my partner. Leon batted my hands away and my gun discharged into the pavement beside us, the bullet's ricochet echoing sharply in our ears.

I was stunned by the accidental firing, temporarily giving Leon the advantage. With a tremendous heave, he tossed me aside and rolled across the gritty pavement, scrambling to retrieve his whistle. Gosalyn staggered to her feet, and drew her own gun. The cuffs of her suit were scorched from the energy arc that had momentarily disabled her, but otherwise she was unharmed.

"Drop the whistle, Ardo," she snarled, drawing her gun.

Scowling, he reached up and threw the switch on his QPIT device, turning insubstantial. "Still defending this worthless excuse for a scientist?" he demanded of her, slowly walking toward the row of trash bins behind which Noel crouched, looking uneasy. "I'm not finished with him yet."

I moved between them to protect my friend, levelling my gun at Leon. I knew it would be ineffectual in his current state, but could think of no other alternative. "Surrender now," I ordered.

His derisive laughter echoed down the alley. "Or else what?"

"Aim for the left field generation vane!" Noel called out to us.

Leon gasped and turned to him in fury. "How dare you?!" he shrieked.

"What?!" Gosalyn asked, throwing a confused look at her fiancé.

"The glowing fin-thing to the left of the vacuum tubes!" Noel clarified urgently.

My partner and I opened fire while Leon ducked aside, putting the whistle to his lips and blowing three times. In an instant Leon's flying computerized mechanism had returned and hovered protectively in front of him. Despite our efforts to hit the vulnerable spot on his device, the apparatus flew between us at a dazzling speed, deflecting all our bullets. An anguished sound came from Noel and I saw him slump against the alleyway wall with a bloody smear across his forehead.

"Cease fire!" I shouted at Gosalyn. Her gaze followed my own, and a sob escaped from her as she rushed to Noel's side. Our relentless pursuit of Leon had caused us to injure our friend.

"Unsafe conditions, Master," came the tinny voice of Leon's contraption, now floating in place as the gunfire had stopped.

"Brilliant," Leon replied sarcastically, glaring fiercely at the wounded Noel. "You haven't seen the last of me, Waddlemeyer," he vowed. "Be ready." Snapping off his QPIT generator, Leon reached out to his mechanism, and barked, "Get me out of here."

Furious, Gosalyn turned from Noel and lunged once more at Leon, lashing out with Quack Fu precision. As radiant quacktron energy enveloped Ardo and his machine, there was an implosion of air, and he was gone. But Gosalyn now held his precious whistle and her face was filled with an angry triumph even as she knelt again to attend to Noel.

I retrieved Leon's gun from the pavement and put away my own weapon. "How bad is it?" I asked Gosalyn as I knelt down on the sidewalk beside them. Blood flowed from a long ugly gash above Noel's right eye, and his plumage was stained and sticky.

"Hold still, Noel," Gosalyn directed as she used his pocket handkerchief to mop some of the blood and to try to staunch the flow. Gingerly, she turned his head to one side, inspecting the wound in the late afternoon light.

"It doesn't look too bad, actually. I think it's only a scratch."

"You call this a scratch?" Noel asked in disbelief, squinting at us with one eye.

I leaned closer for a better look. "It's not deep at all, Noel," I commented with relief, offering Gosalyn my own handkerchief to continue bandaging our comrade. "Fortunately, I think it was an errant bit of mortar that caught you, and not a bullet as I'd feared." Looking at the scene of our confrontation, there was plenty of evidence strewn about.

"Well... it still hurts."

"It could have been a lot worse," Gosalyn remarked, sitting up and relaxing somewhat. "At least you're alive." She smiled, then leaned forward and hugged him fiercely. "But scratch or not, we'd better take you to a hospital so a doctor can look at you."

"A hospital?" Noel asked, bringing his hand to his forehead. "Is it really that bad?"

"It's not bad, but we don't want to take any chances."

"But..." He looked uneasy.

"What's wrong?"

Noel held his hand against his head and sighed heavily, obviously ill at ease. The makeshift bandage was already stained from more blood, but the worst seemed to be over. "It's just... wouldn't that be the first place Leon will look for me? He saw that I was injured."

"He has a good point, Gosalyn."

"Okay. I guess they can take care of you at the SHUSH base. We're only a few blocks away."

"SHUSH?" He was looking even more anxious. "Leon will know to look there, too." There was fear in his eyes as he scanned the surroundings.

"It's okay, Noel," Gosalyn said reassuringly, resting her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll be safe at SHUSH." She gave him a worried smile. "J.G. and I are here now. We won't let Leon get you again."

Noel looked away from her, unable to meet her gaze. She and I exchanged troubled looks, concerned by his emotional state.

"Noel, are you all right?" I asked him. "Did Leon do anything to you?"

"I - I can't remember." Noel hesitated as he talked, as if searching for the right words. "It's all kind of a blur."

"You can't remember?" I asked in disbelief, aware that Noel's remarkable memory was something of a legend at SHUSH.

"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered, dropping his head into both hands.

"Don't worry, Noel. You don't have to right now," Gosalyn said hurriedly. "C'mon J.G., let's help him to the car. The sooner a doctor sees to this gash the better. Then he can get some rest." She put an arm around his back and I took his other side. "Do you think you can stand?" she asked. Noel nodded in reply and we helped him up. Between us, we steadied him on his feet and slowly made our way back to where we had parked.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hooter, but may I interrupt?"

"Of course, Bill. What is it?"

"Well, not to question your story or anything, but Dad doesn't have a scar on his forehead above his right eye."

J. Gander's eyebrows raised approvingly. "True. That will be explained."

The sun was setting by the time we had entered the SHUSH base. Noel was quiet in the car, although he did thank us for rescuing him from Leon. It was obvious that he had been shaken by the incident and whatever had transpired before we had reached them. Once in the small medical department, all he wanted to do was lie down.

"Let me take a look at that head of yours," the medical officer said amiably.

Gosalyn and I stood to the side and looked on. "What are the odds?" Gosalyn observed with sympathetic smile. "Both you and Sasha on the same day."

"Sasha?" Noel asked.

"Oh, don't worry," she replied quickly. "She'll be okay. She was cut on the forehead as well - by that metal mutt of Leon's."

The doctor gave Noel something for the pain, then worked quickly to clean and dress his wound, which required only a few stitches.

"He'll be all right, won't he?" Gosalyn asked the medical officer as he was finishing his work.

"Oh, yes," he replied. "The pain killers may make him drowsy, especially now that the stress of the ordeal is over, but otherwise he's fine."

"Well then," I said, "we should leave him to rest. I say, Gosalyn, you really ought to try and contact your mother. She must be wondering where Noel is if she was planning to meet him."

"You're right, J.G. I'll do that right now." She went to the telephone on a nearby desk and began dialing.

"And you need to sleep, Noel," I advised him, taking a blanket and pulling it over him.

"Thanks, J.G.," he replied, rolling onto his side.

Gosalyn gave me a quizzical look, but then her attention was drawn to the telephone. "Oh, hi - I'd like to contact Vivian McQuillan... It's her daughter, Gosalyn... Really? Great! Thanks." She hung up the receiver with a relieved expression. "That was easy - she's at the beach house," she explained, picking it up again and dialing. "I was worried we'd have to search the state... Mom?... Yes, we're in Los Albatross now. I was just calling to let you know that Noel is with us. I know you were planning on meeting with him -" She stopped short, then looked shocked. "What? Mom, that's impossible." She looked over at me worriedly. "Mom, pick up the phone in another room so I can talk to you privately, okay?"

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"She says Noel is there with her."

"What?!" Noel said, sitting up. But the sudden movement must have caused him pain, and he held his head in his hands.

"Take it easy," Gosalyn whispered. "Lie down. Hang on... Mom? Are you alone?... Okay - the person you're with isn't Noel... No, Mom. It can't be Noel. He's here with us." She looked at me in dismay. "But Mom, you've never met him. I don't care how convincing he is - he's not Noel. If he's pretending to be Noel, he's obviously got ulterior motives. You're not safe. See if you can get out the back door without being seen. I'll send Security... No! Mom, don't try to deal with him yourself - he's dangerous... Mom? Mom!" She slammed the receiver down and cursed. "She is the most infuriating woman! Does she think she can take this guy on by herself? I've gotta go." She had already grabbed her purse and was heading for the door.

"You shouldn't go alone," I advised.

Noel looked over at me worriedly. "Go with her."

Gosalyn shook her head. "No, Noel. I want J.G. to stay here with you. I'll be fine."

"At least get some SHUSH backup before you go," I cautioned.

"No time for the paperwork," she said, rushing from Medical.

"Go with her!" Noel repeated, pleading.

"All right," I decided quickly. "You'll be safe here, Noel. Get some rest. We'll be back." I took my hat and followed my partner who was already leaving the building.

"Gosalyn! Wait!" I called as I ran to a Security officer.

"Make it quick, J.G.," she shouted impatiently.

"Agent Waddlemeyer shouldn't be left alone," I told the officer. "We have to attend to an urgent matter, but we will return as soon as we can. Until then, could at least one Security officer stay with him? There is a dangerous lunatic after him, and he needs protection."

He nodded. "I'll see to it myself."

"I'm very grateful," I said, shaking his hand before following my partner out the door.

Gosalyn took the wheel of our SHUSH issued sedan and sped us through the late rush hour traffic out to the freeway.

"How far away is this beach house?" I asked as she wove us across lanes at what was easily a speed in excess of the posted limits.

"We'll get there in ten minutes," she replied, her intense expression never wavering as she downshifted around a truck. "I figure you can get anywhere in ten minutes if you go fast enough."

I chose not to comment on her observation, reminding myself of Gosalyn's excellent driving skill as I forced my tightening muscles to relax. "I thought your mother had an apartment downtown."

"She does. But she also keeps a beach house for friends and stoolies,"

"Stoolies?"

"Yeah... uh... informants. For her articles at the paper - she's a reporter, remember. Most likely she had convinced the fake Noel to forget about registering at a hotel and to stay at her place. She normally operates out of her apartment in the city, so he would have had the beach house to himself."

We drove in silence for a few more minutes. The wind pulled at her hair as we accelerated down an offramp and onto less travelled roads.

"Do you think it's Leon?" Her voice was a mixture of fear and anger.

"It depends," I answered. "Did she say how long he had been there?"

Gosalyn considered. "No... But I get the impression they had been talking for a while."

"Then it's not likely to be Leon, since we saw him with Noel only an hour ago."

She sighed, nodding her head. "Then who is it? And why is he pretending to be Noel?"

"There's no way to know, Gosalyn," I replied. "My guess is he is working for Ardo, but I can't imagine why he would need to see your mother." She just shook her head worriedly and increased our speed. "I'm particularly concerned that Ardo has an operative that is capable of deceiving your mother. Considering what you have told me of her, I would think she is an excellent judge of character."

"Always. I've never known her to be wrong."

"That is very disconcerting."

"I know." She shook her head in consternation. "Whoever it was, he's got to be pretty smart to fool Mom."

"And devious," I added. Seeing my partner's mounting anxiety, I tried to reassure her. "Take heart, Gosalyn. If your mother is as resourceful as you've led me to believe, I'd say this imposter would have a difficult time opposing her."

A savage grin spread across Gosalyn's face. "You've got that right, J.G.," she said, still smiling fiercely. "And then he's got me to deal with."

Gliding to a stop on the sandy drive that led up to Vivian's beach house, we quietly slipped out of the car and reconnoitered the outside before attempting to enter. In the light from a few outdoor lamps around the small building, we could see a second car in the drive ahead of us, most likely Vivian's. There were numerable other tire tracks in evidence, but from what source or how old they might be we had no way of telling.

Silently, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, we made our way onto the painted wooden veranda, Gosalyn signalling me which squeaky boards to avoid during our approach. When we were finally in position abreast of the storm door, I waited once more for Gosalyn to give the signal. This was her run and I wasn't going to second guess her mother's safety. In perfect synchronicity that had come from many field cases, I flung aside the storm door as she leapt forward to open the inner door. We burst upon a sitting room that was sparsely decorated with driftwood sculptures and seashell bric-a-brac. A handsome older woman sat comfortably flipping through a yellowed magazine, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Oh hello, dear. You know, I really must remember to bring up some newer issues next time I'm here."

"Mom!" Gosalyn shouted in exasperation, returning the safety on her gun. "What are you doing?!"

Vivian paused to stare at her daughter in wonderment. "I'm drinking coffee, dear. What does it look like?" She rose in a single graceful movement from her chair, tossing aside the aged periodical, and stepped forward to extend her free hand.

"I'm Vivian McQuillan. You must be the real Noel Waddlemeyer?"

"Mom..."

"I'm J. Gander Hooter, your daughter's field partner. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Oh yes, J. Gander. Gosalyn's told me about you in her letters - as infrequent as those are. Please excuse me for my mistake. Would you care for some coffee?"

"Mother!" Gosalyn stated, louder this time.

"Yes, Firecracker?"

"What has been going on here? Where's the imposter? What - " Vivian coolly cut off her daughter's diatribe by turning back to me.

"She tends to get overexcited sometimes, wouldn't you say, J. Gander? But she's been like that since she's been in diapers."

"Mother..."

"Don't worry, Firecracker," she reassured Gosalyn offhandedly. "I've taken care of it," and without missing a beat, she turned back to me. "Now, about that coffee..."

"No, thank you, Mrs. McQuillan."

"Please, call me Vivian."

"Thank you, Vivian. However, if I may be bold, Gosalyn does have a point. We were under the impression you were in danger from an unknown agent, impersonating Noel."

"Well, if that was a villain he was terribly well behaved. You know, dear, if things with your Noel don't work out, you should really consider the young man in the county lock-up."

"Mother!"

"If I may interrupt again, Vivian. Could you please tell us where this nice young man is presently?"

"Oh, I had the local police come and take him away. I wasn't sure when to expect you and I didn't have anything handy to tie him up with."

"So you managed to disable him?"

"Oh yes. I had Jackie with me."

"Jackie? But we were under the assumption you were alone."

Vivian laughed politely at my confusion while Gosalyn explained. "Mom likes to name things," she said through gritted teeth. "Jackie is the blackjack my father gave her."

Vivian fetched the weapon from her purse. "A gal sure feels safe with Jackie around," she said with a playful tone. "Oh what a face, Firecracker," she said to my grimacing partner. "Keep it up and it'll freeze that way."

"Firecracker?" I finally asked.

"Mom's nickname for me since I was a kid. And if you tell Noel..." She left the threat hanging as I tried to hide my smile.

"Oh, he already knows. Or at least, the gentleman I assumed was your Noel knows."

"Great," Gosalyn sighed, flopping onto a doily covered couch. "There's a perpetrator in the county lock-up that has gotten to hear my life history. The whack on the head you gave him was probably a welcome relief." For the first time since we had arrived, Gosalyn smiled at her mother, and I began to realize this sort of banter was the norm between them. "I guess we'd better go and see who this guy is."

"Splendid. I'll just get my things." And without another word, she disappeared through a swinging door into what appeared to be the kitchen.

"Wha...?" Gosalyn stared at the door, her mouth open. It was a rare occasion for my partner to be caught off guard and at a loss for words. "Hang on..." she started, following her mother into the other room. "Mom, you can't be serious," I heard from the kitchen.

"Of course I'm serious, dear," Vivian replied, already emerging on the return swing of the door with Gosalyn in her wake. She carried her purse in one hand and took a scarf from a hook on the wall with the other. "Apparently I've just spent the afternoon entertaining some thug. I have the right to know who he is as well."

Gosalyn rolled her eyes and let out a breath of exasperation. "It's dangerous, Mom. I don't want you -"

"I beg your pardon, young lady," Vivian interrupted sternly, suddenly turning to confront her daughter with a familiar flinty look in her eyes. "You're not the only one acquainted with dangerous situations. Need I remind you that I've covered stories in war zones? Are you trying to tell me that I couldn't handle -" She was interrupted by the telephone.

"Um... you'd better get that, Mom."

"I'm not finished with you," she warned as she walked to the phone and picked up.

"Why can't I talk to you like that?" I quietly quipped to my partner.

"Don't you start," she warned.

"Thanks," Vivian said, and returned the receiver to its cradle. "I guess we're going to have to put off our trip to the jail. The base left a message at the paper that they wanted you back once you were finished here."

"Oh?" Gosalyn replied, concerned. "I hope Noel is okay."

"Let's find out," her mother said, wrapping the scarf over her hair. "Anyway, it's about time I met the real fellow who's going to marry my daughter."

"Mom..."

"Any objection?" she challenged defiantly. Vivian's tone and expression so echoed her daughter that I was once more forced to hide a smile.

Closing her eyes and sighing, Gosalyn conceded. "All right, but only a short visit. He was injured this afternoon when we rescued him from the lunatic that's out to kill him. He needs to rest."

"A lunatic?" Vivian commented nonchalantly as she opened the front door. "This is going to make a great story."

Gosalyn froze at her words. "Mother. You are not going to print a word of this in the paper. This is official SHUSH business. You shouldn't even know about..."

Vivian held up a restraining hand. "Not for the paper, dear. For my grandchildren. You were planning on having children, weren't you? Good heavens, even I have enough sense not to print government secrets - at least ones I can get caught for." She winked at me and preceded us out to the moonlit beach, leaving a speechless Gosalyn in her wake.

"Shall we go?" I suggested, holding the door for her.

On our return to the SHUSH base, we were met by the grim faced Chief Medical Officer, who asked Vivian to wait outside while he escorted us into a small office.

"What is it?" Gosalyn demanded anxiously. "Is Noel all right?"

"For now. As you know, his injury was not serious, but not long after you left, he insisted on leaving. He said it was urgent that he return to St. Canard."

"You didn't let him go, did you?"

"Of course not," he assured her. "However, he became so agitated that we had to sedate him for his own protection."

"Sedate him?" she asked in disbelief. "What was he doing?"

"He seemed sure that Ardo would find him here, and made several attempts to leave the base," he explained. "He was angry at us for forcing him to stay."

"Noel was angry?"

"I don't know Agent Waddlemeyer personally, but it was clear that he was suffering from paranoia. I've never known a SHUSH agent to be so... out of control, if you'll forgive the phrase."

Gosalyn sat dumbfounded, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Noel's encounter with Leon Ardo last year was rather traumatic," I tried to explain to the doctor.

He nodded in reply. "I figured as much. Was a complete psychological profile done on him after the experience?"

"On Noel?" Gosalyn asked defensively. "He is not crazy!"

"No, no. I'm not suggesting that," he explained. "However, his behaviour today demonstrated a latent severe anxiety. It may be a wise course when you do return home."

"I can't believe this..." Gosalyn murmured. I could tell from her expression that she was suppressing her emotions.

"Perhaps you'd like to go see him?" I suggested sympathetically. She nodded in reply.

"He'll be out for at least a couple more hours," the doctor warned.

"That's okay," she said. "I'd still like to see him."

The doctor agreed to her request and led her to Medical.

Feeling that this was something that she would like to do alone, I chose instead to seek out whoever was in charge during the evening shift to warn him of the imposter at the county jailhouse. Finding the base Commander, I proceeded to explain as best I could the bizarre circumstances surrounding this case and our suspicions of his connection with Leon Ardo. Luckily, SHUSH Central's call of warning as a result of Ardo's attack in St. Canard served to corroborate my outlandish story.

"I can't transfer him to a high security facility until the morning," the Commander explained, "but I'll send agents to guard him until then."

"I suppose that's all that can be done," I admitted with uncertainty. "I'm afraid the only person who can be of help in securing his confinement is sedated in your Medical facilities."

"I heard," the Commander said, nodding gravely. "I'm sorry."

"It cannot be helped," I replied. "Thank you for your assistance. I'm sure our friend is in good hands. Your medical team is to be commended."

Upon my return to the waiting area, Vivian approached me with a look of concern. "Is everything okay?" she asked, obviously wondering what had taken so long and why her daughter had not come back with me.

"My apologies for the delay, Vivian. I'm afraid Noel is not well," I explained. "Gosalyn is with him now."

"Will he be all right?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm sure he will eventually. However, I do not feel that this would be a good time for you to meet him."

"Of course," she agreed, nodding her understanding and sighing. "Poor Gosalyn. Will she be staying with him here, then?"

"I doubt it. He's asleep now, and she's extremely curious about the imposter. She's going to want to go to the jailhouse."

Vivian shook her head in disapproval. "What would that accomplish? He's already in the hands of the authorities, safely under lock and key."

"He's not as secure as you would think. If he's in league with the villain who is after Noel, he could have technology for which the local police are unprepared."

"Well, he won't have anything on him by now, that's for sure. He was still out cold when they picked him up, and I'm sure they searched him thoroughly before throwing him into the holding cell."

"I hope that will be enough," I commented with uncertainty. "The Commander here will be sending backup agents to guard him."

"Then it's settled. There's no need for Gosalyn to go there. Heavens, it's not like he could walk through steel bars, or vanish in a puff of smoke." Her confidence only made me more doubtful. "I think Gosalyn needs something to take her mind off her troubles. Have the two of you had dinner yet?"

"No, but -"

"No buts," she insisted. "I know just the place."

Gosalyn's talent at persuasion was obviously genetic. Vivian left no room for discussion, and soon we were in an elegant establishment enjoying an exquisite meal and live musical entertainment. Vivian was a gracious hostess in a glittering environment, but my partner was understandably preoccupied throughout. By the time our meal was over, she was eager to leave.

"Sweetheart," her mother said sympathetically, "you left the phone number of this restaurant with SHUSH. They would have called if they needed you. Why don't you just enjoy the evening?" Gosalyn just sighed and nodded.

Vivian considered briefly, then called a waiter over and asked for a telephone to be brought to the table. "You can call to see how he is, all right Firecracker?"

Gosalyn's serious expression was softened by a faint smile of gratitude. "Thanks, Mom."

She spoke only briefly with SHUSH, and replaced the receiver looking reassured. "He's still sleeping. And there's been no problems with the imposter."

"See? No need to cut our evening short," Vivian said. "Just let me check in now." She pulled the telephone to herself and dialed.

"I sure would like to know what happened to Noel before we rescued him, J.G.," Gosalyn said worriedly.

"Perhaps he will be willing to talk when he awakens."

"I'd rather get my hands on Leon and ask him."

"No, everything is just fine," Vivian was saying. "I've been out with my daughter and... No, we're not in any danger. What gave you that idea? ...Really? Well, I'll let her know. Thanks."

"What's going on, Mom?" Gosalyn asked as her mother hung up.

"A friend of yours called the paper saying I was in danger," she said mildly.

"Who was it?"

"Her name was Sasha Darling. Maybe you should give her a call."

"Sasha?" Gosalyn repeated, baffled. "You're right, I should call her." She looked at her watch. "It's pretty late in St. Canard," she said while dialing. "I doubt she'll still be at headquarters but... Hello, Jack? It's Gosalyn. Do you have any messages for me?... Of course, put her on." She looked at us. "Sasha's still there... Sasha?" There was a long pause in which Gosalyn's expression became more and more bewildered. "What!? Wait... Sasha, you're not making any sense. Slow down and start again."

"What's the matter?" Vivian asked.

Gosalyn held up her hand and shook her head at her mother, still trying to understand Sasha. "He said what?" Gosalyn's expression slowly turned from astonishment to anger while she listened. "What time was that?" She nodded, looking once more at her watch. "All right. Thanks, Sasha." She replaced the receiver and looked up, her jaw set and fire in her eyes.

"I know that look," Vivian commented warily.

"Sorry, Mom - I have to go," Gosalyn said abruptly, rising from the table.

"What's wrong, Gosalyn?" I asked.

"I have to get back to the SHUSH base before he wakes up," she said. "Are you coming?"

"We're both coming," her mother replied before I had a chance. She called over the waiter once more, handed him the telephone and asked that the bill be put on her expense account with the newspaper. Within minutes, we were back on the road to SHUSH.

Gosalyn remained silent on the return trip, brooding over the unknown news that Sasha had given her. When asked, she would only say that it was best that we remain impartial. As always, I trusted her judgement and did not pursue the matter. Her mother looked ready to say something, but I made a quiet gesture to hold her attention and shook my head. For Gosalyn's sake, this wasn't time for their usual relationship banter. Gosalyn might be her daughter, but right now she was a SHUSH agent first.

Once there, she bolted for Medical, pausing only to flash her badge to the night security guard. Knowing that Vivian would not be allowed to go far into the building, I apologized once more to her. She nodded her understanding. "You go ahead. I can wait out here."

I caught up with Gosalyn in the main office of Medical just in time to see Noel make his way quietly but unsteadily from his observation room. The doctor on duty stood, startled by our hasty arrival, and had not yet noticed his patient behind him.

"Can I help you?" he asked us.

Gosalyn ignored him and addressed Noel. "Where are you going?"

Noel looked back at us. There was an unsettling fearful look in his eyes. "I have to get to St. Canard," he replied shakily.

"Why?" she asked him.

By now, the doctor had gone to him and tried to lead him back into his room. "Leave me alone," Noel snapped, pushing him aside, then staggering back himself. I moved to help him, but Gosalyn stopped me.

"Why do you have to get to St. Canard?" she asked again with a cold even tone.

"I have to get to my lab. Then I can make something that will stop Ardo."

"Gosalyn, what's wrong?" I asked, disturbed by her unsympathetic treatment of Noel.

She looked at me, then seemed to get an idea. Looking back at Noel, she pointed at me. "Who is that?"

Both of us looked at her in bewilderment. "Gosalyn, are you all right?" I asked.

Ignoring me, she repeated more insistently, "Who is that?"

"What do you mean, Gosalyn?" he stuttered hesitantly, as confused as I. "It's J.G."

"Since when do you call him J.G.?" she demanded.

It was the second time that day he had referred to me as 'J.G.', which up to that point was a nickname only Gosalyn had used. I had wondered at it before, but hadn't questioned him. Looking at Noel, I waited for his reply.

"What's the matter?" he asked, putting his hand up to his bandaged head wearily. "That's his name, isn't it?"

"That's what I call him," she challenged. "What do you call him?"

"Gosalyn, please," he said, staggering to a chair and sitting. "I'm not in the mood for this."

She moved closer, carefully assessing him. "I was just talking to Sasha," she commented guardedly.

"Oh?" he replied. The silence began to lengthen between them. "How is her head?" he asked finally.

"She didn't say. Maybe you should give her a call. She's worried about you."

"Gosalyn, my head is killing me. Why don't you call her?"

"I think it would be better coming from you," she said, taking the telephone from the CMO's desk. She handed him the receiver and held the telephone up for him to dial.

"Not now, please Gosalyn."

"She needs to talk to you," she insisted.

Noel let out an exasperated sigh and hung his head in resignation. "Okay, okay. But you dial for me."

"No, I think you should dial."

"I can barely see it. My vision's all blurred."

"Then you give me the number."

"You know the number," he replied, barely masking his frustration.

She paused to consider, sizing up the situation while Noel hung his head. I was baffled by his replies to Gosalyn's little 'tests'. It was almost as if not only his disposition, but also his memory had been affected by the earlier experience.

"Don't you remember the number?" I asked him.

He sighed again and shook his head. "You'll forgive me if my mental faculties aren't up to par," he commented sarcastically. I could only stare in wonder. If I wasn't looking directly at him, I wouldn't have believed that it was my friend speaking.

"Who is Sasha?" Gosalyn demanded suddenly.

He had obviously had enough and threw the receiver onto the floor. "What is the matter with you?" he asked angrily. "Can't you see I'm in a lot of pain here? Why don't you just leave me alone?"

Gosalyn nodded in satisfaction and glanced at me. "Well, J.G.?"

I was overwhelmed with concern for our friend. "Perhaps you should be treating him with more compassion, Gosalyn," I said to her in low tones, realizing that she was suffering under a great deal of stress as well. "It's obvious that Noel is not himself right now."

"Exactly!" she concluded. Still staring evenly at him, she drew her gun. "That isn't Noel." He suddenly looked up at her with fear in his eyes. "You're under arrest," she stated.

"What are you talking about, Gosalyn?" he asked nervously. "It's me. Don't you know me?" A uneasy smile crossed his features. "Gosalyn," his gentle voice pleaded, "it's me."

Unmoved, she continued. "You're under arrest for impersonating a SHUSH officer."

He looked over at me. "What's wrong with Gosalyn?" he asked, seemingly worried for her. "Talk to her, J.G."

It was unquestionably my friend before me, but his actions defied his physical appearance. So, as confused as I was, I pulled my gun out in support of my partner. "You are under arrest."

At that, his demeanour changed completely. He suddenly sneered at us and reached inside his jacket. Gosalyn took aim. "Don't move -"

She stopped short as he dove behind a nearby desk, placing the doctor on duty between us. In the few steps it took us to have him back in our sights, he had pulled out a small whistle and blew three times. Immediately, Leon Ardo and his computerized canine appeared.

"What took you so long?" Leon demanded furiously. "You had better have a good explanation for-"

"Shut up!" he interrupted gruffly. "Just get us out of here!"

Gosalyn opened fire, but the metal servant of Leon once more deflected the bullets.

"Gosalyn! No!" I shouted, fearful that someone may get hurt once again. But there was no need. They had already vanished.

To be continued

Reign of Error

by Larry & Christie deSouza

I clattered down the long hallways of the SHUSH base after Gosalyn. Breathlessly, she tried to explain what had just happened.

"That wasn't Noel," she said bluntly as we sidestepped personnel on our way back to the front lobby and her mother.

"Apparently," I agreed, excusing myself as I neatly avoided a custodian. "But how did you know?"

"Sasha. Her call." Again, my partner's laconic replies did little to illuminate the situation.

Vivian had returned to the car and pulled it up smoothly in front of the building. As we barged past the outdoor night security guard, I caught her elbow.

"Gosalyn, stop. I need an explanation - now." Her green eyes smoldered angrily for a moment, but I stood my ground and she let out an exasperated sigh, her tension relaxing somewhat. I removed my hand from her arm as her mother came up to join us.

"Trouble?" Vivian asked.

"When Sasha called, it was because Noel had called her." Reflexively, my gaze went back to the SHUSH building. "No, not that Noel. Our Noel. The real Noel. He was calling from jail."

"Jail?" Vivian repeated in confusion. Then suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped. "Gosalyn! How could you? You told me he was an impostor!"

"Mom, it's not my fault..."

"Well, it's certainly not mine!"

"I know, Mom. Just relax for a sec, okay? Let's get to the jail house and I can explain on the way."

"I know where that is," Vivian said as we walked to the car. "I'll drive. But you'd better come up with a good reason for telling me to crack Noel on the head. He's going to have a lump the size of his fist!"

"I did not tell you to hit him, Mom," Gosalyn pointed out emphatically. "If you will remember, I told you to leave the house."

Vivian chose to ignore her daughter's observation as we got into the car, and Gosalyn thankfully let that subject drop as she explained. "Noel used his one call to contact Sasha back in St. Canard," she said as we drove off. "He didn't know what had happened. One minute he was with you, Mom, and the next he was waking up in the county prison with a splitting headache."

"I should say so," Vivian commented. "I bet he's still seeing stars."

"Well, considering how good you are with that blackjack, Noel would never have seen it coming. He thought someone had broken into the beach house, knocked him out, and was sure you were in grave danger. Knowing Noel, he's a lot more worried about you than he is about himself."

"Oh, the poor man... I may have seriously hurt him." Then, with a sudden flash of anger that rivaled even her daughter's mood swings, she turned to Gosalyn. "I want an explanation, young lady - a good one."

Gosalyn let out a sigh and she paused to muster her patience. "We've dealt with something like this before, Mom. Believe it or not, I think the person who was at the SHUSH base was Noel's double from another world."

There was a long uncomfortable pause. I silently agreed with Gosalyn's conclusion. Since we had confronted the double of Leon's mother, Dr. Elizabeth Ardo, we were aware of the fact that such an unlikely event was possible. Vivian, however, was less easily convinced.

"Gosalyn..." she finally said, "you're going to have to do a lot better than that."

"It is the truth, Vivian," I asserted. "It's a long story, but the important point is that Leon has at his disposal a means by which he can go to other worlds, and we have been made aware of one which parallels our own."

"So all of us could have doubles there?" she asked skeptically.

"I... suppose so," I replied, not sure I wanted to consider the possibilities.

"Then how can you be so sure that the one I clobbered wasn't the other world's Noel?"

"It's not so much that, Mom," Gosalyn said, thinking through the day's events. "It's more the fact that the Noel we rescued from Leon was too... unlike our Noel."

I nodded in agreement. In retrospect, the Noel we had rescued hadn't really been in that much danger from Leon, and his latest behaviour obviously proved where his alliances lay. I explained to Vivian what had transpired on the street and in SHUSH Medical. Gosalyn didn't say anything, but by the time my recounting was over, I could tell that she was angry with herself.

I leaned close to her and said quietly, "There's no way you could have known, Gosalyn."

She looked away from me and didn't reply.

The night deputy at the county lock-up was one of those detestable small minded officials who attempt to exercise far more power than is their right. From his unnecessary sunglasses to his oversized paunch, he radiated hostility towards us from the moment we entered the district house. I had a sudden understanding that our SHUSH counterparts in this city were probably avoiding any unnecessary dealings with this particular individual, and felt pity for the Security agents who had already been sent here. Unfortunately, with Leon and the other Noel still on the loose, we didn't have the luxury of time to argue with him. Gosalyn's sullen mood while in the car gave way to mounting frustration.

"Listen," she said for the fourth time through teeth so tightly clenched I expected them to crack. "We are SHUSH agents and need to speak with the person in your custody, right now." The deputy's shadowed gaze barely took in our official badges. A solitary toothpick slowly moved from one side of his mouth to the other.

"Well," he drawled, "I'm sure you are, but right now he's my concern and he's gonna stay my concern. The SHUSH people are already here guarding him, and I don't plan to let anyone else near him until his transfer in the morning." He leaned forward and looked at Gosalyn with a condescending sneer. "He's a dangerous criminal. You just leave him to us, missy, and get yourself home."

I could see Gosalyn's knuckles whiten at his use of the word 'missy'. Before she could react, though, her mother raised her voice.

"May I use your telephone?" Her request threw both Gosalyn and our antagonistic police officer off their respective trains of thought.

"Beg your par'n?" he said around his toothpick.

"Your telephone. I think I can clear this up. Judge Yapner probably won't appreciate being awakened at this hour, but what else are friends for?" She had a small black address book open and ready in one hand.

He gave her a sarcastic smile. "You know the Judge? And just how could that be, ma'am?" His use of the word 'ma'am' had the same electric effect on Vivian that 'missy' had had on Gosalyn. Her eyes were flinty as she pulled out her own identification.

"I interviewed him extensively during the last election. Vivian McQuillan, Daily Quacker."

The toothpick fell from his slack lips, unnoticed, as Vivian's press identification elicited a response our SHUSH I.D. had not. "The Vivian McQuillan?"

She snapped her slim wallet shut and continued to stare at him unflinchingly. "The phone? Or should I seek out a payphone on the dark streets? I'm sure the Judge would love to hear I couldn't even use a phone in one of our city's police stations. As a matter of fact, I wonder how the readership would react to that." Her tone was even more frigid than before.

"I don't think that'll be necessary, Mrs. McQuillan" he said, suddenly gracious and helpful.

Within moments, the three of us were led back into the prison area where Noel was. I held my SHUSH I.D. up for the uniformed SHUSH Security officers who flanked his cell. They nodded their consent, and stepped aside as we approached. Gosalyn's expression became dark and uncertain once more. She almost seemed hesitant to be reunited with him.

"Gosalyn! J. Gander!" Noel exclaimed, rising from the narrow cot to grip our hands through the bars. His use of my proper name was a great reassurance. "Gosalyn," he continued anxiously. "Your mother's in a lot of danger. They won't listen to me here..."

"Hello, Noel," Vivian said, stepping into his line of sight.

"Vivian! You're all right!"

She nodded to him with a concerned smile. "How is your head?"

"Never mind my head," he said dismissively, although we could see from where we stood that there was an enormous and likely painful lump on one side. "What happened? How did you escape?"

Vivian gave a sidelong glance at her daughter. "You can ask Gosalyn."

Noel turned back to his uncharacteristically quiet fiancée. "Gosalyn?"

Instead of replying, she slowly looked up into his eyes. In a gesture more gentle than I had ever seen my partner make, she reached through the bars to hold Noel's face in her hands. Silently she stared at him for a long minute. His expression was baffled by the scrutiny she appeared to be giving him, but nonetheless he endured it, waiting for her to finish whatever examination she was making. I felt almost like an intruder as they shared the moment.

"I am such a fool," she whispered, turning away.

"What's wrong, Gosalyn?" Noel asked, still holding one of her hands. Reluctantly, she looked back at him and we could all see the emotion in her eyes.

"I should've known. I should've known it wasn't you."

"What?" he asked in complete confusion. "What is it? What's wrong? What happened?" When it was clear that she would not answer him, he turned his worried face to us. "J. Gander, what's the matter with Gosalyn? What has been going on?"

"We can tell you about it on our way back to St. Canard," I responded. Turning, I called, "Officer!" Noel winced and held his head at my loud voice. "Oh, sorry, Noel."

"That's okay, I'm fine," he said, although his expression told a different story. He tried to smile and snorted in disgust. "And if you can get any co-operation out of Pecos Bill, I will gladly acknowledge the superiority of field agents." Noel's friendly reference to his and Gosalyn's long standing competition also served to reassure me that this was our true friend.

"As it happens, Vivian has more than a little influence with our local constable."

It was only a short while later that we were exiting the few short steps back to the front desk. The night deputy was almost fawning over us as we quickly filled out the necessary paperwork to release Noel to our custody. There was only one detail left.

"Uh... where's my SHUSH identification?" Noel asked as the small box of his personal effects was returned to him. Sheepishly, the officer ducked back behind his desk and rummaged in his wastepaper basket, retrieving the gilt edged card.

"I - thought it was a fake," he said in a weak voice. Without another word, Noel snatched his I.D. card from the officer and we hurried back to the sedan.

"Where to from here?" Noel asked as we crowded into the car.

"Airport," said Gosalyn, sliding in next to him. I held the passenger door for Vivian and then assumed the driver's seat myself. "I called SHUSH Central in St. Canard while you were signing forms. They said you're not there yet, so they know not to trust you unless you're with us." Her cryptic comment seemed to unfocus Noel's eyes.

"Gosalyn, I've had a serious bump on the head tonight. Do you mind explaining what happened now, or would someone rather just hit me again?"

An involuntary laugh escaped Vivian's mouth as I sped off into the night. "Oh Noel," she said. "It's good to have you back."

"You know, Mr. Hooter," Bill commented, "I don't wonder that Mom was upset. It's hard to believe that she didn't see the difference."

"There was no difference to see, Bill," the Director pointed out. "The other Noel looked - even sounded - exactly like your father."

J. Gander rose from his desk and paced over to a file cabinet. He sorted through the files within for a moment and returned to his seat with some documents. "Which one is your father?" he asked, sliding a pair of duplicate photographs across the desk. Bill picked up the pictures and examined them closely. They appeared to be two copies from the same negative.

"They both are," he answered in confusion.

"That is the difference between your father and his counterpart," J. Gander concluded. "One of these could very well have been your father's doppelganger." Bill gave a low whistle at the dilemma. "Truly, this is a phenomenon you would have to experience to appreciate fully."

"No thanks," Bill replied, returning the photos. "I'll take your word for it."

"And, of course, our concern was that the wrong Noel would arrive at SHUSH before us and be mistaken for our world's Noel. Even though your mother had called ahead, the other Noel was exceedingly convincing, and SHUSH Central had never encountered alternate dimension people before. And considering the fact that Leon and the other Noel had the dimensional tunnel and that odd robot to guide them, they were likely in St. Canard already."

We spared no time in boarding a plane back home. Never one to pass up an adventure, let alone an opportunity to discuss wedding plans, Vivian insisted on joining us. Gosalyn agreed only when her mother reluctantly promised to keep out of the way and not get involved.

At SHUSH Central, we immediately made our way to Director Wakefield's office to bring him up to date on the events in Los Albatross and to ask him to grant Vivian access to the building. Gosalyn made a point of introducing her from the moment we met with the first security guard so that she would not be questioned or escorted out. We were counting on the assumption that, being the mother of one of SHUSH's top agents, Vivian would have privileges that most civilians would not.

However, on our way to his office, we ran into a distraught Sasha, who was also seeking the Director. She seemed taken aback when she spotted us, and was for a moment at a loss for words.

"Is everything all right, Sasha?" Noel asked, concerned by her reaction.

She looked from him to Gosalyn. "Uh... How did you...?"

Gosalyn quickly interpreted Sasha's confusion. "Has the other Noel been here?"

She continued to look at Gosalyn with a curiously haunted expression and shook her head. "No... but..." We could see her mind racing as she looked away, then her eyes snapped back to Gosalyn. "But that must be the other you up in Dr. Waddlemeyer's lab."

"What?!"

"I said..."

"Nevermind - let's go."

Dispensing with the formalities of consulting with the Director, Gosalyn hastily led us to the stairway while Sasha explained.

"She came in to find Dr. Waddlemeyer. She was terribly upset, and said that Dr. Waddlemeyer could help her. I thought she was you - she looks exactly like you - except I've never seen you wear pink."

"What was she upset about?" Gosalyn asked as we rounded another flight of stairs on our way to the fourth floor.

"It didn't make much sense," Sasha explained, somewhat out of breath. "She said that Security had captured Leon, and that Dr. Waddlemeyer would know how to get him out of the brig. Why would Dr. Waddlemeyer want to help him escape?"

Gosalyn shook her head. "I guess it depends on which Noel she was talking about."

"Anyway, she was terribly afraid," Sasha continued as we hurried into the hallway leading to the laboratory, "and crying so hard I was worried she'd become hysterical. I asked her to wait for me there and went to fetch the Director. I didn't know what to do."

Noel opened the door, and the group of us stared into the terrified face of Gosalyn's double. She stared back, frozen to the spot for a moment before collapsing in a dead faint. Noel and I instinctively raced to her side, followed closely by the others.

"Unbelievable..." Noel muttered. He looked into her face with concern, then back at his own Gosalyn. "It's incredible." Gosalyn herself could only nod in reply.

"I can see why the other Noel could fool you so well," Vivian commented, also astounded by the likeness.

I carefully lifted the hauntingly familiar stranger and carried her to a cot that Noel kept in his back office. Staring into the face of Gosalyn's double, I forced myself to fight the impulse to take her hand and urge her to awaken. I had to remember that this was not my partner. I could only imagine how Noel was feeling.

"I believe looking back at herself was too much for her," I said sympathetically.

"I should go get a wet cloth to put on her forehead," Sasha said, and quietly left the office.

"What do you think she's doing here?" Noel asked worriedly. "You don't suppose she's in on this plan of Leon's like that... other me, do you?"

"It's possible," Gosalyn surmised.

"Sasha said something about Leon being captured," I remembered. "He's apparently in the brig."

Gosalyn suddenly looked up. "Yeah, but which Leon?"

"Oh no," Noel groaned. "Not another one."

"It'd make sense," Gosalyn explained. "Sasha said that she..." she indicated the unconscious Gosalyn, "wanted you to help get Leon out."

"But if she meant the other me, he seemed to be working with Leon - of course he'd want Leon out."

"I don't think he was working with Leon. If that was the case, why would the other you have gone to such great lengths to avoid him back in Los Albatross? He seemed paranoid that Leon would find him. And remember, he didn't call Leon with his whistle until he was cornered and needed a way to escape the SHUSH base."

"That could have been an act," Noel suggested.

"Speculation will only confuse the issue," I interjected. "Perhaps we should go to speak with Leon in the holding cell."

Sasha had come back, unnoticed by us until she spoke. "I think maybe Agent McQuillan shouldn't be here when she wakes up," she said while kneeling down and putting the damp cloth on the other Gosalyn's head. "It was hard enough getting anything she said to make sense. I don't think she'll be able to think straight seeing herself in front of her."

"Agreed," I said. "Gosalyn, perhaps we should go to see Leon now."

"No, J.G. One of us should stay here. There's no telling whose side she's on - she may be dangerous."

"Oh, Gosalyn," Vivian chided. "How can you say that this poor girl could be dangerous?"

"Mom, I'm dangerous. If she's me, I want her guarded." She turned to me. "I'll go to Leon, J.G. You stay here."

"Then I'm going with you," Noel said. "You're not going to see him alone."

"No," she disagreed. "That won't do either. If this is the Leon we know, you won't be safe."

"I'm not letting you go alone," he insisted pointedly. He looked his fiancée in the eyes with a stern expression that would not allow argument. Gosalyn sighed and nodded her agreement.

The two of them left just as the other Gosalyn was coming around.

"You speak with her first, Sasha," I instructed her as I guided Vivian out of the other Gosalyn's line of sight. "At least she's met you already."

"What should I say?" she asked nervously.

"Leon?..." my partner's double murmured.

Sasha looked back at me in distress but I kept quiet and gestured to her, encouraging her to talk.

"Uh..." she stammered. "How... how are you feeling?"

The young woman's eyes opened slowly and she looked up. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Sasha said, smiling sympathetically. "How do you feel?"

"Where's Leon?"

"Uh..." Sasha turned her worried face up to us then back. "Don't you remember?"

The other Gosalyn's eyes closed and a look of anguish filled her face. "I was hoping that was all just a bad dream," she said in a quavering voice. "I want to go home..." Tears started streaming down her cheeks.

"Please - please don't cry," Sasha begged her desperately. "Everything's going to be fine. Just stay calm, okay?"

"But... I don't know what to do..."

"Dr. Waddlemeyer came," Sasha tried. "He's talking with Leon right now."

She looked up. "He is?" Sasha nodded. "Your world's Noel?" Sasha nodded again, smiling. Gosalyn let out a shuddering sigh. "Leon said we can trust him."

"You can. He's a good man."

"This world is so different," she said with fear in her eyes. "I saw him... and myself..."

"But you understand you're in another dimension," Sasha pointed out quickly, trying to forestall another fit of panic.

Gosalyn nodded. "I understand that."

"So you know that this dimension's version of you would have to be here."

"I knew she would be," she whispered hoarsely. "But... I thought I saw someone else at the door." Her eyes brimmed over with tears and she began trembling. "I thought I saw..." She trailed off and began to cry again.

"Who do you think you saw?"

Vivian looked at me miserably while we listened to the heart wrenching sobs of her daughter's other self. I could tell she wanted to console her, and I sympathized. It was difficult to remember that this was not the Gosalyn we knew - the Gosalyn who would never let us see such a display of emotions.

"It's okay," Sasha said soothingly, placing her hand on Gosalyn's shoulder. "Who did you see?"

"I... I thought... I thought I saw..."

"Yes?"

"...my mom."

Sasha suddenly looked up at Vivian, who obviously could not take the heartbreak any more. She moved forward into Gosalyn's view and crouched down at her side, smiling with compassion. "I'm here, Gosalyn," she whispered warmly.

Gosalyn's eyes widened in terror and she sat up and backed against the wall.

"What's wrong?" Vivian asked, confused by the reaction. But the Gosalyn before us could not find her voice.

"I won't hurt you," said Vivian hurriedly. "Don't be frightened."

"Remember that this is another dimension," Sasha tried to explain. "People here can be different from their counterparts in your dimension."

"My mother..." Gosalyn forced the words out, "is dead."

"Oh, sweetheart!" Vivian went to hug her daughter's likeness, and this time she did not back away. Gosalyn collapsed into her mother's arms, crying bitterly. Vivian stroked her hair and spoke soft words of comfort in her ear while Sasha and I looked on. It took some time before her sobs subsided.

I could see tears in Vivian's eyes when she finally looked up at me. "Gosalyn never did this when we lost her father," she whispered. "I know it was terrible for her, but she just buried it. Sometimes I wish..." Her voice caught, and she couldn't continue. She just bowed her head and held the young woman even closer.

Somehow, Sasha had slipped out of the room unnoticed, and I was feeling more and more uncomfortable remaining. Unfortunately, I felt obliged to stay since this Gosalyn was an unknown agent here. Vivian must have sensed my discomfort, though, and looked up once more.

"J. Gander," she said, still holding Gosalyn, "this girl is not dangerous. I think it would be nice if we had some time alone."

I had to agree with her. "Thank you, Vivian," I said quietly. "You are certain you will be all right?"

"I'll be fine," Vivian replied. "Just give us a little while. We'll be okay."

I nodded in appreciation and joined Sasha in the lab, closing the door behind me. "Will you keep your ears open for any signs of trouble, Sasha?" I asked. "I'd like to go to the brig and see Leon as well."

"Of course," Sasha assured me. "I can call Security at the first sign of danger."

"I have a feeling you won't have to worry about Vivian," I said with a smile. "She can take care of herself."

"Knowing her daughter," she replied, returning the smile, "I don't doubt it."

Even before leaving the stairwell on the basement level, I could hear Gosalyn's and Noel's voices as they argued in the hall outside the holding area.

"Noel, I can't believe you're even considering it! This is Leon we're talking about."

"I know, but this Leon is different! You must see it! He's no maniac - he's as rational as you or I."

"There's no way to prove that! These characters can be incredibly convincing, believe me! It could be that he's just that much more devious."

"Please, Gosalyn. You've got to be more trusting..."

"And you have to be less naïve..."

I stepped in quickly, and drew their attention. "What is the difficulty? Have you concluded your interview with the Leon Ardo in the brig?"

"No!" shouted Gosalyn, simultaneous to Noel's emphatic "Yes!"

"I take it you two are in some disagreement over his status?"

"I don't think we can trust him," Gosalyn asserted. "I agree he doesn't seem as - overtly insane as the Leon Ardo we've encountered, but..."

"You're too prejudiced," Noel broke in. "I understand it - really I do. I appreciate that you're trying to protect me." With a tense energy he began to pace the narrow hallway as he argued for freeing the prisoner. "Just think of it this way. You say the extradimensional me was working with Leon, right? Isn't there just the slightest possibility that this guy would be willing to work with us?"

"Sounds logical," I pointed out, looking to my partner.

"Noel, the other you turned out to be a manipulative self-serving liar. Imagine how much worse this Leon could be than our Leon!"

"Gosalyn, I have a feeling that you'd have a bias against any Leon. I had the same initial reaction when I first saw him, too. He walks like Leon Ardo, he talks like Leon Ardo..."

"If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..." Gosalyn inserted sarcastically to me, and I shushed her.

"...but it's not Leon Ardo! I can't help myself. I like this guy! He's rational, he's intelligent, he's well-spoken, he's -"

"Just like you, apparently," I concluded.

"J. Gander," Gosalyn said, turning on me accusingly, "why are you taking his side?"

"I'm not taking sides," I corrected her. "I also understand your prejudice. However, it's difficult for you to be impartial. If I'm not mistaken, you are still angry at yourself for being deceived by the other Noel. Am I right?" Her eyes smoldered as she glared at me, but her lack of reply confirmed my suspicions. "Perhaps it would help if I spoke to him."

With that, I left them to finish their discussion privately and slipped through the doorway to confront our mystery detainee.

In a spartan holding cell just a short distance beyond the door sat a small framed drake. His thinning hair was neatly combed, and his large clear eyes betrayed no hints of paranoia through his thick rimmed glasses. Nowhere was there any sign of anything that even remotely resembled a toaster. He smiled in a pleasant, if slightly guarded manner, as I stepped up to the cell bars.

"Mr. Ardo?" I asked.

He rose and formally extended a hand through the bars. "Doctor Ardo," he corrected. His handshake was firm and friendly. "Pleased to meet you, Mr...?"

"Hooter. Agent J. Gander Hooter." I returned his gaze and was pleased to see the confident stare of a person in control of himself.

"What can I do for you, Agent Hooter? I assume you have more questions for me, like Mr. Waddlemeyer and Gosalyn?"

"Doctor Waddlemeyer and Agent McQuillan seem to be of two minds about you," I responded, laying emphasis on their respective titles. One eyebrow raised in interest, a sign that my correction was noted. "From your reaction I gather you have not met me in your dimension."

"No," he agreed calmly. "Does that bother you?"

This time it was my eyebrow that was raised in amusement. "I find it interesting, in an abstract way, that so many of our circle of acquaintance appears to overlap, but that I myself am excluded. It would be hazardous to presume the parallels between our worlds are too exact."

"Well put, Agent Hooter."

"You understand the reason for your current incarceration?" I asked him.

"Yes. The Leon Ardo from this dimension is a pathological danger to your Noel Waddlemeyer. He has engaged the services of the Noel Waddlemeyer from my dimension - who is not a doctor, by the way - to supplant your Noel for some nefarious purpose."

"And what is your relationship to your Mr. Waddlemeyer?"

His expression darkened. "None - at least none friendly. Noel Waddlemeyer is a cold-hearted mercenary. He's a scientist by trade, like myself, but his methods and ethics are questionable at best. My dimension's Gosalyn is his assistant."

"Intriguing," I commented. "An unusual twist on this world's relationship. Our Gosalyn actually met Noel while posing as his lab assistant."

"If only my Gosalyn was just 'posing' as his assistant. He has no respect for her... and a vicious temper." His animosity spoke untold volumes about his feelings for 'his' Gosalyn. "She's so gentle and vulnerable... but her courage, Agent Hooter." He looked into my eyes earnestly. "She has stayed with Waddlemeyer despite his abuse."

"But why?"

"She suspected that he planned to steal my mother's work on quacktron research to claim as his own. My mother was a professor at the St. Canard University - a brilliant woman, though somewhat unorthodox. She was too engrossed in her work to perceive Waddlemeyer's intents when he insinuated himself into being her assistant. Gosalyn continued to work for Waddlemeyer so that she could watch him and bring reports back to me. But before we gathered enough information, my mother went missing. And although there was never any conclusive evidence to prove it, there is no doubt in my mind that he was responsible for her disappearance." His eyes smoldered with resentment as he spoke. "As expected, he laid claim to her work, and has since been trying to use her inventions to access other dimensions for his own profit. Fortunately, although he has been attempting it for years, he has been unsuccessful - that is, until your world's Leon Ardo arrived. He filled in the blanks that Waddlemeyer couldn't figure out on his own. Gosalyn overheard their plans to travel to this dimension. Waddlemeyer agreed to help him kill this world's Noel Waddlemeyer and take his place in exchange for all the technology and eludium he had access to because of the position this universe's Noel Waddlemeyer held." He shook his head. "But your Ardo has no idea who he's dealing with. It wouldn't surprise me if Waddlemeyer has already double-crossed him."

"That explains much," I said thoughtfully. "However, they are still working together, though presumably not by the other Noel's choice."

"He will take the dimensional travel technology from your world's Ardo. It's only a matter of time. He is a dangerous man, Agent Hooter," he warned. "My own work on quacktron developments became an obsession when my mother went missing. I've been able to access the dimensional tunnel for a couple of years now, and have spent a great deal of time searching for her and trying to collect evidence to bring Waddlemeyer to justice. It's a good thing that he barely knows me or the advancements I've made in the field of dimension travel, or he would surely dispose of me and take my work as well. But now that Waddlemeyer has access to dimension travel, he poses a threat to all worlds. That's why I followed him here."

"And your Gosalyn - why is she here?"

"I told you she was brave, though you might never know it to meet her. Because of her own involvement in my investigations into Waddlemeyer's operations, she insisted on joining me." He smiled. "I also think that she did not want to let me go alone."

"She is not unlike our world's Gosalyn," I commented.

"But there will be a necessary difference in their personalities. I have found when comparing the people of this universe with their counterparts in ours, they are like two sides of the same coin. Opposites, yet with a core essence that binds them."

"Absolutely astounding," I remarked. "You will have to discuss this with our Noel when this is all over. He will be amazed by all of this."

"Perhaps," he said with understandable reservation. "However, this won't be over until my world's Waddlemeyer comes to justice, and I finally determine the fate of my mother."

A silence hung in the air while I contemplated his remarkable story. As his account had unravelled, I realized that the duplicate Elizabeth Ardo we had encountered those years ago must have been this Leon's mother, and I felt it was my turn to relate our side of his story, as painful as I knew it would be to him.

At that moment, Noel and Gosalyn slipped in from the doorway behind me, and I heard a jangle of the keys which my partner held. Seemingly, Noel had convinced her to bring them, although I was still not sure if she planned on releasing Leon just yet. I turned to her and extended my hand for them, nodding solemnly. She was hesitant, but passed them to me without a word. I unlocked the cell and swung open the barred door.

"Please, Leon, have a seat," I said, sitting on the hard bench that hung from the wall. "I think I can help to answer at least one of your questions."

I began to recount the tragic story to him. His mother had been trapped, floating lost and alone in the dimensional tunnel for years, only to be found by her double from this dimension. As a result, his mother was quite insane, killed her counterpart from this dimension, and set about to destroy the rest of the world, which, to her mind, should never have existed. Her irrational and ill-fated plan ended along with her life when she escaped into the dimensional tunnel at the same time as I myself threw her bomb through the portal. If she wasn't killed by the blast, she would have been pulled inescapably through the resulting rift, and into nothingness. It was only our plugging of the vortex that saved the rest of the doors, which were also being pulled slowly into Oblivion as well.

By the time I was finished, Leon's head was cushioned in his hands and his shoulders were slumped. But when he looked up, that same intense longing for justice was reflected in his tear filled eyes. No one with a heart could have denied him.

Gosalyn stepped past Noel and entered the cell. The distrust was gone, and there was only empathy in her eyes now as she looked at the grieving drake. "Let's go get them," she said.

The other Gosalyn was still clinging to Vivian as we re-entered the lab. Her wide innocent eyes took in the sight of all of us, and with a sigh of relief and a smile of gratitude, she rushed into Leon's arms. The two of them shared a silent embrace and then Leon turned to face us, his arms still around her. Vivian's distant expression made me wonder what things she had learned from this mysterious alternate Gosalyn.

"Do we have a plan?" Leon asked.

"I wish we knew exactly what their main goals were," our Gosalyn said.

"I think I can help somewhat, now," I interjected. "As we know, Leon has always intended to do away with the Noel from this universe. That plan has been confirmed," I said, giving a nod of thanks to the alternate Leon. "Now it appears he wishes to replace him with an agent of his own, possibly in a further effort to discredit or destroy SHUSH. However, Ardo's plans are not necessarily shared with the other Noel. Leon was only a convenient means to his end. It seems that each has his own agenda and goals in mind, hence they have not exhibited any real ability to cooperate or plan ahead. I can safely say that they have one important goal in common, though. Both want to be rid of our Noel."

Noel let out a humourless chuckle. "What did I do to deserve this?" he muttered with a wry grin, trying to make light of what was obviously an unnerving situation.

"Nothing is going to happen to you," Gosalyn firmly vowed, moving to his side protectively.

"Perhaps it is their disparate goals of which we can take advantage," I mused aloud.

"Divide and conquer?" Gosalyn replied with a feral smile. "I like that thought."

"You might want to act quickly on that," interjected Vivian thoughtfully. "I've investigated enough criminal types and you definitely don't want to give them time to get organized. As long as they both want Noel gone..."

"They're more likely to work together," Gosalyn finished for her, nodding her agreement soberly. "Well, they're no match for us, are they, J.G.?" She gave me a confident - almost eager grin.

"A strictly physical assault is not the main threat," I clarified. "If that was the case, we would have captured both of them much sooner. We have even succeeded in overpowering Leon with that nuisance of a toaster on his head. It has been the presence of his mechanical companion that has most impeded our efforts to apprehend him."

The other-world Leon leaned forward in interest. "Mechanical companion? Chrome looking animal skull? About so big?" He held his hands apart to demonstrate his question and we nodded. "I'll be... He's got himself a PLUTO."

"Pluto?" Noel asked.

"Position Locator and Universal Tracking Object." He spelled it out with an expression akin to reverence, but was met only with looks of confusion. "Let me explain. In my exploration of the tunnel, I've been to a number of other worlds. Some are very much like us, and some are very different. There is one whose economy depends on trading with others. I discovered them fairly early on in my exploration. They're only a few doors away from my dimension." He gestured aimlessly in the manner of a person giving road directions. "They developed dimensional technology like PLUTO to trade across the universes. Most of them are pretty scrupulous about dealing with folks from a lesser technologically advanced world. They wouldn't sell me anything, but they did let me study with them for a while." He shook his head and sighed. "Unfortunately, if one has connections to their black market, one can always find traders who are not as discerning about who they will deal with. Something as powerful as a PLUTO should never have made it into the hands of the likes of this world's Leon Ardo," he said, obviously envious in spite of himself. "Even seasoned dimension travellers must go to great lengths to acquire one."

Gosalyn, who had been studying Leon closely as he spoke, drew herself up and addressed him with practiced proficiency. "You consider yourself a 'seasoned dimension traveller'?"

"I suppose so," he replied with modesty.

"Then this probably wouldn't be the first time you've been here, right?"

Leon smiled sheepishly. "True. In fact, I have come here often."

"Really?" she asked guardedly.

Nodding, he continued. "But in my first visit I determined the similarities between my world and this and decided to keep my visits brief and concealed for fear of running into myself or others who know my counterpart here."

Unable to argue with that logic, Gosalyn nodded. I could tell by her expression, though, that she was reacting to this information with the same apprehension I had. The fact that our world had been studied by an extradimensional being without our knowledge was somewhat unsettling. Perceiving this, Leon tried to clarify.

"My stays have always been short," he explained, "and purely for scientific purposes. I have developed a fascination with the relationship between our worlds. They are so dissimilar, yet parallel one another so closely. I couldn't help but secretly seek out myself and others I knew here."

"You spied on us?" Gosalyn demanded.

"Gosalyn," I interceded. "It's obvious he had no ill intentions."

"It's true!" he quickly verified, becoming nervous under her scrutiny. "After all, it doesn't take a scientist to realize I couldn't trust myself - that is, this dimension's version of me." His grin was tolerant, as if he had just been caught by some practical joke. "And it took a bit for me to admit I could potentially trust this world's Noel Waddlemeyer."

"And I can understand his curiosity," Noel interjected in his defense. "It all sounds so incredible!" He turned to Leon, lured in by his own intense fascination. "There's something I don't understand, though. I thought all the doors into the other dimensions were locked."

"Oh, yes, they are," he replied. "They always have been, as far as I know. But thanks to my studies... Well, let me just show you." He raised the front of his shirt to reveal a complex metallic belt, studded with buttons. "My dimensional controller," he stated simply.

Noel started forward in amazement, but was stopped by Gosalyn. He cast her a reproachful look before sidestepping her. "This is unbelievable," he said to Leon in awe. "May I look at it more closely?"

Leon began to unfasten it when Gosalyn interceded. "Stop right there!" she said forcefully. "Just answer me this. Is hopping dimensions going to give us an advantage in capturing Ardo and that other Noel?"

Shrugging, Leon replied, "Unlikely. It would be foolish to search for them that way, considering the unlimited number of places they could be."

"Then put that thing away," she ordered him, and turned to her fiancé. "This is no time for your toys, Noel. We're trying to save your life here, not play mad scientist."

The other Gosalyn gasped and shrank back, looking horrified at her alternate self. She turned her fearful gaze to Noel as if expecting him to lash out in anger. Instead, of course, Noel only chuckled. "She knows me too well," he said. "You're right, though. We need to plan our next move. However," he said, turning back to Leon, "I would be interested in talking - later," he added quickly after a sidelong look of warning from Gosalyn.

She shook her head impatiently. "Let's just get back on track, okay?"

"Agreed," I said, somewhat overwhelmed by these revelations but not wishing to lose sight of our main objective. I turned to Leon. "Is there anything you've learned in your travels that will help us deal with the alternate Noel or Ardo?"

Leon considered for a moment, though his expression was doubtful.

"What we need to know," Gosalyn added, "is exactly what Ardo planned to do with the other Noel."

"Well, I think you should ask him," Vivian said simply, as if this plan posed no threat at all.

Gosalyn looked over to her mother, her serious countenance suddenly brightening. "Now that is the most sense anyone has made yet."

"There's no telling where they are right now," Noel commented. "I suppose we're going to have to wait until they show up again..."

"I've never been one for waiting," Gosalyn interrupted. With a knowing smile, she drew from her pocket a small whistle and gave it three sharp blows.

There was a collective gasp as we absorbed the impact of Gosalyn's rash action. She would later regret, as did we all, that Security backup was not called in before the inevitable chaos ensued. The room grew very still and with a slight outrushing of air, our world's Leon and the other Noel stood before us suddenly. They stumbled slightly at the transition, and looked about the lab, their mouths hanging open in disbelief. I got the impression we had interrupted an argument. The gleaming mechanical dog's head our Leon had designated as PLUTO still hovered protectively between them, perhaps intervening as a moderator in its own way.

Allowing them no time to recover from their unexpected summoning, Gosalyn and I drew our weapons and were immediately upon them. I was able to pin the evil Leon in a wrestler's hold, while Noel quickly removed his absurd QPIT headgear. The good Leon whisked the PLUTO device out of the way in an effort to deactivate it. Gosalyn struggled with the one who had impersonated her fiancé. With a snarl, he wrenched himself free of her grasp and backed himself into a corner. He stared at her and the gun she aimed steadily at his chest, calculating his next move. Something about his self-assured demeanour while he stood there seething in fury made him seem exceedingly dangerous.

Pushing the cuffed Leon towards my partner, I trained my own weapon on the evil Noel and instructed her, "Watch Ardo. I'll cuff this Noel."

"Yeah, right," she replied sarcastically, her focus never wavering from her target. "You watch Ardo, J.G. This one is mine."

I hesitated. Gosalyn was capable, but I didn't want to divide my attention while the other villain remained free.

"I'll watch him," Noel said.

"No!" she insisted, her eyes steadily focussed on the other Noel as she slowly advanced on him. "You keep away from him, Noel. That's an order." Without waiting for a reply or turning to look in her mother's direction, she asked, "Mom, you got Jackie?"

Vivian had taken the other Gosalyn to Noel's desk, out of harm's way. I didn't dare turn to look, but I did hear the sound of her purse opening, and the blackjack being withdrawn.

"Vivian, no," Noel protested. "Gosalyn, you can't expect -"

"Watch him," she instructed her mother, ignoring Noel's objection. Gosalyn was now within arm's reach of the alternate Noel and, with her gun still fixed on his chest, her other hand fished in her jacket pocket for her handcuffs.

"With pleasure." From the sound of Vivian's voice, she seemed to be enjoying herself immensely.

I wasn't sure if I agreed with Gosalyn's decision, but our options were limited, so I lead the brooding villain towards her mother.

Seeing his opportunity, the extradimensional Noel lashed forward as Gosalyn went to cuff