Chapter 2: Problem

I knew for sure who it was who sent the note, but what I really wanted to know was how he had escaped. The only way to find out was to go to his last known location. Set on getting answers, Tangle, Silver and I had made our way to Restoration HQ where he had been monitored.

Once at the front entrance, Silver went to knock only for the door to open in front of him. "Huh?"

A familiar voice then came in over the intercom. "You don't have to knock, Silver. Come on in." That voice was none other than Cream, the Restoration leader.

Tangle laughs a bit. "Thanks, Cream." She made her way in.

Silver looked away a bit embarrassed at his actions. "Guess I'm still not used to this much leeway under Cream's leadership."

I walked up to him gently patting him on the shoulder. "It takes time, Silver. Trust me." We made our way in and soon found ourselves in the central briefing room.

Cream came over to us outfitted with the same headset Amy used before her and a tablet device in place of a traditional clipboard. "It's great to see you again, Silver. How's the future?"

"Everything is great, but that's not why we're here."

I stepped forward. "We have reason to believe a prisoner is on the loose."

Cream was silent for a moment. "I'll pull up surveillance on who it may be."

"Tangle,… Silver,… Can we have a moment alone?"

Silver didn't want to leave, but Tangle took his arm and walked him out of the room.

"What's wrong? Why doesn't she want us in there?"

Tangle turned to Silver. "Trust me. If this man is who I think it is, this is going to be harder for her than either of us."

Cream and I had then checked surveillance of every location he had been locked up. To ensure he did not escape easily, he was moved from various prisons as to prevent him from formulating an plan to escape.

"Huh, that's strange."

"What is it?"

"There's about three to four seconds of missing footage on the surveillance of his cell. He's still in the cell though after that missing time."

Something was missing, and I was sure that was where he had escaped. "Are there any other prisoners reported missing?"

Cream cross-checked the list of prisoners finding two names. "Rough and Tumble. They made bail, but they haven't been seen since. They're still on probation."

"Do you have an address on their last known location?"

"Got it right here." The rabbit handed me the address. "Hopefully this helps, Whisper."

I gave her a small hug to show my appreciation. "You're always of help to us, Cream." As I turned to leave, I looked back at her. "Maybe tomorrow I'll stop by for dinner."

"My mom and I will have your favorite poundcake ready."

"Thank you." Cream knew me just as well as Tangle and Silver did. She would often tell me I was her hero,…but for the last few years I would always think of her as my hero.

As I left the room, Gemerl entered after a routine perimeter check.

Cream approached him. "Status report, Gemerl?"

"No signs of the target."

"Thank you." Cream had been searching for someone as well. "I know she's somewhere though. I got 99 problems, and she won't be one. Not anymore."

Tangle and Silver came up to me after my meeting with Cream wondering what our next move was. I held up the address. "We're going on a skunk hunt."

Silver knew exactly who I was talking about immediately and was a bit annoyed. "Those two again?"

Tangle on the other hand was a bit excited. "This is going to be fun. It's been months since I've roughed it up with them."

"Don't get too excited, Tangle. They're just the next step to finding him." I lead us out of Restoration HQ ready to find the way to him.