A retreating army will leave traps for their enemy to find. Expect it – Captain Gloval

Operation Menu: Phase Dinner (D-68 hours)

FRAGO: Operation: Marianne's Vigil (D+72 hours)

T.C. cautiously padded across the wooden floor, each step raised a cloud of dust. His eyes glowed brightly as he scrutinized the floor for any inconsistencies with the wooden panels.

On the other side of the room, Sidedragon was occupied checking the corners of the room, tapping the walls with the rear of the knife stick. Upon hearing a solid 'thunk,' he would move on to a new section of the wall.

"Why can’t we be at the hospital or tearing apart BC Park?" T.C. questioned, tiptoeing on the floor, and suppressing a sneeze. "This place is dusty AF."

"Because the hospital is neutral territory, and we found nothing at the park or near the river, bud," Sidedragon replied. "Besides, we're fortunate enough that Director Queen allowed five of us to search the place."

“Plus, a dog, but still the hospital got so many places to hide,” T.C. added.

After reaching the window, Sidedragon meticulously checked each pane of glass. Pausing for a moment to let his eyes rest, he gazed outside to find the backyard overrun by browning weeds in some places.

"The hospital is too obvious. Guillotine, or Mrs. Kopf, or whatever this joker’s real name is, has had time to plan and misdirect us at every turn," Sidedragon remarked as he continued scanning the backyard.

Pulling out a coin, he showed it to T.C. With a flick of his wrist and a wave of his hand, the coin appeared to be missing.

"It’s in the other hand, duh," T.C. said, pointing.

Opening his hand, Sidedragon showed it to T.C., revealing both sides of his hands to be empty.

"It was here the entire time," Sidedragon declared, pulling the coin from behind T.C.’s ear. "From making us think she’s a he, using an NPC to throw off the investigators, shrinking down, and using a bee for transportation. Nothing in the person’s MO would suggest that the hospital would be their secret lair."

“Montaigne thinks she has a connection to the hospital and other areas,” T.C. said as he tested a floorboard for the second time.

“Most likely, but time is a bit of a luxury at the moment, which we could be using to find Captain Thornewood,” Sidedragon replied.

“So why are we out here in unclaimed territory? And why am I covered in dust?” T.C. asked, wiping the dust and spiderwebs from his hands.

Sidedragon opened the window, and a fresh breeze blew into the room, carrying with it the scent of salt from the bay.

“I specifically requested your help along with Pink,” Sidedragon said, pointing his thumb to the front of the house. “Outsiders have a way of giving one a new perspective. I hope you can appreciate that.”

He ran his finger along the windowpane, sweeping up a bit of dust. Sidedragon showed T.C. his finger, who shrugged.

“As obsessively clean as this person is, she prefers to be able to control the cleanliness. The hospital isn’t that place where she can fully control,” Sidedragon said and jumped out the window. “It’s always been about control, from controlling her victims’ minds to her and Gilbert’s room.”

Stepping into the backyard, Sidedragon began kicking the weeds, and T.C. jumped out to join in.

"I noticed back at the house, that this level of cleanliness extends to leaving a presence in the Akashic record, technically a void if you can call it that," Sidedragon said. "Every crime leaves a trace."

"Or lack thereof," T.C. said, grinning.

"Exactly, which is still a trace and..." Sidedragon said, his eyes turning white.

"If you find the void, we find Guillotine," T.C. said. "I’m only at Witch Sight level two, what should I be looking for?"

"Not sure yet," Sidedragon said as he scanned around.

A medium-built man with a bald head, wearing a white shirt and leather jacket with a tire with flames shooting from the side, ran from the front yard to them, waving his cell phone.

"We got a message from Captain Thornewood, sha! It just said 'Help!' We tried to triangulate the signal, but it was too short cher. All we know is that it came from a cell tower near us, you know,” Pink said.

“Anything else?” T.C. asked.

“Not yet, but we are on it like white on rice if we get another message,” Pink said.

Sidedragon moved around and said, “T.C., activate every spectrum at once, maximum intensity, and remove the limiters.”

“Won’t that blow my eyes out of the sockets?” T.C. asked hesitantly.

Pink rolled his shoulders and snapped his fingers. A camouflage backpack appeared in his hand.

“I have you covered,” Pink said patting T.C. on the back and pointing to the patch on his bag. “Combat medic here, always ready.

T.C. looked at the patch which was of a nurse with an hourglass figure holding a needle with the words ‘77th Med Div - the louder you scream the faster we come’.

“Who wasn’t in the military?” complained T.C., and after seeing Pink and Sidedragon’s face he smiled. “Right just let me make a few adjustments and…”

After adjusting the settings, T.C. blinked his eyes a few times, and gradually, they began to glow brighter. The once-blue sky transformed into a blinding white, and the once-vibrant plants now appeared desolate and blackened. A white haze enveloped the area around the apple tree. T.C. observed his hand, marveling at the vivid colors and intricate patterns that emerged as he wiggled his fingers.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Focus kid, we are still looking for your Captain,” Sidedragon reminded him.

“Right, sorry Boss Kitty,” he said loudly. “Now what?”

“You need a better vantage point,” Sidedragon said checking around the backyard.

T.C. climbed the fence and covered his eyes.

“The life…force is different with the weeds,” T.C. said.

“I know, but…” Sidedragon started to say.

“No, I see it, there’s a perfect square pattern in the grass,” T.C. said waving his hand. “Move…to the right! No camera right, sorry.”

Sidedragon moved to the center of the pattern.

“Stop, there!” T.C. said and jumped down and deactivated his Witch Sight.

He reached into his bag and pulled out an entrenching tool. After unfolding the metal hand and shovel he tightened the stabilizing ring and began to dig.

Dirt flew in all directions as he dug into the earth. Sidedragon and Pink pushed the chunks of earth away from the hole. T.C. dug about a foot before his shovel struck something metal.

“I’ll alert the others,” Sidedragon said.

Within moments messages were flashing across T.C.’s view, but he ignored them.

“Polyglass,” Pink said as he knocked on the material.

“No wonder I couldn’t detect it with a metal scan. Now how do we get through?” Sidedragon asked.

“Outta’ my way,” he said, as he waved his hand around and snapped his fingers. “Meet Bunny Buster!”

The electric jack pick materialized in his hands, and from his bandolier, he retrieved a drill bit that was flattened and curved at the end, resembling the letter ‘J’. After inserting the bit into the jack pick, T.C. made a few adjustments to the knobs.

“Knock, knock, Guillotine, Tunnel Cat is here to pick Boss Kitty!” T.C. declared as he yanked back the trigger.

The air jack pick thundered against the surface, tearing through the material. Sidedragon and Pink observed as T.C. kicked, gradually expanding the size of the hole. The air jack pick hissed as it chewed through the surface.

Once the hole was sizable enough, T.C. began kicking with the heel of his boot, causing the polyglass to fall into the cavity of the enclosure.

“Ahhhh!!!” T.C. exclaimed, jumping inside.

Without hesitation, Pink shrugged his massive shoulders and followed suit.

From above, Sidedragon yelled, “What do you see down there?”

The automatic lights turned on. Inside T.C. and Pink saw racks of shelving with medical and surgical equipment including padding, scalpels, and suture kits. The interior was coated with the identical emerald-green paint found in Gilbert's bedroom.

Sidedragon recoiled as the touched at the sight.

At the end of the room was a single tank filled with a green liquid. Estelle floated in the contents with someone above her.

T.C. ran at full speed, Pink yelled back, “Careful it might be trapped!”

“Then put me back together,” yelled T.C. as he ran up to the tank.

The jack hissed menacingly as the bit aggressively attacked the surface. Although the bit glowed a bright orange, it only managed to scratch the surface. T.C. increased the torque, leaning on the weapon.

“Open, you stupid mutha…pudge bucket,” growled T.C. in frustration.

Estelle extended her hand to the containment wall, pointing towards him.

“I know, I’m trying,” T.C. responded frantically as Hair Hammer pushed past the red line.

Estelle shook her head in a disapproving manner.

“Your bag,” she communicated in sign language. “Glitter bomb.”

“Oh, yeah!” T.C. said and promptly dumped the contents on the floor.

He swiftly snatched up a glitter bomb and positioned it against the container. Estelle channeled energy through the container and into the sphere. The silver lines glowed brightly as T.C. tossed the glitter ball to the floor. Estelle pushed her hand through the green solution and held on to Mrs. Kopf’s wrist.

The sphere exploded with a pop.

Concentrating on the fragments and studying the pattern they made as they levitated. Estelle found her body lurching forward. She crashed onto the floor but maintained her grip on Mrs. Kopf. She gasped for breath.

Sidedragon yelled down, “Are you okay?”

Pink darted over to Mrs. Kopf and started pressing his index finger on her neck, hunting for a pulse.

“That’s Guillotine,” Estelle mentioned with a mouthful of gel, promptly spitting it out.

Pink sneered at the body of the blond woman and pushed her arm away. He unslung his aid bag. While Estelle began fixing her hair, T.C. rushed over, throwing his arms around her in a tight hug. When he eventually let go, Estelle attempted to brush the remaining green gel from her dress.

“I’m so glad you're back. How...how did you get in there? How did you escape? We looked everywhere, and…” T.C. began, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Before you two get a room, I need to check you out, Capitaine," Pink as he extracted a penlight from his bag.

He directed the light into her eyes, observing the pupils' reactions. Following a thorough examination of her pulse and blood pressure, Pink straightened up. After offering Estelle an approving thumbs up, he strolled over to Sidedragon, asking if he could locate a ladder.

“So, that’s ol’ Guillotine?” T.C. asked, tapping her arm with his boot. “I guess I expected something else.”

"Do not be deceived by her outward demeanor. She is more cunning than I initially expected," Estelle said, readjusting her hair.

T.C. persistently tapped Kopf with his boot.

“She attempted to impersonate Mother, but her efforts were a dismal failure. Kopf proved to be excessively kind and therefore was unsuccessful at emulating her,” Estelle remarked, her tone icy and composed.

“I’ll remember that next time,” hissed Mrs. Kopf.

She whipped her hand around, pulled out a syringe from her sleeve, and stabbed T.C. in the back of the leg. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and collapsed.

With her other hand, Mrs. Kopf pulled out a scalpel and lunged towards Estelle. The blade of the weapon pointed directly at Estelle’s heart.

Estelle swept her hand under Kopf’s hand and stopped the blade from stabbing her through the ribs. Estelle brought her knee up and caught Kopf in the stomach.

The knee to the stomach hit Kopf in the diaphragm and forced her to expel all the air out.

With a twist of her hips, Estelle brought Mrs. Kopf to the ground. Estelle curled her hand around and dislodged the scalpel. Estelle flipped the blade around in her fingers.

“Enough of hurting others, especially my friends!” shouted Estelle and brought the blade down into her chest.

Mrs. Kopf smiled as blood ran down the wound and her mouth.

“Why...aren’t turning blue?” Estelle asked, her eyes widening.

Estelle started to withdraw the scalpel, but Kopf grabbed Estelle’s hand. Her fingernails dig into her skin.

“As I said before you lose,” Kopf said as she began to cough up bright red blood. “For killing me, they will excommunicate you, but it gets worse. Welcome to my hell!”

Estelle repeatedly punched her in the head.

“Gymnosophist transfer!” Kopf yelled.

“Psychometry trap, nuts” Estelle muttered.

What started as a subtle itch at the back of her head quickly intensified, radiating down her neck and coursing through Estelle’s body. As the sensation engulfed her, Estelle's pupils dilated, and she crumpled to the cold ground.

***