Ivy's allies wasted no time. Zack got in the passenger side. Carmen and
Mortimer slid in the backseat. Ivy sat in the driver's seat and sped off,
with the enemy in hot pursuit.

"It's no use, Ivy! They're gaining on us!" Zack cried, watching the dashboard
uneasily as the speedometer needle moved slowly right.

"Not if I can help it!" Ivy retorted, pressing her foot to the accelerater.

Carmen pointed out the window. "Look out for that birch!"

"How are we going?" asked Mortimer.

Zack checked the speedometer. "About eighty miles an hour."

"Desperate times call for desperate action!" Ivy announced, glancing at a
road sign. "How would you all like to go to Durham?" The road turned sharply
right. Ivy turned sharply left.

"Ivy?" Mortimer asked. "Didn't you just take a wrong turn?"

"Just a little shortcut," Ivy responded.

Ivy's passengers closed their eyes, expecting a large crash. The car crashed
all right, but it crashed back on the road below.

Above them, the driver stopped the van, and Maelstrom and Lee stepped out.

"Looks like they went over the cliff." Lee observed.

"That goody two-shoes detective is too concerned about her image to kill
three innocent people." Maelstrom scoffed. "They're hidden somewhere. We draw
them out, and we'll have them!"

At the bottom of the cliff, Zack contacted the Chief, and the foursome C-5ed
back to San Francisco to attempt to trace the terrible twosome again.


Two hours later, Crimenet clicked.

Zack read the results. "Maelstrom sighted in Quebec, Canada." He pulled out
another printout. "Intercepted telegram from Lee to Maelstrom. It says
they're gonna meet in the Rochestor Hotel in Queens. So, should we try to
bust them there?"

"Maybe not," Carmen suggested. "I think they're making it a little too
obvious about where they're meeting."

Mortimer agreed. "It has to be a trap."

"But it's the only lead we have. If we snoop around the hotel and pretend to
be bystanders, they won't even notice us," Ivy contributed.
******************************************************************************

**
[Rochestor Hotel, Queens, New York, USA]

"There's Maelstrom," Ivy whispered to her three compatriots, pointing toward
the hall. The four of them were esconced in a corridor near Maelstrom's room.

"Don't look now, Ivy, but there's one of the henchmen," Zack said. Eagle Eye
was walking toward them.

"I've got your jacket, sir," Eagle Eye said to Mortimer, handing him a coat.

"What?" Mortimer answered.

"He thinks you're Lee," Carmen whispered.

"Could you say that again? Mebbe the boss is right. Perhaps my hearing is
going bad."

Ivy hissed in Mortimer's ear. "Maybe you can infiltrate them. Pretend to be
Lee!"

"I can't," Mortimer whispered back. "I don't look like Lee."

"You two could pass for fraternal twins and you say there's no resemblance?"
Zack repeated.

"Cover those curls, disguise your voice, and you'll fool Maelstrom." Carmen
added.

"Oh, do I really have to do this?" Mortimer asked. "Oh, well." He removed his
jacket and put on Lee's, buttoning it to the top and pulling up the collar.
Donning a baseball cap with the brim shadowing his face, he knocked on
Maelstrom's door.

Maelstrom opened the door and let Mortimer in. "Didn't know you wore baseball
caps."

"You like it? The salesman said I could pull it off." Mortimer said
nervously, trying to sound like Lee.

"That would be my suggestion as well." Maelstrom frowned at Mortimer.
"Something about you seems different, although I can't quite tell what it is.
You're not the Lee Jordan I know."

Mortimer stifled a gasp when he saw the papers in Maelstrom's hand. The
papers appeared to be plans to build a six-foot-tall-two-foot-wide bomb.

Maelstrom eyed Mortimer suspiciously. "You seem awfully nervous."

"Did my voice change?" Mortimer asked, in a passible adaptation of Lee's
voice.

"It's not that....something about your mannerisms."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Maelstrom answered it.

Bilge came in. "We planted the bomb, boss."

"Very good, Bilge." Maelstrom replied. "Have you got the detonator?"

"Right here." Bilge pulled out a remote control and handed it to Maelstrom.
The remote was a small, plain black box, with a large blue button in the
center.

Bilge opened the door. "I'll get Eagle Eye. He's so blind, he's probably
wandering the hotel." He left.

A few minutes later, Lee walked down the corridor.

Ivy spotted him. "Uh oh. Here comes Mr.
If-he-had-a-brain-the-size-of-his-ego, his-head-wouldn't-fit-in-Alaska!"

Lee approached the room, and forced the door open. He let himself in.

Meanwhile, Maelstrom had turned his back and wasn't paying attention to
Mortimer.

Lee grabbed Mortimer's arms and pinned his arms behind his back. "What are
you doing here? And is that my jacket you're wearing?"

Maelstrom turned around. "Ha. I knew there was something going on here." He
looked at Lee. "Your little twin was pretending to be you."

Lee looked shocked. "He was pretending WHAT?" He pulled out a leather strap,
which he used to secure Mortimer's wrists together. "So, you're adding
impersonation to your list of crimes, Mortimer. You should have known
better."

"You know," Maelstrom commented. "If this pathetic Acme detective were to
lose his life, would anyone notice? Or even care?"

"Dr. Maelstrom," Lee replied. "You've got a point."

"Dr. Maelstrom, indeed!" Mortimer snapped. "You're just a sadistic, pompous,
bad-tempered old soc-" He caught himself, then decided to say the word
anyway. "Sociopath."

Maelstrom was undaunted. "Oh? And what did you say?"

Lee grinned malevolently. "Well, he simply said that you're a sadistic,
pompous, bad tempered old sociopath! Ha ha ha."

"Shall we dispose of this nuisance?" Maelstrom suggested.

"Nah," Lee answered, dropping Mortimer in a chair by a small desk. "Let's
just leave him here."

"If you insist," Maelstrom sighed, as he and Lee left.

Outside the room, Carmen signaled. "There they are."

"So, Lee? Why did you suggest leaving him behind?" Maelstrom asked his
partner.

"It'll be fun to tell him we've blown up Acme Headquarters." Lee answered.
"Besides, he might die before we get back. Mortimer's not that strong."

Back in the room, Mortimer studied his surroundings. On top of the desk he
was next to was a glass of water. Mortimer kicked at the desk leg.

It worked. The water glass tipped over and spilled on the leather strap.

Mortimer twisted his wrists. The leather was stretching. Soon, his hands were
loose, but still not free. He looked at the desktop. There were papers, a
pen, and a few thumbtacks. One would have to do. Mortimer reached over and
gripped a thumbtack with two fingers and applied it to the strap. The leather
was thin, and cut through easily.

Mortimer went to the door and tried the knob. It was locked. Then he realize
something else--he was still wearing Lee's jacket. He absently stuck his
hands in the jacket pockets, searching for something to help. He drew out a
credit card, then slid it between the door and the crack. The door opened.

"I ought to be ashamed of myself," Mortimer muttered to himself as he left
the hotel room.

Zack saw him approach. "Mortimer, either you're a ghost or you were Harry
Houdini in a past life."

"Never mind that," Mortimer cried. "We have to go back to Headquarters.
That's where Maelstrom and Lee are going."

"C-5 us back to Headquarters," Ivy requested. The C-5 corridor opened, and
the four travelers stepped inside.

[San Francisco, California, USA]

Mortimer stepped out of the C-5 corridor. "I have to do something. Be back in
a flash." He ran off before his allies could ask anything.

Ten minutes later, there was static over the PTA. "All right, Acme. Listen
up. This is the grand, yet personable Lee Jordan. In three minutes, this
building will be blown to bits."

Zack and Ivy ran outside. Carmen followed, with the other Acme detectives in
close pursuit.

Outside the building, Lee and Maelstrom were directly across. Lee held the
detonator.

Mortimer joined the Acme detectives, saying nothing.

"Don't move," Lee commanded. "If I push this button, the Headquarters will be
destroyed."

"On second thought," Maelstrom said, snatching the detonator. "I think I'll
just push it anyway." He pressed the button.

Everyone screamed and ducked except Mortimer.

To be continued....