Cam Cosgrove checked his watch to find it was set to military time.

Appropriate.

As he paced across the dank cold docks of the harbour, looking to his left and right anxiously for signs of life from the murky bleak London fog that surrounded his whereabouts, he gazed anxiously at the ticking seconds and minutes accompanying his hour of destiny, and realized all too quickly that the appointed hour had crept up on him.

And that chilled him to the bone.

A cold wisp of air danced across the edge of his neck, and an even colder sweat began to trickle down his brow.

Too much was riding on his appointment, and far too much was at stake.

He did his best to prepare by fiddling through his coat and producing a pocket watch.

He opened the watch, revealing it had a compass, embedded at the centre was a glittering bright and beautiful miniature crystalline rugby ball.

He closed the lid of the fob watch and clutched it tight in his hand.

"Where are you blast it?" he said, the wind picking up, a cold snap made him turn.

Cam was feeling slightly embarrassed.

He was a mouse of the military, he served overseas in wars too terrible to bring up at peak time CBBC hours

He had been fortune to have been given a brief mention in a recent edition of Newsround.

He'd seen things that had broken many minds. So why couldn't his own mind be put to ease now?

Especially when this was a simple, if illegal, business transaction?

In the city of London, day to day business went hand in hand with day to day chaos.

He cursed the air around him, for the chill was doing nothing to quell his anxiety.

He had a good mind to tighten the scarf around his neck.

The odd thing was he had tried to mere minutes before. He simply couldn't move his hands. And now he suddenly realized he couldn't move his legs.

When he tried, he felt another cold snap.

He pushed harder. He felt it this time, ever so nippy.

He pushed his legs forward again, hoping to gain motion, another snap and a crackle.

And following that, came more pain.

He caught a glimpse of his arms, they looked frigid.

He tried flexing a muscle; it yielded the same results as the legs. A snap, a crackle, then pain.

He realized the weather was becoming too treacherous, and yet he couldn't dismiss himself, for he was being held prisoner.

And then, from half-way out of the dark, the Snowman cometh.

He gazed upon the mouse's frozen grip, clasped the icy palm with his own, and with a further snap and a crackle, came a painful and precise pop.

The hand gave way, and was crushed completely in the Snowman's grip.

He took the Fob watch from what remained and looked at the hapless militant mind.

"Wha-what have you done?" he said, "I did everything you asked"

"In all your months and preparations made in acquiring this trinket, you made one monumental misfire" said The Snowman, as he blew an icy breeze into the features of the soldier.

"You only came through in the winter" he said.

He then proceeded to glue the soldier's hand back together a special tube of instant glue, before fastening in back in place with a mechanical screw attached to the wrist area.

"What was that for?" Cam asked.

"Standards and practices won't let me exit the scene with a mutilated limb" the Snowman admitted.

"That kind of takes the bite out of this scene" Cam argued, stating his case for some sort of dramatic climax.

"Then you'll just have to settle for a snap" The Snowman said, and fastened the soldier's lips shut with an icy bridge across them.

The Snowman dug deep into his frigid belly and produced a cell phone

"Inform the others that I have the diamond and that the auction can begin as scheduled on New Year's Day"

The Snowman switched off the phone and smiled as he compared his reliability to that of Cam Cosgrove.

Through winter he had come, and through winter he would always come through.

Everything was in place now.

The feast, and the bidding, was soon to begin.


Inside a familiar mailbox, trouble was brewing within the catacombs of the country's foremost scientific mind, as she dealt with one of her usual migraines.

"Out, get out" cried a disheartened Professor Squawkencluck as she hoisted the world's greatest secret agent out of her laboratory.

"I told you to stay well clear of that Megabyte Modem"

"Good grief Professor, I only wanted to use it for faster broadband" said Danger Mouse.

"There's nothing wrong with the rate you've presently got" Squawk rambled.

"You tend to forget the kind of speeds I'm used to travelling with in the Mark III Professor"

"Oh right, so the thing has to dial through traffic lights to satisfy you?"

Haplessly waltzing in on the argument was Penfold, a small can of coke in hand.

"Chief? The Colonel asked me to come fetch you, you're needed urgently in the briefing room"

"We're calling the lounge the briefing room now?"

"No, we call that because you've taken to leaving all your unwashed briefs in there. No, of course it's the briefing room Chief"

"Very well Penfold, I'll lead the way" DM added, grabbing the coke from Penfold's grip and chugging its contents down his own throat in route to the main elevator.

Penfold stared back at Squawk as he pressed her head firmly against the edge of the walls that lined the entrance to her lab.

"He gave you another one didn't he?" said Penfold, producing a pair of aspirins from his pocket and handing one to her.

"I'm used to having the occasional pop of the membrane Penfold, you don't have to make a special effort to clear it" said Squawkencluck, lightly tapping Penfold on the head.

"Yeah well, sooner or later the Chief's gonna have to settle down a bit, the way he treats you ladies is abominable" Penfold continued.

"What he needs is a date" Squawkencluck suggested. "There's a rather minuscule percentage of me that reckons he could just about manage it"

"You think so?" said Penfold

"Look how great he is with you"

"I'm not a girl" Penfold said, crossing his arms in frustration.

"You sure do scream like one" Squawkencluck joked teasingly, before turning the subject back to important business.

"What does the Colonel want from you and DM anyway?"

"Something about a rugby diamond" Penfold explained.

"Ruby" Squawkencluck said in an attempt to correct him.

"No, Rugby. It's shaped like a Rugby ball. It was designed as an heirloom for the winners of the Rugby world cup. It was placed in the care of the British military"

"Well that's a pretty silly thing, England was ousted early in the game this year. there's bound to be some bitterness there"

"Yeah, well, that right there was grounds for someone in its care to tail off with it. The Colonel got a hot tip from a source that went cold, it was the very soldier who swiped it, K's now feeding DM the details on where it ended up"

"So you'll be working New Year's day then?" asked Squawkencluck, sounding almost disheartened.

"'Fraid so" said Penfold.

Squawk sighed, "I guess I'll just tend to my modem then...the thought of it, seeing in the New Year, I might as well make it a Nu year"

"Nu year?"

"See in the morning with nothing but nu metal. Low standards for lower expectation"

"Did you have any plans prior Professor?" asked Penfold.

"No...not with anyone, not anymore" she said.

The awkward conversation was interrupted when Danger Mouse stepped back through the elevator.

"Penfold...I have an urgent matter to discuss with you"

"This isn't the best time Chief" Penfold continued.

"Then make time Penfold" Danger Mouse asked.

"I'm not a watchman" said Penfold.

"Penfold, I need...something"

"Spit it out then" Penfold said,

DM rinsed his mouth with saliva and spat out a date he had lodged in his mouth, which hit Penfold's palm with full force.

Yes, a date, the kind you eat.

"Oh" said Penfold.

DM and Penfold marched through the halls towards the lounge area, and from there, DM's master bedroom.

"According to all sources..." DM began.

"...The Street's the place to go?" Penfold asked, his tongue firmly in cheek.

"No, the sources reveal that an auction for the stolen Rugby diamond will be held at the Humble Grape near Clapham Junction"

"Doesn't sound too swank does it?" said Penfold.

"Yes, but apparently they want evening wear worn anyway...everyone must look their best, it is a bit of a competitive occasion"

"So why don't they all put on sports wear?" asked Penfold.

"Penfold, shush" said DM, and opened the door to his bedroom, where he immediately made a beeline for his wardrobe. Penfold settled on the bouncy bed

"No, that won't do" said DM as he fondled through the packed closet, "That's too lanky, that one's too straight...that there is a straight jacket..."

Penfold sat on the bed, staring puzzlingly at a lollipop DM had given him, with instructions not to take it yet.

Pairs of jeans, bundles of shirts, and a few crooked ties flew by him as DM emptied the contents of his wardrobe.

DM spun around and showed Penfold a matching white coat and black shirt.

"It's very you" Penfold said.

"Thank you kindly Penfold, now shush and put on the dress"

"Excuse me?" Penfold replied, a little taken aback.

"The dress, it's the one you wore to that Pink Princesses' party remember? It still fits, and I took the liberty of ironing out the cresses personally" said DM.

"I...um, think I need to step out a bit Chief" said Penfold.

"Take your time, it'll all be waiting for you when you get back" said DM.

Penfold anxiously entered the lounge area where the hologram of Col. K waited patiently for his agents to begin the assignment.

"Penfold, anything the matter lad?" asked the Colonel.

"'I just don't know if I bring myself to be DM's date for this, I know, it's extremely out of left field to turn down an assignment as important as this, but I have to be firm...there's someone at the Agency I've been meaning to spend time with, someone who's in real need of cheering up. The preservation of mental health is chief amongst our current guidelines if you remember"

"Confound it all, we could really use you on this field assignment, how about a raise?"

"Well, I could do with walking on air given how I'm feeling" said Penfold.

"I meant a raise in pay" corrected the Colonel.

"Oh, well I could do with some cash for my date...say, how about I bring the date along?" requested Penfold.

"I can't ask you to endanger a civilian lad" replied the Colonel. Penfold nodded, but he had an ace up his sleeve

"I was thinking of bringing someone from work" Penfold replied.

"Splendid chap, one of our top agents I imagine, and would provide adequate back-up for DM" the Colonel replied ecstatically.

"Well hang on, I want DM to have a date too, as per the original plan" said Penfold.

"But who do you reckon would be a good fit for him?"

Penfold gave the Colonel a knowing look. K froze in his seat.

"Oh no, not her. DM wouldn't permit it; neither would she come to think of it. That whole matter is entirely private between them, besides that she usually plays for the other team"

"All the easier to catch them all in the act, it's entirely likely she'll want to make a bid for the diamond too"

"But that's just it, DM cares for her so much he won't want to jeopardise her freedom, heaven knows how many times he's tried to reform her since the duet..."

"Then we'll just have to trick them into going out with each other" said Penfold, "Tell me...does you-know-who do any...online dating?"

"I can look into it, but isn't she a bit young for that?"

"She isn't really all that young, her powers enable her to take the form of a child. She's never disclosed her actual age, we've even seen her switch to a moody teenager"

"Yes, very true, astute observation there Penfield" answered the Colonel, once again getting Penfold's name wrong.

Penfold, on the other hand, wasn't too perturbed by it this time, he was much too fixated on formulating his plan.

"Assuming you find anything, I can get the Chief to set up an online account, once we discover what her online alias is, we'll arrange for the chief to chat with her"

"Very dangerous game you're playing here lad...not sure DM will take to all this, or even the CBBC censors"

"He'll talk to her under an assumed name and we'll make sure nobody can trace back his IP address. I'll tell him she's part of the underworld network and that she will in all likelihood be making a bid for the diamond herself, so by chaperoning her, he stands a better chance of securing the diamond much more safely if she's successful"

"Always plant a lie inside the truth, I have my reservations, but it sounds like you've thought this through. I should have the information by the next chapter"

"That's cracking Colonel, I'll get the Chief online ASAP" said Penfold.

"Might I ask though Penfold lad...who is your date?" asked the Colonel.

"Someone who's all too familiar with chickening in than out" said Penfold.