csyphrett

My roster is correct. Picking Nora Charles as an option today gives me six CES

I would like to option Nora Charles. CES

Max Tompkins discovered he had a special link with animals. He became the Animal Controller and used his ability to make animals his henchmen. Since he started his career, He had been opposed by the Great Dan, a man who could turn into a giant dog. When he saw his old enemy at his latest job, he used an experimental ray gun from the Jackson Industries facility to kill Dan once and for all. Witnesses say that he was electrified by the weapon he used. His body was recovered after the battle was over. CES

Annabelle Breslin took part in the Battle of Philadelphia as a member of the Scions of Liberty, but no one knew it. Working under the handle of Invisibelle, she was killed trying to get people out of the way. CES

I think I am a pick behind. I would like to grab Nick Charles. CES

Why are you carrying a gun in a restaurant in your pants? There's things called holsters. CES

I would like to select Father Brown. CES

Let's see if we can do the max. The hero known as The Great Dan joined in the battle, trying to keep casualities down with his giant dog powers. It is believed that he was killed by his old enemy, Animal Controller, but no one knows where he fell, or what happened to his body afterwards since it was never recovered. CES

Burly Mcfane is the new Captain Thunderbolt terrorizing the Outback. No one knows who he is or where he got his suit of armor that gives him command of electricity and magnetism, but more than a few people want to talk to him about it including several people who used to be Captain Thunderbolt themselves. CES

My second character is Van Dusen, the thinking machine. CES

The armchair detective, yes. CES

I would like to grab the Old Man in the Corner CES

The minor hero Cartune arrived in his music mobile to try to help out. He provided a distraction as his loud swing band standards drew the attention of every villian on the scene who all acted to blow his car and him up. That was enough to allow other heroes and police on the scene to drive a wedge in the fighting and start taking prisoners. CES

M'Pala the man unicorn has tried for years to conquer parts of Africa. He has run afoul of Joseph N'Longa and other villains and heroes of the area. While not bright, he is capable of punching through thick armor with the horn growing from his head, running and leaping great distances, and calling forth the spirits in the environment around him to wreck havoc. CES

I would like to grab Walter Gibson as my author of choice CES

My notes used to look like flow charts CES

8 Log Man met the police outside the scene of the crime. The police tape had long been pulled down, but the damage done was still present. A piece of plywood covered the window where the bullets had went through the Garret house and killed the little boy. Divots from other missed shots dotted the rest of the neighborhood from where he stood. “What are you thinking?,” asked O’Toole. He had brought a few city cops and some sheriff deputies with him to help with the search. “The animation said the Razorback was standing about right here,” said Log Man. He walked over to where he remembered the wounded shooter had been marked down. He made a staff to act as a rifle for him. “He was shooting this way,” said Log Man. He tried to visualize the scene. He thought he saw where bullets had gone through things in the way to hit houses on the other side of the street. “Then I think he got shot by an Aardvark,” said Log Man. He turned and pointed his fake rifle at the window of the Garret house. The trail of holes supported that much. He seemed to be a few feet off from his estimate. “Then he fell down.” The policemen spread out in a half-circle around the front of the house. Log Man stood there, looking at the scene. “We know he fell down here while the rest fled,” said Log Man. “We know that he didn’t have the rifle when they took him in. We know he won’t admit to anything while we don’t have the rifle. And we don’t think the rest of the gang will turn him in. So where did he hide it while waiting for the police to get here?” The police shone their lights under the house. Nothing was apparent in the crawlspace. He hadn’t left it on the ground. Where could he have put it? Log Man knelt down. He looked under the house. He dropped on his back and looked up. He saw there was a ledge that ran around the edge of the porch floor. He thought he saw something braced on the ledge. “I think I found it,” said Log Man. He scooted out from under the house. “It’s on the ledge that runs along the edge there.” “All right,” said O’Toole. “Let’s get the crime scene people down here to take pictures of this.” Log Man pushed to his feet. He couldn’t get the dust off without taking apart his costume. He could wait until he was clear of the police before he did that. “It might not be the right weapon,” said Log Man. “It might be some other weapon from that night.” “Then we run it and see what we can get out of it,” said O’Toole. “Until we match the weapon to the bullets, we don’t know. But if the bullets match, then we can ask our wounded victim some questions. Maybe we can get him to flip on some of the others.” “Good luck on that,” said Log Man. “I’ll call my friend to get the animation for you. That will be something extra to use in court if you need it.” “All right,” said O’Toole. “Maybe we can use it against the rest of these lunkheads. The defense is going to say you framed the guy. You might want to take off so you can avoid any questions.” “I know,” said Log Man. “Maybe you can turn up something else you can use.” Log Man walked over to the Log Mobile and drove away. He thought it would have been better to confront both gangs at the same time with what they now knew. Maybe they could have forced something else to the surface. He decided it was better to let the police work on it. They had the manpower and the resources to make connections that he didn’t have. He would need to have Hailey deliver the animation and any documents that went with it. He wondered what his reporters would make of this. He didn’t ask them to favor his exploits. Some actively blamed him for everything wrong that happened in town. He couldn’t fire for them for that even if it irritated him. He needed to dump his car and costume and take his real self home to pick up his wife for their date. He wanted to hassle the gangs again, but why bother until after O’Toole was done. He wondered how long that would be. The wheels of justice ground slow. He pulled the Log Mobile into a parking garage a few buildings over from the paper. He discarded the car and his costume. He headed down to the public access door and walked to the paper. Logan had left his Datsun at the paper before going out on his errand. He would do one more check in, then he would head home. He headed up to the bullpen. He looked over shoulders as he passed. No one had heard about the finding of the rifle yet. He thought that was good. He didn’t want to scoop the other papers if it revealed his double life. One day he would write all this down and let it be published. There was no need for a mask when you were dead. “Have you heard?,” asked Phillips, rushing into the bullpen from the street entrance. “Heard what?,” asked Logan. “The police found the weapon in the Garret shooting,” said Phillips. “They’re pressing charges.” “Can you verify any of this?,” asked Logan. “Yes, I can,” said Phillips. “I have time to write the story before the deadline.” “Go ahead,” said Logan, checking his watch. “Any progress on your embezzler?” “Not really,” said Phillips. “Maybe I’m on the wrong trail. I was sure, but the money seems to all be there.” “Write your story,” said Logan. “I have to talk to Ken, and then I have to head home.” “You get your financial thing worked out?,” asked Phillips. “Not really,” said Logan. “I don’t want to lose too much money taking on another paper. I’m trying to talk them down.” “Good luck with that,” said Phillips. “If something wrong comes up, let me know.” “Sure,” said Logan. Logan found his editor and exchanged words. The city had some rough spots, but there was nothing Logan could do about it at the moment. Settling the Garret shooting would do something, but there were more that needed to be answered. He couldn’t solve all the problems on his own. Ken assured him that everything was running smoothly. The paper would be out on time. Logan went down to pick up his car. He thought about what his schedule had to be in the next few days. He thought Gloria had a few things she had to do over the next few days. Brady had a field trip to Minnesota. He didn’t know if he was supposed to be a chaperone for that trip. He should check to make sure. He didn’t know if he wanted to ride with a bunch of teenagers while they were on a trip for the school. He thought about it, and realized he didn’t know what class was going. He chided himself for not remembering the source of the trip. He should know that. Logan drove home. He decided that he should ask Brady if he was supposed to ride along as a chaperone. Logan pulled into his driveway and parked his car. They would be taking it back out when Gloria was ready to go on their date. He hoped something would come from finding the weapon under the house. He had seen cases where the defense had tried to use him as a reason to dismiss a prosecution. He expected the same would happen in this case. Logan walked into the house and listened. He heard Gloria singing somewhere. He nodded as he decided that she was getting ready. Where was Brady? “I’m home,” said Logan. “In the kitchen, Dad,” responded Brady. Logan walked through the house and found his son eating cereal at the kitchen table. He had a number of books spread out around his bowl so he could read while he ate. “Homework?,” asked Logan. He went to the refrigerator and opened the door. He searched fruitlessly for something to snack on among the food on the shelves. He settled for a piece of cheese and getting some milk to put in a glass. “Yeah,” said Brady. “I have to read a bunch of stuff. We’re having tests on this at the end of the week.” “Don’t you think it will be easier to read all of one thing at a time, than some of it for a little bit of time, then another bit from something else?,” said Logan. “It’s all boring,” said Brady. “I’m trying to get through it fast, then go back to read what I think will be relevant more slowly.” “All right,” said Logan. “Don’t let me interfere with your process.” “Where are you taking Mom?,” asked Brady. “She seems to be in a good mood for your date.” “I don’t know,” said Logan. “The ball is on hold because we busted Teflon Billy trying to steal the display. Maybe somewhere quiet and intimate.” “Mom might want to go to a movie,” said Brady. “What’s playing?,” said Logan. He had seen ads in his paper, but had just glossed over them. “I don’t know,” said Brady. “Maybe Mom would like some romantic thing.” “All right,” said Logan. It sounded boring to him. He had enough problems dealing with people in real life. He didn’t find watching people doing courtship all that interesting. “Don’t take your phone inside the theater,” said Brady. “Maybe I’ll need to make a call,” said Logan. “Mom will be mad if you do,” said Brady. “Just leave it in the car. The city can do without you for a bit.” “All right,” said Logan. “Maybe you’re right.” “I know I am,” said Brady. “You’ve trained me to observe people and I think this is the best course since you blew your original date night.” “I didn’t blow it,” said Logan. “It might not have counted as a date, I’ll give you that. We still went out and had fun.” “We have different ideas about fun,” said Gloria. She wore a shiny red dress, a necklace and heels. Her hair was secured behind her head with a silver clip. She smiled at his reaction. “We’re not going to a movie. Go get your tuxedo and get ready to go.” “You look great, Mom,” said Brady. “Where is Dad taking you?” “We’re going to a show,” said Gloria. “Go get ready. The curtain time is in an hour. You’re going to have to hurry.” Logan finished his milk and put the glass down on the sideboard. He kissed his wife as he passed. He headed for their bedroom to get ready for the night ahead. He laid out his clothes. He showered and shaved before dressing. He checked himself in the closet mirror. He looked all right. He went downstairs. Brady had finished reading one section and his cereal. He had placed the bowl in the sink while he went over the rest of his homework. “You look okay,” said Gloria. She straightened his bow tie. She tugged on his jacket. “Okay?,” said Logan. “I think I look better than okay.” “Self delusion is the first marker of old age,” said Gloria. She smiled at him. “Still you look almost like James Bond if he was a little less handsome.” “Which one?,” asked Logan. “Woody Allen,” said Gloria. “I bow before your sharp wit, Hon,” said Logan. “I happen to think I resemble Brosnan.” “No,” said Gloria. “You’re definitely a Woody Allen. All you need is the glasses.” Brady sat at the table. He seemed to be coughing. Logan gave him a look. “Enjoy your date,” said Brady. He waved at them. “The show is over at midnight,” said Gloria. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t stay up too late.” “Okay,” said Brady. “Come on, Dear,” said Gloria. “You have to drive us downtown.” “What is the show about?,” asked Logan. “A giant turtle attacking a city,” said Gloria. “They say it’s based on facts covered up by the government.” “It would almost have to be,” said Logan.

Ready because I don't have a plan CES

Title: The Appalachian Trail CES

Richard Benson Allard has made a fortune adventuring around the world, discovering hidden gold and other treasures. Allard has also added to an arsenal of magic weapons he has unearthed. He is the most likely of the Capitalists to take a personal hand in things, and uses his various businesses to gather information on regions in case he has to intervene in a problem. He has become known as Doctor Tombs. CES

my wife and i were arguing about something NSFW on my laptop I didn't want to show her Even when I'm asleep, we're fighting CES

Fake Facebook page credits W-S police with heroics from other parts of the country and slurs and other things. Police found out when citizens called to find out what was up. CES

Scouting in the Woods 8 The rest of the day went by in a whirl for Stella. She had to sit back and watch everything from the sidelines, but the Morgans and Bond acted like what came next was something they did all the time. Mister Morgan asked them to stay in the van while he went to get the park rangers. Then he returned with men in uniform and they went up the trail. About an hour later, the adult Morgans and rangers escorted a group of men in torn clothes and battered faces from the trail. Ruff rested his body on Stella the whole time so she had to struggle to watch what was going on from inside the van. The beating of a tail on the seat didn’t help. As soon as all of the goons were taken away, Mister Morgan got the fish bucket and had them go back to their camp. They had to cook the fish for dinner. The next part was the preparation and cooking of the fish. Stella was glad to sit that out as the Morgans did all the work. The strips of fish were speared and set over the fire to cook. A pot was produced and noodles were dropped in. Mister Morgan used water from a bottle for cooking. He frowned when the water didn’t boil over the open fire. He asked a small animal to heat the pot to the right temperature to boil the noodles. The salamander agreed, and soon they had fish and noodles ready to go. Mrs. Morgan cut up vegetables and put them in the pot with the noodles and let them simmer for a bit. Then she served all of it out on paper plates. Plastic forks were given to Bond and Stella. The Morgans had chop sticks. The meal went fast. Stella noted that no one talked about what had happened in the woods, or the men being hauled away by the rangers. She also noted that being a furry puppet didn’t stop Ruff from trying to sample some of the food from her plate. She finally pushed some off on the ground so he would be stalled in his efforts to take the whole plate from her. That worked for the six seconds it took for him to clean the ground with his tongue. Then he was back for more with his puppy dog eyes. “Down, Ruff,” said Mister Morgan. “Let the girl eat. We have some dog food for you.” The rest of the dinner went a bit faster with Stella being able to eat without a pest at her elbow. When she was done, she put the small amount left down for Ruff to eat. He devoured it with gusto. “All right, kids,” said Mister Morgan. He put his own plate down on top of Stella’s. It was empty to Ruff’s annoyance. “We have to head home tomorrow. Stella is going to have to catch her flight home in the afternoon. Let me feed Ruff, and then you can tell me a story better than the one I told you yesterday. Then it will be time to hit the sack.” “It’s pretty early, Dad,” said Mark. “Can’t we stay up longer?” “I don’t know,” said Mister Morgan. “Do you think you have earned the right to stay up longer?” “Yes,” said Melinda. “We didn’t do anything bad the whole day.” “And we kept out of the way when you wanted us to,” said Mark. “Plus Bond solved his mystery in his book.” “If you guys want to take Ruff for a walk and play,” said Mister Morgan. “I guess that will be fine. Don’t wander off that far. When you get back, you can tell your scary story.” “Then it will be bed time?,” asked Mark. Stella could see he was already trying to find ways to stretch out his awake time. “Sure,” said Mister Morgan. “I want a good scary story.” “I’ll see what I can do about that,” said Mark. He jumped up. “Come on, guys. We can hide and seek.” He rushed off into the dark, calling not it behind him. Melinda and Bond rushed off after him. Ruff looked up from his dog food and then continued to eat. He could hunt the kids down at his leisure. Stella remained where she had sat through dinner. “Something wrong, Stella?,” asked Mister Morgan. He put another log on the fire. He sat down against his log. “The thing that happened today,” said Stella. “That was because of me, wasn’t it?” “What do you mean?,” asked Mister Morgan. “Those men wouldn’t have come up here if I hadn’t been here,” said Stella. “So I caused that mess.” “Do you think so?,” asked Mister Morgan. “Yes,” said Stella. “They come up here because they were looking for me to find my dad.” “That’s a good chain of causality,” said Mister Morgan. “Take yourself out of the chain. If you weren’t around, what would they have done to find your dad?” “I don’t know,” said Stella. “You were the easiest fix for their problem,” said Mister Morgan. “If you hadn’t been around, someone else would have been used to put pressure on your dad. The thing is you can’t make people do what you want. You can trick them, you can make them think the thing they are doing for you is what they wanted to do in the first place, you can pay them to do what you want, you can coerce them. There’s always going to be people who only do what they want and nothing you do is going to change that no matter what you do.” “If I hadn’t been here, they would have threatened someone else?,” said Stella. “I guarantee it,” said Mister Morgan. “People who threaten other people’s loved ones will find something else to threaten if there aren’t any loved ones at hand. Something else deemed as valuable would be used. I’ve seen it a few times since I have been doing this heroing stuff. Most people who do that are bullies on the inside.” “Is that why you started being a hero?,” asked Stella. “No,” said Mister Morgan. “I was a kid, and I was adopted. Being a Scout was adventuring with your family. It was about doing things to help people when no one else could. When the Scouts were killed, I lost my family. I had to make do on my own for a while. Then I adopted others as my family, and then I had a natural family to go with the one I helped forge. Protecting the planet like we do is the same to me as protecting my family.” A lion drifted across Stella’s mind. She understood what he meant. “And he’s the finest example of the saving the planet hero I know,” said a voice out of the darkness. “Dad!,” shouted Stella. She jumped to her feet with a grin on her face. Pete Marston stepped out of the darkness as if appearing out of thin air. He wore a smile on his thin face. Keen eyes took in the camp as he caught Stella on the run. “Hey, Petey,” said Mister Morgan. He waved a hand. “Eavesdropping is bad for you.” “It’s how I make my living, Marty,” said Marston. “I heard you had some excitement up here.” “Nothing the wife couldn’t handle,” said Mister Morgan. He looked around. “She must be watching the kids to make sure they’re not scaring the bears. I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow.” “When the Goreman Mob left town, I came up after them,” said Marston. “I heard what happened on the radio. You made the news with your capture of them.” “So much for my weekend off,” said Mister Morgan. “It’s a good thing we’re leaving in the morning. Reporters will be all over the park looking for us.” “Thanks for looking after Stella for me, Marty,” said Marston. “I didn’t think the mob would go for her, but I wanted her to be safe in case I was wrong.” “The next weekend I get off, you can look after my terrors for me,” said Mister Morgan. “Look out for Lin. She’s a biter.” Marston laughed. “Could I say goodbye?,” said Stella. “I don’t think it would be good if I just left without a word.” “Go ahead,” said Marston. “I’ll be waiting for you to come back.” Stella walked down the trail. She saw the thoughts of the children, but not the placid lake she associated with Mrs. Morgan. She wondered where the woman had gone. Maybe she was back at the campsite doing something to get ready for their leaving. “Hey, guys,” Stella called out. “My dad came to pick me up and I have to go.” “What?,” called Melinda. She appeared out of the darkness. “Your dad’s here? I thought he was meeting us at the airport.” The boys joined them. Mark frowned at the thought that Mister Marston had arrived at the camp and Ruff did nothing. Shouldn’t he have signaled danger, or new guest, or something? “So you’re going home now?,” said Bond. “That’s too bad. Mark and I have been trying to come up with a scary story to tell.” “It was great hanging out,” said Stella. “Mister Morgan already asked my dad to look after you guys the next time the weekend is free. I think Dad said you can come visit us.” “All right,” said Mark. “We’ll be in the city. Maybe we can chase some bad guys or something.” “I don’t think Dad is going to do let us do that,” said Stella. She smiled. “Wait,” said Bond. “You live in San Francisco?” “No,” said Stella. “I live in Los Angeles. San Francisco is a train ride away.” “I was thinking if you lived in the Bay area we could hang out,” said Bond. “I think all of you should come down and see the neighborhood with me,” said Stella. “It might even build character.” She smiled at the faces the siblings gave her for that. “I have to go,” said Stella. “I just wanted to say goodbye so you wouldn’t think I just left because I didn’t have some fun this weekend.” “It’s all right,” said Mark. He put out a hand. She shook it. “Scouts for life.” Bond did the same, then Melinda. The younger girl looked like she was going to cry. Ruff held out a paw to be shook with a grin and floppy ears hanging. He wagged his tail at the paw shake. “Let’s go back to camp,” said Mark. “It’s too bad you’re going to miss the scary story we’re going to tell.” “I know,” said Stella. “Come up with an even scarier one for your visit.” “I can do that,” said Mark. The four of them traced their way back to camp with Ruff bringing up the rear. They found the dads talking around the fire. Stella didn’t see Mrs. Morgan anywhere. She knew that her ability might be clouded by the other’s control of her thoughts. “Kids,” said Mister Morgan. “Say hello to Petey. You already know my kids, Petey. The other boy is Bond. He’s Corona’s and Ren’s.” “Hello, kids,” said Marston with a smile. “Thank you for looking after Stella for me.” “No problem,” said Mark. “She’s cool,” said Melinda. “Pleasure was ours,” said Bond. Mrs. Morgan appeared out of the darkness. The kids jumped back a little. Ruff wagged his tail. He snuffled in the direction of the box she was holding under one of her arms. She gestured for the kids to come closer. “I totally forgot about that,” said Mister Morgan. He got to his feet. He walked over and opened the box. He smiled. “Look what we have here. Who would like a piece of cake? We were going to save it for tomorrow, but since Stella is going home now, I don’t see why we can’t divvy it up now.” He handed out slices for the kids before taking one for himself. Mrs. Morgan sliced the last piece in half and gave one half to Marston while taking the other half. She threw the box in the fire to let it burn. “We should have got a bigger cake,” said Mister Morgan.

I think I am down two picks. I am going to pick One Other and Dormmannu for my two adversaries CES

Scouting in the woods 7 The kids found the Morgans by the lake. They weren’t fishing any more. Whatever had set Ruff off had seemed to have warned them. Stella didn’t quite follow the link. “There’s someone on the trail, Dad,” said Mark. “We think Ruff went to see who they were.” “Could be other campers like us,” said Mister Morgan. He looked down the trail. “Where’s Lin?” “She went into the woods while we were coming back,” said Stella. “She’s a few minutes behind us.” “Waiting,” said Mrs. Morgan. “I’ll go down to get her while you take the kids back to camp,” said Mister Morgan. “Ruff can get back to camp on his own when he is satisfied.” “I’ll go,” said Mrs. Morgan. “Faster.” “All right,” said Mister Morgan. “Maybe we can salvage the rest of the trip after we’re sure that we’re dealing with regular campers.” Mrs. Morgan nodded and then vanished in the trees. Stella marked a presence but couldn’t see her at all. “Get the fish bucket, Mark,” said Mister Morgan. He made sure his fishing line was wound up and secured. “Bond, get the other fishing poles in case we want to fish tomorrow. Stella, police up any trash. Then we’ll walk back to camp.” The kids hurried to get things done. Stella noted there was a couple of candy bar wrappers but nothing else for her to grab. “How did your mother vanish like that, Mark?,” Stella asked. “Training,” said Mark. “She does it constantly. Everything she does is part of her training. Even folding laundry is used to train reflexes.” Stella caught an image of Mark having to fold laundry while defending against a stick. It made things twice as hard as it had to be. “Why?,” asked Stella. “Because she wants us to be ready to take over for her when she’s gone,” said Mark. “There’s been a line of Finches fighting since ever. And she wants us to be ready to step up and take our place if we want to do that. If we don’t, we still have to deal with stuff that the Hazard Scouts carry with them. It’s like two sets of weights for two different things. We don’t have to be either, but we have to be ready for people who think we are. And Lin and I didn’t get Dad’s animal power.” “It’s the same for me and my dad,” said Bond. “He’s a detective that’s trained all his life to be a detective from a long line of detectives that have all trained all their lives to be detectives. And he’s a Hazard Scout too. Sometimes when we visit Japan, I know the adopted cousins look down on me because I don’t train as hard as they do in all the techniques we can use.” “I don’t have that,” said Stella. She understood how the others looked at things from the feelings she picked up. “There might be some excitement before we get to camp,” said Mister Morgan. He shepherded the kids along with gestures of his arms. “Mark, I want you to get Stella and Bond back to the van. Your mother, or I, will come to get you.” “I can do it, Dad,” said Mark. “So much for our camping trip.” “I don’t think it will be that bad,” said Mister Morgan. He glanced behind them. Stella looked behind them. She saw Mrs. Morgan and Melinda off to one side of the trail. A group of hostile feelings were beyond them and closing fast. She imagined they were mad because they didn’t want to be in the woods, and they had to come up to look for her. She didn’t like that last part at all. She wondered where Ruff had gone. She couldn’t sense him, but she thought there should be something to tell her where he went. Maybe there was something about him she couldn’t read. “I think you kids should keep going,” said Mister Morgan. He waved them to move faster down the trail. “I’ll see what’s going on.” Stella didn’t like that. She brushed off Mark’s hand. “They’re looking for me,” she said. “And I think they shouldn’t find you, so go with Mark and Bond so I can handle this without worrying about you getting hurt,” said Mister Morgan. “Go ahead. If there’s any real trouble, Finch will take care of it.” “All right,” said Stella. “This is about what my dad’s doing, isn’t it?” “Talk about that with him when you get home,” said Mister Morgan. “Now go ahead. This is nothing but trouble, and you don’t want to be around to see this.” Stella didn’t like it. Her dad trusted the Morgans, and she did too. They shouldn’t have to protect her at the cost of their own safety. She would talk to her parents about this. She was old enough to take care of herself. Her gift made it easy. Mark led the way, swinging the fish bucket in one hand. Somehow he had taken Mister Morgan’s fishing pole and carried it in the other. He hummed as he walked along. “Your dad could be in trouble,” said Stella. She glared at him. How could he be so cheerful when things were going wrong on their camping trip? “Anybody who hurts Dad, better be looking for Mom,” said Mark. He gave Stella a smile. “Cause she will hurt them right back.” “Mark’s right,” said Bond. “Mrs. Morgan is formidable.” “And she lives for stuff like this,” said Mark. “Are you two sure about this?,” asked Stella. Maybe they were right. They seemed unconcerned about a group of men talking Mister Morgan in a hostile way. “Trust me,” said Mark. “They’re not going to let us get anywhere close to anything exciting. This is their day off. I’ll start worrying when part of the park goes up in flames.” “Not that we need to be anywhere near anything exciting,” said Bond. He ran his hand through his blond hair. “I’m happy just waiting at the van for the grownups to show up to tell us everything is okay.” “I wouldn’t go that far,” said Mark. He shook his head. “Maybe if Ruff shows up. Everything will be all clear then.” “Ruff will be back when the trouble is over?,” asked Stella. “Sure,” said Mark. “He’s supposed to watch out for us. When there’s nothing to look out for, he’ll come back.” “How do you know he’s doing that?,” said Stella. “He could be hurt and lost.” “He’s one of Dad’s animals,” said Mark. “He’s not hurt, or lost. He’s hunting. When he’s done, he’ll come back.” “I thought he was alive,” said Stella. “I thought I was picking up a weird vibe from him, but I didn’t think it was because he wasn’t alive.” “I don’t know if he’s alive, or not,” said Mark. “Dad still doesn’t know how his power works. He could be alive, just smarter than a normal dog.” Stella kept her assessment to herself. She hadn’t picked up thoughts from Ruff because he was more like a machine than a normal animal. She should have seen that. Mister Morgan was known as the Animal. At least she could let Mark and Melinda pretend that Ruff was alive. That made it better for them. She had liked Ruff enough to wish he were alive instead of a furry puppet. He didn’t behave like a furry puppet. Stella realized she only had her talent telling her that he wasn’t alive. She wasn’t that sure of it. She put aside the question of Ruff’s mortality and looked back behind them. The hostile feelings had run into Mister Morgan’s animal categorization of his thoughts. Neither seemed that happy about it. “There’s going to be trouble,” said Stella. “I can see it in the way they are looking at each other.” Some of the hostile thoughts vanished to Stella’s senses. She paused in their escape to search for them. They were afraid of something. She couldn’t figure out what it was. Then they were painfully knocked down from the real world. “There’s something behind the group talking to your dad, Mark,” said Stella. “So?,” said Mark. “We should keep moving.” “It’s something other than your mom, or Melinda,” explained Stella. “It’s probably Ruff,” said Mark. “This is what he supposed to do when he’s not looking out for us.” “Whatever it is, it is scary,” said Stella. “It’s just grabbing minds and causing fear.” “How do you know this?,” asked Bond. He looked back where they had walked from the pond. He couldn’t see the interaction going on himself. Stella realized she had said too much. No one was supposed to know about what she could do. She supposed she thought they would miss it in the excitement. She should have known that Bond would catch the slip. “I can sense things from a distance,” said Stella. “And I know that the group with Mister Morgan are starting to realize that someone is picking them off one by one. They want to know what’s going on.” “Mom’s probably taking some of that action where Ruff couldn’t grab someone,” said Mark. “Dad’s not going to like us getting too close. Do you see Melinda? We should get her and take her down to the van with us.” “She’s closer to us,” said Stella. She searched for a more precise direction. “I think she wants to join in, but she’s holding station.” “Let’s go up and get her,” said Mark. “Then we can head back to the van like we’re supposed to be doing instead of getting in trouble.” “Okay,” said Bond. “We can’t let them see us. We really can’t let them see Stella if that’s why they are here. They’ll stop what they’re doing to go after her.” “I agree with that,” said Mark. “We can’t ask her to stay behind either. What if there are more goons out here? Dad will be irritated if we lost her.” “So we all go as sneaky as we can,” said Bond. He nodded. “Let’s do this before more trouble shows up.” “This is better than running from expanding frogs,” said Mark. He grinned. “Which way do we go, Stella?” Stella pointed at where she felt Melinda’s thoughts. Mark set off, vanishing in the undergrowth like a ghost. Bond started after him, working his way slowly along. She fell in with the blond boy, helping him push branches out of the way. Mark and Melinda met while Stella and Bond were halfway to the spot. The siblings came back toward them faster than they could travel the same distance. “All right,” said Mark. “Mom and Ruff are taking care of things. We should get to the van before Dad does. He doesn’t look like he’s in a good mood.” “His weekend is ruined,” said Bond. “I can see why he wouldn’t be in a good mood. I mean we have his fish dinner right here that he won’t be able to cook because of what’s going on.” “I know,” said Mark. “Let’s go. Maybe we can salvage something if we beat him down to the van.” “I don’t think so,” said Stella. “I think we’re going to be packing up the camp and going home early.” “Maybe that will blow over if we don’t say anything,” said Mark. “Let’s go.” Mark led the way down to the van. He kept an eye open for more trouble. Ruff usually ran interference when possible. The guardian was back on the trail with their parents. They reached the van without a problem. Cars marked by trail dust were in other slots. Mark checked them but he didn’t see anyone sitting inside. “I think we should key them,” said Melinda. “No,” said Mark. “If any of them make it back here after dealing with Mom, Dad would want them to be able to get out of here without problems. We just need to get in the van and make sure they can’t see us.” He opened the back and stored the fish and the poles. He closed the hatch. He went to the side and opened the door and helped Melinda inside. He pointed for her to get in the back, and be ready to hide if someone other than their parents showed up. Bond and Stella took their own seats. Stella looked out the window. There were a few people close by, but nobody was interested in them. Mark took the front after closing the side door. That gave him two doors to use if he had to get out of the van for any reason. And his dad had been showing him how to drive so he was reasonably sure he could follow the signs to any ranger station that might be near by. “Who knew camping could be so exciting?,” said Bond. “This is because of my dad,” said Stella. “They were looking for me. I wonder what he did.” “Your dad is a detective, right?,” said Mark. “Maybe he found out something he shouldn’t have.” “But he’s been handling divorces,” said Stella. “All he does is prove people are cheating on each other.” “That’s all he does now,” said Bond. “He might have taken a criminal case again.” “Those guys looked like criminals,” said Melinda. “Maybe your dad took a divorce case that involved criminals.” “The main thing is they didn’t know who Dad and Mom were,” said Mark. “If they had, they probably wouldn’t have come up here after you.” Stella looked out the window and saw Ruff sniffing along the trail. Mister Morgan walked behind him. He seemed in a better mood than what she had felt previously. “It looks like we’re eating fish tonight,” said Mark. //253693