“I win,” said Samantha. “Let my uncle go.”

Absolute smiled and shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” he chuckled. “He’s going to be divided, and then your father will be, too…or four or eight.”

“What?” Samantha asked. “I just gave you a challenge and you failed. Let my uncle go.”

The big man nodded at her.

“That was impressive,” he replied. “But I just wanted to see what kind of trick you’d try to pull. I’m keeping your uncle….And your father, too.”

“What?” Samantha cried.

“Unless you want to tell me where the red umbrella is hidden.”

“No fair!” she shouted.

“I’m the boss,” he snapped. “Or don’t you remember? I get to say what’s fair.”

He turned and pointed at Mr. Spinner.

“Take that guy away,” he called. “It’s boxing time.”

“I agree, one hundred percent,” said Samantha’s father.

Absolute’s face twisted in confusion. “Huh?” he grunted. “You do?”

Suddenly Mr. Spinner turned and pointed to the entrance of the SNOW dome.

“Wow! Look over there!” he shouted. “It’s a famous mathematician with an advanced degree in dynamical systems and differential equations!”

Every single member of the SNOW turned toward the entrance and stared.

“Where?” asked Absolute, peering at the tunnel. “I don’t see anyone.”

In one swift move, Mr. Spinner took off his hat and tossed it to Samantha.

She caught it.

“Very funny,” said the SNOW boss, turning back around. “Could someone please get that girl out of my sight?”

“Sure thing, boss,” said an agent close to Samantha.

But before anyone could move, Samantha held out the hat and squeezed the rim. A red boxing glove shot from the top.

Bop!

The glove struck the agent and sent her flying backward.

Absolute looked at the agent sprawled on the floor, then at Samantha.

“Never…mind,” Absolute sighed. “I’ll put them both in boxes myself.”

He pushed up a sleeve, made a fist, and marched up to Samantha.

As soon as he drew near, she fired the hat again.

Bop!

It struck Absolute on the chin.

And he didn’t budge.

The SNOW boss smiled down at her. Then he reached out with both massive hands and—

Samantha stepped forward and squeezed the top hat twice.

Bop-op!

“Cut that out,” he said to the double punch. “Can’t you see that doesn’t—”

Bop-op! Bop!

The glove punched Absolute three times.

“I said cut that out!” he snapped. “That silly hat isn’t going to—”

Boppity! Bop-op!

Samantha fired the hat at the hulking mathematician five more times. She noticed he rocked back on his heels a little after the fifth punch.

Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op!

The red boxing glove hit Absolute eight times.

“I thought I told you to stop!” he shouted.

Samantha watched him carefully. His eyes darted behind her for an instant, then locked back on to her. She spun around to see two SNOW agents charging at her. One held a pickaxe. The other had a shovel raised above his head.

Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Bop-op!

Samantha blasted them with a flurry of thirteen punches. Both agents staggered backward, dropping their weapons.

She whirled back around in time to see Absolute lunging toward her.

Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op!

She fired the hat twenty-one times.

Her hands were getting tired, but Absolute was starting to look worn out, too.

Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op!

Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Bop-op!

She sent the boxing glove crashing into the big man’s face thirty-four times in a row.

“The Fibonacci sequence,” a SNOW agent called out.

Absolute turned and pointed at the woman menacingly. “Be quiet!” he snarled. “I’m trying to—”

Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op!

Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Bop-op!

Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Bop-op! Boppity! Boppity! Bop-op!

Samantha blasted Absolute on the back of his head, fifty-five times. He spun to face her but lost his footing. He stumbled and fell, landing on his rear end with a thump.

The SNOW boss looked up at her from where he lay on the ground. His face was as red as a leather boxing glove. Breathing heavily, he glared at Samantha. Then, slowly, he climbed to his feet. Samantha thought he might charge at her again. Instead he turned and stomped to the circle of SNOW men and women surrounding them. He walked along the ring of SNOW people and stopped beside a man holding a shiny device. Samantha recognized it as one of the carving tools that the SNOW used to cut the diamonds and crystals.

“Give me that!” he snapped, grabbing the strange tool from the SNOW agent.

He pushed a button on the side of the tool, and it began to hum and glow. Then he walked over to Samantha’s father and pointed it at him.

“Hands up,” he barked.

Mr. Spinner raised both hands.

“Drop the hat, girl,” Absolute ordered.

Samantha froze. The glowing blue tip of the tool was inches from her father’s face. Slowly she lowered the hat. Then she sighed heavily and dropped it to the floor.

“Good,” said Absolute. He turned back to his prisoner. “Now you,” he said. “Go stand next to the girl.”

Absolute kept the device pointed at Mr. Spinner as he went to Samantha.

“You have exactly ten seconds to tell me where the umbrella is hidden,” he growled.

Samantha stood, frozen, keeping an eye on the glowing machine.

“Do you think this is some kind of game?” he snarled.

He turned a knob on the handle of the menacing device. Several shapes began to blink along the body of the tool: red…yellow…blue-white.

“Tell me where the umbrella is….NOW!” he barked.

Bright flecks of light sparkled and bounced. One of the glowing blue bits landed in her father’s hair. It smoldered.

Samantha closed her eyes and drew a long, deep breath and held it for a moment. Then she opened her eyes and slowly let out her breath.

“Okay,” she told the big man. “I hid the umbrella in the—”

“Watch out for the rain!” Mr. Spinner interrupted.

“Be quiet!” snapped Absolute.

“Ninjas, Dad?” Samantha asked. “Really?”

“No,” her father replied. “I’m talking about the rapidly approaching impact of Nipper.”

WHAM!