The reception back at the lodge was a simple enough affair which Stockwell had the presence of mind to have catered so everyone could enjoy themselves with out the fuss of serving and having to clean up later.

Father Magill talked with Face and Gloria at length before he mingled with the rest of the house.

Meanwhile, Maggie did her best to be as normal as possible around everyone but she did everything she could to avoid any real conversations and no one seemed to notice her odd behavior except Hannibal. He mistook it for her desire to have a commitment from him which he had been avoiding. Resigned to have a frank discussion with her later about his feeling and intentions, he avoided her as much as she avoided him.

Maggie's nervousness over the plans she'd made for later was what kept her apart from the others, not her feelings for Hannibal. Besides, she was quite sure that after she'd put her plan into action, not only would things be over between her and the colonel but she was sure no one else in the house would went to have anything more to do with her either. It would be extremely hurtful but necessary if she wanted to save her family.

As the evening slowly came to an end, Face showed Father Magill to a spare bedroom before heading to his own where Gloria had already gone before him. Standing up when he entered the room and shut the door behind him, Gloria grinned when he turned around.

"I didn't think you'd ever get up here," she said impatiently turning her back on him. "I can't get out of this wedding dress without help!"

"Well then, my wife," Face said with a laugh before reaching up to undo the many buttons and claps holding the dress together. "Let me help you out of that dress."

After the catering company left, Hannibal made sure the lodge was secure and that the ables were patrolling before heading to his room. Stepping inside, he found Maggie already in bed and asleep. Climbing in beside her, he sighed before closing his eyes. Their talk would have to wait until tomorrow, he thought before sleep finally took over.

It took everything Maggie had to wait for Hannibal's breathing to slow and him to start snoring before she quickly slid out of bed. She couldn't allow her feelings for John to stop what she was about to do so every moment she spent in that bed with him just about broke her heart.

Leaving the bedroom, she encountered the able who was her contact with Trigorin. "Everyone's in bed and the house is quiet," he said as Maggie nodded. "As soon as the General's dead, I'll take you to your husband and son."

"Fine," Maggie said pulling out the syringe from her pocket. "I'll be long gone in the morning and no one will know what happened!"

The able nodded and kept a look out as Maggie silently slipped into Stockwell's room. She had told the able in setting up her plans to slip a sedative into the General's drink that evening. She was relieved to find it obviously had been done because he didn't even flinch as she injected the contents of the syringe into his arm. Completely out of it, Stockwell was oblivious to what had just been done to him. Maggie stood by his side long enough to hear his breathing slow to nothing before leaving the room.

"It's been done," she said as the able looked inside to find the General not moving.

"Good," he said with a broad smile. "Trigorin will be happy with us both."

"I don't care about your bosses happiness," Maggie hissed. "Now, bring me to my family!"

Hannibal reached over the next morning expecting to feel Maggie beside him but came up empty handed instead. He looked around the room with blurry eyes before figuring out she wasn't there. That was the first shock, the second was Carla screaming at the top of her lungs for her father. The colonel threw on some clothes before racing down the hallway to where Carla stood sobbing outside Stockwell's door.

"He's dead!" She screamed as Hannibal stepped into the doorway.

"Where's Maggie?" He asked after seeing the General's still form in the bed with no one else inside.

"She's not with you?" Carla had the presence of mind to ask as Hannibal shook his head no.

Before Hannibal could wonder where the doctor was, most of the house had heard Carla's screams and had all descended on Stockwell's room.

The colonel fell back onto his medical training, stepping inside the room, he went to Stockwell's side and checked for a pulse or any signs of breathing. Finding none, he got to his feet and shook his head no as Face stood silently in the doorway. "Sorry, kid," Hannibal said helplessly as Face nodded before turning around.

Ellen was doing her best to comfort Carla and Face worried she may have an epileptic seizure due to finding their father deceased but before he could think about calming her down he looked at Father Magill. "Father," he said quietly. "Will you administer last rites before we call the authorities?"

"Of course, my boy," Father Magill said before moving into the room.

"Where's Maggie?" Face asked Ellen while looking concerned at Carla.

"No one knows," Hannibal said stepping out of the room. "Something's definitely going on here."