We had not been back upstairs for very long and noticed right away that the Skinnies, or skeletons, had disappeared. There are other people in this old castle, but where are they? That is when Jennifer said she sensed trouble outside. “Cynthia, trouble, get those kids inside now!” I yelled. “On it Steve!” she answered, then she turned to her team, “everyone inside now!” Enar was the furthest away, but Mariia was still fairly close to him. “How did they know we were here?” said one man.

“I don’t care right now,” said the second man, “we just need to get that kid.” He aimed his rifle and pulled the trigger, just as Mariia stood in front of Enar. Down she went. The remaining girls began shooting into the trees while Cynthia ran to meet Enar who was running fast toward her. Cynthia was shooting too, though not as much, she had to be careful not to run out of bullets. She told Enar to stay behind her and run when she told him to. “Steve, we need help, fast!” she called. “Red Alert everyone,” I said, “outside now, kids in trouble.” Kat, Angel and their two teams were first outside.

“Two shooters Steve,” said Angel, “Mariia down.” “Kat, Angel, get those two,” I said, “and bring them back alive if possible.” Off they went while the other girls continued shooting. The main shooter then fired twice and Maryna was down. Then the two men tried shooting at Kat and Angel, but their guns would not work. They shot to the side and their guns worked fine, but each time they shot at the 2 girls, the guns would not work. “This is crazy,” said the second man. “Hey, they disappeared,” said the first man. “Where did they go?” asked the second man.

“I just told you, they disappeared,” said the first man, “like, they just vanished.” “People do not vanish,” said the other man. “Those two did,” said the first man. They kept looking. “What are we looking at?” asked Kat. “Those two women that…” That was as far as he got. Both men turned around slowly, then suddenly tried to shoot, without success. Then Kat and Angel, with just 2 kicks each, subdued the two men. A couple more girls arrived and helped drag the men back to us.

“Take the kids inside,” I said, “to the library, and don’t let them out of your sight.” “Please, not the library,” pleaded Erika. I looked at her, “the living room then.” “Thank you,” she said. “Sky, find out why,” I said smiling. “Good thing you said that with a smile,” she said, giving me a kiss. “Hey you, be careful,” I told her, smiling again. After she went inside I told Jennifer to help me to one of the outdoor chairs. She frowned and did so immediately. Kat noticed this right away and came over. “What is wrong Steve?” asked Jennifer.

“Just felt a bit dizzy,” I said, “but I feel fine right now.” “Are you sure, my dear husband?” asked Kat. I looked at her. “You like to ask questions,” I said, “I do have a bad headache. It feels like “nowhere” is coming back again.” “Then you need to go back home Steve,” said Jennifer. “Going back home will not help,” I said, “there is no further help for this, you both know that. Staying here won’t endanger anyone, not if I take a low key approach from now on. I will just kind of operate in the background and let the rest of you do the work.”

“The others will notice that something is wrong,” said Kat. “Not if you two help me out,” I said, smiling. “That is not nice putting us in such a position,” said Kat, “we ought to report this to Kristina and Aari.” “And Sky,” added Jennifer. “And maybe the rest of us too,” added Dawn. “Sometimes you girls walk too quietly,” I sighed. Then Angel appeared standing beside Dawn. “Guess I’m included too, right?” she asked, “Do we tell everyone?” “If we do, then it will be necessary to tell Kristina and she has the authority to call me back home,” I said, “but, I am in your hands, I will let you make that decision and I will abide by it.”

I walked over toward our two prisoners. “Mariia is wounded and Maryna is dead,” said Cynthia. I turned to our prisoners. “How many passages in this castle?” I asked. “Oh, I would say, uh, more than one,” said the main shooter. I nodded to Marlena who gave the man a hard back handed slap, then pulled his one arm behind his back, hard. “She’s gonna break my arm!” he yelled. “That is kind of the idea,” I told him. Then Jennifer yelled, “Steve, down!” I immediately fell to the ground and our prisoner was hit with 3 bullets, killing him instantly. The other prisoner fell beside me. “I will talk, if you keep me alive,” he said nervously.

“I think we might have a deal,” I said. “Kat, Angel, get that shooter,” I told them. Off they went, invisible the whole way this time. Angel told Kat where the shooter was located, which was a long ways off. “Good eyesight girl,” she said. They appeared right next to the shooter and Kat aimed two good kicks, killing the man right away. They brought back his wallet containing his ID, whether it is real or not is hard to say. But Annelie should know. Annelie got back to me quickly with information on that man.

“He is a known hit man in this part of the world,” she said, “and he doesn’t come cheap. In 63 hits he has never missed.” “Well, guess he still has a perfect record then,” I said, “unless he was supposed to get both of them.” “Most likely he was out to get the pair,” she said. Meanwhile, “How did they know, again, that our shooter was out there?” asked the woman. “That is quite amazing,” said a man, “it’s like someone is telling them.” “If I find out who it is, then Olaf will have some fun,” she said angrily, “no one goes against my orders!” Back to us. I decide to ask Marchelline some questions.

“Can I talk with you right now?” I ask her. “Sure, you talk, I listen,” she said, “but I have work to do also.” “Okay, were Bjorn and Gabriella having any problems with their marriage?” I asked. “Nothing serious,” she said, “little squabbles, nothing more.” “Do you know about any money problems?” I asked. “I get paid, that’s all I know,” she said. “Have any strangers been coming here lately?” I asked again. That made her stop working and she looked at me.

“Two book salesman,” she said, “repairmen for electricity, but electricity not broken. Small helicopter land out back late evening 3 weeks ago, almost dark, everyone in rooms but I look out window. Mr. Hendrickson bring large suitcase from helicopter. Limousine come 4 weeks ago, can’t see who it is, has very dark windows but two large men with guns stand outside car while Mr. Hendrickson get in the car and talk for 15 minutes. Nothing more.” Then she turned back to her work. That was interesting enough for now, so Jennifer and I left and went back to our room…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.