| |
“What is that word you keep using?” Annalynn asked. “I don’t know what it means.”
“Tissues?” Agent Rick asked. “They are thin, paper-like pieces of something—I’m not really sure what—that you use to wipe your nose. Do you really not know what tissues are?”
Annalynn laughed. “No, I know what tissues are. I’m wondering about that other word.”
“Spies?” he asked.
“No,” she said.
“Mission?”
“No.”
“Frank?”
“No, not that one.”
“Box?”
“No! I know what all those words mean!” Annalynn was starting to feel frustrated again. “The big one I can’t pronounce.”
“Oh,” he said. “That one. You mean, Canadian. It means someone who makes Canada their home and likes doughnuts.”
“No!” she said. “I know what a Canadian is! I like doughnuts! I mean the really big word!”
Agent Rick laughed. “Oh, that one. You mean, Etterretningstjenesten.” Agent Rick said. “That’s the name of the Norwegian Spy Agency: Etterretningstjenesten.”
“I can’t say that,” Annalynn said.
“Sure you can. Just say, ‘Etterretningstjenesten.’ ”
“No, I mean I really can’t say that. It’s too hard.”
“Well,” the man said. “I guess you could call them by their other name. They are also called the NIS, which stands for the Norwegian Intelligence Service.”
“That seems easier,” Annalynn said.
“Well, I guess so,” he said. “If you want to take the easy way out.”
“I think I do,” Annalynn replied. “Why is the Norwegian Intelligence Service stealing our tissues?”
“Well,” Agent Rick began. “That’s a long story.”
“Is it?” Annalynn asked.
“No, it’s actually a short story,” Agent Rick explained. “It’s kind of a thing we do with Norway. They are jealous of our skill with hockey, so they steal our tissues, hoping we will be too sick to play. We are jealous of their amazing skiing, so we steal their scarves, and hope they will be too cold to ski.”
Annalynn nodded her head again. Yes, it made sense. Many people were jealous of Canada’s skill on the ice. Although, she did think that Canadian Spies should have something better to do with their time.
She turned to her dad. She was not sure if she would be allowed to work as a spy. It sounded dangerous, and her parents normally did not allow her to fly to other countries on her own and steal back stolen items. “Can I go?” she asked.
“Caaaauuugggghhhhh!” her dad said.
“Pardon me?”
“Sorry, Annalynn, I was just clearing my throat,” her dad said. “You may go on this spy mission. Your country needs you.” He then knelt beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. “You are a brave young woman, and I know you can do it. Be safe, Annalynn. And be a good spy.”
Her dad’s face then scrunched up, and she could see he was about to sneeze. She dove off to the side just in time to avoid getting sick.
When she climbed to her feet, she said to Agent Rick, “I’ll go!”
“Excellent! Your jet is waiting for you outside,” the man said.
“I get to fly in a jet?” Annalynn asked. She jumped up and down, and her face broke out in a large grin. She had never been so excited in her life.
“Yes, of course. All of our spies fly in jets,” Agent Rick said and then stopped for a moment. “Well... actually... Monique never needs a jet since the phone is right next to her. Frank doesn’t use a jet since he mainly patrols the forest and protects the nation against Moose invasion. And I drive a Honda. So... you are the only regular Agent who gets to fly a jet.”
“Wait... did you just say I have to fly the jet?” Annalynn asked. “I don’t know how to fly a jet!”
“Oh, you’ll figure it out,” Agent Rick said with a smile. “It’s not that hard.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Well,” he began. “To be honest, I’ve never flown a jet. But it doesn’t look all that hard. The person climbs in, and a few minutes later, the jet flies off. It looks easy to me.”
“Okay,” Annalynn said. She felt a little nervous about trying to fly a jet by herself, but maybe he was right.
Agent Rick handed her a piece of paper and said, “Travel to these coordinates. That’ll take you to the CSIS headquarters. Once you arrive, we will give you your spy gadgets and the information you will need for your mission.”
Annalynn smiled at the thought of getting her own spy equipment. She was about to grab her coat and run out the door when Agent Rick did something odd. He lifted up his eye patch, moved it over to his other eye, and blinked a few times.
“Wait!” Annalynn said. “You mean you don’t need an eye patch?”
“Need an eye patch?” Agent Rick asked. “Oh no, of course not! I only wear the eye patch to make people think I’m a pirate.” He then leaned down and said, “Good luck, Agent Annalynn,” before he ran out the door.
“What a strange man,” her dad said, then added, “Caaaauuugggghhhhh! You’d better get going, Annalynn, before the NIS uses up all the tissues!”