Family Fun in Michigan

After both groups had finished scouting the perimeter, the tired but worried Agents met back at the hideout. Neither had found any sign of the missing Agents.
“All we saw was a strange red and white bird about halfway around the perimeter.” said Agent A. “But it was getting dark and hard to see.”
“Hey! We saw that bird too. It was even in the same area you saw it in.” exclaimed Agent N.
“But that was all we saw.” Agent S added glumly. “I wish there was some easier way to find them.”
“We’ll have to check out the bird tomorrow. It’s to late to do anything tonight.” Agent J sighed. “I’m so worried. I hope they’re OK.”
“Yeah.” agreed Agent T. “But there’s nothing we can do about it tonight. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
Then the Agents realized they had forgotten to eat dinner with all the commotion and the missing Agents. So they pulled out a stash of emergency cereal rations and ate dry cereal for supper. None of them felt like going out to eat. Then they pulled out their sleeping bags and went to bed.

Meanwhile, Agents M and Q had also noted the late hour. Since it was getting dark, they brought in the kite. Then they went downstairs and set about getting ready for bed. They both knew that the twin bed would be far too small for both of them. However, they discovered that the bed was made of two mattresses stacked on top of each other, so they could remove the top mattress and divide the blankets. They did so, and in this way they both had a place to sleep. So the two Agents turned off the lights and went to sleep.

By now, night had fallen on the woods. It had grown dark, and there was a bandit’s moon. (This means that there is no moon.) Almost everyone in the forest was asleep, except for a few guards in the FBI camp, and the Man and his gang. But if they had known what the Man and his gang were up to that night, none of the people in the woods would have slept well that night. In fact, few would have slept at all. The Man and was gang were putting into action their biggest, baddest, boldest, most devious plan yet. This plan was the first step to their glory, fame, and money, and possibly taking over the world.

The next morning, the Agent Q was the first one up. He/she groaned as he/she remembered his/her predicament. Then he/she noticed a large shape on one side of the bed that had not been there the night before. He/she carefully climbed out of bed and fetched the flashlight he/she kept in his/her coat pocket. He/she carefully shined toward the object. It was a tent, like the kind the FBI used. Agent Q cautiously unzipped the tent and looked inside. He/she gasped. There was a man inside the tent!

© 2012 Christina Smith. All rights reserved.

“That’s a good idea.” Agent M said excitedly. “We could use these craft supplies.”
“The Agents began to examine the box of craft supplies. Inside was  some paper, a small ball of string, some paper plates, and some crayons.
But how could we attract other peoples attention without attracting the guards attention? WE could make a sign, but the guards would notice.” Agent M pointed out.
“Maybe we could make a kite.” suggested Agent Q. “We could fly it over the trail. Maybe someone will see it.”
“Good idea.” replied Agent M.”
So the Agents set to work on the kite. Agent M took two paper plates, and wrote SOS on them with a red crayon. Agent Q used the string to tie the plates together, but left most it to be the kite’s string.
Then the Agents went to fly the kite. First they opened the attic window. Fortunately, a nice strong wind was blowing. Unfortunately, it was rather gusty. The Agents let go of the kite. It caught an updraft, and sailed high  over the guards, who did not notice. But instead of going toward the trail, it flew sideways and darted up, down, and around.The Agents tried to guide it toward the trail, but it was no use. However, they agreed to leave the anyway. Maybe someone would see it there.

Meanwhile, Agents H, S, J, and N were scouting the perimeter of the northern part of the woods. So far they had found nothing. Now they neared the halfway point, where they would meet Agents P, T, and A coming from the opposite direction. They had found no sign of the missing Agents.
“Hey! What’s that?” Agent N pointed to a spot in the air near the border of the woods.
The other Agents turned to see what Agent N had spotted.
“Where is it?” asked Agent J.
“I think I just saw it go behind those trees.” said Agent S.
“It was probably a bird or something.” Agent H determined.
The Agents continued to scout the perimeter. However, it was getting dark. They had flashlights, but it was harder to scout in the dark. Every so often they gave the Agent bird call whistle. There was no reply. Eventually they passed the other Agents and soon finished scouting the perimeter, having found nothing. They returned to the hideout. rather downcast.They had found nothing. They hoped the other Agents had found something. Otherwise, the Agents would be ruined. They would have no choice but to go to the police. And maybe the two Agents were in danger. Things were looking pretty bad for the Agents.

© 2012 Christina Smith. All rights reserved.

Soon the Agents arrived at the FBI camp. They entered the camp in twos and threes, each group waiting to show itself. Once they were in the camp, they went to see Agents X and L. Then they explained what had happened.
Agent L frowned. “those two have enough sense to be back by now. It’ll be dark soon.”
“I think something is very wrong.” agreed Agent X. “So why don’t we arrange a search for those Agents?”
“Is there a way we can help?” asked Agent T.
The two FBI agents looked at each other.
“You said that they were searching the North. And Agents H and S saw them in the Northeast.” said Agent L.
“They seemed to be scouting the perimeter like we were.” Agent S added helpfully.
“Then why don’t you scout the perimeter and see what you can find.” suggested Agent X.
“But stick together. If you need to split up, use walkie-talkies.” added Agent L.
So the Agents departed and met back at the hideout. They agreed to split into two groups and work their way around the perimeter in opposite directions. They also agreed that each group would have two walkie-talkies and meet at base in an hour. Thus began their search.

Meanwhile, Agent M and Q had searched the attic. There were boxes full of old clothes, and an old dollhouse. But most interesting was the box of old craft supplies and window, which actually opened. But they couldn’t just climb out the window and escape, because there were men patrolling around the outside of the house, and no where to hide for several yards. Now the two Agents decided to head back downstairs. It was getting to be dinner time, and they knew the Man might come back to check on them soon.
Sure enough, after they had just finished putting the desk back, the door opened a tiny bit. Put of the crack they could see the end of a gun and some bags, which were flung into the room. Then the door closed and they heard it lock.
Agent Q shook his/her head as he/she looked at the bags. The Man, for their dinner, had purchased two hamburgers from McDonald’s, and a large fry.
Agent M sighed. “McDonald’s is not my favorite, but I suppose.”
“I really don’t like it either, but who knows when we’ll eat again?” replied Agent Q.
So they two of them began to eat their hamburgers. They decided to save a little, in case they had no breakfast the next morning. Then they climbed into the attic.
Agent M looked out the window. “If it weren’t for the guards, and I had some rope, we could escape.” he/she noted.
“Even if we made a rope out of bedsheets or something, the guards are still a problem.” agreed Agent Q. “But what if instead of trying to escape, we could try to help others rescue us?”

© 2012 Christina Smith. All rights reserved.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Agent team had returned to the hideout. It had been an hour and a half since they’d started out, and Agents M and Q still weren’t back. The Agents were beginning to worry.
“We should have taken walkie-talkies. Then we could contact them.” sighed Agent H.
“But Agent M didn’t specify a time limit. Maybe they’re still searching.” Agent T pointed out.k
“But it’s dinner time. We’ll be leaving to eat soon. They knew that.” argued Agent S.
“I think we need to call the police and contact everyone.” declared Agent J, 15 minutes later when they should have been heading out to go to dinner.
“But we would have to tell them everything. The Agent team would end.”exclaimed Agent S.
“We need to do it anyway. There’s no other way.” declared Agent J.
“You want to give up the Agent team? No way! I am NOT giving up the Agent team. What would Agent M want us to do?” Agent T asked. “Besides, we could always go searching ourselves.”
“No way!” cried Agent J. “We could get ourselves lost!”
So the Agents continued to argue about what to do. They had planned to go to dinner and sleep at the hideout, but now everyone was arguing. Some thought they should wait, or go searching themselves. Other agreed with Agent J and wanted to go to the police. They would have argued the night away, but then Agent A showed up.
Agent A had not been able to make it to the first part of the meeting, but planned to go to dinner and the sleepover and miss the usual activities. However, he/she’d been running late. Now he/she entered the hideout. “What’s going on?” he/she asked. “I could hear you from the trail.”
“They want to give up the Agent team.” declared Agent T.
“Why?” asked Agent A.
“Because Agents M and Q are missing. We went searching for the poacher and they never came back.” explained Agent P.
“OK, start from the beginning. What did I miss?” asked Agent A.
The Agents explained how they had found out about the poacher and went to search for him. They told about how they had become worried when the two Agents did not return and begun to argue about what to do.
“I think we need to pray.” said Agent N.
Everyone agreed. So they sat in a circle and prayed.
Then Agent H said, “We need to contact Agent L. She’ll know what to do.”
So the Agents got up and left the hideout. They crept through the darkening woods, lit only by the glow of their flashlights. They made their way silently through the forest. Most of the Agents were worried. What would happen? Were Agents M and Q in danger? Would it be their fault that they’d failed to rescue them? Would they have to give up the Agent team forever?

© 2012 Christina Smith. All rights reserved.

Now, neither Agent, of course, had any experience with being kidnapped. They had read books where characters got kidnapped, seen movies where characters got kidnapped, and knew that then, characters were kidnapped all the time. For example, the Hardy boys and Nancy Drew were kidnapped or trapped in every book. And they always escaped and saved the day.
But being logical, Agents M and Q knew that these stories were fiction. They had simply never expected to be kidnapped. Such were the thoughts racing through their heads as they were locked in a room in the house.
They also thought about their families and loved ones, and the other Agents. Would they ever see them again?
In stories, characters would escape and save the day. But this was not a story. Anyhow, the Agents sat in silence in the room.
Finally, Agent M broke the silence. “What do you think he’ll do with us?” he/she asked.
“I honestly have no idea. I feel like I’m part of a story.” replied Agent Q. “I mean who even dreams of catching an FBI Agent and being kidnapped by a poacher?”
“All right then. ” Agent M declared. “Maybe there’s a way to escape. I think we’ve found our hideout.” He/she double checked the door. It was locked, and there was no keyhole to unlock it.
Meanwhile, Agent Q checked the window. It wouldn’t open, and they were two stories up besides.
Next, the Agents proceeded to check the rest of the room.
“Hey!” called Agent Q. “I think I’ve found something!”
Agent M saw that he/she was in the room’s small closet. He/she came over to look.
“Look!” Agent Q pointed at the ceiling. Sure enough, there was a trapdoor in the ceiling of the closet. Agent M reached up and opened it. Unfortunately, there was no staircase or ladder, so the Agents could not climb into the attic.
“That’s a shame. We can’t get up there.” sighed Agent M.
“Maybe we could find a stool or something.” suggested Agent Q.
However, the room, which was a simple bedroom, had only a twin size bed and a desk and chair in one corner. The Agents took the chair into the closet. Then Agent M climbed onto the chair. Now he/she could easily reach the edge of the trapdoor, but he/she wasn’t high enough to climb into the attic. He/she climbed off the chair.
Then Agent M had an idea. “Let’s bring the desk over. Maybe we can put the chair on top of the desk.”
“I’m not sure if the desk is sturdy enough to hold you and the chair.” replied Agent Q.
But Agent M had already moved the chair and was pushing the desk toward the closet. Once he/she had it aligned under the trapdoor, he/she climbed on top of it. Now he/she could see into the attic.
“Pass me the chair.” he/she called.
Agent Q passed him/her the chair. Agent M climbed onto it and managed to climb into the attic. Agent Q climbed up, and Agent M helped him/her into the attic.

© 2012 Christina Smith. All rights reserved.