With Spicy freed, they headed towards the door where the kidnapper had exited. Ninja stopped with her hand on the knob, reaching with her mind into the room. She sensed an adult man in the attitude of speaking to an audience in a sinister Californian accent. Did he think he was some Hollywood bigshot?

Today, Wales! he thought, Tomorrow, Britain! On Friday, the world!

“What on earth?” Ninja muttered. Apparently he did think he was a bigshot.

“Is it sticky?” Spicy asked.

“No,” Ninja said, stepping away from the door. “I think we’ve found our guy, but it seems like he’s got a lot of people behind him.” Ninja bit her lip, realizing that she’d slipped up and said something that could have given her ability away.

“So what do we do now?” Spicy said, “Taking him into custody in front of a supportive audience seems a little dangerous.” How did she know that though?

“Let me think,” Ninja said. The kidnapper’s mind felt somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She felt around to find his audience, and soon came across people she knew: Lee, Darrel, Mark, Ralph, and many other kids she’d known from the orphanage. They were listening intently to the kidnapper’s instructions for taking over Wales.

“Mayonnaise,”Ninja said.

“Mayonnaise?”

“It will be dangerous,” Ninja said. “He’s convinced the kids to help him overthrow the Welsh government.”

“How do you know that? Are you psychic or something?”

“No, I’m not psychic. This isn’t the time to worry about how I know. We need to worry about these guys taking over Wales!”

“How can one guy and a bunch of kids take over Wales?”

“Long story short, you’re a kid spy, whereas they're all ninjas.”

“Should I call in backup then?”

Ninja thought for a moment. “Sure, but make sure they’re carrying non-lethal weapons.”

“Like tasers?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.” Spicy picked up the phone on the desk and called the agency. “Hey, this is Spicy McPie. We need some backup. Trace the call and send in about five more agents, and bring tasers instead of lethal weapons okay? Thanks.” She set the phone on the desk, not hanging it up, and turned to Ninja. “Ta da.”

“Alright,” Ninja said. “Let’s figure out how we’re going to do this.

Just then, Miracat came in through the window. “You!” she said, looking at Ninja. “I finally tracked you down! Wait, why’d you come here?” Then she saw Spicy. “And how’d you get out?”

“Bubbles.”

Miracat scowled. “Well, I’ll just have to confiscate your bubbles this time!”

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“Try it and your knee privileges will be revoked.”

“Knee privileges?” Ninja asked, surprised at the image in Spicy’s mind.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Ninja was worried about it.

Miracat was at the door in a flash. She threw it open, yelling, “Intruders! Spicy’s escaped! The BOSO’s here!”

Silence filled the room, followed by a great rush of noise as many feet pounded towards the door.

“Should we run?” Spicy asked, looking up at Ninja.

“We might be able to use the door as a bottleneck,” Ninja suggested, but didn’t really know if it could work. “Emphasis on ‘might.’”

“But we should do our best to keep them here so the agency can know where we are.”

“Yes, keep their attention away from the phone as well.”

The rushing was growing closer. Spicy went to work on taking out Miracat while Ninja pushed a nearby crate in front of the door.

“That’ll slow them down a smidge,” Ninja said.

“A little game of sardines then?” Spicy asked, delivering the final blow, and knocking Miracat unconscious. “We can find a few crates to hide in.”

“Agreed.”

They headed into the scattered boxes and crates to find their hiding spots.

When the kids reached the door, it was stuck. Something on the other side must be blocking it. Some of them pounded and kicked at it, while others went to unscrew it by the hinges. At length, they had it open, and they shoved aside Miracat’s unconscious body, and the crate that had caused them so much trouble.

Silence fell as they listened for breathing, prowling through the room on cat’s paws.

Ninja, feeling slightly cramped inside a cupboard, had long since silenced her own breathing when it occurred to her that Spicy might not know how to do so. She reached her mind out to where Spicy was crouching inside a pile of boxes. She couldn’t tell how Spicy was breathing, so she just sent the thought, Open mouth, slow and steady breathing, stay calm.

Spicy, startled, looked around, and then towards Ninja’s hiding place, mouth agape.

You ARE Psychic!

Ninja suppressed a growl of frustration. I already told you, I’m not psychic. I’m telepathic. There’s a difference. Just breathe.

Alright fine. Bubbles.

“Where are they?” the kidnapper’s faux-bigshot voice demanded.

“We don’t know,” Ralph replied matter-of-factly. Ralph had always been rather matter-of-fact, even when he was a toddler. “Maybe they ran away and escaped.”

“Well then go after them! Find them and bring them back, you idiots!”

“Yes sir.”

Ninja and Spicy’s faces fell. They needed to keep the ninjas here, so the SAOTJSOGB could find them. Spicy leapt out of her hiding place, bubbles in hand, mustache ready.

“HEY! CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, LOSERS!” She jumped back into the maze of crates. The ninja children followed on swift, silent feet, their ninja stars thwacking the crates just behind Spicy— their blades plunged deep into the wood. “Ha! And you call yourselves ninjas!” Spicy’s voice sounded through the crates.

“We’re in training!” Lee complained.

“Excuses excuses. I could outrun you guys without feet!” her footsteps sounded farther away with every mocking tone.

But the ninjas were not to be outdone. They flipped up onto the crates, staring down like flippin-dippin eagles, their eyes crystal-hard, glaring out of their heads.

Counting on Spicy’s confidence, Ninja waited until she thought most of the kids were gone before emerging to face the kidnapper.

Her eyes widened. “You!”

He was almost as surprised as her. “You?”

They narrowed their eyes. “You.”