Operation Horror Reconnaissance

The stakeout was going exactly as Dogen planned. By that, he was sitting in his car idly skimming through photographs on his Otto-Shot. He had taken many pictures of the new arrivals at the nearest shelter, planning on fostering a few himself. He smiled at the dogs and cats roaming around in the backyard, many resting while others played under the warm sun, supervised by the shelter's volunteers.

In his passenger seat was Raz. He held a pair of binoculars to his eyes. Dogen was certain that they would leave circular imprints on his face the moment he lowered them. But Raz' attention on the target was steadfast, even if Dogen still found their position precariously obvious. Anyone could have spotted them in the quaint parking lot, but Raz had insisted that they persevere.

"Is she still waiting?" Dogen asked, lowering his camera.

"Uh-huh," Raz grunted, pursing his lips.

Dogen looked forward. In front of them was a movie theater that seemed to have had better days. The wooden exterior had notable chipping. The marquee sign also flickered with pale yellow light, its name completely unreadable. A few of the movie titles below the sign displayed obvious misspellings, a sentiment that the employees hardly cared about the establishment.

But it was the young woman sitting on a bench outside of the theater that invoked their observation. She was dressed in a silk, baby blue blouse and a pair of jeans. She tapped her sandals on the pavement, appearing to whistle to herself as she fidgeted with her large braids that could have easily fit Dogen's head.

Mirtala was waiting for someone, and it was that someone who prompted Raz' spontaneous mission. When Dogen heard about who had invited Mirtala to the movies, it also surprised him. The person in question was not known for his romantic side. He was also not popular with the women in their workplace. And when Raz had learned the identity of the man who had given Mirtala the ticket for a re-release of an underground horror classic, he had sprung into action and taken a befuddled Dogen with him.

"Where are you, Bobby?" Raz hissed, grinding his teeth. "If you stand her up, I'm going to - oh!" He gasped and lowered his binoculars, red circles now imprinted on his face. "He's here."

Dogen watched the truck shoot into the parking lot. The tires squealed as Bobby took up two spaces. He hurried out and locked his truck, kicking the door shut behind him. He pocketed his keys and tugged on the handle, appearing satisfied when he affirmed it was locked.

Mirtala bounced to her feet as he jogged over to her, his ticket in hand. "There you are! How dare you keep a lady waiting?" she sneered, gripping her hips.

Bobby waved off her jeering. "Yeah, yeah! I know! I had to stay later 'cause my last mission partner didn't fill out her goddamn paperwork." He rubbed his neck. "Am I really that late?"

She shook her head, her familiar bells jingling. "No, I'm just teasing. We have ten minutes before the movie starts. They're probably finishing up the previews."

Dogen noticed Bobby was still wearing his Psychonauts uniform. He must have blitzed out of the office the moment he finished his work, gone home to grab his leather jacket, and drove at lightning speeds to arrive on time. He also supposed that explained the frenetic blaring on a car horn coming up the street minutes ago.

Raz opened up Dogen's glove compartment and stored the binoculars. He flexed his gloved fingers and set aside his goggles. He clapped his hand on Dogen's shoulder, asking him to roll up the windows. As Dogen obliged, he watched Bobby and Mirtala enter the theater, each holding a ticket, and a smirk split across his face.

"Okay, Dogen, here's the meat and potatoes of his job," Raz stated, opening his door. "We go in. We sit away from them, preferably above them for a better vantage point. We watch them. Then, we leave."

Dogen handed Raz the Otto-Shot. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Raz?"

Pushing aside a few documents, he fit the Otto-Shot behind the binoculars. He roughly shut the glove box, asking, "Well, would you trust Bobby to be alone with your sister?"

"Sam and Bobby met at a psychic juvenile hall, so-"

Raz shook his head, interjecting, "Nevermind. Sam would kick his ass."

He chuckled as Raz crossed his arms, sinking in his seat like a petulant child. He knew Raz wasn't acting out of resentment. It wasn't as if Bobby still terrorized them like he had done as a PSI cadet. His concern stemmed out of familial love for Mirtala, who Raz still fretted over. Mirtala might have been an adult, but in his eyes, she would always be his little idolizing sister. Anything involving a date with someone who had a slightly suspicious past was deserving of a sting to ensure she was treated well, which was what Raz had insisted while hoisting Dogen out of his office to his car.

Dogen took his keys out of the ignition and tucked them in the breast pocket of his button up shirt. "Well, it can't hurt to check on Tala," he said, and Raz instantly brightened, vaulting to life and throwing open his door.

"Exactly! Besides-" He leaped out of the car. "-if they catch us, then we'll say we were just seeing the same movie and didn't know they were there."

It was a flimsy excuse but an excuse nonetheless. Dogen nodded and hopped out. He peeked through his window and found nothing valuable in sight. Zipping up his hooded sweatshirt, he walked with Raz to the booth centered before the double doors of the theater and tried his best not to wrinkle his nose at the lingering scent of cigarette smoke.

Raz addressed the yawning employee behind the counter and slid two twenty dollar bills across the table. "Two tickets for Slaughterhouse 9 to 5, please."

She yawned again and punched his request into a small computer. Two tickets popped up from a metallic slot in the center of the table. She carelessly ripped out the tickets and swiped his money. Shoving the bills into her cash register, she tossed out his change and muttered for them to enjoy the show.

"Uh, when we go in, which theater is the movie in?" Raz asked before she could close her eyes.

"Says it on the ticket. God," she groaned, resting her face in her hand.

Raz clicked his tongue. 'Right. Thank you."

"Thank you," Dogen added, and she yawned for a final time before they hurried inside.

The interior was just as seedy as the exterior. Dark flooring gave way to walls that seemed ready to be torn off. Poor lighting created shadows crawling everywhere. Dogen could have sworn he saw cobwebs hanging from the ceiling beams. He also wondered if the faint squealing he heard was from one of the movies and not from an actual bat, but Raz squeezed his shoulder, whispering for him to look ahead.

Bobby and Mirtala carried their popcorn and drinks away from the concession stand. Neither noticed Dogen and Raz as they walked toward their theater. Bobby's telekinetic hand appeared and held open the door for them, stopping Mirtala when she reached to push it.

"Oh, a gentleman," she said with a giggle.

"I'll let the door swing on your ass," Bobby remarked, but he didn't, and he let her go in front of him.

The corner of Raz' lip twitched. Dogen wondered what thoughts raced through his head, but his face said it all. Uncertainty and irritation blended together in the crinkling of his eyes. He fidgeted with the tickets, his thumb pressing hard enough to tear them in two. Dogen caught his ticket before it could fall on a floor that was far too sticky for his liking.

Raz quickly shook his head, realizing he was only holding one ticket. "Oh, sorry, Dogen. I definitely wouldn't wanna pick up anything off this floor."

Dogen agreed. His shoes felt stuck with every step. He gestured at the concession stand, saying, "You know, maybe we should give them a little space. If we get some food, then we'll look more like regular people instead of, uh, spies."

Raz' chuckling graced Dogen's ears. "Sounds good to me, but Bobby did come in his uniform. He's not inconspicuous at all." He sighed and dramatically ran his fingers through his hair. "Poor guy must have forgotten his training on the way here. I don't know what Tala sees in him."

Raz raised his hand when Dogen reached for his wallet. The food was also on him. Dogen supposed that was fair in exchange for his time staking out Mirtala's rendezvous, especially as Raz had shoved the request on Dogen within the past half hour. Dogen hardly had time to put on his sweatshirt and special baseball cap when Raz rushed him to his buggy.

"I'll take a small buttered popcorn and a bottle of water," Dogen said to the man behind the counter.

"And I'll go for a medium salted popcorn, a can of cherry coke, and-" Raz ducked in front of the display candies, examining each colorfully wrapped bag. "-a box of chocolate macadamias." He grinned up to Dogen. "I'll share."

Dogen returned it with a small smile. "I know you will."

The man rang them up with familiar unenthusiasm. He took Raz' money and deposited crumpled bills back into his hand. As he set out preparing their popcorns, Dogen peered around the theater. He found only a few other patrons entering different theaters. Other employees chatted amongst themselves, unbothered by clearly younger kids sneaking into R-rated movies. He supposed their apathy made sense; their behavior fit the nearly dilapidated vibe of the theater to the point where he wondered if it was for show.

Raz scooped up the popcorn paper bags in both arms while Dogen grabbed their drinks. He leaned to the side, asking the employee to push the box of candy into his pocket. With a shrug, the employee obliged before fishing out a cigarette from his pocket. Dogen raised his eyebrows and decided not to question what was clearly a health violation.

They approached the doors to the movie. Inside, Dogen heard a rumbling like that of thunder or prominent drumming. Raz squared his shoulders and raised his popcorn to his chin, his tongue scooping up a piece. Dogen would have commented on the ridiculousness of it all if Raz hadn't flashed Dogen another winning smile.

"Are you ready for our most dire mission yet?" he asked.

Dogen nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Operation Horror Reconnaissance starts-" Raz kneed open the door to the dark theater illuminated by graining lighting. "-right now."

We should've workshopped that name.

Hey, I had a half hour to figure out a good title, and that's the best one out of fifty bad ones.