I pulled the door closed and snapped the buckle into place. I looked at the large gift wrapped box strapped lovingly into the back-seat, concealing the large and fragile pterodactyl that I had spent months creating for my friend's birthday. She would be so excited to see that prehistoric monster bird carved out glass.


"Wow, what a magnificent glass beast!" I imagined her saying as I punched the location of her birthday party into my GPS and pulled out of my driveway.


Not paying too much attention, I followed the directions given to me by the computerized voice emanating from that square, plastic, all-knowing directions giver.


After a while I noticed that I was entering a part of town that I didn't remember being near Big Bertha's Pizza Palace and Foot Fungus Emporium, the place where the party was to be held, but I figured that Lydia (my GPS) knew what she was doing.


Finally I pulled up to a run-down building that didn't look like it sold pizza or foot fungus.


"Are you sure this is right Lydia?" I questioned the inanimate cube.


"You have reached your destination," was her only reply.


I looked out through the windshield, trying to figure out if this was really where I was supposed to be. A man was standing a few feet away from my car and was waving me over. He didn't look unsavory or anything, so I got out of my vehicle and walked over to him.


"I'm sorry I rigged your GPS," he said as I approached, "but this is urgent."


"So this isn't where Karen's birthday party is being held?"


"No, but I understand that you are currently in the possession of a large glass dinosaur."


"Technically it's a pteranodon."


"Whatever. The point is we need that dinosaur desperately."


"Why do you need my pterodactyl?"


"Currently there is a crisis in the country of Bosho -"


"Bosho?"


"Yes. They are all out of glass pterodactyls. It is a matter of national security that we have that dinosaur."


"Bosho national security?"


"No, U.S."


"That doesn't make any sense." He looked at me in annoyance.


"We're taking the bird." As he said this, two large men in black suits exited the building behind him and removed the box from my car and then carried it with them back inside.


"I worked so hard on that," I whined sadly.


"You shall be compensated."


"With what?" He snapped his fingers and the men came walking out again, this time carrying their own box. "This is for you."


I held out my arms and collected the proffered offering. I looked down into the box and saw that inside were thousands of tiny multicolored paperclips. The man tipped his hat to me.


"Have a lovely day."