Chapter Three:
Bingo


"Here ya go!"

Lucy blinked when a messy drawing of two stickmen, one dressed in black and the other in blue, was thrust into her vision, distracting her from the show the television was presenting.

Margo was ecstatic about the idea of testing her mom's AVL smarts with a good ol' crime drama. The moment the three females sat down, the eldest sibling grabbed the remote and switched over to the desired channel. Lucy was really getting invested in the events on screen; her brain using the energy her wounded leg was unable to utilize for investigative purposes. For a short while, she felt like she was sitting in the main headquarters of the Anti-Villain League again, right until that thrilled voice interrupted her.

The smile on Agnes's face was immense. Enough so that, despite Lucy's initial confusion, she found herself swiftly smiling too. The first thing the black-haired girl had done upon entering the living room was grab some paper, snag some crayons, and begin drawing up a little gift for her injured mom. With all the time she'd put into it, she clearly wanted it to be extra special.

"Wow!" The redhead, while lying on her back across the crocodile couch, took the little girl's drawing into her hands. There was a small love heart above the stickmen couple. That addition served to make her own heart flutter. "This is...AMAZING, Agnes! I love it!"

The six-year-old bounced on the spot. "For real!?"

"Of course!" After another few seconds of elatedly observing every inch of the picture, she reached forward and pulled the youngest sister into a hug. "Thanks, kiddo!"

Embracing Agnes was always somewhat difficult, especially while mostly immobile. She was always so giddily ecstatic that it was hard to keep a hold of her squirming form. Regardless, Lucy just needed to give her a grateful cuddle, no matter how much she shook up and down in glee. This drawing truly was amazing.

"It's the guy with the dreadlocks, right?" Margo, who was sitting on the other end of the sofa, pointed up at the TV. "Nothing he's saying adds up, and he keeps looking down when the investigator talks. Or is it the blonde guy with the mustache that's getting really defensive?"

Lucy set Agnes down next to her torso. "It's the woman with all the swords."

"What? No…" Margo doubtfully glanced sideways at her mom. "She's got a totally good alibi and she literally used to be a police officer. It can't be her."

"Hmm..." Lucy offered a mild shrug, as she grinned and leaned back comfortably into the armrest. "Guess we'll see."

"That's a super big sword!" Agnes gawked momentarily at the screen, where such a weapon was hanging on the wall behind the two investigators. It spanned the width of the large painting positioned above it. "D'ya think Edith would like that?"

"Oh, she'd love that!" Lucy's giggle was interrupted when her gaze was caught by the clock. Brows furrowing, she sat up a bit to observe the living room, one that was upsettingly void of pink. Mother-daughter bonding time only worked if all her daughters were present. "Speaking of Edith…is she still asleep or something?"

That question finally pulled Margo out of her crime drama immersion. She looked up at the clock, where upon realizing that the time had long passed noon, her eyes widened. It wasn't uncommon for Edith to be the last person in the house to wake up, but it was extremely rare for her to still be in bed past 11 am.

Something was usually wrong if she was…

"Um, I guess I haven't seen her today..." After a few seconds of scouring her brain for a reason why she wouldn't be here, she irately sighed and stood from the couch, abandoning the much more interesting affairs on-screen. "I'll go check on her. Tell me if I miss any-"

"Told ya!"

Lucy's exclamation, followed by her sitting up and jubilantly pointing at the television, startled both children in unison. They followed her finger to find the two investigators locking a woman in cuffs, right in front of her collection of wall-hanging swords. Margo, highly shocked, paused just as she reached the door, mouth agape.

Lucy couldn't help but fist pump. "Bingo!"

The twelve-year-old pretended not to be irked by her fourth failed guess of the day but the irritated frown appeared the moment she entered the hallway. She couldn't tell if it was just poor writing on the creator's side or if Lucy had picked up on something she hadn't, but she was almost certain it was the dreadlocks man. At this point, it was probably better to reason that her mom was just very good at this whole crime-solving thing. It wasn't like Margo should be too shocked by that revelation, given her vocation.

Whatever, she'll definitely get the next episode.

Heading upstairs and into their bedroom, she raised an eyebrow when she found Edith's bomb bed completely barren. She closely examined the room, to ensure she definitely wasn't inside, before stepping back to check both ends of the hallway. Still, no sign of her.

"Edith!?" She called out. No response.

"Where are you…?"


"HEY!"

The guard halted in place when a piercing yell came from behind. He slowly turned to find Pandora, standing beside a professionally dressed man carrying a clipboard. Arms crossed, she shot a venomous gaze through him like an x-ray. She continued to do so for several uncomfortably long seconds before she abruptly smiled and nodded at the box that sat in his palm.

"Remember. Take good care of that."

The visibly apprehensive guard nodded in return and carefully headed through the rest of the cave passage, his firm gaze refusing to move off the box. As he trudged into the adjacent passage, Agent Lynn passed him, escorted by a trio of spear-wielding guards. Her head was drooped low as she stewed in frightened silence.

"Ahhh, there she is! Our little waste of time." Once the captive agent was halted in front of Pandora, the villainess cupped her chin. She gently pulled her head up to force eye contact. "Don't worry, we have a nice and cozy prison cell, one justtttt for you." She offered her a menacingly calming smile, as Lynn did nothing but glower back. Pandora's gaze averted to the guards behind her. "Take her to the first door on the left. It's the rat-infested room with the water leak."

The guards prodded a frowning Lynn's back, forcing her to walk forward again. They escorted her down the hall towards the aforementioned location, as Pandora watched on in pure amusement. Would it be ridiculous to concede that this Lynn woman actually did have a use? A small, fleeting use? Her helpless self-pity was providing a lot of entertainment, after all.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Pandora. She's useless.

"So back to what I was saying…" She was forced out of her introspection by the tap of the professional gentleman's pen against his clipboard. "Taking the box this soon was already risky enough. It makes no sense to stay here."

"No sense?" Pandora's smile faded. "What are you talking about?"

"The AVL know our precise location, Pandora!" He thought that yell was more than enough for his point to sink in, yet she only responded with a blank, puzzled glare. Before he could repeat it in the hopes that she'd finally understand, several more guards appeared from another cave passage, carrying a tangled mess of grey wires and devices. He blinked at the sight. "And what are they doing?"

She glanced sideways as they charged down the hall. "Oh, just setting up a little computer system."

"A-A computer system?" The man, astonished, waved the clipboard in her face. "There's no time for computer systems, we need to leave! It's way too-"

"Listen!" Pandora harshly yanked the clipboard back down. Still holding onto his hands, she lightly smiled and leaned in closer to his perturbed face. "We won't be here for much longer. We'll be heading out and opening the box once the sun sets. And don't worry, I know the AVL are coming here…"

The man appeared even more befuddled. As he opened his mouth to respond, Pandora placed a finger upon his lips before a single word could pass them.

"We NEED the AVL here."


Gru's gaze was irresponsibly distracted as he drove his tank down a long woodland road. The sight of the mountain, the one from the image Da Vinci presented to him, was but a short distance away. It was difficult for him to not glower at it with a determined frown, one etched firmly into his face. He couldn't deny, his raring need to stop Pandora wasn't just because she wished to impart chaos on humanity…

She was the reason Lucy was hurt.

Forcing a harsh breath through his nostrils, he heightened the pressure on the accelerator. When the satnav beneath him indicated that he was getting pretty close to the cave entrance, he slowed and gently turned the vehicle into a patch of dying leaves and clawing mud, a position heavily obscured by trees.

He leaped from the driver's seat and out of the cockpit, climbing down into the belly of the vehicle. He began his search through the gadget pile, equipping anything and everything that he may conceivably require at some point, even if it seemed ridiculous to do so. After all, it was better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. As he entered the state of mind that he personally dubbed 'mission mode', he pressed the button for the door and hopped out onto the grass.

A slightly nervous blonde beneath the table breathed a hushed sigh of relief when he did so…

The dash through the trees began. Gru's pupils darted from left to right, right to left, searching for anyone keeping guard. Sure enough, as he approached the cave opening, around six men in orange attire were patrolling the area. Four of them appeared to be scouring the woodland a fair distance from the cave, none of whom were anywhere near him. He leaped into a position behind the closest tree and unveiled his trusty high-tech goggles, the ones that could zoom in…

The ones he'd used to spy on the girls outside Vector's lair.

His 'mission mode' concentration gave out for a second when such a small but cute memory was recalled. It had been a while since he'd thought of that moment. Strange how this feeling had become more prevalent recently. However, as quick as he was distracted, was as quick as he shook his head and regained focus. He zoomed in and inspected the entrance. Two of the guards stood on either side of the makeshift metal door, presumably installed by Pandora and her henchmen.

Cave entrances don't usually house metal doors…

That's when leaves crushing underfoot sounded in his right ear. He turned to find someone approaching, inspecting the area close to Gru. There was a seventh guard, one he hadn't spotted before. As he neared, his gaze just happened to glide past the tree that Gru was hidden behind, and in doing so, he spotted the goggles poking out.

"Huh?" Eyes narrowing, he lifted up the spear in his grasp and rounded the tree. Those same eyes widened into saucers when he found a scarfed bald man spying on the cave. "Hey-"

He was suddenly enveloped by a cloud of swamp-colored gas.

Gru had instinctively reacted to being caught by reaching into his coat and grabbing the first weapon his hand could locate. It just so happened to be the fart gun. When the AVL agent aimed and shot, even he was thrown off by the sudden arrival of the gas cloud. Evidently though, not to the same extent as the henchman. He collapsed to the ground in an unconscious heap after being subject to only a single sniff of it.

Gru eyed his inanimate body for a short while, before a relieved sigh and a victorious grin emerged. He took a mental note.

Reminder: apologize to Kevin…

The glistening sparkle of a purple-colored key card, strapped to the belt of the guard, then attracted his attention. That answered how he was going to open the metal door. Now, however, he needed to consider his next obstacle. The men stood on either side of it. He reached down and plucked it off, before shoving it into his coat pocket.

He carefully crept from behind the tree and dashed off to the left, to another hiding position behind a huge chunk of rock. This had likely been blasted out of the giant smoking hole in the side of the mountain. He didn't really have to speculate on who was behind that. How was he going to get past these guys without attracting unnecessary attention?

As he pressed a hand against the rock, an idea came to mind.

It was strange that Valerie had brought up the zodiac stones at the AVL earlier, as he'd decided on a whim to load one of his most prized possessions into the tank. The 'Sticky Fingers', developed by Doctor Joseph Nefario himself. Reaching into his pocket, he equipped the device and peered up at the explosive crater above. His eyes moved side to side, searching for a part of the rock that appeared the least sturdy. Upon locating a viable candidate, he fired the hand up onto the mountain and grabbed a hold of a big chunk, which he then forcibly pulled back.

The moment it began to crack off, he brought the hand back into the gun and allowed the rock to tumble down the side of the mountain. It landed with a resounding thump around ten meters from the entrance, scaring the two guards into yelping like a pair of frightened puppies. They glared at the rock in terror for a short period, then glanced up at the mountain, then back at each other.

"Uhh, y'know…" He nervously cleared his throat. "Maybe...maybe we should go look around the forest?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's definitely…" The other guard was already dashing off. That ensured his associate wasn't far behind. "A good idea."

Gru grinned triumphantly.

Once they'd made some distance away from him, he hurried out from behind the rock and quickly dashed for the door. He took out the key card and swiped it through the scanner, electing the door to sound a little 'beep' and open up. He was finally inside the cave. Now, for the difficult part...

Stopping Pandora.

Edith's foot halted in midair when the loud crash of the rock sounded, just as she was about to step out of the tank. Her eyes, shocked and widened, peered up at the door, just in time to see the guards in front of it panic and rush off at haste. She kept a close watch in silent befuddlement, up until her dad very swiftly opened the door and rushed into the cave. That's when an excited grin emerged.

It was difficult for her to lie. When imagining cool villain hideouts, some mountain in an ordinary-looking forest wasn't the first thing that came to Edith's mind. Having said that, maybe it was much better inside? It was built inside a cave; it had to be pretty spooky in there, right? Well, there was only one way she was finding out.

The dying leaves crushed under her black boots as she hopped out of the vehicle. She rushed up closer to the entrance, eyes scanning the surrounding area in search of patrolling guards, just like her father had done. Most of them were far enough away that she could likely use her ninja sneaking abilities to creep past them and into the cave, all apart from one annoying guy. He just happened to be walking right in her direction...

As she crouched behind a tree next to a small river, she watched the orange-dressed man with narrowed, frustrated eyes. He was going to be a pretty big problem for her if she didn't find a way to distract him. What could she do? Maybe strike his temple with her nunchucks? Launch a shuriken at his legs?

As he got closer and closer, a less dangerous method of getting rid of him came to mind.

She used the leaves on the floor to conceal her foot, which she gradually pushed out further and further from behind the tree. As the guard approached, he didn't see the black boot perfectly blocking his path, and he helplessly tripped over it and face-first into the rancid river in front of him.

Edith quietly, yet swiftly, dashed out from behind the tree and further through the woodland, as the man spluttered up a fountain of muddy water.

"What the-" He tossed over onto his back and frantically looked around, searching for the culprit. There was no one. Only trees, leaves, and the egregious sound of water rushing from his ears. Huffing, he backed up onto the bank and began squeezing his drenched clothes. "Ughhh…stupid, clumsy…idiot."

Edith snickered as she subtly observed him from afar. After waiting a moment to ensure he wasn't walking in her direction, she continued her pursuit towards the cave. She hurried from tree to tree at a silent but rapid pace. When she made it out onto the open grass, she launched towards the same rock her dad used to conceal himself, and after ensuring that the coast was clear, she raced for the metal d-

BZZZT-BZZZZZT!

The buzz of her phone in her pocket almost caused her heart to leap up into her mouth. In an instant, she hopped behind the rock again and desperately fished through her pockets to take out the device. When she saw 'Margo' on the caller ID, she released such a venomous growl that she could've easily been mistaken for a werewolf by those lacking sight of her.

Her finger instinctively fired towards the 'reject' button, but thinking better of it, she halted. Slowly, that same finger instead pressed the 'accept' one.

"Hello."

"Edith?" Margo released a very thankful sigh when she heard her sister's voice over the speaker. However, that relief was almost immediately replaced by annoyance. "Ugh, you've had me really worried! Why are you whispering?"

"Cuz…" The tomboy slowly poked out from behind the rock. Thankfully, none of the guards heard the phone go off. They were all still surveying their individual section of the forest. "I want to."

She could practically feel her older sister's suspicion radiating through the screen.

"Where are you!?" She interrogated. "I've looked everywhere around the house."

"I'm…" Edith tapped three of her fingers across the rock while urgently scouring her brain for a good enough lie. "On the toilet."

She initially thought she'd knocked it out of the park with that one, but unfortunately, Margo just happened to round the corner in the upstairs hallway as she said that. The bespectacled girl paused, observing the bathroom up ahead with a frown.

"With the door open?"

Edith angrily clenched her teeth and fist.

"Um, yeah, I…forgot to close it?" When she heard Margo huff across the phone and begin to approach the bathroom, she panicked. "NO! Don't come in, I'm…I'm…"

Upon accidentally shouting, she punched the ground in self-frustration and once again glanced behind the rock. She was very lucky that the guards were still some distance away, otherwise, she would've been toast. Knowing that she had to get off the phone right now, she hurled out the final lie she had left in her possession.

"Pooping."

She heard Margo instantly halt in her tracks. When nothing but an apprehensive silence occurred for the following several seconds, Edith cheekily grinned, awaiting her victory.

"Uhhhhh...shut the door next time."

With that final response, her older sister promptly hung up. That was another obstacle she'd avoided! Margo may be good at knowing when she's lying, but Edith was getting pretty good at grossing her older sister out too much for that to really matter. Taking a moment to fist pump the air, she once again poked her head out to ensure the coast was clear, before resuming her dash toward the entrance.

Margo, after repocketing her phone, continued to stand still in the hallway, eyeing the bathroom door. She was 99.9% certain her sister was lying. The whispered voice, the evident fear in her tone, the messy way she was conceiving responses. Those were the classic attributes of a deceitful Edith Gru. Determined to catch her out, she stepped forward to approach the room.

But, immediately after taking the step, she irately huffed and spun around to storm back down the hall, away from the bathroom. It definitely wasn't worth the risk.

"Ugh, she's so annoying!"

Meanwhile, Gru was very carefully creeping through the unnervingly quiet halls of the cave entrance, where the only source of light was the dim flickers of the wall-adorning torches. Before him were two diverging paths, one hall leading left and the other leading right. Nothing about them, other than the direction, separated one from the other. Which one did he follow?

That answer was provided for him when gradually approaching voices came down the right one.

With long-reaching steps, he bolted over to the left passage. He pressed his back against the wall and used his dark clothing to obscure himself within the shadows, a feat that would've been more successful if it weren't for his shiny bald head. It was annoyingly good at reflecting the torch's orange light.

Thankfully, the two guards that walked past were too involved in their conversation to notice him.

"So, what about you? What are you gonna do after this?" One of them questioned.

"Dunno. If humanity hasn't fallen into too much chaos, I might head to the cinema." The other replied as they both approached the metal door. "I wanna see the sequel to that Onions movie. It came out a few months back and I still ain't watched it."

"Oh, that sounds good."

As Gru took that opportunity to swiftly but quietly pace off down the left hall, the guards swiped their key card through the scanner to open it up. They continued their conversation as they left the cave and wandered down the road, not noticing the small black and pink figure that snatched that opportunity to race inside before the door closed again…

Gru very carefully continued through the cave system. His ears were meticulously listening for any voices or foreign footsteps, anything that signaled that someone was nearby. As he walked, the use of torches began to decrease, adding more and more darkness to his surroundings. Eventually though, a light at the end of the tunnel, literally, caught his attention.

The hallway led into a much larger area of the cave. It was akin to a huge room, something that was a particularly interesting sight considering that it was naturally produced. Inside were several other diverging tunnels, as well as three lingering guards, casually conversing with each other. At first, Gru felt slight trepidation. There were so many possible ways to go that it became unlikely he'd choose the correct one.

However, when he spotted a second metal door brandishing another key card scanner, that fear subsided. If Pandora saw fit to block that area off, then it must lead to this box she'd been searching for, or at the very least, something that could give a clue to its location. There was still no sign of Agent Lynn anywhere, but considering the sheer complexity of this place, Gru had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to find her.

He wasn't the kind of guy to leave a fallen comrade behind, and he was determined to ensure that today wasn't any different...

He kept himself shrouded in shadow, watching the guards like an eagle observing prey. After two minutes had passed, he considered whipping out another gadget and removing their presence by force, but thankfully, his patience would be rewarded. The men finally dispersed and headed off down separate halls.

Despite being certain that he was now alone, Gru chose to heed Valerie's advice from earlier and air on the side of caution. He hid behind any nearby rock he could locate as he slowly advanced through the expansive room, getting closer and closer to the next metal door. His only remaining fear was that it didn't accept the same key card.

Finally, he made it. Standing up, he tip-toed over to the door and studied the scanner on the side. The same purple symbol that brandished the other one was present upon it, likely proving that it accepted the same key card of that very color. Gru smiled and whispered to himself.

"Bingo."

"It sure is."

A voice behind made him gasp and spin around. He backed up against the door as four spears, each being aimed in his direction by a different guard, pinned him against it. A woman in a purple dress stood in the center of them all, grinning at him.

Pandora.

Gru quickly shoved a hand into his coat pocket to grab a weapon.

"MAKE another movement!" She exclaimed. The men pushed the spears a mere inch away from his chest. "And I promise you'll never move again..."

He froze, eyes closely locked onto hers. The rate of his breathing began to increase. After a period of silence, he glanced around at all the guards. These were the same men from outside.

"H-How...how did yoo know I was-"

"It's very simple..." Pandora reached into his pockets and fished out his badge. Examining it briefly, she tossed it off to the side and smiled at him again. "Agent Gru. I knew someone from your pathetic league would turn up here eventually." Reaching into the back pocket of her dress, she unveiled a small tablet device and turned it around, presenting the screen to him. It displayed footage of the forest surrounding the cave, from the point of view of a surveillance camera he obviously hadn't spotted. "I had CCTV installed. I have to admit, I've had fun watching you clamber your way in here. You and your little tag along."

Gru furrowed his brows. "Tag along?"

A fifth guard, one completely drenched in muddy water, appeared from the right and pulled a nearby rock to the side. When Gru turned and made eye contact with EDITH, who was nervously glancing between her dad and the guards from her now exposed hiding spot, his mouth instantly fell agape.

"Umm…" She guiltily smiled and raised a hand. "Hi."

"W-W-WHAT ARE YOO-"

Gru had so many different things that he wanted to exclaim at once that his brain couldn't settle on a definitive one. Instead, all he could do was incomprehensibly stutter, as he gawped at his middle child in a mix of confusion and absolute, unbridled panic. If this had been a bad predicament before, it had very abruptly been dialed up tenfold...

"But, hey!" Pandora clapped, snapping him from his jarred state. "As you were saying…bingo!"

One of the guards used his free hand to swipe a key card through the scanner. The door opened up, electing Gru to lose his balance and quickly throw his hands under himself to avoid painfully slamming into the hard floor. Now on his knees, he looked up to observe what lay behind the metal door.

He blinked in befuddlement when he saw a small, extremely damp room, with nothing but a barely alight torch inside. Pandora cackled a little.

"You made it to your prison cell."


Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Gonna try and update this about twice a month from here on out! Much love, as always :)