Reynie, Miss and Mrs Perumal had spent the past few hours in a state of high anxiety. Constance, (almost unbelievably) had fallen asleep after they had spent their first hour in the attic where Mr. Benedict had instructed them to hide. Reynie checked his watch, 6:51 am.

'Amma, I need to see what's happening' Reynie whispered trying not to disturb the softly snoring Constance who was lying on his legs.

'How many times Reynie? Mr. Benedict said stay here until he or Milligan comes for us, we don't know if it's safe yet' replied Miss Perumal sternly.

Reynie lifted Constance off his legs, placing her head on an old, mottled cushion and stood up.

'I'm sorry Amma, but it's been over three hours now, I should have gone ages ago'

'Reynie no!' Miss and Mrs Perumal whispered hoarsely as Reynie made his way over to the trap door. He gave an apologetic smile and gingerly lifted the trapdoor, only to find himself looking at a fist.

Reynie leapt back, tripped over Constance and dropped the door.

'Owww Reynie, why?' moaned Constance groggily. A sharp knock sounded on the trap door, silencing Constance's mutterings about a 'buffoon named Muldoon'. All the occupants of the attic stared at each other, frozen.

'Reynie? It's Ms. Plugg' came a muffled voice below them.

'Ms. Plugg! Thank goodness!' said Mrs Perumal whose back was aching terribly from sitting uncomfortably on the hard attic floor for hours.

Reynie re-opened the trapdoor to see Ms. Plugg standing on a chest of drawers (Reynie had pulled up the ladder into the attic), nursing a bruised hand.

'I'm so sorry Ms. Plugg!' Reynie said apologetically as he lowered the ladder and climbed down.

'Not to worry Reynie, I dare say I surprised you, dropping the door appears to be very effective though' replied Ms. Plugg twisting her hand to see the damage better.

Now that his eyes had adjusted to the brightness (it was nearly pitch black in the attic) Reynie noticed how exhausted Ms. Plugg was. Her eyes were puffy, she had another nasty bruise at her hairline and her hands were shaking slightly.

'What happened Ms Plugg?' asked Miss Perumal who had also noticed the older woman's ragged appearance.

'It, it was the Ten Men' whispered Ms Plugg. Everyone gasped.

'They had this sort of 'sleep gas' I guess you could call it that they sprayed, knocking out all the guards outside, that's how I got this bruise when I was knocked out and fell on a concrete flowerpot' Ms. Plugg gestured to her forehead.

'What did they want? What did they take? Where's Mr Benedict?' rushed Constance getting more and more worked up.

'Mr Benedict's fine, he's down in his study' replied Ms Plugg, looking at them all with dejected eyes, 'but, but I'm afraid, Rhonda and Number Two, they were taken.'

Reynie's stomach plummeted. The room was silent. Constance's mouth hung open in shock.

'Number Two and Rhonda?' whispered Mrs Perumal, 'but they're some of the best agents, how?' she said in disbelief.

'Mr Benedict told me when I woke up' said Ms Plugg wiping her eyes. 'It was the sleep gas, they corner them and Mr Benedict on the landing, naturally, Rhonda and Number Two wouldn't leave him despite his protests. Anyway, the used the sleep gas, none of them could do anything and they took them.'

'Why wasn't Mr. Benedcict taken as well?' asked Miss Perumal after the shock at the dreadful news had diminshed a fraction.

'By not taking him but holding Rhonda and Number Two ransom, he'll have no choice but to do whatever Mr. Curtain wants of him. If they had taken just Mr. Benedict, then he could resist without any consequences for anyone else' answered Reynie, staring at the wall, who had been wondering the same thing.

'But, but why take anyone at all? We need to find them now before they get too far away, before Curtain can ransom anyone!' shouted Constance, angry tears in her eyes.

'Don't worry Constance, agents are already in hot persuit' assured Ms. Plugg.

'Let's go down, we can find out more and get a drink' suggested Miss Perumal smiling at Constance, trying to distract her for a moment. Constance glared at her but followed silently as they all rushed down the stairs. The adults ushered them into the dining room before they went to find Mr. Benedict. Slumped at the dining room table was Sticky. At the sound of Reynie's and Constance's footsteps he jumped up and adopted what looked like a novice's attempt at a karate postion.

'What, are you doing?' asked Constance looking at Sticky with a very concerned expression. Sticky dropped his fists.

'Nothing, I thought you might be Ten Men' he said shrugging his shoulders, his cheeks reddening slightly.

'I'm glad you're alright' said a relieved Reynie as he went over to hug his close friend.

'I'm glad you're both alright!' responded Sticky when he let go of Reynie. 'I saw everything from my house you know, the Ten Men had this sort of 'sleep mist' in spraycans that knocked out all the guards. It must affect the suprachiasmatic nucleus and subsequentially send someone straight into slow wave sleep-'

'Oi Washington, half my family has just been abducted, I don't need a science lesson' said Constance angrily.

'Sorry Constance' said Sticky kindly. He knew Constance's angry tone was just a front to hide her anxiety. 'Anyway, I saw the Ten Men corner Mr. Benedict, Rhonda and Number Two on the second floor landing after you lot had disappeared, so then I tried to come in and help but before I even got in the house and Ten Man sprayed me' said Sticky glancing at Reynie apologetically. 'I'm sorry I couldn't have helped more' he added looking down at his feet dejectedly.

'Hey you were brave to even think about coming to help!' said Reynie putting a hand on Sticky's shoulder, 'you did more than me, I just hid in the attic, I should've done more' Reynie whispered feeling terribly guilty.

'You would've been sleep misted and then when would have to be rescuing you as well' said Constance not unkindly, smiling up at both of them.

'Why didn't they take me though?' questionned Sticky, 'I was just lying there, helpless.'

'I don't know' said Reynie frowning slightly, 'Maybe they only needed two hostages, or maybe Rhonda and Number Two specifically, they know Mr Benedict best after all.'

'Three' said Sticky.

'Three?' queried Reynie.

'Yes, three.'

'Three what?' exclaimed Constance who was looking up at Sticky in confusion.

'Three hostages, not two! Hasn't anyone told you?' said Sticky wide-eyed, gazing at Constance's and Reynie's baffled expressions. Reynie shook his head.

'Milligan was t-taken too. One of the guards, Jameson, told me when I woke up that a Ten Man jumped on Milligan from up the tree, knocking him out straight away. No one saw the Ten Man in the tree because the leaves provided a perfect amount of cover and no one saw the Ten Man climb up the tree because Milligan walked away for a moment to check a noise he heard. It must have been a deliberate distraction..' Sticky mused.

'Anyway, Milligan was knocked out and Jameson saw him bleeding but before he could do anything, the Ten Man picked up Milligan and as he ran though the gate he started spraying the sleep mist. The other Ten Men flooded in and, well, you know the rest' mumbled Sticky

Reynie's stomach seemed to nosedive as he looked at his friends in shock. The Ten Men had manage to capture the seemingly indestructible Milligan. Milligan who would die before giving up information or letting anyone come to harm. Instantly a most unpleasant thought crossed Reynie's mind making his stomach plunge even further.

'Who's going to tell Kate?' he asked. The three quarters of the Mysterious Benedict Society looked at each other, each with sinking hearts.

Sticky, Reynie and Constance sat silently in Mr. Benedict's study as he finished a phonecall that had lasted at least ten minutes. The Washingtons and Perumals along with Moocho Brazos (who had been sent to sleep my the gas also but had managed to knock out a couple of Ten Men beforehand) were sat in the dining room going through the files on Milligan's laptop about Mr Curtain, hoping to find a lead as to where he might be. Finally, Mr Benedict put the phone down, took a deep breath and clasped his hands.

'As you all surmised, that was the head of the agents in charge of finding Ledroptha, whose new mission is to find our friends, our family' Mr. Benedict said somberly.

'Have they got any leads?' Constance cut in.

'Yes they do Constance, but we must wait until Kate has arrived before we discuss the situation any further don't you think?'

Constance nodded in agreement but opened her mouth to ask another question.

'Kate will be here shortly' Mr. Benedict said anticipating the young girl's next enquiry, 'her flight landed fortyfive minutes ago so she will no doubt have been picked up by Ms. Plugg by now' he added, glancing at his watch.

As soon as he'd recovered somewhat from the initial shock of the morning's events, Mr. Benedict had contacted Kate's senior agent and told her there had been a family emergency. Since Milligan was a very highly respected agent, Kate's senior agent had granted her leave from their current mission and sent her on the first plane to Stonetown without question or hesitation.

Reynie was extremely nervous about seeing Kate, as was Sticky who kept swivelling his head to the door and back every couple of seconds. They both knew how much Kate loved but also worried about her father; the news that he had been attacked and abducted would no doubt have upset her considerably.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded on the door but before Mr Benedict could answer, they door burst open and in flew Kate. In an instant, everyone in the room had been hugged so tightly that they had to gasp for breath. Sticky was clutching at his heart.

'Oh thank goodness you're all okay!' Kate cried relieved, 'I thought maybe you had all been taken as well, Mimi, my senior agent, said that Milligan had been taken but didn't say who else! Who else has been taken?' added Kate breathlessly, looking at Mr Benedict, her temporary relief quickly replaced for concern.

'Please take a seat my dear and then I shall fill you in completely' said Mr Benedict gesturing to an empty chair.

'Is it okay if I stand? It's just I've been trapped on a flight for nearly seven hours' said Kate apologetically, bouncing up and down on her toes.

Mr Benedict nodded and proceeded to tell Kate everything. The rest of the Mysterious Benedict Society watched as Kate's expression turned from concern, to disbelief, to anger and back to concern as Mr Benedict recounted the night's events. Despite the circumstances, they were all exceptionally pleased to see Kate again who had been gone on her mission for three months and everytime she did something so endearing familiar like bouncing on her toes or fiddling with the lid of her red bucket, they smiled privately at each other. Reynie was impressed at how well she appeared to be handling the fact that her father was missing, and then he remembered that she'd had a seven hour plane journey to think things through a bit.

'Now that you're up to speed, I'd like to clarify something for you all' Mr Benedict said seriously drawing the rest of them out from their thoughts.

'As Ledroptha planned, I have no choice but to obey whatever he demands of me' he began, holding up a hand to silence Kate who had been about to argue, 'I have endangered the lives of Rhonda, Number Two and Milligan a great deal already and I will not do so any further by directly disobeying whatever he requests, also-'

'Milligan wouldn't want you to do that!' interrupted Kate clenching her fists.

'And neither would Number Two and Rhonda' added Constance in a small voice looking up at Mr. Benedict with large eyes. 'They'd want you to stop Mr. Curtain, not play along with his stupid requests, whatever the consequences for themselves.'

'I realise that' Mr. Benedict said nodding at Kate and Constance, 'but as Ledroptha correctly guessed, I cannot and will not let them come to more harm' he said gravely. 'Please do not argue with me on this' he added firmly, noticing the defiant expressions on both the girl's faces.

'Now Constance, I believe you wanted to know what leads the agents have?'

She nodded, looking down at her feet.

'Using CCTV from traffic cameras, they know that the Ten Men escaped with our friends in what is, by all extents, a van.'

'A van?' spluttered Constance increduously.

'By all extents?' queried Reynie.

Mr. Benedict tapped his nose in Reynie's direction.

'Yes, by all extents it looks like an ordinary, black delivery van. However they believe it is fitted with the noise cancelling technology that the Salamander had. Also experts have analysed the images from the cameras and believe that the van is at least double steel plated and the windscreen made of reinforced glass making it-'

'Bulletproof!' interjected Sticky, 'Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt' he muttered embarrassed.

'Not at all Sticky, you are exactly right. This bulletproofing also means that it is impossible for anyone to get in or out of the van by force so-'

'No escaping' mumbled Kate sounding uncharacteristically dispondant. Mr Benedict nodded in agreement, peering over his glasses at her, concerned.

'What else have they found?' asked Sticky, failing to notice Mr. Benedict's preoccupation with Kate.

'They traced the van through the traffic cameras through to Stonetown Harboour but there there are fewer cameras, so' Mr. Benedict brushed a hand through his white hair wearily, 'the investigation has slowed.'

A pause followed this statement, during which Reynie frowned, Constance crossed her arms huffily and Kate began to bounce up and down again with nervous energy, clenching and unclenching her fists. The silence was broken by Sticky, who coughed nervously and fidgeted with his hands before voicing what was preoccupying him.

'Mr Benedict? Um do you have any idea what Mr Curtain wants?'

'I have no idea what my brother's intentions may be, yet I can ascertain that whatever they are, they will be most undesirable' answered Mr Benedict with a sigh which did little to ease anyone's worry.

'What are we going to do?' ventured Kate after a short silence and when no one answered straight away, 'Come on, Reynie? Mr Benedict?'

'Kate, if we have no means of tracing them then-'

'I'm not waiting for something to happen!' Kate cried, looking at Reynie in disbelief.

'You won't have to' said Miss Perumal grimly as she opened the study door. 'Sorry to interrupt Mr Benedict, but Milligan's laptop just received an email, with a video attached.'