"I've got to admit, this team switching business worked out pretty well," Alan mused.

"Except it's only a halfway switch," Suzie reminded him. "All we did was swap Anne and Tom for Stanley." The theft of a valuable document from the Asian History Museum had prompted a new strategy: Pop had taken the younger children with him while Henry led Tom and Anne on a stakeout, while Stanley, Alan and Suzie volunteered to remain at the hotel in case anyone called with further information.

As if on cue, their older brother turned around and gave them a teasingly stern look.

"So listen up, you two. Since I'm the oldest this time around, I'm in charge and there's gonna be some new rules!" he said. Alan and Suzie shared a wary glance. Great, this is where he goes from the funny guy to the power tripper?

"Fine, what are they?" Suzie asked, humoring him. Stanley smirked.

"Dinner every night will be pizza or tacos," he began. "No eating in the kitchen or dining room, only in front of the TV or in your rooms. Everyone has to stay up an hour past their normal bedtime and watch every adult movie you can find that isn't scrambled."

Alan and Suzie burst into peals of laughter, and Stanley beamed.

"I thought you might get a kick out of that," he said. "But seriously, as the oldest, it's my job to protect you if things get hairy."

"But we're the homeguards," Alan said. "I think we'll be pretty-"

There was a loud tapping at the window just then, followed by footsteps.

"Quick, get down!" Stanley whispered, Alan and Suzie each grabbed onto him and they dove under a large blanket. Once it was quiet again, they resurfaced.

"-safe," Alan finished. "I wasn't scared, even for a minute. Were you, Suzie?"

"Not a bit."

"And neither was I!" Stanley laughed. "...you two can let go of me any time now."

"As soon as you let go of us," Suzie quipped. The trio slowly separated, and Alan went to the window to make sure there was no one outside.

"Looks like it was only a false alarm," he said. "But still, maybe we better not go to sleep just yet."

"I'll make coffee," Suzie said.

"I'll order us some snacks." Stanley picked up the phone. Alan clicked on the TV and flipped around. Looks like his new rules came in handy after all.