"Hidden Agenda"

[SKILORD]

I must agree, it is quite good.

[Civ3King]

"Assassinate Montezuma?", sly said as he scurried along the metal shaft behind Ixta.

"Did I stutter? Yes, assassinate him...", she continued as her eyes shifted to the right were another shaft ran off the one they were in. "Quick to the right."

Sly soaked in what he had just heard as he banked into the new shaft. After a few minutes of silence between the two, Sly spoke up.

"Where are we anyway?"

"Were in the Palace, also known as the "The Sun Temple", because of its design."

"Palace? Why would they keep me captured in the palace? Shouldn't they of tooking me to their intellegence base or atleast a jail?"

"How would I know, do I look like Aztecian Intellegence to you?", Ixta replied with an angry tone in her voice.

"Sheesh, I was only wondering. Don't have to blow your top."

"Shh, were almost here."

Quietly, Ixta pushed her left ear against the warm floor of the shaft. She sat there quiet and still as if waiting for something. After a few seconds she then moved back on her knees, while at the same time slightly sliding the shaft panel away from its position as to leave a small opening for somone to get out of. She then popped her head down in the opening and after a seconds she popped her head back up to face Sly.

"Listen and listen good. There is a buttler heading down this way and I want you to jump down, take his cloths, and then walk into that room on the immediate left. Got that?"

"Sounds simple enough. Is that all?", Sly said with a hint of arrogance in his voice.

"Oh yes, and one more thing...try and drag Montezuma out his office so I can get a clear shot of him."

"Sure, I can do...wait...what?!! Just wait a minute!!", Sly cried in protest.

His pleads, however had fallen on deaf ears and Ixta had already managed to push Sly down the small passage, bumping his head on the way. Sly rapidly fell to the green colored carpet that carried the seal of Communist Aztecia, a Jaguar Warrior carrying a hammer and axe with smiling faces of Aztecian citzens marching onward behind him.

Sly slightly shivered as he reconized the mighty emblem and jolted himself onto his feet. He then looked down the hall where the buttler was busy "test tasting" Montezuma's elegant dinner. Sly slowly tip toed to the buttler with the quitness of a mouse in a den of lions. The buttler finally noticed him, but by that time Sly had managed to sweep the innocent buttlers feet from under him and was covering his mouth. Sly looked down the lenght of the hall to make sure no one else had seen him and when he was confident that all was clear, he dragged the man into the nearest room and continued with the next step of Ixta's plan.

"Not bad.", Ixta said to herself from the shaft, a bit impressed with Sly's agility.

The sounds of muffled cries could faintly be heard as Sly exited the room. After looking down and up the hall once more, he wasted no time in getting into character as the buttler. He gracefully pushed the silver cart that carried the lavish dinner of Montezuma into the room he was supposed to draw the communist ruler out of. He entered the room which was partly flooded with light from the open window. After a few moments of adjusting his eyes to the light he stopped the rather squeaky cart in the middle of the room and looked about it.

To Sly's suprise the room was a bit more croweded then Ixta had bothered to describe. To the side of the entrance way, stood two gaurds, who appeared to be the same men that captured Sly in the resturant earlyer that day. Atleast, he thought it was today.
To the immediate right lay Montezuma, his military advisor, and his diplomatic advisor, so Sly guessed anyway. Montezuma and his company paid little attention to the agent in disguise as he set the food on the nearest table. This was both a good and bad thing for Sly. Good, because it gave Sly less chance for his idenity to be blown, but bad, because he needed the attention of Montezuma to bring him out the room itself.

"This will be a tuff one.", Sly muttered to himself as he set the forks and spoons out onto the table and contimplated his next move.

After Sly completed his task, he then went back over the cart and began to push it towards the door, but this time he took a route that went past Montezuma himself. As sly came closer her began to relish in the irony of the military advisor, bragging on about how "solid" their intellegence was. Little did they know an American agent was in the their mits. As Sly came by Montezuma, he slowly grinded his cart to a stop and faced the towering leader.

"I do not mean to interupt your meeting sir, but the chief chef wishes you to taste his new dessert. He thinks your taste buds will be the most delighted.", he said in the best Aztecian accent he had ever spoke since his training.

The cart begin to tremble with Sly's nervously shaking hands as he waited for Montezumas reply. He wondered in his mind if he had said the right thing or not, knowing his whole cover might of been blown with one sentence. Sly, however would be spared as Montezuma answered back with a friendly smile. Even with a sentence he actually understood.

"I suppose we can continue this on tommorow, Besides, my sweet tooth has been aching for something sugery. I accept Mr...?"

Sly paused for a second as his mind zipped through a list of Aztecian names. "Umm, Mr. Popolexita...", Sly said with unsure looks upon his face.

"Ah, very... intresting... name Mr. Popolexita, thank you for your service. Come, let us go the kitchen and taste this delectible dish."

Sly pressed his now relaxed hands on the cart and pushed it forward behind Montezuma. "Montey isn't as bad a guy as they say back in America. He's even a little bit friendly. Too bad he's about to become target practice of Ixta.", Sly thought to himself as he pushed the cart out the doorway and into the hall.

Sly was about to slide off into one of his many day dreams until something caught the corner of his eyes. It looked like something or somone was crawling from the room he had undressed from. As he turned his head, he knew who it....he....was. He was the real butler. He had somehow untied himself from the chair Sly had left him at and was making his way down the hallway towards the group. Apparently, Montezuma had also caught eye to the struggling buttler as he heard the confussed shouts of the ruler.

"What is the meaning of this? Who in world is that on the ground?!"

At the same time, both of the burly gaurds at the door stepped out to analyze the situation. The two simutanously looked from the tied up and gagged buttler on the ground, then Sly, and then towards Montezuma. In an instant, Sly broke out into a cold sweat, he could feel each drop of moisture slowly dripping down his back and front. The men had caught him the act. Surely they recognized Sly's face from that cafe, didn't they? The hall way stood silent for a seond, which felt like hours to sly as he waited for the burly men to blow Sly's cover....

"Hmm, must be some crazed worker or some revolutionary running about the palace, sir. Will handle the situation."

"You better, and don't be hasty either.", Montezuma said with a sturn and cold face that he was so often depicted with on American propeganda commercials. After the two men hurried down the hall way Montezuma turned around to tell "Mr. Popolextia" how lucky he was that it wasn't him who was harrased. To Montezuma's suprise, Sly was no longer there, only the empty silver cart, which left no hint of his where abouts.

Sly looked back to see if anyone was chasing him after he turned the corner. 'Where is Ixta anyway?!! She was supposed to make the shot!"

Sly then turned his head back around only to meet an arm, dangling from an open roof panel. As he saw the appendage, he came to a full slide on his heels and infront of the arm. He looked up to meet the face of Ixta who was signaling Sly to grab on. He hesitated for a seond, but heard the footsteps of somone approaching him from behind. He then jolted from his feet and lached onto Ixta's arm. With a powerful pull, she managed to lift Sly off the ground and into the shaft. She then closed the shaft as Sly stumbbled in and let some air into her lungs.

"Can't you do anything right?!", Ixta said as she gasped for air.

"Me?! Weren't you the one who was supposed to...oh...I don't know...assassinate Montezuma?!!", Sly said in a sarcastic tone.

"Well, I could if I didn't have to save somones butt every ten minutes!", she snapped back.

They both sat quiet after the tiny despute, before Ixta began to crawl into another shaft leading from the one they were currently in.

"Where are we going now?", Sly asked following her.

"Were going to Washington.", Ixta said with a sigh.

"Great!!", Sly thought happily to himself as he heard the news.
But of course, nothing is ever as easy as it sounds...

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Very good and more than a little amusing to boot. Nicely written and well humoured in fact nicely balanced and very enjoyable to read.

[Civ3King]

Ixta grunted as she kicked the vent opening with all her strength. The lead gate fell to the ground making a clanking sound as it landed. After Ixta examined the empty streets from above, she then jumped down from the side of the brick building with perfect agility, followed by Sly who simply fell to the ground.

"That was easy.", Ixta said as she rose off her right knee, revealing her true height.

"Easy?! What were you smoking while we were in there?", Sly groaned as he got up from his backside.

Ixta ignored Sly and continued towards the open streets of the city. The sunlight radiated against her face as she looked upon the congested streets of Tenochtitlan. She breathed in "fresh" air of city life as she stepped up to the edge of the sidewalk. She waved her hands about and yelled out something, which Sly tried to make out as he watched from a distance.

"What are you doing?", Sly asked her as he jogged up next to her on the left side.

"Calling for a taxi."

After a few taxis passed by the two, one finally came to a gentle stop before them. The man in the Taxi waved them with his right hand as he stopped. Ixta nodded and walked around the backside of the blue vehicle to pay the driver. She reached into her boot where she kept most of valuables, but to her surprise she found he wallet missing.

"What’s the problem Ixta?"

"My wallet must of fell out back there in the shafts"

They both looked at the taxi man who was becoming a little more then impatient with the two agents. He began holding his hands out for his proper payment. Ixta then looked at the driver and spoke up to him in Aztecian.

"Excuse me sir, were going to need to confiscate your vehicle for purposes that we cannot reveal at this current time. Trust me, it is the best interest of your country that we take your car", Ixta said with a smile.

However the driver would hear none of it and began to bellow with words neither Sly or Ixta had ever heard before, but knew they weren’t nice. Sly sighed and gave a quick but forceful punch to the driver’s face, instantly knocking him out. He then opened the green door and tossed the driver on the sidewalk.

"You are such a man...", Ixta said rolling her eyes as she entered the drivers seat.

Sly smirked and sat down in the passenger’s seat. Ixta waited for an opening and then turned into the active streets of the city, towards the American border.

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The city life turned into the rural country and then into the shady canopy of thick jungle as she drove down dirt road. Ixta turned the broken knob of the radio, which only gave static filled portions of the weather and news. She glanced over to Sly who was sleeping like a baby, drool running down from his mouth and his loud snoring filling her ear. She mumbled something under her breath and then cut to the rear view mirror, which showed a black car with tented windows. Ixta raised her eyebrow and pressed her hands against Sly's shoulders in hopes to wake him up.

"Sly, Sly, wake up!"

Sly turned with a moan, batting her hands away. "No mommy I don't want to go to school.... The kids pick on me and say I have big geeky glasses...."

Ixta rolled her eyes and began to shake Sly violently. This time breaking him from his peaceful sleep.

"What?! What?! Why did you wake me?", Sly said jumping from his relaxed position.

"This car behind us, it has been following us ever since we left the capital. Don't turn around, just look into he rear view mirror."

Sly glanced at the rear view mirror and sure enough there was a black car, cruising a short distance behind them. Ixta pressed against the gas, letting the car accelerate away from their pursuers, but the car behind them just increased its speed as well. She then pressed against the gas more, bringing the car near its top speed of 95 mph. The car behind them mimicked the agent’s car, but this time began to bump up against the back of their tiny blue car.

"What the heck is going on?!", Sly said as he jerked forward from the impact.

"Hold on Sly.", Ixta said as she pressed against the gas peddle with all her might, shooting the car forward at 95 mph. However, the taxi cars full speed was not enough to get the followers off it’s behind.

Ixta then made a sharp turn to the left, into the opposing lane throwing the driver behind them off. Their pursuer then speeded until becoming parallel with the passenger’s side of the taxi. Sly looked across into the tented window of the car, unable to make out the driver’s face. Ixta was also trying to make out the driver’s appearance, but as her eyes left the road a large truck was coming towards them. The honk of its massive horns broke Ixta from the side window and back in front of her. Instinctively she pushed the steering wheel to the far left, bringing the car into the jungle and barely missing the oncoming mac-truck. The car rattled and thundered as it ran over thick roots, branches, and vines before coming to a nosey halt.

Ixta rubbed her bleeding forehead that had hit the steering when the car stopped. She then looked over to Sly who was still screaming like a little girl who had just seen a monster. She covered his mouth with her right palm and opened the door with her left hand. After he stopped screaming both Sly and Ixta stepped out the car and examined their surroundings. They were in a dark, moist, humid, jungle and best of all they were lost.

"Great, what now?", Sly grumbled loudly, his voice echoing the through the jungle, sending a few birds flying away.

Ixta scratched her head and looked up into the canopy, which let in a few fragments of light. "We walk."

Ixta paced forward in a random direction, stepping over roots and ducking under low branches as she moved. Sly followed behind, quietly keeping his head down towards the ground. After ten minutes he spoke up in a nagging tone.

"You know Ixta if you were supposed to save me, then how is it I find myself endlessly trudging in a hot jungle on the brink of death? Not to mention almost getting ran over by a freaking mac-truck. What was Washington thinking when they sent you anyway?"

Sly paused for a moment as he waited for Ixta to counter his comment with her own, but there was only silence.

"Oh come one Ixta. Don't give me the silent treatment, I didn't mean it."

Sly was met with another pause of silence before he lifted his head up to look at Ixta. However, Ixta was no longer in front of Sly or anywhere near him for that matter.

"Hello? Ixta? Where are you?", Sly called out into the green surroundings.

After a moment he heard the snapping sound of a twig behind him, followed by the sounds of someone scurrying away.

"Ok Ixta, you've had your fun. Now come out, it's not funny anymore."

Sly turned around to face the noise as he felt a presence behind him.

"There you are Ix...", Sly gulped as he met the face of a male jaguar, which licked its chops in hunger. The jaguar then snarled loudly at Sly who was now a petrified stone. “.... You’re not Ixta..."

Sly then pivoted around and ran forward away from the beast. He could hear the paws of the jaguar beating against the ground behind him, but he dared not turn around to face it. Suddenly, his foot caught against a root and he flat onto the ground and into a roll. As his roll stopped against a tree trunk, he regained his eyesight revealing the jaguar only a few feet away from his position. Sly desperately tried to get to his feet, but the jaguar was already in the air, to pounce his prey...

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Phew what next for our intrepid hero ? this is great stuff