"Karen, where have you been?" Will demanded. "A circuit is cut downstairs so the power's out, and…"

"Somebody cut a circuit? Will, you didn't tell us that!" Grace cried out.

"Well, Grace, in your mad rush to save yourself from something that may or may not be happening, I didn't exactly have a chance," Will said coolly.

"I know that, Wilma." Karen's eyes were boring intensely into his. "I'm taking care of it. I'm taking care of everything."

"Taking care of everything?" Grace repeated warily. "Everything like what?"

"Oh, the lights…the help…you." Karen squinted viciously at her and from behind her back, brandished a large, gleaming butcher knife.

"Oh no, please!" Jack shrieked. "Not me! I'm…too pretty! Take Will, he'll feed more people! Or take Grace, she doesn't deserve to live in that outfit anyway! But please…not me…"

"You bring up some very valid points, Jackie," Karen told him approvingly. "Unfortunately for you, you run like a girl and I love that in a gay man, so I think you're out of luck."

Jack turned and high tailed it back to the house, screaming all the way.

Grace let out a very strained snort of laughter. "Okay, I get this, Karen. Funny. Happy Halloween, okay?" She glared at Will. "And I'm sure you were in on this too, your tale about a cut circuit. That's cute, Will."

"Grace, I'm not--" Will shook his head. "I don't know anything about this, I--"

"Give it up, Will. The joke is over."

"I don't know, Grace," Karen said smoothly, "it seems to me that the joke is just beginning."

"You're pulling one over on us," Will remarked uncertainly.

"Oh, am I?" Karen said incredulously. "Well, tell you what, I'll be fair and give you to the count of three to get a head start. Then we'll see who's pulling what over on who."

"Okay. Karen," Grace said irritably, "we're laughing right with you. Hahahahahahaha! See? Now…you've had your fun, so…"

"I have? Thinking…thinking…no, honey, I don't believe the fun has started yet," Karen said cheerily. "Now you don't seem to be too excited about my count to three option, so we'll just get started now." She began to advance on them.

Grace eyed Will. "I don't know what this is about, Will, but…"

"Booking it?"

"I'm bailing."

"We need to find Jack," Grace panted as they reentered the manse. "It's better to stay together. What is Karen's problem tonight?"

"She has a lot of problems, Gracie."

"I know, but we need to focus on the staple problem at hand."

Will frowned. "Which one?"

"Will!"

"Oh, you're talking about the one that would make her want to slaughter us all," Will mused.

"Yeah, that one."

"Okay. So what did you do to your assistant that would make her want to slaughter us all? Did you bring her something from the thrift store that you had some kind of mistaken impression that she'd like?"

"Not since the second week I hired her, she told me if I ever did it again, she'd have me stoned and put in her front hall to hang coats on."

"And you now find yourself in a frighteningly similar predicament."

"Yeah, but I haven't done anything like that lately that I can remember. I don't even bring her coffee in the morning anymore, she'd only chew me out for knowing better than to bring her anything but the finest brew. At six hundred dollars a freaking bean? Suck it."

"You're going to be sucking it permanently, Grace, you'd better get moving," a sing song voice floated in their direction. Will grabbed Grace's arm and their feet left the ground.

"Where do we go, where do we go?" Grace demanded frantically.

"Grace, I don't know, she knows every inch of this place." Will ran a nervous hand through his hair. "And where's Jack?"

"Jack!" Grace shouted. She and Will raced up one flight of stairs and glanced up and down the long hallway. "It's just us, Karen's not here!"

"How do I know she's not right behind you?" came a muffled cry from somewhere in the hallway.

Will pretended to consider. "Yes, Jack, Karen is right behind us and we're up here looking for you!" he screamed. "Are you kidding? If she was, what are we trying to save you for when we could be saving ourselves?"

There was a pause. "That's a good point."

"I know it is. So where are you?"

"See if you can find me."

"Jack, let's not do that, we have to figure out a way out of here--"

Grace screamed as she sprawled over a crouching form.

"Grace, you okay?" Will pulled her up.

"Yeah, and I think we just found Jack."

Will helped Jack up too. "Brilliant hiding spot, Jackie, she could have never found you here, balled up against the wall in plain sight."

"How many times do we have to tell you that just because you can't see people doesn't mean they can't see you?" Grace added.

"It's Karen," Jack pointed out. "She sees everybody and doesn't even know it."

"That's true." Grace nodded her agreement. "Now let's see if she can 'see' us and not know it while we try to get out of here."

"Trick or treat, Jackie…"

The three of them grabbed each other as Karen's voice seemed to come closer and closer.

"Jackieeeeeeeeeeeeee…Mommy has a surprise for yooooooouuuuuuuu…"

"A surprise?" Jack weakened slightly.

"Jack, no, it's a trick!" Grace whispered urgently.

"He wants to see you…it's Pedro…from the gyyyyyyymmmmm…"

"Oh my God, Pedro from the gym?" Jack giggled excitedly. "He doesn't speak a word of English, but we didn't need words in order to talk, if you know what I'm saying…"

"Jack, Pedro from the gym is not here," Will said, "neither is Jeff from the gym, or Nick from the gym, or Brad from the gym, or anybody from the gym! She's just saying that to find you!"

Jack considered. "Could you…bring him up to me, Kare?"

"Jack!" Will and Grace hissed in unison.

A devious chuckle was heard. "Oh no, honey…he's down here, right next to me…he loves to see you walk up and down stairs…he says it inspires him…"

Jack was weakening still, and it was taking all Will and Grace had to keep a firm grip on him.

"Jack--no!" Will grunted.

They could hear Karen laughing cattily. "Oh Pedro…you bad, bad boy…put that back on…"

And Jack was off like a shot.

"JACK!" Will and Grace screamed. They raced after him, slamming into him at the top of the steps.

"What the--?" Will began, but his words got caught in his throat. Karen was on the landing, no Pedro to speak of with her.

"Oh my goodness," she said in mock seriousness, "did I mention--that my sharp, shiny friend here also went by the name of Pedro?"

And with that, she lunged.