Oscar nervously strode up and down his office, glancing at his watch every ten seconds. He stopped at the bar to fix himself a strong one and returned to his desk to buzz Callahan’s desk. “Any word?”

“No sir. I’ve tried everywhere I could think of. I can’t reach him.”

Oscar’s eyes dropped like lead as he heaved out a frustrated sigh. “Thank you. You can go now.”

“Thank you, sir. Have a nice Easter weekend.”

“You too.” Callahan stood from her desk and covered her typewriter. As she picked up her purse, Rudy entered the reception area.

“Hello Callahan. The boss is letting you off early today?”

“I am grateful for that. I have a lot of Easter shopping to do for my nieces and nephews.” She motioned towards Oscar’s office door. “I must warn you, he’s in a surly mood. Go in at your own risk.”

“I will,” Rudy chuckled at her humour. “Have a nice holiday.”

“Thanks.”

Rudy drew in a deep breath to garner the courage needed to face the raging storm brewing inside the office. As he turned the doorknob he was yanked inside. “Oh Rudy! Sorry I thought you might be Steve,” Oscar apologized.

“I take it you haven’t heard from him?”

“No and I’m getting impatient,” Oscar raged, resuming his pacing.

“Oscar do you realize it’s Easter this weekend? Why can’t you just let him be?”

“Today it’s Thursday. He was supposed to report to my office this morning and he didn’t show up.”

“Perhaps he’s in trouble,” Rudy surmised, more worried than Oscar appeared to be.

“Oh he is in trouble. WITH ME!”

“What has you such in an uproar, Oscar?”

“Steve was supposed to be at the Koenig plant this afternoon to spy on a shipment they were to make.”

“Can you send someone else instead? Why do you need him specifically?”

“Don’t you think I would have assigned Steve to the job had it been a routine stakeout? This was our last chance to catch them red-handed and Steve was to prevent the van from reaching its destination. I doubt my regular agents are able to perform such a feat.” Oscar explained, ending on a sardonic tone.

“Have you talked to Cassie?”

“She’s off to Cancun for a week.”

“Maybe he went with her?” Rudy jested to lighten the mood, which unfortunately had the opposite effect. He frowned at Oscar’s scowl. “That was a joke, Oscar.”

“I wouldn’t so quickly dismiss that statement as a joke, Rudy. Perhaps that’s where he is right now.” He stepped over to his desk to pick up the phone.

“Who are you calling?”

“Travel agency. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

He slowly blinked open his eyes to find himself lying prone on a soft bed, hand and feet bound. He rolled over on his back and stared at the ceiling, wondering how he got to be in this precarious situation. ‘I should have gone on this mission,’ he sighed to himself, shaking his head in disbelief at the decision he’d made.

He wiggled out of bed and hopped to the window to watch the enemy troop forming a veritable fortress around the house inside which he was held captive. The thought of using his bionic strength to break free crossed his mind but he figured best to play it cool while the enemy was on high alert. He returned to the bed and waited for the opportunity to escape.

A noise coming from the hallway prompted him to jump back into bed where he feigned sleep. He heard the door creak open and a whispering voice urging him to rouse. “Come on Blue Eyes, rise and shine. The coast is clear. Let’s get out of here!”

Steve shot his eyes open at the familiar tone. “35, are you sure? They are still surrounding the house.”

“Just in the back. The front is unguarded. Let’s make a run for it.”

“I’m with you.” With one bionic pull he severed the rope around his wrists and legs. He leapt out of bed and joined his partner by the doorway. They both crept down the hall to the staircase. Looking both ways to ensure the coast was clear, Cassie and Steve made a dash for the woods ahead.

“Pow, pow, pow!” came the deafening sound from behind. Both agents went down like lead.

The two armed guerrillas inched circumspectly towards the two unmoving figures on the grass. One tugged at their bodies with the tip on his rifle to make sure they were dead.

Steve grabbed the foe’s leg and pulled him to his chest. “Ah ha! Got ya!”

“Uncle Steve, let me go!” The young boy giggled, trying to wriggle himself free from Steve’s tickling.

Cassie on the other hand didn’t have such luck. Her captor kept his toy rifle drawn on her. “Okay, where are the eggs?” he threatened with eyes shooting daggers.

“Steve, help me. He is serious,” she affected with a crooked grin dancing on her lips.

“Come on, Marty, let her go. You caught us. I guess we’ll spill the beans and tell you where Aunt Helen hid the candies.”

The boy fashioned a satisfied grin and lowered his weapon. He went to his brother and patted him on the back. “Told you we’d get them.”

Cassie sighed and whispered into Steve’s ears. “You think we’re in trouble with these kids, wait till Oscar gets a hold of us for sneaking away to Ojai.”