Operation Insanity
Caleb looked grimly at the riot happening in the public square of Aqua Haven. The president had been brainwashed by the evil genius Zach Apple and was acting weird ever since. For apparently no reason at all, Joe Biden had changed the date of the Olympics from Winter to Spring. Caleb himself was an exceptional swimmer, with a passion for the water that ran in his veins. He spent most of his free time at the local pool, honing his skills and dreaming of one day competing in the Olympics.
Caleb’s talent did not go unnoticed, and in the summer of 2016, he was invited to attend an Olympic prep camp at Washington D.C. Only the best swimmers would be invited to attend this prestigious camp. There, Caleb met Michael, Ryan, and Adam, each having a specialized stroke. They had been assigned to the same medley relay, and they were destined to win. They had broken the world record times for each stroke, and they would be unstoppable in a relay.
One day, as they were leaving the pool after a grueling practice session, they overheard hushed conversations among some government officials. To their shock, the government officials had been bribed by Zach Apple, CEO of Zapple, a world-famous technology company specialized in making futuristic products. It turned out that Zapple had sinister plans for taking over the world. The government officials had agreed to use Zapple’s mind control tech on President Joe Biden in exchange for 1 billion dollars each. He had been forcing Joe Biden to make erratic decisions that were not in the best interest of the country. On the day of the Olympics, he was going to bomb the headquarters of every major technology company, such as Apple, Microsoft, and Google.
Hearing this, the four friends were faced with a dilemma. It was now up to them to stop the evil genius from taking over the world. But then, they would miss the chance to compete in the Olympics, the most important event in their life. But if they didn’t stop Zach Apple, millions of people would die from the bombing. The situation was dire, and the boys knew they had to act swiftly to save their nation. They named their top-secret mission “Operation Insanity.”
There was one major obstacle, however. They had no idea where Zach Apple’s secret base was. Adam suggested they tell the FBI. Caeleb thought about this, but it was very likely that Zach Apple had also bribed them. Telling them that they knew about this plan would be like telling the police that you killed someone. Suddenly, Michael had an idea.
“To defeat a genius, you must think like a genius,” he said, laughing.
Zach Apple was a diabolical mastermind. Everything he did was planned and had logic. His base must be located with the greatest convenience to himself. And there was only one location that suited that purpose perfectly. The Rio Aquatic Center, in Rio de Janeiro, was the chosen location of the 2016 Olympics. It made perfect sense. If Zach Apple was present at the Olympics, no one would even think about the possibility of him bombing the headquarters of the technology companies, which were all located in America. His base had to be located underneath the swimming pool.
Meanwhile, Zach Apple was chilling in his secret base, dreaming about the power and money he would get after his plan was executed. Little did he know that four Olympic swimmers would stop him.
The day of the Olympics arrived, and for the first time, Caeleb realized how dangerous the situation was. Tension filled the air. What if they couldn’t free the president and instead got caught by Zach Apple. What would he do to them. Alas, there was no time for that now. The friends crept through the sewers and found themselves facing a gigantic swimming pool. But it wasn’t a normal swimming pool, there were all sorts of obstacles blocking them from the finish. On the other side of the pool, grinning wickedly at them was none other than Zach Apple himself. The moment they made it into the sewers, an alarm had been set off in the evil genius’s base. But he was unfazed. Anyone who wanted to ruin his plans had to first swim across the Zapple 1000 Racing Pool! It was an obstacle course that involved been chased by hydrogen bombs set at high speed, swimming up and downhill a slope, and lastly, making a swim workout on MySwimPro within 20 seconds, or else the ZapPhone would explode.
Finally, the moment of truth came. Their own lives were at stake. Hydrogen bombs could wipe out cities in seconds. Luckily for them, Zach was feeling generous enough to set the bomb only at world record pace. Sadly, that was still a challenge for them, as the world record time for the 400-medley relay was 3:20.71. First up, Ryan Murphy went in the pool, and blasted off doing perfect backstroke. His 100 back broke the world record time by 0.98 seconds! Following his lead, Adam Peaty swam his breastroke leg, once again breaking the world record by 1.96 seconds. They were already 2 meters ahead of the hydrogen bomb. Keeping it up, Michael Phelps and Caeleb Dressel sprinted their event with extraordinary speed and might. Then, all four friends dashed up the hill. This was the most difficult part for them by far. The bomb was still after them at world record pace freestyle, which was the fastest of all four strokes. Anyone who swam uphill would know how much slower it is than on a flat surface. Just when it looked like it was the end for them, Adam realized there was only one thing to do. He was the most muscular of the four friends, and he might be able to get the bomb off course, if he slammed into it hard enough. This couldn’t be a normal hydrogen bomb, as Zach Apple would never risk his own safety to kill some random people.
“Stop Zach Apple!” Adam roared, before going back downhill.
The three other friends looked in shock, still furiously swimming uphill, as Adam went back down, swiftly diverting the attention of the bomb. At the bottom, he jumped and bodyslammed the bomb so hard that they both went flying into Zach Apple. On impact, the bomb exploded, and the air was filled with gas and smoke. Coughing, the friends went back down, and rushed over to see what happened. The glass wall that protected Zach Apple was shattered, and Zach lied spread-eagle on the ground, unconscious. He had a shard of glass in his gut, making him bleed profusely.
Caeleb went to see if Adam was okay, but their comrade had taken the brunt of the explosion, and now lay motionless on the floor. A huge piece of shrapnel was sticking out of his brain.
“Is he dead?” Ryan whispered, terrified.
“Almost, I think. We need a medic to look after him. Here, Michael, take Adam back and call the ambulance. Ryan, go out there and tell everyone what Zach Apple was planning. Here is a recording I captured of the government officials talking about them being bribed. I will free Joe Biden and make him take back the bombing commands, “Caeleb ordered.
Following his orders, the three friends burst into action. Caeleb went into Zach’s secret base and found Joe Biden tied up in a chair. “Wow,” he thought, “Zach must have bribed everyone in the government, or else at least someone would know that their president was missing. Joe Biden looked dazed, and he was wearing a complicated fancy-looking hat. There were many buttons on it, including mind control, zap, torture, and other actions. Currently, the mind control button was on. After toggling it back off, the president suddenly focused, and yelled, “What on earth am I doing tied up! Where is that Zach Apple jerk?” Caeleb quickly told him that he was here to rescue him. He also told him that no one new about his disappearance, because Zach Apple had bribed the government officials with a load of money.
Hearing this, Joe Biden was furious, and asked how they were going to get out. Caeleb looked around and noticed a staircase going up. They walked up and went straight into the bathrooms. Zach had made a staircase under the toilet. Dumbfounded, Caeleb just stared at the out of place toilet seat. Joe Biden told him to hurry up and they rushed into the Olympic stadium, just as the games were about to begin. Everyone gasped when the president suddenly appeared. The government official took 1 look and dashed off. Apparently, no one had believed Ryan when he told them the truth. He had been handcuffed by the police when Joe Biden told them to let him go. Instead, he sent the police to lock up every government official.
Joe Biden announced the four boys as national heroes for saving the country. He said that they could each have one reward. Instead, Caeleb just told him to postpone the Olympics until Adam was fully healed from his wounds. Of course, Joe Biden agreed, and Caeleb and Ryan happily left the stadium for another day of swimming.
Their mission accomplished, Caleb, Michael, Adam, and Ryan returned to Aqua Haven as national heroes. Their tale of bravery and friendship spread far and wide, inspiring others to stand up against evil and make a difference.