Prologue: Cube works for the Fox Secret Service as an undercover agent. His exploits earn him recognition in the secret service circle as the smartest undercover agent of all time. In this story, Cube is hired by the government of a small country called Cora to catch a corrupt politician who stole all the money in the country’s treasury. Cube must recover the loot from the politician or else the entire country will starve to death. The fate of a country of over 5 million people depends on a fox.
1. One bright Monday morning, weeks after the government of Cora had announced a new budget, the Accountant General of the country arrived at work to discover that all the money in the treasury had been looted, right down to the last penny. Unable to believe his eyes, the poor man collapsed from shock, and was promptly rushed to the hospital by his aides.
News of the heist spread quickly. No one wanted to believe it at first. But as the truth became obvious, the entire country of Cora was thrown into pandemonium. The world watched in amazement.
As soon as the Accountant General showed signs of recovery, he was taken before the President, a man with penetrating eyes, who grilled him with questions regarding the missing money. But it quickly became clear that the Accountant General knew nothing about the theft. So State Security was called in, marking the beginning of an investigation that would grip the world for weeks to come.
2. Several days passed without success. Nobody had been arrested. In fact, the agents didn’t have the clue as to who the culprit could be.
Each passing day heightened the anxiety of the President and the whole country, knowing that if the money was not found they would all starve to death.
One week passed, and still the investigators made no progress. The FBI were called in to take over. They came with state-of-the-art forensic equipment. They fingerprinted everyone and launched investigations in major towns and cities.
They assured the President that the culprit or culprits would be caught, and that all the money would be recovered. For many days, they were upbeat about the investigation. They went about with shiny pistols in leather holsters. They chewed gum and grilled anyone they cared to with a flurry of questions. They went about looking and talking tough.
But at the end of three weeks they drew blank. The thief or thieves remained at large.
3. The FBI reported their lack of progress to the President, who responded angrily, calling them names.
‘We are only trying to help,’ one of the FBI men grumbled. ‘After all, you must appreciate that we are dealing with an unusual situation. It is not our fault that you have very unusual criminals in your country.’
The frustrated President dismissed the FBI and summoned an emergency cabinet meeting.
4. It was at the cabinet meeting that the President learnt of the existence of a fox from Newbury by the name of Cube.
Without wasting time, the President sent officials to Newbury to request Cube’s help with the investigation. To the President’s delight, Cube arrived the very next day.
But the President was dismayed when Cube arrived armed only with a pen and notepad.
‘Where is your forensic team and equipment?’ the President asked.
‘I don’t need any of those,’ Cube replied simply, smiling, a toothpick in a corner of his mouth.
‘Then how do you intend to catch the thief?’ the President asked in amazement.
‘You have asked me to do a job. I will do it my way. Just give me time.’
For some reason, the President felt confidence in Cube. So he allowed him to carry out the investigation his way.
5. Cube spent the next few days eating and drinking in fancy restaurants, talking to anyone who cared to listen. He ran up huge bills on expensive champagne, to the consternation of the President.
‘Hey fox, we are bankrupt as it is,’ the President complained to Cube on the phone. ‘And now you are trying to make things worse for us.’
‘Don’t worry, Mr. President. Just trust me. OK?’
‘OK,’ Mr. President said reluctantly.
Cube continued his eating and drinking spree.
6. A week later, Cube met a certain elderly man with an impressive potbelly in a five star restaurant. He had an entourage of over fifty people who were singing his praises, and he spent money as if it was going out of fashion.
Cube approached the man and told him how great he was. This compliment inflated the man’s ego, and the two of them chatted away like old friends.
The man introduced himself as Babake (meaning ‘the man’). Cube told him just how wonderful his name sounded, and with that they became the best of friends.
7. ‘What do you do for a living?’ Cube asked suddenly.
‘I am a politician,’ Babake replied proudly.
‘I see!’ Cube sounded very impressed. ‘Do you hold any political position?’
‘No. I am just a politician,’ Babake replied, patting his potbelly and smiling from ear to ear. He went on to tell Cube how he wanted to get a chieftaincy title in every village, every town and every city of the country. ‘I have enough money to pay for a million titles. And then I will marry one hundred new wives,’ he boasted.
Cube smiled with admiration. ‘You are a great man! In fact, you are fantastic!’
‘I am being crowned with a chieftaincy in my village in three days’ time. The ceremony is taking place at my country home which I just finished building at a cost of five hundred million dollars. You are cordially invited as a special guest of honour.’
Cube smiled to himself.
8. Years of experience had taught Cube that those who steal big are the most reckless people you could ever imagine. He had no doubt that Babake was his man.
On the day of the ceremony, Cube requested sixty special agents, and instructed them to take strategic positions around Babake’s home.
The ceremony commenced with Babake spraying wads of dollars and pounds. The music was intoxicating. There was enough food to feed an entire city, enough wine to drown a battalion of soldiers. People travelled from far and near. Present at the ceremony were pastors, imams, cabinet ministers, labour activists, human rights lawyers, secret cultists, drug barons and mafia bosses. It was the guest list of a society without conscience.
The village shook with excitement.
Three hours into the ceremony, Cube gave a signal, and special agents sprang out and placed Babake under arrest. Promptly, they commenced a thorough search of his country home. To the amazement of all, money was found in overhead storage tanks, in barns, in cooking pots. Every wardrobe was stacked with wads of money. They found pillows and mattresses stuffed with money. They found money in underground vaults.
‘This place is a goldmine!’ Cube thought with a smile.
Under interrogation, Babake confessed that he masterminded the looting of the national treasury along with several top ranking cabinet ministers, many of whom were present at the ceremony. The trial was brief but sensational.
Babake and his gang were sent to prison for a very long time.