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“Oops!” Mrs. Power Walker said to Butterbean conspiratorially. She giggled. Butterbean thumped her tail on the floor.

“Seventh floor,” the elevator voice said.

“Bye, you two,” Mrs. Power Walker said as she power walked out of the elevator.

Butterbean waited until the doors had closed before she jumped up and hit the button for the ninth floor. Walt rolled her eyes.

“What? I didn’t want to be rude!” Butterbean said, sitting back down.

Marco and Wallace peered through the grate into the Coin Man’s apartment.

Wallace looked like he might throw up.“I shouldn’t even be here. I can’t believe you talked me into this. I ONLY GO TO THE EIGHTH FLOOR! I TOLD YOU THAT.”

“Yeah, but it’s fine, see?” Marco said, patting Wallace on the shoulder. “Nothing’s happening yet! It’s just that guy. Number Two.”

Through the grate they could see the second man perched nervously on the couch, cradling a drink in his hands. He also looked like he might throw up.

“Oh and look, it’s Chad! Hi, Chad!” Marco screamed, sticking his arm through the grate and waving.

Chad pulled himself up into the sink. He put two of his tentacles to his eyes and then pointed at the grate in a classic“I’m watching you” motion.

Marco waved a little less enthusiastically.“Looking good, Chad. Thanks for doing this!”

Wallace clutched Marco’s arm. “Should you be yelling and waving like that? With THAT PERSON sitting there?”

Marco didn’t get a chance to answer.

The elevator dinged outside. Marco looked at Wallace.“Here we go.” He put his fingers in his mouth and whistled.

Butterbean dragged the coin bag into a shadowy nook near the elevator.“Same plan as before?” She didn’t really love the idea of another mouthful of dirty sock, but for Polo? Number Two’s dirty socks were no problem.

Walt grinned.“I thought we’d try something different this time.” She bent down and whispered in Butterbean’s ear.

Butterbean wagged her tail. She liked the new plan.

When they heard Marco’s whistle, she stood on her hind legs and rang the bell.

The Number Two Man was so startled by the doorbell that his hand jerked, sloshing part of his drink down his front. Muttering to himself, he put the drink onto the coffee table and hurried to the door, wiping his hands on his pants as he went.

He opened the door cautiously and looked out into the hallway.

Marco and Wallace pressed their faces to the grate to get a clear look.

There, in the hallway, sat Walt and Butterbean. They sat perfectly still in front of the door, staring silently at the man.

He went pale.“Oh no. No,” he said, backing away. Then he slammed the door in their faces.

Marco and Wallace looked at each other.“I wonder if that’s what was supposed to happen?” Marco said.

“Well, shoot. That’s not what was supposed to happen,” Walt muttered, twitching her tail. She’d been sure that if they sat quietly, he would come out to see what was going on. But no. “How are we supposed to get him out here? Ring the bell again, Butterbean.”

Butterbean stood up and rang the bell again.

No one answered.

“We should’ve just gone for the ankles,” Butterbean said. “Or we could’ve knocked him down, and I could’ve done the nostril probe.”

“Hey! Hey, Walt! It’s Marco! Up here!”

Walt and Butterbean peered up at the ceiling, following the voice to the corner, where they could see Marco peeking out from a small grate.

“Boy, you freaked him out,” Marco said. “Was it supposed to happen like that?”

“Obviously not,” Walt said grouchily. “I didn’t think he’d have such bad manners.”

“Okay, well, don’t worry. Chad said he has a plan,” Marco explained. “When I whistle, try the doorbell thing again. Chad said he’s had it with this guy, and he’s not wasting any more time. He’s going to take him out.”

“Oookay,” Walt said. That didn’t sound terrific. In fact, “take him out” sounded really, really bad.

“So Chad… um. He’s okay, right?” Marco interrupted her thoughts. “ ’Cause he sounded super grumpy. I mean SUPER grumpy. And maybe a little scary.” More than a little, actually.

Walt hesitated.“Yeah, he’s a good guy. Octopus. Good octopus,” she corrected herself. But now that she thought about it, how well did she know Chad? Not that well, to be honest. And a grumpy octopus was capable of doing, well, anything.

“I guess we’ll just wait for the signal, then,” Walt said, trying to sound confident. The whole thing had gone completely off the rails.

She just had to hope for the best. It was up to Chad now.

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17

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CHAD INCHED HIS WAY THROUGH the pipe. He couldn’t believe he had gotten mixed up in this whole mess. And for a few measly sardines! It absolutely was not worth it. Still, it would be a good story later on, as long as the others didn’t get themselves killed. Actually, it would be a good story either way. But he might as well try to keep themalive. Make himself the hero. Happy endings always went over better in octopus circles.