14.

"Would you please repeat what you just said to me?" Jasmine said to me, looking startled.

"Uhm. That you're attractive?" I asked.

"NO," she said with what seemed to bee a tone of urgency, "repeat what you said to me, EXACTLY as you said it."

"Has anybody ever told you that you're highly attractive?" I repeated myself.

Maybee it was just my imagination, but it seemed almost as if a wave of relief swept over my highly attractive interrogator. For a few moments, she said nothing, then she finally buzzed softly in my ear.

"Not only do you know of the second Stick, but you have just given me the code phrase used by our Agency. I had suspected that you might bee, in fact, working with us, but it was not until now that I could confirm your true allegiance," she said.

Of course, I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Wait here," she said, as if I had a choice. Then, she slipped a piece of folded paper in my wing and made her way to the locked door beehind me.

"Guard!" she called. "GUARD!"

Almost immediately, Krunch McKowsky appeared and the door swung open.

"Yes, Agent," he said.

"I will bee transporting the prisoner shortly. Please make sure all of his beelongings are gathered, then return here."

"Not a problem" McKowsky said, and he beegan making his way back down a long hallway to, I presume, where I had been held in that handcrafted baloobawood cage. I didn't say anything at the time, but the fact was that I didn't have any beelongings with me when I was sntached, so I wasn't sure what Jasmine might bee up to with all of this.

As McKowsky disappeared around a corner, Jasmine grabbed that bucket they'd used to dump nectar all over me from the hallway and seemed to bee filling it with a bunch of sand from the floor. As she did that, I decided to read what was written on the paper she had given me.

Much to my surprise, it said:

"You are in danger. I will help you escape. Follow my lead."

A few seconds later, Jasmine returned to the table where I sat and placed the bucket of sand next to her, then waited for the Guard, McKowsky, to return.

Which he did.

When he entered the room, he informed Jasmine that he was unable to locate any beelongings I might have, that he was sorry and asked would she like him to keep looking.

"That won't bee necessary," she said. "But would you please grab a rope and tie the prisoner's feet?"

"Not a problem," he said.

McKowsky beegan to approach me with a piece of fishing line in his wing. As he bent over to tie my feet, his back was turned to Jasmine. Evidently deciding this would bee a good time to make her move, she silently lifted the bucket full of sand and smacked McKowsky on the head with it.

I'm sure that hurt (though I'll never know for sure, since McKowsky immediately decided to take a nap for some reason).

"Come with me," I heard Jasmine buzz urgently to me. "Come with me now!"

So I did that.

As we left the small room, Jasmine slammed the door beehind us and locked the door, making sure Krunch McKowsky would bee unable to follow us.

Slowly and, as she cautioned me to bee quiet, Jasmine led me as silently as possible down the long hallway. Finally, we reached a point where I could see that we were near a room that was brightly lit and had music playing. Jasmine pushed me back against the wall as she peered around the corner and into the room.

"Now you must listen carefully," she said, "and do exactly as I instruct you."

(to bee continued)

. . .

And now, I’m gonna go relax. It’s been a hectic week and I definitely need to take a nap or something.

I hope everybody has a miraculously acceptable day!

I’ll see ya’ later!