The Spy Contract: Part Two

by Eugenitor

After I promised my siblings I'd come back okay (didn't tell my owner- he's emotional enough as it is) and painted myself invisible at the Rainbow Pool, I followed the map. It took me to a gravel road in a rarely-traveled area, that led to a three-story building surrounded by a ten-foot-high fence with a sign on it.

Hidden Braut Basic
Self-Help Center

Common sense tells me that anything that calls itself 'Hidden' and has this kind of fence doesn't have quite the same atmosphere as a meeting of Neoholics Anonymous. So what is this place, I wondered, and what's Braut? I used Flight to softly rise above the fence... any Guard Lupes that can smell me? Nope. I touched down on the other side immediately and quietly, conserving my abilities and keeping stealthy.

Real simple, I reminded myself. It's a hidden base in the middle of nowhere, there's got to be bad stuff everywhere in it. Probably has a mutation ray or several, dozens of angry Grundo mutants, another version of the Monoceraptor... I listened carefully for tortured roars and blasting. All I heard was some marching, but the stomps weren't of large enough feet to be the Tyrannian army.

I zipped around the large building and saw what was making the noise. About a hundred Neopets were marching back and forth, obviously doing some kind of drill. Two Skeiths, two Grarrls, and a human watched them. Although they were obviously tired almost to the point of collapse, none of them asked for mercy.

Probably because they don't dare, I told myself. I could call the organisation and... wait, no I couldn't. This isn't illegal in Neopia. Mean and despicable, but not illegal. But where are the owners? I'll puke if it turns out that they got fooled into thinking this place was a better alternative to the Adoption Center.

The other thing that bugged me was that Sloth obviously had nothing to do with this. He uses mutants and his pets never see the light of day. But since when has one guy ever had the monopoly on supervillainism?

It started raining and they didn't stop marching. I backed off- you can see invisible things in the rain if you're close enough to see the outline. Nothing to see here except suffering anyway. I checked the doors to the building- they were all locked. Being a Kyrii, I simply skittered up the side of the building and found a third-story window that no one had bothered to close. It led to a six-pet bunk room, the living conditions reminiscent of the worst tales of the Pound. There was a faint odor of... something... emanating from the room.

Of course it stinks in there, I thought as I opened the door and explored the larger building. Only a toilet in each room. No SOAP. I pity whoever has to live with five Skeiths.

The top floor was entirely dead, with nothing but fluorescent lights and silence. It started getting creepy exploring hall after hall, room after dilapidated room, and I realised that I had better go check the rest of the building.

The second floor was filled with... what?! Owners? Okay, now this is really freaking me out. Owners can't be held captive in Neopia. They can vanish at any time and reappear someplace else. What's keeping them here, to live in rooms with a bunk bed and a single desk? Until I had that answer, I couldn't very well contact the organisation and expect to be paid. So I searched from room to room, looking through the rooms with the doors ajar, avoiding making noise of any kind. Most of them were simply sitting there, looking at the ceiling. Thanks, that doesn't tell me anything. One of the rooms had only one person in it, a girl in her teens and she was writing. I climbed up the bunk bed and looked over her shoulder (I'm 22 cm high! I can't just stand next to her and expect to see anything!) to see what she was writing. As she blocked my view, I could only see a piece of it.

ecret location. I wish
. I hope you'll forgive me.
etty well, and so are my
of Braut. I just wanted to
to write you again soon.

Sincerely,
Chris_LaPensomn

She shook her head, crumpled up the letter, and threw it over her shoulder. "What's the use," she muttered to herself. "They'd never let me send it." I couldn't afford to blow my cover by asking her what she meant, so I took a look at the crumpled paper--I could see only the recipient.

Dear Really_Wise_Guy,

...WHAT?! No wonder he's been so upset...

Okay--NOW it's PERSONAL.

To be continued...