Street Festival

Crosstown Shuffle

During her lunch break on Thursday, Agent Harriet attended a record store and purchased three (3) copies of the 1960 Lou Donaldson album The Time Is Right. When she returned to work, she telephoned both Agent Nicky Parsons and Agent Emily Abernathy. She told them she required them in her office immediately for a very important meeting.

There was no argument from her agent colleagues and they promptly attended her office.

Harriet: “Take a seat ladies, while I close the door.”

When she returned to her desk, Harriet located two (2) copies of The Time Is Right Lou Donaldson Album.

As Harriet presented the first copy to Agent Parsons she said: “Crosstown”.

As she presented the second copy to Agent Abernathy, she said: “Shuffle”.

The agents quietly took the record gifts, as Agent Harriet continued:

“Ladies, There is a street festival in the Emily neighbourhood on Saturday that requires our attendance.”

As Agent Harriet was speaking, Agent Parsons was also perusing her gift record. In reply she said: Track 6, Crosstown Shuffle. Nice work, Agent Harriet. I am in for Saturday.

Emily: Stuffy Shirts at my neighbourhood street festival. Count me in. And thank you for the record, Harriet.

Emily: Is meeting at my apartment at 11:00 am Saturday convenient, Ladies?

Nicky: Yes.

Harriet: I will do the Crosstown Shuffle.

Nicky: Excellent. And thank you for the record, Harriet.

Harriet: You are welcome, ladies. I bought a copy of the album for myself as well.

Emily: By the way, Agent Harriet. You were correct. This is a very important meeting.

Laughter then filled the room.

Emily Neighbourhood Street Festival

The Stuffy Shirts were having a very pleasant lunch at an outdoor café during the street festival in the Emily neighbourhood.

Harriet looked at the passing crowd and said: “I do not believe it.”

She then reached into her handbag and produced a photograph of a dangerous Iron Curtain assassin and placed it on the table, secured by her hand.

Nicky Parsons: (Somewhat exasperated) Really?

Harriet: Yes. Small work handbags, ladies.

Emily said: “Always come prepared” as she produced her firearm.

All three Stuffy Shirts then fixed their aim on the Iron Curtain Assassin.

Nicky Parsons: For Queen

Emily and Harriet: And Country. 

Six (6) rounds were then put into the Iron Curtain Assassin: Two (2)in his forehead and four (4)  in his chest. His street festival was over.

Harriet then went inside to the cafeteria staff and asked to use their telephone. She called the incident in to MI6 and requested an immediate clean up team. She then returned to the Stuffy Shirts.

Emily: You would think they could show some respect for our working hours.

Nicky: This guy was showing consideration, of sorts, for our taste for tea and muffins and the like.

Harriet: Still, a nice ambience at the street festival while we wait for our clean up colleagues to arrive.

Emily: It seems we need a fresh pot of tea.

The MI6 clean up crew arrived before the fresh pot of tea and the Stuffy Shirts filled them in on how the situation developed. The conversation was brief. The work of the clean up crew was swift and the Stuffy Shirts returned to their table just before the fresh pot of tea arrived.

Young Thief

Roughly 40 minutes later, a young thief was foolish enough to try to steal the handbag of one of the Stuffy Shirts. A man at a nearby table grabbed the thief and had a conversation with him.

“Put that back and get out of here. Do not mess with these ladies. They will kill you.”

The thief was not immediately persuaded.

Nicky Parsons then noticed the conversation and said: “A thief.”

Upon seeing and hearing Nicky Parsons, the man at the nearby table said “This will not end well for you, Mr Thief.”

Emily produced her firearm and shot the prospective thief in his right thigh.

Emily to the thief: “Just wait there until our colleagues arrive.”

Harriet: This looks like a volunteer for a human shield.

Nicky: Precisely what I was thinking. I will call in for transport for him.

Nicky then went to a nearby public telephone and called MI6 to request a transport team attend for their new found volunteer.

Nicky returned to the Stuffy Shirts and spoke to the thief: “We have an adventure for you. You will find out its details later.”

Emily: “When our colleagues arrive, they can treat your wound for you. No need to panic.”

Harriet: “The adventure will be memorable for you.”

Nicky Parsons greeted the MI6 transport crew before they arrived at the table with the Stuffy Shirts and the thief. The conversation was brief and the thief offered no resistance when he was taken into MI6 custody.

Harriet: When I heard the street festival was advertised as colourful, this was not what I had in mind.

Nicky: Emily told you previously her neighbourhood was colourful.

Emily: So long as this kind of colour arises only when either or both of you are here, it will be fine.

Monday Morning

When Nicky Parsons arrived at work Monday morning, Harriet, M1 and M2 were in her office.

Parsons: This is interesting.

Harriet: Obviously we are having a team meeting to organise a raid. Never let a human shield go to waste.

Nicky Parsons then telephoned Emily: Emily, Team meeting in my office, now.

Within five (5) minutes Emily was in the office of Nicky Parsons and the team meeting got underway.

Parsons: Agent Harriet, The floor is yours.

Harriet: There is a tailor shop in BeBop Circus that has a large contingent of Iron Curtain clients. My information is that three (3) particularly nasty chaps will be present at 3:00 pm today for a suit fitting.

Emily: So, an adventure for our degenerate thief friend?

Harriet: Precisely.

Harriet: I think this is a three (3) team raid. So Nicky might organise the other two (2) MI6 teams.

M2: Like the bookstore raid.

Harriet: Yes.

Parsons: Why not. Monday is a good day for an adventure.

Harriet: Conveniently, our degenerate thief is still being held in the cells downstairs in this building.

Emily: Wonderfully considerate of him.

M1: It seems no positional changes are needed, so M2 and I will be on equipment and driving duties.

Parsons:

• M1 and Agent Emily will cover the back entrance.

• M2, Agent Harriet, Mr Degenerate Thief and I will take the front entrance.

Harriet: I have prepared a Mission Folder, which you can all read before we meet back here at 1:30 pm.

Parsons: I will let you know if I have any trouble recruiting the two (2) extra MI6 teams. Otherwise, it is back here at 1:30 pm.

The team meeting then ended and the agents dispersed to their respective offices to read the contents of their Mission Folders and prepare for the raid.

Harriet also telephoned the custody agents holding Mr Degenerate Thief to let them know he was going on an adventure later that day. They assured Agent Harriet they would have him available for her.

The 1:30 pm Famous Five team meeting was brief. There were no hitches in their preparation for the raid. So it was off to the car park, collect the handcuffed Mr Degenerate Thief for his adventure and then make their way to the BeBop Circus tailor shop.

En route to the raid venue, there was no conversation in the motor vehicle. No one wanted to spoil the adventure surprise for Mr Degenerate Thief.

Upon their arrival, the agents alighted from the vehicle and put on their protective jackets.

It was about that time when Mr Degenerate Thief again heard the street festival man from a nearby table say to him: “This will not end well for you, Mr Thief.”

Instructions to the raid teams, including the two extra MI6 teams, from Agent Parsons were brief: “We all know the drill for this. Let’s go.”

Agent Parsons had one arm of Mr Degenerate Thief and M2 had the other. They were pulling him to the front door of the tailor shop.

As they paused at the front door, M2 spoke to Agent Parsons: “Happy to do this for you, Agent Parsons.”

Parsons: “As you wish, M2. Mr Degenerate Thief, You are enabling some on the job training.”

M2 grabbed Mr Degenerate Thief tightly and placed him in front of him.

M2 said: “This is your adventure and it will be memorable.”

M2 then breached the front door of the tailor shop with his colleagues behind him.

The response of the Iron Curtain assassins to the interruption to their suit fitting was predictable and unfriendly. They chose to greet the MI6 agents with gunfire.

M2 held Mr Degenerate Thief tightly in front of him. The adventure for Mr Degenerate Thief was about to reach its pinnacle. He took most of the gunfire from the Iron Curtain assassins, as the other MI6 agents fanned out and surrounded the assassins. M2 held his target well and having taken almost all of the gunfire from the assassins, there would be no more stealing for Mr Thief. His time had expired.

The trigger-happy Iron Curtain assassins being fitted for their suits did not expect a breach from the rear. A couple of well placed rounds to their calves saw them drop to the floor and neutralised. In no time at all the three (3) assassins were in handcuffs.

The raid went very smoothly. The Iron Curtain assassins were captured and Mr Thief got the adventure his behaviour deserved.

Nicky Parsons looked at the now dead body of Mr Degenerate Thief lying motionless on the floor and said: “Your friend at the street festival table was correct. This did not end well for you.”

Nicky Parsons: Good job, team. All of you.

Agent Harriet was already on the tailor shop telephone calling the raid situation in to MI6 and the clean up team would soon be in attendance.

Nicky Parsons spoke to the Iron Curtain assassins just before the MI6 clean up team took them away to MI6 headquarters: (Pointing to the now very dead Mr Degenerate Thief) “This is what happens to you, if you do not cooperate with us.”

The MI6 agents all made their way to their motor vehicles and returned to MI6 headquarters.

As they were driving back to MI6 headquarters, Agent Emily said: “Did someone say detour for a cup of tea and a bite to eat?”

Harriet: Indeed, they did.

M1: Yes.

M2: Absolutely.

Nicky: Detour for a cup of tea and a bite to eat it is, then.

Emily: Good job today, M2. You can choose our food venue.

Parsons: Good job, M2. Good job, everyone.

Shooting Range

Just over three weeks after the tailor shop raid, Agent Parsons held a Famous Five team meeting in her office.

Parsons: “How is everyone with their firearms training?

The reason I ask is the three Iron Curtain bad guys were captured at the tailor shop raid are apparently having memory problems and are not cooperating by providing MI6 with the information we want. I thought they could accompany us to the shooting range and we could help them with their memory lapses.”

M2: An important part of shooting training is to ensure you do not hit the wrong target. Having a live volunteer or three would be very useful for that practice.

Emily: Their presence could really help us focus on the targets.

Harriet: Very considerate of them to volunteer to help us with our firearms training.

M1: We do not want mistakes to occur when we go on missions. It is very helpful of them to volunteer to assist us with improving our skills.

Parsons: Can we go to the range today?

M2: Short of a mission, and happily we are light on them at the moment, this firearms training seems a priority.

Harriet: I just rang our custody people, the Iron Curtain bad guys are immediately available to accompany us to the MI6 shooting range, if that is our wish.

Parsons: OK. Can you collect your jackets and coats and be back here in 15 minutes.

M1: M2 and I have got the driving duties covered. No need to trouble any other MI6 agents.

As the three handcuffed Iron Curtain bad guys were being walked to the motor vehicles, Nicky Parsons said to them:

“We have an adventure for you. I am sure it will help you with the memory troubles you appear to be having."

When the team and their companions arrived at the shooting range, Emily said to everyone:

“Amazing luck for us. The shooting range people told me when I telephoned them earlier, we would be the only agents present and the entire range was at our disposal.”

All five agents accompanied the three Iron Curtain bad guys to their position on the shooting range, where they were each secured to a target on a lane. M1 and M2 seemed to be rather enthusiastic about tying them to their respective targets.

Apart from acknowledging the three volunteers were properly secured to the targets, there was no conversation during this process.

The five MI6 agents then assumed their positions in their respective shooting lanes.

The initial rounds of shooting saw the agents stick to their paper targets.

The silence was then broken by Emily: “Thigh”, as she put a round in the thigh of the first Iron Curtain Bad Guy.

Harriet put a round in the thigh of the second bad guy.

Nicky completed the set and put a round in the third bad guy.

M1 and M2 then loaded rubber bullets in their sniper rifles.

When they were ready to shoot, M1 said: “Ladies”.

The Stuffy Shirts then stood down and M1 and M2 fired many rubber bullet rounds at the Iron Curtain bad guys, mostly in their chest.

Having completed their shooting, The Famous Five made their way to the targets.

As Nicky Parsons detached and secured the paper targets, she said to her team: “Good shooting, team.”

Parsons then spoke to the Iron Curtain bad guys: 

“I thought we made it clear to you at the tailor shop, your obligation was to cooperate.

Careless of you to get yourselves in the path of live fire.

There is no point in any of you screaming. This is a shooting range. No on can hear you.

Are your memories getting any better?

We have plenty of time today to work on our firearms training.

In case you were wondering, you will not be getting any medical treatment until we return to MI6."

By this time M1 and M2 had returned to their shooting positions and reloaded their sniper rifles with rubber bullets.

As M2 said: “Ladies”, the Stuffy Shirts moved out of the firing line.

M1 and M2 then fired several rubber bullets into the knees of the Iron Curtain bad guys.

Agent Parsons continued to the Iron Curtain bad guys:

“I think I will get the MI6 agent to whom you have refused to provide information to attend here and interview you now. He can bring an MI6 doctor with him.

I have no patience for your lack of cooperation. Cooperate or we will finish the job.”

One of the Iron Curtain agents spoke, through the pain: “Bring your agent here and bring a doctor.”

His two bad guy colleagues said “Yes” several times in agreement with him.

Agent Parsons: “Wait here while I make a telephone call.”

Within five minutes Nicky Parsons was back and she confirmed the MI6 agent would soon be in attendance and he would bring a doctor with him.

When he and the doctor arrived at the shooting range there was a fairly short conversation between them and Agent Parsons about the developments with the Iron Curtain bad guys.

The MI6 agent then said to Agent Parsons: “We will take it from here. Thank you for your assistance.”

The Famous Five then proceeded to go through their usual shooting range clean up and left the range.

As they were about to get into their motor vehicles, Nicky Parsons said:

“ Good job, team. My watch says it is time for late lunch.”

Emily: My watch says it time for lunch.

Harriet: M2, That cafeteria of yours is calling.

M1: Lead the way, M2. Food is calling.

M2: Food it is.