"Excuse me," I chimed. "You wouldn't happen to know if a certain Dr. Oldschool is about, would you?"
The docent looked at me curiously, then at Jeff and Clark. Back to me he asked "Would you three happen to be The Unbelievables?"
"Why, yes ... yes we are," I replied.
"Can I see your passports for proof?" The docent held out his hand expectantly.
"Well ... erm ... you see, we don't exactly ..." Jeff muttered.
"What Jeff is trying to say" I offered "is that were not exactly sporting anything in the way of proof if you know what I mean ..." Outside our snowboots we were still doffed in nothing but our pantsless snowboard training attire.
Not much pocket room for passports, even if they were current and we had'em.
But ... we look good.
"I've noticed" the docent sneered. "Still, I need a little proof. Answer me this: Where, exactly, in the state of Wyoming is this Wendigo Flats from which you hail?"
"Stiletto Flats. And it's in Nevada, not Wyoming," Clark corrected.
"Proof enough" he responded. "There's a room at the top floor of the observatorium that leads to the rotating dome. It's marked. You'll find it when you take the elevator down the hall," he pointed.
Exiting the elevator, we found the room without a problem. And it was marked.
"Caution: Giant moon-pulling ray beam thingamujig inside" it stated.
"Well isn't this quaint," I commented. I gripped the doorknob. "It's unlocked. This seems a little too convenient." I opened the door.
Sinister!
In the room three bulky, rather plain looking steel contraptions sat with men stuffed inside, only their heads exposed. They looked uncomfortable and they couldn't talk; they could only look at us, pleadingly. A note was on the floor addressed "Unbelievables: Read" in block letters.
"Another damned note," Clark huffed as he picked it up to see what it said. It was, of course, from Oldschool.
"Unbelievables: Attached to these men is my beam ray of which I spoke previously. You'll find it in another room adjacent to this one. The poor men before you are an integral part of the ray's workings. Try and free them and they die. Try and dismantle my beam ray and they die. The moon has precious little time left before it is brought down once and for all into the river. It's almost Moon River time! You have but one chance to save it, save these men and redeem yourselves as the protectors you claim to be ... but I'm not telling you how. I told you you're going to have to get your slacks dirty yourselves - no one else can take your place! It's almost Friday! Let's see what you can do ..."
