by Tracey West
CHAPTER 9
One Step Behind
The North Wind agents were one step ahead of the penguins—but one step behind Dave. Under the cover of night, they investigated the penguin habitat at a zoo in Brazil. They flew overhead in a new VTOL, taking rapid photos using heat technology.
The photos projected up inside the plane.
Eva analyzed them. “Penguin footprints are still warm.”
“Blast it! He’s gone!” Classified said.
“Blast it! He’s gone! Shoot!” echoed Short Fuse.
A map of the zoos with missing penguins appeared on the screen. The map of the zoo in Brazil lit up to join them.
Short Fuse was hopping mad. “Boy, if I ever needed some penguins kidnapped, I know who I’m calling! Look at this map. Dave took your penguins! Tokyo, London, Paris, Rio. Amsterdam? Amster-BAM!”
Corporal growled, frustrated. “So . . . many . . . penguins!”
He ripped out the computer keyboard and shoved it in his mouth, chewing on it.
“Corporal. CORPORAL!” Classified scolded, trying to pull the keyboard away from him. Eva and Short Fuse tried to calm him down by stroking his fur.
“There, there,” said Eva.
“Rub the angry out of the tummy,” Short Fuse said. “There it goes. Bye-bye, angry.”
“Corporal! Listen to me!” Classified said firmly. “Focus on the sound of my voice. My rich, soothing voice. Yes, we are going to save those helpless penguins because we are the North Wind, and no one . . . no one breaks the Wind!”
The words gave Corporal courage. He opened his mouth and let the keyboard drop to the floor.
“No one breaks the Wind,” he repeated.
“There’s a good Corporal,” Classified said. “We rescued four penguins already, didn’t we? Shipped them off all cozy and snug to a Madagascar safe hou—how come there’s beeping?”
Boop! Boop!
Eva checked her screen. “Sir, about those penguins. They never made it to Madagascar.”
Classified couldn’t believe it. “What? Where are they?”
• • •
On the other side of the world, a manhole cover opened on a busy city street. The four penguins emerged into a colorful scene. Merchants sold vegetables, fish, and exotic fabrics from market stalls. Signs written in Chinese characters announced goods and sales. People whizzed by on bicycles and scooters.
“Kowalski, what are our coordinates?” Skipper asked.
“From my calculations, we’ve arrived in Dublin, Ireland,” he replied.
But they were far from Ireland. They had actually arrived in Shanghai, the largest city in China.
“All right, soldiers. We gotta blend in,” Skipper said. “Everyone, quick—do an Irish jig!”
The penguins danced out of the manhole and popped up inside a street stall selling dolls.
“No time for sightseeing boys,” Skipper began. “We need to find intel on Dave’s location, pronto!”
Then he spotted something. “Aha!”
He hopped over to a market stall selling baby squid on ice. He grabbed one and slapped it.
“All right, you! Where’s Dave? Give us the goods!”
Kowalski coughed. “Sir, that’s a baby squid.”
“Waaa!” wailed the baby squid.
“Sorry, laddie.” Skipper placed the baby squid back down and began to pace in front of his men.
“Ugh. Stranded on the Emerald Isle, without a single clue!” Skipper said. “Well, so much for the luck of the Irish.”
Kowalski pointed. “Skipper, look!”
Behind Skipper, a large TV screen on one of the buildings was blaring a story about the missing penguins. The newscaster was speaking in Mandarin, but they got the idea. A world map popped up, showing the locations of all the disappearances.
“It looks like Dave’s been busy,” Kowalski said. “He’s stolen penguins from Guadalajara, Mexico!”
“Madrid, Spain!” said Private.
“Parie!” said Skipper.
“Athens, Greece!” added Kowalski.
Rico got a thoughtful look on his face. He began to cough up the snow globes he had swallowed in Dave’s hideout.
The penguins keep counting off the cities with missing penguins. Bangalore, Düsseldorf, Osaka, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, Amsterdam, Baton Rouge. . . .
Skipper, Kowalski, and Private looked back to see the snow globe collection piled next to Rico.
“Dave’s snow globe collection . . .” Skipper realized.
“It’s every zoo and aquarium he got kicked out of!” Kowalski finished.
Skipper looked at Rico. “Don’t tell me where he has been. Tell me where he will have been next.”
Rico began to cough up something else, but it got caught in his throat.
“Wait, what is it, Rico?” Skipper asked.
Bwaack! Rico choked.
“It’s a book! It’s a film! It’s a play!” Skipper guessed.
Bwaack! Rico just couldn’t cough it up.
“First word . . . ,” Skipper said.
Bwaack!
“Two syllables,” Skipper said. “Sounds like bwaak? What starts with bwaack?”
Rico’s belly rumbled as he coughed up one last globe. An emblem on the front read SHANGHAI.
“Shanghai,” Skipper said thoughtfully.
Kowalski pointed to the world map on the TV screen—there was no symbol on Shanghai.
“Dave hasn’t been there yet, Skipper!” Kowalski figured out. “If we hurry, we can still stop him!”
“Nice work, Rico,” Skipper said. “Pack your bags, boys! It’s time to blow this potato stand.”
The boys quickly packaged themselves in a box labeled SHANGHAI and tossed themselves onto a delivery truck. The truck took off—and then doubled back. A worker chucked the box out of the van.
They were in the exact same spot as before—but they thought they had traveled far.
“Skipper, look!” Private said, pointing to a poster plastered to a nearby building. It read MERMAID PENGUINS AT SHANGHAI MARINE WORLD AQUARIUM and there was a logo for an aquarium in Shanghai.
“I see you, Private,” Skipper said, chuckling. “Who’s a big boy standing on his toes?”
“What? No, I mean the—” Private began, but Skipper wouldn’t let him finish.
“I just wanna eat you up,” he said, pinching Private’s cheek.
“Skipper, look! Above Private!” Kowalski cried.
They all looked at the poster that Private had been trying to point out.
“Good eye, Kowalski,” Skipper praised him. “And once again, you have proven that you’re a meaningful and valued member of the team.”
Kowalski beamed, but Private sighed.
He didn’t mind being cute. But he was more than just a cute and cuddly penguin. When would Skipper ever realize that he was a meaningful and valued member of the team too?
CHAPTER 10
See the Penguin Mermaids!
While the penguins made their way to the Shanghai aquarium, Dave’s sub glided through the water, headed for China. Inside, dozens of octopi henchmen were busy carrying cages of stolen penguins through the sub’s twisted hallways.
Dressed as Octavius Brine, Dave wiggled through the hallways, talking to the penguins. “Welcome aboard! Joaquin, Ignacio, Jordan . . . you are all just adorable!” he said.
Then he turned to his henchmen. “Anthony and Michael—haul them away!”
He stormed off to the submarine’s bridge, where one of his men, Nicholas, was marking off cities on a world map while other octopus henchmen scurried about busily. “Outstanding,” said Dave. “We’re on a roll, gentlemen. Now where are we on tracking down Skipper and his boys?”
Nicholas drew a circle around the entire world and shrugged. He had no idea.
“Well then, you’d better start looking,” Dave said, unusually cheerful.
Still smiling, he grabbed Nicholas and hit a button on his chair. A panel popped open on th
e nearest wall, revealing an open torpedo tube. Dave hurled Nicholas into the tube and then pressed another button on his chair marked fire.
Whoosh! Nicholas launched into the murky water. Dave turned to his henchmen as the sub began to surface.
“Find me those penguins, and let’s keep this revenge train hummin’!” Dave said with evil glee. “Chugga, chugga, choo! Chugga, chugga, choo! Woo-woo!”
Then he plopped into his chair as the sub broke through the water. In front of him rose a skyline of tall buildings, huge pagodas, and colorful neon signs.
“Bring her up, boys,” he said. “Give me the postcard view. Next stop, Shanghai!”
• • •
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to present . . . the world famous mermaid penguins!” introduced the announcer at the Shanghai aquarium. On a stage above a large tank, several big, fake clamshells opened up. Inside were adorable penguins fitted with mermaid costumes—bathing suit tops and long, shimmery fish tails. They dove into the water and began to perform for the crowd.
“Penguin feeding time will be in two minutes,” said the announcer.
Meanwhile, Skipper and his crew had stationed themselves around the aquarium, ready to jump into action at any sign of Dave or his crew.
The four penguins were in the jaws of a shark model hanging from the ceiling. They watched the action below with binoculars.
“All right, fellas. Keep your eyes open,” Skipper instructed. “Dave’s a master of disguise. He could be anywhere. You’re up, Private.” He nudged the souvenir mermaid backpack next to him.
“Do I have to?” Private asked.
“Out, out, out,” Skipper ordered.
The backpack unzipped, and Private stepped out, wearing a full mermaid costume.
Skipper gasped with delight. “You just mer-made my day!”
“But I don’t want to be a diversion,” Private told Skipper. “That’s a job for someone who’s cute but otherwise useless.”
Skipper didn’t notice a word he was saying. “I’ve got your back, Private. Have I ever let you down before?”
“No, Skipper,” Private said.
“That’s the spirit!” Skipper cheered. “Deploy!”
Skipper shoved Private. He spun to a stop in front of the tank, right between Dave and the crowd.
“Look, they let one of the mermaids out of the tank!” a little boy cried.
“He’s so cute!” squealed a little girl.
“Awww!” The crowd sighed as they surrounded Private. He gave Skipper a final disappointed look before turning to face them.
Skipper suddenly was decked out like a superspy. He peered through a pair of binoculars and spotted Dave in his awkward Dr. Brine human disguise. Dr. Brine wore an old-fashioned diving suit with a mask and carried a bucket of fish.
Rico burst out of the janitor’s closet, riding a vacuum cleaner and wielding a plunger. He shoved the plunger into the vacuum and perched on the long handle like a witch riding a broom. Then he flipped the vacuum into reverse.
The vacuum shot out the plunger, sending Rico flying across the room. He soared behind Dave’s back and the plunger hit a glass tank.
Turning, Rico saw that he had attached the plunger to his target: a tank holding three angry leopard seals. They rammed into the glass, trying to get to Rico. Wham! Wham! Wham!
Back in the whale room, Kowalski furiously sawed at the wires holding up the whale skeleton. He didn’t notice that nearby, a laser-cut circle appeared on the ceiling. The four North Wind agents dropped down to the floor.
“Those fools are here somewhere,” Agent Classified guessed.
Splash! The seals shattered the glass of their tank and spilled out, sliding across the hall in a rush of water.
So far, the plan was working perfectly!
The flood swept Dave out of the hall and right into the whale room. The North Wind agents dodged the water just in time.
Over at the mermaid tank, the tourists had no clue what was happening behind them. An aquarium employee noticed the fuss over Private and picked him up.
“What are you doing out here, cutie?” she asked. “Come on, back in your tank.”
In the whale room, a confused and groggy Dave staggered to his feet. His tentacles dangled out of his disheveled diving suit.
“Dave!” Agent Classified yelled.
Crash! The whale skeleton came down right on time, trapping Dave in a bony jail cell.
Kowalski leaped down from the ceiling. Skipper and Rico belly-slid into the room.
“Little late, North Wind,” Kowalski said triumphantly.
Skipper gave a little bow. “You’re welcome!”
“Corporal, take our prisoner into custody,” Classified ordered.
“You mean our prisoner,” Skipper said.
“He belongs to us!” challenged Classified.
“He’s ours! We caught him!” Skipper shot back.
“You will stand down and leave this to the professionals!” Classified commanded loudly.
Corporal pried open the whale’s rib cage—revealing Dave’s diving suit crumpled on the floor.
“Dave’s not here,” Corporal remarked.
Skipper and Classified both turned to look. “What?”
“You melted him?” Short Fuse asked. “You birds are sick!”
Kowalski stepped into the cage and moved the diving suit aside, revealing a drain underneath. His face fell as he realized the truth.
“He’s going in through the pipes!”
Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and the North Wind raced toward the tank holding the mermaid penguins. But Dave got there first. He popped open the drain and reached up with his tentacles, grabbing the mermaid penguins and dragging them down with him one by one.
By the time Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico got to the tank, they could see Private being dragged into the drain.
“No, no, no!” Skipper yelled.
“Skipper! Heeelp!” Private gurgled. Then he was dragged down the pipe and disappeared down the drain.
“Private! No! What have I done?” Skipper wailed.
Rico grabbed a metal post holding up the line ropes and smashed it into the tank. The penguins leaped inside and dove down the drain after their brother.
CHAPTER 11
The Chase
Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico swam through the pipe, which led to the ocean waters. Breaking the surface, they could see Dave’s submarine speeding away.
“He’s got Private! He’s getting away! He’s getting away! Rico, do something!” Skipper pleaded, frantic.
But Rico was frantic too. He nervously hiccupped a bunch of objects, but none of them were helpful.
“Kowalski, give me options! I need options!” Skipper begged.
“Options! Options! Options!” Kowalski couldn’t think straight. How could he, when Private was gone?
Then Skipper remembered something. “Activate Emotional Override protocol!”
“Yes, sir!” Kowalski replied.
He slapped Skipper. Skipper slapped Rico. Rico slapped Kowalski. Then they did it again.
Finally, they could think clearly.
Kowalski pointed to the VTOL at the end of the dock.
“Skipper, the North Wind’s plane!”
Skipper’s eyes lit up. “Sweet chariot of the gods! But can you fly it, man?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Kowalski said, his voice more serious than ever.
A few minutes later, Kowalski was sprawled out on the floor of the VTOL with the owner’s manual while Skipper and Rico impatiently tapped their feet.
“No, I still cannot read,” Kowalski reported.
Skipper slapped the manual out of Kowalski’s flippers.
“Then we’re going off book!”
The North Wind rushed up to the pier just as the VTOL jerkily flew up into the air. It spun wildly. A missile shot out and hit the water. The North Wind agents ducked.
“No, no, no, no, no!” Agent Classified roare
d.
Inside the VTOL, Kowalski sat in the pilot’s seat, slapping a computer keyboard.
“I’m getting the hang of this, Skipper!” he said.
Actually, the VTOL was completely upside down. But that didn’t matter to the penguins.
“Good! Now let’s get our boy,” Skipper said.
The jet blasted off, leaving the North Wind agents coughing on exhaust.
“Those ludicrous butterballs are letting David escape!” he fumed. “Eva, transport! Short Fuse, Corporal, hitch us a ride!”
Eva rocketed ahead. With her head, she rammed a small boat into position at the end of the dock.
Short Fuse whipped out a pen and clicked it. It transformed into a giant cable gun.
Corporal hoisted Short Fuse and the big gun onto his shoulder.
Bam! He fired. A long cable shot out. A magnetic head on the end attached to the bottom of the VTOL.
Classified jumped into Eva’s boat. Short Fuse jumped off Corporal and headed for the boat. Grabbing the cable, Corporal skied on the pier, landing in the boat. Now the VTOL towed the boat while Eva flew alongside it.
Then Classified hooked himself to a pulley, and he attached the pulley to the cable attached to the VTOL. He began to hoist himself up the cable toward the jet.
• • •
Inside the plane, Kowalski watched the blips on the radar screen showing the position of the VTOL and the position of Dave’s sub.
“Sir, Dave is pulling ahead!” Kowalski cried. “We’re too heavy!”
Skipper angrily looked down at his gut.
“Curse our heavily Cheezy-Dibbled diet! Rico, give me a fire sale!” he ordered.
Rico nodded happily.
“Everything must go!” Skipper told him.
Rico opened a hatch in the floor and started chucking down every loose object in reach. Coffee cups, helmets, chairs—they all went flying out of the plane . . . and rained down on Agent Classified! He grunted as a stapler whacked him in the face.
“Not good. Ow!” he complained.
Within minutes, the four penguins and the control panel were all that was left in the VTOL.