Family Fun in Michigan

The next day the Agents met back at the hideout.
“I’ve been thinking about what the men were saying,” announced Agent Q, “and I’m wondering when and where they will carry out their plan. We know they plan to sneak into some sort of event which requires tickets, and avenge someone by committing a horrible crime with guns, presumably murder. But we don’t know who they will murder, or when, or where they will do it.”
“We need to record their conversations,” determined Agent T. “Then we can figured out who their target is and when and where they will carry out the crime.”

“I just got a great idea!” exclaimed Agent P. “What if we could hide a bug inside their base?”
“That’s a great idea!” agreed Agent H. “But I don’t think we have any bugs, or money to buy them.”

“Then how will we record their conversations?” asked Agent N. “I don’t think we have a voice recorder at all.”
“Does anyone have a voice recorder they could bring in?” inquired Agent M.
“I do!” exclaimed Agent T.
“I think I do,” contributed Agent Q.
“Bring those to our next meeting,” Agent M told them, “but for now I think we’ll have to do without them.”

“Plus, everything that the robot has overheard has been recorded,” added Agent A.

Just then, Agent S leaped to his/her feet. “Look! There they are.” He/she pointed to the screen which was showing the feed from Agent R’s camera.
Sure enough, the Man and his comrade were walking down the trail, and the Agents could hear them through the microphone.

“Are you kidding? He probably had some secret tracking device or something that led the FBI right to us—unless you think they were tracking the XXXXXX,” the Man was saying.
“But wouldn’t it be easier to kill an FBI Agent or something?” his comrade asked. “I mean really, killing the President? They hung people after Abe Lincoln’s assassination, you know.”
“Shhh! You can’t go around saying that!” the Man told him.
After that, they were too far away to be picked up by Agent R’s voice recorder.

Back at the hideout, the Agents were very excited.
“Oh my gosh! They’re planning to kill the President!” exclaimed Agent T. “This is terrible! What are we going to do?”
“We need to go to the police,” declared Agent J. “This is way too serious. We can’t just stand there and watch them plan crime of the century and not tell anyone.”
“We shouldn’t go to the police,” countered Agent P. “We need to go to the FBI, or even the President himself. But who will believe us?”

“We do have the video recordings,” Agent A reminded everyone.
“Still, they might think that the video recordings are a hoax, and how will we explain how we recorded them in the first place? They’d never believe anything about the FBI, and the FBI would deny it to keep us a secret. They can’t let word get out that a bunch of XXXXXX prevented the President from being kidnapped.”
“The FBI might believe us,” suggested Agent N.
“But how will we inform them?” asked Agent H, “I don’t think they’re getting XXXXXXXXX’s emails. Otherwise they would have sent a reply by now.”

“I think we need to have a back up plan in case no one believes us, and the FBI doesn’t respond. I agree with XXXXXXXXX, we can’t just watch the crime of the century unfold. We need to do something about it, even if no one else does,” declared Agent Q.
“Are you kidding?” asked Agent M. “You plan to have us stop some men from killing the President? Have you considered the possibility that they’ll kill us if they find out?”
“But I think XXXXXXXXX is right. We can’t just watch it happen. And we’d be careful, and not try anything too dangerous,” argued Agent S.

“Aren’t you guys forgetting something?” asked Agent H. “We don’t even know when and where this is going to happen. If the President is in Washington D.C., we can’t easily go there to try to help him.”
“I think it will probably be nearby,” suggested Agent Q. “Otherwise, why would the men have a hideout here? Their hideout would be closer to Washington D.C. Though I suppose they might have plans to travel there that we just haven’t —–”

“Oh my gosh! I just remembered!” Agent S interrupted. “The President is coming to give a speech this weekend in XXXXXXXX at the XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX!”
“Really? Then maybe that’s where the Man is going to kill the President!” exclaimed Agent A.
“Actually, I’m hoping that we can prevent the Man from killing the President,” corrected Agent Q. “But I think that it just might be the place where he’s going to try to kill him.”
“But what can we do about it?” sighed Agent J. “I don’t want us to be in danger like we were before. The men will kill us if we try to stop them.”

“Can’t we just tell the FBI?” asked Agent P. “Then they could stop the men and we wouldn’t have to.”
“That would be great, but I’m not sure if we’ll be able to contact them. The FBI haven’t been responding to XXXXXXXXX’s emails and how else can we get word to them?” Agent T pointed out.
“We could send an anonymous note to the police. Then they would inform the FBI,” suggested Agent N.
“But would they believe us? We’d have to send some sort of proof. Even then, they might think it’s a hoax,” determined Agent H.
“What we need to do is get word to Agent X or Agent L. They would believe us. But if they won’t respond to email, how can we contact them?” wondered Agent M.
“We could call them,” proposed Agent P, “but we don’t have their phone number.”

“We could call the President and ask him to tell them,” suggested Agent A.
“But you can’t just call and talk to the President. I don’t know if the President answers phone calls at all,” Agent J pointed out.
“Maybe we could send a letter!” exclaimed Agent P. “Doesn’t the President get a lot of letters?”
“We’d have to hurry,” advised Agent H. “Even if we send the letter now, I’m not sure if the President will get it in time. Besides, he might think it’s a hoax anyway.”
“Well, I think it’s worth a try,” declared Agent T. “Let’s get started right now.”

© 2013 Christina Smith. All rights reserved.

None of the Agents said a word as they crept around the grove of trees. It was relatively empty except for a stump and some low bushes. The Agents carefully peeked into the bushes and examined the stump and the trees in the grove, but there was no sign of the men.

Suddenly Agent T froze. He/she put his/her finger to his/her lips. All the Agents stopped what they were doing to determine what was going on. Then there was a sound; the faint sound of someone talking. Agent J gestured to the other Agents to follow him/her and led everyone out of the clearing where it was safe to talk.

“Did you hear that?” asked Agent T. “I could hear someone talking, and it was probably the men.”
“I didn’t hear anything,” replied Agent H, somewhat annoyed. “Where were you standing?”
“Right near the stump,” Agent T replied.
“Then maybe that’s where the entrance to their base is!” exclaimed Agent P.

Just then Agents M, S, and Q came walking down the trail.
“Did you find anything?” asked Agent M excitedly.
“We didn’t find any entrance to their base, but we could hear them talking,” replied Agent A. “We think their base might be near the stump.”
“Can you show us?” asked Agent Q.
“Sure,” replied Agent N. “Let’s go!” He/she turned to walk back into the clearing.

So the group of followed Agent N back to the clearing. There all the Agents gathered around the stump and waited quietly. Sure enough, they could hear the faint murmur of voices, too quiet to understand. Then Agent H signaled the other Agents and they exited the grove.

“I just got a great idea!” exclaimed Agent S, once they were out of the grove. “We should use the listening glass technique to listen to what they’re saying.”
“The listening glass technique? What’s that?” asked Agent P.
“It’s when you put a glass against a wall or other surface so you can hear what the people on the other side are saying.” replied Agent S.
“That’s a great idea!” exclaimed Agent M. “Does anyone want to run down to the hideout to get one?”
“I will,” volunteered Agent S.
“And I’ll go with XXXXXXXXX,” added Agent H. “We’ll grab a few of them so we can use more than one at a time.

So the two Agents set off down the trail and soon returned with three listening glasses. Then the Agents reentered the grove of trees.
Once the Agents were gathered around the stump, Agents H, S, and M took the listening glasses and placed them against the stump. Then they crouched down and placed their ears against the glasses. Sure enough, they could hear the men talking.

“But then what? How will we get away?” asked the Man’s comrade.
“I’m not sure,” replied the Man. “The FBI will have guards at every exit and immediately begin a search of the area. I’m thinking we might want to stash the guns and find disguises.”
“Couldn’t we hide on the roof of the building?” asked the Man’s comrade.
“No, but maybe we can go up to the roof and then climb down the fire escape. That’s a great idea!” exclaimed the Man.
“So, will we walk or will there be a car to drive us away?” inquired the Man’s comrade.
“I’m thinking we’ll use skateboards,” the Man replied. “Then we can ride to the train station and take the train out of town and far, far away. Then we’ll begin a long tour of Canada, with just the two of us, of course.”
“I’m always astounded by your genius plans,” the man’s comrade replied. “And now I’m off to practice my skateboarding.”

Agents S, H, and M looked up from their glasses and signaled for everyone to leave the clearing. Once they were outside the clearing Agent M didn’t stop. “Keep moving!” he/she exclaimed. “The men will be coming any moment!”
The Agents finally stopped once they reached their hideout. Here, Agents M, S, and H told the other Agents what they’d heard.

“Those men are definitely up to something,” worried Agent J. “Something really big. I think we should call the police.”
“And tell them what? We don’t have any real proof that they’re doing anything wrong,” countered Agent H. “Besides, what about the FBI?”
“I still haven’t heard from them,” Agent M sighed. “We might want to try a different method of reaching them.”
“Plus, would anyone really believe us?” asked Agent A. “Like you said, we don’t have any proof.”
“We should have recorded their conversation,” sighed Agent Q.
“In the future we’ll have to record all of their conversations,” agreed Agent M.
Just then Agent P gasped. “Wow, it’s getting late. I really have to get going.”
“Yeah, me too,” agreed Agent T.
“I make a motion that we adjourn the meeting until tomorrow,” declared Agent J.
“I second that motion!” exclaimed Agent N.
“This meeting is now adjourned,” announced Agent M. “We’ll meet back here tomorrow at XX:XX.”

© 2013 Christina Smith. All rights reserved.

We wrote and recorded another letterboxing song: “Let’s Go Box!”
It is about 70 seconds long. You can hear all of us (Mysterina, Mysteryas, TrailMark, and MichKathy) on vocals. Enjoy!

Click here to listen to “Let’s Go Box!”

Here are the lyrics:

MichKathy’s Bingo card (with help from Mysterina):

TrailMark’s Bingo card (with help from Mysteryas):

When the Agents arrived at the hideout the next day, Agent M was very excited.
“I was going to email the FBI to ask about the Man, when I discovered that there was a message from them,” he/she told them. “It was warning us to be careful, because apparently, one of the men who kidnapped the President is still on the loose. He is very dangerous and may be looking for revenge.”
“Revenge?” exclaimed Agent A. “Wasn’t that what the Man was saying yesterday?”
“Yeah. He said something about avenging someone,” agreed Agent T.
“What if the Man is the wanted person that the FBI is looking for?” asked Agent S.
“We should inform the FBI right away,” exclaimed Agent H.
“I’ll get right on it,” replied Agent M. “But what should we do in the meantime?”
“We should follow the Man again,” suggested Agent J. “Only this time we should have a few people waiting in the area where he disappeared. Maybe they can discover how he did it.”
“But how will they hide without the Man discovering them while he prepares to disappear?” asked Agent P. “Maybe there’s a secret passage in that part of the woods, and the Man or his comrade could go to open a trapdoor and find an Agent hiding behind a tree.”
“What if someone were to casually walk by just as the men were about to disappear?” suggested Agent Q.
“But how would they know when the men were about to disappear?” asked Agent A.
“Someone following them could give the Agent signal when they neared the bend,” replied Agent Q.
“Great idea!” cried Agent M. “Any volunteers to follow the Man and his comrade?”
“We will!” exclaimed Agents A, P, and N.
“I call watching them disappear!” exclaimed Agents T and J at the same time.
“And I’ll go with them,” added Agent H.

The rest of the Agents agreed to stay at the hideout and keep in contact with the others by walkie-talkie.
So everyone except Agents M, Q, and S departed from the hideout. Agents A, N, and P headed for the spot where Agent R stood watching the intersection. But Agents T, H, and J headed for the spot where the Man and his comrade had disappeared.

Once the group of Agents arrived at Agent R’s intersection, they waved to Agents M, Q, and S, who were watching through the cameras. Then they hid in the woods nearby and began to wait. Sure enough, they soon saw the Man and his comrade coming down the trail.

“But how will we get in?” the Man’s comrade was asking. “They’ll be able to track us if we buy tickets.”
“We’re not going to buy tickets,” the Man replied. “We’ll get in the same way as the guns. Or, we can make fake tickets.”
“Wow. You really are a genius,” his comrade replied. “I’m really glad that you’re behind this plan, and not some other idiot.”

Then the men were far enough along the trail for the Agents to begin to follow them.

So the Agents followed the men down the trail until the men came to the bend. Then they gave the secret Agent birdcall whistle.

Meanwhile, Agents T, H and J heard the whistle and began to walk toward the spot where the men had disappeared. They arrived just in time to see the men hurrying into the woods. They followed the men into a grove of trees, but when the Agents entered the grove, there was no sign of the men. Agents J, H, and T returned to the trail where Agents A, P, and N were waiting.

“Did you find anything?” Agent P asked eagerly.
“We followed them into the woods, but they disappeared into a grove of trees,” replied Agent T.
“Then they must have an entrance to a base there!” exclaimed Agent N. “Let’s go look for it. Come on!”
“First we should contact the hideout and tell them what we found,” advised Agent J.
“Good idea. I’m sure they’re wondering what we found,” agreed Agent A.
So Agent T pulled out his/her walkie-talkie and radioed Agents M, Q, and S, who were at the hideout.
“Outspy to base, do you read me?”
“We read you loud and clear,” replied Agent Q.
“We followed the men into the woods, but they disappeared into a grove of trees. We’re going to look around for a possible entrance to some sort of base.” Agent T told him/her.
“We’ll meet you there,” agreed Agent Q, “But be careful. The men are probably still inside. Don’t let them know you’re there.”
“Gotcha. Over and Out.” Agent T put away the walkie talkie. “Let’s go.” he/she told the group. “But be careful. We can’t let the men know that we’re here.”
So the group of Agents stealthily entered the grove of trees.

© 2012 Christina Smith. All rights reserved.