Serialization of "Quedly Dake and His Quest to Conquer the Globe" — Chapter 15 of 25
From Book 3 of the Trilogy “Taterskin & The Eco Defenders”
“Tomorrow” was the collective answer to Albert’s question.
So the next day, Albert passed the Compressor/Decompressor (or “Shrinker/Deshrinker” as we sometimes colloquially called it) over the larger animals, and then we all piled in to the Androcles.
From the pilot seat, Albert pulled up the GPS/CPS.
[Readers of the first two books in this trilogy (and/or the second and third volumes of the Warble McGorkle trilogy) know that GPS/CPS is the Global Positioning System/Chronological Positioning System device that allows us to select where and to when we will travel]
Albert selected the date (5/29/2029) and place (U.N. Building, New York City) and off we flew — first levitating straight up, where we hovered for a few seconds, then horizontally through the sky, gradually gaining speed as we headed due East.
On the way, Albert and Alexis revealed to us the plan they had jointly agreed on for our operation. Basically, we were going to kidnap the President of the United States / Secretary General of the U.N. (as well as the self-proclaimed Emperor of the World—who were all the same person), Quedly Dake.
“The U.N. headquarters no doubt has tight security, so everyone except the two of us (Alexis and I, that is),” Albert said, “will be shrunken down to fingernail size so that you can all find refuge under Alexis’ wings; you will have to hold on to her feathers, though, especially if she needs to fly.”
We were all shocked; most of us had never been that small before and weren’t really looking forward to being shrunk. Terri absolutely refused; her “red line” was being reduced to half her normal size; she would go no further than that.
“In that case, you will have to remain on the roof of the U.N. building when we arrive, Terri,” Albert said. “That’s all right, though—you can guard the Androcles,” he added.
Terri was not happy about her diminished role. She wanted to be part of the extraction of the megalomaniac Quedly Dake; but she wouldn’t “punify” herself to the extent Albert wanted her to. In the end, though (from the “all’s well that ends well” department—or maybe “all’s swell that ends swell”), Terri did receive partial credit for the extraction and exiling of Dake.
At that time, though, Terri didn’t respond to what Albert had said; she just glowered, and sighed, and mumbled and grumbled under her breath.
The rest of us weren’t too happy, either (about being punified to such an extent), but we didn’t want to make waves or pout like Terri.
“When can we resume our natural size?” Rory wanted to know.
“I will enlarge you all once we get into Dake’s office,” Albert replied. “Alexis and I think we’ll be able to enter the building by taking the elevator down from the roof, and then if we run into anybody that challenges us, she will get on their good side and get them to trust us by talking to them in their own language.” (All humans are highly impressed and disarmed when Alexis speaks to them in their native tongue). Fortunately for us, Alexis, the smartest animal in the world (and who happens to be more intelligent than the majority of humans—by far), speaks dozens of languages fluently.
“Once we get into Dake’s office—or catch him alone in a conference room, or even in a restroom,” Albert told us, “I will revert you back to your normal size (or to half-size for the larger of you, who won’t fit in a room with relatively low ceilings, such as most government offices), and we will persuade Dake to come along with us peaceably. We will then conduct him up the elevator to the roof of the building, where the Androcles and Terri will be waiting.
“Before we go back up to the roof, we will shrink Dake (he’ll be less of a problem that way). Then I’ll shrink most of you again so that you can fit into the Androcles, and we’ll have Dake lead us to where he stashed the Arodnap, commandeer it, have Ravelle X, Chapawee, or Ooga fly it, and then we’ll meet at the Wet Tortugas.”
“Sounds like a plan,” somebody said.
“Because it is one,” Stripes said. “And a good one, I think,” he added.
No sooner had this been said than The Big Apple (as New York City is called by some) came into view in front of us.
The previous chapter can be found here.
The next chapter can be found here.
Book 1 of Taterskin & The Eco Defenders, “Wonders Never Cease,” can be found here.
Book 2 of Taterskin & The Eco Defenders, “Tell It To Future Generations,” can be found here.
Book 3 of Taterskin & The Eco Defenders, “Quedly Dake and His Quest to Conquer the Globe,” can be found here.
