Mission Log: Day 2, Wednesday the 9th.
Staring right at me with shocked impressions were both members of the group Off the Hook. I cannot tell you how hard those old feelings of the morning before came and hit me like a Stingray. How did I manage to screw up twice in front of them, in front her? This got me more aggravated but it turned my anger away from them at least. I tried forming something new to say but I just couldn’t think of anything adequate in the moment.
“Are you done, or do you need to vent your frustrations some more?” Pearl asked in a snarky tone, to which Marina nudged her shoulder. “Pearl, that may not be what he needs to hear right now” to which Pearl retorted in a ‘you stole my thunder’ way, “I was just wondering if we should start explaining things to him now.” They went over, grabbed the chairs, and sat down near the couch that I finally decided to sit down on.
“Well you guys are the ones who hired someone to kidnap me, I suggest you start the conversation. It only seems fair to me” I responded, genuinely confused and curious as to why I had drawn the attention of the newest pop duo on the scene. I had a feeling they wouldn’t go to these lengths if it was about my music.
Pearl started speaking, the excitement was bubbling out of her face. “So, we actually have been watching you for quite some time, how long has it been? 3 or 4 months?” She asked her partner, who snickered at the inklings response, “For you maybe, I started listening to his show for about a year, you know, when we first got the assignment from Captain.”
“Anyway, we have been listening to your show, we have been watching your employee videos at Grizzco, and to say we were impressed would be an insult. You have a level of expertise around the way you take care of Salmonids, first your all over here, then over there, then you are …” “What she is trying to say is, of all the people we had to consider for this, you were the only one who lived up to your reputation. We have rarely seen people who can navigate a turf like it is a battlefield.” I winced at that word. Battlefield. Sadly it is what every situation felt like at Grizzco, as if I was back in the trenches.
I finally responded, “Look, if you are looking for a mercenary, I’m not interested. I have seen enough combat to last a lifetime.” I was expecting that to end the conversation right there, but to my surprise, both of them giggled.
“A mercenary? What gave you that idea?” Marina said with a light-hearted tone, to which Pearl responded, “Definitely not, we want to put all your expertise to use. Not just how you fight”
“Then please, explain why in the carp my fighting skills have to do with anything.” I add to the conversation, trying as hard as I can to get to the bottom of this situation. This whole order had to be important or it would have been a conversation could be had without the kidnapping.
Finally the two girls put on more serious expressions to their faces. “Well, first things first, have you heard of the Squidbeak Splatoon?” Marina asked with an inquisitive tone in her voice. I simply just nodded. Octavio made sure everyone in his army knew about the original Squidbeak Splatoon, the force that turned the tides of the Great Turf War into the Inklings favor. As well, Agent 3 was one of the new Squidbeak Splatoon according to the intel we had received. There were a few other agents he still had yet to meet, but he didn’t plan on meeting anyone in that group if he could say anything about it.
“Well say hello to Agent 6 and 7!” Pearl almost screamed. “We were inducted a year ago today actually. I don’t even know if any of the other agents know we are working on this project!”
“Pearl, you need to work on the secret part of being a secret agent, anyway, we have been working on this new project. One the normal citizens of Inkopolis cannot know about. There has been some … genetic experimentation to create the perfect spy. Someone who could infiltrate into Octavio’s forces and allow us to stop threats before we have another incident with the Zapfish or other concerns.” Marina added, she then continued, “However, the only info we really know about Octavio is what the Captain can recall from the Great Turf War, and the little I could contribute from having lived as a civilian. Other than that, we don’t know hardly anything”
The conversation was interrupted as C.Q. Cumber came in, and had a Galactic Seanwich on a platter. “One Seanwich, Hot and Fresh! As requested” Was all he said as he put it in front of me. I thanked him but if he heard it I couldn’t tell, he had retreated again through the mini door. I sort of felt guilty since he didn’t understand I meant the one in my fridge that was about a day old or so. I decided to eat as Pearl picked up the conversation again.
“So when we found out about you, we did some digging. We found out about your service record, you were one of the closest to Octavio, a true Commander-in-Reef of the Octarian forces, apparently he even called you his …”
“This is where that stops” I interjected, looking away. I felt violated, I had tried so hard to put that past behind me, and here it is being dredged up from the seafloor by two of the biggest celebrities in my field of work. Let alone the girl I had been admiring from afar. I was struggling to regain eye contact with them again. “Cut to the chase now, why do you need me?”
“Well isn’t it obvious? The spy will need training if they are to infiltrate and defeat Octavio’s forces. We want you to show her all the ropes, how to succeed like you can, like you did.” Pearl said, still having a bit of excitement in her somber voice.
“So you would induct me to be Agent 8 and train this new pet of yours on how to be an Octarian soldier?”
“Well, technically she is Agent 8, but Agent 9 is still available” Marina stammered out, “You would be a combat instructor, strategist, and Octarian specialist all wrapped in one! You wouldn’t need to even see combat yourself, you would just prepare her and other future agents to do so.” She then slid a contract over for me to sign, “the first page is a security waiver, one promising you will not repeat any of this information to unauthorized personnel. The rest line out more of what we expect out of you.”
I started thumbing through the contract, looking at all the details. Reading all the specifics was long and tedious, however I did not want to miss any detail. I had come to learn that small print was not my friend. After a couple minutes or so a thought came to me, “here is a problem though, Grizzco is paying for most of my rent as long as I work at their set hours. A lot of this schedule contradicts with most of my shifts, that would mean I’d be living on the streets.”
Pearl shifted in her chair uncomfortably, “remember when we ‘sold out’ to Grizzco to let them sponsor us? Yeah, we haven’t been seeing a bit of that money. It was a deal to let us take shifts for you. We have racked up quite a few hours so you can get paid leave off for a month or so. Plus with what this pays you, soon you could have your own apartment.”
Well, not only did they have a response, but they had a solution. They did seem to have done their research. Pearl wasn’t as superficial as she let herself appear to be while she were on air, but I didn’t know she could be that thorough. I looked at the schedule once more, “And what about my Radio Show? I just barely got that deal, you can’t expect me to leave my only shot of success in music.”
This time Marina chimed in, “We have been looking into a couple of individuals who could help you host the show when you are away, and co-host when you are there. You of course would have the decision as to who you keep on board, but we have narrowed it down to a good selection of candidates.” Dang, they were good at this.
My mind was racing, this was so much to take in, especially under the circumstances. After what seemed like a hundred years of silence I sigh and finally I ask the question that had been weighing on my mind, “and what if I just don’t want to do it? What if this isn’t something I plan on?”
Pearl cut in first saying “Well that would suck since we already put in Grizzco hours” but it was Marina who provided the answer I desired, “Then we would understand and C.Q. Cumber would give you a ride home. We would love to have you, but we will not force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
I debated it out in my mind, weighing the pros and cons. Some of the pros; I’d get to work on something completely underground (probably in both definitions of the word), I’d get to see a quicker leave from Grizzco, and possibly spending more time doing what I love. The cons? I’d be knee deep in reliving my past, I might feel I was betraying Mr. Grizz who welcomed me before most anyone, and finally, would anyone involved still like me after they learn all of what I have done? I came to my decision and tossed the contract on the ground. “I would prefer to go home, I am comfortable where I am at right now. Thanks for the kidnapping, and the food, but I don’t want any part in this ‘Secret program’ you have set up”
Pearl started getting a little red in the face, “after all that work we went through? You are just going to walk out? Without a second thought?” I felt terrible, seeing someone I looked up to being upset with me. I couldn’t help but think that I had let her down.
I had to say something, even if it would hurt to say it, “Yes, look, you may not be used to rejection, or even had to deal with anything really serious before, but I refuse to let my past come to haunt me again. The things I have seen and done are not something I like to think on constantly. So yes, I don’t think this is in my best interest”
Marina chimed in, “Pearl, he can do whatever he wants, we can always keep looking, can you tell Mr. Cumber to prepare a railway for departure?” Pearl studied her face for a second, then muttered “fine” as the two started walking toward the door. I thought that was the end of the exchange. Boy was I wrong.
Pearl turned around again, with a sense of determination, “NO, This is not the Levi we have come to know. What happened to all the talk of ‘looking for something more, something greater?’ You talk big on your show about how you wish life could be different, how you want more than anything to become somebody of worth to Inkopolis. Now here we are giving you a golden opportunity and you throw it at our feet. This could be your great adventure, this could be the acceptance you are looking for, and because you are too comfortable with living like a beggar you won’t seize the opportunity that could help you. I won’t give up on you, the Levi I know wouldn’t give up so easily.”
She stared at me in silence for about a minute. I debated what she had said, she had brought up a few good points, let alone she did quote my show. That proved they didn’t just listen to the show, Pearl was a fan, maybe one of the only genuine fans I knew about. Finally she turned around, and started walking slower, and almost dejected. I picked back up the contract, looked at the compensation section, and wrote three new points into the contract. I then proceeded to sign it.
“Hey, Pearl” I called after her, holding the contract out, “add those few things to what I need, and we will be in business.” She grabbed it and read over my terms, finally her face broke into a smile, “I think we can arrange that, Welcome aboard Agent 9!” Now like Marina, you probably want to know what the new added items were. The first was that a Drink Ticket for each day of work. Second was 30 minutes of time each week to ask both Pearl and Marina any questions I desired. The final one was to get my hands on the illusive Emperor outfit from Emperry.
“Well, with that out of the way, we can start the training now!” Marina said excitedly, to which I raised an eyebrow, “I thought that it said Agent 8 will not be trained for another month.” I stated, almost more confused than before. To which Pearl smiled, “It also states you will train the new agents that need your help preparing for combat.”
“Yes, but which agents are you referring … “ I said before she cut me off, “you dumb cod, you have two new agents in front of you. We want to learn all that you know.”
