Because of the emergency alert, OWCA headquarters was swarming with agents within half an hour. Most agents that Perry passed on the way to the meeting room seemed more grumpy about being woken up than worried that a dangerous criminal was on the loose. Even agents of the clearance level below him didn't seem to be taking the threat as seriously as Perry was. Perhaps it was because Perry was the only agent here who had actually had any kind of run-in with Dennis. Only Perry had experienced just how dangerous he was.

Perry and Orla pushed their way into the meeting room and sat down at the meeting table. As higher clearance agents, they were given a briefing first, as their mission would be more important than the agents of other levels. As the only agent of level 5 clearance, Perry sat himself down on his own in the seat nearest the door, and Orla perched on the chair next to him. He had never been more thankful that she was a level 4 agent: he certainly didn't feel comfortable working with anyone else in this room without someone he knew acting as a buffer.

With the door closed, the hustle and bustle from outside had faded into a silence, which was abruptly broken by a grumpy-looking cat agent obnoxiously asking, "Do we really need this many agents to deal with ONE prison escapee?"

Perry's hands slowly curled into fists. He couldn't deal with this right now.

Thankfully, Orla responded instead. "When our only Alpha-level threat escapes prison, it is fair to assume a lot of agents will be required," she said, shooting the cat a withering look. "You may need to rest, Calvin, but evil never does."

Calvin snickered. "What cringey action movie did you pick that one up from?"

"Behave, Agent C," Perry said sternly.

Calvin rolled his eyes and turned to whisper something to the chicken agent next to him, both of them giggling. Perry was glad Orla had taken most of this bullet for him, but their reaction to him had been exactly the same as to her. This was why they were called the most uptight agents in the organisation.

To Perry's relief, the door opened soon after this and Major Monogram strode in, followed quickly by Carl. The leader of OWCA was wearing his usual attire but looked more grim than usual, further highlighting the seriousness of the situation. And Carl, whom Perry had never seen having any kind of breathing trouble, was clutching an inhaler. Orla had been right after all.

"Thank you for coming, agents," said Major Monogram grimly. "I'll get right to it: Dennis the rogue Rabbit has escaped from the OWCA-Traz. He first tripped the alarm outside the main cell block and was seen escaping on a boat before anyone could get to him. We're still gathering intelligence at this time, but it seems he had some help from a prison guard, whom we suspect may have ties to LOVEMUFFIN. Each of you will take a squad of agents and search the city, keeping a low profile as you do, of course. Agent P."

Perry sat up straighter in his chair as the major turned to him.

"As the only Level 5 agent, you will assemble a team and go to the OWCA-Traz to investigate Dennis's escape. Who would you like to take with you?"

Perry quickly scanned the table. Every agent was now leaning forward, their eyes all gleaming excitedly. The chance to investigate a crime instead of doing the hard work of a city-wide search was an irresistible prospect for any agent. But as Perry's eyes fell on the cat who had laughed at them earlier, he realised there was only one person he wanted by his side.

"I want Agent O," Perry said, pointing at Orla, who glanced at him in surprise.

The major blinked. "Is that all?"

"Yes, sir. I'm confident in Agent O's observational and deductive skills. Besides…" Perry deliberately caught Calvin's eye. "I wouldn't want to take any more valuable agents away from the manhunt. You'll need all the help you can get."

"Very good point, Agent P," said Major Monogram proudly. "That's why you're Level 5."

Perry couldn't help a smirk, ignoring Calvin glowering at him. He wasn't usually this petty, but something about that cat brought out the worst in him.

The major straightened up. "Alright, Agents P and O, you two are dismissed. The rest of you will get your assignments now."

Perry and Orla jumped down from their chairs and hurried out of the room. The corridor was clear of agents now; they were probably gathered in their own meeting room, ready for the Level 4 agents to gather them up into teams. He definitely didn't miss those days at all. Being under someone else's command or having others to command, yourself? Perry would much rather work on his own or with an equal partner.

Like Orla. She never treated him any differently than any other agent, and he appreciated that. Most of the agents below Level 3 were intimidated by him or treated him like some kind of hero. That was almost worse than the disdain from the Level 4s.

"Agent P, wait up!"

Perry skidded to a halt as he heard someone call from behind him.

Monty sprinted to catch up with the pair of agents, stopping just next to them, out of breath. "What's going on?" he asked. "Are you going to the OWCA-Traz now?"

"Yes, Orla and I are going to investigate Dennis's escape."

"Do you mind if I come with you?"

Perry hadn't expected that. He exchanged a look with Orla, who did not give him an indication of her opinion either way. There was no reason Monty couldn't join them from an ability perspective, considering all they were doing was investigating a crime scene. However, Perry couldn't be sure Monty was in the right state of mind to be working right now, considering how desolate he had been just half an hour ago.

"I'm fine to work," Monty insisted, as if he had read Perry's mind. "I'll be professional, I promise."

Perry again cast a look at Orla, who inclined her head towards him. It was his decision.

"Alright, you can come," said Perry, beckoning as he and Orla started moving away again. "Just hurry."

Monty beamed and set off after Perry and Orla. "Thanks, Agent P!"

Perry hoped that nothing else would delay their progress; the longer it took them to get to the crime scene, the less likely it became that they would gain useful information. He was sure the prison guards would have secured the scene after the escape, but if at least one of them aided in Dennis's escape, then there was no telling how many others were on his side too.

As they hurtled down the stairs to the lobby, Perry caught sight of something - or rather, someone - that caused him to miss the last stair and almost trip over onto his face.

A teenage girl had just entered the foyer. With her long indigo-coloured hair and bo-staff strapped to her back, she was unmistakably Indigo Moon, the girl Perry had worked with once in the past. A friend of one of his owners. However, it wasn't her who had caught Perry's eye.

It was the purple platypus standing beside Indigo.

"Violet?!" Perry gasped out, startling both Orla and Monty, who had stopped alongside him.

The purple platypus looked up and spotted him, her face breaking out into a wide smile. "Perry!"

Perry rushed towards her, the two almost colliding head-first. He was about to pick her up and swing her around when he abruptly remembered where he was, and he settled for pulling her into a quick hug. "It's great to see you," he said warmly. "Where've you been?"

Violet opened her mouth to reply but before she could, Orla called from the doors: "Perry, we must hurry."

"Yeah, of course." Perry cleared his throat. "We're going to investigate a prison break. Do you... want to come with us?"

"I'd love to!" Violet said happily. "We'll catch up later." She glanced up at Indigo. "I'm going out with Perry's team. You can handle this, right?"

"Handle what?" asked Perry, before Indigo could reply.

"We just got a call from Sinclair," Indigo said, her voice more serious than usual. "Heinz Doofenshmirtz and Cleo Kingfisher have been abducted."

A chill ran down Perry's spine. "What?! When?!"

"Not long ago. Dr Kingfisher's niece and nephew were staying with her but they managed to escape and get to Sinclair, who called me. They need help."

"Austin Kingfisher?" Monty burst out unexpectedly.

Indigo frowned at him. "Yeah, and his sister Sydney. You know them?"

Monty dithered for a moment, before turning to Perry. "Go on without me, Agent P."

"What?" Perry blinked; he certainly hadn't expected THAT. "Are you sure?"

Monty nodded. "I'll stay here and deal with this. You guys go on."

"Alright. Thanks."

Perry took Violet's hand and the two of them ran after Orla, who he could see was almost bursting with impatience. "Thanks for waiting. Orla, this is Violet. Violet, Orla."

Violet beamed. "Nice to meet you!"

"And you." Orla gave her a brief nod, not at all matching the platypus's enthusiasm, before gesturing outside. "The hovercar is waiting for us. Are you driving or am I?"

"You think I'll let anyone else drive my baby?" Perry said teasingly. "C'mon, let's go. We'll fill Violet in on the way."

Orla shot Violet a sideways look that was a mixture of caution and confusion. "Alright."

As Perry led his team towards the car, he couldn't stop smiling. All his worries and frustrations had just melted away now that Violet was here, and so unexpectedly too. The last time they'd met, Violet had told him that she and her owner, Indigo, were heading back to Canada. What on Earth were they doing here? And why would anyone want to abduct Doof and Cleo?

He quickly put those thoughts out of his mind. As curious and concerned as he was, that wasn't his mission; Dennis was, and hunting the rogue rabbit down would require all of his focus and determination.

I'm coming for you, Dennis. Just you wait.