Episode 17

By Mardel

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Teaser

Three boys about twelve or thirteen years old crept around an old log cabin. The leader of the group, a tall boy with dark hair, climbed into a back window and then motioned for the other two to follow him. He moved to a battered desk inside what looked like a simple office.

"We have the disk, this shouldn't take long." One of the boys moved to boot up a desktop computer. His hands flew across the keyboard as he hacked into the security system and downloaded the information he wanted. The other two boys kept watch as he worked, one stationed at the front of the building, the other keeping an eye out the window they came in through.

"Hurry up, I think someone's coming," the leader whispered urgently.

"Okay, keep your pants on. I'm done." The hacker hit one last key and the message came up: 'transfer complete'.

They shut off the computer and climbed back out the way they'd come in, making sure no one was in the vicinity as they hustled off back towards their cabin, passing the carved wooden sign proclaiming this rustic little oasis as Camp Tinnerman, Scout Council of Southern California.

"Man, that was great," one boy, excited by their little hacking trip to the main office of the camp, proclaimed gleefully as they ducked into their temporary dwelling.

"Don't get all worked up, we still have a lot more information to get before we can put this plan into action," the ringleader reminded him.

"Yeah, right. I know," the enthusiast agreed, neither his grin nor his elation diminished by the reminder.

"It was kind of fun hacking into the main system, even if it was just for a stupid ole medical file," the boy who actually did the keyboard work grinned as well.

Any further gloating was cut short by the announcement over the loudspeaker system; "All scouts report to the mess hall area, all scouts report to the mess hall area."

"Come on stash that somewhere safe," the leader ordered the hacker. The younger boy scrounged in his duffel bag, extracting his Scout Manual, and tucked the disk inside, stuffing it under a collection of dirty socks and grimy jeans for safekeeping. Together, the trio joined the mad dash for the mess hall.

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::Cue Theme Music::

There once was a tale about a man who could turn invisible. I thought it was only a story, until it happened to me. OK, so here's how it works: There's this stuff called 'quicksilver' that can bend light. My brother and some scientists made it into a synthetic gland, and that's where I came in. See, I was facing life in prison and they were looking for a human experiment. So we made a deal; they put the gland in my brain, and I walk free. The operation was a success... but that's when everything started to go wrong.

::Music Fade Out::

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Act One

Darien slouched along the hall, head down, shoulders slumped, following his smaller partner towards the Official's office.

Bobby Hobbes waited for him outside the glass door, frowning at the unhappy air his lanky partner displayed. It had been weeks now since the debacle that had nearly put Fawkes behind bars again, this time permanently, the victim of an ingenious frame by none other than his old nemesis, Arnaud. Bobby knew he had betrayed his own cardinal rule -- never bail on your partner -- and it rankled that it was Darien who'd suffered for it. The hope that his partner would forgive and forget was obviously a false one, and it was beginning to dawn on him that until he said the words, Darien was likely to remain depressed and withdrawn. Bobby swallowed. He missed the easy camaraderie that they usually shared. More to the point, he missed the friendship. He watched Darien's approach, the taller man not raising his eyes from the floor.

"Look, I want to say something," Bobby started.

"Yeah, what?" Darien glared at him, then looked away.

"I was wrong, I'm sorry." Hobbes fidgeted awkwardly, then continued, "I know you better than to ever believe you'd do what they said when you got thrown in jail. I didn't back you up. Partners back each other up. It'll never happen again." Bobby tried to make eye contact with his partner but Darien avoided his gaze.

"Yeah, you were wrong. I'd never kill anyone just for kicks. I didn't even kill Arnaud when I had the chance," Darien reminded him sharply.

"I know, I know." Bobby shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "But the DNA evidence they had was hard to argue with."

Darien finally looked at Bobby, and Hobbes winced at the hurt in the dark eyes that met his. "Yeah, well, I know you helped me get out and prove it wasn't me at least."

"So we okay now? Can we go back to our usual way of working together?" Hobbes asked, worried that Darien was still angry. "You gonna talk to me now?" He eyed his tall partner, hoping his efforts to make amends had worked.

Hobbes watched as Darien considered: either he would accept Hobbes' apology and they could begin to mend their friendship, or they'd be reduced to working together without the feeling of absolute trust they'd once had in each other. Anxiously, he watched emotions flit over Darien's face as his partner arrived at the same conclusion.

"Yeah, we're cool." Darien placed a hand on Bobby's shoulder and squeezed for a second. "Let's go find out what the 'Fish wants." He suggested with a wry smile, the gloom that had hovered over him for weeks lifting with the touch, and he followed his partner into The Official's office.

They took their usual seats, Bobby near the window, Darien near the wall. Eberts nodded to them both, but remained silent. The Official looked up from the file he was reading, closed it and cleared his throat.

"Gentlemen, it seems the Agency has been assigned a mission of a rather delicate nature," the Official began.

"'Delicate,' you mean like politically?" Darien asked.

"Or 'delicate,' as in someone is suspected of sleeping with the wrong team?" Bobby smirked.

"It could be very embarrassing if other countries learn that there is an information leak from some of our top government officials," the Official scowled.

"So you want us to plug the leak?" Bobby asked, leaning back in his seat.

"Eberts." The Official nodded for his assistant to pass out the files he'd made up for the agents.

"It seems the only connection between the sources of the suspected leaks is the fact that the sons of various government employees all attend the same Boy Scout Camp," Eberts informed them as he handed them each a file.

"Boy Scout Camp? Are you kidding me?" Darien said his voice rising with the question.

"We have arranged with Camp Tinnerman for you two to pose as counselors. You will each be in charge of a cabin of scouts," the Official informed them.

Darien exchanged looks with Bobby. He did not like the idea of being a Boy Scout counselor. After losing Adam, he didn't think being around a bunch of kids would be such a good idea. He didn't want to risk getting emotionally attached.

Bobby, on the other hand, looked happy about the assignment.

"Uniforms? You want me to wear a Scout leader uniform?" Darien protested, looking up from the supply list.

"Yes. And I expect you to be convincing," the Official warned him.

Eberts handed Darien a copy of the Scout Leader Handbook.

"I'm a little rusty on scout rules. Got one of those for me?" Hobbes asked, lifting his hand so the Official would focus his attention on his senior agent.

Eberts turned to the bookcase behind the Official's desk and picked up the second copy of the handbook he had managed to locate. He handed it to Bobby.

"Thanks Eberts, it's been awhile." Bobby nodded and tucked the book into the file on his lap.

"You are expected at the camp this afternoon, so get your stuff together and get moving," the Official ordered, dismissing them.

"You got it, Chief, we'll get right on it." Bobby stood.

Darien rolled his eyes, stood in a graceful yet somehow insolent manner, and followed Hobbes from the office.

"This will be a walk in the park." Bobby turned to his partner as soon as they were in the hall. "Fresh air, sunshine, molding some young boys in the ways of duty, honor and country," Bobby smiled, walking ramrod straight down the hall.

Darien slouched beside him as usual, his tall frame bowed slightly to disguise his height. "I'm glad you think this will be fun. I didn't like camp all that much." He glanced at the list Eberts had provided them, noting the over two dozen items he needed to bring with him to camp.

"Camp, but was it Boy Scout Camp? There is a difference between Scout Camp and just sending the kids to summer camp," Bobby stated.

"It was Scout Camp. Uncle Pete thought it would put some discipline in my life," Darien admitted.

"You must not have gone along with the program," Bobby observed.

"Not much. A couple of the classes were cool, like archery, but I only stuck it out for a few weeks."

"Come on, we have to pick up our uniforms then pack the rest of the stuff on this list." Bobby had a good idea what would be required; he was pretty sure he had most of the things in his closet at home.

"I'm going to have to stop by a camping supply place. I don't have but two things on the list: a pocket knife and a flashlight."

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Hobbes drove Golda to a nearby camping supply store and ushered his partner inside.

"Why do I need all of this stuff? Aren't we staying in cabins?" Darien grumbled.

"Yeah, it isn't roughing it much, but you need at least some of this stuff: three uniform shirts, two pairs of shorts, and some long pants. You can read the list for yourself. Find the duds, my friend. I'll get the rest of the bare essentials you have to have." Bobby grinned and moved towards the part of the shop that displayed all the equipment.

Darien sighed and moved to the rack of shirts. He located three short-sleeved shirts in the tall section, then dug around in the shelves that held pants and shorts. He could only find one pair of shorts in his size and no pants long enough.

"Are you finding everything you need?" the sales clerk asked from behind Darien.

"Not really. Do you have any more 32 shorts?" Darien turned to face the young man.

"We just got in a shipment of uniforms. I'll check. Was there anything else I should look for?" he seemed eager to help.

"Yeah, pants, 32/34, thanks." Darien nodded.

"I'll be right back."

"Hey, Fawkes do you want a blue or purple carabiner ?" Hobbes called from two aisles over.

"Purple. You know I like purple," Darien answered.

Bobby was gathering a basketful of small items from the list. He had narrowed it down from over two dozen things to an even dozen that he was sure his partner would find a use for over the week they were expecting to spend at camp.

"You're in luck. We have both the shorts and the pants in the sizes you wanted." The eager young clerk returned carrying the clothing.

"Great, just great." Darien rolled his eyes and went to get Hobbes.

"You ready?" Darien hoped this was all going to be paid for on the Agency dime.

"Yeah, I got just the really important stuff from the list." Bobby pushed the basket into Darien's middle so he could carry it up to the counter.

"Thanks. You sure I'll need all this?" Darien looked over the contents. He wasn't sure in a week he'd need a canteen, flashlight, first aid kit, matches, and the eight other things.

"You need a sleeping bag and a day pack too." Bobby added moving towards the next aisle over.

Darien frowned and carried his collection of stuff up to the counter, then returned to join his partner in picking out a sleeping bag.

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"Come on, Fawkes, hustle up there, we have to get on the road if we're going to make it to the camp on time." Bobby stood in Darien's living room in a scout leader's uniform, using the reflection in one of Fawkes' prints to straighten his collar. He looked good, the dark pants and khaki shirt very similar to his old Marine uniform.

Darien emerged from the bathroom, fussing with his shirt and tugging at his waistband. "These things don't fit me right," he complained.

"It's just a shirt and pants, Fawkes, what's not to fit?"

"I don't know, they feel all stiff and formal, almost like that damn tux," Darien groused. He'd tucked in the shirt, like Bobby had instructed him, on the way from the camping supply store. But he was so used to his casual retro look that it seemed unnatural for him to be tucked in.

"Well deal with it. Where's your duffel bag with the rest of the stuff we got?" Bobby looked past his partner into the bathroom where Darien had been trying to stuff several bottles of hair products into his bag.

Bobby shook his head, zipped the bag shut and hefted it to his shoulder. "Come on, and don't forget your hat."

Darien frowned picked up the bright red baseball cap and followed his partner.

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Camp Tinnerman was located on the shore of Lake Darby in Riverside county, a few hours drive from San Diego and LA. Hobbes managed to arrive with ten minutes to spare for their introduction to the camp by the man in charge.

"Mr. Fawkes, Mr. Hobbes, I'll refrain from using your titles in case anyone overhears me." Ed Escobar greeted the two men as they arrived. He was in his forties, tall, lean with short salt-and-pepper hair and a mustache.

"This looks like a nice place. What kind of kids can we expect?" Bobby asked after they all shook hands.

"Thank you, we try to keep the camp in top shape. The scouts that come here come from all over the Southern California area, so we get all economic levels. But we do get the sons of many powerful men, both in business and government. That is why you're here; it is thought there's a link between the boys' attendance at this camp and the information that was intercepted," Ed explained.

Escobar led the way across the main compound towards the rows of cabins. "Mr. Fawkes, this will be your cabin. You'll have ten boys to supervise, ranging from age ten to thirteen." He showed them the inside of the large cabin; it had six bunk beds and one single bed behind a partition but still in the same large room. It was rustic but clean and neat.

"Where is the bathroom?" Darien asked, praying it wasn't going to be an outhouse.

"The community bathroom is just down the path there. Your cabin and two others share one of the six facilities. I faxed a copy of the rules and information you'd need to your superior."

"Yeah, we got it." Bobby nodded at Darien to play along like he'd done this before.

Ed led them down the path a short distance to the next cabin. "This will be your cabin, Mr. Hobbes. Your scouts will be of the same age range. We only have one session with older scouts; it's usually at the end of summer. There will be a few younger scouts in camp but they are day campers and live locally. Any questions?"

"How long until we meet our kids?" Darien asked, a little apprehensive about being in charge of ten boys. It wouldn't be the same as hanging around with Adam. But at least he had a clue of what boys that age liked.

"The bus arrives just before dinner, so about an hour," Escobar answered as he checked his watch.

"Great, thanks Ed, we'll get settled then." Bobby shook his hand again assuring him they could handle it.

"Did you hear that? A community bathroom. I thought I'd left that all behind when you let them throw me in prison with Dante," Darien complained.

"Big deal. It's not like you're going to have to worry about getting jumped in the shower room here," Bobby dismissed Darien's complaint.

"Yeah, well, I hope it doesn't take very long to crack this case," Darien sighed.

"Go unpack your stuff and meet me back here in ten." Bobby pushed Darien back towards his cabin. "And look over the map he gave us - and the rules, while you're at it."

"Right." Darien frowned down at the map Mr. Escobar had handed each of them when he'd greeted them at the main office. It showed a large collection of buildings, clearings and the lake area with a dock and canoes. Each cabin had an animal name, and there was a large dining room near the center of the circle of cabins. The lake lay along the north edge of the camp. Darien noted that there was another camp across the lake from Tinnerman. He wondered if there were any female counselors there.

Darien carried his duffel bag in from the porch of his cabin, noting that he was going to be a member of Wolf cabin. Idly, he wondered what Hobbes had ended up with. He unpacked his shirts and pants and stowed his shower kit in the top drawer of his small bedside table. He put the rest of his stuff still in the bag under his bed. He didn't see any point in unpacking things he might never get around to using. He was about to join Bobby when he remembered to grab his hat. He tried it on, checking his reflection in the small mirror near the door. He'd worked on the brim a little on the drive down. It was now bowed across his forehead, instead of the flat straight brim it had been.

Bobby was waiting for him on the porch of his cabin. Darien noted it was Bear cabin. Not bad, at least they weren't the rabbits or some other wimpy animal.

"Looking more like a Scout Master there now, Fawkes. Did you look over that list of rules?" Hobbes was standing at parade rest, his old Marine Corps training kicking in.

"Oh right, no, not yet." Darien pulled the list out of his pocket and scanned the list. "Man, they don't give the kids much room for fun, do they?"

"I don't know, seems to me there's plenty of stuff for them to have a good time doing while they're here. Canoeing, fishing, hiking, campfire stories and songs," Bobby pointed out.

"Yeah, but look at these rules; 'no fighting, cursing, running on pathways. Scouts are expected to wear a clean, neat uniform during their entire stay. Keep their bunk and cabin clean, share cleaning of the bathroom duties with the other two cabins," Darien read from the list.

"Sounds like reasonable rules to me. They aren't here to run wild, Fawkes. Scouting is about building boys into responsible citizens and leaders."

"Easy there, Hobbes, you're starting to sound like an escapee from the Hitler youth movement." Darien was kidding, but he had always hated rules.

Hobbes frowned at his partner and stepped down off the porch. "Come on, let's look around a little before we have to meet the buses."

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The area the buses arrived at an hour later was down near the lake. Darien noted that there were several adults gathered at the parking area to meet the buses. Ed Escobar was there with about ten other people.

As the buses began to arrive, two young women stepped out on to the front steps of the mess hall to watch the kids arrive.

"Oh my God! CJ, look." The shorter of the two women motioned towards Darien and Bobby walking down the path from the cabin.

"Umm, very nice. I didn't hear we have new cabin leaders. Who are they?"

"I don't know but the tall one is mine; I saw him first."

"Oh please, Ashley, he's gorgeous, but he's like a foot taller than you."

"I don't care. He's beautiful. I could just knock him down and lick him." She leaned over the railing of the steps for a better look at Darien.

CJ laughed, but looked more worried about the two new men in camp than she did interested that there were two cute guys to flirt with.

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Fawkes and Hobbes joined Mr. Escobar and the other men, and quick introductions were made.

"Darien Fawkes and Robert Hobbes, these are your fellow counselors, Grant Cross and Jim Stone." The two young black men who reached out to shake hands seemed very serious about building their scouts into strong leaders of the future.

"Ed Ressler, Mark Lee and Bob Jefferson." The trio consisted of two older white guys who seemed a little more relaxed, having probably been camp counselors for many summers, and what seemed to Darien to be a very young Asian guy.

"And Carlos Fernandez, Tom Ruiz and Dave Tender." The last three men, being somewhere in their late twenties, looked like athletes that only did the scouting thing when they weren't working out at the gym. The last guy was huge, taller than Darien and twice as wide.

"Nice to meet you." They all acknowledged each other, nodding and the last few handshakes wrapped up the introductions.

Ed stepped forward slightly and, as the kids unloaded from three buses, used the public address system to announce to the boys: "Welcome to Camp Tinnerman. Everyone listen up; we're going to call out names for your cabin assignments." Ed began to flip through the lists of names for each cabin. Most of the boys were listening for their name to be called out, but some were goofing off and pushing and teasing. When he got to the boys assigned to Bobby's cabin, Hobbes stepped forward and took charge of his troops.

"All right scouts of cabin Bear, fall in and follow me." Hobbes was acting like a drill instructor.

The boys, carrying their sleeping bags and backpacks, trailed along behind Bobby like unruly ducklings.

Darien's scouts were the second to last assigned. He was slouching against a tree waiting for his cabin to be called, trying to guess which of the dwindling supply of boys would be given to him. He noticed several of the boys assigned to him were busy talking and not listening. "Dustin Harris, Brandon Clark, Trey Taylor, Carlos Ruiz, Keith Wells, Ryan Brill." The first six scouts moved towards Ed, wondering who their leader would be.

Darien stepped forward, "Hey guys, you're going to be in cabin Wolf."

"I don't remember you from last year," Dustin spoke up.

"Yeah, I'm new. Darien Fawkes," he introduced himself.

"Listen up, guys. Zack, Marcus, Cory and Ty. You are part of Wolf cabin - get your stuff and come on." Ed spoke over the hubbub of the remaining scouts who were getting restless by now, their attention wandering.

Darien waved at his scouts then led the way up the path to his cabin, the last four trailing along at the end of the group.

"So, guys, have you all been to camp before?" Darien asked. He hadn't considered that they might know more about how things worked than he did.

"About half of us are repeat campers," Dustin informed him.

"So you like this place then?"

"It's way better than the other camps my folks make us choose from," Brandon spoke up. "Anything is better than band camp."

Darien nodded. He hadn't enjoyed his trips to camp when he'd been a kid.

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"Okay, everyone, stow your gear and roll out your bed roll on your bunk." Bobby was standing at the far end of his cabin, motioning his scouts to bunks and taking charge.

"Man, this guy thinks we're in the Marines or something," Billy said to the scout closest to him.

"Yeah, I'll bet Sam will show him a thing or two."

"Alright, fall in. Every one move in and make a circle here." Bobby moved to the center of the cabin. "I'm your counselor, Robert Hobbes. We're going to go around the group here and tell everyone a little about ourselves. You can go first there." Bobby indicated the shortest boy in his cabin.

"I'm Mike Lawrence, and this is my second summer at Tinnerman." Mike was short with red hair and freckles.

"Terrance Brown. My dad said scout camp would be good for me." Terrence was tall, lean and serious.

"Billy Turner. It's my third summer here." Billy was a little tubby with a very short, cropped haircut and big brown eyes.

"Jordan McWilliams," was the only information the blonde boy volunteered.

"This your first time at camp, Jordan?" Bobby asked, trying to be friendly.

"No, man, this is my third time."

"Okay, you're next." Bobby nodded to the boy slouching next to Jordan.

"Larry Wilson; first time to this camp, but I went to one back in Pennsylvania before we moved out here."

The last four boys, Sean Rafferty, George Kozinsky, Pete D'Arrigo and Julius Peabody, were all first time campers.

"You all were sent the rules of the camp when you signed up. I'll only have two to add to those on the list. We will keep a tidy cabin, you'll put things away in their proper place when you aren't using them." Bobby scanned the circle of faces looking for potential problems. "And number two, if you have a problem you can talk to me. I'm here to help you. Okay, now everyone outside, we'll get in a hike down to the lake before dinner." Hobbes grinned at the chorus of groans that met this announcement.

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Darien was just standing by and watching his campers. They had dumped off their gear in piles near the door and a few had claimed bunks, but they were all now engaged in a shoving match to see who got the best bunks.

"I got here first." Ryan was trying to defend his bunk from the bigger and pushier Zack." He was standing up to the taller boy, his hands in tight fists at his sides.

"Yeah, well that's the bunk I want, so you just move," Zack growled.

"No, it's mine, you go find another one," Ryan insisted.

Darien was waiting to see if they settled it without a fight breaking out. He was willing to give the boys a chance to work it out.

"Come on, Zack, take the bunk next to me, you don't want the one near the window," Trey called out to the troublemaker.

Zack looked like he wasn't sure if it was worth getting a bloody nose over. "You're right, Trey, who wants all the mosquitoes you'll get by the window?"

Darien sighed in relief. He hadn't wanted to break up a fight his first hour on the job.

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Act Two

A man named Wayne Gretzsky once said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." He was talking about hockey, but it kinda works all the way around. It was pretty clear the scouts from Wolf cabin needed a little push to get them motivated, and they were about to get one of the best wake up calls there is: coming in last.

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The first competition between cabins was the next day, and it was a relay foot race. Bobby was determined his cabin would make the top three. He'd already coached the boys on the best way to hand off the baton from one to the other. The only thing Darien had done was to remind his boys that they had a race that afternoon, but they hadn't been interested in a practice run.

So by the end of the little camp track meet, the Bear cabin was in second place and the Wolf cabin was in dead last.

"Man that sucks, we didn't even beat the cabin with all the geeks," Zack complained.

Bobby's grin was a mile wide and he was high-fiving all his scouts. Then he waved over at Darien with a smug expression that clearly said: my cabin beat your cabin.

"Okay, guys, it's not much fun coming in last. You want to do better in the challenge they have on the schedule for tomorrow?" Darien asked getting into the spirit of things a little more.

"Man, I don't want to be last again. You have an idea?" Trey asked.

"I'm not a very good swimmer," Cory told Darien worriedly.

"Don't worry, the swimming relay isn't until the end of camp. Tomorrow is the race over the obstacle course. We can go over there now and practice," Darien offered. His little band of not-so-merry-men followed him across the camp to the obstacle course. "Dustin, you've done this before, why don't you show us how it's done?"

"Yeah, okay." Dustin ran along the log, then jumped over the low fence and started to climb the rope wall. The rest of the boys followed him, but Darien had to jump in and try and help Keith from getting stuck upside down in the ropes.

"Hey, hang on, don't panic." Darien climbed up to join the boy. Then he purposely misplaced a foot and almost ended up hanging from his ankle also. The scouts were standing around watching and laughing at their 'Leader' as he flailed around in the ropes. Darien managed to get himself upright again and pointed Keith back in the right direction.

Dustin moved on down the course, dodging through the tires, crawling under a setup of netting set about a foot off the ground. By the time Darien caught up with the boys in the lead they were at the final obstacle, which was walking along a log like the first obstacle only this one was over water if you fell off.

The first five boys made it across with little problem. Then Cory slipped and fell into the water. Most of the boys laughed, but Darien reached down and helped him out. "It's okay, man," he reassured the wet and unhappy boy.

The last four boys took their turn running across the final log over the water trap. Brandon slipped, barely managing to jump the last foot to the grass and just missed a fall into the water.

"That was pretty good over all. We can run it again after dinner so that you guys are ready for the competition tomorrow," Darien announced after he gathered all of his scouts together.

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Hobbes was leading his scouts on another hike. This time he was taking them over to the archery range. They were doing great under his coaching, and Hobbes was enjoying modeling his 'men' into good solid citizens.

Darien met up with his partner at the camp mess hall that afternoon.

"Hey, Hobbes how's it going?"

"Fine, fine. You noticed anything unusual?" Bobby tried to look casual.

"No, but I haven't had much time to poke around," Darien reminded him.

"Why don't you go see-through now, and I'll keep an eye out on your kids for you," Bobby suggested.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few." Darien moved towards the side door.

"Hi, did you eat already? Would you like seconds?" Ashley asked from the kitchen ledge where she passed out the food to the campers.

"Ah, no thanks. It was really good." He smiled at her and ducked out the door.

He covered himself with Quicksilver once he was outside and hustled over to the office to look for any evidence related to the information leak.

He looked in all the files he could find, but found no indication that the Camp Supervisor was part of the information leak. That possibility eliminated, his next job was to check over the list of names that the Official had provided them to pinpoint as many sons of VIPs as possible.

Bobby had two in his cabin and Darien already knew there were three in his cabin. Four other boys were in attendance at camp who were related to a VIP type person. One was a day camper. Darien had noticed him that morning as a member of the Moose cabin.

Darien flipped through the pictures quickly to familiarize himself with all of the scouts he was going to keep an eye on, if possible.

While Darien was on his information-gathering mission, three scouts were moving towards the office. One of the three had twisted his ankle while fooling around on the steps of the mess hall. The other two had offered to help him over to the nurse's station by the office, to get it looked at.

Darien was just leaving the office when he spotted the scouts. Recognizing the injured boy as one of the scions on the list of VIPs he and Hobbes had been assigned to watch, he stepped back inside and Quicksilvered again, then he slipped out the door. Darien remembered seeing the camp nurse his first day. She was young and pretty, and he wouldn't mind using his CTS skills to get information from her. He grinned, wondering if this was all a ploy on the part of the scouts to gain access to the hot chick nurse. He well remembered trying something similar to gain the sympathy of the nurse when he'd been sent to camp as a boy.

Smiling to himself, Darien followed the scouts.

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"What's the matter here?" CJ asked as the boy was helped into her office.

"Mike turned his ankle. Mr. G said to bring him over here so you could fix him up," the older of the boys said.

"I see." CJ assisted Mike on to her exam table and checked over his swelling ankle.

"You need an ice pack." She moved to the small refrigerator in the corner of the room and pulled out one of the reusable kind. Darien had a brief flashback to the Keeper reaching for one of his old counteragent shots. It had been months now since he'd needed them.

"You two can go back to the mess hall. Thank you for helping Mike." She smiled at them. "Mike is going to have to stay off his foot for a few hours at least."

"Okay, see you later, Mikey," both boys said almost in unison then bolted out of the door.

Darien's spidey-sense was tingling so he stayed to watch.

Sure enough, after several minutes CJ returned to Mike's side and began a very subtle form of hypnotic suggestion on him.

Darien watched as CJ adjusted the icepack more tightly around the swollen ankle, then settled a hip on the exam table and twined her silver necklace around her finger absently. The flash of the pendant as it cleared her cleavage and began a slow spin caught Darien's attention, and Mike's as well. Darien almost grinned at the avid look the boy cast at the pretty nurse's chest. Her blouse was open enough for the top of her pert breasts to peek out.

Distracted by the PG-rated peep show, Darien heard her coach the boy to just relax, her voice melodic and soothing and very unlike a normal speaking tone. Darien found himself strangely captivated by the flash of the pendant that slowly spiraled between CJ's breasts. The sound of her voice grew distant and unfocused. The prickle that told him he was losing control of the Quicksilver jerked him back to himself with a rush of adrenaline. It would have been nothing short of a disaster to appear suddenly in the room that CJ clearly thought was unoccupied, save for herself and the injured boy.

Darien watched more warily now. CJ continued playing with her pendant as she spoke quietly to the boy, urging him to relax, to think about something comforting, like the first day of summer vacation, repeating the command to relax in her quiet bedside voice. In spite of the fact that Darien now knew she was hypnotizing the boy, the soothing murmur of her voice was hard to resist. When CJ casually reached down to lightly pinch Mike's wrist, there was no reaction at all, and Darien felt a shiver of nervousness run along his muscles. He listened as CJ put in place a suggestion that would allow Mike to be hypnotized in the future with much more rapidity than this first session.

Darien knew the boy was in for more conditioning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bobby, I think I nailed it."

"Yeah? You found out how they are getting the information?" Hobbes turned to eye his partner, a hint of skepticism on his face.

"I think so. The nurse, she hypnotizes the boys when they come in to see her for scrapes and injuries." Darien grinned as he shared what he'd learned with his partner.

"You're kidding! The nurse?" Hobbes' disbelief mingled with amusement.

"Caught her in the act. Now all we have to do is get some audio and video of her working on one of the boys and we have her."

"Good work there, partner." Hobbes half-smiled and low-fived Darien.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night in camp, there was a campfire scheduled and all the scouts gathered around to hear the counselors tell stories. Darien couldn't believe they were still doing such a hokey thing as telling ghost stories around the fire.

"What do you expect there Fawkes?" Hobbes challenged.

"I don't know, but telling stories around the fire, it's just so Mayberry."

"I'm sorry you think that way, partner." Bobby shrugged. He'd noticed ever since the boss had given them the assignment that Darien had been kind of down. He must be missing Adam.

All of the scouts were talking and jostling each other around the campfire. There were marshmallows to be toasted, and one of the counselors was telling a story. Darien hung back, leaning against a tree on the fringe of the clearing.

Hobbes was keeping an eye on his scouts, making sure they didn't start any impromptu sword fights with the marshmallow sticks.

Ed was moving around the group, keeping on eye on the scouts. "Hobbes, how about you telling the next story?"

"Me? Ah okay, sure. Let's see… I have a story," Bobby started off, telling about a story about a missing man. Darien listened for a minute and realized that it was the tale of a case they had investigated over a year ago, in the fall.

"There were these four people out camping, three guys and a chick. They were investigating the disappearance of a man that was doing research into Bigfoot," Bobby began.

"Bigfoot? Aww, there's no such thing," one of the scouts complained.

"I didn't think there was either but after I heard this story I'm not so sure," Bobby agreed, then continued with his tale. "So after finding some strange signs in the area but not much else, they set up camp for the night.

"It was a dark night, just a sliver of a moon, and it was cold. You could see your breath in the night air. The men decided to take turns keeping watch since no one knew what had happened to the man they were searching for. Two of the men were sleeping in a tent while the other was on watch. But it was time for one to take his turn as guard so he was getting ready to leave the tent. That's when it happened."

"What happened?" another one of the scouts asked.

"That was the first of the strange things that happened that night. The tent he was sitting in was torn up from the ground and thrown around, like it was nothing bigger than a bath towel. The man who was still sleeping woke up instantly. He grabbed up his gun and yelled; "What the hell was that?"

"The first man was scared. 'I don't know, and I don't think I want to know.'"

"John, the man on watch, had heard a noise in the woods. When he went to investigate, he smelled a sour odor, and there was a growling noise coming towards him. He ran back towards the camp."

"Then what happened?" Pete moved in so he wouldn't miss any of the story.

"Then there was a loud roar, and John was picked up off the ground. The three other people stood and watched in horror as he was almost snapped in half by this huge, dark form. The fire wasn't bright enough for any of them to get a good look at the creature that was attacking their friend. Then as quickly as it had all started, it was over. And there was John lying on the ground. The creature was gone."

"Was it a Bigfoot?" Keith asked.

"It could have been," Bobby admitted. "They didn't get a good look; it was too dark. The lady in the group was a doctor, so she checked on John, but he was dead. The two men were standing in the middle of camp not sure what they should do next. Then there was that noise from the woods again. Kind of a deep huffing, then a whoosh of air as the creature rushed towards the three people.

"'Run for the truck!' The chick called to the two men.

"She was running as fast as she could for the large half-ton SUV they had driven up in that morning. All three managed to climb inside. The man behind the wheel of the truck started it up and threw it into gear. But something was holding the big truck back; the tires couldn't get traction. There was another loud roar and the truck started to tip over on to its side. Everyone screamed."

"Did the Bigfoot get them?" Keith gasped.

"No, that's what was so strange about what happened. After he had them all cornered right where he could do what ever he wanted, he disappeared," Bobby nodded. "No one knows if it was a Bigfoot or not, they didn't find any tracks the next morning. No one knows what attacked the campers."

"It was probably a bear," Ryan said.

"A bear couldn't turn over a half-ton pick up," Bobby reminded them.

"There were no tracks or anything?" Keith asked, wanting there to be an explanation.

Bobby paused. Darien rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe his partner was embellishing the story of their encounter with the Bigfoot.

"The story I heard claims there weren't but you never know, could be that they really did find some kind of evidence but it's being kept a secret." Hobbes winked and nodded, leaving all the boys wondering.

"That was quite a story," Ed Escobar commented dryly with a glance at Hobbes. "Would anyone else like to share one with us?" he asked from his side of the campfire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night was always the night that the return campers pulled their tricks on the new boys. Waiting for them to fall asleep, Trey and Ryan had it all planned. They had a can of shaving cream and a feather.

"He's asleep, come on." Trey whispered.

Ryan climbed out of his bunk quietly and moved towards Cory's bunk. Darien heard them moving around and covered himself with Quicksilver to investigate.

Ryan eased the blanket down so Cory's hand was visible, then he put a puff of shaving cream in the sleeping boy's palm. Trey moved up beside Cory's head and reached down with a feather to tickle his nose. Cory shifted in his sleep slightly, and the boys all got ready to duck. But he didn't wake up. Trey tickled his nose again and he twitched in his sleep. Trey continued, being more persistent until Cory lifted his hand to his face in his sleep and whacked himself with the shaving cream. He woke up sputtering. "Hey, what's going on?"

All of the campers were laughing. Trey had ducked down so he wouldn't be with in range of any retaliatory shaving cream, and Ryan was rolling on the floor giggling.

Darien was trying to hold back his laughter as he went back behind the divider and unQuicksilvered. Then he popped up. "Okay, you guys get to back to your bunks. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Trey and Ryan returned to their bunks, but they weren't done for the night. They waited for almost an hour for Darien to fall asleep. They had a good trick to play on him, and they wanted to make sure he was sound asleep.

"Is he out?" Trey whispered to Ryan who was closer to their leader's sleeping area.

"I'm not sure." Ryan slipped out of his bed and crawled over to the partition to peek around the edge at Darien. He watched and listened for a minute but still wasn't sure if the adult was sleeping or just waiting to grab him and Trey the minute they got close enough. Ryan moved back, going to Trey's bunk to report. "I think we might have to wait. I can't tell if he's really asleep," Ryan whispered

"You sure?" Trey really wanted to pull this on their counselor.

Ryan nodded.

"Okay, we'll save it for tomorrow then." Trey looked disappointed.

Darien sighed. He'd been prepared to bust them if they approached his bunk, but he couldn't tell what they had planned for him. He didn't think they would use the same trick on him that they had used on Cory. He dropped off to sleep once he was sure all of his scouts were down for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over at Bear cabin, Hobbes' scouts were settling in for the night. The return campers in his cabin had a little trick they wanted to play too. They rigged up a bucket of water to fall on Hobbes when he came back from his trip to the bathroom down the path from the cabin.

Hobbes knew sooner or later they would try to pull some kind of trick on him. It was a rite of passage for them to try and 'get' their counselor in some way before the week was over. He hadn't expected it this soon, but he spotted the trap as he approached the door. He decided to allow them to get him the first night so that he wouldn't have to keep his guard up for the entire week.

Bobby stepped into the cabin and the bucket fell, spilling water all over him and the floor. All the boys laughed. "Hey, what the..." Bobby sputtered and pretended to be angry that they had tricked him into triggering the booby trap. He wiped the water out of his eyes, blinked and glared at the room full of laughing scouts. A few of the boys nearest to him looked worried that he would punish them all for the trick. So he took the other tack, "Oh, a wise guy, ah?" in his best Curly impression voice. Then he picked up the fallen bucket and did a little back step move like the Stooges did in their old movies.

All the scouts laughed harder.

"Okay, everyone hit the sack, it's a long day tomorrow, and we have another challenge." Bobby moved to the light switch and turned out the light. He was smiling to himself as he dug out a dry shirt and rubbed his towel over what was left of his hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darien was busy eating his breakfast and keeping an eye on his scouts the next morning when Bobby moved to sit down across from him.

"I put that call into Eberts for a video camera. He said he can have it up here by the end of the day." Hobbes sipped from his mug of coffee.

"Good, I'll get it all on tape. Then there will be no way for the VIPs to disregard the facts." Darien nodded, working his way through a plate of pancakes and eggs.

"Did your kids try and pull something on you last night?" Hobbes asked casually.

"They did the classic shaving cream/feather bit on one of the new boys. But they couldn't get up the nerve to pull anything on me yet." He grinned. " Did they get you?"

"Yeah, I kind of let them. The bucket over the door thing. I wanted to get it out of the way so I don't have to keep worrying about when they're going to nail me," Bobby informed his partner.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. You let them get you all wet?" Darien chuckled. He'd have liked to have seen that.

"Small price to pay to keep morale up." Hobbes shrugged.

"You keeping an eye out for any of the other target kids getting sent to see the nurse?" Darien changed the subject.

"Of course. Now that we know she's the leak, we need to find out who she is working for." Hobbes ate a forkful of eggs.

"You don't think it's Chrysalis?"

"No, they know what we both look like. If she worked for Stark she would have rabbited by now."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Darien nodded.

Ashley came over to their table with the coffee. "Would either of you fellas like more coffee?" she asked, looking directly at Darien.

He almost blushed and held up his mug for her to pour hot coffee into it. "Thanks."

"I could use a little more java, thank you." Bobby smiled and nodded to her.

Ashley refilled his mug, but kept her attention on Darien the entire time.

Hobbes grinned, but he didn't tease his partner about the cook's crush on him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CJ had been working at Camp Tinnerman for the past three seasons. She was surprised that planting hypnotic suggestions on the boys was working so well to gain her organization useful information. The boys heard things they didn't even know they knew, but under hypnosis they shared all kinds of classified information.

She would send for the boys she had targeted from the attendance list on the pretext that she had looked over their records, and they needed a tetanus booster shot. Then while she had them on the exam table she'd work her magic on them and extract any information she could.

The boys she had worked on so far this season had seemed like good targets. The Hanson boy with the twisted ankle had come to her before she had even made plans to send for him. His father was one of the more important people she had hoped to get some kind of information on. He was the leading liberal congressional candidate from Orange county. He was sure to make a good blackmail target.

Her organization didn't expect money when they contacted the parents of the scouts. They expected political favors, usually. There were a few powerful men in business they had extorted money from, but that wasn't the primary goal.

But those two new counselors were giving her a bad feeling. Especially the tall one. He was just a little too laid back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sir, Agent Hobbes put in a request for a video camera this morning," Eberts informed the Official as soon as he was settled in his chair and half-way through his first cup of special dark coffee.

"A video camera? Have they found the source of the information leak already?" he grumbled as he sipped his morning coffee.

"Yes, sir. Hobbes said they want to videotape her in the act, so to speak. Uhm, she's the camp nurse and uses her position of trust with the scouts to gain information from them when she is treating them for minor injuries," Eberts summed up what Bobby had told him on the phone that morning.

"Fine then, see to it that he gets the equipment he needs." The Official nodded, pleased. His boys were making a quick job of this case. That was good.

Eberts checked the roster but it appeared he was the only available man to drive the video equipment up to Hobbes. He hustled down the stairs to the storage room they kept the listening devices and cameras in. He packed up a set and carried them out to one of the Agency cars. Then he informed the Official he would be gone for the rest of the afternoon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All the scouts were gathered at the challenge course for the day's competition. Hobbes was coaching his 'men', reminding them how to maneuver on the obstacles that were difficult.

Darien was just trying to keep his scouts gathered together. They had practiced the course twice so he figured his guys knew what to expect. It was his cabin's turn next. The entire cabin was timed, then whichever had the most scouts finish with the fewest errors was the winner.

"Mr. Fawkes," Carlos approached his leader.

"Yeah?" Darien turned to look at the boy.

"Are you going to run along with us and give us pointers?"

"Yeah, sure. I can do that," He nodded. Darien hadn't thought Carlos was one of the boys that had trouble with the course. He must be feeling a little nervous. "Don't worry, you'll do fine."

"I just don't want to fall off anything," the boy confessed.

"You ever go sidewalk surfing at home?" Darien asked.

"Yeah, sure," Carlos nodded.

"Then this is no sweat, you know how to keep your balance already." Darien patted him on the shoulder.

"Wolf cabin, you're up," Ed called from the front of the line.

The boys lined up in one behind the other. They needed to take the first two obstacles one at the time but the third one, the rope wall, could take three at a time.

"Ready, set, go!" Mr. Escobar shouted.

Darien yelled, "You can do it, Ryan." He cheered on his scouts, waiting until half of them had started the course before he ran along side and shouted encouragement to them.

Ryan and Trey were the first two boys. They managed to run across the log over the ditch, then the three logs mounted so that you had hop over them by swinging a leg up then sliding over. They were half way up the rope wall climb when Darien jogged up to cheer them on.

Keith, Zack and Cory came next. Cory had a false start on the rope wall, but he managed to get up and over by the time Carlos, Dustin and Ty joined him. Darien waited to see that they were all handling the climb well before he moved on up the course to check on how the other boys were doing.

Trey and Ryan were up to the dodge-through-the-tire obstacle. "Come on, guys, this is an easy one," Darien yelled.

Ryan misstepped and almost fell. "Hey, Ryan, keep up there, man!" Trey called to his friend as he paused to wait for him.

"I'm coming, keep your pants on," Ryan yelled back.

Darien, caught up in the spirit of competition, was jumping in place, shouting out encouragement to the other boys as they approached the tires.

Carlos was moving up in the pack of boys; he was running full speed up to the tires right behind Zack and Cory.

"Keep going guys, you're half-way there," Darien shouted.

He sprinted ahead to the hardest obstacle, the solid wall with a rope that hung down for the kids to grab hold of and climb hand over hand up the wall. Trey was already over and Ryan was just reaching the top when Darien arrived.

"Doing great guys, keep going," Darien waved them on.

He was getting excited now; they were all doing well, no problems so far with any of the obstacles on the course. Zack, Cory and Carlos all ran up and wasted no time in climbing the solid wall.

"Yeah, yeah piece of cake, guys, go, go!" Darien yelled.

The last group of boys had arrived by now to take their turn at the wall. Dustin, Ty, Marcus and Keith called encouragement to each other the entire time as Marcus waited for Keith, last in line, to make it to the top of the wall then they all ran to the final obstacle, another log set over a ditch, only this ditch was filled with water.

Darien was waiting for the last two scouts as they ran towards the log. Keith had fallen off the log on one of his previous attempts to cross it. "Keep it together, guys, only one more thing."

Marcus ran across the log, his feet hardly touching it he was moving so fast. Then Keith followed. He focused on the end of the log, not looking at the water that surrounded it, not letting the dunking he'd taken the day before throw his concentration. He made it across and crossed the finish line panting.

"Wolf, Wolf, Wolf," the boys and Darien all chanted, exchanging high-fives all around. They had done it, in a very good time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Act 3

Eberts arrived at the camp dressed in jeans and a polo shirt so that he wouldn't be obvious. He hoped he was arriving around dinnertime so that there wouldn't be people around to notice. He'd called Hobbes' cell phone when he'd gotten close to camp. He was supposed to meet up with Darien just down the road from the main camp and pass off the equipment.

Eberts parked his car in the parking area and hoped Darien was on time for a change. He scanned the surrounding area, but he saw no sign of the tall agent.

Darien unQuicksilvered right next to Eberts' window. "Hey, Ebes thanks for bringing the stuff up here." Darien was grinning as he watched his friend startle at his sudden appearance.

"Darien.... I wish you wouldn't do that." Eberts jumped, then sighed. He'd been surprised over a dozen times by Fawkes during their time in training together.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. You got here quick. The 'Fish didn't give you a hard time about bringing the stuff to us, did he?"

"No, he was pleased you had already found out who is behind all of this." Eberts opened his car door, stepped out, and then went to the trunk and handed Darien the small digital video camera.

"Well, take it easy on the drive back, and thanks," Darien said, slinging the strap of the video camera over one shoulder.

Eberts nodded, closing the trunk. "You're welcome."

Darien Quicksilvered himself again and carried the equipment to a hiding place near the nurse's quarters.

Eberts turned to speak to Darien, only then realizing that he was gone already.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Fawkes, I think it's time for you to make like a superhero." Bobby nodded towards the scout with the injured ankle as he headed for the nurse's station for his daily check. It was just after breakfast the third day.

Darien nodded to Hobbes and moved after Mike, first checking to make sure his scouts were busy learning all about water safety with the canoe guide. There were plenty of trees to move to behind for cover. But once he was out of sight of the other people, Darien covered himself with Quicksilver and followed his target more closely. He slipped into the cabin behind Mike and moved to the far corner of the room for a good vantage point for the expected brain washing session.

They had contacted The Official and he'd said they would need very hard evidence on this. He wanted several tapes of the nurse giving hypnotic suggestions to the scouts. Darien was ready, having taken a few minutes to practice with the camera after it arrived.

"CJ, I'm here for you to rewrap my ankle," Mike said as he closed the door.

"Mike, come in and sit down; let me just get the things I'll need." CJ turned to the supply cupboard and got a fresh ace bandage and some tape.

Darien waited to start the camera until near enough to the scout that he could get both of them in the same shot. He made sure he was close enough to get what she was saying and the kind of glazed look in the boy's eyes while he was being worked on.

CJ re-wrapped the boys' ankle, then spoke the trigger word she had already put into his subconscious as she twirled her silver necklace charm to regain his attention, then made further adjustments to his conditioning. Darien got everything on tape with the small video camera.

Ten minutes later Mike was smiling and leaving the nurse's cabin. CJ stepped out on the porch of the small cabin and waved as he walked back down to the lake. Darien left when he did and moved to the far side of the cabin and unQuicksilvered. He stashed the camera in a small daypack that was part of the supplies he and Hobbes had picked up at the camping store.

"Nice day." Darien walked out from beside the cabin, startling CJ.

"Oh," she jumped.

Guilty conscious, Darien thought, and grinned as he went past the porch.

"Yes, it looks like it will be a beautiful day," CJ quickly tried to recover.

Darien just kept walking. He was starting to enjoy this assignment. It was nice to have something finally be easy for a change.

Hobbes was standing on the small dock at the lake when Darien arrived back from his trip to the nurse's station

"Got it, but I think we might be able to get some information out of her about who she is working for if we use some of her own tricks on her."

"I like this evil little look you got going, Fawkes. What do you have in mind?" Hobbes grinned up at him.

Darien leaned down and spoke quietly into his partner's ear, preventing any accidental eavesdropping, and told him what he had in mind.

"Hey, Mr. Fawkes, they showed us how to turn the canoe over then right it again." Keith came loping up to his Scout Leader, interrupting.

"Yeah, that's a good thing to learn, why don't you show me." Darien touched the boy on the shoulder, then followed him down to the beach area where the boys were paired off two to a canoe.

Hobbes smiled after his partner. He was loosening up around the scouts. He'd been kind of remote with the boys the first day or two but now it seemed like Darien was enjoying spending time with the kids from his cabin.

While Darien was watching Keith and Ryan demonstrate how to turn a canoe over once it was swamped, two of the other canoes full of boys from his cabin got into a water fight, splashing water at each other with their paddles, yelling and bumping their boats into each other.

"You guys are getting wet one way or the other," Ty yelled as he tried to splash the other boat full of scouts.

There was general splashing and yelling all around. Darien even got into the act grabbing up a spare paddle and aiming a few waves of water at the boys around him. He was drenched and dripping by the time the whistle brought them all to the end of their time at the lake.

"Alright, everyone knock it off now. It's time for you to move on to your next class. Make sure you beach your canoe securely and put the paddles in the rack where you picked them up." Mr. Tender, the water safety counselor, broke up the water fight.

Darien stood up, a little guilty that he'd allowed the fight to escalate. He helped Ryan and Keith beach their canoe.

"It's okay to let them have fun. Just keep on eye out for things getting to rough." Dave reminded Darien as he walked up the sandy slope towards him.

"Yeah, sorry. Thanks for showing my guys all about canoeing." Darien pretended to be a properly admonished new Scout Leader.

"No problem, you have a good group of boys." Tender nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night all of the scouts were tired. Somehow doing stuff on or in the water always seemed to make them sleep soundly. Darien and Bobby each slipped out of their cabins after midnight and met at a clearing near the nurse's cabin. She slept and worked out of the same small building so that if she was needed at any time she would be available.

"So you ready?" Hobbes asked, his voice low.

"Yeah, I'm going to work some magic on her tonight so that she tells us who she is working for without even knowing it," Darien nodded. He Quicksilvered and moved into the cabin. Hobbes kept watch at first, then, when Darien signaled to him that he was ready, the older agent joined him.

"CJ, you're late reporting in." Darien whispered into her ear as she was sleeping. He'd sprayed one of their handy dandy spy drugs in the air over her bed so that she would inhale the mist. This drug was for helping her to relax and stay sleeping while they questioned her. "It's a something Claire has created from the Beta-C formula, only with out the side effects," he whispered an explanation to Hobbes as the senior agent sidled up to CJ's bedside.

"Becker, why are you contacting me?" she answered, but her eyes stayed closed.

"You are overdue checking in, is everything alright?" Darien asked.

"Yes, fine. I didn't miss the contact date. Have you been shooting up again?" CJ answered.

"No, no the boss wants you to send in the information you have."

"You know that isn't procedure."

"He was insistent," Darien added.

"I don't care how much of a hurry Toulouse is in. I'm not risking leaving a electronic trail by sending anything to him." She was becoming agitated now so Darien backed off.

"Better end it or she might wake up," Hobbes warned. "I think we can track those names."

Darien nodded. "Okay, relax, I'll make some excuse. Report in at the usual time." They waited to make sure she relaxed into sleep again the slipped out of her cabin.

"I think Hobbes-Net can dig something up on this Toulouse character," Bobby said once they were away from the nurse's cabin.

"Yeah, that isn't just your average handle," Darien agreed.

"Did they try anything on you tonight?" Bobby changed topics.

"Who, the kids? No, all the time at the lake wore them out." Darien's look grew distant the way it did when he was thinking about Adam.

"You talked to the kid recently?" Hobbes asked, knowing his partner well enough to understand the shift in mood.

"The day before we left. He was working on his boogie board technique."

"It's the best place for him," Bobby reminded him.

"Yeah, I know," Darien sighed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eberts had access to Hobbes-Net now that he was trained in agent skills. Bobby had had to give him access if he wanted him to get information on possible criminals. Hobbes had finally had to admit that Eberts was very talented with a computer and he should be able to find almost any information they needed.

The name Toulouse in connection with Becker had finally brought up a few hits. Toulouse was the AKA of a big-time scam artist who had moved on into blackmail and information dealing. Becker was one of his minions, as was CJ -- her real name was Jacqueline Ann Parker.

Toulouse seemed have developed a skill at locating the right kind of people to gain secrets from, secrets that he could then turn around and blackmail and/or sell to the highest bidder.

Eberts was enjoying working with Fawkes and Hobbes more often. The training he'd endured with Darien at Hobbes' insistence had improved his knowledge about all things in the world of espionage. He'd even learned some self-defense skills, and he had the scars to prove it.

Just as he was typing up the report he would turn in to the Official, there was a knock on the door to his small office.

Alex opened the door a second later and leaned on the doorframe. "Hello, Albert, just wanted to check in with the boss before I head out for the new assignment, but he wasn't in his office." She treated Eberts to an easy smile while lazing in his doorway.

"Agent Monroe." He flushed slightly. "The Official is unavailable at the moment. Was there a message you wanted me to pass along to him?" Eberts picked up his ever-handy note pad and a pen to be prepared to record her words.

"Nothing special; just let him know that I'm working on that State Department case this week, and I'll check in as usual." She eased away from his doorframe, smoothed the material of her slacks with one hand and pushed the hair off her face with the other.

"Yes, I will make sure he gets the message." Eberts nodded.

"Thanks, catch you later." Alex turned and closed the door as she departed.

Eberts took a deep breath to release the tension her appearance always seemed to cause. He and Monroe had become friends, but there were moments like this when he wasn't sure if she was flirting with him, or merely being friendly. He finished the report for the Official to look over, then he sent a text message to Hobbes, via cell phone, that summed up the info he had uncovered, in as few words as possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think we might have another opportunity to get evidence on this case. One of the target boys just took a header off the stairs, and they took him over to the nurse," Bobby sidled up to Darien and informed him the next morning.

"Got ya, keep an eye on my guys. I'll go get some more tape on her methods," Darien nodded.

Darien arrived at the nurse's cabin just as the leader that had escorted the boy was leaving. A boy from Jim Stone's cabin had fallen - or been pushed - off the steps.

Darien had Quicksilvered or he would have spoken to the other man. He moved in the door before it closed and began taking tape of CJ and the boy. It appeared he only had a badly skinned knee and a few bruises.

"Let me put some topical painkiller on that knee for you, then we'll clean it up." CJ was good with the boys, Darien could say that for her. She wasn't one of those school nurse types that scared you into doing what she told you.

But Darien was patient and waited for her to start her evil tricks.

"There now, Rick, isn't that better?" She pushed the hair off his forehead. CJ slipped her silver pendant out from inside her blouse and began her working her magic on the injured boy.

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt near as much now," Rick replied.

Darien got it all on tape and slipped out before she allowed Rick to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Act Four

They were scheduled for their turn at the archery range before lunch. Darien had always liked archery when he was at camp. It was one of the things he'd picked up on quickly. The pulley-assisted compound bows they had now were even easier to use, but you still had to have a steady arm for your arrow to hit its mark.

Meanwhile, Hobbes and his scouts were out in the woods learning how to read a topological map. Bobby was loving it. He could pass on the information he'd learned in the Corps to a bunch of boys that might join the armed forces one day.

"Mr. Hobbes, you promised we could ambush another cabin if we did good on map reading," Sam reminded him after a couple of hours' orienteering practice.

"I did, didn't I? Okay, Wolf cabin is hiking back from the archery range in a little while. We can ambush them if you guys are ready to hustle over there."

"Yeah, let's get 'em," the boys yelled together.

Hobbes had come prepared for this type of ambush. He'd loaded up on balloons when they were at the camping supply store. He armed each scout with two water balloons, and they double-timed it over towards the archery range.

Darien and his scouts were just leaving. They had stayed at the range longer than planned and now they had less time than needed to hike back to the main part of the camp.

"Easy, men we need to take them when they get to the best location for an attack," Hobbes whispered as he kept his scouts back; he knew just the spot for the ambush.

Darien was bringing up the rear of the small troop of boys when suddenly there was a loud war whoop and scouts came running out of the woods surrounding the gravel road they were using for the hike back to camp. His boys were pelted with water balloons by the scouts from Bear cabin. Darien wasn't surprised to see Hobbes lob a water balloon at him; it burst in the middle of his chest.

"Hey, no fair, we don't have anything to fight back with," one of Darien's boys complained.

Two of the boys did grab their water bottles from their pack and attempt to squirt water at the attackers. Zack had a sport bottle with a narrow spout and it worked like a small water gun. But for the most part the Wolf scouts were wet and the Bear scouts were dry.

"We want a rematch," Darien informed Bobby when the battle had ended.

"Sure, we'll arrange for a time and you can defend your cabin's rep," Bobby laughed. "You starting to get into the whole camp thing there, partner?"

The boys were still jostling with each other but they were moving down the road towards camp. It was getting near dinner and everyone was starving.

Ashley was waiting for Darien and his scouts in her kitchen. She hoped to get him alone for a few minutes this time.

"All Bear cabin scouts wash up before you get in line for grub," Bobby yelled as they approached the mess hall.

"Yeah, all you guys wash before eating," Darien reminded his boys too.

"Hi, Darien." Ashley stepped out onto the back porch of the mess hall. "I was just about to ring the bell for dinner." She flirted with him.

"Oh, hi." Darien turned to face the petite woman who was the cook for the entire camp.

Hobbes watched his partner in amusement. Darien didn't have trouble hitting on the ladies, but when he was flirted with, he either didn't notice, or he got all flustered.

"Would you ring the bell for me?" Ashley nearly purred in her eagerness to gain Darien's attention.

"Yeah, sure. " Darien had no trouble reaching the bell cord and he rang the large train bell that called all the campers to meals.

"Thank you. We're having meatloaf tonight - I hope you like it." Ashley made one last gesture of interest at Darien then went back inside.

"She likes you," Bobby stated the obvious.

"Gee, how could you tell?" Darien shot right back at him.

"I'm just saying."

"Well don't. We're here to do a job, not play around with..." Darien trailed off.

"Since when do you push off a sweet young thing like Ashley?" Hobbes goaded.

"Since, now. She's too pushy," Darien had to say something. "Besides I just broke up with Casey. I'm just not interested."

"Yeah, right." Hobbes didn't believe him, but he dropped the subject.

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Darien's scouts decided that tonight was the night they were going to get him. Trey had a great trick he wanted to play on their leader. He just had to set up for it very carefully.

They waited for Darien to fall asleep. Ryan checked on him twice to make sure he was really sleeping. But Darien was exhausted. It was his fourth night in camp and he had spent the day with the boys on the archery range and on a long hike. He was asleep three seconds after his head hit the pillow.

"Okay, now remember how to tie that knot?" Trey gathered his helpers.

"Yeah, it's not hard," Brandon answered.

Ryan and Dustin nodded.

"Put the loop around the leg and make sure you tie it secure," Trey reminded them.

They boys hurried and got the ropes tied into position then moved back to their bunks. When Darien woke up in the morning he was in for a big surprise.

Darien heard the sound of kids whispering as he woke up, he turned on to his back and felt the bed move. He froze, trying to tell if it was another minor earthquake. But no, it was more of a swaying motion than a shaking. He opened one eye, then both eyes to get a better look. He and his bunk were about two feet from the ceiling of the cabin. They had finally gotten him, and gotten him but good. He'd better let them know he was awake so they could all laugh.

"Ah crap, what did you guys do?" He peeked over the side of the bunk.

"Hey there, Mr. Fawkes, be careful you don't get up on the wrong side of the bed," Trey called, laughing all the time.

Most of the boys were laughing.

"Okay, you got me. Now get me down from up here." Darien figured if they didn't he could lower himself down, but he wasn't sure he trusted the ropes holding him. They had looped one rope on each bunk leg then thrown it over the exposed roof beams and hoisted him up to within a few feet from the ceiling. He was glad he wasn't bothered by heights. He was about nine feet off the floor.

"Come on guys, let's get him down." Ryan led the others in untying the ropes and slowly lowering him to the floor.

"Thanks, but you know since this isn't the last day of camp, I still have time to get you all back." Darien grinned wickedly at them all as he reached the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The plan was for two agents to meet Fawkes and Hobbes at the camp that morning. They had a location on Toulouse and Becker, and it was time to take CJ into custody.

While the scouts were in the mess hall in the middle of their breakfast, the partners moved into position. Bobby had his handcuffs and once Grant and Harris arrived they would confront her.

Darien was ready to get this over and done with, even though he was going to miss his scouts. Hobbes waved Harris over, "Good, you're here. As far as we know the target isn't armed and I think once she realizes what's happening she'll go quietly. But no guns; there are too many kids around the area."

"Right." Harris and Grant nodded.

Darien opened the door to nurse's cabin and stepped inside. Hobbes followed, "CJ, you are under arrest." Darien held up his badge.

"What? Is this some kind of trick? You aren't a cop." She looked startled, and moved towards the back door. She was halfway to the door when she noticed Harris standing in the opening.

"Give it up lady, we got all the evidence we'll need to put you away." Hobbes added.

"Evidence? I haven't done anything wrong." She edged towards the window now.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Darien reached out to grab hold of her wrist. She struggled for a second, managing to slip her slender wrist out of his hold, and dove through the open window. Darien turned and ran back out the open door, following CJ who was racing towards the woods.

"Crap! Grant you were supposed to have the exits covered," Bobby yelled and ran after his partner and the fleeing woman.

Agent Grant pulled his sidearm and prepared to assist with the capture of the suspect.

"No guns!" Hobbes growled a reminder when he heard the action being cocked on Grant's automatic.

Darien was closing in on her. If they had been running in a straight line he'd have already have her, his speed greater. But she was dodging and weaving in and out between the trees and underbrush. She seemed to know exactly where she was headed.

Darien decided he was going to have to Quicksilver and try and outflank her. He allowed the Quicksilver to cover him and took a course he hoped would intersect her if she didn't see him coming.

CJ ran, checking behind her a few times to see how many were chasing her. The tall guy that Ashley liked was the one closest. But she lost sight of him after ducking around that last big pine. Could she have been lucky enough that he'd tripped and fallen? She was close to the edge of the camp were she had stashed a emergency escape ATV in the brush.

"Hold it, CJ." Darien was suddenly in front of her and this time his grasp on her arm and shoulder was much tighter.

"NO!" CJ screamed and struggled to free herself from his hold.

She struggled for a second but Bobby stepped up and snapped his handcuffs on her.

Hobbes read CJ her rights and handed her over to Harris.

"Get her out of here before the kids see what is going on," Darien grumbled.

"Don't forget to take her computer with you. Eberts wants a look at her hard drive," Hobbes reminded them.

"Look at her hard drive," Darien snickered in his best Bevis-sounding voice. Then he low-fived his partner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I just got a call from Eberts. It seems he found evidence of hacking in her computer," Hobbes announced bemusedly as he returned from taking a call in Ed Escobar's office.

"Hacking? You mean someone knew she was up to something?" Darien looked up from papers he was reviewing.

"Yeah, it appears that someone was downloading information on all of the scouts' medical records."

"You mean there is something else going on here? Separate from CJ's tricks?" Darien asked.

"Eberts said with all of the medical information for the boys, a group like Chrysalis could be trying to track down some of the kids we liberated from that camp of theirs last year.

"But none of the scouts are here for more than a week, so was it done before we got here or after?" Darien pointed out.

"Before. Eberts searched the records of the scouts who attended the first five sessions and he's narrowed it down to three boys. Harris and Grant are checking them out," Bobby informed his partner.

"Man, this place is such a hotbed of intrigue the government is going to want to shut it down." Darien shook his head in disgust.

"Never happen; the Boys Scouts of America is an institution. A little thing like this ain't gonna close it down, my friend. It'll go on as long as the country goes on." Bobby said with true former Eagle Scout certainty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag

"Hobbes, I expect you both back in San Diego ASAP," The Official growled into the phone.

"Yes, Sir. Ahh, could we make that first thing on Saturday, there, Chief? Fawkes kinda wanted to finish up his week here with his scouts."

"Hobbes, the mission is over, report back to me."

"Sir, really… Fawkes has had a rough time of it the past few months. What's it gonna hurt if we finish out the week? It's only two days," Bobby pointed out.

The Official was silent for a half minute.

"Darien could use a few days, sir," Eberts pointed out.

"Very well, but I expect you both to report to work on Saturday."

"Will do, Chief," Bobby smiled and flipped closed his phone

"So we have to head back now?" Darien sounded kind of down.

"No, we can finish the week with our kids." Hobbes bounced his eyebrows at Darien, then started off down the path to the lake.

"Really?" Darien liked the idea that he could stay the entire week with the scouts. "How did you manage to get us two days?" Darien caught up with Hobbes and walked backwards in front of his partner.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Bobby teased.

"Yes, I would. What did you promise him?" Darien tripped and had to spin around to watch were he was going.

"Never question the senior agent on his methods of..." Bobby trailed off wagging his finger in the air as he was prone to do when he was lecturing Darien on the fine points of spy craft.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Being with the boys did kind of make me miss Adam worse than ever. But it was kind of nice after I stopped feeling sorry for myself. There is this one quote you see on cross-stitched pillows and bumper stickers; "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." A wise lady named Kathy Davis was the one who said that, and I was beginning to think she knew what she was talking about.

End