Despite Jenny's best efforts to hide, Kathleen had sniffed her out like a bloodhound. Jenny feared that Kathleen had some sixth sense that let her know, at all times, where her underlings were. Now Jenny could do little but beg for mercy as she was being dragged through the hall by her ponytail.
"Idiots! Bunglers! Degenerates! I'm fuckin' surrounded by them!" Kathleen ranted as she nearly pulled Jenny's hair out of her scalp and threw her onto the deck like a freshly caught salmon.
"You had one simple task, you worthless piece of excrement!" Kathleen roared as she held up her finger.
Trembling, Jenny raised her hands to shield her face. "I almost had her, I swear! I...I didn't know the yacht would crash?!"
"And what kept you from resuming your escape after the crash was over!?" Kathleen screamed. "Someone got the drop you, didn't they?!"
"I...eh.."
"WHO!" Kathleen demanded to know as she shook her fist just inches from Jenny's face.
"Lincoln!" Jenny blurted and covered her mouth.
"Lincoln!?" Kathleen's eyes grew as big as a dinner plate before her face turned red and she tightened her trembling fists. "You mean to tell me you couldn't handle a scrawny, rat-faced nerdling in a polo shirt!?"
Jenny cried as Kathleen grabbed her by her shirt and started slamming her against the floor.
"I beat the crap out of Luan!? I locked the goth brat up!? I ALMOST ended Lynn's miserable life! I compromised myself all because of your gross incompetence!?" Kathleen ceased shaking Jenny when Amber arrived on the scene, pushing a gurney carrying the sleeping captain.
"Um...Kathleen?" she asked timidly, all too aware that her boss was in the middle of disciplining Jenny. "What am I supposed to do with him again?"
"RRRRRR!" Kathleen snarled through clenched teeth, her eyes bloodshot, as she dropped the dizzy Jenny and tried composing herself. Maybe she could still salvage this.
Luan was on mute for now and the rest of the freak caravan had nothing to incriminate her, not that their parents could do anything in their state. And the pale brat was still locked up and nobody would notice her absence. She still had the upper hand.
"Take him to the stern!" she pointed ahead. Amber nodded and obeyed, while Kathleen turned her burning glare back to Jenny.
The roughed-up Jenny flinched in terror as Kathleen dug into her pocket and pulled out a taser. She forced it into Jenny's hand before walking over to the sleeping Luna and giving her body a kick.
"Stupid punk dyke! " Kathleen grumbled as she pulled the dart out of the unconscious rocker's shoulder and crushed it in her grip.
"Jenny!" she turned around sharply. "Keep tasing her until she wakes up!"
"Yes, Kathleen! Whatever you say, Kathleen!" Jenny nodded frantically before crawling over to Luna's sleeping form and activating the taser.
Kathleen had half a mind to give Jenny a beating to end all beatings but that had to wait. First things first. Maybe after enslaving Lisa, she could offer Jenny as her first guinea pig? She had the IQ of one anyway.
"Hurry up, you dolt!" Kathleen ranted as she followed after Amber and helped her push the gurney faster. "Those lowlives are waiting for me."
"Why are we taking the captain here, Kathleen?" Amber asked cluelessly.
"Simple." Kathleen answered as she approached the sleeping man and slapped a pink slip onto his chest. Her lips twisted into a sadistic smile.
"Mason, for drinking on the job and crashing my yacht, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to relieve you from duty." she said faux-sweetly before pushing the gurney against the railing, tilting it up and causing the captain to slide down and plummet into the water with a splash.
A startled Amber looked over the railings and saw the ripples in the water fanning out while some bubbles escaped to the surface.
"Let's go." Kathleen was already leaving.
"Ehhh...can he swim while...like... unconscious?" a concerned Amber asked.
"Sure he can." Kathleen waved her hand before handing the blonde bimbo her phone. "Now call the nearest medic station and ask for an ambulance. Tell them we have a woman and a...for lack of a better term, a man who need help. Hurry!"
Amber didn't question and scrolled to find the emergency number, while Kathleen turned her attention to Darcy. She had paid for that little shrimp's kidney transplant or something? Perhaps it wasn't a total waste of money.
Walking past Jenny, who was still tasing the unconscious Luna, and popping a bottle of pills to soothe her flaming temper, Kathleen now loomed over the sleeping toddler and grew another sadistic smile.
She raised her hand and smacked Darcy over the head as hard as she could.
Savoring Darcy's pain-filled cries for a few seconds, Kathleen went into acting mode, furrowed her brow, and picked up the wailing toddler.
"My god, Darcy! What happened?" she asked with fake compassion.
"My heawd huwts." Darcy whimpered while Kathleen placed her over her shoulder and patted her back in a comforting gesture.
"How terrible. You poor thing." Kathleen cooed. "I know exactly what will cheer you up."
On the beach in front of the yacht, the Loud family was waiting for their host to return. Clad in her usual pink dress, gloves, and tiara, Lola was sitting on a mossy log, which she had covered with a beach towel. She was folding her arms and rocking her legs impatiently. For a 5-year-old like her, waiting was even more torturous than eating broccoli for supper.
Lori and Leni were standing near her, their gazes glued to a phone the older sister was holding, lent to her by Amber. He parents' current state gave her a chance to enjoy her basic human rights.
Meanwhile, sitting on a stump, Lincoln was breathing into a paper bag. Lynn, Lucy, Lana, and a twitchy Luan were by his side, the last one holding Lisa. Despite some good reasons not to listen to their host when she had politely asked them to wait out here, the bomb Lucy had dropped on her team took up all of Lincoln's attention.
"So I take it you aren't happy?" Lucy asked her brother while Lynn rolled her eyes.
"Lucy...do you know...what you've done?!" a frantic Lincoln said between pants.
"Yes, I took care of Lyle, all by myself." While hardly the emotional type, Lucy couldn't help but swell with pride after besting three villains in a row today.
Lincoln's eyes twitched and he resumed breathing into his bag. Dear lord, what have they gotten themselves into?
"You nincapoop!" Lynn lamented. "You almost did something right but you had to drop the ball!"
Lincoln's eyes bulged incredulously and he tried to get a word in but couldn't find his voice. His brain was throbbing, overwhelmed by a flurry of frantic thoughts. This was utter madness.
"How did I drop the ball?" Lucy retorted. "I got rid of Lyle."
"Yes, you did! But you could have done it without gloating to his stupid mug!" Lynn threw her arms up. "He knows who did it! If he turns up again, Kathleen will know who cut his line."
"L-lynn?" Lincoln wheezed. "That's... not the-"
"I don't think you're the one to lecture me about gloating, Lynn." Lucy folded her arms. Lincoln hyperventilated and hugged himself. Despite the summer heat, he was quivering.
"Not the point! If Lyle turns up, Kathleen will have dirt on us, and it's all because of you!"
Luan was wheezing and pointing at her face, unable to form words. But her siblings were too busy bickering or losing their sanity to notice her.
"Yeah, dummy." Lana huffed and crossed her arms, blindly taking Lynn's side. "You should have listened to Lynn and Linc."
Lucy frowned. "Nobody asked you, Lana. What were you doing to help?"
Twitching uncontrollably and on the verge of a mental breakdown, Lincoln resorted to the only thing he could do in the face of such a hopeless situation.
Compartmentalize. Lyle's potential demise was something to freak out about later.
"She was following the game plan, moron! Nobody asked you to freestyle it!"
"I have dirt on Kathleen too, Lynn." Lucy countered. "She showed her true colors in front of me and locked me up. She can't finagle her way out of that."
Lynn slapped her face and dragged her palm across it, while Luan seethed, wanting to say that she had far more dirt on their host.
"And who do you think will believe the likes of you, huh?" the jock argued. "You have no proof that Kathleen stuffed ya in the storage room! Nothing! Nadda! Bupkiss!"
Begrudgingly realizing that Lynn had a point, Lucy deflated and frowned. Although she had gotten the better of Lyle, Jenny, and even Kathleen, she really had no proof to incriminate any of them.
But Lucy knew she did the right thing by sneaking away from the group. "If I hadn't intervened, Jenny would have escaped with Lisa while you were busy playing badminton."
"We were trying to catch Kathleen on tape! That was the plan, in case it slipped your mind!" Lynn's temper flared, despite knowing that Lucy had a point. "Mom and dad might not believe our word but they will believe their own freaking eyes."
"Girls, please stop." An out-of-breath Lincoln rose up, looking oddly calm compared to how he had been a few minutes ago. The sisters were all caught off guard.
"Lincoln, are you okay?" Lana asked.
"Yeah...you were kinda having a panic attack a few seconds ago?" Lynn added.
"Sure I am, Lana. Never felt better." Lincoln raised his hands, ignoring his lingering headache and churning stomach. "Lucy didn't send someone to their potential death, everything's fine. No setbacks. No, siree."
The sisters exchanged glances.
"Lincoln?" Lucy asked. "Are you willfully plunging yourself into denial?"
"As I was saying." Lincoln continued, ignoring the goth.
Lynn raised a finger. "Because if Lyle turns up, alive or dead-"
"As I was saying!" Lincoln suddenly yelled, curling his fingers, and his head tilted at an awkward angle, unnerving his sisters.
Shaking and huffing, he grabbed his head and screwed it back into place. "Things...got out of hand but...before we do anything, we have to leave this place as fast as possible."
The sisters blinked, but Lynn and Lucy quickly got the memo and turned around, gazing into the eerie forest, suddenly all too aware of how exposed and vulnerable they really were.
"Kay...you have a point." Lynn gulped, figuring she could kill Lucy later. "We can't let mom and dad wander around in their state. We have to scram!"
"Yes, I saw him watching us from the shore." Lucy added. "I told you that he was following us."
"Who?" Lana asked. Locked out of the loop, Luan made a confused face.
"He's not following us!" Lynn snapped at the goth.
"You willing to bet your life on it?" Lucy countered, making Lynn seethe and grumble unintelligibly.
"Who?"
"One Eye, idiot!" Lynn snapped at Lana, making the latter wilt.
Though she hadn't met him personally, what her new woodland friends had told her reconciled with her siblings' grave worries. He was the reason the former needed a place to hide.
"I love doggos!" Lisa clapped her hands, further confusing Luan.
"Guys?" a startled Lincoln looked around. "I don't see mom and dad anywhere?!"
Lynn and Lucy gulped and looked around as well. The group saw Lola still sitting on the log, while a frustrated Lori was standing on the beach and typing on a phone and Leni watched her.
To their relief, they heard their parents' laughter and saw them clumsily wandering into the forest, leaning on each other for support like a couple of barflies. Gasping, Lincoln and Lynn bolted after them.
"Ugghhh! What the hell can I do to prove to Bobby that it's really me? He still thinks I'm some creep who hacked his phone?"
Leni, still in her French getup, had an epiphany. "Dites-lui que vous l'aimez plus que tout au monde!"
Lori wanted to smack her but jolted and clumsily hid the phone behind her back as a pissed-off Lincoln and Lynn marched up to her, pulling a tipsy Lynn Sr. and Rita after them. Luan, Lucy, Lana, and Lisa were right behind, also scowling.
"Lori, you useless oaf! You said you would watch them!" Lynn ranted.
"I was." Lori tried to collect herself while tucking the phone in her back pocket. "I just got...eh...distracted."
"You had one job!" Lincoln angrily chastised her as well, to Lori's surprise. Though taken aback, she wasn't going to take his attitude lying down.
"Oh, cool you jets, twerp!" she shot back. "It's just a little altitude sickness, it won't kill them!"
"They're drugged, shit-for-brains!" Lynn snapped. "How many times do we have to tell ya this! They're drugged!"
Lori snorted and rolled her eyes. "Oh, here we go again! This is literally so sad."
Lincoln whispered. "Lynn, this won't get us any-"
"Lynn, you can be as salty as you want about Kathleen being prettier, wealthier, and more popular and accomplished than you could ever hope to be but that doesn't justify your bogus-"
"Dammit, Lori! That's not the point..." an enraged Lincoln blurted. He really wanted to scream that there was a killer wolf out there but knew that such a claim would only give his pigheaded older sister more ammo to dismiss them.
"Not what?" Lori scowled.
"...how hard is it to supervise them just for a little while! Look at them." Lincoln gestured at their parents, who barely kept their eyelids open, and were swaying and hiccuping in a drunken stupor. Lynn Sr. started tilting toward Luan and Lisa, forcing Lynn to pull him back onto his feet.
Lori turned pink but once more, her fragile pride overruled any sense of accountability.
"Well...eh...and what were you twerps doing?" the blonde countered. "All I saw was you sitting in a circle and talking to each other. About what, if I may ask?"
Lincoln's face scrunched up. "Taking care of each other isn't a-"
"Oh, I get it!" Lori turned to Lynn. "Badmouthing our host like the shrill little ingrates you are?"
Lincoln saw the jock turning red and shaking like a steaming pot. He himself was struggling to deal with this foolishness. This was getting them nowhere.
Lynn Sr. giggled awkwardly. "Wow, LJ. You're crushin' my hand."
"Are we goin' to the carnival or not!" an impatient Lola cut in.
"Yeah, I wanna go to carnival!" Lisa squirmed and thrashed her legs in Luan's arms.
"This instant, girls!" Kathleen announced on top of the boarding stairs, startling the Loud kids. She was back in her regular denim jacket, pearly shirt, and jeans, and was carrying Darcy. Following her was Amber, who was escorting a stiff and queasy-looking Luna.
"We forgot about Luna?" Lincoln remembered with a start. Damn, how were you supposed to keep track of nine siblings in a crisis?
Luan froze, swallowed a sob, and hid behind Lynn. The jock glowered as the mime clutched her shoulders and shook like an abused puppy. But Lynn's attention was drawn back to Kathleen as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Sorry to keep you waiting for so long." Kathleen told them, trying to pretend like nothing was afoot. "I just had to make a few calls, since we don't have permission to park a yacht on this beach and all. But my lawyers will smooth things over with the park officials."
Despite her mask of civility, she carefully scrutinized everyone in the group. She was startled to find Lucy among them, her expression unreadable and her eyes hidden but there was no doubt that she was glaring at Kathleen with contempt.
Kathleen didn't know how the little monster escaped but she tried to assure herself that nobody would believe Lucy, especially those she could still use as shields. Lucy's crew would undoubtedly believe her but that didn't change anything. They still had nothing on Kathleen.
On the other hand, Kathleen was delighted to find Luan covering behind Lynn like the pathetic wretch she was. In hindsight, she made the right choice to not snap Luan's neck. Hidding that kind of evidence against her would have been a lot harder.
"I sure put her in her place." she chuckled inwardly while eyeing Lynn and Lincoln next. Wary of the jock's hateful gaze and balled fists, Kathleen positioned herself very close to Lori and Leni. She was confident that the ill-tempered brute couldn't act out in front of her whole family.
"Are we finally going to the carnival, Kathy!" Lola practically bounced up to her.
"We most certainly are, Lols." Kathleen assured her sweetly. "I won't let a minor incident like this won't spoil your day."
"Dudes...what's goin' on?" a drowsy and disoriented Luna mumbled as Amber led her to the rest of the group.
"Damn..." she rubbed her head "...I have a splitting headache..."
Lincoln's face darkened, knowing what was going on.
Luna hissed and clutched her side "...and my ribs are achin'..."
That... Lincoln didn't know why, but he could easily guess. He, Lynn, and Lucy all eyed Kathleen suspiciously.
"I'm afraid you slept through the yacht crashing." Kathleen said lightheartedly, though no one in the group found it amusing. "Seems you got banged up pretty bad in the process, how unfortunate."
"Crashed?" Luna's eyes widened and she looked around. "But...it's still here?"
"Yes, and fortunately, neither the ship nor any of its passengers suffered any serious damage."
"I think you overlooked three of them." Lucy deadpanned but was ignored.
Luna rubbed her head again. "I guess...but I sorta recall feelin' woozy before taking a nap?"
Lynn and her team noticed a brief look of unease on Kathleen's face before she rubbed her chin, pretending to ponder.
"Hmmm...yes, I do recall that as well. You did dine on the ship? Perhaps one of the dishes didn't agree with you? Any personal allergies?"
"Ehhh...I dunno?" Luna tried to think but Kathleen held her hand out.
"Not important. I've called an ambulance already. You'll get proper treatment."
"Ambulance?" Lynn narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"Doy! For mom and dad, stupid." Lori scolded her, pointing at the dizzy adults. "Did you forget that they have altitude sickness?"
Lynn seethed while Lincoln whispered to her, "Let them go. Better that than dragging them along in their state."
"Precisely." Kathleen nodded to Lori. "They'll promptly be taken to the nearest medical facility. As I said, a little shut-eye is really all they need, but better to be safe than sorry. And I'm sure Luna's unchecked food allergy or potential sea sickness is nothing a little medicine can't take care of either."
"Why is Darcy cryin'?" Lisa cut in, pointing at her best friend. It frustrated her that nobody else noticed.
Kathleen sighed. "I'm afraid she hit her head in the crash as well."
"What?" everyone asked as Kathleen placed the toddler down.
"Yes." Kathleen scowled a bit and shook her head. "I'm frankly surprised that none of you noticed it. I only found her crying after making my phone calls. Not to be rude, but how could you be so callous and oblivious?"
Lynn, Lincoln, and Lucy saw Lori, Leni, and even Luna all blushing and shifting uncomfortably.
"My head huwts." Darcy whimpered before Lisa grabbed her hands in a reassuring gesture.
"Don't cry, we're goin' to the carnival! We're gonna 'ave lotsa fun."
"Cawnival? Yay!" Darcy perked up.
"Very true, Lisa." Kathleen patted Lisa's head. "I'm so terribly sorry for this inconvenience, everyone, but an afternoon at the carnival oughta make up for that."
"Yay!" Darcy and Lisa cheered.
Lincoln shifted. He was seriously wondering if they should call it quits now? Things were getting too complicated.
"If you've called an ambulance, why don't we just all go home?" He suggested, to Kathleen and Lynn's collective surprise.
"I'm just saying." he shrugged. "This cruise was kind of a mess, so why don't we all take a break and do it tomm-ow!"
Lynn cut him off by elbowing him in the ribs.
"No, no..." she shook her head. "If Kathy's so eager to spend time with us, let's just finish it."
"You're in agreement with me?" Kathleen asked. "That's a first one."
"Don't flatter yourself." Lynn lied. "I just don't like ruining the little twerps' fun." she pointed at the two giggling toddlers, who held each other's hands.
Not far away, a drenched Ryan trudged through the bushes. His damp fishing hat was clinging to his face, obscuring his eyes, so he tore it off and squeezed the water out of it.
Fortunately, as he pushed a branch out of his way, he spotted the big yacht on the beach, and in front of it were all the Louds, Kathleen, and Amber.
"There they are." he chuckled and put his crumbled back on while staying hidden in the undergrowth, observing them. Everyone sans one monobrowed dipshit was accounted for, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.
He was surprised to see an ambulance arrive and park in front of the yacht. A tipsy Rita and Lynn Sr. were carried in on stretchers, hiccuping and barely conscious. Luna was led in as well and seated herself on a bench.
"Lynn, what were you doing?" Lincoln whispered to the jock, who gave him a nasty glare in return.
"Don't you dare get cold feet now!" she warned him, jabbing her finger between his eyes. Keeping one eye on them, Kathleen considered something.
"Say, Lincoln?" she addressed the white-haired boy. "If you really want to go with them, feel free to do so. Weren't you a little green around the gills earlier as well?"
Lincoln considered it for a second, his throbbing head and stomach urging him to take up the offer, but after locking eyes with Lynn and Lucy, he quietly exhaled and shook his head.
"Nah...I'm good. As long as I'm not on a rocking boat."
"Are mom and dad gonna be alright?" Lola asked while tugging Kathleen's jacket.
"They just need to rest, maybe take some pills. Basic stuff. Nothing serious." Kathleen told her. "Would I lie to you?"
"Of course not..." Lola chuckled awkwardly. "I...eh...I just don't want to ruin their big anniversary gift. Which I gave them."
"Then you should have given them a different gift." Lana snorted.
"Oh, soak your head!" Lola shouted back.
Lana huffed. "Sure I can, but you can't. Cuz you don't know how to swim!"
"Est-ce que Luna ira bien?" a concerned Leni asked while clutching her hands as she watched the rocker trying not to puke while on the bench in the back of the ambulance.
"Ne t'inquiète pas, mon ami. Luna is tough and she'll be back on her feet by tomorrow at the latest." Kathleen assured her.
"If we're wheeling off folks for injuries, how about Darcy goes as well?" Lincoln suddenly suggested. Better to take one more burden off their backs.
"I'm fine, weawy!" Darcy whined. "I wanna go to cawnival."
"Yeah, she wants to go to the carnival." Lisa gripped her friend's arm. "I'm not goin' without Darcy!"
Hearing that, Kathleen knew that Darcy leaving was out of the question.
"Don't be a buzzkill, the little dear is scrappier than we thought. She completely forgot about her bump." Kathlene dismissed Lincoln's concerns.
"Yeah, does she look hurt to you!" Lola pointed at the lively toddler.
Lori approached Kathleen. "Say...can I go with them too?"
Inside the van, the bilious Luna shut her eyes and rubbed her temples. Lori's company was the last thing she needed right now.
Kathleen's eyes widened at the suggestion.
"I mean...I'm not too big on carnivals, and maybe I could-"
With a slight scowl, the rich girl pulled Lori down by her shirt and whispered something into her ear, causing Lori to grow a big smile.
"Then again, it'd be irresponsible to leave the twerps unsupervised."
"Oh, like how you supervised our parents while they suffered from "altitude sickness"? We sure are in good hands." Lynn snarked, prompting snickering from Lucy and the twins.
"Uhh...sick burn." Despite her nauseousness, Luna chuckled and shot her younger sister a finger gun before the doors closed.
Lori hummed angrily as the ambulance took off.
"I feel like a freaking prune..." Lyle muttered in a stupor as he waded through ankle-deep water, his hands and palms wrinkly.
As he stepped onto the wet sand, he wasn't looking where he was going, just happy to be back on dry land after swimming for hours. Suddenly, his foot got stuck in something soft.
"Hey, ya ruined my sandcastle!" a whiny voice made him cringe and growl. Adjusting his eyes, he found his left foot stuck in a demolished sandcastle and some freckled ginger in swim trunks, who looked like he was Lucy's age, frowning at him.
"Look what you did!"
"Oh, boohooo!" Lyle snapped and jabbed his thumb into his chest. "I'm a bully! Stomping on stupid sandcastles is what we do! Also..."
The kid cried as Lyle kicked some sand in his face. "We also kick sand in little dweeb's faces! Ha!"
The little boy wiped his face and looked like he was on the verge of tears. But instead, he burst out laughing.
"What's so funny!" a flustered Lyle blurted and the kid pointed at his lower section.
Lyle looked down, made a startled squeak, and tried to cover his exposed boxers. Seems his pants got stuck in the harness.
"Nice undies!"
Growling viciously, Lyle grabbed the boy by the windpipe and hoisted him up, silencing his merry laughter instantly.
"You think I'm funny, do ya! How about I squash you like a pumpkin!"
"Hey, let go of mah son!" Lyle looked aside and saw a woman wearing a bathing suit and headband marching up to them. "Who do ya think you are attackin' innocent children, ya no-good neerdowell!"
Unflinching, Lyle dropped the kid and pointed at her. "Listen here, lady! I had ONE HELL of a crappy day today, and I'm not in the mood for your shit!" he yelled furiously.
"So take this!" Before she could react, the mother was gut-punched, knocking the wind out of her, and forcing her to kneel and clutch her belly.
"Mom!"
Cackling with glee, Lyle turned to her frightened son, grabbed the latter by the arm, and raised his fist.
"And you take this!"
POW!
The kid was sent flying back and left behind a long skid mark in the sand.
Lyle laughed madly and started jumping and pumping his fists. Nobody had a killer right hook like Lyle Owen! Finally, something went right for him!
"That's mah family! Ya rotten sidewinder, you're dead meat!"
Lyle's joy was short-lived, as he saw a barrel-chested man wearing a stained tank top and trucker cap standing some twenty yards away from him and shaking his fist. Around him, several other burly hayseeds were sitting on beach chairs, next to a parked van, and they stood up and glared at Lyle as well.
"Let's teach dat sick lil' exhibitionist a lesson, Doug!" one of them said.
"Yeah, let's git 'im!" another raised his fist.
Letting out a girlish shriek, Lyle ran for his life before coming back and nabbing the unconscious boy's towel, before making a beeline for the woods, pursued by the enraged men.
Wheezing, Lyle ran through the forest and looked back and forth fearfully until he spotted some bushes and swiftly dove into them. He lied down and shielded his head as several pairs of boots came running past him.
"He went dat way!" the father yelled and the sound of stomping boots eventually grew fainter.
After waiting for several more minutes, Lyle poked his head out of the bushes and looked around. Nobody was there.
"Ha ha! I gave those bozos the slip!" he jumped out and swung his fist in triumph before blowing a slobbery raspberry.
"But ya can't escape Soto!" a raspy voice taunted him from above and Lyle's vision suddenly went black.
Startled, he yanked the foreign object off his head and realized that he was holding some kind of hat?
It looked like a ranger's head. And it was covered in red stuff?
"Red stuff!" he finally realized what he was looking at, screeched, and threw it away like it was radioactive.
Snapping his head up, Lyle saw Raza flapping his wings and hovering over him.
"He's gonna getcha!" the vulture taunted him.
"Not another one! I gotta get out of here!" Like a headless chicken, Lyle ran off, screaming and flailing his arms, desperate to find Kathleen again.
Cackling in amusement, Raza followed him, as his boss had ordered him.
A bit light on content but the next chapter should pick up the slack a bit. As you can see, Kathleen's obsession with capturing Lisa is taking its toll on her already questionable sanity, but of course, the real danger isn't her abducting Lisa but rather Kathleen's reaction upon inevitably realizing that all her troubles were for naught.