Chief shook his head with disbelief. 

Joe dug into his suit pockets. “Maybe I’ve got some . . . hang on . . . yes, jackpot!” He held up a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. 

“Joe,” Chief groaned, “you can’t transport while eating a bag of Doritos . . . wait, can he?” Chief looked at Dr. Yang quizzically. 

Dr. Yang avoided his eyes and simply nodded and spoke beneath her breath. “It doesn’t matter now...” 

Harvey, Stan, and Marvin, meanwhile, were unusually silent. They were all wringing their hands, and Marvin especially looked pale. “I don’t even know how you can think about food right now, Joe,” he said. “This whole transporting business makes me queasy.” 

Chief felt the same, but he couldn’t say so. He was supposed to be their leader. He stared at the prototype dangling in front of them. The only hope they had of getting out of this mission unscathed was to somehow intercept the Cornstalk and the Tomato and get back the Ching. He didn’t want to think about the odds of that actually happening.

Page 106