Scavenger Hunt Section-Style

By Sherry

Part 1

Sherry sat at her desk wondering how she had ever gotten mixed up in this mess. She didn't want to be involved. The others would string her up when they found out. But orders were orders. Sighing she concentrated on how she could make this work. Then it hit her. She grabbed her phone and punched the number 2, the speed dial for North's office.

"Good morning, Northstar here."

"Hey North. It's Sherry. What's up?"

North sighed. "Oh just the usual. You know ... paperwork, keeping you guys out of trouble, paperwork, keeping you guys out of trouble, paperwork..."

Sherry laughed. "Okay, I get the idea. Since you're SO busy, I'll make this quick. Is there anything you are aware of scheduled for most of CLHQ this Saturday?"

North flipped through her master calendar to Saturday's date. "Well, a few of our members are scheduled for a mission. And there's voluntary martial arts training session in the morning. I'm not sure who all signed up for that. Otherwise, most everyone is free. What's up?"

And so it begins. "Well, I just thought I'd set up something for everyone to have a little fun. I haven't worked out all the details yet, but I'll be sending out invitations later today. Hope you'll be able to join us."

North grinned. What was Sherry up to now? They could all use a dose of relaxation and fun for a change. "I should be able to make it, unless Operations decides I'm needed elsewhere for the day."

Sherry laughed. "Oh, don't worry about Ops. I'll make sure he leaves you alone."

North laughed. "Really? And just when did you get such pull with Operations?"

Sherry smiled. "You know a good operative never reveals anything. But I have my ways. Talk to you later."

Sherry wandered around her room, straightening up while she worked out the plans in her head. She had just about finalized her plans when the phone rang.

"Hello."

"Did you work it out yet?" the voice on the other end asked.

Sherry sighed. "Yes, I'm just about ready to send out the invitations. I'll make sure to copy you on it so you can follow my progress."

"Fine," and a dial tone was the only answer she received.

Once she had finished straightening up, Sherry sat down on the sofa and wrote up the invitation and worked out the plan on paper. She thought it would work. She would, of course, need the help of a few key people. She couldn't ask Birkoff ... the girls could make him talk too easily. She could ask Davenport and Walter and, of course, Michael. With that decision made, she set out to find the three men and see if they were available to help.

As Walter was the easiest person to find, she headed for his station first. "Hey Walter, what are you up to?"

Walter looked up from the weapon he was recalibrating and smiled. They he leaned over conspiratorially and whispered "I'm working on our escape, darlin'. You and me leavin' this dank, dark, miserable joint behind us and spending the rest of our lives having the time of our life."

Sherry laughed. "Dream on, old man."

Walter, feigning offence, replied "Hey, watch it there. Next time you need a weapon you might just find yourself out of luck."

Sherry, pretending proper repentance, answered, "I'm sorry, Walter. I didn't mean it. You know you are the only man for me," she paused and then continued ... "after Michael."

Walter laughed. "Sherry you are gonna have to just get over this Michael fixation you have. There are other men out there you know."

Sherry smiled. "Oh I know ... believe me I know. But seeing as how Michael and I were preordained long, long ago ... why should I tempt fate?"

Walter shook his head. "You always have an answer, don't you?"

Once the mandatory bantering was out of the way, Sherry explained to Walter what she needed and asked if he would help.

"Sure, I'll help. Count me in."

Sherry leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks Walter. I appreciate it."

Next she headed to Comm and Birkoff. The computer genius was pretending to be very busy, wanting to head off any confrontation or favor asking. Sherry, however, wasn't having any of it.

"Whatcha doin', Birkoff?"

Birkoff gave her a quick glance and then replied. "I'm busy and no, I don't know where Michael is."

Sherry smacked him upside the head and swung his chair around to face her. "I know where Michael is, Birkoff. He's having lunch with Rita. He will be back shortly. That's not what I wanted."

Birkoff smirked, "Will wonders never cease?"

Sherry aimed for his head again, but this time Birkoff ducked. "So what do you want?"

"I want to know where Davenport is."

Birkoff shook his head. "Don't you have anything better to do than chase down all the men in Section?"

Sherry thought about it for a minute and then answered "Nope."

Birkoff sighed and punched a few keys on his computer. "Davenport is on his way in from the Tanager mission. He should be here in about an hour."

Sherry started back to her room. Then she paused and turned back to Birkoff. "Thanks, Birky. It's always a pleasure." Birkoff picked up the nearest thing to him, which happened to be a disk containing the profile for an upcoming missing, and threw it at her. Sherry grabbed it and looked it over. "Shame on you, Birky. Never throw the mission profiles around. Madeline wouldn't appreciate it." Then she tossed it back to him and headed back to her room.

Sitting at her desk, she wrote out the invitation and emailed one to everyone in CLHQ. It read:

EVERYONE IS INVITED FOR FUN AND GAMES

Shindig hosted by: Sherry

When you ask? This Saturday from 1:00 p.m. until ????

Where? Meet me near the Gazebo in the rear of CLHQ.

Wear comfy clothes – NO MISSION CLOTHES!

And bring along your sense of adventure ... details provided on site.

RSVP by 9:00 p.m. Friday evening

Once the invitations were sent, Sherry sat down and went over her notes one more time to make sure she hadn't overlooked anything. Satisfied, she headed back to Section to find Davenport. It took a little convincing, finally she explained part of the reason to him, and he agreed to help.

When she got back to her room, Michael had returned from his lunch with Rita and was waiting for her.

"Where have you been?" he inquired.

Sherry walked passed him toward her bedroom and threw the answer back over her shoulder. "I was making plans with Davenport for Saturday."

Michael was taken aback by her answer for a moment, but then he realized she must be trying to goad him into something. He decided to play along.

"Oh. And just what might those plans be?"

Sherry laughed and called out from the other room, "Well, Michael, aren't you the nosy one? Suppose I told you it was none of your business?"

Michael was walked toward her bedroom and leaned against the doorjamb as he said, "Then I guess I would have to find a way to make you talk. Besides, you are my business."

Sherry stood her ground and gave him the blank stare in return. "Really? What did you have in mind?"

Michael moved toward her slowly. "Well, how about I just show you and we'll find out if it works."

Sherry turned her back on him. "Michael. You know better. You trained me after all. But if you really must know, Davenport and I have a date for Saturday."

That stopped him in his tracks. She smiled to herself before she blanked her expression once again and turned back to him. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

Michael straightened his jacket and then simply said, "Nothing is wrong. I'm just ... surprised."

Sherry was enjoying this too much. "Surprised? Why? Oh, I get it. It's okay for you to mess around with everyone in CLHQ, but I should sit home and wait for you ... is that it?"

Michael was beginning to wonder if he'd stumbled into the Twilight Zone. "No. It's just that ... well, we did get engaged in Hawaii, didn't we? I didn't realize you had changed your mind and wanted to see other men."

Sherry, wishing she had taped this to play for the others, continued. "And if I do?"

Michael sighed. He didn't know what was going on. Why the sudden change? Then he had a thought. Perhaps Madeline and/or Operations had put her up to this. "Answer me something honestly."

"Of course, Michael. You know I never lie to you."

"Did Operations or Madeline put you up to this? Did they suggest that the engagement wasn't a good idea?"

Sherry knew she had to come clean soon, but she simply shook her head. "No Michael, nothing like that."

Still confused, Michael decided to try again. "You really want to date Davenport?"

Sherry finally could hold it back no longer and started laughing. "I'm sorry Michael, I just couldn't help it. No, I don't want to date Davenport. No, I'm not calling off the engagement. No, I didn't change my mind. I just wanted to shake you up a bit. Forgive me?"

Michael wasn't too thrilled with the joke being on him, but he decided to let it go ... this time. "I'll let it go this time. But I wouldn't advise trying it again. Next time I just may go along with you and call the whole thing off."

Sherry moved over and hugged him. "Okay, Michael. No more jokes. I'm just feeling kind of full of myself today for some reason."

"Obviously," was his only reply. "So back to my original question. Where were you?"

Sherry laughed. "Actually I was making plans with Davenport for Saturday."

Michael groaned. Sherry put her finger to his lips though before he could continue. "If you just come and sit down with me I'll explain it all to you. I need your help as well, if you're free."

Sherry explained what was going on and what she had planned. She explained that she had already asked Walter and Davenport for their help and they had agreed. "So Michael, will you help."

Reaching over and squeezing her hand, he answered "Of course, I'll help, as long as I'm not needed for a mission. Let's go over everything one more time to make sure you haven't overlooked anything."

Part Two

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful and Sherry got busy with the final preparations for the day. She checked with Christopher to make sure he had everything under control and that the food would be ready when she wanted it. Then she checked with Walter and Davenport to make sure they were still available.

Checking her email one last time in case she got any late RSVP's, Sherry sat down to work out the teams. Once that was finished, she knocked on Michael's door to see if he had returned. He had some administrative work to do for Operations this morning and she hoped that he wouldn't get called out for a mission at the last minute. When she heard him calling for her to come in, she breathed a sigh of relief. Sticking her head in the door quickly, she asked "Are you still able to help out today?" Michael assured her that he was and then she returned to her room to get ready. She was nervous... She just hoped it didn't show.

She had just finished changing into some comfy clothes and was standing by the window watching the activity below when the connecting door opened and Michael walked in. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. "Nervous?" he asked.

Sherry leaned back against him and nodded her head. "I thought so. Just relax. Your plan is very good. You've thought of everything."

Turning around to face him, she kissed him and then sighed. "I know Michael. But they are all going to hate me when they find out."

Michael pushed a stray hair back from her face and then shook his head. "No they won't. They might be a little upset at first, but they will understand. They are your friends."

Sherry pulled away from him and headed back into the room. "I know. That's why I don't like this."

Michael followed her into the room and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry. I know this is hard for you." Sherry let him hold her for a few more minutes and then took a deep breath and said, "Well, I guess I better get to it. It's almost time."

Michael helped her gather up her notes and equipment, gave her one last reassuring hug and kiss, and then he headed for his office and she went outside.

It was almost 1:00 by the time she got outside and everyone was already there. Sherry mingled for a few minutes, greeting her friends and making sure everyone was there that said they would be. Then it was time to get started. She made her way to the front of the group, picked up the microphone Birkoff had set up for her, and once she had everyone's attention she began.

"Hey everyone. Thanks for coming. I figured we could all use a little fun for a change and got permission from Operations to do this. What we are going to do is have a Scavenger Hunt/Road Rally." There were hoots and hollers when Sherry announced the activity for the afternoon. At least everyone seemed happy about it.

"You will be paired off in teams of three. Each team will be given a Section vehicle ... not a mission van ... to travel in. And yes, this will require some traveling away from CLHQ. Each team will be given the same equipment. Each team will, however, be given a different object to find. And each team has only one thing to find. Once everyone has returned, we will enjoy some refreshments."

Sherry paused and took a deep breath. So far so good.

"Now, I'll announce the teams. Northstar, Curlly and Sylvia will be one team. Rita, Kit and Nabiki will be a team. Kathy, Aly and Trace will make up a team." Sherry continued down through the list until everyone was teamed up.

"I'm only going to give you the directions once, so listen up everyone. There are three people in Section who have the information you need. Walter, Davenport and Michael. It will be up to you to make them talk. And only one of them has the information pertinent to the object you are to find. It doesn't matter how your team goes about it. Whether you all talk to Walter at the same time, or each of you takes one man and tries to get the information. However, you cannot listen in on any of the other teams. You will have to wait your turn."

Sherry could hear a few grumbles from the group already. "Oh great ... we have to make Michael talk? Might as well give up now." "This sure sounds like a lot of work. Thought this was supposed to be fun."

Taking another deep breath she continued. "I have three back-up teams here waiting in case any of you get into trouble. Mentz, Gray and Roy all have teams on standby in case they are needed. But, only if you get into trouble."

Rita decided to speak up. "Hey Sherry. Thought this was supposed to be fun. Sounds like a lot of work to me. And what's this about getting into trouble? I thought it was a simple scavenger hunt?"

Sherry groaned. She knew this was a bad idea. She should have never agreed to it. "It will be fun. Once we get the rules out of the way, I'm sure you will all have fun when you're out on your own. As for the trouble, you never know what could happen. Maybe one of you will fall down and get hurt. Or what if your vehicle breaks down somewhere. They guys are only here in case. I'm not expecting any trouble. Honestly."

"Okay, fine. Just hurry up and get on with it," Rita answered.

"If you will get together with your team members, I'll hand out your assignments now. Each team will be given a SHOEHORN, a CANDLE, and a pair of NAIL CLIPPERS to use in whatever way they see fit. And each of you will have your comm sets, to be used only in case you need help from our back-up teams. Now, if each group will come up, I'll hand out your assignments."

North's group made their way up front first and Sherry handed North a PDA with their instructions. "You guys are to find a COMPUTER DISK containing an UMBRELLA FILE describing recent attacks on churches."

North looked at Sherry curiously. Sylvia spoke up. "An umbrella file about attacks on churches? You've got to be kidding."

Sherry smiled. "Nope, I'm not kidding."

Curlly grabbed Sylvia's arm and tugged. "Come on guys. The sooner we get started the sooner we can get back and eat!"

They all laughed at that and Sherry called out, "One more thing. You can't begin until everyone has their instructions. I'll give the signal to start when it's time."

Next was Trace's group. "Okay Sherry, what do we get to find? I can't wait to get out there and start using my cat-like skills."

Aly groaned. "Please, Trace."

Sherry laughed. "You guys are to find a MAP with a location marked for an upcoming attack by a terrorist group called Eternal Night."

Kathy sighed. "This sounds an awful lot like work to me."

Trace threw her arm around Kathy and pulled her away. "Come on girl, get in the spirit of this thing!"

Sherry shook her head as they walked away and waited for Rita's group to move in.

"So, Sher, what are we looking for?" Rita inquired.

"You are looking for a computer disk with something called a "BAND AID" file on it. It is a contingency plan in case the original terrorist attack by a group called Eternal Night fails or is thwarted in some way." The group started to walk away and Sherry called out, "Oh and Rita, behave yourself when you are questioning Michael, okay?"

Rita laughed. "Me? Behave myself with Michael? Surely you jest!"

As soon as all the groups had their information, Sherry had Mentz pass out the keys to their vehicles and then she dismissed them all. Once they all headed to Section to "interrogate" their informants, Sherry slumped down on the ground. Roy walked over and sat down beside her.

"Something wrong?"

Sherry smiled at him. "Yeah, Roy. Just my life at this moment."

"Ah. Well, what can Uncle Roy do to help?"

Sherry laughed. "Not much, except make this whole mess turn out okay and get me out of it."

Roy nodded. "Michael talked to me a little about this. He said you were nervous about it. But you've done great so far."

Sherry laughed. "This was the easy part, Roy. Wait until they all get back and find out what is really going on. Then the real torture will begin."

Roy laughed. "Come on, now. They aren't gonna boil you alive or anything."

Sherry smirked. "I wouldn't be too sure. They aren't going to appreciate being lied to. And what if something happens to any of them. I won't ever forgive myself."

Roy threw an arm around her shoulders and said, "That's why you have us. If they get into any trouble, we bail them out."

"But what if you're too late? What if ..."

Roy put his hand over her mouth. "Stop with the what ifs, and all the gloom and doom. Have a little faith in your friends."

Sherry smiled. "I do. You're right. Okay. Time to start thinking positively and stop borrowing trouble."

Roy nodded. "That's the spirit. Now you better get inside and see how things are going."

Sherry collected her things and headed back into Section. She noticed that Kathy's group was having a good time "interrogating" Walter. And he seemed to be totally enjoying it too. Rita's group had Davenport cornered and he was looking none too happy. She passed by Michael's office and saw North's group in his office. They were all looking rather frustrated. Michael would definitely not be an easy nut to crack. She watched for a few more minutes and then rapped on Michael's window. Everyone in the room looked and Sherry motioned for Michael to come outside. Michael excused himself from the group and met Sherry out in the hallway.

"Yes?"

"Michael, we want to have this over today. In the next couple of hours if possible. The object is not to frustrate the teams beyond reason. Just make them work for it a little and then tell them what they need to know."

"That's what I was doing," he answered.

"Well, the way it looked from out here, they would still be sitting there next year at this time waiting for you to tell them something."

Michael chuckled. "They just haven't hit upon the right motivation yet. Once they do, I'll sing like a canary." Michael walked back into his office and Sherry walked away shaking her head.