"And this is my brother, Luke," Antithesis informed. She and Mortimer had
returned and were on the second floor of their cousin's home. Antithesis
turned to the staircase. "Luke, be nice to Mortimer." She went downstairs.

Meanwhile, Zack and Ivy were in the living room.

"Ive, what are Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Douglas going to do about Luke? Send
him to a monastery?"

"I don't know, Zack. Luke and forty monks....something's bound to happen."

"How about military school?" Zack suggested.

"Nah," Ivy replied. "He'll be a general and become the next Napoleon!"

There was a scream in the distance.

"What on earth was that?" asked Zack.

Ivy rose. "It came from the stairway."

The siblings entered the hall. Mortimer was lying crumpled at the foot of the
stairs. Luke stood on the bottom step, looking away.

Antithesis rushed in. "Oh, Mortie. Are you all right?"

Mortimer attempted to pick himself up. "I think so."

Antithesis helped him. "I think we'd better go get some ice."

Zack and Ivy glared at their remaining cousin.

"What?" Luke cried. "Just because the guy's accident prone means you're
pinning the blame on me? Heinous!" He turned and stomped off.

Meanwhile, Carmen was explaining some new plans. "We are going to steal the
original publication for Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.

"But, boss," Jewel said. "I thought we were gonna swipe the 50 star rubies
and 50 star sapphires."

"We will," Carmen replied. "But that will come later."
**************************************************************
"Why, Ivy," the little girl in the pink dress oozed sweetly. "You look like a
wet hen."

"It's not funny, Antithesis," the sopping-wet redhead retorted.  "Someone
attacked us!"
**************************************************************
Ivy blinked. How long ago did she and Antithesis have that conversation? Six
years? Seven? Eight?

At the same time across town, Luke stepped silently through the corridor. He
turned a corner. "I really shouldn't be doing this. It's considered breaking
and entering," he said to himself. Then he shook his head. "Who cares?
Nobody's going to know I did this." He picked the lock to Mortimer's room.
"Now let's see."

Luke's attention turned to a stack of unopened envelopes on Mortimer's desk.
"What have we here?" He picked one up and read the return address. "Lee
Jordan. Must be a relative. And this came from a prison? Does bad blood run
in the family?" He turned the envelope over. "I really shouldn't do this.
It's a serious offense to tamper with mail." He thought a moment. "Nah. He
won't notice a missing letter. He never even bothers to read them." He snuck
out the room, closing the door behind him.

When Luke returned home, his first impulse was to tear open the letter.

It read:
Dear Mortimer,
This is your cousin, Lee. I'm biding my time until I can attempt another
jailbreak. When the time is right, I will have my revenge on you, Carmen
Sandiego, Ivy, Zack, and the rest of Acme.

Luke folded up the letter. "This is perfect! Someone who hates Mortimer can
take him off my hands! I'll just 'arrange' the jailbreak!"

Later in the day, Zack was cleaning out Luke's guest room. There was
something odd on the pillow. He picked up the suspicious item.

It was a lady's handkerchief. The initials "K.L." were embroidered on the
corner. The hankie was made of white linen. Definitely does not belong to
Antithesis, Zack thought--she has a lace handkerchief. The detective examined
the cloth more closely. There were small traces of green paint, but nothing
else to point to the owner.

Lee Jordan sank on the mattress of his jail cell. He picked up and a pen and
began to search for paper.

Bonk! A piece of paper struck the prisoner on the head. Lee picked it up and
unfolded it. He smiled. Someone was going to great lengths to get him out of
the penitentiary.

"Ivy?" Zack called. "Do you know anyone with the initials K.L.?"

"No," Ivy called in response. "Why?"

Lee, wearing a long robe over his prison uniform, headed for the woods.
Whoever had aided his escape had instructed him to meet them there. "Is
anyone here?"

Luke came into full view.

Lee was shocked. "Zack?"

"No! My name is Luke Hancock. Zack is my goody two-shoes identical cousin."

Lee believed him. "Oh no. Not you too."

Luke continued. "I'm gathering information on Mortimer Jordan. Know him?"

"Know him? He's my first cousin. His father was the brother of my father."

"How would you like to make sure he ceases to breathe?"

"Love to," Lee replied. "I've hated him since he came to live with my side of
the family."

"How did that happen?"

"His parents, my Uncle Richard and Aunt Daphne, died. They jointly ran a
cargo service, bringing Mortimer to work with them. He was either six or
seven. Anyway, there was a gas explosion in their office building. Richard
and Daphne were killed instantly. Mortimer nearly died, too. He was
unconscious when the paramedics got him out. But they were able to revive him
in time. Then my father decided to take my cousin, rather than send him to an
orphanage."

Luke looked amazed. "How did you cope?"

"I never did anything to Mortimer, although I did get my friends to exclude
him from their activities."

Luke glanced at his Rolex watch. "Oh, look at the time. I must get going.
I'll meet you here in six hours."
******************************************************************************

***
"You expect me to sleep here?" a young boy asked in a disgusted tone.

"Luke, I assure you it's the best room in the house," Zack cried.

"That wouldn't surprise me. But I refuse to sleep with these lumpy pillows!"
Luke threw the pillows aside and began to pull the blankets off the bed. "Or
these coarse sheets!" He began to tear the drapes. "And these tacky drapes! I
hate this room, I hate this house, and I hate this stupid crystal!" Luke
snatched the crystal goblet from the bedside table, opened the window, and
hurled the glass out. It shattered below.

Uncle Douglas came in. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Oh, Daddy, it was Zack's fault," Luke lied. "I tried to stop him, but he was
so jealous of me, he threw your beautiful crystal out the window."

"But I didn't do it!" Zack whimpered. "I didn't do anything."
******************************************************************************

*****
Zack blinked. One of his most unpleasant memories still haunted him. Let it
go, he told himself. It was seven years ago.

The door swung open. Luke stomped in.

Zack trembled. "Um, Luke?" He held up the handkerchief. "Do you know who this
belongs to?"

Luke frowned. "Give that back, you snoop!"

"Whose is it?"

Luke snatched the tiny cloth. "K.L. stands for Katrina Locke, my girlfriend."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Of course. Don't you?" Luke raised his eyebrows. "Don't answer that."

"So, do you like Katrina?" Zack asked, shocked.

"She's the only girl my heart beats for. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to
deliver a speech for my trustee board."

"Trustee board?" Zack repeated. "That's your profession?"

"I'm the head of the board."

"How do the trustees treat you?"

"They treat me like an equal. I go to all the fancy black-tie dinners you
wouldn't be caught dead attending."

"So they're just a bunch of rich and greedy people who want money?"

"MONEY?" Luke yelled. "WE'RE FEEDING STARVING PEOPLE IN ETHIOPIA! THIS IS
CHARITY, YOU LUNKHEAD! OHHH! I WANT TO SCREAM AND BREAK EVERYTHING!"

"All right, Luke. I'm sorry," Zack apologized.

Luke calmed down. "Point is, the board treats me like royalty. Maybe I was a
member of royalty in a past life."

"Which one?" Zack wondered. "Ivan the Terrible?"

Antithesis came in. "Luke, you have some explaning to do."

"About what?" Luke asked.

"How you shoved Mortimer down the stairs!" Antithesis glared. "He may have
been seriously hurt! I bet he hit his head on every stair!"

Luke turned around. "I did not push Mortimer down the stairs! I'm going to
get my briefcase." He sauntered off.

Mortimer came in.

Antithesis turned in the direction of the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

A minute of silence passed.

Mortimer broke the silence. "If you want to strike me, go ahead."

"Nah, Antithesis would flame me." Zack closed his eyes, curled his hand into
a fist, and held it in the air. "How about I just hold out my fist and you
walk into it?"

Luke came back in. He scowled at Mortimer. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Mortimer stepped back.

Luke didn't notice Zack's fist until he walked into it, receiving a blow to
the nose.

"Did that hurt?" Zack asked, opening his eyes.

"No," Mortimer answered. "But it might later if you stick around."

To be continued...