Disclaimer: I do NOT own the MBS.
Author's note: This is where the story begins to take a darker turn. Any constructive criticism is welcome!
Sticky dragged his feet down the hallway and into the kitchen. Without his daily dose of newspaper, how could he keep in touch with the current events? Kate was always so energetic and enthusiastic- maybe she could share some of her good mood with him. And that is how Sticky ended up pushing into the kitchen, only to be slapped in the face with a slice of pie. "What the…?" Sticky yelled as he stumbled backwards. Kate rushed forward, concern in her eyes as she hurried to check that he was ok.
"Sorry! We were…" Kate had caught sight of Sticky as he smeared banana cream filling off of his new spectacles. There was nothing she could do but grasp at her sides as she fell to the floor laughing hysterically. Her bucket crashed loudly against the wood, and rolled away. "Sticky, you… you" she gasped before bursting into another round of hooting. Personally, Sticky didn't see what was quite so funny. Although he couldn't help but admit that the banana cream filling was delicious. Mucho Brazo stuck his head out through the doorway sheepishly and peered around. From beneath the thick handlebar moustache Sticky could see the former strongman grinning. Mucho outstretched his hand to Sticky and helped him up. "You shouldn't have walked in on our pie filling fight unannounced!" Mucho chuckled.
"How was I supposed to know?" Much to his embarrassment, Sticky's voice still squeaked slightly as he whined. Kate finally staggered to her feet, sides still heaving from laughter.
"How's the pie, Sticky?" She teased. Sticky glared back at her.
"Fine," He announced, "but it could use some pie crust." He cracked a slight grin as he began to polish his glasses.
Mucho nodded his head in agreement. "I was set to make the crust, when little miss circus here decided to barge in," Mucho shot Kate a playful frown, " Here, you take her. Keep her out of MY kitchen!" Kate feigned shock as Mucho shut the door in their faces. She jogged down the hall to grab her bucket. After a quick inspection, she turned back to Sticky. He gulped nervously as Kate eyed him.
"So, what did you want any way, Sticky?"
Milligan looked from the paper to Mr. Benedict, and back again. A shadow had fallen over his face again, and his eyes darkened as he skimmed through the article. "You're sure?" his voice was strained. The vein in Milligan's neck was popped out and he gripped the paper with white knuckles. Something that shouldn't have happened-ever- had just made his nightmares into a reality. Mr. Benedict watched Milligan with concern. It had been a long time since he'd seen his friend look this distraught. Inside, he felt the same horror and shock, he only covered it slightly better.
"I do not know for certain. I have tried to contact some people, no one has answered me. I don't like it, but I also worry about everything. You're the expert," Mr. Benedict said somberly. Milligan took a deep breath. He was tense, like any second he might be forced to fight. "Call down Rhonda and Number Two. We need to talk with them."
Mr. Benedict nodded carefully. "What are you thinking of?"
Kate jokingly punched Sticky's arm. "Ow!"
"Really? That couldn't have hurt!"
"And if it did?"
"Then you are more of a wimp than I thought…"
"Hey! I am not a wimp!"
"… And I can't believe that you thought the Paper didn't come! Mr. Benedict had it. He was in the kitchen just before we left for our run. I asked to see it- he said to just give him a second to flip though…" Sticky's face became a mask of confusion. Didn't Mr. Benedict just said that the paper had not come?
"…Any way, I got tired of waiting. Forgot about it until now. Why are you so upset about it any way?" Kate stood with her hands on her hips staring at Sticky. His eyebrows were scrunched up, and he fiddled with his spectacles. Would Mr. Benedict lie, to him? Why? By now he was sure that Mr. Benedict had been withholding the news, but… Her deep sapphire eyes seemed to penetrate into his mind, thought Sticky nervously. Kate stood there for a moment trying to decipher what was wrong with her friend. But after only a moment of failure, she turned and headed for the stairs.
"Come on!" She called behind her, "Where is Mr. Benedict any way?"
Sticky shrugged hopelessly and followed Kate up the staircase
Number Two shuddered as she scanned the Front page article. "No," she whispered under her breathe, "he can't…" Mr. Benedict watched miserably as two of his daughters read the article. A wave of sadness washed over him as he remembered the struggles…
Rhonda leapt forward, barely catching Mr. Benedict before he cracked his head onto the table. A soft snort erupted from her adopted father's lips as his face contorted in the unnatural sleep. It broke her heart to see him like this- oppressed by a cureless narcolepsy. He looked so sad, and disappointed, she thought as she and Number two gently laid him on the couch.
He jolted upright, staring around wild eyed as he roused from his sleep. "It's ok, Mr. B. Only a few minutes there," Milligan comforted. Mr. Benedict shook his head shamefully.
"Thank you," he sighed, "Shall we go, before I doze off again?"
"They will be okay, Milligan?" Rhonda questioned. He saw the anxiety in her eyes. As worried as he was, they needed him to be the strong, confident leader.
"Think about who these kids are" he joked, "They'll be more than fine. But I'll ask a friend to keep an eye on the house. You go say bye."
" Reynie, Reynie Go away,
Don't come back another day!
I'm tired of hearing about 'wonderful' school,
'cause school is for fools, and fools are uncool,
just like icky Sticky!"
Kate recognized that obnoxious sing-song voice, and turned left into the library. Her Bucket had rattled the whole way up the stairs as it bounced against her hip. For the first time, she seriously considered Reynie's idea to add straps so that it could be carried as a backpack.
Constance stood pouting at Reynie across Mr. Benedict's desk. Considering the lack of muddy footprints on the chair, Constance had been captured and forcibly cleaned up by Number Two. Maybe that's why she was pouting? Her gaze turned to Reynie. His hair was wet and shadowing his eyes. His face was furrowed as he returned Connie-girl's stare.
"I wasn't saying anything about school being wonderful! I only stated that you were going to a private school this year!"
Kate stood back a few steps and watched, mildly amused. She was careful not to step on any of Mr. Benedict's books. He kept stacks of them, piled randomly around the house. But in his library, it was even worse. The desk, the shelves, the chairs- everything was one mass of literature. Sticky scrambled up the stairs after Kate, wondering why on earth he had asked for her help in the first place. He tripped on the last step, and went tumbling into a stack of encyclopedias. Reynie jumped and whipped around to face his friends.
"Hey!" Kate smiled. She reached down and pulled Sticky back to his feet.
" Do you know where Mr. Benedict is?" Sticky questioned as he readjusted his glasses.
"Last I saw, he was with you," Reynie answered, "By the way, can you ask him to give me the newspaper when he's done with it? It was in his front pocket."
Sticky assumed a look of confusion and worry again. How had everyone else seen the paper, and yet he'd remained oblivious? Or was this one of Mr. Benedict's mind games?
Constance hopped off of the chair, still glowering at Reynie.
"Probably off to re-read that article," She grumbled.
"What do you mean Connie-girl?"
"First off, Kate, MY NAME ISN"T CONNIE-GIRL! Secondly, it's got to be a pretty interesting article today, cause Mr. B's brain is blocked off- I can't tell what he's reading. But he's read it a few times already."
"I thought you agreed NOT to pry into our thoughts like that Con…"
"Sticky's a worry wart!"
Kate had stopped paying attention. Whatever it was, it was worth keeping secret. One article in particular? It couldn't be that hard to get. Part of her knew that it was wrong to pry into Mr. Benedict's things, but you just can't keep a secret from Kate the Great Weather-machine. She hesitated for a moment, and put her bucket on the desk. Then she began racing down the stairs. Reynie watched her go, and then took off after her.
At the bottom of the stairs, Milligan, Rhonda, Number two, and Mr. Benedict were waving good-bye to Miss Perumal and Mucho. Reynie hung back on the landing, watching the proceedings from afar. Kate skidded to a halt in front of Mucho, seriously confused.
"Katie-Cat! There you are!" Milligan's eyes were sad and worried, but he put on a brave face.
"Where are you guys off to? Dinner's almost ready!"
Milligan sighed mournfully, "Eat with out us, one of Mr. B's Friends called up- needs us to check in on him. We'll be back soon." Kate noted that under his breath, he added "…hopefully…". It was obvious that he was lying through his teeth, but the question remained why? She ran up and wrapped him in a bear hug.
"Keep safe Milligan," She whispered
" Safe is my Middle name, Katie-Cat," He smiled back.
Kate looked at him curiously. For a first class spy, his lying was pitifully transparent. Why wasn't he telling her the truth? If it had only been the two of them, she would have demanded the facts. But something in his eyes, in his tone of voice… It was like he wanted her to realize that he was lying, but didn't want her to question it. Kate looked him over once again, her question burning in her eyes. Milligan shook his head sadly, and motioned for her to finish her good-byes. Worry crept into Kate's heart, like it always did when he was leaving. But she knew that it would be impossible to stop him.
Kate quickly ran around hugging the others. Mr. Benedict got an extremely excited hug that nearly knocked him off his feet.
"Ooof, my dear," he chuckled, " We'll see you soon!" Mr. Benedict tried to smile warmly at Kate. He couldn't stand to put these four in any more danger, but… Kate held up Mr. B as Number two rushed over. She took the weight off of Kate's hands and smiled thankfully at her. Mr. Benedict twisted suddenly and awoke.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry," his brow was wrinkled together as though deep in thought, "Thank you." He looked curiously at Kate, knowing what she had done. He opened his mouth to reprimand her but the others turned to leave, and Kate bolted up the flight of steps to the Library.
At the top of the steps, her friends waited for her. Kate pushed past them, and into the library- her mind running through various scenarios. She barely jumped over a few stacks of books, and finally reached the large Mahogany desk. It was plain to see that Kate was preoccupied, but only Reynie knew why. She shook her head and took a calming breath. Kate unfolded a long, delicate piece of paper. Reynie eyed her suspiciously as she laid it out for all to see.
"I present to you, the newspaper that we've all been discussing! Reynie, you were right! He was carrying it in his front pocket!"
"But how? "
"Wait, What?"
"Are you gonna show us or not, Kate?"
Kate shot Constance a dagger stare, did she always have to be a joy kill? She turned to address Reynie's question.
" A bear hug is a pick-pocket's best friend," She smiled mischievously. Reynie looked at her, and shook his head slowly. He should know by now not to be surprised by Kate, but occasionally she did things that he would just rather not know about.
All Four Swarmed around the page, trying to get the best view. Constance hopped up on a chair, struggling to push in front of the others. Reynie took a step back, silently grumbling as Sticky stepped on his toes. Kate peered over Sticky's shoulder, trying to see what she had stolen exactly. The whole situation reminded her of a human pretzel act from the circus- awkward and strenuous. None of them were prepared.
"No…" Constance whispered, "No…" She lurched back a few steps, and off of the chair. Suddenly her head was throbbing. Sticky tumbled to the floor with Constance in his lap. He had turned deathly pale and was nervously polishing his spectacles. He tried to mumble a few words, but only gibberish came out.
Reynie's face was a mixture of shock and anger, as he stood off to the side. Part of him felt the need to fight and be on his guard. The other part was shocked and disbelieving, and… scared. As much as he hated to admit it, after reading that caption, he was terrified. Kate had managed to leap back to avoid Sticky's fall, and had shimmied up to the desk to see better. Her eyes betrayed her shock, but she kept her fear under lock and key. . As worried as she was, they needed her to be the strong, confident leader. Still…
" Maximum Security Prison break out: Madman Curtain and gang at large", the headline read. Which translated to the four petrified kids, " Your life, and those you love have just been placed back in jeopardy!" They read the line again and again, letting the horror sink in.
"Dinner!" Muchco's strong voice rung though out the house, "Come and get it!" This seemingly innocent call seemed so bizarre when placed in their situation. Mucho called again, snapping the society out of their daze.
Reynie looked at the others, still trembling, and tried to clear his voice. Kate is the only one taking this well, he thought, Man up, Reynie! After a short mental pep talk, Reynie found his voice. It was cracked and sounded strangled, but it was all that he could manage under the circumstances. As he spoke, he was furious with himself for letting any panic show. After all, he needed to act like he was the strong, confident, fearless leader…
"We can't let them know that we know," He croaked, "We can't let them know. Act normal for dinner, for now- but afterwards we meet in my room. No later than five minutes after dinner. Official meeting tonight… This calls for an official meeting." In his head, he was shouting. Why hadn't Mr. Benedict told them? Or Milligan? Or…
Sticky nodded quickly at Reynie's proposal. Constance murmured agreement. Kate looked over at Reynie, noting how he looked lost in thought. Like Mr. B looked like, she thought. She folded up the paper quickly and stuffed it in her bucket.
One thought was on all of their minds, as they headed down to dinner: Where was Curtain now?
Reynie's room was much more orderly that Constance's, where they usually held their impromptu meetings. They could actually see the floor, and there were places to sit other than on top of laundry piles. On any other day, Kate probably would have pointed this out. However, the dire situation wasn't exactly the lighthearted atmosphere needed for a rhyme fight. Reynie had locked the door on their way in, and assigned shifts to check the hallway for eavesdroppers. Reynie, Sticky, and Constance anxiously sat in a circle. Kate's mind was elsewhere as Reynie began to talk. He placed the article in the middle of the open circle.
"Kate, do you intend to sit with us?" Sticky mumbled nervously.
"In a minute," she nodded distantly, "Just a second."
The sun was casting an eerie glow through the curtain as it set. Only a moment ago, a shadow had passed across the window. But what had cast the shadow? She took a few quick steps over to the window, feeling her pulse pound harder. Without wasting a moment's time, Kate flung open the curtain.
Perched on the windowsill was a familiar face.
"Madge!" Kate exclaimed, " Did you break out of the new roost again? I thought I told you that you were supposed to stay inside at night!" She clicked the locks and unfastened the window. Madge took a clumsy step forward and hopped into the room. Only then did Kate notice a little grey body clutched tightly in Madge's talons. It thrashed slightly and Kate let out a little gasp.
"Madge! Let it go! Can't you see that you're hurting it?"
Reynie had leapt to his feet and joined Kate by the window. Sticky and Constance just looked at each other, and turned to watch their friends. Kate was holding Madge with one fist, and a little bird in the other. The little bird squawked as Kate attempted to bandage it's wing.
"There, there little one," she cooed, " it's ok. Reynie, can you hold Madge for a second?"
Reynie reached out and took Hold of the falcon as Kate rummaged through her Bucket. He always had admired the bird, with the strong wings and bright eyes, but she had also always frightened him. Her talons dug into his gloved hand making him wince slightly. She wasn't heavy, but you knew she was there. Madge spread her wings and ruffled her feathers, making Reynie nearly lose his balance. Why had he agreed to hold her?
"Reynie! Keep your hand level!" Kate scolded. Madge looked him in the eye. There was something about the intelligence in those eyes, the cold, pitying stare that this bird gave him, that sent shivers down his spine. He handed Kate back her falcon as soon as he could.
Sticky stood to inspect the new bird, keeping a wary distance of Madge. After all these years, he thought, Reynie and I should be used to her- not still terrified. Constance stifled a snigger as she read his thoughts. Sticky shot her a warning glance.
" Homing pigeon," he whispered as he looked over the little bird. Those two words sent spirals of panic into their hearts. The madman who had recently escaped prison had sent the last homing pigeon, with a ransom note. Coincidence?
Reynie held the leg gently as Sticky pried off the note. The swift cursive handwriting was so well known to them by now that they didn't even require a signature. They already knew the sender.
"Dear Children,
It is my sincerest hope that this report reaches you presently, for I am compelled to inform you of your friends' precarious condition.
Indeed I feel no need to explain myself this time, as no doubt you already know of my release. You, best of all, should realize that genius cannot remain idle for long. Iron bars cannot confine brilliance. However, they may physically restrain your comrades.
Despite your best efforts, children, you cannot out run your past.
My prisoner, Nicholas Benedict, is in the possession of certain items of interest. Deliver these items to me, namely Benedict's Safe box. Five days from today, I will enact my revenge on my traitorous brother and his allies. If I receive these items, I will consider sparing their lives. If not- oh, for Benedict's sake I hope that you hurry with all due haste.
Do not attempt any rescue missions this time, children, lest I move up my deadline.
Until we meet again, until Déjà vu.
-L. Curtain"
Reynie finished reading the Letter, feeling the knot in his stomach tighten. He realized that subconsciously, he had been grinding his teeth as he read. Reynie scanned the faces of his friends. They looked like each word had delivered a physical blow. He felt as horrible and aghast as they looked. Even Kate couldn't conceal it.
"Milligan…"
"Mr. Benedict…"
"Number Two? Rhonda?"
Reynie met their questions and sorrows with an empty, hateful stare. Curtain had taken everything from them, time and time again. Finally, they had gotten their lives together, had a somewhat normal year. No life and death fights, no mysterious riddles. And now, three hours since Benedict and the rest had left, their world had been turned upside down- again. For a long time, he had strived to understand Curtain, to see things the way Mr. Benedict had taught him to- some seed of good in everything. But now, hate, fury, anxiety filled him up. He couldn't rest until he had found them all, comforted his friends, and put Curtain back behind bars. His fury drove him. And then memories of past missions flooded Reynie's mind. Fear and exhaustion overtook him. He flopped on the bed wide eyed.
"No…"